Tag: high castle

Around the World in 8 Sundays – The Americas

Posted on by in Geeky Sunday, High Castle

Its our third trip here at Seriously Geeky Sundays! Today’s trip takes us to my world, the Americas!

Around the World in 8 Sundays – North America

Week three of our Around the World in 8 Sundays (a multi-week theme taking us around the world) takes us to North America as the United States celebrates Thanksgiving this week.

Who is your favourite Northern American character?

You know who I’m going to say. I’ll give you one guess….

What is your favourite film set in North America?

This is a tough one. There are so many I love and enjoy. It is hard to pick just one. I even looked at our collection of DvDs to try to make up my mind which one I like best! I’ll name a few favorites: Apollo 13, Our Tarantino collection, Thor, and The Avengers.

North American history features frequently in pop culture, which part do you feel is overdone and which do you wish was covered more?

I have a similar answer to @winstolf’s. And can I just say thank you, Winstolf, for the well thought out answer mixed with kindness? Thank you!

As much as I love reading and watching anything involving WWII, I am tired of how they portray soldiers as picture perfect cutouts with demi-god levels of aptitude and skill. And then there are the pointless love stories which always seem to be between two flawless people. They hardly ever have a strand of hair out of place, even in war zones, and are about as interesting as watching paint dry.

As for what I’d like to see more of, WWI. We need more WWI movies. I feel like it is often skipped over in favor of what will sell (WWII). I’d also like to see more alternate histories/realities like The Man in the High Castle and Handmaid’s Tale. I am a sucker for those! 

North America tends to be seen as mainly just the US and Canada, which other countries do you recognize in fandoms?

There are a ton of great movies filmed in Mexico. My favorite would have to be Kill Bill: volumes 1 & 2. I am a huge Tarantino fan. His movies are fantastic! When I heard that he’d be directing the next Star Trek, I was elated. He knows how to make a good film. However, I don’t know if they’ll ever actually make the movie now because that was several years ago. 

Although Hollywood is at the center of the entertainment industry, the Canadian entertainment industry is blooming. What is your favourite Canadian production?

Does The Man in the High Castle count? It was mostly filmed in Vancouver/Canada. 

In 2019, I was in Vancouver for work and had the opportunity to walk to Smith’s headquarters. I still have the hand written directions and map I drew (I was not taking chances, ha ha!).

Broadway musicals are a national treasure in the US; do you like musicals?

I have never been a fan of musicals. Broadway is a national treasure to those who can afford it, and please don’t hate me for saying so! I mean no offense 😉 It’s just how I feel.

The only musical I have any interest in watching is Hamilton, and it would have to be live (I cannot sit still for a musical at home. The second someone starts belting out a tune, I’m done, ha ha!).  With that being said, I enjoy certain songs from musicals as songs.

Gratitude and Content Creators

Posted on by in Geeky Sunday

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving for those of us celebrating it in the U.S! Today’s rendition of Seriously Geeky Sundays, I mean Seriously Geeky Thanksgiving will focus on gratitude. 2020 is the year to be thankful for the little things (I’m always grateful, but this year more so than most). 

22nd November – Small Screen Views

The small screen, the telly, the idiot box; the television has had many names and gone through many changes since 1926. Today we’re focusing on our small screen habits.

Do you watch much television?

As I sit here mentally going through my daily routine, I realized I don’t watch much TV day-to-day. With that being said, if I am painting or drawing, I’ll put something from YouTube on in the background. Yesterday’s YouTube adventure was NASA TV. The days before that were Everyday Astronaut’s live stream of Chang’e 5 Lunar launch (China) and NASASpaceflight‘s stream of SpaceX’s Starship static test fire (hmm…I’m starting to think there is a theme here).

Let’s give a shout out to the YouTube creators out there for providing hours upon hours of free entertainment and tutorials with a special appreciation for creators like Everyday Astronaut and NASASpaceflight for their hard work in providing coverage of rocket launches and all things SpaceX.

