Okay, I unfortunately didn’t make this clear in the first place, but this video is not in fact me. I reblogged this because I thought it was brilliant, but I unfortunately did not create it. Credit goes to the youtube creator.
Blog Archives
San Diego Comic-Con 2014
Managed to get tickets to every nerd’s dream this summer, the one, the only, San Diego Comic-Con! I stayed at my aunt’s house, but met up with college friends Allegra, Tessa, and Steven for so major adventures.
Wandering the convention!
We took a lot of silly photos and checked out the Gotham Zipline, giant Homer head, cosplayers, and much more.
Nerd HQ! (which I helped fund)
For those of you who don’t know, Nerd HQ is a hangout spot anyone can attend in Petco Park, and is separate from Comic-Con. Tickets to the panels cost money, but it all goes to Operation Smile (a charity).
Meeting Markiplier!
Now this one was actually completely by accident. Allegra and I were walking by Keenspot, which is actually a webcomics booth, when suddenly we noticed a familiar online face. Lo and behold, Markiplier was standing alone, and we got a chance to talk to him and get some great photos.
Geek and Sundry Vloggers
Finally, right before Allegra had to leave we ran into some Geek and Sundry vloggers (who I had actually never met in person despite watching all their videos and running their data), and it was great to finally talk to them irl. I can’t wait to go again next year, and I’m excited to see who else I meet!
First Week of School
Didn’t die (level up!)
This semester I’m taking:
- Feminist Dialogue on Technology
- Topics: Video Game Studies
- Research Methods in Psychology
- Media Studies Internship (with Geek and Sundry)
Also, I’ll be running the Scripps Women in Technology club and managing the Scripps’s IT program for faculty with students working under me (power!).
More details coming when I have the time.
Fanime 2013
Fanime has come and gone once again (and I shall miss it ever so dearly). This year actually oddly enough changed my life view (quite an intense statement to make, I know). I suddenly realized I didn’t need to do everything. I didn’t have to see everyone. I could go to the panels I wanted to go to, meander the con floor when I wanted to, and hide in my room when I wanted to. It doesn’t mean I didn’t get things done, it just meant I saw less of the Dealer’s Hall and Artists’s Alley than I usually do (which was nice for my wallet). So I apologize in advance if I am becoming an old, boring fogey.
Day 0 (Thursday Night):
Drove up to Northern California with one William Grabill. Got caught in traffic, but survived. Made a 2 am run to Denny’s when we were both hungry and attempting to kill each other (okay, maybe it was just me). I have never seen one individual make that many expressions during one video. He ended up dropping me off at City Hall instead of the Hilton at 4 am. Decently good time overall.
Day 1 (Friday):
Slept in, then stood in line from 1 pm until around 7 pm (yes, 6 hours). Made friends with some random high schoolers, they had to leave before they could even get their ticket because they were only there for one day, it was really sad. Finally got badge and met up with the lovely Kelly (she is probably the most perfect individual to walk this earth, I am not worthy of her presence). I followed her and her friends to Gordon Biersch. Nearly died from ecstasy from their fries. Eventually ended up at the rave, good times all around. Ran into my friend Alex who was cosplaying Sherlock, he came sober to the con late at night, which meant although he met a lot of cool people, not all of them remembered him. It also meant he got a lot of tipsy hugs.
Day 2 (Saturday):
Oh jeez, the list is a bit long. Wandered around, took ridiculous amounts of photos. Managed to run into a bunch of cosplay friends. Artists Alley, Dealer’s Hall, exploring San Jose, the list is really pretty standard. I wore Velma that day, got a lot of compliments.
Comments I received about being Velma ranged from the absolutely sweet ‘Oh my gosh, you make a perfect Velma!’ to assholes trolling.
The good:
I had a number of people tell me that I was their childhood. I had a number of people come up and hug me, I thought a couple of them were going to cry. I was told I was a perfect Velma. I was recognized by both young and old, and got a lot of (nice) comments from strangers on the street who weren’t even attending the con. I got smiles from some 80 year old ladies, and had my picture taken with a 6 year old girl. The good significantly outweighed the bad, but unfortunately my patience has a limit.
The bad:
As I’m walking down the street:
Random fan: ‘YOU’RE WELMA, RIGHT?’
Me: ‘…sure?’
Him: ‘WHERE’S SCOOBY’
Me: ‘In the Mystery Mobile!’
Him: ‘HE’S DEAD, ISN’T HE? YOU KILLED HIM. HE’S IN THE POUND’
Me: ‘Yes, sure, he’s dead.’
*his girlfriend pulled me aside to take a photo*
Her: ‘I’m so sorry about this, he’s just a master troll, you’re taking this really well.‘
Me: ‘…no, that’s not how trolling works.’
Her: ‘Just getting in people’s faces and being loud, right?’
Me: ‘…no.’
Later that night, I’ve taken off my wig and glasses and shoes and am walking back to my hotel room:
Random guy goes ‘Hey, are you Velma?’
Me: ‘I was Velma, I’m done for now.’
Me: ‘Well, you aren’t hot if you aren’t Velma’
He then proceeds to try to ask me where I’m going and flirt with me. Apparently this is a phenomenon called negging? Guess what guys, if you do that, you’re an asshole.
The one that made me finally snap was walking the hotel and someone goes ‘Daphne!’ and I’m like ‘Whatever, they made a mistake’ and I smile at them as they pass by. Their friend turns to them when they are a couple feet away and goes ‘That’s Velma’. The original guy goes ‘I know, I’m just trolling her’. Something in me snaps, I turn around, and just shout down the hall ‘OH MY GOD, YOU ARE SO CLEVER. I haven’t heard that at ALL this convention!’ which was probably not the most mature thing, but c’est la vie.
