Summer Round-Up: I Never Want It to End!

Best thing after a long work week: raspberries in the park // Summer sky // Painted more furniture black and enjoyed sitting outside while it dried

Wow! What a Summer! No time to sit inside blogging when there's Summer fun to be had! This is what I was up to in June, July, and August instead of blogging.

Movies Watched

Frances Ha - It made me sad. Sad about being alone and friends moving on with their lives without you.

Maleficent - I was looking forward to this since I heard of it and it did not disappoint!

Bad Teacher

My Blueberry Nights

Words and Pictures - I got an advanced screening pass from work, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it. It was definitely "thought-provoking" re: visual art, writing, and teen sexual harassment.

Wreck-It Ralph

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor 2 - I had a Marvel craving.

Pirates of the Caribbean 1-4 - And then a pirate adventure craving.

Funny Girl - Love 60's movies. Love musicals. Love Barbara Streisand.

Stepbrothers

Sucker Punch - One of my favorite movies. I watch it when I need some badass-tough-chick inspiration.

Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises

Guardians of the Galaxy - Loved it! I would go see it in the theatre again if I wasn't broke.

TV Watched

Orphan Black: Season 1 - I was about to start season 2 when I realized I had completely forgotten how we left season 1.

QI

Broad City - I think this was my third viewing. I just love them so much!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Favorite new show this year. So good.

How I Met Your Mother - Yes, I actually made it this long without ever watching HIMYM. I knew everyone was disappointed with the finale, but I didn't know everything about it. After falling in love with all the characters and the show, I wish someone would have warned me to just not even watch the last couple episodes. It just ruined the whole thing for me.

The O.C. 

Doctor Who has returned!

Web Series Watched

Day Job - Sara Schaefer shares the lows and very lows of having an office job.

Spooked - The first (?) scripted show from Geek & Sundry!

Inside Amy Schumer -This isn't a web series so much as it is clips from her actual TV show, I guess.

HeyUSA! - Grace Helbig & Mamrie Hart travel around the USA being their weird selves.

Broad City - Yes, it's a real TV show now but it started as a web series.

Chloe and Zoë - I love these girls.

Adult Wednesday Addams - I'm just jealous that I didn't come up with this idea first.

The Daly Show - It's just so goddamn funny, I watch it again and again.

Books Read

Jurassic Park - With all the weekends at my parents house in the country, camping trips, and picnics in the park, I was able to finish a book! I read it in high school and really enjoyed it so this was a fun re-read.

Music Played

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

Chlöe Howl - Señorita, Disappointed, Girls & Boys

DJ Raff - Latino & Proud

Kongos - Lunatic

Banks - Goddess

Betty Who - Heartbreak Dream

Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear

Paramore - Paramore

Tove Lo - Truth Serum

78violet - Hothouse

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

Games Played

I had to buy a shelf just for board games // Recent purchases // I am always Wario and I always win

PS3: Little Big Planet Karting, Mortal Kombat, InFamous, Child of Light

My brother finally handed over (one of) his PS3 to me. I consider myself a retro gamer, so I'm not interested in newer consoles, but Felicia Day told me about this beautiful game, Child of Light, that I was desperate to play, so I insisted on a PS3. The game is beautiful, very fairy-tale-esque, and my style of gameplay. I also tried out some of the games my brother already had loaded on the PS3. I liked InFamous until I died. I don't like games that are difficult. I don't like dying and having to do a level over and over.

N64: Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 2

I spent way too much money on these games on eBay. But, considering they are the only reasons I wanted an N64 and I haven't seen them anywhere online for less than $50 each, I got a deal on the two together. They both bring out my crazy competitive side. Peach has become my nemesis in Mario Party. I yelled a lot of NSFW words at her...

Board Games: Say Anything, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune, Trivial Pursuit

These are some old games that my mom got from a coworker for her to donate, but she gave them to me instead. Say Anything is a new game I bought and we played it three times in a row, so I guess it was a hit! It's a really fun game to play with friends you know really well. You write your own answers, so we had a lot of laughs playing this game.

Cakes Made

I made cakes for my friend's mom's 50th birthday and her daughter's 2nd birthday. A steampunk welder helmet for Mom and a cute pink cake that didn't quite make the journey for little Clover.

Fun Had

Canada Day // I got my first Nerd Block in June // I made my friend's daughter a smash cake

 

Pigtails mean camping // Perfect weather // We stopped at The Big Apple / Colorful campfire / Aquarium

Our camping trip was part camping, part staying in Toronto for cheap. My friend Kelsey had an appointment at a bridal shop to try on dresses and then we went to the Toronto aquarium. There were a few groups of us, family & friends, camping next to each other so there were big campfires and games of Cards Against Humanity. Our group of four enjoyed making our meals together, lawn games, shopping, lots of friend time and some chill time. We all were wishing we didn't have to go back to work after.

The next weekend, I did something I've never done before. I got my ears pierced! Yes, at 24 years old I had never had any piercings. I just was never really interested in it when I was younger, and then as I got older I liked the idea of not having any piercings or tattoos. I had been thinking about these piercings for a while, though, and we finally found a time to go get pierced! They seem to be healing nicely, and I'm looking forward to changing the boring silver barbells for black hoops. (I never wanted silver balls on my ears, I got these piercings specifically for gold hoops. Gold is more expensive though, so I'm starting with black.)

