Girl Geekery

Review: Mrs. Washington goes to Smith

2009-08-03T12:45:00.004-04:00

As a graduate of Smith College, I'd been looking forward to the Hallmark Channel's summer presentation of "Mrs. Washington goes to Smith", a story about a woman in her late 40's (played realistically by Cybill Shepherd) returning to her (and my) alma mater to finish her degree.

Yes that's a map of Smith's campus. Not that it matters.
It's the only time you see the campus at all in this movie.

Let's get this out of the way: Because I'm a Smith graduate, I expected a lot more from this movie than I do from standard tv-movie fare. The Smith campus is beautiful, the academics are intense, and the students are intelligent and well-spoken. Though I know that Hallmark Movies are generally known for their tear-jerking, I figured Shepherd had the acting chops to pull off any kind of gushy plot. Yet even she couldn't save this overly-emotional mire.

Part of the issue might be that there was so little discussion about the program she was enrolled in; the Ada Comstock program for 'non-traditional' students. Three of my 4 years at Smith were spent in Northrop house, which had a surprisingly large population of Adas, and they were ALWAYS given singles. They interacted with traditional students in (might I say it) a traditional way. That is to say, they did not treat other students in the house as daughters, but as other people who happened to be in the same place for the same purpose as they were. Like going to the bank, it hardly matters if the person in line in front of you is ten years younger or 30 years older. Hallmark Channel's script, glossed over the entire interaction between students.

My own disappointment was heightened by the filming location which was clearly not Smith's campus, or even Northampton. Location for the film is listed as Los Angeles. I found myself straining at every shot, trying to find some semblance of Smith's architecture. And it was there. Barely. Hallmark's Smith College has a lot more stairs than the real version, I noticed. Shepherd's Alice Washington was always going up some stairs or down some stairs, noticing a professor on the stairs, calling out to someone on another floor.

Mostly, the biggest issue with "Mrs. Washington goes to Smith" was the ridiculously flat script. The plot, which centers mainly around the interaction of Mrs. Washington, her 20 year old roommate and their poetry professor (omg, We both have a huge crush on him! That is sooooo wrong!), feels stiff and over-acted. The viewer has a hard time becoming really engaged with this movie, since at no point does the plot really leap off the screen.

The realest moments came at the Thanksgiving scene when Mrs. Washington returns home to create a holiday feast for her two children who are by turns impressed, proud and completely horrified by their mother's insistence on living her own life and finishing her degree. This intimate portrayal of a mother doing something for herself for a change and the critical reaction of her self-absorbed daughter are perhaps the most interesting points of the whole movie. These reflections on adult education probably ring true for many Ada Comstock students.

The rest of the story, alas, was too saccharine to reflect upon. Every moment seemed heavy with things unsaid. And every interaction between the poetry professor and roommate Zoe or Mrs. Washington verged on too painful to watch. What might have been a poignant tale of an autonomous woman finally doing something for herself becomes an awkward love-triangle that has nothing to do with the setting or characters involved.

The backdrop of Smith College becomes less than even a backdrop; it becomes a set-up for the title's cutesy switch-a-roo of 1939's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Had the former movie not been made, this movie would be of no more interest or notoriety than any other tear-jerker hosted on Hallmark. And as "Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith" shares no more attributes with that old classic than the title.

Ultimately, the only word that sums up Hallmark's "Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith" is "disappointment".

Summer TV Preview Countdown #2

2009-06-19T00:25:00.003-04:00

2) Psych

Oh James Roday. You're so cute. And swoon-worthy. And, of course, a complete fake. This fun series returns this summer, and I will be absolutely glued to my TV set. For one thing, Psych is not just the story of two best friends getting in and out of trouble. It's also a fast-paced journey back in time with numerous 80's references that only those of us born '85 and earlier will get.

Then there's the show's unique brand of humor and focus on friendship. All the characters have different relationships to each other and play those parts well. The young ingenue detective, Juliet just wants everyone to be happy and cheerful. She was a sorority sister, and probably also a cheerleader at one point. She's happy and sunny, and the only thing that brings her down is when her partner, Lassiter just doesn't want to be happy. Which is always.

The cast has fun doing each taping, and you can tell. The excitement is palpable. Shawn's twitchy over-acting for his part of the SBPD pet psychic is just right here. And after last season's fantastic Tuesday the 17th episode, I can't wait to find out what else the writing team has in store for us.

More shrinky-dink earrings

2009-06-17T19:37:00.000-04:00

Another pair of earrings for my friend today. This time using shrinkydinks. I know that she's a huge Zelda fan, so I figured I'd work with that. I also figured today would be a good day to experiment with using permanent markers on the shrinkydink plastic.

Before:

After:

The colors come out MUCH darker with permanent marker. Parts of Link are done only in colored pencil, and some parts are also a mixture of both media.

I also sealed the drawn side with clear nail polish. Without the nail polish, the rough side feels like painted wood, and I worry that if the piece gets wet, the colors might run (who the hell knows. It's permanent marker, but then, it's also been through the toaster oven).

I'm pretty certain my friend's gonna love these earrings.

Origami Earrings

2009-06-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine recently posted in her journal that because she had recently gotten her ears pierced, she had been looking through various Etsy.com shops and finding slews of earrings that she wanted to buy. She provided a link. I'm a curious sort of person, so I followed the link and found that all of the earrings she was looking at were $10 or more! One pair was even $20! "Enough," I told her, "I will make you some earrings and send them to you and you won't have to pay a cent. Additionally, the cost of my materials comes in at a bit less than $15 and I can make maybe 20 pairs of earrings with them. Not a bad deal.

Materials:

Scissors
Needle
Thread (Yellow silk) - $1
Origami Paper Srips - $2.50
Origami Squares - $2.50
Clear Nail Polish (not pictured) - $1
Beads - $5
Fish Hook Earring Bases - $2.10
Optional: 2" Head pins ($2.10), Needle Nose Pliers ($8)

Because I didn't have the head pins, I ended up using needle and thread instead of the pins and pliers. The needle and thread is actually a nice way to lower your overall costs if you find yourself without pliers which can be hard to find and/or costly.

The Origami strips come with directions which allow you to fold them up into handy little stars. When I was younger, my friends and I used to make them by the dozens and fill pretty jars with stars. Fold your stars first.

Next, I threaded my needle with the silk thread. Silk thread can be tricky to work with. You need to really bulk up your knots to make sure stuff doesn't slide right off. So I put the thread through the needle 3 times before tying off a knot on the bottom and trimming it.

Silk thread is also very slippery. To ensure my knots don't come out, I brush the knots and the knot tail with clear nail polish and I wait for it to dry before I trim.

Thread your stars on. I always push stars onto the needle "crotch" first (concave side) so that the needle comes out through a point. I placed beads between my stars to give the earrings a bit more flexibility. You'll find that if you stack stars one on top of the other, they come out stiff and sometimes crooked.

Finally, tie on your fish hook. Again, you should brush with clear nail polish before you do any trimming. And Voila!

I also made her a pair of crane earrings. Same principles apply. I love putting cranes on thread because the knots get hidden inside the crane's body.

Before and After

A pair of Crane Earrings

Summer TV Preview Countdown #3

2009-06-13T15:20:00.000-04:00

3) (It's a tie!) Monk & Royal Pains

Monk is saying goodbye. Maybe even to wipes? We can hope.

With this summer comes the 8th and final season of Monk. And, I'm sure, quite a few revelations. Monk may have lost me as a viewer around season 4, but that won't stop me coming back when I have a feeling that a lot of old strings will get tied up this season (well, they'd have to, right?).

My dad and I have some theories about what will happen this season:

Plot line the first
a) Monk will finally confront Trudy's murderer.
b) Trudy's murderer will be killed in some way that is only marginally Monk's fault.
c) Because Trudy's murderer is dead, Monk will start making headway on conquering some of his OCD
d) Monk will be reinstated to the police force
e) Natalie will be paid, in full

Plot line the second
a) Monk will finally confront Trudy's murderer.
b) Monk will fall in love with a secondary or tertiary character
c) This love interest will help Monk get over some of his fears.

