Party Wednesday: Mass Effect’s Afterlife.

            Mass Effect is one of my favorite games of all time, so why not kick off the first of many party themes with something I love.  So for reference I used this picture to set up the whole theme, it’s from the Bioware concept art:

As you can see it if from the main level where you first enter Afterlife.  There are several key elements to the club, the first being the large circular bar( in this photo it show the middle tube being up lit orange but in game its purple).  Second the lighting is an orangey red hue, third it is more of a lounge feel with a pocket for dancing. 

            Here is my floor plan for a square or rectangular room:             

           

            Depending on size you may want to shrink the size of the dance floor.

            Let’s focuses on the décor elements first starting with the lighting.  For lights you will need several orange and red bulbs ( or if you have the Hue lighting system just take the photo above and play around with the colors to fot best for your space). 

            The bar you will need a large circular table(or use a square table then place a circular board on top), then place a  white sheer sheet over your table and be sure to tuck in any loose sheet so your guests wont trip.  Once the sheet is snugly fit over your table top, run a light rope (depending on what color you want to make your bar eith orange or purple) under the lip of your table to crate a lighting effect.  Once the main part of the bar is done it is time to add the center pillar to your bar.  For this effect I recommend using a circular canopy similar to this one I found on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Octorose-White-Canopy-Mosquito-Queen/dp/B004RUJ98I/ref=sr_1_10?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1359495135&sr=1-10&keywords=canopy

Or if you are handy you can make this your self using a hoop, sheer cloth, and some wire.

You will want to make sure that the canopy is not the same size as the table, about ½  the size.  Once it is hanging centered, tuck in or cut any excess fabric so it just touches the table and add lighting inside that matches the same color at the underside of the table.  Once Done just add the drinks around the table and enjoy!

            Now that the bar is completed everything ting else is relatively simple. It is just the matter of rearranging and removing furniture to create that lounge feel.  A little detail that would put the decoration over the top is to add a wall decal that says after life.  You can custom make them online but I highly recommend spoonflower:  http://www.spoonflower.com/designs/new?create=walldecal

            Your guests will want some kind of snacks so I made a sample menu to fit on with after life:

                        Beef tartar,

                        Small two bite bowls of spicy ramen or noodle soup

                        Deviled eggs

                        Spicy or Cajun crab dip

            Drinks.  Everyone loves a good cocktail; here are some that I found to fit the Afterlife mood:

Afterlife (aka Candy fireball):

 http://www.drinknation.com/drink/candy-fireball

Forvon’s Revenge (aka Blue Margareta): http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/BlueMargarita.htm

Sheppard’s Run (DonQ Bloody Rum Punch): http://cocktails.about.com/od/rumrecipes/r/Donq-Bloody-Rum-Punch.htm

Don’t touch the stripers (aka French Hooker):  http://www.goodcocktails.com/recipes/mixed_drink.php?drinkID=1711

Aria T'loak (aka:Purple People): http://www.lifelovebeauty.com/life/social-life/922-halloween-cocktails-creepy-drinks-and-spooky-alcoholic-beverages.html

That completes the setup, now all you have to do is relax and enjoy your rule over Omega.  If you create your own omega or Afterlife please send pictures and captions and I will share it on the blog.

See you on the other side

Great Week for Bursting Bubbles

            Fever/Cold gone, feeling energized and great thing happing this week, well that is until a couple of unexpected events took place to bust my happy bubble.  Let’s go in craniological order of events.  Had a wonderful time Monday with my mom and man, went out to lunch at a place called Fish Cake Factory in Belltown.  Wonderful Vietnamese food and very true to the spice star level, I had garlic chicken that was 2 stars and after a couple of bites I felt the heat from the spices opening up my nasal passage quiet nicely.  The following day was so clear my man and I walked around the stadiums and went up to Uwajimaya and walked around.  A great day all around just to relax and take in the neighborhood sights.

            Come Wednesday afternoon, however, I received a call from the director of the web show that I’m doing post sound work on.  It turns out the guy they hired (I’m using hired here loosely since everyone working on this is not getting paid) to do the onset recording said he would only do it if he got to do the post sound edit himself.  Uhh excuse me there boy, she told you they already had a sound editor and mixer and just needed an on set guy.  But no, you had to be an ass hole and give her an ultimatum when she is in a time crunch.  Needless to say she accepted his offer and called me after the shooting weekend to tell me that they would not need my services as an editor but would still like me to do the final mix.

