pandazack | Geekscape

Geekscape Movie Reviews: ‘Atomic Blonde’

by pandazackJuly 30, 2017

Let me just start out by saying that this movie is cool. Cool in every aspect. From shot selection, fight choreography to a brilliant 80’s soundtrack sprinkled on top. Hell, even all the iced vodka in this Berlin Wall-era film look super cool and inviting. This film oozes with personality.

I have to admit something to you. I really love action films. So read on if you want to see how much I loved this particular action film.

Even though this movie doesn’t subscribe to one kind of fighting style, it’s very reminiscent of John Wick. You may already know this, but one half of the John Wick directing team was responsible for Atomic Blonde. David Leitch did a fantastic job at capturing some brilliant fights.

A great moment from one of the many great fights in this film.

That said, there were many talking head moments that looked so beautiful. So many of the non-action shots were well composed too. I found myself interested in all the exposition of the film, and have been reliving some of these scenes in my head for days on end. However, I must also mention that while there are some great moments of dialogue, the plot can come off thin.

Quick plot run down for the two of you that don’t already know it. Lorraine (Charlize Theron) is an MI6 agent who is sent on a mission to Berlin 10 days or so before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She is to retrieve a micro film with all of the active agents on it while also uncovering a spy in her ranks. Typical action movie set up, yet I can’t help but feel like the approach is so well done that it keeps the standard plot interesting. Sure there are some great twists, but ultimately many of you just wanna see Charlize kick everyone’s ass and drink vodka, am I right?

Charlize Theron shines in this one. Let’s be real, she is great in like every movie post Aeon Flux. I like to think that she stopped giving a shit after Monster. By that I mean she has sought out projects that interest her. She seems to not care about what the media/industry thinks of her and goes after passion projects. Atomic Blonde has been in the works for many years now. You should check out the graphic novel it is based on. “The Coldest City” was written by Antony Johnston and drawn by Sam Hart. The film diverges from the comic in various ways. It doesn’t matter since the film retains key elements while building on an already interesting concept.

Knowing that adds a whole extra level of greatness to her character in this film. The passion and want to make this movie. It translates into a really compelling character. In the role, Charlize brings little nuances to a character that balances between being a brawler, espionage expert and a top notch lover.

She does all of this way better than Bond, Bourne, Hunt. Or any of those other spy-bitches now that I’m thinking about it.

Charlize is surrounded by an amazing supporting cast. John Goodman, Toby Jones and James McAvoy all kill it in their respective parts. Young Professor X here is basically playing his crooked cop character from Filth. But it doesn’t matter, he seems to be having so much fun in this role.

Percival (McAvoy) wears this expression for most of his screen time. And it’s great.

Sofia Boutella rounds out the cast as the only other female character. Yes she does have a pretty hot sex scene with Charlize. She’s a great actress. However, her character doesn’t do too much at advancing the story besides one moment in a bar. I have to give props to the location management team. There were so many great locations in this film. Berlin felt like the city equivalent of McAvoy’s grimy character. I haven’t seen much art dedicated to the fall of the Wall. This film really drew me in to the event in a very respectful way.

Just walkin around Berlin, looking cool.

In a Summer of great female representation, it’s a shame that more actresses aren’t in this film. That said, this movie is set in the 80’s spy world. I don’t know much about that profession aside from what we see in movies and on TV, yet I have to imagine operatives back then were more male than female.

Easily the most bad ass scene in the film is a fight on and around a stair case in a dilapidated apartment building. It’s a really well stitched together one shot that has so many moments where you see Charlize actually punching and kicking. Try and find the scene stitches. It’s not easy, that is how well this scene is composed. It’s such an intimate and surprising brawl that I like to think people will be talking about it for years to come. Several of the trailers show portions of this scene. However you really need to see this on a big screen so you can appreciate this moment in all it’s glory.

If you like action movies and are ok with a relatively thin plot…you’re going to love this movie. I want to hear what you guys think in the comments below. Let me know what you think of the film or maybe chime in with other great bad ass females in cinema.

Full disclosure, Universal Pictures and Focus Features hosted a pre party at Horton Plaza before the movie. I was given the Atomic Blonde Soundtrack on Cassette, food, drinks and a blonde wig with glasses.

These girls were great. There were a bunch of them.

I decided to cosplay as Lorraine. I pull it off right?

Despite all of the pomp and circumstance of that event, I still would have loved that movie. I have since seen it a second time and enjoyed it all the same. See it in the theaters though. You really need to hear the bad ass sound design and soundtrack.

SDCC 2014: 20th Century Fox Shows Off ‘The Maze Runner’, ‘The Book Of Life’, ‘Agent 47’, And More!

by pandazackJuly 30, 2014

Hey guys, Zack here! I decided to do some writing this Con so I am here to tell you all about the 20th Century Fox Panel. On Friday, Hall H had no line, so I was able to get right in to this particular panel. Which in my oppinion, was a total sleeper hit. All of the movies are ones that we know about already. There wasn’t any lame/headscratching King Kong remakes to be had here. Just kick ass footage. The panel started with an introduction from moderator Ralph Garman.

The Maze Runner

The first clip opens with the booming sound of gears clanking and whirling. The image of a stream of light can be seen. We then realize that we are on a lift being pulled up. Thomas (Dylan O Brien) lunges up into frame, gagging and wheezing. He realizes he is in a lift shooting upwards. As he gets to the top, light can be seen, the music intensifies and so did my pulse. This was an amazing way to open and we get a chance to witness this jarring moment with our protagonist as he ends up in this giant field called The Glade with a bunch of kids called Runners. My wife read these Maze Runner books by James Dashner last year. She says the Maze Runner is the best of all of them even though they are typical “YA books”. This opening scene really had me going guys. They showed a trailer and another clip but I was already sold. Director Wes Ball also showed some concept art for a future film in the franchise if it takes off. I really hope it does. The cast was comprised of mostly young actors I didnt know. Except for Kaya Scodelario (Effie from the BBC show Skins). Here’s the trailer:

The Book of Life

Let it be known, I have been excited about this film since the first trailer debuted earlier this year. I love anything Guillermo Del Toro produces in any capacity. So the fact that he speaks so highly of this film, actually means something. He isn’t like your typical exec producer who says “This movie is great” and runs away with a bag of money like a thief in the night. Every word that comes from Guillermo drips with love and a sort of fan boy nature that is addicting.

Garman glowingly introduced the panel to a ravenous Hall H. Director Jorge Gutierrez, producer Guillermo del Toro, Christina Applegate, Ron Pearlman and Channing Tatum. The panel had a few things to say about the making of the film before we were treated to some amazing footage.

Everyone loves this dude. Probably because he's super charming/hillarious — Everyone loves this dude. Probably because he’s super charming/hillarious

The first clip focuses on Manollo (Diego Luna) our mariachi protagonist. He stands in the middle of a bullfighting ring with his guitar. The music he plays is something beautiful and melancholy. He then proceeds to serenade his love Maria (Zoe Saldana) with the song Creep by Radiohead. This clip is so gut-wrenching and sweet at the same time that I literally had chills. They next showed a new trailer showing some new footage. All of it looked breathtaking.

