ALL CAPS

Have you ever heard a song form a band and you immediately knew that no matter what, their songs would always make you happy? ALL CAPS is that band for me. ALL CAPS is comprised of Luke Conard and Kristina Horner and they are awesome!

Their songs are nerdy in subject matter, like robots or World of Warcraft and they are usually very techno and upbeat. That's probably why I like them so much. They always make me feel happier when I listen to them.

My favorite song by them is "Don't Unplug Me" which you can listen to here.

For Japan

I love Japanese culture. I love the history, their music, their architecture and their art. And now, when I see the new feeds blowing up with stories about the earthquake and tsunami.As I go to Tekkoschon this weekend, an anime convention, I will keep the plight of the Japanese people at the front of my mind. They have given many of us anime geeks something to cherish. They bonds we make with each other over our favorite series, or characters.

You can donate money to Japan through the Red Cross here.

Tekkoshocon 2011 and Cosplay

From March 31 to April 3, Pittsburgh is going to be invaded. By who? Geeks, nerds and otakus galore! That's who. Tekkoshocon is an anime convention that happens annually in Pittsburgh. Every year, fans of anime, manga and all things Japanese gather at the convention for 4 days of fun. There are many things to do at anime conventions. There's LARPing (Live Action RolePlaying), video game tournaments, and my favorite, cosplay.

Here's a picture of some cosplayers from Tekkoshocon 2010.

Cosplay is short for costume role playing. People make costumes of their favorite characters. They are usually charterers from Japanese anime, but you will see people dress up as characters from other types of media as well. They become theses characters. Most cosplayers sew their costumes themselves. They also style their own wigs and make their own props. To see these people transform is amazing. They become different people. I've heard from a lot of cosplayers that they have become more confident by doing cosplay. They step outside the box and can show off their unique talents.

 They're like twins! Here's a comparison of a cosplayer and the character that she cosplayed. She made her costume extremely accurate and it looks very well made.






This year, I'm going to Tekkoshocon in cosplay for the first time. I feel like no matter what, I will have fun with pretending to be on of my favorite characters.

We Are The Geek!

WE ARE THE GEEK

We are the geek, without us pop culture is obsolete.
All kids side with either Sith or Jedi.
Get your sci-fi fling on from Wookie to Klingon, we rock to Ewoks.
Light sabers and photon torpedoes ready to go and give a lickin’
‘Till it ends up parodied on Family Guy or Robot Chicken.
Live long and prosper, run your course
When geeks die they enter the Force.
We don’t fear invasions from the Martians or the Borg
Because these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

We are the geek, hardcore gaming is all we seek.
From pwning noobs, woot dings, leet speak button-mashing, Rock Band thrashing.
From the roots of Nintendo to Mario, to Sega Genesis, one nation under Playstation.
We’ve had our iddy-bitty Wii Mii’s on the 3D HD TV screen, see?
Get a load of the invincibility cheat code – it ain’t game over ‘till epic fail – you’ve lost the game.
No evasion of the zombie invasion, we’ve had our training from Left 4 Dead Rising, that is a must,
And all your Grand Theft Auto are belong to us.
MMO’s like Everquest, oh WOW, cross my Halo, hope to die
Unless you get shanked by the Team Fortress Spy.

We are the geek, praise the Otaku, those anime freaks.
Magical school girls and harems are shojos, Shonens will ever increase.
Mechas will wreck us and ninjas will win ya, for everyone else there is Bleach.
Naruto pins on their backpacks
Manga buttons on our cat-ear hats.
From Project A-ko to Xenogears, Vampire Hunter D Grayman, Darker Than Black Lagoon, from Trigun to Sailor Moon.
Let them glomp, let them cosplay, let them have their yaoi schoolboys and fan dubs,
Fansubs, fanfics, fan letters for worse or better.

We are the geek, without our dice rolls we’re incomplete.
Every Winter-een Mas Day, we LARP, tabletop role-play.
Earning GP, HP and XP, drowning in our mana pools with 2nd edition old school rules.
It’s D&D: level up or shut up.
Spell-casters and tanks, clerics and rogues adding up skill ranks.

We are the geek: we are underestimated, underpaid and under-medicated.
If you’re not gonna enjoy yourself, don’t get out of bed.
If you won’t live your dreams, you’re better off dead.
You bet we own the Internet. No longer freaks
No longer meek
But each unique
Standing complete
They cannot compete
We cannot be beat:
We are the Geek!

-Unlce Yo: Geek Comedian (You can find him here>)

   This monologue basically explains my life. I am a geek. And I am proud. I love anime, manga, graphic novels, superheroes, and everything else you can think of! I never get tired of watching Fullmetal Alchemist or One Piece. I'm always looking on Amazon to find the latest manga. I get super excited when I pre-reg for a convention and get even more excited when I'm finally there.

   For some reason, a lot of people don't understand my obsession. They think I'm weird or strange. But sometimes I don't get why people get obsessed with soccer or football. I don't see how they can watch ESPN all day and night watching basketball games and having fantasy football teams. 

