Blog Archives

Celebrity Encounters - Leonard Nimoy

2/27/2015

by Maria Ingmire

Rest in Peace, Mr. Spock

Leonard Nimoy was one of the most respected and admired actors in geekdom for good reason.

I met Mr. Nimoy at Dragon Con at a double photo op with William Shatner. As soon as it was my turn, in a mindless fit of enthusiasm I squeezed both of the gentlemen’s shoulders with an undignified squeal and thanked them for coming out to see the fans.

Mr. Nimoy smiled warmly and said it was his pleasure to be there. Shatner nodded and seemed cheered by his friend’s presence. Every panel they did, and I saw all of them, showcased a deep friendship.

Of all my celebrity encounters, this is one of my all time favorites. Leonard Nimoy is irreplaceable, but he will live long in our hearts.

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Cosplay 101: Press Start

2/20/2015

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by Lindsey

I encounter folks all the time who think cosplay or costuming is really difficult. I love that there are cosplayers out there making a pop culture impact and bringing costumes/conventions to the mainstream.

However, it also makes noobs feel a ton of pressure for perfection; so much pressure that people give up on cosplay before they ever start. As a casual cosplayer, here’s the secret I’ve learned: screen accuracy is a myth.

As a casual cosplayer, here’s the secret I’ve learned: screen accuracy is a myth.

Nobody (even a celebrity) has an actual “perfect” costume. Everything is an interpretation. Once you let perfection go, you can actually enjoy costuming!

There are many schools of thought for beginning a costume, but here’s the easiest/simplest/my favorite method. Be inspired by what’s around you. Start with something you already own or look for inspiration at a thrift store. You don’t have to start from scratch, in fact that’s the fastest way to feel like a failure. You can make a cosplay look more authentic based on your accessories and makeup ----- not by the material your shirt/dress/pantaloons are made from.

All of these cosplays are simple interpretations of characters using clothing we already owned and felt COMFORTABLE in. None of us won a contest, but we received wonderful compliments and took plenty of photos.

*Note: Real Freaking Geek Girls in photos*

My other cosplay tip is: use what your mama gave you. Your height, weight, facial features, hair, or even an irregularity can all add to your costume. Stop obsessing about all the traits you don’t have and start focusing on all the great things you actually are.

My short friends pull off amazing hobbit moments without much effort.
My tall friends make menacing super villains without special effects.
My curves turn just about every cosplay into a pinup.
WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER.

I’ve seen birthmarks as zombie wounds, bald spots as alien features, and don’t get me started on how amazing steampunk wheelchairs are. Cosplay is about fun and fandoms. Don’t ever be afraid to try.

*You can always send your questions to our cosplay fairy godmothers here at GG Inc*

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Rainbow Reading - Black Dog Blues

2/16/2015

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by Heather

Rainbow Reading is our new weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.

Once a month, we will highlight an entire book series.

This week I will be highlighting Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford -it was recently re-released by Dreamspinner Press on February 3rd.

I admit I love every single one of Rhys Ford’s books - from her contemporary series to the supernatural. This is a standalone book, but I hope that it expands into a series.

This is also somewhat unique in her books as it is primarily urban fantasy instead of primarily romance.

Kai Gracen is an elfin outcast raised by humans. He was actually the pot in a poker game when he was won by Dempsey, a human Stalker. The book is set on earth in San Diego after a merge of Earth and Underhill caused a war to erupt between humans and elves. They are now forced to live side by side and deal with the monsters that are in their world. Stalkers are bounty hunters/police that help to rid the world of these monsters.

Kai Gracen learned all he could from the human Dempsey who won him in the poker game, but now works for the SoCalGov depot tracking down these monsters. It was a difficult life, but one Kai seemed uniquely suited to as he could understand the human side, and the monsters that he needed to neutralize. Kai also has to deal with the daily bigotry of humans. He is an elfin that identifies as human, and most humans hate the elfin race.

In a recent interview for the book Rhys Ford said “I wanted to write about the conflict of self versus social perception.”

As a reader, I saw that struggle in Kai, and it gave his character more depth.

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Podtastic - missionlogpodcast.com

2/12/2015

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I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, moved onto Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. I have Star Trek weekends where I binge watch episodes and movies. I have seen every episode of every series and every movie - multiple times. I tell you that so you understand that I am approaching this review as a Star Trek fanatic!

I found http://www.missionlogpodcast.com on Rodenberry.com, and started to listen at about episode eight. Every week the hosts John Champion and Ken Ray tackle a single episode in chronological order. The format of the show starts with trivia, followed by a synopsis of each scene of the episode and end with discussion between John and Ken. They talk about whether the show holds up to the test of time - production values, messages of the time vs today, etc. John and Ken close out the show by discussing what messages, morals and meanings, if any, are in that episode.