That evening, as my ears throbbed in steady pain, we went to see The Book of Mormon. I wasn't overwhelmed. It had some pretty funny moments, the musical numbers were great, but overall it didn't seem worth the money to see it from up on the balcony.

The quarry is the perfect spot to take panoramas // I didn't want to jump in the dirty water because of my new piercings // August ended in a double rainbow

The rest of my summer included lots of game nights, good times with friends, parties with co-workers and one particularly awesome day swimming at a quarry.

Links & Likes 

One day my Brazilian boss wrote down "Meu pedacinho de chão" on a piece of paper and told me to go home and Google it. He said it was a Brazilian TV show and that everyone on it had colorful hair like mine. I only see one girl with pink hair, but it looks like a very colorful, fun show! I wish I could find it with English subtitles!

I almost convinced my friends to go on a Color Run with me, but half of them were put off by the word "run" and half actually wanted to run. I was just in it for the color powder, but the ladies of A Beautiful Mess showed me how to make your own color powder.

I still watch Sia's video for Chandelier once in a while. I love the abstract dance routine.

I always love Walk Off the Earth's covers. Their cover of Rude is really fun.

Dancing Baby Groot is so cute, I cry.

Baking Inspiration: Rosebud Cakes

I do a lot of the buttercream decorating on cakes at work while my co-cake decorator, Theresa, specializes in fondant. She brought Rosebud Cakes' work to my attention a while ago. She had always thought that the custom caricatures were created with modeling chocolate, but when the bakery posted step-by-step photos of the process, she was amazed to find out that they were created with buttercream icing.

 

I don't think I could create caricatures of people, but I am interested in trying out this kind of buttercream sculpting. Before working at the bakery, I had learned that I am not a sculptor; fondant cakes were not my forté at all. But I had no idea what you can do with the right icing. I've done cakes out of just buttercream that, a year ago, I wouldn't have thought possible without fondant (ie. An Audi) and used piping tips and techniques in new ways to create textures. (ie. These swans) I love would the challenge to create more 3-dimensional cakes & cake toppers with buttercream.

Image credits: Rosebud Cakes Facebook

May Round-Up: Purple Hair, Miyazaki, & New Board Games!

Weekend at my parents' house. // Hot tub selfie! // Miyazaki marathon

Movies Watched 

Coraline, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, & Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - These are in my very small DVD collection (the rest are digital). I only buy movies I really love and want to see special features on DVD.

Jennifer’s Body, The Ramen Girl - It was hard to find some movies that all my friends would enjoy while we all hung out while my friend did my hair. I really recommend The Ramen Girl, starring Brittany Murphy.

My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - I had a mostly Miyazaki/Japanese movie week. It's hard to pick a movie without any sort of love story when you are just not in the mood for seeing anyone in love, but Miyazaki movies are great adventures without any stupid romance.

Warm Bodies - The only zombie movie I'll ever need. Sooooo cute!

Ass Backwards - I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie until I listened to Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael on the Nerdist podcast talking about making the movie and I decided that it deserved my attention. It's a great buddy comedy.

Imagine Me & You - It's a cute little love story about a girl falling for a girl right after she married a man. One of those cute British rom-coms.

TV Watched

Charmed - My "background watching" this month, as I've seen it all a million times, but I haven't watched it in a couple years.

The Mindy Project: Season 2- Because I'm a masochist and I love/hate re-watching all the adorable Mindy + Danny = <3 scenes.

  

Music Played

Neon Jungle - It's fun dance-pop, but definitely watch them cover Hozier's Take Me to Church. I'm a little obsessed with Asami's (the Japanese girl) voice. I want a solo acoustic album from her. Damn, that voice.

Glorious by Foxes - It's fun dance-able pop, but it's also kinda retro groovy, akin to Ellie Goulding, a bit dreamy.

Sheezus by Lily Allen - I realized after a few listenings that almost every song mentions her husband & babies, so I'm dubbing it "Mom-Pop". Heh heh.

Games Played

 

I raided my parent's closet for more board games and totally scored! Our favorite we played on our Sunday Funday was Scotland Yard. One player is the criminal whose moves are hidden from the rest of the players who are detectives. The criminal only reveals his position a few times during the game, so the goal is for the detectives to capture the criminal. We three girls had so much fun being Charlie's Angels trying to find Greg, the criminal. 

Another really old game I scored, that only some of us geography nerds enjoyed (I never thought of myself as a geography nerd, but compared to my friends...), was National Geographic: Global Pursuit. It's part puzzle, part trivia. You use hexagonal pieces of a map to build onto each other and you get more chances to play your map cards if you answer your trivia question correctly. Our map got pretty crazy.

My friend and I totally kicked the engaged couple's ass at Catchphrase. Maybe they need to work on their communication skills. Ha.

A couple months ago, I ordered an adapter and two more PS2 controllers so I could finally play one of my favorite games with all my friends; The Bible Game. It's a long story how it all started, but the short versions is; I have a thing for Bible games (in an ironic way). This PS2 game is like a TV game show with mini games, trivia, and the ever-present threat of "Wrath of God!" We love it.
Kim and I had fun one day playing Mastermind. It's good to have some two-player games in your collection. I say we had fun, but I think it mostly drove Kim mad. You have to really use your brain for this one!