    I just tell these people, "Don't knock it till you've tried it." Who knows, you might like it.

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub genre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes anachronistic technology, usually from the Victorian age. It is also used to refer to a trend in fashion and music.

Steampunk has an interesting way of blending the ideas and technologies of the past with ideas that are essentially modern into alternate universes and "what might have been".  It has always been something of interest to me. I've always been fascinated with the fashion and way that people can recreate looks from 200 hundred years ago, yet still make them look like new. Steampunk fashion commonly features goggles, corsets, top hats, bustles, brass and Victorian style boots.

There are many of examples in literature of steampunk. .

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld
Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
Fullmetal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa
  
Steampunk in general tries to recreate the feel of the Victorian Era and place their universes in alternative universes that might have been powered by the "steam" technology of the 1800's. They also sometimes feature real historical figures to try and make the story more authentic. Common themes throughout these stories and novels are adventure, scientific exploration, and alternate history.

Pro-Choice

I recently read a newspaper article in the Panther this week about groups of students from our school going to the Walk for Life in D.C. This go me thinking about my own opinions about abortion. For me, I think that for having the option of an abortion is a fundamental right that women should have. It is her body, no one else can tell her what she can do with it. If a women didn't want to have an abortion because of her religious beliefs, then that is her right. But it is also the right of other women to have to option of abortion available and to get one if that is what she wishes. No matter what your religious beliefs may be, you can't tell another human being how to live their life. You can certainly advocate for pro-life, but to make abortion illegal simply based on your beliefs is not how this country was meant to run. You don't know what their life or situation might be like, so you have no place telling them what they should and shouldn't do. No matter what, it's a woman's decision, and it is her own. Don't make the choice for her.

Uglydolls, Oh My!!

Aren't they adorable?! I have a certain affinity to things that are unique, peculiar, quirky or have oddball attributes. That's why I really enjoy Uglydolls. I also love the story behind their creations. UGLYDOLL began in 2001 when David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim wrote back and forth to each other after Sun-Min had to return to her native country of Korea. David drew a playful little guy named Wage on each of the letters and one day Sun-Min surprised him with a hand-sewn plush of little Wage. From there, David and Sun-min created an entire universe of Uglydolls and they it continues to grow.

There is no shortage of these cute little guys. They are all handmade and no two are exactly alike. You can find them here.

The trouble with tests

Right now I feel so frustrated. I just took a calculus test and I'm pretty sure I failed. I know exactly what I did wrong on the test and all I can think about is how I wanna go back and fix my mistakes. I can't concentrate on anything else. Have you ever had that feel when you sit down to take a test? That the right way to do a math problem is right there in your head but for the life of you, you can't remember it? And after you turn in the test, you suddenly realize how to do the problem? And all you can concentrate on is that? And you feel helpless because there's nothing you can do about because you're teacher wouldn't listen anyway? That's how I feel right now. I feel like crying. And I REALLY feel like throwing something. Something heavy. Anything to make me feel better.

A Little Bit About Me

The first thing that you should know about me is that I'm a total geek. I love all things comicbooks, anime, manga, and videogame related. The second thing that you should know is that I'm a nerd. I love to learn about anything and everything. I like things that make me think. Also, I'm awesome. DFTBA!

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

 Looking for Alaska is one of my favorite novels. I love it for it's thoughtfulness and great quotes that make me think (and I love books that make me think). The book is narrated by Miles "Pudge" Halter who loves to memorize the last words of famous people. He decides that he wants to go out and seek a "Great Perhaps" and begins to attend a bordering school in Alabama. It is there he meets Alaska Young, who fascinates him to no end. This book is in the same vein as Catcher in the Rye and Pudge echos the voice of Holden Caufield. A reoccurring theme in the novel is forgiveness and the meaning of life.

"The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive."
— Looking for Alaska

"When I look at my room, I see a girl who loves books." 

— Looking for Alaska

"At some point, you just pull off the Band-Aid, and it hurts, but then it's over and you're relieved." 

— Looking for Alaska

"Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war"

— Looking for Alaska

"So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." 
— Looking for Alaska

"Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps." 
— Looking for Alaska

"We are engaged here in the most important pursuit in history. The search for meaning. What is the nature of being a person? What is the best way to go about being a person? How did we come to be, and what will become of us when we are no longer? In short: What are the rules this game, and how might we best play it?" — Looking for Alaska

"If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless." 
— Looking for Alaska

John Green in Pittsburgh

Author and vlogbrother John Green is coming to Pittsburgh on Friday January 28, 2011. He'll be attending an event called Black, White and Read All Over at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. John Green is one of my favortie authors and has written several books that have gone on to win major awards. His books include Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Looking for Alaska won the prestigious Printz Award. He and his brother Hank also run a vlog and have a dedicated fanbase (of which I am proud to be apart of) who call themselves 'Nerdfighters'. A link to buy tickets for the event can be found here.