Category Archives: Geek Culture

Cosplay Monday: I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!

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Louisville GhostbustersEvery week, we feature some awesome cosplayers on the blog, and when you run into these guys at FandomFest, then there’s really no question about who our next featured costumers are going to be! Complete with some of the most realistic proton packs I’ve ever seen on a Ghostbusters cosplayer, ghost traps and even a plushie Slimer, these guys were great.

Meet the Louisville Ghostbusters! This group of really fun guys had a booth set up at FandomFest, handing out business cards that said “We are ready to believe you!” While the guys no longer have their own website, you can check out this YouTube video of them checking out Waverly Hills Sanitorium. Check out their Facebook page for much better pictures than the one I took with my phone, including this one of the guys posing with Ecto 1 (Click the picture for a better view).

Louisville Ghostbusters with Ecto 1

In the meantime, if you’re heading to GenCon in Indianapolis next month, you can meet the guys, check out their proton packs and ghost traps, and get some tips on how to create your own Ghostbusters costume.

Stay tuned for for my FandomFest recap later today!

Celebration VI Mobile App Now Available

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Yesterday, the folks behind Celebration VI released the official mobile phone app for the convention. Unfortunately, right now it’s pretty much just a countdown timer and a link to a Google map of the convention area. Eventually, you’ll be able to view panel times, guest listings, signing times, and exhibitor lists.

To get the app, head to the official CVI page.

Her Universe Unveils Doctor Who Shirts

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As hinted at yesterday, Her Universe (in conjunction with BBC Worldwide) will be releasing a series of Doctor Who shirts.

Her Universe™, a leader in female genre merchandise, announced today a license with BBC Worldwide, to create a collection of Doctor Who apparel for the ever-growing female fan base for the television show.

Her Universe recognized the burgeoning force of female Doctor Who fans and the need to create unique apparel and merchandise just for them. The international iconic brand and television hit Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi series in the world and continues to earn critical acclaim as BBC AMERICA’s highest rated series as well as the #1 downloaded series for iTunes in 2011. The newDoctor Who collection by Her Universe will premiere in July with fashion tops featuring images, characters and phrases from the Doctor Who universe all with fashion-forward designs for girls to look “Geek Chic.” To recognize their female Doctor Who fans, BBC Worldwide has created a special Doctor Who logo which will only appear on merchandise from the Her Universe collection.

Here’s one of the shirts, featuring the iconic modern Doctor Who logo along with some familiar text from companion Amy Pond.

Head to the link above to see three more shirts Ashley and Her Universe have put together.

Take a look, it’s in a book

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I grew up reading, and one of my favorite television shows was, naturally, about reading–I watched Reading Rainbow for at least fifteen of its twenty-six year run, and remember certain books with a definite fondness–The Day Jimmy’s Boa Constrictor Ate the Wash, and one I became reacquainted with this weekend: When I was Young in the Mountains.

So for all of us who grew up reading (and who then recognized LeVar Burton when we saw him on Star Trek), fear not. Our children will not be deprived of Reading Rainbow, as Burton has been working since the end of Reading Rainbow in 2006 to create an app. At midnight, June 20th, the Reading Rainbow app will be available for the iPad.

Why am I posting this here? Well, because to my mind, reading has been pretty integral to being a geek.

And then there’s the part where a Reading Rainbow app is just cool.

Tropes versus Women: Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes in Video Games

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Nanci spotted something interesting this morning that I think is rather timely. Earlier this week, I was fuming to some friends over the Tomb Raider reboot. This was a game that I thought had a lot of potential to be both entertaining and (forgive the horrid play on words) game changing. Initial videos showed a Lara Croft that appeared to be a much more complete, deep character. Heaven knows there aren’t enough female characters in the video game universe that fits that description.

Unfortunately, it appears the developers have lost their way. Depicting gratuitous sexual assault and suggesting that Lara needs to be protected by the masculine player does not a deep character make. So, back to square one, another developer studio that doesn’t quite seem to understand what people mean when they ask for strong, female characters.

Maybe they should pay attention to a new project headed by Anita Sarkeesian: Tropes versus Women.

I love playing video games but I’m regularly disappointed in the limited and limiting ways women are represented.  This video project will explore, analyze and deconstruct some of the most common tropes and stereotypes of female characters in games.  The series will highlight the larger recurring patterns and conventions used within the gaming industry rather than just focusing on the worst offenders.  I’m going to need your help to make it happen!

As a gamer, a pop culture critic and a fan, I’m always working to balance my enjoyment of media while simultaneously being critical of problematic gender representations. With my video web series Feminist Frequency,  I look at the way women are portrayed in mass media and the impact they have on our culture and society.

