We've Moved!

Hey guys and gals,

We've moved to a cleaner, more organized website so come and join us!

http://nerdsinbabeland.com/

We're super excited about this move b/c it makes it easier for people to navigate/find previous articles and...it just looks cleaner!

Everything else is the same (contributors, twitter, facebook, etc) So, come find our new blog there!

Happy Birthday Action Flick Chick!

From the Next Woman of the
Web photo shoot by the Bui Brothers

This is a special blog post in honor of Action Flick Chick Katrina Hill's birthday (today!).  Action Flick Chick Katrina Hill has been kicking ass online as a female nerd online for years now and won G4TV's Next Woman of the Web award in 2009.  At this point, her website will serve as a better bio than anything I write and plus you should be going there regularly anyway (http://actionflickchick.com/superaction/). 

Katrina was nice enough to agree to a Q&A session with me when we first started Nerds in Babeland and I think there is no better time to celebrate her awesomeness with fellow nerdy/geek girls than on her birthday.  Since starting this blog, I know that I personally  have been truly amazed at the strong network of nerd/geek girls online that are working together to bring attention to the fact that, yes, we do exist.  There are quite a lot of us out there that have been nerds and/or geeks for a long time (long before it became more popular to be a nerd).  Action Flick Chick and her success (in addition to the success of many other geek/nerd girl sites like Geek Girl Network, Geek Girl Diva and Geek Girl Con to name a few) show that nerdy/geeky women have tons of stuff to say about topics such as action, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and comics and we plan to share those thoughts! :)

Also, make sure to wish her a happy birthday today! (@actionchick on Twitter)


For the uninitiated, how did you first get into the blog/comic world?

It's all about Rambo, baby! After watching the amazing action in Rambo IV and getting quite a few bewildered looks from guys when I rented it from the store, I decided I wanted to share the action with the world from a female perspective. So I wrote a review on my friends website, rocketllama.com. I received great feedback about the article series, and after awhile I branched off into my own website.

What was the first action flick you ever saw? Did you immediately fall in love with them or was that something that took time?
The first action film I can remember watching all the way through was Die Hard 3. I think I was around 11 or 12 and I loved it. Even before then, I was always trying to watch whatever my brothers and dad were watching which was action/war films, but they always made me leave the room like responsible parents should. I guess my persistence of coming back several times during the film made them give up when it came to Die Hard. From there my love of action films grew over time.

After movies, what is your next biggest pop culture obsession?
Video games!!!

Obligatory question: Favorite action heroine from the cinema?

Milla Jovovich is my favorite, but I have to say Angelina Jolie is quickly rising on my list.

Who is your favorite action hero on tv (male or female)?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer! She is super badass, always steps up to a challenge, and throws in witty banter to top it all off.

Books or Comic books? If you were given $1000 to spend only on items that you can read, what would you spend the majority on?

I would spend that money on graphic novels. I do read some comic books but I prefer to have a longer story all in one novel. I would get inpatient waiting for the next issue of a comic book so graphic novels it is.

To steal a question from your recent interview with the Geek and Gamer Girls, what is the nerdiest thing someone would find upon first entering your house/apartment?

That would be my Bayonetta action figure which is standing right next to my Optimus Prime action figure. I proudly have them on display near the entrance of the house so that everyone can know they are entering a geek's house.

In 2009 you were named G4's Next Woman of the Web. How did that come about and how did that change things in your life both online and off? What do you think of the fact that there is a special label for the next woman of the web but they don't have a label for the next "Man of the Web?" (ie, lets delve into a lil gender stuff :))

The G4's Next Woman of the Web contest was mentioned to me through twitter. I had looked into it before but didn't really get interested in entering the contest until there was a lot positive feedback through twitter. So I slapped together a video in about 3 days and sent it in.
The biggest thing I learned from the contest was how many great online friends I have! Everyone on twitter and facebook all joined together and were promoting me, writing articles campaigning for me, and then voting for me. It was amazing the amount of support there was. Now, I definitely have received more online recognition from the contest which has lead to other kinds of writing offers, photoshoots, etc.
As far as the "Man of the Web" goes, I think there should be one! However, it all boils down to this: There are mostly men in the top positions of companies and fans of G4, and dudes don't want to look at other dudes (for the most part) in sexy outfits. Women are sexy beings and probably get more ratings than a "Man of the Web."

