Dinosaurs and Pixie Dust

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Saving Chronos

How do I even start?

Alright, so the other day I was designing modern, yet gothic, princess dresses and listening to this man preach.

Things got heated and debates were flying for almost three hours straight.

As an Atheist who accepts the rules of Satanism, I joined conversation with other atheists once the speaker left.

That's when I met Tyler and Nate.

After an odd amount of hugs... I ended up invited to see their band perform!

Alright so here we go...

A metalcore band with these guys,

It was pretty wicked seeing these guys perform at BLUE MOOSE in Iowa City!

I had wonderful conversations discussing touring, drumming, Green Day and a bunch of other topics.

After their show, I helped move some instruments (the drums were solid and cymbals were beautiful) and after the always-entertaining game of flipping a water bottle... I was granted an interview!

Aboard the "Swagon" (Swag Wagon,) the interview commenced:

1. Band Name: Saving Chronos

2. Members: Tyler : Vocals

Nate : Guitar

Casper : Bass

Chris : Drums

3. How long have you been together?

Two years!

4. Do you write your parts separately or together?
Nate: I wrote most of the music.
Tyler: And then I write the lyrics.
Collectively: ...Then we sort of come together and throw shit at the wall.
Chris: I add the drum part to whatever riffs are made and the music changes a lot
before it's done.

5. Weirdest band story:

These comments ranged from having to retune mid-song, during every song at a

concert, to Tyler crowd surfing whilst singing, and ending with Nate being in a mosh
and still playing guitar. Which is quite impressive!

6. Craziest touring story:

Collectively: Well... there's the 13 hour drives, the sleeping in McDonald's parking lots,
the surprising lack of towels, someone almost setting the bus on fire...

7. Best part of being in a band:

Tyler: Nothing. Just kidding! So many things!
Nate: We're four brothers but we hate each other
Casper: Where it's taken us. Never in a million years did we think we'd be in Iowa.

8. Where do you see yourself in 5 Years?
Casper: Dead. Or still in a career. A small label?
Nate: ... with a different singer
Tyler: Who knows?

9. Describe your music:
Collectively: Loud. Stupid. Obnoxious. Ehhh.
Nate: Confusing to write.
Chris: Gets feelings out.
Casper: Pushes ourselves but still have fun.
Tyler: This'll never end and it's satisfying, but you're never really satisfied.

10. What's next?
Tyler: Walmart parking lot?
Casper: New record sometime next year! Maybe a full national tour next summer.
Chris: You have to just go with it.
Tyler: Yeah, you can't push it.
Nate: But you gotta push it!

Words of wisdom.

Thank you, Saving Chronos!

It was amazing meeting a band that started in a garage in the middle of nowhere (Atlanta, Georgia) and wound up on tour after just two years!

I had a lot of fun at their concert and I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance!

Want to donate to their band? : https://www.gofundme.com/help-us-finish-our-tour

Follow them on Facebook! : https://www.facebook.com/SavingChronos/

Grab some merchandise : https://squareup.com/store/savingchronos

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Woodland Cemetery

You might find yourself wondering... "What does Caroline do in her spare time?"

She goes to cemeteries.

I present to you:

WOODLAND CEMETERY

Des Moines, Iowa

69 Acres

Over 80,000 Graves

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"A walk through Woodland Cemetery is a step through the history of the city of Des Moines."

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This is Nugget.

He's my road trip buddy.

We're partners in Spanish class.

I'm not very good at Spanish.

In our class, we're required to take pictures of us doing stuff and submitting them to an Instagram account for our class along with captions, in Spanish, describing the scene.

We decided to make these epic.

We also discovered we both have a love for the creepy and spooky stuff that's out there.

And soooooooo when I found this massive graveyard in Des Moines, we packed our backpacks and drove two hours from Iowa City to check it out!

Before the cemetery, we checked into this wicked hotel and...

well...

the hallways were a little daunting.

