tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51315694022198752072024-02-07T22:06:38.512-08:00Fan Round UpdatesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-86346671451386454862014-08-22T08:30:00.001-07:002014-08-22T09:35:06.151-07:00It’s the END of the Summer Soon…<p>Hello darlings,</p> <p>Yes, we at the MHFRU get really quiet over the summer. We take it as our time off and do a lot of fun personal stuff before we hunker down and get back to work. </p> <p>The Roundup this year was a success and we hope to grow that success next year. So here’s a general list of things that we will be starting to do and will be discussing at our first meeting.</p> <p>1. Setup 2015 meeting #1 in September. Looks to be September 6th at the MH College – Room and time TBA.</p> <p>2. Garner new volunteers, interns and executives. (There is a MHC Club Fair in September we want to attend, a Government bursary program we are signed up for and a general invitation through Facebook and last years volunteers we have in the works)</p> <p>3. Finalize MHFRU date.</p> <p>4. Redesign Website.</p> <p>5. Plausibly consider new Special Guests (we have 1 tentatively booked and we could gain maybe 1 more with a proper Sponsor!)</p> <p>6. Look into Extra-Life game party</p> <p>7. Look into New Year’s Eve Costume Ball?</p> <p>8. Plan out our Convention Tour for the new season.</p> <p>9. Discuss the Quality over Quantity approach we have – general idea of how much less we want to have and what worked best this past year.</p> <p>10. Budget!!</p> <p>11. Discuss Otafest Aurora – table?</p> <p> </p> <p>Definitely more to it than that but I have to remember it to add it! :)</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-23132867585806207992014-07-15T17:01:00.001-07:002014-07-15T17:01:42.556-07:00Thank You Part 2<p>A big glaringly obvious piece of the puzzle was missing from our wrap up letter from last week. <p>Volunteers. <p>Before I begin my long and heartfelt swoon monologue for the 2014 volunteers I would like to remind everyone that we always need volunteers. We need them from the planning phase to the day of to the days after. We look good on a resume, we can give you a reference, AND we are working to register with a government bursary program where we can take on students as interns so it will help with specific areas we need that you can benefit from! Stay tuned for that (I hope we qualify!)…oh and like this year we will probably have a Volunteer Prize Draw Basket again! <p>It is not enough to say thanks to the few people that stepped up and helped us out. It was no small task and having just even a small amount of pressure off was greatly appreciated. <p>We had our parents come and help, my husband, friends and several genuine volunteers. I wanted to tell a little bit about my personal experiences during the convention because it really truly meant a lot that we had a couple absolute stand outs. This is not to lessen any of the other volunteers contributions just know that we loved you all no matter how big or small your portion of the load was – we needed everyone! <p>The day of the con I ended up with 2 sets of minions. <p>The first set a girl named Tailar and her little elf friend whom I don’t remember her name came to my rescue and helped setup the Cosplay room minutes before the event was to start. Somehow we forgot to get someone in there and arrange all the chairs and move the tables. >.< <p>I only found out afterwards they were friends of Keanna (one of the executives) and Tailar had plans to help out anyways, however, from my view of things all I saw was two attendees just walk right in and help me out. They kept helping out the rest of the convention from 1pm onwards to closing and take down. I was very impressed. <p>My second set actually can technically be my first since they were there for pre-setup day and during setup. Allie M and Mary popped up like wack-a-moles awaiting tasks, they’d be set off to do them and BAM they would pop up again waiting to do more. They moved tables, assigned badges, cut the badges when we found out I had misprinted and missed some all together, they ran back and forth for me to the storage room (I’m a gimp so they were much faster) and they did so much else. Allie was also a Maid (1 of 3) for our café! They put in several hours of work and always seemed up for more. <p>I was just so impressed by all our volunteers being so eager to help and I mean GENUINELY help. I would have probably fallen apart by 2pm if they were not there to lend a hand. THANK YOU SO MUCH. <p>From my tally we had 7 volunteers who had no association to the executives prior to the event. It’s a small pool of people to pull a draw from. Did you remember that part? Any person that was a volunteer (NOT an exec or parents, sorry!) were entered in to win a prize basket we slowly collected over the past year. The winner? <p> <blockquote> <p align="center"><font color="#9b00d3" size="7">ALLIE MADDEN<br><font size="1">(sorry no photo of her outfit ;_;)</font></font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAraZ0Sbs6NvsgQ0zRr1ESkq8Qii4erDyYvRgj52QS2lUfIwFQc537qSJKS0D9AG6TqMAJ56m-8fY2g-Gc772OABoztfeJcQZqyvaVDsSqWq9_4LO-qtXmm4X4SUj5Fcf8Y-bhUEch_CR/s1600-h/boogie%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="boogie" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="boogie" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivp7f6lVj_ycR1GQeTRWevkIV28hZhsQ1KMXtgo1pH9KZTWCCxhZsiHTdoIGNgWBvXTkjIuzVWaErWld68CLKtkeJh4XdSN4lkfRWr_33JwZdwzfP_0VaaE_EKjgQXx0SOHN3n-znVvj29/?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a></p></blockquote> <p>There may be more in this basket than what is shown…</p> <p>Thanks again to all our volunteers, friends, family, exhibitors and everyone who came to check out what we worked hard to put forth!</p> <p>Caio for now</p> <p>Cap’n Krys Christoffersen </p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-31025290629939468852014-07-11T10:03:00.001-07:002014-07-11T10:03:19.934-07:00Overdue Thank You!<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearest Darlings,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you for attending The Medicine Hat Fan Roundup
2014! It was a lot of work and a lot of
fun with the best outcome possible: success!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a large bulk of thanks to give out to specific people
that I initially started writing at the beginning of this address but decided
to move it down more since it’s a little long and everyone really wants to get
to the meat of this off the bat. If we didn't thank you below you should have received or will receive an email thanking you personally. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here
