The Things You Find When You’re Not Looking

Compared to all of the places I have lived (which haven’t actually been that many places, all of which were previously on the east coast), The Bay Area is one for kindness. I have rarely met such pleasant people, and while there are assholes everywhere, I have found very few so far. As someone who grew up on the northern part of east coast most of her life, I saw the stark contrast almost immediately. It’s just… different here.

One of the ways I find it different is that people are giving. Often, I find furniture and clothing in boxes on the curb, but not for garbage. Anyone is welcome to pick through it and take what they want or need. This does a lot for the local homeless population as well, as it provides warmth and sometimes even food for those who need it.

Today, I was walking to work and happened to see a couple paperbacks sitting out. Among them, was this beauty:

A genuine, original Choose Your Own Adventure book. Second Bantam Edition, March 1981, this cost $1.50 and is all about your adventures in Deadwood City, when you went up against the outlaw Kurt Malloy. Don’t remember that? Well, it happened.

When I was a kid, it was all about R.L. Stein’s “Reader Beware: You Choose the Scare” adventure books. I didn’t having anything so quaint as Wild West themed stories. And I’m pretty sure the boys didn’t either, since they were reading the same Goosebumps tripe I was.

The book is pretty beat up, but I’m interested in seeing how I fare against Kurt Malloy. Not to mention why he looks like such a stereotypical Mexican outlaw with a name like Kurt Malloy. I’m on to you, illustrator Paul Granger.

It doesn’t look like this title is available anymore, either, according the Choose Your Own Adventure web site, but apparently they’re still going strong! The books costs between $6.99 and $7.99 now, but it has been 30 years since “Deadwood City” was in it’s second printing. And apparently every ‘Like’ they get on Facebook gets a book donated to a child. I like the idea of kids reading, but I’m going to have to read this one before I had it off to any kids, though. :)

“Deadwood City” written by Edward Packard, illustrated by Paul Granger
Bantam Books, 1981, second Bantam printing
Found on the sidewalk in the East Bay :)

And you’re welcome for the plug, CYOA. ;)

SNL Hits the Nail that Must be Hammered Down

http://www.hulu.com/embed/mXTzhbxzE7Q_xXEjZqS4Jw

I do love good satire. Not that Saturday Night Live usually is, but someone on the writing staff must have recently gone back to visit their college’s anime club, because this is spot on for creepy college weeaboos. I haven’t alternatively laughed and cringed so much in my life.

(If you can’t see the imbedded video, click the link to watch the skit.)

Alternative Press Expo, Etc.

Getting used to doing work again isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I think I’m starting to feel overwhelmed! I keep leaving things by accident, like my keys in the front door lock, or drinks out after I’ve poured them. I still need to do a little more readjusting to keep myself focused!

I want to do a post on the Alternative Press Expo, but my boyfriend and I were only there for a couple hours, and we spent most of the time in line for Kate Beaton. We bought her new book Hark! A Vagrant and she signed it and doodled a Nancy Drew in it! She seemed so tired, though, and I felt bad. I hope she was able to rest, because I know she’s still touring! I wanted to buy her a coffee, but I thought that might be weird, haha. ^^;;;

I also met Kevin Wada (with the fabulous X-Men prints), bought Mystique and Janelle Monae postcards and told him how I’d heard about him. Apparently, he had no idea people were passing his art around on Tumblr, though people kept telling him they saw his prints online. Crazy! He was really cool. Also, I bought a matching postcard from a friend of his, Max Wittert, of Jubilee also in a fashion model pose. Jubilee is my favorite X-Men character, and I can’t wait to get a bulletin board so I can display them all!

Besides that, my boyfriend and I wandered around looking at the different artists’ work, I bought him a really cool tie from Binary Winter, and I got some back issues from Slave Labor Graphics. (The Johnen Vazquez collection I started when I was 15 is almost complete, ohoho!) The only thing I regret is not being able to meet Daniel Clowes, but that’s probably okay, considering most of my comics are still in my parent’s house on the other side of the country. He can sign my heavily read copy of Ghost World some other time.

