80’s Song Wednesday
Since the are really doing a sequel and everyone seems to be on board, I feel that it is only appropriate to make Goonies 'R' Good Enough by Cyndi Lauper. I consider it the second best 80's music video only preceded by Thriller. It was so awesome they made it in two parts. Enjoy both parts below!
I Need More Bridesmaids
Probably due to my older brother and the boys I preferred to hang out with in high school, it has become very difficult for me to become very close to normal girls, because I think and talk like a guy. I am not a big fan of drama, even though I am very aware of the fact that all women are predisposed to some level of it. I think it’s in the makeup of the uterus. There’s no way to completely escape drama, but I strive to keep it in check. While I had friends that were girls, I would usually only let them past a certain point. It was really hard for me to maintain that kind of friendship without either of us getting completely annoyed and frustrated with one another.
Then I met my sisters. They were just like me. They were two girls that also preferred the company of guys over girls for the same reasons. They were crazy and blunt and talked like guys, and I loved them instantly. We are nearing fifteen years in our friendship now, and practically nothing is sacred between us.
I say all of this because while I love Romantic Comedies, I want to see more comedies featuring women that represent my best friends and me. There have been a few featured over the years, and my sisters and I covet these films. I want to see more of these edgier comedies where woman are a lot more open and blunt for a laugh whether it be raunchy or not. We want to see the opposite of “ladylike,” because my friends and I are. I know we are not the only girls of this type out there.
When The Sweetest Thing came out, it was practically sent from high in our opinions. It stars Cameron Diaz as Christina, Christina Applegate as Courtney, and Selma Blair as Jane. It focuses mainly on the character of Christina, following her on an adventure to chase a man down that she just met only to find out he’s getting married. Hilarity and antics ensue along the journey that can usually make most woman blush or just become downright appalled. The three of us treat this movie like gospel, and we identify ourselves with one of the three best friends in the movie. It is also extremely random, which the three of us are immensely entertained by. It is was the closest movie we could compare our friendship to.
Bridesmaids came out, and I immediately purchased a copy for both of my sisters for Christmas. The scene where Kristen Wiig’s character, Annie, and Maya Rudolph’s character, Lilian, are eating in a café after trying to sneak into the fitness class is every damn meal I have ever share with either sister or both. We are not shy, and we don’t take it seriously. These were the female leads that we could identify with.
My girl’s and I are not insensitive. We may joke all of the time, but when one of us is being serious, we back each other up fiercely. This is shown as well through both of these movies. In The Sweetest Thing, Courtney makes Christina get off her ass and drags her on a road trip just based on the loose possibility that Christina and this guy would get together. It didn’t matter to Courtney. She knew that Christina liked him and helped her, because that is what that kind of friendship is. The same thing happened in Bridesmaids. Annie went on the search for Lillian immediately after she found out she was missing from her wedding. It didn’t matter that they were fighting and hadn’t talked to one another. Annie knew the bigger picture. Her best friend needed her. It is okay to have these kinds of scenes in movies like this, because that’s how we truly are in real life, which is what I want in this type of film, a more realistic portrayal of our type of woman.
I want to see more of these kinds of movies that feature these much more open and blunt women. I am hoping with the success of Bridesmaids that more of these movies can be made. Especially, with Melissa McCarthy making the movies she has been. The Heat is another great example. But with this tally, it’s only gotten us to three total. There is a need for this. Maybe I’ll have to write some of my own, but I hope Hollywood at least gives more of these films a chance.
80’s Song Wednesday
In honor of my crazy obsession with 80's music, I will be featuring an 80's song every Wednesday. Some of the songs you'll know, and some you will not. I am happy to say that the decade not only created me, but some of the best geekdoms we know today.
Today's song is Dreaming by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.
Sharing the Geeky Fun with Toddlers
It’s an understatement saying that parenting isn’t easy these days. Sharing the things we loved as a kid with children just isn’t as simple. Sometimes our excitement for sharing these things that we loved when we were younger overshadows our judgment for what the children may and may not be ready for. The littlest kids are always the hardest to share with. While they may not always be able to determine the difference between reality and fiction, they still want to enjoy things like comic book heroes and robots in disguise.