After the footage was shown, director Jorge Gutierez said that being from Tijuana, popular music in America found it’s way down to him and he embraced it openly. As those words left his mouth, a music contributor to the film came out on the stage. And this contributor was none other than Biz mother flippin Markie. He was met with immediate cheers from Hall H as he belted out “Just a Friend” with the help of Channing Tatum. A moment that will forever be in my mind. Forever for it’s pure awesome-ness. After that, Ralph Garman opened up questions to the floor.

There were two standout moments from the Q&A portion of this presentation. The first was from a teenager who asked a question to Channing how it feels to be in a role that isn’t for his good looks or muscles. The second was Jorge’s answer regarding why he wanted to make a movie about Dia De Los Muertos. He responded by saying Day of the Dead has always been his favorite holiday. He even got married on Dia de Los Muertos because his best friend had passed away and he wanted him to still be his best man. That literally made me cry. I am tearing up as I’m writing this. Jorge seems like an exteremely passionate filmmaker and it shows in all the loving details of this film. No wonder Guillermo loves him so much.

http://youtu.be/NBw5YScs8iQ

Agent 47

After The Book of Life, we were treated to the trailer debut of the new Hitman film staring Rupert Friend (Homeland). Rupert was away shooting that film and wasn’t able to make it but he did manage to send a nice little recorded message. The footage opens with Agent 47 in an interrogation room. A man stands on the otherside of the table with a loaded sniper rifle pointed right at our Agent. 47 explains how he’s basically totally ok with this scenario. He then kicks the table up which pulls the guns trigger and he in a bad ass slo mo kind of way uses the bullet to shoot off his hand cuffs. We then cut to beautiful locations like Singapore and Berlin. A large scale car chase goes down. S.W.A.T. team looking guys all in black harpoon Agent 47’s car from all directions and zip line in as he starts to take them out one by one. This was probably my favorite scene from the trailer. There was a lot of kick ass stuff and Zachary Quinto so you can sign me up for this one. Also, bravo to the filmmakers of this one for having the balls to shoot in such beautiful lush places that normally don’t get play on film. Once Agent 47 was over, “Lets Be Cops” took the stage.

Lets Be Cops

This movie looks hilarious. The panel had Rob Rigel, Keegan-Michael Key, Nina Dobrev, and Daman Wayans Jr. Jake Johnson wasn’t able to make it due to shooting Jurassic World, but he had filmed a hilarious video for Hall H. The footage was mostly stuff you’ve seen in the trailer with a few extra curse words. However, it was all brilliant comedy. They also showed a scene of Wayans Jr. and Johnson’s fake cops meeting the valiant straight laced cop played by Rigel. In the clip, they respond to a break in at an Ace Hardware. The fake cops have fake guns and they even make fake gun cocking noises as they are next to their actual cop brethren. I don’t want to give the rest of the scene away, but lets just say it involves a large naked human. That’s all. It was refreshing to see Rigel play a non douche bag character, as he’s such a charismatic actor and I love that he is finally playing against type. Suffice it to say, I am seeing this movie opening day. It looks like it has a great blend of action and comedy.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

This panel was moderated by Mark Millar (why did we have to lose Garman?) He opened with how special Hall H to him because of how popular Kick-Ass became after it debuted there years ago. He explained how director Matthew Vaughn was in the hospital and couldn’t make it, but Vaughn recorded a special message for the audience. It opened with Vaughn in a Kick-Ass mask talking about how special it is that his new movie is in Hall H and that he got the chance to work with one of his heroes. The particular hero he was referring to was actually standing right next to him as the camera panned over to show Mark Hamill in a Hit Girl wig. Hamill had his Jedi beard going and mentioned that he had it for a “little space opera art house film you’ve never heard of”. Once they were done introducing the film, we were introduced to the world of the Kingsman.

I'd like to introduce to you my man crush, Colin Firth. — I’d like to introduce to you my man crush, Colin Firth.

The opening scene takes place in a snowy mountaintop cabin inhabited by several armed guards and a man tied to a chair. It’s revealed that this man is Mark Hamill, playing basically a Brittish doctor of some kind in his Joker voice (better than it sounds). As these dudes are interogating Hamill, they are interupted by a knock at the door. Then we are treated to a bevy of awesome gun fights and fisticuffs as the knock at the door belongs to a secret agent (very James Bond esque). This guy manages to kill every one and is about to untie Hamill when another knock at the door can be heard. The secret agent goes towards the door and is sliced in half by a girl with sword legs (completely crazy). She hastily covers up all of the dead bodies and opens the door for Sam F’in Jackson. If you’ve seen any of the trailers for this film, you know Jackson was a strange lisp thing going on. I feel like it really works well in this scene so I am excited to see how it works in the film.

We also got another scene of Colin Firth and his protege talking in a pub. They are rudely interupted by some hooligan dudes who Colin Firth kicks the shit out of using only his hands and a very tactical umbrella. I really want you to see the movie so I won’t spoil exactly how this marvelous fight goes. I will say that some of the music cues were super cheesy. I hope it’s just temp score because it takes away from the performances.

The thing I loved about the footage is that this is an old school kind of spy movie. Like a bat shit crazy Connery James Bond with some Brittish Avengers in there for good measure. If you have enjoyed any other Vaughn’s other films, I’m sure this one won’t dissapoint.

Sure this wasn’t a Saturday Hall H panel with all sorts of surprises. It was just a really amazing panel full of great moments. No punches were pulled during this one folks. If I were you, I would be on the look out for all of these films.

So what do you think? Are you excited for any of these ones?

‘Community’ Season 5 Premiere Review

by pandazackJanuary 3, 2014

This has been a long time coming. I’ve been watching this show since Season 1 and if you are like me…you were sad to see Dan Harmon fired from his show at the end of Season 3. Now we can celebrate with the death of the “Gas Leak Year” and welcome back our favorite Greendale study group.

Because I’m loyal to the things I like, I watched Season 4 of Community. Without getting too into it, I thought it was mostly crap. You can tell the team was trying hard but you could tell that the weirdness that makes this show great was gone. I’m happy to announce that Episodes 1 and 2 (“Repilot and “Introduction to Teaching”) are a return even better than we could ask for.

“Repilot” serves as just that, a reboot of sorts for the show. Jeff finds himself returning to Greendale after he has failed as a lawyer. But now, it’s as a teacher. The study group reunites (sans the grumpy quitter known as Chevy Chase) realizing that none of their lives are that great post-Greendale. Without getting too far into plot details…you should know that this episode is a great example of laying groundwork for what is an amazing comeback. This episode has some great call backs to the first episode of the show, memorable Britta one-liners and a hilariously meta “Donald Glover is leaving the show joke”. However, this episode was really just setup. The real icing on this pop culture cake is episode 2 of the premiere.

