Questions About Battlestar Galactica

1. If all superior officers are "sir," even if they are female, lady president included, why is the lady president still referred to as "Madame President?"
2. Which Jamie Bamber do we prefer: Captain Adama or DS Devlin (of Law & Order: UK)?
3. Why do they keep putting Dr. Baltar in the same pose as Jesus on the Cross? 
1. Or is that just a coincidence?

Halloween is SRSBZNZ (Part II)

Last week, we introduced you to the SRSBZNZ Harry Potter-Themed Halloween Costume Series. In this, the second installment, we want to encourage you to get a little kooky, a little craycray, if you will. Of all the costume ideas we came up with, this one's our favorite.

Inspiration (via):

  

 We are DIGGING THE SWEATER DRESS. Also, the weird fringed head scarf? Yes, please. PLUS, this outfit gives us an excuse to go gallivanting around with the humidity-induced fro we were born to rock. In short: this is our Halloween costume. But that doesn't mean it can't be your Halloween costume! Plz to be accompanying us into the weird world of Professor Trelawney.

Click the picture to see where you can purchase any of the items pictured.

We like the fact that she wears a textured (???) sweater dress, because winter is coming and we'll probably need more sweater dresses anyway (except not, because this is Texas and everybody wears short sleeves all through winter because our bodies store the heat from summer and use it to stay warm). Since she's wearing a sweater dress, she'll need some tights, preferably some epic patterned ones that don't really match anything else she's wearing, but no one cares because she's just so out there. We like the combat boots because they are not quite rugged enough to be Doc Martens, which makes them kind of grandma, but in a good way. Sometimes a little grandma accessory is fun, right? 

... [Crickets] ... 

Moving right along, basically all you have to do to look totally crazy is layer on a bunch of hippie jewelry and wear really round glasses. And keep your eyes wide open all night. Bonus points if you carry around a cup of tea leaves all night and tell everybody they have The Grim. 

Halloween is SRSBZNZ (Part I)

Halloween - also known as All Hallow's Eve or The One Evening Every Year When Geeky is Cool - is almost upon us! Okay, so it's not TOTALLY almost upon us, but SRSBZNZ is nothing if not prepared (we're like boy scouts ... not really). But Halloween isn't the only thing coming up for which we want to help you prepare. November 19 marks the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.

But SRSBZNZ, you may ask, what do these two events have in common? Why are you writing about them together? The answer is simple, friends: They are both events that will be totally epic and involve costumes. We figure, if you dress up as a Harry Potter character for Halloween, you can have a twofer costume - one for October 31st, one for November 19th. Why NOT dress up for the penultimate Harry Potter movie? Ooh, SAT word ... strategically placed to convince you to wear more costumes.

Our first costume idea: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes.

Yes, we know that Ron Weasley is a dude, and this is a GIRL'S guide to sci-fi and fantasy, but fashion loves a little androgyny. And we love Ron Weasley. Also, we may or may not have dressed up as Sgt. Nicholas Angel last year, so we are clearly forerunners in the Breaking of Gender Barriers for the Sake of Halloween.

The goal in posting these costumes is twofold: one, we would like to inspire you to dress like characters from Harry Potter, and two, we would like you not to have to spend a gazillion dollars on some stupid costume-in-a-bag that you will only wear TWICE, because you are going to wear it to your friend's epic party AND to the midnight showing of HPDH1, right? RIGHT? Anyways. We want the costumes to be made from items that you might like to wear to class/work/shopping/lounging around the house because apparently you like to dress fancy even when you're not going anywhere.

Jeez, get to the costumes already! Okay, okay. First, our inspiration (via):

And here is our version:

SRSBZNZ Halloween: Ron Weasley in Dress Robes

You probably already own a pair of black slacks - we don't, because we are rebels, and also because our job doesn't require them. If not, you can substitute with black skinny jeans or leggings. Black shoes of any kind are fine - we are totes into those black patent brogues, though. (Again, since this is a GIRL'S guide etc etc, we're assuming you speak fashion and know that patent = shiny and brogues = a type of shoe.) Also on our Wish List: the lace shirt, top left, and BOW TIE ("Bow ties are cool!" - The Doctor) and we kind of dig that necklace, which was our way of interpreting the "dodgy little collar" that makes Ron get all voice-cracky. GAH WE LOVE RON WEASLEY.

If you want to get totally gender-bendy on us, you might try creating your dress robe costume from a black maxi skirt and pirate shirt. Maxi skirts are totally trendy this fall, so people will say, "Who is this fashion master and can she help us dress like Ron Weasley in our daily lives," while the pirate shirt will be of great assistance next time you want to dress up as Captain Jack Sparrow. Note: We do not suggest that you wear this pirate shirt on a regular basis, unless you are tall and willowy like our friend Katie, who is a goddess and looks good in crazy puff-sleeve blouses because she looks good in EVERYTHING.