it is:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Attendance:</u> 179 people attended! My personal goal was 200 but that just means
next year we need to work a little hard to get you guys to come out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Amount raised for The Women’s Shelter</u>: $500</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7KVKRvsWpkTxzOS4R_4zk9VlvD_ZBkYJUmP7sn00WueTZsOfbUmQ9LlWDiwx8CwFJmS3YFzVBPtiOUVX23uZB6D7UTLwyYto91WiWbM6Fq14C_k6UCg_madwDT7UmWnW_3qq7vEwVmzf/s1600/graphic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7KVKRvsWpkTxzOS4R_4zk9VlvD_ZBkYJUmP7sn00WueTZsOfbUmQ9LlWDiwx8CwFJmS3YFzVBPtiOUVX23uZB6D7UTLwyYto91WiWbM6Fq14C_k6UCg_madwDT7UmWnW_3qq7vEwVmzf/s1600/graphic1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our local Panago owner, Barb, has also expressed interest in
continuing our relationship for years to come so we can continue to support our
local charities and help in our community more!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Maid Café Tickets</u>: 36 out of 39 tickets sold! It was supposed to be 40 but Neoko got hungry
-.-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Fan Favorites</u>: Name That Tune, Cards Against
Humanity, Big L Match Game, 404s Comedy Troupe</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Fan Unfavorites</u>: Distance between events (we hear you
-.-), too many events not enough time, more food options</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Cosplay Contest Winners:<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best Craftsmanship</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBjW6JhzA5axiBSYxD9gTxkhO6NLwgHpsDoAI53gkF2uLrWG9VyXjrJoPB-jDHrHeBcYOL_eYhdA7zdTSABpkReeLwkp5pNwaXoRTvYvwsxD99XKQ6IzT1YZkPkbR0bau-pD1ZZ6AeZ8o/s1600/bestcraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBjW6JhzA5axiBSYxD9gTxkhO6NLwgHpsDoAI53gkF2uLrWG9VyXjrJoPB-jDHrHeBcYOL_eYhdA7zdTSABpkReeLwkp5pNwaXoRTvYvwsxD99XKQ6IzT1YZkPkbR0bau-pD1ZZ6AeZ8o/s1600/bestcraft.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best Performance</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8vRPSoOCakwKjQdXWn8b0Z1jJXccGItl-4FNiOsFQ8vYZtIY43X3NvJfEM0FrZ7Hdm9HmvKhywfboq_S7cCQO5eiw9mwToo1lIeYIIx4zRANLr0V9d7V6rcfJ6MmTvNn0u-Xfq8mOOt9/s1600/bestperform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8vRPSoOCakwKjQdXWn8b0Z1jJXccGItl-4FNiOsFQ8vYZtIY43X3NvJfEM0FrZ7Hdm9HmvKhywfboq_S7cCQO5eiw9mwToo1lIeYIIx4zRANLr0V9d7V6rcfJ6MmTvNn0u-Xfq8mOOt9/s1600/bestperform.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best in Show</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAS4jDF3-E-lvU8wck6AQ7xFTAQi7fxomnB15zx41OVgGFYayv9fvOFPqsTb8UESNe8C6QrEV7NqYgyHcf4lU0YjeqKQuf7atCpSRQi5q13tEO-xehR24L7TSOFu6LlA9QH0sWlwySCIPE/s1600/bestshow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAS4jDF3-E-lvU8wck6AQ7xFTAQi7fxomnB15zx41OVgGFYayv9fvOFPqsTb8UESNe8C6QrEV7NqYgyHcf4lU0YjeqKQuf7atCpSRQi5q13tEO-xehR24L7TSOFu6LlA9QH0sWlwySCIPE/s1600/bestshow.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also had several honorable mentions that we made sure to have a group shot with!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjzwAnfqKpKPKXdeILKR_fXM72R5n8-gyUQSto9kaa_2ty4XC426w0fX0QI7wxw8pO0oyKNbiCZNgqWkZWoaUi6y6DsNDQW1-ymtPuUuSRsb-u9mODxDK-ZBH6V1lcNU31x4eCRZb6Ay_/s1600/honor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjzwAnfqKpKPKXdeILKR_fXM72R5n8-gyUQSto9kaa_2ty4XC426w0fX0QI7wxw8pO0oyKNbiCZNgqWkZWoaUi6y6DsNDQW1-ymtPuUuSRsb-u9mODxDK-ZBH6V1lcNU31x4eCRZb6Ay_/s1600/honor.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>AMV Contest:<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 Emma Browning - (AnoHana - Rubix Cube): Best Drama AMV</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 Kemar Cunningham - (Attack on Titan - The Phoenix): Best Action AMV</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 Emma Browning - (FMA -The Phoenix): Judge's Choice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p>All three can be viewed on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MHFanRoundUp" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next Year's Theme: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kRD323XtJoQfLnWws9bSXEM0D3NGO-LlL4mgtl-Jmp_V28bfpm0QkJ7BDBTV0-Gy0BKlIrR6Q5ok3OPgcR-R-gQsX_uRZf0Sln_1HfjX1EAjniy64a96NiiwcSAK0ntojo95LWV6VIxQ/s1600/skull-300x262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kRD323XtJoQfLnWws9bSXEM0D3NGO-LlL4mgtl-Jmp_V28bfpm0QkJ7BDBTV0-Gy0BKlIrR6Q5ok3OPgcR-R-gQsX_uRZf0Sln_1HfjX1EAjniy64a96NiiwcSAK0ntojo95LWV6VIxQ/s1600/skull-300x262.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pirates!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<u>Lessons Learned This Year:</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We learned quickly this year that we had a lot of content which for the amount of attendees we are pulling is actually a bad thing. Next year we will be reducing the amount of panels and taking the "Quality over Quantity" motto to heart. Filling up the panels we have is a priority!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We also know all too well that the event was spread too far across the College. This is not exactly a lesson learned as more of - This is what we were given to work with. Like every year, we will aim to get the S wing because it is the most ideal location for our event.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<u>The Thank Yous!</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want to thank each of our exhibitors for coming out and
supporting the event. In particular we
wanted to show appreciation for:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ed Lukowich and Edge Publishing – Edge Publishing has
continued to come out and support our convention year after year and it’s due
in part to them that we were able to make contact with Ed. Mr. Lukowich was also a wonderful person to
meet and talk to and I hope the experience was a good one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Helen Stringer – You are simply adorable. I could not describe you any differently if I
had only 1 word to do it. We appreciate
you coming and your enthusiasm towards us and the attendees was a bright spot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thomas and the Force Start Entertainment team – This year
may not have happened without your support and your offer to help us so
much. We love you guys and want to keep
working with you!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesse and the Red Rage Comics Crew – The Cosplay Contest
saviors! Getting you on as our sponsor
and as a judge got the ball rolling very fast for other judges and the ability
to make the Cosplay Contest the success it was!