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Be My Nerdy Valentine... with These Cute Cards

2/12/2015

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by Lindsey

Despite being a huge fangirl, I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day. In fact, my friends and I made our own tradition: Pine Cone Appreciation Day----where we threw pinecones at PDA couples on February 14th.

Not much has changed over the years. I’m not a fancy dinner and roses kind of girl---- I am a geek girl and the way I celebrate the day of love is by celebrating the nerdy shows, games, & movies we all love.

Move over Hallmark, Harley Quinn is taking over this V-Day.

If you’re looking for fandom Valentine inspiration, these gals have got plenty of ideas for you:

yenniper

wanderlyn

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Top 10 Geeky Romantic Movies

2/11/2015

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by Lindsey

You don’t have to sip pink moscato and overdose on Meg Ryan movies just because it’s fracking February 14th. There are sooooo many great geeky options that we can marathon without having to succumb to the cliched female rom com.

10. Stardust ----not only is it by King of the Nerds Neil Gaiman himself, but it has all the magical elements you could want in a mythical quest for love.

9. Run Lola Run ----What would you do if each minute decision could save the life of the man you love?

8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ----Award winning film about mind manipulation and romantic relationships

7. Paper Heart ----Faux documentary about a geeky comedianne looking for love

6. Warm Bodies ----Can a zombie fall in love?

5. Lars and the Real Girl ----an extreme introvert orders a girlfriend from a catalog

4. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World ----based on a graphic novel series about a nerd rocker

3. Moonrise Kingdom ----quirky vintage childhood romance story

2. Shaun of the Dead ----comedic zombie film about the lengths we’ll go for love

1. Zach and Miri (Make a Porno) ----perhaps the raunchiest/sweetest film ever made with an abundance of Star Wars references

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Rainbow Reading: The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek

2/9/2015

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by Heather

Rainbow Reading is our new weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBT characters.

Once a month, we will highlight an entire book series.

Since I love romance, this will most likely be very romance heavy, but I’m always looking for new books and authors. If there are any suggestions that our readers have for books that they would like to see highlighted, please leave your comments below.

This week, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m highlighting The Party Boy’s Guide to Dating a Geek - A Clumsy Cupid Instruction Manual by Piper Vaughn and Xara X. Xanakas.

I was recommended this book while attending the 2014 GRL (GayRomLit) retreat. Once I read the dedication, I knew I was hooked...

"To all the geeks out there, the role-players, the techies, the Whovians, the Browncoats, and the Star Wars fanatics. This is for you. With Love.”

As a geek, this book spoke to me on many levels and made me laugh just viewing the Table of Contents.

There were chapters called Star Wars vs. Star Trek: A Primer, A Torrent of Misunderstanding, Binaries: There Are 10 Ways to Look at IT and my favorite Oh Captain, My Captain: Kirk vs Picard.

Although the Kirk vs Picard discussion is over and done - we all know that it is Picard. ;)

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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - OlliOlli

2/6/2015

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If you were at a party in the early 2000s and someone had a game console, odds were very high that Tony Hawk will be played at some point in the evening. I had the luck of living in a surf town during this era, where surfing’s scrappy little brother was inescapable.

My world revolved around skate park openings and camcorder-recordings of “awesome” tricks, even if I didn’t have the coordination to stay on roller skates for more than five seconds before faceplanting. I lived out my skate punk dreams playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

If you’ve still got an itch to play skateboarding games, but want something new and fresh, OlliOlli is a face-paced addicting side-scroller that will bring back all sorts of warm, fuzzy memories. This game is tricky (pun sort-of intended) with no moon physics and perfect rail cheats to help you along, you cheating cheater. (It was me, I was the biggest cheat.)

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Celebrity Encounters - James Marsters

2/5/2015

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by Maria Ingmire

Like many geeks, I was a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and this was the fandom that enticed me to go to my very first Dragon Con in 2003. James Marsters was a guest that year. It was a very big deal.

Spike was not just the 'third red shirt from the left' in an obscure episode of Star Trek; he was one of the most popular characters on an extremely beloved and, at the time, current show.

I had no idea what Dragon Con would be like, so I walked up and bought a one-day pass. Big mistake. After a day of waiting in long lines to get James Marsters’ autograph and watching him chat in a panel, I was totally hooked on the con experience and should have realized that one day would not be enough. Moreover, I found that at Dragon Con I was among my own people, a multitude of fellow geeks.

While standing in line to get my autograph, I saw a convention employee handing out fliers for something called “a photo op.” Apparently, this was a professional studio photo taken with James himself! I would need to return the next day to have the photo taken, but another chance to see (and touch) James was not a bad thing. Plus, since I’d had little time to check out other panels and get other autographs, this would be my chance to catch up. I bought the ticket for my first ever celebrity photo op, knowing that the next morning I’d buy another one-day pass to the convention.

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