We added a magic wand to this collection because, well, duh ... but if you want to get super cheap on Halloween, we suggest a stick. If you worry that a dead twig from your favorite backyard tree won't be authentic enough, you can color on it with a brown Sharpie. Problem solved!

Stay tuned for next week's costume, which will probably be the one we choose to wear for the next two months ...


(Click on the picture to see the original collage on Polyvore and to find out where you can purchase any of the items pictured above.)

Being Human is Made of Win

Contrary to the title of this post, we're - even as of this moment - unsure why we love this show so much. It could be because we have watched the entirety of season 1 and what has aired of season 2 within the past twenty-four hours, but we really can't put our finger on what it is about this show that we love.

Well, yes we can:

That. That right there would keep us watching this show even if it turned into a Heroes-scale trainwreck.

But even without factoring in Aidan Turner's amazing good looks, we adore this show. Here's the lowdown: a vampire (sort of by choice) and a werewolf (by accident) just happen to move into a house haunted by a ghost (by murder). The show focuses on their lives and their attempt at ... well, at being human.

Mitchell, the vampire, has decided he's had enough of killing people for blood, so now all the other vamps refer to him as being "on the wagon." He's had a bit of a bloodthirsty past (understandably), and so he spends a lot of time trying to atone for all the murder. We like that Mitchell tries so hard to be good and to do the right thing now, rather than brooding about having made the wrong choice then. Also, he's really good-looking (see above).

George, the werewolf, is played by Russell Tovey, who is our favorite. In addition to our involvement in sci-fi geekery, we also dabble in historical knowledge attainment. Russell Tovey first caught our attention in a little film known as The History Boys, as our favorite character, Rudge. We admire Tovey's ability to bring depth to characters that could easily be one-dimensional - Rudge is a "dumb jock" who's really not so dumb; George is a shy, unassuming janitor trying to come to terms with that whole werewolf bit. It would be so easy for him to sink into the shadows due to his insecurities, but Russell Tovey brings out every inch of George's personality and shoves it in our faces.

We arrive, finally, at Annie, the ghost, played by Lenora Crichlow. Annie has two habits that really irritate us: one, she spends a lot of time pining for the fiance she lost when she died ... well, for a few episodes, and then she wises up. Two, if a man so much as winks at her, she gets all giggly, and then that man thinks she's flirting and she ends up getting assaulted. And when we say giggly, we mean, BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL, WOMAN, SHUT UP OR I WILL THROW SOMETHING AT MY TV. That giggly. However, we also admire Annie. She cares so much about Mitchell and George that, when her unfinished business finally resolves itself and the mythical door into the next world appears, she turns it down because Mitchell is hurt and she wants to make sure he survives. When she's not giggling, she can be kind of badass.

We suppose, then, that we love this show for the same reason we love Torchwood: the character development. The cast of Being Human agrees with us.  Sci-fi geeks that we are, y'all know we love a good supernatural showdown; however, we think it has more meaning when we know enough about the characters to want to support them.

The second season of Being Human airs in the U.S. on BBC America Saturdays at 9pm/8 Central.

Photo from here.

Inception

Director Christopher Nolan once described Inception as a "sci-fi action thriller." SRSBZNZ is going to say that Nolan's latest movie is more like the tripped-out, cerebral lovechild of Ocean's 11 and Shutter Island. In other words, Inception completely defies categorization and is one of the few movies to make us realize that - hoshit! - we, the audience, are actually smart and we like intelligent movies!

For a brainy film, Inception's plot is surprisingly simple. Leo DiCaprio is a thief named Cobb who specializes in the art of infiltrating people's minds and stealing their ideas. All Cobb wants to do is go home, but he's a fugitive. Enter Saito, a sinister businessman played by Ken Watanabe, who presents Cobb with an offer he can't refuse: he can go home if he eliminates Saito's business rival by planting an idea in the latter's head (i.e. inception.) The Ocean's 11 bit comes when Cobb assembles the team to help him complete the job.

Inception is a fantastic ensemble piece and the cast is one of the main reasons why the film works at all. Movies based on complicated ideas tend to have a lot of exposition. Indeed, most of Cobb's dialogue involves pontificating about his job and the nature of dreams to the audience. In less skilled hands, this exposition-as-dialogue can kill characterization and plot development faster than an anvil falling on a piano. Nevertheless, Nolan and the cast actually get away with it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Cobb's right hand man, Arthur, is a good example. From his perfectly slicked hair to his stoic manner, he radiates suavity and competence even when all he's doing is explaining what the hell is happening in the film. The actresses are also outstanding. Ellen Page, as the architectural wunderkind Ariadne, spends the first half of the movie listening to Cobb's lectures, and she still manages to imbue her character with toughness and intelligence.

