The Positive Influences of Television: Top Chef

It's frequently said that TV has a lot of negative qualities: It sucks your brain out, it wastes your time, it's hours and hours of trash, it's a bad influence, etc. This is all true in some cases. I know I don't get anything positive from watching a Real Housewives marathon, but there is some television that has a positive influence on it's viewers. This is the first in a series on some shows that have had a positive influence on my life and first up is Top Chef.

If you read my last post, you know that Top Chef is one of my favorite shows. I started watching Top Chef on accident. There was nothing on and my ex stumbled across it. The show was well into the first season (which filmed in my current home of San Francisco), but we were interested in the location and the challenge - the palate test. We were soon hooked, finished the season, and I never stopped watching after that.

Before I became a Top Chef addict, I thought cooking meant finding a new sauce to put on the Buitoni pasta that I had just boiled or microwaving steaming Green Giant vegetables. I had no idea what molecular gastronomy, blanching, braising, brining, or julienning meant, and even though I'll probably never be as skilled as the worst contestant to ever be on that show, it got me interested in cooking. No, it taught me how to cook.

My mom had watched a lot of cooking shows when I was a kid (Two Fat Ladies, Barefoot Contessa, etc), but I found these step-by-step instruction shows boring. They made it look like cooking was just chop, stir, and wait. But Top Chef,  with its fast-paced and competitive setup, showed me that cooking could be exhilarating.

I'm lucky in that I can interpret a recipe or pick up tips from television shows. After a couple of seasons of Top Chef, I began experimenting in my own kitchen. A spice rack that my mom had given me was suddenly getting used, I stopped buying frozen vegetables and pastas, and I would emailed my mom for my favorite childhood recipes. I bought cook books while also watching vigilantly as the chefs on TV combined flavors to adapt to that week's challenge.

It didn't stop with Top Chef either. Top Chef was my gateway show, and watching it made it easier to get into Chopped and then the Top Chef Spin-Offs (Just Desserts and Masters). Eventually, I was also hooked on Worst Cooks in America because I loved the tips they gave for the novice chefs (I always pre-heat my pans now). After Around the World in 80 Plates, I realized my DVR didn't have room for any more cooking shows so I cut myself off... but when I was home visiting my parents, I found that I didn't mind watching a few step-by-step shows with my Mom.

Top Chef changed me from someone ambivalent about cooking to  a pretty good home chef. I love making dishes for parties, have a full shelf just for cookbooks, and know how to balance and mix spices to make flavors I enjoy. Now, I really identify as a "foodie" and I don't know if that would be a part of my life if I hadn't found this show. I wonder if I would have found my biggest take away - my love of wine and interest in pairing. The first season of Top Chef featured chef Stephen Aspirinio - who was also a sommelier (master wine pairer). Before the show, I didn't even know that was a thing, and now I've built a wine collection and read books on pairing.

My love for food and wine is a huge part of my life. It has propelled me to try certain restaurants, learn how to cook, go on foodie adventures, taste wines, and I might not have discovered these interests without Top Chef.

Gotta love Tony Stark

The Bowling Theory

After a recent happy hour with some co-workers, we were trying to figure out the best way to divide the check. Since I'm pretty good at mental math, I took the check and was able to very quickly figure out the tip and divide the bill. My co-worker needed me to walk her through it a few times and no matter how I explained it, the numbers worked perfectly. She then made the comment, "I bet you were able to do that so well and quickly because you've had a couple glasses of wine." Actually... that's probably right and it has to do with something I like to call "The Bowling Theory."

When I was a teenager, bowling was actually a somewhat competitive activity, and I remember being pretty terrible ("Really? we can't use bumpers this one time??"). However, after my 21st birthday, the game changed a little bit. Whether I was playing at an alley or on my Wii, a pattern started to develop. We'd order our beers, and play our first game. The first few frames would start out pretty weak but as the game progressed, the later frames would be full of strikes and spares. At first, I assumed this was just do to warming up and re-acclimating to the game since I don't bowl all that often. However, the second game was always somewhat of a disaster. If it was due to acclimation, then the second games scores should be nearing 200 and this wasn't even close to being true.

