Archive for August, 2009

FIRST LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE GRADUATION SCENE, AND BILLY BURKE!

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Hey Twilight fans… I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. This is actually the first set I’ve visited on Eclipse so far… even though it’s been filming for a couple weeks. I’ve been SO busy with work and personal stuff that I haven’t had a chance yet to visit all the sets… so, perhaps this is the beginning of the end for me? ;) Ahhh, that’s how it always is with Twilight sets… down the rabbit hole.

I got the chance to visit the set of the Graduation Scene in Eclipse today after work. I heard that Rob, Kristen, Ashley, Jackson, Peter and others were on set today filming the scene. Sadly I only got there for the tail end of it, so here are some of the photos I captured.

Eclipse Graduation Extras in Caps and Gowns

Here’s your first look at the cap and gowns they are using for the graduation scene! Very cool. Should make for some colourful scenes on film… very excited to see. They had dozens of extras on sets today… maybe around 50 people? Old people, young people, and tons of young actors dressed up as other graduating Forks High School kids. Here’s a look at what they are wearing. Very yellow! Must have been a lot of work for the costume designers.

Billy Burke in costume as Charlie Swan

And of course, sexy sexy Billy Burke all dressed up in costume as Charlie Swan. Here’s your first look at Billy! We haven’t set him yet on set so it’s pretty excited to see him all dressed up. Digging the blazer and the shoes… very Charlie Swan.

Billy Burke in costume as Charlie Swan

It’s no secret to my friends that I dig older men (Allan is quite a bit older than me)… and well, Billy Burke… yeah, he sure fits my taste in men :) Older, rugged, and sexy. Mmhmmm.

Mystery principal

Here’s a mystery actor. Only the main principals get the “umbrella treatment”. Your guess is as good as mine. Judging by the shoes and the jeans it looks like a man, but I don’t think it is Billy. Who do you think it is?

Taking down the graduation scene Taking down the graduation scene

The graduation scene was shot indoors in this school, filmed in the auditorium. After that, they moved to a park nearby where they proceed to shoot a different scene.

There are no vampires in this scene, only the Forks humans, Kristen, and Billy. Sadly no sightings of them for us. They had a number of extras on the field milling around, talking to each other… apparently they were congratulating each other after the ceremony.

Here’s where we enter the “bad reporting” zone, and I show you pictures of people who could be certain actors. Please note that I was only told who these people are, it’s quite hard to tell from the photos since they are blurry. Apologies, but hey, it’s better than nothing and I’m just getting back into Eclipse!

Anna Kendrick?

I am told this is Anna Kendrick (Jessica). This is not for certain.

Ashley Greene?

I am told this is Ashley Greene (Alice). This is not for certain.

Jackson Rathbone?

I am told this is Jackson Rathbone (Jasper). This is not for certain.

Hopefully I have better stuff soon. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out my other Twilight posts from New Moon filming, and follow me on Twitter.

Thanks for visiting :) You’ll see more soon.

ON BEING A NERD

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

There was a time, when being a nerd was not cool at all. These days, it seems like being a “nerd” or a “geek” is pretty socially acceptable. My whole life I’ve pretty much been a nerd of some sort, and while there were times when it made life hard… but mostly I am glad for it.

I think most people in the social media space, or bloggers, consider themselves to be nerds of some sort… I mean writing about yourself on the internet was pretty nerdy at one time! With Facebook, Twitter, etc… I think it is safe to say that it’s mainstream now.

There are many different kinds of nerds…

Computer Nerds: Programming geeks, internet geeks, forum geeks, hardware geeks etc…

Social Media Nerds: Bloggers, Facebook power users, Twits, Dating-site geeks, the social media nerds that join every social networking site… ;)

Music Nerds: Piano geeks, musical geeks, musical theatre geeks, composers, DJs etc…

MacGyver Nerds: DIYers, LEGO geeks, Robotics geeks, A/V geeks, etc…

“Fandom” Nerds: Sports geeks, WoW guild members, Twi Hards, Star Wars geeks, Trekkies, etc…

Gaming Nerds: Board game geeks, Xbox, Playstation, PC… you name it…

Academic Nerds: Book nerds, Smart geeks, PhDers… etc…

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I think I’ve been a geek in just about every category there at some point in my life… I’m not really embarrassed of it anymore, but let’s face it… it used to be hard to be a nerd!

So, this blog post is for all the nerds out there! I want to explore some of my nerdy past, and I hope you share yours with me :)

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Let’s start backwards with those categories.

UWO

I’ve always been an Academic Nerd. When I was younger, I used to read a book a day. I spent most of my days in the school library. I was a Librarian’s Assistant at one point, haha. I still love reading even though I don’t have as much time for it anymore. I cared a lot about school. I studied a lot. I got straight As. I was made fun of in elementary school and high school like most nerds. I graduated from university with an Honours Business Administration degree from Ivey at Western. I generally preferred studying to partying.

Planetarium

I love Science World, the Planetarium, the Aquarium… anything science-y and geeky!

Innertube Waterpolo

I played innertube waterpolo in university. Haha!

I’ve always been a Gaming Nerd. When I was little I used to play Pacman and Hangman on my old 486 computer. I played King’s Quest, Monkey Island, and all the old Sierra Adventure games. I played Math Blaster.

