Art & Costumes have been a part of my life since I was quite young. Halloween was, of course, aways my favorite holiday because I could dress up in something “special”. As I grew that “something special to wear” became something of my own design. Later, there was the challenge of dressing my child in the whimsy she desired. Now the whimsy is again my own. Costuming is a way to bring your dreams to life.
Diane Frkan is a published journalist, writer and
aspiring filmmaker, having worked on Detroit’s sci-fi
series, InZer0 along with other film projects. But she
is well known for her work as the PR & Marketing Queen
for ConFusion, her first convention she ever attended
7 years ago. She is also known for her “fabulous
fetish fashion ensembles” at most Michigan conventions
and enjoys being a part of cons through programming,
volunteering or causing general mischief and mayhem.
K Duane, convention liaison (Masquerade Director) 2007-8
You can now edit and post this profile page - when finished contact admin so we can make it pubic DON’T change the Page Parent (category) setting from PEOPLE, though.
the Goth Hootchie
The Mission of the Great Pinata Riders Costuming Guild is to provide a rewarding introduction to the art of Creative Costuming, for the membership of all Organizations or Events of the Michigan Science Fiction-Fantasy Fan Community.
About the Great PinataRiders Costuming Guild
The Guild’s membership ranges from the weekend-warrior who can walk away with a trophy on Saturday night because he found a better use for the hotel stationery, all the way up to people who spent the two weeks prior to every Con gluing their fingers together and swearing. As always, one very special thing is held in common among these two types of costumers and everyone in between, a thing we encourage above all else: Having fun.
In keeping with that Golden Rule of Fannish Costuming, a few things were necessary to get the whole guild thing rolling – one being the immediate disposal of anything not fun.
So, an exhaustive effort went into doing the un-fun stuff in the most painless way, and to encompass the least oppressive means of maintaining itself, with no dues, no credit checks, no things politikal to roughen the waters.
In addition, we adopted email, the most apathetic means of communication ever developed, as a main channel for correspondence so members could stay in touch without feeling obliged to.
Still interested? Read on!
But no pressure.
Cockblocker extraordinaire and VP of your humble Costuming Guild
For the whole year 2007, the Guild helped Costume Fandom Goddess Red Kendra accumulate costumers, roadies and shutterbugs to work an unprecedented 3-convention tour. ‘Tour de Nocturne’ had Masquerade Competition dates in January, April, and October, and in the process drew together, organized and entertained hundreds of enthusiasts from all over the region. We like to think we did good.
Anyway, if you’re one of those lucky folks who helped or competed during our Tour, feel free to join our email list. You don’t even have to be a Blog member, just subscribe by clicking here.
An instant, stream-of-consciousness Sandbox category where anything goes. We are an eclectic bunch, and there’s nothing wrong with posting about anything you want in here. - Might shoot the breeze about Costuming, Chupacabra hunting, quilts, or NaNoWriMo - - Let’s hear from you!
[added because forums appears to be broken]
Get Started
Thomas ‘SHARK’ Jones - our criminal mastermind - will return to the stage after a seven year absence, to MC the URBAN MARDI GRAS on October 13 in Romulus Michigan.
TOUR de NOCTURNE wraps up under his watchful eye…Release the Beast
Got a general question? Ask it in the comment section here. We’ll respond as soon as we see it, and post the answer with your question so we can build an FAQ.
Putting It All Together:
Tried and True Adhesives -A Master’s List
An indispensable guide to adhesives and how useful they are on your project!Use the letter of your material’s particular type and find a corresponding adhesive below which fits your level of skill.
SKILL LEVELS
1)– Very easy to use, one might say foolproof.
2) – Moderately easy, usually needs special attention like clamping time, etc.
3) – Special attention usually necessary, care must be taken. Might be messy.
4) - Tricky as all get-out. Usually needs fast action, high skill and/or a gas mask.
MATERIAL TYPES
a) Paper, wood, cardboard, cloth (a plethora of plant-pulp products)
b) Rigid Foam (polystyrene, urea, Great Stuff) and rigid plastic (Mylar, polystyrene, etc.)
c) “Slick” or semi-rigid plastic (vinyl, polyethylene, PETE, Nylon, etc.)
d) Flexible Foam (Urethane, Polyurethane)
e) Glass and Brittle Plastics
f) Metal (heavy pieces) – Don’t kid yourself, get it welded.
g) Metal (Foils, aluminum, wires, etc.)
OVERALL USEFULNESS
Use this rating as a general guide when planning your toolkit or any work on-site.
Trim - useful for light materials joining and finishing.
Structure - useful for building larger, bulky or complex outfits.
Emergency - useful in your toolbox for unexpected mishaps. A good indicator of relative tack-time.