***Keeping in mind Caroline has a fear of long hallways***

TO THE CEMETERY!!!

Just entering through the gates, there were these beautiful angels on several of the graves.

Bearing in mind this cemetery was 69 acres, Nugget and I took our time walking quickly through the area. Walking so quickly because there was a lot to see and because it was a little creepy.

We did find this incredible statue of Jesus with open arms. He was stunning and one of the only figures in that general area. In complete honesty, I routinely turned to keep an eye on him because if any statue in that cemetery were to move... it'd be this one.

There was this statue that served as a gravestone.

Took us a while but yes.

It's a headless child.

We both took interest in this marker.

I've been trying to research the "ODD FELLOWS" and why they had their own section, but I'm afraid I do not have a concrete answer. If anyone knows, please tell me!

A few other pictures I took...

And there was this marker...

Neither of these pictures are mine, as I couldn't find the stones but also... I was there at night.

Here's the story:

"One of the unique resting places is that of Jefferson Scott Polk and his wife, Julia. On one side of their monuments is a stone with space for a candle; on the other side is the monument for three of their children who preceded them in death. Each child’s name was engraved above one of the pillows."

Another interesting story is as follows:

In 1886, 45 children lived and died in the orphanage called

"Des Moines' Home for Friendless Children"

Each one of these orphans was buried in a mass grave, with most bodies folded into peach and apple crates that were stacked one on top of the other.

Only a few of the orphans had names pinned to them, the rest were marked as "unknown."

I was also unable to find the mass grave, but similarly to the area dedicated to children under the age of one, some graves should not be disturbed with cameras.

My partner and I were very respectful of the cemetery.

We stayed on the path, kept our voices low, I routinely thanked the lingering spirits for letting us pass through, we didn't touch anything, and we didn't loiter.

As mentioned just before, we were also careful to not take too many pictures, but this experience, beauty, and history within this cemetery was overwhelming and I had to document the adventure.

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If you find yourself in Des Moines, Iowa, and don't mind the feeling of ghost eyes on you, I recommend stopping by this historic landmark!

Monday, May 25, 2015

Cinderella Inspired

I love to sew!

Sewing has been a hobby of mine for about two years now and I absolutely love it! Being able to create anything from just a few yards of fabric is incredible! I've made many princess dresses including ball-gowns and nightgowns. I've made large bows and ridiculously puffed sleeves. I've made more capes than I can remember and have bought more fabric than I'm willing to admit.

That being said...

I have a new project!

I've designed a whole bunch of dresses that are Disney inspired. But there's quite a twist...

Each dress is completely wearable for any occasion.

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The design of each dress is rather simple. At its most basic form, the dress is plain and pretty and can be dressed up or down for really any occasion. The fun comes in when each dress has specific accessories that attach in certain ways to the dress to make it instantly into a Disney inspired outfit!

Halloween? Costume party? Disney bound? Themed parties? Closet cosplay? It's great for anything!

Let me show you...

My Cinderella Inspired Dress

I first gathered my materials and based on what I bought, it was rather obvious what I had planned...

I then cut the most perfect circle skirt I've ever cut out of a piece of fabric that was as big as my dorm room!

I then cut the bodice out of the remaining fabric. The seam right down the middle and the out-turned, thicker sleeves was inspired from Cinderella, herself!

The parts just needed to be sewn together and it would be set!

Next was a little tricky,

I sewed the peplums but attached them to a long ribbon rather than onto the dress. I then fashioned two "sleeves" with snaps on them and grabbed some black ribbon for a choker.

With the dress and these accessories completed, my look was finished!

The Dress

The Dress With Accessories

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The dress itself was rather simple and plain.

I could wear it for really any occasion including

a party or a dinner or just because.

But when the ribbon is tied and the sleeves are snapped on...

I'm ready to be a princess!

I plan on making more of these types of outfits for various characters and I'll record my progress on all of them!

