Hot Nerd Girl

Tag: the walking dead

  • HNG Podcast #12 – The Walking Dead, part 1

    HNG podcast 12.

    Darcy and I just had to talk about what’s been going on the last couple of weeks on AMC’s The Walking Dead leading up to this Sunday’s season finale. Topics discussed: the creepiness that is Bob and the potential conspiracy theory about him, why Lizzy had to go, and fog vs. dark tunnel: which is worse? At one point we got into a pretty heated exchange about Daryl’s morgue scene a few weeks ago.

    We also talked about my experience at ConDor Con in San Diego this past Saturday and mentioned a couple of projects that you might be interested in, including I Am a Ghost and Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse.

    Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed talking about it!

    Listen to the podcast here:

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  • WonderCon 2013

    Mama Jedi, HNG, Geek Outlaw

    Mama Jedi, HNG, Geek Outlaw

    Hope y’all had a very happy and nerderific Easter! I apologize for the lack of posts recently. Between working full-time (yes, I have a “real” job!), out of town guests, and just plain old life, I just haven’t much time to blog. But I’ll try to be better.

    So, a lot of cool crap happened this past weekend. There was new Doctor Who, the season premier of Game of Thrones, and the season finale of The Walking Dead. And, of course, WonderCon.

    I mentioned in my wrap-up of last year’s WonderCon that WC was the first comic book convention I ever went to (back when it was in Oakland) and it holds a very special place in my hearts. It’s a nice combination of comic books and TV/movies. San Diego Comic Con is great, but it focuses so much on the Hollywood stuff that the comic books tend to get a little lost. A comic book vendor and I were joking on Saturday about the audacity of the people who actually buy comic books at a comic book convention! Inconceivable!

    After cosplaying as Thor for a day at SDCC last year, I honestly didn’t think I would cosplay in public again for a very long time. I’m quite shy, especially around large groups of strangers, and my instinct is to blend in. Cosplaying is the opposite of blending in. Because of the timing of the day, I didn’t spend much time at SDCC walking around as Thor. But in the brief times that I did, it garnered a lot of attention. Attention that I’m not used to and that made me a bit panicky. I was very uncomfortable and not just because of the corset. I’ve been putting together a Tenth Doctor costume for quite a while now. He’s my favorite of the Doctor incarnations (followed by Eleven, Four, Nine, and Five) and, if I’m being completely honest with myself, I was looking for an excuse to buy a sonic screwdriver. Because of last year’s experience, I almost didn’t wear it, but I’m glad that I did. It was comfortable and fun and was a great ice breaker (that and the flask of liquor I kept in my backpack *ahem*)

    Enough rambling, on to the panels I attended. Sadly, the TV show panel I was most excited about was the Vikings one and I missed it thanks to the traffic around the convention center. I was very, very sad because, as many of you know, I’m very proud of my Viking heritage. But I sat in on a bunch of really cool ones that made up for it.

    Allons-y!

    Geeking Out with the League of Extraordinary Ladies

    Panelists: Autumn Massey, Dina Kampmeyer, Emily Heyer, Geek Girl Diva, Jenn Fujikawa (Just Jenn), Sarah Kuhn, Stephanie Thorpe, Theresa Wollenstein

    These geektacular ladies are very much in line with my favorite motto: “nerd girls of the world unite.” They are a positive group of strong, independent, intelligent women who love to geek out together and support each other. As someone who can’t stand cattiness, these ladies are right up my alley. The first thing I did when I got home was to join their facebook group. I encourage everyone (men are also welcome) to join as well.  Unfortunately, we had to leave their panel early to make it to the next one. What I wouldn’t give for a time-turner so that I could go to multiple panels that are scheduled for the same time.

    Falling Skies

    Panelists: Drew Roy (Hal), Sarah Carter (Maggie), Seychelle Gabriel (Lourdes), Remi Aubuchon (Executive Producer)

    I’ve been a fan of Falling Skies from the get go. As my NerdBFF Geek Outlaw says, “if it’s got aliens in it, I’ll watch it!” And it keeps getting better. We got to see some clips from the first episode premiering June 9th on TNT, including a new baby girl, some more Karen, a badass new punk rock haircut for Matt, promotions for Tom and Lourdes, new alien technology, conflict for Maggie, and some pretty epic looking battle scenes. It definitely got me excited.