Devotees of modern art and optical illusions will adore the sets, which range from a classy hotel to a fortress high in the mountains. And the film's soundtrack deserves a special mention. Nolan uses the song "Non, Je ne regrette rien" as a major plot point in the film. The classic number was sung by Edith Piaf, and fans of Marion Cotillard (who plays Cobb's wife) will know that the lovely actress portrayed Piaf in the movie La vie en rose. However, SRSBZNZ does have one gripe about the sound mixing. We like Hans Zimmer's scores as much as the next movie-goer, but whoever was in charge of sound decided to drown out half of the characters' words with overpowering music. It's annoying, to say the least.

As a last note, we personally loved the ending, even though its ambiguity left 90% of the theater's audience crying out in frustration. The director clearly scoffed at the idea that every movie has to have a definitive ending, and we love him for that.

SRSBZNZ gives Inception 3 out of 3 tribbles.

EDIT: SRSBZNZ would like to present a very astute observation made by our friend, Mahak. Regarding the adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, she said, "I was amazed that no matter how many times he spun in that hamster wheel of a corridor, his hair *never* moved. It was like MAGIC." Well, there you have it, folks. Forget everything we said in our review - Mahak's comment identifies the real reason why Inception is awesomesauce.

The Greatest Television Couple of All Time ... of ALL TIME!

  ... Okay, maybe we're exaggerating a bit. But we love Amy Pond. We love Rory Williams. It's pretty safe to say that when you put them together, it's MAGIC. Gah. They are our favorite. And yes, everything is our favorite, but still. We love them.

The newly-regenerated (and still a little zonked) Doctor meets Amy when she is seven years old and in the midst of a prayer for someone to come fix the crack in her wall. Shock of all shocks, it turns out to be a crack in space and time. The Doctor leaves "just for a few minutes - he'll be right back, he promises," and it turns out he's gone for twelve years. They - with assistance from Amy's boyfriend, Rory - save the world from the Atraxi, etc. etc, he leaves "just for a mo'" and comes back two years later, on the night before Amy's wedding, which she neglects to mention to him.

Stuff happens, Amy tries to seduce the Doctor, Doctor says, no, you love Rory, howzabout we bring him time-traveling with us?

Thus begins a spectacular partnership (can it be a partnership if there's 3 people involved? We're going to say yes) involving the Doctor, Amy, and Rory and their misadventures with fish from space, a weird dream of the Doctor's, those creepy lizard creatures who live at the center of the earth, and a bunch of other stuff that we will refrain from relating because it involves spoilers. Let's go back to Amy and Rory.


Why We Love Amy:
Besides admiring her badassery, we find Amy refreshing because - attempted makeout sesh notwithstanting - she's not in love with the Doctor. We know, we know: Donna Noble was also not in love with the Doctor. We found that refreshing, too, but it would have been weird for Donna to be in love with the Doctor. Given that the Doctor sort of saved Amy's life when she was like seven, we know how easy it would have been for the writers of this show to create some weird daddy-issues love story involving the two of them. We are so glad they didn't. She makes a conscious decision that she loves Rory more than she loves the Doctor, and we respect her for that.

Also, we are totes jealous of her Scottish accent, beautiful porcelain skin, and fantastic hair. That's what we were going for during those two years we dyed our hair red, but clearly there's nothing like the real thing. Basically, Karen Gillan is gorgeous.

Why We Love Rory:
Rory rolls with the punches. Wayyyyy back when the Doctor and Rose first got together, Mickey wussed out and was like, "No, he's dangerous, you're going to die, time travel is scary, DON'T GO!" While we understood that he was trying to keep Rose safe, and that he genuinely cared about her welfare, we were unimpressed. More than that, we felt sorry for him. We've already discussed how annoying it was to feel sorry for Martha Jones, and Mickey was no different. We wanted to give him a hug, but we also kind of wanted him to go away.

Anyways. The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to 17th-century Venice for some pre-wedding romantic time, and they run into vampire-fish from space. Rory's all like, "Okay, I guess it's time to fight some vampire-fish from space, whatevs." And, okay, there's a little bit of confusion and waffling, but that's it. For the rest of the time he spends traveling with them, Rory is totally cool.

... Admittedly, we also are pretty impressed with the scope of his love for Amy. Dude spends 2,000 years watching over her (okay, partial spoiler - our bad) to make sure she doesn't die. That's pretty sweet.

Image from The Ultimate Doctor Who Site.

Makeover!

SRSBZNZ was feeling a little caged-in by the lonely, picture-less Blogger template. While we're still using our Blogger friends' skeleton, we decided to make it just a little bit more our own.

You may recognize the picture of the Starship Enterprise from our Twitter. We put our extensive Photoshop skillz to use and created our very own banner with it. Blog-Twitter synergy at its finest. Also, we like that it's just a little bit cheesy. It ups the nerd factor.

Do you like our new look, or should we go back to white white white?