My nephew is creeping closer and closer to the giant age of five and is a big Marvel and Transformers fan. He has been a big fan since he was three. This excited both my brother and I greatly, because we are big fans as well. The problem was that my nephew was not quite ready for the live action motion picture versions then and isn’t quite ready for that now. We did manage to find something for the little guy to enjoy, The Super Hero Squad Show and Transformers: Rescue Bots.
The Super Hero Squad Show
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Super-Hero-Squad-DVD-Plans/13366
Marvel has several animated television shows and films out, but most of them were and still are a little too mature for my nephew. It is usually due to either too violent content he is not ready to be exposed to or complex story lines that he cannot understand or relate too. Then Marvel came out with Super Hero Squad Show in 2009. The show is a toned down version of the Marvel world focused around Super Hero City which houses all of Marvel’s beloved comic book heroes. The heroes come off as silly and simpler versions of themselves while they battle even sillier versions of Marvel’s villains. My nephew just loves it. He gets to root for his favorite heroes like Captain America, the Hulk, and Iron Man. We don’t mind watching the show with him, because Marvel understood that parents would be watching the show along with the kids. There are several jokes littered throughout the entire show that fans of the comics and movies would find entertaining. I personally love watching it with my nephew, because I think it’s hilarious.
The best part of my nephew having a marvel outlet is that we can go out and buy the costumes and some of the toys from the shows and movies and now he understands what they are. The unfortunate thing is that there were only two seasons made of the show. That being said, the entire series is currently on Netflix, and I think it still runs on The Hub from time to time. The show may be gone, but they still make toys and video games for tots to enjoy as well.
Transformers: Rescue Bots
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Rescue_Bots_(cartoon)
This Transformers show is extremely toned down compared to the rest of the family. It is has no Decepticons. Before you freak out over that, please understand that this show was made for a specific market, and it needed to be comparable to that market. The market is toddlers and they didn’t want bots tearing and blowing one another up. Instead we have a small group of Transformers that have taken the forms of the main public service vehicles in a small town. They were sent to help out the community and learn about humanity by Optimus Prime himself. The city believes that the Transformers are just experimental robots that also turn into rescue vehicles. The fact that they are alien beings is only know to a family that tends to the rescue and public needs of the town. Yes, it does have Optimus Prime and even Bumblebee in a few episodes, but they are not featured. The bots pretty much help out with whatever mystery or shenanigans is going on with the town at that time. It is a specifically toddler focused show. As an adult watching it with my nephew, it is not any more entertaining than the Nick Jr and Disney Jr shows, but the little guy loves it. He adores the theme song as well and sings it all of the time.
Show has one season under its belt, which can be found on Netflix also. It has just started its second season and has no plans as of yet to finish. It currently airs on The Hub as well. The show has spawned several toy lines that are specifically geared to toddlers with simple and easy transformations that won’t discourage the little ones. Because he now has a point of reference, I always joke with my nephew that I see Bumblebee at my work. He gets really excited about why Bumblebee was there, and it can get really fun thinking of stories to explain it. I joke with his parents that the day he gets old enough to watch the live action movies his poor little mind is just going to overload the first time he sees the very real car turn into a giant robot. It will be a fun day.
I really hope other companies and franchises like DC Comics hone in on this niche and add to this market. There is a lot of potential here since honestly these are the only two shows of its kind that I know of. I believe that not only having these types of shows can be entertaining for these age groups and exciting for parents, but it can be quite the lucrative market for these companies to roll into. I really hope that Marvel comes back with something like The Super Hero Show Squad especially in light of all of the recent film adaptation success. Finally, I hope that these two shows help you share some nerdy love to the sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews in your life.
Happy Birthday, MrsCKugs!
Though it is a few days early. I wanted to spread some birthday love to my partner in crime, Les. I thought a great way to do it was by telling a few stories about our friendship and how we met.
