Reason #11 that geek girls should <3 Kevin Smith: a "happy ending" to our blo(g)job
What up, GGotS readers?
Remember Kate’s shameless ploy to get a 5min 1:1 interview with Kevin Smith during Wondercon 2010?
Shockingly, it would seem that it worked:
So here’s the deal:
We’d like to know what question YOU think we should ask Kevin Smith!
Five minutes ain’t a lot of time – and we want to deliver the goods to you – providing an awesome interview that will make the readers of our brand-new baby geeky girl blog happy. Submit your best question for Kevin Smith to us via comment below (or email – geekgirlonthestreet AT gmail DOT com) and if we choose YOUR question we’ll send you one of our brand-spankin’ new “Got Geek?” GGotS schwagy t-shirts just because YOU, GGotS reader, are THAT cool!
See? Kevin Smith is right we are sweet and masterful at the blo(g)job…
Fire away, let us know what’s on your mind and what you’ve been dying to find out about the one and only KS…
That is all!
The Etsy, Etsy spider… Confessions of an Etsy addict.
By Kate Kotler
Hi, my name is Kate and I’m an Etsy addict…
(Hi, Kate!)
I came into the DIY/handcrafted movement late in the game. Mostly because I despise hipsters and everything they stand for. This is ironic considering I could be technically labeled a hipster. I did live in the Mission for a year, I have tattoos and like PBR… still.
Then my buddy Stu asked me to start writing a DIY craft column for his website and I was tasked with finding cool crafts that would appeal to a “hipster” crowd, (and be easy enough that a craft retard like me could do them)… Voila! I found Etsy.
In the subsequent months I have spent most of my non-existant expendible income on cool leather wristbands, headbands, Doctor Who trinkets, a Doctor Who totebag, more hair accessories, bath and body products (for my Mom), t-shirts (for my nephew)… patches, patches and more patches… Not to mention I’ve oggled handmade retro-rockabilly swing-dancing dresses, vintage corsets, purses that cost hundreds of dollars (made out of lux butter-soft leather), really expensive yarns and other high-end DIY craftacular stuffs…..
To be fair: a lot of what I’ve purchased have been as gifts. Or, in the case of the patches and yarn, items being used to make something for sale in my own Etsy store (yeah – my Mom taught me how to knit in 2009 -making me into a stitch n’ bitch card carrying hipster… so sue me).
Though it has gotten to the point that everytime the mail carrier rings our doorbell and my dog goes ape-shit barking that my housemates just roll their eyes, because they know it’s another something I’ve ordered from Etsy.
But you know what: I love giving handmade stuff. People always appreciate it much more, it’s always unique and if it’s been made (even partially) by me, then it’s something really meaningful to whomever receives it… I know I treasure the scarfs my Mom has made me and the blanket my Great Grandma made me and the clothing my Grandma has made me more than I treasure – say – the cd my brother bought me… long after I stop using or wearing it I put it away in my hope chest to hang onto to remember those people by.
And, I love buying handmade because I feel like I’m supporting small, indie artisans.
There’s my justification… so what if I’m an Etsy addict. I’m not hurting anyone other than corporate America….
And my bank account…
GGotS’s list o’ the BEST comic book movies:
It’s the weekend once again, GGotS fans… And, because Eden and I will be off enjoying ourselves (as we hope y’all will be, too) we thought we’d leave you once again with a list o’ geeky stuff we here at GGotS HQ like. This week we’re gonna leave you to ponder what we think are the BEST comic book movies… Here are our answers to this question, have we missed any? Do you disagree? Sound off and leave us a comment and we’ll send you a GGotS “Got Geek?” button – made just for us by Buttons to the People… Happy weekend, yo!
~Kate
- American Splendor
- Batman
Kate sez: “Tim Burton+Michael Keaton = delicious Batman fun”
Eden sez: “I do like this, as intentionally silly as it is.” - Blade
- The Crow
Kate sez: “My college boyfriend looked just like The Crow and he dressed up as The Crow every Halloween. Aside from this movie being awesome, it holds a weird place in my heart because of Tony Rett.” - Daredevil
Kate sez: “I am the only person I know who liked this adaptation.” - Elektra
Eden sez: “Jennifer Garner in red leather? What’s not to like?”