In any case, it looks to be a nice little wrap-up. And I'm excited to see how the whole thing concludes.

As for Royal Pains . . .

Concierge Doctor with denial is a hottie.

I caught the pilot of this little gem last week. Frankly, for the most part, USA could take just about any actor and any plot and keep their writers the same and I'd be all over it like iguanas on a warm rock. Royal Pains is slightly different from their usual fare. The camera work is slick and clean. The main character isn't the wise-cracker but the straight man, while his brother is the main comedic force of the show.

The pilot was actually a very nice balance of drama and comedy. And you really get the sense from the show that you'd love to punch some of those rich people right in the face. If that's not good story telling, I don't know what is.

Potential down-sides: Will Americans want to see rich people living high-on-the-hog and throwing away money on fancy cars and postage stamps, particularly in this down-turn economy? I'm not really sure. This is definitely a slow-starter series. And I can see it either being pulled late-season, or becoming a sudden break-out hit. In the case of the latter, the writers WILL need to step it up. This is not really a medical mystery show so much as a interaction drama. We get to sit and watch all these rich people relate to one another and money change hands, but for right now, none of the major characters (save one, the female hospital doctor) have a long-term goal.

It can be truly unnerving to watch these people prance around the screen in their yuppie/preppy suits, acting on whims and not on future plans. So Royal Pains is a waiting game. As it stands though, I'll be tuning in each Thursday to catch it (perhaps even at the cost of missing "The Fashion Show").

Summer TV Preview Countdown #4

2009-06-12T19:59:00.000-04:00

Let the countdown of Summertime TV continue!

4) Project Runway (Season 6)

Heidi and Tim weren't sure if you were aware that
they've moved their whoring over to Lifetime TV.
Now you don't have to feel bad when the contestants
design something so bad, it makes you cry.

So here's the thing. I've been an avid PR watcher since season 1 aired while I was in college. The girls in my dorm would gather in someone's room and eat popcorn and critique like mad for an hour and the whole experience was very cathartic. There's something splendid about just being mean about someone else's creative output. This is obviously an emotion that Bravo knows only too well, since they made sure to have an extensive line-up of shows based solely on this premise (Blow Out, Top Chef, Flipping Out, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, etc.). When they sold it to Lifetime TV, I thought they were nuts. But it turned out they were in talks to start up The Fashion Show (and we can see how well that turned out).

In any case, Project Runway will be starting up on August 20th this summer, and despite the change of venue, I remain as faithful as always. I only hope it contains less bitchery than The Fashion Show contains; shouldn't be too difficult.

Summer TV Preview Countdown #5

2009-06-12T11:39:00.000-04:00

Alright folks, now that I'm moved back to New Jersey and have most of my stuff in order (and I'm unemployed), the unofficial GG hiatus is over! And we're starting the summer off with a bang to talk about some of the upcoming TV shows (and a few that are already in full-swing) that I'm looking forward to watching. Let the dizzying array of TV-brain-meltiness begin!

5) The Fashion Show

Boy Isaac, for someone who always complains
that the contestants don't use enough color,
you sure do wear a lot of black!

While Project Runway was being shuffled over to Lifetime Network, Bravo was scrambling to recoup their losses. "Let's make a copy of it," they likely said to themselves. "We'll set it in the same city, with the same number of contestants, the same number of judges. But we will change the shape of the runway. We won't give the designers a mentor. And we will make sure that when we critique a design, we will do it in the bitchiest and most inane way possible."

And while the producers were likely squealing with joy at their own "good" ideas, they probably also jumped up and down and hugged. That's my theory.

The Fashion Show is trying. It's trying soooo hard to be the new Project Runway, but despite my initial excitement over this show, it's fallen flat. The guest judges sometimes have no insight into fashion at all, a lot of the designers have NO sewing skills of which to speak, and the challenges are frequently pointless or of little consequence. Not to mention, giving someone immunity for designing a high schooler's t-shirt strikes me as the height of the inane. Bravo isn't even manufacturing drama for the sake of drama here.

Unfortunately, I really like design shows, so although I'm not happy with it, I'll probably continue watching it.

Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown!

Misti's Lists: Top 10 Timeless Educational Games

2009-03-13T06:23:00.000-04:00

I'll be frank with you, readers. I was an only child. And as such, on various holidays and birthdays, I was frequently gifted with fantastically complex and fun board games. If only I'd had some siblings or the presence of mind to learn how to drive when I was merely eight so that I might drive myself over to my friends' houses to play with them. Since that was not the case, I was frequently relegated to playing games by myself. Thankfully, the majority of popular games available on the market today and yesteryear are profoundly based on luck. Monopoly, Trouble, Life. They all relied on dice, so it was very easy for me to create an alter-ego to play with.

But this entry is not about those Parker Brother juggernauts. My own parents always tended to gift me with something very different. My house was a haven for fun educational games which encouraged intellect and skill. And I want to share a list of my favorites with you. The items listed below are both fun and classic. They may be simple or have few pieces, but can create fabulously complex games. And most importantly, many of them are things you can do with children who have just started grade school.

10) Fluxx

I am sure there are people out there who don't consider Fluxx to be terribly educational. And for the most part, they're right. But it's certainly a lot of fun, and it does have that wonderful side effect of telling folks that sometimes, life just isn't fair! Aside from that though, here's a great way to talk to your kids about goals and rules. Why are they different now than before? What do you have to do to accomplish this goal. A crazy card game for those of us with ADD.

9) Bananagrams

Bananagrams is Scrabble for people who don't like interacting with others. You can play in a group, but it's just as easy to play this game by your lonesome. Use Bananagrams' 144 letter tiles to create your own free-form Scrabble board. It's actually a LOT of fun to play. There IS however a lot of luck involved in which tiles you pick. But what better way to learn more about spelling and arranging words? Even the carrying case is in the shape of a cute banana.

8) Carcassonne

To be honest, I'm not really sure how well Carcassonne translates for younger audiences. But for anyone older than 12, this is fun tile-based game requiring strategy and risk-assessment. There is an element of luck about it, but it's much more about interaction with others and your ability to understand complex land values.

7) Boggle

Boggle! One of my absolute favorite word games! Boggle combines reading, spelling, and pattern identification with speed (though you can get rid of the timer if you don't feel like being competitive). Extended boards are available for more advanced players. Younger players can expand their vocabulary and also start learning about prefixes and suffixes. And when the Boggle grid starts feeling too confined, you can take the letter dice out and use the dice to make your own word games.

6) 24

You don't even have to go out and BUY 24 to play it. Just get yourself a piece of paper, choose 4 integers and get cracking! The point of the game is to use basic math operations (+,-,/,*) with the numbers to get a result of 24. Older students can also use powers and roots or larger numbers. This is among my favorite math games and it can be dressed up or dressed down for any age.

5) The aMAZEing Labyrinth

When people think "Labyrinth", a lot of them think of David Bowie, or that weird, frustrating marble game where you have to get your marble through the maze. This puzzle game is far more intriguing than even David Bowie. Use the tiles to set up a grid board of hallways and items. with one extra tile, you push the halls around to get your piece to the treasures. This game is great for developing your spacial skills. There's a little bit of luck and a whole lot of logic. Depending on how the pieces are arranged, the game can range from very simple to maddeningly difficult.

4) Set

This game is great for pattern recognition. You've got 12 cards on the table and all of them are different. Can you find 3 where all their characteristics are similar or different. This is also a great game to help teach very basic skills for understanding "same" and "different". As kids get older, you can adapt the game to be more challenging by relying on speed.

3) Once Upon a Time

You have a kid, and they love stories at bed time. Actually, they love stories ANY time. How about a game that gets them to use their imagination and lets them make their own story in the process? Once Upon a Time is a card game that has a number of motifs and themes classic to fairy tales and fables. Each card has an element of a story; either a plot point, a character, a location, and so on. Your job is to use all your cards to create a cohesive and entertaining story. Kids as young as 6 will enjoy making their own stories. You can help your kids out by writing down their stories as you go along so they can read them at bed time in the future!

