[AG:] An Update and a bit of Philosophy

Greetings, programs!

AG here with a little update and some thoughts that have been stirring for a long time. First, the little update.

AM is a busy little bumblebee these days -- a busy little bumblebee that is made of glitter and shimmies a lot -- and doesn't get much time to blog. Also her computer recently died and was brought back to life, so, cut her some slack. She's rehearsing for Superboobs where she will be playing BOTH (yes both) Harley Quinn AND the Joker. What's that you say? IMPOSSIBLE, YOU SAY??? Maybe you should just go see the show and you'll see how it's done. I'm personally terrified to go. Happy as usual to see my best friend shake it in front of strangers, but also terrified. She sent me some teaser pics of her makeup for the show and I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it. It's probably going to be amazing. Just saying. Our dear AM will then be choreographing a Power Rangers based burlesque, as directed by our friend Bobby (@Haberdasher9k on Twitterz). It will be AMAZE. Totes amaze.

I myself am about to go into tech rehearsals for The Cherry Orchard at Piccolo Theatre which has preview March 9 and opens officially March 16. The run continues through March and April until closing on May 5. I am super happy about the production overall and have been having an utterly smashing time with everyone involved... The icing on the cake has been how NERDY everyone in the cast is. We spend our five and ten minute breaks screaming and flailing about Battlestar, Doctor Who, comic books, and everything in between. It's been completely joyful. I spent an evening with several of them watching the new release Justice League: Doom... which was fab. We are all making plans to be at C2E2... currently discussing costume possibilities. So far I'm thinking I'll be bringing back my Lady Steampunk Eleventh Doctor ensemble from TeslaCon, but I'd like to do something more comic based too... Still thinking. ;)

Also, I am pretty sure I haven't said this yet here but I've said it on Twitter... one of my dearest friends in all the world, James Tynion IV, is currently working with Scott Snyder on the New 52 Batman. NOT JOKING. James is a SUPER legit human being, a great writer and he is wildly passionate about comics, so I can't wait to see what the finished products are. Once some of the stuff has been officially published/announced, he has kindly agreed to do an interview with the Lady Nerds, so look forward to that! :D HUZZAH!

Okay, so that's the update.

The other thing I wanted to talk about was a conversation I had with my boyfriend the other day about "the state of the world" and what the real issues are. Obviously, our dear Amurrkuh isn't exactly well-balanced right now. We started talking about politics and the Occupy movement and the wars and all of the big garbage we're all dealing with these days, and he startled me by remarking how obvious it was that I was a passionate science fiction nerd. I asked what was obvious about it -- knowing that he didn't mean it as an insult -- and he repeated a few things I already said, indicating how clear it was that science fiction had influenced my worldview. I've always been aware of it, but more in a "taking-it-for-granted" kind of way. So here I am, to tell you what I think in a vague sort of way, with direct connotations to my beloved sci-fi stories/authors/examples.

***SIX THINGS I BELIEVE (THANKS TO SCI-FI)***

1. The destiny of mankind lies in the stars. This comes from the introduction of Star Trek. "Space: the final frontier." Space is the final frontier. I mean, yes, there's the bottom of the ocean, the inside of the earth, and even the inside of the human body if you're going to reverse the spectrum, but then there's all that STUFF going on out there that we can only see a teensy part of. There's so much beyond us and our tiny world and our ridiculous problems. So much creation and destruction and STUFF happening. In what way does the existence of all of that beyond us mean that we are NOT meant to explore it, see it, experience it? True, maybe we'll never understand it all. That's probably a good thing. But I absolutely believe that the future of our species lies in space travel and exploration. We're smart enough to do it, even if we're not smart enough to fix our own economies or stop fighting wars or heal the sick. We are smart enough to figure shit out EVENTUALLY. And when we do, we'll go to the stars. I mostly just refuse to accept that this species was crazy smart enough to make all of the technological advances we made in the last 100 years only to hang out on the moon for a little while and then SHUT DOWN the space program in favor of a shitty economy and more international conflict and death. We'll be back. We have to. Otherwise, what the fuck is that shit there for?

2. The only option for human beings to survive must be to cease international conflict and unite as one planet. Again, Star Trek. If we keep bombing the shit out of each other, we're going to destroy any chances of further advancement as a species. Maybe that's for the better. I'll go ahead and quote the new Battlestar Galactica:

"It's what you said at the ceremony before the attack, when Galactica was being decommissioned. You gave a speech, it sounded like it wasn't the one you prepared. You said that humanity was a flawed creation, and that people still kill one another for petty jealousy and greed. You said that humanity never asked itself why it deserved to survive. Maybe you don't."