Describe your first Comic Con experience. Did you feel you were treated any differently because you were a woman? Did it effect your enjoyment of the weekend? Did you dress up?

My first comic con I went to was Wonder Con in San Francisco. I was very overwhelmed at how many people were there and by how much stuff was there. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. Now I feel like I'm a pro. During my first con, I was too overwhelmed by everything to even think about putting together a costume for myself. I was shocked by seeing how many people were dressed up, but after having been to so many cons it all seems normal. I'm glad I started with Wonder Con instead of going straight to San Diego Comic Con. My head might have really exploded!

I don't feel like I was treated any differently at Wonder Con because I was a woman. My guy friends did tell me that people were looking at me funny, and for all I know I could have had toilet paper hanging from my shoe.
However, at this year's New York Comic Con I was trying to play Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and I was with a guy friend of mine. We stood behind two guys playing and after a match they looked at us and one guy moved and motioned for my friend to play. The other guy just looked at me and kept playing. That's okay, I was playing nice and thought I could wait another turn. When my friend got done, he stepped back to let me play but then another dude stepped in. We were both so agitated I just decided to leave rather than get banned from the con for kicking someone's ass. It seemed like they assumed I didn't want to play because I was a girl, and I was just there as arm candy. Well, this is 2010 people, girls play video games too!

Now onto the random, fun birthday questions!

Best birthday present ever?
Seriously, I'm going to say the Elmo Snuggie I got this year! One of my friends was jokingly saying he was going to get me a snuggie for my birthday. I said if I was going to wear a snuggie, then I wanted the most ridiculous looking snuggie they could
find. The big Elmo face is perfect.

Best birthday present of the future?
A role in the next Expendable film!

If you could have any action hero jump out of a cake for you, who
would it be? What would they say when they jump out?
Arnold Schwarzenegger and he would say, "It's not a tumah!"

What is the most ridiculous action hero stunt that you have seen in a movie and/or TV show that you tried to replicate?
A man sliding under an 18 wheeler truck bed on a horse. That stunt is from
a real movie people and boy does it look ridiculous. By the way, that
totally doesn't work in real life. The horse will just get super pissed and
storm off.

How many evildoers' asses have you kicked?
Over 9,000!

Serious question, what are some future/new things you are looking forward to doing with your website?
I look forward to putting out new youtube videos and expanding my Zombie
101 collection of videos. I hope to start adding reviews for a few other
mediums like video games, TV action series, and graphic novels.

What is the one career that you could never see yourself enjoying?
Being a nanny. KIDS! YUCK!

Running a website takes up a lot of time, obviously. If you weren't doing that (or if you could hire tons of minions to run it for you) what would you do with your spare time?
Play video games like a maniac, read a butt ton of comics, and travel to
every comic con/nerdy convention there is.

Guilty pleasure TV show?
The Girls Next Door (sigh) I'm ashamed of myself.

If/when you run your own action hero team (ala A-Team or Expendables),
who would you absolutely need on the team if you were fighting to rid
the earth of vampires? Zombies?
Vampires: Buffy the vampire slayer and the Scooby gang, Van Helsing
Zombies: Still Buffy the vampire slayer and the Scooby gang, Alice from
Resident Evil, and Bruce Campbell

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACTION FLICK CHICK!

Random Thought of the Day...!

Hey Hey--I'm back! Miss me much?!? So, how was your weekend? That's good to hear--mine was good too.