ADHESIVES MASTER LIST:
Caseinate or Horsey Glues – commonly known as Elmer’s™ or White Glue. Very useful for light fastening, usually non-toxic, water-soluble, clamping over 20 minutes required. Some grades recommend ventilation. Very high structural strength in rigid assemblies. Skill required: 3 Materials: a, b Overall usefulness: Trim (dress garb) – 4, Structure – 2, Emergencies – 0
Rubber Cement – The type you see at craft stores with a brush in the bottle.Useful only for non- and semi-permanent light paper and cardboard. Highly volatile and flammable, ventilation required. No structural strength whatsoever. Skill required: 2 Materials: a, g Overall usefulness:T-2, S-0 E-3
Duct Tape – Best brands have fabric embedded within the adhesive. Beware all-plastic phonies. Very useful for flexible areas. This kind of tape always leaves sticky residue and does not age well. High strength in flexible areas. Skill required: 1 Materials: ALL. Overall usefulness: T-0, S-2, E-4 ½
Construction adhesive (mastic) – commonly known as DAP™ or Liquid Nails®. Very strong, semi-flexible glue fills large gaps and does not smell awful. Usually applied with a caulking gun. Clamping over 15 minutes required. Skill required: 2 Materials: ALL Overall usefulness: T-1, S-4, E-1
Goop – rubber bonding glues commonly known as Shoe-goo, liquid rubber. This adhesive is messy, smelly, and only works well on some rubbers and water-resistant clothing materials like canvas and nylon. Ventilation is mandatory. And clamping time is usually pretty bad, like overnight. Skill required: 3 – NOTE – SMELLS AWFUL, FLAMMABLE Materials:a, b, c, d Overall usefulness: T-2 S-2, E-0
Hot-melt or Box glue – high or low temp, plastic sticks melted in a heater gun and dripped onto materials to be bonded. No ventilation is necessary, works on virtually everything that can hold up to the heat, and fills large gaps. Skill required:2 – NOTE- VERY HOT Materials: a, b(some), e, f, g. Overall usefulness: T-4, S-4, E-4
Cyano-acrylate – commonly known as Super Glue or Krazy Glue ™. Comes in liquid or gel, dries within two minutes. Bonds anything non-porous with little or no gap to fill. Great for jewelry. Skill required: 4 – NOTE – POISON, BONDS SKIN VERY EASILY. Materials: b, c, f, g. Last resort for most. Overall usefulness: T-4, S-3, E-4
Auto Trim Adhesive – brands like 3M, Permatex™, nickname ‘Yellow Death’. This works on everything we have tried it on except for certain slick plastics like PETE, PTFE and Teflon. I was really impressed, and you will be, too. Comes in a tube, apply kinda like contact cement and needs clamping for 1-5 minutes. This is the only glue for flexible foams. Skill required: 2 – NOTE – usually messy and smelly. Materials: ALL Overall usefulness: T-3, S-3, E-3
Spray Insulation foam – commonly known as Great Stuff™. Expanding foam which cures rigid and fills very large gaps. This material, when used properly, makes a very good adhesive for just about everything except wet materials and some slick plastics. Ventilation required until foam loses its tack (about 30 minutes). Cures rigid overnight. Ventilation recommended. Skill required: Lots Materials: a, b, d, e, f, g Overall usefulness: T-0, S-4, E-1
Liquid Latex adhesive – the staple of the Make-up Artist. Best adhesive for applying flexible rubber to skin for make-up effects, but very little else. Allegedly non-toxic, fumes are moderately obnoxious. Skill required: Lots, special Materials: b, d, e, skin
Overall usefulness T-2 ½, S-0, E-3
April 2007
Because of our increased web presence we’re forced to make a disclaimer here. Thanks for listening.
The Pinata Riders is an AMATEUR COSTUMING GUILD. As such we are under absolutely no obligation to any other costuming organization’s code of conduct, guidelines, or hierarchy. While we strive for general consistency, we reserve and exercise the right to make our own rules.
That said, please don’t harangue us about rules and members that are not ICG compliant, or push your pecking order on us, or complain to any other guild that we are behaving out of caste. The reason the GPR formed was in protest to elitist costumer practices that made it difficult to break into the Masquerade Competition scene with any shred of enthusiasm left for the stage - - and certain individuals still feel that since certain of us are not professional seamstresses, stage directors, or costume historians, we don’t have the right to do what we do.
Grow up, folks.
At all our events, we at the Guild happily mention the ICG, SCA, costume.org, and share every other resource we find that has furthered the art of costuming, in as positive a light as we can, and with full understanding and respect that this is how you make your living.
In return, we ask you to respect us the amateurs -and think like an adult please- before you boycott our events.
April 2008
www.pinatariders.org is metabolizing an upgrade to wordpress 2.5
Pardon our mess - this site’s software is being rewritten as fast as the site is. Anyway, broken links are being reported from time to time but mostly they’re bogus spambot stuff - if you have a genuine concern about ANYTHING you see on this site, contact freon with the email address freon at pinatariders.net and he’ll start sobbing uncontrollably.
