Hot Nerd Girl

Tag: superman

  • First HNG Podcast

    Welcome to the very first HNG podcast! Yay! My friend Darcy (getting knocked out in the above picture) and I discussed a range of topics including, what it was like to meet Stan Lee at Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con, Man of Steel, Independence Day 2, and a whole bunch of silliness in between. Since it was our first one and we thought it was pretty funny, we decided to keep the podcast raw and mostly unedited. Hopefully y’all have as much fun listening to it as we had recording it. We’ll be doing some more of these and I’m sure they will evolve and get even better (and/or crazier…ya never really know with us) over time. Thanks for listening!

  • Long Beach Comic Con wrap-up 2012

    I love Long Beach Comic Con because it’s still small enough that comic books are the main focus. San Diego Comic Con is great, with it’s giant movie and TV show panels but it’s nice to be able to get back to the roots of what comic cons started as…a place to nerd out over your favorite artists and find out what’s next in the genre of, uh, comic books. Plus I got press passes again this year which totally rocks my socks.

    My brother was just as in to X-Men as I was when we were kids. He even stole my Series II trading cards (I still haven’t gotten them back…ahem) but he’s never been to a Comic Book Convention. Neither has my nephew, Zeke (yes, that’s a boy, don’t let his voluptuous locks fool you). So I thought LBCC would be a nice starter convention for them.

    It was a huge learning experience for me as well. For example, I now know that if I want to sit in on some panels, bringing a 4-year-old is probably not the best idea.

    Case in point.

    But that’s okay. I loved taking him around and he was totally blown away by all the “supers” (or “shoopers” in 4-year-old speech). He even convinced his dad to whip out his credit card and buy him a Green Lantern action figure. Of course, then we ran into Superman AND Green Lantern so Zeke needed a picture with them.

    I’m pretty sure he had a nerdgasm over the sheer volume of action figures surrounding him in every direction.

    We tested Zeke’s superhero knowledge often. It’s become apparent that our entire family is on a mission to make sure this child is a geeky as humanly possible.

    If you follow the facebook page, you probably saw my announcement that I managed to convince my brother and sister-in-law to give Doctor Who a try. I’m proud to say that they are officially obsessed.

    There was an artist there named Matt Stevens who creates and makes metal fan art. It’s basically a crapload of little dots engraved in metal. The pictures don’t do them justice, they are really quite stunning.

    If I was a wealthy woman I would have bought the whole lot because they all went together in big montages and he had them for most of my favorite TV shows. Since I am not a wealthy woman, I settled on a small one of the 10th Doctor in all of his sheepishly adorkable glory and a small one of Wash in the midst of a sudden but inevitable betrayal.

    We just happened to walk by Jesse Blaze Snider‘s booth while Zeke was being fussy and he was sweet enough to give The Zekester a free Toy Story comic that he’d written. We ended up chatting with him for a few minutes. He’s got a couple of projects coming up, including one about heavy metal bands featuring some of our favorite Asgardians that I’ll be keeping an eye out for.

    Yes, we started pinning Zeke’s bangs back with a bobby pin. His mother refuses to cut his hair.

    We saw a couple of celebs including Jason Faunt aka Wes Collins aka Red Time Force Power Ranger.

    And a personal favorite of mine, Lance Henriksen. Lance has many, many, many amazing credits to his name but he is best know to the masses as Bishop from the Alien franchise. Lance was extremely nice. He kept calling Zeke “she” and was mortified when I gently informed him that I was holding my nephew, not my niece. Zeke seemed to get a kick out of that 

    They had a whole Star Wars section.

    Including a game where you could shoot various Troopers of the Clone and Storm variety using a vast array of Nerf weaponry.

    They had a Jawa hanging out with them but he got the hell out of Tosche just before the shooting started.

    Around the corner was a laser tag obstacle course. I can only imagine how ridiculous this looked to my brother (he’s a Marine). I should ask him.

    Then this happened.

    Oh, Leatherface…

    On to costumes!

    I don’t know if it’s because I went on Sunday or if there were just fewer cosplayers this year, but the costumed character selection was a bit limited. But here’s the best of the best of what I saw.

    Bane from The Dark Knight Rises.

    The Joker from The Dark Knight.

    Rick and Daryl from The Walking Dead.

    A pair of sexy lady Punisher‘s. I really wanted a picture of Zeke standing between them but he didn’t want to get his picture taken unless me or my brother was holding him. Of course, once I picked him up he was totally stoked to be next to such hotties.

    I felt a happy disturbance in the Schwartz when I saw this guy with his singing and dancing Chestburster from Spaceballs.

    The 11th Doctor. He was facing away from me and I quietly said “Doctor?” and he immediately turned around like he responds to that name all the time. We also crossed paths with a pretty excellent 4th Doctor as we were walking in. Wish I’d gotten a picture of him but alas.