That's when I discovered the Bowling Theory.

When you go bowling, everyone (well at least everyone in my groups of friends) tends to get a round of drinks. You get one drink to warm you up, release some tension, and relax you a little bit. It's enough to make you not over-think what you're doing and your body reacts a bit more naturally. However, about halfway through the first game - you get to the second drink. The second drink won't hit your system right away, so you're still playing off the endorphin from the first one as your body metabolizes the second. This usually happens around the time you're finishing the first game and are setting up for the second. By now you've finished both drinks and are feeling invincible... however, your body has enough alcohol in it that now it's not responding in the way you'd like it to be.

Even though I call it the Bowling Theory, I think it applies universally. It's why I could split the check quickly and accurately at the end of my second drink. It's why Wii and Kinect games are so much better after a beer. It's why you're so good at bar trivia in the middle of the game, but you can't remember the name of your favorite band by the end.


The Bowling Theory explains everything and maybe there's a take away from this. It's easy to go out and have a drink or two. According to the Bowling Theory, it also relaxes you enough to have your strengths shine with less stress or worry. So what would happen if we stopped there? Everyone has heard the concept of the designated driver who gets plenty of entertainment from watching his or her friends act silly. Let's take the concept a bit further - next time you're at a game night or trivia or you go bowling, let's see what happens if you stop after the first or second drink (this will depend on your tolerance/size/etc.). If the Bowling Theory is correct, you'll have stopped drinking right when you've peaked in terms of ability.

The Bowling Theory has so many entertaining applications. I love Rock Band and all of my friends know this. I often invite people to come over to play Rock Band after a night out. My instruments of choice are drums and singing. Drums require hand/eye/foot coordination, precise rhythm, and great timing. They're pretty tricky and playing them well requires practice, focus, and the ability to separate the movement of your arms from your feet. It is the perfect candidate for the Bowling Theory. Even though I have quite a bit of drumming experience under my belt, I tend to pick singing when I know I'm not in prime shape. Singing  is the opposite of drumming. You can basically hum the songs and get 90% or higher. You also get to watch whoever plays drums slowly fall apart as the night goes on. One of the best aspects of the Bowling Theory is that it doesn't affect your sheer will and self-confidence. Friends who might otherwise be excellent drummers, guitarists or keytarists (oh yes, I have the keytar) will come over, set their difficulty to hard and then need this singer to constantly bail them out. This is the Bowling Theory in action.

I'd love to see if the Bowling Theory works. If you're like me and would rather win than go nuts at a bar - I challenge you to test out the Bowling Theory next chance you get and report back. Since I couldn't find any back up on this - let's do our own research! Yes, having a couple of drinks and seeing how well you bowl is research. Isn't science so fun?

Who is ready to make some science?

Note: I was going to see if there was any sort of official research on this but I wasn't exactly sure how to search for it. If anyone knows of any studies done on the effects of small amounts of drinking, I'd love to read a scientific approach to the Bowling Theory. 

Will's Incredible Bio Answers! (ECHO ECho echo)

Last, but far from least, it's me and my CG Bio! 

Name: Will "Danger"

Geek Nickname: ChillyWilly, WilK(as in "Got WilK?"), 

Fictional Character You Identify Most With: Deadpool because I like talking to me, myself and I,  Captain America, Superman, Wall-E, and Kenpachi Zaraki and Kyouraku Shunsui from Bleach

Favorite Comic Book Hero: Deadpool because Psychosis and Schizophrenia are in.

Favorite Comic Book Villain: Magneto, Joker, Taskmaster, Bullseye, Mr. Mxyzptlk or Deathstroke/Slade.

Favorite Comic Team: X-Men, Justice League, Green Lantern Corps, Thunderbolts, and any "team-up" with Deadpool.

DC or Marvel: To me, this is like someone asking you what your favorite nipple is? I grew up watching, reading, and loving both. I did not segregate my action figures based on what comic or series they were from. To me, my heroes are on one side of the couch, and the villains are on the other. But if I had a gun to my head, most likely from my favorite character, I would pick Marvel, all day everyday.

