Nerd Girl Tutorial: Conventions for N00bz

So, you are the novice nerd girl. You've read a few graphic novels, watched a handful of episodes of The Big Bang Theory, and get 20% of the jokes in XKCD. You've tasted sweet nerdy glory, and you want more.

So it's time to go to your first convention. Chances are, a city nearby will do one. Otherwise, road trip. San Diego and DragonCon are the big dogs. I've actually yet to make it to either (I live in the Northeast, and I'm a student- money is the issue.)

First. Bring a friend. Bring two friends. Bring all of your friends. No one goes in alone. You're already going into a nerdy, nerdy minefield. Have some backup, preferably a sort of con mentor who has done this before. I had the illustrious Nerd Girl Shelley on my side.

Second. Decide if you want to dress up. If any girl in your party is dressing up, you should, too. Unless you don't like attention. Otherwise, the costumed girl is going to get loads of attention, and you'll be the friend just hanging around. It can get old waiting around for people to take pictures of your friend while you hold your purse.

Third. WEAR. COMFORTABLE. SHOES. I can't say this loudly enough. Yes, the heels or the boots are supercute. But cons involve a LOT of walking.

Fourth. Bring a bag. Yes, Yes, I know, Supergirl. "But the big giant tote bag doesn't match my cape." Suck it up, kiddo. You're going to want to bring things, or buy things, or carry your wallet, camera, and cell phone.

Fifth. Bring food. Convention food is expensive, and notoriously awful. There aren't usually rules against squirreling away your own food.

Sixth. Artists' Alley. Now, the thing with artists' alley is, they're here to sell their art, not hang out with you. Don't waste their time by pretending you're going to buy something if you're not planning to.

Seventh. Play nice. Seriously. Don't be a jerk. People reappear at cons, and everyone will remember the Batgirl with the bad attitude.

Any more advice for con newbies? Leave it in the comments!

Nerd Girl Flirting: The Importance of Being Earnest

I used to try a lot harder.

But then, all through college, having fallen in with a group of people to whom D&D is an acceptable way to spend a Saturday night, I realized: guys don't notice this crap.

For instance:

A few months back, a friend was having a party after a week of snow, ice, and misery. I decided to doll myself up a bit. I wore a cute dress, makeup, the whole nine yards. The only compliment I got all night from the group of boys I run with? Aimed toward my Batgirl watch. More recently, something similar happened with a Star Wars lunchbox, and later a Batman belt. I can't even count the number of conversations based around nerdy references that get dropped.

Lesson learned. Big Bang Theory, Superhero movies, technology crazes: being a nerd is officially cool again. So, nerd girls: the key really is to be yourself. Wear that D20 necklace. The Star Wars shirt? Do it.

One warning, though: The Leia slave outfit IS too much for a first date. Your mother's right: wait until the third date.

Nerd Girl Returning: A Change of Pace

I think I've been going about this all wrong.

I'm not a journalist. Writing bitchy, opinionated rants about pop culture isn't entirely me. I'm going to change the focus of this blog a little. I'm going to write about what it's like being "the chick" in a field of nerds. Yes, there will still be review! posts and such, but this is a personal blog, not a pop culture manifesto.

"The hardest thing in this world is just to live in it" -Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once More With Feeling

Nerd Girl Digression: On Blogging

I have a confession to make: I saw a chick flick tonight and liked it. I feel so dirty.

The film: Julie and Julia.

It's about a blogger and a chef. Who never meet. It's pretty much a good movie (Julia) and a decent movie (Julie) smashed together. Julie Powell had two things I don't have: a set objective and a deadline. I can't even imagine what my objective would be as a Nerd Girl: read every Star Wars book? Watch every episode of every Star Trek? Not interactive enough.

Blogging is about passion. It's about having a vision, much clearer than the one I don't have. All I have are a few key facts. I'm a female nerd. There aren't many of us, but we're vocal. I read XKCD and laugh. I go to midnight showings of the appropriate movies. Every summer, I reread the entire Harry Potter series (at the cost of reading more books, usually.) For the next year, I am going to write about something at least three times a week. The news, the movies. Something. Anything.

Starting tomorrow.

