Con In A Bag! SDCC Edition!

I totally rock MS Paint.

Win our Con in a Bag!!! That's right, I slogged through the San Diego Comic Con floor just to get the best of the best freebies and give it away to our readers!  Four lucky readers will get bags stuffed full of anything that they might possibly get at SDCC. This includes comics, books, buttons, t-shirts, random autographs (Tom Morello anyone?) and tons of random pieces of paper.

Each bag is sponsored by an awesome company, with stuff that you can only find on eBay:

Random Thought: Authors Who Give Up on Their Series

I was staring at my bookcase, not really paying attention to what I was looking at, when one of my books caught my eye. It was by an author I used to read. I started thinking about him. He had a popular series of books of few years ago. They weren't super popular but did well. I loved them. The characters were interesting and funny, and the stories were always twisted and complex but great, quick reads. Perfect to read on a train or at the beach or curled up at home.

Anyhoo, as the series progressed, I got the feeling that the author was growing tired of the characters. He moved his main protagonist to a new location and the plots made a little less sense. Finally, he announced the ending of the series. I was sad, but every story has its time. However, when I read the final book, instead of sad I became angry.

What made this series so good was not only was the main protagonist an extremely likable character, but the group around him was equally incredible. Think Buffy and the Scoobies. That's exactly what this was like, and in the final book, the few who made it into the story were underutilized and some of them completely disappeared, and the explanations given for their disappearance made no sense. Not only that, but the story itself was convoluted, rushed, and lacked all the wonderful elements that had made the series so good. There are books my favorite authors have written that I have not cared for, but rarely have I read something that's made me question the quality of their writing.

I found out later the reason the author ended the series was because he had written a book unrelated to the series that he was extremely proud of, and the fan reception he had gotten was "this is nice, but when does the next ---- book come out?" This understandably upset him. He had put a tremendous amount of work into his book, and it wasn't fair that it was being treated as a placeholder. I read that book; it was great, but I feel like his response was unfair to the fans.

He should have anticipated that kind of response. He created a wonderful series, and that was what he was known for. Yes, he wrote other stuff, but he was best known for his series. It's what made him popular. Of course, that's what the fans were going to want.

I respect his decision to end the series so he could pursue other projects. You can't hold creativity back, but what I don't respect is not giving the characters a proper send off. Sure, we're lucky he was even willing to tie everything up, but in some ways, the final book was so subpar that it might have been better if he didn't write it, did other projects, and may some years down the road revisited the characters and given them a better ending. 

Have you had this experience? Are there writers out there who you felt really dropped the ball on their series'? And for any writers reading this, am I being overly harsh or have you ever felt this way? I'd love to know your side of the story. 

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Meme'd

I made my very first meme!  Super proud of myself and just wanted to share it with the world.  And yes, this is totally real and actually happened to me.

You can share it or add a new caption if you want!  Make sure you post the link to it below and/or share it on our FB Page!

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Random Thought: Will Supernatural Ever Get Adam Out of the Cage?

*Editor's Note - This was published later than when written to ensure that the writer wrote this coherently, and it was not just a string of letters that she thought made a post.

It's 3 AM, and I'm trying to sleep with no luck. I'm laying in bed, computer off, listening to soothing music, doing relaxation techniques, yadda, yadda, yadda, when I suddenly find myself wondering about Supernatural and the *SPOILER ALERT* third Winchester brother, Adam. 

Save me!!!

For those of you who might not remember, Adam is Sam and Dean's half-brother, who was killed by ghouls in season 4, only to be brought back to be the meat suit for the Archangel Michael when Dean refused. Both Sam/Lucifer and Adam/Michael fell into the Cage in hell during the climatic finale of season 5. Sam got out but was lacking a soul, and Dean tried to get it back and Adam out but was told he could only choose one. Naturally, he chose Sam. It wouldn't be a show without Sam, but is that it? Are the Winchester men really going to let Adam stay in hell? Or will this be one of those plots that get mysteriously dropped and never spoken of again similar to the younger sister on Family Matters, who went upstairs and never returned? Or before the show comes to an end, will the Winchesters mount an epic rescue mission, taking on the hordes of hell to save the last piece of their family?

More importantly, why is this what pops into my head when I am trying to sleep? Does this happen to anyone else? I'm going back to bed. Clearly, I need some sleep.

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5 Signs That The Article You’re Reading May Not Be Written By A Geek

Let's give a nice [IGH] welcome to our newest guest contributor, LoudmouthLee!

My name is LoudmouthLee, and I am a nerd.

I am also a geek, but I’m pretty sure that nerd encompasses who I am more than anything else. I love trivia, I have an unquenchable desire to learn. I have odd hobbies, and I like to read… a lot.

I’m really proud of my offbeat sense of humor. I’m a teacher, and my students will tell you the same thing… Mr. D is WEIRD…. but we love him.

Back in the day, no one wanted to be called a nerd. It meant you were an outcast. You were picked on, bullied… It hurt. I vowed to myself that when I became a teacher, I would do everything in my power to make sure that the future geeks, nerds, goths, potheads, etc. all had a safe haven with me… And throughout my career so far, I’ve been successful.

The past few years have seen a boon to the geek subculture. All of a sudden, being labeled a geek was… well… awesome. Hot girls started wearing I <3  Geeks shirts. Even television began to embrace geeky characters.

The geeks embraced this to no end.

However, there’s something wrong… and we need to unite!

After being linked to and reading Jenn Hoffman’s column entitled “10 Signs She’s Not Really A Nerd," I stared blankly at the screen for a few moments. I began to have this pit in my stomach… and I think it’s time for someone to set these pseudo-geeks straight.

