Category: Celebrity

Next question….

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Geek, Work

T-minus 3 1/2 days until I arrive at Phoenix Comicon, and as the time draws nearer I’m starting to get interview opportunities from some of the convention guests that I requested interviews with, as well as other guests who are eager to be interviewed by websites and magazines to get their names out there.

It’s exciting to be attending as a member of the media. I don’t know exactly what special privileges I’ll have (taking photos at panels that otherwise wouldn’t allow them, perhaps? Who knows), but just having the opportunity is great. I can’t thank Talk Nerdy With Us enough for all the opportunities they’ve given me in this past year. (Hard to believe I’ve almost been with the site for a year!)

It’s also going to be interesting to be conducting these interviews in costume, as I’m going to be cosplaying most of the con. I’m sure there will be other press in costume, because come on, it’s Comicon! Still, I have to maintain a professional veneer throughout the day because I will be representing Talk Nerdy With Us. I can’t just tell some jerk who disses my cosplay to piss off, because that would look bad for Talk Nerdy With Us. I have to take the high ground. Be the better man…er, woman.

Well, I guess it’s time to get back to drafting interview questions. Here’s crossing my fingers that my phone’s voice recorder app works well! Lol

T-minus 8 days

Anime, Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek

That’s right, just a little over a week until Phoenix Comicon! I am almost completely done with cosplays…one little strap to do, but I need a buckle for it so it’ll have to wait until Friday when I can get to the craft store.

There will be much ironing and helping each other into our costumes when we get to my in-laws’ house. We’ve done what we can, but considering it all has to get smooshed into one garment bag there’s going to be some wrinkling. Going to pack safety pins and possibly bring along my craft/sewing bin in case of cosplay emergency that needs to be handled before we get to the con.

I’m of course excited for Comicon, but I’m also excited that I get to introduce my sister to this wonderful world. I know she doesn’t get out much and doesn’t like crowds, but neither did I when I went to my first con, and that first con got me hooked. She needs to get out more and meet new people, so hopefully she enjoys this experience and opens up a bit…plus, there’s the added bonus of being able to potentially meet some celebs that interest her. I know there are usually a lot of voice actors and artists from different animes and mangas she likes, and there are usually panels about manga and anime art that I know she’ll have fun with….it’s just a matter of getting her to go to them.

I’ve been practicing Periscoping so I can get a few live feed shots of the con for Talk Nerdy With Us. I keep forgetting to look at the camera–and when I do, I keep looking back at the screen to see how I look. Derp! Oh, well, I still hope people will enjoy my tweets and Periscopes.

Off to get ready for work!

Why Can’t I Feel

Celebrity, Mental Health, Musings, Poetry

Time stops for them
They’ve lost a friend
Never will they see again

Though never in the past have met
Inside they feel an emptiness
As favored star is laid to rest

So bright he shone
So swiftly gone
Never more to sing his song

So sad they seem
The pain cuts deep
In their hearts they swear to keep

As I sit and watch the pain
I wonder should I try to feign
To make myself seem more humane

But tears don’t fall
I’ve none at all
Emotionally I’ve hit a wall

I cannot feel
It seems unreal
No wounds have I that need to heal

Someone’s dead, someone’s gone
Ne’er again to sing their song
I’ve tried and tried, all day long

I cannot hide
How dead inside
Why can’t I feel when someone dies?

When Fans Go Too Far

Celebrity, Fandom, Mental Health, Social Media

It’s great when you find something that you love enough to become a fan of–a movie, TV show, book, band, etc. You can meet others who share your love of it, you can interact with actors, writers, artists, musicians … But is there such a thing as loving something too much?

When it comes to fandom, the answer is yes. The members of fandoms in today’s pop culture are becoming increasingly unstable and aggressive. If anything happens to the fans’ obsession that doesn’t fit with their ideal view of how that obsession should play out, the claws come out and the taunts, slurs, and threats begin. It’s a scary thing to view, and sadly it shows no sign of slowing.

Take, for example, TV shows. Seasons are reaching their end, so of course showrunners and writers are trying to amp up the drama. Favorite characters are dying, and fans are in an uproar. Producers and writers are receiving vile messages and death threats on social media. Even the actors whose characters get killed off (often because the actor has chosen to leave the show for a different opportunity) have been targets of the rabid fans.

Is this what we’ve come to? Fans throwing nasty hissy fits every time things don’t go their way? Crying, screaming, typing hate messages and Tweets? What in the Sam Hell made fandoms go so wrong?

Now, I’m a fan of several TV shows and movie franchises. Do I flip out when they kill a character? No. Death is a part of life, and unless you’re going to write a TV series where no one ever dies then characters are going to die. It happens. I don’t take it as a personal affront when a show kills off a character that I like. I may gripe if the way it was written or directed or acted was terrible, but I certainly don’t go into full-on Exorcist mode, becoming possessed by hate for the thing they once loved.