Richard Tucholka [Tah-HULL-kah](born February 9, 1954[1]) is a writer, game designer and publisher, best known for his work in the creation of Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic, an RPG that snagged Best Fantasy RPG of 1991 by the RPGA Network at Gen Con. He is slightly lesser known as Uncle Richard, that whimsical, huggable fellow down in the Dealer Room[citation needed]. A love child of the Fifty Foot Woman and Prince Vultan the Hawk Man, Richard has been genetically engineered to design entertaining games[citation needed]. While this talent did much to sustain his life on this simple and yet cozy three-dimensional world, a side-career as a Wide-area network bomb squad operative was a necessary addition to accumulate enough history as a human to throw off the government[citation needed].
For the social end of this ruse, designed to protect him til the age of maturity or fifty-three Earth years, the cosmos selected Richard as the bringer of wretched movies to Science Fiction Conventions, for which the populace accepted him readily - even referring to him now and again as some sort of ‘uncle’. Each of these personas has rendered a complete and functional profile of ‘the most interesting collection of RNA within a single specimen’ on the planet since L.Ron Hubbard[citation needed badly].
A side benefit which has developed from Richard Tucholka’s neverending quest to meet new and interesting people is that we ourselves have been gifted with a brilliant man in return, who has literally torn the IV’s from his arm[sedative needed] to attend a convention, driven hundreds of miles in all directions in a Chrysler Fifth Avenue with no back seat and very little remaining floor[oh, that one’s true believe me] and even leaves his cats pacing in the dark at all hours in the morning every Memorial Day Weekend while he sniffs through stamps in Columbus and his security clone sells his books and games at Marcon[you just have to be there].
A conversation with Richard Tucholka pulls you into a continuum where there is no passage of time. Draw him aside. Say one of four magic words: STARDUST, FRINGEWORTHY, POSSUM or MODELAIRPLANECEMENT, and prepare to be transported[product safety disclaimer needed].
As his moment of transcendence draws near, we urge you to take every opportunity to meet this man and share in the energy that drives him. We are proud to bring this fellow volunteer, maven of SF/F, creator of worlds and great compadre as an honored Guest at last. Conclave might happen once a year but Rich is a once-in-a-lifetime experience every time you see him, and besides, the better he feels about himself, the more he feeds us.
Richard’s Cats, translation from standard FtMrowr by Michael ‘Freon’ Andaluz
[from wikipedia.org]
Tucholka has been called “one of the unsung heroes of Role Playing” “Voted One of the Good Guys by Knights of the Dinner Table and called “Michigan’s Gaming Guru”. He is known best for his work in the creation of the role-playing game Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic, which was voted Best Fantasy RPG of 1991 by the RPGA Network at Gencon. Others works include The Morrow Project, Fringeworthy, FTL:2448, and the upcoming Hardwired Hinterland. Modules include Invasion U.S., Rogue 417, Hellsnight, Haunts, Bureau 13: Lost Files 1 & 2, COP 2448 and the DM’s Book Of Nasty Tricks & Misfit Magic. There are a bunch of young adult Tri Tac Micro Games like Monster Squash, Geriatric Wars, Pterroductyl, The Viral Vegetable Wars, Drive By, War on High, Escape From Westerville State, Baby Boomer, Duck Trooper, and Beach Bunny Bimbos with Blasters. and HOLES, a different kind of SF Miniatures Combat Game.
Rich has been a comic book publisher, book reviewer, staff writer for STARDATE and STARDRIVE Magazine, and always a Science Fiction Fan. Richard is 53, single, and lives in Pontiac, Michigan where he manages Tri Tac Games and is a Senior Technician on the Network Help Team for 300 Restaurants. Hobbies include stamp collecting, selling on eBay, house restoration, publishing, writing, reading (science fiction, anthropology, psychology, sociology, paleontology, and military history), and trying to index his 18,000+ books and B Budget Movies. He packed rooms when he did “Uncle Richard’s Trash Video Roundup” across the Midwest for a number of years at many Science Fiction Conventions. Rich also mentions he is owned by several cats.
“Undetermined” is the influence he’s personally effected to popular culture science fiction. Notably, plot elements from the Stargate franchise seem suspiciously similar to themes expressed earlier in the decade in Fringeworthy[1] and the X-Files television series shares some characteristics of Bureau 13.
