More blood wine!

Not sure I'd want a guy in a Stormtrooper helmet trying to find my vein.

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD DRIVE

Can't the trekkies just synthesis blood from a replicator?

Ed Finnerty: That's pretty smart. They can be 99.9% sure no one has any STDs.

Don't you ever get tired of reveling in the misery of others?

You know I can't use that green ice-water you call blood...

Ed Finnerty: That's pretty smart. They can be 99.9% sure no one has any STDs.

If I hadn't adblocked the two big blue buttons, i would rate this comment both smart and funny.

Bah! Stormtroopers have no honor they should be disemboweled where they stand.

cretinbob: I just caught part of Fanboys today.

Did you watch the end? The very last line of that movie made me crack up so hard, I bashed my nose against my laptop and ended up getting blood everywhere.

I'm a member of the Rebel Legion (good guy version of the 501st, haven't completed an Imperial costume - yet) as well as STARFLEET International, so I feel uniquely qualified to say this:

Fark off, subby, I actually live above ground.

/Actually, I may steal this idea and see if I can't get it going around here.

ilikeracecars: Ed Finnerty: That's pretty smart. They can be 99.9% sure no one has any STDs.

If I hadn't adblocked the two big blue buttons, i would rate this comment both smart and funny.

Thanks. I hadn't thought of that. If I hadn't just adblocked them, I'd vote yours smart.

On another note, I read that as "...Poland's annual Star Trek v Star Wars blood drive..."

Finally, on a tangent, Saturday, I saw some 10 year old kid wearing a red TOS shirt that said "Expendable" in ST Script on the chest. Niiice.

/Random thoughts on a Holiday Monday without coffee.

Ed Finnerty: That's pretty smart. They can be 99.9% sure no one has any STDs.

On the other hand, they're going to be over-stocked on blood type "gravy".

CSB time.

I was working at a local radio station group at the time, and weaseled press passes for Dragoncon. I was doing a few little fluff pieces and interviewed the guy who ran the 501st stormrtrooper legion for some sound bites. As a total throwaway question I asked 'Who would win in a fight, you or the Klingons?'

An hour later he was STILL going on about it. The man had put a LOT of thought to this. To sum it up the klingons would do better in the Hyatt where it was more crowded, but in the Marriott it was all Vaders Fist.

/Celebs treat you better with a press pass.
//Except Traci Lords, total biatch.

I guess stormtroopers were bred to all be type O-negative.

cretinbob: I just caught part of Fanboys today. I had never seen it before. I was getting a chuckle out of it in the scene where they break into Skywalker Ranch and are gushing all over the props and costumes. What total farking nerd losers I thought. Then they showed the security guards wearing the same as the THX-1138 cops and I realized, yeah...me too.

Same here. I saw about 15 minutes of it. Seemed ok. Is it worth watching?

BarbadoSlim: Bah! Stormtroopers have no honor they should be disemboweled where they stand.

They are also lousy shooters

BeerBear: BarbadoSlim: Bah! Stormtroopers have no honor they should be disemboweled where they stand.

They are also lousy shooters

Unless they're taking down Jawas or your Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Then, homeboys be straight on!

This is a great example of geeking out for a good cause. Everybody wins. They have a big blood drive at Dragon*Con every year as well.

Ready? Fight!

sprawl15: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD DRIVE



Love it dude.

/waves at her fellow RL members

Events like this are becoming pretty common. Nerds and good causes are a great combination. Indianapolis has a charity Star Wars vs. Star Trek bowling tournament every year right before Christmas. DragonCon has a huge blood drive just in case you want to remove more of the pesky red stuff to replace it with alcohol.

Star Wars is best,

because breasts.

/And a lightsaber duel is about a million times more interesting than a phaser firefight.
//But mainly breasts.

How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

I bet he'd like to make galactic peace with her, if ya know what I mean, and I think you do.

PizzaJedi81: chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

I bet he'd like to make galactic peace piece with her, if ya know what I mean, and I think you do.

