Doctor Who - The Bells of St. John Reactions and Review

SPOILERS, SWEETIE! This post contains spoilers for Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 7 "The Bells of St. John." If you haven't seen it, don't read!

Not having cable sucks sometimes, y'all. I've grown accustomed to watching things on Hulu, though, so you get used to it. I'm home this weekend at my family's house in Flatwoods for the Easter holiday and while they have cable, they have not subscribed to BBC America. I think my mom would love it, honestly. She watches Copper and Ripper Street on On Demand, but it's been terribly unreliable as of late. I think they should just bite the bullet and add BBC America to their package.

TriCon returns to Huntington in one week!

And the KGG con-voy keeps on rolling! Next stop... Tri-State Comic-Con in beautiful Huntington, West Virginia!

After a successful start in 2012, Tri-State Comic-Con returns to Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metro with force! Moving from the summer to early spring, TriCon will be held on April 6 from 10 AM to 6 PM at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. One of the coolest things about this convention for me personally is that it's in my own back yard. Being from near Ashland, in the tiny hamlet of Flatwoods, KY, I think it's absolutely spectacular that my hometown now has a convention of its very own. Makes me proud!

The 'Renaissance Festival' is Freaking Awesome

I came across a parody of Macklemore's Thrift Shop a few days ago. With the addictive beat of the original song, "Renaissance Festival" by Julia Bemi aptly describes the experience of the Ren Faire. I used to go every year with my high school's drama club and it was the best experience even on "school day." Filmed at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival of Tampa, Florida, the video brings together many of the typical things that one would see when they go to the fest, including period costumes, turkey legs as big as your head, mud pits, and jousting.

Trailer Tuesday: Jurassic Park 3D + Free Pass

20 years ago, a film was released which would have an enormous impact, and not just from the T-Rex's size 500 sneakers. Jurassic Park, based on a book by Michael Crichton and directed by Steve Spielberg, changed the face of film-making with its use of animatronics and special effects. Still in its infancy, this technology would be a catalyst in the motion picture industry. Not to mention, would affect a generation of movie-goers.

I first saw Jurassic Park when it was broadcast for the first time on network television. If I recall correctly, NBC was granted the rights to show it. At roughly seven years old (the film came out when I was six), I was captivated with the movie. I remember watching as the raptors chased Laura Dern, as Samuel L. Jackson's character advised everyone to hold onto their butts. What I recall most vividly, however, is the T-Rex chowing down on the lawyer who had holed himself inside an outhouse. That scene has been burned in my consciousness, so much so that it inspired one of my most vivid nightmares of childhood.

ReCONnaissance: CincyCon Recap

CincyCon is a three-day gaming convention held this year at the Atrium Hotel and Conference Center in the Tri-County Mall area. 2013 was the fourth year for the convention, which boasted numbers of over 500 in 2012. As my first Cincinnati convention, I was very excited to get my game on. Looking at the schedule, I did note that it seemed like cool things were happening at the same time, so I had to be judicious with my registration for events. The check-in process was smooth and the event ticket I had selected was ready for me.

When I walked into the vendor hall/dealer room, I was immediately overwhelmed with testosterone. I mean, really, it hit me like the stare of a beholder. In fact, that may have been more favorable. At the point that I walked in, you could count the number of women on one hand. The vendors were overwhelmingly male as well, with the exception of a jewelry maker, but she wasn’t actually at her table at that point. (More after the break.)

'Bells of St. John' Prequel Hits the Web

With only one week to go until the premiere of Season 7.2, Doctor Who fans were treated to a prequel video, written by none other than Steven Moffat. In the video, the Doctor is "despondent" as he has searched all over for Clara Oswin Oswald, the mysterious woman with whom he's now had two encounters, first in Asylum of the Daleks and most recently in The Snowmen, the Christmas Special 2012. She's mysterious, she's alluring, she's clever, and seems like she will make a great companion, once he finds her at least. Video after the break.

LCTC 2013: Even Better The Second Time Around

It took me a few days to gather my thoughts about Lexington Comic & Toy Con 2013. Not only did I want to find the right words to express how I felt about the whole experience, but honestly, I needed a couple of days off from writing. There was such exponential growth from LCTC 2012 to 2013. We saw the space double, but also the number of days of the convention. As a result, nearly 10,000 people were able to experience the con. That’s phenomenal. In no certain order, here are my thoughts about LCTC.

Beware the Ides of March

I think that's still my favorite line in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I mean, "Et tu, Brute?" is pretty great, but I believe it's in the 1970 adaptation that has the best actor playing the Soothsayer. You see, all of the signs were pointing toward Caesar's untimely demise, but ol' JC's head had grown much too big for his laurel crown. The assassination of Julius Caesar is probably one incident in history that will continue to fascinate me. In the end, it took 23 stab wounds to bring Caesar down and Rome still went on to be the greatest power on Earth, well, you know, following a civil war and all.

