#FCBD Photo Recap

Stitch

IMG_0275So to cap off a weekend that was full of fantastic nerdery, I took my nieces to Free Comic Book Day and they loved the experience. This was Tee’s second FCBD and Emm’s first. They were perfect freaking angels. They got a sweet comic and loot haul and I got a ton of amazing pictures of them at Tate’s Comics.

I haven’t read my comics yet (and probably won’t read them until next week tbh) so I don’t have any witty reviews to post but I do have a crapton of really cute photographs of my niecelings!Read More »

[Rant] When People on Pedestals Fall Off: MCU Cast Edition

Stitch3 Comments

This post contains mentions of sexism-as-humor and uncensored gendered slurs.

 

ScreenHunter_14 Apr. 23 20.22I’m pretty sure that everyone that cares about the Avengers or hates sexism has heard about what happened with Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner when doing press for Age of Ultron.

For those of you that missed it, here’s a quick summary:

During an interview with DigitalSpy, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner have themselves a nice sex shaming giggle over Black Widow. Because of her new relationship with Bruce Banner (who everyone figured out would be her love interest eventually because Whedon is predictable as hell and loves to humanize “monsters” through the love of a good woman), they got together and giggled over the only lady on the Avenger’s roster presumably because they’re both toddlers… or maybe they’re just turds.Read More »

#NerdProblems

Stitch

I just started a new job this week. I’m working part time at a local app developer doing what I do best: typing.

One one hand, I’m happy to have the job and so far it’s been fabulous. (My only issue is the half a mile I have to walk to get from the bus stop to my job but ehhh maybe I’ll invest in a bike and learn to ride it.)

But –and here’s where the nerd problems come in– I don’t have enough time or energy left after work to do my blog posts, write in any of my drafts, or even eat dinner. Heck, I watched Sundays OUAT yesterday! That’s how little free time I have.

Read More »

Bond Girl – Week Two

Stitch1 Comment

Whoa!

I’m still going strong with these pieces! This week, I look at From Russia With Love,. Unfortunately, this happens to be my least favorite Bond movie so far.

Excerpt:

It only took five minutes in my very first rewatch to make me uncomfortable and that’s important, because from those five minutes on, I wasn’t able to enjoy the film the way I wanted to. I watched Dr. No about eight times before I got sick of it. From Russia with Love took half as many rewatches.

From Russia With Love is the second James Bond film, and it’s based on the fifth novel in Fleming’s Bond series. The film focuses on two main plots: first, we have the far reaching arms of SPECTRE plotting to both steal a specific cryptographic device from (and then sell it back to0 the Soviet government; then, we have one of SPECTRE’s top agents developing a way to get revenge on Bond and MI6 for the events shown in Dr. No via a complicated mix of scandal and murder. It’s more focused on political intrigue than the previous film (which I feel focused more on terrorism than on espionage); here, we have Bond and his allies in a country that isn’t exactly friendly to them, and in the middle of an issue that could end with MI6′s reputation being dragged through the mud.

I’m going to be honest: From Russia With Love alternately bored and annoyed me. The high points of the film were the political parts and the fight scenes, but there was so much more that I either felt uncomfortable with or that straight up made me angry.

If that piqued your interest, feel free to check out Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating From Russia With Love over on TheMarySue and say nice things about it either there or by messaging me on twitter! (Or you know, you can totally disagree with me and share your thoughts about that! I’m open to discussion!!)

[TV Show] Daredevil

Stitch

AKA: How I spent an entire weekend in front of Netflix.

Daredevil PosterIn the interest of full-disclosure, I have a confession to make: I don’t know that much about Daredevil.

I saw the Ben Affleck films and I’ve seen him in Spider-Man comics and event tie-ins, but I know the bare bones about the character.

I know that he’s blind and that he’s a lawyer. Oh and that he’s Catholic. That’s about it.

That’s actually a good thing.

I didn’t come to Netflix’s Daredevil with any preconceptions of how the characters should be or how they should look. I wasn’t attached to him the way I was with Captain America so there’s no chance of me getting super pissed about characterization the way I was with the Avengers.

I’ve been watching Daredevil all weekend and I don’t regret a minute of it.

Read More »

#tbt – Pulp Fiction: The Spider

Stitch

Originally this was supposed to be a simple #tbt focus on a specific book but really, it wound up being kind of a love note to the pulps.

the spider 11I got into The Spider because of The Shadow. 

I have about fifty episodes of the original radio drama (starting in 1937) in my Audible library. Mostly because you can get 5 episodes for about $3.50 and every so often the price drops to half off and I went a little wild during one of the big sales.

Now after I had my fill of the radio drama, I went looking for the original pulps for The Shadow. Unfortunately, my google-fu sucks. I wound up on RadioArchives.com and immediately fell for The Spider. Issue #11 (the first issue I bought) which has the full-length story “Prince of the Red Looters” is free for the kindle on Amazon.

