Life Under Construction

Posts Tagged ‘Nerdom’

When I admit to you in passing that I love Harry Potter, I don’t mean it in that ‘I’ll watch it if it’s on’ or ‘I read the books and thought they were terrific’ kind of way.  I’m serious that I Love.Harry.Potter.  I might just say it in passing, but inside I’m all excited just at the mention of it.  My mind goes into HP overdrive and I try to discern if you love Harry Potter or if you just like it.

I’m most likely wondering silently what house you would be in (LET’S GO GRYFFINDOR!)…

…if you’ve decided what kind of wand you would have if you went to Hogwarts, what your Patronus would be…

I randomly slip into the conversation (any conversation) that I listen to Wizard Rock, that’s Harry Potter music, and from your expression I will glean whether or not your are repulsed by my slightly obsessive behavior (usually people think I’m nuts, but don’t say it out loud and I can totally tell by their facial expression after I admit this little gem).  Of COURSE I listen to Wizard Rock (thank you Pham!), because it rocks.  Literally.   Ministry Of Magic?  The Parselmouths?  HECK YES!

I wanna be in a Wizard Rock band!  I can sing!

I think about the wizarding world in relation to the real world all the time, comparing and contrasting, wondering What would be the secret use of this thing here? or How cool would it be if that guy over there that’s dressed all weird-like was really a wizard trying to blend in with the muggles?  At least he’d have an excuse for wearing that, if he didn’t know any better.

I want Gryffindor robes… really good quality ones, not cheap Halloween costume material.

I cast spells at people and things inside my head.  Stupefy!  Riddikulus!  Expecto Patronum (just for funsies)!  (Accio would be wicked useful for getting the phaser when I didn’t want to get up to change the channel!)

Yesterday I wrapped the last four HP books and labeled them To: Jaime, From: Santa to put under the tree.  Boy, Santa really does know what I like!  And you know what?  I’m going to be excited when I open them!  That means I can read them again!  I bought them on Black Friday and hid them from myself so I could give them to myself on Christmas.  With my GPS.

I would talk about Harry Potter with a complete stranger if one walked up to me on the street.  Wanna know how to kidnap me without having to use force?  Ask me questions about Harry Potter and seem genuinely interested.  I’ll probably go anywhere with you just to have someone to talk about HP with.

(And just in case you’re wondering… my husband thinks he knows how weird I am weird and married me anyway.  Joke is on him!)

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My nephew turns 6 today.  SIX.  That means he’s more than half way to ten.  More than half way to double digits.  A third of the way to being a legal adult.  I feel a slight panic coming on.

It is also Benny’s birthday.  And Megan’s birthday.  Happy birthday, Benny and Megan!

On a slightly related note: 158 days until my birthday.

OK, so you know how I pissed and moaned about how much I missed reading last month, and how I couldn’t wait to start reading the books I’d ordered?  Well, instead of reading one of the – *counts* 21 unread books that are sitting on my shelf, I’m reading The Other Boleyn Girl again.  Because I’m obsessed with Henry’s wives, particularly Anne Boleyn, and all things 16th century England.  I’m like fighting with myself not to read The Queen’s Fool and The Virgin’s Lover again once I’m done with this book.  Because I have 21 other books to read that I haven’t ever read.  How can I justify buying more books after Christmas if I still have so many yet to read?

the shelves appear to be on the verge of breaking ((click for full size)) also please ignore the vast amounts of dust BECAUSE I SAID SO

You don’t even have to tell me how sad I am.  I already know.

I’ve been listening to Hank Green’s new album This Machine Pwns n00bs non-stop for days.  I can’t get enough of it.  I can’t even decide on my favorite song from it, it is every song.  Every song on the album is my favorite.  And I’ve been listening to it so much that the other night I had a dream that I met Hank and his brother John (Nerdfighters FTW!), and that we were inside a video game.

If that isn’t nerdy, I don’t know what is.