2) Mancala

A simple game but not for the faint of heart. Also not for very young children as there are a lot of small pieces. I've played Mancala with a variety of different rules, and each new set of rules requires a different adaptation to win. Try to get all the marbles in your own bank, and steal the marbles from under your opponent's nose. No luck here. All skill.

1) Quarto

Quarto is not only a fantastic game to exercise your mind. It's also beautiful. With 16 carved wooden pieces and 1 wooden board, minimalism is the idea here, and although the set can be heavy to carry around, it's a nice addition to a trip to the beach. Consider Quarto when you're concerned about getting sand in your Scrabble set. Quarto's 16 different pieces (like Set) are all different. They are light, dark, tall, short, round, square, solid, and hollow. Your job is to get any four in a row on the board with a similar characteristic. The catch? You choose the piece your opponent places on the board and vice-versa. You can teach the basic concepts of this game to children as young as 5 or 6. And by the time the child reaches 9 or 10, you can begin to introduce the concept of strategy. A gem.

So, enjoy these games. Go out there and better yourself! Click on the links below to go to the Amazon product page. And if there's any game you think that I'm out of my mind to have excluded, put it in the comments! I want to know what else is out there!

Fluxx
Bananagrams
Carcassonne
Boggle
24
The aMAZEing Labyrinth
Set
Once Upon a Time
Mancala
Quarto

Misti's Link of the Month: Project Rungay

2009-02-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

For February, my link is all about pop-culture. Tom and Lorenzo over at Project Rungay are a pair of gay guys named Tom and Lorenzo who give snappy on-point reviews of the latest in reality television programming. They're best known for their loving recaps of Project Runway, however they frequently review other shows as well, and discuss celebrity fashion.

Why do I love Tom and Lorenzo so much? It could be their ability to get in good with our favorite reality stars. It could be their fabulous give-aways. It could even be their scathing clothing-related comments. It's probably all of these things, but also they are kind to their readers and always honest. The site is well-designed and very well-maintained. I definitely can appreciate a website with a minimum of gimmicks and a strong focus. Well done, Project Rungay!

You can visit Project Rungay by clicking on the banner below:

Or you can visit Tom and Lorenzo's other blog, click the image below:

Games and Fun: Magic Pen

2009-01-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

When I first heard of "Crayon Physics" through Penny-Arcade's 1/11/09 comic strip, I was really interested in seeing it in action. Believe me, there's quite a few videos of it on YouTube. But this particular visual physics engine is as yet unavailable for people without a tablet pc or an iPhone. So I decided to seek out an online version. And lo and behold, there was "Magic Pen". Although this free online game only has 26 levels, it's plenty. You can keep playing to see the fewest number of shapes needed to finish each level.

For those unfamiliar with "Crayon Physics" or "Magic Pen", these are 2-d physics engines which allow the user to draw elements into the world which interact with existing fixed and moving parts. Your goal for each level is to get the red shape to any and all red flags on the level.

Quirky and fun, the user can create circles and polygons and use hinges and pins to create more complex machines and shapes (you can make a car by making two circles with hinges in the center of each and a box over the hinges). Remember to take gravity into account!

You want me to get the ball to a flag floating in SPACE?!??!

You make it look so easy.

You WILL, however find yourself cursing at flags which are obnoxiously higher than your shape's starting point, or confused by flags which appear to be floating serenely in space. It's a solid challenge that kept me entertained for a good 6 hours last night. I didn't even find the music obnoxious!

To check out Magic Pen by clicking here

Upcoming Film: Coraline

2009-01-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I was last psyched about an upcoming film release. Most notably, I'm seriously looking forward to X-men Origins flick, "Wolverine". But that isn't projected to come out until May this year. So until then, I'm going to have to sedate myself with the variety of twee tween fantastical-romances that are griming up the movie pipeline. And "Coraline", which the trailer promises to be every bit as amazing as Mr. Tim Burton's first clay-mation feature film, "Nightmare Before Christmas" (Burton's first clay-mation short was "Vincent" in 1982).

Careful, Coraline. Curiosity supposedly killed the cat.

What makes "Coraline" so much more thrilling in concept is that the story was created by Neil Gaiman, the same mind who wrote the brilliant "Stardust", and BBC's "Neverwhere". All the trailers I've seen so far indicate that "Coraline" is a very promising film that Burton's dark vision lends itself to perfectly.

Seeing "Nightmare Before Christmas" still imbues me with a child-like sense of wonder, so I'm certainly looking forward to more from both Gaiman and Burton. Not to mention that although I'm not really a fan of Dakota Fanning (or, admittedly, her voice), the voice acting in the trailer seems SPOT ON. I'm very excited for this and the release date is thankfully quite soon, to save us from "Twilight" dregs.

Coraline comes to theaters February 6th. See below for the trailer.

Misti's Link of the Month - Association of Smith College Blogroll

2009-01-01T21:53:00.001-05:00

Well, it's a brand new year and one of my resolutions is to blog more and get more connected with the other alumnae from my college. So it was perfect when the I received the Smith College Alumnae Quarterly which contained a quarter-column blurb about the Alumnae blogroll that had been created. I already have a list of about 15 blogs that I read on a regular basis, but I can always make room for more, particularly those written by fellow Smithies.

The blogroll is hosted on Wordpress and the founders are aiming to have at least one blog from every class between 1960 and present. Obviously, more recent classes are well-represented, but the most interesting writing (I've found), comes from bloggers in the classes between 1960 and 1989. These are women who are living their lives well and have made great advances in their careers. They sell houses, they are politically active, they have children, do crafts, travel... There is so much LIFE to be found here.

The Smith Alumnae Blogroll can be found at http://smithalumblogs.wordpress.com

My favorites so far include Mamarazzi, What Not to Buy, and A Girl's Garden of Menopause. So go ahead and check the blogroll out. Let me know what you find! Staying connected is what it's about in '09!

I'm waiting for: Middleman (DVD)

2008-12-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

I don't really watch all that much TV, generally, and when I do, I tend to gravitate towards shows falling into one of the following categories:

1) Unapologetically nerdy - Nature specials, History channel specials. You know the type. I'm the kind of person who could watch "Planet Earth" in HD for HOURS, and I have. I want to know about all the little intricacies of the squid life cycle, or the exact crushing power of a lion's jaws as compared with an eagle. Nerdy.

2) Orgasmically geeky - The type of show which has no problem referencing a slew of pop culture icons in under 5 minutes. I think a lot of people are attracted to shows like this, which accounts for the unprecedented success (and verbal speed) of Gilmore Girls.

Lorelei and Lorelei have average speaking speed of ~145wpm.
Liza Weil thinks that's pretty slow.

It's easy to categorize the latter type of shows into something you can dismiss because they're so pop-culture lite, but according to Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You, these kinds of shows encourage us to think on our feet and develop faster cognitive skills.

So it's no wonder that I was enthralled by summer 2008 new-comer "The Middleman", which was originally based off of a comic book of the same name. Writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach created a witty fast-paced dialogue that draws on ennumerable areas of pop-culture. Not to mention that all the main characters are hot.

Sexy AND Smart: Natalie Morales and Matt Keeslar
are here to protect you from amazonian fish-eating zombies.

According to all the current news sources for the undeniably dorky, "The Middleman" is not currently on track to be released to DVD. And ABC Family which hosted the original run of the show has neglected to put up whole episodes for viewing. So there is currently no legal recourse for those who want to access this show and see what I'm talking about. However, I will certainly be offering up the contents of my wallet for anything else Grillo-Marxuach produces (as evidenced by my gleeful joy when I ordered a copy of the comic off of Amazon.com).

If you have a chance to see any episodes of Middleman, jump on the opportunity. I promise that it's worth it.

Cult Classics

2008-12-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

Even though I felt traumatized by Rocky Horror Picture Show from an early age, I've always been drawn towards what society calls "Cult Classics". I remember wandering around video stores to the Cult section and wondering if there was something implicit in making a cult movie. Did you watch a film the first time around and just know? I've seen my share of cult hits, and I know they can range from irrevocably awful (Tank Girl) to bizarrely quirky (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) to just plain awesome (Office Space).

