Press Release: The Ascendant #2 on the rise at the Boston Comic Con

Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 17-04-2013

Category : Comics, Conventions, E-vents, Entertain Me, Featured

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(Boston,MA-April 17, 2013) Wayward Raven Media is proud to announce the much anticipated release of their horror/fantasy comic The Ascendant, issue 2. Cail, a Duke of Hell, returns to do penance by sending escaped demons back to the underworld. This time, however, the pursuer is the pursued. Joined by his fellow escapee Faustus (the doctor himself) and a new cohort, Cail fights for his life in one of Italy’s most dangerous and hellish terrains.

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Courtesy of Wayward Raven Media

Signed print copies can be purchased first at Boston Comic Con on April 20th and 21st at the Hynes Convention Center. For those who want it sooner, a digital version can be found by going to the Wayward Raven website. If you missed the first issue, don’t fear! It, along with other great Wayward Raven products, can be procured by going to waywardraven.com.

Bring a copy of this press release to one of our tables in Artist Alley (AAW54 and AAW55) at the Boston Comic Con and get a dollar off your purchase or two dollars off any multi-item purchase. Show up in one of our t-shirts (see our shop page on the website) and get a free book!!!!

 

 

Also available by Wayward Raven Media:

The Ascendant, Issue 1 - A tale about an escaped Duke of Hell who begins to feel remorse for his millennia of debauchery and cruelty. That guilt causes him to masquerade as a human and go on a crusade against the other escaped creatures that inhabit the earth, corrupting and harming its citizens.

Horsemen, Issue 1 - An intergalactic team is locked in an ongoing galactic battle with an enemy bent on destroying freewill in the multiverse. Issue two available soon.

The Cell – In this paranormal novel, an aspiring comic book artist loses his way until a call comes from beyond the grave. When living and dead unite in a quest, all souls are saved along with dreams for future days.

Ominous Odes - A collection of short stories that tells tales of the dark and eerie that always lurks just outside of human perception, fleeting upon the cusp of vision. A dark lottery ticket, a future serial killer, a tragic female legend and a detective on the trail of a killer all reside within.

Damn Heroes – Weekly web comic about Sebastian, a hapless norm stuck in a city of overly zealous superheroes with more muscles than sense. Check it out for free on damnheroes.com.

For more information visit www.waywardraven.com or like us at http://www.facebook.com/waywardravenmedia .

Ars longa, vitae brevis. Wayward Raven… soaring on winds of imagination

About Wayward Raven:

Wayward Raven Media’s comic books and prose had their debut at the 2012 New York Comic-Con and have been growing ever since. The ranks include Mark Frankel, Joshua Lee Andrew Jones and Alexander Sapountzis. They can be followed on Twitter: Mark @PantherPitt, Joshua @JLAJones, and Alexander @asapountzis

Monster Man, Martinis and Mulder: WonderCon Anaheim 2013 is a Wrap

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 16-04-2013

Category : Candid Conversations, Conventions, E-vents, Entertain Me, Featured, Geek Out, Movies, Television, Travel, WonderCon

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The Wild West of 1850s southern California never saw WonderCon coming. Originally an agricultural collective of pious, German farmers and vintners, Victorian Anaheim would have plotzed at the site of The Joker, Jawas, Hobbacca and G-stringed Supergirls crossing Katella and Harbor, headed into their Anaheim Convention Center. Although, he might have appreciated some of the more inventive steampunk costuming, 1857 co-founder George Hansen must have just come to grips with Disneyland when WonderCon steamed into town last year. This year, it descended upon the O.C. once again and, if Hansen’s ghost gets his wish, it should be headed back up north, to San Francisco’s Moscone Center for 2014. If the rest of us get our wish, parent company Comic-Con International will permanently add this southern substitute, WonderCon Anaheim, to its regular menu des plaisirs.

Abby, meet Agents Scully and Mulder Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Abby, meet Agents Scully and Mulder Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

WonderCon Anaheim (March 29-31, 2013) is best-known now to the O.C. public as the week of visiting geeks. The baby sister of San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon mixed with the usual, inland-Orange County population of Disney geeks and overran Hansen’s “Home by the Santa Ana River: Ana-heim“. The Anaheim Convention Center was a safe place to contain all the geekage, like a well-lit, glass-and-steel roach motel, keeping the community-at-large safe from countless iterations of Batman and, simultaneously keeping said-geekage safe from countless wedgies. ‘Twas a few, relaxing days where being a pale, obsessive, Simpsons fan actually brought about accolades and wearing a rhinestone dog collar, mini-kilt and Manson boots brought compliments, rather than propositions.

Like most comic book conventions, behind the cosplay, superiority complexes and aisles of overpriced crap sitting alongside collector-worthy art, there are serious discussions happening: academic panels, legal seminars, artistic advisory groups and the like. True, a lot of them are more Family Guy table-read than Algonquin Round Table. Still, these all-inclusive chats in the upstairs meeting rooms are worth the convention entrance fee, even if the downstairs floor full of steampunk dorks, Star Wars tees and vintage action figures is not your cup of Darjeeling. (Captain Picard’s space beverage of choice, duh.) I had the opportunity to cover a couple of these panels and interview some of the panelists for GoodToBeAGeek.com: All Shapes & Sizes Welcome and Geeks Get Published – and Paid! Industry insight is always good gossip!

Without a doubt though, the best part of any convention -and I’ve been to more than a few, including NAB, NATPE and the MIPCOM/MIPTV conferences in Cannes- is the après-mingling in the hotel lounges and nearby restaurants and bars. True, ’tis no Cannes or Nice, but Anaheim, my pretties, much to the chagrin of dear old George Hansen, has more than it’s fair share of suitable martini outlets. The Anaheim Gardenwalk is replete with moderately-priced, chain dining establishments, but the king is P.F. Chang’s. There is not enough space here to go on about their Chinese 88 martini (topped off with champagne) and their tofu lettuce wraps. ~insert Homer Simpson-style drool here~ Roy’s Hawaiian serves a tangy, yummy, signature pineapple martini and offers a warm, sugary, tropical atmosphere, bringing the diner into the island spirit, not totally unlike being on Kauai, which is surprising, considering one’s in inland SoCal. Of course, the best mixing by far is the hotel where the con sits. This one was Hilton Anaheim and its Mix Lounge.

Mix was crowded, dark and lively and the staff worked off their patooties to keep the Stella Artois, Sapphire gin and dried wasabi pea snackies flowing. Nice fellows and patient as saints, especially when a drunken, impolite, cabbage-waving, Flava Flav doppelgänger insisted on buying a round for nearly half the bar, rudely yelling the orders to the bartender. (Yours truly declined. Far too obnoxious, even for a gratis G&T.) Oddly though, the con cosplay at Mix was sparse. There were some costumed folk hither and thither; my companions even forced me into a picture with a sad-looking, all too fay, nervous He-Man. Why so few costumes, I wondered each night? I would later learn the Hilton was mostly where the journalists stayed; the Marriott was the place for the cosplay crowd. So, book your hotels accordingly next year, con-goers.

The whole event was nicely wrapped up with an unexpected dinner, especially for a vegetarian. My Viking, a deathly-tightly-corseted Dr. Lucy and I ended up at Morton’s Steakhouse when my brother-in-law and professional pirate, a.k.a. Cap’t. Maurice Bloodstone, -who some of you may know from my novel, Savannah of Williamsburg: The Trials of Blackbeard and His Pirates- happened upon an SFX idol of his in the Hilton parking lot, twice. The second, chance meeting with Mr. Cleve Hall proved too much serendipity for our excitable Bloodstone and a dinner invitation was proffered.

Cleve Hall, gentleman Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Cleve Hall, gentleman Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Best-known, currently, for SyFy’s Monster Man, Cleve Hall is hardly a newbie in the Hollywood special effects game. Like Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, Cleve and his immediate family have been lurking around the Deep South and the West Coast for eons; his family in the prop and SFX business, the Mayfairs in banking and real estate. For Cleve himself, above-the-line credits (incl. actor, producer and director) as well as hair & makeup and costume & wardrobe fall solidly within his ken. Cleve himself has a wide umbrella. How to Train Your Dragon, Ghoulies, Ed Wood and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure are just a few titles under his Victorian, silver-handled umbrella.

Now, my brother-in-law is as taken with the master’s oeuvres as he is generous. Ergo, it had to be, Bloodstone invited Mr. Hall to join us for dinner. Morton’s Steakhouse was the closest option and, after three days in five-inch platform boots and too-tight ponytails, I was ready to sit and drink anywhere.

