A Frozen Over Halloween in Texas??
The Pop Culture house is slowly being Frozen over for the coolest Halloween/joint birthday party in the Lone Star State.
Stay tuned for pictures after the party, but for now, here's a little taste of Halloween, Arendelle style!
I am SO not the Early Adopter Type (Anymore)
I used to be the ultimate techno geek. If I didn't buy a product first, I darn sure knew about it before anyone in my circle. And then… life happened (I got one, I guess?). Kids happened. And then iPhone happened.
I was told very early in my Apple indoctrination induction to never buy the first generation of Apple anything; always give it a couple of months for them to fix the bugs. Every iPhone and iOS release has proven why this rule exists. Apple gets a little twitchy with the releases. Things slip through the cracks—major things (Apple Maps, anyone??).
And iPhones are expensive, yo. When you have two kids and a whole grownup existence to support, $400 every year [which, really, is a conservative estimate, because if you're buying a new phone every year, you're paying full price, so it's more like $800 every year] for a phone seems a little crazy unless you just have money to burn.
So once I switched from a non-Apple existence, I never again felt the need to be the first to have something new. Good thing, too, because I'm not the type to camp out for anything, let alone a phone.
I held on to my 3S until the iOS upgrades became unsupportable. Even then, I didn't switch to a 4 until I switched cell phone providers and didn't have a choice (3S wasn't an option). I didn't switch to a 4S until my trust old 4 flew out of my hands on an escalator and landed two stories below me, face down. That also wasn't my choice. Some 17-year old "Genius" forced me into it after he sarcastically informed me that they didn't even carry refurbished 4s anymore, so I was going to have to take a 4S. I skipped the 5, the 5S, and the 5C.
In fact, the main reason I decided to buy a 6 is because my trusty old 4S wasn't so trusty anymore. Somewhere around iOS 7.0.whatever, it decided that it would be fun to freeze crash every hour or so. And then that hour became 30 minutes. Then 10. This should have turned me off Apple completely. Instead, it made me crave a new phone.
Indoctrination. Complete.
Even with my constantly crashing phone, I didn't camp out or pre-order an iPhone 6. I (semi-)patiently waited a couple of weeks until Verizon gave me those magic words, "Eligible for an Upgrade." I waited another week or so for the phone to come off backorder and ship (two weeks earlier than projected).
And now I have my phone. And I love it. But I also remember another reason I don't like iPhones within the first couple of months of release.
Cases.
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| This baby needs protecting. And, so far, the contenders aren't cutting it. |
If that "phone flying off an escalator" reference wasn't a hint to you, I'm kind of a klutz. Yes, I may be only on my fourth or fifth model of an iPhone, but this is easily my 20th iPhone. I'm not really sure how long my record is for keeping an iPhone without submerging it, breaking it, or having my screen shatter to bits; but I know that record is held by my last phone, which was lovingly protected by a Lifeproof case [suggested by the "Genius" who was no doubt looking at my replacement history when he made the suggestion]. My other phones weren't case-less; their cases simply failed them. Miserably.
And here I am with a brand new phone, and Lifeproof can't even give me an estimate of when is making me wait another month before I can breathe a sigh of relief. There's not even a waiting list; just a "leave your email address here if you want us to notify you when we are close to maybe someday in the near future releasing a case." Sigh.
I have had my new phone for one week, and I have tried out three cases. Three. All bought after hours and hours of wasting time I don't have research.
I hate them all. And I hate every stupid blog, article, or Amazon reviewer that led me to them.
There isn't a single one of these cases that gives me the confidence that if I drop my phone while exiting the car, my phone will survive the concrete. I have already dropped my phone four times (FOUR) and consider myself lucky that each drop has been on laminate rather than tile or pavement.
I'm a nervous wreck. I'm on edge. Even Pop Culture Dad has said, while staring down Case #1, "That thing will be broken by end of the month." And he's probably right.