…

Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Challenge:
December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

Four words: National Novel Writing Month.  The project has definitely been my biggest personal challenge to date, not just in 2009.  I found myself in places where I wanted to just give up, where I hated everything and nothing made sense.  I got angry and frustrated, but I still kept going.  I learned a lot about myself last month, and I found that something could be hard but I could still enjoy it.  I realized without a doubt that writing is what I want to do with my life.

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Mikey Pop seems to be Hell bent on the notion that the two of us, with our powers combined, could out-geek Wil Wheaton.

there are no words

I’m not too sure about that.

In fact, I’m 100% positive I’m not sure at all about it.

I like to think that Wil Wheaton (@wilw) is the king of all nerds.  Supreme Nerd Ruler of Nerdom, if you wil (<- lolz for me!  Do you see what I just did there?  ^^).

While I’m proud to take nerditude to a whole new level as a female (do I get points for that?), and I can admit that I have extensive knowledge of all things Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and really bad 80’s movies most people wouldn’t watch if you paid them, I don’t think I’ve got it in me to out-geek the nerdtastic Supreme Nerd Ruler of Nerdom.

With anyone’s help.

Not that I wouldn’t enjoy trying.  Like I said to Mike the other day, it would probably be the greatest day of my life, the day I spend trying to out-geek @wilw.  But I have faith in the leader of my people.

What, you don’t want to read me anymore?  You know how to unsubscribe.  :D

Also, is that not the greatest picture of all time?

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Let me just tell you how bad I want Google Wave.

I want it bad.  I want it more than I want a new iPod Touch.

I want it so bad, I watched the hour and twenty minute long video of the developers presenting it at some Grand Nerd seminar of Nerdom or something (that’s pretty much what Google I/O was, right?).  One of my favorite parts begins at the 11 minute mark, and watching this Lars dude say ‘neener neener’ while he dances is good times.

Sure, it’s still buggy.  But there’s so much potential there!  It takes email, instant messaging, and sharing to a whole new level.  INSTANTNESS FTW!  And it actually makes Blogger more appealing (you all know how much I hate Blogger, right?).

I’m. In. LOVE.

Imagine the conversations, the group projects you can work on in real time, without the hassle of hassle!

I just hope that when I get it, I’m still in love and not disappointed.

Let me just say again: SO MUCH POTENTIAL! and THIS IS THE FUTURE OF EMAIL AND MESSAGING AND EVERYTHING GOOD ON THE ONLINE!

I want to wave.  I want to WAVE!

I have applied for an invite.  Now I wait.

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I LOVE… that Walter had ONE MINUTE left on his calling card, and called me this morning to tell me that he made it in OK and that he loves me.  I don’t just LOVE it.  I’m grateful for it.

I LOVE… sending Walter letters, but not packages too much because the ordeal at the post office is ridiculous just to give someone a birthday present.  Eff customs.  Eff Iraq.  Next year I’m giving him his birthday present in person.  Take that, Iraq.

I LOVE… Mikey Pop.  I miss him when he’s far away in stupid Washington with mountains and Harry Potter but not me.  *pout*  He always makes me feel better when things are bad, and things haven’t been very good lately.

I LOVE… that Jeff is going to DJ my mom’s wedding at the end of the month.  I love Jeff.  I love that I’ve known him for about two years now, maybe two and a half, and he thinks that’s “a long time”.  He so cute.

I LOVE… taking pictures of myself on dailybooth and putting them in my blogs every day.

I LOVE… watching movies with my nephew.  Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a good one.

I LOVE… that last night Sarah and I watched my favorite episode of Dr. Quinn ever, it’s what I call “the Boston episode”.  I was so bouncy on the bed and I had to keep stopping while I was knitting because I was so excited (I KNOW!!!)!  And Sarah wanted to stab me for being too excited and giving stuff away the whole time.  I used to know all the words to this episode, and while I still remembered a lot of ‘em, there’s also a lot of ‘em I forgot (my mom had it on a VHS tape from when it originally aired, and I used to watch it all the time).  I didn’t even know that episode was coming on so soon in the series, I was so excited and surprised!!!!  I’m a dork, shut up.