Favorite Geeky Website: Superherohype.com, Geekexchange.com

What sites do you check every day? Facebook, IGN, eBay, CNET,Superhero Hype, Geek Exchange,

Favorite Gaming System: Nintendo, the original.

What Gaming System(s) Do You Own? NES, Wii, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Xbox 360, Playstation 1, 2, & 3, iPhone, iPad, and a few other Japanese plug and plays that have a ba-jillion games on them. 

Favorite Video Game(s): Ice Hockey for Nintendo, Rocket Knight Adventures, Ratchet and Clank (all), Spiderman (mostly any/all), LA Noire, Batman:Arkham City, Mario Kart, Street Fighter EX3,Super Mario Bros. (NES), Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2, to name a few.

Most Anticipated Game(s): Halo 4, Deadpool, Assassin's Creed III,

Favorite Movie(s): Untouchables, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Fight Club, The Dark Knight, Boiler Room, Rounders, Good Will Hunting, Wall-E,

Favorite Movie Trilogy: Indiana Jones (I don't count the crystal skull garbage).

Most Anticipated Movies: Tyler Perry's We the Peeples...Ha ha ha I'm just kidding, Man of Steel, The Great Gatsby, Catching Fire, World War Z,  Sin City: A Dame to Kill for, Thor: The Dark Worlds, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, R.I.P.D., Pacific Rim, Lone Ranger, The Goon, and Deadpool, to name a few.

Favorite Current TV Shows: Suits, Sherlock, Misfits, Wipeout!, Ultimate Spiderman, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes,  Being Human, Destination Truth, No Reservations, most cooking shows... this is a long list.

Favorite Off the Air TV Shows: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Life on Mars (BBC),The Twilight Zone, Eye on the Bay, X-Men, Superman:The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, Spiderman, Lois and Clark, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (you know you love that show and they still use the music for sporting events on NBC!), I could go on for years.

Do you have any collections? An insane amount of baseball cards, sports memorabilia, comic books, and historical San Francisco trinkets.

Your Best Costume/Cosplay: Tough call. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I LOVE getting dressed up in costumes! But, I was one of the Blues brothers with one of my best friends as the other brother. We got in to strangers parties, we were getting free shots and drinks left and right, I felt like a celebrity. However, the time I dressed up as a cop for Bay to Breakers and continually got stopped to ask for directions, people hiding their less than legal beverages, and busting people for said beverages only to tell them I wasn't a real cop, was pretty awesome. 

Favorite Literary Genre: Non-Fiction, nothing more unbelievable than the real thing. 

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book: I'm going to go on a limb here and say that Graphic Novels probably don't count. That being said, I'm really digging the whole Hunger Games Trilogy. I'm on the second book, so don't ruin it for me. But there are numerous short stories that I read when I was in college that I really liked. Did I mention I'm an English Major? I didn't? Good, let's keep it that way. 

Favorite Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Protagonist: Like I said, reading Hunger Games, Katniss, in the book, is entirely different than in the movie, so I'd say her. Any girl you can shoot a bow, track a person, and sleep in a tree, can go camping with me anytime. 
If you guys get a chance, watch Lockout. Guy Pearce's character is one of my favorite characters ever.

Favorite Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Antagonist: The Sith. I like Star Wars as much as the next guy, but man, I wish they would do more with the Sith! It's one thing to have really good guys, but it's even better to have even worse bad guys!!! You can't have a really incredible Protagonist without and equal if not better antagonist! I wish they would do a whole Star Wars movie, or at least an episode of the Clone Wars, dedicated to how bad ass the Sith are.
I'm also a huge fan of Manga, and would throw The Akatsuki from Naruto or The Espada from Bleach.


Alcoholic Drink of Choice:
Irish Whiskey (always with an "E"), and sometimes Gin.

Favorite Trope:
That's a fish right?

