Exit Pursued By a Bear

I have a rule about watching reality television shows; they need to educate me on something. For example, I watch Chopped and Top Chef, but I don’t watch Big Brother or shows following celebrities. The Osbourne’s were the only exception to that rule, but that was because it was unintentionally the best say no to drugs campaign ever done.

When I first began this blog, it was about my move from Los Angeles to Seattle. It was a way to both document and reflect on all the changes go on in my life at the time. After I settled in, it then became about the process of going back to school to get my Master’s degree in Photography. It became less like a blog where you could learn something from my trials and errors and more about just me.

Thus, I’ve decided to no longer update this blog. I am still on all the social media sites and you can find me there. I’ll keep this active so that there is an archive. I find it interesting when someone stumbles upon an old post. Usually, it is my plan for conquering Greenland which I still stand by. 

There is another place you can find me writing. I started a new website/blog with a singular purpose. It made more sense to start from scratch that it did to revamp this one. 

My new blog is “The Questing Geek.” The name is a deviation of the “questing beast” which is from the time of King Arthur. It is a creature that has a snake’s head a top a leopard’s body with legs of a lion and the feet of a hart. This is comparable to how most geeks enjoy multiple fandoms or types of geekdom. For example, the Superwholock consists of equal parts Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. This blog supports both kinds of hobbies; geeky and nerdy. The posts will be much like the beast as a mix of all kinds of different posts about all kinds of different things.

I realized that there is a gap in the non-fiction world that I had the right knowledge and skills to fill. There are plenty of books on how to organize your life and there are even some geared toward geeks/nerds. Yet, there are no books on how to organize your geek life. Examples: how to decide what books to read, how to organize your collections, how to connect with others in your favorite fandoms, and how to be a better geek.

The ultimate goal is to publish something more detailed through a publisher or as an eBook. Either way, a website will be a place to find people who might interested in reading about these topics. 

If these topics interest you, please come check out the blog. You can then follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media places. Believe it or not, publishers and marketing people look at how many followers you have. It becomes a factor in publishing your work. Clicking “Like” on a blog post or website will help an artist out. No credit card required and you don’t have to go anywhere to do it.

I appreciate you reading this far and to those who have been coming to this blog since I started it back in 2008. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you around the internet!

What being a Fangirl means to me

I believe that everyone, male or female, has an internal fangirl muppet that lives in their brain. When a person comes into contact with something (picture, quote, artwork, song, movie, TV show, etc) that inspires them, their internal fangirl muppet goes off in their head (See above gif for illustration). Sometimes, it is subtle and you can just see it in their eyes or on the giant smile on their face. Sometimes, it is external and leads to an inability to seem calm. This can manifest in a variety of ways (screaming, crying, babbling, rapid limb movement, making purchases). In the best times, it leads to expressing those emotions into artwork (pictures, writings, art, music, videos, movies, etc). When that happens and they put it out into the world, it can trigger someone else's inner fangirl muppet to freak out. It is an endless loop of people being excited about things and getting other people excited about things.

But according to Dictionary.com, the definition of Fangirl/Fanboy is:

noun Informal: Often Disparaging.

an obsessive female/male fan, especially of something technological or from popular culture

I have no issue with the definition. It is the "Often Disparaging" part that confuses me. Why is being a fan of something a negative thing? I think it is because when we think of being a fangirl we think of this:

Beatles fans being unable to "even"

But again, these ladies are having a great time enjoying something that makes them happy. They aren't hurting anyone. They aren't having gang wars against Rolling Stone fans. But it is written off by the media as examples of hysterical women being hysterical in public again. There is no wrong way to express your love of something (except committing crimes, of course). If someone wants to show their intensity for something by simply wearing a t-shirt or by extremely painting a mural on the side of a building, neither is a bad thing. It all comes from a place of inspiration.

Even though, the word fangirl is gender specific and Kermit the Frog is a male, I still picture the words and images intertwined which is why I say everyone has a fangirl muppet no matter what gender they are. Freaking out over something that is awesome should not be determined or described by your reproductive organs. 

This is what being a Fangirl means to me.

My Proust Questionnaire

When the French writer, Marcel Proust, was a teenager at the end of the 19th century, he answered a bunch of questions about his thoughts and feelings from what would be the modern equivalent of a Cosmo magazine. He ended up becoming famous which made the questionnaire famous and often referred to as the "Proust Questionnaire," even though he didn't really invent it. Learn more about it HERE including his answers. It was an inspiration to those who interview people.

I decided to give my responses because why not. It was actually a good exercise as it forced me to actually stop and think about my answers.