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ballto and Big L Productions – Same as above! You helped us
out a lot with the Cosplay contest not only judging but basically M/C’ing it as
you went – and your one Pinky Pie actress was a very enthusiastic and
unexpected entertainer during the intermissions. We also loved the Match Games and hope you
bring it back for us again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tony Allen – our local radio DJ was an enthusiastic
participant as a guest judge and he filled out our Guest Judge Panel well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I obviously can’t thank everyone individually here but I
have and am continuing the individual thank you’s personally to everyone I have
contact information for. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would be
remiss if I didn't give a shout out to our performers of the day Fire Dragon
Taekwando, Ka Muso Kai and Olwyn Supeene. You guys were all fantastic!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you to all our attendees and to everyone who made this event what it is. We hope you come out again for 2015 with a smile on y'arr face. XD</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Krys and the MHFRU Crew</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-27228340264287255332014-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:002014-06-20T14:32:07.139-07:00Twas the night before the Roundup<br />
And all through Med Hat<br />
People were scared of FLOODING<br />
Now what good was all that??<br />
<br />
The signs will be pinned around as they may<br />
But some will get lost no matter how many we lay<br />
The events are all set and the tables prepared<br />
In the hopes that our vendors will soon setup there<br />
<br />
Now we hope and we pray that guests will come soon<br />
No flooding, no tornadoes, no bloody monsoons.<br />
If we are lucky none of this will transpire<br />
We said this con would happen don't make us a liar!!<br />
<br />
Thanks to you and to all for coming this time<br />
We want the masses, the crowds, the huge freaking lines!<br />
If we don't we are sad and will pack it all in<br />
But if we are great we will leave with big grins!<br />
<br />
So come in and come stay for the event all day<br />
Women's Shelter will get proceeds from the pizza hoo-ray!<br />
And if we succeed like no other year before<br />
2015 will happen much bigger, much more!!<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-75257382143402941722014-06-18T10:58:00.001-07:002014-06-18T15:11:08.913-07:00Interview with Ballto of Big L ProductionsTo end our little section of interviews we sat down on Facebook with Ballto of Big L Productions for a candid talk.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So Ballto hello and thank
you for the interview. Let’s start with the basics. What is Big L Productions
and how did you get involved?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, Big L Productions
at its very core is really Fans making their Fandom dreams comes true. A
production company that will be making the videos that all fans want to see of
their favourite characters, quite possibly in ways they never thought of
before.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We're all fans of
something, and as such we all have things we would like to see our characters
do. Because of this we've started with making our first web series be
"Casual Fridays", where we explore what our favorite comic book,
Video Game, Anime, And TV characters all do on their day off from whatever it
is that they do.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Allowing us to see our
favorite characters in ways we might not have before.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As for how I got involved
with it, as I said before, we're all fans of something. And like all other fans
I said to myself "I wonder what The Borderlands Crew does on their day off
from being Bad asses?" Wondering on this further I realized that I'm not
the only one who wants to see this sort of thing. And from there the idea of
Starting Big L Productions was born, utilizing the skills I've learned from attending
both the Lethbridge College and Universities Multi-Media, and New Media
programs respectively. This all began about 10 months ago with me putting my
idea's out there and promoting them to find other people with similar passions,
and now we're more than proud to premiere our first Video of the Casual Fridays
series at the Fan Round Up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Excellent. So does Big L
have a large production group besides the various actors?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, our actual
Production crew is relatively small at this point. I have a small handful of
general purpose crew members for things like setting up our sets, simple camera
operations, blocking, and things like that. But we also benefit from having the
advice of some professionals as well. My good friend Emerson Scott is a
lighting expert, and we have the advice and support of Make Up expert Katt
Panic, as well the advice of my previous "internet Television"
professor from the university Ryan Harper, whom after hearing about my project
wanted to help in any way that he could. And with such high praise from someone
like him, a veteran of the Television industry, it only worked to make me want
to strive to do that much better.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think it's also worth
mentioning that in our short time we've also recruited some Cosplay Veterans
who are interested in working with us, such as Andy Rae from Andy Rae Cosplay,
and fast up and comer Dorothy Thicket, who has already won multiple awards for
her Cosplay, one of which given to her by Yaya Han herself!</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wow nice maybe one day
Yaya will knock on your door?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Yeah, I think if Yaya
ever knocked on my door I would be knocked flat on the floor with excitement!</span><br />
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">But people should also know that we're always looking for both people to join our production crew, which includes people for lights, camera's, props, Post production editing, as well as costume making.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ha. So as far as
recruiting goes are you looking for experience or a certain je ne sais quoi?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well I find that when you
work in any creative industry both experience and what I call your
"creative talent" go hand in hand. A lot of people might not
understand, but when you work with your creativity it's almost like a muscle,
the more your work it, the better it gets. So I find that someone's experience,
as well as their creativity in flexing that imagination muscle goes hand in
hand. So experience comes in all of its forms when you work with creativity.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Ok so...we hear you are
looking for that creativity here at our con this year. How do you think you
will go about finding new talent and what can someone do to impress you?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Well, I and all of the
Big L crew that I will bring with me are actually quite honored to give people
who share our vision of Big L the chance to contribute their thoughts and ideas
to it. As I said before, we're all Fans doing work that our other fans should
be proud of, so there is a certain level of Fandom </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">comradery </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">that we want to share with our fellow fans. At the
Round-Up this year we are primarily looking for Cosplayers who want to take
their Cosplay to the next level and start actually becoming their characters
for our episodes, and at the heart of it that's what burns the passion in my
heart. For me, Cosplay has always been about fully immersing yourself into
becoming your favorite characters. Not to say that proper costume design and
making isn't important as well, but for me I want to see the passion and love
in people’s eyes when they get to become their heroes.</span></span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As for production crew
members, my several years of schooling in all things media has taught me more
than a few things for what to look for when I'm looking to share a project with
others. They need the talent and know how to know what they are working with
for sure, but more importantly is that they have their own visions, and
aspirations that they can bring to Big L to make us better by adding it to our
own. Even if I worked with the most talented people on the planet at what they
do, if they don't share in the imagination of the world we're trying to create
with Big L, ultimately they won't be able to work with us.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And that's something that
I want the world to know when it comes to Big L.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We're not just creating
"short little funnies" for people to watch on the internet and get a
laugh out of. We're trying to create a whole world where all of our favorite
characters live together.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A world where Frank West
playing at a Poker game with Princess Bubble gum, and Sailor Mini-moon is no stranger
than seeing anyone else do the same.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">So you mentioned earlier
that you really love to get into the role of the Cosplay. I assume you enjoy
dawning the apparel. How far do you get into character at a typical con and can
we expect to see that at the Roundup?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, for the Roundup I
plan on coming as the Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2, or to be more
precise MY version of the heavy from Team Fortress 2. Anyone who plays the game
will know that there is a plethora of ways to change the appearance of your
character in the game, and I will be coming as the way I dress my Heavy when I
play as him. Though some people might be surprised that this will only be the
third Cosplay I've ever done. The first being Heat from Bust a Groove when I
was 14 going to Animethon 9, the second being Salvador from Borderlands 2 for
the launch of the game a few years back, and now the Heavy from TF2.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The costume I'll be
wearing was actually made with the assistance of lots of my friends, as I
personally don't have the costume making experience that I wish I had, but what
I lack in costume making skills, I assure you I will make up for in my ability
to properly play the character, and invite everyone to come see firsthand when
we host the Cosplay Match Game.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's just say you
shouldn't be surprised to find that "Sandvich and me going to beat your
ass!"</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Ha, that will be
