Vlog!!! Must. Watch. Now.
Let me know what you think!
www.facebook.com/sexygeekgirlblog
Cheers,
~7
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Boston Strong!
I woke up to an excess of negativity Friday morning. Newscasters scattered across social media sites and television discussing the current affairs of Boston. The chaos, the fear, the anguish resonated.
I don't normally wake up to such somber tones the day I leave for a convention. Not to mention, that is exactly where I was headed. Now set to drive right into the belly of the beast.
Some of you know that I grew up in Littleton, Colorado. Some of you also know that I grew up in the Columbine school district and was the graduating class of 1999. Terrorism is part of my history. Fear is still part of my everyday life. I hadn't done anything outside of my house on April 20th in the last 14 years.
Yet, here I was......packing my props, ensuring I had extra safety pins, my converse, and my body paint. Here I was preparing to drive into a war zone on the first weekend I've spent out since Columbine. I was terrified.
As the morning progressed I started my drive. I cranked my music so loud it drowned out my thoughts. I spent the first couple of hours convincing myself that this was a good thing. I was facing fear. My hands trembled, my eyes watered, and I just kept repeating to myself that this was a good thing and I CAN do this.
I made it to New York and met up with my boyfriend. We started the journey to Boston from there. Periodically checking the news for updates and hoping for good news. The city had been locked down. Nothing in and out, no public transportation, people leaving the city. Yet, here we were. Driving towards it.
We frequently checked in with Boston Comic Con and all hands were still a go at this point, aside from a delayed load in for vendors due to the lockdown. The hours progressed.
Oddly enough, the closer to the city we came, the more at peace I felt. A calm came over me. I wasn't afraid. I felt powerful. Like a heroine who runs straight into battle assured she will be triumphant.
Night begins to fall. Saddening news arrives. Due to the lockdown, Boston Comic Con has been postponed.
Well, fuck.
So, we sat at Arby's in Connecticut for the better part of an hour gathering our thoughts and figuring out a game plan. Do we keep going? Do we turn back? Well, we decided that turning back wasn't an option. We're quite the team.
"Let's do this."
So, we set off for the city, now falling into darkness and still on lockdown.
Time went on, and as we reached the outer skirts of the city, the lockdown was lifted. We drove into solemn Gotham which was so quiet, it looked like something out of 28 Days later. No noise or movement except for sirens and police flying by. Pulling up to our dear friends house, located about 3 blocks from the bomb site, we were sure we'd made the right decision.
What to do now?
We walked through the city and headed towards the bomb site. The commissioner was there giving speeches to eager media. But, what came next surely surprised me.
They got him.
As we walked through the city, a sense of pride filled the air. People came out and were cheering, hollering, applauding. Cars drove by with the ringing anthem of "BOSTON STRONG!" The city had unified through all of this. Every single one of them, now a proud family rejoicing and breathing again. It made me feel strong. It made me feel that sense of love and unity that I got post Columbine. Those people that I'm still friends with today. I felt at home.
The next day, my cosplay family decided our time would not be wasted. We all headed to Double Midnight Comics in Manchester to throw our own comic con. Nothing was going to stop us. We are strong. We are family.
We were lucky enough to have the comic shop and a cafe to hang out in, eat, drink, and be merry. And take a million pictures of course. We spent the entire day doing the things we would have done at BCC had the previous incidents not have happened.
As the day progressed into night, I found myself so incredibly happy to be with people I truly cared about and having a wonderful time. I thought to myself many times......
"Wow. I really needed this. I am so blessed. I am living. Truly living."
And I am. Living.
Over the years, I've guarded myself and been fearful of so much. But, this weekend was a true awakening. I feel I've regained something that I lost 14 years ago. Something that has haunted me for over a decade. While I will never forget and will still hurt over those I've lost, I can live.
Sitting home now, I can't thank those I spent my weekend with enough. You all mean so very much to me. You have helped me through something very difficult. I love you all. And Boston, stay strong. Stay unified. Give healing time, but don't stop living. Don't ever stop living.
I don't normally wake up to such somber tones the day I leave for a convention. Not to mention, that is exactly where I was headed. Now set to drive right into the belly of the beast.
Some of you know that I grew up in Littleton, Colorado. Some of you also know that I grew up in the Columbine school district and was the graduating class of 1999. Terrorism is part of my history. Fear is still part of my everyday life. I hadn't done anything outside of my house on April 20th in the last 14 years.
Yet, here I was......packing my props, ensuring I had extra safety pins, my converse, and my body paint. Here I was preparing to drive into a war zone on the first weekend I've spent out since Columbine. I was terrified.
