Geekadelphia turns 3!

Aw, Geekadelphia would almost be ready to nerd it up in pre-school if it were a person.

 

 

BarCamp Philly

I know, I know– I don’t post on here that often anymore. Between writing weekly for Philly Weekly’s Style Blog and occasionally writing for the two other super fun blogs I’m a part of (love em! love you geeks and kittens!), I *gasp* sometimes have nothing more to say.

I got a sweet new job (for the next 4 months, anyway) as a web editor…  so I spend my 9-5’s editing, cutting down, paraphrasing and copy writing quite a bit. As you can imagine, by the end of the day I don’t always feel like being articulate. For that reason, I’ve shifted to a photoblog to balance my online life.

ANYWAY!

I was planning on wandering around the events of BarCamp Philly in some form or another, but pushed it back into  my brain somewhere…. but I thought I had double vision in gmail:  I was getting identical forwarded emails from two of my editors.. not realizing that both blogs I write for are hosting after parties for BarCamp! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Here’s a press release thing they both forwarded me. Basically, I will be at NatMech’s all night. Hope to see you guys there.

 

“SATURDAY NIGHT @ NATIONAL MECHANICS Not one but TWO great parties.

AfterParty hosted by Geekadelphia! 6 to 9pm Are you ready to rock out with Rock Band? Get wild and crazy with Geekadelphia in this EPIC Rock Band extravaganza happening at Philly’s favorite geek bar! Geekadelphia has tons of awesome prizes to give away in the Rock Band battle of the ages. Geekadelphia will also be hosting a silent auction for some serious schwag. We’ve heard about some of the items up for grabs. Like, whoah. RLY. All proceeds from the silent auction will go to Child’s Play, a game industry charity that will help kids right here at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!

After AfterParty hosted by Shmitten Kitten! 9pm to midnight Join Philly’s favorite dating bloggers, Shmitten Kitten, for a super fun ’90s alternative dance party. Relive your youth with all the best jams from the glory years of alternative music. Come on, feel the Lemonheads! And geek it up with the Kitten! National Mechanics is located at 22 South 3rd Street”

 

TV FOR CHICKENS

Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.

We kids at Geekadelphia threw quite the bash at Tattooed Mom’s on Wednesday. We paired up with the boys from Technically Philly and did a game giveaway, drink specials (it turned your mouth blue!) and a raffle. As always, I had an awesome time. Here’s a few shots from the flickr pool of the evening:

 

looks of concern: the most terrifying children's book on the planet

 

me and the boys! most of the geekadelphians

 

...and I took the coolest picture of Chris, ever.

Finite = Alright

A month without posting? Jesus, you’d think I was on sabbatical in the blogsphere. I’ve just had so much going on that  I really don’t have much to say in my personal life that isn’t private, lately. 

Well, I’ll start with the bad new so I can get onto the good– because I’m really not liking this bad stuff at all. The short version: My dad was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder last month, after almost a year of questionable health issues. That’s been quietly concerning me for the better part of the year, but at least they can begin some sort of treatment with him soon because he’s been diagnosed. Today my mother told me that my Nonno has cancer. She also told me that he’s having a rush surgery because something wonky is happening and his healthcare is probably over at the end of the month… augh, I don’t even want to think about it, to be totally honest, but I’ll deal with everything as it happens. I’m waiting on details from my family.

Whew. None of that is good or fun, but it’s certainly not the worst it could be, so I’m counting my blessings everyone’s alive.

Good news, good news. Um, well, I don’t think I’ve officially announced to the blogsphere that I have a mister! Yes, I know, I said no boys for awhile (and I got some solid time in), but — as my life continually shows me– most of the time the things you need or want usually have a way of finding you when you’re not looking. I met Stu through friends at a roof party and I’ve been pretty smitten since. He’s smart, funny, and wickedly endearing. He’s sarcastic enough for both of us, totally aced me in the kitchen (I’m freaking impressed) and –if you haven’t gathered it yet- I think he’s pretty damn adorable all around.