Les and I met back in 2006, and she hated me. I don’t take offense to this now, because when it came to our job at the time, she hated anyone that was new. It also didn’t help that I didn’t show up on the first day I was scheduled to come in. I had a horrible cold and didn’t sleep at all the night before, so I was given the weekend to heal up which was extremely generous. I would be temping at a medical office, and unbeknownst to me, I was not the first temp that the office had received. I apparently was the last of a couple of doozies.
I started that job as I do all of my jobs, really quiet and suspiciously sweet. I like to understand the playing field to know what is acceptable and what is not. I was not aware at the time that Les hated me, because she was really nice to me. The ice began to break over the next month and a half. I remember her rolling into the parking lot on Halloween that year blaring “Thriller,” and thinking I might be able to hang with this girl. There were a few boundaries crossed that day that opened up a lot of possibilities for our impending friendship. Later that same day, we had a coworker who was precious and a bit off that dressed up as a gypsy. I sat between this woman and Les. I remember at one point looking over at Les and seeing her holding a stick of about five highlighters that she had connected together and slowly and strategically moving them around me. Our neighbor got up to do something else allowing me to ask what in the world Les was doing. She replied simply that she was attempting to touch her fake mole, which prompted me to immediately fall out. As icebreaking as that event was, our friendship did not become official until about late November when during a reflective moment on the job I asked, “You know what I really want to hear right now?” Les replied, “The Chipmunks Christmas Album?” My response was “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to hear right now.” We’ve been tight ever since then, fully embracing and rejoicing in the fact that we are both extremely random.
I think it was my birthday party that December that she really became comfortable with me. She loved me, yes, but I don’t think she was ready to let everything out. I had invited a few friends over and made baked spaghetti for everyone. We all enjoyed the She-Ra ice cream cake I had made for myself, furthering Les’s impression of my nerdyness. After food we played the DVD Scene It game, where Les ended up beating the hell out of my little brother Eddie with a pillow as she screamed “Eat the cake, Anna Mae!” In all fairness she was answering a question. She was just very exuberant about it. She felt bad about it later, but I told her Eddie was used to it being around his pseudo sisters and me. It was good times.
Our friendship grew and grew from there. We introduced each other to our nerdy favorites. Les created actual race cards for us to throw down. Me being white, I didn’t have to throw mine down as much, but I am half Swedish. Anytime I would tell people I’m an ABBA fan, I got to throw it down so no one would question me. Les got a lot more use out of hers. I am happy to tell you, Les, that I still have it. It is in my important papers file right next to my social security card.
We were both voracious readers and shared books all of the time. That is definitely one of the biggest things I miss about being in close proximity with Les. I remember when the seventh Harry Potter book came out. We both had preordered it at the local book store. They had a midnight release party to which we were drafted into houses and spent most of the time playing Uno in one of the isles with the Disney Princess deck I just purchased while the book store randomly engaged the patrons with shouts of “Gryffindors say Hey!” or whatever house they were trying to rouse. Thank god it was a Friday and neither of us had to work the next day. We went home and got what sleep we could manage. Les drove out the next day where we alternated between outside and inside to read with no interruptions.
Les was going to school in these days and I would often let her come over to do her school work and steal our Wi-Fi. I think a part of her loved it just as much to see my mother, who she adored. I will never forget the first time she came over and met my mother. Les and I were working at my dining room table, she doing schoolwork and I uploading CD’s. My mom comes out with a traditional Swedish snack of buttered hard bread and cheese on a tray with plastic food gloves on. See, my mother, who is the sweetest person in the world, is a retired lunch lady. One thing she took from her lunchin’ days is sanitation. She takes that seriously, regardless how I take every opportunity to make fun of her for it. When me mum came in with the offering, I could see Les’s eyes fall onto the food, then the gloves, and then to my mother. She took the food and my mom left. As soon as my mom was gone, Les looked at me and stated very seriously, “I love your, Mom.” The Lady has that effect.
