Hey, guess what! I love the U.K.

A little weird, right? For a Filipino chick to love the UK as much as I do. To paraphrase badly from Jane Austen, I can't tell you exactly when or where I fell in love with England -- I was in the middle before I knew I had even begun. But there it is. And I'm so so sad I didn't think about going for the Olympics. I'd've seen any obscure sport just to be there. My bad. 


But how much do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

TV/Movies

When I travel to foreign countries, I like to watch their TV shows. In Spain, we watched an "American Idol"-type show and, oddly, German soaps. In the Philippines, I watched Filipino game shows, and Hindi and Korean soaps. It's like a anthropological study of a culture's viewing habits. 

In many ways, I prefer British television over American. Fewer episodes mean more streamlined story arcs and less filler episodes. Their shows are edgier and well acted. My sister got me an all-region DVD player so I can buy and watch British DVDs. Besides obvious faves of "Doctor Who" and "Downton Abbey," I do love these shows (with links to some fun clips):

"Spooks" > "24"  (Credit: BBC)

• "Spooks" (American name: "MI-5"). A spy show that just ended this year after 10 seasons. So good! Great stories and actors. As intense as "24." Season 2 through 6, with Rupert Penry Jones,  above center, are particularly good. Matthew Macfadyen, in season 1 and one or two eps of Season 2, was awesome too. My boyfriend Richard Armitage was in Season 7-9. But as much as I love him, Spooks was fading fast by that point. It's on Netflix, so check it out.
• "Miranda." A new and yet old-school sitcom. Y'all, I'm not a sitcom person. I don't like "Modern Family" or "Community." Yes, I KNOW. Nor am I a fan of physical comedy. But Miranda Hart -- who plays a socially inept single woman who constantly gets into awkward situations (hello, overidentify much?) -- is so freakin' funny. Sadly this hasn't aired on American TV -- but it should (BBC America, I'm looking at you)!
• "Gavin & Stacey." Another great comedy, this one focuses on a couple (she's Welsh; he's from Essex) on a whirlwind romance that brings their two crazy families together. Smart and funny and heartfelt. Gold. 
• If you have not seen "Attack the Block," please do so now. About teenagers in a council housing block who end up battling aliens, this movie has heart and an edge. And if I adopt some of the language or syntax of a TV show or movie, then I really like it. Believe. <-- Movie reference!

Music

Rizzle Kicks = good start
to the day. (Credit: Amazon)

Lately I've been really into Brit hop.  Tinie Tempah might be my current favorite rapper, and I want him to make it big here; check out "Till I'm Gone," with Wiz Khalifa. The Rizzle Kicks have been likened to the Gorillaz but I like them even more; my fave is "Down With the Trumpets." And Dizzee Rascal is another rapper I love. You might have heard a little of each of these already: Tinie and Rizzle Kicks were sampled in the Opening Ceremonies medley, and Dizzee performed "Bonkers," with what might be one of my favorite rap-lyrics-turned-life-philosophy ever: "Some people think I'm bonkers, but I just think I'm free..."

Books

Anything set in Britain, I'm bound to read, no pun intended. Jacqueline Winspear has a great mystery series (Maisie Dobbs) set in the years between the great wars. And I'm a sucker for any Jane Austen sequel or retelling ("The Other Mr. Darcy" actually changed my view of Caroline Bingley). 

Food

My kingdom for a place in Washington that serves a good full English breakfast. Eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, sausage. YUM. I'd give two kingdoms for Wagamama to open that long-promised DC location. When you go to London, check out the chain pan-Asian place. So freakin' good, especially the chicken katsu curry -- what I always order when I go. And I'd give three kingdoms for a Hummingbird Bakery to open up here, too. Their "American" cupcakes make me shun all other cupcakes (seriously, I won't eat another cupcake for weeks after I go to Hummingbird, because I know they just won't match up.)

This weekend, my sisters and I are basically doing a New York is the New London kind of birthday weekend. We'll be going to the London Candy Co., which sells imported British food (what up, McVittie's biscuits -- I'm comin' for ya!) and then seeing James Corden in "One Man, Two Guvnors" on Broadway. He co-wrote and co-stars in "Gavin & Stacey," and, oh, also won a Tony for OMTG. Can't wait to see it again.

And in conclusion: Cupcakes.

Hummingbird cupcakes. Drool now. (Credit: me)

Comic-Con 2012: Mission accomplished, baby!