As the morning progressed I started my drive. I cranked my music so loud it drowned out my thoughts. I spent the first couple of hours convincing myself that this was a good thing. I was facing fear. My hands trembled, my eyes watered, and I just kept repeating to myself that this was a good thing and I CAN do this.
I made it to New York and met up with my boyfriend. We started the journey to Boston from there. Periodically checking the news for updates and hoping for good news. The city had been locked down. Nothing in and out, no public transportation, people leaving the city. Yet, here we were. Driving towards it.
We frequently checked in with Boston Comic Con and all hands were still a go at this point, aside from a delayed load in for vendors due to the lockdown. The hours progressed.
Oddly enough, the closer to the city we came, the more at peace I felt. A calm came over me. I wasn't afraid. I felt powerful. Like a heroine who runs straight into battle assured she will be triumphant.
Night begins to fall. Saddening news arrives. Due to the lockdown, Boston Comic Con has been postponed.
Well, fuck.
So, we sat at Arby's in Connecticut for the better part of an hour gathering our thoughts and figuring out a game plan. Do we keep going? Do we turn back? Well, we decided that turning back wasn't an option. We're quite the team.
"Let's do this."
So, we set off for the city, now falling into darkness and still on lockdown.
Time went on, and as we reached the outer skirts of the city, the lockdown was lifted. We drove into solemn Gotham which was so quiet, it looked like something out of 28 Days later. No noise or movement except for sirens and police flying by. Pulling up to our dear friends house, located about 3 blocks from the bomb site, we were sure we'd made the right decision.
What to do now?
We walked through the city and headed towards the bomb site. The commissioner was there giving speeches to eager media. But, what came next surely surprised me.
They got him.
As we walked through the city, a sense of pride filled the air. People came out and were cheering, hollering, applauding. Cars drove by with the ringing anthem of "BOSTON STRONG!" The city had unified through all of this. Every single one of them, now a proud family rejoicing and breathing again. It made me feel strong. It made me feel that sense of love and unity that I got post Columbine. Those people that I'm still friends with today. I felt at home.
The next day, my cosplay family decided our time would not be wasted. We all headed to Double Midnight Comics in Manchester to throw our own comic con. Nothing was going to stop us. We are strong. We are family.
We were lucky enough to have the comic shop and a cafe to hang out in, eat, drink, and be merry. And take a million pictures of course. We spent the entire day doing the things we would have done at BCC had the previous incidents not have happened.
As the day progressed into night, I found myself so incredibly happy to be with people I truly cared about and having a wonderful time. I thought to myself many times......
"Wow. I really needed this. I am so blessed. I am living. Truly living."
And I am. Living.
Over the years, I've guarded myself and been fearful of so much. But, this weekend was a true awakening. I feel I've regained something that I lost 14 years ago. Something that has haunted me for over a decade. While I will never forget and will still hurt over those I've lost, I can live.
Sitting home now, I can't thank those I spent my weekend with enough. You all mean so very much to me. You have helped me through something very difficult. I love you all. And Boston, stay strong. Stay unified. Give healing time, but don't stop living. Don't ever stop living.
BOSTON STRONG BABY!!!
Cheers,
~7
Friday, April 12, 2013
Case of writers block......D'oh!
It was bound to happen. I've been fighting a serious case of writers block! ARGH!
So, you get a blog post about the nothingness that is going on inside my head. Once upon a time, there was a geek, and she didn't know what to write about. So, she opened her laptop (so beautifully covered in poppies) and set out to write the most epic blog post in history. Little did she know that her serious case of ADD would soon catch up to her........OOH SQUIRREL!
Wait, where was I? Oh right, so I was watching Jurassic Park tonight, and forgot how much that movie freaked me out when I saw it for the first time in theaters. I've always had an overactive imagination, so for weeks afterwards, I would wake up to the midnight creeks of our house panic stricken and swearing that Raptors were sneaking their way up my staircase to hunt me down. Oh, and speaking of being freaked out in bed. When I was in the 3rd grade, I was scared to death of Slimer from Ghostbusters. I had a dream that he was haunting my room and woke one night to a glowing light above my bedroom door. I assume now, in hindsight, that it was the glow of the porch light shining through my window, but when you're 9, it's really hard to think anything but scary ectoplasmic nightmares come to life.
Now, I no longer have to sleep with the light on in my room. However, in recent years I saw the movie The Ring, and yes.....while most people think it's ridiculous, that one got under my skin too. I think it was the camera angles, jolted animation movement, and that creepy ass little girl. I had nightmares for about 6 weeks.