something to see. So Big L has a whole room to themselves. There will be two
Cosplay match games that are taking place and the actors will be the celebrity
panel. Who can we expect to see, character wise, on this panel and will they be
in character during these games?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Big L will be represented
by The Heavy Weapons Guy, Human Pinkie Pie, Dovakiin, and Sailor Mini-Moon. And
I don't know what you mean by "in character", these are the real
people, pulled strait from the Big L World. Maybe people should get an
autograph while they have the chance. I'm sure if you asked The Heavy nice
enough too he'd let Sandvich give autographs too.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Oh my, the real deals. I
might need to fan myself for the vapors! So, one question that's been burning
for me is I've been dying to know. When these characters are not working on the
match game what do they do? Just like the premise of Casual Fridays I want to
know what these guys are up to when not in the lime light!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, not many people
know this, but Heavy Weapons Guy is actually a poet in his spare time. He is
actually quite the masterful poet in his native tongue. Pinkie Pie works the
pizza kitchen with Mad Moxxi over at Moxxi's bar, and likes to go out dancing
in public. I hear there's a laundry mat in particular that she likes to strut
her stuff in.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mini-moon likes to ride
horses and participates in weekly fight clubs, and Dovakiin recently tried to
see what life would be like Outside of Skyrim and move into the city.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Sounds like they lead
full and...Interesting lives! So, while everyone is at the con do we need to
have security make sure they don't start a brawl with our vendors or will they
be behaving? I sure hope that The Heavy personally shares a poem or toe with
Helen Stringer - I'm sure she'd love a serenade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, some of them are
more.... Rambunctious than others, personally I wouldn't trust Mini-Moon near
sugar and a broken bottle, but that's just me. As for the heavy sharing some of
his poems, I'm sure if you asked nicely, and had Sandviches permission he'd
love to share. Ask him to tell you a tale or two and you might even get a song
out of him.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: #dbedfe;"><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Well I'm sure the con
goers will be very happy to bump in to any of the characters and grab a photo
op or two. So, with all that happening you are also premiering the Casual
Fridays episode "Poker </span><span style="font-size: 21px;">Princesses</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> and Frank" closer to the end of the day. How did filming go
on this first outing? Any issues or funny stories happen during filming?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">We suffered the normal
problems that could be expected from filming anything, but we did run into a
few extra Complications. Princess Bubblegum got held up in the candy Kingdom
and ended up being nearly 5 hours late, and Wolverine just couldn't stand
playing poker with the player so he left. Then there was the fact that
Mini-moon had to leave so she could go join in Mortal Kombat, so we were really
pressed for time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That's why in the end we
had to finish filming before 7pm. Hence why the episode was changed from its
working title of "Poker Night" to "Poker Princesses and
Frank" because with all the summer time filming it was still light out
when we wrapped at 7</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Any divas on the set? I'm
looking at you Frankie boy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, all of the
characters live in their own little world most of the time and are used to
being the stars of their own shows, some sparks are bound to fly when you have
such Huge Ego's all together in the same room. Oddly enough Frank was the least
of our problems, though I feel like that may be because no one could understand
him all day.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 5.35pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="background-color: #dbedfe; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Well I'm sure after the
premiere everyone will be chomping at the bit for the next episode. When can
the fans expect more of Casual Fridays?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I will be Filming on
location in Skyrim the week after the Round Up, so with any luck you can expect
to see the next episode be up the Friday after.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Will you be trying to
release all your episodes on a Friday?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, it's not called
Casual Monday's. </span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well I'm very glad to say
that the Medicine Hat Fan Roundup is privilege to have you and all our special
character guests coming for a visit. At this point we should let the readers
know where they can find more on Big L and Casual Fridays.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have all the mediums
you would expect, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, the whole thing.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our Facebook is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bigLproductions" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">www.facebook.com/bigLproductions</span></a></span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our Youtube is <a href="http://youtube.com/Gottothinkbig" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998;">youtube.com/Gottothinkbig</span></a></span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and we're on Twitter
@gottothinkbig</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And if they want to talk
to any of us personally we'll have a table all day at the Con.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As well as the events
happening in the Big L Room.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That's right. Big L can
also be found in the vendor’s hall</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Good stuff. So before we
let you go is there anything else you might want the fans and con goers to
know?</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(237, 239, 244); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Only that Big L is
looking for not only new members to swell its ranks, but we also would love to
hear suggestions from people on what kind of episodes they would love to see.
And remember... "Gotta think big, BIG!"</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(219, 237, 254); margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because Bigger is Always
Better well thanks for taking the time to talk with us Ballto and we'll see you
at the con!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-81434755279000053642014-06-12T12:14:00.000-07:002014-06-12T12:24:27.711-07:00Interview with Ed LukowichTrillionist Interview Questions<br />
<br />
1. Did any particular scientific or social concepts act as foundational inspirations for Trillionist?<br />
<br />
Yes, mostly on the scientific side. There was plenty of science that provided a strong base, such as: the speed of light; the bending and slowing of light; the discovery by astronomers of black holes that still awaited a true purpose; the similarity of spin right from atoms to solar systems to galaxies; the gravity glue that holds things in place; the lack by space of having any real properties as if they had been stolen away. As the reader will discover, my explanations of light, space and time are quite unique. Then you take the orbs (moons, planets, stars and galaxies) and discover how they relate to light, space and time in a whole new way. My new physical universe theory, how our universe was created and operates over many recycles, is indeed ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. Time will tell if that thinking has a basis? The question will be: Is this new provocative theory believable or just a really good story in ‘The Trillionist?’<br />
<br />
2. What major topics did you have to research for this story? How much did you try to stay accurate to known scientific principles?<br />
<br />
Research. Over my years of reading sci-fi, plus hundreds of science and astronomy magazines, I began to formulate my own ideas. Some things I read seemed right to me, but others seemed wrong. In particular, the Big Bang Theory (not the comedy show which I adore), but rather the actual theory depicting creation of our universe, seemed preposterous to me. As far-fetched as the old crazy idea 800 years ago making people think our Earth was flat and they would sail over the edge. Of course we now know Earth is spherical.
So, I thought deep and long as to various ways creation may have occurred rather than from a big bang explosion. For some reason, notions began to crop into my thinking, and every time I read a new science or cosmology magazine, I discovered another thread that either fit or didn’t fit into my new universe theory development.<br />
<br />
3. Trillionist possesses a unique cosmology. Is it based on any common mythology, philosophy, or otherwise?<br />
<br />
The unique cosmology within the ‘Trillionist’ novel is my own inspiration thoughts developed of two decades of reading, thinking, analyzing and writing. Yes, we still have light, space, gravity, moons, planets, stars, and galaxies, but their functions and methods of operation are greatly expanded beyond current universe theory. The ‘how’ of why our universe is much older than our present 15 billion year cycle, is the essence of my new universe theory.<br />
<br />
4. Trillionist has a massive scope, what with countless lives and universal lifecycles involved. How much detail did you develop behind-the-scenes that we only glimpse through Sage’s eyes?<br />
<br />
I wanted this novel to be about the story: ‘Sage Rojan, a boy born different than any human ever. His mind already loaded at birth.’ My motive was to introduce my universe theories in story form with Sage Rojan as the vehicle. The goal of the ‘Trillionist’ novel is to entertain and then also entice the reader’s thinking. That is why the QR codes within the book lead the reader’s cell phone to my website and universe theories. Also, my science book ‘Trillion Theory,’ once made available, greatly expands the ideas behind each new concept and universe theory.<br />
<br />
5. How did you go about taking various religious or supernatural concepts and transform them into scientific mechanisms?<br />
<br />
The ‘Trillionist’ novel makes every effort to steer clear of religion; because there are so many different religions on our planet. However, the novel shows that I do have personal belief in a power greater than us.