“Introduction to Teaching” shows us what life is like as a teacher at Greendale. We get to meet Professor Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks basically doing a psuedo Mike from Breaking Bad) as he shows Jeff the ropes of teaching. The only thing I want to highlight here is that there is a CLASS ON NICOLAS CAGE MOVIES. This episode is worth it for Abed’s Cage breakdown alone. Seriously…go and watch it.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I loved these episodes. If they are any indication of what the rest of the season looks like…things are gonna be great. I haven’t even mentioned the surprise cameo in this episode. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the premiere…GO TO HULU NOW! You won’t regret it. If only for the Abed Cagedown.

What did you guys think of the premiere? As always, leave your comments below. I want to know if you think this show is worth #sixseasonsandamovie

Marvel Comics To Publish Star Wars Comics in 2015!

by pandazackJanuary 3, 2014

As if we didn’t see this coming. It was announced today that Marvel will be taking over the Star Wars comic brand in 2015. I personally have been reading the Dark Horse books for years. Brian Wood’s Star Wars is a favorite of mine.

If you didn’t see Dark Horse’s founder, Mike Richardson’s statement from earlier, here it is:

“All things come to pass. So too, do all licensed deals. I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015. This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades.

For those who are new to the industry, Dark Horse revolutionized the treatment of comics based on films. After a history of movie properties being poorly handled with little regard for execution and continuity, Dark Horse took a new approach, carefully choosing licenses and approaching them with excitement and creative energy. Our goal was to create sequels and prequels to the films we loved, paying careful attention to quality and detail, essentially treating those films as though they were our own. Star Wars has been the crown jewel of this approach. We began chasing the title as far back as 1989, and with the launch of Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s Dark Empire, a new era in comics was born. I’m not ashamed to admit that we were Star Wars geeks, and we have been determined to spare neither effort nor expense in the pursuit of excellence.

It is ironic that this announcement comes at a time when Dark Horse is experiencing its most successful year ever. For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? That’s a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014 may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one. We know that fans of the franchise will expect no less. The Force is with us still.”

I feel like it’s too early for me to have much of an opinion on this…as long as Bendis doesn’t write every Star Wars book I’ll be happy.

You know this means we are so much closer to Patton Oswalt’s divine idea of this:

What do you guys think? What are some of your favorite Dark Horse SW comics?

My Life as a Closeted Geek…The Return!

by pandazackJuly 5, 2013

Hello everyone, the geek prodigal son hath finally returned. For those not keeping track or don’t care, I haven’t written an article for the site since 2009 outside of the occasional music festival article or something. So I wanted to take some time to truly write something for all of you who have been asking, (I’m looking at you, Jonathan) “Where the hell is Zack Haddad?”

Late 2009…

Shortly after I wrote “My Life as a Closeted Geek” I ran out of money, got dumped by my girlfriend at the time, had to move home and subsequently had to give my dog Zapata away since I couldn’t take him home.

Zapata on the day I had to give him up to some rich hippie family in Coronado.

Needless to say, I had hit a level of depression I had never experienced before. I moved home to Bakersfield, CA in November-ish of 2009 and I moved in with my dad and his girlfriend in the house I grew up in. My parents were in the middle of a stupidly sticky divorce and I was ok with my dad moving on but I couldn’t help but feel like moving home with them was strange and no matter how hard I tried, I could never make it feel home to me. While I was there, my dad got me a job working at the produce shed he works at. So for 8-10 hours a day I worked shipping potatoes around America. I can’t say it was a completely pointless job. I got to see my dad a bunch and most of the people were nice… until I got in a fight with one of the guys in the shed and he broke my glasses. So you know, there are a bunch of “interesting” fellows who work at my dad’s office and one of them kept physically bugging me to the point where I snapped. I tore up my right hand a bit but otherwise was pretty okay. After that little wrestle/fight/scuffle, I was ready to move on.

In December, one of my good friends from college, Cyrus Gladstone, called me saying he got a job in San Diego working for a company that turns 2D films into 3D. I told him I knew nothing about that sort of thing but I would love to come in for an interview. So on January 2^nd, I went in to Legend 3D in Carmel Valley and applied for a job. The woman who interviewed me was extremely sweet and enthusiastic about finding new people to get in on this new frontier of entertainment. I’ll admit, to this day I have a pretty big disdain for 3D as a whole. I feel like any company that isn’t Legend uses a very strange method for building 3D films and the end result is a no depth, card-y gimmick that gives 3D a bad rap. I probably won’t ever own a 3D TV but none-the-less a new job in cool environments outside of Bakersfield with my friends sounded like a win for me.

2010-2011…

On January 4^th, I was hired at Legend 3D as a production assistant. Finally, I was back in a job where I was surrounded by folks just like me (aka BIG GIANT NERDS!!!!). Seriously, every cubicle was stuffed full of pop culture references, toys and all sorts of other stuff I would have no problem relating with people. Also, my best friend Jon Dickey got a job the same day I did and we planned on moving in together. Things were looking up. The first part of 2010 was spent on Alice in Wonderland then the rest of it was spent on Shrek 1-3. The hours were crazy but:

– I got a sick apartment in downtown San Diego (only so I could be close to Comic Con) with my best friend

– Made more money then I could spend so it really helped out that I was close to Comic Con

– Got to work on some cool projects and learn new things.

Some of my legend family during Movember two years ago. — Some of my Legend family during Movember two years ago.

In late 2010, I was finally starting to feel better about my existence. But, I wasn’t creating anything. I had stopped writing articles for Geekscape and outside of watching movies I didn’t write anything new.

The same thing happened for all of 2011. However I got to work really closely on a bunch of movies: Transformers 3, Priest, Conan, Pirates 4, Green Lantern, Smurfs, Top Gun just to name a few. By the end of 2011, I found myself back in a relationship with the girl who had dumped me before I had to move back to Bakersfield. It was hard for me at first since I associated her with all of that crazy stuff, but alas I was getting tired of the weird dating scene in San Diego so it was nice to be comfortable again.

2012…

By mid 2012, I found myself starting to resent my job. We had moved a second time and were planning on moving a third. In the time I had been at egend, I had seen the company go from 40 people to 300 people then back down to about a 100. In the visual effects industry, it is normal for a company to have crazy growth in productive times and not in others but I couldn’t help but feel that this place that had started like my family, didn’t feel like it anymore. I was in a position to go to India and help train our employees there but due to (in my opinion) some office politics, I was never asked to go and a friend was asked instead. This is one of several reasons why I was starting to get fed up with it. I also felt myself growing apart from the girl I was dating and on Cinco de Mayo we called it quits for the last time.

In my new-found singledom, I was swept up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since I was 8 I have been following the Los Angeles Kings and year after year I have found myself heartbroken at yet another loss. So it was something I would never forget seeing them win the Stanley Cup.

Me when we won the Stanley Cup. — Me after winning the Stanley Cup.