There is no room for error here. If this phone breaks, I'm looking at the end of a wait list to get a replacement. And then there's *gulp* the money.
Hmm... Maybe I should just get a Jitterbug?
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| Case #3: Pretty and pretty pointless. No screen protection whatsoever. And it doubled the weight of my phone. Doubled. Yeah... That's not going to make me drop it faster. |
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| Case #2: I don't even know WTF this is. It's practically paper. |
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| Case #2: Sadly, I probably never should have abandoned my first "love" [okay, not really. Not fan-girling this one either]. It also lacks screen protection, but at least it was solid, leather, and weighs nothing. |
'Thanks for Sharing' May Have Ruined My Favorite Animated Musical
So Pop Culture Dad and I were watching Thanks for Sharing, which is a movie about sex addicts, and there's this one character who's just royally messed up (yes, even more than the other addicts). He's also a food addict. Without spoiling the movie, let's just say he's (initially, anyway) disgusting and an ass.
I remembered the actor was in this show on NBC where he was the president's son, who was a complete screw up; but couldn't remember what else. An hour into it, Pop Culture Dad exclaims, "Holy shit, I just remembered! That's Olaf!" That's right. Josh Gad. We watched most of the movie and couldn't remember the name/previous characters of Book of Mormon's Josh Gad. We've seen Frozen half a million times but hadn't placed the voice. Maybe it's because I cannot even begin to think of Olaf doing the things Josh Gad did in this movie.
After Pop Culture Dad made his revelation, it killed every scene with Josh Gad. Everything he said or did, I just pictured Olaf. Frozen is never going to be the same again.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I remembered the actor was in this show on NBC where he was the president's son, who was a complete screw up; but couldn't remember what else. An hour into it, Pop Culture Dad exclaims, "Holy shit, I just remembered! That's Olaf!" That's right. Josh Gad. We watched most of the movie and couldn't remember the name/previous characters of Book of Mormon's Josh Gad. We've seen Frozen half a million times but hadn't placed the voice. Maybe it's because I cannot even begin to think of Olaf doing the things Josh Gad did in this movie.
After Pop Culture Dad made his revelation, it killed every scene with Josh Gad. Everything he said or did, I just pictured Olaf. Frozen is never going to be the same again.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Bobby Brown: It Turns Out His Services Weren't Need Anyway
On Tuesday, TMZ circulated a video of Bobby Brown stumbling, huffing, and puffing his way through "If It Isn't Love," before eventually just walking off the stage promptly after "I really love her/Love her?/WHAT??". If you aren't familiar with this 80s classic, that isn't the end of the song. It was, however, the end for Bobby.
Sure, I was disappointed Bobby wasn't there, but why was that? It wasn't that I missed his singing. He was never the best voice in the group; that honor went to Ralph Tresvant and was tied with Johnny Gill after Bobby left the group. It isn't that he's the best or most entertaining dancer. There may have been a time that was (partly) true, but it hasn't been true for decades now. Bobby is the youngest member of the group (though not by much), but looks and moves like the oldest. The honor of most entertaining dancers goes to BBD (Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe). Hell, BBD has been making appearances everywhere this summer, and it is almost like it is the summer of 1990 again, with "Poison" being on everyone's playlist. It was featured in Think Like a Man, Too, complete with its own new video. They performed it at Kandi Burruss's wedding reception, which aired on Bravo last week. In fact, everyone there was waiting to hear "Poison," which is probably why it is performed very near the end of the set list.
Really, the only reason I wanted to see Bobby Brown was for the sheer spectacle of it. Just like when he and Whitney Houston had their reality show, Being Bobby Brown, Bobby B. remains a fascinating trainwreck. And, to be honest, I didn't miss it all that much.
