The Femme Show Effectively Showed, Told About Femme Visibility

The Femme Show put on its annual fall performance in Cambridge last weekend, and if you missed it, you might not want to do that again! But even still, you can read this recap, and check out all the performers when they come to your town, and buy them drinks and say they’re from me. This slightly labelphobic queer went into The Femme Show full of unaddressed preconceived notions about the word, and left with a brand new appreciation for it – the hip-cocked stance it takes; the power it confers; and, above all, the incredibly talented multitudes it contains. For example, this Show alone had four very different but equally mind-blowing burlesque performances. The Bitches of Destiny kicked things off with a version of “Mein Herr” that made everyone in the audience wish they were stage chairs and caused Liza Minnelli to pause and smile in the middle of polishing her EGOT.

A TIGER IS A TIGER NOT A LAMB, MEIN HERR (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

Self-described Burlesque impersonator GeeGee Louise transcended impersonation with his two numbers, embodying red-dress sensuality during “Tribute to the Ol’ Bump N Grind,” and taking on (and then literally stripping down) a charged and flowery innocence for “The Woman Behind the Man,” which ended the show.

AGAIN, ALL CHAIRS SHOULD BE SO LUCKY (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

In between, “critically fierce” New York burlesquer Bikini Thrill blew it all up with “Take Back the Night,” shedding her clothes, her inhibitions, the binds of the patriarchy, and a lot of fake blood all at once to the tune of “Suck My Left One” (by the cathartic and carnage-filled end, everyone in the audience would have gladly obliged).

THIS (BURL)ESCALATED QUICKLY (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

Of course, you don’t have to strip down in order to bare your soul, and the spoken word elements of the evening were every bit as graceful, vulnerable and strong as the dancier parts. In “More than Yes,” Gigi Frost talked candidly about the evolution of her relationship with sex and sex toys. “Sexy Spoken Word Poetry by a Queer Latina Femme” was exactly that – through multilingual rhymes, a sultry flow, and magnetic stage presence, Idalia let her experiences as “a walking contradiction” coalesce into a real piece of art.

WALKING CONTRADICTION; STANDING OVATION (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

amyrain’s “Letter to a Life as Good Lesbian” described the ups and downs of a love story we all know well (driver of Subaru Forrester meets wearer of tinted chapstick; cat-adoption planning and label-related confusion ensue) and gave some advice that I wish I had heard earlier in my life (for example, do not ask a girl preparing to leave the house in heels whether she can “really walk all that way in those shoes”).

“I’M KINDA LIKE, LIFE IS JUST OK.” (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

And then there was the always enlightening Society for the Preservation and Promotion of Sapphic Social Mores (SPPSSM), who provided timely and well-worded tips for jet-setting queer ladies everywhere – I now know the best way to remove a BDSM collar in an airport-security-related pinch (bobby pin + helpful TSA officer), the right people to flirt with at the airport (“purveyors of caffeine and cinnamon pastries are the most accessible options”), and how to gracefully go through an x-ray machine while “personally pierced” (smile; own it).  Between their instructions and those of other Autostraddlers, I now feel completely ready to Travel While Queer.

SPPSSM HELPS YOU PACK (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

As always with queer events like this, the awesomeness of the show itself was matched by the awesomeness of the community that sprang up around it – the bake sale to benefit the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (side note: who made that salted caramel bread pudding, and when can you come to my house); the loud walk down the street to the after party; the effective transformation of Cambridge sports bar Tavern in the Square into Tavern in the Pink Triangle. It was also a lot of fun to be part of an audience with pitch-perfect participation skills. I heard war whoops when Dean James exhaled smoke, silent reverence as Gigi Frost stepped calmly into a harness during her monologue, snaps when Rachel Kahn talked about recruiting femmes for the Thunderdome, and then of course the collective sing-alongs to the between-act music, which was carefully selected from the canon. The show’s ability to celebrate a particular identity, recognize the many (and sometimes contradictory) facets of that identity, and still cultivate an overall commitment to diversity and inclusion was even more swoon-worthy than the burlesque. I was touched (personally pierced, even). Can’t wait till next year.

UNTIL NEXT TIME! (PHOTO CREDIT: ALLIE T)

Check Out the “Werk Those Pecs!” Fundraiser Featuring Clinical Trials and Tiny Tusks

Gabrielle’s Team Pick:

Okay, confession: I’m not really the party-going type. I mean I used to be. But then I graduated college and moved to an outer borough and fell in love with a dog, so most of the time I’m not going to show up to whatever hot queer party is happening in the city. HOWEVER. I was given a tip about a party happening on Friday, October 5, that looks really fun that I think you all should know about. And I will actually probably go to it.

Have you heard about this yet? It’s Jason Hill’s “Werk Those Pecs!” Fundraiser, at Slate, which is at 54 W 21st Street, Manhattan (sorry non-New Yorkers, I love you). There will be music. There will be dancing.  There will be a date auction. There will be activists tabling and a visit from New York’s first queer adult toy company. And it’s also a top surgery fundraiser!

Somer Bingham and her band Clinical Trials will be performing, so if you’ve never seen Somer’s superior bone structure in person — ahem, I mean musical talent — now is your chance! Also performing is your new favorite band Tiny Tusks, which promises to be “better than the emo you listened to in high school,” and not just because it’s a band of three hot, awesome queers that you’ll want to be friends with.

It will also be DJ’d by DJs Suddenly & Vixx, the very same tag team that spun at this year’s Official Dyke March After Party at Ginger’s.

The Femme Show Is Sexy Queer Visibility, and You Should Go

Hey, Boston-area Straddlers! Have you been reading a lot of articles about femininity and queer femme identity lately (or do you live them all the time)? Do you feel like kicking off your weekend with an entertaining and eclectic celebration of the diversity of such identities? Perhaps you want to work up a physical and mental appetite before hanging out at Monday night’s Team Pick with Laura. Or do you, like most of us, simply enjoy watching hot queers be variously smart, talented and funny on stage? Good news! The Femme Show is coming to Cambridge, and you are going to it. No, seriously! This is ninety minutes of self-described “queer art for queer people.” It’s “challenging, introspective, brazen, funny, sexy, and gritty but always powerful” – that sounds like a killer cocktail, but it also sounds like you, right? Get over there.