Wikipedia claims that a "Cult Classic" is a film that develops a strong, obsessive following after an initial failed release, and I'm sure that quotability must be one of those facets which yields obsession. But there must be more than this, or the entire James Bond series would be considered cult films. And it can't be based solely on the inital flop, because some things I consider cult films simply didn't do all that poorly to begin with.

Mostly, I'm thinking of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog which has three episodes totaling 45 minutes in length when strung together. Originally released directly to web, it has just made its first appearance on the DVD and BlueRay shelves, and when I saw that, I snagged a copy, ASAP.

The Dr. Horrible cast wants you to know that
writers' strikes can't be held accountable for poor media.
Got a strike? Go out and write it yourself.

When I first watched this online, I knew, INSTANTLY that DHSAB was going to be a cult classic. People would simply be unable to ignore the draw of Dr. Horrible's fantastic music and witty dialogue. Dr. Horrible is expertly played by Neil Patrick Harris, who was completely able to translate Billy's quiet, bumbling, unhappiness to the screen. This is certainly a film where the viewer is intended to firmly side with the 'villain'. Biggest complaint, as worded by my mother: "Wait, that's it?? Where's the rest of it?" (which, frankly, is how I felt about RHPS)

While it's true that DHSAB ends on a low note (not to mention somewhat out-of-the-blue), I don't feel it's unfair for the director Joss Whedon to ask his audience to stretch their minds a little bit and realize that DHSAB is a bit like life and you don't always get what you hoped for. And in this case, it's a good thing.

And anyway, the music is FANTASTIC. I have the soundtrack in my car and I listen to it pretty much constantly.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog can be viewed online for free at Hulu. Just follow the link. (NOTE: You must have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player to view the video)

Misti's Link of the Month - Yelp.com

2008-12-06T18:14:00.000-05:00

I know it's been quite some time since I posted last, and now you're getting just a glimmer of a post, but it's worth it, I promise!

My job has me traveling all over the state, and that means that every few weeks or so, I'm thrown into a new location and I have to start all over again, learning where to eat, where to shop, the best libraries, et. al. Yelp.com is a handy tool which has allowed me to learn my surroundings with a much greater ease. Yelp provides user-written reviews to give a sense of place for each reviewed location. You don't even have to join in order to search through your local area.

It's even fun to write reviews for all the place you've eaten, and I know that I, personally, have been sucked into the yelp bubble. It seems like it's a very popular site for west-coasters, but the east coast is starting to catch up and is this is a tremendous resource for people in big cities like SF or NYC who are looking for a great dinner on the fly. Yelp includes information on formality, price range, kid-friendliness, parking... all the things you really need to know.

Visit Yelp.com and find all the places you've been missing!

My own Unwanted Guests

2008-10-17T21:30:00.001-04:00

As you can see, I'm not dead. I AM however, extremely sad that my PhotoShop hasn't resurrected itself. It's been months since I made a comic, but I drew this one today. You'll be disgusted to know that this shoddy workmanship is all I can cobble together using a strange combination of MS Paint, Powerpoint, and ComicLife. I also frittered away $1.80 utilizing the scanner at Fedex-Kinko's to bring this to you, so I hope you guys enjoy it! You'd better!

Obsession Confession: Project Runway

2008-07-24T01:16:00.000-04:00

I admit, when it comes to TV shows, I'm not easily hooked. I will often start watching a show at the beginning of a season thinking 'this is great!' and then easily slip away from it and retain not even the barest hint of interest. However, from the moment I first heard of Project Runway, I was stolen away into a world of 24-hour couture dresses, and bizarre personalities.

After tonight's episode with the winner being the self-aggrandizing, self-referential Suede, and poor Kenley sadly taking 2nd place, I got myself ready for bed and was wafted off into a crazy dream-world. Although I've agreed that many of the past challenges have been interesting or fun (except for season 4. WTF, Bravo?), I think Bravo, (soon Lifetime) needs to make bank on my newest idea. Basic scripting concept:

The designers are gathered on the edge of the runway, silently awaiting word from Heidi about the next challenge. Heidi appears on the runway in yet another scant cocktail dress that makes her breasts look fabulous. Also, her legs. Sighs are heard from the female designers. And also from the male designers who wish they had her legs.

Heidi welcomes the designers to the Runway and inquires teasingly if they are ready for their next challenge. There's some muttering in response, a couple of roaring 'Yes!' s and a few designers who merely jump up and down. Heidi continues with her spiel.

"Alright designers, now that we're on the third challenge in and you've gotten to know the models, we're getting rid of them. We're so much more lenient this time than last season, when we got rid of your models for the second episode. Better, ja? Anyway, you're due for an interesting time ahead, would you like to meet your models?"

The designers give a half-hearted agreement. The lights on the runway turn on and a series of teenage girls of various sizes saunter into the room. There seem to be a lot of glasses and frizzy hair going on. This could be a horrible reenactment of Season 4's prom challenge. They're partway right.

Heidi announces, "Designers, these are to be your models for this challenge. We found these interesting characters at the Javitz Center across the city. Each of these girls was found at a various convention and is a Cosplayer; a person who dresses up as other characters from popular media. They all have a favorite genre or interest and it will be your job to dress them for their senior proms according to their themes! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

The designers groan. Cut to solo interview of generic bad-ass designer. "I hope one of them likes leather. I don't work with anything other than leather."

Cut to solo interview of sweet, naive designer, "I'm really confused."

Cut to solo interview of brash, egotistical designer, "Oh man, I already know what I'm going to do. There's going to be this huge collar, like Fwoosh! and the color is going to be a-maze-ing. There's no way I'm going to lose this one."

Heidi speaks again (in case you forgot she was there), "So now the girls are going to tell you their styles. Let's start at that end, shall we? Connie?"

Connie is a short, slightly chubby Asian girl with chin length hair. "I love Aliens. Not cute ones. Scary ones."

Cut to designer who lives in fear, "oh my god. We're doomed."

The next girl steps forward, "I'm Marie. I'm a furry. Rawr." Marie claws the air with one hand full of pointed nails.

Girl #3 waves, "I'm Lilliane. I'm all about steampunk."

Cut to interview with sweet, naive designer #2, "I've never heard of any of these things. I'm so confused!"

Heidi motions to the fourth girl on the runway. She's tiny. "I'm Alexis and I am into Gothic Lolita." She curtsies. Some of the designers look as if they're about to throw up.

The fifth girl is tall and black with gorgeous skin. "I'm Danni. I love going to Ren Faires. I guess you could say my style is very medieval."

Cut to interview with sweet, naive designer #3, "Oh gosh, I want Danni for real. I mean, not only do I actually know what her genre is, but it's so easy to imagine a Renaissance style dress for a prom. I could totally do that!"

The sixth person on the runway has long hair but it's suddenly apparent due to his voice that he is, in fact, male. "Will. I cross-dress/dress in drag. The real challenge here is to incorporate my favorite film, Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Cut to flamboyantly gay designer, "Oh dear god. Where the heck do they find these people? I mean, Rocky Horror was like, this amazing movie, but you want a prom dress out of that??? Are you freakin' kidding me?"

Model #7 steps forward. "My name is Geena, and I always dress as a magical girl. My dress has gotta have a transformation sequence." The designers look aghast. Some roll their eyes.

The eighth model is muscular and athletic. She could probably soundly beat the designers into submission. "I'm Wendy. I'm into superheroes and comic books. If it's out there in ink, I've probably read at least one issue of it."

The last girl has long bangs that fall into her eyes and block half her face. She smiles eerily. She rocks back and forth from her heels to the balls of her feet. "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn..."

The designers look at each other in total confusion. Heidi looks proud of herself. "So now you all have to choose the model you'll work with. Afterwards, you'll have 30 minutes to talk to your model and then you'll all have a budget of $150 dollars with which to buy fabrics and other assorted items at Mood. However, we also have a fun new game. Here's the button bag. It's full of buttons! Oh, and the buttons have your names on them. Now, we're going to pick a button, and the person whose button comes out first gets to not only pick their model first, but they also only get to have $75. Woohoo! Messing with your brains is fun! Let's go!"