FTFY

One Bad Apple: PizzaJedi81: chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

I bet he'd like to make galactic peace piece with her, if ya know what I mean, and I think you do.

FTFY

Fair enough, and I accept the correction.

The basement dwellers exist at all levels of fandom, but they're a tiny minority. Most costumers I know are pretty normal people, many with kids. You do have to have some disposable income, but some things (like armor) are more expensive than others and you can save a lot if you can do more of the work yourself. My first completed costume only cost me about $40 because I did all the sewing myself.

Sorry Subby, Star Trek V sucked.

Oh Portland. Its cute to see you try so hard.

chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

You know, that would actually be several shades of neat.
What could they both be bribed with?

One Bad Apple: PizzaJedi81: chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

I bet he'd like to make galactic peace piece with her, if ya know what I mean, and I think you do.

FTFY

You do know that she turned into Jabba the Hutt don't you? Sure if you could do the late 70's version of her, that would be great. But now it would be more like doing your mom. Oh and she's bat shiat crazy in real life too; shock therapy and all.

BigBooper: One Bad Apple: PizzaJedi81: chemrebel: How come no one has called in Shatner or Fisher to these events to bury the hatchet?

/or to make galactic peace?
//here all week
///try the gah, it's especially fresh

I bet he'd like to make galactic peace piece with her, if ya know what I mean, and I think you do.

FTFY

You do know that she turned into Jabba the Hutt don't you? Sure if you could do the late 70's version of her, that would be great. But now it would be more like doing your mom. Oh and she's bat shiat crazy in real life too; shock therapy and all.

She's looking better now, honestly. Plus, just shock her afterwards, she won't remember a thing.

brigid_fitch: My friends and I are cosplayers--mostly Trek, Star Wars, & comic books. We'll go to cons dressed up as well as just show up at movie premieres for the hell of it.

Serious question. Say I have Captain America pj pants, is it nerd acceptable to wear them to the Avengers? Possibly paired with the Norse Crisis Flowchart shirt?

KarmicDisaster: Sorry Subby, Star Trek V sucked.

As does your mother.

And in one day have done more to help the World than Subby will do his whole sad life.

Summer Glau's Love Slave: Star Wars is best,
[i1125.photobucket.com image 332x702]
because breasts.

/And a lightsaber duel is about a million times more interesting than a phaser firefight.
//But mainly breasts.

And cameltoe.

brigid_fitch: Kant Lavar: I'm a member of the Rebel Legion (good guy version of the 501st, haven't completed an Imperial costume - yet) as well as STARFLEET International, so I feel uniquely qualified to say this:

Fark off, subby, I actually live above ground.

/Actually, I may steal this idea and see if I can't get it going around here.

It's hard for non-geeks or casual observers to differentiate the cosplayers from the stereotypical nerds with poor hygiene and lack of social skills who populate cons. My friends and I are cosplayers--mostly Trek, Star Wars, & comic books. We'll go to cons dressed up as well as just show up at movie premieres for the hell of it. And we're all married, white-collar professionals. Very few cosplayers live in their mother's basement. You need serious cash for good costumes. Good Stormtrooper armor, like the stuff the 501st wears, starts at around $1,000.

I was just trolling my fellow nerds. I've found troll-tastic headlines usually have a much greater chance of getting greened. No offense intended.

/subby

Star Trek and Star Wars team up and destroy Battlestar Galactica.

spacemanjones: cretinbob: I just caught part of Fanboys today. I had never seen it before. I was getting a chuckle out of it in the scene where they break into Skywalker Ranch and are gushing all over the props and costumes. What total farking nerd losers I thought. Then they showed the security guards wearing the same as the THX-1138 cops and I realized, yeah...me too.

Same here. I saw about 15 minutes of it. Seemed ok. Is it worth watching?

Short answer: YES

/Nanu-nanu

g-booby: Short answer: YES

What's the long answer?

Astra: /waves at her fellow RL members

*waves back, favorites in an appropriate shade of orange*

Let's revisit this story with some edits, shall we?