I KNEW IT: THE CAST OF THE FEMME SHOW CLEANED UP THE CHARLES

The precocious brainchild of dancer and activist Maggie Cee, The Femme Show was born in 2007 and baptized in a sold-out Jamaica Plain church hall.  Since then, it has glitterbombed the Northeast, busting genres and stereotypes everywhere from the DC Center to New York’s Queer Spirit Camp. The latest incarnation begins this weekend at the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre, and features a crack team of new and returning performers doing everything from comedy to spoken word to drag. After inhaling the press release, I’m particularly looking forward to new cast member Bikini Thrill’s politically charged burlesque dancing, and to a segment called “Letter to a Life is Good Lesbian,” in which Show veteran Amy Raina “gently explains life, good and otherwise, to a cute lesbian in a hat and a shirt with a stick figure on it.” There will also be a charity bake sale (fits the venue!), and a slamming after-party (does not, so it’s down the street at Tavern in the Square).

Like all the best things, this show is e-femme-eral – it’s only here this weekend, September 21^st and 22^nd. Grab tickets for yourself and whomever you want to bowl over online for $12 or at the door for $15; you can also volunteer and get in for free! Show starts at 8:00 PM (look for me in the “Life Is Good (Tonight)” t-shirt). See you there!

Sophia Wallace Wants The World To Get Cliterate

feature image by Sophia Wallace

Vanessa’s Team Pick

Here at Autostraddle, we’re big fans of Sophia Wallace. You may remember her from Art Attack month, when we featured her in our Ten Lesbian Photographer You Should Know (About) because she is so good at capturing the queer experience through her lens and it seems as though her images pop up everywhere, showing us who we are and what our lives look like. Wallace is a Brooklyn-based artist and she’s currently working on a new project called Cliteracy, which was born from her feeling that “the world is illiterate when it comes to women’s bodies.”

She released a video on Tumblr a couple of weeks ago where she talks about Cliteracy with her studio assistant Sarah while standing in front of some previews of her new work, and it made me really excited to see the final product. You should watch it and get excited with me!

intro1fixed from Sophia Wallace on Vimeo.

The amazing news? If you live in New York, you have two opportunities to check out her work in the next two months.

This weekend, Wallace will participate in GO, a community-curated open studio project. She’s hosting an open studio on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9 from 12-7pm, and if you register on GO’s website you can vote for her to be included in a group exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in December. She’s raffling four screen prints at this event, so there’s a chance you could leave the event with a little bit more cliteracy than when you arrive.

Wallace will also have a show up at DUMBO Art Center next month, opening on October 6 and running for 3 weeks.

Phresh Cutz Was Phenomenal, Here Are Photos And Words To Prove It

by Vanessa and Katrina

When Autostraddle writer and queer barber extraordinaire Katrina ‘KC Danger’ Casino asked me to photograph her incredible brainchild, PHRESH CUTZ, I jumped at the chance. The event was slated for Sunday, September 2 and promised (via Facebook invitation) to be “last outdoor party of the late great summer 2012.” PHRESH CUTZ would be a queer pop-up barbershop party in Brooklyn, run by Hair Force One, a group of friends who met via the Internet and loved cutting hair, inclusive spaces and each other. It would be a place for queers to kick back, have some drinks, eat some snacks, meet some like-minded humans and get a sweet haircut. I was itching to take photos the minute Katrina told me about it.

Are you now thinking that this sounds like the most amazing community event ever? That’s excellent, because it was! If you need convincing, here are 60 photos from Sunday to prove it.

All images in this gallery were taken by Vanessa (that’s me!) and Ronika McClain, who was the other official PHRESH CUTZ photographer and who stayed much later into the night than I did because she’s incredible and not a grandma.

Now that you’ve seen with your own eyes exactly how phenomenal PHRESH CUTZ was, let’s talk about the future. The inaugural event was such a success, PHRESH CUTZ will be back again next month (and hopefully many months after that, too). Katrina understandably had a lot of feelings about everything that happened this weekend, so she did what one should always do with a lot of feelings and she wrote them all down. Here they are.

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by katrina

There’s this thing that happens in Brooklyn, and I think especially Bed-Stuy, where it’s never really quiet. During the days in the summer it’s usually kids in the streets or barbecues in the park or the eternally blissful sound of ice cream trucks cruising by. At night it’s music. Coming from stoops and bodegas and cars, it’s like each block has its own beat. Because it’s Brooklyn, there’s often a disproportionate amount of Biggie playing, and you can’t really play Biggie without playing “Juicy.” For those unfamiliar with “Juicy,” the song is about the meteoric rise of the Notorious B.I.G. from a street hustler in Brooklyn to a hip-hop game changer. And although there could be maybe no circumstances further away from each other than the life and times of Biggie Smalls and the story of a little barbershop that could, I couldn’t help but feel jarringly sentimental when the song came pouring out of the speakers at our party, and Biggie began with the most precise words about small beginnings: “It was all a dream.”

‘Cause you know what? It was.

PHRESH CUTZ started as a small project among friends, and I guess you could argue that it still is. It was a true labor of love from the very beginning: from building Hair Force One up from a few friends over beers to totally staffing, funding, and promoting an event that we could run completely and totally on our terms. The success of PHRESH CUTZ proved something that we all hoped to be true, but could never really know for sure: that you can do what you love, and that you can invest that love into something and come out with a million times more than what you started with.

I think that when we were conceptualizing PHRESH CUTZ, I wanted something loud and beautiful and bright. Something truly practical but also out-of-control fun. Seriously, who says that you shouldn’t have it all? I feel so endlessly fortunate to be surrounded by such an immensely talented, creative and enthusiastic group of people so totally devoted to making this happen. Everyone on the staff — the barbers, the DJs, the photographers, the bartenders — are my new personal heroes. Everyone worked so hard to bring something into this world, and I truly believe that this was, is and will continue to be huge.

There’s something large and indescribable about the feeling and the action of creating a space. There may not be any non-corny-sounding way to talk about “people being able to be themselves,” but phrases are only ever cliche because they’re true, and feeling like you can be yourself — like your whole true self — is invaluable. There are a lot of microaggressions in this world: constant misgendering, presumed straightness, invisibility, pervasive heteronormativity and often not being able to speak or think or look exactly the way you want. It’s not like one haircutting party is going to end this, but every safe space created brings us one step closer.