New Edition sans Bobby performed Bobby's biggest hit, "My Prerogative", and dammit if they didn't do it better. In fact, "Prerogative" was the only time during the concert that they mentioned Bobby's name at all. He Who Shall Not Be Named is the new Voldemort, and it appears his former coworkers weren't missing him one bit.
Bobby Brown missing the Houston concert for mystery "illness" [drug addiction is an illness... but being old and out of shape because of long-term drug and alcohol addiction is not] just emphasized how extraneous he was to the group. Once the concert was under way, nobody missed that fool at all.
Hmm... There seems to be a spacing problem. Were y'all expecting someone else?
Since I had tickets to the Thursday night show in Houston, all day Wednesday I had co-workers telling me to make sure I brought a camera just in case Bobby had some crazy antics on stage… or, you know, just keeled over.
Before I left to meet my friend for dinner, Pop Culture Dad called me and said I should be home early, because there's no way Bobby Brown was showing up, "The concert should be over in an hour." I declared him wrong. So imagine my surprise when I saw this tweet while trying to figure out the best place to park for the concert:
I assumed it was all Pop Culture Dad's fault:
So imagine my non-surprise when I found out yesterday that Bobby Brown quit the tour.
Here's the thing, though: just like when they booted him out of the group in 1985, New Edition doesn't need Bobby Brown.
Sure, I was disappointed Bobby wasn't there, but why was that? It wasn't that I missed his singing. He was never the best voice in the group; that honor went to Ralph Tresvant and was tied with Johnny Gill after Bobby left the group. It isn't that he's the best or most entertaining dancer. There may have been a time that was (partly) true, but it hasn't been true for decades now. Bobby is the youngest member of the group (though not by much), but looks and moves like the oldest. The honor of most entertaining dancers goes to BBD (Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe). Hell, BBD has been making appearances everywhere this summer, and it is almost like it is the summer of 1990 again, with "Poison" being on everyone's playlist. It was featured in Think Like a Man, Too, complete with its own new video. They performed it at Kandi Burruss's wedding reception, which aired on Bravo last week. In fact, everyone there was waiting to hear "Poison," which is probably why it is performed very near the end of the set list.
Really, the only reason I wanted to see Bobby Brown was for the sheer spectacle of it. Just like when he and Whitney Houston had their reality show, Being Bobby Brown, Bobby B. remains a fascinating trainwreck. And, to be honest, I didn't miss it all that much.
New Edition sans Bobby performed Bobby's biggest hit, "My Prerogative", and dammit if they didn't do it better. In fact, "Prerogative" was the only time during the concert that they mentioned Bobby's name at all. He Who Shall Not Be Named is the new Voldemort, and it appears his former coworkers weren't missing him one bit.
Bobby Brown missing the Houston concert for mystery "illness" [drug addiction is an illness... but being old and out of shape because of long-term drug and alcohol addiction is not] just emphasized how extraneous he was to the group. Once the concert was under way, nobody missed that fool at all.
I wish Bobby Brown luck in his recovery from whatever he is recovering, but I'm not shedding any tears or demanding any partial refunds because of his absence. I'm sure DFW didn't miss him one but last night either.
Here are some fun photos from the concert. If you want to see more video clips, head on over to The Pop Culture Mom YouTube channel.
Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? Hell yeah, we do! (Sewing Project)
Frozen is sort of an obsession in the Pop Cuture Household. We saw the movie on opening weekend, even though we had no idea from the piss-poor marketing what the movie was about. We assumed it was about a reindeer and a snowman—doing what, we did not know. But a coworker of Pop Culture Dad saw the movie with his five-year old daughter on opening day and had given us the recommendation that, since we are all crazy over musicals, we would love it. He isn't even a Broadway fan, but downloaded the soundtrack as soon as he got home and had already memorized one of the songs.
Like most people, we instantly fell in love with Frozen. We saw the movie two more times in the theater (once, courtesy of a ton of free tickets after redeeming our Disney Movie Rewards; the other, the weekend the sing-along version was released). We listened to the soundtrack every day. We made a YouTube playlist of the videos and other clips and watched it every day (sometime multiple times a day) while we waited for the release of the DVD.