Cakes Made

Kelsey's belated birthday cake!

Fun Had

This was a pretty impulsive decision, but I don't regret it in the least! One night I got it in my head that I should actually bleach the shit outta my hair and go pastel (which I have always loved, but figured was impossible for my dark hair to achieve), so I stayed up past my bedtime pinning pretty colors, and the next day I was asking a hairstylist friend if she could do it. A week later, this was happening...

After a couple weeks of playing with the Manic Panic, I finally got my ends pink (had to mix some Hot Pink with the Cotton Candy Pink), and the rest some lovely shades of purple. I'm looking forward to trying lots of different colors eventually. :)

MONSTER SPECTACULAR! There are some things I would never say "No" to, and free VIP tickets to a monster truck show is one of them. There was BMX, stunt bikes, motocross bikes, and quad bikes as well as the monster trucks, so it was really quite a show.

Because we had VIP tickets, we got to go down onto the floor at half-time to get photos with the trucks & the guys and get autographs. Also, while we were walking around a guy asked me if I wanted to be in a music video! Duh, of course. I asked him who it was for, and he said Grandtheft, a Toronto artist. So, I will definitely be watching out for that!

My friends and I were really excited to see the bioluminescence exhibit at the Museum of Nature. It was pretty lame, though, because there wasn't any real animals to see. We wanted to see jellies and stuff! But then we went to the bug part of the museum, because they have real live bugs. I bought a rhinoceros beetle at the gift shop and then we hung out with this dino on the way home.

Link & Likes 

The Book of Life looks so incredible! I could have seen just one still from the trailer and I would still be obsessed! It's just my style with the Dio de los Meurtos skull faces and designs. I know what movie I will be seeing for my birthday (Halloween) this year! Aaaugh! Can't wait!

I'm really excited that one of my favorite YouTubers, Grace Helbig, has written a book!

A lot of trailers came out this month for the fall TV shows. I'm looking forward to A to Z, Marry Me, and Mulaney.

Girl I Love: Iggy Azalea

With the top two songs on the Billboard Hot 100, Iggy Azalea is taking the world by storm, and I, for one, am thrilled. I think this lady is amazing.

If you're not yet familiar with Iggy's origin story, just listen to her hit 'Work'; "No money. No family. Sixteen in the middle of Miami." Iggy Azalea (real name: Amethyst Amelia Kelly, which is so beautiful I don't know why she would change it) came from Australia to America to pursue her career in hip-hop at just 16 years old. She learned from and worked with the best in her industry and made a name for herself.

Oddly enough, it took a while for me to get interested in Iggy's music. Or, I guess, that's not odd since hip-hop/rap is not my favorite style of music. I had watched her music videos occasionally, fascinated, but didn't feel that I would actually listen to the songs if I downloaded them. I think it wasn't until I watched her video for 'Fancy' that I finally looked into her music, and realized I actually love it.

Iggy is not who you would expect to see if I said this is a rapper with the top two songs. Allow me to be superficial for a moment to say that one of the reasons I love Iggy Azalea is because she is drop-dead gorgeous. She's stunning. Her body is banging. Her hair rivals Rapunzel's golden locks. I would be in love with this girl even if I wasn't in love with her music, as well.

Iggy Azalea is a Girl I Love because she speaks (& raps) her mind, she dominates the charts, and she is a powerful example of where hard work & passion can get you.

Check out Iggy Azalea in these places!
Website // Wikipedia // YouTube // iTunes // Twitter

La Photocabine: My Selfie Journal

I first started using the French vintage-style photo booth website, La Photocabine, in November of 2009. I discovered it through a blog and I immediately loved it. This was before Instagram and its faux-vintage filters. I immediately saw the potential of using this virtual photo booth as a visual journal of myself because it was four photos in one (more potential for storytelling) and the photos would take place in front of my computer (where I always am).

"morning, just got dressed and was reading bleubirdvintage.typepad.com she mentioned www.laphotocabine.com so i checked it out. it's so cute and french, i love it. i'm going to take photos with it everyday" [Nov. 24, 2009]

Since then, I have come to La Photocabine whenever I had a cute new hairstyle to show, a holiday to celebrate, a craft I made, a purchase to show off, a new outfit, a new experience... There are been times that I have taken photos almost daily, and also long periods of not using it at all. Sadly, the reason I stopped using it a few years ago was because my Internet/computer was just too slow to even load the site; it was just too frustrating. But in December 2012, my iMac died (RIP) and I got a MacBook Pro, so I decided to try out La Photocabine again, and was very excited to start using it regularly. The fact that I had a laptop meant even more potential for the format, as I could take photos other than sitting at my desk! I was so pleased about this that I began 2013 with the intention of taking daily La Photocabine photos (downloading the iPhone app helped with that), but again, I experienced technical difficulties with the website (stretched/squished camera, which I was able to almost-fix with iGlasses). I didn't keep up with daily photos, but I used it intermittently throughout 2013. 