I am so truly, profoundly happy with the way this event went down. I want more; I feel hungry for it. Hair Force One wants to bring it bigger and better next month, and the month after that, and the month after that until the last scissor drops. We’ve got some stuff in the works. Next month’s party will be called PHRESHtoberfest (or potentially OktoberPHRESH?), and we’re looking for a bigger space and thinking about some live music. We want to start thinking about how we can learn from each other, and how we can use this event not just to contribute to the queer community but also to the communities that we live in. We have a lot of work to do and we can’t wait.

Thank you again to the staff who worked long and late to make this possible. And of course a huge thank you to our supporters and attendees. Obviously, we couldn’t have done this without you either. Y’all are beautiful, not to mention fly as fuck. This is exciting. It feels like so many things are possible, and we’re willing to put in the work to make that happen. It’s amazing to see what you can make with your own hands, to look out and see your vision unfolding and know that once, it was all a dream.

This article was brought to you by the hardworking people of Autostraddle, the world’s leading independently owned queer-lady website! If you loved it, you should donate to our bitchin’ fundraiser and be part of the revolution! We’ve got until September 7th to reach our new fundraising goal and you can read more about what’s in it for you here. Every little bit counts. Thank you!

You Can Learn About “A New Queer Agenda” On The Internet And In Person

Have you been thinking recently that it’s time for a new queer agenda beyond marriage equality, but you’re not sure how to articulate what that agenda should be or what it would look like? Well that’s okay, because a group of intelligent, eloquent humans were kind of thinking the same thing, and they went ahead and put together a special double issue of The Scholar & Feminist Online so the rest of us can read all about it.

Titled “A New Queer Agenda,” the issue is a collaboration between Barnard Center for Research on Women and Queers for Economic Justice and aims to illuminate how activists, academics, and organizers can work together to build a more effective and inclusive social justice movement.

photo by Syd London via A New Queer Agenda

The issue itself is a collection of essays that the group started working on during the Bush era, and which have now been organized into three comprehensive parts. Part 1: Queer Issues, Queer Visions, Part 2: Profiles, Interviews, and Narratives, and Part 3: Campaigns and Organizing Efforts are all part of the large issue which is available for free online and is well worth a read. What can you expect from this publication? The preface, written by Lisa Duggan and Richard Kim, promises readers the following:

“A New Queer Agenda” proposes a new set of issues for a revitalized queer movement with a global democratic vision, reaching across lines of race, ethnicity, gender and gender expression, class, religion, and nationality…The goal of this issue of The Scholar and Feminist Online is to forward the process of forging active transnational collaborations among queer progressive and left projects…Each essay, interview, and document constitutes a snapshot of a moment in political organizing at the start of the twenty-first century. Our collection of them here is an effort to connect the dots, and to bring all the local efforts into dialogue and full global visibility.

If you want to hear more about the issue from the contributors themselves at an “evening of politics, discussion, and celebration” (and you happen to live in New York City) you should attend the journal launch and celebration on September 19, 6pm. It’s co-sponsored by Queers for Economic Justice and The Center for Gender and Sexuality at NYU, and takes place at NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, 20 Cooper Square, 4th Floor. Contributors Lisa Duggan, Kenyon Farrow, Amber Hollibaugh, and Richard Kim will be present, and they will discuss “push[ing] beyond the platform of security and belonging offered by gay marriage to a broader politics of economic, political, and sexual justice for all.” I actually can’t attend because of work-related commitments (spoiler alert: sometimes Being A Grown Up sucks) but it sounds like it’s going to be a fascinating evening, so if you can go you should, and then you should tell me all about it!

Dykeadence: Southern Hospitality With A Side of Debauchery

There are few things I love more than the intersection of queer and Southern culture. But if you live south of the Mason-Dixon, you know that finding community can feel like searching for a needle in a heterosexual haystack. Outside of Pride, MondoHomo and Southern Comfort, these instances are few and far between.

For the past three Labor Day weekends, New Orleans’ Dykeadence has done a great job of filling that void. The fourth installment of the queer arts festival will take place August 29 through September 3. It’s guaranteed to be quite the week of shimmery, queer debauchery.

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From humpday through Labor Day Monday, festivalgoers will have the the chance to swoon over Queerlesque’s troupe of international performers (including Rodney James and Tito Bonito), party as JD Samson spins poolside, attend a God-Des and She performance, and participate in an It Gets Better shoot.

There are also adorably wallflower-friendly happenings, such as an erotic literature reading, panel discussion of Julie Serano’s Whipping Girl, and a queer writers’ salon.

If heaven is a place on earth, all of the girls there are queer, covered in glitter and have lilting accents.

According to Sara V. Pic, one of the queer masterminds behind Dykeadence, the festival might be the perfect opportunity for an impromptu Autostraddle meet-up. “Yall’s readers are exactly the folks who come to our events, year after year. We have people coming from across the nation,” said Pic. You should go!

via Judith Eichenbaum

A full schedule of events can be viewed on the Dykeadence event page on Facebook. The Dykeadence Tumblr is also updated regularly.

From Sailor Moon to Yaoi Fangirls: Gender and Sexuality at Otakon 2012

As a kid, I obsessed over the likes of Sailor Moon, Pokemon and Digimon like everyone else my age. As a college student, revisiting my former Sailor Moon nostalgia and exploring some yuri (lesbian-themed) series helped me in coming to terms with my bisexuality and the idea of having a relationship with another girl.  Despite all this, I’ve never considered myself a big fan, or “otaku” (the Japanese term for huge fans of anime, manga and video games, which Western lovers of the medium have more than embraced). No matter how many hours I spend training and trading Pokemon on my Game Boy, no matter how many TV Tropes edits I’ve made on Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Fullmetal Alchemist, I’ve always been put off by some parts of the otaku (and larger, geek/nerd) subculture, particularly some of the parts that are less women and LGBT-friendly. But with my first convention visit last month, to Baltimore’s Otakon, I think my opinion of that is starting to change.

Me (second from left) with friends at the con after the brony meetup on Saturday.