What do you do in your free time? Save the planet from impending doom, help wayward cats down from trees, try not to suck at softball and dodgeball, get lost in the woods both on and off trails, sports that have anything to do with water, run the occasional obstacle course, find the greatest sandwich known, and not known, to man, try new hobbies (this month I'm learning Bartitsu!), try to figure out where the hell the Pabst sign from San Francisco went, with the occasional micro brew tour and video game fest every now and again.  

What do you Geek out over?
More like what don't I Geek out over?

Nikki Loves Answering Questions!

Oh you want me to answer some questions too? OK!!

Name: Nikki

Nikki/Belle

Geek Nickname: Link - it's derived from my last name and of course, is from the Legend of Zelda, one of the best video games of all time.

Fictional Character You Identify Most With: I would say Johanna Mason but my friends said River Tam. I still haven't decided if I'm honored or insulted. *edit* Actually, now that I've been listening to the Broadway Pandora station for a solid 3 months, I'm going to go with Eponine.

Favorite Comic Book Hero: Tie between Batman and Iron Man. I have a thing for billionaire, philanthropist, genius, masked men. If such a person is reading this... call me.

Favorite Comic Book Villain: Harley Quinn

Favorite Comic Team: X-Men - those guys are crazy. I really did not realize they went into space THAT much until I re-watched the animated series a few months ago.

DC or Marvel: Marvel

Favorite Geeky Website: The Mary Sue

What sites do you check every day? Facebook, The Mary Sue, Pinterest, Blogger, Goodreads, IGN, G4, 1Up Network

Favorite Gaming System:  Playstation 3

What Gaming System(s) Do You Own? PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS Vita, Nintendo DS - gotta have all your bases covered. I also pre-ordered an Ouya.

Favorite Video Game(s): God of War series, Ratchet & Clank series, Halo series, Smash Brothers Melee, Rock Band series

Most Anticipated Game(s): Assassins Creed 3/Liberation (looking forward to the Vita crossover), Deadpool, God of War: Ascension

Favorite Movie(s): The Dark Knight, Vertigo, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fight Club, Ratatouille, and Beauty and the Beast (I contained it to one Batman, one Hitchcock, one Audrey, one Pixar and one Disney but really I could go on for a while)

Favorite Movie Trilogy: Back to the Future, Dark Knight Trilogy, Star Wars (both, don't judge), Terminator

Most Anticipated Movies: Iron Man 3, Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Favorite Current TV Shows: How I Met Your Mother, Top Chef, American Ninja Warrior, L.A. Complex

Favorite Off the Air TV Shows: Veronica Mars, House, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, X-Men (actually most cartoons I liked as a kid), Better Off Ted

Do you have any collections? I love collecting (and drinking) wine - I'm certain this will be a re-occuring theme in this blog. I have a collection of posters from a famous theater in San Francisco. Since I only have so much wall space this is a quality over quantity collection but I'm very vigilant about getting the posters for my favorite movies when they become available. I also try to collect every (excluding straight to DVD) Disney and Pixar movie.

Your Best Costume/Cosplay: I have a really great Lara Croft outfit. I just got all the pieces together for a Halloween costume I've been wanting to do for a few years (which I'm sure will make it's way onto this site). I also just love accesories: Batman mask, pirate accessories - you need to be covered for any theme party or movie premiere!

Favorite Literary Genre: Mystery/Suspense for fiction, Behavioral Economics for non-fiction, Dystopian Future Societies for geeky categories

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book: A Wrinkle in Time, Catching Fire, Hitchhiker's Guide, A Ring of Endless Light

Favorite Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Protagonist: Peeta Mellark (Hunger Games), Ford Prefect (Hitcher's), V (V for Vendetta)

Favorite Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Antagonist: The Red Queen (Through the Looking Glass)

Alcoholic Drink of Choice: Wine - specifically, Cabernet, Sirah, and Malbec.

Favorite Trope: Hilarity Ensues or Mary Sue (if you don't know what a trope is, click here. I apologize in advance for the many hours you are about to waste) although Becca insists it should be Manic Pixie Dreamgirl.... which, after reading the description, is probably spot on.