"I just thought I did a pretty good job on a messy bun today." [June 1, 2012]

When I decided to try it out while at my parents house (new location!) for Thanksgiving weekend last year, I found that the website had been updated with more options. There was now a GIF option, background options, and space to write a note! I thought adding a note directly onto the photo was great, because I had been including short captions with each photo when I uploaded them to my Flickr album.

[Oct. 13, 2013]

And, now, just the other day, when I went to La Photocabine to see if the camera was still messed up, Firefox froze. (Boo!) And when I re-opened Firefox, it had updated. I didn't like all the changes, so I tried other browsers. I almost settled with Chrome because La Photocabine worked perfectly (Yay!) but went back to Firefox (a bunch of little reasons). However, La Photocabine still doesn't work properly in Firefox (instead of stretched, it includes the entire widescreen inside of the square), so I decided to keep Chrome handy just for La Photocabine.

[May 11, 2014]

I don't want to turn this into a 'think piece' on selfie culture, but I do want to address why I like to take photos of myself. A big reason is; I like the way I look! I've always been visually creative above all else, which is why I started cultivating my own strange fashion sense as young as 11 years old. My body is my canvas, so I dye my hair and I do my make-up and I pick out my outfits to reflect who I am. Because I've always put thought into my look, capturing my looks over the years has been important, both as instant gratification (seeing myself look good in a photo) and for longevity (I can track where I was in my life by tracking what color/length my hair was or what style I was rocking). Capturing myself, my life, from when I was 13 with my first camcorder/digital camera, to Photo Booth on my iMac, to setting up photoshoots with backdrops and lighting, selfies on Instagram and La Photocabine, has been an artistic hobby for me, as well as a fun way of journalling my life.

"rushing off to class. just wanted to take a picture of my curly hair before it flattened. after class i'll make my BVBN video." [Feb. 1, 2010]

So, I'm going to keep taking shameless selfies for Instagram, dressing up and having a photo shoot with myself, and capturing little and big moments with La Photocabine because I'd rather have a million photos of myself, and the rest of my life, to look back on when I'm a hundred years old, than a bunch of hand-written diaries, or doodles in a sketchbook. We all have our ways of capturing and remembering the times of our lives. I guess selfies is mine.

April Round-Up: Geek & Sundry, The Host, & a New Bike!

Movies Watched 

2 Days in New York - A sort-of sequel to 2 Days in Paris, in which Marion and her boyfriend visit her family in Paris, this movie takes place years later when Marion's crazy French family comes to stay with her and her boyfriend (and their children from previous relationships). Her family is absolutely nuts, so it's all so hilarious.

Before Midnight - If you haven't seen Before Sunrise or Before Sunset (Before Midnight is the third in this series), I highly recommend them if you like character-based movies with lots of thought-provoking conversation.

Much Ado About Nothing - I love Shakespeare movies because they allow me to actually enjoy Shakespeare! No one can appreciate or understand Shakespeare when it's being read awkwardly aloud by a 15 yr-old boy in your 10th grade English class. They are plays, they need to be played out! If you're not familiar with Shakespeare, this is a good movie to start with. It's totally understandable (they just speak in a lot of metaphors) and hilarious.

Frozen - I swear, by the time I watched this movie, I had already seen half of it in gifs on Tumblr. I'm not nearly as over-the-moon about it as everyone else seems to be. It had laugh-out-loud moments, but the story was nothing special. A pretty quick fairytale. It needed more development time. I didn't feel like I knew the characters at all. (But maybe I'm just getting too old for Disney fairy tales?)

Monsters University - Monsters Inc. is a movie I've rewatched many times because it's lighthearted and fun (and Boo is so cute!) and Monsters University is the same. I really liked seeing younger Mike & Sully become a team.

TV Watched

Happy Endings - I watched this series (only 3 seasons- wah!) sometime last year for the first time. It's pretty funny and I love the characters. (P.S. If you are watching it on Netflix or something, the episodes (esp. season 1) are out of order. Look it up on Wikipedia and watch in order of the production code numbers. I realized this problem the first time I watched it because they put episodes 2 & 3 later in the season and I was like "Why are they dealing with this stuff months after the fact?")

Sherlock: Season 3 - I just had to watch it again! Drunk Sherlock & Watson is my favorite! :)

American Horror Story: Coven - I'm a sucker for anything witchy and everyone was so obsessed with it on Tumblr that I gave in even though horror/thriller as a genre does not appeal to me. I really loved it, of course. Incredible and crazy. I'm definitely going to watch the first two seasons now, and I'm excited for next season- Freak Show!

Broad City - These girls are ridiculous and amazing. I love these shows (mostly web shows) coming out that show twenty-something girls in a more realistic way. It's the humor of everyday life that we can all relate to. Or, if not, you would laugh if it happened to a friend.

Web Series Watched 

Caper - This is a great series from Geek & Sundry about a group of superheroes that live together and find that having superpowers doesn't mean you can pay rent.

Dragon Age: Redemption - I checked this out because of my recent Felicia Day obsession (she wrote & starred in it) even though it's based in a video game world and I'm not a gamer. It's actually a really good story. It does a good job of explaining how things in their world work, so you don't feel out of the loop.