- Ghost World
Eden sez: “It’s not only a dead-on adaptation but also one of the best portrayals of being a quirky teenage girl.” - Hellboy I
Eden sez: “Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman are a geeky match made in heaven. It’s not the comic — not exactly — but I go back and forth which version I love more.” - Iron Man
Kate sez: “Robert Downey, JR as Tony Stark = supersupersuper hot comic book fantasy material.” - Mystery Men
Kate sez: “I <3 this movie. It’s whimsical fun and je t’aime JG as The Baby Bowler.” - NANA
Eden sez: “If you’re not reading Ai Yawaza’s NANA, you should be, but this is such a wonderful take on it. The bands’ music comes alive, the actresses are perfect and adorable and the costumes and set design are so perfect.” - Sin City
Kate sez: “This is my FAVORITE comic book movie!! I love Miller’s book and I think that it was an exceptionally well done, very visual adaptation with strong character performances. Love love love!!!” - Spawn
- Spiderman
Kate sez: “It’s such a bummer the other Spidey movies suck so badly, Rami started off so well with this first one…” - Superman
Kate sez: “Loved it as a kid!” - Tank Girl
Eden sez: “Insane Lori Petty, adorably geeked-out Naomi Watts, gruff Ice-T in kangaroo makeup and scene-chewing from Malcolm McDowell all in a crazy post-apocalyptic wasteland. It may not be the best movie you’ll ever see, but few are going to be more fun. Its self-awareness makes it awesome.” - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Kate sez: “As I learned this past year at Comic Con, hardcore TMNT fans approve of this adaptation.” - V for Vendetta
- X-Men
Eden sez: “This was a dream come true for so many comic fans and while some quibbled over the changes (like a teenage Rogue), it captured the spirit and the relationships wonderfully. And Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier? So awesome.”
GGotS Event Review: SF in SF Steampunk Film Festival
By Lizabeth Wineheart
Last night I went to the SF in SF (Science Fiction in San Francisco) Steampunk Film Festival, emceed by the lovely Rina Weisman and held in conjunction with The Nova Albion Exhibition (happening this weekend in Emeryville).
First things first—it was a blast. My friend won a bag of absinthe flavored schwag (candy, toothpicks, dental floss, and more), we saw a creepily awesome Australian cartoon nominated for an Oscar in 2005, “The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello.” We got to watch Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog” on the big screen. I dressed up and wrote the notes for this post down with my fountain pen. I perused Borderlands books’ themed offerings and bought Volume One of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sadly, I had to leave before the third film, Perfect Creature, (a friggin’ vampire steampunk movie). Jesus, you cannot get more up my alley. Perfect Creature, consider yourself queued. Alas, it was a school night, and I teach for a living. I know, bedtimes are not very punk, steam or otherwise.
But what is “steampunk” you may ask? If you don’t already know, here is a useful way of thinking about it:
As my friend Nicole glibly put it:
“Steampunk is for goths who like sci fi”
…but I tend to think the style has a bit more whimsy than goth. But yes, it’s a style. But… it’s more than a style, it’s a whole sub-genre of sci fi. (more…)
Stuff Kate likes: Why I <3 Soul Pancake, President Obama and earthquakes
Hey GGotS readers!
This seemingly random list o’ shit is all about shit that I am loving (or am fascinated by) this week. I plan to make it a regular feature on this site. Why? Because, 99% of the cool shit I know about I find via other people’s lists (or Twitter – yeah, Twitter has a use, finally). It’s paying it forward – karmically speaking – to gather the rosebuds of goodness I know about and post them so someone else can discover their awesomeness.
Here’s what I’m digging this week:
- This is kind of old news: I just realized I failed to talk about the earthquake in Chile. Aside from being really f-ing scary (because the quakes are coming fast and furious and getting closer and closer to California) this 8.8 earthquake is somewhat fascinating to me as it reportedly shook the planet off its’ axis causing Earth days to be shortened by eight hours or so….. holy CRAP! To date this is the most 2012-ish event that has occurred in my lifetime and while the fatalist in me is scared poopless, the science nerd in me is absolutely giddy (and annoyed because I’m positive that this will shorten my sleep time) with the possibilities of shorter earth days on our lives….. What do you think about this?