Nerd Girl Watching: True Blood

This is the first time I have watched True Blood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Worst nerd ever. But I digress. Nerd Girl Shelley (expert in all things vampire) and I are watching, me armed with Wikipedia for comprehension and forbidden to speak. It's gory, sexy, and pretty awesome. I'm hooked. From Godric's quiet power to Sookie's sheer ballsiness, to a wonderful twist involving a paintball gun, this was a great first episode for me.

Apologies for the lack of Harry Potter update, I never really got around to it.

Edit: I wrote this at 928. At 930, we saw some Sweeney Todd shit in the form of a heart pie. Ew.

Also, Jason Stackhouse has joined the ranks of the Supermegafoxyawesomehot.

Best reason to get arrested: Sodomizing a pine tree

the humor and gore in this series are what makes it stand out. It's less self-impressed than Buffy, funnier and more plausible than Twilight, and hotter than Anne Rice. If you don't watch it, start. If you watch it...yay.

HBP Clusterpost Part 1: Trailer Park

Part One of the four part extravaganza Harry Potter post! The review of the Trailers!

SHORTS: this is the movie your eight-year old brother wants to see. everyone else in your family wonders if they can sneak to another theater.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: Jury's out on this one. I know Kevin Smith is crying tears of joy over it, but this could be really lame. The trailer is Max running a lot. Like a whole lot. I wonder if anything else happens. Or maybe this kid just runs a lot.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: DO WANT. I like RDJ, Law is great, I just want to be watching it right now.

DESPICABLE ME: Computer animated flick starring Steve Carell as a villain who steals the Great Pyramid. Interesting little vignette teaser. I don't know if I got it.

2012: Another disaster movie. Who cares?

FAME: Looks very generic, but had a really clever Harry Potter lead-in

NEW MOON: Ugh. I hate Twilight. At least the werewolves look better than the Harry Potter ones.

9: looks pretty great. Elijah Wood is a great adorable hero voice. Looks like a logical followup for kids who liked Nightmare and Coraline.

Just a Thought: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy

Three random Harry Potter bits:

• If a Harry Potter cast member had to get swine flu, of course it would be Rupert Grint. I mean, everything terrible happens to Ron. He would get this scary worldwide epidemic slight exaggeration of regular flu.
• Emma Watson flashed her panties at the London premiere by accident. We here at NGC are delighted to know that she has a bright future and will go far in life and will not end up like Lindsay Lohan. How do I know this? Watson was actually wearing panties to flash. Thank God. It would have ruined my childhood to see that much of my personal hero, Hermione Granger
• According to some interview, Tom Felton is not amused by this picture:

But really, can you blame him? That's weird. On the lighter side of things, he claims his brother uses it as a screensaver for his phone. Oh, fraternal love...

The Nerd Girl Confessional: Comic Books

Confession:

It took me a really, really long time to get into graphic novels. Long as in I've been superhero crazy since I was four (my first nonDisney movie in the theaters was Batman Returns) but didn't crack a graphic novel until high school. Please don't judge me.

As a result, I am spending this summer in the library catching up. I happen to be fortunate- my public libraries have an astonishing collection of graphic novels.

Here's my summer reading list, thus far

Batman: Year One (Frank Miller)
Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (Jodi Picoult)
Superman for All Seasons (Jeph Loeb)
Superman/ Batman: Public Enemies (Jeph Loeb)
Identity Crisis (Brad Meltzer)

Rereads:
Watchmen (Alan Moore)


Look for reviews for each over the next few days. I know most of these are big names, many of which have been around for a good long while, but consider that I'm new to the comic book/ graphic novel playground, though, and don't push me off the swings.

Entry One: Revenge of the Nerd Girls

We’re everywhere.

You don’t know it, but we are.

You think you know what we look like. You think you could pick us out of a crowd. Hell, maybe you’ve dressed as one for Halloween, following every stereotype you could find. You were pale and antisocial and sullen, dressing in a way no one ever should. There is a certain vogue to us right now. TV shows and movies and books glamorizing us, just a little, while laughing at our strange quirks.

We exist on the insides of society. We run the world.

Vampires.

Okay, not vampires. I'm talking about Nerd Girls.

This is a blog about entertainment in all its forms- Broadway, tv, movies, music, books. Seen through the eyes of your standard nerd who is NOT your everyday fanboy. It serves as the reminder that sometimes, you can be a really big nerd but look cute doing it. It will be updated when I feel like it, but most likely several times a week.

Look on Wednesday for my Harry Potter review!