Anywhooo.....

I HATE MONDAYS

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╚╗╔╝╠╣╠╣░║░╠╣░░░░░░░░░
░║║░╝╝╝╝░╩░╚╗░╦╗╔╗╗╔╔╗
╔╝╚╗░░╦╦╗╔╗╦╗╗║║╠╣╚╣╚╗
╚══╝░░╝╝╝╚╝╩╚╝╩╝╝╩╚╝╚╝

That is all.

ø¤º°Sparkles°º¤ø

Artery Cloggers...terrible for u but sooooo good.

Mr Doc and I went out to a couple of really awesome haunted houses last night(I will post a review of those later). On the way home we stopped at the only Denny's within 100 miles of where we live, and I discovered something amazing. A Fried Cheese Melt. Basically it's a Grilled Cheese sandwich with Cheese Sticks in the middle. They give you marinara to dip it in. It was delicious but I swear I FELT my arteries clogging as I ate it.

Fringe 3.4: Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?

Oki dok kiddos, you know the drill by now! Silver titles mean we are back in 'our' world with Faulivia doing the legwork. Which also means we have Peter, our lovable quirky Walter and the non beret version of Astrid at the helm.



This week sees us dealing with the ever elusive shapeshifters and Faulivia's growing anxiety about her ability to actually pull off this alternate identity thing. And oh the cross references and past influences of sci-fi tales of yore really come full circle in this one.

Lest we forget at any time that we are in fact dealing with alternate universes. Ones WITH Leonard Nimoy even! You know where I am heading here.. hiya Star Trek!

We kick off with the sitting Senator who is really a shapeshifter meeting an untimely semi demise after an accident. Shades of Mystique from Xmen anyone? Anywho, seems the SSS (Shape Shifting Senator) was only 'mostly dead'. Dude, they should have totally named him Wesley! But a heavily tripping Walter finds ways to initiate neural activity via exploitation of the half human's emotional connections. The hope is to be able to ask the SSS a few things about who and what he is and is doing. Hello Ash! But where Ian Holm was rather coherent in his 'brains and weird cyborg blood go spodey' state, our SSS on a slab merely spouts off random mutterings pertaining to his upcoming anniversary trip. Oddly his brain shows little activity, but parts of his lower spine light up light an LED art project.

But what does it mean?! Well, time for a food break, seeing as how a newly awakened sleeper shapeshifter is on the way to make the mostly dead dude an all the way dead dude. Newton awakens the guy who has the house and family in the burbs and doesnt wanna give it all up just because his original programming tells him he should. And here we enter the Matrix. Newton is Smith and the shapeshifters possess varying characteristics of the agents and the benevolent rogue programs like the Oracle. So far none of them seem to have our best interests at heart as a collective humanity, but they do seem to get attached to the humans in their lives. I do love candy.. or my wife in this case.

You gotta love Walter's ongoing fascination with food, rather like Rusty from 'Oceans 11' but with less swagger and more childlike awe and loony bin crazy. It's over a box of animal crackers that Walter has his House like epiphany.. of course! The brain is in the ass just like a stegosaurus! Thats why the lower spine was all shiny! You know its a big deal when Walter abandons his pudding.

So while Walter is off autopsying a shapeshifter's ass and letting his pudding get warm, Peter ponders how the senator's wife could have mind fucked herself into believing this thing was her husband despite noticing the small but important changes. Not unlike his nagging questions about 'Olivia's' behavior. But rather than dance around it, he tells her straight out the things he has noticed. A dude who actually vocalizes his concerns? My god this IS science fiction! I kid, I kid. But it is a refreshing change from the normal 'how can we drag this out for weeks and weeks?' usually seen on serial shows.

