Nothing to say?

So yeah, it's been a while.

It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's that I'm out of practice articulating it. Perhaps I'll get better at that. We'll try sometime when it's NOT 11:30 PM.

An Open Letter to Bruce Boxleitner

Dear Mr. Boxleitner-

I'm certain you don't remember me, but that's fine-you've done a lot of publicity tour stuff recently and you aren't expected to remember every single person who asks a dumb question at a panel. But if you're one of those Marilu Henner types, I was the lady in Toronto who asked you what it's like to have an action figure of yourself, and you gave me a very flirty answer. I was elated.

This shared moment however is not why I'm writing.

I'm writing to let you know that I did my best to fulfill the promise I made to you at the Toronto Fan Expo 2010. You were discussing box office opening weekend grosses, and you said "Please, everyone here, do something for me. Go see this movie twice opening weekend. No, actually, go four times-see it four times opening weekend." We all applauded and made it clear that this was our plan, and we would not fail you. After all, you fight for the users so we can fight for you, right? We all left that room even more impatient for TRON Legacy that we had been going in, most of us plotting how to cram in as many viewings as we could the weekend of December 17th.

Fast forward to December 12th. TRON Legacy is opening in less than a week, and I'm as excited for this as a child is for Christmas morning. I've been quite the TRON geek for many years, but this is obvious-I was at the panel after all. Anyway, it's 5 days until the premiere and I seem to have contracted the plague. Sneezing, coughing, chest aches, all of it. And as the 5 days dwindle to just one, I just keep getting sicker to the point where the day before the midnight showing (for which I pre-ordered tickets) I have a 102 degree fever. I'm weak, I'm shaking, and I'm 24 hours away from the movie event I've been anxiously awaiting since that crooked TR2N test teaser showed up online after ComicCon. I'm not happy.

After a night of fitful sleep, the fever breaks, and I'm back to normal in the morning. It sadly does not last. By mid afternoon the shakes are back, I'm coughing so badly blood vessels are breaking on my face, and my temperature is creeping back up and I can feel the effects of fever. By this point, it is around 3pm Thursday December 17th, and at 12:01 that night I plan to be in a theater fulfilling my promise to you.

Since I have until midnight, I decide to nap until the very last second before I need to leave to get a decent seat. After all, this is IMAX 3D we're talking about here-not the kind of movie you want to see while sitting way off to the side. It's difficult to sleep, and I'm taking my temperature during my wakeful moments only to find that I'm creeping slowly back up to 102 degrees. 102 degrees is what i'm at when I dress to leave for the theater at 10:30.

I was able to get a very good seat, and the wait wasn't much of a big deal-I watched TRON on my iPod while I waited.

While I was able to watch the midnight show, and the fever broke about 2/3 into the movie, I was completely exhausted when it was all over. Exhausted, and in love with an entirely new movie. I'm sure you're aware of this, but TRON Legacy is wonderful. If it does anything but sweep the technical Oscars I will be shocked. And Daft Punk deserves a best original score Oscar for sure.

I went home and slept. I had taken Friday off from work in anticipation of this late night event, so I was able to sleep for a nice long while. I woke up without fever, but still very very ill, but in decent enough shape to hit the theater for the second of the 4 showings I promised to see. The movie was fantastic the second time, so it wasn't all expectations and being swept up in the event of a midnight show-I truly love this movie.

So more sleep and more sickness fill my weekend to the point where I only feel the ability to be mobile once again sometime Sunday afternoon. At which time I decide to go to the movies and watch viewing 3. This time I was down to earth enough that I cried. This is a very touching movie as well. Although I contemplated going back to the ticket booth and buying another ticket for the next show as soon as it was over, I just couldn't. I had to go home and get into bed and stay there.