I LOVE… that I’m a dork.  :D  *waves from high up in the great kingdom of Nerdom*

I LOVE… the way the series finale of Eli Stone ended.  It was so positive, and much better than I expected.  I’m not too happy that it had to end though.  Stupid ABC.

I LOVE… Artisteer 2, the program I recently got for WordPress blog design.**

I LOVE… Dead Like Me.  I recently started watching it, and I think it’s a great TV show.

I LOVE… the dress I’m wearing to my mother’s wedding.  It’s the same dress I wore to Drew’s wedding earlier this year in Mississippi.  It’s yellow and sparkly.

I LOVE… my mom.  I don’t say it much, not on my blog, but I love her (and don’t worry, I tell her so every time I talk to her).  Even though she’s stressful and difficult and the hastiest person I know, I love her because she’s my mom.  And she’s getting married.  And I actually get to go this time instead of getting left behind!

**On Monday my blog will have an entirely new look and feel!  Call it a makeover, if you will, but it’s a necessary makeover.  Now that I have this blog design program I can make my blog look just the way I want it to.  I’ve been struggling with finding just the right layout since PQ gave me my own blog page back in September, and with this program I’ve been able to create it myself!  So come back on Monday to see just what I’ve done to the place.  Oh!  And before I forget… there’s going to be a surprise too!

Happy Friday everyone!  What do you love today?  :D

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I’ve played quite a few games in my time.  Quite a few indeed.  So when I announced that I was going to start playing WoW, I was irritated at all the negative feedback I got.

I heard a lot of “We’re never going to see you again”s and some  “See you in a few months”s along with quite a few “We all know where THIS is going”s.  Equip each statement with a massive eye roll and there you have it: the reaction I got from just about everyone that doesn’t already play.

I ignored it, and laughed it off.  I’ve been a gamer since I met D in high school.  I’ve been hooked on MMORPG’s (for any of you non-gamers that stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) for a good five years now.  I’ve played Oddessy, Runescape, Diablo2, Meridian 59, UltimaOnline, EverQuest, Lineage, World Of Warcraft, Endless Online, Guild Wars, Vanguard, R.O.S.E. Online, Fly For Fun, Ragnarok, and probably a few others that I’m completely forgetting.  So I’ve been around the gaming world.  I know how it is.

I know.

I don’t need people rolling their eyes at me, telling me they’re disappointed in me and telling me how it’s going to be.

Um, if you know me then you know I’m not like that.  I’m a big girl, and not everyone falls into that stereotype.

Or better yet, if you’ve known me long enough, you should know I’ve been down that road and that I learned my lesson.  Because of all the games I’ve played, no game was more addicting or life consuming than Illarion (before you click the link, remember that it was far less developed 5 years ago than it is now).

This is Illarion.  You’ll want to click to see the full images.

Quinasa at Varshikar. Click to enlarge.

Quinasa and Aristeaus at The Fluffy Sheep Tavern. Click to enlarge.

Quinasa and Aristeaus getting married. Click to enlarge.

Illarion is a free MMORPG.  An isometric free RPG where you can only walk at one pace and all the character avatars look exactly the same, no matter what they’re equipped with.

To say that I loved this game would be the understatement of the century.  I lived this game.  I used to eat, sleep, breathe, and BATHE this game.  It dictated when I slept, when I worked, when I ate (which was rarely), and everything else I did or (more likely) didn’t do.

Probably the longest period I went without having a boyfriend was while I was playing this game.

It’s not just an MMO, it’s actual role play.  To have and keep a character you need to, like D&D, come up with a personality and character description as well as a back story, and then you need your character to blend in with the world around you and interact with other characters.  With the old account system (there isn’t one now) you had to actually apply for an account and not only answer questions, but complete a story in a few sentences to play.

