Shore Leave Part 1

This past weekend was Shore Leave! A fun, fan run sci-fi con in Baltimore County. The guest list had John Barrowman, Jamie Murray, Jesse Rath, Tony Curran, Daniel Davis, David Nykl, and Rekha Sharma.

John Barrowman was AMAZING!!! I hope to do a more detailed post later but he was hilarious, sassy, sexy, and heartfelt. The relationship between Jaime, Jesse, and Tony was clear and made them so much fun. When they were presented with their Shore Leave bunnies, Jesse looked at Jaime and said “I wanted Kirk. Trade?” and they swapped bunnies on stage. It was very funny. John said the bunny would be in good company with Easter kitty who shows up in a lot of his photos. The Defiance trio said they may make a background appearance in Defiance if they get a 4^th season.

I think that’s my favorite thing about a lot of the guests at Shore Leave: most of them really appreciate their fans. They know without us, they don’t get to live the dream. 

I think my most memorable moment was when I was walking past Rekha’s autograph area and saw her. She’s very slim and about eye level with my throat. The first words out of my mouth were “You’re so tiny.” I genuinely think she’s smaller than she was on Battlestar but she made a comment about the camera adding 10 pounds. I said that seeing them on screen, they also appear bigger than life.

The average American woman is 5’4 and many Indian woman are smaller than that. Celebrities are still people at the end of the day and subject to the same rules as the rest of us. Actresses are more likely to be slim because the business says so but they also follow the same height rules. The average American man is 5’9, my height. Seeing our heroes on screen in these worlds we escape to, playing characters we can only dream about being, we forget that they’re just people with a cooler job. Ms. Sharma was very nice

As far as spending goes, I spent more than I should have, as always but not on what I usually do. My normal big splurge has been clothes and jewelry. This weekend I couldn’t seem to say no to books. More on that later.

It was Boyfriend’s first Shore Leave. He had a lot of fun and enjoyed staying long enough to hear David Nykl. He sounds very interesting and I would love to watch Stargate if they ever put it on streaming.

I Like It

At my office party I was explaining how I was done 3 for 6 parties. I said one of the parties I had coming up was with my RenFest friends and we love to dress up in costume. That got a few funny looks.

I’ve dealt with enough non-nerds that I’ve gotten pretty good at explaining why I do what I do. I don’t understand why golf, designer fashion, sky diving, or excessive drinking are fun but for some reason those are easier to explain. Here’s a few suggestions on explaining why you love what you love to the ‘typical’ folks with whom you deal.

Explaining LARPing or RPGs: “I liked playing make-believe when I was a kid and I didn’t feel like stopping as an adult.”

Explaining Cosplay: “I liked playing dress-up as a kid and I didn’t feel like stopping as an adult.”

Explaining being a brony: “In a world of gratuitous violence and harmful machismo, it’s really refreshing to be part of a warm, welcoming, and non-judgmental show and fan community.”

Explaining comic cons: “It’s a chance to us to meet authors of our favorite books and other folks who have the same interests.”

Explaining comics: “Many of the stories have excellent character development and thoughtful narratives. The art adds an extra dimension to the story and eases the need for exposition.”

Explaining sci-fi shows: “It has the same elements of most regular TV shows but the universe allows for a lot of extra plot points and storylines to happen. In some ways, the universe becomes a character in itself with how it shapes everything.”

I wonder what it’s like to never have to justify what you like.

Music: Once Upon a December by Dean Carter

Bechdel Test: TV Shows

Movies are usually a one shot deal so sexism is easy to spot. TV shows are on-going and you can spot patterns. IF you have no idea what I’m talking about, go back and read the first entry about the Bechdel test.

I did a lot more than I was originally planning on but there are several off-air shows that are crazy popular on Netflix and/or in the nerd community. Some just merit a mention

Supernatural: Fails. Caveat, I’ve only seen the first 3 seasons however, most of the female characters don’t interact save a mother & daughter in season 2.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Passes. There’s a good mix between relationship stuff and saving the world.

Firefly: Passes. They talk about work, the ship, the planet they’re on, and a variety of things including relationship stuff.

Star Trek (TNG, DS9, Voyager): All pass. All named characters, regulars and one episode wonders, have something else to discuss. I skipped TOS because 1) it’s a different era and 2) I haven’t seen it.

Warehouse 13: Passes. With an excellent balance of male and female good guys and bad guys, this show gives its characters plenty to do and care about.

BSG: Passes. Relationships add to the post apocalyptic, save-the-human-race drama.

Dr Who: Passes, mostly. The number of named female characters who interact varies from episode to episode. It’s not consistent enough to pass with flying colors although River Song helps.

Torchwood: Passes, mostly. The female characters primarily talk about the job they’re doing however Gwen is it for season 3.

Game of Thrones: Passes. Women have little power outside their wiles but still find other things to discuss.

Bachelor(ette): Epic Fail. A woman left her 25% chance of winning to save her dream job and was shamed for it. Add that to all the cat fighting and you can see why this show should be a feminist drinking game.

Sex and the City: Epic Fail. The show admits it epically fails at this in one of the episodes.

NCIS: Pass. The current episodes could use a few more female characters but it has a good balance and the women on the show have stuff to do

Big Bang Theory: Passes. Most of the women on the show are attached to the men so relationships come up a lot but the girls have really come into their own in the last few seasons.

30 Rock: Passes. I like how work defines Lemon more than her relationships. She’s more interesting to watch for it.

How I Met Your Mother: Passes. Given the premise, relationships are the main gag but other stuff does come up.

The Walking Dead: Passes. I’ve only seen season one and while it’s light on the women, every character has better things to worry about.

Criminal Minds: Passes. I haven’t seen recent seasons and the show is male dominated but they did have enough female characters that they pass.

Gilmore Girls: Passes. While it’s on much anymore, women dominated the show and did manage to find other things to talk about.

CSI (all): Passes. I’ve seen enough of each incarnation to know that the show passes.

The Office: Passes especially since the premise of the show is about work.

The IT Crowd: Fails. There are no named female characters for Jen to talk to but that is also partly the point. IT is pretty male nerd dominated.

Downton Abbey: Passes. Despite the time period, the women do find other topics to discuss.

True Blood: Passes. Despite all the sex, the supernatural always gives characters something new to discuss.

Shows I have not seen: Mad Men, Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, Friends, Seinfeld, Alias, Grey’s Anatomy, Person of Interest, Big Brother, Modern Family, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Nashville (probably passes), Eureka, Dexter, and Homeland (probably passes).

The easiest path to give characters something to talk about is found in either genre shows (like sci-fi or fantasy) or shows where the woman’s job is part of the premise. Sci-fi usually makes female characters stronger and more empowered. They have more agency and responsibility than you see on a show with a more ordinary premise. Gilmore Girls is a rare example of a show that is every day but the female characters are layered. They are as kick-ass as sci-fi chicks but it was a good start until the final season when they canned the good writers.

Current Music: Northern Star by Melanie C