100 bits of pop culture that I love -- Whedon Academia

I was reminded of this today when my mom arrived with a newspaper clipping in hand. I saw Joss Whedon's face and assumed it was yet another interview about The Avengers but then I looked closer and noticed it was about a brand new book -- Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion: The TV Series, The Movies, The Comic Books and More (which, of course, I now NEED!)

You might not be aware of this, but I collect Whedon-Academia books. There's a lot of stuff to collect out there about Joss and his works, but the academic books, the scholarly examinations of his works are my very favorites. They present the shows to me in a whole new light and help me think critically about popular culture and media. Here are just a few of my favorite titles (in case you're interested):

Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan - a great introduction for anyone interested in gender studies but unsure of where to start - use your favorite Slayer and the Scoobies to gain an understanding of popular culture, media, gender and how they all interact together. (Click through to GoodReads, there is a Google Preview of the introduction). This book is very well written so even the non-academics among us can enjoy it!

Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- this was actually written by someone who wanted to teach a course on morality. Again, why not examine the subject and the philosophies around morality using the Sunnydale crew as your backdrop. While it can be a bit more academic than other books, it's still very readable.

Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- this book is great, if only because it makes that case the a television show, just like a book or a movie, can be art. It also makes you realize that every single art form that we worship now was once scoffed at.

Seven Seasons of Buffy -- the Smart Pop book that started it all! 7 essays about all things Buffy written by science fiction and fantasy writers who love the show. They cover lots of different topics and issues and you get some different perspectives. Even if you don't agree with their conclusions, it makes you think about the show, characters, and certain episodes in a different way.

Hm...those all ended up being BtVS books. That wasn't my original plan but those are my favorites in my collection. There are plenty more on my shelf and available to purchase. If you're interested in a quick-fix of Whedon Academia, look no further than Slayage. While some of these essays can be on the heavy side, it's a great way to expand your mind.

SRC decorations! Part 2

SRC decorations! Part 2
Originally uploaded by orangerful

Is this not the coolest thing? My friend made it for the library's summer reading decorations.

100 Challenge 2 - Random things about me - #1 Does anyone else do this?

So I was riding in my car today, listening to a book on CD (Hold Me Closer Necromancer) and I found myself...mouthing the words. Does anyone else do this?

I have always done this. I used to listen to the Star Wars Radio Drama on the bus while riding to school and I would put my head down and mouth the words along with the tape, acting out scenes in my head. I had a whole collection of tapes I did this with regularly - the audiobook of The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, a recording of the pilot episode and "E.B.E." of X Files, a similar recording of the audio from the miniseries of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy...and maybe the musical episode of Buffy too, since for awhile I had that recorded from the TV when the thought of them actually putting out a CD seemed laughable.

Im not sure why I do it...its not the same as singing along, Im not making any sounds, though I can feel my face changing to act out the scene so Im in to it...

so yeah any else do random things like that?

(also I just noticed this keyboard for my iPad is lacking in an apostrophe key WTF)

(oh wait, I found out, it's just not int he proper QWERTY location so I keep hitting backspace instead of apostrophe)

(and I'm too lazy to go back and fix things right now...maybe later)

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100 things i love about pop culture - conventions

omg it's only 73 more days until Dragon*Con! So close and yet so far away.

I have to say, conventions are amazing things. I've never been to a work-related convention because the idea just boggles my mind, but fandom related conventions are love.

As a fan of so many cult shows, even major cults like Buffy or Star Wars, it's not easy to know when you can bring up your fandoms and not get a weird look. I wear my geekiness with pride on a daily basis, but the days are few and far between when some one acknowledges their presence (like today, I had a young man ask me if there was a new Star Wars book out because he saw all my pins on my badge...and one of our teen volunteers complimented me on my Greendale Community College lanyard)

Conventions are different. They are gatherings of people who are like me - people who love one (or more) silly things so much and they want to express that love and talk about it with like-minded individuals. It doesn't matter who you are standing in line with, chances are they know at least a few Monty Python lines, will get a LOL CATS reference, and might even be able to sing along with you to a Weird Al song.

It's funny, you'd think that going to a convention would make someone feel less special because instead of being the odd geek out, they are one of many. But it is just not the case because of the wide range of people you meet at these events. I swear, no two people experience the same convention. It doesn't matter if it is D*C or SDCC - there is so much going on.

So, if you've ever said to yourself "I should go to such and such a Con someday" make that someday now. They are just so much fun. They are even more fun with friends but I explored a lot of SDCC and my first PAX totally solo and I had a wonderful time mingling with people from all over. I love the way that pop culture can bring so many people together. <3

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