Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The Doily Duck's Top 3 Fashion Favorites: 2016 Golden Globes

The season for glamorous dresses and dapper suits has begun! The Golden Globes' red carpet is the year's first big show of Hollywood fashion glitz and it's the perfect setting where stars from both film and television gather for one big soirĂ©e and look fabulous! 

I have to say that Sunday evening's Golden Globes really didn't set my fashion loins ablaze. Compared to last year's Golden Globes red carpet fashion, this year's fashion choices were utterly unimpressive. There was clearly a shortage of distinctive, jaw-dropping, wow-factor fashion especially for the ladies. Even the gentlemen's shoes worn at this award event were more exciting than most of the dresses worn by the ladies. Props to off-beat shoe wears like Denis O'Hare's Christian Louboutin's platform heels, Jason Sudekis's black and white Air Jordan 11 sneakers, and the "sock-less" Wiz Khalifa and Bryshere Gray's loafers.

But, alas, there were some notable runway hits that made The Doily Duck's top fashion picks. And here are my fashion favorites for both ladies and gentlemen for the 2016 Golden Globes:


LADIES - Top 3

1. Jane Wu
Actress Jane Wu was an absolute red carpet stunner in her metallic silver embroidered THEIA gown. Her body skimming, sequined detailed dress fit her perfectly like her own personal knight's armor! Moreover, her sleek pony tail and gorgeous matching clutch completed this classic silhouetted look.

2. Kate Bosworth

I loved Kate Bosworth's floor-length strapless pink sequined Dolce & Gabbana gown! The pink shimmering discs were beautiful especially when she gave the dress a whirl! And her Norman Silverman diamond earrings were gorgeous!

3. Alicia Vikander
Actress Alicia Vikander got my vote for most effortless glamour! Her ethereal, white pleated dress with short ruffle neck and bib-style front was simply elegant. I also loved Alicia's subtle detail accents like the crossed-at-back, sparkly droplet earrings, and hint of glittery eye shadow. But most of all, she brought her best accessory to the awards show, her date, Michael Fassbender!

Honorable Mention: Olivia Palermo
Socialite Olivia Palermo had the most playful and bold look of the evening. She wore a Delpozo cocktail dress with color-block printing, gorgeous gold leaf choker necklace, and two-toned ankle strap pumps. She was one of the few ladies to wear a short dress with pockets!!!



GENTLEMEN - Top 3

1. Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac was hands down the best dressed gentlemen at this year's Golden Globes! He looked handsome in his perfectly tailored custom tuxedo from Rag & Bone. That smile, that beard, that smolder...just oozes charm! And he won Best Actor for HBO's "Show Me a Hero", congratulations Oscar!

 2. Ryan Gosling
What can I say, Ryan Gosling looks gorgeous in anything! He looked especially handsome in his white tuxedo jacket, black bow tie, and black suit pants!

3. Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne is the master at wearing distinctive men's wear! I loved his midnight blue two-button jacquard Gucci tux jacket dotted with bee embellishments.

Honorable Mention: Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman looked amazing in his all-black suit and bowtie! Most of all, I loved that he wore a turquoise, red, and white beaded Native American heishi necklace that totally popped with color! It was hands-down the best accessory of the night - such a beautiful and elegant choice.

Hottest "On-Stage" Couple of the Night

I don't think I am alone by picking Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt as my choice for "Hottest On-Stage Couple" of the night. Not only did they both look hot, they were quite the comedic duo on-stage as they introduced their film "The Big Short". Be still my beating heart!



And that concludes The Doily Duck's top fashion favorites for the 2016 Golden Globes! Now onward to the Screen Actors Guild Awards at the end of this month!

(Photo Credits: Reuters/Getty Images)


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

San Diego International Comic-Con 2015

For my one and only New Year's Resolution I told myself I have to finish writing my blog post about my time at the 2015 San Diego International Comic-Con (SDCC). I'm only about half a year late in writing about last July's Comic-Con and I apologize for my lateness! Unplanned family events and what-nots combined with my kids' school schedules and, of course the craziness of all the holidays, created the perfect opportunity to not have any time! Now that I have time, the holidays are pretty much over, and it's 2016, I think it's now or never!

My time at the 2015 SDCC definitely felt a lot crazier and busier compared to the previous 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. I'm pretty sure I attended all four days plus Preview Night of the Con and I haven't done that in a while. Usually I tend to skip one or two days which I prefer because I do like my sanity which one can easily loose at the crazy crowded Comic-Con of San Diego! But all in all, I can't deny my love of being here at the Con especially with the over 100,000 people who love it too!

View of the San Diego Convention Center and Marriott Hotel from the Gaslamp trolley stop.


Inside the Convention Center before the start of Preview Night.

View of the Exhibit Floor from the Convention Center Mezzanine. 

"Game of Thrones"(GOT) fanboy: Carlos wearing my Wolf hat and his latest GOT shirt.

San Diego trolley decorated with SDCC 2015 Exclusive Conan O'Brien Funko Pop! vinyl figures.

Salem and Paco playing thumb wars to pass the time on the trolley ride down to the Convention Center.

Hanging outside the back entry of Convention Center with a view of the Marina.

My kids ready for the Comic-Con.

Salem's favorite Nintendo character is Link from "The Legend of Zelda". She got a Triforce shield freebie at one of the exhibit booths!

Not your run-of-the-mill "Star Wars" art: Leggy female Stormtroopers and festively decorated Arturito.

A quick shot in the Exhibit Hall with a view of the Dark Horse (not the local coffee shop) Comics exhibit section.