    Oddball Comics Live: Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll

    Panelist: Scott Shaw

    I’ve never laughed harder at a panel than I did at this one. Scott Shaw has collected some of the most bizarre comic books imaginable over the course of the last 50 years. It’s filled with crotches, boobs, phallic symbols, crazy concepts, and hidden-in-plain-sight imagery (kind of like the dirty stuff found in every Disney movie made from 1989 to 1992). It’s hard to tell if they were done intentionally or unintentionally.  He’s compiled them into a power point presentation that he complements with witty commentary. It’s hysterical and I highly recommend checking it out if you ever see him on a convention schedule.

    Roddenberry Presents

    Panelists: Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Tory Mell

    As a life-long Trekker, I always enjoy checking out the Roddenberry Presents panel. I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Rod and Trevor a few times now and even interviewed Rod at SDCC last year (I’m still perfecting my interviewing skills, mmmkay?) They are super nice and working on some seriously awesome stuff.

    Rod Roddenberry, HNG, Trevor Roth. I have no idea why I look bored in this picture, I SWEAR I wasn’t. I was probably wondering if Mama Jedi knew how to operate my camera.

    Things worth checking out right now: Days Missing, Mission Log podcast, and White Room: 02B3. Things worth checking out in the near future: Worth. We were teased about exciting new things TBA at SDCC this year. One of the highlights of the panel? Winning this awesome “Cool as Kirk” t-shirt for answering one of the trivia questions correctly.

    Geeks Get Published

    Panelists: SG Browne, Katrina Hill, Alan Kistler, Alex Langley, Dr. Travis Langley. Moderated by Jenna Busch.

    This panel was extremely informative. It was a panel full of geek-centric authors offering up free advice on how to get published. The main thing I took away from it was that I’d like to get a literary agent and that I’m doing the right thing by writing what I love. Afterwards, Alan Kistler found me downstairs and wanted a picture (he’s a big Doctor Who fan and is coming out with a Doctor Who book later this year.

    Alan Kistler and HNG

    He graciously stayed and chatted with Geek Outlaw and I for a good 10-15 minutes about writing while his friends wandered off to the bar without him. Thanks again, Alan!

    Here’s some of what happened down on the Floor…

    One of the first booths we noticed was that of Lion Forge Comics. It was a mighty impressive booth.

    Geek Outlaw oohing and ahhing

    They had a healthy line for the slot machine which we were talked into joining. It was manned by this lovely lady armed with a sonic screwdriver.

    Mama Jedi went first and won a giant bag.

    Then it was my turn.

    The machine didn’t seem to be working properly so I fixed it when no one was paying attention and won a bracelet.

    Then Geek Outlaw went and won a bracelet. I totally took a picture of him doing it but he didn’t send it to me so blame him for the empty space here.

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    Based out of St. Louis, MO, Lion Forge has a lot of projects in the works and were some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. We chatted with a number of the people involved, including the Creative Director, the YouTube channel host, one of the primary writers, and even the guy who’s in charge of Licensing who was kind enough to help me get Mama Jedi into the giant bag she’d won.

    It seemed like a good idea at the time

    There was a large “celebrity row” including Boomer aka Herbert Jefferson Jr. from the Classic Battlestar Galactica.

    Star Wars staple Chewbacca aka Peter Mayhew.

    The ghost of Richard Hatch aka OG Apollo and reboot Zarek.

    The Soup Nazi aka Larry Thomas, who’s decision to sign soup ladles convinced Geek Outlaw to buy an autographed one for his parents who LOVE the Soup Nazi.

    And then there was this guy who Mama Jedi made a beeline for. I still have absolutely no idea who he is or what he does besides sitting there shirtless.

    We ran into SDCC buddy Daniel who was holding down the fort at the booth of a friend.

    We also visited a buddy from this past Long Beach Comic Con. Artist Matt Stevens creates metal fan art. Last time I bought Tenth Doctor and Wash. This time I got an Eleventh Doctor and River Song bookmark. They sit right by my desk and I LOVE them. Not only is Matt a fantastic artist but he’s a super cool dude so you should definitely check him out HERE.

    That’s a mighty fine t-shirt you got there, Matt

    One of the ships from Oblivion.

    There was a parade of R2 units lead by a small child.

    Where were those brakes again?

    They got into a fight with a couple of WALL-E‘s.