They’ve already hit a number of funding goals to get high-quality episodes produced looking at various cliches and stereotypes regarding female characters in video games. Here’s some of the deconstructions they have lined up:

  • Damsel in Distress – Video #1
  • The Fighting F#@k Toy – Video #2
  • The Sexy Sidekick – Video #3
  • The Sexy Villainess – Video #4
  • Background Decoration – Video #5
  • Voodoo Priestess/Tribal Sorceress – Video #6
  • Women as Reward – Video #7
  • Mrs. Male Character – Video #8
  • Unattractive Equals Evil – Video #9
  • Man with Boobs – Video #10
  • Positive Female Characters! – Video #11
  • Video #12 – Top 10 Most Common Defenses of Sexism in Games

Combining TV Tropes with a topic that sorely needs discussion in this industry? Sounds look a good cause to me. Deconstruct away.

Catching Up with Celebration VI Guests

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We got a little bit behind relaying Celebration VI news while I was off at Origins, so let’s get up to speed!

Threepio himself, Anthony Daniels, was confirmed for the Star Wars convention late last week. Daniels has been a headliner at every Celebration to date. Also joining him will be Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, and . Others who are now slated to join CVI as guests:

Kenny Baker: Credited in all six Star Wars features as the plucky astromech R2-D2, Kenny Baker also made appearances as Paploo the Ewok in Return of the Jedi and in uncredited roles in Lucasfilm’s Willow and Labyrinth.

Amy Allen: Amy Allen portrayed Twi’lek Jedi Aayla Secura in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, her character famously perishing at the hands of clone troopers acting on Order 66. Allen also appears as a Senatorial aide in the post-2001 edit of The Phantom Menace.

Chris Malcom: Actor Christopher Malcom portrayed snowspeeder pilot Zev Senesca (Rogue Two) in The Empire Strikes Back, the Rebel responsible for locating the missing Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in the frozen Hoth landscape.

Bonnie Piesse: A young Beru Whitesun Lars (Aunt Beru) was played by Bonnie Piesse in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Garrick Hagon: Hagon played Rebel X-wing pilot Biggs Darklighter in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, but had also been filmed in several cut scenes as best friend to Luke Skywalker on Tatooine.

So we’ve got Zev, Biggs, and Dack at Celebration. I wonder if they’ll have a Dead Rogues Gallery set up for them?

Just a touch of E3 coverage

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As some of you may know, the largest gaming conference in the world is taking place right now in LA, The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or just E3.  I’m just going to try to hit the high points of what’s been going on as best I can, although I haven’t been as plugged in as I have been in the past.

The biggest things that people have been looking forward to in the whole expo have been the new hardware from the ‘Big 3,’ Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.  Last year, Nintendo announced a new console system called the ‘Wii U,’ and this year they’ve given us more of the details of the system.  Microsoft has shown a new addition the X-Box 360 that will probably add some serious life to the system, called Smart Glass.  Sony is yet to have their day at the convention, but the buzz is that they will be introducing a new console, although I haven’t heard anything more.  (Edit) Sony’s press conference was last night, they debuted God of War Ascension, a few secenes from The Last of Us and a new project from the maker’s of Heavy Rain.  I hadn’t heard anything about this from any of the sources I’ve been reading or watching and had to actively look for any of this with the exception of God of War, and that didn’t seem to be drawing a lot of buzz.

Check out the rest after the jump

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A Memory of Light, the final volume of the Wheel of Time

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The US release

I know, this isn’t exactly what we do here normally, but I figure that as long as we’re a blog that puts you, the readers, in the know about geek culture and the biggest and best of novels and other media there is to experience, I simply have to point this out.

The final book of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light,  is dated for release on January 3rd, 2013.  The cover art has been released, pictured here.  The first section of the prologue is available to read at Dragonmount.  If you’re interested, you can find it here.

More after the jump.

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Origins Day Four Recap: Q&A With Mike Stackpole

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The last day at Origins was a brief one, mostly due to the fact that the convention wraps up a little after mid-day. In all, the whole affair was an enjoyable experience (after I figured out how their bizarre event ticketing system worked). While it seems a little odd to attend a game convention to talk to notable Expanded Universe authors, Origins turned out to be a fantastic place to discuss Star Wars with both notable figures and fans.

But beyond the games and the panels, it was a great chance to hang out with some cool people. I had the chance to chat things up with Tracy and the rest of the Club Jade folks as well Rachael from Galactic Drift. Hanging out with two good friends of mine (and using that as an excuse to see The Avengers for a seventh time) was a blast. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back next year. We’ll see if we can get Shane, Emily, and Nanci up here as well.

But enough rambling. Before heading off to the airport, I sat in on a Q&A with Mike Stackpole. Highlights below the jump!

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Origins Day Three Recap: More with Allston, Zahn, and Stackpole

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Day three at the Origins Game Fair brings more discussions from Expanded Universe authors Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston as well as a reading session from Mike Stackpole. No game recommendations today, but I’ll try and get back onto the dealer floor tomorrow to play test one more before heading home.

To the jump!

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