Otakon is the U.S.’s second largest anime convention (after LA’s AnimeExpo) and the largest on the East Coast, and I figured that my four years living in Baltimore were not complete without at least one visit. As it turned out, Otakon is a pretty good choice for a first convention: there is never a dull moment with panels on just about everything Japan-related you could imagine, from popular to lesser-known series’, from fan parodies to Japanese cooking to video game music to cosplay tips. And despite the actual convention’s fairly strictly East Asian focus, there were also fan-organized meet-ups for various kinds of non-anime geeks, like bronies, Nerdfighters and Homestuck fans. But for the sake of this article, I’ll mostly be summarizing my two favorite panels: “Sexism in Anime and Fandom” and “Navigating LGBT/Queer Identities and Issues within Japanese Media and Cultural Appreciation,” which spoke to me the most as a feminist, queer anime fan.

Disclaimer: Personally, I’m by no means an expert myself in gender or sexuality in Japanese culture or anime, or its differences from American culture in those respects; I’m just reporting on what I learned and the notes I took from the panels, as well as my own observations as a white American anime fan.

Group Pokemon cosplay!

Sexism in Anime and Fandom

This Saturday afternoon panel was run by Lauren Rae Orsini, of The Daily Dot and Otaku Journalist, and Patrick Taylor, of Anime-Planet. It could be roughly divided into two sections: the first dealt with sexism in anime, manga and video games themselves, and the second dealt with it in the larger geek culture, including convention culture and cosplay. The slides are available via Patrick’s tumblr!

One of the major issues that was discussed with regard to anime itself was the issue of fanservice, a term that originated in the anime fandom for depictions of characters (usually women) in sexy outfits or poses purely for the sake of drawing in titillated viewers. Obviously, this trope is far from exclusive to anime, but the medium is particularly notable for it, due to the often over-the-top, unrealistic heights (link NSFW) it can take. Of course, anime also has a higher-than-usual amount of male fanservice; whole genres, such as yaoi (anime/manga featuring gay male relationships that are usually aimed at women), are built on it. But as the panel pointed out is that, while male “fanservice” characters are allowed to have well-developed personalities, but female “fanservice” characters are needed to be “accessible” in their personalities. Men can be eye candy but also be actualized as characters; women are eye candy first and foremost.

There was also a lot of discussion on the portrayal of “geek girls” in anime. One thing they noted is how geek girls in anime/manga “are the closest to relatable for female fans, but aren’t there for them.” Nearly all of them enjoy showing off their bodies, which isn’t a bad thing, but when sexualization is the only depiction, it’s sending the message to male otaku that girls watch anime and go to conventions for them. This was related to the way that girls are often forced to prove that their geeky interests are legitimate (especially if they are sexually-attractive) and that they’re not just “followers” in a way that male geeks often don’t have to. This is hardly exclusive to geek culture, but there does seem to be this particularly strong fear by some male geeks of non-geek girls “infiltrating” their spaces and “tricking” them, or something. Particularly “sexy” girls: hence the controversy, mentioned at the panel, over the former Miss USA identifying herself as a geek because of her love of history and Star Wars, as though the fact that she was in a beauty pageant means she can’t possibly be allowed to use the label.

Humanized cosplay of Photo Finish from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic from the Saturday brony meetup

Another way in which sexism manifests itself in geek culture that was presented was through cosplay at conventions. In a survey the panelists took of 97 anime-convention-goers, 63% of female-identified cosplayers reported being harassed in some form while in cosplay, while only 43% of male-identified cosplayers did. And “nearly all respondents said they didn’t report the harassment for fear of not being taken seriously by staff.” The harassment that women faced was usually based on appearance – either being ogled if they were perceived as sexy, or told that they “should wear something else” if they were seen as not sexy enough for the character they were portraying. One girl remarked that she was surprised how much of the policing of “not sexy enough for that character” comes from other women. Others discussed how some “you shouldn’t play that character” comments also come from racism, despite the fact that black and Hispanic anime fans often have a limited number of characters of their races who they can cosplay. One person brought up the way that fans often put down Muslim women who incorporate their hijab into their costumes. Despite all this, though, most fans in the survey presented described conventions as “safe and welcoming” and thought that the anime fan community was a self-aware one in regard to the various issues with it.

Though it’s covered more in the next panel I’ll be discussing, there were also some points made about gender-ambiguous characters. While they noted that gender is often treated “as a performance” more often in anime than other forms of media, the transphobic notion that “gender-bending” characters are “traps” is still unfortunately common, both in the media itself and in the fandom’s reactions to such characters.

One girl presented that she thought that anime/manga was often sexist in terms of what it saw as “boys’ series” (“shonen”) vs. “girls’ series” (“shoujo”). While stuff that falls under the “shonen” genre encompasses a wide variety of genres and themes, from action-and-adventure to sports to fantasy to historical (take this image from the popular Shonen Jump magazine as an example), the stuff that is categorized under “shoujo” tends to mostly fall under slice-of-life/romance, or magical girls like Sailor Moon. While I thought this was a bit simplistic, the lack of variety in shoujo compared to shonen was something I found off-putting about manga after my initial interest in it as a teen. It felt kind of insulting that as a woman, it would be assumed that I would only be interested in either romance and everyday school situations, or girly fantastical superheroes, while the boys got so much more variety aimed at them. But the panelists suggested that a lot of this had to do with the kinds of shoujo that got picked up for publishing/airing in the U.S., and that as fans we could demand more variety by looking for stuff “on the margins” that reflects our interests better and making it known to the big anime/manga distribution companies.

What was really great about the panel, to me, is that Lauren and Patrick didn’t just leave us with identifying problems, but also solutions. Particularly, they gave the panel-goers tips for what to do when witnessing harassment, whether at conventions, in online gaming or anywhere else, which is that: silence often looks like agreement, and you can’t assume that someone being a jerk knows that he’s being a jerk. We need to shame sexist behavior and make it clear when we are offended, even if we think the other person might be “joking.”

Cosplay of Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Next: LGBT PANEL

Your Favourite Queer Artists Will Play Phasefest 2012

Phasefest is an annual three-day music and arts festival in Washington DC that never fails to pull together a stellar cast of queer musicians for your viewing and listening pleasure. It’s like a mini queer Coachella but affordable and also indoors. Now entering its sixth year, another great Phasefest lineup has been announced!