    There was some spitting and at one point the Black R2 unit totally flipped off one of the WALL-E’s as you can see in this video I took:

    [youtube:http://youtu.be/gfu_uFi_W6E]

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    It wouldn’t be an HNG convention wrap up without the costume pictures!

    One of the very first cosplayers we ran into was Toni Darling, better known to the interwebz as Lady Thor. She’s a friend of Daniel’s and the artist who’s booth he was manning (see the posters and artwork behind him?)

    I have no idea why I’m making that stupid face

    On our way to the Falling Skies panel I time crashed into my future self in the form of a delightful guy with a very convincing British accent named Jack.

    Something’s up with the universe because we ran into each other again at the end of the night while Geek Outlaw and I were chatting with Alan Kistler and took some more pics.

    This is Alan’s friend who took off for the bar while we were deep in conversation about writing and stuff

    Jack even helped us out by taking the picture of our little group in front of the WonderCon sign.

    Time crash number two occurred down on the Floor. This time I ran into my Fourth incarnation.

    Four is my favorite of the Classic Doctors so he gave me a jelly baby which I totally ate, because, heck, it’s a jelly baby from the Doctor! It was delicious.

    It was a little freakier when I saw myself. I’m just going to assume that he’s the Meta-Crisis Doctor 😉

    Mini me. Seriously, this kid was adorable. He was a bit upset with his Mom because she ruined his jacket. It’s not easy being the mother of a Time Lord, mmmkay kiddo?

    There were many, many, many ladies dressed up as the TARDIS. Apparently a Time Lord dropped some TARDIS coral on Earth at some point in the past.  This one was one of my favorites because it was so unique.

    Let’s move away from Gallifrey and check out some of the other costumes, shall we?

    This Lady Thor sat next to us during the Roddenberry panel.

    I ran into this walker at least three times. It freaked me out just as much each time. *shudder* He obviously ran into Haley from Woodbury because there’s no way Daryl would have missed that badly. Twice.

    There are always a few Ghostbusters wandering around conventions. This time they were everywhere. We chatted with a group from Sacramento for quite a while. I like the Ghostbusters groups, they do great things in their communities.

    The Ecto-truck (behind Ecto-1) belongs to one of the guys from the Sacramento group.

    The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was the Dad of the Mini Tenth Doctor (see him down in the right hand corner? He’s totally thinking he has the coolest Dad ever).

    Stay Puft helped me out by posing with Flat Stanley. I was put in charge of Flat Stanley by a friend who’s kid read the book. I honestly have no idea what the heck Flat Stanley is all about but I returned him to his owner yesterday. Apparently I’m getting him back when I go to Wisconsin for my family reunion next month,

    Rad.

    Steam Punk Snow White can kick your ass.

    Disney Princesses + Rainbow Brite = every little girl’s fantasy come true.

    Jon Snow admiring Daenerys’ …uh…eggs. Riiiight…..

    THIS.

    COBRA Command from GI Joe. I’m pulling this entirely from memory here but the group seems to include Serpentor, Destro, The Baroness, and I think Zarana, a BAT and a Night Creeper. Please correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been more than a few years.

    Marvel goodies vs. DC baddies.

    LEGO Darth Maul!

    This fellow HNG was mighty hot for a scruffy looking nerf herder.

    That’s a nice multipass you got there, Leeloo (and a view from the rear for anyone who’s interested).Finally, there’s CMDR William T. Riker as portrayed by a guy who’s name really is William (no joke). He was very nice and we chatted for a few minutes about how much we love Star Trek. It was only after I got home that I realize we’d already met and taken a picture together at Long Beach Comic Con back in November. Kismet!

    And that concludes my wrap up of WonderCon 2013. It was loads of fun and I’m looking forward to next year!

  • What I need to survive the zombie apocalypse (revised)

    HNG Zombification by Brett DeWall

    One of my earliest HNG posts was titled “What I need to survive the zombie apocalypse.” Since then, The Walking Dead has premiered and risen to cult-like status, not to mention I’ve discovered new products and had about a gazillion more zombie-related nightmares (seriously, there are nights when I hardly sleep at all because of them…bastards).

    I think about the zombie apocalypse a lot. Way more than I should. And despite my massive fear of zombies, I’ve watched every episode of The Walking Dead (and Talking Dead) religiously. I’m a glutton for punishment, apparently.