- Yet another reason why President Obama f-ing rules: He donated all the 1.4mil of the Noble Prize money to ten different charities. USA Today is reporting that the Fisher House, the Clinton-Bush Hati Fund, College Summit, Posse Foundation, the United Negro College Foundation, the Hispanic Scholorship Fund, Appalacian Leadership and Education Foundation, the American Indian College Fund, AfriCare and the Central Asia Institute are all going to receive a monetary donation from Obama. The daughter of two liberal-hippy college professors that I am I love that he’s donating to so many education based charities and to relief work… yo, Obama – you ROCK!
- Conan is going on tour: Yep, our deposed CoCo has announced a live tour starting in mid-April that will mirror the format of his television show and tour 30 cities. It is titled “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television.” I -for one- will be donning my “Team Conan” t-shirt and q’ing up for tickets to this event when it comes to a city near me. This is following the big brewhaha last week when Conan decided to randomly start following exactly one (1) person on Twitter. Sarah Killen, you lucky bitch.
- Betty White sez, “Live from New York…” — Am I the only one that is totally excited by Betty White hosting SNL? (more…)
GGotS Review: Spell Checkers
By Eden Miller
It’s Gossip Girl meets The Craft. Or Heathers meets Carrie. Or if Buffy the Vampire Slayer focused on Cordelia instead of the title character.
Or you know, maybe all and none of those things at the same time. Spell Checkers, due out from Oni Press on April 14, isn’t like most stories involving magical teens that tend to drive home the point that these are misunderstood kids looking to reclaim some power or something. They’re always the nerds, the kids that get made fun of. That’s not at all the case here, and it’s a great twist.
The book follows three young witches — dominant Cynthia, tough Kimmie and ditzy Jesse — who are undoubtedly the queen bees of their school. They are afraid of no one and used to getting their way. They are a little spoiled — the basically use magic to their own advantage — and, yes, perhaps a little bit bitchy, but they’re the girls we all wanted to be in school. When someone begins to break up the trio with malicious magical graffiti, they must find the culprit before they all lose their magical powers.
Written by Jamie S. Rich with manga-inspired art by Nicolas Hitori De and featuring character design and flashback sequences by Joelle Jones, this book is a ton of fun. Our three heroines, if you can call them that, are delightfully refreshing — they aren’t at all misfits and are always ready with an insult to take down anyone who gets in their way. The trio may seem initially unlikable, as they’re each all too willing to suspect the others of wrongdoing, but their bond of friendship is strong. (more…)
A few thoughts on Marvel’s Girl Comics
By Eden Miller
On Sunday, a woman won the Oscar for best director for the first time ever. This award has been given out since 1929.
I am glad it happened, certainly, but I also know I’m not the only one who thinks it was long overdue.
But this isn’t about the film industry. This is about comics. This is, specifically, about Girl Comics.
The first issue of this limited series came out on last Wednesday, as part of a larger, yearlong “Women of Marvel” initiative, but it’s been causing a stir since it was first announced last December.
People hated the title. They didn’t see the point of showcasing female creators. They didn’t get why such a thing was necessary. “Can’t they just make comics for people?” was a common question.
Well, yeah, they do make comics for people. It’s just those people are generally white and male.
Now, I love comics. I love comics of all types. I am absolutely not a snob when it comes to comics — I will read everything from someone’s stapled together mini-comic to some literary graphic novel. I love superheroes. I love children’s comics. I like collections of comic strips. I like manga. If it’s a comic and you hand it to me, I’ll probably read it. (more…)
GGotS Review: Evelyn Evelyn
By Kate Kotler
Kate’s Quick Rate: “Loved it, highly recommend it to fans of post-punk indie cabaret in the style of Brecht.”
It is my opinion that art is supposed to push boundaries, challenge and provoke. When I read about the Evelyn Evelyn drama on Ryan Cooper’s blog (a virtual friend of GGotS & punk music aficionado) I was immediately intrigued to hear the entire conjoined twin singer-songwriter act’s debut album.
