Welcome to Gaia! ::

Introduction

Welcome to the home thread for my column, Geek Chic: A Girl's Guide to Geekdom. As it sounds, this is a column following my various misadventures, insights, and delemas, as I meander this crazy world. Basically, it will be anecdotes, observations, and opinions, all by yours truly. Enjoy your stay!

In this thread, I will be posting articles as they occur to me. Many of them will be unfinished and unedited, except for the ones which had been all decked out with my banner and picture, and numbered accordingly.

Map
1-Introduction and Map
2-Articles in Progress / Completed Articles
3-Perspective Articles
4-Sportlights
5-Author's Notes/Misc.
6+-columns

Pictures

List of Perspective Articles

The Vurtues of the Semicolon
Writing Dialog: Remember to Indent!
Don't Send a Paragraph to Do a Sentences' Job
Books; My Anti-drug
The REAL World: Escapism and You
A Man's World (being a girl geek in a "guy's world")
Mary Sue and Gary Stu: Common Clich's and How to Avoid Them (writing tips/rants)
Six-ed (D&D)
Embracing Your Inner Geek
Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery (fandom, fanfiction, fanart)
Apple Cider (writing habits)
/slash/ (yaoi, yuri, and lemons)
East and West ("manga" v. "comics")
n00b Syndrome (forums and such)
Trend Setters (anime in America)

Author's Notes, Rants, and Updates

04.03.07

Moving everything over to the new guild. We finally have one, and I can even be official crew here! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm gonna take this opportunity to do some housekeeping, at least in theory. I've never actually made use of my whole 'spotlightt' idea, and I'd like to do something with it. I'll have to do some more thinking on that. Maybe I can alternate it with my usual comic, or at least use it on the months when I haven't been inspired to write a whole column. Maybe it can be used to just spotlight my favorite series, or something, but that feels too much like a review.

Maybe I'll go back to my original idea, which was basically to deal with genre's as a whole. Like, for instance, shojo. Maybe talk about Peach Girl, and Mars, and maybe Hanakimi... or, a more comprehensive guide of the developement of the genre itself. That could take alot of research, but could be really interesting.

I'd also like to come up with a new picture of myself, since it had been about a year since my current one was taken...I'll see about getting that done.


11.29.06

wow. I've been at this for almost a year now. Well, granted, I've been pretty unseccessful the last few months, but still. I'm not really sure what happened, I was just not feeling into the column. But, I just went back and reread some of the old ones, and I actually wasn't doing as badly as I thought! yay.

Well, I still want to have the column going, but we'll see how much time I have.

4.5.06

I've now had two articles out so far, and I like the feel of being a columnist! I'm adding a section here for misc. things I want to keep track of, since I figured my own person thread was the best place to do it. Firstly, I'm making a list, complete with links, of the on-going stories belonging to members of the WF. We may start some sort of Local Author Spotlight, and I want a list already going so we have something to work off of. At this point I'm simply going with any story I can bear to read beyond the first few paragraphs, and leaving it at that, with no futher judgements of quality.

2.6.06

Well, I have the rough version of an article up. It still needs editing, and it may not even be the article we use for Feb, but at least I made a start on it! I could easy turn this column into a constant rant about my love of books, but I'm going to try to avoid that. I have more interests, really I do. I swear. At any rate, A Matter of Aesthetics is now up, in post 6, I believe, and I would love comments/critique on it.

On another note, I have added another section to my columnn, Sportlights. These will be for those times when we have a large project going, or a specific theme for the Press (like, say, the winter holidays). The Spotlights will do just that, sportlight books (or perhaps movies, games, etc.) which fit the theme. It will differ from La Revue because I will not be critiquing or rating the books, simply offering a little blurb about them, and letting the reader go from there. By posting them in this column, I will be implying that they have my person stamp of approval.


Misc.

Local Works/Authors
Something Fierce at Wicket Lane - by LatkesGirl

Published Mar. 06, Issue 14

#2 The Geek in Everyone
By Rushifa

I am a trekie, born and raised. The characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation were as much a part of my childhood as those of Sesame Street and Mister Rodger's Neighborhood. At age 8, my highest ambition was to be a member of Starfleet and serve on a spaceship of some kind, Captained by Picard or Sisko or Janeway.

I experiences a great deal of the Star Trek craze, and it remains a part of me to this day. A dorky, geeky, occasionally silly but always creative part of me. Every so often I have relapses of the fervor I felt in elementary school, but overall the trekie gene usually remains more or less dormant.

It is the geek in me, or a significant part of that geek anyway. The secret is, while it varies from case to case, there is an inner geek in all of us. Some of us are loud and obvious about it, either by choice or simply the nature of their passion. Others are more suttle, more "normal" in appearance, but we are all geeks.

Some of us geek over books, others comics, TV shows, movies, or sports, but all are forms of the same passion. Obsession is not a bad thing, in moderation. Used well, it can enrich our life. Left completely to its own devices, it can also take control. You simply have to remember to keep perspective.

If your favorite show, and chosen geekdom, is set on reruns for the summer, take a break, watch something else, give yourself time to pursue another interest. Trust me, it will make the obsession all the better when the new season begins and you can feel that exhilaration all over again.

Published May 06, Issue 16

#4 Do What You Love
By Rushifa

This last term I began to fully realize what I've gotten myself into. The full force of college was upon me, all 18 credits of it. I have, so far, survived.

The key is allowing yourself, when painfully, unavoidably busy, to reach a level where your work is actually the same as your play. As in, your relaxing, kick-back time involves aspects of your homework; for me, reading a novel for class as a way to recover from all the other work for class. The real reason this keeps you sane is that you're able to take a load off while actually getting stuff done and remaining guilt-free.

