Sidewalk Superheroes

My mum woke me at 7:43 this morning with a phone call. (I told you I wasn’t a morning person.) She said that one of her co-workers in the office was watching channel 5, KTLA, and their morning show had just done a segment on the Hollywood Boulevard characters! I turned on the TV, but the damn digital box is still acting up (oh yeah, so much better when it’s digital — pah!), so I missed it. Apparently, the news crew had been on the street interviewing some characters, she didn’t say which ones, and they had been talking about the violence on the street and the tension between the characters and the rappers. !!! It’s about damn time! She also pointed out that someone specifically mentioned Batgirl and Wonder Woman. Oh?

I admit, I was a lazy bum and went back to bed. Where I had very strange dreams. I guess that’s what comes of reading Thunderball in bed. Anyway, I’m up for good and while I have a lot to do today (including catching Fanboys, heh), I did want to see what else I could find about this. I was hoping for a video clip, but it doesn’t seem that the Morning News section updates their website’s news stories as often as they should. I did a news search on Google for “Hollywood characters,” though, and this article came up. So it was the LA Times that finally woke everyone up. I’m supposed to be getting the Times everyday, but Monday through Wednesday seems to always be missing (stay classy, asshat neighbors!), so I don’t know exactly where in the print edition this story would be. But the URL says ‘print edition,’ so loads of people are going to know what the rappers are doing both online and in the rest of the world. I say good. It’s about damn time. And I’m sure the Times reporter even talked to the guy in charge of calling in his dogs to do the attacks! He’s always there, and he usually gets interviewed for things, and I’m sure he’d deny it until his teeth fell out. (Ew, I just remembered, that was my weird dream this morning. I was watching in the mirror as my teeth turned brown and decayed into nothing. Hideous.) So stupid. But because he technically doesn’t throw the punches or get the kicks in, he’s innocent — in his own eyes. I say he’s guilty as hell, because if it wasn’t for him and his “nephews,” none of this would have happened.

Bat A is quoted in the article, which makes me wonder if he was the one who finally got through to the press. I know he’s been adamant about getting attention drawn to this so someone somewhere would stop it, so I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s just sad that one of the female characters interviewed said that she was targeted for calling for help after an especially vicious beating. Seriously, assholes? You’re going to beat up a smaller woman for calling an ambulance? This is why we don’t have good Samaritans anymore! If they’re really that petty and stupid, then they deserve all the prison time they will certainly get, and a good daily ass-raping besides.

P.S. In the Times’s picture, it’s Cheetah Girl (that’s my favourite costume of hers), a Tinkerbell I’ve never seen before, and Bat M. I can tell because he’s always talking.

Later: I haven’t been home all day, but I’ve finally found the video for KTLA’s morning segment:

The LA Times article is also in the Top 10 Most Viewed Articles! Channel 4, NBC’s 5 o’clock news, just did a segment as well. It looks like all the major networks will be talking about this all day today, which is good! Channel 4 actually showed the ringleader, the rapper who calls up the thugs to do the beatings. They actually have a few videos up, including the YouTube clip that started it all, so click here to see it all. They interview Captain Spiderman, Superman, and channel 5 interviews Homeless Jack. Ick. That poor woman. In the background of channel 4’s videos you can see Dollhouse Guy, Dutch Marilyn, and Charlie Chaplin. Now you can see who we hobnob with!

So, how do you like our new digs? Exactly like the old ones, right? Well, not exactly. There’s a shiny new .com name, and a lot of headaches behind the scenes for Catwoman and I. Half of yesterday was spent trying to make this new blog look like the old one (functioning, hah), even though I hate the theme. I picked it, but I hate templates. So boring, so uncreative. So not me. Anyway, I had to go through all of the old posts and re-edit them because the embedded video got broken in the move. Not enough bubble wrap. So they’re all fixed, and tonight, as I recover from another bloodletting (the Red Cross seriously stalks me — must be my super blood), I’ll fix up the pictures and start playing with the CSS code itself.