We would continue this friendship with long serious talks, mutual introductions to Doctor Who and Twilight, and just flat out fun. There were plenty of shopping runs to other bigger cities, movie runs, and quite a few near death experiences. Our weekend trip to Chicago nearly encompasses all of that. There was the time my windshield wipers decided to stop working in the middle of a torrential downpour on the interstate. I didn’t think we were going to make it out of that one. Thanks to some healthy application of Rain-X we were able to make it back home, ignoring the fact that we had to take an alternate route back home that led us through Elwood, and I made Les lay down in the back seat until we were well out of city limits. Elwood isn’t exactly known for its love of the African American race. I can laugh about it now, but I was scared to death for her at the time. I realize I overacted, but I loved her and didn’t want her to get hurt.
We have definitely had some good times. Crazy office Christmas parties, crushes on boys, and slight stalker tendencies towards some of the boys. Sorry, Jeff, it was before you. We will always have those crazy work stories that I can’t even tell here. Even though I know I wouldn’t be giving any specific patient information away, the HIPAA laws scare the crap out of me. I remember the time you got stuck in that ditch on the way to my house. I remember the time you flipped off this jerk driver on our way to see Hot Fuzz and the jackass behind him thought you were flipping him off and chased us down for like four and a half miles in the country. I absolutely and fondly remember you randomly busting out of in “No One” by Alicia Keys. I still can’t help, but think about you when that song comes on. Remember those times we would get into trouble for singing “White Lines” at the checkout desk? Good times. I guess I should take the opportunity to thank you for introducing me to Fubar, it’s changed my life.
I was honored to be there for your graduation. I was honored to be there at your wedding. But most of all, I am honored to be your friend. I hope this post made you smile, Les. I wish you the Happiest of Birthdays this Wednesday. To my fellow Geeky Girl readers and family show this awesome lady some love this Wednesday and know that just as Les and I embraced each other for our geeky tendencies with love and open arms we are here to do the same for you. Happy Birthday, Les!
The Consideration of Others
So, here is the deal. Rules. I am not a big follower of them. If I want to do something, and there is a rule in place to discourage me, I am going to try my damnest to find a way around it. There are a couple exceptions to this. The first one being that the rules are there to help with the safety of others. The second being the rules are there to make sure everyone has a good time.
The past few days I have seen some doozies.
Let us talk about flash photography. Want to know my major pet peeve? You own a super fancy DSLR camera, with all the crazy fancy lenses. Instead of taking a class, or reading a book to learn how to use it, you instead keep it on automatic and always keep the flash on. Let me let you in on a little secret. YOU DO NOT NEED FLASH ON EVERYTHING. At conventions, and things on a stage, most of the time, the people on the stage are lit up properly for you. No flash needed. They do this for a couple of reasons.
1. Flash blinds and disorients the people on stage.
2. Flash can be dangerous to people in the audience.
For those of you who hadn’t seen or heard, at the Supernatural convention in Las Vegas, a friend of mind and a severe medical emergency because the people throwing the convention did not see an issue with allowing people to use the flash. You can read about her story here.
At the live reading of Welcome to Night Vale the woman who speaks at the end of every podcast came out (she looked fabulous by the way). She explained that they loved having their picture taken, and while that was not a problem, could we please turn off the flash? It was blinding to the actors, and it disrupts the experience for your neighbors. They also asked that we did not film it, because they wanted each stop to have the same experience that we got. Besides, after the tour it would be up for download.
Not even two minutes after she left the stage, there was flash photography all over the place. I just turned around and glared. After the issue with my friend at the SPN con, I was hypersensitive to following that rule.
Two pews (I told you in the last entry this was a quirky place) in front of us was the most annoying girl I ever had the misfortune of sitting near. I don’t honestly even really know why she was there. She looked to have no interest in the show. Shortly after the show had begun, I was bathed in a bright white light. She was recording the show and her bright ass display was interrupting my viewing. I was so irritated. She kept stopping and starting recording and not even paying attention to what was going on. I truly believe her whole purpose in that theater that evening was to make me so angry I wanted to snatch her hair. Ugh. Eventually someone in my pew told her to stop and she did.
I guess the point of this is to say this: Why is it so difficult for people to be courteous to one another? Flash photography causes seizures to some people. Video recording AFTER THE PEOPLE ASKED YOU NOT TO is so tacky and unnecessary. Some rules aren’t made to be broken. They are there for the health and wellbeing of the people around you, and maybe even yourself. Think about it.