What do you do in your free time? Everything (quite literally)! My hobbies include rock climbing, hiking, exploring, painting, arts & crafts, reading, movie watching, cooking, and generally exploring/going on adventures.

What do you Geek out over? I love wine and try my hand at pairing all the time. I just love to absorb information and can get lost on wikipedia/tropes etc. forever. When I read a geeky article I always click through to the source. When I watch or re-watch a television series, I spend a lot of time online getting more information. This is even more so for something that has a large universe outside of what is on the show/movie (e.g. comic books based media).

The Extraordinary Bio of an Ordinary Becca

Hello Cinnamon Geekers!

The trio behind the blog decided to make a CG edition of '20 Questions' to let all y'all know a little but more about us.

I'm posting tonight, and look for Nikki and Will's entries over the next few days! Regular posts will be going up too!

27 Questions, CG edition: 

Becca and Nikki heading to 1955

Name: Becca

Geek Nickname: In middle school, I tried, with little success, to go by 'Jean.' While its my actual middle name, I was definitely over identifying with Jean Grey at the time and tried to push it for that reason.

Fictional Character You Identify Most With: Robin Scherbatsky, due to both personal identification with several of her arcs and the regular comment of "OMG, you're Robin!" from more friends than I can count.

Favorite Comic Book Hero: Kitty Pryde!

Favorite Comic Book Villain: Magneto, he was the villain of my childhood geek education and will always be my favorite.

Favorite Comic Team: Any incarnation of the X-Men, the Runaways, and the Scoobie Gang (BTVS is a comic now, it counts).

DC or Marvel: Marvel all the way. I was raised on a steady diet of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men comics.

Favorite Geeky Website: BoingBoing.

What sites do you check every day? BoingBoing, Tor.com, GoodReads, TWIT, Io9, BuzzFeed, The Mary Sue, etc. Have to stop this now or I'll list 800 sites...

Favorite Gaming System: N64. 

What Gaming System(s) Do You Own? I have an NES, Super NES, N64, PS2, X-Box 360, Wii, Gameboy DS, my iPhone and, when I'm home in San Diego, a PS3.

Favorite Video Game(s): Goldeneye 64 and the Mass Effect trilogy.

Most Anticipated Game(s): Tie right now between Assassin's Creed 3 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter

Favorite Movie(s): Too many to list, but my Top 5, in no particular order, are Moonstruck, Serenity, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Professional, and Disney's Beauty & the Beast.

Favorite Movie Trilogy: Indiana Jones!

Most Anticipated Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy!! I honestly screamed when it was announced at the Marvel panel at SDCC, screamed and did a little happy dance.

Favorite Current TV Shows:  How I Met Your Mother, Breaking Bad, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Suits, Once Upon A Time, Homeland, and Chopped.

Favorite Off the Air TV Shows:  The X-Files, Seinfeld, Dead Like Me, Firefly, Eureka, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Deadwood, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, and Six Feet Under.

Do you have any collections?   Yup! Mostly Lord of the Rings action figures, but also a growing collection of Star Wars model kits and comics.

Your Best Costume/Cosplay: Felicia Day, because apparently a 5'8" brunette in a Captain Hammer shirt = Felicia Day. Oh what a baffling case of mistaken identity that day was...

Favorite Literary Genre: I can't answer this, I was an English major!! But if you insist that I choose, I'd go with fantasy of any kind- high, modern, etc etc.

(As the resident lit nerd, I'm answering for both genres in the next three questions!)

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book: Asimov's Foundation #1 / Neil Gaiman's American Gods

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Protagonist: Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide) / Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) 

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Villain: O'Brien (Orwell's 1984) / Lord Asriel (Pullman's His Dark Materials)

Alcoholic Drink of Choice:  Whiskey.

Favorite Trope: Died in Your Arms Tonight and Nobody Poops

What do you do in your free time?   Read. I'm always at least partway through 2-3 books, be it for pleasure or for work, so most of my free time is spent reading. Other than that, I enjoy working out, hiking in the Tilden Regional Park, and cooking.