So that's pretty fucking grim, right? But unless we get our SHIT together -- on a national, and then a global scale -- it's a valid point. Like, if aliens come calling and find out we're this stupid, they'll either A) abandon us permanently (or at least till we evolve again) or B) destroy us. Okay. Also, economy/politics/war aside, we are eating away at our planet like termites, and you're an idiot if you think global warming isn't real. I repeat what I said before: we are smart enough to do this. We just aren't doing it. Which is almost worse. 

3. Time travel is possible but really messy and may be beyond human technology altogether. Obviously. This is a little blurry/vague, because I want to believe in time travel. Don't take that away from me. I think it's possible but it's way advanced shit and the aliens probably know how to do it properly. :D

4. The only way to change things is to become less self-interested and more aware of our own history. I read something about kids in elementary, middle and high school being polled to see what they wanted to be when they grew up. I remembered my own childhood pursuits, which included archaeologist (Indiana Jones), paleontologist (Jurassic Park), astronaut (Star Trek, Star Wars, Contact) and then later on, writer/actor/performer of stuff. This poll that I read about current students' ambitions was shocking. I wish I had the link but I don't, so I will grossly make up the statistics, but just be aware that the real numbers were just as shocking as this misinterpretation: something like 80-90% of the students cited "celebrity" as their chosen profession in life. Now, we all know that "celebrity" isn't an actual job description. Some of the students were also aware of that, and therefore cited "American Idol" or "reality TV star" as their directives. It broke my heart that nobody said "President," "scientist," "artist" or "teacher," but it really got me that nobody said "astronaut." I feel like when I was a kid, EVERYONE wanted to be an astronaut and EVERYONE wanted to go to Space Camp. It was like, the coolest possible thing that could happen to you as a child. Now, not only do kids not know who the Presidents are, when America won its independence, or how many states there are, but they don't give a shit about the fact that we've been to the fucking moon. De-press-ing. Devastatingly depressing. We have to fix that, seriously. SERIOUSLY. How is it "cool to be a geek" but not cool to want to be anything better than a vapid, self-interested, dispassionate body with no connection to the other human beings around them, let alone the human beings that came before them and will come after? It's horrifying.

5. Aliens exist. This is sort of a given. I think maybe I could have clarified this earlier, but I'm 100% positive they're out there somewhere. There's more shit going on that we even know. Period. There could be lots of them, there could only be a few. But they're there. I'm not convinced we've already made contact -- I'm not a Men In Black conspiracy theorist, but it's fun to think there's conspiracy. At least then there's something going on down here that isn't just war and money. But yeah. Aliens. Yep. Ahoy. Live Long And Prosper.

6. Magic is real. I don't want to get into this in detail here because it's complicated and partly open to interpretation and steers dangerously into the realm of religion. But like I said before, there's a lot of stuff going on out there that we aren't even conscious of. Hamlet says, "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Duh. Duh, Hamlet, duh. Exactly.

I would make it seven things, and talk about the Zombie Apocalypse and how I think the possibility of it actually happening relates to the tendency of mankind to fall prey disease/plague/the fucking common cold/pneumonia mutations... but AM doesn't like zombies. So I won't talk about it.

Anyway. Small update, small rant of exposition and belief. Hope it wasn't too tiresome. Stay tuned as always for more fun, and bother us on Twitter if you're bored.

LLAP,

AG

[AM] Tid Bits, Wonders & The Future

First off apologies for the lack of posts lately. This past week or so has been crazy busy and I just haven’t had time to write. On the plus side so MUCH has happened that I just have to share with an appreciative audience. So be warned, I’m gonna hit you with a lot of awesome. Right at your face.

1. The Temple of Boobs: An Indiana Jones Burlesque

As mentioned in my last post I’m a burlesque dance with a company known as Geek Girl Burlesque. I am currently directing and choreographing the Indiana Jones burlesque (Opening October 28^th) & it has been a struggle. The girls have started calling it “The Little Show That Could”. Since it has been picked up it has gone through 1 director, 3 choreographers, 1 costumer & 1 photographer. Not to mention a complete script overhaul and missing almost two weeks of rehearsal. And yet every time someone quits (usually very last min.) it actually turns out for the better. The costumes look fantastic, the sare killer (if I do say so myself) & the girls are incredible. We have a lot of work left to do but I just couldn’t be happier. Get tickets here for this show & all others produced by GGB.

2. Chicago Star Trek Convention 

 Again as stated in my last post I am apart of Boobs of Khan: A Star Trek Burlesque. I’m sure this has been mentioned somewhere on the site, but just to reiterate I’M A HUGE TREKKIE (& yes I say Trekkie, because I think Trekker sounds stupid ;) I’ve even got some ink to prove it.