Yes: one of the twins has a strangely low voice, making anyone with a whit of sense skeptical as-to-if the twins actually exist or are a theatrical creation of Palmer and Webley. Yes: the back story of the twins is horridly un-PC and perhaps a lil’ over the top as far as disabled feminists are concerned.
Blah, blah blah – but what of the music?
Regardless of the reality of the twins – Evelyn Evelyn, due out in stores 30 March from 11 Records – is a haunting musical journey through the lives of strangely tragic and compelling characters. A score marked by heavy violin and calliope and ukulele tell a winding a story of loneliness, heartbreak, love, exploitation and candy bars. (more…)
10 Reasons for geek girls to <3 Kevin Smith:
By Kate Kotler
Yes, this is a shameless ploy to get Kevin Smith to book an interview with us here at GGotS during Wondercon. (Um – geek girl fans o’ KS – please Tweet, Re-tweet, post and comment on this article, let’s cause a big brewhahaha.)
I have to say, for the record, I have been a fan of Kevin Smith since before Clerks became popular following its Sundance showing. I saw it initially at NYFA in 1994 when I was visiting a friend from theater school. Not only did the movie connect with us comedy-wise, but upon subsequentially learning the backstory of how Clerks was made, it inspired me and many of my friends to pick-up Super 8s and start making films of our own. (Something, while I don’t make any bank doing, I still do to this day.) I’d also have to say that in addition to Sam Rami and the big QT, Kevin Smith is probably the director who has most defined my cinematic tastes from that time forward.
Yes, I even like Mallrats and Jersey Girl.
ALL MY PERSONAL SHIZNIT ASIDE: Here’s the 10 reasons I think that geek girls should universally <3 Kevin Smith.
- Dogma.
- Chasing Amy is the only “comic book movie” that really authentically portrays a woman in the comics industry and some of the issues comix chicks (as a minority) face in the male dominated industry.
- He is responsible for the careers of Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jason Mews, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (sorta).
- He gives a shit what his fans think and he communicates with them regularly via the Smodcast, Twitter, the View Askewniverse, etc.
- Uh — need we say it? SILENT BOB IS A JEDI!
- I saw him once – buying cigs in a 7-11 in Burbank – I think he was there cutting Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back… he let me cut in line to buy my early-morning Coke Slurpee, (I mentioned -to my friend in line with me- that we were going to be late to work b/c of traffic between Burbank and Manhattan Beach where we were both stand-ins on the set of Boston Public. Didn’t realize it was Kevin Smith until my friend pointed it out as we left the 7-11).
- As demonstrated by the brewhahaha over the SWA bullshit, he’s a man of principle and integrity, he won’t let people off the hook when they’re being assholes.
- He’s a big a geek as we all are with well publicized geek-crushes on many of the same artists as we have geek-crushes on.
- As is evident by his entire career, he’s a truly loyal friend.
- Um he’s KEVIN F-ING SMITH! (Hot, funny, brilliant and married to a totally dope lady.)
(Please, Kevin? Just a 5 min 1:1 interview – it would thrill me beyond belief – and our readers would LOVE YOU EVEN MORE!!)
GGotS Review: Mercury by Hope Larson
By Eden Miller
In 1859, farm girl Josey Fraser meets a stranger, Asa Curry, who promises to help mine the gold on her father’s land. In 2009, Tara Fraser is still dealing with the aftermath of her house burning down. Connected across time by blood and a necklace containing a drop of mercury, the fates of these two teenage girls intertwine as they face their family’s mysteries.
In her new graphic novel Mercury, due out April 6 from Atheneum, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Hope Larson shows the same lyrical beauty and subtle magical realism she’s known for. The parallel stories of Mercury are ambitious, but Larson pulls them off with an easy grace. Her thoughtful, open linework and intuitive understanding for the inner lives of teenage girls make this a book that will linger with readers long after the final pages.
I love that Larson lets each of these characters be products of their time while still reinforcing that some things about being a teenage girl never change. Without ever making her feel too modern, Josey takes tentative steps toward love when she develops a crush on Asa, and comes into conflict with her family over the stranger’s intentions. Tara finds a competitor and companion in Ben, who also feels misplaced, and fights with her distant mother over not wanting to move again. Each girl feels genuine and recognizable, regardless of what time period they’re in. (more…)