Being in San Diego, I wasn’t able to go to as many games as I used to as an LA resident so I found myself going to a local bar called Stout frequently to watch the games with a bunch of like minded hockey fans. On one night when I was walking back from a game, I had an idea about a DJ living in San Diego and how he could find out he was part of a clandestine organization who fought demons in an effort to take back San Diego for humanity. I called it Arcane Beatz and I started writing everything down. I just couldn’t believe that I started coming up with fresh ideas again…it was a really exciting time for me.

In June of 2012, it was Jon’s birthday and he wanted to go to the Del Mar fair, eat a bacon doughnut, and watch a 90s concert. So we went to the fair to see a 90s concert with the Gin Blossoms, Lit, Everclear and Sugar Ray as the musical acts. We got there and met up with some other friends. This guy Roger had brought these two girls, roommates named Kerri and Kelly. Right away I felt a deep attraction to this girl Kelly. She was a perfect idea of what I could see myself being in a relationship with. But me being me, I was pretty shy at first and how I actually approached her was when another female friend had asked me to hold her purse and I goofily went up to Kelly and said “What I got a purse on? So what? You can’t judge me…” which I think she liked because we talked off and on for the rest of the night while sharing boxed wine from Erick Israel’s backpack. At the end of the night, Kelly and her roommate exchanged info with all of us and we all said we should hang out again since we had such a fun time.

And then two months passed. I moved out of the house with Jon to somewhere close to North Park that was cheaper. I was living alone for the first time in a long time and even though I missed Jon who was a great roommate and friend, it was nice to be alone. I would randomly see posts from Kelly on my feed of her doing stuff and I admit I liked her from a far. However, I was afraid that either my nerdy-ness or one of my hang-ups would thwart me from ever being something more than a friend to this girl. Then one night, I was out with some friends at a bar and there she was. She called my name out and we talked for a bit and I said we should ride bikes and hang out sometime even though I was too chicken shit to start something other than that. She left and I was starting to feel smitten. Later that week I was with Jon and Erick at the event in North Park at Seven Grand and there she was again. Before she left she came up to me and I got her number. She said, “I remember your name. It’s Zack. Do you remember mine?” To which I respond, “yeah of course, it’s Kelly”. She responds with “Our names go well together”.

Being a fan of the penultimate 90’s sitcom “Saved by the Bell” I was proverbially knocked on my ass. I went up to my friends and said “see that girl, I will date her”. And I did. Starting in September of 2012, I found myself in a relationship unlike any other. Being with Kelly has made me feel happy to no end and I finally started getting creative again.

I told her one night over dinner my idea for Arcane Beatz and she lit up and immediately said I that I needed to do it. I had never been with someone who had pushed me to be so creative and has supported me in the ways she has. If you read my article, “my life as a closeted geek” you know growing up I was really secretive about all the nerdy stuff I was into. Kelly isn’t a nerd herself but she really tolerates my nerdy-ness. So the fact that my action figures and Scott Pilgrim posters didn’t bother this girl was a huge relief. So I started to fall really hard for her and it was starting to scare me.

I’ve been in a few relationships in my days and I definitely see myself as someone who likes the idea of being in a relationship. Sometimes I get scared of putting myself out there but with this girl, it just felt different. I felt like I met someone who finally understands me and accepts me for my shortcomings and my overall absurdly nerdy-ness. I adopted a kitten with Kelly that I named Brunch and we started to feel like we had a little quasi family.

Brunch The Cat now all grown up and stuff. — Brunch The Cat now all grown up and yes she wears a wooden bow tie collar.

We started hitting milestones with each other. I took her home to meet my family in Bakersfield for Thanksgiving and I went home with her to Boston to meet her amazing family for Christmas. We spent New Years together and I was ready to start 2013 with this girl who I had fallen in love with.

2013…

This year started off rocky with personal hurdles unlike I have ever dealt with before. The only thing besides Kelly that I had going was I shot a teaser for Arcane Beatz and was in the process of editing it. On top of all that stuff, I was also hitting an all time low at work. Legend had just moved to Carlsbad, putting me at a daily drive time of 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. With reduced hours and that commute, it was making it harder to stay.

By April, I was ready to start preparing to leave when I got the feeling that Kelly was the one and despite the idea of not having a job, I was ready to propose to her. Now, you’re probably doing the math at home and realize that at this point, Kelly and I had only been dating for about 8 months or so. That didn’t matter to me because I just knew in my gut that this is the one. That through the good times and bad times of ever relationship, this one was worth it. I mean come-on guys, she accepts that I play video games and watch super nerdy television while always caring about what I do or think… what’s not to love? So one day while in front of her house, I got down on one knee for what was one of the most stressful moments in my life. I assume everyone who has done that gets scared thinking, “what if the person I love with isn’t ready and says no?” All fears aside, I felt like I had to take a leap of faith and she said yes.

And since then, we have been just doing the damn thing. Life has started to really pick up for me in a way I couldn’t have imagined back when I was sad and pissed off shipping potatoes.

My best friend/best man Jon Dickey serving drinks at my engagement party. — My best friend/best man Jon Dickey serving drinks at the engagement party.

I quit my job in early June and I admit it’s been tough adjusting to not having a job after three years but I think I’m starting to finally get there. I left Legend 3D on amicable terms and I will miss working with the people I’ve come to love I now spend my days working on Arcane Beatz full time and hopefully writing more articles for Geekscape.

A still from the teaser for Arcane Beatz.

So now you know in an extensive Cliff notes like fashion what I’ve been up to. I’ve never really had much of a presence in the Geekscape forums (my name is pandazack) so if you want to reach out to me, message my FB page or drop me a line at zackhaddad87@gmail.com and I would love to talk to you about this article or really whatever.

You know that project I have mentioned through this article? Well Arcane Beatz is slowly coming to fruition but I need your help. I have made a Kickstarter video, which you can find HERE. The project isn’t making money as quickly as I would hope so any and all donations would be great. It’s a cool project that will be a web series and have a very Scott Pilgrim meets Buffy vibe that I think all of you will get a kick out of.

I’ve told you all what I’ve been up to but I’ve only glossed over the why I haven’t been posting. I haven’t really felt creative in a long time and honestly I’ve been thinking for some time that my writing just isn’t as good as it used to be. Before I all Grady Tripp from Wonder Boys on you, I will just say, you guys make it fun to write again and I plan on doing more.

Well I’m done blabbering about my life to all of you. So until next time ‘scapists. I will promise you right now I won’t dissappear for years anymore because the last thing I bet you want is another long ass article like this chronicling my exploits. I love you all…till next time.

Geekscape’s Zack Haddad Announces ‘Arcane Beatz’ Kickstarter!

by pandazackJuly 1, 2013

Hey everyone, Zack Haddad here (pandazack on the forums). Wanted to take a second to tell you all about a new project that has engulfed my everything. It’s called Arcane Beatz and it is a 10 episode web series I am making in San Diego about a DJ named Marick who uncovers a secret order of musicians who since the Dark Ages have been walking this earth fighting demons who take on human form. These musicians are called Bards and not only are some of the most prolific musicians part of this order (Kurt Cobain, Jannis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly to name a few) they are also the only line of defense against a slew of demons stemming from different cultures and ideologies.