Freon’s multitalented. This used to be his URL before Wordpress commandeered the server but you can still find him somewhere…
Find his Short Story collection online at http://www.lulu.com/freon
The official website for ASCENT STAGE is http://www.ascentstage.net
Find the Fan Club for AS1 at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AscentStage
Find his embarrassingly thick fan bio at http://www.pinatariders.org/people/freon
Click the image above to enter the Conclave Archives…
Masquerade Results
Best in Show: “Darkness” by Kenneth Darden Special 1970s Theme Masquerade Costume Award: “Sandman and Runner” by Debra Zimmerlee and Logan Zimmerlee Best Presentation: “The Rainbow Fairies” by Xaina (and her bevy of Lovely Ladies)
Best Novice: “Peacock Queen” by Mandy Wasson-Cassidy Young Fan Award: “Punk Rock Pixie” by Zoe Ahlquist Workmanship Award: “Duffman” by Lyle MacDougall & Adam English Lightning Round (Junk Pile Wars): “Political Party” by Tor
Special Early 1970s Theme Hall Costume Award: “Darth Vader (1977)” by John Redmond Hall Costume Awards: “Southern Belle” by Pam Gannon “Vinyl Witchy Chick” by Randy Snellgrove “Flemish Lady” by Terri
“Darth Vader (1977)” by John Redmond “Belly Dancer” by MLO “Claire” by Ray van Tilburg “Sindie de Sade” by Michael “His Excellency the Pope” by Bill (Narfboy)
Check back for costuming weblinks, and informative stuff you’ll only see here.
In 1990 a bunch of guys got together and decided to enter a Michigan SF-Fantasy con costume contest. Since they were very poor, they did not think their chances of winning in any competition were too great, especially since the aid of local costuming Guilds then in existence came at a price, and the cost of creating a reasonably authentic costume for the appropriate class of competition was expensive and time-consuming. In the words of one of our Charter Members (Paul ‘Bart’ Stevens), “The Riders tried to make contact with kindred spirits. There were none. Other guilds offered helpful costuming tips, but for a price.”
The three blossoming “National Garbsmen” then came to a decision - they’d form their own guild, with a Path of their own. Membership would be cheap, information would flow freely, and the guild would endeavor to take the hobby of Masquerade Costuming to a strange new level of fun and excitement, unconstrained by the weight of the mighty buck. A pact was entered into, and the cutting and gluing began.
On their first showing at CONFUSION of 1990, a trio of Jousting Ostrich Riders, in the tradition of the video game, exploded on the scene of Michigan Fan costuming as an original humor ensemble that stole the show before it even opened.
A string of victories as well as an exciting escalation of the Costuming Wars ensued, each entry constructed with objects ranging from Glad Tall Kitchen Garbage Bags to Radio Shack Stress-beater desk toys to hula-hoops to mountains of paper mache, all to keep up with more and more enthusiastic competition.
When the glitter settled, the Piñata Riders troupe had won three Ensemble Awards, two Best of Show individual entries, and a host of Humor related prizes at Michigan’s seasonal Cons - ConFusion, ConTraption, and ConClave.
The Piñata Riders’ fame reached a comfortable plateau with January 1992’s Best of Show award, for an entry named TERMINATOR III, a nine-foot tall, blue robot constructed from cardboard tubes, flower pots, and polystyrene foam board. Many glue guns died bringing it to the stage, but it got there, and promptly terminated the competition.
The Guild managed to publish and distribute a flyer, entitled The Propaganda Rag, for an initial run of two years, with three editions each of two volumes dedicated to spreading word of the Absurd Path. The Rag preached fun, economy, and recycling, as well as dropping a name here and there to get people turned on to the world of Fan-costuming. In the course of our adventures we accumulated a few of the necessary things a Guild should have, and here’s a short list:
STANDARD TOOL: YARDSTICK.Very cheap, and when you run out of money, you can use it inside your costume.
MASCOT: FLEPPLE.(Origin - Joe BART Horner) A fictitious animal with three eyes, one horn, and one foot, which normal folk know as a gremlin. Hides costuming supplies, and makes a satisfying SPLAT noise when stomped.
FORMULA FOR A WINNING COSTUME- a handful of tips which make for a well thought-out as well as fun time at any masquerade.
GROUPIES- say no more. Piñata Riders are thronged by the opposite sex. Both of them.
A Gallery of Pinatas, offstage and around the cons through the ages… in no particular order.
Click for a larger image
Bylaws of the Great Piñata Riders Costuming Guild
I. Guild Management, Correspondence and Meetings
Management
The management of the Great Piñata Riders Costuming Guild (the “Guild”) will be administered by a Board of Directors (”Ministry”), which will be composed of not less than five members as defined here:
1) President
2) Vice President (“Supreme Underling”, “Vice Pooh-Bah”, “Minion to the Head MIDGET”)
At least three (3) Department Heads (”MINISTERS“), to manage the Guild Treasury, Communications, and Convention Relations.
3) Treasurer (”Minister of the Gold”)
4) Director of Communications (”Minister of Propaganda”)
5) Director of Convention Relations (”Minister of Ceremonies”)
Correspondence
The Guild Ministry will correspond monthly by eMail or telephone.