So, yeah. Overactive imagination. Speaking of overactive imaginations, I can't stop thinking about Boston Comicon. I'm putting the finishing touches on my Anck su namun costume, and Lara Croft is ready to kick some ass. This time next week, I'll be living in geek paradise. I can't complain. Life is grand. Except for this damn writers block. Who the hell gets writers block when they constantly have silliness going on inside their brain?
In other news, work is quite interesting. I'm building a security request system for our company. It's pretty fun. Have you played with Sharepoint 2010 yet? It's awesome. I've become somewhat of an expert in that arena. Give me a platform to be creative with, and I love my job. Make me talk to retarded people who don't know how to copy and paste a single word into a field (Ctrl + C) and I want to donkey punch someone. But, I'm cordial, and polite, and always smiling on the phone.
Ever wonder what Help Desk's talk about when they hang up the phone with you? Odds are, if you asked something stupid like "Why isn't my password working" when you've simply forgotten to use capital letters, you're being made fun of. Seriously, go watch The IT Crowd. It'll teach you some things.
"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
The amount of times I say that daily is astonishing. I swear I shout it in my dreams sometimes. Perhaps that's why I have nightmares. I need more computer literate counterparts.
Oh, and here's my new wallpaper on my computer, because I know you were dying to know!
And a couple of public service announcements:
EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!!!!
I NOW KNOW WHY EMO KIDS ARE SO SAD...
Anywho.......off to create a spiderweb of ideas as to what to write about. Hope you've enjoyed my momentary ramblings.
Cheers,
~7
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Mashup's......and NO I'm not talking about the kind from Glee.
Have you seen mashups of two different shows on YouTube? I've seen many, and I always find them fascinating and sometimes rather hilarious. Typically they're cut and paste or spoof version, but one show did it on point.
Sarah Jane Chronicles meets The Eleventh Doctor meets The Skeksis?? What?
What is a Skeksis you may ask? Do you remember The Dark Crystal? An old Jim Henson puppet style movie that came out in 1982. Yeah. The Skeksis were "the bad guys." Oh but wait, there's more! In this mashup, they aren't called Skeksis (even though the resemblance is uncanny.) Listen for it. Pretty darn close.
On the upside, I thought the meeting between the great Sarah Jane and the eleventh Doctor was great. She immediately knew him. I'm definitely going to have give the entire episode a watch.
Seeing as The Dark Crystal was one of my favorite movies as a child, and the Doctor is just, well, THE DOCTOR, I really enjoyed this clip. It drew me in. It left me asking questions. That is how entertainment should be. Mashups can be difficult, but if done properly, they can leave you wanting more and over-the-moon happy.
What are your thoughts on mashups?
Cheers,
~7
Cosplay Fitness...
We've all been there....
Trying to fit into a certain something, by a certain date......
One of my cosplay friends wanted to share his take on the topic.......
Trying to fit into a certain something, by a certain date......
One of my cosplay friends wanted to share his take on the topic.......
Cosplay Fitness: Winning
and Losing
by Ryan Roper
Ever catch
yourself staring at a character you adore, thinking about how great it would be
to cosplay them… only to take a step back and think “if only I was _______
enough…”? (Insert generic: thinner, taller, bulkier, etc. as needed.) In a
community that is quite prevalently dominated by “sexy” cosplays, and attention
to detail, it’s been noticed that sometimes the fitness aspect of cosplaying
oddly manages to slip under the radar. Much to the point, a cosplayer has every
right to do what they will with themselves and their costume, but I often
wonder why such insane amounts of effort and attention to detail go into the
costuming and getting into character, while opting out of certain characters
due to a difference in build. I’ve heard on many occasion something along the
lines of: “mannnnnnn, I would TOTALLY rock a Goku cosplay, too bad I’m a bit
too scrawny.” I should know, the same words have come out of my mouth; and I,
too, have been guilty of choosing cosplays that tailor to my build, vs.
tailoring my build to cosplays I’d like to do.
Therein lies the issue that I have a hard time grasping, in that if it’s so engrained in this so-called cosplay culture to go above and beyond… To painstakingly craft entire suits of armor… To spend day after day styling a wig so that the lines are just right… To wrapping yourself in saran wrap and duct tape just to have a working mannequin… Where’s the drive to lift some weights in order to achieve your cosplay goals? Where are all the people reeling and beaming with excitement after finally reaching their fitness goals, letting them do the cosplay they had set out to do? I’ve had the good fortune of talking to/working with some fellow cosplayers recently who were looking to get into better shape for some upcoming cosplays. At first they were a bit on the fence, so to speak, and weren’t whole-heartedly committed to a hard routine to get them where they wanted to be.