Arcane Beatz originally started out as just an idea in my head about making a film noir about an electronic DJ solving mysteries and stuff. And then one day I thought to myself…um duh demons and monsters should totally be in this also.

All of the demons in this show will be based on actual demons in mythology. So not only do we have Gorgons and Succubi from Greek Mythology, we also have Celtic Wood Nymphs and Norwegian Viking Demons. I really love the work of Guillermo del Toro for his use of practical monster effects in some of his older films. So I wanted to take that love and craft my own takes on popular creatures and still pay homage to some other things I really dig (did I mention I’m a fan of Buffy?) The guy who did the monster make up is my buddy Vince Niebla and he shares the same sort of passion I do. Check out some of this stuff we did for the Kickstarter video for yourself:

The initial head cast for the main demon.

Vince Niebla applying final makeup to Viktor (Brian Boettcher)

The Demon Carter played by Xavisus Gayden

We shot the teaser for Arcane Beatz back in February on a really cold Friday night. The crew really stuck together and we ended up shooting until the next morning. I definitely hadn’t done something like that since college but the end result was worth all of that shooting and eventual post-production that went into it.

I’m not ready to divulge exactly how we did some of the effect but soon we will be launching some FX rundowns on our Kickstarter page so you should stay tuned to that one.

Our hero Marick (Alex Robinson) going through a test run with the demons.

The music in Arcane Beatz will be from all over the place. Marick is an electronic DJ in the vein of Flying Lotus or Justice but we plan on showcasing a slew of local acts. We are also writing an original score. Some of which can be found in our teaser.

If this is something you are interested in getting involved in, I would love to hear from you. Outside of backers, we also need people to fill crew positions (grip/electric, makeup, fight choreographer) so email us at arcanebeatzmedia@gmail.com.

You can check out the whole kickstarter campaign HERE. Its a little long for my taste so stick with it. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Talk of this web series has already gotten the attention of local news. Click here to check out the piece done on the series HERE.

Thanks for taking the time to check out all this stuff. Please leave your comments or join us on our several levels of social networking:

Facebook: Arcane Beatz Fan Page

Instagram:@arcanebeatz

Twitter:@arcanebeatz

My Experience At 2012 Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival

by pandazackAugust 18, 2012

For four years now, I make the yearly pilgrimage to Golden Gate park for the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. Obviously, Coachella is much closer to where I live in San Diego, but I have to say that Outside Lands is always much more enjoyable. Yes it is a music festival, but it also is an arts and food festival and here are some reasons why it’s just so awesome:

THE MUSIC

Every year I feel like I am getting too old for Coachella. Mind you, I had fun this past year (read the article here). But every year I go to Coachella, I feel there is an increasingly large quantity of rave bands that I’ve never heard of or even care about. When I go to Outside Lands, I know I am in for one of the most eclectic lineups imaginable. In past years I have seen Modest Mouse, Pearl Jam, Tom Jones, Mastadon, MGMT, Tenacious D, MIA, Band of Horses, Bright Eyes, Phoenix, Phish, and the list goes on and on. This years lineup was probably one of my favorites. This year, some of the headliners were Beck, Regina Spector, Jack White, Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, FUN, Justice, Skrillex (bleh), Sigur Ros, Metallica, and STEVIE FUCKING WONDER. The last one specifically blew me away within minutes. As soon as the Stevie Wonder show started, he was seen walking out (totally solo) playing “How Sweet It Is” on a fucking keytar. He hadn’t even sat down yet but my mind was already blown. What came after that was an hour and some change of pure musical bliss with just one beautiful hit after another. Besides Stevie Wonder, there were some great smaller bands I was really happy to see. My Coachella favorite Wallpaper played Friday afternoon which was a lot of fun. Some other notables were Tanlines, Geographer, Trampled by Turtles, Fitz and the Tantrums, Washed Out, Zola Jesus and the super ridiculous South African Rap/Rave duo Die Antwoord.

Sigur Ros hasn’t been on tour together in four years and I have to say that it was a surreal experience to see them blasting their weird Icelandic what have ya. Neil Young put on a spectacular show, shredding on guitar and crooning in his magical way like there’s no tomorrow. This is quite impressive for a guy in his mid-60s. Also, listen to Washed Out if you haven’t heard of them. They have a acid-rock ethereal sound that is just pure awesome. My only problem with the fest is the scheduling. There were so many instances when I had to make a decision between multiple bands at any given time but that is something that happens to me at other festivals. As long as I can see some rad sets and nom on delicious grub then I am good with that.

THE FOOD

For those who don’t know me, I love food. Music might be a huge draw for me but I have to say I’m always most excited trying the best San Francisco has to offer in terms of local tasty-ness. Last year, Outside Lands introduced the food truck forest. It’s exactly what it sounds like…a beautiful forest littered with food trucks. This year however, the popularity of food trucks had increased past the forest to a point that the things were next to all of the stages now. Besides the food trucks, the main stage has a cornucopia of delicious treats to choose from. I dined on such decadent things as fried chicken sandwiches with jalapenos and apple-nut slaw, fried mac n cheese slices, and my favorite…pork belly Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. Other festivals (Coachella included) only seem to have burritos, chicken fingers and over-priced pizza. Mind you the food isn’t the cheapest but I have to say that it is really worth it. If you are like me, a good adult beverage is a must when chowing down on decadent eats.

A view of some of the lights from the Food Truck Forest

THE BEVERAGES

Beer Gardens suck. Every time I go to a festival with a beer garden, I shudder at the fact that I know I’m about to enter that shamefully awkward alcoholic internment camp for an overpriced Heineken Light. Even worse, it means I can’t be at a stage listening to music if I plan on drinking. That isn’t the case at OL. This fest does have the absurdly priced Heinekens but it’s better because you can walk around with your alcoholic beverage and enjoy music at your leisure. And if Heineken isn’t your thing, OL has two giant tents dedicated to both Beer and Wine called Beerlands and Winelands respectively. Now at these magical places you can purchase a book of Monoploy looking money to purchase beers or wine from places all up and down California.

I never felt like there was an intense wait for drinks either which is really helpful unlike the god awful lines I’ve seen in beer gardens of the past.

THE PEOPLE

I hate crowds. With every fiber of my being, I can’t stand large quantities of humans in a spot at once. They always have but whether it’s Comic Con or another music festival you have to accept that crowds are just going to happen. Every year OL has become ever more popular but this year I think was the easiest/mellow experience I’ve had dealing with large music fest crowds. It also helped that I had such a phenomenal crew with me.

Tyson and I waiting for people under the windmills.