Three Portland women faced a tough decision when they walked into an American Red Cross blood donation center New Year's Eve morning after an all-night Star Wars Episodes i - VI movie marathon.

No doubt, they would give blood. The real question, in the midst of a blood drive battle between two galaxy warriors, was which group they'd support: Star Wars or Star Trek?

The Pacific Northwest Blood Services Region with the Red Cross on North Vancouver Avenue held its second annual Stormtroopers versus Klingons Blood Drive on Saturday, an attempt to attract more donors during a typically slow donation season by drawing on competition and creativity. They neglected to recall that the marketplace and pop culture is awash in especially Star Wars themes and so doesn't have the popular draw it used to.

Donors could vote for either the Star Trek's warrior race, the Klingons, or Star Wars' soldiers, the Stormtroopers, to win the Galaxy Drive trophy. Available upon request were pamphlets and downloadable iPhone apps which compared the two groups, giving a refresher on history, culture, and cool factoids. Last year, the Stormtroopers took the prize.

"I'm going Trek," Mary Medley, 58, said while resting at a table after donating a pint of blood, what she described as her own personal semi-organic gelpac.

Her 26-year-old daughter, Chloe, and her friend, Leah Rivendell (she changed her name after the first Lord of the Rings movie came out), hesitated.

"I like both!" Rivendell said. Chloe Medley agreed. As science fiction fans, it would be hard to choose. Clearly, the stormtroopers, as supported by the Galactic Empire, clearly outweigh the Klingon Empire in awesome fighting spaceships (unless you are current-gen Trekkers and can point to the Fek'Ihr class Klingon ship, much like a bird of prey, but much larger). But the Klingons have more sex appeal, especially if you are into BDSM.

Nearly 20 members of Star Wars costuming organizations, The 501st Legion, and Star Trek organization, Starfleet International, wandered among the donor stations in full gear and posed for photos. Three Klingons refused to be photographed, claiming they were in a personal craft that was cloaked and thus wouldn't be seen anyway.

"I'm going to have to look at all the costumes," Rivendell said, with camera in hand. "Probably hang out with them a bit." Among other things, she was searching for some real companionship since the virtual companionship she enjoys from her mom's basement isn't all too fulfilling sometimes. She eventually decided that wasn't the best idea when Darth Vader tried to force choke her and asked her for the safety word.

Mary Medley is a blood donor veteran. She'd been to her share of drives, given around 30 pints of blood through the years. But this morning, the last day of 2011, was special. It marked the first blood donation she'd given since she was cleared of breast cancer on Dec. 22.

And she was happy to do it with her daughter and friend, surrounded by some of their favorite characters.

Among them was Kim Kieser, a Portland resident who began preparing for the event the night before. A member of The 501st Legion, she covered her body with baby blue paint before slipping into the bunk bed she shares with her live-in boyfriend in her dad's basement, then rose early to finish the two-hour process of transforming into her Star Wars character, a Twi'lek Jedi. It took that long just to tie up the corset required to make her look like a halfway convincing Twi'lek.

Her ensemble, topped off with a head piece in the shape of two tentacles, stood out among the more common costumes of Jedis, Stormtroopers and Darth Vader, made mostly with cardboard cutouts, paper mache, and Halloween leftovers.

"It's really cool (sic) when you have kids come up to you with a plastic light saber and say, 'I like your costume,'" Kieser said.

Red Cross spokesman Nate Warren said this year's event drew larger amounts of blood and platelet donors than normal for a New Year's Eve drive, exceeding last year's inaugural galaxy blood battle. One worker speculated it might have been that the bar down the street was closed for remodeling, or that there was a sewage problem in town resulting in backups in many basements.

[...]

The ballots were tallied when the blood war ended. The warrior Klingons claimed victory. They celebrated with "Romulan Ale" Kool-Aid and dogh-kar chip cookies. The 501st settled for Bantha Fodder chocolate whipped cream pies.


- Rachel Stark

Sqrxz