What do you Geek out over?   What don't I geek out over might be a better question. I'm a 'jack of all trades' when it comes to geekdom, there's little that doesn't make me incredibly excited, but by-and-large anything related to comic book movies and/or film adaptations of sci-fi/fantasy books is going to have me dancing in the streets.

The Economics of Wine

The inspiration for this post came from, where I suspect many future posts will come from, a comment fight on the Internet. I try to avoid these things, but if something I'm passionate about comes up... well, I'd need two bouncers to hold me back. I'm not going to lie, part of the idea for this blog was for me to have a place to formulate my comment debates into a well thought out essays that drives my point home.

This particular discussion started when a friend posted an article about how Charles Shaw (2 Buck Chuck) won double gold at a wine competition proving once and for all that cheap wine is as good as or better than expensive wine.

My stance?

First, the article is eight years old and discussing a ten year old wine, so I felt it to be a bit outdated (and we'll go into further detail about the significance of the years). Additionally, I feel that its possible for wine to be too cheap. That doesn't mean you need to spend a small fortune on twenty year old wines imported directly from the heart of France. There are a lot of really great wines in the $10 range and those few extra dollars can make a huge difference in the quality of the wine you end up buying.

My Background

I'm not going to say I'm some sort of wine expert. I like to refer to myself as a "wine connoisseur-in-training." I love wine, I'm a member of two wine clubs, I have a few wine books and I read several wine articles. I'm not an expert, I have never taken a class. I know what I know about wine from buying and drinking a lot of wine.

My credentials

Economics, on the other hand, is a different story. I have a Bachelor's degree in Economics from a leading university, I've worked in finance for four years, I read economics books for fun, and I constantly calculate my opportunity cost (opportunity cost is what you have to give up in order to do/buy something. For example, I think of how many hours I would need to work to pay for something I'm going to buy vs. how many hours I'll enjoy it).

So here is an Economist who loves wine, telling you a little but more about what it is you're paying for. I got a little carried away with this post so the rest is after the jump!

The Catsuit - Form or Function?

I don't think there is anything on the internet that gets me more riled up than the discussion about whether or not a female protagonist can realistically wear heels and still do awesome stunts and action scenes. I've gotten into many internet debates over this... because I think any woman can kick ass and wear heels, and I'm going to tell you why (minor Dark Knight Rises spoilers ahead)

Several months ago, when Catwoman's costume was shown, there was a pretty big internet outcry about how "once again a female action star is wearing heels" and "sexist costumes" and "isn't Nolan's Bat-verse supposed to be realistic?" It's caught my attention that when a female's costume debuts, the first impulse is to point out impracticalities in it. I think there are two sides to this coin, and as a female, I have no problem explaining why heeled boots work.

I think first and foremost, sometimes it's easy in the movie world to assume "the director wanted this" or "producers think this outfit will make us more money" and while those things may be true, it's helpful to remember that they are still dressing a character. This character may actually prefer this kind of outfit. Catwoman is a perfect example of this. Her character has always been a seductress, using her feminine wiles to distract her targets. If sex appeal and seduction is one of your tools, then doesn't a sexy costume make sense?

I also just extremely dislike the argument that one cannot move in heels for practical reasons. My roommate recently got me into So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). I was already firmly on Teams Heels before watching the show but watching these young women do a variety of dances and flips while wearing strappy stilettos only reinforced my opinion. I personally love heels and while I may not sport them every day and for every occasion, I definitely feel comfortable wearing boot heels (similar to those that Catwoman dons) for extended periods of time. Comfortable may not even cover it... part of me feels more empowered when I can wear some stiletto boots and march down the street knowing that I look good but am still physically capable of running, jumping or climbing even though I'm not nearly as acrobatically adept as Catwoman. I look at Catwoman or the women on SYTYCD and I wonder if they get that some feeling. The feeling that not only are you capable of doing something but that you can still do it while wearing heels makes you that much better, that much stronger. That boost to one's confidence could very well be more than enough to overcome any sort of physical hindrance that the heels may cause.

