Saturday, August 31, 2013

Keeping Up With The Cons- Stan Lee's Comikaze

My name is Amanda, and I'm an SDCC-aholic. Its true. While I've gone to WonderCon the past few years, I left feeling good about it, but haven't been obsessively thinking about it. This is not the case with San Diego Comic Con.  It was an  incredible experience, and I miss it. There, I said it. So to combat this, I've read that its good to go to smaller cons, or just any con that catches your eye. Well, Stan Lee's Comikaze has caught my eye, and let me tell you why.

I first found out about Comikaze through the Golden Ticket that was given away with June's Loot Crate. I went to the site and immediately liked its vibe. But what clinched it for me was seeing that LeVar Burton is going to be a guest. If you're saying "Who is LeVar Burton?", then shame on you. Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation were both big parts of my childhood. And even now, hes on Perception, and I love love love that show! And it gets better. Yesterday I found out that Weird Al is going to be the Guest of Honor. Weird Al!!! I also grew up listening to his songs, and I even traumatized my friend's cousins once because they heard me playing The Night Santa Went Crazy to my friend.....they were still old enough to believe in Santa. Ooops. Also, Weird Al songs were played all the time on Dr. Demento, and thats what my dad and I listened to while cleaning the house on weekends. Two icons of my childhood under one roof? I have to be there.

Whats also neato is that The Topps Company is going to be there with an exclusive Mars Attacks card featuring Stan Lee! The card is limited to 2500 and will be given as a freebie on a first come, first serve basis. How cool is that? They're also bringing some Garbage Pail Kids and Star Wars cards, so thats pretty cool.

Are you going to Comikaze? Think it sounds awesome or lame? Let me know in the comments below!

Friday, August 30, 2013

The Only Performance That Mattered At The MTV 2013 VMAs



And here is the Justin/N'Sync performance. For some reason, I couldn't add it to today's Poppin' Off post. Enjoy!!

Poppin' Off: Recap of the 2013 VMAs

Oh boy. What a show the VMAs turned out to be. I have to say....I kind of loved it (and thats all thanks to JT).

First off, that Lady Gaga opener. I'm not so much a fan of hers. I liked her earlier songs and then she just got a little too political for my taste, and it reflected in her music. Anyway, I liked her performance. I thought it had a slow start, and that weird nun outfit was a little much, but the song is catchy. And, her seashell bra and G-string bottom? Get it girl! I respect that she isn't stick thin and still has the confidence to rock that outfit. I think thats something the tween set, and even many adults, need to see (maybe not the buttcheeks, but the message). Body image has been so mutilated thanks to modern media; I thought Lady Gaga's outfit was a nice display of confidence and wasn't trashy.

And then there was Miley. She was a little (meaning really) trashy. I didn't have my children in the room with me while I was watching the VMAs, so I don't have the parental rage that so many seem to have. She pushed a lot of boundaries, but I don't think she did it to glorify that lifestyle, I think she was just doing it for attention. People weren't paying attention to her when she was just being herself, and crazy trashy seems to sell these days (Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan anyone?), so its a smart PR move. I like the song, and I liked when Robin Thicke came out to sing Blurred Lines. Sure, it may be 2013's rape anthem (according to my sister in law), but that song is catchy. Also, I wasn't paying too close attention to Miley while Robin Thicke was singing, so I didn't see all the nasty things she was doing with that foam finger.

Before I get to Justin Timberlake's a-maz-ing performance, I'd like to point out some things that bothered me about the VMAs. First off, Taylor Swift's jab at her ex One Direction boyfriend was so immature. I used to be a huge fan of hers, and I still like her songs, but with the constant boyfriend hopping and the lack of maturity she displays.....it makes her kinda icky. At least Miley keeps consistent with one guy. Also, what was up with the 24/7 shots of her and Selena Gomez all night long? Sure its fun to see celeb BFFs, but I would've liked to have seen other audience members. Something else that bothered me were Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's acceptance speeches. They deserve every award they got, no doubt about it. But they had the longest speeches of the night, and they always seemed to thank their featured singers (Ray Dalton and Mary Lambert) who were up there onstage with them, as an afterthought. Which I thought was disrespectful because without Mary and Ray, those songs would be incomplete. Also, news outlets reported that One Direction were the only act to be booed that night, but I could swear that at the beginning of Lady Gaga's set, she was getting booed too. Did anyone else hear that, or was that just me?

