chomiji | Entries tagged with geeky

http://www.unboundworlds.com/cage-match-2018/cage-match-2018-round-1-murderbot-vs-the-unicorn/

Current Mood: excited

So usually I have enjoyed Ren Fairs in a low-key sort of way. They're like cons, albeit not quite as good: the ratio of geeks to mundanes is not as favorable. Today I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival with the Mr., and it just didn't work for me.

The weather was pretty good, although Saturday's soaking rain meant that the ground was still fairly (ha!) muddy. And the amount of smoking seems to have gone down (I get painful sinus headaches when I get a good snort of tobacco smoke).

But I didn't feel inclined to watch any of the performances, I was uninspired by most of the handicrafts (I think I've become spoiled by works like those from Global Odyssey Design), and the food was mostly cho-hostile.

I do let myself go a bit at events like a Ren Fair, in term of eating carbs. My type II diabetes is under good enough control to allow me to do thing like share a Fryed Peasant Bread (OMT) or an apple dumpling with ice cream. But I swear that in past years, the offerings have included at least a couple of vegetable things that I could use to cut the carb + fat that makes up the typical Ren Fair culinary offering (proteins are easy - I ate steamed spiced shrimp, but I could have also had a turkey leg or Steak on a Stake). I think the moment that I lost all my reasons for being in the Towne of Revel Grove was after waiting in a longish line in the sun for Thai Fried Green Beans with Curry Peanut Sauce, only to discover that the poor little things were not only fried, but also breaded.

:-(

Maybe a larger group of friends would have helped. But the Mr. didn't seem all that inspired either. He's usually an enthusiastic patron of handicrafts, but the only thing we bought between the two of us (aside from consumables) wa a single paperback book.

Current Mood: blah

Possibly twice, as I read later. But here's the initial touchdown:

"Philae landing: touchdown highlights" (Watch on YouTube)

I want to know who the woman with the specs and long dark hair is (with the core team). She looks so wonderfully fem-geekish.

Current Mood: curious
Crossposts: http://chomiji.livejournal.com/524852.html

Please read the Readercon convention committee's statement on recent events.

Link, repost, retweet, signal-boost, however you share information on the internet. Thank you.

Summary: Harasser banned for life, apologies made to victims, Readercon board members resign (all of them), and Readercon now establishing much more detailed guidelines etc. for con behavior.

See first @ sovay but it's already making its way across the Intarwebs.

Current Mood: pleased
Crossposts: http://chomiji.livejournal.com/390407.html

It's been a bad couple of weeks to be a geek woman, what with the Readercon Creeper (see linkspam) and before that hit, the CNN article about how good-looking young women in skimpy costumes aren't really geeks (see Scalzi's blog, which has a link to the original piece).

Among the comments on the Scalzi "Who Gets to Be a Geek" piece was something that crystalized for me some uneasy feelings I'd been having myself about the recent co-evolution of geekdom in general and the women who are part of it. One commenter stated:

Speaking personally: I used to think that geek culture was one of the few places that I, as a non-femme fat chick, would find acceptance. It was exciting to know that I didn’t have to look like a bikini model in order to make friends and potentially find partners. Unfortunately, now that there really ARE bikini models running around in my spaces, I’m feeling more and more marginalized. My one refuge from my culture’s violent reinforcement of body standards is evaporating, and it’s upsetting.

I don't want to feel as this commenter does. But in my heart, I sometimes feel that way, even though I know it's wrong.

( Cut for long navel-gazing stuffs ... definitely at the Teal Deer level )