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Friday, July 17, 2015

Days 14-17: Disappointments, Books, and Being Geeky Enough.

Proof that I am road-tripping and not just being a horrible blogger!
So on this humid and hazy Day 17, I've got to apologize for disappearing the past couple of days! I'm on a road-trip to visit family right now, so internet use has been a little spotty. Thanks for understanding! In this post I'll be catching up from the past several days. Don't forget to check out Dia's blog (she actually posts consistently)! 

Day 14: Fandom Disappointments

It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan. I'm convinced everyone has a first-love, fandom wise. It's the one you grew up with. The one that became a part of you. The one that your own, personal stories and favorite memories intertwine with. We may get distracted by new, flashy fandoms sometimes, but our first-love will always be the one we can't forget.

All that fluff being sad, it's pretty sad that for the 'Fandom Disappointments' prompt, my very first thought was 'The Hobbit!!!'.

In preparation for this post, I went back and read through three similar, previous posts about Middle Earth. They were all written over a year ago, and yet remain some of my favorite posts ever written. I'd love you to read them:

A Hobbit's Take

Home Again: My Re-Read of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring

Tolkien, Not Jackson: Talent, Commitment, and my Pre-Desolation Thoughts

And here's the thing: I understand that I'm coming from a LotR family. I understand I've been a fan since I was 6, so of course I have super high expectations for The Hobbit movies and of course I'm going to be nit-picky and get annoyed over little things.

But LotR fans have the right to do that. We survived 50 years with only the books and the (admittedly awesome) cartoons. When the movie trilogy finally came out, it drove people to the fandom and encouraged newbies to read the books. Why? Because the movies stayed pretty accurate, were original, and didn't try to change the themes or feel of Tolkien's originals.

The Hobbit, on the other hand, desperately chased trends and became cliche. It drove no new people into the fandom, because it offered nothing that viewers couldn't get from other mainstream movies. It destroyed Tolkien's originality. *end rant*

Day 15: Past 5 Books You've Read

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. Finished it in the bus, definitely recommend!

Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull. Absolutely loved this! Such a great, real-life look at creativity. Plus the Pixar history is great.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Read for lit class (yess! I've only read two books since lit class! So horrible!), and I've got to say it didn't hold my interest.

The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. Also read for lit class, and this one was freaking hilarious.

I Dare You by William H. Danforth. Read this for the fourth or fifth time in preparation for my 4-H speech, and came away with new insights, like always.

Currently reading: The FitzOsborne's in Exile by Michelle Cooper, Emma by Jane Austen, and Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds by Nancy Martin.

Day 16: We're Geeky Enough

Let me start by saying that Dia summed everything up really well in her post. For a while, and now to some extent, it was pretty generally accepted that girls couldn't possibly be as geeky as guys. Now, I think that's shifted some, as a lot of geek girls have surfaced. But, it brings up another problem. As a girl, if you aren't a full fledged I-know-every-fact-and-dress-a-certain-way-and-am-only-interested-in-this, then you're not geeky enough.

I've been told lately that I'm not going to enjoy going to Boston Comic-Con, because it's 'not my thing' and 'not something I would enjoy'. Apparently, since I don't know everything (and readily admit that!) about Star Wars, or Marvel, or Doctor Who, or whatever, I'm not 'qualified' to go.

But, last I checked you don't need to pass a geek exam to get in. I'm a die-hard LotR fan. Gillian Anderson, who I'm named after and who plays in one of my favorite shows, The X Files, is going to be there. I've been obsessing over the original artwork from the Superman and Wonder Woman cartoons lately. I'm getting into Firefly, and have been into Sherlock since the beginning.

You don't have to know a certain amount of things to classify yourself as geeky. You're allowed enjoy things at varying levels, and just because maybe you know less about a fandom than the person in line ahead of you, doesn't mean you're not allowed to go. I love stories. And learning how shows come together. I love artwork. I love the history that each fandom has. And I'm going to have fun at Comic Con, because comic con is all about appreciating those things.

Day 17: Vlog Argument: Lord of the Rings

Later today, Dia will be posting our second vlog argument! Check here for the video, I'll post a direct link when it's up!

Update: It's up!!


Thanks for reading! Again, I apologize for the hap-hazardness of my posts lately. Hopefully we'll get back on track soon! Tomorrow, Day 18, will be: never apologize for being nerdy/geeky.


Happy Thursday! xoxo

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