    Keeping with the sci-fi, we ran into this guy pulling a CMDR William Riker.

    Zeke was a little confused by this Jedi. Either that or he was super jealous of his epic lightsaber.

    This is not the child you’re looking for. Move along.

    Barbie Fett?

    But the winner of the “Best Comic Con Costume Ever Award” goes to this chick. Yes, that’s a chick.

    That’s it for costumes. Here’s a look at the fun stuff I accumulated. Iron Man fingerless gloves hand-crocheted by Bobbie Bomber and sold by Geeky Mamas.  A pink-skeleton-Sailer Jack-with bomb t-shirt that was on sale. My previously mentioned metal art. And a stuffed Thor (not included in the picture is the pretty awesome Thor print that came with the stuffed godlet).

    Every convention I go to I seek out my favorite nerdy t-shirt. This time it was won by this one. Hands down.

    And on that note, I hope y’all have a Happy Thor’s Day!

  • Long Beach Comic Con wrap-up 2011

    On Saturday I went to Long Beach Comic Con, a fairly young comic book convention that is small enough that comic books *GASP!* are still the primary focus.

    Imagine that.

    Anyhooters, it was pretty epic for me because I attended as a “professional” aka a member of the press.  My list of press passes has been steadily growing but this was my first for a comic con so it was very exciting for me.

    😀  <–  See?  That’s me being excited.

    Here are some of the highlights:

    If you don’t know what Team Unicorn is then you need to crawl out from whatever rock you’ve been living under. The second I walked up to them one of them put her arms out and said “you’re a unicorn!”  It was a proud moment for me, let me tell you!  Yes, they are hottie mctotties, but what really struck me was how nice they were.  They stood there and talked t-shirts with me (we all agree that Cafe Press sucks major monkey balls) for way longer than they needed to. Friendly hot girls? Yup, they exist.

    Michelle Boyd, Rileah Vanderbilt, HNG, Clare Grant, Milynn Sarley

    I turned around and there was Clare Grant’s hubby Seth Green so naturally, I had to get a picture with him too.  I’ve been a fan of this guy since My Stepmother is an Alien so when he and Alyson Hannigan teamed up again on Buffy it was like nerdvana.  Random fun fact: Seth was also an uncredited vampire in the orginal film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  When I met him I blurted out that I was a big fan of his wife, which is very very true, but Seth, if you ever read this, my love of you came first 🙂

    That Robot Chicken show is pretty cool too

    After that we headed off to a light saber demonstration by Saber Guild, a not-for-profit costumed performance group.  Apparently they do a lot of performances for charity which I’m all for.  Some of the Jedi and Sith were better fighters than others but they were all very enthusiastic and the kids in the audience were super into it.

    Big Daddy in the house

    Here’s a video I took of the climax of the battle and the young Padawan who helped defeat Darth Vader:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BekCv3LAH8]

    –

    Renowned horror master John Carpenter was in attendance.  Not gonna lie, he didn’t look thrilled to be there, but he’s one of the most prolific sci-fi/horror directors of all time so I was glad that he was.

    Big Trouble in Little Long Beach

    Apparently Thomas Jane was there (representing Raw Studios with Tim Bradstreet) because at one point he came over the intercom and, speaking verrrry slooooowwwly, asked all of the men to stop what they were doing, take out their “pieces” and wave them around.  I’m just going to assume that my dirty sense of humor correctly deduced what “pieces” meant.  Alas, I didn’t see him which was a bummer.

    On to costumed characters!

    Wonder Woman was actually there with Wolverine but Wolvie kept getting pushed aside so that WW could take pictures with Asian Superman.  Never thought I’d say this but Wolvie was kind of a bitch.

    Gotta love those stunna shades

    I’m pretty sure that this pop can tab creation is supposed to be Iron Man.  Old school Iron Man circa 1963 before he hired Maaco to paint his suit red and gold.

    The magnetic chest plate gave it away

    Believe it or not, these two crazy kids had never heard of Night of the Living Trekkies, they just randomly decided that dressing up as Starfleet Zombies would be awesome.  I’m still not sure how I feel about my favorite franchise being combined with my biggest fear…kind of seems like a conspiracy against me.

    So wrong. So very, very wrong.

    This guys claims he’s dressed up as a video game character and NOT a Doctor Who character but I choose not to believe him and I straight up told him so.  I’m pretty sure I made him laugh under that rubbery exterior.

    No dude, I am not your mummy

    Speaking of Doctor Who…I was pretty stoked to find this hot female Dalek.

    Exfoliate! Exfoliate!

    On to the next franchise – Star Wars!  Jango Fett was hanging out by the light saber demonstration.  Obviously doing recon.

    That’s my “badass” look. Intense, I know.