Stay posted!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Disney Rant: Female Characters

Some of you have probably heard the idea that Disney's computer generated female characters all look exactly alike. Most of the time the characters are compared to Rapunzel for some reason.

I am here to prove why this is ridiculous.

Believe it or not, but people are in an outrage regarding this! To be completely honest, I'm not sure why. I have done my research and read many articles and posts and blogs about this topic and it seems that everyone is just showing pictures of how similar the characters look but not so much why this is a big deal.

Anyway, this is getting under my skin because the characters do NOT look that similar!

I'll start off with this picture:

This is one of the pictures most typically seen in the debate that all the characters look the same. In accordance, this picture follows:

Oh goodness.

These very few, specific characters from select movies have smooth jawlines and noses.

Goodness me.

OH MY ODIN.

STOP THIS.

Do I really need to do this?

I guess I do.

Violet has almost perfectly circular eyes with distinct lines under them. Her nose is a bit wide and downward facing. Her lips are thin with a downturned upper lip. Her chin is also rather pointy.

HEY THAT'S JUST LIKE MRS. INCREDIBLE!

No duh. That's her mother.

Along similar lines, Queen Eleanor has a ovular had shape with a long, pointed nose that's very close to her mouth. Her eyes are not too big and she has thin eyelashes.

OH GOSH THAT'S JUST LIKE MERIDA!

No duh. That's her daughter.

But wait! Elsa has low cheek bones, huge eyes that are slightly slanted. She also has a downward pointed nose that's relatively low on her face.

DEAR HERA THAT'S JUST LIKE ANNA!

No duh. That's her sister.

Do you see where I'm going?

These family relationships aside, my descriptions between these six characters show their differences in face shape alone.

(Analysis of the other characters)

Honey Lemon has a long nose that isn't turned up or down, but has a large bridge. Her eyes are higher up on her face and aren't too exaggerated. Her mouth is also fairly large.

Rapunzel has a longer head shape with a larger chin. Her nose is wider and upturned quite a bit. Her mouth doesn't turn up very much and her eyes are seriously massive.

Penny has a heart shaped face with eyes that are far apart from each other, a long nose that's only slightly upturned and a very small mouth. Her eyes are only turned up a little and she has almost no visible eyelashes.

Ellie has a wider heart shaped face with very circular eyes. Her nose has no bridge but is fairly round and upturned. Her mouth is lower set to her nose and is slightly wider.

Gogo has wide, slanted eyes that are farther apart from each other, a low set nose with no bridge that is slightly downturned and very close to her lips. She has full lips and full cheeks.

I'm not going to go into Vanellope or the emotions because they're not supposed to represent humans but instead ideas or video game caricatures.

Okay?

Can we all move on?

The most repeated argument is of Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna looking the same.

So here:

Look at them. Look at them closely.

Do you see the difference in eye shape? How Elsa's are slanted and farther apart?

Do you see the difference in nose shape? How Rapunzel's is upturned and shows the bridge?

Do you see the difference in lips? How Elsa's are thinner and straight across?

Do you see the difference in eyebrows? How Rapunzel's are closer to her hairline?

Do you see the difference in face shape? How Elsa's is more pointed and her jaw line is harder?

DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

On top of all of this, why is no one looking at the bigger picture?

The characters being compared are always the same ones. Never are the other characters taken into consideration. With only the six females listed above, there are obvious and distinct differences in their faces.

Besides the fact that these women do not look that similar, it isn't Disney's fault.

Yes, they're the ones making the characters, but it's only in response to the public.

Society has set expectations for certain roles. For example, we expect a princess to be stunningly beautiful. Well that means the princess in the movie has to appeal to the most typical sense of beauty and therefore Disney makes the character as such.

Society expects that the quirky sidekick is a bit off in their looks, so Disney might give them a larger nose or a unique face shape.

Society expects villains to look mischievous and shifty, and the furrowed eyebrow and downturned mouth can only mean that the person's up to no good.

Disney makes their characters in accordance to what the audience wants.

Okay?

Are we chill?