Resistance is futile

So, I love to take surveys. At the movie theater this weekend, I was bummed the Nielsen lady didn't ask me if I wanted to do a survey. One of my favorite survey questions is, basically: Do you often tell people about the things you like? The answer is ALL MY YES. I'm big on evangelizing. When I like something, I love it and I love to tell people about it. ALL about it. So here are the things I proselytize about these days.  (By the by, my posts won't all be written in this format. I'm just feeling list-y.)
 
1. World of Joss Whedon. When someone asks "Who's Joss Whedon?" my heart dies a little. And then I say: "Uh, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? 'Angel'? 'Firefly'? 'Dollhouse'? 'Dr. Horrible'? 'Serenity'? 'Avengers'? Where I get a much of my lexicon?" "Bitka" -- from a throwaway joke in a Buffy ep -- is still a word my sisters and I use frequently instead of the b-word. Anyway,  Joss = great filmmaker/writer/hell, even songwriter. He was doing vampires before vampires were cool, my "Twilight" friends (Angel & Buffy > Edward & Bella). So go watch "Buffy." You won't be sorry. You will, however, laugh, cry and gasp. 

Happy sighs.
(Credit: Amazon)

2. "North & South." See my previous post about Richard Armitage. My sister tried to convert me on this period drama a few years ago and I didn't listen. But, boy, she was right. In a nutshell: It's "Pride & Prejudice" -- with cotton! And the hero, Mr. Thornton (a.k.a. my all-caps BOYFRIEND), is quite possibly better than Mr. Darcy from P&P. Yeah. You read that right. And I've had a Mr. Darcy complex since like 9th grade... Sa-woooooooon.

Age becomes them:
West, left; and Sawa
(Credits: CW, Zap2It)

3. "Nikita." My flavor-of-the-month conversion. I pick a show every summer to catch up on and this year it's "Nikita." And I'll be honest: It's not my fave spy show ever. That'd be the first 5 seasons of "Spooks," better known as "MI-5" on this side of the pond; go watch it.  And "Nikita" is not perfect: There are plot contrivances aplenty (of *course* Nikita somehow escapes the thick metal handcuffs in the nick of time) and the first season is a very slow burn. But stick with it and second season is a blast. It's "Alias" -- another cool spy show -- minus that show's silly Nostradamus-like mythology. Plus, Shane West is easy on the eyes, so you forget the plot holes  ... and possibly the plot entirely. And as a recurring bonus: Devon Sawa, another former young actor who, like West, has grown up.

I heart this book. So. Much.
(Credit: Amazon)

4. Young adult literature. I'm a late convert myself thanks to The Hunger Games. When I was young, I stuck to Nancy Drew Casefiles, BSC, Sweet Valley and Sunfire/Sweet Dreams teen romances. But the YA books today are original, smart, funny and touching, and I just keep finding more to love. To start your reading list: "The Truth About Forever," "Jellicoe Road," "Sweethearts," "The Fault in Our Stars." That's in order from lightest to heaviest, btw. TFiOS will destroy you.

5. "Doctor Who." I'll admit I'm only a contemporary fan (I haven't seen the original show). But this reboot -- particularly seasons 2 through 5, the David Tennant years -- is, to use a word from the S1 Doctor, fantastic. Now my usual caveat for it: You have to wade through a few episodes of the first season before you see it as more than a kids' show, which is basically who it's geared toward. After the creepy two-parter of eps 9 and 10, though, you'll be in it for the long haul.

Okay, that's it. Get out there and become true believers. If you try any of these, lemme know what you think. Also, what do you guys try to convert people to? I need some new obsessions...

Let's geek it out!

Welcome to Geeky Town! (Credit: Me)

So since I'm starting a blog (we'll see how long it lasts), I thought this topic would be as good as any. I mean, we might as well get my geeky-ness out of the way.

Next month is Comic-Con in San Diego -- when geeks make the annual pilgrimage to sunny California to worship superheroes, movies/TV/video games and cool graphic T-shirts. I've gone the last three years and I'm about 60% sure this is my last time. It's expensive, it's crowded, it's overwhelming.

But it's very, very fun. Half the fun is going, of course. The other half is planning for it. I love working out schedules and alternative schedules and alternative schedules to the alternative schedules.

Anyway, at Comic-Con, it's not about what you can see, because you won't see everything. That's just a given. It's about what you can live without seeing. So you prioritize; you set your must-sees and plan around those. A "Game of Thrones" panel the same afternoon as a Joss Whedon panel? Choose which to wait in line for all day, because you for damn sure won't see both.  

My priorities for this year:

Back off, girls.
(Credit: Project magazine July 2011)

1. Richard Armitage, otherwise known as my raison d'etre for going this year. Chances are, you don't know this man, but you should. He's in "The Hobbit," which I couldn't care less about (sorry, LOTR fans), but he's my favorite actor. If you haven't seen the BBC's (not ABC's) "North & South," go do it now. I'll wait. ....

Back? Okay. See? He's hot, right? Anyway, he's a TV star on the other side of the pond, but boyfriend is about to go global. Because, really, Look. At. Him. A "Hobbit" panel hasn't been confirmed, so if he's not there, I'm gonna cry. And if he is there, I'm gonna be a nervous Nelly until I'm in a seat in Hall H and he's on stage. Then I'll be able to breathe easy. And swoon.

2. Richard Armitage. I am so excited that he's listed twice.

3. Nathan Fillion. Apparently there may be a 10th anniversary panel for "Firefly." Huzzah! I saw Nathan Fillion at a panel in 2010, but he wasn't the main focus of it. And he was supposed to be at a Nerd HQ (see No. 4) panel last year with other "Firefly" cast mates, but had to pull out, so I missed him. So I really want to go to this one if there is one! But only if it doesn't conflict with priorities 1 & 2.

I was thisclose to him! (Credit: Me)

4. Nerd HQ and, therefore, Zachary Levi. Levi is a priority of mine every year it seems. Tall, dark and dorky, right? He's my nerd boyfriend. The off-site Nerd HQ panels are great because they're small, they include an autograph session (or did last year), and they're for charity. Also, during one panel I was seated close enough to Levi that I could see his phone background -- which looked a little like the little Nerd Herd icon from his now-defunct show "Chuck."

5. Walking Dead Escape. An obstacle course through Petco Park, where zombies -- er, "walkers" -- chase you. C'mon, how many times in your life can you say you were literally chased by zombies? (Okay, the "literally" there refers to the chased part; no actual zombies are taking part.) I'm a slightly-more-than-casual fan of the show, but I really love interactive show experiences. (If you're in Cardiff, Wales, check out the Doctor Who Experience -- in which you get to fly the TARDIS.)

So that's it. We'll see if all my Comic-Con dreams come true next month. No. 5 will, at least, since we have tickets. Now, let's all cross fingers for 1 & 2, okay?