Information and device overload.

Does anyone else have a difficult time making decisions? Y'know, worrying about price comparisons, buyers remorse and that sort of thing. I do, and in some ways having constant access to reviews, prices and that sort of thing has made decision making so much easier. And in other ways, so much worse.

Can anyone else relate to this? Image via xkcd.

This excess of information can be too much sometimes, and even cause information overload, or analysis paralysis. I like it when things rhyme. 

My smartphone goes wherever I go, so when I encounter something in stores that seems like a great deal I've made it a habit of price checking on Amazon. This has helped me to save money, which is fantastic, but it also has its complications; the largest one being the rating system. A lot of the time the responses seem highly subjective, and they generally doesn't answer my questions. 

Sometimes I end up not making a purchase at all because there's simply too much information, or the reviews are far too mixed. The research I've done makes an object seem desirable, yet the reviews say otherwise. What do I do? It's times like these that I find myself wishing for a lack of connectivity. Or a real conversation with someone about a given product. Is there an application for that? That's another problem: too many apps. Too many ways to access information. On my phone I have multiple applications that all do roughly the same thing, but they have slight differences. Which one do I use?

 So many to choose from! Perfect image via Zdnet.

(I'm still on a quest to find the *best* note application for Android. Currently I use Springpad. I've gone through at least ten other ones.)

And piggybacking off of that, which electronic device should I use? I have a laptop, a smartphone, an iPod and a 3DS. I eventually retired my iPod and I now use my phone for music in the car. My laptop is used on a daily basis, but the 3DS offers many communication and connectivity tools that my phone and computer do as well. Someday I'd like to own an iPad too, but what purpose would it serve? It'd be a sleek combination of my phone and my laptop, so... when would I decide to use the iPad over the laptop?

I came across this video for the iPad application Paper and it looks really fantastic, which only spurs the desire to own one.

I love notes and notepads. I love writing them, crossing things off, doodling, scribbling and just... jotting. It would be great to have this amazing, virtual notepad with me with such a wide array of features. Except... who actually walks around outside like that with their iPad out? Isn't that just asking to be robbed or attacked? All of this technology is great, the ability to use it anywhere is fantastic, but I would be so paranoid.

Anyway, if I ever own an iPad will I end up forsaking my laptop? Or would I just bring the iPad with me out and about as if it were a notebook/sketchbook/planner/calendar? Does anyone out there have a computer AND and iPad AND a smartphone AND an iPod? If so, can you sound off regarding when you use which? Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Did you initially have difficulties figuring out when to use which device?

Just as a note of clarification, I realize the completely frivolous tone of this article. Nothing that I've said is meant to be a complaint, just pointing out the overstimulation of it all. My "issue" is that there are too many incredible things to choose from? What a world I live in!

But seriously. Do you ever find it to be too much? Too many options can paralyze a person.

-MJ

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Who is a geek?: Delving into the 'fake geek' concern.

This has been on my mind for a while, but I've been unable to formulate full and complete thoughts that could be compiled into a cohesive and intelligent article. The sudden influx of 'fake girl geek' articles spreading like wildfire through the web has kicked enough brain particles into gear that my snowflakes are turning into a blizzard. I'm not sure where the environmental disaster analogies are coming from.

This is a photo of me, and it is a valid question. About 95% of my shirts are

video game or geek culture related. It's what I love, and it's part of who I am.

Forbes kicked things off with an article from Tara Brown, and from there I've read at least five more. Each of them contribute something to the greater issue of the 'fake geek' phenomenon, and some of them also point out the relevance of this being a sexist issue. The author over at Dunlap Dabbles painted an excellent picture:

"Say we see a guy walking around in a Spider-Man t-shirt. We probably think that he grew up on Spiderman and really likes the character. He’s just like us. We give him the nod. Good day, gentleman of distinguishing comic book taste. Now we see a girl wearing a Spider-Man shirt. She’s attractive. The shirt is kind of tight. But not any tighter than a plain shirt that plenty of girls wear. Not tighter than a normal shirt marketed to women. Does she really like Spider-Man, or is this supposed to be a super hero powered sexy ice breaker for the Spider-Man shirt guy we just saw? When did she start reading Spider-Man? Has she read all the back issues? Does she know the difference between Amazing and Spectacular Spider-Man? We have lots of questions. Maybe we’ll ask her. But we’re already suspicious and, unless she’s perfect, we will find her responses lacking because we already kind of made up our minds beforehand. She didn’t know anything about Spectacular Spider-Man. A-ha! Well, maybe that’s because she thinks Spectacular Spider-Man sucks. And guess what, that guy just liked the movies. But we didn’t ask him any questions. His rep is still intact in our minds" - dunlapdabbles 3/28/12