The Lost Bois! Clinical Trials! Mitten! People At Parties! See, the great thing about Phasefest is that there’s usually something for people of all musical tastes and interests. You could go on Friday night to see Somer Bingham play cool music, and/or go on Saturday night to see Vero be cool. I bet she has an amazing rock stance. Or maybe you just wanna go so you can audition as one of Hunter Valentine‘s regional reps. Whatever you’re into, I won’t judge. It’s going to be a killer weekend.

Phasefest will run from 20 – 22 September at Phase 1. Day passes or weekend passes will be available – you can find all the event and ticket info here.

All The Small Things: Comic-Con Dug Into Some Progressive Politics, Other Cool Shit

Cecil Castelluci’s The Plain Janes

Beyond the crazymassive panels that rule the San Diego ComicCon, there’s a lot of smaller stuff that goes on. These panels are often just as cool (if not cooler) than the big guys as they usually delve into topics that the bigger, fluffier spectacles wouldn’t touch with a swag bag. You won’t find many free shirts at them, but you know what’s better than getting a free ill-fitting t-shirt you’re only going to wear as a pajama top? YOUR MIND EXPANDING, that’s what. While I didn’t go to as many of these panels as I wanted to because I was pretty hungover all the days, I did catch the Progressive Politics in Comics panel. My mind, it did indeed expand.

Progressive Politics had a great lineup of panelists. Led by moderator Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics), Susie Cagle (AlterNet), Cecil Castellucci (The Year of the Beasts), Shannon Watters (Adventure Time), Stan Mack (Taxes, the Tea Party, and Those Revolting Rebels: A History in Comics of the American Revolution) and surprise guest Gail Simone (Secret Six, Batgirl) rounded out the panel.

susie cagle via thedailycrosshatch

As the panel began, the speakers touched on many different topics, each bringing their own experience to the table. Susie Cagle, who comes from a body of mostly non-fiction work including pieces that cover the Occupy Oakland movement, referred to her tactics as “putting medicine in apple sauce” so that even readers who may not be willing to sit through a political discussion can absorb the information in comic form. While she has faced some ridicule for ‘glamorizing’ the occupy movement in her comics, she said she sees it as a way of truly being able to capture a moment in time when there’s no way to bring in a camera to document the experience. Stan Mack added that as a writer and comics artist, there’s a fine line you must be aware of when you enter the arena. There’s a certain amount of careful treading that goes on, but it’s just as important to know when taking the risk is worth it.

Stan Mack

Cecil Castellucci, who is an author of young adult fiction, explained that the medium itself softens up harder issues and makes bigger topics far more accessible to the public. In her Plain Jane series, one of her Janes has two dads. It’s never really made out to be a big deal, but instead arises organically as part of the story. In her books, the politics is never the main thrust of story, but at the same time it is present and palpable.

Gail Simone, who started out writing a blog about the poor treatment of women in comics (Women in Refrigerators), explained how both sides of the political spectrum can be used to breathe life into the world of a comic as she’s done with her books set in Gotham. Giving the world some kind of political conflict but staying away from anything too preachy or stereotypical elevates the material to another level. You not only want to infuse your ideals into the work, she explained, but also to show the other side fairly.

Editor Shannon Watters explained what it was like pitching a project that would involve nearly all women (Marceline and the Scream Queens) to a publisher (they were all for it!). Stressing how much you need to diversify your team, she also noted that the devotion young people feel toward their favorite comics means you need to be all the more conscious the decisions you make about your writing. As a writer, the experience and awareness that you bring into your work enhances it.

All in all it was an insightful, thought-provoking panel. We were given a peek into the minds of some truly great people in comics who helped us understand the responsibility that comes with being a writer. Not only do you tell a story, but you use your ideals and knowledge in a critical way that creates something even greater that educates your readers. Which, to me, is way better than being hungover some t-shirt.

Teen Choice Awards 2012 Liveblog and Open Thread

Hello lovers! It’s the Teen Choice Awards! Is there anything more exciting than watching Justin Bieber win award after award? I, for one, am riveted already.

Along with Justin Bieber, Flo Rida, Carly Rae Jepsen, DJ Pauly D and No Doubt will performing. Yes. No Doubt. This is something to actually be excited about.

Demi Lovato and that Other Guy We Hate From Glee, Kevin McHale, are hosting and it all starts right here (and on Fox) at 8pm EST.

gonna happen all over again

8:00pm EST: Here we go!

VIA CBSNEWS.COM

8:02pm EST: We are only 2 minutes in to this shindig and men have already ripped their shirts off to reveal “Ellen.”

Can I just say this is a way better line-up and opening dance number than the MTV Movie Awards lineup.

8:04pm EST:Demi Lovato is dressed like an Amazon alien bubblebee from the 90s.

TECHNO BUMBLEBEE CAVE WOMAN (VIA JUSTJARED.COM)

That “grew up in the same mall” joke would have been funny with way better time.

This “videos for Demi” is not funny at all. Boo.

8:08pm EST: So is Kevin singing to Demi improved or just really poorly written?

8:09pm EST:I had no idea that Selena Gomez and Zoey Dechanel were the same height. My world is rocked.

BUBBLE GUM DRESS (VIA MAMACITAZ.TUMBLR.COM)

We won a thing! Ellen won last year too and this year managed to not dress like Justin Bieber. Too bad for the Biebs.

Ellen just handed two little ballerina princess girls mini awards for web stars. This needs to be on Butches with Babies immediately.

THIS SHOULD ALSO BE ON BUTCHES WITH BABIES

8:16pm EST:
This next category will be presented by Shaun White and some other guy!

Of course the Vampire Diaries would beat out True Blood. Only when teenagers vote for this shit online.

8:22pm EST: I just found out it’s Selena Gomez’s birthday! It is also my brother Aaron’s birthday. Happy birthday Aaron and Selena.

8:24pm EST: All of this discussion of Kevin’s failed boy band career and pictures of his childhood are making me hate him less for being Artie.

8:25pm EST: I wonder if will.i.am is jealous that Pauly D is the in house DJ this year?

OMG I’m so nervous that No Doubt is about to play. The anticipation is killing me.

8:26pm EST:

VIA JUSTJARED.COM

Me: Um. Am I supposed to know this song?
My Beau: No, it’s new. I love everything about this.
Me: I don’t know… it kind of just sounds like an old No Doubt song I’ve just never heard of.

Welp. At least it doesn’t sound like a solo Gwen Steffani song we just never heard of.