Mr. Cleve is, in a word, gentlemanly. He is, in my experience, quiet, pensive and, similar to an attorney I once interviewed in Philadelphia for a tech-boom documentary, careful about choosing just the correct word when telling a tale. He does not name-drop, although he certainly could, does not dominate the table, although this raconteur could. Instead, he answers queries succinctly and adds just the right embellishments to the conversation, like the perfect, silver, poison ring or red, contact lenses. He did not overpower our dinner; he did make it memorable. He was spot-on, to boot, when at dinner he talked of the popularity of Monster Man and Face Off. Quoting his daughter, I believe, he said “Family gets meaner and strangers get nicer.” Thank you for your southern hospitality, but the pleasure was all these strangers’, Good Sir.

So, like Christmas décor or Hallowe’en costumes, WonderCon Anaheim 2013 is wrapped up nicely and packed away gingerly in the rafters. What’s next for this geek girl? Coverage of the upcoming X-Files Season 10 “premiere”, in comic book form that is: Season 10 in comic book form, not my coverage. Meeting the IDW publishing team at WonderCon, those creating and distributing the new comics, makes interviews for this June post easy-peasy. Then, comes July … San Diego Comic-Con!

I’ve submitted yet another article for consideration in the annual Souvenir Book. History says I should make it in; after all, the last two (Peanuts and Tarzan) made it and one of those was even cited by TIME magazine. (Hey, look at me! I’m a Peanuts expert!) Still, my goal this year is to garner the lead article for the “20th Anniversary of Bongo Comics” theme … that’s The Simpsons to the uninitiated.

So, look to me as your unofficial Bongo historian and for X-Files revival coverage and your insider to San Diego’s summer antidote to the cool kids on the beach. Also look to our Dr. Lucy and her amazing Twisted Pair Photography. See you in the Sunday funnies, kids!

BTW, I ordered the chopped salad, sans the bacon and red onions, and a blue cheese-stuffed olive martini. Cheers!

All slideshow photography by Twisted Pair Photography … loads more here at their Flickr page!

Hannah’s fave places to haunt on-line? Jennypop.net  @JennyPopNet & Jennifer Devore’s Amazon Author Page

If a Geek Writes a Book, Does It Make a Sale? The WonderCon Interviews, Part II

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 15-04-2013

Category : Candid Conversations, Conventions, E-vents, Featured, Geek Out, WonderCon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Geeks Get Published: it sounds obvious. At first blush, with the exception of folks like Snooki, the Fifty Shades of Grey author and Penthouse letters, who else do you imagine is getting published? Mostly geeks, that’s who! Bookworms, academicians, poetry goths, art nerds, amateur scholars, film dorks, scientists, comic book enthusiasts, pop culture obsessives, military buffs and historical rëenactors are busily scribbling, publishing and selling the most important theses and musings of all: their own.

Office of a geek writer, or a geek reader? Photo: Yellow Dog Photography

Geek writer, or geek reader? Photo: Yellow Dog Photography

With a plethora of visual outlets today, it takes a geek to stick with the romance of the written word, I know. It takes a geek to write anything today, even a Thank You note. The real trick is not getting a geek published … it’s getting a geek read. All those non-geeks roaming the planet, unaware as they are of being thiiiis close to mankind’s discovery of the God particle, have a Black Hole’s worth of activity to keep them occupied without cracking a book. Authors’ efforts are being slaughtered like Britons at the hands of marauding Vikings, slaying and slicing with a force of diversions no other generation of writers has ever suffered. Sure, it was probably easy for Chaucer to be a best-seller. What else was there to do in the Medieval era? Everybody just waiting around to die from a splinter, plus everything was dark by four o’clock. Today? It’s never dark.

21stC. authors compete with a clip-mentality, 140-character world. The Internet is a shiny keyring and the babies aren’t pulling themselves up by the bookshelf; they’re doing it with the entertainment center. You can get a human to focus and read, but it’s like getting a swordfish to hold still once you’ve brought him onto the boat. It’s not impossible, but you will get the crap beat out of you trying.

Anaheim Convention Center , view from Hilton Anaheim Photo: JSDevore

Anaheim Convention Center , view from Hilton Anaheim Photo: JSDevore

So, where can a bunch of bookworms safely go to lick their wounds and share the odd tales of literary victory? WonderCon Anaheim 2013 is a good start. Never been to a con? It goes like this. Go to the beach, open a bag of Doritos, fling them sky-high and watch flocks of frantic sea gulls descend upon the treats. This is basically a con, but with costumes and boobs: squawking, feathers and crumbs everywhere.

Rather late one Saturday night, upstairs at the Anaheim Convention Center, there sat an impressive, educated and loquacious panel called Geeks Get Published – and Paid!, moderated by vivacious and prolific writer Jenna Busch (Womanthology, Fanhattan, Cocktails with Stan). When not moderating or taking part on con panels, this Tinkerbell look-alike flits about the Internet with her wand-cum-quill scribing for over twenty sites, including Huffington Post, USA Today, AOL and Moviefone. Geek basement cred includes screen time with Stan Lee, Wil Wheaton, Grant Imahara and Bonnie Burton. A bi-coastal actress, writer and producer, she’s as easy-peasy at home writing in her jim-jams as she is doing cheesecake pin-up for Cupcake Quarterly. She is also inclined to redo your up-do, should she spy you across a crowded party floor and give you the squinty-eye. If she does approach you, stand still, let her re-pin your locks and do not make eye contact.

This effervescent power girl’s panel featured S. G. Browne (Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament), Katrina Hill (Action Movie Freak), Alan Kistler (Doctor Who: A History), Alex Langley (The Geek Handbook), and Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight). Their task? To enlighten fellow writers and hem-hawing wannabes on the rituals, protocol and even plain ol’ luck of finding a literary agent and publisher. Does one need all this, in today’s world of epub? It turns out, it certainly doesn’t hurt and advances can be awfully nice. Dr. Travis Langley pontificated, “Lots of people want to have written a book. Problem is, you have to want to write the book.”

Author S. G. Browne (Lucky Bastard) spoke of his innate need to write. “If I go to bed without having written something, I feel like I forgot to do something.” Easily the quietest of the panel, Mr. Browne reminds one of a less volatile version of Morrissey. Aesthetically, he suits a vision of what a Central Casting wordsmith might be: glasses, soft-spoken, rumpled sportcoat, probably drinks Earl Grey or Guinness and has, at least once, considered being James Joyce for Hallowe’en. He is so understated and unpretentious, his Twitter handle has underscores (S_G_Browne) because he felt “SGBrowne”, no underscores, would be a little “full of himself”.

All grown-up Dennis the Menace, a.k.a. Alex Langley, excitedly urged the audience to  Write, write, write! Write when you don’t feel like it, write when you do! His identification with Calvin, of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes is clear. A precocious, intelligent and affable demeanor tells me The Geek Handbook: Practical Skills and Advice for the Likeable Modern Geek is sure to be a pleasant read. After all, when asked about Calvin’s imaginary tiger, Hobbes, Alex replied, “Well, imaginary? That all depends on how you view the world.” Clap your hands if you believe!

Abby and Calvin, a.k.a. Alex Langley. Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Abby and Calvin, a.k.a. Alex Langley. Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

The force is strong with this family, the Langleys. Besides Alex, the panel featured his father, vater, Vader, Travis Langley, Ph.D.. Dr. Langley is the author of Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight. (Little known factoid: an original title considered was Batman and Psychology: Batman’s in his Belfry. Not a favourite of Mrs. Langley, apparently.) Dr. Langley, a clinical psychologist and, as far as we know the world’s only superherologist, approaches Batman academically, focusing on his human behaviour traits and habits. He also has that geek devotion, to be sure. “Interesting how many have thanked me for writing my book … I suspect it’s about my looking seriously at something we all love.” Be warned, his work is more grad school thesis than comic book devotion. You’ll need your thinking caps for this book, kids. No pictures.

Of interesting note, there was a lengthy discourse, initiated by Dr. Langley, on “writing in the character’s universe” vs. “writing about the character’s universe”. Ex.: writing a new Peanuts adventure using Schulz’ characters is copyright infringement; writing about the 60th anniversary of Peanuts is free and clear. The main point being there exist grave, legal differences betwixt the two. Ergo, mark one in the column for traditional-publishing vs. self-publishing: big publishing houses have attorneys, you do not.