A few months ago, I suffered from a breakup with my girlfriend which for obvious reasons was a low point in my recent days. Apart from just changing my status quo, I had planned on sharing a vacation rental with her and some other friends. Shortly after the breakup, I withdrew myself from the group for fear of it being weird. With my plans of where to stay in San Francisco in flux, I had a guardian angel in the form of my roommate Jon. One weekend Jon invited some of his friends from his hometown of Huntington Beach to stay with us in San Diego.

With my roommate Jon while seeing Trampled by Turtles.

Over the weekend, I really bonded with this group and they told me how none of them had ever been to Outside Lands and were planning on going for the first time this year. They invited me along and I was grateful not just because of the situation I mentioned earlier but because I really love being a part of a group that is experiencing such a culture explosion like a music festival.

here is the 2012 OL crew. My new family.

This group rolls about 9 deep and the main focus is just nothing but good times and even though most of them hadn’t even been to San Francisco they all showed great adaptability and had nothing but great times. We all had very similar music tastes but if there was an instance where someone wanted to see something else, there would usually be little splinter groups who would break away to go elsewhere. We never lost someone for a large period of time and made our meet up spot the giant Outside Lands windmills. No one ever felt pressured to miss something they wanted to see and there was never drama which was pretty awesome.

Me with my best friend Mallory. We’ve been at the last four Outside Lands together.

Now if you are curious if I ever ran into my ex-girlfriend while up there…I did and guess what. It totally wasn’t awkward and maybe it had something to do with time but I have a feeling that it has something to do with just the environment of Outside Lands. Ok, there we go, I got that out of my system so thanks for listening to that aspect …anyways… You won’t find any crazy angry people (well outside of a few weirdos I met in the Metallica mosh pit) at this festival. And that’s something I’m grateful for. As the years go on, I feel that this is one festival I can continue to go to and enjoy myself. I even witnessed a game of Twister played by total strangers while I was waiting for Jack White.

So, yeah, you have now successfully read my rant about my favorite music festival. Now I urge you to go out and seek this fest for yourself. I have attached a bunch of information for those who have never been or plan on going in the future. Feel free to contact me through facebook or my Instagram username of zackohdos. I would love to hear feedback if you’ve been to the fest or if you have festivals you are into.

A Trip to the Desert – A Diary of My Coachella 2012 Experience

by pandazackApril 18, 2012

I like to consider my body and mind a temple of pop culture. And in this temple, we worship three things: comics, movies, and music. For years I’ve gone to film festivals and comic conventions to gorge myself silly on those things that I love so it only makes sense that I make the pilgrimage once again to the desert for the Mecca of West Coast music festivals: Coachella. This year marked my third outing to the glorious festival and today I am here to share some of my experience as well as some do’s and don’ts if you plan on going to the fest for Week Two.

At this point you should know whether or not you plan on camping. This year I camped for the second time at the fest and I have to say it was a pretty rewarding experience. I was part of a group on Facebook called Chellavista.

This group mostly hails from San Diego but we also got some people to camp with us from Los Angeles. There were 20 cars in total and it was one of the biggest productions I had the honor of being involved in. I didn’t know a lot of these people but they taught me many things. If you plan on camping, make sure you have the following:

A tent: duh

Canopy: Who wants to wake up at 7 with the sun?

Plenty of blankets and a decent sleeping bag.

A portable stove top

Food to cook with: Your body will love you if you give it a nice hot meal when you wake up. I dined on chorizo and egg burritos or sausage in the mornings and it was pretty much heaven.

A well packed toiletries bag: Just because you are going to a place with a crap ton of hippies doesn’t mean you have to be one. I made sure my bag had deodorant, shower wipes, hand sanitizer, q-tips, aspirin, foot powder for all of the insane walking and of course a decent cologne.

The Chellavista group met at a Wal Mart close to the polo fields on Thursday morning. That way we could not only group up but also get a fresh stock of supplies. We bought a ton of fruit, nuts, meat and liquids. When you camp you can have a case of beer per person and when beer is 7-8 bucks a pop inside, it’s good to get a 30 case of Tecate on the cheap. The heat can also really get to a person so I recommend you fill your body with tons of fruit for some good natural energy. Some of this seems like common sense but when you enter into that festival…common sense can leave you sometimes.

Also, be mindful of the weather. Week 1 was really cold and we also had a bit of rain. I’ve heard its supposed to be in the hundreds for Week 2 so make sure you pack accordingly. I thought it was only going to be cold for one day and I took that for granted and ended up freezing up until it got hot on Sunday.

You can’t bring outside food in and the festival grub can be rather pricy so it is smart to eat ahead of time whether at your camp or the way in. As delicious as spicy pie pizza or the garlic fries are, they add up quickly and it’s best to save your money me thinks. Stay cool out there and make sure you bring an empty water bottle. I bought one of those Britta water bottles with a built in filter. The last time I went to the festival in 2009, they had a water refill station that was a glorified drinking fountain. The water it produced had large dirt deposits in it and was pretty gross. This year they have some decent refill stations next to a few of the bathrooms. The water they have for you to fill up on isn’t the best so I always felt better with the filtered bottle.

For the first night, I erected a make shift cave out of the back of my truck. I put a tarp over the bed and fastened it with ratchet straps and filled the truck bed with pillows, blankets and bedding. However it didn’t matter how much I put in there, the ridged lining of the back made it pretty damn uncomfortable, partnered with a nearby friend’s intense snoring and it made for a very rough first night.

A shot of our camping area, I drive the white honda truck on the right. — A shot of our camping area, I drive the white Honda truck on the right.

Sleep can be fleeting if you are in the campground. Whether it’s snoring friends like I mentioned above or annoying people 10 cars down playing dubstep at 3 in the morning it can be pretty tough to sleep. I recommend earplugs and not being afraid to call it an early night. Your friends might want you to stay up and hang out until the wee hours of the morning but trust me, you’ll be thankful you are able to have enough energy to do all the walking and waiting that happens the next day.

Since the lineup was released for the fest, I spent so much time listening and plotting who I wanted to see. Murphy’s Law comes into effect here. Its good to stack your schedule but be prepared to abandon bands if you want to see certain things. There was a time I wish I had a rechargeable phone battery on hand so I didn’t have to stand at a recharge station for my phone while Neon Indian was rocking out. Speaking of which, have a good charge on your phone and keep a charger on you in case you do need to charge it. I hate that our society depends so much on these devices now but if it means you might loose your people or a ride, charge the damn thing good and keep off of 3G since it’s pretty tough to get a signal most times anyways. Also, if you have a smartphone you should download the Coachella app. It has all the bands and events going on during the fest and is a fun thing to have. When my phone was dead however I found myself using the handy Coachella schedule booklet that you can get in the fest. Not only does it have the lineup for every day it also has a map and other useful info that is worth knowing.

If you can get to the Playstation Experience Early, have them charge your phone. — If you can get to the Playstation Experience early, have them charge your phone.

Musical acts I was really excited that I got to see were:

Wallpaper (A friend told me about this guy and all I have to say is he is a must see on Friday and he’s the first act. If you want fun dance-y music you owe it to yourself to check out someone you probably haven’t heard of. Check out a song here)

Listen to the song Stupidfacedd by Wallpaper right now! — Listen to the song #stupidfacedd by Wallpaper right now!