Cristina Viseu - This isn't a web series, exactly, just a channel. Cristina is Geek & Sundry's videography & photography vlogger. I've already learned a lot from her about equipment, cameras, and shooting.

Chaotic Awesome - It's a live online show, but segments are uploaded to the channel after. I haven't been interested in every segment, but I watch any that look interesting. It's all about geek culture, technology, gaming, etc.

The Flog - It's my favorite geek girl- Felicia Day! She talks at the camera about cool stuff and then there is a segment in which she learns something like blacksmith-ing, crocheting, yo-yo-ing, even trapeze-ing! Lots of fun.

Felicia Day - Again, not a web series, but rather a channel. Felicia no longer does her series The Flog, but she has been uploading vlogs on her own channel. She talks about interesting stuff or recaps her adventures.

Bee and Puppycat - Blame Felicia again. She mentioned this web series, so I checked it out. It's only two parts right now, but a successful Kickstarter campaign means they are making more! It's so weird but so funny and awesome.

Books Read 

The Host- I finally read it! Once I got started, I couldn't stop. (As with any good novel.) It's been 5 years since I last read it, so it was still exciting to read, even though I knew the gist of what would happen. I'm going to watch the movie this weekend. I'm a bit nervous because I know it will not be as good, but I'm interested to see how they adapted it.

Music Played

Christina Perri - Head or Heart

Iggy Azalea - New Classic

OneRepublic - Waking Up, Native

Shakira - Shakira.

Games Played

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PlayStation)

I last year, my friends and I had a yard sale, and they were selling their PlayStation and games. Being the retro console collector that I was (or trying to be) I snatched that baby up. I haven't played it much until my gaming kick I've been on lately, and I finally found a game for it that I liked. Being the "casual" gamer that I am, I like easy games. Spyro is pretty chill. There's no pressure to be fast, or good, or not die. Plus, he's really cute!

Cakes Made at Work

Fun Had 

I got a new bike! I've had the same bike since I was a kid. I didn't use it much, so I didn't care how stupid I looked on a boy's blue and yellow mountain bike. But this past year, I biked to work all Summer, until it finally got a flat tire. I was planning on getting myself a new bike in the Spring anyway, so I said so long to my childhood bike and looked forward to a cute bike in the Spring! I could only find one bike that had the cute retro cruiser style, but actually had gears. I wasn't looking for a purple bike, but I've come to love it.

After I got my new futon mattress, I got out my sewing machine to fix up/make some pillowcases I've been meaning to do. I'd been saving this cute Nintendo t-shirt to make into a pillowcase. It wasn't big enough on its own, so I had to use a scrap red t-shirt to give it a border, and a white t-shirt to make the back.

I tweeted the link to my Girl I Love: Felicia Day blog post to Felicia and she tweeted back! So exciting!

Links & Likes

A Bad Lip Reading of The Twlight Saga: Eclipse made me laugh so hard. Do yourself a favor and watch all the bad lip readings videos. Maybe have a paramedic standing by to revive you when you kill yourself laughing.

In 2012, Miley Cyrus made a few Backyard Sessions videos. Her rendition of Jolene is pretty amazing.

I love this geek anthem from Felicia Day & friends; I'm the One That's Cool. It's an awesome song with a great message.

Girl I Love: Felicia Day

I can't remember the first time I heard about Felicia Day, but I'm sure her name was used in relation to something YouTubey, Geeky, or Internety. You might know Felicia for her acting work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. I know her as the Internet's Geek Queen, founder of Geek & Sundry.

Felicia's rise to Geek Queen status started in 2007 when she was spending her life playing video games between acting jobs. She decided to finally do something, so she wrote a TV pilot, which turned into season one of The Guild. The Guild just ended their sixth and final season on Felicia's YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry, last year. Geek & Sundry also produces several scripted and not-so-scripted shows like The Flog (in which Felicia vlogs and goes on adventures), Caper (scripted series about superheros trying to just make rent), and my favorites Co-Optitude (in which Felicia and her brother, Ryon, play retro console games) and TableTop (in which Wil Wheaton plays board games with friends). Geek & Sundry also has a vlogs channel, and several associated vloggers' channels. That's right, the geeks are indeed taking over the world, guys.

The Guild

Aside from the simple fact that Felicia is a female in a male-dominated industry (aren't they all, though?), Felicia stands out to me as someone who never backed down from doing what she loves, liking what she likes, and doesn't take shit from anyone who thinks she's not [insert qualification here] enough. Being a geek and gamer is deemed pretty cool now, but when Felicia created The Guild, she was taking a big risk that there were enough gamers that would find this web series and that non-gamers would like it, too. (As a non-gamer, I can say that it is not a gamers-only series. It's hilarious and charming.)

Felicia as Tallis in Dragon Age: Redemption

Felicia has become a huge inspiration & role model to me because of her "origin story" (writing The Guild and having the guts to make it happen) and everything she's done since. She's created her own niche on the Internet by just sticking with what she likes, not bending to short-lived trends. By being her awesome self, she's attracted an audience of people that share her interests as well as people like me, who are not gamers or geeks in all the same ways, but who have a penchant for geekiness and enjoy quality work. As a multi-passionate creative person, I also look to Felicia as an example of someone who has pursued multiple passions, and been able to incorporate them all into her creative work. Felicia is an accomplished violinist, singer, actor, writer, producer, gamer, and a reader of both comics and fantasy romance novels. With Geek & Sundry, and other projects, I've been able to see how Felicia has incorporated all of these talents into her work.