Firebrand Alan Kistler (MTV.com, Crazy Sexy Geeks) weighed in authoritatively on the topic. Author of Doctor Who: A History, as well as The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook, The Unofficial Spider-Man Trivia Challenge and The Unofficial Batman Trivia Challenge, he knows a thing or two about approaching legends. Non-fiction, it seems, leaves a pretty wide berth for usage; fiction is a tad more nebulous. This is when things got ugly and turned to “Homage or Blatant Rip-off?”. Enter, stage-left: BBC’s Sherlock and CBS’ Elementary.

The very mention of the CBS title brought a collective snort of derision from the room. The loudest, most derisive snort of all, however, came from Mr. Kistler. “Fuck you, Elementary! Fuck. You.” A succinct directive, surely. Flipping a double-bird aloft, northward toward Hollywood, he seemed pleased, having excised and settled a score, personal, artistic or otherwise. (Dr. Langley? Your thoughts?) See, geeks are not only bookish, when they get chuffed they can be downright hardcore.

One bookish geek who doesn’t seem to have a mean bone in her lithe frame is Katrina Hill (Action Movie Freak, Fanhattan, MTVGeek). Her official moniker of “Action Flick Chick”, plus having been designated as one of “The Most Dangerous Women of Comic-Con” (along with fellow dangerous broads Leah Cevoli and Adrianne Curry), left me mildly prepared for a sharp roundhouse kick to the ponytails when we met after the panel. Approaching carefully, I found Katrina, ironically, to be almost regal in her carriage – more Jane Austen than Guy Ritchie. Of soft voice and an uncommon politeness, her lovely quintessence is as ceramic as her pretty complexion. Still … she’s like the Thomas Jefferson of action film assessors. One might have to lean in to hear her speak, but once she puts pen to paper, step aside, folks … and by folks, I mean men. I leaned in a bit after Geeks Get Published – and Paid!. Here’s what she quietly shared about publishing, writing, the double-edged sword of social media and, well, Elementary and Twilight.

Katrina Hill Photo: Action Flick Chick archives

Comic-Con Int’l Presents WonderCon Anaheim, Geeks Get Published Interview with Katrina Hill, March 30, 2013

Good to be a Geek: Thank you for chatting with us tonight. Looks like we’re the last ones in the hall.

Katrina Hill: Yeah. I think everyone’s already at the Hilton.

GTBAG: “The Most Dangerous Women in Comic-Con” meet-up, right?

KH: (laughs) Exactly!

GTBAG: We’ll make this painless so we can all get to the Hilton.

KH: (laughs) Sounds good!

GTBAG: You started by reviewing films and blogging. This lead to publishing. Did you seek publishing? As you mentioned in the panel, you were approached to write a book, yet, was this a shock, or something in the back of your mind, that this could happen?

KH: It actually was. I think even a few months before they asked me to write this, I was trying to figure out how to put all my reviews together somehow, but hadn’t formulated it in my head, yet. Then, they were like, “We have this series of books … and we want you to do Action Movie Freak. I was like, “Ahhh! Yes! That’s so perfect!”

GTBAG: I notice there’s a horror flick book …  

KH: Yes. Horror Movie Freak and Sci-fi Movie Freak and I think they might be coming out with some new ones. I’m not quite sure.

GTBAG: Did you contribute to those titles?

KH: I did not.

GTBAG: So, yours is your sole project? All you, to boot.

KH: Yes. I wrote every word. You know, I did a panel yesterday, Most Dangerous Women at Comic-Con, and we talked a lot about… people still think women don’t like action movies, and we do! I still get a few men, and people in general, who say, “You wrote this?” and I say, “Yes. I wrote this.” I actually had one person ask, “So, did you have an editor or a main writer and then they just put your name on it?” I was like, “No!” This guy came up to my table and asked me that. You fucki …

GTBAG: It’s like [Bernard] Lacombe, the former, French footballer who responded to a female caller, on a French, sports radio program I believe, “I don’t talk about football with women … They should look after their pots and pans, that would be better.” As a girl, you couldn’t possibly talk about action films or gaming, right?

KH: I don’t know. (laughs) It’s 2013. Women like everything.

GTBAG: In that vein, in the way people think women don’t read comic books in the numbers men do, do you have one statement for those men whom ask, “Did you really write that yourself?”

KH: Uh, words that I can actually say? (laughs)

GTBAG: Care to quote Alan Kistler?

KH: (laughs) Uh …

GTBAG: You use social media extensively. You Tweet an awful lot and post on Facebook. It might have been easier … to have been Jules Verne and just write, let someone else do the marketing. Yet, that’s not the case today. It is 2013.

KH: That would be nice.

GTBAG: Do you find it’s easier to be in charge of your own marketing, mostly. Or, is it a double-edged sword? Is it bittersweet … being such an obligation?

KH: Yes, it is a double-edged sword. Like, I like that I’m in control. Typically, if I make a mistake, if I get a quote wrong or a fact wrong … blame me. I did it. I take responsibility. But then, it is incredibly time-consuming. I’ve actually gotten to where my Tweets are not as often. I used to Tweet all day, but now I’m writing for so many more sites now, I can’t keep up!

GTBAG: Do you set limits for yourself? Obviously one can Tweet twenty-four-seven. Do you find yourself setting parameters? This is my weekend, this is my evening. I don’t have to Tweet the coffee I’m having, I don’t have to tell everyone my instant thoughts on this episode of (pause) “Elementary”.

KH: (whispers) You mean rip on it? (laughs) (inaudible) Alan Kistler?

GTBAG: No mincing Alan’s words in the panel, right?

KH: Yeah! Well, setting limits. Absolutely! If I don’t, I find I will spend two to three hours reading people’s Tweets. I follow a lot of people.

GTBAG: You follow a bonkers-amount of people, like close to 100K.

KH: Like, 89K, but, yeah.

GTBAG: Plus, you have over 150K followers.

KH: Yeah. I like to give people a chance. I like to make friends. Why not? (laughs)

GTBAG: How do you keep everybody organized.

KH: I have lists, but sometimes they fall through the cracks. I have a timeline, but I get about 200 updates a second. I follow my lists though. You know, “Geek Girls” and “Movie Buffs” and …

GTBAG: “Going to Comic-Con”?

KH: Yeah! “Going to Comic-Con”. Yeah, if I don’t set limits, I’m a mess. Three hours later I’m like, “What did I do with my day? It’s 9:00 at night, I missed dinner, I didn’t work out and I have three articles to write by tomorrow. So, yes. Limits are a must!

GTBAG: Do you worry that, with so many people following you, whatever you Tweet … be it political or an unofficial review, just a comment about this actress or that director, do you think about offending or, conversely, thrilling 50% of your readership?

KH: I do think about that. For that reason, I try to stay out of politics; it’s not something I want to go into over Twitter. I also try to stay positive. Because, I know if I Tweet, “Blah blah sucks in this movie.”, it’s really not very constructive.

GTBAG: Miracle Laurie [Dollhouse]said this also in her panel earlier today, “All Shapes and Sizes Welcome”. She said, and I’m paraphrasing here, there is so much negativity online and some of it is done with great humor. Still, to promote so much negative energy online helps nobody.

KH: Exactly.

GTBAG: Like Thumper. “If you can’t say nuthin’ nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”

KH: Right. Or, I’ll say, “This movie wasn’t for me. I’m obviously not the demographic for Twilight – well, there are other issues with that (laughs) -but, if you like this and this and this, you’ll probably like this movie. I’ll try to spin a bad review that way.

GTBAG: Very diplomatic.

KH: Speaking of diplomacy, you know, going back to my “fucki … ” (laughs) Let me elaborate on that. (laughs) You shouldn’t just immediately write off people. It’s all about education and being a representative and being out there. Yes. I wrote this book. Why don’t you look at it and see before you judge me?

GTBAG: That’s much nicer. Thank you for your time.

KH: Thank you, too. See you at the Hilton!

Hannah’s fave places to haunt on-line? Jennypop.net  @JennyPopNet & Jennifer Devore’s Amazon Author Page

Once Upon a Time, Leah Cevoli Schooled H-town: The WonderCon Interviews, Part I

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 12-04-2013

Category : Candid Conversations, Conventions, E-vents, Entertain Me, Featured, Movies, Television, WonderCon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Once upon a time there was a talented, sparkling, beauteous rocker named Leah Cevoli from the City of Brotherly Love. One day, in the historical land of Ben Franklin, The Barrymores, Will Smith and Liz Lemon, the fair Leah heard the Siren’s Song knell through Philadelphia’s brick corridors and colorful tulip gardens. Taking the form of The Black Crowes so she alone would hear it, the song trilled, lilted and riffed amidst the city streets, beckoning her independent and creative soul to the land of plenty: plenty of sunshine, plenty of sea, plenty of opportunity, plenty of cabbage, plenty of thee.