• Your favorite virtue: Enthusiasm
• Your favorite qualities in a man: Chivalry
• Your favorite qualities in a woman: Chivalry
• Your chief characteristic: Enthusiasm (often confused as geekiness)
• What you appreciate the most in friends: Their caring nature
• Your main fault: Self doubt

• Your favorite occupation: Enjoying any form of entertainment
• Your idea of happiness: A roaring fire, good company and good conversation/good book
• Your idea of misery: A dance club
• If not yourself, who would you be? Someone else

• Where would you like to live? Paris, Auckland, London, Edinburgh
• Your favorite color: Blue
• Your favorite flower: Daisies & traditional red roses
• Your favorite bird: Penguin

• Your favorite prose authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Homer, Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath
• Your favorite poets: Rives, William Shakespeare, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss
• Your favorite heroes in fiction: Malcolm Reynolds, Jon Snow, Harry Dresden
• Your favorite heroines in fiction: Cassandra, Anne Elliot, Ellen Ripley
• Your favorite painters: Jack Vettrano, Rene Magritte, Brent Lynch
• Your favorite composer: George Gershwin with Cole Porter in a close second

• Your favorite heroes in real life: Police Officers, Firefighters and Soldiers
• Your favorite heroines in real life: Police Officers, Firefighters and Soldiers
• What characters in history do you most dislike: Thomas Edison
• Your heroes in world history: Elizabeth I, Harry Houdini, Nikolai Tesla

• Your favorite names: Millicent, Oliver, Henry, Joshua
• What you hate the most: Dishonor and disrespect

• World history characters you hate the most: Thomas Edison
• The military event you admire the most: Spanish Armada vs England
• The reform you admire the most: Women’s Voting Rights

• The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with: Language – the ability to pick up new ones and use the ones I know to the best ability
• How you wish to die: Quickly and with the least hurt to those I love
• What is your present state of mind: Uninspired
• For what fault do you have the most toleration: Addiction
• Your favorite motto: It is actually a quote “Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those that could not hear the music.”

Sliding Scale of Book to Movie Adaptations

There are quite a few factors when grading a book to movie adaptation. This is how I categorize them when putting them in context to other people (readers or non-readers of the book)

Here is my scale:

Category A: 

• Adaptation is in the 90-100% accuracy range, fans of the book are happy, can be watched whether you have read the book or not, could inspire people who liked the movie to read more of the author as well as the book
• Examples in this category: 
• A&E/BBC's Pride and Prejudice
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (American)
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Godfather
• Atonement
• Shutter Island
• Persuasion

Category B:

• Adaptation is in the 75-89% accuracy range, fans are reasonably happy, but argue about choices, stands well on its own for non-readers, fans of the film would consider reading the book
•  Examples in this category:
• Perks of Being A Wall Flower
• Ender's Game
• Fight Club
• Lord of the Rings (All 3 books)
• Time Traveler's Wife
• Gone With the Wind
• Stardust
• Sense and Sensibility
• Rebecca

Category C:

• Adaptation is in the 55-74% accuracy range, fans of the book are split 50/50 with their love of the movie, non-readers like if not love the movie version despite that, there is no guarantee anyone who watches the movie will ever read the book
• Examples in this category:
• The Shining
• The Great Gatsby
• Bridget Jones Diary
• The Hobbit (All parts)

Category D:

• Adaptation is in the 40-54% accuracy range, fans of the book tend to dislike the movie with few exceptions, non-readers don't necessarily get everything that is going on, but the movie is good enough to enjoy, non-readers won't want to pick up the book at all
•  Examples in this category:
• Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
• Water for Elephants
• Eat, Pray, Love
• Hunger Games/Catching Fire
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Category E: [Difference between Category E & F is non-reader's reaction]

• Adaption is in the 1-39% accurate range, fans of the book are down right angry about it, non-readers rather enjoy the movie as it can stand on its own, non-readers want to read the book, but end up either not liking it or just as angry as the fans with the adaptions levels
•  Examples in this category:
• World War Z
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Dexter (TV series)
• V for Vendetta

Category F: [Difference between Category E & F is non-reader's reaction]

• Adaption is in the 1-39% accurate range, fans of the book are down right angry about it, non-readers don't like the movie because it is either poorly made or too confusing to follow, non-readers don't even know or care there was a book
• Examples in this category:
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
• Watchmen

My examples are ones off the top of my head for each category and is meant to illustrate my criteria.

Under the Influence

Chuck Palahniuk posted this great article from Litreactor called "Cataloging Your Influences" by Christopher Shultz.  It talks about an idea from another article posted on BookRiot “A Is For Achebe: Who Makes Your Author Alphabet” by Minh Le.

