Tag: geek

I Like Star Wars the Normal Amount

At least, that’s what I thought until I was having dinner with a new friend and found out I have no idea what the normal amount is.

I used to own a costume boutique so I was surrounded by cosplay/geeky people all the time. It was like living in a nerdy little bubble. Since I had a baby, moved to the beach, closed my shop and started the blog, I’ve been meeting a lot of new people and a lot of those people have no idea what cosplay is and some of them *gasp* have never even seen Star Wars. (I’m still shocked when I hear that, and honestly question whether we could ever be besties if they don’t understand the ways of The Force .)

Recently I was having dinner with another mom, chatting and getting to know each other. We were basically on a first mom date and the subject of Star Wars came up. I can’t remember what I said, but it led to her asking me “so you like Star Wars a lot?”

And my first response was “well I think I like Star Wars a normal amount.” And then I was like what the hell am I talking about? I’m on the cover of a Star Wars documentary that’s probably a little more than the normal amount. But I didn’t want to come off as totally weird, and then I realized well she’s going to figure that out sooner or I later might as well come clean.

So I admitted, yeah, I guess like Star Wars “a lot.” And then in true geek fashion I had to specify that I liked the original Star Wars the best, and that I’m not so into the new Star Wars and confess that I hadn’t even seen the new Star Wars yet (I have seen it now) and slowly I realize I probably talked about Star Wars WAY more than the “normal” amount. So I decide the best way to go is even things out with “but I like Star Trek too,” as if maybe being a well-rounded geek is going to sound more normal. I stop myself before clarifying “just TOS though, not much of the new stuff, except the movies. I’ve seen all of those.”

See? the normal amount. Nothing to see here. Totally normal levels of Star Wars love. Lets move along. Just don’t get me started on the costuming! Normal just goes downhill from there.

So what do you geek out on? Anything you might have an above-average amount of fangirl (or boy) love for?

Raising Darth Vader

darth vader babyEver get worried that you’re raising a future Darth Vader? Or even worse, a Kylo Ren? Sure, we all go through our villain moments, but I’m still on the good side and have hopes of raising a sweet little super hero. So tonight in the bath, that sweet little future hero turns to me, lowers his voice dramatically and says, “I’m a bad guy and I’m going to shoot you.” Then pics up his toy boat, points it as me and goes “Pew, pew, pew, I shot you with my boat.”

W. T. F.

Where is he getting this from? I suspect his dad, who thinks he can watch anything on TV and not have a toddler absorb it all. In fact, I just texted him to ask if he had The Punisher on before he put him to bed last night. Because I find it odd that I get to go on one Mom’s Night Out and come home to a boat gun wielding baby. Moments later he started demanding an actual gun and was very disappointed to hear guns were not allowed in the tub. (Husband texted back, blames it all on YouTube)

This new fascination with the dark side doesn’t stop at tub theatrics. Yesterday at the park another kid was growling at him (it happens) and he thought it was the most fun thing ever because there was a “bad guy” to play with. He talked about him all the way home.

I know they all go through phases and it’s just a new thing he’s learning, but sometimes I feel ill-equipped to get through some of these parenting challenges and I get a little anxious. I start thinking about the monumental responsibility I have to help this little child grow into a good adult. I mean, nobody wants a future Kylo Ren. (at least, probably not the dads 😆)

So here’s to good parenting and the best intentions to raise children on the side of the light.  May the Force be with us, always.

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Geeky Guest Post: D is for Dark Knight

Welcome to the first installment of Geeky Guest Posts! Because everyone can relate to a geeky something.

This one is a repost from Erika of DorkyMomDoodles.com, who’s daughter obviously has a healthy love of the geeky side of life:

Some toddler girls love Princess Sophia. Others love Doc McStuffins. Others — namely the ones whose moms have to Google characters that toddler girls are into — love Batman. And Superman. And all things Star Wars. (Sigh, and as of the last couple months or so, Peppa Pig.) But mainly Batman.
So, yeah, Baby Girl loves her some Dark Knight. Her love is so intense that some might even say that Baby Girl has a minor obsession with him. Others might say that there’d be a restraining order against her if Batman actually existed.

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I can’t remember exactly when the lovefest started, but it was sometime between her first and second birthday. Her brother has a couple of Batman play sets, and she loves playing with the toys alongside Little Man. Baby Girl went through a phase where she refused to wear anything but her Batman t-shirts, wanted to wear the Batman pajamas every night, and had to carry her Batman stuffie everywhere. She had a Batman themed party for her birthday last year, too.
With the theme for this post in mind, I was scrolling through old Facebook and blog posts looking for some material for today and came across a few cute things.

