Introducing Moz Reader!
I love working for such an amazing company like SEOmoz. I’ve been so bummed about Google Reader shutting down, but guess what, we stepped up and created the Moz Reader! I’m really thrilled. (If you’re wondering where I was, I was in NYC instead of in the video.)
Cute Animals
Adventure Kitten Gear
Okay, REI wins with the adorable as they have all your adventure kitten gear.
So it’s been a while — too long — since I’ve made one of these posts, which means, I’m going to just do a link dump without my usual explanations so I can hurry things along and get to the new stuff. As always, what I like, you may not like.
Me talking at the Women Running Geeky Businesses Panel
I am pretty much beyond biased about how awesome GeekGirlCon was. Along with my staff, I’d worked since August 2010 to make the dream of GeekGirlCon a reality, and I believe that it truly happened. I fought back happy tears all weekend; only to finally cry Sunday evening after reading what Greg Rucka wrote in my Batwoman trade. (Don’t worry, at that point, I was surrounded by people who care and love me and hugged me.)
I still am beyond the moon at how many people showed up. (A rough estimation of 2000 per day.) I can’t believe we sold out. I am still so touched by all the smiles, all the packed panels, all the cosplay, and all the new friends made.
Being the woman in charge is a weird role because in many ways I did not have an actual “job” at the convention. I had a few things I had fixed on my schedule — set-up, meet King 5 news, go to the PR event, host the masquerade with Julia, moderate the Geeky Business Panel, give a ‘thank you’ at the Labyrinth showing, and tear-down — but mostly, I wandered around fixing things. My staff is really awesome, so it was less fixing and more lending a hand, making a decision, or sending someone on a mission.
That said, you know what sucks about being president, I missed all the really awesome panels I wanted to see and I missed meeting many people I wanted to reconnect with or meet for the first time.
Photos:
Some of my favorite things:
— My mom came to help me out, and I really enjoyed the look on her face (she worked registration) when she realized just how long the registration line was before the doors opened. It was also fun to see her get that proud mom glow when people complimented GeekGirlCon and my work.
— Crossplaying as Sherlock with my lovely Watson. And having lifelong friends not recognize me in costume, not to mention a few GeekGirlCon staff doing a double-take. (I think my mom was a little freaked out.)
— Tiny crossplaying Jack Harkness posing in front of the TARDIS, while mostly annoyed at her blue tooth as her guardian took photos. (I still have blue paint under my fingernails from finishing the inside of the TARDIS the Wednesday before.)
— Getting to play with Tammy’s amazing Jareth the Goblin King from Labyrinth puppet, hearing Karen Prell talk, and listening the audience get excited every time David Bowie’s area flashed on screen.
— Being dressed up as Wonder Woman while Trina Robbins told me about the Wonder Woman lunchbox from the ’80s she’d found at a thrift shop recently. (Also having multiple friends tell me how they just wanted to have tea with Trina.)
— Chatting with Chase Masterson, who’s all around amazing. I’ve been a die-hard Trekkie since I was 4-years-old.
— Watching an entire audience sing along with Molly Lewis’ song about wanting to have Stephen Fry’s babies literally.
— Getting to finally meet panelist Karen Burrows, whom I’ve known online since 2003. Plus, getting to reconnect with my long-time fangirl friends who live in different parts of the country/in Canada/in England, including Erin, Tania, Bridget (and her partner Joe), Jen, Matt, Anna, Katelyn, Bill, and Lisa.
— Being able to provide people with an experience of a lifetime, and geeky women a safe space to geek out all weekend long.
Some things that did not go as smoothly as I’d hoped:
— I forgot the masquerade prizes in my kitchen. Seriously, they were sitting between my cast iron pan and fruit basket. Plus, I’d sent my partner Jason to search for them at the info booth, and he missed the masquerade completely.
— Registration lines were a little longer than needed to be. Plus, some vendors, panelists, and sponsors waited when they shouldn’t have. (You might’ve seen me walking the line and calling out for them.) I’m just so freaking glad that Seattle had awesome weather.
— Not having transport for people with disabilities or tiny children to get to and from the two locations. I’m not quite sure what could’ve been done, but I’m sure there were some kind of option.
— While this was a known issue before the con started, having to tell a nursing mother that the only available private space was a bathroom. (Why aren’t there more convention having spaces in Seattle with more rooms?)
— Not getting to reconnect with/meet the following people properly: the women from Hello Earth Productions, Jen Van Meter, Sarah Kuhn, Anita Sarkeesian (with whom I had an awesome post-con lunch, book shopping, and ice cream fun time with), and everyone else I didn’t get to say hi to.
Random things you might not know about GeekGirlCon and me:
— 100% of our staff are volunteers. All money made by GeekGirlCon goes directly back into the organization.
— As much as I hated charging for some events, the only way we were able to have a masquerade was by throwing a separately ticketed burlesque show. We also worked in partnership with the EMP to do part of the convention there, including bringing Jane Espenson.