I tried to keep my promise to you, Mr. Boxleitner, I truly did. I had every intention and desire to keep this promise. However, fever kept me from doing much of anything, and I was only able to see the movie 3 times opening weekend, not the 4 I'd promised. Now, I did bring my husband with me for 2 of the 3 times, so I suppose technically I am responsible for 5 ticket purchases. However, I still feel as though I've let you down. I hope that being the #1 movie in America for the week of opening weekend cushions your disappointment in me for going back on my word. I'm assuming I'll be seeing it again, and I'll buy the DVD-every version Disney can throw at me, I'll purchase. And I'll be buying more toys, and of course I purchased the soundtrack. I'm doing my best to support TRON. I just can't do much with a fever, I'm sorry.

I look forward to seeing you at future comic book and geek culture conventions. My husband is a frequent convention guest, so I attend them often. You're always welcome to join us for dinner. I promise I will be well with thoroughly washed hands.

Thank you for understanding-

Xan

Big Bang=Dead to me

I'm done with the douchebaggery of Big Bang Theory.

This kind of makes me sad, because my tolerance level reached it's limit just in time for Mayim Bialik to be a regular. I love Mayim Bialik.

Anyway, i've always been kind of on the fence about Big Bang Theory because well, I have issues from childhood that make me feel inadequate. I spent many years trying to get the males in my life to consider me a female. I was one of the guys to the point of being genderless. Granted, I wasn't all that into makeup and skirts, so maybe I did bring a little bit of this on myself. But still, I watched boys who had Catalano status in my mind look past me to the girls who were more obvious, but with whom they had nothing in common.

Now, I've always been the type to fall for a mind and the body follows. I'm not saying this is the way everyone should be, but I do think people should keep open minds about what is attractive. Having a "type" with a strict criteria that is never deviated from is never a good thing. Remember, Val once demanded "long blond hair, big green eyes, ass that won't quit and legs that go all the way up", but he married Rhonda, the cute PhD student.

I think Dustin Hoffman tells the best story about this. When speaking about "Tootsie" on the AFI 100 Years of Movies special, he got very serious. He said that when he was being made up to be Dorothy, he told the makeup artists that he wanted to be really pretty. They said no offense, you're a good looking guy, but we can only do so much in making you a woman. He thought about this, and became very ashamed and sad. What upset him was that he thought he made a very interesting woman, and he wondered about all of the interesting women he missed meeting and knowing because he passed them up at parties because they didn't meet is perceived notions of what was acceptably attractive. At this point in his story he stopped talking and smiled, and it was obvious he was trying to keep the tears from coming, and he said "This was not a comedy for me." I of course have about as much respect for a human being as one can have for Dustin Hoffman now because of this. If I ever meet in him in person, I will simply thank him for this story, and try not to hug him.

I first started watching the Big Bang Theory as a Monday night ritual with a very dear friend, so I suppose I will have a soft spot for it for that. But they way the writers slam geek girls on this show is just kind of not cool. Granted, the guys on the show aren't exactly being held up as pillars of society or anything, and I suppose that is the comedy of it. I just don't find it all that funny anymore. We can have a show about how geek guys can be lovable, but geek girls are still freaks. And I know, I've said before, "if I want a show about geek girls, pitch a show!" And that's not necessarily what I want, I just don't want a show that bashes them.

So first season, I let it slide when Leonard said that any woman who would be willing to play laser strip chess wouldn't be someone you want to see naked. And I've never had an issue with Penny. She doesn't have much in common with the guys, but they all get along and enjoy each other because mostly, it's a crew of nice people. She teaches them things, they teach her things, it's fine. And she's cute, but personally I'd be more likely to obsess over someone with whom I shared commonalities other than just being neighbors. But that's just me.

I let the ridiculousness of the Leslie Winkle and Amy Farrah Fowler characters slide too. Not all nerd girls have scientific approaches to social interactions, but I love the actresses who played them that I just let it slide.

