That Reena Girl

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01-05-12

Midweek Awesomeness: The Return

Silicon Valley Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling has a special message for the ladies of technology: he loves you. In the spirit of F*** Yeah Ryan Gosling, RG gives words of wisdom, encouragement and support for those of us dealing with TPS reports, web development and code, startups and funding, search, social media and anything else that goes on in good ol’ Silicon Valley. This is my happy place today. Here are some of my favorites:

One man, 100,000 toothpicks, and 35 years: An incredible kinetic sculpture of San Francisco

You read that right. 100k toothpicks. 35 years. I barely have the attention span to beat the next level in Katamari Forever (I will defeat you Star 7!) let alone spend multiple years of my life on the same art project. The artist Scott Weaver obviously has some serious patience. When he wasn’t spending time on his sculpture –an estimated 3000 hours in total—he was collecting toothpicks for it from around the world:

“I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.”

Check out the full article; it has a lot of great close ups of the sculpture. Oh and if you want to see it in person, it will be at the American Visionary Art Museum through September 2012.

Steampunk Laptop

Oh and while you’re here, a little shameless self-promotion. Somehow, I convinced Sony to let me have a steampunk artist trick out one of their laptops for their online show SGNL. I’m still a little shocked since this was my first segment idea and let’s face it, it’s a little out there. But the end result is pretty badass. Oh and even with all that wood and copper, it still works! Check out the video:

Fun fact: the computer used (the VAIO F Series) is the same one I use every day. I affectionately call it The Beast.

12-19-11

Beginning of the Week Awesomeness

As I mentioned earlier, I have become obsessed with Battlestar Galactica. I actually feel that there is now a void in my life since finishing the series. And yes, I cried at the end. Not the full on, hysterical kind of cry, more of a soft weeping. Sigh. But apparently I’m not the only one. Portlandia knows how I feel. I think I really need to be watching this show.

And last, but not least, I will leave you with my favorite holiday YouTube mashup: Hey Ya Charlie Brown!

12-16-11

Nerd University: Why Geeks Should Gravitate towards NBC’s “Community”

It has become a well-known fact that NBC’s show Community may be verge of cancellation or at least on hiatus until further notice (though, there has been some good news). As a fan of the show, I’m having a hard time figuring out why people aren’t watching it. With nerd culture becoming pop culture, this show should be a geek favorite. Here are my top 5 reasons while nerds need to get on the Greendale train:

1. Abed: From his ridiculous pop culture knowledge base to his Alien costume to his new favorite show “Inspector Spacetime” (which is their version of Dr. Who) this guy is the ultimate nerd and I wish he was on my trivia team. Oh and let’s not forget about the blanket fort he built with his BFF Troy (Donald Glover). I’d put Abed up against any of the guys on Big Bang Theory. Plus Danny Pudi was in Comic Con 2011 fav The Knights of Badassdom.
2. Hot ladies: Let’s be honest here; saying Annie (Allison Brie) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) are  easy on the eyes is a massive understatement.
3. The Dungeons and Dragons episode: You read that right. They did en entire episode where the gang plays D + D and it was pretty awesome. The paintball episode “Modern Warfare” was also epic.
4. Guest stars galore! This includes Sawyer from LOST, Omar from The Wire, and Betty White.
5. They did a Claymation episode… entitled “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”. Sure beats the California Raisins special they used to air every Christmas in the early 90s.

So seriously, get on your On Demand cable or on the interwebs and help save Greendale!

If you’re already a Community fan, leave your favorite episodes/show moments in the comments.

12-05-11

Beginning of the Week Awesomeness

It’s kind of like a prequel to Midweek Awesomeness…

Just when FOX News’ super investigative reporting on how The Muppets are brainwashing kids to be anti-capitalist was making me lose all faith in humanity, I saw this:

A friend of mine shared this link on Facebook and I felt that it was too cool not to share so I’m dusting off the old blog. Long story short:  Illustrator Dave DeVries has created The Monster Engine; an on going art project where DeVries takes children’s artwork and adds color, texture, depth, etc. to create amazingly detailed pieces from their original doodles. Forgot the art of Tim Burton, these creature creations are even better. I wonder if I can submit some of my work from the early 90s…I’m sure my mom has some real gems saved.

Here are a couple more. To view the whole gallery: The Monster Engine

If that wasn’t enough, LucasFilms put together a slideshow of all their holiday cards from 1977 to present day. Spoiler Alert: After Jedi was released, it was all Ewoks for several years, not that I’m complaining. I was lucky enough to actually get one last year. Nothing completes your holiday home decor quite like the image of Darth Vader releasing a peace dove. It really tied the room together. Here is this year’s card:

As if that wasn’t enough to get me through this ordinary Monday, io9 decided to post some amazing Battlestar Galactica fan art. This is what BSG (the 2004 reboot that I should point out I’m currently obsessed with) would look like if it was turned into an animated series. These were created by Otis Frampton, who has also given the animated series treatment to other sci fi favorites like Firefly. Check out his DeviantArt page for more.