    When it comes to the zombie apocalypse, some people get it and some people think that I’m completely ridiculous and insane. I’m of the opinion that it never hurts to be prepared for a disaster, regardless of whether it’s a plague of the undead or an earthquake. You just never know.

    So I’m updating my list of must-have items. The original listincluded:

    – Two Japanese swords (katana or tachi – although I would totally take a couple of tsurugi’s) … this was long before I knew of Michonne, by the way.

    – Some grenades (in case I get surrounded)

    – One really good pair of running shoes (uhm, self-explanatory)

    – Five ponytail holders (in case some get lost and because rubber bands are really damaging to your hair)

    – One kinetic water resistant watch (doesn’t need batteries and can handle some rain)

    – One really amazing sports bra (YOU try running around with 34DD’s)

    – Water purification tablets (alas, I doubt I’ll have easy access to my beloved Arrowhead)

    – One pair of Maui Jim sports sunglasses (preferably with one of those landyards that hold them to your head)

    – One baseball hat (can’t have sun in your eyes while you’re fighting the undead)

    This is one of my faves

    – As many MRE’s and meal replacement bars as I can carry in a light hiker’s backpack

    That’s a pretty darn good list if I do say so myself. But I’ve come to realize that there are other things I’ll be wanting and/or needing. The Zombie Research Society recommends packing items like maxipads and pantyhose. They serve multiple functions and are definitely good suggestions; however, they don’t make it to my list (sorry, Matt Mogk…I still heart you). Remember, I’m a rather petite chick and plan on carrying as little as possible.

    So here’s what I’d like to add to my list:

    – A sturdy Buck knife (I have a trusty one that my Dad gave me when I became a Brownie Girl Scout…cause my Dad is awesome…and I’ve learned from Andrea that having a knife on you at all times is a life saver)

    Thanks Dad!

     

    – Pocket knife (also trusty, also given to me by my Dad when I became a Girl Scout)

    – Brass knuckles (when all else fails, PUNCH the zombies in the head)

    – A roll of Duct Tape (because it fixes everything and can be used as improvised light body armor)

    – A length of chain and a carabiner (For scrambling up fences or walls or whatever. I’m not sure how long a length I could practically carry but the longer the better. I’d settle for some rope if I had to)

    – Eye Drops (nothing puts a damper on zombie killing more than getting crap in your eye or having dry eyes. It’s a luxury item, but one I’d like to have)

    – Chapstick with sunscreen (to protect your knuckles, nose, eartips, and lips from sunburn and chapping)

    – Bar of deodorant (not necessarily for body odor, but to prevent chafing. It can help prevent blisters if your shoes don’t quite fit, or if something like, I dunno…a gun holster rubs you the wrong way)

    – Baby powder (can also be used to prevent chafing and can be used in lieu of shampoo/soap to absorb oil and grease)

    – Hand or baby wipes (I’m Obsessive Compulsive and my hands must be clean as much as humanly possible. In fact, throw a toothbrush in there too)

    – Extra socks (every military guy I know, most of whom are related to me, recommend having extra socks. Plus, I know it’s been mentioned in a ton of movies)

    – First aid kit with antibiotics and an EpiPen (Duh, this should have been on my original list)

    – Electrolytes (these bad boys come in handy when you get a muscle cramp. I take them when I go hiking and it helps prevent muscle soreness later as well)

    Electrolytes FTW!

    – Night vision goggles (couldn’t hurt to be able to see in the dark)

    – Collapsible canteens (a no-brainer and I really prefer them over the condoms the ZRS recommends carrying around)

    – A Keeper or Moon Cup (see explanation below)

    That last one might be TMI for the guys reading this, but we girls need to think about these things and there’s no guarantee we’ll have a Glenn who’s willing to risk his life for a box of tampons. The Keeper/Moon Cup is a fantastic little gizmo. You can leave it in all day and just rinse and reuse. Plus, it literally lasts for decades. I have yet to find a better alternative for dealing with Aunt Flo during a zombie apocalypse (or a day at the beach). You’re welcome ladies.

    If possible, I’d like to throw a gun and a decent amount of ammo on the list but since I don’t currently own a gun, I’d have to pick one up along the way. Luckily, I have a few Dad’s that taught me how to use guns so I’m familiar with them and can pretty much handle any one I manage to grab.

    Hopefully I’ll never have to worry about this stuff but I’m tougher than I look and could probably lead my Zombie Apocalypse Annihilation Team (ZAAT) without going batshit crazy a la Rick.

