Noelle's Bloggy Goodness

2014-05-25T11:11:00.004-07:00

Hi everyone! I don't really post here ever, but I need your help. I just graduated with my MFA, and have now been accepted to the prestigious Sewanee Writers Conference in Tennessee this summer. There I'll be workshopping my novel, trying to get it finished, and meeting with agents and editors. But the conference ain't cheap, and I need all the help and love I can get.

I started a campaign to raise the $2260 I'll need for the conference, plus funds for travel to research the novel. Both the Sewanee Writers Conference and my research trip will be invaluable in completing a draft of my novel this summer. Once the draft is complete, I can begin to revise and query agents. You can have a real hand in seeing a published literary novel come to fruition.

Details about the novel and how to donate can be found here: http://www.gofundme.com/zaknelson. There are different levels of personalized rewards available, so chip in and help an artist out!

Many thanks.

Zak reading from novel-in-progress at North Carolina State University. 16 April 2014.

Happy Birthday Blog!!

2014-01-23T14:15:00.002-08:00

You are another year older and still exist! YAY!

Head shot of me at DragonCon by Anna Fischer

2013-12-08T17:13:00.003-08:00

DragonCon, originally uploaded by Anna Fischer.

Full shot of me at DragonCon by Anna Fischer

2013-12-08T17:13:00.001-08:00

DragonCon, originally uploaded by Anna Fischer.

Comikaze Photos

2013-11-01T22:49:00.001-07:00

11.01-02.13 Comikaze, a set on Flickr.

I'm at Comikaze this weekend with Iron Man Mark 74... 1874. I have posted up the pics from today already so have a look!

2013-11-01T00:28:00.002-07:00

Tonight I am in LA, in a hotel room alone, and I just saw one of the coolest things of my life. I went to see Danny Elfman's music from the movies of Tim Burton concert, where a full Orchestra and Choir played a few selections each from an array of their collaborations. What made the night particularly awesome was that Danny Elfman came out and sang most of Jack Skellington's songs, and Oogie Boogie's song too. Catherine O'Hara also came and sang Sally's song. You couldn't tell that they were not the recorded versions, they were so perfect. Tim Burton also came out on stage to thunderous applause. It was amazing. I wept tears of joy to see one of my idols perform again, after 18 years of him saying that he would never be on stage again. I was at Oingo Boingo's last show, the last time he did perform, and I can say that his voice is just as awesome as it ever was. I also got to hear the Beetlejuice main theme played in a room with Danny Elfman in it, and I never thought that would ever happen. It is all so much more amazing when heard in a perfect theater, played by amazing musicians, most of whom also played on the sountracks of the movies.

Anyway, I will shut up now, but please feel free to check out my Flickr set if you'd like to see some not great pictures that will remind me of this night for the rest of my life. (Yes, pictures were kosher, as long as there was no flash.) There's a lot of the original art in these pics from Tim when he was planing the movies. Enjoy!

DragonCon 2013 Costume Photos

2013-09-03T14:13:00.001-07:00

Hi to everyone still following here!

Mia, Sahrye and I just got back from DragonCon out in Atlanta, and for those of you who do not know, it's a costume party like no other for 4 days straight. We had a really great time and I thought I would share the pictures with you if you are interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lbc42/sets/72157635312520852/

The IronMan bustle dress is mine, obviously, you can see Mia showing off Storm and a Star Fleet uniform, and Sahrye is rocking Madam Vastra from Doctor Who, complete with hand-made prosthetics, as well as some star Fleet goodness of her own.

Alaska photos have been posted!

2013-06-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

The full set is posted here.

Don't get too excited, we were only in snow for about 45 minutes the whole time. :-)

Picture Catch-up

2013-06-05T13:38:00.003-07:00

Anyone still reading this? Possibly not in a few weeks when Google Reader dies. Ah well.

Anyway, I caught up on pictures if anyone is interested:

Esther's Bachelorette Party:

Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Chris's Birthday Party 2012:

The Big Island of Hawaii:

Dickens Fair 2012:

Our Trip to Florida:

Our recent trip to Mexico:

Myth Masque:

Lastly, and possibly most notably, my epic set of pictures from China is finally up:

I laughed so hard...

2013-04-15T23:22:00.001-07:00

"I came into this world covered in someone else blood and screaming and lemme tell you i’m not afraid to leave it the same way." - unattributed

This is just perfection. Love it.

THIS IS AWESOME.

2013-03-17T00:26:00.001-07:00

Aperture R&D is like Better Off Ted set in the Portal universe:

What went into designing all of those guilt-inducing turrets and malevolent AIs lurking in the Portal games? Wayside Creations' new web series Aperture R&D takes us deep into the bowels of the premiere mad science corporation and shows us what it takes to become Lab Team of the Month.
Work is certainly more interesting—and more terrifying—when you're being managed by an AI sphere and death by turret is a regular occupational hazard. What other Portal-themed goodies will this series give us in future episodes?
[via The Awesomer]

27 Science fictions that became science facts in 2012.

2013-03-17T00:07:00.001-07:00

27 Science fictions that became science facts in 2012:

Quadriplegic uses her mind to control her robotic arm.