            I reluctantly agreed to this only because

                        A) I need to make more connections with film people closer to me

                        B) Need to stop pissing off film people in my location

                        C) Could always use the practice for mixing

            So Thursday rolls around and two things happened that irked me.  The first being an email thread sent out by the director to all the post production team; the second being a flaky ass friend.  Lets star and the beginning of the day.  This thread email that came out was the icing of the cake for my loathing of that little wannabe sound boy (I saw his freaking demo reel and credits and all I could do was shake my head).  In this thread he stated that he was the on set mixer, fine, and he was doing the sound edit, gritting teeth, then he stated that he maybe doing the mix as well.  Fuck you, you little shit.  Me being the more experienced person working on post work, I promptly burst in the thread with full authority, stating I was the sound mixer (putting that little puke in his place) and what I needed out of him and how I like my setup for doing the mix.  So far he seems on board but I will be keeping a close eye on him and if he makes the slightest mistake he will wish that he was never born!

            Oh and for the second part of that bad day please refer to my last Friday’s rant on how my friend is a jerk. 

            To make up for that awful day, I took my man out for some cocktails and eats at our nearby cocktail bar, Henry and Oscars.  I just needed to get drunk. 

            The rest of the weekend was good, went out Saturday night with some friends from my man’s work to Slim’s Last Chance Chili Shack.  It was so good; I’m going to add the web sites to all the places that I mentioned down below so you can check out there food.  Overall a good weekend, that is until my mother called to remind me that I have to file taxes this year and thanks to one of my CD’s I am going to have to owe a significantly a large lump sum to good old’ uncle Sam, that dick.

            Well at least I'm healthy again.  So for this weeks Party Wednesday, I am final going to do a whole theme party and off the bat we are going to do one of my favorite games: Mass Effect.  Thanks for reading and here are the links to the restaurants that I mentioned:

http://www.fishcakefactory.com/

http://henryandoscars.com/#13593282716171&true

http://slimslastchance.com/

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: Courtesy

Generally I am an easy going person.  It takes a lot to push me over the edge before I jump down your throat, but when you appear to go above and beyond the point of being polite to your own friend that is when I get angry.  I don’t mean not opening doors or letting your friend have the last bite, its when they say something and don’t follow threw with it.

            This week I have a prime example of dropping the ball.  My friend, lets call her Mary, so Mary called me up earlier this week asking to crash on the couch for a night.  Her dad is in the hospital and I’m near by so of course I said yes and when she would be crashing.  She said Thursday night, and I asked what time she would be over.  Mary said that she did not know what time exactly but will call me up and give me a time and ask for directions to my new place later in the week. 

            Thursday came and went.  I texted her this morning and she said it slipped her mind to call me when plans have changed.  Now you must be thinking “Shad Girl, you are an anal bitch for getting upset with Mary since her dad is in the hospital.”  My response to you dear reader is have you every had anyone over to your house to spend the night?  It takes time to clean, organize, and accommodate your guest’s space. Also I hate flaky people, and I understand that you may have a lot on your plate and you are not really focused but damn you called me.   Plus  it’s not like I am the only one living here, my man is here as well and if we are busy… well you can see where that is going.

            What got me this was one to many times I call a friend up and asked if they want to hang out sometime that week.  I usually ask them what day and time and poof enter flakiness.  They never call back and when confronted they say it slipped their mind.  Now I don’t mind planning event and get-togethers with friend but when you are doing it all the time that blows.  Friendship is a two lane road; if I am the only one putting effort into it then maybe this friend is not for me.

            So remember a little courtesy goes along way even in friendship.

See you on the other side

Party Wednesday: Party Guest and Flow.

            This week is about flow of the room and party guests.  First up room flow.

The key to proper mingling of your guest is to have fewer chairs than the number of guests.  For example if you have 10 people then you should have no more than 6 places to sit.  Please note that this does not apply for sit down dinner or table top game night.

             Aside from restricting chairs you need to place the food and drinks away from one another.  By doing this, people are forced to get up and move about (side note if someone want to end a conversation with another they have an escape route).  Again this doesn’t apply for sit down dinners.

            As for guest list have equal number of male female ratio or couples to singles ratio.  So if you have a party with where it’s all couples and one single person, that one person is going to be miserable.  So make sure you have at least another single person of the opposite gender (or same gender if they are gay). 

            Easy simple little things to help enhance your party.  Keeping it short this week, I am going to start implicating all of what I have discussed and crate actual themes.  Haven’t decided what to do yet but It will be grand!

Sickly Beast and new dos

           So If you follow me on twitter, you would know that I have fallen ill the the flu plague that has been going around. It all started with my dad coming back up from Peru and wanting me to be with him and my mom, since he wasn’t home for christmas. I agreed to go over to there place only to find out that he caught the flu. Gee love you to dad. Of course him being the nice guy that he is decided to share his sickness with me and my mom. So that is how I caught the flu. Lucky for me my mom got her flu shot earlier this year and me being the nice person that I am; stayed at my moms house til I wasn’t contagious . My man appreciated this greatly.