Within the novel there are concepts borrowed from various ideas, such as: the concept of an Empyrean and Firmament over-looking our universe through our many reincarnations; the concept of our lives being tied by a tether type of invisible apparatus to this Firmament. I find it a fascinating and plausible concept; that our lives are recorded by some apparatus.
But in reality, a ‘greater power’ likely does it much different yet than I or others have been able to depict. ‘We are just dusting off the bench, yet to discover the really good parts of our existence.’<br />
<br />
6. What was the biggest challenge this story presented?<br />
<br />
Oh my gosh! This novel was trickier than ever. Just imagine, a ‘curler’ turned writer. Now, that’s reinventing oneself. To attempt to write ‘outside –the-box’ of our normal traditional ideas was my goal. Trying to be realistic on the one hand, yet mind-expanding on the other; somewhat believable yet chasing the fanciful.<br />
<br />
7. Did you struggle with making Sage sympathetic even as he makes questionable or terrible choices?<br />
<br />
Sage is so complex. Just imagine two totally diverse entities (spirits) sharing one mind.
Therein, pure sympathy was difficult for Sage to deliver when there was in fact a spiteful non-caring beast residing within him and sharing his pad.<br />
<br />
8. What prompted you to base the story on Earthlike technology, while transplanting it to another world altogether?<br />
<br />
The reason for moving the story to a faraway planet was to keep actual Earth events from confusing the story. Yet, I wanted the similarity to emulate Earth and be close to our hearts. ‘Faraway, yet near.’<br />
<br />
9. Did any major historical figures act as inspiration for Sage’s character?<br />
<br />
No. Sage is painted as a character different than anyone who has ever lived. He was born with incredible knowledge already supplanted inside his mind. The rest of us mere mortals came out of the womb naked as jaybirds; in both body and mind – no clothes and no immediate knowledge.<br />
<br />
10. What element did you enjoy writing the most in Trillionist?<br />
<br />
I enjoyed each and every attempt to show that our physical universe – and also our spiritual lives – are far more complex than we have ever imagined thus far. In my humble opinion, ‘The Creator or Artisan of our universe used the ultimate in complexity; a complexity marvelously hidden inside of atoms, solar systems, gravities, galaxies, black holes, and the super- power properties of light. Then consider organic life and toss it into the mix. We are just beginning to grasp the wonderment. It was Einstein, and those before him such as Newton and Copernicus (just to mention a few) who unlocked just some of the early secrets. We still have far to go. But, the fun of course is in the journey. My goal is to expand our thought processes as we make that journey.’<br />
<br />
The pen name Sagan Jeffries. Provides the author with a new identity, separated from the curler Ed Lukowich. Ed’s favorite writer was Carl Sagan, so the name Sagan was borrowed. Ed had two teenage cousins by the name of Jeff, so Jeffries is in their memory.<br />
<br />
Ed Lukowich
Author of futuristic novel by Sagan Jeffries - 'The Trillionist'<br />
http://www.trillionist.comAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-61738067151358878732014-06-09T16:07:00.001-07:002014-06-09T16:07:07.013-07:00Interview With Helen Stringer<p> </p> <p><strong>We have interviews lined up with a few of our guests and we are starting with Helen Stringer. Currently her work, Paradigm, is available for FREE download on </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Paradigm+helen+stringer"><strong>Amazon.ca</strong></a></p> <p>What inspired you to write your first book? <p>It was a bit of a fluke, actually. I was going through some boxes of junk and came across a story I had written some years ago about a boy who lived in a house so big that he lost his parents. It was intended as a picture book, but when I reread it I had the idea to write a collection of stories all set in the same strange town. The first one I thought of was about a girl who could see ghosts, so I started writing. After about 100 pages, I realized it wasn’t going to be a short story! The whole thing just flowed out. I’ve always loved old cemeteries, particularly the ones with gravestones that tell you about the person, so the idea of a girl who could see the people was really appealing. <p>Do you have a specific writing style? <p>I write the way I talk, as if I were telling the story out loud. I’m also very visual, which probably comes from my filmmaking background, so I really see the places in my head, which is very helpful when it comes to describing the worlds of my characters. <p>How did you come up with the title? <p>Ugh! Titles! The original working title for Spellbinder was The House of Mists. My publisher didn’t like that and suggested Spellbinder, which was fine, but then my UK publisher wasn’t keen, so my agent and I brainstormed some ideas and came up with The Last Ghost. In France it’s Belladonna Johnson Parle Avec Les Morts, which is a bit too literal! My title for the second book in the series was The Queen of the Abyss, which I still love. But the publisher said it sounded like a fantasy novel. Me: Um…it is a fantasy novel. Them: It sounds too much like a fantasy novel. So another brainstorming session led to The Midnight Gate. My latest novel, Paradigm, is self-published, so there was no one to argue with me over that. The word means a pattern or example, and in the book the paradigm device is a kind of machine. I’m not saying any more about that because it’ll get too spoilery! <p>Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? <p>There is a message in Paradigm, but I don’t hit readers over the head with it. Many dystopian novels are pretty vague about what led to the collapse of our current civilization, or they go for a single apocalyptic event. But if history teaches us anything, it’s that civilizations fall as the result of a variety of factors and that’s the way it is in Paradigm – it’s how the world might end up if we continue to do nothing. <p>How much of the book is realistic? <p>It’s as realistic as I could make it. I think when you’re telling a science fiction or fantasy story, you are already asking your readers to take a leap of imagination with you. When your story is grounded in a recognizable reality, it makes that leap much easier. In Paradigm, the story is set in California. It travels from Los Angeles to San Francisco (up the I-5, a road I have driven a hundred times) and on to Lake Tahoe. Time has changed the places, but there are still elements that are familiar. As to the science, that was easy as my father was a very prominent scientist working in energy research and was always available to answer my questions. Scientists love acronyms almost as much as the military, so he came up with most of those as well. My favourite is Devastation Engineering And Tactical Havoc, Inc. <p>Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? <p>Well, I haven’t actually traveled to the Land of the Dead or lived in a post-collapse America (*grin*), but quite a few of the characters are based on people I know. Being a writer is more than locking yourself away and writing, it’s also about observation. Watching the people around you and trying to understand them, imagining how they feel in certain situations. It’s also about remembering how you felt at a certain age and how you reacted to challenges. In the Spellbinder books, Belladonna and Steve are 12 and 13. It’s been quite a while since I was that age, but I can recall how I felt and why I did some of the things I did. I was the kid in school who was always in trouble and practically everything Steve does in those books is stuff that I did. I usually didn’t get caught – which is just as well! <p>What books have most influenced your life most? <p>Ooh…hmm. There are quite a few books that influenced me but that I no longer think are very good. Dune would be a good example of that. I must have read it four times in my early teens, but I picked it up a few years ago and just found it annoying. The same thing applies to the