Felicia Day is a Girl I Love because she stands up for herself, she broke the mold of a gamer/geek, she pursues her passions unapologetically, and she does it all with gratitude & respect for the fans who helped her get where she is.


Check out Felicia Day in these places!
Geek & Sundry // YouTube // Twitter // Website // Wikipedia // IMDb

March Round-Up

Spring is in the air! Finally! Here’s what I was up to in March, while I impatiently waited for Spring to arrive…

Movies Watched
The Great Gatsby - Although I was listening to the soundtrack pretty much as soon as the movie was out, I took a long time to actually watch it. The story was not what I thought, but I only knew the gist of it. The music and the party scenes were great and overall it had that grandiose feel of a Baz Luhrman movie, but more tragedy than comedy.

Jack the Giant Slayer - This was a pretty fun adventure. They took the giant-in-the-clouds concept and made it so much better.

Cool Runnings - All that Olympics bullshit reminded me of one of my favorite classics, so I wrote about it for my first Recollections post.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - Much better than the other teen fantasy novel-turned movie (Beautiful Creatures) that I watched last month. I want everyone's wardrobe. Black, leather, straps, buckles, metal, boots, bad ass. I am intrigued and actually anticipating the next movie!

Side By Side - Great documentary for anyone interested in filmmaking and the film industry. It consists mainly of interviews with filmmakers, directors, writers, actors, cinematographers, colorists, editors, etc. discussing film vs. digital. It also explains how film and digital work, gives lots of movie clip examples. I found it fascinating for the film nerd in me, and the film fan in me.

TV Watched
The Conversation -This was a re-watch. I think every woman needs to watch this show. The women discuss absolutely anything and everything. You will find something to relate to, something inspiring, something to make you pause it and think about your opinion on the issues. After I watched it all this time, I decided that I will give it to my mom and insist she watches it. We're not really close like we'd talk about this stuff, but I just feel like every woman should experience conversations like these. Lucky for you, you can watch the entire show, and extra interviews online.

Bunheads - As I was aching for Spring, I decided to watch this show that makes me feel very Spring/Summery. Ah, small town California. It's so idyllic. If you're a Gilmore Girls fan (I'm a massive one) you will enjoy Bunheads. From the same writer/creator, and featuring a lot of familiar cast.  It has more high school girl stuff than Gilmore Girls, but it doesn't get annoying like high school shows do. It's that pop-culture-reference-laden-fast-talking-humor that you love from Gilmore Girls, plus- dance!

Lost Girl: Season 4 - I discovered this show sometime last year, and I finally watched the latest season this past month. It's a sci-fi/fantasy show. Lots of adventures, fae, drama, sex, humor. I've come to love it, and the characters. My favorite in Kenzi (Ksenia Solo). She's smart and funny and has the most bad ass tough goth chick wardrobe.

Misfits: Season 5 - Sadly, the last season. But that means that you can snuggle in for a weekend and devour the entire series. What can I say to recommend this show? How about some keywords: British, superpowers, community service, murder, sex, loveable characters, hilarious, weird.

Web Series Watched
On Nerdist: Chris Hardwick’s All-Star Celebrity Bowling, Neil’s Puppet Dreams, Nerdist News
I've been listening to the Nerdist podcast for a while, and just recently checked out the YouTube channel. What a treasure trove of delights!

On Geek & Sundry: TableTop, The Guild, Co-Optitude
So much gaming! I'm not a "gamer" but after a few weeks of watching nothing but TableTop (board games) and Co-Optitude (retro video games) I filled up my Amazon wishlist with far too many board games and video games. I admit, watching these shows helped me have my big life revelation (that I wrote about here) about enjoying my life with my friends, instead of making myself feel guilty that I haven't achieved all my life goals yet. I want to have more fun!

Boozy Mom - This is just hilarious and how I imagine I will be as Crazy Aunt Tish when my friends' kids are older.

OMG We Bought a House! - I've been a Mr. Kate follower for quite a while now. I'm not always into her DIYs, but I love her new series about fixing up her new home. So many cool decor DIY ideas, and just fun to watch!

Music Played

The Glitch Mob, Bassnectar - I've been gettin' my dubstep on.

Pulses by Karmin -Love this whole album! So much fun dance music!

Run Run Run by Celeste Buckinham - A really fun, catchy song. I really love the line "You better know, know, know that I have conditions. I make the rules and make the decisions. And I want nothing less than what I deserve." I feel like I would straight up say that to anyone trying to start a relationship with me.

Charli XCX - Super fun dance-pop-bass-trippy-IdunnobutIloveit...