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The first one shows her getting her teeth brushed while wearing a Batman mask. She hates getting her teeth brushed. It’s one of those things that always ends up in a meltdown of epic proportions, no matter what we do. But then one night we put a Batman mask on her to so we could show her that superheroes brush their teeth, too.
It worked. For one night, we had an adorable Batman toddler getting her teeth brushed in our bathroom. For one night, because I don’t know where that particular mask is anymore.
The second shows Baby Girl not showing me any love on my birthday. Sigh. I know that Batman’s fond of making everything about him, but on my birthday, too? C’mon, man.
The third one shows how Baby Girl introduced herself a few times. Loads of cuteness if you witness it in person.
The fourth doodle shows that Baby Girl has some real game when it comes to getting sweets from her daddy. Rather than ask for an ice cream cone herself (and likely be denied), she asked for one for Batman. And she got it. She claimed that they were sharing it, but I do have my doubts.

So…Team Batman or Team Superman? 

You can connect with Dorky Mom Doodles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and see her original post here: #AtoZChallenge: D is for Dark Knight

 

 

Generation Geek

Star Wars a new hope movie posterI’m old school. The only video games I kick ass at were released at least 20 years ago. And I love Star Wars, but I haven’t even seen Rogue One yet.

And I feel like that sort of define things. Especially with the death of Han Solo and then the real life death of Princess Leia (and also Spock). My geek generation is getting older and our icons are dying off.

But at the same time a new generation is rising. The force is actually awakening, but also changing with the times. Like the new Wonder Woman movie. It’s a different WW than I grew up with, and it’s taking me a little bit to really embrace this new one. Although I love her and her strong character, she’s just not my Wonder Woman. I almost wish she had a different name, because I will always picture Lynda Carter in her star spangled outfit. But this generation needs an Amazon warrior, so that’s who she became.

I grew up with this stuff and it didn’t seem geeky back then. In fact, I thought it was all pretty cool. I played NES obsessively, but I didn’t go around saying I was a “gamer girl.” I wasn’t aware there was a distinction. I played Jedi with my cousins using broomsticks as lightsabers. I decked myself out in a cardboard tiara and Wonder Woman Underoos and ran around the house fighting crime. My Big Wheel was the green and purple Incredible Hulk edition.

So that is why my costuming isn’t usually about the latest and greatest thing to come out. I usually look to childhood favorites for inspiration. So in my mind, I really DID get to grow up and be Wonder Woman, lol. (… and Link, and Princess Peach, etc.)

I’m looking forward to raising my son in his own geeky generation. But I’m pretty sure to him, it will just be cool kid stuff.

Update – I wrote this post as a draft last week. And last night I finally watched Rogue One! And of course I liked it.

Cosplay and Cons with the Kids

One of my favorite big conventions is almost here – San Diego Comic Con! I went the year I got pregnant and haven’t made it back since I had my son, but we have done a lot of daenerys targaryen and baby cosplayother conventions together. In fact, he attended his first con at just 6 weeks old! I look forward to taking him to SDCC one day, but until then, we’ll be hitting up cons a little closer to home.

Attending a con with a kid was a whole new experience for me. My usual plan was just show up, take a lot of pictures and basically party all day and night. Now I have to plan around nap times, changing diapers and having no choice about being up at 7AM every morning.

So here’s my Top 10 Tips List for Attending Conventions with Kids:

  1. Try something local first. Short trips are best. You can search sites that list cons by state like UpComingCons.com & Cosplayconventioncenter.com, but if you just put “cosplay conventions” or “comic conventions” along with your location into Google, you’re going to find something!
  2. If you aren’t going to be local, be close enough so you can easily walk back to the hotel for naptime. Believe me, this will make things SO much easier.
  3. Check out the event ahead of time and plan your day. Make a list of events and things you want to attend with time and location.
  4. Forget about actually making it to any of those things. Just kidding. A little.
  5. cosplay with babyIf you have a baby, make sure you have something to cover your costume with. Nothing like ruining all your hard work with a bunch of spit-up.
  6. Plan your costume around being able to pick-up and hold kid, feed kid and change diapers. If you are not able to do this, make sure you have a “baby handler” with you for assistance.
  7. Go easy on the kid costume. They are probably just going to fBaby in Superman shirtall asleep, drop food on it or rip it off after two minutes anyway. A good easy costume is a t-shirt that matches your general theme. When I do Wonder Woman, I often dress my son in a Superman t-shirt. He’s had an impressive collective since he was born. He never went a month without one in his size. I actually just printed out a bunch of ink jet iron-ons and would make whatever size I needed at the time.
  8. If you start taking them when they are young, then they will love it as they get a little older and you won’t need to worry about them being afraid of the characters and costumes. My son loves getting up close and touching the costumes.
  9. Pack more than you think you need- extra food, diapers, clothes, drinks…extras of everything! We went to ConJure and after a 2 hour car ride my son started projectile vomiting. We went through a LOT of clothes. You never know what you are going to run into. Be prepared.
  10. Do a kid-friendly cosplay group. I had a great time as Princess Parfaya in a Sesame Street Star Smores group at Star Wars Celebration and the kids and parents totally got it.

Sesame Street Star Smores Cosplay Group at Star Wars CelebrationAnd most of all, just have fun, soak up the experience and share every moment with your little one. This is your chance to share your fandom and geekiness as a family affair.