Well, I guess that was a post on APE, sans pictures. I’ll try and show off some of the stuff we got another time.

Mighty Fine, stop making me want to give you all my money

I mean really, though. Are they making tshirts just for me now? Because I think they might be.

That doesn’t explain why it’s only available in men’s, though. I love a nice, thick men’s shirt every once in a while, but I think I’d want to wear this one for more than just sleeping and being lazy. Come on, guys.

Two Heroes Remain Better Than One

Remember my Batman and Robin tshirt from Philly Comic Con? Well, I use the Japanese fashion site PoupeeGirl, where users can post photos of their clothing and use the site’s currency, “ribbons,” to buy clothing for their Flash dress up doll. It’s a lot of fun and I really enjoy looking at what other people have in their closets. (It satisfies my inner snoop and saves me a lot of a money by keeping me window shopping.)

Every once in a while, Pupe does what they call a “brand spotlight,” where they gather posted pictures by the same brand and feature them on all the users’ homepages. Last night, I was lucky enough to have my Batman and Robin shirt featured in their JUNK FOOD tshirt spotlight. (scroll down)

I’m just really excited and I had to share! If you use PoupeeGirl, feel free to add me. And if you don’t, considering joining up if the idea of sharing your closet really appeals to you.

“I Know I Am, But What Are You?” by Samantha Bee

I first became interested in reading Samantha Bee’s autobiographical book “I Know I Am, But What Are You?” when I happened upon it in my school’s bookstore. I watch the Daily Show from time to time, but never really took much interest in it outside of the show itself. I haven’t read any other books by any of the other cast members, and I didn’t really see why I’d start with Bee. But out of curiosity, I picked the book and flipped to the table of contents.

At first I thought I’d misread it. Did Samantha Bee name one of her chapters “Sailor Moon”?

Turns out she did. Turns out Canada still has people dressing up as cartoon characters and touring around, giving shows. Or anyway, they did when Bee was hired to play Sailor Moon in one of these shows, travel around Canada and spirit gum her hair into submission to get those meatballs on her head.

But I digress. I have other things to say first.

I didn’t buy the book when I immediately saw it on display a year ago, around the time it first came out. Instead, I put it down, because I was probably on my way to work and had just stopped in to use the bathroom. But I remember being pretty amused by the little bit I had read, and it stuck with me. So, when I found it on sale a couple weeks ago in a Barnes and Noble about 3000 miles from where I first picked it up, I decided to get it.

And I’m really glad I did. Bee’s book is story after story of a life that might be one big, cosmic joke. Between having a step-mother who punches bears, to owning a guinea pig serial killer rapist, to playing one of Japan’s most recognizable superheroes for snotty children, it’s no wonder Bee found her way into comedy. You’d need to have a hell of a sense of humor to make it through the kind of life she’s lived.

May favorite story, though, has to be the one in which her cat tries to mate with her head. Let’s just say if you’re going to be the only constant in your cat’s life, you should probably do your face a favor and spay or neuter them.

My only problem with the book itself is that it is just a bunch of stories. Bee dives into her crazy life without much warning and immediately drops off with the last chapter. Not that she does a bad job navigating through her ridiculous past, but the lack of forward/afterward leaves the book just hanging there. We have context, and much of the information in her book builds on itself, so we’re not left in the dark about what’s going on, but the lack of bookends feels like she was at a loss at how to introduce/outro-duce her tales. But maybe that works in a weird way, as well; I mean, how to you do relate all the strange things that have ever happened to you without always saying “I know this is going to sound strange, but…”? Perhaps Bee saw that there was no way to really prepare her audience than to throw them into the water and wait for them to paddle to the surface.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. And I only have one nerd nitpick as far as the Sailor Moon chapter goes: Sailor Moon was born on June 30th, not the 13th. I hope you’re listening, Ms. Bee, and you fixed that in the trade edition. ;)

I Know I Am, But What Are You? on GoodReads.

Of Dice and Men

This past Friday night, my boyfriend and I went to see the play “Of Dice and Men” at the Impact Theater in Berkeley. The play premiered at Penny Arcade Expo East 2011, of all places, to rave reviews. But it’s strange premier setting makes sense, as it’s the story of a year 30 year old Dungeons and Dragons DM who tries to escape the gaming life when his D&D group begins collapsing.