A big reason why the comments regarding Catwoman's shoes particularly bothered me, was that the shoes were also designed to serve a useful purpose as well. Long before the movie came out, it was said that the Selina Kyle's heels actually hid a blade that she could use in combat. The movie clearly demonstrated this on two occasions: once when she pinned an adversary against a wall with her heel and again when she used the heel blade to kick and cut a rope in order to lower a window washing cart. The shoes clearly had a greater purpose than only being a sexy costume design.

Not comfortable... then again, I accidentally got a kid size...

There is also an aspect of the costume that is supposed to represent a cat-like form. Take Batman, for example. I personally would go crazy if I had to don a cape and a cowl. I hate having my head or arms covered and I tend to get tangled up very easily. I would feel like the cowl limited my visibility and I wouldn't get 2 feet on the Bat-pod without the cape getting caught in my gears. While there are functions of these two costume elements - I would find them much more annoying than useful. However, these design elements help make Batman appear more like the animal from which he derives his name. In the same way, Selina's boots help her appear to have and more of a cat-like swagger. That visual aspect of the costume is important in the transformation from normal person into something more.

What is boils down to in the end is that it's always a choice. I wear heels because I love them. I love the way I look in them and the way they make me feel. I imagine Catwoman makes the same choice for similar reasons. Many people hate to wear heels and, lucky for everyone, they have that choice too.

For The Consideration of Mr. Whedon

Disney just announced Joss Whedon will write and direct THE AVENGERS 2 and develop a Marvel TV show for ABC.
— Marc Graser (@marcgraser) August 7, 2012

While the announcement by Disney that Joss Whedon, supreme nerd god of all, will be at the helm of Avengers 2 comes as no surprise, the additional announcement that he’ll be developing a Marvel-centric show for ABC is the real news here. 

Details are scant, with little more than Graser’s tweet and others like it to confirm the announcement by Disney’s Bob Iger, but hearing that Joss will soon be returning to TV made my little Whedonite heart go a-pitter patter like a lovesick schoolgirl. 

A show with a “Created by Joss Whedon” title card that DISNEY is backing and thus has an infinitely higher chance of A.) Not getting cancelled after a season (RIP Firefly & Dollhouse) or B.) Getting shuffled around from network to network!?! 

I must be dreaming!

But since I’ve already realized that I have to cope with the sad reality that it will probably be months before we hear anything more about Whedon’s latest Marvel-centric undertaking, its time for the rampant speculation to begin and here’s what I’m hoping Joss will do with his TV show. 

Front to Back: Nico, Molly, Gertrude,
Karolina, Nico, Chase, & Old Lace.

Runaways. 

While there has been a Runaways film adaptation floating about in various stages of development since 2008, I think the series would do better as a television series and I hope that Whedon thinks the same.

Now before you jump down my throats about how the comics are too visually complex and need the kind of budget only a movie could carry, etc etc, hear me out. 

Its common knowledge that Whedon is a huge fan of the series, and his active participation in the fan-led revival campaign helped bring the series back when it was cancelled after 18 issues.

Hell, he was even singled out by creator Brian K. Vaughan to write the story arcs that immediately followed Vaughan and Alphona departure from the series! 

Plus, the series has all the hallmarks of a Whedon-esque series already: 

Multi-faceted ensemble cast? 

Runaways is a team of 6 teens (plus 1 telepathic raptor) who are at once, say....sorcerers, but struggle with issues such as magically necessary self-harm (ala my favorite, Nico). They‘re believably teenage protagonists, and the interplay between the adult situations they’re often faced with and their teenage experiences and K-12 educations is brilliant. 

Witty but natural dialogue? 

Brian K. Vaughan, arguably one of the best writers in the comic industry, heads up the comic, and the possibility of Whedon and Vaughan teaming up for a TV adaption of the series is the stuff nerdgasms are made of.  (Then again, both writers are so adept at working pop culture references into their dialogue that there's a chance all the characters would just communicate via references ala Juno, and we all remember how annoying that got after 90 minutes.)