How poignant, right?* I am guilty of this myself, both questioning women and accepting men. I also run through this particular scenario in my mind whenever I buy a new geeky shirt. Case in point! I love Back to the Future, I'm a huge fan and I have no qualms saying this. There are plenty of things that I don't know about the movies; I've never watched behind-the-scenes footage and yet that doesn't make me feel like less of a fan. I'm thinking this is because I've enjoyed the films for as long as I can remember. The moment I saw an 88 MPH shirt on teefury I purchased it without a second thought.

But then! Last year I was given a shirt that depicted the Delorean and the TARDIS crashing into one another. At that point I had heard of Doctor Who, and I vaguely recognized the TARDIS, but I had never watched the show. I was intensely nervous about wearing the shirt in public. I was positively terrified that someone would approach me and start talking about Doctor Who and I would have to stammer out that I hadn't watched it yet but that I loved Back to the Future and then they would think I was a huge phony and a 'fake geek girl'. For the longest time I only wore the shirt in the safety of my own home. Is that how one would spell 'ridiculous'?

The damnable shirt itself. Thanks shirtoid!

Eventually I encountered people who were jazzed about my shirt, and I had prepared a breezy speech stating that while I hadn't yet had an opportunity to watch Doctor Who, it was absolutely in the cards and that all the same I loved Back to the Future. To my delight, all of those people responded with a resounding enthusiasm for Doctor Who and only encouraged me to start watching it sooner.**

I was fortunate then that I was surrounded by the type of people who welcomed newcomers, accepted budding hobbyists, and had such a pure love for their interests that it brought them happiness to invite new people into the group. The majority of geeks that I know downright glow when they have a chance to explain something that they're infatuated with to a new person. Do you want to see me geek out, nerd out, gush, verbal diarrhea, etc. etc. over something? Then go ahead and ask me about Harry Potter.*** My goal is not to show you up, or make you feel that you don't know enough; my goal is to exude love and appreciation for something that I hold so dear to my heart. The affection doesn't stop at me, I want everyone else to love it just as much (which is precisely why I will stammer open mouthed until slapped in the face if you tell me that you hate Harry Potter).

Or I'll start screaming that. Depends on my mood. 

Thanks graphjam.

In any interest group there will be elitists. It's simply a personality type that we have to accept. I first encountered these people within the music group. How many of you have been kicked and beaten out of a conversation (in the position as a novice among masters) for not knowing songs off of a first album? For not knowing a song's inspiration? For not owning every EP that had ever been released?

It's those experiences that have left me scarred and nervous in situations such as with my TARDIS/Delorean shirt.

And yet, I know what it's like; having someone come into the sacred territory of something that I feel helps to define who I am as a person, and then display little true affection or only a passing interest, and then act as though they love it as much as I do. But this is unfair of me, and it's a knee-jerk reaction in an attempt to protect something that I believe deserves only the best attentions.

I prefer to welcome new people, I love to share, and it would be wonderful if everyone had this mindset. There have been situations where someone says, "Oh I love Zelda!" after seeing my tattoo. I then begin to speak animatedly about how much I love the games and ask which ones they've played. If they haven't played one that I love, or if they've only played Ocarina of Time, my immediate response is, "OMG play WIND WAKER!!" Who am I to say that they don't really love the games just because they've only been exposed to one? The Legend of Zelda is an expansive series, and depending on someone's age and economic status while they were growing up they may not have had the same experiences and chances that I have had. No one should be chastised for being late to the game/movie/music/comic/whatever.

The Legend of Zelda gaming collection. There are some international 
duplicates in there, but you get the idea! Thanks Kotaku!