Carlos posing in front of the latest Batman costume from the upcoming "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" movie. Just have to say I am not a fan of Battfleck.

Total fan of WB's "Flash" and "Arrow" television shows: the Reverse Flash costume is one of my favorites and totally digging the Golden-Age Flash helmet.

More "Arrow" props: Felicity Smoak's eyeglasses and Sara Lance's Black Canary costume.


And, of course, the sightseeing of all the awesome costumes that people wear to the Comic-Con is still one of my favorite things to do. Although I did see plenty of amazing cosplayers throughout this past Con, I didn't take as many photos as I would of liked!

One of many GOT's Daenerys Targaryen cosplayers spotted walking around the Con. 

My favorite cosplayers of the event - "Kung Fury" with Viking babes and Triceracop.

Psycho killer zombie girls. I don't know exactly who they are supposed to be but I liked how creepy and coordinated their looks were!


Loved this "Legend of Korra" fangirl's Korra costume!

Some great cosplay action: Azula costume from "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

Ru-Fi-O! Ru-Fi-O! Loved this female cosplayer's rendition of Dante Basco's Rufio from "Hook".

Fantastic version of Effie Trinket's Butterfly costume from "The Hunger Games".

Pretty amazing Raven costume!

And I saved the best for last: my daughter, Salem, wearing her homemade Link costume.


I decided to display my paper dolls in the Comic-Con Art Show again. For my third year showcasing my paper dolls, I wanted to create mostly fan-based paper dolls relevant to Comic-Con's celebration of comics and other pop-culture art forms. In addition, I wanted to show more variety with the whole collection of dolls rather than my usual majority of mermaid paper dolls. I introduced for last year's Art Show a handful of my fairy paper dolls based on Tinkerbell and friends. 

I really just love the experience of having my paper doll art on display at one of my favorite events of the year! I look forward to participating in this year's 2016 SDCC Art Show and stretching my paper craft imagination to new fangirl heights! I just want to say thank you to my sister Stevie, my two kids Paco and Salem, and my husband Carlos for helping me set-up my paper doll art display on the morning of Preview Night. And, of course, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came out to the Art Show and visited my lovely paper ladies!

My lovely paper ladies.

The artist and her art.

Upstairs at the Sails Pavilion with Carlos before the madness!


Since I had the pleasure of having Carlos hang out with me during all four days at the Con, we made sure to try to see some of Carlos's favorite comic book artists and writers. We made time to peruse Artist Alley, visit several publishing booths, and sit in on a couple of panels.

Carlos at the IDW Publishing booth with artist Gabriel Rodriguez signing the comic book "Onyx".

At the DC comic book writer, Geoff Johns, panel.

Super rad time at the "Kung Fury" panel.


A big part of the fun of every Comic-Con is the bonus of trying to spot or (even better) meet some celebrities who happen to be in San Diego! This past Comic-Con was quite the bonus for me! Thanks to my fellow IKEA cronies, Rachel and Lily, I was able to spend some time helping out at the TV Guide Magazine's Comic-Con Yacht. 

I did spot a lot of familiar and not so familiar stars hanging out at the yacht. I saw a very older-looking C. Thomas Howell a.k.a. Ponyboy from "The Outsiders". And I did meet Christian Slater very briefly and didn't realize he was on a USA television show called "Mr. Robot" that soon afterwards Carlos and I would begin watching and become fans of the show. Of course, seeing the cast of AMC's "The Walking Dead" was the most exciting part of my time on the yacht. I was able to take quick photographs with a couple of my favorite characters on the show. I was literally star-struck and the only thing I could say to both Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Danai Gurira (Michonne) was that they were "absolutely gorgeous"! Which they were!

With my IKEA compadres, Rachel and Lily.

 
I was totally head-over-heals to be able to briefly touch Andrew Lincoln.

Danai Gurira is quite the beauty and if I would of known she would be wearing her culottes jumpsuit, I would have worn mine too!!!

 Carlos spotted actor Curtis Armstrong (aka Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds" and Herbert Viola of "Moonlighting") at the trolley stop and we followed him because we happened to be headed to the same destination! Would you believe that?!?


We spent a good amount time at the Nintendo Lounge located at Marriott Marquis and Marina Hotel right next to the Convention Center because our kids LOVE Nintendo! If they could spend all their time here during the Con they would. It was Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary and I can still remember the first time I played Super Mario Bros. on the NES. I was about 11 years old with plenty of time on my hands! And now my kids love playing Nintendo games.

Salem in Link costume testing out the new game "Super Mario Maker".

Charles Martinet, the voice actor of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi, on-stage at the Nintendo Lounge.


One thing new this past Con was my youngest, Salem, decided to compete in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. for WiiU tournament for 12 years and younger. She is a pretty excellent Super Smash Bros. player and her champion character to play is Link. 

There were 128 players that day and Salem made it to Round 2 of the Super Smash Bros. tournament. Her Round 2 match against her opponent was very close and it left everybody watching on pins and needles! It was a good game! And we were very proud of Salem! We celebrated afterwards with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream at Seaport Village!

Salem with her tournament wristband and Super Smash Bros. lanyard.

Carlos entertaining our fangirl nieces, Penny and Isa, while waiting for the tournament to start.

 
Salem's First Round opponent was tough but in the end she prevailed!


And that concludes my time at the 2015 SDCC! As always, I look forward to this upcoming Comic-Con in mid-July and can't wait to see what fun things await! Cheers!