         So for the past week I have been bed ridden so nothing exciting has happened. It has only been the past couple of days that I have left my mom's house. So last night I have decided on a change. I was going to cut off my hair. I have had my long hair for the past 6 to 7 years so it was high time to cop off all the dead and damaged hair and start anew, well mostly anew.
                

         I copped off 6inches and Bam, new hair cut. It should grow out by the time PAX Prime rolls around so that will be good for my cosplay but in the mean time I can have my hair grow longer and healthier than before.

       My man has not seen my new hair cut yet, I will reveal it later to him on Monday. This weeks segments will resume normally with Party Wednesday and my Fridays rants.

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: Neighbors

             I don’t necessarily hate my neighbors but they annoy the shit out of me.  Generally I get along fine with my neighbors, I wave hello and smile.  That’s it.  I know some people make friends with their neighbors and have parties with them but the majority of neighbors that I have been around have been way out of my age group, have young children, or just never had anything in common with them. Lets discus a few of my struggles.         

            My first couple of apartments the neighbors all had young children and I was late teens early twenties and childless.  So having a kid screaming at 8pm on a week night pissed me off and I don’t really want to talk to you when you have to go yell at your kid every 30 seconds. 

            The last apartment was full of elderly people, foreigners, and a few college students.  I was very cordial to everyone but in the laundry room when you take up all the washers I get pissed off.  And don’t think that my front door is closed that I still can’t hear you talking loudly in front of it with another neighbor chatting about how you think my boyfriend is a dick.  Yeah that’s right you old shit I heard you, you were a dick and a noise neighbor, that’s why we never talked to you.

            Where I currently reside everyone ignores everyone.  Perfect for me, but you could be nice and shut the front gate and not leave and open invitation to thieves that are scoping out our apartment.  Or slamming your front door to cause my whole apartment to shake * cough* upstairs neighbor *cough*. 

            What I am trying to say is just be courteous and don’t think some one is a dick just because they won’t talk with you for hours at a time.  I have a life and places to go, so don’t stop me!

See you on the other side

Party Wednesday: Things you should buy part 2.

This week’s segment we are going to be discussing a key ingredient for adult parties, the bar.  I want to go over what essential liquor and tools that you will need for a well stock bar for your parties.  Some of the items you may not need for every single party but are still good to have around just in case some one isn’t a fan of that night drink of choice.

            Essential hard liquors to always have in stock:

                                    Vodka (a good brand that doesn’t burn and non flavored)

                                    Tequila (doesn’t burn when you drink it strait)

                                    Rum     (I go darker and some spice)

                                    Whisky (any kind that you don’t mind to sip)                

                                    Gin (for mixing)

                                   

            Beer and wine:

                        Stock about 2-3 six pack of beer.  Have one be light and the other dark.          

                        (You can ask guest to bring their beer of choose to put less financial burden on you)

                        Have one red and one white on hand.  We will go more into wine choices                                  when wine is required or main part of the drinking that night.

           

            Mixes:

                        Orange juice

                        Lemon and lime juice

                        Club soda        

                        Cranberry juice

                        Half and Half or light whipping cream

                        Triple sec

Non alcoholic drinks:

                        Ginger ale

                        Coke

                        Lemon lime soda

                        Root beer

For drinking wears you should have (sized of friend count may call for more or less)

                        8- Pint glasses

                        8- water glasses

                        8- tumbles (or rock glasses)

                        8-Wine glasses

                        8-Shoot glasses

                        8-Mugs

                        6-Martini glasses

                       

Essential tools

                        Cocktail shaker

                        Metal Strainer

                        A glass that is exactly 1 oz.

                        Blender

                        Cork screw

                        Bottle opener

That just about covers your basic needs of an at home bar service for you and your guest.  Oh and one more thing: LOTS OF ICE!  Before I go here is a link of a cool DIY vodka infusion 101 guide: http://practicallyfunctional.net/2012/06/diy-flavor-your-own-vodka/

See you on the other side.

                       

A Bright Future A Head

             Not a whole lot has happened to me this week.  Had a bunch of my friends come down with the plague aka the flu.  So I just trying not to get sick and avoid people this coming week.  My man has had an on going cold that started back when we first moved and is continually following him around for nearly 2 months now.  I’m kind of over taking care of him at this point but it is my sown duty to carry his burdens (10 points if you get the reference).

           

            But some good has come out of this week, namely being contacted about a job to do some post sound work on a web series start up.  It is with Silly Boys Films and it is no pay, but I really do need to be building up more contacts.  The webisode is only going to be 5 minuets max and if they get actual funding they can do more and that means pay.  Right now I am focusing on doing a banging job on this for them so I can possibly be there go to sound designer.  Fingers crossed.