08-03-11

Wait wait wait…the new Spiderman is BLACK?!

Sigh. What year is it? Really…

Yesterday Marvel Comics announced the new Spiderman will be Miles Morales, a half black, half Hispanic kid from New York. While the passing of the superhero torch has often been done – think Batman—I have never seen such controversy over a successor. Is it because readers still miss the deceased Peter Parker? Maybe, but most of the commentary seems to be focused on Miles not being white.

To be honest, it makes me sick to my stomach that this is even an issue. Yes, I’m white girl who grew up in a pretty nice town in Massachusetts but just as a decent human being I can’t tolerate this kind of senseless bigotry.

My dear friend Buffy made a great point by saying “ any time you have to preface a statement with “not racist/sexist/etc, but ____” then what you are about to say is definitely racist/sexist/etc, there’s just no way around that. “ And she’s right. Think about it.

The shock of it all is well, shocking. Of all the things that happen in comics, Spiderman being a minority is too hard to believe?! Not that kid gets bitten by a radioactive spider and then can climb up buildings, have super speed and strength, etc…that’s all totally understandable. Maybe I’m missing something. Can only white people be bitten by radioactive spiders? Do they have a pasty flesh tone preference?

Think I’m being ridiculous? This whole thing is ridiculous!

Part of what I don’t get is that people are acting like this is the first time there has been a minority superhero. Really? You don’t have to be a fan of comics to know that Storm from X-Men is most certainly black. You can’t forget Bishop if you are a fan of X-Men storylines like “Age of Apocalypse” or “Civil War” or if you ever watched the X-Men: The Animated Series version of “Days of Future Past”.

Now, let’s talk Nick Fury. He has been both white and black, the latter being portrayed by none other than Samuel L. Jackson in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and the upcoming Avengers movie. Oh and while we’re on the subject, black Nick Fury appears in Ultimate Marvel Universe, where the new Spidey will also be, so it isn’t even the first time there is a minority character in that world!

Somehow, probably due to the ranting of conservative radio psychopath Glenn Beck, there is talk of Miles Morales also being gay. 1. Nowhere did it say he was gay. You are misinterpreting a quote from Sara Pichelli who was one of the artists that helped create the new Spiderman. And even if he was, so what? Again, not like there haven’t been gay superheroes before Northstar, and now Colossus in Ultimate Marvel Universe!).

We all miss Peter Parker. But like the saying goes, “with great power, comes great responsibility” and someone needs to carry the torch. Maybe before you state your oh-so-important opinion on Spidey’s race, remember Buffy’s tip. Oh and do your homework before you start running your mouth.

Or better yet, just don’t say anything at all.

07-26-11

Comic Con 2011 Recap: 50% Shorter, 110% Better

Another Comic Con has come and gone. But this year, despite only attending Friday and Saturday was the most epic of them all! Since the internet is about ready to overflow with everyone’s recaps, I’ll keep it short and give you the highlights.

Friday:

Friday I headed down to the convention center with no real plan for the day.  I had made the decision to not attend panels this year because I just didn’t want to deal with the chaos and the waiting. Before I even entered, I was handed a “Shark Week” jumbo bag. Score.

My first stop after picking up my badge was to visit the ZeroFriends booth to say hi to my buddy Alex Pardee. After some hugs, he was off to a meeting and I was off to walk the floor, which is how I spent my day. I went to all the major media company booths, taking pictures along the way and collecting all the free pins I could – I love Comic Con flare. After doing a few laps around the exhibit hall with my friend Ashley, I ventured outside into the Gaslamp District which was teeming with freebies (swag recap to follow).

Alex and I at his booth

It was pretty warm outside so after walking up and down 4^th and 5^th, I went back inside. While heading over to a booth another friend works at every year, I saw Nicholas Brendan. Being a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer I couldn’t resist asking for a picture. He said sure but “why don’t you get in the picture too?” and had some random guy snap a shot. He was very very nice and I told him that my best friend was dressing up as “Prophecy Girl” and he said to bring her by.

After I roamed around some more, met up with my friends Adrienne and Adam and watched people take pictures of her and her friend every 10 feet – They we dressed as Panty and Stocking, which is an anime show.

We all walked back together and day one came to a close for me.

Saturday:

My Saturday started off as kind of nightmare; the Farmer’s Market in front of my house towed my car. While I was figuring out where my car ended up, Entertainment Weekly contacted me via Twitter and asked me if I wanted to meet Nathan Fillion. Thankfully, it was in the afternoon so I said yes.