Flying Lotus: Saw him during Comic Con in SD last year but his show was brilliant at the Gobi tent this year. I can’t stand pretentious DJs who seem to cool for school when they are spinning. This guy is far from that sort of DJ since every time I have seen him he has the biggest smile on his face and seems like he really enjoys what he does. That mixed with his infectious homemade beats makes for a really enjoyable show.

Childish Gambino: I love “Mystery Team”, Community, and anything else Donald Glover does and he proves that actors can have a music career. He was funny, had a great backup band and also rocked out hard with a broken foot! Check it out.

Childish Gambino rocking out during "Freaks and Geeks" — "Heartbeat" and "Freaks and Geeks" are both awesome Gambino songs.

Jeff Magnum: Neutral Milk Hotel is one of my all time favorite bands growing up. When I heard that the front man of said band was going to be returning after a very long hiatus, I know I had to be present for it. I have to say he gave a great intimate show on the outdoor stage.

Oberhofer: They look like a bunch of wiry teens but man do they rock. Check out a song of theirs here

Modeselektor: These crazy Germans know how to bring a house down. They also have a jam with Thom Yorke that is really infectious.

Musical acts I’m sad I missed:

Explosions in the Sky: I’ve never seen a whole set from these guys.

Neon Indian: Some fun trippy dance music that was happening right when my phone decided to die.

Otherlives: One of those buzz bands that got away.

The Black Keys: I’d rather not get too into detail here lets just say I was bummed.

But if you want to see what my schedule looked like, here it is: Zack’s Coachella Sched. Of course it was great to see the big acts like Radiohead, Snoop and Dre, as well as Bon Iver. However, I really enjoy checking out obscure groups also and I feel like that can sometimes be more rewarding.

Another great aspect of Coachella is all the great art installations around. Years before, I witnessed large Tesla Coils, LED walls and all sorts of craziness. This year the highlight were LED remote controlled sharks that prowled the grounds at night. Look out for those things. The DO LAB is fun to check out for a bit but I only spent 30 minutes there period. If you like strange vaudevillian circus acts, it might be just the place for you.

I really enjoyed the Playstation experience tent. It’s right before you get to the Sahara and not only do they charge your phone but they will hand you a PS Vita and let you walk around and play with it. Mind you they will have your phone so best not loose it or think you can steal it.

The Tupac hologram was awesome to see from a sci fi fans perspective. However, I couldn’t help but feel like it was blasphemous in some way. Like Tupac is now omni-present and can play in every state of America at the same time if the music gods wished it.

I got to meet up with the one and only Brian Gilmore during the fest and I have to say it was a pleasure getting to see him experience the joys of Coachella for his first time. He and I talked about how Coachella is like Comic Con for music fans and I agree to an extent. Coachella is a treasure trove of stuff to behold like Con can be however I think Coachella appeals to many more because it can be a much more rewarding experience in terms of meeting people and having your eyes opened to many new and exciting bands that you might not have heard of otherwise.

For those who are staying at a hotel, just know I have no pity for you. You have a shower, bathroom, a quiet place to sleep and potentially air conditioning. All things that are scarce on the camp grounds of infinity. Camping can be a much more rewarding experience if you do it right. I hope this has been helpful for you and if you have any questions, message me on facebook and I will be more than happy to talk with ya about anything.

I got a fisheye lens for my Iphone and I fell in love with it if you haven't noticed.

BEST…COMIC CON…EVER!!!

by pandazackAugust 4, 2009

Hey everyone, Zack here, and I’m finally fully recovered from Geekscape’s take over of Nerd Fest ’09. Now that I am now out of the bacta tank I have been living in for the past week, I feel like I am in the right state to share with you all how much fun I had at Comic Con this year.

So this was my first year going to Comic Con with Geekscape and right away I felt like it was a much different experience than years past. Mostly because this trip wasn’t purely to walk the floor and obtain Con exclusives. No, boys and girls, I was there to work! Work at Comic Con for Geekscape consisted mostly of interviewing awesome celebrities and comic creators, so to me it really doesn’t sound much like work; more like a vacation to Nerd-halla first class. That by no means is necessary to fully enjoy Comic Con, but it WAS a departure from fending for myself year in and year out with all the crazies that inhabits the convention floor! Also, this year was different because I got to celebrate my geekdom and go to a bunch of parties.

Yes, it always looks like this in the hallways of Con…

True Blood Happy Hours and the Astro Boy breakfast were the parties that stood out to me the most. The TB Happy Hours happened on three of the nights of the convention and man were they fun. Admittance into these things granted you free food, Fang Banger t-shirts, and True Blood pint glasses. I am a huge fan of both the books and the show so it was fun to collect schwag of that caliber. Now I guess the Astro Boy breakfast wasn’t exactly a party but it was fun none-the-less. Mostlly it was fun because of the fact that we were treated to a delicious breakfast on top of the Ivy Hotel after a night of heavy drinking. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy something like that? The only downside of it was the nearly endless supply of free mimosas and Bloody Marys that combated against the curative properties of the amazing food. Other than that aspect, I thought it was a cool event that Imagi Studios put on for their new CGI-fest. But obviously there is so much more to Comic Con than just the parties. I actually had some work to do in the form getting all the hot news from many of the attendees behind some of my favorite films, comics, TV shows, and video games. Oh yes, I got to do some interviews and oh man was it fun!

I don’t care about the TB glass, just give me the plastic fangs!!!

I’ve done plenty of interviews before during my time at my last publication, but this was my very first time interviewing people on camera. So I guess it’s appropriate that when I was at my peak of nervousness that I interview fucking Superman himself. My first ever interview was with the cast of Dead of Night. It was a lot of fun because I got to talk to Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen from Superman Returns and Fanboys) and Anita Briem (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D). To be completely honest, I personally felt like it was a tough first interview to go through. It was my first on camera solo interview so I was a little jittery and I only had a few minutes to get my questions out there before they had to move on but oh well, it’s over and now I feel like it was a fine first interview to cut my teeth on. Yet, that doesn’t compare to the travesty that is my interview with Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of The Room fame…

Imagine how surprised and excited I was when I left the Behemoth booth and saw just next door there was a poster for The Room. I then see Tommy, wearing twelve belts like he always does and mumbling to himself. I have to say though Greg was a really nice guy and I felt a little sorry for him since he seems to take this whole cult thing pretty seriously where I think Tommy is just one giant joke. I won’t go into too much more detail because I believe you should just check it out for yourself on the site. I’m a huge fan so that was a lot of fun regardless of how big a TOOL Tommy Wiseau is. I recommend you check out the Comic Con episode on the podcast if you haven’t already to see just what I’m talking about. Regardless, I was happy to see The Room at Comic Con primarily because I think that is a perfect audience for Tommy and everyone and their mother needs to see that movie so I think it works.