    Ready to kick some zombie ass for realz yo

    Have anything you think should be added to the list? Let me know in the comments!

  • 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!

  • San Diego Comic Con, Part 4 – Sunday Shenanigans

    Geek Outlaw and Hot Nerd Girl aka Nerd Best Friends Forever

    This has been my craziest Summer ever. I feel like I’m never home and I pretty much haven’t been since the beginning of June. Some of the reasons have been great (weddings, visiting new family members, hiking through Yosemite) and some of them have been sad (Grandma’s funeral) but all of them have been very time consuming. So I apologize for being so behind in answering emails and messages. Hopefully things start to calm down a bit.

    In the meantime, here is my last SDCC 2012-related post! (Don’t forget to check out my interview with Rod Roddenberry in the very near future. It was conducted at SDCC but is a beast all its own).

    Even though I had a couple more costumes to choose from I opted not to cosplay on Sunday. Not gonna lie, it was kind of a pain in the ass and one day of it was enough for me. I will definitely cosplay at future conventions though. It was a lot of fun despite the hassle.

    The first half of the day was consumed by the Fringe, Supernatural, and Doctor Who panels in Hall H. In case you missed it, I wrote about all of the Comic Con panels here.

    The second half I spent wandering around the Exhibition Hall. I didn’t see as many celebs on Sunday but Convention regular Thomas Jane was there.

    A bunch of people requested that I check out the Suicide Girls booth. Ask and you shall receive. They really liked my buttons.

    My buttons turned out to be pretty popular actually.

    Which is awesome cause I’m pretty much obsessed with my new button machine.

    I really wanted an awesome souvenir from the Con, and y’all know I’m a huge Trekkie, so when Geek Outlaw found Brian Rood’s booth I got really excited. I bought that lovely Kirk-Spock print you see in the pic.

    Some other randomly awesome stuff from the Floor:

    I’m actually pretty bummed that they remade Total Recall (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it mmmkay?) but I’ll wait until I see it to pass final judgement. I gotta admit though, this hover car was pretty badass.

    Geek Outlaw disappeared on me so I took this picture to make him feel guilty for ditching me 😉

    We ran into fan Andrew while roaming around.

    Michonne forgot to cut my arms and jaw off. Bad Michonne.

    My friend Eddy was sad that he was a zombie.

    We heard that there were Batmobiles across the way at the Hilton so we made our way over there.

    On to costumes!

    It took this badass chica about 1000 hours to make this armor out of aluminum.

    Where was this uber hot Cap when I needed her?? We were bummed that we didn’t run into each other when I was dressed as Thor the day before.

    Orcs! and Trolls!

    And Gollum! Oh my!

    I think he’s a little scared of me.

    This Bane was very friendly.

    As was this Darth Vader. All he wanted was a hug and everyone was just walking by. He looked very surprised and happy when I hugged him. What can I say? I’m a lover.

    Dark Helmet was not as friendly.

    Shit! I hate it when I get my Schartz twisted.

    I know who I’m gonna call. The World’s Tallest Ghostbuster standing next to me.

    It’s a Starfleet officer who has been assimilated by the Borg and has an Alien busting out of his chest WHO HAS ALSO BEEN ASSIMILATED BY THE BORG!! *le sigh* … I think I’m in love.

    Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!!!

    While taking the picture with the Dalek I heard someone yell “Hey Hot Nerd Girl! Show us your tits!” I turned around and my friend Leia was standing there! She’s a fellow HNG and sexy beast. Sorry guys, I did not show her my tits.

    And so ended my 2012 Comic Con experience. It was a great first crack and I can’t wait to go next year. I’m going to try to make it to APE Con in San Francisco in October but with all this traveling I’ve been doing I may not make it. We’ll see. In the meantime, thanks to Mama Jedi, Troi, Darcy, Joy, Christian, Eddy, and especially Geek Outlaw for hanging out with me at SDCC. Thanks again to Daniel and Morgan for the great panel seats. Thanks to everyone I met and chatted with. And thanks to you for patiently waiting for this SDCC coverage while I was off gallivanting around the country.

    I leave you with this totally awesome picture I took of Geek Outlaw.

    You’re welcome.

