Currently... (13)

"Currently..." updates will be every 2 weeks or so. Going to try to update on Tuesdays when Katy Upperman posts hers.

I found the Currently post at Kate Hart's blog, who got the idea from Amy Lukavics, who found it here. Please join in and link me in the comments if you do!


LOVING

• All the Hamilton love because I love that my favorite Founding Father is finally getting some attention! (Not to mention, the musical itself is just crazy good. Seeing it on Broadway was a highlight of the trip, and I loved seeing how it has changed from the Off-Broadway version we saw in February - oh my god, I can't believe that was also this year!)

• Experiencing the New England fall because wow, I get the hype now. The leaves, the apples, the CIDER DONUTS. *swoon*

• Book / Writer / Twitter people! So much of my trip wouldn't have been half as fun (or even possible!) if it weren't for the hospitality, recommendations, and general generosity of the friends I've met through the book/writing community.

• My friends' house-party because they had a Donald Trump piñata, good food, and a karaoke machine in their backyard.

• Halloween shenanigans! I had 3 costumes this year (witch, Feyre from A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, and a Loki-inspired flapper)!

• I went to Sarah's first First Draft LIVE! event!

• My friends and the Sister took a bunch of photos in costume! Loki was a bee. Then we watched INSIDIOUS and were scared.

• We went to the opera on Halloween in costume! It was for Moby Dick & the stage design was super cool.

WATCHING
Way too much TV. So I'm just going to take this opportunity to say one of my favorite parts of my History Nerd vacation was vegetating on Tracey's couch and watching ALL THE TV.

READING
I finished WINK, POPPY, MIDNIGHT and what a peculiar, wonderful book. It's hard to describe exactly what it is, but April's writing is always so beautiful and atmospheric. You're in for a treat this Spring. :)

I need to finish up some of the reads I put on hold when I went on vacation, but I'm really looking forward to Sarah Vowell's newest LAFAYETTE IN THE SOMEWHAT UNITED STATES. I love her humorous, historically-bent essays and I love Lafayette! So win-win! :D


LISTENING
Hamiltunes! Jams on jams on jams. I'm obsessed with Burr's First Act song "Wait for It." (You can stream it on Amazon music and Spotify!)

Also, I'm kind of into this podcast called LIMETOWN, which is a kind of creepy, possibly Sci-Fi story told in the style of Serial.


WISHING
That I was still leafpeeping! I know going out to look at the leaves change colors is a thing, but I didn't know until recently that it had a term. I did so much of it on the East Coast, and goodness, no one does fall the way New England does. No wonder they get so excited about it. ;)

THINKING ABOUT
It's that time of year for Kelsey Macke and Jessica Love's annual mug exchange Sip Swap!

I did it last year and thought it was great. I met the geeky wonder woman that is Elizabeth Briggs, and Jessica Love sent me the most awesome mug. It is giant and it says "talk nerdy to me," so really a win all around.

I'd participate again in a second, but since I have a hoarder's level of mugs, I don't know if this is a great idea for me right now - especially since I bought a new mug during my trip...

Anyway, the deadline is this weekend, so do not dally!!


MAKING ME HAPPY
Obviously, I am sad that vacation is over, but I have all the great memories from my nerd trip to think about - and the millions of photos I haven't posted! I'll recap my adventures more fully eventually!

Also making me happy is spending so much time with my friends lately. One of the best parts of the trip was traveling with my faves AND meeting up with new(ish) and old friends alike, and November is shaping up to be weekends full of get-togethers with my favorite people!

Tourist game: strong. House and Senate Gallery passed courtesy of Judy Chu. Starring @catherine @gennia @akangaru A Knickerbocker Production #startedfromthebottom #walkitout *Director's cut coming to Facebook this fall

A video posted by Justine Knickerbocker (@dawndraper) on Oct 15, 2015 at 9:22am PDT

(From top left clockwise: Tracey!!, Kim from Bookmunchies, my hilarious college roommate, my witty playwright friend from college who sympathized with my Founding Fathers love!)
(Sarah, again!!)

(The Epic East Coast Trip Nerd Squad!)



The Sister's truly top-notch imitations have been a delight!

SO MANY BOOKS TO READ. AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD READS.


Update me! What's up with you?

