Ruth Cohen talks to cosplayers, the Beer Legion

This gang have to be my all time favourite armour-toting cosplayers. They’ve come up with these characters themselves and have graciously agreed to do a mini-interview for this armour segment!

They won Best Supanova Skit at both Brisbane and Gold Coast Advanced category from 2012 to 2013, Special Creativity Mention at AICON comp and Cosplay Guest at flippish.com segment ‘mt.fuji’ in the Philippines 2013.

All the amazing photos you see throughout are by Lorenzo So Photography. You can find the Beer Legion here.

What are your core materials and approximately how much do you use?

We primarily use Beer Boxes that represent our characters. I myself use XXXX as I am the XXXX Samurai. Pure Blonde Valkyrie uses Pure Blonde boxes and the VB Knight uses VB boxes. We use ALOT of boxes so that we can get some nice designs out of our armour. For example, Pure Blonde has a set of wings where each of the feathers is created from a beer box, and my armour is plated to simulate a real set of samurai armour. We also use undergarments like shirts, or items like knee guards or shin guards to build on top of. Generally we just use things we find around the home that we haven’t used in a while, as we see it as a form of recycling. Other materials include duct tape, ribbon, super glue, rope, cotton, core flute and zips.

[Beer Legion 1 – XXXX Samurai, Pure Blonde Valkyrie, and VB Knight]

What sort of man-hours does it take to put together the armour?

Each of the completed armours took roughly 1-4 months. We are perfectionists when it comes to these armours. On our site, it shows our first incarnations of the armours and then we just simply improve upon them more and more. Most people don’t realise how much time we put into these armours, seeing as they are made of beer boxes. They assume we just throw these boxes together the night before an event!

[Beer Legion 2 – XXXX Samurai]

Are there simplified versions of your armour or is it all out, all the time?

There are simplified versions of the armour. I myself wear a half armour when it mixes with my martial arts. And VB Man has chain-mail version that is easier to move in. We do have our well-made armours for great events and we also have our simple armours for doing skits and videos. Half the time we just wear the hat and helms, just for our shenanigan videos on YouTube!

[Beer Legion 3 – Pure Blonde Valkyrie]

What made you think of the materials in the first place?

We were stumped for what to Cosplay before the 2011 Brisbane Supanova. After a fun night of shenanigans we thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we made armours out of these beer boxes?” Hence the creation of the Beer Legion. Initially, we just did this for the LOL factor, but we were such a hit, we began expanding on the Legion by moving into skits and storylines. We focus on having a good time. I guess the Legion represents the fact that Cosplay isn’t just about looking awesome; it’s also about having a great time with your friends!

[Beer Legion 4 – VB Knight]

Well that’s me for a wrap this week! Remember that patience and persistence are important in creating massive features like armour… (Oh and fun… remember to have fun)! ~Ruth

Be warned… this book WILL tug at your heart.

I get very excited when I know another Elementals book is due out. I think I jigged to the cashier this time around, mainly because it was a continuation of Nick Merrick’s story, Breathless (which I reviewed briefly here… Breathless is included in the Aussie release of Secret, woohoo!

**I need to let our younger readers, and or parents know, that this book does contain extremely strong themes of sexuality, violence and ‘romance’, so be aware  going in. If you (or your elder) think it is inappropriate at this time, know there is always time later on when the topics would be less shocking.**

Brigid handles these themes, (that really shouldn’t be so taboo, but unfortunately still are considered as such), in a respectful way; allowing the reader to feel the crushing tension and suffocating emotions that come into play. I was doing the ugly cry, and was almost in tears on public transport in another scene.

This is a gut wrenching tale of self discovery, love and loyalty. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I cannot wait for the next instalment, Sacrifice, comes out later this year.