There was no questing.  Power gaming was frowned upon.  All the characters looked the same with our names (and numbers!) over our heads.  85% of your in game time was spent actually role playing, not gaining skills.

It. Was. AWESOME.

For a while.  Then it started to become unfun.  I had this whole life in game.  A husband and a profession, a whole LIFE.  And when it started to get unfun, it leaked into my real life.  My unhappiness spilled over into my everyday activities.  And even then I didn’t quit.  I took it too seriously to quit.  I took it so seriously for so long that I was afraid to leave, even though I was completely miserable.  I needed the game.  It kept me awake at night.  I played for a long time this way before I finally quit.  And I quit twice.

The first time I quit, I went back after a few months thinking that all I needed was a break.  But no.  It was far worse than that.  And I played for a few more months before I quit entirely.  It’s been hard.  I’ve since even stopped going to the forums because I get sucked in that way too.  And I know better.

So when I say I know how it is to be addicted to a game, I’m not kidding.  I know how it is.  I’ve been down that road.  I’ve seen the Dark Side (they don’t really have cookies, don’t let them fool you).  It took a lot of repairing to get my life back into shape, but I’ve done it and I won’t do that to myself again.

So I ask you to please keep your snide comments to yourself.  I don’t want them.  I started playing WoW because Walter has gone to Iraq and I need something time consuming and enjoyable to do so that I don’t spend all my time worrying about whether or not he’ll come home at all.

Don’t assume anything about me based on the short-comings of other people.  I am NOT other people.  And I’ll freaking play World Of Warcraft if I want to.  So get off my case.

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There are dumb  people out there, right?  Like… the really REALLY dumb kind?

OK.  This is hard for me to put this into words.

I’m actually kind of scared of the answer.  You know like that moment in Bambi when his mother gets shot and you’re just terrified, like what’s going to happen now?  OK.  Well, I’m scared that the answer will make me feel like that.  Terrified of the future.

But now that the question has popped into my head I can’t deny it’s existence and to not ask would drive me crazy!

Here goes nothing…

So I was thinking.

Actually I was reading someones blog that had absolutely nothing to do with Star Wars when I was struck by a Star Wars related question.  It’s how it happens, shut up.

Anyway I was reading.  And I thought, wow.  People that aren’t big Star Trek fans are really DIGGING this new Star Trek movie (and just for the record, the blog wasn’t about Star Trek either, my mind just works that way)!  And without missing a beat I wonder if the people that aren’t into Star Trek have even seen the older movies.  And what they would think of them.

AND THEN!!!!!!

And then I wonder!, unbidden!, whether or not there are people out there that actually LIKE the new Star Wars movies.  Like, whether they can like them more than the originals!?!!

I don’t want to know!  BUT I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!

Can it really happen like that with Star Wars?!!!  WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE LIVE IN IF CHILDREN THESE DAYS LIKE THE GROSSNESS OF THE PREQUELS AS OPPOSED TO THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY!?!?!!!

I’m freaking out here!!!!  Someone needs to tell me that it’s UNPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!

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FIVE DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Please be sure to stop by Arielle’s blog today, More Than A Mermaid, for my guest post in which I reveal a deep, dark, nerdy secret.

Epic Nerdery, Revealed!

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Last time we checked in with our heroine, Anxiety Girl, the dread Poison Ivy had spread to her leg and back.

It seems, in the last few days, that the skirmishes have spread, leaving more battlefields than was previously expected.  Poison Ivy has taken up residence on her left side as well as her upper right arm and on the inside of her right thigh (a little too close to The Promised Land for her liking).  See the illustration below to get the full extent of how far it’s dared to spread.

The red dot masses (I know, I am brilliant!) show where Poison Ivy is located on her front and sides, where as the blue dot mass shows Poison Ivy’s dirty position on her back.

This new Anti-Poison Ivy Soap better be worth what her mother paid for it.

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So, happy Tuesday everyone!  Now get on over to Arielle’s page and read my guest blog over there!  You know you wanna!  :D

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Prepare yourselves.  I’m about to wave my Nerd Flag.