The Provisional Management of the Guild (administration with fewer than five individuals) will be the responsibility of the President.
Meetings
Mandatory Meetings of the Guild Ministry will be scheduled formally by consensus of all correspondence via email, fax (Electronic Mail), or telephone, and will take place at least annually.
Mandatory Meeting Place, Date and Time information will be announced to the Members At Large by electronic mail and in the telephone message posted on the Hotline.
Mandatory Meetings may be rescheduled or cancelled by the President at least thirty (30) days in advance.
Mandatory Meetings are announced with a Notice of at least ninety (90) days in advance, which may only be waived by a Majority vote of the Ministry.
All subordinate correspondence between members of the Ministry which have a direct bearing on the Management or Operation of the Guild will be copied to the electronic mail account of the Guild and/or the President for posterity, and may be used as official minutes of the Ministry’s day-to-day activity.
II. Office Eligibility, Terms and Elections
Department Head (MIDGETs)
Any person is eligible for appointment to the Office of Department Head (”MIDGET”, Member In Damned Good Election Type standing).
Each Department MIDGET will be appointed by the President to a two- (2) year term.
All posts within the Guild below the level of MIDGET are appointed for the duration of that MIDGET’s term, and have the option to remain under the direction of any duly appointed MIDGET.
A Department MIDGET may resign at any time or be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Ministry.
The resignation of any Department MIDGET must be accepted by the President or duly delegated Ministry Member(s).
In the event of the death, incapacitation or otherwise removal of any Department MIDGET, a successor will be appointed by the President, who reserves the right to call an election.
A Department MIDGET is considered incapacitated if for any reason (s)he is incapable of carrying out the duties of the office and is removed by a two-thirds vote of the Ministry.
In the case of an election, a majority vote of the Ministry elects a Member At Large nominee to become a Department MIDGET.
Board of Directors (“Ministry”)
Any Guild Member outside the Ministry is eligible to election to any vacant post of the Ministry, except for that of President.
The entire Ministry, with the exception of the President, is elected to a two (2) year term on the last day of November, each odd-numbered year, by a majority vote of the Membership at Large.
A vacancy in the Ministry may be filled by any Guild Member who is nominated by the Members at Large and elected by majority vote of the remaining Ministry.
The Guild President (”Pooh-Bah”)
The President is elected under these requirements:
All Presidents serve a full four (4) year term, beginning upon the day of his/her acceptance of the post.
A President may only be elected at the Mandatory Meeting, and by the two-thirds majority vote of all Ministry Members, including the Outgoing President.
In the event of the death, removal, resignation, or otherwise incapacity of the President, the Vice President will become Acting President and carries two (2) votes in all matters of the Ministry’s operations until such time as nominations and a Majority Vote during a Mandatory Meeting can be made, or a General Ministry Election takes place, whichever comes first.
Voting
General Voting Procedure
“Majority” votes: Members at Large may submit votes or nominations pertaining to all Guild functions by electronic mail or telephone by responding specifically to either a memo from the Guild Electronic Mail account or Hotline Message, or by ballot if the issue is opened during a Guild Membership Meeting to which the President is attendant.
Results of a Majority vote will be tallied by the President or delegated Director of Communications.
Special Vote
Elections: Members at Large may submit votes by any of the above means by midnight on the Fourteenth of November of each election year.
“Two-thirds majority” votes of the Ministry may only occur at Mandatory Meetings.
Voting for Regular Presidential Election may only occur at the Annual Mandatory Meeting during the Election year.
Nominations
Members are free to campaign for nomination in any way they see fit, and will receive no compensation for funds used during their campaigns.
Members At Large may submit nominations by electronic mail or telephone, until seven (7) days from the call to vote is announced by Electronic Mail AND telephone, or by ballot if nominations are opened during a Guild Meeting to which the President is attendant.
III. Responsibilities of the President and Vice President
The Guild President is the Director of the Guild Design and Build Department.
It is the responsibility of the President and Vice President to be familiar with the Mission Statement, bylaws, and policies of the Guild, as outlined in the Members’ Handbook Section 3, Responsibilities of the President and Vice President.
IV. Responsibilities of the Ministry
It is the responsibility of the Ministry to be familiar with the Mission Statement, bylaws, and policies of the Guild, as outlined in the Members’ Handbook Section 4, Responsibilities of the Guild Ministers.
V. Responsibilities of Department MIDGETs
It is the responsibility of each Department MIDGET to be familiar with the Mission Statement, bylaws, and policies of the Guild, as outlined in the Members’ Handbook Section 5, Responsibilities of the Department MIDGET.
Once appointed, a Department MIDGET has fourteen (14) days to meet the following requirements to remain in that office:
Be, or become a member of the Great Piñata Riders Guild.