Stick a fork in me I’m done… for now *grin*.

http://www.brigidkemmerer.com/

Paperback, 375 pages

Published January 28th 2014 by Allen & Unwin

original title

Secret

ISBN13

9781743318614

Joelene Pynnonen reviews Frozen

Princess Elsa of Arendelle was born with the magical ability to harness winter; creating ice and snow from the air. After a childhood accident that involved her younger sister, Anna, Elsa has hidden away that part of herself even though it means cutting herself off from her sister and her emotions. For years the sisters are secluded inside their castle, but with Elsa’s coronation approaching, the castle must open to the public once more.

When an argument leads to Elsa losing control of her emotions and her powers, the kingdom becomes trapped in a frigid winter. Now it’s up to Anna and Kristoff, a guide she meets along the way, to track the runaway Elsa and convince her to return summer to Arendelle.

I have been accused of trying to hold onto childhood at any cost, but stoutly maintain that animated films are getting better and better right now. If anyone was still in doubt, Frozen proves it. While it has all the markings of a children’s film, the storyline and script has plenty of entertainment for an adult audience. The fact that the screening I went to see started at eight-thirty pm and did not have one child in the reasonably sized audience means that studios are capitalising on making movies that resonate with various age groups.

 Beautifully animated and with a wonderful cast of characters voiced by talented voice actors, it’s difficult to find a reason not to watch Frozen. This is another Disney movie that works hard at breaking the conventions that stunted the original princesses. The traditional charm is there, but the female characters in Frozen have more agency than earlier princesses. Elsa and Anna have distinctive personalities that drive the storyline forward, and the film really unwinds around them. Kristoff is a lovely addition, as is the snowman, Olaf, but their roles are to guide and support Anna’s quest, not to take it on for her.

The one thing that let the film down was the musical score. ‘Let It Go’ sung by Elsa’s voice actor, Idina Menzel, is exceptional and fits the emotional complexity of the film. The other songs aren’t bad, but they don’t suit Frozen’s atmosphere in the same way.

For a gorgeous film that has some ultimately wonderful messages about love, family and loyalty, put Disney’s Frozen on your checklist. I had high expectations going in, and it surpassed most of them effortlessly.

Embrace in MP3 Audio Book Format

Book written by Jessica Shirvington Read by Rebecca Macauley

The copy of the audio book I received from Bolinda Audio to review has a cover reminiscent of the US hard cover. Purple background with a pretty girl facing away from us with black feathers and beautiful wings in a sort of smoky impression, foretelling that the story is about Angels. The design by Andrea C. Uva is effective and pleasing to the eye.

The impression I got from reading Embrace in paperback, was that the story wasn’t necessarily set in Australia, though with this unabridged, 9 hour 57 minute, narration by Rebecca Macauley, it is firmly set somewhere on Aussie soil. It seems right that Violet has an Aussie accent.

I find some female narrators struggle with projecting their male voice in a convincing way, and after a while of hearing Rebecca my mind wasn’t sending warnings about all the voices being a girl. That takes serious vocal skill.

Rebecca beautifully picks up on the tensions between characters and I caught myself gnashing my teeth constantly in the awkward scenes. She possesses the clout and the innocence needed to convincingly read this series.

Lisa, Krista and I reviewed Embrace in the September 2012, Burn Bright Book Club.

 For information on the audio book from Bolinda, please follow the links.

EMBRACE CD

EMBRACE MP3: 

EMBRACE WEBCLIP 

Published by Bolinda Audio in April 2012

ISBN/ ISBN-13 and APN     9871743106648

BAB 120424

1 MP3 music 

EXTREMELY Easy (No Bake) Blueberry Cream Pie Recipe! One of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made! Perfect for any occasion especially if you’re a procrastinator like me! 

Ingredients:

• 1 Graham cracker pie crust.
• 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 10 oz cool whip
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 10 oz blueberry pie filling

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, cool whip, and vanilla extract, until completely combined.
2. Pour this mixture into your pie pan.
3. Layer the top of your cream with the blueberry pie filling.
4. Let cool in the fridge for about an hour or two, and enjoy!