Final decision on the film:  Epic. Win.

I loved it.  It was way better than I expected it to be.

I’ll admit, I went into the movie thinking that it was going to suck and that it wouldn’t even begin to compare with the original series because, hey, it never works out right when you get new actors to play old characters.

In this case, I was wrong.

So wrong.

Chris Pine is the perfect James T. Kirk.  His attitude as a young version of the character was SPOT ON and completely believable.  It was surprising how well he fit the role, especially since he had some big shoes to fill.  Even my father was more than satisfied with him, he loved him.  And he’s way dreamier than William Shatner ever was.  *swoon*

Zachary Quinto as Spock was a little unnerving at first.  All I could see was Sylar.  Sylar with pointy ears and thinner eyebrows (let’s face it, the man has some brows on him)!  He was a little less believable as Spock than Pine as Kirk, but I keep reminding myself that they’re supposed to be young, kids really, compared to TOS and 1-6.  But after his first few minutes on screen I was quite satisfied with him.  I was surprised that the movie pretty much revolved around Spock.

Perhaps the most pleasantly given performance comes from Karl Urban, the new Bones (Dr. McCoy).  From the minute he stepped on screen, from the very first words he uttered gave away who he was.  He was definitely my favorite of everyone in the new cast.  His believability and his delivery were impeccable.  Definitely the most perfectly cast role in the entire film.

The rest of the crew was good.  Scotty was awesome, to say the least.  Chekov was adorable and Mr. Sulu definitely fit the roles.  Uhura… well, I’m not sure what to think of her.  She was a little brazen, but again – she’s younger than she’s supposed to be in The Original Series.  Zoe Saldana definitely has the look of a young Uhura.

The special effects weren’t overdone.  They were actually pretty damn good, not overdone in the least.  The Enterprise was beautiful to behold on the big screen, all shiny and new.  It wasn’t like seeing (forgive me for comparing them) Star Wars ships in the prequels, the Starship Enterprise looked every bit as majestic and basic as it did in the original series, with VERY minimal adjustments to it’s exterior.  It wasn’t overly improved upon, the basic design was left unchanged.  Yay!

Now, on to what I didn’t like….

Of course I’m going to nitpick.  I’m a fan.  DUH!

**If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want it spoiled for you, stop reading now.  This blog isn’t going to disappear and you can come back and compare notes with me once you’ve seen it for yourself.**

The first thing I didn’t like was the actor chosen to play Sarek.  I’m sorry, Ben Cross, is it?  I didn’t like him.  He’s simply not Vulcan material and I don’t approve of the casting choice there.  He didn’t strike me as anything even remotely close to Sarek.  Sarek is supposed to be young, with a severe and angular face.  Not old and slightly chubby with beady eyes.  Vulcans have a longer life expectancy than humans, allowing them to age slower in appearance, but this guy was too old to be Sarek.  Period.  I mean, in the original series Sarek wasn’t even graying yet!  That’s the first thing they got wrong.

The second thing, and admittedly the biggest problem I had with the movie from start to finish, was Spock and Uhura.

Um….. no.

No no, no-no-no.  *insert lots of finger wagging and shame shame noises here*

The relationship did not serve any useful purpose and personally I think it actually hindered the storyline.  It only made me angry because it didn’t belong there.  It felt wrong.  It’s just not realistic for the characters, not even as younger versions than themselves.

Aside from those two things I thought the movie was spectacular.  Hearing Leonard Nemoy recite the opening lines at the end of the movie was a thrill.  He was a real treat to see in the movie as Spock Prime with gray and white hair.  I was surprised that Wynona Ryder played Spock’s mother, I would have liked to have seen an unknown in the role but it didn’t take away from the experience that much.

So tell me!  What did you think of the movie?
Are you a die hard Trekkie?
What did you like the most?
Dislike the most?
How did you feel about Uhura and Spock’s romantic relationship?

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