But since we’re in the process of building the website and revamping the blog and just doing everything over, now’s as good a time as any to ask: what would you like to see? We have a few major plans up our sleeves, and there will be loads more pictures of us (as opposed to us snapping everyone else), but what else would you like to see? It can vary from colour schemes to layouts to what sort of pictures or videos we should start doing, or even costume suggestions. Between geek code building sessions I’m also going to start making pattern pieces for the Mystery Costume, because I need to get cracking on it, but even with a project literally in hand, I’m already looking ahead.

We’re also looking at some public appearances to show off our hard work on costumes and drum up some new fans. Besides Comic-Con, WonderCon and Dragon*Con, are there any other fanboy meetups or conventions that we could probably get to without too much travel that would appreciate what we do? I’m already planning on Comic-Con, to show off the Mystery Costume and also get Sergio Aragonés (Mad Magazine) to sign some books for me, since I couldn’t make last year’s convention, and we’re currently scrambling to see if we can still make WonderCon and maybe crash somewhere for free.

Anyway, any and all feedback would be appreciated and taken seriously. You’re the people that make or break this website!

Okay, I have to get back to optimizing feeds. A superhero and a supergeek! I need this shirt:

oh baby

So we are now in the process of giving the blog it’s own page on SidewalkSuperheroes.com , and you may be noticing that our site looks a little naked now… We should have it all remodeled fairly quickly, so hang tight! Never fear! It’s all under control!

If you have any suggestions for the site, we’d love to hear them. We have a couple surprises in store… but we want to give the fans what they want!

Batgirl has her weaknesses, you know. One of her biggest? Infectious powerpop. I found this new song by one of the fellas from The Apples in Stereo* and was totally suckered in. It has the added bonus of being called “We R Superheroes,” which makes it perfect for sharing on here!

We R Superheroes – Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine

I smell a music video coming on . . .

*This is the same band that did a really awesome Powerpuff Girls song a few years ago for Cartoon Network.

So this video pretty much catches us up… so it’s time for us to get out there again and film something!! Not quite sure when that will happen though, because of the weather and our schedules. I’m itching to really get some footage of both of us, and not just the other characters… but be patient with us. Neither one of us are documentary film-makers, so I’m sure we’ll get better at this. 😀 I do hope you enjoy this latest installment:

In other news, since it was raining today, I stuck around my neighbourhood, and went to yoga. Soon after I got back, I hear a screeching of tires outside. I have my curtains closed so I don’t see anything. But then I hear more cars. And then yelling. Somehow I didn’t put it all together. I thought “oh! Someone’s being arrested on PCH!” So I ran outside with my camera. As soon as I turn the corner, I see police cars blocking in a pick-up truck (with an ad for WestsideRentals on the side. ha) on my dead end street. The cop sees me and waves me away. They have guns pulled on the guy! They’re yelling at him to get out of his truck. I get a little video from my window by sticking my arm out, and then through my fence. But then I started worrying that I’d get shot. The dude was not listening to them. They did finally get him out of his truck, and sat him on the ground. Then more patrol cars came. Then a fire engine and an ambulance blocked my driveway. lol. But yeah. Excitement. And I was beginning to think that any time anything happened in my neighbourhood, I would be conveniently out of town, like the other times. So… yeah. I’m glad I didn’t miss that. Cause life has been a tad on the boring side lately…

Oh, wait, we’re not actually totally caught up with video. I’m going to make a special episode dedicated to Homeless Boyfriend next.

I swear, LA hates me. It only seems to rain on the weekends now, in the slow season, when all my bills are due, my bank account’s overdrawn, and when the only time worth working is on the weekends. Don’t worry LA, I hate you too. Tell your friends. I have been looking for other work on Craigslist, but the pickings are slim, to say the least, and most of the jobs are unpaid intern positions. Right, exactly what I need.

Meh. Anyway, I guess because I haven’t been around this weekend, standing around in the rain like an idiot, Old Boyfriend decided to give me a call yesterday. I was over at my sister’s and my nephew was having a rare cuddly day (he’s usually ridiculously hyperactive), so I wasn’t going to dump him off my lap just to answer my phone. When I did check, I saw that it was OB, leaving his usual message:

“Hi [Batgirl], this is [Old Boyfriend]. Uh, call me back when you get this message. [818] 266-6786. Again, it’s [Old Boyfriend], and my number is [818] 266-6786. Talk to you later.”

