Category: Geeky Sunday

Sealed and buried for all time his Stargate…

Posted on March 29, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

We’re back with another fun filled ~~Sunday~~ Monday! Heather from geeking-by.net is running a poll on Seriously Geeky Sundays right now. Check it out!

28th March – Around the World in 8 Sundays [Africa]

It’s the final Around the Sundays theme and our Seriously Geeky Sundays ship has reached its final destination; Africa!

What is your favourite fandom set in Africa?

Marvel’s Black Panther (Wakanda forever!) and Stargate (1994 film). I talk about Stargate in another question, so I’ll focus on Black Panther. I loved everything about it right down to the costumes and sets. It captivated me because it was so imaginative and had a cast of well written (and acted!) characters. And can we give the wintery Jabari tribe some love? Goodness, as I’m searching for clips, I’m remembering every single thing I absolutely adore about the movie!

Who are your favourite fictional African characters?

T’Challa – He first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, and he was immediately one of my favorite MCU characters ever to appear on screen. MCU hero rankings:

Captain America
T’Challa
The Scarlet Witch

Africa is a popular setting for video games; have you played any of them?

It’s been forever and a day since I’ve had time to indulge in a good game. I had to take a detour around memory lane for this one, and sadly, I’m coming up short! Maybe this is a sign to get back into gaming because the only games I can think of are old SNES games based off of Stargate and The Lion King (I LOVED those games, by the way!)

We’ve been exploring fictional countries with this series and there are more fictional countries attributed to Africa than any other continent. What are your thoughts on this?

I don’t have any thoughts on it because I don’t think I’ve read many books with fictional African nations. I wish Wakanda was real, does that count? 😉

Africa is home to Egypt and ancient Egypt has been given the pop-culture treatment many times. Which has been your favourite?

Ancient Egypt, the obsession of my teenage years! Oh where, oh where, do I even begin? If something even remotely mentioned ancient Egypt, I raced to consume it! Out of all my favorite things featuring ancient Egypt, none captured my imagination like Stargate (1994 film)

To say that I was obsessed with this movie would be the understatement of last century. I drew what seemed like a million pieces of fanart for it, made up stories about it with my childhood best friend, and pretended I was an Egyptian goddess when I felt like it. There is much more to this list, but for brevity’s sake, I’m ending it there. Ya’ll have no idea how obsessed with this movie I was. High Castle is the closest thing to my teenage years of Stargate love (just to give you a glimpse into what levels of obsession we’re talking about here!). This is barely the tip of the iceberg, ha ha!

Kurt Russell Stargate — Holy smokes, I cannot believe I found the image I had in my Kurt Russell binder!

I think I still have my Kurt Russell binder with my teenage self’s magnum opus of Stargate fan fiction somewhere.

And for some fun trivia, did you know there was a book series based off of the movie? I read all of them (there is no way my younger self was NOT going to).

Stargate: Rebellion (October 1995)
Stargate: Retaliation (September 1996)
Stargate: Retribution (October 1997)
Stargate: Reconnaissance (May 1998)
Stargate: Resistance (October 1999)

Another fun fact! The original movie was supposed to be the first in a trilogy. It’s been a project that has been off and on over the years (I’ve longed given up hope for it).

Welcome to Grasshopper’s Realm

Posted on March 15, 2021 by grasshopper in About Queen Grasshopper, Geeky Sunday

To say that I was thrilled when I saw this week’s Seriously Geeky Sundays topic is a huge understatement. I am excited to go down memory lane with this one–even if it reveals just how old I truly am. It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that I was hanging out in chat rooms discussing the Backstreet Boys or logging into Angelfire to update my website.

Banner depicting a website from the early 1990s — 1996 here I come!

14th March – The World Wide Web of Us

Way back in 1989 on March 12th Sir Timothy Berners-Lee invented the internet. We all started our journey on the World Wide Web at different times, and while we’ve each had unique experiences we’ve all ended up in the same place; right here reading these prompts! Join in celebrating the anniversary of the internet by sharing your answers this week

When did you first start using the internet?

Personal computers were still evolving and were just becoming widely available to the general public when I was a teenager. Back then households had one computer. Yes, just one.

We got Internet at home when I was a Junior in high school, but I didn’t use it regularly until we moved and I started going to a different school. I remember feeling lost as I sat down in front of a computer in Computer Lab and asking the girl next to me how she found all those pictures of the backstreet boys on hers. By the end of that period, I was an expert in all things Yahoo search and JPEGs.

What nostalgic things do you remember from your early days of the internet? (Example)

We were all in the same boat of discovering this new and unexplored technology. We collectively felt a mixture of awe, a deep longing for knowledge, endless quests to gather as much information as you could on your favorite topic, and wondering where that new friend you made in the chat room was from.