We’re actually from neighboring towns back home and both went for our undergrad in Philly …but we never met ? Weird, right? We were kidding that we’ve probably been in line together home at Shop Rite or sat next to each other on SEPTA for 3 years and never knew it. He’s also super close to me in age (he just turned 24) and that’s refreshing. 23-24 is realistic– I’ve learned my lesson. I mean, take Paul and I as an example: When I was a senior in college at 21, he was 25 and working full-time. It was fine most of the time (I mean, we were in hs and college at the same time for the most part), but believe me– something I learned then and since was that those few years stretch a longer bridge than anticipated. At this point in my life, anyway.

So yeah… he’s great. And it’s been pretty great.

My gig with the ASMP is on pause at the moment while they get their internal development for the new site together, so I’ve been writing for Philly Weekly (they’ve given me more posts a week!) and working on a sweet freelance gig with a colleague from my old internship, which has been pretty cool. I’ve been dabbling with the idea of becoming a web editor lately, and I think I’m going to take a shot and see where it takes me.

It’s pretty ironic that I’ve made a paycheck on copy-writing for ASMP and blogging for PW, and I’m just finally catching up on here. I’ve had lots of little adventures with my new flexible work schedule (I haven’t been working regular 9am-5pm hours in 3 weeks and it’s every bit as awwweeesome as it sounds)… so, yeah. That and I feel like I’ve been more in my head lately, and if not, I’ve just been rattling to Kim-Thao. Or Courtney. Or Julia. Have I mentioned how lovely I think all my friends are lately? You’re all wonderful.

Alright, well.. Kelly moved out (6 months came and went so fast!) and Brian is moving back in soon so I’ve been moving everything for the past few days (and Stu, thank you!). My cousin Eddie built me a door and a shelf and I would’ve never known that it wasn’t there all along. The room really feels like it’s mine this time around. I know that sounds weird, but I think I was going through so much change last year I couldn’t adopt my space the way I wanted to before.

I have a couch. And a real bed. And a bookcase I built myself– real furniture! And a DOOR.

Good God, I FINALLY HAVE A DOOR.

And I got a paycheck to buy it all. And I even have a sweetheart who helped me move it all. Um, I’m gonna go ahead and say that I don’t think I would’ve recognized my life from a distance if I saw it this time last year. I never would have believed it.

It’s time for bed.

Wizard World, Fu Manchu, E.T, Nukes and Obama at the beach: I love my life.

I’ve been one busy bee. Here is a visual recap of the past two weeks, in case you missed me on my other social media outlets:

 

I met some assholes as Wizard World.

 

We shaved Micah's beard into a Fu Manchu when he lost a bet.

 

I dressed up like a nuke and met E.T.

 

Kim-Thao and I took Obama to the beach and fed him tortellini

 

I wrote a letter to The Headband, apologizing for mocking it on PW Style….

 

Whisk you away to magical.... Delaware?

I also publicly apologized to the state of Delaware on Shmitten Kitten because I like a nice boy!

 

 

BFFL.

I’m also putting the Nukette Suit on once more to support Project for Nuclear Awareness this Friday at 7pm. 

Please do yourself a favor and watch the linked video. Yes, that video stars Kim-thao and yours truly.

 

 

....yeaaaah!

 

……Annnnd last but not least, I’m interviewing a fellow who started TubeDuel.com this weekend with fellow Geekadelphian, Far Mckon. Me and my friends will be on the art museum steps on Saturday in cardboard costumes, dueling it out. See you there!

The mash-up I’m going to marry.

And we lived happily ever after.

Edward James Olmos called me and I missed it.

My friends used to tease me about loving Battlestar Galactica. Well– until they watched it… and then they were the ones bringing the popcorn every Friday night. We all know I think it’s one of the most beautiful, considered series ever made.

I always kid about being a geek: I laugh about what I call the “wrapping paper” of the genre (re: how much I love bizarre science, lazers, stormtroopers, phasers and spaceships)… but I love BSG for reasons that don’t really involve cylon raiders. BSG encapsulates everything I truly love about science fiction at it’s core: it asks all the right questions. My undergrad thesis was on science fiction, and in my research I realized that even though the surface of the genre seems like it’s about foreign planets and alien people, but is actually about discovering what really makes us human.