Strong female characters? 

Duh. Did you really except Whedon to be interested in something where the female characters roll over and raise a white flag at the first sign of trouble? I thought so.

So while the common consensus has already decided that Whedon will either be joining the Guillermo del Toro-led The Hulk series or come on as show runner for Cloak & Dagger, I hope that there’s at least some consideration given to a Runaways TV series. 

Television is ready for another ensemble driven, Whedon-written show, and I really REALLY want to have a show on where genetically-engineered raptor from the 87th century is part of the central cast.

Why I Kickstarted Ouya

Ok, blog readers, I feel like my posts haven't been stereo-typically geeky enough so here's a post on my geek area of strength: the gaming world.

I have been a huge gamer my whole life - a concept that is odd to people for two reasons: I'm a girl and the only console I owned until I was in high school was a classic Nintendo and a Gameboy (briefly). So I missed a lot of systems in between Nintendo time and when I finally bought a second hand PS1 off of my brother for $50. Yet I rarely missed an opportunity for gaming. Anyone who was friends with me during that time, would usually have me over to help them beat their video games. There was some beautiful mystery in the fact that my siblings and I, having the least video game experience, were always handed the controller when the level or boss fight got too hard. We mostly just played games at friends and neighbors houses but eventually we got involved in computer gaming and then discovered the beauty of emulation - both wonderful ways to game while living with parents who refused to let us have consoles.

Now that I'm an adult (kind of) and live on my own, I have my own pay checks to spend where I want. Despite my parents' attempts at keeping me away from gaming, I love it more than ever. I own all the modern systems, and I have quite a game collection. That's why I knew I had to get an Ouya as soon as I heard about it.

I pride myself on being knowledgeable about the gaming world. I watched E3 the way some people watch CNN or Monday night football. I already have a wishlist for all of the winter and spring release games. While my first impulse was "OMG a new console! I need this!" Ouya actually made a lot of sense to me.

Ouya is going to run Android (I should also put out there that I am adamently not an Apple person. I will always pick PC, Android, Google, etc. Always) 4.0 and be completely open source. This console is an open invitation to developers to create games for a television. Imagine the people who created Angry Birds, Farmville, Draw Something, etc. being able to work with a game that fits on your flat screen tv and using a controller. It sounds like there's a lot of possibility there.

Well, that's sounds great for developers, but what's in it for us little people? All games will be free in some form. This could be a full game, a free demo, etc. Either way, you get to test what you're playing before you ever have to commit dollars to it.

Ouya is also going to have some of those same benefits that I love about my Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii - apps. Since it runs Android, it's going to run any Android apps. As a dedicated Android and Chrome user, it's nice to have one more place where I can sync up to my Google world.

I'm excited for Ouya and I've committed to testing it out. Check back in March to see what my first look at Ouya is like. Maybe we'll even have videos up by then you can watch our hands on gameplay.

There's more information about Ouya on their Kickstarter page although the fundraising period is almost over. 

Haiku Forgive Me?

 

Since I didn't do a
post last week, I thought I should
write an apology.

Everything I write
will be in Haiku form since
I love a challenge.

If you would like to
write your own Haikus, click here
for WikiHow's page.

I will quit stalling
and get to my apology now.
check my hard work here.

Sorry I am, for one
post a week I did not do.
This sounds like Yoda.

One post each week is
much harder than I first thought.
Life is never easy.


Luckily, I don't
have writer's block, I just want
quality above all.

So if nothing else,
expect a geeky Haiku
to fill in the gaps.

Thanks for reading!
I'm working on a few posts
and are coming soon.

Amazon Love Sonnet

I had to get an item at the store

But the nearest shop was miles away

To drive that far would be a tough chore

When the nearest store was across the Bay

I knew Amazon would have it online

With so many deals, I had to get Prime

Lending Library books were now all mine

Instant videos to watch all the time

Though I did not need my order today

Before the end of the week would be great

I used my Amazon Visa card to pay

And then the only thing to do was wait

The box would arrive in days less than few

But it came in one day instead of two