When are they going to play I’m Just a Girl?

8:30pm EST:Yay the cast from Pretty Little Liars! This is awkward though. Every person on stage won an award tonight except Shay Mitchell

VIA UNFORGETTABLETHINGS.TUMBLR.COM

8:32pm EST:

I never saw The Lucky One because ain’t nobody went to see that movie. But I do love me some High School Musical.

Wildcats get your head in the game.

My Beau: Oh. Wow. He filled out.

MANLY MAN.

8:38pm EST: Yay the guys from Happy Endings! Presenting the award for… Choice Hotties…. I’m uncomfortable.

Miley Cyrus didn’t take the time to show. Love that. Ian Somerhalder is whatever but kept trying to take his shirt off. So thats a thing.

VIA LOVE-IANSOMERHALDER.TUMBLR.COM

I love how Selena Gomez counts as a whole group. Like I get that technically she has a band. But, let’s get real. Selena just won. On her birthday! Cute.

8:43pm EST: Everyone singing Happy Birthday to Selena Gomez is the cutest. I’m glad cute things are still allowed to happen in this world.

BLOW IT GIRL (VIA DAMN-THEYVE-GOT-THAT-SWAG.TUMBLR.COM)

8:48pm EST: Can everyone else see this adorable Harry Shum, Jr. texting while driving PSA?! I adore him.

Demi took a much needed costume change! Thank god!

8:48pm EST:

I actually loved 21 Jump Street and Jonah Hill is hilarious. I appreciate him pointing out that Christopher Plummer (who beat him out for an Oscar) was not nominated for anything at the TCA.

8:56pm EST: If Flo Rida is on stage, why does the camera keep panning to Taylor Swift? Oh right, because you can always count on her to be straight up full on dancing by herself.

8:57pm EST: Australian bisexual vegetarian singer Sia is so freaking hot. If she wants to just come over to my place and perform for me I would totally allow that.

[UPDATE: Sia is the artist in the original version of this song, but she was not on stage tonight at the TCA. That was some other hot biddie.]

9:04pm EST: I like how if someone doesn’t show up for an award they just list it off like this. KStew, what did you have to do tonight that was more important than taking home Choice Summer Actress. It better have been attending a gay pride. [Update: I’m an idiot]

9:07pm EST:

Well duh.

THIS IS PROOF THAT KSTEW LIKES GIRLS. PROOF.

Wait. So KStew is here? I guess it’s a bigger deal to accept the Ultimate Choice award rather than her specific Choice Actress awards.

Yo Kstew’s braid looks so gay. That’s the new gay trend. Everyone go do it.

LESBIAN HAIR IS LESBIAN

9:11pm EST: I’m highly concerned KStew and RPat physically giving their surf boards to the audience might incite a riot.

9:11pm EST: Welcome Chris Colfer and Victoria Justice! You already know I love my gay boyfriend Chris Colfer, but did you know that vicTORIous is my secret favorite Nick show.

DOES THIS TIE MAKE MY HIPS LOOK BIG?

Demi Lovato won this last year and is presenting even though she’s also hosting. Because of her struggles and stuff. I like that Miranda Cosgrove won basically because she’s going to college. But like, actually.

9:21pm EST: I think I just saw Rachel Bilson in the audience. Unconfirmed but really really critically important.

Lea Michele presenting Female Choice Artist? Bummer she isn’t on the list since Lea has PIPES.

VIA JUSTJARED.COM

I will be shocked if Taylor Swift doesn’t win Female Choice Artist.

ISN’T IT JUST THE MOST? TO SAY THE VERY VERY LEAST. (VIA IT-ALL-ABOUT-THE-HUNGER-GAMES.TUMBLR.COM)

Well duh. Did she even put out an album this year?

OKAY THIS IS PRETTY CUTE

Taylor Swift is wearing white, because she always wears white because, she’s pure and virginal and doesn’t sully herself with dirty sexy or dirty colors.

9:29pm EST: OH MY GOD JUSTIN BIEBER PERFORMING.

Let’s not kid ourselves. We all think of this as “If I was your BOIfriend.”

9:32pm EST: Bieber is still singing. I hope he does something super cute for Selena Gomez because I’m super over invested in their relationship.

THREE LESBIAN STYLE ICONS

9:34pm EST: I think Bieber’s backup singers are wearing the outfits that cult members wear just prior to mass suicide.

CONCERNING

9:34pm EST: I am so disappointed in Justin Bieber right now. This would have been a great moment for a proposal or an exaggerated display of love and promise.

9:37pm EST: I think the best part of tonight was the preview I just saw for Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie House at the End of the Street.

9:40pm EST: I like how Demi’s outfits are getting increasingly casual as the night progresses. By the end of the night I hope she’s just in a tank and yoga pants. That’s what I’m in.

VIA DLOVATO-NEWS.TUMBLR.COM

My Beau: Don’t you mean “That’s what I’m into?” Because you love yoga pants girls?

9:41pm EST:

I love Josh because Josh loves the gays!

DOESN’T HE JUST LOOK LIKE A TOTALLY UPSTANDING NOT-A-BIGOT KIND OF GUY?

9:44pm EST: Why is Uncle Andy from Weeds wearing a monkey?

I COULDN’T FIND A PICTURE OF ONE DIRECTION AT THE TCAS (VIA GILMARINES.TUMBLR.COM)

While the One Direction acceptance video is completely adorable, I wish they’d shown up so the teens won’t riot in the street. I hate rioting. This is why we can’t have nice things.

9:52pm EST: Is it wrong that I completely associate Zoe Saldana with Words With Girls?

THOR. (VIA SLEEPMYONLYLOVE.TUMBLR.COM)

I feel like of the awards given live are for men. Seriously. BOTP. Perhaps it’s to better aim the show at teen girls who’ve been systematically trained to swoon over shirtless older men.

Also, not to be nitpicky, but the microphones have been off this whole show too.

9:56pm EST:

VIA EONLINE.COM

So “Call Me Maybe” is going on. If I’m this tired of it I wonder how Carly Rae Jepsen feels. I mean, tired of it but I would maybe still make it my ringtone or tear up a bit if a stranger karaoked it to me in a gay bar, you know?