Accept the Appointment to the office via electronic Mail addressing the General Membership of the Guild.
Meet with or correspond via Electronic Mail or telephone with the highest-ranking officers of that department or any Ministry Member, for orientation.
VI. Promotion, Responsibility, and Release of Members
All Members are eligible for promotion as outlined in the Member Handbook, section 6, Member Promotions.
Membership in any capacity within the Guild is a privilege, not a right.
The Guild may establish additional categories of membership or provide services based on any membership level, and may charge dues for membership or fees for services.
It is the responsibility of every Member of the Guild to be familiar with the Mission Statement, bylaws, and policies of the Guild, as supplied in the Members’ Handbook.
A Member may be released from the Guild for any breach of the bylaws or policies of the Guild, or at the discretion of the President.
Summary release (”expulsion”) will be at the discretion of a two-thirds majority of the Ministry, in accord with the procedures set forth in the Members’ Handbook.
No member will face summary release without having first an opportunity to correct, explain or defend the breach.
Removal from the Ministry or from the post of Departmental MIDGET for any reason do not constitute summary release.
VII. Property and Records
Any transfer of moneys or materials of monetary value will be valid only if its record of receipt is signed by both the Treasurer (”Minister of the Gold”) and the President. Any transfer signed in this manner will bind the Guild fully and legally.
Any person, firm, or company to whom a copy of Article VI has been provided will be entitled to rely thereon until notified by the Treasurer or duly appointed delegate of its amendment or repeal.
The Treasurer will maintain a written log and all records evidencing the property owned and the disbursements granted by the Guild, and will present this on demand by electronic mail within thirty (30) days of request by any Member, and also at each Mandatory Meeting for which both the President and Treasurer is attendant.
VIII. Quorum
Any and all business transactions that require a majority vote quorum will be a majority vote of the Members of the Ministry attendant upon a Meeting, or responses received by telephone or electronic mail.
Any and all business transactions requiring a two-thirds majority will require a two-thirds vote per Section 2.04 (b).
IX. Compensation
The Departmental MIDGETS, all members of the Ministry, and all representatives of the Guild in all of its endeavors act in the name of the guild without compensation.
X. Amendment to the Bylaws
The Ministry will have the power to alter, amend, or repeal the bylaws, or adopt new bylaws, provided the bylaws at no time will contain any provision inconsistent with the Non Profit Corporation Codes of the States of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois.
Copyright 2000 Great PiñataRiders Costuming Guild
The Standing Board of the Guild (2007):
President: Michael ‘Freon’ Andaluz
Vice President: Paul ‘Bart’ Stevens
Treasurer: G. Shalla Schmidt
Director of Communications: Joe ‘Bart’ Horner
Director of Convention Relations: ‘Red’ Kendra Duane
Duly elected or appointed,
Members-At-Large: listserv michiganfandom@yahoogroups.com
Public Relations: http://www.pinatariders.org
Standing Department MiDGETs:
J Saul, moderator
A Bouchard, moderator
M Owsley, webmaster
K Duane, convention liaison (Masquerade Director) 2007-8
Founding members:
Michael ‘Freon’ Andaluz
Thomas ‘Shark’ Jones
Paul ‘Bart’ Stevens
Joe ‘Bart’ Horner
The Great Pinata Riders Costuming Guild is open to all those interested in participating or planning fun events within the Metro Detroit/Southeast Michigan area. We deal regularly with the committees formed to plan volunteer events such as AASFA’s ConFusion, Conclave and others.
We have a general information email address for the very next convention we’re appearing in, and that’s masquerade at pinatariders.net. Depending on who’s representing us at that con, anyone could be on the other end but regardless we’ll get the message!
If you are interested in contacting a volunteer committee for a convention to see if the Guild will be involved in one of their events, just email them for info. Otherwise, drop a line on Freon at pinatariders dot net and ask what’s up.
pinatariders.org can give you an email address. We use squirrel webmail and if you are on one of our committees and need an email identity, contact us and we’ll set you up.
ConFusion 2007 - Keep in touch by joining our Masquerade de Nocturne listserv. Nocturne is on tour all year, so this list will accumulate costumers from at least three Michigan conventions:
http://lists.pinatariders.net/listinfo.cgi/nocturne-pinatariders.net
“I’m the guy you see at cons carrying a camera or playing a pair of recorders with his nose. Now and again, you’ll catch me creating a costume or two. I have been a dancing demon and a goat-footed satyr. Oh, and beware the puns!”
Davroz - Working on New Recruits
Mental Floss from Paul “Bart” – Guild Master
Hello! Welcome to the Great Piñata Riders Propaganda Rag. Mike (AKA Freon) asked the current Guild members to write something for this issue of the rag. He said it could be about anything. How tempting to write about the sex life of Amoeba proteus. However, I realize that this is not the type of publication where one would want to read this (at least I hope not).