So Justin. Justin, Justin, Justin. His performance was amazing. Perfect even. He sang all my favorite songs by him and he looked like such a cutie. Its now a life ambition of mine to see him in concert. The only thing I didn't like was that the N'Sync reunion was like five seconds long. The hype leading up to it made it so disappointing. But you also have to take into account that it wasn't a Video Vanguard for N'Sync, it was for Justin as a solo artist. Even Jimmy Fallon's intro and rambles before giving Justin the award were cute ("I'm talking Sexy Back! I'm talking Dick In A Box! Dick In A Box!") Justin's performance was the highlight of the night, no doubt about it. I imagine that next year's VMAs will pale in comparison, just because they won't have the Justin performance (and also, I'm sure MTV will have to vigilant about their performances, thanks to Miley's twerking escapades.)

Since I can't find any good YouTube videos of the performances, here are the official videos for Applause, Blurred Line and We Can't Stop.


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

WoW Wednesday- Preparing For The Siege of Orgrimmar

I know, I know. I'm late to the party. The announcement for its official release date was like two weeks ago. But with my little Internet absence I missed writing about it right away, but that doesn't mean I can't still write about it now :)

Above is the trailer, I think it looks pretty awesome. Here is the link to Battle.net regarding the above video. Now, a lot of people are excited for this, mostly because we get to kill Garrosh lol. But I think the concept is interesting, a leader actually breaking away from his faction to do his own thing. For a long while my husband and I had talked about the prospect of Sylvanas breaking away and doing her own thing, since she has the Forsaken on her side. But I suppose Garrosh is a nice substitute. Although, it is a little sad that the pretty Panda lands are getting destroyed. I haven't really had a chance to explore them (I only have one Level 90 and a few 86's, but I haven't gone through all the quests in Panderia yet). Here is Blizzard's guide for getting prepared for the patch. Are you ready for it? Excited for it, or disappointed? Let me know down below :)

Also, here's a video from Panser aka Trade Chat about some of the things going on in Patch 5.4.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Happy Mail- International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club

So I think my Monday Mix Ups will be on hold for a little bit. I don't have as much time to search the Internet for awesome things right now, but once I do, MM will be back in action.

Something I want to share with all of you is the International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club, or IGGPPC. I found them back in June, and I was so thrilled. I love pen pals. When I was younger, I used to find my pen pals through a magazine called Girls Life. To be published in the magazine, you had to have a PO Box (which I didn't), but you didn't have to have one to start writing to the girls. They had new girls every issue, so it was nice way to constantly find new pen pal prospects. While most of my pen pals only sent a few letters before I got the regrettable "I just got too many responses so I have to choose and its not you" letters, I did make one friend. We were pen pals from about eighth grade until....about a year ago (so, that's about 12 years). I missed the thrill of getting letters (being an adult now, all my mail is bills and sometimes magazines), but didn't know how to get pen pals again. Finding IGGPPC was like a dream come true. Not only was it a place to find pen pals, but nerdy pen pals! My heart rejoiced.

I have already made one pen friend through the rounds (more on that in a sec), and I've been able to join some groups that do their own swaps and things. Its a pretty sweet deal. Round Six opened registration on August 15th and open until.....the end of the month I believe. Each round has a theme, and you are matched with someone based on the nerdy loves you list during your registration process. You register every round, so you can change your nerdy loves, email address, whatever you need to chance with each round. After you're matched, they send you and your match an email, and its your responsibility to respond and exchange mailing info. I am having so much fun with this group and I feel really lucky to have found it. If you think you'd like to give the ancient art of writing an actual letter and sending it through snail mail, then I encourage you to sign up today. You won't regret it!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Poppin' Off- The VMAS and N'Sync Reunion

Oh yes, oh yes. Its that time again. The MTV Video Music Awards (Sunday, August 25, 9pm). I used to love watching MTV's award shows as a teenager (back when MTV still played a good amount of music videos), everything about them was so hip and fresh. I tried watching the Movie Awards earlier this year because I wanted to see the Pitch Perfect cast reunite to do a number. Their performance drew me in, so I watched the rest of the awards show. I found the skits to be unfunny, and the stars competing for shock value bored me (Will Ferrell's Asian family....Aubrey Plaza trying to steal Will Ferrell's awards.....Taylor Lautner in a fat suit...fail). Maybe I'm just getting too old for MTV? I guess we'll find out this Sunday when the VMAs come on. The only reason I'm deciding to watch it this year? Two words: N'Sync Reunion.