The play is very character driven, and not only do the actors portray the players, they also play their D&D characters. It was an inventive take on the dual roles many actors play in productions, and I enjoyed seeing both “sides” of the characters. While I think a couple of the actors needed a little more warming up to get into their roles, by intermission, I was engrossed. (It’s always fun to pull back for a minute when you’re watching a play and think, “I’m not watching television or a movie. It’s live and I’m never going to see this again!”) The actors were all really hilarious, but I especially loved the character of Linda, played by Linda Ruth-Cordozo, a middle-aged mother of two and a hammer-welding Irish elf with a foul mouth.

The only real problem I had with the play itself is that I believe the character of Jason, whom the drama mainly revolved around, did not have enough character development in the first act to make his revelation before intermission believable. While the audience learns much more about him in the second act, I felt a lot was missing beforehand, and I couldn’t really read his game changing (um, sorry) decision. Jason’s only scene previous to his announcement is him awkwardly asking the DM and his best friend about D&D when they were in high school. I felt I learned a lot more about the other characters, in and out of their D&D roles, before the end of the first act, while Jason remained unreadable. That is not to say his actor was bad, of course; I really enjoyed Jonathon Brooks in the role, and I thought he made quite a dashing paladin.

Overall, I loved the play and everyone in it! Impact Theater has the added bonus of being located underneath La Val’s Pizza, where you can get dinner and eat while watching the play. In fact, Impact’s tagline is “Pizza. Beer. Plays.” Can’t beat that, can you?

“Of Dice and Men” is playing at the Impact Theater, located below La Val’s Pizza, at 1834 Euclid, Berkeley, CA.
The show runs Thursday through Saturday from now until October 1st.
http://impacttheatre.com/

Philadelphia Comic Con 2011

In the past two years, I’ve gone to a couple different kinds of conventions. Last summer, I went to the American Library Association Convention in Washington DC, had a lot of fun and got lots of free books. Last October, I went to New York Comic Con/Anime Fest and had a good time too, getting free stuff, buying things and being jostled by the crowd. And just this past April, I went to Anime Boston where I had fun buying stuff, hanging out with my friends, cosplaying and eating Pinkberry for the first time! (Why isn’t there one in Philly?!)

But every summer since I’ve moved here, I’ve gone to Philadelphia Comic Con. Now, Wizard World Philly isn’t the most exciting Comic Con (No one’s been stabbed in the eye with a pencil there, or at least, I haven’t heard about it!), but it’s still fun to wander the aisles, meet professional and amateur artists and be among geeks.

I usually go with my boyfriend, and this year I also took my younger brother. He spent most of the con spending my money and talking to artists about finding work in the industry. He found none, alas, but he’s just starting college, so he has time to improve. And let me just say he damn well better love his $35 Jayne hat when it arrives, but despite being an ATM for the day, I had a good time. I got an excellent, super-fangirl-y tshirt and a book I wanted to read for cheap! I also met the author, and she was super lovely and signed the book for me! I can’t wait to read  it. :)

Sorry, I’m not a very good photographer. I really love this shirt, not only because it’s such a fangirl shirt, but also because it kind of makes Batman look like he has cat ears.

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins

And finally, while there isn’t a wide range of cosplayers at Philly Comic Con, since it’s smaller than most, here are two awesome people dressed as Alice and The White Rabbit from American McGee’s Alice/Alice: Madness Returns.

Told you I’m not a very good photographer! This picture doesn’t do their outfits justice.

Sadly, I’m moving, so I won’t be attending next year. But, I’ll be moving out to California, so I’m thinking San Diego Comic Con 2012…?

My boyfriend and I always get excited about cosplay whenever we go to cons, so we’ve been thinking up some “couples cosplay” to do in the future. Here’s our favorite idea so far:

The Green Hornet & Kato (2011 version)

The idea of wearing the same costume as Jay Chou makes me a bit giddy, I admit. :)