So, is there such a thing as a fake geek? Or does the word geek just not mean what it used to? Languages change and evolve, and it seems that the definition of a geeky person is not what it once was.  It's not hard to see why this can be difficult for some people though, especially since for a lot of people the stigma of being a geek or a nerd was so powerful and frequently negative only a few years ago. I remember the first time someone outside of my dorky, computer, gamer friends posted a meme image online. I about fell out of my chair. It's true that at first it felt invasive into my way of life. But hey, it's a fantastic way of life. Why shouldn't more people be involved?

My biggest gripe, and my only real definition of a 'fake geek', is a person who does something that isn't geeky whatsoever but claims to be because they're not sure what it means, they only know it's currently popular and widespread. Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty shirts where they're wearing black rimmed glasses? That's... not... geeky... . Thinking an actor that plays a dorky part in a movie/TV show is cute? How is that geeky? Someone played one session of Halo/Smash Bros./Super Mario? "I'm such a geek, I know." But you're not. Doing something once doesn't make you a thing. If you put one tomato plant into the ground, you're not a gardener. If you own an expensive DSLR, that doesn't magically make you a photographer. You went to the zoo? You're not a koala bear.****

"I’ve never met a pseudo geek, not once in my life…and I’ve made a lifelong study of science fiction culture. What we’re seeing here is a misnomer: people who call themselves geeks because they feel awkward or because they once read a comic book and saw the movie it was based on. But that’s not geekhood." - Carol Pinchefsky, Forbes. 3/28/12

Hot damn that is well stated. I mean, we have words that mean specialized. They are there for a reason.

This one cracked me up. I made a meme about the over 9000 thing once >.>

Do we even know this girl's back story? Did she mean to be turned into a meme? She looks like she's about thirteen, and I'll bet she's trying to find herself and is dabbling in a lot of things. So she dipped into the nerd culture with the large glasses, she also has sorta scenster hair and she's almost doing ducklips. She's just... figuring things out, you know? 

A lot of the articles I've been reading focus heavily on the whole 'fake geek girl' thing where a girl "pretends" to like something in order to gain popularity or attention online/in person/at conventions, etc.  Why is this even a concern? It's not my problem. It's not your problem. You or I or anyone else will never be able to contain and/or control the things that other people do. It's unfortunate when what they do affects us on a personal level, but it's important to continue with our lives. I feel the ripple of distress when someone has watched all of the Harry Potter films but never bothered to read the books and yet they claim to be a huge fan. OK, they're a fan in their minds, and they're missing out on something so amazing, but if they don't want to read the books then I shouldn't continue to wind myself into a tizzy over it.

It's simple enough for me to find people who love what I love and start an in-depth discussion about Harry Potter, continuity mistakes in the books, translation errors to film, and where we think the characters are now.

Let's all continue to love what we love and share it with the world. If we meet someone that we think is "fake", then encourage them to dig deeper. They'll either love it or lose interest and move on. Everybody wins!

-MJ

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*I love Spider-man, it's the first comic book I ever read and I only read Ultimate Spider-man. I've never read Spectacular or Amazing. I'm unable to keep up with the comic books, so I just read what I can when I can. I would really enjoy to have more Spider-man knowledge, but I simply don't have access to the comic books. When this comes up I do my best to be forthright about only reading Ultimate Spider-man.

**I started watching Doctor Who a few months ago and I love it so much. I just finished season two and I ugly cried for the last ten minutes of the finale. No joke. This is an instance where a fan who has loved the series for years and years could tell me I'm not a true fan because I'm new, but they have no way of knowing how I feel about the Doctor. They're not in my head and heart as I lay awake at night thinking about the tear rolling down number ten's cheek with his face against the wall. Excuse me... *sob*

***You can do this with Nintendo, Zelda, and Harvest Moon, too.

****Heyo all the Friends fans out there! <3 <3 <3 Yet another thing that I will go on and on and on about.

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Let the Games begin! Hunger Games movie review and art piece.

I get stuck in these loops where I read the Harry Potter series over and over again, and it takes a friend whacking me directly in the face with a good new book/series in order to knock me from orbit. This happened most recently with The Hunger Games, and you can see my review of the books here. What you're in for now is my review of the film, which I have been highly anticipating for, well, not long compared to tons of other fans. Either way, the day finally came!