I am a sucker for a boy band reunion, and this is a pretty big one. When other boy bands first started reuniting (Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block), people always wanted an N'Sync reunion. The problem? Justin Timberlake was against it. And honestly, he didn't need it. And neither did JC Chasez. So it never happened and never happened and then just a few days ago news outlets start reporting like crazy that they are reuniting at this year's VMAs. What?!?! So while I'm hearing that a performance still isn't official, some of the band members have been sending out pretty big hints confirming the show. While I am thrilled with the prospect of a reunion, I can't help but wonder what made them change their mind. Justin is wildly successful on his own; is he just throwing the other guys a bone, or his he really into it? Also, its rumored that this is a one time reunion. But I feel like maybe it isn't. In addition to the comebacks I listed earlier, other boy bands like 98 Degrees, The Jonas Brothers and even Hanson have reunited this year and started releasing singles again. Has N'Sync just jumped on board the Boy Band Revival Train? I supposed we will all find out after Sunday night's performance. Either way, if its just for a night or for a little bit longer, I will enjoy the blast from the past. Down below are a few of my favorite N'Sync hits, enjoy!

1) Gone 2) Its Gonna Be Me and 3) Bye Bye Bye. And I highly recommend the episode of The Simpsons where Bart has a boy band and N'Sync is heavily featured, if you can find it. "And end with a Matrix."

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Personally.....Personal

So I had hoped that with all the craziness of July behind me, that I could get back on blogging track. But I have been so sick the past few weeks (crazy bad migraines, body aches, fever, chills, just to name a few) that I have been avoiding the computer and anything else that really makes me do anything but nap lol. But I finally seem to be feeling better, so I think I will gradually be building back to normal posting, with my regular schedule back on track for September (I have some super fun things to share!). Thanks so much for your patience, I really appreciate it.


Monday, August 5, 2013

Monday Mix Up #5

Now that the craziness of July is over, my posting schedule should get back to normal. Anyway, here's a small little list of links to help you procrastinate the start of another week.

*This Shark Week post from Kaelah Bee. It has lots of awesome food and games ideas if you want to throw a Shark Week party. Check it out!

*International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club! I will be writing a post about them soon, but I love the community so much. I love having pen pals, and this is a great place to get some and to celebrate all things nerdy. Next round of signups is in about two weeks.

*Hello Apparel. I really want a Hello sweatshirt for myself and those splatter leggings for my daughter. And not only are their designs cute, but they are a business with heart. When Oklahoma was ravished by the tornado earlier this year, they made a special tank top, and the proceeds from that tank went to American Red Cross relief efforts for the area. 

*SOELive and VidCon. Two conventions I found out about too late lol. I'm always on the lookout for a good convention to attend.

*Netflix temporarily pulled a Star Trek movie for incorrect subtitles.It wasn't Spanish or French though, it was Klingon and Vulcan! Nerds know their languages....even invented ones.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Poppin' Off- Operation Morale

I don't really know how to categorize this post; Poppin' Off is usually reserved for music, movies, places, etc. But I really love what Operation Morale is about and I just had to share. So here we go:

Yesterday morning I was flipping through my Instagram feed and I saw a few different bloggers that I follow post screen caps of Operation Morale. I was eager to find the originating source, and a few more scrolls down my feed, I found it. Erin Loves Earl (@candykirbydesigns on Instagram) is the genius behind Operation Morale, and the gist is, sending care packages overseas to our men and women in the armed forces. You might be thinking, that's been done before, and it has. I come from a long line of military, and the most recent is my brother, who is fresh out of basic in the Army. I've sent care packages before, but haven't done so in a really long time because I don't have any family overseas right now. And that's really something that Operation Morale touches on. It puts the idea back into your head to send something that soldiers not only need, but might make their day a little more cheerful. And it doesn't matter if you're for or against the war, or anything like that. Its about caring for other people, plain and simple. So please, please check out the link and hopefully you'll be touched to send a care package too. It doesn't have to be huge or expensive, or anything that might be stopping you from sending one. It really is the thought that counts.