If you found an awesome website, you wrote down the url, brought it to class, and shared it with your friends or you added it to your favorite links on your website (everyone had a links page back then).

With that being said, I have to go with Yahoo, Angelfire, Geocities, and chat rooms. I liked finding themed rooms to talk about all the teeny-bopper stuff I was into back then.

A small snippet of my old Angelfire site’s links page.

How long have you been blogging?

Off and on since I created my first web page, Mishkin’s World. It was your standard 90s mess of midi players, animated gifs, repeating backgrounds, and text (I remember a lot of people would turn their sites into journals and diaries before the term blogging became popular). Sadly, I could not find Mishkin’s World on Wayback Machine. I did, however, find the second site I made, Mishi’s Sanitarium.

Before your eyes gaze upon the horror that are these screencaps, I must fully warn you of the cringe; the absolute and utter chaos coupled with bad fanart. Click to view full size. And yes, I plan to redraw “Wolf Master” and the emo crying girl.

Did you ever belong to any online fan clubs or message boards?

You bet! If it had to do with the Backstreet Boys or Sailor Moon, I was there. I frequented Save Our Sailors all the time (SOS was a Sailor Moon fansite dedicated to not canceling the show and airing all of the seasons in the US).

What are your favourite sites on the internet?

Oh how times have changed. If you had asked me in 1999, I’d have listed specific urls, but now? I mostly just use social media like Facebook and Twitter. I don’t have a favorite site anymore, but if I had to pick one, I’ll go with YouTube. I get so much use out of that site. There are so many helpful tutorials, documentaries, time killers (ha ha), and great stuff to play in the background when I draw on there.

Do you have any geeky online stores to share with us?

Oh goodness, yes! A group of us back in high school thought we were the most badass hackers on the planet because we could get into the library computers and change the backgrounds. I mean, we all had seen Hackers, and suddenly Hackerman!

Me in all my strange 2003 glory! Behind me is my first PC. It served me well.

Geeky Sunday: International Women’s Day

Posted on March 7, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

Hello, Everyone! I am back with another fun filled Seriously Geeky Sundays brought to you by Heather! I’ve been busy these past two weeks with a virtual conference, so I hope today’s post makes up for it.

7th March – Maiden, Mother, Crone

March 8th is International Women’s Day (IDW), a worldwide celebration of women, and later this month it is also Mother’s Day in the UK. What better time to think about the leading ladies of fandom?

Who is your favourite leading lady?

I couldn’t possibly choose just one! There are so many well written women that I’ve admired over the years, so I included a few honorable mentions at the bottom of this question.

Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise – the first Alien movie was ahead of its time and still holds up even to this day. She is such an iconic character, and I’ll always rank her among my favorite female leads.

Ellen Ripley - Alien — Ellen Ripley – Alien

Honorable Mentions

Starlight – The Boys
Queen Maeve – The Boys
Kimiko – The Boys
Princes Leia – Star Wars
Delenn of Minbar (Babylon 5)

Which kickass female fighter do you admire?

My favorite female fighter will always be Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games trilogy. She’s realistic with her fears, failures, and emotions, yet she has the intellect and skill to survive and bring hope to those around her.

Katniss Everdeen - Hunger Games — Katniss Everdeen – Hunger Games

Honorable Mentions

Princes Leia – Star Wars
The awesome ladies on The Boys!
Juliana Crain – High Castle

Who is the most badass female villain in your opinion?

Fire breathing dragons. Need I say more? I wish the final season had the full 10 episodes because Daenerys became one of my all time favorite villains in the span of a single season. She always had it in her, and I wish we had gotten to see more of it in Westeros.

Do you have a favourite fictional mother or grandmother?

You know I’m going to pick Helen Smith from High Castle, right? Because I pick Helen Smith from High Castle. She protected her children at all costs, and when she failed to protect her son, she went through a dark, emotional spiral, but she came out of it with the realization that she had been wrong and that she was going to save her daughters and take down a certain ideology no matter the cost.

Helen Smith - Season 3 — Helen Smith – Season 3

IDW is about celebrating women’s equality and inclusivity in all fields; what characters have championed this cause?

If something is obviously preaching at me, I tend to not take interest in it. I want to be immersed in a book, show, or movie, so much so, that I lose track of time and forget my woes. Examples of inclusivity done right include The OA, The Expanse, and MCU’s The Black Panther film

Which women in pop culture inspire you?

Wonder woman (she was an icon of my childhood!)
Galadriel – Lord of the Rings/The Hobbet
The Romulan Commander from Star Trek: TOS
Major Kira – Star Trek: DS9
Catwoman (kid me loved cats and wanted to be badass, okay!)

Around the World in 8 Sundays: Asia

Posted on February 15, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday

And we’re back with another fun filled Seriously Geeky Sundays adventure! Today we are taking a trip to Asia.