    Big Daddy Darth Vader was hanging out by the Occupy the Death Star booth.

    What can I say? I’ve always had a thing for bad boys.

    He thought I was adorable.

    I don’t let just any masked man pinch my cheeks

    This robotic R2D2 was controlled incognito by a guy who kept his hand in the bag over his shoulder.  People would walk up to it and it would move, confusing the heck out of them.  It was pretty funny.

    See the confusion?

    Y’all know I heart me some Harry.  There were no Gryffindors in sight but there was a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin.  Although, to be honest, she looked way too nice to be a true Slytherin.

    With hair like that she’s gotta be a Malfoy…right?

    “Occupy” paradies were all over the place but this was probably my favorite.

    It’s funny cause it’s true

    And last but not least, I leave you with two awesome t-shirts.  This first one I found at a t-shirt vendor.  I didn’t have the balls to buy it but I thought it was fucking hi-larious.

    Tempting…

    And me wearing my brand-spanking new Team Unicorn t-shirt the morning after.

    So I was just kidding, I have one more thing for you.  A video shot as I was leaving LBCC.  You can see me in motion for once!

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA9kpRtBKCw]

  • 15 Best Halloween Costumes for your Pet

    Normally I’m very much opposed to people dressing up their pets.  The animals look miserable and I pity both them and their human parents who are obviously missing some kind of nutrient in their diets that turns them into crazy people who spend tons of money on clothes for animals who don’t need or want to wear clothes. 

    I don’t care what you say.  I repeat.  Animals. do. not. want. to. wear. clothes.

    However, dressing human children up as black cats and Ninja Turtles is perfectly acceptable. Yes, that's me and my brother.

    That being said, there’s a time and a place for everything.  For example, my friend Hayden dressed his dog Pebbles up in some Hanukkah garb to have some professional portraits taken a few years ago.  I’ll admit it, it’s ridiculously adorable.  Plus, Hayden doesn’t make a habbit of dressing up Pebbles so it’s ok. 

    Challah!

    Also, my best friend Bia dresses up her dog Dominic in a costume (usually Superman) for Halloween every year.

    It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Domi!

    This brings me to the ONE day of the year that it’s ok to dress up your dog.  Halloween.  Because if I have to strap on an uncomfortable costume, why shouldn’t Dominic have to too?

    So, here is a list of the Halloween costumes for your pet that have my approval.

    Y’all know I’m a big fan of the military so here’s Operation Flying Doggy

     I vant to eat yor kibble

    Remember the movie Lake Placid?  He does. 

    Sir Barksalot

    The Headless Dogman

    Batdog and Superdog together at last

    Captain Jack Sparrow with after market parrot and eyepatch

    Aslan – looking a bit more perplexed than usual

    Hogwarts kitteh (not sure which house uses orange and purple)

    Fluffy – small dog version

    Fluffy – big dog version (Harry Potter not included)

    And for those who like to be more obscure – Aradog (hehe, get it?)

    Princess Leia could use a shave

    Wicket W. Warrick is calling you a Lurdo

    Darth Vader…although honestly…this is probably more like Lord Dark Helmet

    And can’t forget YODA!  Especially the one on the bottom with the Jack Skellington-ish jack o’ lantern

  • 5 reasons why I heart Stephen King

     

    To scale…no seriously

     

    5. Hollywood can’t get enough of him, but he’s not a snob about it

    As I mentioned in my previous post Top 10 Campy Horror Films, there have been over 80 film adaptations of King Stephen’s work.  That doesn’t just include literal adaptations like Carrie or The Shining, but less obvious ones like Stand By Me and Shawshank Redeption (a personal favorite) both based on short stories.  He pops up in pop culture when he feels like it and on his own terms and isn’t afraid to criticize or make fun of himself.  He relishes in cameos and guest appearances that have significance for him like The Simpsons and Fever Pitch (he’s a die hard Red Sox fan – I’m looking at you Troi) while rooting for the up and comers in his “Pop of King” column in Entertainment Weekly. And it’s not just film and television that has a hard on for Stephen, Marvel Comics took The Dark Tower and ran with it.

    Pop quiz, bitches: Who is Stephen King’s favorite Superhero?

     

     
    For my sister-in-law Troi, also a die hard

     

    4. He takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’

    Everyone knows that Stephen got hit by a car while walking down a rural road near his house back in 1999.  I’m sure we all had a vision or daydream (or 10) of his wife Tabitha going all Misery on him.  It’s pretty much miraculous that he can walk.  While recovering, he wrote my favorite of his novels, Dreamcatcher.  He also felt thankful that he was rich and wouldn’t have to worry about his medical bills.  Then he realized that a lot of other writers aren’t rich so he created the Haven Foundation, an organization that helps freelancers who can’t pay for their medical bills.  I’m always happy to see nerds helping people so I gladly tip my hat to Mr. King for that one.

