Tweets for the Day

Tweets for the Day

• 10:43 Last bit of Watchmen transmedia - 6minutestomidnight.com/ #
• 11:55 Owl Transformer -- More than meets the beak! tinyurl.com/6d4gqv #
• 11:59 New HD video of NIN in concert shot on stage by @rob_sheridan! www.vimeo.com/ninofficial #
• 12:09 Congrats to @Templesmith -- WELCOME TO HOXFORD MOVIE!? tinyurl.com/6supx9 #
• 12:16 Stormtroopers, steampunkers, pirates, droids and more at WonderCon 2009! flickr.com/photos/bonniegrrl/sets/72157614730366552/ #
• 13:14 Who cares the Time Machine, where's my Should Have Been Machine? #
• 13:27 "The peasants are revolting!" "They've ALWAYS been revolting." www.hulu.com/watch/38408/dragonheart #
• 13:44 WonderCon 2009: Best (Non-Star Wars) Costumes - tinyurl.com/a9v7x9 #
• 14:57 WonderCon 2009: Celebrities - tinyurl.com/cxf5ek (RT @starwars) #
• 15:49 WonderCon 2009: R2-D2 Builders Profile - tinyurl.com/at4vg8 (via @starwars) #
• 16:45 RT @Templesmith: "Yes, I will be wearing a suit while I shoot the machine guns & I will be taking photos." #
• 16:49 I left my heart in San Francisco -- after 100 years under the new Chinese regime: tinyurl.com/cxttdf #
• 16:50 Daft Punk Gives Tron 2.0 More Robot Cred! tinyurl.com/cbsaqb (via @io9) #
• 17:24 "Poison Free" High School Marge tattoo? tinyurl.com/dadrq9 #
• 17:33 "Pandas are known to have X-ray vision and black hearts!" tinyurl.com/25ew4a #
• 18:09 "He'll give you Cancer and turn into a car!" tinyurl.com/bhsrql #
• 18:14 "I'm a wizzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrd yyyeeeaaahhh!" tinyurl.com/cmrbl5 #
• 18:38 "Not in the R's? That's not what your mother said." tinyurl.com/b3ssj9 #
• 19:02 Dalek Dredged Up from the Bottom of a Marsh - tinyurl.com/b9vr8c #
• 19:18 The Zombiest Place on Earth! tinyurl.com/dkmnnt #
• 22:25 While watching "Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues" I keep wondering why the legend really needed to continue. #
• 23:19 Emergency (MC) Hammer - tinyurl.com/dfbzw9 (via @boingboing) #
• 23:46 Sending your video camera around the sushi conveyor - tinyurl.com/ck3jeu #
• 23:48 Enjoy some Watchmen inspired cocktails - including a 'Full Frontal Manhattan' tinyurl.com/avgbs2 (RT @GreatWhiteSnark and @jamessime) #
• 23:51 NIN: The Fragile - live at Adelaide 2.28.09 [HD] - shot by @rob_sheridan: vimeo.com/3496673 #
• 00:19 Grass Pollen Totally Looks Like The Death Star - tinyurl.com/bcuao5 (RT @clubjade) #
• 00:27 RT @apelad: "Who washes the washmen?" #

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WonderCon 2009: Best Star Wars Costumes

WonderCon 2009: Best Star Wars Costumes
Words/Photos: Bonnie Burton

Even though San Francisco's WonderCon is much smaller than the epic San Diego Comic-Con International, you literally can't walk past a booth without bumping into a costumed fan.

Each year WonderCon gets a little bit bigger which means more and more fans dressed as superheroes, video game characters, horror film icons, steampunkers, vampires, dragons, pirates, manga and anime favorites, and of course, Star Wars characters.

As usual members of the 501st and Rebel Legion were out in full Force. Here's a recap of some of the best Star Wars costumes we spotted at WonderCon 2009.


What a Trooper!
It just isn't a convention without spotting 501st Legion members dressed as clone troopers and stormtroopers. The 501st always impress with their custom-made body armor, but it's their patience with hundreds of people who want their photos taken with them every five steps that make them real troopers. If you want to learn more about the 501st Legion, check out: Inside the Fighting 501st.


Rebel, Rebel!
Next up, the Rebel Legion. These fans dress as Jedi, Rebel Pilots, Princess Leias and more. At this year's WonderCon they could be seen hanging out with the 501st or I suppose infiltrating the Empire depending on how you look at it. If you'd like to find out more about them, visit the Official Rebel Legion site here.


Darth Vader
While The Clone Wars may be taking fandom my storm, Darth Vader still dominates all the photo ops at WonderCon. He's not called a Sith Lord for nothing.