I went to the convention with AG & her dad as well as another dancer in the show, Sadie Hotkins (Data). The Convention was small, but super fun. We got to talk to a bunch of fun nerds & even had some people and congratulate us on the show.  I talked to John de Lancie about My Little Pony & got him to sign “Friendship is Magic” John de Lancie on a photo. We passed out flyers, got some cool loot, talked to the Chicago TARDIS people, watched scenes from A Klingon Christmas Carol, & I have a potential D&D game now. But the real amazing thing is that Sadie Hotkins on a dare went up to Brent Spiner, gave him a flyer of our show and said “I play you. Only naked.” Needless to say he was a bit shocked, but after the initial confusion he was totally on board. As a coward I snuck up behind her and played a long too. Eventually we had Jonathon Frakes in on it too. He asked me who I played & when I said “Picard” he said “YEAH! Picard.” I didn't have the heart to tell him he wasn't in the show. They even offered to tip if we gave them a preview. It was awesome, surreal & creepy, but it made my life. 

3. TeslaCon

AG & I have finally bought our tickets for Tesla Con & are beyond excited. We’re working on our costumes, which include Ivy & Alexia from Gail Carriger’s amazing book Soulless, some Weird Wild West, a sexy peacock & a lady who looks suspiciously like the Doctor, bow tie & all. Aly & I have never really attend a convention together (apart from the last Trek one) and I couldn’t be happier. We’re planning on launching a podcast there so stay tuned for all of that.

4. BOOKS

I’ve been reading amazing books lately & thought you would like to check some out.

-Great Philosophers Who Failed At Love by Andrew Shaffer

-Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz

-Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising by Tee Morris & Philippa Ballantine

-The Corpse Wore Pasties by Jonny Porkpie the Mayor of New York Burlesque

-Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (REVIEW COMING SOON)

Next on the List:

-Heartless by Gail Carriger

-Sin in Second City by Karen Abbot

-Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

-Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger

-Geek Girls Unite by Leslie Simon

& That’s pretty much that. I’ll get better at posting PROMISE.

MUAH

-Alex

[AG:] Books books books... and geeky future plans.

Greetings, programs!

So, here's the thing about us Lady Nerds.... we love to read. We both really really REALLY love to read. The only difference is that I read a little bit faster than AM does. I'm not bragging, it's just true. Well, I tend to read faster than most people. I tend to stockpile a bunch of books and basically wait for the right moment to just devour them all in one sitting. Well, several sittings. One sitting per book. Anyway. Some leftover books from my last frenzy are standouts that require some blog-time. So I'd like to take a few minutes to blurb about some fabulous reads I've hit on in recent months.


CHECK IT OUT! 

1. "Kraken" by China Miéville.  I picked this up several months back because the cover is sexy. There are two things that will get me to read your book: a great title, and a great cover. A great cover can make up for a so-so title or vice versa, but not always. "Kraken" has a fine title and a sexy cover. And the author is British. Like, hayyyyy. So I nabbed it and devoured it over a few days. It reads like a lovechild between Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" and what I can only assume is H.P. Lovecraft. The London that Miéville presents is gritty and lush with the mysterious and arcane living among the mundane, who barely notice anything around them. The protagonist is a museum curator whose museum's prize specimen -- a huge dead squid -- gets stolen. That's right: stolen. Impossible you say? NOT IN LONDON, Y'ALL. Billy, the hero, gets sucked into a mysterious underworld of London full of cults which worship the squids as deities (cephalogods if you will) and finds out that there is much more surrounding his specimen than just scientific discoveries. Talkin' about ancient prophecies and shit. And all sorts of magic like all over the place, okay? A phenomenal cast of characters and an addictive narrative, "Kraken" is an excellent specimen of the weird and deliciously wild.

2. "Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel" by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Somehow -- and I really don't recall how -- I noticed one day a while back that somebody named Tee Morris was following me on Twitter, so I followed him back. I noticed him mentioning someone named Pip a lot, so I followed her too, just for good measure. Figured out pretty quick that they were writers, which I thought, obviously, was cool, since I also write and their chosen genre (steampunk) is also of high interest to me. Luckily, the novel they co-wrote was released in May and I picked it up to see how good it would be. BOY. DID I EVER GET A SHOCK. This book is so brilliantly written (by two people no less! do you know how hard it is to write something with someone else on the same wavelength!?) and so full of humor and cleverness that I could scarcely sit still the whole time I was reading it. I squirmed with delight, I laughed aloud, I smirked, I gasped, I bit my lip in terror or in tension. The protagonists are Agent Eliza D. Braun (New Zealander by birth, explosives enthusiast by habit) and Wellington Thornhill Books, Esq. (archivist, homebody, and actually rather a good chap all around), two individuals in the employ of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, which documents the strange and mysterious throughout the Empire. Braun is paired with Books as punishment for breaking a few rules, and the two of them end up leaving the Archives to track down some unsolved mysteries from Braun's past, much to the chagrin of the Ministry. The cases they crack, however, crack open something even larger -- much larger than either of them bargained for. Did I mention there will be a sequel? It's going to be delicious. Tee and Pip are two of the LOVELIEST people you could ever hope to meet by accident on the internet, and their work with "Phoenix Rising" is awe-inspiring and riotously good fun. (Also, if you check out the Ministry's website, you might notice their ongoing project Tales from the Archives podcasts... and you might notice that yours truly is listed as a Ministry agent and has a little role in one of the podcasts... ahem...)