So here's the question, readers. If you were a designer on Project Runway, and you were faced with those choices, which would you choose, and what would you do with it? I've already had a lot of ideas about all of them and I think this would be an intriguing challenge (though I wouldn't appreciate getting half-budget. That would suck. But I think Heidi really would be that mean if meant higher ratings). So what would you do?

Upcoming Films: Prince of Persia

2008-06-30T18:36:00.000-04:00

Ay, Me! It's been a whole month and it's just flown by. Life's been pretty busy and I've moved out to Sacramento for my job, for a little bit. Getting an internet connection has been a trial in and of itself, but relax, dear readers! Here I sit, able to communicate once again!

Recently, I was scrolling through an Upcoming Disney Films webpage (as I am often wont to do), and found ... "Oh my gosh, they're making a Prince of Persia movie!!! With Day After Tomorrow hottie Jake Gyllenhall as the prince!" To say that I'm intrigued and excited is a bit of an understatement.

So we'll add that to the list of awesome movies I simply MUST see. Everyone knows that summer is a great time for all the action block busters, and this summer has been no exception.

Indiana Jones was great, and having just seen Pixar's WALL-E, and priming myself to see Will Smith in Hancock, and yet another Benicio Del Toro take on Hell Boy, well, I have to say, this summer has not let me down. But it's of course never to soon to start prepping for next year and the list of upcoming films is a joy. Along with PoP, Disney is also working on it's first 2D film since 2004, The Princess and the Frog with a nicely rounded ethnically diverse cast. I miss the good old days of 2D Disney, so I'll be looking forward to that one. In the meantime, I'll have to wait for the next round of exciting releases.

misti's link of the month: Mars Rover Twitter

2008-06-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

With the increased social networking available these days through mobile phones, the most surprising thing is that we're not using it more. Studies have found that teen and college-aged kids in Japan and Finland use their mobile phones almost as an extension of themselves. Here in the US, we're just beginning to delve into the creation of products that utilize our phones as a remote control to the world, but Twitter is a start.

What better way to learn more about NASA and the mission of the Mars Rover than to subscribe to the Rover's Twitter feed and read about it contemplating drilling and ice pockets?

http://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix
It's geeky x2!

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-28T21:02:00.000-04:00

I regret, dear readers, that I in fact have little at all to say about this movie. It was assuredly as epic as one could hope from an Indiana Jones movie (at least in terms of fight scenes), but the film was precariously lite fare when it came to actual fact and legend. I've always found that the premise of Indiana Jones movies were appealing because they were based on legends and facts that people already knew about. There was a sense of mystery, of solving a case along with the Jones' which made the discovery of some ancient artifact so enthralling.

This movie poster suffers from a case of the RANDOM.
A little less Shia LaBoeuf, a little more Harrison Ford naked, please.
This is not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

I have my doubts that anyone would consider a giant magnetic crystal skull to be part of anyone's local mythology. I won't spoil the plot for you, but there's alternate dimensions involved. I think alternate dimensions are better left for Star Trek plots to grapple with than dear Dr. Jones.

I present to you now, a list of ridiculous things some of which may be included in this movie. See if you can pick out which are actually plot points, and which are not in the movie at all. Then go see for yourself. Because a strange movie is best shared with friends afterall.

What the hell is all THAT doing in my movie?!
Jeez, do I at least get to make out with a hottie??
She's 50?!? What did I ever do to you, Mr. Lucas? Go throw yourself to the ants.

Do try to determine which of these are ACTUALLY IN IJatKotCS (that is one messed up title):

Man-eating ants, capoeira, improbably-hidden Mayans, book-learning, motorcycles, submarines, the invention of the computer, annoying prodigies, the KGB, Psychics, Psychos, magnetic gunpowder, interdimensional portals, combinatorics, death-waterfalls, crazy old men, crazy old women, color-coded sea anemones, swarms of killer bees, Bea Arthur being killed, non-quick sand/lightning sand?, a Sicilian when death is on the line, public humiliation of the educational system, Roswell, Yale, Maui, poetry no one's ever heard of, ponchos, fencing, tarzan-like tree-swinging, monkey connections, atomic bombs, Harrison Ford . . . nekkid, fierce enjoyment of sexual relations with a woman.

(Note: I'll give you a sad truth here which partially answers the above question. The truth of the matter is that the film does not imply any sort of current sexual relation between Indy and any other character. I suppose in his old age, Indy just stopped gettin' it on.)

You Go Girl! Lauren Wolfe

2008-05-14T21:08:00.000-04:00

I was pleased to read in my alumnae newsletter from my alma mater that the woman who was my 'big sib' in college is now one of Michigan's 28 superdelegates. And at 25, she's one of the youngest in the country.

While in college, she made a name for herself, heading up the Democrats club (with a campus membership of over 500 students), and becoming more and more involved in the politics of both our college town's community and that of her hometown. Once she graduated from college, she became a strong voice for the democratic party and a leader for students throughout the nation. In 2005, she was elected the president of College Democrats of Massachusetts. Now, she holds a position as the president of College Democrats of America.

AND she's studying law. AND she has a blog with the Huffington Post which allows her to air her views.

Congratulations, Lauren Wolfe! You've worked hard and you earned it! For Lauren's take on politics and the current presidential candidates check out her blog at The Huffington Post

Tetris for Winners

2008-05-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of friends who LOVE Tetris. And even "love" is not quite expressive enough for how much they adore the game. As a member of the generation who were in their prime shape-identification years when Tetris came out (I still refer to certain phone numbers on keypad phones as tetris shapes), I have a certain love-affair with the game myself. I even made myself a rarely-seen Tetris choker out of shrinky-dinks (a post on shrinky-dink jewelry sometime in the future).

And who isn't always up for a great arm-wrestle? So when I saw this video on Youtube about arm-wrestling controlled Tetris, I thought this was just about the best thing ever.

Sweet!

5 Scientific Reasons Why the Zombie Apocolypse Could Actually Happen.

2008-05-03T15:55:00.000-04:00

This link helpfully gleaned from my friend E. Please read the link before continuing onward in this post.

5 Reasons on 5 consecutive pages.

I have some arguments concerning these. Particularly number five which suggests that toxoplasmosa would turn us into zombies. It only makes rats into 'zombies' because the organism is trying to get into a cat. What would be eating us that the toxoplasmosa would want to be inside?

And the article has a whole bunch of this "...Yet." stuff in it.

Also, because it's apparently innevitable, you'll want to send a card to all your loved ones before they turn and you can't say you care anymore.
If you were a zombie...

Iron Man, Redux!

2008-05-02T02:13:00.000-04:00

So I saw the 8pm west coast release of Iron Man, and I have little to say except, "GO SEE IT, NOW" and "MAKE SURE YOU SEE IT IN A THEATER WITH FANTASTIC SOUND!" That's really about all there is to it. Robert Downey Jr. was even better than I'd expected, the villains were truly villainous, and it's just a great plot that although it's fairly obvious, does not fail to deliver in clever puns, visual fireworks, and subtle humor. The cast does a tremendous job keeping their performances grounded in reality.

One thing though. Rhodes? Is he in the army AND the airforce AND the special forces AND the marines? Throughout the movie, he's constantly changing uniforms, and he's apparently superior to EVERY other officer. Where did he find the time?

Five stars for this one folks. Go see it, ASAP.

Misti's Link of the Month: GoodReads.com

2008-05-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

One of my coworkers today introduced me to the site GoodReads.com which I've found to be a great site to share and learn about new books that you find interesting. With my voraciousness of the written word greatly increasing weekly, this site has become an unexpected boon for my dwindling list of interesting reads.

In addition to reviewing and keeping track of your current obsession, you can also keep a running tally of all the great books you want to read in the future, see what your friends are up to (you can even link up via facebook), and recommend books to others.

You can add me as a friend there and learn more about what I'm reading, my profile is www.goodreads.com/profile/misti

Don't leave me now!

2008-04-27T20:15:00.000-04:00

The Christmas before I commenced that fabulous 4-year journey to college, my parents did what thousands of parents do for their education-bound children every year. They bought me my first computer. It was a laptop; a Dell Latitude D600 and it was the first computer that was my very own, that I didn't have to share with anybody. It came with a wireless card, and a full suite of Microsoft Office programs, and really, not too much else, save a few music-playing programs. The computer was to be my constant companion through college and beyond. I don't think I realized until very recently how much I have come to rely on my computer for the many aspects of my life.