5 Fandom Friday (25)

(New Graphic by Darling Stewie)

5 Fandom Friday is a geek-blogger community building project started and hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. Every Friday, post a top 5 list based on a predetermined topic that can be found on this master post - you can also find more info on the project there. Participate as frequently or infrequently as you like, and if a topic doesn't especially appeal to you, feel free to put your own twist on it.

Also, tweet at @superspacechick or @thenerdygirlie on Friday with your post (and they'll RT) and use the #Fandom5 hashtag so we can all connect!

This week's theme: Favorite Halloween Episodes of TV Shows

I'm actually terrible at remembering stuff like this, so instead, I'm just going to share 5 episodes of SUPERNATURAL that are particularly good for Halloween (since it's basically always Halloween on SPN).

1) It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester - Let's start with an actual Halloween episode. While this isn't one of the scariest episodes from the series, it's a great mix of the things that make the show so fun. You have Dean facing off with a kid dressed as an astronaut, classic SPN urban legend-based deaths and scares (razor blades in candy, anyone?), witches, demons, and a side of angels.

2) Bloody Mary - Maybe it's just because Bloody Mary was one of the scariest things I ever found out about in elementary school, but I still think this episode from Season 1 is one of SPN's scariest. Creepy woman-in-white-type angry spirit living in mirrors and gouging people's eyes out? Um, no.

3) Monster Movie - This is one of SPN's "fun" themed episodes, and it's great for Halloween because it features a bunch of classic horror movie monsters - Dracula, the Mummy, Wolf-Man. Fitting in with the theme, the episode is also completely in black & white, and we get a little more development from the monster-side of the story.

4) Everybody Loves a Clown - I'm mixing in fun and terrifying episodes of SPN. Again, this episode might only be terrifying to me because the clown they use is downright frightening. This was from Season 2 (the 1st 2 seasons have the scariest episodes), and not only features the clown, it also has a carnival and a chase through a Funhouse because OF COURSE.

(I was going to post a pic/gif of the clown here, but after looking at it for 2 seconds, I decided for my own sanity and for my great concern for you, I wasn't going to do it.)

5) Ghostfacers - This time of year, there are tons of ghost-hunting type shows playing on TV. The Sister and I love watching them, and so it was such a treat when SPN brought the format to their own show. It's great when SPN changes things up, and Ghostfacers was delightful because it perfectly spoofed ghost-hunting type shows while also giving us one of the scarier episodes of Supernatural. The endless birthday party in the basement? Nope!

What are your favorite Halloween (or Supernatural!) episodes?

5 Fandom Friday (24)

(New Graphic by Darling Stewie)

5 Fandom Friday is a geek-blogger community building project started and hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. Every Friday, post a top 5 list based on a predetermined topic that can be found on this master post - you can also find more info on the project there. Participate as frequently or infrequently as you like, and if a topic doesn't especially appeal to you, feel free to put your own twist on it.

Also, tweet at @superspacechick or @thenerdygirlie on Friday with your post (and they'll RT) and use the #Fandom5 hashtag so we can all connect!

This week's theme: Things I Love About Halloween

1) Spooky reads - I'm a chicken when it comes to horror movies, but I do love being creeped out by tales of the grim, gothic, and spooky.


2) Halloween episodes - I know there's an upcoming topic on this, but I love it when my TV shows do holiday-themed episodes. Halloween eps always allow for a little more fun and adds a little more spook to shows that don't normally go in for the scares or supernatural.

3) TV marathons of Haunted Places/ Ghost Hunter-type shows - I don't normally watch many of these, but when they're on all the time in the month of October, I can't get enough. Mostly, I love hearing the stories about ghostly encounters.

4) Candy - chocolate, candy corn, pumpkin spice and everything nice.

5) Costumes! - Who doesn't like dressing up and being someone (or something) different for a night?

Q4U: What are you favorite things about the season?


P.S. I'm currently on the road, so I'll be around people's posts when I'm no longer vacationing. :)

Currently... (12)

"Currently..." updates will be every 2 weeks or so, since I cannot stick to the Tuesday schedule.

I found the Currently post at Kate Hart's blog, who got the idea from Amy Lukavics, who found it here. Please join in and link me in the comments if you do!


LOVING

The new Board Museum in downtown LA. It recently opened and is free to the public! Super cool to have a new modern art museum in LA, and it's right next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the MOCA.