Having the Roman Senate declare you dictator perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity) has some perks, really.  He did pretty much have Cleopatra in his back pocket until Marc Antony came along. Plus, he probably named a month after himself. We wouldn't have July without him, though Augustus may have made that designation.

And let's face it, Julius Caesar permeates our daily lives. There's a salad dressing named for him and even a method of child delivery, though it's technically named after his son Caesarian. 

So, to commemorate the (roughly) 2,057th anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, I thought I'd put together a few moments in popular culture which feature the toga wearing tyrant.

Papal Pop: The Pontiff in Popular Culture

With today's announcement that the College of Cardinals had successfully chosen a new Pope in the Papal Conclave, I thought I'd probe the depths of the Internet and find some papal moments in popular culture, both good and bad. I've studied a bit about the history of the Christian church, but to be honest, my focus is a bit more modern. And although I'm not Catholic, I'm still pretty intrigued by the new pope Francis I and the process of picking the new leader of the Catholic Church. I find it interesting that this is the third pope of my lifetime. For those born before 1978, it will be your fourth.

I've put together some pop culture moments that feature the Pope, whomever he may be at the time, videos after the break.

Check me out on Episode 94 of Beaucoup Pop!

Through the magic of the Internets, I have made some fantastic friends with the crew from Beaucoup Pop. With literally DAYS to go before Lexington Comic & Toy Con, Justin, Kerry, Tressa, and Matt brought on as many guests as they could to help showcase what everyone would be doing at the con. Besides (at 01:22) me you can hear Ronda Pattinson, Mark Rudolph, and Sara Turner (Cricket Press) in this episode. We talk about what I'm doing at LCTC, including our "Culture of Pop" panel on Saturday at 12 PM! I also divulge my geeky guilty pleasure and share the movie that I'm most looking forward to this summer.

I'll give you a hint:



Thanks to BCP for having me back! I can't wait to hang out with them THIS WEEKEND at #LCTC2013!

Be sure to check out Beaucoup Pop at Table #609!

Less Cumberbatch in Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser

     

That's a sad title to write, to be honest. With the first teaser and trailer (not to mention the nine minute prologue) featuring the decalescent voice of the Sherlock star, I was expecting full-on Cumberbaction. However, this teaser was rather devoid of his character, supposedly named John Harrison. Rather, it focused much more on Kirk and even had some nice Christopher Pike moments. Video after the break.

Epic LCTC Giveaway ... and the winner is!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest for passes to Lexington Comic and Toy Convention. We had a few winners who made video responses to my original post about the contest. The videos were great and I had such a hard time choosing. In the end, I let Random.org decide because all of the videos were just so good.

As I said, there were 4 tickets (2 pairs) up for grabs, one for a Facebook entry and one for a Twitter entry. I would have given everyone a prize if I could, but someone had to win. Here they are:

Around the Web: BBC Sherlock Theme Goes Metal

This weekend, my friend Becky shared the link to an amazing video over on the Twitter, but I wasn't able to watch it until this afternoon. As a now die-hard Sherlockian (I think that's what the fandom is calling itself nowadays) and devoted Cumberfan, I wanted to share it as well. YouTuber 331Erock has taken done metal covers of many favorites, including the James Bond theme. Here, he's adapted the score from Michael Price and David Arnold of the BBC series Sherlock. As a fan of people taking something and turning it into something even more awesome, I totally approve. Bonus video after the jump.

Apparently 331Erock is no stranger to BBC series, having adapted the Doctor Who theme to a metal version last year. It's ... cool.

Top 5 Favorite Recut Movie Trailers

What would a movie be like if it wasn't itself? Does that question even make sense? Anyway, I really like watching the ways that people have recut movies into trailers that are the polar opposite of how the movie was originally intended. I've decided to compile a short list of my favorite such trailers.

EPIC GIVEAWAY: FREE TICKETS TO LEXINGTON COMIC & TOY CON!

It's here! This is your chance to win one of two (2) sets of tickets to Lexington Comic & Toy Con 2013, which will be held March 16 and 17 at the Lexington Convention Center.

Here's how you win:
1.) Make a response video and upload it to YouTube. In it, tell me what you're excited to see at the convention, what you plan to cosplay as, who you're bringing with you. Keep it to around a minute.
2.) Post the link on the Kentucky Geek Girl Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/kygeekgirl
or the Kentucky Geek Girl Twitter page. http://www.twitter.com/GeekGirlinKY
with this Tweet: Win 2 Tix to @lex_con from @geekgirlinky -Youtube link- #KGGatLCTC
3.) Profit

I'll pick one winner who submitted on Twitter and one from Facebook. You must follow me on Twitter so I can DM you. If you're the Facebook winner, I'll send you a message, so be sure to check your Other folder.

Do this by Wednesday March 6. I'll contact the winner as soon as I've watched all of the videos. Winner will be announced March 8. If you don't respond to my message, I will pick someone else.

Remember, upload your video by Wednesday March 6!