The best one that wasn’t actually trolling was when there was this 12 year old boy who went ‘HEY DAPHNE!’, which I assumed to be an honest mistake, and I go ‘Hey!’ at the same time another fan goes ‘Hey Velma!’. The young boy just turns bright red and looks to his friend and goes ‘Oh my god, I just called her Daphne, oh my god, I’m so embarrassed’ and his friend goes ‘You’re such an idiot!’
And that’s the reasons I don’t assume people are trolling.
Back to funtimes, I attended the Nerd Courting panel with Sam and Char, it was completely full and BRILLIANT. I asked a question about the speaker’s opinion on the so-called Friend Zone, and the entire audience erupted into applause (it was very gratifying). He informed us all that the Friend Zone was BULLSHIT. I was relieved. He spoke about how nerds tend to build whole fantasies in their head before they are even dating, which is why it’s so much more crushing to be rejected. Finally, I ended up hanging outside at 1 am with a guy named Eric and his friends, he turned out to be pretty chill and we danced together at the rave before I headed to bed.
Day 3 (Sunday):
Slept in till noon. Did the standard exploring. Wore Velma again. Just chilled out until going to a FANTASTIC restaurant with all the people I was rooming with and their friends. We then returned to the hotel room and got ready for the black and white ball. I got to practice some salsa, waltz, etc., and remind myself I suck at it. Samantha’s and my combined efforts managed to sort of hook our friend Alex up with a really cute girl. Went to bed early but content.
Day 4 (Monday): Drove down with Will. We nearly killed each other again. Best part was when I was saying something, and he literally interrupted to just scream AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH for 2 literal full seconds. We really shouldn’t be allowed in a car together for long periods of time…
Fanime was pretty good all in all, super chill, I just did what I wanted. I’m going to see if I can apply this new concept to my life in general, it was interesting how much less stressed I felt.
A Rakdos Life for Me
Look at my awesome cameo in my sister’s magic the gathering article 😀
This is old, but my sister mentioned me in a Magic the Gathering article she wrote. It gives me the warm and fuzzies ❤ (although I corrected her in that she wrote ‘Rakdos for my bold and exuberant little sister’ whereas it should read ‘Rakdos for my destructive and pyromaniac little sister’).
For those nonplayers, in Magic, there are 5 guilds: Azorius Senate, Golgari Swarm, Izzet League, Cult of Rakdos, and Selesnya Conclave. As my sister describes in her article, each guild has a particular flavor and personality. I instantly associated with the Cult of Rakdos because a. it’s a CULT, b. it’s red/black, and c. it’s fast and aggressive. The funny part is I’m still a little hesitant while playing it, which sometimes leads to my downfall. Basically I need to learn to go all out until I have nothing left, which is my philosophy in life anyway. It’s interesting how something as superficial as a guild in a card game forces you to evaluate your own identity. Sometimes I wish that I was a little slower, a little better at planning, to have the ability to play more guilds. Hopefully that will come with time, for what is maturity if not learning to adapt and change?
Also, you should go read her newest one, cause she’s awesome!
v My new home v
Gender through Comic Books MOOC
In case taking a full courseload and having a job in college wasn’t enough, I’ve decided to add another online class through Canvas.net, specifically the Gender through Comic Books MOOC (massive open online course). It will be taught entirely through the web with lectures, forums, and small discussion groups. It ‘examines how comic books can be used to explore questions of gender identity, stereotypes, and roles’.
Yes, you are all thinking it, it is in fact a ‘very scrippsie course’, but maybe that’s why I’m so excited about it. It’s the fact that it’s the intersection of geek and gender reflection, two things that I somehow have latched onto recently. We’ll see if it actually turns out any good.
Gatecrash Prerelease
Forgot to post about it, but I went to the Gatecrash Prerelease earlier this month. We got to the Monstore 30 minutes early, but by the time we got to choose guilds Boros was gone. I ended up choosing Gruul instead, which wasn’t too bad (although I do miss Rakdos). Speaking of Rakdos, my sister included me in her latest article regarding choosing guilds on GatheringMagic, go check it out! I must say I must definitely am Rakdos, and Gruul did not go well for me at all. I went 1-4, but I played a girl where it was her first time ever, and I think I managed to encourage her to continue the game. Maybe it’s just my loser side speaking, but that actually made it worth it for me (such a sap). Plus it was just fun in general, everyone honestly just wants to play and have fun at those events.
I’m also just glad I got to go. I know someone who couldn’t find a ride because his friends were recovering from partying the night before. Silly people, don’t they know magic always comes first?
Little Tokyo Suite Bonding Trip
We started off our adventure by getting lunch in the plaza. I highly recommend Orochon Ramen to anyone ever, especially if it’s raining. Be prepared to ask for a 7 if you don’t like spicy, though, Marjorie asked for a 6 and decided that her digestive system was trying to kill her later that day.
Next up was mochi! You can find it pretty much anywhere, and I always like to try new flavors whenever I go. Seana and I were huge fans of the sakuramochi (pink one with the leaf), it had a kinda sweet, savory, and salty taste to it, but Anna was traumatized by it. Luckily she cleansed her pallet with some of the simpler ones.
Obviously we couldn’t leave Little Tokyo without a visit to Kinokuniya Bookstore. I went to drop off Anna’s ramen in the car, and came back to find my suite crowded in the manga section (of course). That place has some of the quirkiest stuff.
I also managed to get some cute photos for my b/w photography class while there:
Geek it Out 