Aside from my own acute internet addiction, I installed games and Photoshop, Flash and Javascript, Firefox and an interminable parade of various design programs. I downloaded music. I designed posters. I chatted with friends.

My computer was only really a problem in one way - it seemed to HATE peripherals or anything that might become attached to itself by wire. Not too soon after I received my computer in December of 2002, my computer earned itself the name of The iPod Assassin, brutally freezing 4 iPods within minutes of linking up to them, and slowly poisoning the 5th over the course of a year, 'til the poor thing wouldn't hold a battery charge longer than 10 seconds. All this within 3 months of my gleeful unwrapping of my new computer confidant. There were other incidents too, more about those later.

In a way, I invested so much of my love and personna into my comptuer, that it became a part of me, even despite its ocassional angry whirring and amidst it's uppity denials.

But today, it finally happened. The iPod Assassin, my worthy adversary, workspace, and noble trickster of a computer has completely given up on life.

Yesterday he was fine. Today, attempts to restart left only an insidious black screen which claimed that the original set-up file was corrupt and that I needed to install the "original CD-Rom". Dells haven't come with a CD-Rom for yeeeears. Having already transferred all my music to my mac, I'm not too terribly concerned about my media files, but I AM fairly worried about my Adobe Photoshop and CS1 which I only have installed on the PC.

A new copy for my mac will run me about $999. Money I'm not prepared to spend. Also, my Mac has NO internet connection to speak of when I'm at home, which means I'm writing personal thoughts utilizing my work computer. It's bad form. Plus, my work laptop (eerily, the same model as the Assassin) has no AIM to speak of, no firefox and only an old (old, old, old) version of internet explorer. And I'm not allowed to install new programs on it.

Part of me worries that The Assassin somehow knew I'd brought a computer home of the same exact model and decided in its crotchety old way to make me pay for my indecent two-facedness. By finally committing the greatest of all computer sins, suicide.

Be warned: this computer looks normal enough. But actually, it's quite evil.
It has a propensity to overheat to the temperature of a hell-mouth, and attempts to restart
lead to a sad, half-hearted series of whirrs and clicks. Also, it will eat your soul.

I'd always frowned and then laughed it off when it sent it's electronic brethren into the deep electronics void. Killing off iPods left and right; annhialating digital cameras and printers with wild abandon; dooming yet another USB hub to the garbage (3, so far), and growing crankier and crankier in its old age. It even incapacitated the USB-powered lavalamp Techkat gave me for my 20th birthday.

The Assassin is fully 6 years old now, practically ancient for a computer, and I probably should have realized that it was getting on in years, but still, I'd hoped we'd have a bit more time together than this! I'll be bringing him to a friend who's a computer expert tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to get him back on his feet. What will I do without him? Is it time to start my search for a new Windows-based laptop? What a terrifying thought.

Upcoming Film: Iron Man

2008-04-25T22:47:00.001-04:00

Iron Man enjoys lurking, long flights to the beach,
and staring menacingly through to your soul

Having already seen Forbidden Kingdom, it's time to look ahead and see what else is out there. With much trumpeting and fanfare, Marvel announced it's live action attraction of Iron Man, the story of wealthy billionaire Tony Stark as he develops a technological army-of-one and eventually decides to utilize that power for good.

I haven't really read any of the Iron Man comics, but I've always been a fan of Marvel and their movies so far have all been nothing short of stunning and all have been stuffed with fabulous plot. And frankly, if anyone can play Tony Stark's willfully destructive and highly alcoholic personality, it would be Robert Downey Jr. And, lucky us, that's exactly who's playing him.

I really have nothing else to add here, except that I'm excited to see how they handle some of the physics of having a suit made of metal. Comic-book explanation only does so much, and it's much more impressive to see something of that sort of mass on the move.

With Iron Man coming out on May 2nd, I desperately want to see it on opening night with my friends, but my work schedule doesn't really allow that (getting up at 4am does not interact well with midnight showings... ouch). So I won't be seeing Iron Man opening day, but perhaps on the following Sunday. If you get a chance to see it before I post my reactions, why not leave a comment here and let me know what you thought!

Misti's Link of the Month: Consumerist

2008-04-23T23:23:00.000-04:00

I've decided that from now on, in addition to the normal links we'll offer on the side bar, Techkat and I will each have the option of choosing a "link of the month" which will allow our readers to see some of the websites we spend a lot of time viewing.

Even though we're almost done with April, my own link for April 2008 is Consumerist.com, a wonderful site devoted to being a crafty, thrifty, and well-informed consumer. Along with all the usual stories of how to avoid getting ripped off, check out their extensive Flickr pool, and great tips and suggestions on how to save yourself a hefty bundle.

And who doesn't like having more money for themselves???

April's Reading List and a love note to the library

2008-04-23T19:55:00.000-04:00

April's been a great month for reading, what with my starting to take public transportation to work and the ample free time I have on my Mondays and Tuesdays off. I figured that in addition to my other geeky pursuits, I could share with you a list of what I've been reading and what I plan to read in upcoming months (which will be covered in my next post... I don't want to overwhelm you).

I have already created a "request" list at the Berkeley Public Library (note to self: get Oakland membership! You don't live in Berkeley anymore!) of all the books I saw at Barnes and Noble that enthralled me in one way or another. The best part of a library is that it's free (mostly. My taxes go there) and they're willing to provide nifty services like creating a waiting list for popular books and holding onto those you want until you get there.

A love note to the library:
Dear Library,

I know it's been a while since I visited you. When last I went, I took full advantage of your freeinternet (which I didn't have available at home because I'd just moved to California) and cheap printing and copying. You have an awesome selection of foreign films and world musiccds. Although your selection of science fiction books is lacking, you make up for it with enthusiasm. All my love,
Misti

Ok, also, get a look at the adorable branch library near me! It's a cottage. Sandwiched between 2 other cottages. It's tiny!

Reading List!

Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs
An urban werewolf/vampire fantasy. The third in a series. I read it without putting it down and it was amazing. The book only gets better after you've met Ms. Briggs whose sweetness is tempered by an absolute excitement for everything she writes. Exciting and a good story!

Teach with Your Heart - Erin Gruwell
A memoir and dissection of the formative years of the Freedom Writers program started by Erin Gruwell. In many ways it's wonderful and heartbreaking and moving. It's also very disturbing to enter the lives of these inner city kids who have never heard of the holocaust but are living in their own sort of war-zone every day.

Everything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson
An essay (or maybe a thesis) on the expanding nature of pop culture and an interesting hypothesis of how Pop Culture is becoming increasingly complex and forcing us to think more; not less as so many critics have suggested. The book has some good arguments but some points seem to have weak support and portions seem more like a truncated college thesis.

The Kids are Alright: How the Gamer Generation is Changing the Workplace - John Beck & Mitchell Wade
Pretty much as described by the title, this book attempts to discern the way the gamer generation will interact with their peers and bosses when they enter the work-place. The authors use actual studies to back up their assertions. This book also has a keen window into the potential benefits of playing games. At least I don't feel as much that I'm wasting my time when I play games!

Intern: A Doctor's Initiation - Sandeep Jauhar
My work at the hospital has increased my interest in how doctors think and what sort of experiences change the way they view thier profession. In that vein, this book was the perfect descriptor of the formative years of a doctor as Sandeep Jauhar recounts his long and winding journey towards becoming a cardiologist. The book presents a lot of interesting anecdotes but also ends a bit too quickly for my taste.

Forbidden Kingdom, Redux!

2008-04-21T22:59:00.001-04:00

So several things. I know it's been a bit of a while since I updated last. My main issue is that my job at the hospital, while not particularly exciting or helpful, is extremely exhausting and I often find myself collapsing into bed upon my arrival at home. With my energy so low, it's difficult to induce myself to get anything done at all!

But hey there, I have managed to enjoy myself a little. Today I headed out to see "Forbidden Kingdom" which I had earlier been raving about going to see. I can recommend it to you all now. Although there are some plot holes, it doesn't stop the movie from being enjoyable and Jackie Chan is downright lovable. The main character, played by Michael Angarano is uh... well, he's a hottie.