14th February – Around the World in 8 Sundays [Asia]

Everyone is going to be sick of lovey-dovey stuff today, so you’ll be glad to hear we’re skipping it as we head Around the World to Asia as February 12th was the Chinese New Year!

Who is your favourite female character from this continent?

There are so many amazing characters to choose from. I couldn’t possibly select just one, so I’ll highlight two of my favorites.

High Castle’s The Crown Princess – She is beautiful, calm, collected, yet passionate and authoritative when it comes to doing the right thing. And I am sure this comes as no surprise to my High Castle fam!

The Expanse – Chrisjen Avasarala, ~~Queen~~ Secretary-General of Earth. Need I say more?

How about a male character?

High Castle:

Chief Inspector Kido – A complex character played to perfection by Joel de la Fuente. Kido will always terrify, yet fascinate me.
Yoshida – Kido’s aid in S1 & 2. He is a complete badass, fiercely loyal, and full of style (see image).
Inokuchi- I’ve drawn a lot of fanart of him, which means that he is a character near and dear to me!
Tagomi – Wise, calm, curious, and good.

There are so many talented people in the entertainment industry from this continent, who are your favourites?

Since the 16th Century (Gullivers Travels), fictional Asian countries have appeared in fandoms. How many on this list are you familiar with?

The only show/movie/book I’m familiar with on that list is 24. I have a vague memory of Kamistan.

Asia is home to some stunning locations; what is your favourite location from a fandom?

O-Ren Ishii & The Bride scene in Kill Bill Vol 1.

From video games to animation and film, Asia has a large presence in the entertainment world. What product/fandom has had the biggest impact on you?

High Castle is the reason I discovered so many wonderful, passionate Asians in the industry, and it is a joy to follow their journeys on social media. Representation matters, and I support them in their efforts to cast more Asian actors and actresses.

George Takei’s They Called us Enemy The book opened my eyes to his struggle during WWII. I want to eventually see Allegiance.

Geek Out Your Living Space

Posted on February 3, 2021 by grasshopper in Geeky Sunday, Psi Corps

And it’s time for another fun filled prompt from Seriously Geeky Sundays! This week’s questions are near and dear to my heart. I have always filled my dwellings with posters, banners, and action figures of my favorite shows and movies.

31st January – Decorate

We’ve come to the final week of the Adorn, Decorate and Embellish three-month theme. It’s Inspire Your Heart With Art Day today which is the perfect day to explore the topic of decorating in relation to fandoms and being a geek.

Do you decorate your home with geeky products?

Oh yes. So much yes. I’ll focus on areas of the house that I don’t think I regularly post photos of. I mean, I’ve posted Club High Castle many times! I’m going to let other places share the spotlight today.

For starters, let me talk about the stairs and our hallway. We’ve got space posters along the stairwell. As you go up the stairs, you are greeted with banners from House Stark and Targaryen. House Lannister appears when you turn into the hallway itself. At the end of that same hallway, I have a signed High Castle poster from Season 2 that I won in 2016 and a Star Trek poster a friend gave me.

Do you own any posters or fanart prints? If no, what ones would you like to buy?

Do your own fanart prints count? Because I have at least two posters that were made from my own drawings. It’s one of the advantages of being an artist. If you want it, you can draw it right then and there.

A print of one of my own drawings hangs in the hallway.

‘Have you ever commissioned an artist?’ and/or ‘Which artist/s would you like to commission work from?’

No, but only because I am an artist. I have had people commission me in the past for digital art and paintings. It’s so much fun and a nice fall back for periods of office closures and whatnot. As much as I enjoy it, I always get nervous right before I send the piece. My mind automatically goes into full THEY WILL HATE IT AND TELL THE INTERNET mode.

If I were to commission an artist, it would be a carpenter to help me build an awesome, vintage meets High Castle home office. I want to commission a seamstress/tailor for a few things for my WWII French Resistance impression. I can make armbands, but clothes are another matter!

What character’s home/room gives you DIY envy?

Every single room and set from the Man in the High Castle, but that goes without saying, so I’ll pick something different.

This is technically not a character, but I would LOVE to build an add-on to my house that looks exactly like Walt Disney’s apartment in Disneyland. I love that turn of the century look, and to be able to just disappear for a while would be fun.

The main character of the last fandom you enjoyed is giving your room a make-over; what does it now look like?

We’ve been watching a lot of serial killer and crime documentaries, so I’m going to go with our weekly Wednesday dose of The Expanse from Amazon, and HELL YES! I pick Draper and Alex to redecorate my room to look like a badass Martian war room/apartment in all of MCRN’s glory, complete with my very own uniform. If it was up to me, ~~Mars would rule the galaxy.~~

If you could decorate a room in the style of a fictional place what would it be?

Besides High Castle (because y’all know I’m going to pick that), I’ll go with Star Trek: The Original Series. I absolutely adore post-modern depictions of the future.