Games Played

 

My friends and I had our first (hopefully regular) Game Night at the end of March! After watching all that TableTop and Co-Optitude all month, I sent my friends a crazed Facebook message one night when I couldn’t sleep about starting a regular Game Night for board games, and maybe some retro video games. For our first Game Night, we all brought our favorites to see what we all like. We started easy with Yahtzee, then Linda had a fun game like Telephone/Chinese Whispers but writing & drawing which got very inappropriate very fast. (My friends have foul sense of humor and I ended up having to draw myself doing some unladylike things.) We tried playing Cranium but got bored/confused so we went right to Cards Against Humanity for the rest of the night. My friends' childish, disgusting sense of humor meant that the most vile card was always chosen, which made me mad because I thought my cards were funny yet made sense. Turned out we all tied in the end, so I pouted for no reason.

Cakes Made at Work

Videos Made

It’s the season finale of The Unicorn Hunt! Don’t be sad, though. I have some Fun Facts posts on our Tumblr going up every Wednesday, and we will be back with Season 2 before you know it. If you want to help us make Season 2, you can support us on Patreon.

Fun Had

I was so jealous of the photos Mandy was taking on Take Your Action Figure to Work Day because I did not know about it, nor did I own any action figures. I thought it would have been so cute to have a little Avenger helping me make cakes at work. Well, I liked this idea so much that I wouldn't let it go and it evolved into what I have named My Tiny Heroes. It will be an ongoing photo series, posted on my Instagram (#MyTinyHeroes) and also on its own Tumblr. I really wanted to start my action figure collection with an Avenger, but I found no appropriately pose-able figures at Wal-Mart that day, so I started with a no less awesome hero: Angry Raphael. He's angry. I can't wait to see what he does when I ask him to help me make cookies.

Link & Likes
Jimmy Kimmel Live turned viral videos into epic movie trailers. There are four altogether, but I think this interpretation of Charlie Bit My Finger starring the Hemsworth brothers is my favorite.

I love Lily Allen's video for Our Time. I can't wait for the album!

I've been happily dancing around to Pharrell's Happy this month, and I love this cover by Walk Off the Earth.

The ladies of A Beautiful Mess are always inspiring. I'm not always interested in their DIY or recipe posts, but they also post gems like this article about working in Young Industries (in their case, blogging). It's a good read for anyone pursuing an Internet-centered career, as it's all new and always changing!

Baked: Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the third vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that I've tried. The first was from The Joy of Vegan Baking. It used powdered egg replacer as the eggs. My cookies always turned out flat and kind of gross looking, tough not soft.

My next recipe was a friend's recipe for her delicious, soft, chewy cookies that she would spoil us with in high school. I veganized it by using soft tofu to replace the eggs. My cookies never turned out as big and fluffy as hers used to, but they were chewy and delicious. The only thing about the recipe that I didn't like was the soft tofu. I used less than half of the container of tofu, and it only lasted a couple days in the fridge, so I was always wasting tofu. And, it's not an ingredient I have on-hand, so if I had a craving for cookies, I had to add tofu to my grocery list instead of being able to whip up a batch right away.

This latest recipe is from Chloe's Vegan Desserts and it is my favorite so far. It uses only ingredients that I always have on hand, which makes it easy. I first made them a few weeks ago, and I had to substitute a bit because I wasn't quite as prepared as I thought, and I tried out chocolate chunks instead of chips. The cookies were delicious, soft, and chewy just how I like them. I didn't love the chunks instead of chips, though. They made the cookies wonky shapes and did not distribute the chocolate evenly in each bite.

I wanted to perfect this recipe, so I made it again yesterday, with a few changes. I tried out tiny chocolate chips (even distribution of chocolate) and I chilled the dough before baking (prevents spreading, so your cookies stay thicker). I had two trays of cookies. The first tray I baked for the recommended 12 minutes. They turned out to be a few minutes under-baked. So, I kept the second tray in for longer and they were about 5 minutes over-baked. The photos above are each tray right out of the oven. The cookies look so much bigger right out of the oven, but as they cool they deflate. It always makes me a little sad because I think without eggs you can't get those really big fluffy chewy cookies, but vegan cookies are still just as delicious and have a great chewy texture (if you bake them right).

Below, you can see what each tray of cookies ended up looking like. They're both chewy and delicious, but the under-baked are soft and the over-baked are a tougher kind of chewy, with a bit of a crispy finish. I prefer under-baked to over-baked, but if I wanted to eat raw cookie dough, I would have kept snacking from the bowl, instead of stopping to make it into cookies. I will have to try this recipe again soon, with regular size chocolate chips and the perfect baking time. I'm glad I've finally got a recipe that is easy to put together and gives the perfect result. A good chocolate chip cookie recipe is an essential for any baker.

February Round-Up

Movies Watched

Upside Down - The concept of two planets being so close together and their gravity applying only to their respective matter intrigued the sci-fi nerd in me. The love story was kind of sweet, but the flaws in the physics distracted me.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - This is an example of my excellent movie instincts. I knew I wanted to see this movie as soon as I saw the trailer. Despite poor reviews and general lack of enthusiasm from the public, it stayed on my list. I loved it. It is so bad ass. I have a default interest in anything fairy tale or witches, so it already had those going for it, but that's not why it's great. It had cheeky humor when it needed to, it had a good back story revealed throughout, and it is just super bad. Ass.