           

            This coming week my dad will be in town to I will be in and out of the city.  I have already made a Wednesdays and Fridays blogs so all I have to do is upload them. 

See you on the other side

Bitchin’ Fridays: Bicyclist

               Even before moving to the big city I didn’t care for bicyclists; and I’m not talking about the motorized kind.  Prior to moving I just found them irritating and nonchalant about there surroundings.  Once I moved into the city they have become the vain of my existence!

           

             They are overly rude, totally boorish to pedestrians and drivers, and they entitlement issues.  I’m not saying that all cyclists are this way but more than a few have cut me off on the side walk or nearly hit me as I walked by.  There are many signs that say “Share the Road” but the morons feel as thought this does not apply to them.  Well let me refresh your memory on the rules of the road.  (I will but links down below of my recourses)

           

            A vehicle by definition is any means in or by someone travels or something is carried or conveyed.  This can mean a scooter, horse, or bicycle is considered a vehicle and must adhere to the same laws as a car in the city of Seattle.  A bike can still use the side walk but pedestrians have the right of way.  Lastly bikers should be aware of car doors opening.  This also falls under the category of being aware of your surrounding you pricks.

            There are still many rules for bicycles to follow but you can read up on that in the links down below.  Another thing that bugs me about these bicyclists is out in the country when you have to take a leak, don’t do it on someone’s private property.  They will catch you, find out where you live, and take a shit in your vegetable garden. I am not speaking from experience but I knew some one who did that.

            Ahh that feels good to get off my chest.  I will post aging on Monday, have a goo weekend one and all.  And remember that pedestrians are god and if you piss us off I will not refrain myself from grabbing you off your bike and beating the shit out of you. 

            See you on the other side

             Links:

http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=Bicycle&S3=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CODE1&d=CODE&p=3&u=%2F%7Epublic%2Fcode1.htm&r=47&Sect6=HITOFF&f=G

http://blog.seattlepi.com/insidebelltown/2010/02/16/bicycle-laws-in-seattle/

Party Wednesday: Things you should buy part one.

            Hi everyone, I’m starting a segment on Wednesdays called Party Wednesday (just incase you didn’t read the title).  This will focus on party themes for adults that are nerd/gaming based.  For example a Mass Effect party set in Afterlife night club or Walking Dead where a majority of the party goers are zombies and a few are survivors. 

Every party will have a specific food, drink, attire, décor, music, and lighting system. 

            To start off I am going to recommend/ review a lighting system that can be used for every party (and everyday life) and you won’t have to change a bulb.

            This amazing system is called Philips Hue. It is wireless lighting systems where you can create you own personal ambiance threw light.  I have been using this in my apartment for the past two and half weeks, it is wonderful. 

            I can setup when the lights come on and off in the morning, before I get home from work or even change threw out the day.  It’s an LED bulb that is energy efficient but the best part is that IT CAN CHANGE INTO ANY COLOR!

            Ok let me be real it can’t change into every single color in the world (if you choose black the light will turn off and browns aren’t picked up that well).  That said it is still amazing.  Another feature I love is that brightness setting.  Gone are the days where you had to go to Home Depot, buy a dimmer switch and risk electrocution because you were to cheep to hire an electrician to do it for you.

              Now you must be asking your self “how do I do all this?  Is there a remote for this?”  Well it’s easy my friend, all you need is the Hue lighting kit and a smart phone, tablet, or computer.

            First let’s see what you get in the box.   You get 3 bulbs, the wireless bridge (which you can add up to 50 bulbs on one bridge) and cables for the bridge to your router.  I won’t go into the details on setup but it is pretty easy and getting the app for your phone or tablet is free. The bulbs will fit into the average socket and once set up this is where it gets fun.

             I like that they have preset lighting features for concentration or the warm glow of Tuscany. But what I love is you can grab your own photo from your library and create your own lighting scheme.  I will demonstrate this once I have a proper camera. Also I will show you the picture I use and which colors I pick for each party idea.  I do find it disappointing that you can not dim bulbs individually, but maybe a third party app will let you do that down the road. 

            So now here is the down side.  This all costs $199.98 before tax and each light bulb that you buy is around 60 bucks.  Before you have a heart attack just remember this is a wireless system for your home and Philips claims that the bulbs will last 15 years.  Another down side is that you can only buy the system and extra bulbs online or at the apple store.

            That said you can always limit where you want to put the lights (like only having them on one level of a house or room).  But if you live in a one bed room apartment or loft, the 3 bulbs that come in the starter pack will light your place just fine. 

            If you want more information check out the Philips Hue web site:

            http://www.meethue.com/en-US

           

            See you Friday for a rant on some topic.

See you on the other side.