The basic idea is to use the alphabet to make a list of your influences. Why? Well, Shultz explains, "...whenever someone asks me who I read, or who my influences are, I can now simply recall the Alphabet and rattle off names like a champ, without stammering or pausing or generally appearing dense." This is very helpful when you are working on a Masters degree and in every class you are asked questions like that. But, I found it was interesting to just really sit and think about those influences. This was meant for writers, but I think it works for just about any kind of artist. As a photographer, I take my influences from movies, television, books, photos, paintings and life. Therefore, this list is pretty eclectic.

The rules are pretty loose so the letter could be first or last name.

Here is my list: [Links lead to more details or videos. It is kind of a mixed bag of delights]

• A - Alan Alda
• B - Bob Newhart 
• C - Chuck Palahniuk
• D - David Fincher
• E - Elliott Erwitt
• F - Martin Firrell
• G - James Gunn
• H - Jim Henson
• I - Irving Penn
• J - Jane Austen
• K - Kenneth Branagh
• L - Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz aka Jon Stewart
• M - Mel Brooks
• N - Neil Gaiman
• O - Orson Welles
• P - Philippe Halsman
• Q - Quentin Tarantino
• R - Henry Rollins
• S - Rod Serling
• T - Mark Twain
• U - The Under-stated Henri Cartier-Bresson
• V - Jack Vettriano
• W - William Shakespeare
• X - Groucho Marx
• Y - Yes, I am cheating and putting Nathan Fillion here
• Z - Ze Amazing Harry Houdini

Okay, I had to cheat a little with U, X, Y and Z because I wanted those people in and I couldn't fit them anywhere else without losing the others. Plus, trying to put people in just to fit those letters felt wrong.

Some of these may need a bit more discussion as to how they have influenced me. I have a plan to write more about them; specifically, James Gunn and Nathan Fillion. Their influence on me has been profound to say the least.

I thought that this might serve as a good Thanksgiving day post because I am thankful for all of the above on this list and the many benefits they have given me over the years.

The End of Your Life Book Club (Updated)

This year, I read a book called, “The End of Your Life Book Club” by Will Schwalbe. It is about how he dealt with his mother being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They used books as a means to communicate about things that were hard to talk about and gave them something to discuss that wasn’t all medicine. It is a well written book and I highly recommend checking it out.

In the book, he talks about how different books have different effects on you. Some can be life altering, some can inspire, some can change your perspective, etc. You are what you read, so to speak. Therefore, if someone wanted to connect with you on some level, they could read the books that affected you. Of course, no two people read the same book the same way, but it would at least open a dialogue. In the book, he says that he wants to get the list of his mom’s books so that after she is gone, her grandchildren will one day have a means to connect with her by reading what she read.

I love this idea. I now wish that I had thought to get lists from my grandparents before they passed. I kind of want a reading list passed out at all wakes/funerals of the books that made up those people.

I thought I would start with my list of books and then ask people for theirs. It isn’t about how awesome the book is or how well written. It is about how you connected with the book. Books that touched your soul as much as your head and heart.

There were a few books that I kicked around in my brain as to whether or not include. Below are the books that have made me the person that I am up to this point (in no particular order other than how they popped into my brain when I decided to put a list together):

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
2. MacBeth by William Shakespeare
3. The Catbird Seat by James Thurber (Short Story)
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5. World War Z by Max Brooks
6. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
7. The Secret Life of Houdini: America’s First Superhero by William Kalush & Larry Sloman
8. Good Omens by Terry Prachett/Neil Gaiman
9. By His Bootstraps – Robert Heinlein (Short Story)
10. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas [Updated as of August 2014]

These are books that I connected with in a meaningful way. Some inspired me, some amused me, but all of them caused me to think about things in new ways. Most of them contain a supernatural/science fiction theme, but that is only because they contain ideas that are easier to digest in a non-realistic context.

The point isn’t that I think they are the greatest books ever, but that it triggered me to think about things. For example, MacBeth is all about free will versus destiny and the extreme ways one can embrace that decision. Is it the best Shakespeare play? No, probably not. Is it my favorite? Absolutely. Hamlet was a whiner baby. Another thing to know about this particular book is that when I can’t sleep I find comfort in reciting lines from it. It always helps calm my mind down enough to get through a bout of insomnia. A lot easier to be thinking about Scottish monarchs and witchcraft than what I am going to do about bills that are due.

This is my book list and I would be happy to discuss any of them with you, but more importantly, what would be on your list? I would really like to know.