But…I had been planning to go as Finn from Adventure Time that day. To Finn or not to Finn…I was meeting a celebrity, I should have wanted to look my best right? But I had worked really hard putting my costume together and making sure it was both cute and accurate so I said “screw it” and got ALGEBRAIC! This turned out to be a very very good decision.

My boyfriend MJ and I fist bumping like the Obamas

Today I was rolling with my bf and my bff. My best friend Jessica – who never goes by Jessica, we call her Buffy—came with me dressed as Buffy from the Season One finale “Prophecy Girl”. Before we got there, we stopped for coffee. While I was waiting for my latte a little boy, probably no older than 7 asked me if I was Finn. I said yes and he got SUPER excited. He told me my costume was perfect and we fist bumped and took a picture. Too cute.

Our first stop was Mr. Brendan as I told him I would bring my Buffy by the previous day. They met, he loved her costume, and I snapped a cute photo of them.

When Buffy met Xander

As I was making my way back to my friend Alex’s booth, we passed by Cartoon Network’s giant Adventure Time centric booth. They looked like they were filming something so I stopped for a minute. A girl working the booth then asked me if I wanted to be on Cartoon Network and I of course said yes.  I filmed several segment for Adventure Time such as “you’re watching Adventure Time on Cartoon Network” and “And we’re back with more Adventure Time!”…you get the point. So watch for me on Cartoon Network. New episodes of Adventure Time are on Monday nights at 8pm!

After my brilliant on camera performance, B and I headed over to Hard Rock to meet up with EW and Nathan Fillion. Thanks to Twitter, I got the opportunity to play trivia with none other than Captain Malcolm Reynolds himself. A very nice man came down and got us and another girl and brought up to a suite at the top floor.  Even though B wasn’t able to play, they said she could watch. Everyone at EW was so nice! They gave us all t-shirts, asked us if we needed any water or anything, I almost felt like a celebrity myself. Then Mr. Fillion arrived and we got to trivia.

Rather than tell you all the questions and how I did, you can watch the whole thing here: The Fillion Feud!

After we finished filming, he gave me a signed Serenity keychain and we took some photos. He was also super nice. Very charming and funny. I can see why so many ladies love him

Oh hey…just hanging out with Captain Mal. No big

I mentioned in the game that Buffy had the scythe tattooed on her leg and he said he had to see it. She showed it to him and he said “I’ve got to get a picture”. He tweeted it later on.

After all the excitement, B and I split up and I grabbed some food with my man. B was heading to the Zombie Walk so after we ate, we headed over too. Quite a turnout! So many different kinds of zombies- baby zombies, dog zombies, superhero zombies, and classic zombies too. I have a pretty rad video of it too that I’ll upload later. One of my favorites was Han Solo in Carbonite Zombie (even though at first I thought he was Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters II)

So after one last trip to the exhibit hall, we said bye to Buffy and I headed home. I was exhausted, but it had been a crazy, fun filled day.  Even though I only did two of the four days, this was definitely the best Comic Con ever.

07-22-11

ThatReenaGirl’s Do’s and Don’ts of Comic Con

I have survived another year at San Diego’s Comic Con International. This was my 4^th year in attendance at the conference I affectionately call “my Christmas”. Though I’m hardly a veteran – there are people who have been attending since it was JUST about comics, can you believe it?! – I saw more and more attendees that seemed to be new to the game. In an effort to help guide the n00bz, I’ve put together a simple lists of do’s and don’ts for Comic Con:

DO: Plan ahead!

If you want to get into the panel for your favorite show, be prepared to wait…for hours (however, lining up days before Comic Con even starts is a little obsessive…). The best chance to get into something in Hall H or Ballroom 20 is to pack a lunch, plenty of water and a book, get there before it opens in the morning, and stay put until your panel starts. Last year I wanted to see the Dexter panel and sat in Ballroom 20 for just about 5 hours. The nice thing is, they give you tickets for free merch that you can collect after you leave.

DON’T: Half ass your costume.

Dressing up for Comic Con is great, but if you’re gonna do it, do it right. There are many people who work for weeks on end perfecting the most amazing costumes. Most people make an effort to be as accurate as possible and you should too.

Just a warning- if you want to walk the floor with some level of freedom and anonymity, reconsider dressing up. The cooler your costume, the more people will want to take your picture. Same goes for ladies in sexy getups. Speaking of that…

Ladies, not to single you out but this isn’t Halloween: animal ears and lingerie aren’t going to cut it. If you want to go the sexy route, there are PLENTY of sexy females from comics and/or movies to choose from. Hell, even your leftover Sexy Supergirl costume from Halloween three years ago acceptable. And before you decide on the ol’ sexy standby – Slave Leia – please watch this:

 Some of the best free swag is outside of Comic Con. Take a walk around the Gaslamp District and collect pins, inflatable weapons, temporary tattoos, visors, sunglasses, etc.  This is also where the free food is. Plus, it’s always good to get some sunshine!

