Tag Archives: Barbara

Guest Post~ Second Hand Nerd

21 Apr

Barbara is back with another post about raising nerdy kids, though she leaves out that Grandpa Alan raised her the same way, with books and science and stories available on TV & films. Different generations.

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I am a second hand nerd.

I deliberately exposed my two kids (now adults) to comic books, science fiction on TV and in the movies as well as at the library, conventions (comic book and/or sci-fi) , made them super-hero capes and sometimes even discussed what would have happened if Leia and Luke weren’t brother and sister (eww, gross Mom) or if Leia had been the one trained by Obi Wan Kenobi.

At the time I thought I was keeping them entertained. I certainly did not expect it to effect the rest of their lives. I assumed they would outgrow their super heroes and Star Wars action figures.

They didn’t.

They play Pokemon. They’re sort of competitive and sort of cooperative. They have fun going on ”raids” or whatever they’re called. (Mind you they are grown adults with jobs.) They go to action movies and drag/take me along. Sunday of opening week. And my daughter, the proud keeper of this blog, takes me to cons where I get kissed by TV villains.

And then there are their T-shirts. Many of which I bought them. I need say no more as anyone who reads this blog has a closet full, too.

To top it all off they’re nice people. They work hard and take care of homes and pets and breakable mothers and are polite, up to date on the state of the world, altogether “normal”. Except that they still go to cons, collect comics (not so much since the flurry of re-boots.), actively discuss tv shows, upcoming DC and Marvel films and Pokemon daily. And they include me. I’m actually supposed to have an opinion. It’s wrong, of course, but they do listen to it first.

And I enjoy it. I protest , as a responsible adult should, that collecting bobble heads, spending Saturdays hunting made up monsters/creatures and passionately debating the characterization of Shazam vs. whoever is not worthy of them. Again, I’m wrong. I led them up this path and it gives them pleasure. They adult perfectly well so why not?

As for their including me, thank you. Our relationship has changed from parent to friend and I am so lucky.

Guest Post!!~ Attending Conventions as a Senior

18 Dec

Barbara is back to share her thoughts on attending conventions at a certain age…

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When I was younger (much) I took my kids to Star Trek Conventions… little ones in neighboring towns and big ones in LA. The three of us were on our own a lot and cons were a cheap way of spending the day together, having fun mostly looking. Turns out both kids were incipient nerds and enjoyed themselves very much. He got into comic books and she got into fandom.

Now I am considerably older; with the attendant aches and pains and she takes me to the cons. Continue reading

Heroes and Villains invaded San Jose for another year of adventuring!

10 Dec

For our 3rd year, we ventured over the hill from the Central Valley to hang out with some heroes and villains, and zombies too!, in San Jose. This was sort of a last minute venture due to availability issues with minions, but in the end we made plans and set out to see what there was to see.

As I write up the event and my thoughts, I am starting to think there should be classes on convention etiquette because there were several moments that were frustrating. However, there were also a lot of really good things. Did it balance out? I’m not sure… let’s talk about some of the highlights and issues and see. Continue reading

LA Comic Con, oh how I’ve missed you! (or have I?)

12 Nov

After missing out on last year’s convention because my assistant decided getting paid for actual work instead of doing free convention wanderings was a better deal… well, I made a return to my convention fun. With a new assistant. Who ended up having more delightful shenanigans than I, but more on that later. Continue reading

Guest Post~ How to raise Nerds!

29 Aug

Recent guest poster, and regular NerdLush BTS researcher/archivist, Barbara is back to share her thoughts on raising nerds. And speaking as one of the nerds she raised… she knows what she is talking about.

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I raised nerds. I’m not quite sure how I did it but I am quite happy with the result. Continue reading

Guest post- Shark Movies, OMG!

25 Aug

One of NerdLush’s behind the scenes resources is stepping out of the shadows to share some thoughts… say hello to Barbara!

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Shark movies…

OMG

They can be so awful. But you just gotta love them. Continue reading

Cinema Therapy, class is in session

29 May

So I can’t decide if this will be a semi-regular post series or just a one off but I wanted to talk about a tool I use in my work. As most followers of this site know, I work in mental health. What you may not be aware of is that I work with incarcerated men. A very interesting, and notoriously difficult, population.

Once I realized how my nerdy interest in super heroes could help me in my work with adolescent boys, I figured that it was worth a try to get a buy-in from the adults. And it worked. So I gained a bit of a rep and I’m the one the guys run up to when they want to talk comics or movies or what have you. Not only do I work with individuals but I also run therapeutic groups- more like psychoeducation groups but still, we have some awesome discussions. When I was finally at a point where I could create my own groups I decided to run “Cinema Therapy” groups. Continue reading

Justice League was… better than I thought.

8 Jan

This post may seem a little out of date, but I wanted to share my thoughts anyways…

I have seen a lot of comments the last month or so about Justice League being a failure. But I want to state otherwise. Sure, Warner Brothers and DC aren’t likely to have made their money back and may not make as much as they hoped by the time it leaves theaters but… here’s the thing- I have enjoyed only one DC film since Dark Knight Rises and that was Wonder Woman. Sure, I saw Man of SteelBatman versus Superman, and even Suicide Squad in the theater but they were crap movies and they pissed me off more than anything. Wonder Woman finally made me interested in DC films again and then the trailers for Justice League cemented that I was going to see this one in the theater (it was touch and go after Suicide Squad, honestly).

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A Not-A-Review Review of Wonder Woman

6 Jun

This is not a review. I have to start out with that because I am not a film critic, at least no more than the next Average Joe, nor am I qualified to review a film by talking about the elements that were done to create it. What this is is a collection of the thoughts I had while watching Wonder Woman and afterwards. The simplest way to describe my reaction is this- I loved it. Stop now if you haven’t seen the film as I cannot be held responsible for any spoilers found herein.

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The Night the Circus Came to Town

12 Feb

Last night, we had the opportunity to attend the opening night of the US tour of Circus 1903. It was an amazing spectacle to behold.

circus-1903-poster Continue reading

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