There. I've said it. I always loved him in Will&Grace as Jack's son, and he's definitely grown up. Although according to his profile on IMDB he's 20, he plays a fairly believable highschool student overwhelmed by a sudden bout of destiny.

(Quick note here: his profile places him in some of my favorite shows and movies, including Will&Grace, The Pretender, Sky High, Almost Famous... There's a training montage in Forbidden Kingdom where he's shirtless. It's awesome. My attempts to recreate the event for you all by scouring the internet have failed, however, and you're either just going to have to see the movie or use your imagination to get the full effect.)

The movie also nicely features a solid jibe at the disconnect between staged martial arts movies of the 60s and 70s and the actual process of learning the martial arts. Though, it's still highly romanticized here.

Really, there's a lot to recommend here, even though the plot is not particularly sophisticated. Here's a thought though; Jet Li has the dorkiest laugh ever, and I don't think anyone's ever really seen Jet Li laugh until this movie.

Go because: Jet Li laughing, Jackie Chan drunk, Michael Angarano shirtless, hair whips, pretty pretty special effects, gang retribution, sweeping landscapes.

Avoid if: You hate monkeys, you dislike montages, martial arts aren't your thing, you dislike the concept of someone getting their throat cut with their own sword.

Reupholstering chairs 101

2008-03-31T23:56:00.000-04:00

Today I managed to teach myself to reupholster chairs! My mother and I had these really horribly ugly metal chairs from our old house with vinyl seats.

Well, I guess it could be worse, but it's still a darn ugly chair.

Mom and I picked up some gorgeous fabric in a black and red batik from a local fabric store which carries some beautiful patterns. The real trouble was finding a fabric thick enough to be up to the challenge of accepting our bodacious bottoms for years to come. The truth was, we didn't go to a decorators' fabric store. The fabric we finally chose was just a regular old cotton, but we discovered we could make it thicker by ironing black Pellon backing onto one side of it.

I prepped the chair by unscrewing the cushion from the frame, and getting all my tools ready.

Tools!: Thick fabric, fabric scissors, screwdriver, pliers, and a staple gun.
And a healthy sense of respect for the kind of damage a staple gun can do to your fingers.

I laid the cushion upside down on my fabric, and trimmed the fabric around the cushion so that when I stapled the fabric on, it wouldn't overlap the screw holes to reattach the cushion. Then I started stapling, starting with the straight edge, then working my way out to the sides towards the back.

My first use of the staplegun. It takes more stregnth that it would seem.
More imporantly, You can kill someone by stapling them in the throat.

Using the staple gun took some practice, as I'd never used one before and I did the whole project on my own so I didn't really have any instruction. It's good to note that poorly applied staples can be removed by using your screwdriver as a lever, and using a pair of pliers to yank the offender out. The rest of the fabric should be stapled to the cushion, trying to keep the pleats that come from rounded edges symmetrical. And mostly towards the back where they'll be hidden by the slats of the chair.

The finished cushion from both sides. Much nicer than that hideous blue vinyl,
Amirite?

The last step was to reattach the cushion to the metal frame. Which was actually harder than it sounds, since the screws have a tendency to not want to go in straight. If you ever do a similar project, I highly recommend trying to put in all the screws just a little bit at a time and tightening them all by hitting them all in order. Ultimately, this is a much better plan of attack than my original attempt of trying to screw in one whole screw at a time.

This fabric looks so much better on the chair than it did on the floor.
And the chair looks so much better than it did in blue vinyl. No lie.

So, there you have it! Reupholstering chairs in awesome! Sorry this wasn't more entertaining... it's late and I've been doing my taxes!

Upcoming Film: Forbidden Kingdom

2008-03-27T15:42:00.000-04:00

I'd like to do a a little post on movies now and then. Close friends of mine know that movies have always enthralled me and i love seeing the newest releases on the big screen and often plan out part of my budget to allow for me to bring them home when they come out on DVD (not so much, now that I don't have a working DVD player of my own -- my PS2 has been acting up lately).

My father has always been a movie junkie, particularly old-school sci-fi and adventure flicks and we spent many a Saturday morning and afternoon watching MST3K and StarWars movies, or Star Trek or Indiana Jones. We love an epic adventure story. We love good vs. evil. And even more, we LOVE a great movie we can watch over and over again and never get bored.

While it's certainly true that many many stories have been retold in movies (sometimes several times over -- think of all the variations available on Peter Pan!), a truly classic tale can be exciting nevermind that you've heard it a billion times before. Which is why I was so incredibly excited the first time I saw this:

Oh Jackie Chan. How I love you so.
Is there anything you can't do?

While I knew nothing of the movie when I first saw the poster, I was immediately reminded of the classic tale of Journey to the West. So I guess it was pretty fitting, since a search of Moviefone pretty much concluded that that was exactly the case.

Journey to the West has inspired a lot of other media. Well, it's an old story, older than Shakespeare, and as prevalent to the asian culture and media as the bible is to Christian cultures. The basics of the plot are that the monkey king is journeying west and destroys demons and rids the land of evil, meeting fellow travelers along the way and becoming enlightened.

Two different animated versions of Journey to the West.
Saiyuki likes to pretend it's not about man-love,
and DBZ likes to pretend that it has a real, honest-to-goodness plot. Pffft.

So really, it wasn't terribly surprising that I positively choked on my tongue when I saw there was a version of JttW coming out with Jackie Chan as a main character. AND Jet Li. For real. Here, feast on this tasty morsel of a trailer!

You can find out more about Journey to the West at the Wikipedia page. To see more about the Forbidden Kingdom movie, go to the Moviefone Page

Girls, Technology, and Confidence

2008-03-26T13:12:00.000-04:00

As most people are aware, the female presence in technology is very, very minor. This is a result of far too many causes to discuss in a single post, but you'll probably be seeing a number of posts from me about this issue. These posts will likely be based largely on girls in the technology classroom, as well as how classroom experiences translate into the world beyond school. For the moment, a few recent experiences in my classroom have me contemplating confidence and self-esteem as one of the issues girls face in the technology classroom.

It would be great to get more girls starting out in technology. But at the same time, it's just as important to avoid losing the girls we've already got. In watching my students, I've been noticing that one of the things hurting my female students is that they don't have the confidence their male classmates have. One of the most striking differences I've noticed is how the students react to their own mistakes.

My boys tend to go right ahead and get started on an assignment, even if they don't actually know what they're doing. This tends to result in frequent (and significant) mistakes. I'll catch their errors and point them out, and the boys will say "Oh. Well, it's not that bad. I've got the idea, anyway." They know that they're talented and smart, whether or not they really are.

The few girls I have are usually more cautious when they get started. If they make an error, it tends to be a much smaller one than the boys make. Yet when I tell them they've got a minor mistake on their drawing, they don't say "Well, it's not that bad." The girls' responses are along the lines of "I'm really bad at this, aren't I?" or "I'm not very smart." They turn a minor error into a sign of a major personal flaw.

Unfortunately, my students aren't looking at this difference from the outside. The girls I teach see all their male classmates proclaiming their own awesomeness. Then they see themselves and each other saying "I'm not smart. I can't do this." They don't realize that the boys don't judge themselves in the same manner as the girls, so they take the confidence they see in the boys as a sign that the boys know what they're doing.

Not a single one of the girls I teach is incompetent, and most are quite good, but they're all overly hard on themselves. They don't have the confidence to say "Yes, I made a mistake. But I can fix it. And next time, I won't make that mistake." Instead, they tell themselves "I screwed up. I'm not good enough. I shouldn't be here." And if I can't convince them otherwise, they might not be here with me next year. They'll be with another teacher, taking a class they see as being more appropriate for a girl.

This doesn't apply only to my classes, or even just to technology. Girls in math and science are in a similar situation. Geeky girls tend to have some typically male interests, and we end up being compared to guys. We need the confidence to know that making a mistake doesn't make us inferior to them. Half the time, they're making the same mistakes, just not admitting to it. I can certainly understand the doubts my female students feel, having gone through the same thing all the way through college.

