Top Ten Lists of 2007

By Jessica Melusine

Kaylee Frye: Photo © 2002
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Here are ten things I’m no longer ashamed to love (plus one) in no specific order. “There is no shame there is no Guilt; This is the Law, Do What Thou Wilt!”

1. Larry Elmore: Elmore’s world is full of women in chain mail who would look amazing on the side of your van or on your game master screen. While lots of pulp artists are getting their dues, Larry Elmore has not yet achieved the fame of a Petty or a Varga, so why not hop in on it now? Then when everyone has girls with brass bras on their band stickers, you will be so ahead of the game.
2. Ren Faire Style: Why let folks like Siena Miller rock the bohemian look and why let haute couture be the only place you can get away with a bodice or a cape? I let my freak flag fly with the velvet Hot Cotte and the voluminous Gypsy skirt for evenings out. Why should supermodels have all the fun?
3. Chain Mail Jewelry: I like chain mail and I like the dash of fantasy art sass it can add to an outfit. A jingly anklet looks superb for yoga and livens up your Downward Dog and a bracelet can go from the office to a party with elegance and glam. My favorite jeweler is World in Chains—tell them Jessica Melusine sent you!
4. Henna: It’s hippieish, orientalist, and deliciously good for your hair. I’ve had to give up commercial hair dye because of allergies and sadly snuck around to order henna and I am in love. Stick it to the Man’s standards and go red if you dare—or just have fun with body art. The Henna Page has great resources and excellent supplies.
5. Tori Amos: I love her because she is out doing crazy work and invoking Goddesses and still being herself. I stopped because it was uncool and you know, she’d lost her edge and I’m not going to do that again.
6. Hemp shampoo: Again, showing some love to my inner hippie pays off with beautiful hair, even with regrowth in patches that have been sparse on me for years. So yes, I have hemp shampoo in my bathroom and I am not sorry. I love Heart of Iowa’s Hempchouli and Oyin Handmade’s Honey Hemp Conditioner.
7. Fanvids: I first saw fanvids at a con in Boston and was delighted at the mashup mix of science fiction and anime couples, ideas and visions to a song. If it wasn’t sci-fi nerds doing it, it might have more status as a postmodern art form. Ah well. Check YouTube for some of the extra fun ones; I usually go scouting for Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Willow/Tara and Spike/Buffy. Happy hunting! Sample Spike and Buffy’s Pop-Up Video of “I Touch Myself” (possible spoilers).
8. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: As I’ve been reading Joss Whedon’s Season 8 in Dark Horse Comics and rewatching the series, I am still struck by the high level of artistry, grace, and heart that goes into creating the Buffyverse and still touched by characters who for me have only grown more lovable with the passage of time. Buffy has scholarly journals, rabid fans, and a sadly closed-by-Fox Rocky-Horror style viewing, but what matters most is the telling of a story that is at once simple, layered with meaning, and ultimately, as in most of Whedon’s work, a hymn of praise to the alternative family which even now is bracing and radical. See what’s going on in the Buffyverse at Dark Horse.com or at Whedonesque.com and if you like that, don’t be afraid to try Firefly.
9. Science Fiction conventions: To say cons are problematic is to simplify the issues of crowded elevators, some pushy patrons, and mixed bags of social skills; however, where else do we have events that are like a party, a carnival, and a pilgrimage thrown together with Full Metal Alchemist costumes? Where else can you see Klingons at Dairy Queen? Some cons, such as Readercon, try to distance themselves from costumes and parties and PanGalactic Gargle Blasters—it’s nice to get a focus on literature, but let your Bhaktinian revelry out for a little bit. . . and if you want, wear fangs while you do. Get a day pass and don’t forget to check for room parties. Check Sci-Fi Conventions.com or at your local science fiction or gaming store.
10. SARK: I have given up and embraced SARK’s jolly, self-help, colorful books for the pleasurable mood-lifter and shoulder-to-lean-on that they are. Her giddy enthusiasm is delightful and besides, she likes crayons and Henry Miller and what’s so wrong with being giddy and joyous and hopeful? I think that’s awesome.
11. Kaylee Frye: Like Firefly, Miss Kaywinnit Lee Frye grabbed my heart and wouldn’t let go. She’s the peppy, exuberant, and joyful ship’s mechanic on the cult TV show and her attitude has been an inspiration in my mind and on my arm where she exists in tattoo form. Everyone can see I love her and that’s shiny.

NEXT: Nicole V.’s list

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