  • San Diego Comic Con, Part 2 – Friday Shenanigans

    I’ve been struggling to figure out how best to showcase my Comic Con shenanigans because I have over a thousand pictures taken over the course of 3 days. I did a post dedicated to the Panels and thought I might do posts dedicated to Costumes, Celebs, Exhibition Floor, etc. but no matter how I worked it, it just wasn’t coming out right. So I decided to showcase each day individually starting with Friday.

    Holy craparoni there was a ton of people. I knew there would be, and yet, nothing can prepare you for the experience the first time you go. I used to celebrate Halloween in the Castro, I know what it’s like to be surrounded by a shit ton of humans dressed in crazy costumes, but I’m also used to smaller conventions where it takes less than 45 minutes to walk from one end of the Exhibition Floor to the other.

    Craziness both outside… …and inside.

    In the past I’ve discussed my extreme shyness and social awkwardness. They go hand in hand and it’s something that I’m constantly fighting with, especially as the blog grows. This trait o’ mine can be particularly frustrating to my family and friends when they’re with me at conventions and events and are promoting me. I have a tendency to panic and retreat whenever I hear my name mentioned so by the time they turn to introduce me to someone I’m nowhere to be found. For Comic Con it was decided that they were going to liquor me up.

    I’m dead serious.

    And they came prepared. My sister-in-law, Troi, brought disposable flasks. My NBFF (Nerd Best Friend Forever), Geek Outlaw, made a delicious alcoholic concoction in his CamelBak each morning. I was ordered to sip from one of these two vessels throughout the day so that I would be less likely to panic and run. To be clear, I was never once intoxicated or even slightly buzzed, but I will admit that it took the edge off a little. A few people were even surprised when they were told how well I was doing at being social.

    Geez, I totally sound pathetic haha. The point is, it helped and I probably had my most socially successfully convention ever.

    Sippin’ on gin and juice

    I needed that little bit of liquid courage because I made buttons to hand out to the people I met. Lots and lots of gloriously nerdy buttons. Despite the liquor I was pretty shy about handing these out but there were a few times when they caught on like wildfire and I actually had a line of people waiting to dunk their hands in the giant bag of buttons. I made these in the 1.5 days between getting home from my Grandma’s funeral in Cincinnati and the first day of Comic Con so hopefully the next batch of buttons will be better.

    I was lucky enough to meet up with some friends throughout the day including one of my best buds Brett (he zombifies all my pictures for me), Aaron who I hadn’t seen in at least a couple of years, and Eddy who I hadn’t seen in 10 years.

    Brett! Aaron! Eddy! (and a seriously awesome photobomb)

    While on the Floor I headed over to the DC booth to visit Tre’ Ridings, a fabulous photographer who I met at WonderCon and have kept in touch with. If you haven’t yet, check out DC’s We Can Be Heroes campaign. While there Eddy and I got our pictures taken.

    Eddy got a bit saucy This made me LOL I stuck with good ol’ fashioned badassery Take THAT Lex Luther!

    I’m an insanely devoted Trekkie and have been collecting signatures in my TNG The Continuing Mission book for about 15 years now starting with John de Lancie. So I was super excited to see Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton at Comic Con! But super sad that I didn’t have my book on me. I got their signatures and pictures with them anyways.

    The next day I brought my book but Brent was gone. So I’ve added LeVar’s signature to the book. Hopefully Brent’s won’t be far behind!

    From top to bottom: Rod Roddenberry, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, John de Lancie, LeVar Burton

    My sister-in-law and I ran into Colin Ferguson from Eureka on our way to the Roddenberry After Party. He was super nice.

    Lou Ferrigno was huge! And also very nice.

    Todd Stashwick is officially my new favorite celebrity. I didn’t recognize him at first with his hat and glasses. He was there promoting the printed trade paperback of his online comic book The Devil Inside and we started chatting it up about all kinds of random stuff like Chicago and the Secret Service. It wasn’t until about 10 minutes into the conversation that it even came out that he was an actor (trust me, you know who he is). We ended up talking for quite a while and I left with a copy of his book and a promise that I’d return the next day to show him my Thor costume and get Dennis Calero’s signature on my book.

    Some other randomly awesome stuff from the Floor:

    KITT…

    And Michael from Knight Rider.

    Awesome Indiana Jones booth complete with live snakes.

    Optimus Prime is the shit.

    Trolls!

    Zombie mobile from The Walking Dead.