But this season, when Stewart the comic shop owner said that his new girlfriend is "terrible" because "when she wants sex she puts on her plus sized wonder woman outfit and says 'who wants to ride my invisible jet'", I was just done tolerating the nerd/geek girl bashing. Oh, how sad for you, Stuart! You met a woman at SDCC who likes what you like and shares your interests! What a tragedy that she doesn't have the stereotypically perfect body! Because you could have your pick of women with your gangly frame flowbie haircut. I don't know how you keep the supermodels from disrupting your business!

This is in no way meant to insult Kevin Sussman, the actor who plays Stuart. But I think most people would agree with me that he's not the kind of guy you'd expect to see in Cosmo's Guy With No Shirt pictorial. He's a perfectly fine looking person, appears to have good hygiene, and according to the imdb he actually did work at a comic shop before he was an actor professionally. So he seems cool enough, and there is nothing wrong with him. I'm only picking on him because the character Stuart looks like him. The character who by the way, preferred a debate with Sheldon over sex with Penny. Just sayin'.

Anyway, I'm sick of this "watch our show about these lovable nerdy geeky boys, but ewww, nerdy geeky girls are freaks and mutants and should never be considered for dating purposes ever!" message that the show seems to have. I'm not saying the show needs to change, I'm just saying I don't like it because of this, so I'm not watching it anymore. It's off the DVR.

To be fair, I'm not a big fan of people in real life thinking they have some right to judge others by looks. While I'll admit to judging people by their hygiene skills, I've never not wanted to know someone or checked someone off a list of possible date candidates due to the fact they they have extra pounds or because they aren't Jude Law clones. And yes, perhaps I don't do this because I know how terrible it is as it has been done to me. I may be heavy, but I'm far from hideous. And let's be honest, if we want to get specific, we can find faults about everyone. You can pick anyone apart and find flaws in everyone's appearance-she has thick ankles, he has a unibrow, she has a hook nose, his back is hairy....this game is never ending.

So all I'm saying is this-stereotyping someone is bad, but shutting someone out of your radar based on the fact that they don't look like a Photoshopped model is almost worse. I'm not saying get the ugly girl to marry you or hook up with someone who you don't find attractive for the cause. I'm just saying keep a broad horizon on what is attractive. That shlubby nerd guy? He might be the best kisser you've ever known. That pleasantly plump girl? Look at her eyes, I'll bet they are beautiful. Does that skinny guy have your favorite movies on his shelf, as well as numerous cds by your favorite band and a sign for your chosen candidate in your yard? Maybe that woman who has the sweet smile but never wears makeup loves the same authors you do. You just never know unless you look with both eyes and look longer than a glance. And yeah, maybe a heavy girl might not look like Lynda Carter in a Wonder Woman costume, but she might be very skilled with that lasso, so hey....

Lessons Learned, Part 2

Life lesson #482-Just because you remember someone doesn't mean they'll remember you. Actually, they'll probably think you're someone they've never seen before.

Lessons Learned

After a day of garage sale shopping yesterday with my friends Juice and Ashley, I realized something. I realized that most people's houses are full of crap. Some people have a houses full of fascinating, good quality things like teak furniture and bakelite jewelry, but most of us have all kinds of things we just don't use anymore, never used in the first place, or can't figure out why we bought them in the first place. Ironically, a lot of it comes from garage sales, but I digress.

While my house contains some cool stuff, it also contains a bunch of stuff that is simply taking up space. Lately, I've been learning that it's best to limit the amount of crap that comes into the house. I've been doing this by canceling my Amazon Prime membership, avoiding the $1 Spot at Target, and saving my Dave and Buster's ticket points until I'm well into the thousands. One thing I don't need is another infestation of stuffed Pokemon, a condition with which I was afflicted in the late 90s.