( Read more... )

WonderCon 2009: Best Costumes

WonderCon 2009: Best Costumes
Words/Photos: Bonnie Burton

Half the fun of going to WonderCon every year in San Francisco is seeing all the costumed fans who dress up as superheroes, pirates, steampunkers, movie and video game characters and even Muppets!

We've already profiled our favorite Star Wars costumes this year, but here's a list of some of the other costumes we couldn't get enough of.


Superheroes:
It's just not a comic book conventions without fans dressing like characters in actual comic books. Little kids and growups alike don masks and capes to wander through the convention floor looking for crime and photos ops. As an added bonus, Batman actor Adam West attended WonderCon this year and got to see all variations of the masked man he made so famous.


Watchmen:
Just in time for the March release of the Watchmen movie, fans dressed up as their favorite characters like Rorschach, Silk Spectre and Sally Jupiter. No Doctor Manhattans were spotted, but then again it takes dedication to show up to WonderCon blue and naked.


Yip Yip Martians:
If you grew up watching Sesame Street, you'll recognize the interplanetary visitors called the Yip-Yips -- nicknamed for their yip yip language. They seemed right at home yipping around WonderCon.

( Read more... )

WonderCon 2009: Celebrities

(Matthew Wood and his inner Grievous)

WonderCon 2009: Celebrities
Words/Photos: Bonnie Burton

You don't have to head to Los Angeles or New York to see your favorite comic book, movie and TV celebs. Thanks to conventions like WonderCon, they come to you. In fact, they sit at a table and wait for you to come by with things to sign. Sometimes they'll even pose for photos or make small talk with you about their Twitter.

Here's a selection of some of the famous folks you might have spotted at this year's WonderCon.



Carrie Fisher:
(photo by Dennis VonGalle)
Princess Leia herself met fans and signed posters, prints, photos and more. In the photo above, Fisher signs a Nagel-inspired print called "The Princess" presented by the artist himself Craig Drake.



Mark Hamill:
Luke Skywalker (or the voice of the Joker, depending on your fandom) signed everything from Star Wars posters to rare Corvette Summer memorabilia. Mark Hamill didn't sing any verses of "Luke, Be a Jedi Tonight" but this rare appearance at WonderCon did make fans giddy with the Force.



Dave Filoni:
As the Supervising Director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show, fans follow around Dave Filoni around like the Jedi Pied Piper. Filoni was one of the coolest interviews at the Star Wars presentation on Saturday as he talked about Cad Bane and the bounty hunters who will be invading the series soon. Another highlight for us included watching the 501st Legion induct Filoni as an Honorary Member at their annual WonderCon dinner. He was presented with the coveted badge, as well as one-of-a-kind art from Cynthia Cummens. Here he is posing with Ahsoka's lightsaber that he signed for a special fan.

( Read more... )

WonderCon 2009: R2-D2 Builders

WonderCon 2009: R2-D2 Builders
Words/Photos: Bonnie Burton

R2-D2 goes where the action is, so it shouldn't be surprised that he and his droid pals invaded this year's WonderCon as usual. Fans ran up and hugged, kissed, patted and posed with everyone's favorite astromech droid. Those lucky attendees who wanted the ins and outs of droid building got a special treat with the "R2-D2 Droid Building Basics" panel on Saturday.

R2-D2 builders Chris James, Ryan Goff, Steve Simmons, and David Calkins shared their experiences and demonstrated working droids. They chatted about materials, tools needed, basic electronics, and radio control information to make your own Artoo beep, move and save the day.

Special guest Don Bies, former ILM model maker and Star Wars Episodes II and III droid wrangler also showed up to encourage fans to channel their inner Anakin (the good one, not the baddie).

Starwars.com chatted with R2-D2 builder Chris James about what it feels like to be daddy to his own R2-D2.



Can you describe what the R2-D2 Builders group is all about?

We're a loosely organized international group of fans who love to build droids and share them with the world. Founded in 1999, the club has continually striven to develop resources to allow others to accurately reproduce their own astromech droids. We know have almost 8,000 members, but I would say there's closer to 500 active builders at any one time. We make all sort of astromechs, not just R2-D2, but that's were our roots are. Some of you may have also seen R2-KT (R2KT.com); she was build by members of the club.

What tips did you give would-be builders at your WonderCon panel?

It's hard to cover much in an hour, but we try and give an overview of what can be done, demo our droids, and cover the tools, different materials and skills needed to get started.

The four top tips are always -- planning, patients, do lots of research, and know your limitations. Without following these basic tips you can quickly make some expensive mistakes. Oh! And the fifth tip -- Don't try stuffing the electronics from a Hasbro Interactive Droid in a life-size Artoo. You don't want a 200 lb droid running you over.

( Read more... )