So, Comic-Con 2012 is over and done with, and all that's left is catching up on the panels/interviews I missed there and reading recaps of the ones I did see. I will say this: That previous post about my Plan A? Totally checked 'em all off my list, and then some. I couldn't ask for a better (last?) Con. I won't go through it day by day because that's boring, so here's a long list of superlatives:

A teary-eyed "Firefly" reunion: Nathan Fillion, Joss Whedon,
Summer Glau, Sean Maher. (Credit: Me)

Best panel: The "Firefly" 10th anniversary panel was worth getting in line at 5 a.m. In fact we should've gotten there earlier, because Joss Whedon came out to see fans and we missed it and I don't want to talk about it. I'm fine. I'm FINE. Anyway, the panel itself was fantastic: teary, funny, sweet. After all these years, the cast members still have chemistry. The SDCC folks seriously must've underestimated interest in this panel the line was unbelievably long -- and deservedly so. 


Most revelatory panel: Psych at Nerd HQ. (Click the link to watch the full panel.) I didn't realize it last year, but in an intimate setting this year, it seemed like Dule Hill was the funny one and James Roday was the straight man, when it's the other way around on the show. 


Most feel-good panel: Nathan Fillion at Nerd HQ. (Click the link to watch the full panel.) He brought up Adam Baldwin to join him, and the two were obviously enjoying themselves. Also seeing them kiss Zachary Levi for $1,000 donation to Operation Smile was pretty funny too. (Side note: Had my sister not been there, I might've coughed up the money to kiss Zac, too. Cooler heads prevailed.)

RUN!!! (Credit: Me)

Scariest moment: I hate heights, so at Petco Park during the Walking Dead Escape obstacle course, the rope net we had to climb down while watching for zombies below was not fun. Not. Fun. At. All. ...


Superhero moment: ... However, the rest of the obstacle course was pretty awesome. I can say that now that I'm not wheezing my way through it. Seriously hard, folks. Seriously. But I did surprise myself by vaulting -- vaulting! -- over a zombie's hands to escape contamination. Watching the video it's not all that superheroic, but it was in my head.

Rockin' the Fringe swag.
 (Credit: Joy)

Coolest swag: At the final "Fringe" panel (the show ends this season), they gave out pretty sweet gray fedoras like the ones the show's creepy Observers wear. Neato!


Coolest souvenir bought: Tie. A super cute limited-edition Comic-Con Domo T-shirt. Also an equally super cute limited-edition canvas Nerd messenger bag at Nerd HQ. 


Biggest regret: See first item about missing Joss Whedon. I'm FINE.

My boyfriend Richard Armitage. (Credit: Me)

My Beatles moment: Seeing Richard Armitage on stage for the Hobbit panel. Not only is he handsome (DUH), but I'm so happy he'll be getting more press in America in the coming months. Comic-Con is just the start, y'all. Get on board.


Cutest guy (besides Richard Armitage): Zachary Levi (see last item below). Runner-up: Henry Cavill is quite a looker, and I'm psyched to see "Man of Steel." 


Coolest panel: No one could top the rock-star entrance by Robert Downey Jr., who IS Tony Stark at this point. And the Marvel presentation in general -- in which they announced film titles and dates for "Thor: The Dark World," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- made me geek out completely.

Me and Colin Ferguson. (Credit: I honestly
can't remember if it was Joy or
Erika, I was so excited.)

Best random celeb moment: Seeing Colin Ferguson chillin' out, checking his phone outside Rock Bottom Brewery. So I calmly introduced myself and told him how much I love "Eureka" and will miss it. And then he graciously offered to take a photo with me. And I squeed quietly to myself inside. I did not chase him like the fangirls who ran after Misha Collins from "Supernatural" (FF to 3:03 to see the silliness).


Best food: If you're in San Diego, please partake of the breakfast items at Richard Walker's Pancake House. Also their coffee. Which is THE BEST EVER. I'm serious. THE BEST EVER.


Worst food: I am so over granola bars right now.


Best moderator: It's so funny, I follow so many entertainment journalists/personalities on Twitter that seeing them mod a panel is as exciting as seeing the cast. The best mod by far was Chris Hardwick (aka the Nerdist guy of podcast/geek fame). Funny, charming, knowledgeable about the subject matter, he's really engaging. Now if he could drop his sidekicks on his podcast, I'd love him even more.

Ladies and gentlemen, the King of the Con for the second year
in a row -- at least for me: Zachary Levi. (Credit: Me)

King of the Con: Drumrolllllllllllll. Zachary Levi! And his Nerd HQ. My raison d'etre for going to Comic-Con was Richard Armitage, and I did and it was amazing. But the biggest highlight was sitting in the front row for three Nerd HQ panels and having Zachary Levi right there in front too (and high-fiving me!!! And Scott Porter showing up! And Aisha Tyler!). I know actors are good at acting nice, but I want to believe that Zac is as genuinely down-to-earth and sweet as he seems. And I can't not love a guy who says he loves my color-coded Comic-Con schedule! 

Said color-coded schedule and "Tangled"
DVD -- both signed! Squee! (Credit: Me)

Okay, that's it for Comic-Con 2012. Now I've got to back into the swing of real life. On the bright side: Hopefully less geeky posts in the future. 