3. "Geist" and its followup, "Spectyr" by Phillipa Ballantine. So, obviously, after reading and falling in love with the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, I had to check out Pip's other work. It's a series called "Books of the Order" and the first is called "Geist," the second being "Spectyr," and the other two books not yet released. Have I mentioned how much I hate/love being involved with a series while it's still in first production? I am so impatient when it comes to finding out what happens next. But anyway. So. "Geist" to me is more reminiscent of when I played the XBox game "Fable II": it's high(er) fantasy than your regular stuff, but it has a very complex and detailed world of its own, that doesn't quite fall into the usual notions of dragons and knights and all that. The heroine, Sorcha Faris, is a Deacon of the Order, a religious(ish) construct of men and women who pledge themselves to certain arts of magic that are meant to protect the realms from the geists, shades, spectyrs, spirits, and demonic forces that slip into this world from the Otherside, which is basically a land of the dead. There are Active Deacons, like Sorcha, who are all about brute force and combat, using their gauntlets and powerful runes to trap and fight geists, and there are Sensitives like her partner, Merrick Chambers, who in "Geist" replaces Sorcha's husband Kolya when he is injured in a skirmish. Sorcha is used to losing partners due to injury or weakness, but since her marriage has kind of crumbled, she's glad to have an excuse to leave town for a while with her new partner to kick some geist butt; she'd rather fight something than talk about feelings. Throw into the mix one Raed Rossin (Pretender to the throne, pirate captain, and bearer of a curse which transforms him into a giant, terrifying lion-like geistlord) and instead of a vacation, Sorcha's got a serious detour to crazytown. The detail in these books is phenomenal, and just when you think you've got a handle on something, something goes terribly wrong and you're shocked into reading another nine chapters before doing something productive with your life. They're absolutely fantastic reads!

4. "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. LOOK I KNOW I ALREADY WROTE ABOUT THIS BUT I HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT IT AGAIN BECAUSE I'VE READ IT THREE TIMES NOW AND IT'S STILL FREAKING AMAZING. If you haven't read it, you need to get on dat shit because it's beautiful. Totally and utterly beautiful. I'm totally one of those people where if there's too much hype I'll shy away from it for a while (coughTheHungerGamestrilogycoughcough) but this is one case where I believe the hype was deserved. So deserved. This book is a fine, delicately crafted, spun-sugar dessert of a dream of a story, and I'm totally in love with it. So just deal with it.

5. "Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti" by Genevieve Valentine. So, I read this back in June, way before "The Night Circus" had even started promotional stuff, which makes me wonder if there's a subconscious circus-thing-happening. In any case, "Mechanique" is such a fascinating ride. At first glance, it's a jumble of vignettes about a circus that's made of half-people, half-machines and travels about the outskirts of society, barely making a living. The mysterious goings-on within the circus are beautiful and terrifying, and just when you think the truth of the whole plot will be revealed, a second plot comes into play and throws the balance of the circus completely out of sync -- and lives may be the cost. Disorienting, fascinating, and lovely all at once, "Mechanique" is a chilling, memorable story which breaks boundaries of genre and expectation alike.




So there's five(ish) books for you to check out from yer local library (or Amazon or B&N, etc.) at your leisure. I'm currently reading a few more, which I'll blurb about here by and by. I wanted to also give a heads up that AM and I will be attending the Official Star Trek Convention tomorrow (happy 45th anniversary, Trekkies!) and even though celebrity sightings at cons are old hat to Miss Alex, I'm personally hoping for a chance to throw myself at John De Lancie (squee!).


Other upcoming brouhahas include the fifth annual Whoniverse Photoshoot somewhere in Chicago in October... we were flattered to be invited along for the fun. Current plans include to revive our Nine (AM) and Ten (moi) costumes from Halloween '10, and possibly some other fun... I may or may not have an itchin' to dress up like Idris from Neil Gaiman's episode "The Doctor's Wife" and I know for a fact AM wants to be Donna Noble/Catherine Tate when she grows up.... In November, we have our Big Event of the Year, that is, TeslaCon II in Madison, WI.... we are VERY VERY VERY excited for this and costumes are already being cobbled together. We're also trying to make plans to attend ChicagoTARDIS which is also in November, and which I also *JUST* discovered that ALEX KINGSTON (River Song) is going to frickin' be there..... SO OBVIOUSLY WE ARE GOING.


Anyway. That's all I've got for the moment. See y'all on Twitter!


~AG