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Warning to you all: this contains spoilers of the movie and book variety. So, proceed at your own risk.

Getting the obvious out of the way: it was incredibly well done. Bravo to every single person that had a hand in making it. The film was extremely accurate to the book, except where sacrifices for time or translation were necessary. The largest example comes in the form of Katniss's acquisition of the Mockingjay pin; in the book it's given to her by the mayor's daughter, and in the film she buys it at the Hob. Supplemental story information, such as her history with Peeta and the burnt bread, are told via flashbacks; information about the Hunger Games are explained in way of cut-aways to Caesar as though the theatre audience are watching the Games at home on their own TVs.

The casting here was absolutely superb. Not a single person felt out of place. Resemblances to Suzanne Collins' written word were so carefully picked out. Especially for the role of Katniss. The world has been singing her praises ever since she was cast, and I can only agree. Man, Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic. The actor portraying Peeta took a while to grow on me though.

At two hours and twenty-two minutes, this film is kind of a beast; it doesn't feel stretched though. There's a slow build up to the start of the Games, lending plenty of time for character building and a true sense of the nation of Panem. Speaking of which, the costumes for the Capital were just... incredible. I had seen promotional shots of Effie Trinket in all of her wild, pink glory, but that was nothing compared to the masses of individuals in crazy wigs, colored faces and truly outlandish outfits. Nothing was spared in the process of turning The Hunger Games from print to the silver screen.

There were some interesting framing and filming choices for the film; frequent close ups and 'handy cam' feels were constant through the whole thing. On a personal level I don't care for either of those techniques, but for The Hunger Games it was the right choice. The opening of the film was very shaky, giving an almost first person perspective; it was as though the audience were seeing things from Katniss's point of view, or simply as a way of demonstrating how terrified and shaky she was feeling. This sensation carried over big time to the opening scene of the Games; Haymitch warned that the cornucopia would be a massacre, and the film demonstrated that perfectly.

The close up shaky cam was in full force as tribute after tribute was violently slaughtered. The choice of direction here was deliberate to show the horrors of the Games, and also to demonstrate the point of view of Katniss. It's easy to feel as though the audience is there with her, and it is awful. A lot of the shots are extremely close, kind of dark, and move very quickly. I'm guessing that this was in order to maintain the PG-13 rating. Collins wrote a lot of graphic deaths into her series, and they wouldn't be well suited to a PG-13 film.

Emotional moments from the book were brought to new, even more upsetting life in the movie. Rue's death moved me to tears, and I really believe it was because of Lawrence's performance. The scene in the book made me sad, but it wasn't the same as what I felt in the theatre. The scene with the Tracker Jackers was too visceral for my taste, and Cato's scene with the Muttations was almost too horrible to watch. I was relieved that the scene in the movie was shorter than in the book.

I also have to comment on how brilliantly the build up was handled when it came to Katniss entering the arena. I couldn't tell you how hard my heart was beating, but it was hard. The mood, the cuts, the music, the embrace with Cinna: it was all so intense. Whoever handled the editing for the countdown deserves a damn medal; all of those kids waiting to run and murder? It was handled so well. Truly it was nearly too realistic for me, much more realistic than the book felt.

So again: freaking bravo to everyone involved. I can't think of any disappointments at this time, and I am joining the masses in being anxious for the next two films.

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In dedication to my affection for the series, as well as to practice making marvelous paper sculpts, I fashioned this little piece:

Did you all go and see the movie? What did you think? Was there anything in particular that you thought it lacked, or where it excelled? I'd love to hear more opinions!

-MJ

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Copyright/Trademark bullies - I thought bullying stopped after highschool?

Everyone likes to share. We want our friends and families to see the things that we like, and it's always exciting to introduce music/movies/TV/books to the new people in our lives. The internet has made sharing a whole lot easier (much to the chagrin of every copyright holder in the world), and as a result the digital age is bubbling with aggressive copyright and trademark holders.

It's not unreasonable to want to protect our creations; they are valuable, unique, and people deserve their credit and the right to make a profit from what belongs to them. However, the levels of sanity begin to hastily run down the drain when people and companies steamroll anyone who comes "too close" (subjective term) to their intellectual properties.