DARPA robot can traverse an obstacle course.

Genetically modified silk is stronger than steel.

DNA was photographed for the first time.

Invisibility cloak technology took a huge leap forward.

Spray-on skin.

James Cameron reached the deepest known point in the ocean.

Stem cells could extend human life by over 100 years.

3-D printer creates full-size house in one session.

Self-driving cars are legal in Nevada, Florida, and California.

Voyager I leaves the solar system.

Custom Jaw transplant created with 3-D printer.

Rogue planet[s] floating through space.

Chimera monkey’s created from multiple embryos.

Artificial leaves generate electricity.

Google goggles bring the internet everywhere.

Higgs-Boson Particle discovery.

Flexible, inexpensive solar panels challenge fossil fuel.

Diamond planet discovered.

Eye implants give sight to the blind.

Wales barcodes DNA of every flowering plant species in the country.

First unmanned commercial space flight docks with the ISS.

Ultra-flexible “willow” glass will allow for curved electronic devices.

NASA begins using robotic exoskeletons.

Human brain is hacked.

First planet with four suns discovered.

Microsoft patented the “Holodeck”.

Learn more about each of these scientific break-throughs and discoveries here.

This is pretty bad-ass. Where's my effing jet pack???

This is word for word what it was like on Wednesday

2013-03-15T15:59:00.002-07:00

When i found out about Google sacking Google reader.

oh Portal, how I love you.

2013-02-27T11:15:00.001-08:00

Hahahahaha, truth.:

Photo

2013-02-27T11:02:00.001-08:00

I would like to try all of these...

2013-02-27T10:59:00.001-08:00

Photo:

Laissez les bons temps rouler!! Happy Mardi Gras!

2013-02-12T14:20:00.001-08:00

Laissez les bons temps rouler!! Happy Mardi Gras!

"In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes..."

2013-01-30T11:05:00.001-08:00

"In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes...": “In the House, 78 percent of Republicans voted against emergency aid. In the Senate, those 36 votes represent 80 percent of Republicans. The overwhelming majority of Republicans, well more than three-quarters, now approach natural disasters as political fodder, another opportunity to push deficit hysteria and to force massive cuts to other domestic spending. Tax cuts to the wealthy? Those pay for themselves. Rebuilding destroyed communities populated by millions of Americans? Only if you cut other government programs. In other words, the vast majority of Republicans are assholes.”

- Sandy relief vote shows vast majority of GOP Congress members hate America

Doctor Who Definitions from The Blogess

2013-01-29T10:27:00.001-08:00

Doctor Who Definitions:
I have too much time on my hands:

(via xkcd: Debugger)

2013-01-27T23:24:00.001-08:00

(via xkcd: Debugger):

Happy 10 year anniversary to the Blogy Goodness!

2013-01-23T15:03:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that this has been here for 10 years. And I still very occasionally post something.

Wow.

Thanks to everyone who still reads it, whoever you are!

I found this oddly true.

2013-01-18T12:10:00.001-08:00

From today’s Crash Course about Catcher in...:

The World’s Most Wonderful Bookstores!

2013-01-01T14:47:00.001-08:00

thepersonificationofperfection:

Poplar Kid’s Republic
Beijing

Livraria Lello
Porto, Portugal

Shakespeare & Co. Antiquarian Books
Paris

El Péndulo
Mexico City

Selexyz Bookstore
Maastricht, Holland

Cook and Book
Brussels, Belgium

El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ler Devagar
Lisbon, Portugal

"Can we all just agree that the greatest tech advancement in Star Trek is a universal video format?..."

2013-01-01T14:40:00.001-08:00

“Can we all just agree that the greatest tech advancement in Star Trek is a universal video format? Klingon ships, Romulan ships, Vulcan ships, Human ships … not once does a captain say “On screen,” followed by a plugin error message.

- (some guy on Facebook, anonymously quoted on reddit)”

-
“Stand by, Captain — it says we need to update the Java plugin so we can run GoToMeeting.”
“Why didn’t they just use WebEx?”
“The Romulans must not have a license for it.”
“But it’s free. Isn’t it?”
“If they’d Skyped in, we could’ve just used the ship’s webcam.”
“Captain, the warbird doesn’t show up on my list of Facetime contacts.”
“I think we need to sync our address book.”
“We should’ve just used Tinychat.”
“Why don’t we start a Google Hangout?”
“Shut up, Wesley.”
(via flavorcountry)

He's British!

2012-12-21T14:08:00.001-08:00