Narnia books. They were tremendously influential, but they’ve dated terribly – particularly in the way Lewis condescends to the reader. You can’t get away with that stuff now. Philip Jose Farmer’s The Green Odyssey was a big influence – I loved the mischievous humour, something that is in everything I write. When I was at school I hated Jane Austen and Dickens, but now I love them both. Austen for the way she can create completely believable characters with only a few words. She never actually describes what anyone looks like, yet the reader can see them as clearly as day. Dickens is the uber-observer. I’ve learned more from his descriptions of places and things than from anyone else. And both Austen and Dickens also wrote with a twinkle in their eye. <p>If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? <p>Ooh, that’s a hard one. I think it would have to be Alan Garner. When I was young, I devoured fantasy stories, but they were always set in London or some world of privilege that I didn’t recognize. But Alan Garner is from Manchester, just up the road from Liverpool, and his books were set in the north west of England in grubby cities with derelict buildings and rotten weather. It was reality, yet magical things still happened. <p>What book are you reading now? <p>I’m reading a book on the mythology of Mesopotamia. This makes sense if you’ve read the Spellbinder books, but it also factors into my current project The Gloaming. I’m also reading Catherine Fisher’s Incarceron. <p>Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? <p>Yes. I love John Nelson’s Where Excuses Go To Die, which I didn’t expect to like at all. It’s about his time in prison (he robbed book stores and then moved up to banks before he was finally caught at 24), but is completely different from the usual prison memoir – it’s funny and touching and appalling all at once. Really excellent. I also just finished Julian David Stone’s first novel, Justice Girl, and am really looking forward to the follow-up to that. <p>What are your current projects? <p>I’m working on a web series called The Gloaming that combines elements of many of the stories I love. It’s structured like Classic Doctor Who, with six 20 minute episodes, and I’m currently trying to raise funds on Kickstarter so I can get it made. The story combines ghosts, the Land of the Dead, quantum theory, and wormholes. I’m contemplating throwing in the kitchen sink as well. <p>Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members. <p>That’s easy – one of my co-workers. Back when I started writing Spellbinder I was working at a “boutique” entertainment law firm. One of the lawyers liked almost all the same things as me: Doctor Who, Star Trek, fantasy and scifi books, etc., etc. Once I’d finished the first five chapters I took it into work and asked if he’d mind reading it and letting me know what he thought. He said that he was really busy and had a ton of scripts to read (he mostly represents screenwriters and directors), but that he would be happy to. I thought he wouldn’t get back to me for weeks, but he walked into work the next morning, brandishing the pages, and said, “Would you like me to help you with this?” From that moment, he not only helped me find an agent, he also bugged me constantly for new chapters. I’d started a lot of books and never finished them, but his encouragement and belief really kept me going. He’s my lawyer now and is still a great believer. He was the one who suggested I self-publish Paradigm, and he’s 100% behind The Gloaming as well. <p>Do you see writing as a career? <p>Yes, but these days it involves a tremendous amount of work that has nothing to do with the actual writing part. The traditional publishers are struggling and most have drastically cut back on their marketing departments (Macmillan in the UK actually told me “We only promote our A-list writers”), so writers have to take charge of their own publicity and really work to bring their books to the attention of readers. <p>If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? <p>I wrote eleven drafts of Paradigm, and got a lot of input from a variety of beta-readers on Facebook, so I’m happy with the story. The one thing I would change, though, is that I would buy my own ISBN number and not use one of Amazon’s. Brick and mortar bookshops are boycotting Amazon, and that includes refusing to shelve any authors who use CreateSpace to publish their books. If you buy your own ISBN number from outside Amazon, the stores will accept the books. It’s ridiculous to punish authors for using the only service that many of us can afford, but that’s the way it is and I’ll know better next time! <p>Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? <p>I’ve told stories for as long as I can remember. First to my younger sister and then to anyone who would sit still long enough. I wrote stories, plays, films, episodes for my favourite television shows – everything. I also made up stories to scare my sister. My greatest triumph in that particular arena was the genie in the toilet. Heh. I told her that there was a genie that lived in the toilet and if you didn’t flush and get out fast, it would leap out and pull you down. It worked so well that I started believing it myself, with the result that Becky and I spent the best part of a year, racing out of the toilet and slamming the door, before our parents figured out that something was up. <p>Can you share a little of your current work with us? <p>Sure! Before I decided to make The Gloaming as a web series it was going to be a book. I wrote this first few chapters of it. <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/0bd588_1c7e057a13384111bb70a7783b3cb76b.doc?dn=%22Gloaming_1.doc%22">Here’s chapter one</a>.</p> <p>Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? <p>The biggest challenge for me was getting back in the swing of writing descriptions. Screenplays don’t include detailed descriptions (it’s actually frowned on), so my early drafts of Spellbinder were very dialogue-heavy. It took a while to figure out the best approach! <p>Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? <p>I’ve had to travel a bit to promote them. I even organized my own UK book tour for Midnight Gate. I’m planning a road trip on the east coast of America to research the second Paradigm story. I really want to set it in and around New York and Philadelphia, but I don’t know the area well at all. I’m hoping to be able to combine it with some book club and school visits. <p>Who designed the covers? <p>Eric Fortune designed the hardback cover for the US edition of Spellbinder. The paperback were designed by David Wyatt. I really love his work. I came up with the concept for the Paradigm cover, but don’t have the PhotoShop skills. In the end, the front cover photograph was taken by Diana Brown, a wonderful photographer who lives in Los Angeles. The back cover photograph is of the paradigm device, which I built. The whole thing was then made amazing by designer Josef Richardson. <p>What was the hardest part of writing your book? <p>Revisions are always hard. There’s the euphoria of actually finishing a draft, then the slow realization that it could be better. I always read my books out loud to someone. It’s a great way of proofing, but the responses of whoever is listening is a great help in identifying what does and does not work. <p>Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? <p>With Paradigm it’s been weird. Because it’s set in a future where people are living with the results of climate change, mass die-offs, and all-powerful corporations, it involved a lot of research and then extrapolation out as to how things might end up. I thought I was writing about things that could happen a hundred or more years in the future, but there are stories in the news almost every day that show that my imaginary future might not be very imaginary at all, and not so far in the future either! <p>Do you have any advice for other writers? <p>Make your own rules. There’s tons of stuff out there saying that you should write so many pages a day, write even when you don’t feel like it, write a detailed outline, etc., etc. I think you should figure out what works for you. I never write outlines, I just dive