Wearing
costumes and role playing doesn’t make us losers.
Let me start by saying that cosplay and LARPing are different. Costume play
(cosplay) is just dressing up. Some folks do the full character but most are
just themselves. Live Action Role Play (LARP) involves a group all playing
characters as part of pre-established scenario. Since LARPing can involve
fantasy elements, it is different from the Society for Creative Anachronism
(SCA) which focuses heavily on historical accuracy.
None of the above are automatic losers. People dress up in costume to
communicate their passion and excitement for a particular character at events
with likeminded people. Since it’s all in good fun, there’s rarely any drama
over people being the same character.
Some cosplayers do it for the attention. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a
tiny factor in my decision. Mostly, I love finding the different pieces and
putting it all together. I have a bunch of funky things in my wardrobe and do
the same thing when I go out. I loved playing dress-up as kid. Why shouldn’t I
get to do it as a grown-up?
I’m debuting two costumes in the next month or so and I’m really excited about
it. I’d love to do a Dr Who cosplay with Boy Toy. I’m doing one with two of my
girlfriends for Shore Leave this weekend.
LARPers dress up as characters within their scenario. They play roles and they
generally don’t have issues with overlap. It can be fairly similar to the
DND-style tabletop games. It can also be very physical which minimizes the fat
virgin in the basement stereotype. One I know is quite attractive and a bit of
a womanizer.
I’ve never LARPed before so I can’t say too much more about it. IMHO, if
cosplay is like dress-up, LARP is like playing make believe with your friends.
The main difference is the level of forethought, detail, and quality of
weapons. Leather armor and a foam sword beat the hell out of the stick that
fell off the tree last week.
Adult life with desk jobs, mortgages, car payments, and bad TV can be such a
slog. Nerds have unabashed permission to go out and have fun like we used to as
kids. When was the last time you saw an adult more enthusiastic than a kid?
Some even get their kids in on it. I saw a Pokémon family at awesome con. The
parents were Brock and Misty, the six year old was Ash, and the baby was in a
Pikachu onesie.
To quote the Doctor, “There’s no point in being grown-up if you can’t be
childish sometimes.”
Music: Do You Want to Date My Avatar by The Guild
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Nerd Blackface
Why is it when most
shows portray nerds at cons, it is blatant nerd blackface? I just watched the
episode of Supernatural (season 5) where they attend a con of the books
detailing their lives. Most of the nerds are unattractive and annoying. I’ve
seen this in several other shows as well.
The Big Bang Theory
toes the line between truth and nerd blackface. It humanizes the characters
enough that their issues look like just that, their issues. But it doesn’t show
how multi-faceted nerd culture can be.
I’m going to devote a
few entries to debunking nerd myths like fat basement dwelling virgins,
troll-esque women, and people who can’t function in society. Let some lessons
be learned.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Home Sweet Own Book 24
For Travel I read Love
with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche. I bought it on a lark whilst at
Target and I’m glad I did. Torre meets Ivan by chance at a bar in San Francisco
one day and both fall fast and hard. He wants to sail the pacific and soon.
She’s terrified of deep water. What’s love without a little risk?
DeRoche
does a great job. It’s one of the few times I’d described a book as
‘compulsively readable.’ She talks about her difficulties at sea without being
self-pitying and her great love without being condescending. She never
sugarcoats the reality of sailing the pacific. The reef, storms, and unexpected
boat trouble can to any sailor in but the rewards of remote islands, unexpected
wildlife, and warm locals can make it worth it.
I
made sure to get this read while Boy Toy and I were still going strong. If I’m
back on my own again, I’m not going to be that interested in someone else’s
love story. Fortunately that wasn’t always front and center and we’re still
quite happy. I really enjoyed the journey. If the premise appeals to you, it’s
worth the read.