I just don’t see how someone can rationalize that kind of behavior. Is it just that social media makes us feel invincible, or is there a more disturbing reason for the downhill slide of fandom’s mental stability as a whole? I mean, how could a mentally stable person send death threats to a writer or producer or actor for just doing their job?

Fandoms need to take a serious look inside themselves and straighten out their priorities. Is it worth it blowing up Twitter and Facebook with nasty comments? Are death threats really necessary?

Wake up, fandoms. Life doesn’t always go your way, and characters die. It happens. Actors may grow tired of their current role or they may get a new, exciting opportunity to move to another show or movie franchise. Things are going to happen that you don’t like. Just chill the fuck out and get used to it now. It’s not going to stop just because you want things to stay status quo.

Monday (Lack of) Motivation

Celebrity, Sewing, Writing

Ah, a Monday morning off. So relaxing.

Except I need to be working on cosplay stuff. I’m so close to being finished with both of our cosplays for Phoenix Comicon. I need to get my ass out of bed and get to working on them, though.

The last few things are pretty simple, just time-consuming. I’m still debating on making a belt for myself versus buying one. It would be pretty cool to be able to say that I made the entire cosplay myself (aside from the lightsaber), but do I really want to make another belt?

I should also be getting ready for my interview with an actor this morning…another rarity lately. It’s an actor that I enjoy, and I get to ask some burning questions about a show I like. Win-win. I have the questions ready and typed up in a Word file (makes transcribing afterwards so much easier), but I’ll need to clear off some space in the craft room for me to take the call. I have to have my laptop there because I don’t want to waste printing a lone sheet of paper just for the call, and the sewing machine is smack dab in the middle of in the way.

Or…I could write some more. Haven’t gotten anything new written in the past few days. I need to step up on that if I’m going to finish the draft by the end of the year like I planned.

I think I’m going to go get an energy drink. Maybe that will get my gears turning.

Back in the saddle

Celebrity, Interview, Learning, Work

It has been a long time since I’ve had the time and availability to do a phone interview for Talk Nerdy With Us (well, aside from one Skype interview with someone in Australia, whose lunch time coincided with my just-before-bed time). It felt kind of nice to do an interview again, even if the conversation didn’t last very long.

I need to work on that. Other writers talk about interviews that run over an hour long, or becoming buddies with the person they interviewed to the point where they exchange emails or phone numbers to keep in touch.

I don’t get that. Despite my best efforts to keep a conversation going, I just run out of things to say. I’m not great at small talk, and I get shy and awkward even over the phone. Not that I’m too shy to actually talk with an actor or musician, but I just feel like I don’t have anything important to say. Talked about the weather? Okay. Asked my questions? Okay. Now we can chat about…what? What else is there? If they’re not into nerdy things like I am, I don’t know how to relate.

Hiking and traveling? I don’t do those much. (Okay, hiking never.) Music? I like to listen to it, but I can’t play any instruments or even sing on key.

There was one interview where I had a good conversation with my interviewee, but that was because we had common interests. Pair me with someone who likes Doctor Who or Star Wars or something and we’ll do great. Pair me with someone who’s into working out and venturing into the great outdoors, and I clam up. I can’t relate to that.

So how do I get these long, friendly interviews? What do I have to do to get that? I simply don’t know. They say the “secret” is to just treat it like a conversation, but guess what–I’m a terrible conversationalist. Normally, I hate talking on the phone. I’ll test or direct message any time, but put me on the phone and I don’t know what to say. It’s rather pathetic, really.

Maybe next time will be different. I may not have had the longest interview today, but I felt comfortable talking with the actor (even though I didn’t have anything in common with him to keep the conversation going), so I guess that’s a start.

Not much of one… but a start.

Can’t Con-tain My Excitement

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Fandom, Geek

It’s a little more than 3 months until Phoenix Comicon, our cosplays are almost done, and I’m getting increasingly excited about this year’s con.

I want to enter a cosplay contest, if possible. I may not win, but it’ll be great to take part and be able to say that I broke through some of my social anxiety to attempt such a thing. I also can’t wait to meet some of the con/cosplay friends I’ve made through my Cosplay Closet Essentials interviews for Talk Nerdy With Us and through the Blue Ribbon Army group on Facebook. (Don’t know about BRA? Check out my post on Talk Nerdy With Us!) And, of course, there’s at least one celebrity that I have to get a photo op with!

Also exciting? This will be my first year attending as a media member! Talk Nerdy With Us has given me so many opportunities, and this one is by far the best. I may be able to interview some great guests of the con, and it will be awesome to do a special Phoenix Comicon edition of Cosplay Closet Essentials. I’ll also get to meet one of my Talk Nerdy With Us coworkers.

In addition to Phoenix Comicon, I’ll also be attending Dragon Con in Atlanta this year (not as media, but it will still be awesome). I’ll get to see my BFF in Alabama on the way (can you say “road trip”?), and we’ll get to spend some time together at the con. I’ll also be able to meet more of the Talk Nerdy With Us team, as many of them are considering going to Dragon Con. TNWU con party!