Oh, you thought I made a mistake when I posted the number? Nay nay, my friends! I promised that if he kept calling, I would post it all over the Internet and encourage people to harass him so he’d know what it felt like. So have at it. I guess the next time I see him — and really, I never do; I guess he can only lurk and hide and pop out at the most inopportune times like a true stalker — I’ll have to spell it out. I’m not interested, never have been, never will be, and if he calls again he will regret it. I’m sure my dad’s still itching to tear OB a new one, and now that you have his number, you have my permission to call him late at night or early in the morning, do the whole heavy breathing bit, and just make him uncomfortable and miserable in general.

I wouldn’t have this problem if Verizon weren’t such a dick and would let me block numbers. I finally found the block/unblock menu and put his number in, but “no response received” kept coming up. WTF?

This is kinda lame, but I just thought it was cool to see our animated selves interacting. 😀

Ooh, someone’s been making improvements around here! Okay, it was me. If you hadn’t noticed yet, or you’re reading off a feed and don’t drop in regularly, I’ve just added two new pages to the top bar.

24 Hour Party People should be pretty self-explanatory. Catwoman and I are officially offering our services as costumed entertainers to anyone who wants them. Go to the page itself for more details and contact information, but please note, we like to keep it PG. So no, we don’t strip or let you paw us. It has to be said.

Custom Costumes is all about, duh, custom costumes. Mainly, how you can get your hands on one of your own. If working here has taught me anything, it’s that the old adage, “If want something done right, you have to do it yourself” is so very true. We’ve gone through all the headaches and sweat and tears to get our costumes together, and now that we’ve done all the nasty work, you can reap the benefits! If you covet any of our costumes, consider putting in a request for your very own. As a bonus, it’s handmade by a superhero. Just please know that with any custom-built, high quality costume, it’s not cheap. You definitely get what you pay for, though.

Okay, just wanted to let everyone know about these additions, and hopefully they’ll help someone out. Enjoy!

This just came on my iPod, no joke. God, I’ve been waiting for an excuse to post this!

It’s 12:03 AM, so I’m technically writing about yesterday. But I’m a night owl, and I don’t consider the next day to have started until the sun’s coming up, so I’m going to be referring to the events of February 2nd as “today.” Just so we’re clear, because I am weird. In case you hadn’t noticed that a woman blogging as Batgirl and Padmé Amidala working on Hollywood Boulevard was less than normal.

Anyway, Wonder Cat and I decided sort of at the last minute on Sunday evening to work the next morning. I was actually hoping that I could have worked sometime on Sunday, though I knew it was going to suck because everyone would be watching the StuporBowl (TM me), but I don’t go out there alone, so there’s that. We get to Hollywood & Highland at around 10:30, and as we’re crossing Hollywood Boulevard on Highland, we notice that half the street is closed. Something’s going on, we just don’t know what.
“Ooh, maybe it’ll help us,” Wonder Cat hopes.
“We need it!”
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It’s still slooooooow going on the boulevard, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. We went to the Joker’s birthday party last night, and while I only had one weak mojito, I hate rum and I’m still burping it up. It’s disgusting. I blame it for my mind being stupid today, even though I did have quite a lot of Jack Daniel’s last night. At least seven shots? Quite a lot. And rum cake. Anyway, you already know that after I drink I’m stupid for a day, and my memory’s not so great, so I’ll try to remember any good bits that may have happened.

I don’t think I worked Friday. Did I? My dad had surgery for his cancer on Wednesday so I spent a couple of days hanging out with him, which sort of threw me off time-wise. We spent a lot of time watching movies on cable and talked about going to China, I remember that. Oh wait, we did work Friday. Today’s Sunday. Sorry. To make up for the swiss cheese memory, here’s the best picture ever:

the DC universe

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