The only booth babes worth mentioning at Con this year didn't actually have a booth

My favorite booth babes this year at Con, and they didn’t even need a booth!

While I do love The Room and True Blood I spent all weekend in anticipation of feeding my addiction of Doctor Who. I have enjoyed the new series so much and, in my opinion, David Tennant is one of the greatest actors for the role other than Tom Baker. So needless to say, I was in complete awe when the man himself walked past me outside of the BBC interview location. You have most likely already read Stephen Prescott’s article about The Doctor (lucky bastard) but I will say that it was so much fun getting to go see the panel on Sunday. It was literally the only panel I had the chance to see all Con, but man was it worth it. Not only were Tennant and Davies in attendance, but we were also treated to a teaser of Tennant’s last episode as the Doctor. Needless to say, my geek-ass was nearly in tears, which would’ve gone perfectly with the visible goose bumps I was rocking on my arms at the time. While I am still sad to see Tennant leave the role of the Doctor, I felt like the panel was an adequate send off.

Tennant loving the packed house

In retrospect, the ultimate highlight of my Con was going to the Brutal Legend/GWAR concert on Thursday night. My big mistake, though, was taking too much advantage of the open bar. But hey, what do you expect from a nerd who’s spent his day braving the elements of Con? A low point was going to the Warner Bros. booth during a shirt giveaway and hearing high-pitched screams coming from in front of me. No, they weren’t coming from the insane Twitards… the screams to which I am referring to were emanating out of the mouth of a fucking infant whose mother totally disregarded her child’s safety solely to possess a Where the Wild Things Are shirt. It was an unsettling example of reckless Comic Conning. That right there was disgusting because if you’re familiar with Comic Con, you know that people go nuts for schwag, but no shirt is worth having your baby squished by nerds while it is being held helpless in one of those baby back pack things. Other than that though, there weren’t really any other low points I can think of. Obviously I had a blast.

This year’s was, by far my, favorite Comic Con. It’s only the fifth one I have been to, but it was the most fun and I suspect it will be tough to top in the future. I don’t want to come off like I am kissing too much Geekscape ass here, but I just have to say that without those guys I don’t think I would have had as much fun. Granted we were packed into a hotel room full of 8 guys, but I wouldn’t have been able to pick a better group of people to spend this year with!

Geeks always stick together, it’s almost like a code we live by. No other mantra can better describe what it felt like hanging with all the great people at Geekscape. I feel like this group is just one giant family and I am happy to now be apart of it. So here it is guys, my second official article for the site, but the last time I feel like I am some sort of outsider. Now, I feel like have finally been baptized as a true Geekscapist because of this journey to San Diego.

So in closing I think it is only fitting to include one more picture of a Stormtrooper… Since those bastards are just everywhere in San Diego:

My Life as a Closeted Geek

by pandazackJuly 21, 2009

I grew up in a very conservative, narrow-minded town. In high school there were about 800 kids in all four grades. Social cliques ran rampant and it was easy to be persecuted for having un-popular beliefs. I played many different sports, but I wouldn’t consider myself the cliché jock character that inhabits so many films these days. I didn’t consider myself that because deep down I was harboring a secret. A secret that if found out would most likely make me lose whatever credibility I had managed to build up all those years. This is a secret that I am finally ready to come out and talk about because in all four years of high school I was… a closeted geek.

Now, before I really start getting under way, I want to get something out in the open. Being “in the closet” was truly miserable. I felt like I wasn’t really being an honest person. And even though I’m not gay I consider this to be very similar to someone who is in the closet for real. I by no means wish to offend anyone in this article. I don’t think that being a closeted geek and a closeted gay person is exactly the same thing. I only wish to try and draw a few parallels between the two. I mean look at this kid: I was in pain.

You’re maybe wondering right now what did I really have to hide? Well, I played any type of video game from an RPG to an FPS. I collected large quantities of toys and other pieces of geekdom. I also waited in lines for Harry Potter books, console releases, and a myriad of nerdy theatrical releases. The brutal populace of my school deemed all of this behavior un-cool.

This school was small and conformity was king. It’s also private and very Catholic ,so right there I felt the odds were already stacked up against me. I say this because the school was comprised primarily of white, Catholic kids and being a brown not-Catholic was bad enough. So if everyone was to find out just how big of a geek I was (being a geek wasn’t so socially acceptable at the time, you see) I might as well just have just had several STDs growing on my face.

This ridicule for the most part is pretty stupid, right? I watched a few kids go the way of being a proud nerd/geek and they were forever shunned. Now I applaud those guys. They weren’t afraid to accept who they really were and let everybody know it! But I liked the decent amount of girlfriends I had acquired and the people that I called “friends”. But looking back, I don’t talk to any of those people anymore. In fact, I hate the town I came from and rarely return. So if I was able to go back and do it all over again I think now I wouldn’t have a problem playing Magic: The Gathering in the quad with my fellow nerds or even discussing whether or not Cloud could kick Squall’s ass in a brawl right after class, as soon as all the kids went out and the teacher let us stay in the safety of his/her room during recess. I honestly regret not embracing my true nature like the other nerds did. My reputation would have been different, but at least I would have been comfortable.

Taking a picture with my childhood-current idol at Comic Con

Friends were one thing, but girls were a completely different batch of ridiculousness. I remember one time in particular when my new girlfriend was coming over to my parents’ house for the first time and I frantically combed my room of all things geek. So ,needless to say, large fully made LEGO sets got piled into my closet, new comics were hidden under my bed, and I even told her I used my PS2 solely as a DVD player. The question is, what’s more pathetic, the fact that I made that excuse or the fact that she actually bought it? Even worse, though, was the thought of upsetting my father.

My dad was very supportive of me playing sports, but wasn’t that interested in my love for sci-fi and other geek things. On top of that he’s a very well known man in the town I’m from and seems to know absolutely everyone. So that in itself was even more reason for me to think that I had to hide being such a lover of things like Star Wars and Doctor Who. So imagine if he was to find out from a friend that his jock son was considered to be an outcast at school. It was something I just couldn’t let happen.

It’s actually kind of sad that someone has to hide how he or she really feels or acts due to fear of resentment. I now feel like I have gotten to a level where I am actually comfortable with myself and no longer feel like I need to hide anything. Yet I don’t think it had to do with just solely how I was mentally. I think it had a lot to do with my environment. After high school I started going to film school in Ventura and met a lot of great like-minded people, people who to this day I still consider my good friends. They could care less what I liked or didn’t like. They just accept me for who I am.

Writing this article isn’t just me shedding light on what I went through, yet I do hope this will start an open forum here on Geekscape. I want to hear if any of you have similar stories about being a closeted geek or maybe if you were just in the closet in general. Because no one should have to hide how they really feel in this day and age. So if anyone has ever had a problem with what you believe in or what you love… who gives a shit? Take it from me, be proud of who you are. It took me a long time to embrace what I truly am. Hopefully this can be a good example of why you should never be ashamed to be who you are.