Leah Cevoli, “Deadwood” set, Santa Clarita, CA

With blazing streaks of platinum and magical tips of royalist purple in her locks, our heroine fled her City of Brothers and set forth for the City of Angels, Los Angeles, a.k.a. “Hopeless Hole”, dubbed so by the dark and exotic, erotic Mistress of the Dorks, Ms. Adrianne Curry.

Upon arrival, the fair Leah was tapped by the magic wand of mediocrity. Shady agents and producers across the land chided the funky fair damsel. “Nay!,” screeched they, “You are too unique! Too different! Away, to Cookie Cutters Salon in the Valley we shall fly!” With a sprinkling of fairy smog, she did just this. The shady agents and producers then screeched further, like pterodactyls on new, weak prey, “Nay! You are too similar! You look too much like her! Average, Caucasian, brunette girl, take thee a number!”

Along her journey, she met like-minded, talented friends. A kindly lad named Collin would aid in her unConventional quest, a girl named Helenna would become a dear lass for life and in the land of nothing’s-too-odd, a robot chicken would scratch and peck and spin her gold. Yet, not only kindly elves, silky minks and futuristic poultry did she meet upon her trail. She also crossed paths with snakes, serpents and the insidious vendors of their oil. There would be dragons disguised as friends and weasels dressed as lawyers and vermin of every kind lurking on studio lots, in agencies and under the back tables of Starbucks along the rocky Wanderwegs of Lankershim and Magnolia.

One fine, California day, when feeling rather pleased with herself, the fair Leah posted upon her page of Faces, a happy, casual image of her likeness. Then, without warning and in one sharp strike, an evil serpent with whom she had once been acquainted in the tales of Deadwood, hissed and punctured her soul with the greatest of ignorance and insensitivity: I’ve seen you look better, Leah.

“Fie on thee!”, the Philly Beauty cried and away to Ana’s House she did go! “A panel at WonderCon I should like to plan!” she declared! “Where actresses, models, entrepreneurs and writers of all shapes and sizes may talk of slings and arrows besieging the women of entertainment! A panel I should like to form where bright damsels may speak intimately on body image, eating disorders, self-love, recovery and the curses of H-town’s poison apples! A panel where ladies such as these shall inspire and influence those younger damsels, those pretty rabbits and field mice speeding on Greyhounds, fresh from the pastures, meadows and mountaintops of Iowa, Georgia and Colorado, all ingressing to the land of the seedy and the greedy!”

L to R: Adrianne Curry, Lynn Chen, Helenna Santos Levy, Amber Krzys, Miracle Laurie and Leah Cevoli, WonderCon 2013 Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

With that, kids, All Shapes and Sizes Welcome: Body Image & Women’s Issues in the Entertainment Industry was birthed: a primal and proactive response to an insensitive Facebook comment about Leah’s weight gain. This may have been an epiphany for Leah. For, it was at this moment she truly realized what a duplicitous and presumptuous double-standard of beauty there existed in Hollywood and society en masse, no less. Why was it socially acceptable for a relative stranger to comment on her weight? Why was she told, “You’re too thin!” with the same pity as, “You’re too fat!”. Why did a period production like Deadwood specifically cast “curvy women”, then make certain all the lead girls were Santa Monica-svelte? This all got her head spinning. Of course, she’d also been on a forty-day Master Cleanse during her Deadwood days and that got her head spinning, too, considering she went from a 31-inch waist to a 22-incher. Oh, my, Scarlett!

Leah knew there had to be other women with Aha! moments like hers. What had they heard, endured and learned on their paths in and out of Hollywood, The Most Venomous Place on Earth? She wanted to know and to share. Was there truth in TV’s First Kiss? Were there antidotes to the poison apples that hang so lusciously and temptingly along the palm treed parkways to Burbank? Could the dragons, weasels and serpents be slayed?

A host of fierce and lovely ladies, inside and out, came to her side and in a meeting room filled to capacity at the Anaheim Convention Center, Leah and her glossy posse set about to tell Hollywood, Broadway and Burbank a thing or two about a thing or two.

Watch your step, Hollywood! These ladies will get Medieval on your ass! The March 30th, 2013 WonderCon panel featured Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Adrianne Curry (Adrianne Curry’s SuperFans), Helenna Santos Levy (founder, MsInTheBiz.com), Amber Krzys (founder, BodyHeart.com) and Lynn Chen (founder, www.theActorsDiet.com). It was my pleasure to attend this panel and, afterwards, chat with Ms. Cevoli, her pals and fellow panelists, Ms. Helenna Santos Levy and Ms. Amber Krzyss. Please enjoy my interviews and read what these energetic and powerful chicas had to say.

L to R, Leah Cevoli, Helenna Santos Levy and Lynn Chen Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Comic-Con Int’l Presents WonderCon Anaheim, All Shapes and Sizes Welcome Interview with Leah Cevoli and Helenna Santos Levy, March 30, 2013

GTBAG: So, thank you both for taking time today to chat with us. Your panel was very intimate! (laughs)

Leah Cevoli: I’ll say! (laughs)

Helenna Santos Levy: (laughs)

GTBAG: You really covered everything so thoroughly in the panel, I just want to ask you to expound a few things, if that’s okay?

LC: Absolutely. Let’s do it!

GTBAG: Great! Being in entertainment, what do you both find to be the most pressing issue against women, besides the body image?

HLS: Okay, one of the things we just skimmed the surface of, that Miss Representation [.org] deals with a lot and which I’m really passionate about, is the whole sexualization of women. This is really interesting to me, what we’re kind of doing right now. It seems to be since the Spice Girls, or what I call the Christina Aguillera Dirty version of feminism, where we think that by putting on the heels and making ourselves look sexy … see, I’m caught in the middle of it. I don’t pretend to be outside of this issue, I’m caught right in the middle of this issue and I’m trying to search my way through it. So, we’ve taken that on as the version of female empowerment: “I’m going to use my sexuality. I’m going to be in charge of that.”

GTBAG: So, what is modern feminism to you?

HLS: It’s funny, my husband and I had this discussion and it actually feels like the new version of feminism looks like the old Penthouse

GTBAG: Unshaved?

LC: (laughs)

Helenna Santos Levy and Lynn Chen Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

HLS: (laughs) No, it feels like we’ve gone so far past it all that we’ve come all the way back around and we’ve developed our own new version of feminism that’s actually just the old form of sexism, but we’re re-branded.

GTBAG: It’s like the political spectrum. You can go so far in one direction, you merely end up back where you started, the point from where you thought you were progressing.

HLS: Right. So, the question is, for me, if I know all this exists and I’m in an industry where, at the moment, it is what it is and, in order to work you have to accept the system, how do you work in that system while keeping your own voice and be strong enough that you can then change the system? I think that’s the ongoing struggle.

GTBAG: What’s your answer to that?

HLS: Do I have the answer to that? Absolutely not! Trying to figure it out every day, but I think by having panels like this and creating more of a dialogue that women who are strong and sexy and powerful, that we can then figure out how to do this and feel good about ourselves, and it’s not just because we live in a male-constructed society.

GTBAG: Is there an element of becoming successful enough where you don’t have to take that role, you don’t have to take that gig?

LC: That’s interesting, because it goes down even to just things like your hair and makeup. When I first moved to Hollywood, I had a tongue ring and blonde streaks in my hair with purple at the ends, but I was going into the acting industry and I heard, time and time again, “No. You need to look like everybody else. You need to look like that Girl Next Door.” Which is interesting, because now I’m that “Girl Next Door”. I’m in my thirties and all I hear is, “There’s so many Caucasian, 30 year-old brunettes. Pick a number.” Okay. But, when I was more unique with my piercings and my colors, they were like, “Oh, no. You have to look more cookie-cutter.” So, there’s always mixed messages.

GTBAG: How do you affect these messages, change them?

LC: One of the things we didn’t touch on in the panel, and that’s been kind of rolling around in my head is … so, if we’re saying, “Accept everybody, all shapes and sizes”, no matter what industry and if you want to be an actress or a model, all shapes and sizes, then, yay! Let’s get more women of all shapes and sizes on mainstream television. Then, the flip side of that is, what are we teaching our youngsters? Is there a point when it’s actually unhealthy when we’re saying, “You’re very heavy, you’re obese, you’re this, you’re that and it’s acceptable.” We’re putting this in our commercials and ads, as well. So, what are we saying? Are we promoting unhealthy things? Are we promoting it’s okay to sit around and eat McDonald’s all day long as long as you love yourself? Because, now we’re promoting heart disease and diabetes and high cholesterol and everything else.