Luckily this was definitely generally better than the MTV Movie Awards. You know, like not a shitshow. Plus I think Demi and Kevin had actual good co-host chemistry. I mean, better than that time James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

10:00pm EST: Wow. That ended exactly on time. I’m impressed. I need a drink or seven.

TESTIMONY Exhibition Gets Born, Tells The Story Of Being Young And Queer

In April, Carmen told us about Testimony, an online exhibition that served as a “creative space to tell our stories in our voices, to document history, spark dialogue, remember those we’ve lost, educate each other and others, show off our badass selves and create change.” It was purely virtual at the time but promised to get born IRL come July 2012. Well kids, it’s July, and as we told you yesterday, the time has come. Be excited.

I attended the opening reception of “Testimony: A Living Exhibition of Queer Youth” at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art last night in Soho, New York. It was beautiful and fun and emotional and perfect. I even braved the freak hail storm that hit Manhattan, which is important to mention only because I hate rain even more than I hate season 7 of Buffy, but this exhibit was totally worth it.

I wandered around the room, taking in the artwork and the submissions that told stories I both wanted and needed to hear, even if — especially if — the story was not a direct representation of me and my experiences. Learning about our differences is just as powerful as reveling in our similarities, and the combination of both feelings as I walked through the exhibition hit me hard. My heart felt full and my eyes felt a little bit watery. I felt safe. I listened to the stories the artwork seemed to whisper and I heard the subtle but persistent message: There is a place for you in this world. There is a place for all of us.

Gabby Rivera reads from a binder of a submitted testimonies

Alexis Handwerker, head of Coalition for Queer Youth and curator of the show, told me that she has always thought of Testimony as a storytelling project, and that it evolved from a need to make queer stories and dialogues more visible both within and outside the community. She pointed to the homeless LGBT youth in Samantha Box’s portrait series “Invisible” and the trans women who were killed in hate crimes in Molly Steadman’s prints as examples of groups that are typically left out of the conversations we have. As a social worker, Alexis says she’s always examining the world to see which people need more help, support, and love.

Amos Mac’s intimate “Bedrooms” Portrait Series

The exhibition features honest, revealing work from prominent queer artists such as Box and Steadman, as well as Amos Mac, Brian Shumway, Bkyln Boihood, Gerard Gaskin, Michael Sharkey, Valerie Shaff, and Laurel Golio and Diana Scholl of We Are The Youth. It also includes submissions from individuals and organizations from around the world, and there is an area where visitors can hang out and create their own testimonies, nestled under a sign that reads, in sparkly purple letters, “Be Heard.”

Handwerker said her dream is to take the exhibition all over the world, connecting with local artists in different cities and working to represent queer experiences across the globe. She hopes that both young and old folk will recognize themselves and learn something new when looking at the testimonies, and she’d ultimately like the art to spur action and positive change where it’s needed.

Did you testify when Carmen first introduced this project? If not, what are you waiting for?

Samantha Box’s “Invisible” series focuses on homeless LGBT youth in NYC.

“Testimony: A Living Exhibition of Queer Youth” will show from July 18–July 28 at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, 26 Wooster St., New York, NY as part of the 10th Annual Fresh Fruit Festival. On Wednesday, July 25 at 7pm the museum will host “The Evening of Testimony,” which features readings by authors Kate Bornstein and Emanuel Xavier.

Dispatches From Ballroom 20: All Day, All The Panels

If you read “So Many Cunning Hats: “Firefly” Superfan Attends ComicCon’s “Firefly” Reunion, Loves It,” where I completely fangirled out, you know I slept in line the night before to get into Ballroom 20. What you didn’t know is that I was essentially in there all day, for all of the panels. And I took all sorts of notes! So let’s go in order of panel, shall we?

Community: “Four Season and a Porno! Six Seasons and a Movie!”

Community Panel

Panel Members: Dani Pudi (Abed), Allison Brie (Annie), Joel McHale (Jeff), Gillian Jacobs (Britta), Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley), executive producer Russ Krasnoff; new showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port, writer Megan Ganz (wearing my favorite shirt of the day that said “Save The Cape”) and writer Andy Bobrow.

The Down Low: Hilarious and informative! First and foremost, the panel did give now-dismissed creator Dan Harmon some love as well as talked in a way that suggested mere tolerance of Chevy Chase. Lots of love for the devoted fans that have helped keep the show on the air too!

We also learned that:

-For the Law & Order episode (written by L&O fan Megan Ganz) they got Dick Wolf’s blessing to use the “chunk chunk” for the breaks. They now want to do a Law & Order SVU ep.

– Dani Pudi says it was hard to play Abed in a rift with Troy because he’s so used to the dynamic he has with Donald.

– Dani Pudi, Gillian Jacobs and Allison Brie (sexily) chair danced for us.

-Yvette thanked us for sleeping outside. They knew what we were up to, they have Twitter.

– Season 3 DVD set will contain commentaries on every single episode, 20 mins worth of outtakes and a special behind the scenes featurette of Pillows VS. Blankets.

– Despite being a fan favorite the actor who played Star Burns got tired of the character and left.

– Jeff’s dad! He will be in Season 4! Joel McHale says he will reveal who is cast and it is Eddie Murphey.

– We will finally go inside Pierce’s eccentric mansion.

– This is the senior year for many of the characters, however it was hinted that even if people do graduate Greendale the show will go on.

– Troy and Britta may actually be a real thing.

– The fooseball players may be back.

– The new guys replacing Dan Harmon stress that they were mega fans of the show before they got the call to come in.

– Oh, and there will be an DR. SPACE TIME CONVENTION IN THE SHOW.

Best Thing Ever: An outtake they showed us from the DVD was of Allison Brie in the study room free style rapping and actually being pretty good at it.

Legend Of Korra: So Much Cosplay

Panel Members: Janet Varney (Korra), David Faustino (Mako), P.J. Byrne (Bolin), Seychelle Gabriel (Asami), creators Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino, co-executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos and voice director Andrea Romano

The Down Low: First off despite the fact this panel was inundated with restless Browncoats waiting with baited breath for their panel, there were some great fans. I saw a lot of LoK cosplay the entire weekend and a good deal of it at the panel. And lots of Korras! It was good to see so many girls dressed up and embracing badass main character of the show. Also a lot of people who had never heard of Korra wanted to start watching after this panel because we learned:

– The Book 2 (season 2) starts off 6 months after the end of Book 1.