I was frequently the only girl in my classes, and even in college, the same issues of confidence applied. I was afraid to take risks for fear of messing up, and I was afraid to accept that I was a girl, because I felt like it made me inferior to my classmates. I did eventually learn to be comfortable with the idea that yes, I am different from the guys, but there's nothing wrong with that. And yes, they are better than me at some things.

I'm still not very comfortable with a table saw, and I never got the hang of soldering with a torch. Still, I have talents they don't have. Hand most of them an old SLR, and they won't even know how to focus it, let alone put together a good photo with it. Different interests. Different talents. This doesn't make me superior or inferior. Just different. It took me a long time to accept that, though, and I had to work through a lot of doubts about myself.

For a long time, I felt like I needed to be just like the guys in order to be good enough. I wish I could make the girls I teach understand that their best really is good enough.For now, I'm trying to figure out what to do to help the girls in my classes build up some confidence for themselves.

One of my girls has seemed like an entirely different person since the day she did something that got me thinking about this topic. One day, I walked over to see what she was doing, and she gave me a sad look and asked me "How did I mess up this time?" When I was able to tell her that she was doing the work perfectly, the change in her expression was amazing. I'd never seen her look so happy in my room before.

Later that day, when she finished the work before any of her classmates - and did a better job than almost anybody else in her class - she stared at me in disbelief when I told her how well she had done.

Ever since then, she's been an entirely different person in my room. She still makes mistakes, but she knows she's not stupid, and that she can do what I'm asking her to do. She's got the confidence I wish all the girls in my classes had. I want to find a way to give all my students, and especially the girls, that feeling of confidence.

Tech Support Follies

2008-03-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

I wish I could say that this hadn't really happened at work, but unfortunately, it sort of has. Several times. Click the comic below to see full-size.

As anyone who has ever tried to call a help-support desk can tell you, sometimes it's easier to just walk away and pretend there isn't a problem after all. Unfortnunately, I think the help-support phone people use this tactic too.

Comic is drawn with WACOM tablet and Photoshop CS1

A Short-lived Endeavor

2008-03-16T04:08:00.000-04:00

Rosie knows all about women in technology positions.
She probably had to put up with this crap too.

The word of the day, according to Dictionary.com, is "sojourn", meaning a temporary stay or residency. I find this word to be particularly ideal for this day.

Today is the day I'm definitely certain (for real, for real) that my current job is not for me. Like Techkat, and millions of other folks our age, I work with computers for a living. More specifically, I work in hospitals, teaching nurses to use the new programs required for them to do their jobs. My own (however temporary) sojourn has already been a lengthy 4 months in the works, and my contract to stay 6 months ends in a seemingly paltry 6 weeks. Oh, I'm so ready.

I'm fascinated by the concept of learning. I love teaching others to love technology. But at a hospital where many of the nurses are well over 50 years old, many of them immigrants, this is as big a chore as any. It's one thing to teach a new program to people who've used computers before, but it's another thing entirely to have to take such baby steps as teaching someone to double-click, to use Xes to close windows, to right click a particular location. Not that I mind that so much.

Really, the factor that makes my stay at this particular company so unbearable is the way people in my position are treated. We're not nurses, so we're not union. Our schedule is changed on a near-daily basis. We are made to sign and re-sign contracts. We are yelled at for the most mundane of things like sitting ("You're taking a chair away from a nurse!"), checking the news ("Unprofessional behavior"), reading ("pay closer attention to the users!"). These things would all make a lot more sense, if we actually had anything to do in the first place.

The real problem is that our stint at any given location is about 8 weeks longer than we're really needed. We're left with 4 weeks before the nurses use the program -- when they don't want to learn -- and 4 weeks after they've mastered it and don't ask any more questions. Those two busy weeks in between, it's perfectly plausible for a person in our occupation to go an entire 8 hour shift without sitting, without using a computer on our own, without going bored/crazy out of our minds. But in those calm periods? Oh, it's just asking for trouble.

Today, I actually got in trouble for talking to a nurse. I wish I was joking. Although my time at this particular hospital is nearly over, I WILL miss the nurses I've worked with. It's interesting to find a profession that requires delicacy, knowledge, know-how and strength so completely dominated by females.

In the technology sector, women are a rare sight indeed. On my own shift, in my department, there are only two women (myself included) and at least eight men. And true to patterns that have proven themselves my whole life, I constantly struggle to keep users' attentions when the men are around. As the louder, and generally more aggressive gender, they easily talk over me, take my space and redirect other people's comments. While I'm not particularly interested in their ploys for power, I DO want to be taken seriously, and for that, I think it is at times necessary for a woman to summon up the courage to act like a man.

While I won't be looking at sporty cars any time soon, or peeing standing up, I DO aggressively approach problems I face at work. I tell people when I have an issue instead of trying to hide it like I normally would. I try to fix problems that we're not expected to fix (hardware issues are perfectly within my realm of capability, but rarely attempted by my coworkers). Best efforts aside, I know that I shouldn't have to do all this. It's not only exhausting, it's demeaning!

I have two X chromosomes, and I like it that way!

Rearranging our hours, constantly rechecking our schedule, getting in trouble for the most mundane of things . . . it's painful. And I have to wonder, are all tech jobs this way? Or just this one?

Welcome to Techkat

2008-03-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

It seems only too perfect that today should be pi day, as I'm happy to welcome my dear friend, Techkat, as one of the authors on this blog.

We met in high school and her geekery knew no limits even back then. Today she continues the tradition of helping girls find their inner geek as a computer and tech teacher in a high school near where we grew up.

Her posts will mostly be about her teaching experiences and hardships women face in the technology sector, and (I don't doubt) a fair bit of book review about some of her favorite authors.

Hi, Techkat! And welcome to GirlGeekery!

Reconnection by correspondence

2008-03-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

Although I've never much been in the habit of letter-writing, I do find the whole endeavor to be particularly fun and amusing when I've got something adorable to send my letters in. Since I was in high school, I've been of the opinion that home-made envelopes really give your communications a nice punch that will make the folks receiving them impressed and pleased that they got something that required so much effort.

Recently, I wrote up a newsletter to send to my friends who haven't really heard from me since we graduated from college earlier this year. I'm generally very bad at staying in touch with people, but making beautiful envelopes for a newsletter provides the motivation I need to actually get my butt in gear.

The post office will send just about anything that has a stamp, assuming it's not too heavy, and I've discovered that a lot of magazine full page advertisements have interesting patterns and shapes and are the right size for some beautiful envelopes.

The process of making them is also not too difficult. Find an evelope of the right size, deconstruct it, trace it onto oaktag (aka, the ever popular manilla folder), and cut it out. This is your tracing stencil. Trace the stencil onto the back of the magazine page you want on the outside of your envelope (I usually use a sharpie because it'll be visible even on black advertisements). Fold in all the edges and glue 3 of them together. You can seal your envelope with more glue, or you can do what I do and try to find some nifty stickers that match the theme.

Your friends will appreciate all that hard work when they open their mailboxes and find not only a letter from you, but that you made their envelope as well!

Here are some examples of a few envelopes I've made:

New Beginnings and a statement of intent

2008-03-13T07:33:00.000-04:00

I think this new blog has started out on a critical note and leads me to wonder, "what makes a geek". More specifically, is a female geek all that different from her male counterparts? Can a geek be interested in objects and activities aside from those that include science fiction, fantasy, gaming or electronics? I think the answer here is yes. However, in the meantime, I've spent very nearly 4 hours trying to get the html coding on this blog just so, and I STILL can't seem to find the code for those hideous teal bars to replace them.

Perfectionism aside, I'd like to use this space to share with the world my passions and endeavors to learn more about the things that make me geek out. As a basic starting list, I love:
Long words, well-written plays, taking photos, shrinkydinks, sewing, baking, card-making, painting, water and anything that lives in it, video games, computers, sleeping, sci-fi/fantasy, manga, the color blue, shoes, the color purple, stickers, a capella music, and a large variety of other things.

Keep your eyes glued to this space to learn more about all these things and maybe dig a little deeper into ourselves to discover what it really means to geek out.