Of course, this is not a formula that will work for everyone; it's merely a way of seeing yourself through the worst of times. This is why it's so important to do something you love. Only then can you get past the basic bore of school work and actual begin to enjoy your major. If you can't achieve this, then it's a good sign that you're in the wrong focus. The key to life is, corning as it sounds, simply following you heart, doing what you enjoy.

At some point, whether you go to college or not, you may have to make a decision: money v. pleasure. reliability v. freedom. adulthood v. childhood. I wish it didn't have to be this way. Growing up may be unavoidable, but enjoyment doesn't have to. Finding the balance is the secret to success, real success, success that matters in daily life if perhaps not in the grand scheme of things. Make your choice wisely.

Published July 06, Issue 18

#6 Tis the Season
By Rushifa

Well, summer is in full throttle, and it's time for any self respecting otaku to style their wigs, find their accesories, and count their change. That's right, Con season is in full swing.

With the growth of anime and manga in the US and around the world, conventions are no longer the be-all, end-all of otaku life; but they can are still an important part of the fandom.

Conventions are, and have always been, a wonderful way of connecting with your fellow fans. No matter what your passion, you can find those who share it here. If you're a gamer, prepare to spend an unending period of time in the Gaming Rooms. If you're a cosplayers, spend your time wandering the halls and attending the cosplay contest/masquarade. If you're simply interested in catching up on the lastest hot series, have fun in the various video rooms.

For virgin con-goers, remember to pace yourselves. Look at the schedule ahead of time, and highlight or cirlce the panels you want to go to. Then, prioratize, and kill the spare hours in the game and video rooms. But, don't forget about food! Bring some small munchies in your purse or bag, and unless you really want to shell out precious cash on hotel food, buy your room's supply of food at a super market before hand.

As far as costume go, there are a few tricks you can follow to make sure your costume looks as good as it can.

-First off, don't skimp on the details. Accesories always improve the impretion of a costume, and makes posing alot easier.

-In production, avoid shiny fabrics. They may be cheap, and they may make your eyes glow, but they don't come out very well in pictures.

-When making your costume, make sure to spend some time fiting it to your own body. If you're luck enough to find perfect patterns for your costume, don't just cut ou the fabric, sew it up, and call it good. Create a mock up out of cheap muslin first, and try it on, while having a mother or friend make small alterations with pins so it really fits you. There's nothing worse then a costume which doesn't even fit you right.

-And, last but not least, don't forget your own camera!

The best advice I can give is, find your friends, make new ones, and spend as much time as you can just hanging out! The real attraction of a convention is that you can be around tons of people who share and understand your interests. Enjoy yourself!

Published Dec. 06, Issue 23

#8 Holiday Cheer
By Rushifa

The holidays tend to bring out the best and the worst in everyone. Christmas carols, mistletoe, eggnog, and holiday cheer, with just a pinch of greed and regret thrown in for flavor.

I come from a family that is traditionally Christian, but by the time I came into the world, the pretense had all but disappeared. Now, most religious icons have been eliminated, save in carols, and we enjoy Christmas on a pop-culture level. Santa. Christmas tree. Presents.

With some amount of shame, I admit that I probably put too much important onto the materialistic side of things. Christmas is a wonderful time to convince my parents to spend money on things I would hate to pay for myself. And after 20 years of practice, I've gotten pretty good at guessing what's in a box simply based on size and weight. It's almost an art. However, it greatly diminishes the "magic" of the season.

I've actually spent the last few years wondering how I can regain the lost "magic." It's nice to get what I want, but I think it comes down to the mechanics: it's getting hard to be surprised. Part of what I think made Christmas so magical for me as a child was my own naiveté. Sure, I had made a detailed Christmas list, but I was still surprised and elated when I found I had in fact gotten things I asked for (with some exceptions: Santa never was able to produce life-size My Little Ponies that could actually fly).

So, since getting my heart's desires is simply too predictable these days, there must be another way to capture that feeling. I haven’t quite found it yet. But I’m getting closer. It probably lies in spending time with my family, in putting more hands-on effort into decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, hanging lights and tinsel. The closest I've gotten so far comes from successfully surprising my friends and parents with presents. Remember that tried and true wisdom: Christmas should be about giving presents, not receiving them.

DIY: Interactive Fandom

My friends and I have recently caught the Dollfie bug.

Some of you may be aware of the legendary Super Dollfie, who are pretty drop-dead gorgeous. For those who don't know, I'm refering to Japanese Ball-jointed dolls, which are very posable, costumizable, and cute. They are also, however, around $700 a pop. Not exactly within the budget of your typical starving college student.

But we've made an amazing discovery.

Volks, the creater of the Super Dollfie, and one of the leading companies in this field, has opened an American store out of California. This makes shipping way less of a b***h. But, more importantly, they have a category of dolls called Dolfie Plus. These dolls are much smaller than their Super Dollfie cousins (averaging 27cm, as opposed to 60cm), and are far more affordable. Where Super Dollfies can set you back by hundreds (even thousands, if you count extra accesories and clothing), you can get the body, eyes, wig, and even basic clothing for a Dollfie Plus, all for around 50 dollars.

Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to the smaller dolls. First, their smaller size makes them harder to paint and make clothing for. Also, while the larger dolls have many companies and private parties competeing over them, and readily creating unique clothing, wigs, accessories, etc, the little dolls have far less availible for them. However, harnessing the power of Ebay, and a little patients, I think the affordablity of the Dollfie Plus far out ways the disadvantages.

There are many hobbies in the world, and some are more expsnsive than others. While I like the beauty and appeal of the larger dolls, I'm much more content knowing that I could theoretically buy 14 little dolls for the price of one of the big ones. Think of all the faces I could design, the wigs I could style. Imagine all the characters I could bring to life! They're just the right size for me, thank you very much.