What genres do you like to watch?

I love shows that open up possibilities, shows that force the mind to wrap itself around different ways of seeing things, and shows that explore humanity at its core. The genres I tend to favor are science fiction, alternate history, and some fantasy (I am extremely picky with fantasy).

Everyone involved in my favorite shows have forever captivated me (and in some cases changed me for the better), and I will always be grateful for that. 

What shows are you watching at the moment?

Turn on Netflix. It is so good! If you want a dramatic adventure show set during the Revolutionary War, Turn. Watch it for the side characters, not for Abe (sorry, but he’s the only character I don’t like. Simcoe and Rodgers are characters I love to hate, ha ha!). 

Is there any TV shows that you like to rewatch?

The Man in the High Castle, of course! 

I am always in the mood for a random episode of Star Trek (DS9, TNG, TOS episodes). It’s one of the things I love about episodic shows. You can just jump in and watch whatever episode you feel like it!

Do you watch TV shows live or stream?

I stream for the most part. The only thing I watch live is NFL games. As a matter of fact, I’m watching Thanksgiving football at this very moment!

What TV shows are you looking forward to the most?

Season 3 of The Boys!

The crossover no one asked for! High Castle meets The Boys

A Very Stylish Geeky Sunday

Posted on by in Geeky Sunday, High Castle

Costumes, costumes, and more costumes! I am here for this. Before COVID, I was an avid purveyor of all things cosplay and even cosplayed incognito, so today’s prompt is something I have been looking forward to. 

15th November – Adorn

Last month we were talking about visual locations with Embellish, and this month Adorn brings us to costumes! Characters wear an assortment of outfits throughout fandoms and this week we’re talking all about costumes, fashion and more.

If you could steal any character’s wardrobe* which would it be?

I was just having this conversation with @ChelahFan on Twitter! Ever since I first watched The Man in the High Castle way back in 2015, I was mesmerized with Helen’s Smith’s beautiful wardrobe (it was just so classy that I wanted to look like her). I’ve been slowly phasing my wardrobe into a mixture of vintage (reproduction dresses), modern, and pinup. 

Dressing like her is a lot of work. You’ve got the retro dresses which require some clever ways to keep warm in the winter, and then there is the hair. Oh, the hair. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get it right because, without a vintage-do to go with the dress, it just doesn’t match the look. 

Then COVID-19 happened, and my hair is almost to my waist now (the longer your hair is, the harder it is to style like that), and since I’m working from home, there is no motivation to put all of that time and effort into it (I miss wearing my dresses!). 

What superhero’s costume do you love and which do you hate?

As much as I hate Stormfront from The Boys, I like the style of her costume. I’d make a few changes, of course. I’d ditch the earrings and change the belt. Her costume is practical (with the exception of no pockets), and I just adore the way her cape drapes down her back.

Before I get into one I hate, I need to delve into a pet peeve of mine! It irritates me to no end when there is this need to  change a superhero’s costume every single movie the character appears in. They normally make it worse, less imaginative, and more discrete/blend-in-with-the-crowd (whyyyyyy). Leave good things alone, damn it! Shout out to The Boys for NOT doing this! 

The only type of costume I really hate is overly skimpy costumes for female heroes, you know the type…where it barely covers her chest, and her ass cheeks are hanging out. 

You’re riding into battle; who’s armour do you choose?

Loki’s Asgardian armor from The Avengers. It is nice and form-fitting while protecting the chest and shoulders. I’d change up the helmet because I’m too clumsy for horns, ha ha! 

Who wore it better; pick an outfit that’s been worn by multiple characters and tell us who wore it best.

Captain America’s costume – worn by Loki and, of course, Steve Rodgers. Sorry Loki, but Steve wore it better!

From utility belts to magical backpacks, accessories in fandom can be anything and do anything. Which one would you choose to borrow for a day?