1)
Fiction – A Once Crowded Sky by Tom King
2) Nonfiction – The
Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
3) Sci-Fi – Redshirts
by John Scalzi
4) Fantasy
5) Mystery – Book
of Lies by Brad Meltzer
6) Horror
7)
Memoir/Biography – Data, A Love Story by Amy Webb
8) Chick Lit – Me
and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
9) Feminist – Commencement
by J. Courtney Sullivan
10) Teen – What
Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
11) Holiday
12) Essays – What
Was I Thinking? ed. by Barbara Davilman & Liz Dubelman
13) Short
Stories
14) Library
15) Animal
16) Book about Books –
Judging a Book By Its Lover by Lauren Leto
17) New – Pitch
Perfect by Mickey Rapkin
18) Old – Dark
and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod
19) Pop
Science – Why Men Fake It by Abraham Morgentaler, MD
20) Near
21) Far
22) Graphic Novel –
Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? by Thomas F. Zahler
23) Reread – Ready
Player One by Ernest Cline
24) Wild Card
25) Otherworldly
Creature
26) Free – Point
Your Face at This by Demetri Martin
27) Noteworthy
28) Bestseller –
How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
29) Themed
Anthology – Red edited by Kris Goldsmith
30) Steampunk – The Immersion Book of
Steampunk edited by Gareth Jones and Carmelo Rafala
31) Movie-Book
32) Media – Doctor
Who: Touched By an Angel by Jonathan Morris
33) Travel –
Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche
34) Food
35) Classic
36) Humor – Sleep
Talkin’ Man by Karen Slavick-Lennard
37) Poetry
38) Past – Stasiland
by Anna Funder
39) Future
40)
Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic
41) Zombie
42) Sports – Red
Rising by Ted Starkey
Friday, July 26, 2013
Home Sweet Own Book 23 or Red Rising and Falling
For Sports I read Red
Rising by Ted Starkey. It’s a book about the Washington Capitals, my favorite
sports team as evidenced by about a dozen tees, two jerseys, two hoodies, one
jacket, several car magnets, and my dogs' names. I wish I’d liked the book as much as the team.
It’s hard to write a
book on such a dynamic topic. Starkey talks about the impact of the last
lockout but this book went to press before the most recent one, the
consequences of which are still playing out. Factor in the third coaching
system in as many years and the large roster change and the book felt a little
dated. I think the book would have done well to wait at least another season
before going to print because there were hints that big changes were still to
come.
Hockey is a very
visual sport; it’s blink-and-you-miss-it stuff. Reading about it in a book is
not nearly as interesting as seeing it live or in clips. The other problem is
that Starkey is a sports journalist and it shows in his writing style. What
works for a 250 word article doesn’t work for a 250 page book. Despite my love
of the subject matter, it often felt tedious and grating.
I enjoyed the chapter
about the impact the Caps have had on the DC metro area. Starkey talked about
the increase in rinks, youth hockey programs, and the media presence of various
players. How many people remember those Capital One ads with Ovi? Those parts
helped what was otherwise a very dry and technical feel. There were no personal
details about the players. Ward had to deal with major racist backlash after
beating Boston in Game 7 and we don’t hear one word about it.
I tried reading it
while the season was still happening but it was too much dissonance. There was
a lot going on with the Caps between the shortened season and the latest
coaching system. It was better finishing it in the summer but it just felt like
work in the end. They’re my team so I wanted to finish the book but I shouldn’t
be giving myself pep talks to read unless I wanted to go to grad school.
1)
Fiction – A Once Crowded Sky by Tom King
2) Nonfiction – The
Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
3) Sci-Fi – Redshirts
by John Scalzi
4) Fantasy
5) Mystery – Book
of Lies by Brad Meltzer
6) Horror
7)
Memoir/Biography – Data, A Love Story by Amy Webb
8) Chick Lit – Me
and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
9) Feminist – Commencement
by J. Courtney Sullivan
10) Teen – What
Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
11) Holiday
12) Essays – What
Was I Thinking? ed. by Barbara Davilman & Liz Dubelman
13) Short
Stories
14) Library
15) Animal
16) Book about
Books – Judging a Book By Its Lover by Lauren Leto
17) New – Pitch
Perfect by Mickey Rapkin
18) Old – Dark
and Stormy Knights edited by P. N. Elrod
19) Pop
Science – Why Men Fake It by Abraham Morgentaler, MD
20) Near
21) Far
22) Graphic Novel –
Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? by Thomas F. Zahler
23) Reread – Ready
Player One by Ernest Cline
24) Wild Card
25) Otherworldly
Creature
26) Free – Point
Your Face at This by Demetri Martin
27) Noteworthy
28) Bestseller –
How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
29) Themed
Anthology – Red edited by Kris Goldsmith
30) Steampunk – The Immersion Book of
Steampunk edited by Gareth Jones and Carmelo Rafala
31) Movie-Book
32) Media – Doctor
Who: Touched By an Angel by Jonathan Morris
33) Travel
34) Food
35) Classic
36) Humor – Sleep
Talkin’ Man by Karen Slavick-Lennard
37) Poetry
38) Past – Stasiland
by Anna Funder
39) Future
40)
Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic
41) Zombie
42) Sports – Red
Rising by Ted Starkey
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