The Comic-Con game plan

Okay, like I said a few weeks ago, and if you couldn't tell from incessant tweets and Facebook updates, the San Diego Comic-Con is coming up this week. One more day of work, and then I'm free to be geek it up for a week.

This year, as per usual with Comic-Con, we had some some tough decisions to make: There are too many great panels at the same time -- an embarrassment of geeky riches. So every year, my MO is to create a multi-day spreadsheet with Plans A through D, each in their own color-coded column, so we'll have plenty of alternatives in case we don't get into a panel we want. But if all goes well (knock on wood; pray to Comic-Con gods), here's Plan A:

Wednesday

The madness before the capital-M Madness ...

First day at dawn last year. There are people
in line under those tents. (Credit: Me)

• Pick up badges.
• Hit the floor for preview night, when the convention floor opens early for preview-night badge-holders. I'm apprehensive -- supposedly it's a zoo, but you can get good swag. And I'm shameless about swag.... I swung by the Hunger Games booth last year twice within minutes to grab two coveted Mockingjay pins last year.
• Possibly seeing pilots for a few new shows coming out if we get bored of the floor.

Thursday

Rogue agents don't have time for smiles. (Credit: Amazon)

Our least-busy day so far, but some good stuff lined up. 

• First stop of the day: Nerd HQ. Yay! For a "Psych" panel. If you have seen that USA show, you should. Funny mystery show about a guy who pretends to be psychic detective but really he's just hyper-observant.
• A mix of "would be nice to see if possible" panels: Disney, Twilight (hell, why not? It's the first one and the room might not be that full; it wasn't last year), Jackie Chan, etc.
• "Nikita." I saw Maggie Q and Shane West at a panel at the New York Comic-Con in October, but I didn't watch the show then. Now I do, so it'd be fun to see them again (like we're friends or something)...
• The Walking Dead Escape zombie obstacle course. See first post....

Friday

Here's when things get real:

Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite and Alan Tudyk.
The "Firefly" cast (except Staite and maybe one or two others)
will reunite this year, too! (Credit: me)

Thus begins the marathon sitting sessions -- if we get into the rooms at all. For reals, we're getting there at the crack of dawn. The main goal Friday is Firefly anniversary panel and Nathan Fillion Nerd HQ panel. But we have to sit through several sessions as they don't clear the rooms between panels. So:

• "Community" - I'm one of maybe three people who don't watch this show.
• "Legend of Korra" - This will probably be another show where I see the panel first and then watch it later. I'm watching its predecessor "Avatar: The Last Airbender" now and I like it.
• "Firefly" -- One of my favorite shows ever. Space meets the Old West. With crime!
• "Bones" -- This will just be a Joss Whedon day. First "Firefly," then David Boreanaz....
• Nathan Fillion at Nerd HQ: Now we're making a Gigantor-size sacrifice giving up a Joss Whedon panel to see Nathan, but it'll be worth it, I think. 
• Nerdist live podcast with John Barrowman from "Torchwood." The podcast is really fun, especially when they have celebrity guests. "Torchwood," a spin-off of "Doctor Who" was great (Starz run not included), and Barrowman is wildly unpredictable, so who knows what could happen.... 

Saturday 

Also known as Richard! Armitage! Day  

Richard Armitage: The dwarf on the left is the guy on
 the right. Yeah. I know. Crazy.  (Credit: WETA, "Strike Back")

Presentations on:

• "Django Unchained" --  Quentin Tarantino's new movie. Meh. (Sorry, not a huge fan.)
• "End of Watch," "Silent Hill" -- I know nothing about these movies except they star Jake Gyllenhaal and Kit Harington (my "Game of Thrones" boyfriend), respectively, and they will be there, so I get my "Game of Thrones" fix after all since we're missing the panel.
• "Pacific Rim" -- Guillermo del Toro's movie. Del Toro is a candid, personable panelist, so this'll be cool.
• "Man of Steel" -- new Superman reboot. I hope Henry Cavill is there. Swoon!
• "The Hobbit" -- The aforementioned  Richard! Armitage! I hated this book in sixth grade and I couldn't finish it a few months ago when I picked it up again. But the things you do for love....
• "Iron Man 3" -- Hopefully Robert Downey Jr. shows up, even though they're still filming in Wilmington, N.C.

Sunday

Another big TV day.

Joshua Jackson, left, and John Noble
at last year's "Fringe" panel. (Credit: Me)

• "Fringe" -- the final season, so this'll be a fun panel.
• "Supernatural"
• "Sons of Anarchy"
• "Doctor Who"
• Zachary Levi panel and signing at Nerd HQ. HUZZAH! I get to see my nerd boyfriend. One of the things I love about him is: He organized Nerd HQ last year for charity with his company, The Nerd Machine (this apparel line; though they do other things). I thought, "Oh, he's busy; he'll just lend his name to it and never be there." Wrong. He introduced the stars -- and then stuck around for their panel. He was always there. Good for him! Hoping he'll do the same this year. And I get to get something signed too! I'm thinking my "Tangled" DVD, because then he'll see it and obviously think: "Oh, this girl brought something other than 'Chuck' to sign and she's cute and clearly she's my soulmate." Kidding. Not really.