I’m reminded of the old film Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, and how he was a fighter with an awful lot of heart and potential, but only ever took fights he knew he could win… Until, that is, he had his shot at greatness, and decided to make a go-for-broke attempt at changing himself for something he believed in… And in the end, he actually lost. It happens. You could run on a treadmill every day for a month and still not hit the time you set as your goal. You could lift like crazy for a month and still not bench as much as you thought you would be able to… But it’s not always about winning, it’s about what you’re willing to go through to see your goal come to life, even if it’s not on schedule. Let’s be serious, we’ve all had cosplay deadlines that we ultimately just couldn’t meet, and got pushed back. Wasn’t it a great feeling, though, when that cosplay finally got debuted? I can assure you, it’s an equally impressive feeling when you finally hit the goals at the gym that you set for yourself.
That’s not all, either, as I soon found out. Those friends that were originally on the fence about a hard gym routine, they decided to jump headfirst, and haven’t quit since. They’ve acquired a new-found confidence in themselves and what they’re capable of, and that’s something that they absolutely bring to the table when they put their costumes on. Oh, it spreads, too. Fast. Before I knew it there were at least a dozen cosplayers I was speaking with that were starting to realize that it was very possible to cosplay characters that they wanted to do, as well.
As cosplayers, we’re a group of such extremely dedicated and passionate individuals, that I *guarantee* you will be impressed by what you’re capable of. So if you’re someone, like myself, who has ever turned down a cosplay (or numerous ones for that matter) because you weren’t lean enough, or muscular enough, or just downright felt like your waist was a couple sizes too big? If being those things would give you the satisfaction you require to bring those characters to life, then apply your already-amazing-and-talented skills, and be those things. You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself, and that’s what makes it so great.
Believe in yourselves. Every kid who sees you in costume already does.
Therein lies the issue that I have a hard time grasping, in that if it’s so engrained in this so-called cosplay culture to go above and beyond… To painstakingly craft entire suits of armor… To spend day after day styling a wig so that the lines are just right… To wrapping yourself in saran wrap and duct tape just to have a working mannequin… Where’s the drive to lift some weights in order to achieve your cosplay goals? Where are all the people reeling and beaming with excitement after finally reaching their fitness goals, letting them do the cosplay they had set out to do? I’ve had the good fortune of talking to/working with some fellow cosplayers recently who were looking to get into better shape for some upcoming cosplays. At first they were a bit on the fence, so to speak, and weren’t whole-heartedly committed to a hard routine to get them where they wanted to be.
I’m reminded of the old film Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, and how he was a fighter with an awful lot of heart and potential, but only ever took fights he knew he could win… Until, that is, he had his shot at greatness, and decided to make a go-for-broke attempt at changing himself for something he believed in… And in the end, he actually lost. It happens. You could run on a treadmill every day for a month and still not hit the time you set as your goal. You could lift like crazy for a month and still not bench as much as you thought you would be able to… But it’s not always about winning, it’s about what you’re willing to go through to see your goal come to life, even if it’s not on schedule. Let’s be serious, we’ve all had cosplay deadlines that we ultimately just couldn’t meet, and got pushed back. Wasn’t it a great feeling, though, when that cosplay finally got debuted? I can assure you, it’s an equally impressive feeling when you finally hit the goals at the gym that you set for yourself.
That’s not all, either, as I soon found out. Those friends that were originally on the fence about a hard gym routine, they decided to jump headfirst, and haven’t quit since. They’ve acquired a new-found confidence in themselves and what they’re capable of, and that’s something that they absolutely bring to the table when they put their costumes on. Oh, it spreads, too. Fast. Before I knew it there were at least a dozen cosplayers I was speaking with that were starting to realize that it was very possible to cosplay characters that they wanted to do, as well.
As cosplayers, we’re a group of such extremely dedicated and passionate individuals, that I *guarantee* you will be impressed by what you’re capable of. So if you’re someone, like myself, who has ever turned down a cosplay (or numerous ones for that matter) because you weren’t lean enough, or muscular enough, or just downright felt like your waist was a couple sizes too big? If being those things would give you the satisfaction you require to bring those characters to life, then apply your already-amazing-and-talented skills, and be those things. You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself, and that’s what makes it so great.
Believe in yourselves. Every kid who sees you in costume already does.
Thanks for the perspective Ryan! It's always inspiring to hear that I'm not in that boat alone. Push forward. Achieve your goals. Believe in yourself.
Cheers,
~7
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