Well, the Great Piñata Riders is a costuming guild. Therefore, I should write about the guild and what we do with costumes (you would be amazed what we do with costumes).
First and foremost, my name is Paul Stevens (AKA Bart Giamatti, AKA Paul Bart). I have been associated with the guild since its early days. I was there in the days of papier-mache, glue guns and last minute repairs. I witnessed the evolution of the guild into what it has become today. What has it become? For those uninitiated into the guild, the roster has grown considerably in the last year. From the humble beginnings of three very tired (and drunk) members to the vast network of talented individuals involved today, the Great Piñata Riders have come a long way and come together under the guild to promote cheap, user friendly costumes.
What can we expect from the Great Piñata Riders in the future? Your guess is as good as mine. That’s right! We still don’t have a clue as to what we are doing—for future costumes. We have knocked around ideas for the immediate cons, but nothing concrete, yet. Concrete? Hey, we haven’t used that in one of our costumes. What could we do with concrete? But seriously, folks, if you have any ideas that we may be able to use, then don’t be afraid to approach a guild member and offer suggestions to us. If we can design it, then don’t be surprised if you see it at a con near you.
Let the glue guns heat up, get the newspaper shredded because the Great Piñata Riders are recruiting creative and talented individuals for their costuming ideas. We’re almost crazy enough to try anything.
Until later,
Paul BART Stevens
Someone has to be an audience for the play you people are always improvising. All of you trying for the center stage. All of you trying to get the audience to notice you, to declare you the star, so that when you die, the curtain will come down and the show will end. But it never does. No one was the star after all.
That’s the difference between life and art, of course. Life has no frames, no curtains, no beginnings and no endings.
Which should imply that it has no meaning.
I mean my own life. I mean what I do.Orson Scott Card, EARTHBORN
There are knowers and there are doers.
Freon was born surrounded by small machines. Some of them gave him light, some gave him oxygen, and some had cold rubber gloves on that made him giggle. Only five years later he found that most small machines could be disassembled.
By the time Freon was ten years old he had taken apart a telephone, an alarm clock, a Zenith twenty-inch television, a typewriter, three bicycles, a lawn mower, an electric weed trimmer, a toaster, a milk shake mixer, a record player, an Easy-Bake oven and a 35 mm camera. He had burned out a chemistry set, and was about to start on a pipe organ when he was forced to move to the States and continue his reign of adolescent terror under a much lower departmental budget.
(When Freon was eleven years old he KNEW that liquid kerosene was a popular rocket fuel. Being eleven, he wasn’t allowed to purchase kerosene from the local Esso station, so he designed a rocket (built from soda cans) that would have refined the precious fuel from simple crude oil. Of course, he couldn’t find or purchase crude oil either. )
When Freon was thirteen he found that the controlled burn rate of model rocket motors and the nature of common christmas lamps combined neatly into pyrotechnics for an 8mm space epic which only cost him his entire model airplane collection, one smelly explosion at a time.
At fourteen Freon found out that LucasFilm wasn’t hiring.
When Freon was fifteen he blew his right eyebrow off during the test firing of a solid rocket booster made from bamboo and cordite. Thankfully, his right eybrow now nearly matched his left, which had been torn off by a mad squirrel monkey the year before.
When Freon was sixteen he discovered that the small machines around him could actually be put back together in working condition before he lost interest. This crucial point was never quite clear to him before he got under the hood of a car.
The next year his high school career advisor Mr Little, given all of the above, urged Freon to stay in school. So he applied to and attended Michigan State for the next two years.
During these two years three important things happened: Freon met his future wife, Shalla. Freon found out that the GPA for entering the School of Engineering was 4.1. Freon found out that you didn’t need a degree from MSU to be a mechanic. Many unimportant things happened since, but that’s beyond the scope of this essay. The most important unimportant thing was that he attended something called a science fiction convention (namely ConFusion) in 1989 and discovered something called fandom.
(The year before, Freon had graduated the one-year program at Motech as an auto service tech. Top honors. Somehow that equated to grounds for hiring him as a IS tech support staffer for a mortgage company in Bloomfield Hills. Okay, so this is the abbreviated version of ten years in the work force.)
Freon’s time in the cubefarm left him with both a cynical attitude and a laptop, which figured greatly in steering him into a stretch of writing which has yielded a stack of essays and a collection of short fiction that is almost as interesting as his real life.
He’d write about his real life, but he’d of course have to use a pen name.
Freon’s Penguicon bio*:
Freon has been in Michigan fandom for years. He is one of those fans who will work himself mercilessly. Not only does he work hard, Freon does his best to get others to enjoy fandom. He’s very very good at that. Freon is one of the people who makes you proud to be a fan… and a friend.