HLS: Right. We’re not promoting a healthy image, one way or the other, and everyone is confused right now. We had this discussion earlier, why Girls and Lena Dunham are so polarizing to people. She’s not going with the typical, Hollywood norm. She’s doing something completely opposite of it. So, if it’s not appealing to men, they’re like, “Ugh! I could never handle watching this!” Whereas, women are like grabbing onto it. But then, people are like, “Is she healthy? Is she promoting a healthy body image?”

LC: In her case, I think she is.

HLS: I think she is, too.

LC: I think she’s like, “Hey, a got a little bit of meat on me and I’m okay with it because I’m having sex as well and here’s my butt!” What’s wrong with that?

Continue interview with Leah and Helenna

GTBAG: So what is sexy, what is feminine to you?

HLS: Your own inner quality. It really shouldn’t matter what we look like, what we’re wearing, what we’re doing, because it’s our own inner quality that shines through.

GTBAG: Still, it does matter what you look like, in entertainment.

HLS: Well, the irony of this all isn’t lost on us because we’re in a pin-up magazine! (laughs)

LC: (laughs) Yeah! We just came from an autograph signing! We were both featured in Cupcake Quarterly magazine, which is a pin-up shoot, right? So, now we’re about to go speak about body image and here’s this magazine. I had lingerie on! I posed in lingerie and garters! Helena’s got garters and a bra on! (laughs)

GTBAG: Isn’t that a healthy body image though? Because it really is all shapes and sizes.

LC: It is. But, at the same time, could it be sexploitation?

Helena: Of course it is, because that’s inherently what pin-up is. But then, we as women are taking back that title.

GTBAG: Yes, but do they have to be mutually exclusive?

LC: For me, this was actually a cathartic experience, because I did it a couple of months ago, at the heaviest I’ve ever been and I’m invited to do this and I said, “Yes!”. The night before I was like, “Oh, my God!” I mean, I’m okay taking photos, I’ve been taking photos since I was a little girl, but in my underwear?! I’ve never taken photos in my underwear and I’m the biggest I’ve ever been and am I really doing this?!

GTBAG: How did you get through it?

LC: I had to trust that Elisa [Jaeger], who is the editor-in-chief and creator of Cupcake, I had to trust in her and her vision and I’d seen her work and I know she’s very body-positive. (She wanted to be on this panel with us.) I had to trust in that and, you know what? I like the way I looked! I put them on my Facebook page!

GTBAG: Did you send them specifically to the gentleman whom was the impetus for this panel?

LC: (laughs) No. I think he’d already been deleted from my Facebook page by that point. Isn’t that interesting, though? What gives anybody a right to comment on anybody’s Facebook photo like that?

GTBAG: Well, there is a prevalent mechanism for comments on Facebook.

Miracle Laurie Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

LC: Well, yes. And that got me spinning on, what if I got more mainstream, if I was on a show like Dollhouse, like Miracle [Laurie] was?

HLS: If you were Melissa McCarthy?

LC: Lord knows, right?! Lord knows what would come up if you Googled my name?!

GTBAG: I imagine there’s a level of personal dissatisfaction. Like the fellow with the broken-down Porsche on the side of the road. Everybody laughs because there’s dissatisfaction they don’t have a Porsche and never will.

LC: Exactly! It makes people feel good to tear us down and we accept that to some degree, being in this industry.

GTBAG: There is constant critiquing. You’re not wearing enough, you’re wearing too much. You don’t have enough flesh, you’re too fleshy.

LC: They like to build people up to tear them down.

GTBAG: I’ve seen horrible Tweets to your other panelist, Ms. Curry.

LC: Oh, Adrianne! Yeah. I love that she takes care of herself. She’s doing it in a healthy way and she doesn’t care. She just doesn’t care what people say. I have to say, sometimes, I just can’t look. I can’t look at her Twitter feed because she gets it on a daily basis.

GTBAG: She gets ripped to shreds, by men and women alike, no matter what she says or posts. She’s a Porsche.

LC: Yeah! And why? Because she’s a sexy, confident woman who overcame a drug addiction and now works her ass off like crazy to keep her sane, keep her off drugs, does it in a healthy way and they rip her apart, why? Because she’s got a better ass than you!

Adrianne Curry Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

HLS: Exactly. They hate her because she’s doing it.

GTBAG: Plus, they’ll never have her.

LC: They wish, right?!

GTBAG: I know you ladies have a busy afternoon ahead of you. Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish?

HLS: I just think it’s important we’re having this discussion, that we have options in this industry. It’s changing.

LC:  Yeah, options! It’s not just a bunch of old, white men calling the shots anymore.

GTBAG: On that note, thank you very much, ladies.

HLS & LC: Thank you!

Comic-Con Int’l Presents WonderCon Anaheim, All Shapes and Sizes Welcome Interview with Amber Krzys

March 30, 2013

GoodToBeAGeek: Thank you for taking a moment to chat. I just have a few questions not covered in the panel, if you don’t mind.

Amber Krzys Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Amber Krzys: Not at all! I love to talk about this stuff! I think humans want to help each other and that’s what we’re doing here today!

GTBAG: Okay then! So, what drives you to speak publicly, to be actively passionate about body image and women’s issues, specifically in the entertainment industry?

AK: I love women! So, who’s determining the rules, is what I want to know? The rules in this industry. I think women are incredible! Our innate gifts – our nurturing, our sensitivity, our feelings, our caring. I think, at this point, women actually outweigh men.

GTBAG: No pun intended?

AK: No! (laughs) I think, in actuality, women are 51% and men are 49% in our country. But we don’t know that yet. We don’t have our voices out there yet. So, that’s for me, the big reason I’m doing it.

GTBAG: So women need to back each other? Do you tend to seek and support women in the Arts, in business, even in politics, strictly because they’re a woman and overlook a qualified male for the part?

AK: Not necessarily. No. No. Not necessarily. I’m a believer in doing your research and I think there are a lot of men pulling for us. There are women out there who aren’t, too. Women who believed that in order to succeed they needed to become a man and they forced through these things. So, no, I’m not advocating that at all. Do your research, whatever is most important to you. You go with that.

GTBAG: Most important issue facing women in entertainment, specifically?

AK: (pauses) That’s a really good question! I have two things. First is the body image and feeling this pressure to look a certain way because the media is dictating this. But, the second thing, I think, is the roles. You know, how often are you watching a movie and the woman’s taking her clothes off? She’s a mistress or the sex queen? It’s rare to have a really meaty, nice role that’s basically not focusing on the woman’s body.

GTBAG: The roles are defined by their sexuality, then? Defined by the men they’re with in the film?

AK: Exactly! If you think about it, the media is a reflection of where our society is. How does the world see a woman? How does the world see a man? It goes back to what Helena [Santos Levy] was talking about in Miss Representation [.org] during the panel. The fear and insecurity for a man comes from power and providing. It’s the money thing, right? It’s the status.  ”I drive this car.” It’s the status. For women, it’s, the way they get to us, it’s the body style. “Be thinner, no acne, wrinkles are bad, growing old sucks.” So then, what does the media do? Even the entertainment industry? They realize these are real fears and concerns and they heighten that, you know?

GTBAG: So, what role would you write for yourself? How would you take back that power?

AK: I’m no longer pursuing acting.

GTBAG: If you were, if you could create that “meaty role” on stage or screen?

AK: I don’t know. I think, to me, a role that represents a real woman today. So, her real struggles. Yes, facing her body … but also like having to choose between work and family. For me, I’m thrity-six. I’m single. My family’s like, “Are you ever going to get married? Are you ever going to have kids?” The clock is ticking. I only have a certain amount of time if I want to have kids.

GTBAG: Like Liz Lemon and Murphy Brown lied to you?

AK:  Totally. Raising a child, working alone, those things make a good role.

GTBAG: There are a lot of women talking openly via Facebook about single-motherhood. How do you approach a role like that then, to speak to those women?

AK: Right. Rather than buying into the fairy tale of, “I’m going to get married and he will save me because I need saving, I can’t do it on my own”, I’d do something that’s completely opposite of that. You know, “I may not know what the ‘F’ I’m doing, but I’m going to figure it out ’cause I’m smart enough and I’m good enough where I am today.”

GTBAG: I think that’s a good way to end this. 

AK: You’re so welcome! I love having this discussion! I’ll be sure to share this with my community.

GTBAG: Thank you, Amber. We’ll be sure to share it with ours as well.