in and go. Once I’ve written a few chapters, I might sketch out what’s coming, but mostly my first drafts are very much “make it up as you go along.” Some days I’ll write screeds, and other days just a few paragraphs, or nothing at all. I do always have the file open on my laptop, so I see it every time I pass. I find that I’m most productive in the earlier part of the day, but I know many people who do their best work at night. (Anything I write at night is destined for the bin the following morning!) I also make playlists for whatever I’m working on. The key is to find what works for you. <p>Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? <p>I love talking to readers of my books – I spend big chunks of my day doing just that on Facebook. Often they see things in them that I didn’t realize were there, or ask questions I can’t answer. It’s inspiring and wonderful and many of the people I have met through my books are now good friends. If it wasn’t for fans of Spellbinder and Midnight Gate volunteering to proof and critique the early drafts of Paradigm, the world of Sam Cooper and Alma might never have seen the light of day. <p>What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life? <p>Paradigm involved a lot of research and ploughing through scientific journals. My dad would clip articles and studies and then hand me massive folders whenever I popped around. Getting my head around some of that stuff was hard (although not as hard as getting my head around quantum theory for The Gloaming!). With a book like Paradigm it’s important not to get drawn into explaining things in too much detail, while at the same time understanding the minutiae of how the world you have created works. It was the same with the main characters. Sam is 17, but he’s been surviving on his own since he was 11, so although he is still an ordinary kid in many ways, he’s also savvy and a survivor. Alma is young, too, but she’s a Maori warrior who was raised fighting in the last global conflict. She witnessed her beautiful homeland being turned into a blasted wasteland. Those experiences affected her deeply and her response is to keep her feelings tightly controlled. I want the reader to identify with Sam and Alma, while appreciating the way their experiences have made them who they are. For me, the key to telling a fantasy or scifi story is making sure that the people who inhabit the world I am creating are as real as possible, with feelings and reactions that ring true. If I can do that, then the reader can sit back and just enjoy the ride. <p><strong>Thank you Helen for taking so much time out to let us know more about you and your work! Don’t forget to check out her </strong><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2127711499/the-gloaming-a-tale-of-ghosts-quantum-theory-and-l"><strong>Kickstarter</strong></a><strong> and help get it into production!</strong></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-78346742335880373312014-06-05T15:38:00.000-07:002014-06-05T15:38:53.476-07:0015 Days and CountingHello Sportsing Fans,
It is slightly over two weeks until the big day. We have done a lot of stuff to the website as you can plainly see and the amount of content is great for our 3rd year.
We would like to thank all of our sponsors for contributing to our (hopeful) success.
Panago
RightStuf!
Eleven Arts
Rent-A-Centre
Red Rage Comics
Force Start Entertainment
We also would like to thank our two Demonstrating martial arts teams for donating their time to present us awesome entertainment!
Ka Muso Kai from Calgary will be doing weapons demonstrations for us and
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoX5-2Aos0QFUWFuOyPBciUcE0VNqEP7NNZSmKVzHv5-crDtjlinBDjai-7FDRYs0DUfReLGzwqNf_no8jkiUPDcCVFyUwa-TK_FeyTextrJNn9uQlkTq0C7kX-ynia1_ghxr1kwr1MpW/s1600/Fire%2520Dragon%2520Logo%25202.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoX5-2Aos0QFUWFuOyPBciUcE0VNqEP7NNZSmKVzHv5-crDtjlinBDjai-7FDRYs0DUfReLGzwqNf_no8jkiUPDcCVFyUwa-TK_FeyTextrJNn9uQlkTq0C7kX-ynia1_ghxr1kwr1MpW/s200/Fire%2520Dragon%2520Logo%25202.png" /></a>
will be doing a large team demonstration outside in our green area at 1:30pm.
Please feel free to check out all the site has to offer for information and we expect to have the schedule ready this weekend (as much as possible to this point).
Thanks for sticking with us through the year!
KrysAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-88572620778758056982014-05-20T15:18:00.000-07:002014-05-20T15:18:11.521-07:00More site updates!So we have gone ahead and done a massive update of vendors, artists and panels. We still have more to come so keep an eye on it :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-64314796217262385332014-03-22T14:59:00.001-07:002014-03-22T14:59:00.213-07:00Some Important Stuff!We could actually call this a major update. With the smallest post...
We have filled in some content in the "PROGRAMMING" section. Go take a look at what you get to see and do while at the MHFRU. More to come I promise but having been working on a lot of MHFRU stuff as well as a meeting in a few hours and I still haven't had food of any kind yet - it'll have to wait, my darlings.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-7185833790435993682014-02-23T21:07:00.001-08:002014-02-23T21:11:40.294-08:00Website Updates Inbound!<p>Just wanted to let everyone know that I have caught up on my first contact/confirmation of all exhibitors (except two from this past week) and I will be re-emailing them again to get “press kits” to fill up our sections. These exhibitors are what we will be calling “semi-confirmed” as they have sent us a request form, we have received it, confirmed receipt and just require fee payment to ensure their appearance.</p> <p>We are still in the process of confirming the 404s hence why they are not up on the site yet(unless something has changed without me knowing which can happen as I am not omnipresent).</p> <p>We may also have a book author show up to do a panel. Waiting for them to get back to us :)</p> <p>We are still not setup for PayPal just yet. We have an account but have to send some legal stuff to PayPal to confirm we are a not-for-profit group so that any funds going in we will actually be able to take out before a certain HUGE minimum is met.</p> <p>Still focused on funding. I’m currently applying for a grant for the MHFRU. I stopped for a moment when I got hung up on a question I didn’t understand but my sister-in-law, who does this a lot for her job, explained it out for me. We hope someone is willing to help fund us as it would really make me feel better and not mildly panicky in the night.</p> <p>That is the big update of openness from us</p> <p>Krys</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-41232969095070555282014-02-04T18:23:00.001-08:002014-02-04T18:23:52.832-08:00First Post of 2014<blockquote></blockquote> <p> </p> <p>Hello everyone,</p> <p>Our poor lonely blog gets no love. We have made a resolution to change that. Any relatively meaningful update should from now on be posted on our blog and re-posted to the Facebook page. Please remember we also have a wonderful website at <a href="http://mhfanroundup.com">MHFanRoundup.com</a>.</p> <p>Our website, as usual, is a work in progress that was slowed due to the inconvenience of having no computer capable of properly working with the site builder to update it. This is going to change very soon. I am still updating and installing programs to my computer including <a href="https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=cs2_downloads">Adobe CS2</a> (it’s free, sign up and go get!). I happen to be working the evening shift this week so I don’t have much time after work to really look at my computer except to click “install” or “update” buttons as needed and walk away.</p> <p>So brass tacks time:</p> <p>1. Anyone who has been waiting to hear from us in regards to a table at the convention will be contacted soon. We are in the midst of creating a mailing list and a newsletter so we can mass contact everyone and then we will be able to have individual conversations going forward. We want to make sure that everyone is on the same page with our first contact including acknowledgment that you have a table, payment information and potential an information packet on the venue or anything else that would be relevant for our vendors, artists and panelists.