Even before the record-breaking shortages on Frozen merchandise, I had decided I wanted to make my own Elsa and Anna costumes. Other than having really gotten addicted to sewing, my main reason was that I hate the Disney official dress-up costumes. We have bought several, and the results are always the same: it looks great in the store, but at some point during the first time it is worn, the dress comes completely unraveled and looks like crap (not to mention there are random strings and bits of elastic all over your house). For $30+, I'm not a fan of something that doesn't even make it through the first wear. So I wanted to make something more durable than what you usually find in the toy aisle.
I often looked at Etsy for inspiration on what I would do once I finally settled down and made my own Frozen costumes. One thing I noticed right away is that I hated the Queen Elsa dresses for little girls that were exact replicas of the original. For adults, I think they are fantastic and beautiful. However, when it comes to little children, though I am the furthest thing from a prude, I think the sight of a little girl in a skin-tight dress clinging to her non-existent hips is a little sick. I loathe kiddie pageants, and the whole thing is a little too Toddlers in Tiaras for my taste. I loved all the Elsa dresses that were true to the original spirit, but clearly made for a child's body.
For some reason, I decided the Princess Anna dress would be the easiest of the two to make first. I don't know what I was thinking. Even ignoring the embroidery (which I did by hand over several days), the sheer number of colors and layers made Anna the more difficult of the two. In fact, at the end of the day, Elsa was easier… much, much easier.
So... without further ado, I present Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle (Pop Cuture Kid Edition):
The Anna dress is primarily the base of Simplicity 9497 with the collar taken from another costume pattern. I lengthened the skirt considerably. There is no lining or overskirt and definitely no bows.
Instead of making a separate shirt, vest, and skirt like Anna's, I made it all one dress with varying fabrics. The gold trim is ribbon.
The hand embroidery is the last thing I did (in fact, I just finished it last night, even though the dress has been sewn for a couple of weeks now and I both started and finished the Elsa dress in between). I don't own an embroidery machine and wouldn't know how to use one if I did. In fact, freshman year of college I got fired from a holiday job at an embroidery shop, because I was that bad with machines. However, I've been cross-stitching since I was 10, so I figured, "What the hell? I'll give it a shot." My embroidery isn't perfect by any means. Heck, anyone who is as Type A as Pop Culture Dad generally is when it comes to symmetry might consider it a hot mess, but I'm still proud of it! And it's for a toddler.
Elsa was much more simple. This dress is primarily Simplicity 1508 (D). 
In fact, other than skipping the lining, the sash, and the cording and adding a layer of glittery mesh, sleeves (a modified version of the sleeves I made for the Anna dress), and the cape (which was actually two feet longer before we realized it presented a safety hazard around the house), it is almost exactly the dress. I won't lie, I love this pattern for little girls. It is simple and beautiful and girly and adorable. I may start scheduling monthly tea parties just to have a reason to make a dozen more of this pattern. Little Diva won't mind; she lives [that is not a typo] to dress up.
Overall, my project was pretty successful. The Pop Cultural Girls are happy. I'm happy. They're ready for Princess and Super Hero Day at school later this summer… and Halloween. And with a few more months of practice, I'll be ready to open my Etsy shop of over-priced Frozen-inspired knockoffs to capitalize on the mass hysteria.😉
UPDATE: Since the original post, I made some modifications to the Elsa dress. The sleeves were too itchy for Little Diva, so I made new ones after having her test out several fabrics for their comfort fabric. Since I was already "in there," I Elsa-fied the dress with several bead ribbons, glitter paint, and dollar store ornaments.
Not to be left out, I also fashioned an Anna cape using the new Simplicity Disney-official Frozen pattern (Simplicity 1220).
I would say they're pretty happy with the end results:
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