    Pop quiz, bitches: What kind of accident did Stephen King witness as a child that many believe served as inspiration for his novels?

     

    3. Fuck yeah he’ll write a 1500 page, 19 lbs. book and I dare you to tell him he can’t

    He has an ability to make grown ups want to sleep with the lights on (if they can even sleep at all) and worry about their pets going all Cujo on them.  I can understand why people would think twice about crossing him.  Remember that guy that hit him with his van?  Yeah, he died on Stephen King’s birthday.  So when a book publisher gets word that an author is writing a behemoth of a book, he’s probably going to freak out a little.  Unless that author is Stephen King and people have a tendency to DIE ON HIS BIRTHDAY.  Following in the footsteps of War and Peace and Sacajawea, Sir Stephen wrote a book of epic proportions with Under the Dome.  Oh the tangled webs we weave but none weaveth like the Kingeth.  For a complicated web of characters and plots, Under the Dome was surprisingly easy to read and a TV mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg is already in the works.

    Pop quiz, bitches: Where did Stephen King get the name for the character Jim Rennie in Under the Dome?

     

    2. He says what’s on his mind and all others be damned

    Stephen King just doesn’t give a damn about what other people think of him.  He does what he wants and he makes no apologies for it.  He has never been secretive about his past with addiction and even admitted basing the character of Jack Torrance in The Shining on himself at his alcoholic worst.

    His view on people is such:  “I think that we’re all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better after all.”

    He has insulted the writing ability of Stephenie Meyer, questioned the literacy of the US Army and been very outspoken against the war in Iraq, all without fear of those who would challenge him.  He has a quick wit and a mass of minions who are ready and willing to heed his command to tell opponents to shut up.  I might not always agree with him but he’s got balls and that I respect.

    Pop quiz, bitches: What was the name of Stephen King’s student newspaper column at the University of Maine?

     

    No. You can't have him. He's mine.

     

    1. He writes for people with a sense of humor, not for snobby elitists

    He once called himself “the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.”  An author who focuses on emotion rather than intellect even though his writing is very, very smart.  He started out as a high school teacher and it is my belief that he writes for them as opposed to the book critics.  He uses profanity with sophisticated relish, a talent that brings great joy to me and my love for a well placed f-bomb.  He delights his most loyal readers by connecting people and places throughout his novels.  Richard Tozier, for example, appears in Dreamcatcher, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Duma Key, and It.  His loyalty lies with his fans and his fans are extremely loyal in return.  I heart you Stephen King.  I even heart your cell phone zombies.

    Pop quiz, bitches: Who is the author that most influenced Stephen King?

    ***

    “I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud.”

    – Stephen King

    ***

    Answers to Pop Quiz…. bitches….

  • X-Men Series II = greatest trading cards ever

    It might shock you to learn this.  But I was, at one time, the owner of a complete set of X-Men Series II trading cards.

    It’s true.

    I also collected baseball cards, because like any self-respecting tomboy I played baseball, not softball.  Softball is for chicks.

    But Series II was my most favorite set of any kind of cards I ever collected.  (I know this sentence isn’t grammatically correct and yet I choose to type it that way anyway. Deal with it).  The Fleer Ultra series was OK, but it just didn’t have quite the same magic to it.

    The tall, narrow type on top.  The dramatic action shot below.  The statistical data on the back.  They were pure perfection.  I even had the cards from the cartoon series with the film strip border.  They were great as reference material or for just sitting down and reading.

    And then one day my brother stole them.

    He also collected baseball and X-Men cards.  It was something we did together as loving siblings.  We would walk up Country Club Lane to the comic book store and buy them and trade them.  We also went through a pog phase but try not to hold that against us.  I kept my cards in the same navy blue binder in nice segmented card protector pages on a shelf in my bedroom.  They never deviated from that spot and I never took them outside.  At some point my brother lost a few.  I remember thinking, damn, that sucks for him, at least I still have all of mine.

    The next time I pulled my binder out, the ones he happened to be missing were now missing from my binder.

    WTF.

    I took mine back.

    He stole them again.

    Little shit.

    This went back and forth for years until he finally hid them where I couldn’t find them.  My brother, my own flesh and blood, saw fit to steal and hide my own X-Men cards from me and had the gall to claim that I had stolen them from him.  As if.  This is the kid who opened up his Superman death comic when he was explicitly told not to and the kid next door had a perfectly good opened one he could have read instead.  And he accused ME, who won’t even open the Star Trek Christmas ornament box?  Psssh.

    I never did find my X-Men cards after that.

    So I stole his star ships.

    Three beautiful Enterprise models, the Enterprise NCC-1701, NC-1701 refit and Enterprise NCC-1701-D.  All beautifully hand painted by our Dad.

    What?  He didn’t appreciate them anyway.