The special exhibit everyone was most excited about is Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room. It's so simple but incredible.

These Photo-A-Day Challenges!


The first prompt for both called for a selfie. So here's mine.

WATCHING
So happy that THE FLASH is back and excited for THE WALKING DEAD this weekend! Hopeful that SLEEPY HOLLOW this season will be back on track (S2 was...not good) given the promising first ep, and I'm already loving the madness that is HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER Season 2. Oh, and FRESH OFF THE BOAT continues to be so amusing.

I was also ready to put GOTHAM into my 2nd-tier of shows to watch, but the past few episodes have been strong. It seems a lot more focused than season 1, so for now, I'm back on board.

Also watched AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON this weekend with some friends who hadn't seen it. I particularly enjoyed this bit of convo during the Scarlet Witch-induced dream sequences.

Me: So, they're like things they're afraid of.
Friend: So Black Widow doesn't like ballet. And Captain America is afraid of...dancing!
Me: Um...
Friend: Oh, and Thor's afraid of orgies!

READING
Currently reading... friend's MS, which I am terribly behind on.
Also reading these seasonally appropriate books:

LISTENING
Jamming to the Disclosure & Lorde collab "MAGNETS," and Ellie Goulding's newest "ON MY MIND."



Also, still into YEARS AND YEARS, especially since I saw them at the end of September at the Wiltern. Such a fun night, even with the technical difficulties in the middle.

The HAMILTON cast album, obviously. If you're on the fence about this, you might like to know Billboard.com just gave its first 5 star rating to it, and no, you don't need to know anything about Hamilton or the U.S. Revolution because the songs will tell you everything you need to know.

I admit, I'm pulling back though because I will be seeing the musical soon.


ANTICIPATING
My EAST COAST / US HISTORY trip!!! In less than a week, I will be in Washington DC with some of my favorite people!

So excited to be going with my friends though, and to be visiting ones I haven't seen in ages and meeting new ones!


MAKING ME HAPPY
Having books to pair with my clothes!


The Years and Years concert. Spending time with my ConSquad. All the fun things I have lined up in October. Trying silly Halloween costumes and thinking about this year's costume.

Less than a week before I'm jet-setting again! *dances*


Q4U: What have you been up to?

5 Fandom Friday (23)

(New Graphic by Darling Stewie)

5 Fandom Friday is a geek-blogger community building project started and hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. Every Friday, post a top 5 list based on a predetermined topic that can be found on this master post - you can also find more info on the project there. Participate as frequently or infrequently as you like, and if a topic doesn't especially appeal to you, feel free to put your own twist on it.

Also, tweet at @superspacechick or @thenerdygirlie on Friday with your post (and they'll RT) and use the #Fandom5 hashtag so we can all connect!

This week's theme: People You Want on Your Side During an Apocalypse (via Kendall Ashley)

1) The Winchesters (Supernatural, TV) - How many apocalypses have these boys averted and/or survived now? They've faced everything from poltergeists to old gods to the devil himself, and they're still standing 200+ episodes later. Not to mention, when they aren't angsting at each other, the boys seem like they'd be fun to hang out with too.

2) Katsa (Graceling, book) - this YA fantasy heroine has a killer Grace (special ability), literally. There's more to it than that, but I don't want to say too much in case you haven't read this excellent book. She's smart, fearsome, resourceful, and loyal - someone you'd want around in a jam.

3) Rick's Group (The Walking Dead, TV) - Sure, they've lost a few people along the way, but generally speaking, the main cast of TWD are survivors. They made it through the initial apocalypse, and now they're living the post-apocalypse. They're also a family unit at this point. If you're part of the core group, you can count on someone having your back.

4) Hermione (Harry Potter, book) - she's the cleverest witch of her age and an amazing friend, to boot. Let's face it - Harry Potter may have been the Chosen One, but without Hermione, he would've been lucky to make it to Book 3. Bonus: she has magic. When I told my sister about this prompt, she immediately said, "You should pick someone with powers."

5) R2-D2 (Star Wars, movie) - Who has made it through the Star Wars saga from beginning to end (and to the new movie)? This irreplaceable droid. If anyone is going to help me make it through upheaval and things going to crap, it's going to be R2-D2.


Q4U: Who would you want on your Apocalypse-survival team?