For my first Fanvid Friday, I went with one of my recent multi-fandom favorites: Starships by bironic. Wait, recent? How is it 7 years old already? (Explicit lyrics)
The wonder, excitement, terror, and fun of space fandoms are so beautifully synced with this upbeat song. And so many of my favorite starships are included.
“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”
“Ha ha ha. Mine is an evil laugh. Now die!”
I love watching tabletop games being played. It’s entertaining, fun, and drama-filled. That’s probably why I enjoy the Tabletop series so much. I enjoy playing them, as well, but not as much as watching. Still, ever since the Firefly board game came out, I’ve wanted to play it. It made an appearance at the DADA meetup group’s annual Game Day event, but there wasn’t time enough to play it then.
So when a friend bought it, we made plans to play one Friday evening. It terrified us a bit. So we abandoned it after about 5 minutes and played a round of Lord of the Rings DVD Trivial Pursuit instead. Then we felt braver and gave the setup a more serious try.
I’d like to say the hardest part trying to figure out the size of the table we’d need to play it. We tried a coffee table then the dining room table then ended up on the floor in front of the television playing an episode of Firefly we had to pause after 10 minutes because we needed all of our brain cells just to set the game up. But, unfortunately, setup and understanding the rules was the hardest part. For two people not used to some of these game matrices (is that even the correct term?). Setting up the game and reading through the instruction book took us hours. Literally. There was one point where I was willing to PAY someone to explain the game to me.
But we finally got there in the end and STARTED the game late into the evening. I was still a little terrified as we began playing, not sure I was doing it right, not sure what move to make. And I definitely made a couple stupid mistakes. I ran an entire mission I didn’t need. Luckily, our crews were pretty evenly matched and it came down to the luck of the draw when we were misbehaving in illegal jobs we were working. I got some good cards and my captain came out victorious with a win.
From start to finish, I want to say it took us around 5 hours to set up and run a game that should have taken 1-2 hours. But I’m confident that next time we attempt it, even if it’s a different story card, we’ll be a lot better. Maybe we’ll even manage a 2-hour game in less than 4 hours!
Because I am not a millionaire by any means, there are few artists out there in the ‘verse whose albums I will buy sight unseen (hearing unheard? That doesn’t make sense…). But the Blibbering Humdingers are one group form whom I will always immediately press that “Buy Now” button.
Again, I’m still new to the album, but my current favorites are definitely “Engines Make Me Hot” (I still love Lauren’s version, but more Kaylee everywhere is NEVER a bad thing), 99 Death Eaters in the original German (so freakin’ clever, man), “Key to Your Hearts” (awwwww; who doesn’t want a TARDIS, seriously?), “Hot Girl in the Comic Shop” (I’m not hot, but sometimes even I get looks at the comic book store… though I’m much more the kind of person who would be having that Hulk vs. Spiderman debate internally and not notice being noticed; so I can relate on both sides LOL), and “Dark Mark in the Sky” (so clever and catchy… and I don’t even like westerns…).
I really appreciate the Humdingers representing my generation through music because it gives me a chance to actually get all the references, even fun older ones. And, not to get all deep or anything, but it’s fun thinking about the significance of the title song (and album name). My parents are certainly not at the level of nerddom that I feel I have achieved, but they did make sure I’d listened to Lord of the Rings on audio before I turned 5 and had seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail at least a dozen times before my 12th birthday. I was allowed to watch very few shows as a child, but was always encouraged to watch every episode of Star Trek (they probably wouldn’t have minded me watching Doctor Who with them either, but I saw a baddie in an episode at an early age and was scared of that show until 2005). But I definitely fangirl harder than my parents do/did. Which makes me wonder about the next generation. Does the pendulum swing back a little or does the fandom appreciation grow even more extreme? I hope for the latter. And, given the examples I’ve seen in my friends’ kids, I hope that’s the case for many of them. I see nothing wrong with raising one’s children with a strong appreciation for the good stuff š Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have kids, though. I can’t even imagine having to sit down and have a frank and honest “special” conversation about Highlander 2.
The year is half over, so I thought it time to evaluate my fanfiction writing progress. I didn’t participate in the annual Harry Potter challenge in May that I’ve done for ten years now, which is sad. But I’m running my own fest in the spring now and it’s been quite pleasant not to have to worry about both at the same time.
One of my favorite memories from Mario Marathon this year was playing Cards Against Humanity with some of the fellow viewers. I won the first game I played and was 7 points above everyone else in the second game before many others eclipsed me and I lost. It was so much fun (the game definitely depends on who you’re playing with, and they were a damn fun bunch).
For those who don’t know, CAH is a game where you have a subject/statement (black card) and you pick the best fill for that using one of the (white) cards in your hand. If played correctly, the game is raunchy and naughty and hilariously wrong and as politically incorrect as possible. People say it’s an adult version of Apples to Apples but I’ve never played Apples to Apples so I have no idea.
Anyway, there were some great moments, like when I was card czar and suggested my anti-drug be a certain Harry Potter fanfiction card and someone wrote it in as one of the blanks. Win! Another time, I was forced to choose between Star Wars and Star Trek… I ended up choosing a different card altogether. Also, there was LOTS of elf ***.
But this was my favorite moment, even though it made me tear up a little… and I’m going to put it behind a cut because CAH can get explicit, though I don’t see anything too “wrong” with this one. The question was: What’s there a ton of in heaven?
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For the month of April, I’m breaking out of my usual “format” and showcasing one of my favorite fandoms a day, so I will have shiny things to make me smile every day of my birthday month. When I sat down to write the list of my top 30 fandoms, I found the task terribly hard. How do I choose just 30? My apologies to all my beloved fandoms left off the list. Iām using random.org to determine what fandom gets what day.
Okay, not really a top ten… just a selection of ten favorites from my button/pin collection (which I keep in an old shortbread tin shaped like a kilt that sits on the pass-through from my kitchen to living room/dining area… which is possibly not where most people keep their collections of buttons/pins, now that I think about it). Note to self: do more top ten lists this way.
Thought I’d try something new. Here’s Fandom Quiz Friday.
Quiz: Which Firefly Character Are You?
Answer: 
Thoughts: Um, yep. I accept that.
I recently went to Seattle for work (okay, as I’m typing this, I’m still in Seattle, stranded because of cancelled flights and a foot of snow back home, but maybe I’ll be home by the time this scheduled post goes live). I didn’t get much time to explore the city, but I did purchase a few fandom items… because that’s just how I roll.
Also, two of these items might be presents for one of my online friends whose username might be abbreviated L.K. So don’t read this if that’s you or you will be spoiled!