Created by Harry Steeger in 1933 as a direct competition to the Shadow’s incredible success as a pulp hero, the Spider shares so much in common with the Shadow that I’m wondering why I couldn’t find any reports of injunctions or lawsuits going out from Street & Smith Publication. (You know, the way that National Publications did over Will Eisner’s Superman knockoff, Wonder Man in 1939.)Read More »

Look Ma: I’m on the Front Page of TheMarySue

Stitch

tms front page

Holy crap!!

I’m on the front page of TheMarySue! Ah! I feel like I’m moving up in the world! Wow!

If you like super critical reviews of stuff coupled with that crisis when something you love turns out to be ridiculously problematic, you should keep an eye out for the further adventures of Bond Girl. After all, there are twenty-three official Bond films out so far and a handful of unofficial ones. It’s going to be a wild ride on our way to Spectre!

You can read Bond Girl: Re-Watching and Re-Evaluating Dr. No HERE

Happy reading!

[Film Review] Fast & Furious 7

Stitch

While short, this review does contain spoilers for Fast & Furious 7 both in the text and in the video accompanying it. If you haven’t seen it yet, this isn’t the review for you.

I loved the original premise for the F&F franchise. Dom, Lettie, and Brian up against the world was my thing. I liked the idea that the characters existed in this morally gray area where they were on the run from the government as well as the actual bad guy in the films.

The shift from car thieve/drag racer centered franchise was a bit unexpected but okay, it works. It really works. And in Furious 7, there’s a really good blend of the dynamics where you have the whole “these guys are doing illegal shit” but they’re also the good guys. I loved how we did get some racing scenes in (the beginning with Lettie was fabulous both because she was back behind the wheel and because we saw her dealing with the trauma caused by her injuries and having flashbacks). I also loved how this starts setting up the stage for the crew to do bigger things and to interact with crime/criminals on this larger scale.

Ugh it’s so good!Read More »

[Book Review] The Queen of all That Dies by Laura Thalassa

Stitch

Book Rating: Recommended

TQOATD_small

I’m not sure how I stumbled across this book. One minute I was looking for comic book history books on my kindle and the next thing I know I was neck deep in this gritty-as-hell post-apocalyptic universe and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Normally I don’t read dystopian stories. I’m a “Happily Ever After” kind of person and if that’s not guaranteed by the author or if I can’t figure out the ending within a few chapters of the book, I get bummed out. I can assure you that there was none of that dark dank depressed feeling associated with this book.

Read More »

[Fiction] Temptation Valley – The Beginning

Stitch

Isabella finds herself with a job, a home, and what might be a reason to stop running all in a very short time.

Note: This is the first story in a series.

Image used under a CreativeCommons license.
Image used under a CreativeCommons license.

Isabella rides into Temptation Valley in the early hours of the morning on the back of a bay mare that isn’t hers.

Sitting straight up in the saddle, Isabella doesn’t let any of the worry that she feels show on her face. She guides the mare forward with a quiet click of her tongue, directing the horse towards the biggest building on the town’s dusty main street – a building with a hand-painted sign at the front of it that says Temptation Valley Inn in faded paint.Read More »

Camp Nano: The only kind of camp I’ll ever willingly participate in

Stitch

I was one of those kids that always hated camp.

Day or summer camp it didn’t matter. I hated camp with the kind of furor that was reserved only for cabbage or presidential addresses that come on during the season finale of your favorite show.

But CampNano is different.

For one thing, I don’t have to leave the comfort of my bed and blankets to participate. That’s a pretty big draw for me.  So I’m in.Read More »

SPECTRE – Teaser Trailer + Reaction

Stitch

I’m going to be honest with you guys: I’m a million times more excited for Spectre than I am the next Avengers film and this trailer just solidified that excitement.

The trailer is everything I ever wanted and it’s just a teaser. How am I going to survive the actual trailer when it comes out?

I am 100% here for the explosions and the general badassery and I love the hell out of everything that Sam Mendes has been doing with James Bond, but I am also ridiculously excited to see Naomie Harris’s Moneypenny. It’s been too long and I’m going to have to admit to a little overdramatic swooning when she was speaking in the trailer.

Here’s hoping that she gets even more to do and that we get to see a bit of the back and forth banter that the Moneypenny/Bond relationship is famous for.

I’m so excited for this movie! If I could preorder tickets from now, I’d do it just from that trailer!

March’s Lootcrate – COVERT

Stitch

March’s Lootcrate haul was everything that I wanted it to be.  wpid-wp-1427219242652.jpg

When they first announced “Covert” for March’s theme, I was excited. I took it as a sign that I could get off my butt and make headway on the various James Bond-related projects that I’ve been planning to do starting this month. I love spy stuff and I live for James Bond.

When I got the box yesterday, it was like explicit approval from the universe, like it was saying “hey, Zina, go out there and do those ridiculous spy projects you’ve been dreaming up”. Everything in the box is perfect and relevant to my interests. I mean, come on there’s a freaking Sean Connery Bond t-shirt in the box.

It’s like the universe wants me to immerse myself in all things “spy related”.

I’m definitely taking it as a sign that my upcoming James Bond review series will go well!

Now on to the goodies:Read More »