XCL Gaming Clan

Eventually, I got an Xbox, and then an Xbox 360. I was part of an Xbox gaming clan for many years. Yes, I even went to Xbox gaming conventions. I pretty much played my Xbox 360 all through university, even when we’d have parties over at our place.

Guitar Hero

I love all kinds of games. Fighting games, shooters, music games, MMOs, RTS… you name it. The game I’m looking forward to most right now is Gears of War 3. I worked in the video game industry for several years.

Gun

Gun

I even got into shooting rifles because I loved gaming so much. No, not at animals or people. Just targets.

Cranium

I love trivia games. I pretty much live for Cranium.

Cortana Halo Halloween Costume

I dressed up as “Cortana” from Halo for Halloween.

I’m a bit of a “Fandom” Nerd too. I’m a big Twilight fan (a “Twi Hard”)… I set stalked, I blogged about it, I read Twilight sites every evening.

My Old Room

It’s no secret that I’ve been a huge Canucks fan since I was little.

Star Wars comics

I’m a bit of a Star Wars geek. I own Star Wars LEGO. I decorated our kitchen in university with Star Wars comic books.

Carrie Fisher tattoo

Yes, I even visited the Star Wars store in Aberdeen, Washington. I think the store owner’s Carrie Fisher tattoo is pretty rad.

R2D2 Puzzle

I thought getting a Star Wars 3D puzzle for Christmas was awesome.

I’m a bit of a MacGyver Nerd.  When I was little, my dad cut the telephone line to our modem in my room because I surfing the internet too much. I found his soldering iron in the garage and I soldered all the wires back together and got on the internet again.

LEGO Mindstorms

I used to patch cables from my computer to an old TV and an old VCR to do old school video editing. Yes, I was even part of the Robotics club in high school. And yeah, I loved the LEGO Mindstorms kits and frequently built robots with my little brother.

Nerdy dress-up

Believe it or not, I was also kind of a Music Nerd. I played piano and went to piano theory classes. I got up to Grade 7 RCM in piano. I kinda hated it though. I was a big Musical Theatre geek too. I played dress up. I played silly roles for musicals in high school. I was a geek.

I consider myself to be a bit of a Social Media Nerd. I started a home grown blog (no WordPress or anything like that back then) in 1998 when I was 14 and had my own photo blog for several years! I had a 6-digit ICQ number. I met my first boyfriend in a Yahoo! chat room when I was 12. That was kind of awkward. I still use IRC, and of course I’m on the mainstream social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. I’m not as much of a power user anymore, but it’s still fun.

DIY computer

And last, but not least, I am definitely still a big Computer Nerd. My computer is still my most valued material possession in my life. Here’s a shot of the old computer I built when I was younger. I had a blast going and getting all the parts and putting it together myself. I still build my own computers (I need a picture of my new one!).

No, I will not fix your computer.

I buy shirts off ThinkGeek. Yeah, I have a “No, I will not fix your computer” shirt.

Packed up hard drives

When I went to university, I actually hand-packed my hard drives for my carry-on so I could bring my desktop computer, instead of buying a computer on the East Coast or getting one of those new-fangled laptops ;)

At Microsoft

I thought visiting Microsoft was the coolest day of my life. Bill Gates is my hero.

Zune

I drove all the way to Portland to pick up a Zune when it launched! I love my Blackberry, and I own a ton of different gadgets and techie tools. I even owned a Palm LifeDrive at one point… haha. I’ve gone through 4 different sets of the Logitech diNovo Keyboard/Media Pad.

Desktop

I usually have 25+ tabs open in my Firefox. I love video editing. I love PhotoShop. I used to design and build webpages and graphics for money. I used to FXP and I still FTP. I’ve been a member of several internet forums since I was 12 years old.

Somewhat Accurate Photography Quiver

I’m a bit of a photography nerd too.

SL Meet

I met people from internet forums when I was only 14 years old. I still meet people from the internet and internet forums. Hopefully I get to meet all of you soon too!

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Phew! That post turned out longer than I meant it to. Guess I’m a bit geekier than I thought. I’m sure most of you reading this are pretty geeky yourselves. As you know, it can be hard, especially when growing up. But these days I think it’s easier to be a nerd and easier to be proud of it!

Old Photo

I’ve had my lunch stomped on, I’ve had people break my glasses, I’ve been called four-eyes, I’ve been called a bookworm, and I’ve definitely been made fun of for all my nerdy things throughout my life. I’m sure most of you can relate… it just makes us stronger! While I’ve had my share of self-esteem issues because of it… today, I feel very comfortable and strong in my own skin. I’m really thankful for all of those experiences growing up.

So let’s celebrate our nerdiness! Who else is a nerd? What kind of nerd are you? Please share your story! :)

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This the blog of a 28 year-old Vancouver girl who loves and writes about everything “Vancouver” and West Coast. This is the blog of a girl who works in Vancouver's video game industry, it's also a surfing blog, snowboarding blog, food blog, Canucks blog, gadget blog, and photography blog. VancityAllie.com is an award-winning blog that receives over 2.7M unique visitors every year and over 4,500 followers on Twitter. VancityAllie.com has been featured in books, newspapers, magazines, and television.

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