Monkey D. Luffy cosplay : ‘Wanted’ poster

From the One Piece manga, anime, and live-action franchise: I created a Wanted poster featuring my cosplay of Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. To create the poster, I used a template in Canva (an online graphic-design tool). The foreground photo of me was taken at home and, with my pose, I attempted to duplicate that of Luffy in his own Wanted poster. I removed the background and I layered it over a photo that I took during a walk along the San Francisco waterfront.

Jane Austen online game: Too much like real life

Screen capture: Jane Austen online roleplaying game. Image source: Buzzfeed.com

A Jane Austen-themed massive online role-playing game, with its emphasis on status-jockeying and using gossip to destroy one’s rivals, is rather more like real life than I care for in my escapism.

From an appeal for financing by Judy L. Tyrer on Kickstarter.com: “Our quests are derived from player’s actions and stories. And we [use] gossip rather than swords and magic to demolish our enemies and aid our friends.”

John Scalzi makes harassment policy a condition of convention appearances

John Scalzi

Thank you to writer John Scalzi, who makes it a condition of Guest of Honor engagements that conventions have a harassment policy that clearly defines unacceptable behavior and where to go for help or action.

As explained by Scalzi, “When my friends and fans go to conventions, I would like them not to have to worry, if they are skeeved on by some creep at the convention, that the convention will take the problem seriously. I would also like them to be able to know how to report the problem, should such a situation occur.”

‘Man of Steel’: T-shirt cosplay for Superman film

A quest to create special shirts for the new “Superman” movie, “Man of Steel,” brought us to Goodwill Industries of Southern Oregon, where we bought T-shirts to serve as base garments and form the layered “S” crest.

The film opens June 14 and my inspiration was guided by Megan Nicolay’s books, “Generation T” and “Generation T: Beyond Fashion.”

Goodwill sponsored an upcycled fashion contest at the Rogue Valley Earth Day celebration. If the competition next year has a “Community” division, maybe you’ll see us displaying our splendor as members of the “House of Jor-El.” Or maybe you’ll see my “Sharrow” shirt.

Librarian cosplay: Civilian hire in Starfleet sciences

Civilian hire in Starfleet sciences -- Library sciences, that is

I used T-shirt fabric to create a pin-on back for my Star Trek: The Original Series sciences emblem. Attached here to a tunic, the wearer becomes a civilian hire in the sciences -- library sciences that is.

My cosplay persona is a Starfleet librarian -- but not aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. Rather, I envisioned the Constitution-class N.C.C. 1707, the U.S.S. Armstrong.

Created in response to a 2011 promotion by “Being a Geek” on Facebook, the U.S.S. Armstrong is named for Karen Armstrong, progenitor in the early 21st Century of the Charter for Compassion.

I envisioned a future that viewed the Charter for Compassion as a pivotal moment in history when Humanity put an end to poverty and war and took compassion to the stars and beyond.

Constitution class starship: N.C.C. 1707, the U.S.S. Armstrong
Original schematics from “Star Trek Scrapbook” on Facebook
with modifications in Adobe CS2 Photoshop and InDesign

Cosplay ≠ Consent

Here's Cosplay ≠ Consent, created by Kanthara on Tumblr, that is rich with themes I blog about: victim-blaming and the importance of bystanders to combat/negate bullying. Add to it the realm of science fiction/fantasy fandom in which, far from being an inclusive haven, women can be targets of hostility on the basis of their looks.

Credit goes to my brother Andrew Parkhill for bringing my attention to this image, which offers commentary on an incident at PAX East in which a male journalist posed sexually-suggestive questions to women portraying Lara Croft.

‘Talk like a pirate’ at Toastmasters meeting

Cynthia Parkhill raises a tankard to ‘Talk like a Pirate Day.’

LAKEPORT — “Arrrr!” Toastmasters club No. 8731, Tenacious Talkers, is holding a talk-like-a-pirate themed meeting at 6:15 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 18, at Sutton Associates Wealth Management, 290 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

Cynthia Parkhill, toastmaster for the evening, will be at the helm. She invites her fellow Toastmasters to try thinking, for fun, of how the staples of holding a meeting can be rendered in pirate or sea-faring terms.

An Internet search under “Pirate glossary” brings up several resources. Costumes are also encouraged. The public, as always, is welcome.

While crafting your pirate character for Thursday’s Toastmasters meeting, consider additionally marking your calendar for the Black Irish Band, appearing Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization that provides its members with training in public speaking and leadership. For more information about the local club, call 707-263-5350 or visit http://tenacioustalkers.freetoasthost.net/.