But before 'liv can answer its off to the lab, Batman! Something's amiss, namely Walter as evidenced by his pudding being at the table without him. The sleeper shifter is there and gives Walter a nasty cut on his noggin. These guys totally remind me of the dudes with the ice pick thingy from X Files. With our adorable mad scientist incapacitated he then removes the bizarre metal vertebrae ass brain mechanism and takes off back to his family. Since he refuses to move on and take another identity, Newton takes him out. Only to be thanked for his troubles by being chased and caught by 'liv and Peter.

Faulivia has a busy night. She slips Newton the digitial equivalent of a cyanide pill (which looks like a wafer thin SD card) while in custody, but not before he hits her where it hurts when it comes to naming her fears about being able to actually pull off this increasingly challenging assignment. Later she summons Peter to her place under the guise of talking, only to seduce him.. most likely in the hopes of making him forget his concerns over her current quirks. I mean she IS from an alternate universe, who knows what they teach kids in sex ed over there?

So we still dont know what on either earth the main big plot is, but we have an idea as to how they are going about it. And now Walter has the whole of Massive Dynamic at his whim, if only he can stay off the LSD long enough to not freak out its best scientists by talking of greater consciousness while taking off his pants. And do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep? I dont know, but seems they have a weakness for actually forming emotional attachments to their families, so maybe Scottish shapeshifters do?





So there we have it, Season 3 Episode 4. But before we take our leave, its glyph time!




Stay tuned for next week: Amber






~kim
Kink In Motion

Stage Combat Edutainment

I thought I'd share with you one of the MSCD Stage Combat Club's more instructional videos on stage combat. Don't try this at home. But do enjoy!

Motivation

Hello all,

I wanted to talk today about something that I suffer from and I believe most of us out there do as well. It is joked about quite a bit but maybe most of us don't even want to own up to

it. I am talking about Procrastination. It is a serious problem in our lives and really keeps us from fully enjoying anything we do. You may recognize this within yourself if you show symptoms of putting things off, waiting until the last minute, or even anxiety over a due date. Maybe the solution can be getting rid of due dates, but lets face it that won't happen unless you are the one making the dates.

This condition can lead to some other serious conditions like perfectionism and workaholism. If we can get to the root of these issues though maybe we can save others from falling into the same trap most of us have fallen into for so many years. It doesn't have to be your downfall in life anymore.

There is a key ingredient to help most of us restructure our lives and try to alleviate some of the anxiety and stress that comes along with these conditions and that is Motivation. We may be procrastinators but when it comes down to the wire we can put together a presentation for work or school in under 12 hours, that would take most days or weeks to complete. We are efficient in those wee hours of the morning and I am here to tell you that we are powerful. If we could only exude that power in a more organized manner most of us could take over the world.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. First, what is motivation? It is when you get up the will power to go for a goal. The steps I have put together for eliminating procrastination..

• 1st step: Setting attainable goals within a reasonable time frame.
• 2nd step: Find a moderate pace to stick to that won't be overwhelming.
• 3rd step: Stick to that pace until a goal is attained.

The best way to do this is get organized. Create a calendar or a journal for your school work and when you will study, for how long and when things are due. Or if you want to use it for working out do the same thing. It has to be reasonable so you will stick to it though.

The most important thing to remember is that this is always a learning curve for people who suffer from procrastination. Don't get down on yourself if the pace you set has to change or even the goal changes over time. The worst outcome I have seen in my personal experience with dealing with procrastinators is it results in a low self-esteem and putting oneself down. Remember that this is all about you and your growth. Anxiety may ensue as a symptom of dealing with procrastination, but setting up schedules and time frames for attainable goals can alleviate most of the stress set up for the "when" you need to get things done. There may only be 24 hours in a day but that doesn't mean we need to spend the last few of them exerting our energy to get things done.

So here is a question for all of you... What gets you motivated?

Jess Del Pino

(1/2 of Hooked On Veg, Come on a Veg-tastic voyage with us!!)

Twitter/iTunes

.. honestly though people, procrastination can be your downfall, let's get motivated and talk about it!!