L to R, Adrianne Curry, Lynn Chen, Helenna Santos Levy, Amber Krzys, Miracle Laurie, Leah Cevoli Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Have any questions or comments for our interviewer? Contact Jennifer Susannah Devore @JennyPopNet or jennypop.net Want more fab panel pics? Check out Dr. Lucy’s Twisted Pair Photography!

GoodGeekGirls w The Fierce Ones! L to R, Collin Pelton, Yours Truly, Leah, Helenna and Dr. Lucy Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Hannah’s fave places to haunt on-line? Jennypop.net  @JennyPopNet & Jennifer Devore’s Amazon Author Page

 

At The Con – GTBAG at PAX East 2013

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Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 08-04-2013

Category : Conventions, E-vents, Featured, Game On, Good To Be A Gamer, PAX East

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

PAX East is the second largest consumer gaming convention in the United States. We are blessed that this event takes place nearby GTBAG HQ. Jessa Phillips and Dave Lucier were on hand to play games, attend panels and rock out at the concerts.

As we like to do, we are reporting back with all of the convention goodness for those of you who couldn’t join us or those who want to relive the good times.

 

If you have trouble with the player, click the link below for the direct download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/goodtobeagamer/AtTheCon_PAXEast2013.mp3

 

CONTACT
Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you! Feel free to post a comment on the podcast entry at http://www.goodtobeageek.com, or email us at gamer@goodtobeageek.com. You can also email David at dlucier[at]goodtobeageek.com, email Jessa at jphillips[at]goodtobeageek.com.

Special thanks to Sterling for the use of his music in the podcast. Be sure to check out his Magnatune profile page to learn more about him and discover more of his music.

Good To Be A Gamer is sponsored by Good To Be A Geek – let your geek run wild! Opinions expressed on Good To Be A Gamer are those of the hosts and/or guests and do not necessarily represent those of Good To Be A Geek.

Good To Be A Geek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License


At The Con – PAX East 2013 with Nicole Wakelin

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Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 06-04-2013

Category : Conventions, E-vents, Featured, Game On, Geek Out, Good To Be A Gamer, PAX East

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

PAX East is the second largest consumer gaming convention in the United States. We are blessed that this event takes place nearby GTBAG HQ. Jessa Phillips and Dave Lucier were on hand to play games, attend panels and rock out at the concerts. As we like to do, we are reporting back with all of the convention goodness for those of you who couldn’t join us or those who want to relive the good times.

In this bonus episode, Jessa Phillips sits down with our friend, Total Fan Girl, Nicole Wakelin to discuss their experiences at PAX East. They discuss the games demonstrated on the show floor, panels they participated in or attended, rage quit Facebook games and embrace video games used for education.

Find more of Nicole Wakelin’s work at Total Fan Girl, Geek Mom & Nerd Approved! Also, follow her on Twitter @NicoleWakelin!

 

If you have trouble with the player, click the link below for the direct download:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/goodtobeagamer/AtTheCon_PAXEast2013_TFG.mp3

 

CONTACT
Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you! Feel free to post a comment on the podcast entry at http://www.goodtobeageek.com, or email us at gamer@goodtobeageek.com. You can also email David at dlucier[at]goodtobeageek.com, email Jessa at jphillips[at]goodtobeageek.com.

Special thanks to Sterling for the use of his music in the podcast. Be sure to check out his Magnatune profile page to learn more about him and discover more of his music.

Good To Be A Gamer is sponsored by Good To Be A Geek – let your geek run wild! Opinions expressed on Good To Be A Gamer are those of the hosts and/or guests and do not necessarily represent those of Good To Be A Geek.

Good To Be A Geek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

 


WonderCon 2013: Dr. Batman, Monster Man, Fierce Women and Missing Seth Green, Again

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 03-04-2013

Category : Comics, Conventions, Entertain Me, Featured, Travel, WonderCon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Steampunk Lucy & Abby Sciuto Photo: JSDevore

WonderCon Anaheim is a fait accompli. These California comic book conventions are like a Tequila Sunrise: equal parts fun, tequila, sunshine and just the right amount of tart. The bar in the Anaheim Hilton, Mix Lounge, was a bit too much fun. Of course, like any trade show or con, those après-show mixers also serve as yummy networking juice. Having an affable, excitable, confident pirate in your corner also helps the networking process.

This con was chock full of crucial contacts, old friends, new Geek Meets and enough pop culture goodness to make the wait for summer’s San Diego Comic-Con nearly unbearable. I met a Batman Ph.D., dined with a Monster Man, met a smarmy yet kindly fellow from Bongo Comics and missed meeting Seth Green, again, by thiiiiiis much. As I covered the event for GoodToBeAGeek, there shall be a full wrap-up and slideshow coming soon. There shall also be interviews. Whilst there, I attended a few panels, including All Shapes and Sizes Welcome and Geeks Get Published – and Paid!.

 All Shapes and Sizes Welcome, moderated by power chica Leah Cevoli (Deadwood, Robot Chicken) featured Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Adrianne Curry (Adrianne Curry’s SuperFans), Helenna Santos Levy (founder, MsInTheBiz.com), Amber Krzys (founder, BodyHeart.com) and Lynn Chen (founder, www.theActorsDiet.com). Without giving up too much booty here, the panel was an intimate, inspiring and touching look at the effects of body culture on women in Hollywood and media. Moreover, these strong femmes shared their histories and personal tales of how they came to be the ladies they are and what pivotal, Aha! moments got them there.

L to R: Adrianne Curry, Lynn Chen, Helena Santos Levy, Amber Krzys, Miracle Laurie and Leah Cevoli Photo: Twisted Pair Photography

Geeks Get Published – and Paid! was moderated by the sparkling Jenna Busch (Cocktails with Stan), with whom I shared a lovely chat on our mutual fondness for James Michener over Stella Artois and gin martinis at Mix Lounge. Jenna’s panel featured S. G. Browne (Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament), Katrina Hill (Action Movie Freak), Alan Kistler (Doctor Who: A History), Alex Langley (The Geek Handbook), and Dr. Travis Langley(Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight). This panel was partially selfish on my part. Learning how to grow cabbage out of words? Yes, please! Perchance next year, or even at SDCC, she might like this published geek to sit on her panel.

This particular panel was also a lovely chance to meet the quietly sweet Katrina Hill (her kind demeanor being totally anathema to her Action Flick Chick persona),the boyish Alex Langley (His love of Calvin and Hobbes and, I’d bet, Dennis the Menace happily shines through.) and his brother Dr. Travis Langley. Having gifted the good doctor’s Batman and Psychology to my own psychologist-father, it was my pleasure to meet Dr. Langley, discuss secure attachment theory with him and have said-book signed for Dear Old Dad. To boot, Katrina and the brothers Langley are affiliate-partners with GoodToBeAGeek and its editor, Jessa Phillips. My articles there are syndicated via RocketLlama and soon Nerdspan. It was very nice to finally shake their hands.

I also took part in one of the oddest, strangest, most memorable fine dining experiences of my life. Suffice it here to state merely the following: Morton’s Steakhouse, Monster Man Cleve Hall, homemade rum, an à la carte-meat travesty, a renegade pirate and Night of the Evil Dead Corset that nearly killed Lucy.

After I my Con Haze lifts, I shall regale you with full coverage of WonderCon 2013, Morton’s Horrorhouse and my interviews with Katrina Hill, Leah Cevoli, Amber Krzys and Helena Santos Levy. In addition, there will be a powerhouse slideshow by our very own Eslilay Evoreday of Twisted Pair Photography, a slideshow of such proportions that it will take longer to import and load these snaps than it will to write up all the articles. You’re welcome.

Lucy, Hannah and the trademark pineapple martini at Roy's Hawaiian Photo: JSDevore

Abyssinia, cats!

@JennyPopNet

Hannah’s other fave places to haunt online? jennypop.net  jenniferdevore.blogspot.com and amazon.com/author/jenniferdevore

 

Portlandia Spies on Hannah and Lucy: WonderCon 2K13

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 25-03-2013

Category : Conventions, Entertain Me, Featured, Geek Out, Television, Watching the Web, WonderCon

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think we are being spied upon, as of late. As Dr. Lucy and I prepare for WonderCon (Anaheim Convention Center March 29-31, 2013), it appears the bonkers-brilliant minds behind Portlandia have clearly been engaged in careful examination of our cosplay methods. We mistakenly thought our crossed fingers to be our little secret. (Uninitiated to the wonky randomness of Portlandia? Read a wee review by my pally, Jennifer Susannah Devore.) Yes, I imagine our short sojourn at the Anaheim Hilton and WonderCon shall prove raw-ther similar to Portlandia’s spot-on effort: Steampunk Convention.