Several years ago, back when ConFusion was in Warren, Freon and friends orchestrated Radio Free ConFusion. That became RadioFreeFandom. RFF could therefore be set up at other cons - and it was. Imagine a radio show during the convention. That’s only a small part of RFF. It takes a lot of time and equipment to run a radio show, especially in an environment like a con.
He’s been a dueling DJ with Bill Putt. Even when he’s not officially Ops, somehow Freon’s always working in Ops anyway. Fixing a technical issue here, finding something for someone else over there, building marshmallow catapults… I (Anne Zanoni) affectionately call Freon a mad scientist. He writes prose and radio plays, does newsletters, fixes computers and cars and houses…
Like most authors, he loathes the telephone, but he loves his Nextel walkie-talkie.
Freon ran a very successful 2005 WritersWorkshop. Formerly it was known as the PenguiCon Writer’s Workshops. It has been renamed since its inception. Like Radio Free Fandom, this too can be shared to other conventions. Now “the Writer’s Workshop that we at the Sanctuary Press opened at Penguicon 3.0″ is the Sanctuary Press Writer’s Workshop.
Freon was also instrumental in keeping the final ConTraption alive and kicking. He’s the one who pulled people together in 2000-2001. It was worth it.
FREON is the fannish pseudo for a man named Michael A. Andaluz, a longtime fan, author and major participant in SF/F fandom in Michigan. He has been instrumental in organizing several lasting phenomena for Michigan Fandom including RadioFreeFandom, Sanctuary Press Writers Workshops, MichiganFandom discussion groups, and he has published both essays and short stories in Science Fiction’s Small Press both online and in print. His debut novella, THE JAM, appeared online as a Sept 11th tribute. He’s edited the Ann Arbor SF Association’s ‘zine, TANSTAAFL, and his first short-story collection, ASCENT STAGE I was released in 2004.
*and he knows the links are broken.
1-28 1995 Open Costuming and Mask Making - ConFusion 10101
For two hours our expert costumers Melody Asplund-Faith, Mike (Freon) Andaluz, and Lynn Jones will be available to assist you in bringing to life your character conceptions. We will have on hand a serger, hot glue gun, fabric, and, of course, duct tape.
1-28 1995 Computer Animation ConFusion 10101
Michael O’Connell and Michael (Freon) Andaluz show how-to tips on creating fractal animations.
“The Last Pinata”
RED Kendra Duane - Costume Director
Originally from San Fransisco, California, Kendra now resides in Pontiac, Mi. An avid Renaissance Festival goer, Kendra has been costuming herself - and others at times - for over 10 years. Kendra’s past theater work includes assisting with wardrobe and dressing, as well as set construction, hanging lights, and changing gels for various productions at the Franciscan Theater and Conference Center in Sylvania, Ohio. In the summer of 2004, Kendra worked as a Wardrobe Attendant and Dresser for the Snoopy Rocks! On Ice show at Cedar point in Sandusky, Ohio. In 2005, Kendra performed double duty on both cast and crew of Hi, Ho, Robin Hood in Livonia, Michigan playing the part of “Mother Meg” and working as Costume Coordinator as well. She also studied with the Knights of Iron Stage Combat and Repertory Theater Company for over 2 years.
“Working on Time out for Ginger has been a great challenge for me, as I have been learning so much through this production. I have also had a great time doing this work and watching this show come together from the very beginning. I am proud of the work I have done, and look forward to my next opportunity to work in theater,” Kendra says of this production.
“RED” Kendra Duane’s Marcon 41 Bio:
Kendra’s theatrical costuming credits include: “Snoopy Rocks! On Ice” in 2004, “Hi Ho Robin Hood” in 2005 and “Time Out For Ginger” in 2006. Kendra has also costumed herself for the 10+ years she has been attending the Michigan Renaissance Festival and the Silverleaf Renaissance Festival.
Red was instrumental in forming a costuming focused programming track for CONCLAVE in Romulus Michigan October 2006, and even organized a small but fun costume contest there complete with judges and awards.
She then appeared as the Masquerade Director at ConFusion 2007 in Troy Michigan, where she improvised Masquerade de Nocturne and led the Guild on its first foray into running Convention Competition in seven years. The Masquerade was so successful that a ‘Tour de Nocturne’ followed, to bring the Riders together for an unprecedented tour with additional 2007 dates at other conventions in the Metro Detroit Area.
If you attend Michigan SF cons and have been bowled over by a hug-crazed Eight-ball or Supergirl, that was probably her.
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You can now edit and post this profile page - when finished contact admin so we can make it pubic DON’T change the Page Parent (category) setting from PEOPLE, though.
You can now edit and post this profile page - when finished contact admin so we can make it pubic DON’T change the Page Parent (category) setting from PEOPLE, though.