This whole selective purchases thing is just one lesson that it's taken me 34 years to learn. When I was a kid money burned a hole in my pocket like it was a supernova. I would buy things just to have something to buy. Once my personality developed, I became slightly more selective, but not much. My weakness was always records. Or tapes, or CDs, depending on the decade. There was a time in my life when a large music collection was more important than a quality music collection. This led to my owning copies of Information Society's "Hack" and Led Zeppelin's "Presence". These days, although I will put up with the occasional 2.5 star album simply because it was the latest by a band I love, I'm no longer one to buy something that I've heard something about just to add to the collection. That's what iTunes gift cards are for.

When it comes to other types of household items, I'm very much one to hang onto things because I "might need it someday". And this can include "I can make something out of that". These are both slippery slopes. I'm learning that as an adult living a world with internet and being able to drive, the need to find things to fill the hours is less and less. I seem to have outgrown the concept of boredom, so the need to hoard rainy day activities is gone. I also have realized that "someday" is like tomorrow, it never comes. Anything that you think you may need someday is going to be obsolete eventually, and just take up space.

Nostalgia is also something that I am learning is a slippery slope. While it may be cool for a second to dig up an old piece of computer or video game equipment, it gets harder and harder to justify keeping something that is never used. This is why I no longer have my original Game Boy. I'm not going to play something that isn't backlit and requires 4 AA batteries.

This all relates to my garage sale experience in that I realized while looking through tables and tables of stuff I didn't want, it was stuff that was familiar. Aka, I had a lot of similar stuff. And I thought about why i should keep something that if today I saw it on a card table in a driveway with a $.25 sticker on it, I would keep driving. I couldn't come up with a reason why, and today I spent the afternoon getting rid of a bunch of stuff that I just don't use, or in some cases, completely forgot I owned. And it felt good. It will feel good to not have to dust, launder, organize, find a place for, put back, make room for, find a use for, move around, or pay attention to this stuff ever again. As I get to the point where my house is full of things I absolutely love, I'm glad I'm learning this lesson now and not when I'm 90. While it would be nice to be that guy Mark Hamill played in that one episode of Amazing Stories, I'd rather not have to wait until I'm old and grey to have a crazy profitable auction. I should just save my money now and not buy crap.

So here are some things I've learned that I hope to never forget:

-If you aren't using it, you won't use it.
-If you forget why you are keeping it, you don't need to.
-Just because it's 3 for $15 doesn't mean you have to buy 3 bottles of lotion. Especially since when you already have 5 full bottles of lotion at home.
-When you find yourself getting sucked in to the $1 Spot at Target, remember the old adage "You get what you pay for."
-If you wouldn't look twice at it at full price, you don't need to own it at 75% off.
-BOGO is only useful if you need 2 of something. Or if it applies to food for a party.
-Nothing that was ever worth money one day was thought to have been worth money one day at the time it was originally purchased. An item marked "Special Collector's Edition" is like explaining a joke-not worth it. Collect something only if you like it, not as a retirement plan.
-If you do plan on saving things, invest in Rubbermaid.
-Unless you are part of a family of 4 or more, do not buy anything perishable in bulk.

And one lesson that I've finally learned that has nothing do do with anything I've already talked about:
-You will love yourself in the morning if you choose an outfit the night before.

Seriously?

It's been almost 4 months since I've blogged? I suck at this. And right now it's 3:30 in the morning so i won't be blogging right now either.

Johnny Come Lately

So which is worse? Me getting into The (American) Office just in time to see Jim and Pam have a baby, or watching Degrassi-The Next Generation?

Sometimes I come late to things. I wonder if i'm less of a geek because of it. I came late to the new Doctor Who (well not really, I watched it at first, then got behind-same deal with the new Battlestar Galactica), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I've yet to see one episode of Caprica. I also tend to get way behind on shows I like, for instance Supernatural. I'm shamefully behind on that.

And now I'm starting to feel weird about blogging about TV I've never seen. I'm conflicted between thinking I could be using this time to watch more TV, and thinking that I need to stop watching TV so I have something to talk about.