So that's it. Those are hopefully the shows/films I'll be tweeting/Facebooking about all this week. So apologies in advance for the squee tweets (squeets?) and Facebook updates! And if you see any photos from Comic-Con online, just look for me. I'll be the one in the geeky T-shirt. Hee!

A crafty, crafty girl

(Credit: Someecards)

I never took any Home Ec classes in school. It just wasn't my thing. I didn't want to learn to sew, to bake a cake, to properly wrap gifts.

But I probably should've taken at least one class. I am terrible at wrapping gifts. I suck at cooking -- unless it's from a box, and even then it's 50-50. And my method of sewing on a button was, well, just put the thread through the holes any which way a few times and pray the button stays on.

A few years ago, I took up knitting. It's a nice thing to do while watching TV -- at the very least it stops you from reaching for the potato chips. But it's also relaxing, very Zen: the repeated motions, the constant click of needles. And at the end of the night, you've made progress on something other than burning through shows on the DVR. Plus, start early enough and you've got presents for everyone! See the ecard above for thoughts on that.

Knit baby blanket
and matching robot for
my best friend's son. (Credit: Me)

And don't think I make doilies or the like; I don't knit  "Look what my Grandma made me" things. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just like more modern designs. 


My thing has been baby blankets: I make a different one whenever a friend has a kid (and these days, there's one every year); it's never the same blanket. But, funny story: I took a class this winter in which the teacher informed me I was doing the knit stitch wrong. Oopsie! So, to everyone has gotten something knit from me in the last few years: Sorry, it could've been better!

It's Ten! Doctor Who
crochet doll for my sister.
 (Credit: Me)

After knitting, I tried crochet, which I'm not very nimble at, but it goes a lot faster than knitting if you don't factor in the time I spend confused about something.  And you only need one needle! It also seems better for more structured gifts: rounded mug cozies, for example, or a David Tennant/Doctor Who amigurumi doll. But it's not my forte.




Then last year I took up sewing after my sisters and brother-in-law got me a sewing machine. There's a great studio that offers classes here in D.C. -- the owner must be like: "What is up with this chick? She's here like every month!" But I've really learned a lot, though I'm not nearly as confident at it as I am with knitting, or heck, even crochet. 

Look! My first dress!
(Credit: Me)

There are good days, like yesterday, when I finished my first dress from a pattern! It was a six-week class, working through each step for two hours a week. And lemme tell you, friends, it was hard work. I'm not good at cutting fabric or, you know, figuring out the math. But with much help from the teacher, it turned out super cute, if I do say so myself. 


Then there are bad days. These come more often than the good days. The other week, when I went all lone wolf and made a Nook case without a pattern from an old Comic-Con bag I had. There were tears (of frustration), a little bit of blood (so that's what thimbles are for!), and lotsa sweat (figuratively, at least). The result is precariously functional and not at all pretty. So I'm going to try again after I get this year's bag.

Upcycled Comic-Con bag Nook case.

A for effort; C for execution.

(Credit: Me)

The next sewing class I'm taking is Intro to Quilting because I really want to make a T-shirt quilt. Upcycling clothes and bags seems so cool if done right. This way, I can take all the old geeky shirts I own and make something cute. And then I can buy new shirts to wear. Heh.
.
I keep meaning to come up with a cute label for the things I make, but I can't think of a fun name. If you think of one, let me know. Sometimes I think, "Hey, you know what? I could open an Etsy shop!" But: (a) I often get patterns from other crafters online, and it is not cool to make money off others' ideas; (b) I'm not good enough to come up with patterns on my own; and (c) if I opened a shop, then I'd actually have to make whatever I sell, and then it just becomes work. Where's the fun in that?


There's something great about making a skirt or a dress or bag. You feel all accomplished at the end of it, even if it didn't turn out like you wanted it to. And you learn from your mistakes. One of the best things about being a crafter, which I never thought I'd be: I've made lotsa friends my age who do all these things too! So yay for that! 


What will be my next craft? Scrapbooking? Nah, I made a book for my superduperawesome train trip through Great Britain a few years ago, but other than buying some pretty paper, I just can't get into it. And there are cooking classes I wouldn't mind taking. After all, my knife skills are spectacularly lacking. Or jewelry? I can imagine spilling beads all over my floor.


Or, hmmmm, I wonder if there are gift wrapping classes.... 


Eek. This all reminds me: I need to start thinking about Christmas gifts. *runs off to find some inspiration*