I’ve gone from having near-crippling social anxiety to trying to gain as much attention as possible by dressing to the nines with cosplays that I have created and wearing an official BRA lanyard to identify myself to other BRA members and possibly make new friends.

Cons are amazing things, and I can’t wait for Phxcc!

A Question for Another Day

Celebrity, Interview, Learning, Work

I’ve been doing musician, artist, and celebrity interviews over phone (and now Skype) off and on for over probably six months now, and I have to say, I think I’m finally getting the hang of making it a conversational interview rather than straight-up questions.

Part of it is that I try to write the questions so they flow more organically. I try to gauge how the interview will go, how some questions will be answered, and arrange my questions to that sequence. Part of it is just practice, I guess.

But my one big hang-up (no pun intended) is still how to end the interview. So far, I just say “Well, thanks for talking with us today” if I’ve come to the end of my questions and there’s not really any opening left for continued conversation. That, to me, feels cold and impersonal, but after all this time I have not figured out a better way.

I’ve asked the other writers for the website for advice because it’s a very supportive team, but I feel like I’ve failed by not figuring it out myself. I guess it goes back to when I was a kid and school came easily to me for the most part; if I ever had problems understanding something, I was frustrated beyond belief. This problem doesn’t quite have me at that level of frustration, but it’s getting close.

One day soon I’ll know the answer. But for now, it’s a question for another day. (See? I don’t even know how to end a blog post properly lol)

Sailing Away

Celebrity, Fandom, Geek, Musings, Shipping, Social Media, Thoughts

Ships. They pull in and sail off, come and go.

And some of them make absolutely no sense.

I’m not talking about your average boat. I’m talking about relationships, specifically in books, TV shows, and movies. People see two characters who they feel should be together, and boom! A ship is born. It’s the biggest thing in fandoms lately, and it shows no sign of stopping.

The ships don’t even have to be characters that are in a scripted relationship. Sometimes they’re between characters that don’t have any romantic chemistry. Sometimes they’re even incestuous.

Why do we ship? Why do some fans rabidly defend their ships, often to the point of full-on fan wars? I mean slur-slinging, trash-talking, hate-mailing wars, all over fictional characters that may never have been in a relationship to begin with.

It’s a strange phenomenon, one that I don’t fully understand. At times I can see the chemistry that creates a fanborne ship, but for the most part it’s beyond my comprehension. Why invest so much energy in a fantasy world, especially one in which the thing you fantasize about doesn’t exist? Some fans even write fanfic (fan-authored fiction–a topic for another day, perhaps) or fanart (fanfic for the artist set) depicting their favorite ship.

I suppose I’m something of a purist. If the characters are written as being in a relationship, fine. If they’re written/played as having chemistry, okay. But non-canonical, non-romantic couplings that don’t make any sense? That just doesn’t jive with me. I don’t even like canon relationships without some sort of romantic vibe there to spark a ship.

The rabid nature of shipping also baffles me. You take a relationship that isn’t established and defend it to your dying breath. Friendships can be made or lost due to fandom ships. Is a fictional relationship really worth that kind of cost?

I, for one, don’t think so. I think shipping could theoretically be fun, if taken as the make believe that they are, but certainly not to the extent at which people are willing to go lately.

If your ship leaves the dock and sets sail, for the love of all that’s holy, just let it go. Don’t get in heated fights with someone you don’t even know over a fantasy. It’s not worth it.

Will the Grass Be Greener?

Celebrity, Marketing, Novel, Self Publishing, Writing

I’ve been given a great opportunity, and I wonder if/how it will pay off in the coming weeks.

A publication for the Phoenix, AZ, area is interviewing me about my book this weekend. I’m pretty excited, even though I got the interview because I work with the editor-in-chief at my day job, and I talk about my book all the time there (because fuck yeah! I wrote a book!).

I’m wondering if this will help increase sales any. They’ve been dismal for quite some time now that the die-hard fans (translation: some of my friends and coworkers) have already purchased their copies. I’ve gotten only a couple of reviews, but I am proud to say they were both five stars. I’ll stick that in the “win” column.

This also gives me hope for the next book. I don’t know what the interview questions will be, so I don’t know if I’ll even have the opportunity to talk about my work-in-progress, but if the first book sells a few more copies then maybe I have hope for the second book.

It feels weird to be on this side of an interview. I wonder if any of the bands or actors that I’ve interviewed have felt this way. Probably not the more well-known ones; they already have careers and don’t care if they get interviewed by me. But the indie bands, the actors just starting out? They just might have a inkling of what I’m feeling like right now. The excitement, the anticipation…it’s pretty cool.

I can’t let this get to my head, though. I wouldn’t have this opportunity if I didn’t have a “connection in the biz.” Still, it’ll be interesting to see what things are like on this side of the fence.