Perhaps our own Ellen from Earth shall prove more useful. Nevertheless … huzzah, Captain D.D. Cumulus and Lady Nightstream! Rose City Steampunks, do hold the ascending-room doors for Dr. Lucia Devereaux and yours truly, Miss Hannah Hart, ghostdame of the Hotel del Coronado! Check back here après-WonderCon for a wrap of the show, à la my SDCC 2K12 coverage, and another one of Lucy’s fab slideshows: cosplay goodies, booths, artwork, celebrity sightings and even the Saturday Night Masquerade. (Unfamiliar with her work? Peruse Lucy’s SDCC 2K12 snaps.)

To boot, we shall be attending, and covering for you, the Geeks Get Published – and Paid! panel, moderated by Jenna Busch (Fanhattan): featuring S. G. Browne (Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament), Katrina Hill (Action Movie Freak), Alan Kistler (Doctor Who: A History), Alex Langley (The Geek Handbook), and Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight). You know, Jennifer Susannah Devore, is a geek who got published (Savannah of Williamsburg) and I do believe she shall be attending WC this year, dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange. Maybe she and her wand can work their Dark Arts and find her an elusive literary agent. Wish her luck! Better yet, if you know an agent, send them along to JennyPop.Net!

WonderCon Steampunk 2K13

BTW, Lucy and I shall be interviewing, one-on-one, Katrina Hill (MTVGeek, Action Flick Chick) and Leah Cevoli (Deadwood, Robot Chicken) whilst at the Con. We’ll also be covering Ms. Cevoli’s own panel All Shapes and Sizes Welcome: featuring Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Adrianne Curry (Adrianne Curry’s SuperFans), Helenna Santos Levy (founder, MsInTheBiz.com), Amber Krzys (founder, BodyHeart.com) and Lynn Chen (founder, www.theActorsDiet.com) Have anything you’d like us to ask these geek girls extraordinaire?  Leave us a comment below or simply Tweet us on the con floor @JennyPopNet!

Abyssinia, cats!

 

Hannah’s other fave places to haunt online? jennypop.net  jenniferdevore.blogspot.com and amazon.com/author/jenniferdevore

At The Con – Arisia 2013

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Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 17-02-2013

Category : Arisia, Conventions, E-vents, Featured

Tags: , , , , ,

Jessa Phillips is joined by Misty Pendragon to discuss Arisia 2013. Every year, the city of Boston opens their arms to geeks of all aspects for a weekend of fun, music and parties! This year, the Boston Westin Waterfront played host again to Arisia, a convention which embraces the geek community with lots of interesting panels, fantastic artwork, plenty of shiny baubles and, did we mention, parties!?!

 

 

For more about Arisia, check out the website at http://www.arisia.org.

You can find more of Jessa Phillips & Misty Pendragon on our official home at Good To Be A Geek.

Also check out Misty’s interview with Terrence Znudich & Darren Lynn Bousman, the men behind The Devil’s Carnival and Repo! The Genetic Opera, on page 431 of Carpe Nocturne’s Winter 2012-2013 issue – http://www.carpenocturnemagazine.com

 

CONTACT
Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you! Feel free to post a comment on the podcast entry at http://www.goodtobeageek.com, or email us at gamer@goodtobeageek.com. You can also email David at dlucier[at]goodtobeageek.com, email Jessa at jphillips[at]goodtobeageek.com.

Special thanks to Sterling for the use of his music in the podcast. Be sure to check out his Magnatune profile page to learn more about him and discover more of his music.

Good To Be A Gamer is sponsored by Good To Be A Geek – let your geek run wild! Opinions expressed on Good To Be A Gamer are those of the hosts and/or guests and do not necessarily represent those of Good To Be A Geek. Good To Be A Geek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

 

R2D2, Slave Leias and WonderCon: Happy Valentines Day!

Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 12-02-2013

Category : Conventions, Entertain Me, Featured, Geek Out, Travel

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Cheers, kittens! I imagine scads of you are reading on your devices whilst trapped amongst the winter remnants of Nor’easter Nemo. Ergo, I shall spare you the complaints of how chilly it is here in San Diego, in February: 56 with a low of 43! Of course, being a ghost, I’m always cold: sunny beach weather or no. (New to this ghostdame concept? My bio will get you up to speed.)

Well, if you’re a geek in love and whether snowbound in Beantown or surfside in Solana Beach, chances are kippy you’re focused on one of two things right now: Valentines Day and/or WonderCon. Should you be fortunate enough to live in Southern California, my Hotel Del, in this year of their 125th anniversary, is hosting the Sweetheart Ball for a mere $125.00/person for dance floor-flanked dining: $100.00/person for the rest of the Crown Room. Get out the red lipstick, your swishiest beaded skirt and those dancing heels, all you hot tomatoes! The Fox Trot is where it’s at this year!

As for WonderCon (Anaheim Convention Center, March 29-31, 2013), if you’re uninitiated, it’s a comic book and pop culture convention similar to Comic-Con International, but smaller, earlier and sans the Gigantor schwag bags. Numbers? According to Publisher’s Weekly, approximately 40K 2012 WonderCon attendees vs. some 130K for SDCC. Historically a San Francisco-based event that prides itself on being more musty comic books than shiny vinyl girls, it has been moved down to Anaheim  for a couple of years to wait out refurbishing of it’s true home, Moscone Center. Planning to head NorCal way once again for 2014, we SoCal geeks are lucky enough to get it one more time this year! It’s a gentle, warming ease into our wackadoo SDCC, like walking gingerly into a mellow surf, as opposed to trouncing into a rough shore break and getting splashed right in your bits and pieces in one go. To boot, it’s walking-distance to Disneyland!

The R2D2 Builders Club at WonderCon Photo: InSapphoWeTrust/flickr

Are you a Northerner missing your WonderCon? Been dying to go, but never get around to it? Curious about why anybody would want to go? No worries, cats! Our very own Dr. Lucy and I will be onsite and covering it covering it for GoodToBeAGeek.com, live from the floor, just for you: Tweets, snaps, gossip and bonkers costumes, all for your enjoyment! If you wonder how well two Cali ghost girls can narrate just such an event, have a peek at our recounting of 2012 San Diego Comic-Con.

Should you kids have anything or anyone specific you’d love us to seek an’ snap, query, interview or just plain stalk at Wondercon, let us know! Tweet us @GoodToBeAGeek, @JennyPopNet or @Eslilay. Lucy shall be at the ready with her EOS Canon Digital Rebel XT and I with my trusty Waterman, analog journal and Android devices. Whilst the guest list isn’t quite as lengthy as SDCC, there is quality in this condensed version: Jane Espenson (Firefly, Buffy, Once Upon a Time), Dean Koontz (legendary horror novelist) Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell (fantasy artist team extraordinaire) just to name a few. In addition, if you’re whacky for Superman, WonderCon is proud to announce the exclusive, world-premiere of DC Universe’s animated flick, Superman: Unbound!

Though it may be on a smaller scale than SDCC, it seems costuming and cosplay are as necessary as ever at WonderCon and Lucy and I shall be joining in the fun. Lucy’s going steampunk again, this time with a wild and cheeky rum-powered top hat. (Yes, you read that correctly!) Moi? No clue, kittens. Check back in March. Hot pink bunny ears might be playing a role, though. Slave Leia is always an option; yet, that might be better suited for the warmer and sunnier climes of Comic-Con in July. Of course, for all you brassy broads with gorgeous getaway sticks, Leia in chains can go a long way in taking the traditional ennui out of St. Valentine’s Day. Zowie!

My Valentines gift to keep you warm, Fair Reader! Photo: Digital_Rampage

Right-o, off to brainstorm some Valentine haunts with Lucy. Nothing’s more romantic than some friendly, midnight, ghostly frights for the guests amidst the hallowed hotel halls of my historic Hotel del Coronado!

Abyssinia, kids!