A bag of holding (a small bag that matches my costume, of course!). As someone who hates carrying purses, I want a tiny discrete bag of infinite holding attached to my belt. The purses I *do* carry are small because I already hate having it dangle and get in the way.

You’ve been given the chance to redesign a character’s appearance? Who is it, why and what would you change?

Emma Frost from X-Men. As I mentioned before, I am not a fan of skimpy, impractical costumes. I went on one of my favorite places, Doll Divine, and made a new costume for her!

Saving the world with High Castle and Field Team 6

Posted on by in Grasshopper Nation, High Castle, News

Tuesday I had the awesome pleasure of joining the Axis of Good (Joel de la Fuente, Rufus Sewell, Chelah Horsdal, Stephen Root, Jason O’Mara, Frances Turner, Michael Gaston, Sebastian Roché, and Isa Hacket) with Field Team 6 for an evening of textbanking. 

Let me tell you about the absolute blast I had! I didn’t know what to expect–was I nervous going in? You bet I was! I am probably the shyest person you’ll ever meet…until you get to know me, that is! 

The week started off with absolute chaos, as 2020 weeks often do. I spent that day doing a bunch of house projects which involved a lot of nit and grit. I scrambled to get my laptop ready in time without bothering to fix my hair and without any attempt at looking presentable. Normally fans are muted and shuffled to the back of these things.

Well….I clicked the link and HELLO WORLD! Hello Joel in particular because I know you saw me fumbling around and flustered! 😉 

After a minute or so, I managed to turn my camera off (like I said, I am SHY, plus I was also grimy from house projects). 

The event officially started when the rest of the High Castle participants logged on. I cannot express what a joy it was seeing them happy, relaxed, and catching up with each other as we all stumbled our way through the textbanking system those first few moments.

As we began the textbank, I felt at ease because we were all just hanging out and enjoying the company as we did our task. We chatted with them via Zoom’s chat feature, and they responded, read our chats, and laughed away.

I had so much fun that I volunteered for two Field Team 6 text banks next week, and an official Biden/Harris textbank!

Saving the world with High Castle and Field Team 6

Some highlights of the evening:

  • Sebastian letting his dog out (or in…I can’t remember!)
  • Isa showed everyone a prop she had held onto–a picture frame with a photo of the Smiths at the lake. <3
  • Rufus laughed about all the STOPs he kept getting (requests to unsubscribed) and was worried about accidentally unsubscribing an actual reply because of all the button mashing (lol)
  • Sebastian had a hilarious conversation with someone involving playing a scientist on TV (don’t ask, ha ha!)
  • Francis reading some of her replies (oh my goodness, I thought I was going to fall out of my chair!)
  • Jason muting himself and Rufus laughing at him
  • Someone commenting on how they would always switch Rufus’s and Rupert’s names on their chairs (I can’t remember who mentioned this, but I thought it was hilarious they did this on set!)
  • Seeing the Resistance Rises posters in the background of Joel’s and Isa’s home offices
  • Chelah telling us about Canadian political parties
  • Hearing all the mouse clicking as everyone button mashed, ha ha!

High Castle, You are Winners in my Book!

Posted on by in High Castle, News

Hello everyone,

This post is long overdue. To say that I am disappointed about the Emmy nominations announcement on July 28th is an understatement. I’m going to sound like a bitter old bat of a fan, but I sincerely feel like everyone involved with Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle deserved a well earned nomination. Sometimes I wonder if High Castle is the red-headed stepchild in the eyes of the powers that be–Take the opinion of a die-hard High Castle fan with a grain of salt, for I am heavily biased in this matter 😉

It’s such an original concept; nothing like it has ever been done before. So much creativity and hard work was put into creating such a unique world. It felt real at times. 

I could go on, but I’ll stop myself; there’s no point in dragging this out. 2020 has enough negativity as it is. 

To the cast, crew, and everyone who was a part of Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle: you are all winners in my book.