I wish I could teach that to more people, or more people could find themselves understanding that. They seem to get awfully distracted when space suits are brought into the picture.

This weekend I was issued a press pass for Wizard World Philly through Geekadelphia. I sat in on the BSG Panel… which, honestly– was the sole reason I wanted to go to Wizard World. Edward James Olmos (um, just one of my favorite actors ever!), Luciana Carro (Kat), Nicki Clyne (Cally) and Michael Hogan (Tigh) were all present at the panel and answered some great questions. The whole cast there was great to listen to, but I was particularly impressed with Nicki Clyne (who I actually had the pleasure of meeting). She had a lot of interesting takes and opinions on the series (especially about the portrayal of women/scriptwriting in BSG) and was incredibly articulate and well-spoken.

I felt very shy and incredibly tongue-tied at the thought of asking a panel question for any of the cast members, but I surprised myself when Ben and I were leaving. We were stuck behind some large dude dressed as an astronaut (oh, Wizard World..), and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nicki going in a similar direction. I was still digesting a lot of the panel questions and wading through a sea of chattering geeks, and I suddenly found myself feeling compelled to tell her how much I enjoyed hearing her opinions and conversation. She was an interesting and friendly gal.

On a similar topic: it’s no secret that science fiction is a boys’ club. So having/ hearing considered dialogue from another woman –especially publicly– was an incredible addition to the experience. After writing my thesis and finishing BSG through it’s fourth season, I realized that topic is something I would ultimately like to revisit… perhaps writing/designing a book about women in science fiction… you know, when they aren’t only defined as space vixens, the queens of planets or fembots. It would obviously be something slightly more approachable than it sounds. Obviously, that’s a loooooong way coming. I would need to dedicate hours and hours …and, um, not to mention –find an approach for my audience, because the people interested in science fiction– well, most are men.. and when the term “gender roles” come into the picture, they tend to shut down… so, the audience– at this point– seems, sadly, limited to Nicki Clyne and Yours Truly.

I guess it’s a good thing I love a challenge.

On Sunday I ventured home to see my parents and Nonno for Father’s Day (which was really nice). I caught a ride with some friends who live in Philly that have family where my family lives… and apparently when I was en route, Dan (fellow Geekadelphian) went back to Wizard World and interviewed some of the BSG cast! He also met Edward James Olmos and apparently tried to call me so I could say hi to him. Long story short: in an incredibly self-typical moment– I managed to miss a phone call from Edward James Olmos.

Well damn.

It’s time for bed.

E.T home grown

So! For those of you who read me on Geekadelphia, you know that last week I discovered and interviewed what I think is possibly the amusing thing on the internet: ET Close Encounters. Well, I’m wicked excited for Mallory because it would appear that E.T. got to meet the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia when they were in town this week!

Read my interview with E.T. Close Encounters on Geekadelphia.

Check out some pics on ET’s Flickr account.

In other news, I went to an awesome blogger meet up thrown by the GPTMC and got to meet many of the faces behind GoPhila.com and Uwishunu.com that I’ve only e-connected with until now. I saw my awesome friends and editors (Anna and Eric from Shmitten and Geekadelphia, respectively)… I also got to meet some other bloggers I only knew online, including Ben and Jeff of Unbreaded, Annie of The Savvy Grouse, the lovely PhillyGrrl, and Miss Bee of Phillyist. Good times!

In other news (thanks to Phillyist), this man — seen dressed as the famous “readymade” piece by Marcel Duchamp …(RE: THE GUY IN THE ONESIE WEARING A URINAL ON HIS HEAD) was found dancing to Rihanna outside of the PMA’s Staff Party.

Obviously he is my new hero.

If you don’t know you’re doing yet, check out my article (that I swear ‘m almost done!!) on PW Style.

Ahhhhhh, Capella.

I like Petra Haden and the Sell Outs… but I’m always so tempted to replace all the different vocal parts with “meow”…..