— I’m a completely crazy person, who spent the month prior to GeekGirlCon interviewing for a new job (see GeekGirlCon being a volunteer gig), getting said new job, giving notice and training former coworkers, and, oh, yeah, planning for GeekGirlCon. (I started my new job yesterday.)
— My awesome staff is already emailing me, ready for the next steps. So I’m off to answer some emails that need my attention.
Check out the news story King 5 did about GeekGirlCon:
Sister Piston as Jayne from Firefly in Seattle's Wehdonesque Burlesque (photo snagged as there was no photography allowed)
It’s no secret that I love Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series and greatly enjoyed Firefly. But it is a little bit of a secret that I broke up with Joss Whedon. At least reading or watching his works since Serenity. I try not to talk about it because of my deep love for Buffy’s universe and coming into conflict with those who wear the “Joss Whedon is my master now” t-shirts.
But Whedonesque was a burlesque show about the fannish love for Whedon’s projects. I couldn’t resist going when I heard about it. Plus, in full reviewer disclaimer, my friends Miss Elaine Yes and Captain Vanadium Silver were in it and the producer Jo Jo Stiletto is putting together a panel for GeekGirlCon. The show I attended was on Saturday, July 16th.
Whedonesque kicked off with host Rebecca M. Davis singing the theme song to Firefly. I was incredibly impressed with Davis’ hosting as I’ve been to a lot of burlesque shows, and she’s one of the best I’ve seen. She commanded the audience’s attention as needed and was delightful.
The Saturday show opened with Billy Corazon performing a truly fanboy number. Corazon went through the ups-and-downs of being a Whedon fan, especially concerning the cancellations of many of Whedon’s shows. A newer performer, he was full of energy and spunk. He ended up in his incredibly mismatched Avengers outfit, of which I was instantly jealous of his Captain America underoos.
This Sunday, I spent the gloriously warm day — Seattle’s first consistently over 80 degrees — watching a fabulous performance by Hello Earth Productions. They performed the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode “This Side of Paradise.” Yes, the one where Spock smiles a lot after they meet some hippies.
I was so excited to see Outdoor Trek. I’d heard about these performances (by another troupe) in Portland, and I’d actually been thinking of driving down to Portland just to see them. But Hello Earth Productions does theirs right here in Seattle at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park.
In fact, in my excitement, I neglected to mention to Jason what we were actually doing. He thought we were going to watch an episode with a bunch of people in a park, and he was really surprised when he saw the setup for the Enterprise’s bridge.
While “This Side of Paradise” is not one of my favorite episodes — in later TOS the hippie cultures get a little much — I was extremely excited to see this interpretation as Hello Earth Productions is comprised mostly of women. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sulu: all women. Spock’s love interest Leila was played by a man. I’ve always loved Roddenberry’s utopian ideal of Star Trek, a world without bigotry, without gender norms and racial biases. Where Uhura wasn’t a maid or mother.
The actors did a wonderful job at creating a set that was functional, that we knew was the Enterprise and planet, but was minimal. The Redshirts doubled as a band and were an excellent musical accompaniment. I also felt like whomever made the script functional for a play did a very nice job. Overall, the show was very entertaining, and even though I was melting in the sun, I happily distracted as Kirk, Spock, Bones, and crew were squirted with silly string, I mean, alien flower spores that turned them into automaton hippies.
Kids, even in the 23rd century, don’t do drugs.
Kris Hambrick’s Kirk was great. Her Shatner-esque movements worked wonderfully. Helen Parson’s Spock was pretty adorable. But I think that Julia Buck’s McCoy really stole the show for me. Buck’s mannerisms, articulations, mint julep drinking, and great acting brought out the comedy in the episode. And I loved Buck’s post about playing McCoy. Better beware, Karl Urban, Buck might snag your role in the Star Trek reboot franchise.
Outdoor Trek is definitely worth attending. Hello Earth Productions is putting on four more shows in the next two weeks. Check them out. And go see them!
• What Superhero Comics Look Like A great little article breaking down how Osborn #3 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios is scripted and put together art-wise, also how it applies to the very best of current comic books.
3) Everybody wanted Uhura to kick some ass this time around. But they couldn’t figure out how to have her kick ass in a teeny minidress, without needing a lot of strategically placed lens flare. The writers spent two months trying to figure out a plot reason why Uhura might have to put on some pants, or maybe some leggings, for part of the movie. What if they go to a planet of leg-biting monsters, and she has to put some protective leg coverings on? Or maybe Spock shows her a special Vulcan ritual, in which practitioners must wear pants as a sign of devotion to pure logic?
I am now gleefully happy that âFireflyâ got canceled. Not that I wasnât before, but now? I can almost forgive FOX for canceling all those TV shows if it means that Inara was never raped. Also, TV, can you stop having the women with sexuality be raped or otherwise punished for having it while pretending to be edgy for having women with âunconventionalâ sexualities?
Sometimes what you need is a little fresh air. Lately, I’ve been pretty stressed out and on-the-go. Plus, I’ve been having health problems of the you-so-don’t-want-to-know variety.
