Illustration, photography, and all-around geekery
Each year at our company meetup, we’re asked to give an up-to-four-minute-long “flash talk” about any subject. The fact that I hadn’t done one about The X-Files in my 5 years of meetups is either a crime or a miracle, depending on who you ask.
But last September, I let my freaky Phile flag fly. Here’s the result:
Just when I think I might escape…they pull me back in.
I’d started collecting X-Files fan art a couple years ago, knowing that eventually I’d have an office to decorate, and what better way to make the place feel like home than with art inspired by my favorite TV show?
I wanted to give credit where credit is due and list the artists who made this little corner of Phile heaven possible! Clockwise from the Cigarette Smoking Man Funko Pop in the upper left:
Missing Time /Justin Cybulski – Lots of X-Files and other pop-culture themes here in a minimalist graphic style that I love. It’s hard to choose a favorite!
17th&Oak / Pete Ware – Alas, it looks like this print is no longer available, but it’s one of my favorites because the quotes are so relevant to the characters, and I’m a sucker for neat typography. I also have a Walking Dead poster of Rick in the same style that has yet to find a home on my walls.
Calobee Doodles / Caroline Moore / aka me – Yeah, I put some of my own stuff up. I may replace it with others’ eventually, since it feels a bit weird to have my art on the wall. These two (Milagro and Fight the Future) are my favorites from the Episodes series.
Nan Lawson – Another artist who does a lot of pop-culture-inspired work. I love her style (as you can probably tell, since her prints currently dominate the wall in number).
The Gorgonist – So much great detail and humor in this print, it’s central on the wall for a reason. I have this illustration as a t-shirt, too!
Nan Lawson (again!) – I love that she focused on Scully in the top print, and the bottom print could have been hung either way, but I purposefully put Scully upright, shamelessly playing favorites.
Bad Witch Alert / Charlotte Foley – This one’s cute, almost rustic in style. The characters are contemplative, almost peaceful. Looking at it makes me all calm and happy. I also have her vinyl stickers, but don’t know what I want to do with them yet.
Vancouver was the filming location for the first five seasons of The X-Files, the second movie, and the latest season. I had a late flight out on Sunday, so I wanted to spend some time getting to know the city as an X-Phile.
I relied on moviemaps.org, and pinned locations that were within walking distance of our hotel. On our last day, Tammie, Thomas, and I walked around the city, and occasionally stopped so Tammie could take dorky photos of me standing in front of various X-Files filming locations.
Not on the list was the Vancouver Aquarium (used in Fearful Symmetry), which we passed during a tour of Stanley park, and Brix & Mortar restaurant, which was one of our group dinners. I couldn’t figure out which episode it had been used in, though.
Cates Park was the only location that was significantly out of our way, so we hailed a taxi from Gastown, and I paid a cab driver named William (!!!) an inordinate amount of money to haul us there, keep the meter running, and take us back to the city. The things I do for fandom.
By this time, it was pouring rain — not cute, drizzly Vancouver rain, but pissed-off, stormy, blustering rain — and we got soaked during the scant five minutes we spent at the beach, all for a shot of the iconic log from Home Again.
Tammie and Thomas have my eternal gratitude for accompanying me on this spiritual journey of sorts. I can tell they were also moved by my unending devotion to this godforsaken show:
“Caroline, we hate you.” – Actual quote from my teammates as we stood in the pouring rain. I don’t think they meant it.
WORTH IT.
Oh, what to say? What to say?
Spoilers beneath the cut.
Oh, my, god. I’ve been gutted. Flayed. Torn open. It will be a while before this episode gets out of my head.
Spoilers beneath the cut.
I don’t know where to begin, save for to say this episode is one of my new favorites. Possibly in my top ten.
Spoilers beneath the cut!
I had such a great birthday, y’all.
My show is back! My show is back! And because my head is so full and I’ve already talked Tim’s ear off about the new episodes, I’ll put my thoughts here.
Spoilers beneath the cut.