This year, they were giving out “Shark Week” bags and Roku was handing out Angry Birds tattoos and periodically tossing Angry Bird plush toys and t-shirts into the crowd. I even heard there were Conan O’Brien oven mitts! And just like last year they were handing out free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, 7-11 was giving out free Slurpies and IGN had a whole “Oasis” set up at Hard Rock with free baked goods and drinks.

DON’T: Forget your manners!

Comic Con is very very crowded and a little courtesy goes a long way. Here are a few things to keep in mind-

• “Please” and “thank you” to the people who give you free stuff, sign something for you, who let you take their picture of, etc.
• Say “excuse me” when trying to get by and/or you hit someone with your weapon accessories
• Move out of the way for wheelchairs and strollers
• Move off to the side of the aisle if you’re having a conversation, looking for something in your bag, unable to text and walk etc.
• When asking a question in a panel, follow the rules (direct your question to ONE person on the panel, ask a relevant question, pay attention to previous questions so you don’t repeat…)

DO: Check out independent artists’ booths.

Everyone seems to congregate around the major media booths but there are two other sections of the exhibit hall you should totally check out. Towards the A section are the independent artists booths. Many have awesome comics, prints, figures, t-shirts, etc for sale. I know it’s hard to leave the allure of Hollywood’s major set up, which the chance of catching a glimpse of your favorite celebrity, but it’s worth it.

While you’re on your Comic Con cultural expedition, on the opposite end in G Section is Artist’s Alley. Here you can meet your favorite comic book artists, view their work and buy prints. Many of them have amazing pieces for sale. Even if you’re not looking to buy, stop by and check out some truly talented people’s work.

Comic Con will always be crowded and chaotic, but it also a totally awesome experience that I look forward to every year. Heed these simple rules and you’ll get along just fine.

06-23-11

Trendwatch: Bigfoot?

First it was vampires. Then came the zombie craze. But the real creature that seems to be all over the place lately is the legendary Bigfoot.

Maybe it’s because the supernatural is totally in right now. Maybe it’s because of its worldwide appeal since many countries around the world have their own Bigfoot-like mysteries. Either way, I’ve been hearing a lot about it lately.

The Huffington Post recently reported that researchers in California might have DNA evidence that proves the existence of Bigfoots.  But that’s not the only Sasquatch related new lately.

Animal Planet is currently airing a show called “Finding Bigfoot” about The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), who travel the country examining sightings and searching for evidence to prove the existence. Some members of the group have dedicated decades to searching the forests of America for the elusive beast. Armed with the latest technology like thermal imaging and night vision cameras, recording devices, etc they travel from state to state, meeting with locals and checking the area out for themselves. They have quite a knowledge base of Sasquatch…or as the experts say, Squatch …facts. For instance, I did not know:

• Bigfoots are nocturnal.
• Bigfoots like to travel along power lines.
• When Bigfoots run, it is graceful and smooth as if they’re floating on air, despite their immense size.
• Bigfoots communicate with a series of howls, screams and growls (that the researchers often imitate).

I was half expecting their leader, Matt Moneymaker (no, really that’s his name) to say that Squatches love cinnamon but they hate pepper. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised at this point if there was a “Harry and the Hendersons” remake in the works.

Really hoping the Loch Ness Monster is next.  Fingers crossed!

06-22-11

Midweek Awesomeness

I think I’m going to keep this was a weekly entry moving forward…

Have you ever noticed how some pop songs sound so similar? That’s because they are. No really, there are countless pop songs that use the same chords. Don’t believe me? Allow me to introduce you to The Axis of Awesome. They will prove it to you:

From pop songs to personal spacecraft, this video is pretty ridiculous. I was shown this in a meeting yesterday. What a cool, inventive use of a pocket camcorder! Not sure what brand they sent up there, probably a Flip, but holy science project Batman! It actually made it to outer space! Can you imagine if this is what you entered in your school science fair as a kid? Talk about instant notoriety…mixed with some mega nerd points for all the precise calculations involved.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

The sci-fi geek in me can’t help but wonder…what if they weren’t the only ones looking down on earth? I distantly remember another story about a weather balloon crashing down in New Mexico about 60 years ago…

Dun dun duhhhhhhh!

UPDATE: Just came across this: Muppet Game of Thrones!

Very well done. Love this. See the rest at the link above. Who else from Game of Thrones would you like to see as a Muppet and which one would they be?

05-16-11

Adorbs.