</p> <p>2. Website update – I am a broken record with this. I did some updates to the site, saved but did not publish. We ran into a road block with PayPal that I need to finish sorting out. I will remove those updates for now and complete the other updates around that. These include: ticket prices, vendor/artist/panelist page updates, removal of meeting update section, adding of a different section (I forgot what it is but it’s important), probable removal of the social forum as no one is using it, various updates to the “information” section as a whole, and probably more.</p> <p>3. We have had some success so far raising donations for the convention. We are nowhere near where we need to be for funding so if anyone knows of a likely business to donate <a href="http://www.mhfanroundup.com/#!contact-us/c1fc2">please let us know</a>. We will be heading out to mass attack more businesses in March. We wanted to do February but schedules don’t match up.</p> <p>4. We are planning an event at Crave (in the MH College). It is so far just an idea and we have no hard plans on it yet. Likely to be discussed at our next meeting this Saturday.</p> <p>5. Our next meeting is this Saturday, February 8th @ the Medicine Hat College Rom S141 6:30pm. If you happen to come along (all our meetings are open to anyone who wants to come) and we don’t appear to be there please post to Facebook as sometimes we relocate to Starbucks where there is access to wifi and comfy seating.</p> <p>This is all I can think of at the moment…more to come regardless!</p> <p>Krys</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-60285869950857299102013-11-09T18:10:00.001-08:002013-11-09T18:16:47.608-08:00Lords and Ladies of the Plains…<p>Potentially too much sugar has been had.</p> <p>The site has now been updated with some new content:</p> <p>Executives now have information updated on the About the Execs Page <br>Special Guests has been updated with Force Start Entertainment!<br>AMV Contest submission information has been added to Be Involved</p> <p>So what have the execs been up to lately? </p> <p>Well, we had a minor set back with the exact location at the Medicine Hat College. Due to renovations we have lost the S Wing and are currently scoping out other wings EXCEPT the F Wing. Our feedback last year really didn’t like that wing and we honestly didn’t like it either. We want to have a good flow this year so we are very concerned with where we will end up, however, the wings we are looking at are very promising (I’m in favour of the wing that has a perfect corner for our Zombie Maid Cafe!)</p> <p>Besides that we are still trying hard to become a club at the College so we can gain some much needed benefits for fundraising. </p> <p>We are also accepting donations, sponsorships, volunteers and people interested in being executives. Our staff is running a few less than last year and we would love to have some new input and help. The 4 Horsemen are doing very well creating this Apocalypse on their own though. Anyone interested in donating prizes or monetary funding can reach us via our Contact Us form. If you know of a company that would like to sponsor us in exchange for advertisement space on the website and on our convention programmes that would also be most <Monty Burns Voice>excellent</Monty Burns Voice>.</p> <p>In the works:</p> <p>Anime Night at the Monarch!<br>Online Auction<br>MHFRU College Club<br>Website Updating<br>Lethbridge Expo!<br>Otafest Aurora (Just visiting no booth – maybe we can play “Where’s Waldo” with the Execs)</p> <p>That is all my minions!</p> <p>Krys (Sealed Evil in a Can aka Co-Chairman)</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-36587718624363352112013-09-18T16:12:00.001-07:002013-09-18T16:12:29.525-07:00More to come!<p> </p> <p>Hello darlings,</p> <p>So as we can see we have a website. it’s heavily under construction right now but we will be filling it out as much as possible and as fast as possible in the next few weeks. We are currently having an issue with the site’s various email addresses that we must correct so we ask that no one fill out any of our forms at this time because we cannot access the information.</p> <p>Our next meeting will be October 5th with plans to bring some baked goods to the College to taste test and pick what would work well for the sale. Because it’s October they may be Halloween themed <img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" alt="Winking smile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBLlSmg5LEd_f8I_MLcI_d6TkVCz9dU8H1pRqAahc2gGOprC2jiOv5li20polhdBSPHtC78XAZqEh-EAoC8ndb4wovaBSeZ6uxbHAew4radfKsV68Z-t0rnQK4isAfFh26Wj3pMd6SB2J/?imgmax=800"></p> <p>Also, we are going to have an online auction to help raise more funds for MHFRU 14. If you would like to contribute for now please contact us via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MHFanRoundUp">Facebook</a> otherwise stay tuned for when the auction is ready to go!</p> <p>As always suggestions are appreciated!</p> <p>Krys</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-62216830966196771702013-09-08T22:15:00.001-07:002013-09-08T22:15:55.949-07:00Congrats to us we are LIVE!<p>Hello,</p> <p>Welcome to the first official live site post! </p> <p>Well…first for our new and hopefully improved site. My name is Krys and I’m the Co-Chairman aka Sealed Evil in a Can aka site admin. We hope you find the new site to be more easily navigable (har har for all you special word lovers who make the water connection to that lame nautical joke…get it? Navigable – water – mermaid theme. Oh I’m so funny).</p> <p>In the coming days, weeks and months we will be updating and filling out the site more and more as information, events, meetings, and anything else relevant for everyone to know crops up.</p> <p>I’d like to thank <a href="http://tsaoshin.deviantart.com/">Eric Proctor</a> for use of his image “Part of Your No” as our background temporarily while we get Neoko all dressed up and ready for mermaidism. I’m sure she’s thrilled as she seems to really love to cosplay.</p> <p>Ciao for now and remember our next meeting is September 14th!</p> <p>Krys</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-30367843517254407702013-08-16T17:13:00.001-07:002013-08-16T17:14:49.439-07:00No one is still here…<p>I know no one is, as yet, using this site but I thought once it launches evidence that things happened would be nice.</p> <p>Next meeting is August 31st 6:30pm at the MHC College: Room TBA.</p> <p><u><font size="3">Topics of discussions:</font></u></p> <p>What we want to see – ideas from everyone<br>Fundraising ideas (personal note: team up with Monarch for a Halloween Haunted House/Helsing or some other Anime night showing?)<br>Otafest Aurora – Can we do a booth swap? (Artist Ally applications are already closed and we don’t have anything to offer as a vendor)<br>Food options (Tsuki 2013 and 2014 but who else?)<br>Product selling – thoughts?<br>Better money handling<br>Job positions delegated/explained<br>This website!?<br><br>In the future it would be a good idea to include our “hoped for” topics of discussion to entice new blood to come visit us. I’m personally running low on AB+ and…oh wait, not what was meant…</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-83142560147580383362013-08-13T17:45:00.002-07:002013-08-13T17:45:07.996-07:00Still experimenting...Greetings! I'm also experimenting on this page to see if I can add and edit posts on the blog :)Aquahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06682034201104482163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131569402219875207.post-15262487005189341992013-08-08T20:07:00.000-07:002013-08-08T20:07:22.650-07:00Trying Something NewHello,
As there is no one here yet this is a test. I am creating my own Medicine Hat Fan Round Up website and linking a blog that all the execs can post to into it.
I'm only playing right now and it is currently attached to my personal-never-used-domain <a href="http://www.tailoredphoenix.com/">Tailored Phoenix</a>
Keep watching :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045139960775384278noreply@blogger.com0