Jenn Hoffman has done her best, in one single post, to try to exclude people from the subculture. The geek subculture is predicated on acceptance. As a geek, or a nerd… most of us have felt excluded at one time or another… possibly ashamed of who we were.

Why would we go out of our way to do exactly what others have done to us forever?

With that, I give you this: 

5 Signs That The Article You’re Reading May Not Be Written By A Geek

If you aren’t expecting a sarcasm bomb… consider this your fair warning.

1) If the article excludes people from being a part of the club.

Face it, all of us are geeks, in some way, shape, or form. Some just hide it better than others. Some people neglect to embrace their geekiness in fear of rejection or backlash. We need for these people to feel more confident in who they are, not knock them down a few pegs, thereby pushing them to the side of a subculture that they are begging to be a part of.

2) If the article resorts to appearance in order to classify between real geek and fake geek.

I don’t need glasses. I still have me a nice pair of nerd glasses. I use them when I’m looking at the computer screen for a long time, or when I want to look smarter than I really am (AKA: Parent Teacher Conferences). Whether or not I actually have the glasses on doesn’t make me a nerd or not one. It just makes me come to the realization that, to this day, I am still completely clueless about fashion.

3) If the article uses “Ranch Dressing” as an appropriate test for anything…

You better not, EVER, sully the name of ranch dressing every again. I want me some cheese fries with bacon and ranch dressing. Yum.

4) If the article thinks that listing other geeks in your blog posts gives you credit.

Chris Hardwick is funny as hell. Seriously. He makes me laugh. Just because I’m namedropping doesn’t mean that you should take me any more seriously. Anyway, I prefer Alton Brown over all of the other nerds that Ms. Hoffman may have listed. I have met some pretty clueless nerds out there, except for their field. I have a few friends who are not book or science smart, but are ridiculously awesome bowlers. Some have amazing marble collections. Are they geeks/nerds? Sure. Don’t hate and don’t name drop. PS: I <3 Wil Wheaton! OMG

5) If the article finds a way to completely ostracize the writer’s own gender in an article.

The article referenced above does a very good job in pointing out the girls are stupid, fakers, and some don’t belong in the super-secret geek club. They fake their way to fit in, because they’re not fitting in anywhere else.

Oh wait. That sounds familiar.

I am the proud father of a 1 ½ year old daughter. I’m going to raise her to know that she can do ANYTHING that she wants to do. She can be ANYTHING she wants to be. Just not a porn star. Sorry. I have to draw the line somewhere.

The truth of the matter is, well… everyone has flaws. Everyone wants to be accepted. Please don’t tell me that you’ve never tried to be someone else just to impress someone. Bullpoop.

We’ve all been pushed down, spit at, and told we aren’t good enough. Now that we’re in the limelight, don’t you DARE go and be one of them. Ms. Hoffman, you’re the bully in this situation, and I think you owe the geek girls of this world an apology. You’ve done them a disservice.

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Funny, Geeky Conversations

The other day Wysefyre and I were rereading texts we have sent and decided that we were funny.  In fact, we crack ourselves up.  We can probably crack other people up.  Also, we figure that very few people have realized there are two of us, so here is a inside peek of our very disturbed brains. 

BEWARE THE MACHINES!


Wysefyre
Death to the machines!!!

Wilderowens
??????

Wysefyre
Skynet's attacking by making it impossible for me to do my laundry before my first rehearsal.

Wilderowens
Bastard computer

Wysefyre
Yup



I AM THE NIGHT

Wysefyre
What exactly did we want to do today?

Wilderowens
I'm Batman.

Wysefyre
Um... Ok. You know that didn't really answer the question. :P

Wilderowens
It answers everything.

Wysefyre
It answers nothing other than your identity and possibly your desire to hibernate.

Wilderowens
I was also Robin and Superman. Then I saved.

Wysefyre
Oh fuck.

(For the record, Lego Batman 2 is awesome!)

Post your funniest text conversations below in comments!!!



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SDCC Booth Tour of Awesome

QUANTUM MECHANIX BOOTH!

Yes, I got a booth tour of Quantum Mechanix to see what's coming up on their roster.  These girls and guys are true fans, and it shows in the painstaking details in their work.  Some of these models look like they plucked them right off the screen!

Check out some of the things that will be draining your bank account soon.

So Say We All

They debuted plushie BSG Raiders and Vipers at SDCC!  I really regret not buying these but I bet my roommate is happy I'm not "flying" them around the apartment, making ship noises.

Random Thought of the Day: John Barrowman - Real or Robot?

I was watching The Nerdist' 2012 Special SDCC Episode, and John Barrowman was one of the guests. I loved the episode, but as I was watching, I came to the conclusion that John Barrowman is not real.


Wait, that's not true. He's real, you can touch him, but he's not human. Why do I think that? Simple. Have you seen the guy?

Even as he's gotten older, he doesn't age. And he's too damn good looking. I don't know what it is, but I'm convinced he's not human. 

But I can't decide what he is. Is he robot with a synthetic skin? Or is he an alien sent here to infiltrate us with his good looks, sense of humor, and his ability to sing and dance for reasons still to be determined?

I know he's not the most traditionally beautiful female, but he's got great legs, and when he sings, who cares what he looks like?


But if this is not your taste, then watch these Torchwood outtakes.




Even when he's goofy, he's still pretty perfect. Not many life forms can do that.


So, in conclusion, John Barrowman is not human. He is awesome, and I desperately want to see him perform in NYC, but I repeat, he is not human.


For more proof, check out The Nerdist' SDCC episode when it repeats, you'll see what I'm talking about.


This has been my random thought of the day. Thank you.


PS Barrowman does something pretty special in The  Nerdist episode. It's worth watching just for that.

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