Camp Takota - If you have not heard of this movie, then you're not an avid YouTube watcher. YouTube stars Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, and Hannah Hart got together to star in this movie that Mamrie wrote. It was not the laugh riot I expected of these hilarious girls, but I don't mean that as a bad thing. It was most definitely funny but not in an obnoxious way, like trying to shove in as many jokes as possible. It was smart kind of funny and was a really nice story. You can buy it on iTunes now!

Identity Thief - This is an example of going against my movie instincts. I was not too interested in seeing this movie based on the trailer. However, my friend insisted it was hilarious and the short scene she showed me was pretty funny, so I took a chance on it. It had it's funny moments and jokes. I love Melissa McCarthy, of course, but overall it didn't do it for me. And I hated the ending.

The Cell - Based on my love of The Fall and Mirror Mirror, I was interested to see this earlier film directed by Tarsem Singh as well. It had the cinematic beauty of The Fall, but much darker. I loved it. It's definitely disturbing, but just so incredible to watch.

The Fall - After watching The Cell, I had the urge to watch one of my favorite films, The Fall, again. I realized right away that this was my first time watching it since getting my HDTV because- Wow. It is so beautiful. And the story is so beautiful and heartbreaking. It's amazing to watch Lee Pace (yummy!) interact with the young Spanish-speaking actress, it's so realistic (because she really didn't understand English very well, a lot was improvised). This is a movie that I will always recommend to everyone.

Midnight in Paris - Nothing like a movie set in Paris to give your mind an escape for a couple hours. And Paris in the 20's? I die. It's all so lovely and such an adventure.

Beautiful Creatures - I was in the mood for a fantasy, so I chose this one. It was a little too familiar. High school kids, special powers, "But, I love him!". It was pretty cool, but the kind of movie you can tell is based on a book because things move along a little too quickly and feel unexplained.

TV Watched

Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Just background viewing. I've seen it all before, so I don't laugh out loud too much, but it's something I can ignore or just listen to without missing out.

Miranda - I've mentioned before my distaste for laugh-track sit-coms, but this is a big exception. Miranda Hart is hilarious. All the characters are hilarious, but not unrealistic caricatures. I love that she "breaks the fourth wall" by giving the camera looks or repeating jokes, she introduces each episode like she's catching up with the audience, and at the end of each episode everyone waves goodbye. It's not the usual "dry" humor you expect from British shows, it's a lot of physical comedy, actually.

Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls - Oh, Bryan Fuller... Why do they pick on you so? Does every Bryan Fuller show have to be cancelled so soon? The last one he tried to make didn't even make it past the pilot! (Mockingbird Lane) I love re-watching Bryan Fuller shows. They're funny and cute and just a joy to watch. But also, a little dark.

Web Series Watched

Friendship is Witchcraft - This is a genius parody show. The creators dubbed over episodes of the My Little Pony show, Friendship is Magic, to make it hilarious and weird. Like, really weird. It got taken off YouTube for copyright infringement, of course, but someone else uploaded it, thank goodness.

The Better Half, The Neighbors, and Kiss Her I’m Famous - I found some article on Buzzfeed about lesbian web series you should watching, so I checked them all out and these are three that I liked. They all have an effortless quality about them. The acting is just so natural. I particularly love The Better Half. The characters are adorable together.

Books Read

The Host - Okay, I've barely read any of this book, to be honest. I just haven't been in a reading mood, okay? I read this years ago when it was new, and after the movie came out I had to decide if I wanted to re-read the book before seeing the movie or vice versa. I decided to re-read it first, so I don't have any movie images or interpretations invading my reading. I remember when I was reading it, wondering how they could turn it into a movie (I often do that with novels) because the majority of conversations take place between two beings inhabiting one body. I guess I'll find out when I finally finish the book and watch the movie.

Music Heard

Once Upon a Dream by Lana Del Rey - It's sooooooo dreamy and beautiful. I just close my eyes and sway slowly while listening to it.

Take Me to Church by Hozier - At first listen it seemed like a love song, but after listening to it more, I decided it seems more like singing to one's muse, than a person. I love (attempting to) belt out the chorus, so I've added it to my list of songs to learn on the piano.

Say You’ll Be There by MØ - Why are there not more Spice Girls covers in the world?

Camp It Up by Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, Hannah Hart, Flula Borg - A fun danceable song from Camp Takota

Girl Talk by Kate Nash - I don't love the whole album, but there are a few fun songs like Fri-End? and OMYGOD!

Cakes Made

Videos Made




Fun Had

Over a year ago, I donated to a Kickstarter for a web series that I loved created by a girl I loved (Marissa A. Ross) called Tangents & the Times. The Kickstarter's success meant that we got more episodes of this great series. Well, they finally got around to mailing out the Kickstarter rewards, and I received my copy of the series on DVD, along with a personal note from Marissa. Aside from the excitement of having the series on DVD to watch (which I did that night, of course), the note from Marissa was really touching because she actually remembers who I am (and likes my cakes!). After a few weeks of shitty things happening, that note was just what I needed to cheer me up and inspire me. I think Marissa is a great writer and just an awesome person. She's the kind of person that serves as great inspiration for me, but not because I want to be just like her. Yes, I do want to pursue writing like she has, but it's seeing her do things like this web series and hearing about her writing a TV pilot that give me that "If she can do it, I can do it" lift I need. I'll stop gushing, now. You start watching.