    I don’t know why but the Batpod looked kind of small to me in real life but looking at it in comparison with the people in the picture it looks like a decent size. Weird.

    Troi is obsessed with zombies.

    Who’s scruffy-looking??

    The Captain’s chair was blocked off but they let this guy take a picture in it. Love the Roddenberry folks!

    Troi got the greatest LEGO set ever for my brother and my nephew. It has working electronics. Frak, I’m jealous.

    Time for costumes!

    We were behind some Avatar: The Last Airbender fans in a panel line.

    And also ran into some Legend of Korra peeps.

    My best guess is GI Joe. Correct me if I’m wrong!

    Saw a ton of Poison Ivy’s and Harley Quinn’s per usual.

    This guy was a big hit with Troi.

    Alicia Hunt?

    A towering inferno of physical perfection.

    Awesome AT-AT.

    Remember this girl?

    Her name is Jennifer Landa and she’s super sweet and she put together another spectacular Star Wars costume, this time of the Millennium Falcon.

    Everyone needs a little bit of Tusken Raider in their life to keep them on their toes.

    This Prometheus promotion calmly and silently walked through the Exhibition Hall while his lovely ladies passed crap out.

    Best. Penguin. Ever.

    What’s up Doc?

    And a couple after my own heart.

    It’s Picard and a female Geordi! How awesome is she?!?

    At the end of the day we headed over to Fluxx for the Roddenberry Trek Nation Party. (Friendly reminder that my interview with Rod Roddenberry will be coming to you soon!) On the way there we ran into the zombie walk. Depending on how long you’ve been reading you may or may not know that zombies are my biggest fear. Needless to say, I snapped this picture and then walked very briskly to the next street over.

    Me and Mom waiting to be let in to Fluxx. Apparently I was supposed to go through the Media/VIP line. Oops. I’m still getting used to being considered Media :/

    At the club we met up with friends Joy and Darcy (yes, he’s really that tall).

    And watched a circus performer lady.

    There was a super creepy Tron dude who just stood there and never took his motorcycle helmet off.

    Hanging out with Trevor Roth of Roddenberry Entertainment. He’s super awesome.

    This was some kind of Jägermeister concoction that Geek Outlaw ordered for me.

    Whatever. It was delicious.

    Goofing off with Troi, Mama Jedi and Geek Outlaw

    We left the party at 10:00pm (around the time the geeks left and the usual clubbers started showing up) to try and get some sleep before Day 2 of the Comic Con craziness.

     Stay tuned for “Part 3 – Saturday Shenanigans” in the next couple of days!

  • Dear Walking Dead (again)

    [youtube:http://youtu.be/grWV8WZtAQc]

    –

    Dear AMC’s The Walking Dead (again),

    I’ve had nightmares about you for the last four nights in a row.

    Not cool.

    It’s all your fault, you know.  You draw me in with your compelling story telling, make me fall in love with you all over again, and then scare the living daylights out of me.  What the hell is your problem anyways?

    Lately you’ve been teasing me.  You haven’t been rearing your ugly head very much so I think I’m safe.  Then all of the sudden you show up at the pharmacy, or in the barn, or at the bottom of the well.  Seriously, you had the worst prune fingers I’ve ever seen.  It was disgusting.  You should really take better care of your personal hygiene.

    But I digress.

    I’m starting to get worried here.  You scare the crap out of me, I leave, and then I come back for more.  What in the sam hill is wrong with me?  You even tried to help me out.  I couldn’t find you at first but eventually I hunted you down.  Now I’m convinced that I need therapy.

    And yet, here I am, huddled on the couch, covering my eyes half the time while you bitch and moan but don’t really say anything meaningful.  Your communication skills are seriously lacking, did you know that?  Sometimes I can differentiate between a moan and a groan, but most of the time its like you expect me to read your mind.  Well guess what?  I can’t. Learn to deal with it you stupid walker.  And the way you deal with children is seriously fucked up.  Poor Sophia.

    I don’t know what to do.  I should probably never speak to you again but I know that’s not going to happen.  I just really want to know where this relationship is going to end up and I hate having friends tell me what you’ve been up to.  I want to find out for myself.

    God I hate you so much sometimes!

    But I also love you.

    *sigh*

    You suck.

    Sincerely,
    Hot Nerd Girl

    Photo by Meghan Roth; Zombification by Brett DeWall www.dementeddreams.com