Not sure if you're even upset about it? Sue anyway.

photo courtesy of gizmodo

There are so many ambiguities surrounding fair use, derivative works, and what is considered a parody (in a court of law it's the judges final say, if I read the rules correctly); so it's no real surprise that harmless ventures quickly come under heavy fire and legal battles from companies who feel that their copyrights and trademarks are being infringed upon.

I believe there's a point where the protection actions turn completely insane, and the companies seem interested in stamping out all fun, freedom and artistic expression; this is more than just protecting their copyrights.

They aim to take away all fun, art, as well as ice cream and dogs. Those monsters.

found from a lovely person on flickr named wishnow

Most recently I encountered this absurd gem: Chick-Fil-A threatens guy who made "Eat More Kale" shirts. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, the chicken sandwich chain Chick-Fil-A has, as their mascots, cows holding signs that say "Eat Mor Chikin'". The company is apparently claiming that his shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Eat More Kale" infringes on their trademark phrase. The guy, who's name is Bo, started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to create a documentary as he fights back. Happily, he reached his goal! I'll be interested to see where this goes.

Donald Trump tried to trade mark "You're Fired" and Paris Hilton did the same with "That's Hot". They're such short, common, simple strings of words, that the idea is just ridiculous. After reading up on copyrighting and trademarking it really doesn't seem like they qualify for such things.

Even useful, hyper simplified charts don't cover all possible scenarios.

photo courtesy of erik j heels

Copyright and trademark definitions, and what is determined legal and illegal, contains (sometimes intentionally) ambiguous wording. Is it possible that the time has come to update the rules? The internet has changed the way we consume music, movies and TV for better or for worse. I know so few people who still pay for cable TV; the majority of my circle of friends use services such at Netflix or Hulu for their TV needs. The ease of access to information and subsequent ease of distribution really is screaming for a reworking of the system.

The laws of simpler days no longer fit into today's living standards, especially the way we access information. It would be nice if companies didn't want to be trademark and copyright bullies, that they could realize a small business selling a handful of t-shirts is no actual threat to their Fortune 500 company. At least Bo spelled all of his words correctly.

Do you know of someone who is dealing with trademark/copyright bullying? Trademark Bully wants to know. And, only loosely related, but this?! seriously?! The Belgian copyright society wants royalties paid to them for the volunteers that read books aloud to children. *rageface*

-MJ

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Sunday Photo Spot 10 - Pixelated furniture.

::: Make a model of someone's head with space inside to store things. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

courtesy of boing boing

::: A better solution to not staining your fingers with nicotine? Stop smoking. Maybe. I'm no scientist.

courtesy of boing boing

::: The best type of furniture. 

courtesy of boing boing

::: Fun comparisons between original NES titles and their more colorful remakes.

courtesy of dueling analogs

::: Compiled ghost-like images of people moving while sleeping.

courtesy of wired

::: How to make your own piranha plant pipe ottoman!

courtesy of lounge geeks

::: Awesome rapid bowshots.

What fun photos did you find this week?

-MJ

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Saturday Link Spectacular 10 - Gandalf protects the little guys.

::: A collection of cosplay photos from WonderCon.

::: Now the Amazon rainforest is accessible to all of us! Thank you Google street view!

::: Skyrim MMO may be a real thing; could be announced at E3.

::: Plug your power strip into itself and never run out of electricity again. Oh internet, don't ever change.

::: Gandalf thinks that petty lawsuits are petty.

::: Watch jump ropers from the view of the rope; really fun video.

::: The Space Needle is sporting a new adornment to commemorate the newest Angry Birds game.

::: Now you, too, can always find Waldo.

::: After all the outrage from fans, Bioware is actually working on new ending content for Mass Effect 3.

::: Starting April 2nd, GameStop will no longer be taking Gamecube related trade ins. End of an era, right there.

::: A great article on Katniss Everdeen as a powerful role model for young women, as well as a potential change in the way female leads can be portrayed on the big screen.

::: Louis CK's $5 self distribution success has sparked movement in other comedians.

Found lots of good stuff this week!

-MJ

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A Bit of Geek TV - episode 4

TWO different pictures of my face on this page. How ecstatic are you?

watch it watch it watch it! :D

-MJ

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