 

Hannah’s fave places to haunt online? JennyPop.net and amazon.com/author/jenniferdevore

Follow @JennyPopNet

Good To Be A Gamer Podcast Update

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Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 18-01-2013

Category : Conventions, E-vents, Featured, Game On, PAX East, TempleCon

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Good To Be A Gamer is Available on iTunes! http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/good-to-be-a-gamer/id476489256
Good To Be A Gamer RSS Feed! http://goodtobeagamer.libsyn.com/rss

 

 

 

EVENTS
Arisia
Westin Boston Waterfront – Boston, MA
1/18/13 -1/21/13
http://www.arisia.org

Jessa will be a panelist on 2 panels in the Gaming Track:
Gender & Gaming – Saturday, 1/19 @ 11:30am
Gaming Year in Review – Sunday, 1/20 @ 2:30pm

 

TempleCon
Crown Plaza – Warwick, RI
2/1/13 – 2/3/13
http://www.templecon.org

 

DICE Summit
Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
2/5/13 – 2/8/13
http://www.dicesummit.org

 

Total Confusion
Holiday Inn – Mansfield, MA
2/21/13 – 2/24/13
http://www.totalcon.com

 

PAX East
BCEC – Boston, MA
3/22/13 – 3/24/13
http://east.paxsite.com

 

WonderCon Anaheim
Anaheim Convention Center – Anaheim, CA
3/29/13 – 3/31/13
http://www.comic-con.org/wca

 

 

CONTACT
Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you! Feel free to post a comment on the podcast entry at http://www.goodtobeageek.com, or email us at gamer@goodtobeageek.com. You can also email David at dlucier[at]goodtobeageek.com, email Jessa at jphillips[at]goodtobeageek.com.

 

Special thanks to Sterling for the use of his music in the podcast. Be sure to check out his Magnatune profile page (http://magnatune.com/artists/sterling) to learn more about him and discover more of his music.

 

Good To Be A Gamer is sponsored by Good To Be A Geek – let your geek run wild! Opinions expressed on Good To Be A Gamer are those of the hosts and/or guests and do not necessarily represent those of Good To Be A Geek. Good To Be A Geek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

 

Freedom IS Free! Happy Birthday, Mr. Franklin!

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 17-01-2013

Category : E-vents, Entertain Me, Featured, Geek Out, Literature, Travel

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The authoress confers w/Mr. Franklin in Boston. Photo: JSDevore

Update: Apparently, Savannah of Williamsburg: Ben Franklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press, Amazon/Kindle ranking is #1 in Non-Fiction (although it is historical-fiction) and Perspectives on Law/Legal History!! Yea, Miss Savannah Squirrel!!

 

Calling all history geeks! It’s Ben Franklin’s birthday and my pally Jennifer Susannah Devore is giving you a little freedom, for free! Savannah of Williamsburg: BenFranklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press is free for Kindle, today only: Thursday, January 17th!

Kittens, that Benjamin Franklin was one prolific cat! Inventor, printer, entrepreneur, politician, writer, community leader, social organizer, coffee lover, lady lover, possible-privateer, all-around Good Time Charlie and … maybe even a secret element behind the Freedom of the Press we so take for granted? Maybe so!

For all you history geeks, Miss Jenny is giving you the tale for free: Savannah of Williamsburg: Ben Franklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press is Book III in her Savannah of Williamsburg Series. (Read the original, official, Colonial Williamsburg press release here.)

Set in Philadelphia, New York and Colonial Williamsburg, the third in the series of historical-fiction finds a young, Swedish printer’s apprentice named Linus amidst one of the greatest trials in human history: the John Peter Zenger Trial. Add one great Scot of an attorney, Andrew Hamilton, the nasty and arrogant New York & New Jersey Royal Governor William Cosby, a secret weapon, a new twist on onus probandi and one stunning, shocking verdict of “Not Guilty” and you’ve got the trial that changed the course of American journalism and conferred upon us the all too important Freedom of the Press.

Don’t let the poncy squirrel in a frock scare you, nor the tavern cat, French court Pom or Venetian fox-turned-thespian. The thousands of readers and scholars who have made Savannah of Williamsburg: Ben Franklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press #88 in Amazon’s Law Fiction/Legal Perspectives genre can’t be wrong. Let Jenny’s Squirrel Girl and John Peter Zenger share with you one of the cornerstones of our great democracy.

Read on, keep up, write oft and speak out, people!

"Savannah of Williamsburg: Ben Franklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press" by Jennifer Susannah Devore

Hannah’s fave places to haunt online? JennyPop.net and amazon.com/author/jenniferdevore

Follow @JennyPopNet

 

 

Gaming For Good – Good To Be A Geek Takes on the Extra Life Challenge!

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Posted by Jessa Phillips aka "SultryMinxZoe" | Posted on 19-10-2012

Category : E-vents, Featured, Game On, Good To Be A Gamer

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Extra Life is an amazing organization which helps focus the time and energy of gamers to do what they love to do, PLAY GAMES…all for a good cause.

 

Each year the folks at Extra Life challenge gamers to raise awareness, rally support and do a bit of fundraising in the name of helping children. Gamers sign up and commit to play games for 24 hours. They seek out sponsorships from friends, family, fellow gamers and other do-gooders with proceeds benefiting local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

This year, the annual Extra Life Charity Gaming Event takes place Saturday, October 20, 2012.  Across the nation, gamers will flip the switch on consoles, spin up hard drives and break it down old school in tabletop battles for 24 hours of gameplay. Good To Be A Geek is no exception, with 3 of our staffers committed to play: Jessa Phillips, Dave Lucier and Andrew Marnik will answer the call! Feel free to sponsor us!

 

Support our Extra Life Challenge! Click our names below to sponsor our gameplay!
Jessa Phillips
Dave Lucier
Andrew Marnik

 

To take it to another level, Dave & Andrew crowd-sourced their gameplay. Dave allowed sponsors to weigh in on what games he should play, as did Andrew with the caviat of a Sega restriction. Plus, they will be live-streaming their gameplay and we will have the live coverage here!

Dave Lucier’s Live Stream!

Watch live video from rainedrop184 on www.twitch.tv

If you think you are up for the challenge, head to the Extra Life website (http://www.extra-life.org) and register! Don’t worry if you cannot devote a full 24 hours to a gaming marathon, Extra Life is flexible. Commit to play games for 24 hours and you can complete the gameplay on your own schedule. Mind you, sooner is better than later. Then, spread the word and encourage those who can to sponsor you!

League of S.T.E.A.M. Targets Hannah & Dr. Lucy: How Rude!

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Posted by Hannah Hart, Ghost Dame of the Hotel del Coronado | Posted on 19-09-2012

Category : E-vents, Entertain Me, Featured, Geek Out, Geek Rants, Holiday, San Diego Comic Con, Travel

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kids,  I don’t get too much mail here at The Del. Being dead and all, who’s going to send Moi anything? With the exception of occasional postcards you good pips send me here at the Hotel del Coronado -keep ‘em coming, babies!- mail call is pretty quiet around The Del for yours truly.

Still, along with the odd postcard, and some of them are quite odd, especially those from Texas, I do get unexpected packages once in a blue moon. Today, I received a small, padded envelope with a CD in it. There was no note with it, no greeting, merely a crude marking on the CD itself which read, “Consider yourself warned”.

Jeepers creepers! The return address read only “League of S.T.E.A.M.“!

“Supernatural & Troublesome Ectoplasmic Apparition Management, indeed! How rude! I have a right mind to send them a very sternly written letter. However, I am even more of the mind that my online blathering has finally called too much attention to not only myself, but my dear friend Dr. Lucy. It seems to me, we’ve got some ghost hunting types here in the hotel and, what with Hallowe’en fast-approaching, my guess is these steampunk monster hunters are gearing up for Samhain Scandals! Well, they’ll never catch me! Ha ha!

This, btw, is what those real monsters sent me. Pay close attention after the 3:00-mark.
 

 
Damn it, Lucy! I know how much you enjoyed playing with that new EOS Canon Rebel. Still, didn’t I tell you that if we were going to go play at Comic-Con, that we had to lie low? Especially in the SyFy Press Room? As dear old dad, Dr. Harvey, would say, “Oi vey, Lucy!”.

Fortunately, I shall be out of town for the Holidays: home to good ol’ Beantown and spooky Salem, Mass for some Hallowe’en haunting about the Hawthorne Hotel; and, Lucy shall visit her dear Dr. Devorkian up in Napa this All Hallows’ Eve. Let’s see the League of S.T.E.A.M. find us now! (Oh. Wait. Damn it, Hannah!) Well, at least now the League shall have to dispatch their tiresome, hyper-weaponed gnats to New England and Northern California, as well as wherever else their ne’er-do-well activities take them here in Southern California. Shame on them, nettling and tweaking the likes of Lucy and Moi! Funny enough, now those half-portions in Ghost Adventurers and Ghost Hunters International don’t seem so bad.

I think I can take the mook in the visor, but what's with the giant wrenches? Jebus!

Monster hunters take note! Perchance, you are not aware of she with whom you dare to dance! I swing a mean cocktail bag, kittens!

 

Hannah’s fave places to haunt online? @JennyPopNet  amazon.com/author/jenniferdevore and jennypop.net

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