– It will expand the world building, with the season primarily in the Southern Water Tribe.

– But we’ll also be in the spirit world quite a bit as well as visit the now-restored Southern Air Temple.

– We were showed concept art of all of these locations. The art was absolutely breathtaking and lush for each setting. Also there will be a festival in the South Pole the gang will be attending.

– The cast gets a wardrobe upgrade, with mostly coats and longer sleeves to combat the winter down south. Korra has some arm warmers and a darker pair of threads, but she’s still keeping her sleeveless muscle shirt look.

– We will learn more about Korra’s family and explore the family dynamic.

– We’ll see more of the original GAang all grown up.

– Aang and Katara’s other children: the wild and crazy Bumi and the spiritual and ‘hippieish’ Kaya will be in this season.

– Lots of new characters were introduced! Including Korra’s father’s brother who is a mentor to Korra, his emo androgynous twins and a Howard Hughes-esque character named who will help out Asami and have a nice repore with Bolin.

– There will be lots of spirits as well. We saw some designs and they were very other worldly.

– The big deal is we’ll be learning about the history of the Avatar and how the Avatar came to be in two special episodes during the middle of the season.

– There will be 4 Books for the entire series split over 52 episodes.

– We watched an animatic that introduces the new season. In it Bolin is still Pro-bending, but with new team members who are absolutely terrible. Mako is now a police officer. Asami has taken over Future Industries (with a new Amelia Earhart-esque wardrobe!) however she finding being a businesswoman difficult as no investors willing to trust the company. And Korra is now able to tap into the Avatar state with ease, but doesn’t take it seriously as she uses it to give herself a boost during an air-scooter race with Tenzin’s kids.

Best Thing Ever: Two things. First off, Andrea Romano directed the cast in a reading of scenes from season 1, accompanied by pictures of the scenes as they read. It was so cool to see them slip into their characters with ease during the read. Secondly, she decided to tap into the crowd and recorded us making sounds! We’ll be used as a pro-bending match crowd, which is super cool.

Bones: Something About A Roll Of Quarters, And I’m Not Making That Up

Panel Members: Emily Deschanel (Brennan), David Borneanaz (Booth), executive producer Stephen Nathan, Creator Hart Hanson was not able to attend.

The Down Low: Can I be honest here? I didn’t know Bones still existed and sat there and ate a sandwich. Because it was the first thing I had consumed since six in the morning and after I did the Firefly thing I felt like I may die of starvation, so I like… don’t have much for you. I’m sorry. I do know:

– Stephen Nathan said they feel like they avoided the Moonlighting Curse by not showing the sex between Booth and Bones.

– Bones is at a very interesting and conflicting point in her life. She’s living a life she condemned her father for living and she’s not only living it with him, but also with her baby.

– Booth is emotionally wounded and will be searching for her by any means necessary.

– The new villain of the season is someone who we’ve never seen before. The gang has always been able to keep ahead of their bad guys, but he’ll always been two steps ahead of him (as someone who watched four seasons, wasn’t that like, ALL the major bad guys they’ve had?)

– The general audience consensus was David was totally drunk at the panel and/or had consumed some really fun drugs. He wouldn’t shut up and went on the weirdest, often sexual, non-sober tangents. Regardless of the fact the rest of the panel tried to keep him reigned in, he kept at it. He also interrupted fans during the Q & A and worked the crowd to drum up support for a new Angel project with Joss Whedon (who has said several times he’s not going to do any live action Angel anytime soon).

Best Thing Ever: Anything that came out of Borneanaz’s mouth, because there was no filter and it was all face palm worthy.

Arrow: Gratuitous Male Shirtless Scene, Check

Panel Members: Stephen Amell (Oliver), Katie Cassidy (Laurel), executive producer Andrew Kreisburg, executive producer Marc Guggenhiem and director David Nutter

The Down Low: We were shown the pilot in it’s entirety. It received a pretty good reception from the audience, however I left feeling pretty indifferent by it. The story has potential, but there’s a lot of generic CW gloss and drama dripping off of it and its been ‘re-imagined’. Which means it’s further from the source material than Smallville ever was when it began. It’s not the must watch show of the fall for me but I may check out episode 2 to see if it can rise above it’s pilot, which is what is most new shows face. The cast was charming though and it was hinted that (Dinah) Laurel Lance may be donning the Black Canary fishnets earlier than we anticipated.

Best Thing Ever: 

“That one that looks like the chick from Twilight.”
“What’s Twilight?”
“You’re better off not knowing.”
*audience cheers*

EW’s Women Who Kick Ass! Panel: “Let’s All Pray Lucy Doesn’t Go To Prison.”

Kick Ass Women

Panel Members: Anna Torv (Fringe), Kristen Kreuk (Smallville, Beauty and the Beast), Sarah Wayne Callies (Walking Dead), Nikki Reed (Twilight), Kristen Bauer von Straten (True Blood) and surprise panelist Lucy Lawless (do I really need to list what she’s been in?)

The Down Low: It was just a really chill panel asking the ladies about various things, mostly having to do with being a women in Hollywood. They were all funny, intelligent and well spoken.

– Apparently Xena could be doing some serious jail time for a Greenpeace protest where she (illegally) climbed a 174-foot drilling tower on an oil rig. This quickly and firmly established her as the biggest bad ass of the panel. And she didn’t even have to break out the chakrams.

– She also explained how to use a Go-Girl “You gotta tuck!”

– When asked about whether Hollywood’s perception of women has changed, they agreed it is changing, but at the same time actresses should also “be warriors” and pursue their own projects.

– Sarah Wayne Callies explained that women are often told to consider one another competition in Hollywood. However that’s the opposite of the truth and Lucy actually taught her that on her very first show (they worked together).

– When asked about whether it’s challenging for women to find projects with great characters, Kristen said that there are actually a lot of great character driven parts and stories out there.

– Nikki explained she grew up surrounded by strong women her entire life, and she continued to surround herself with them. So it was never an issue that she could never do something because she was a girl. She had been brought up knowing that if she wanted to do it, she should do it.

– The group was asked about whether or not the Hollywood bias that men don’t want to watch strong female women is true. The panel all pretty much said Girls (which has a large male following) is a perfect example of that being false. Lucy pointed out older women are reigning on TV in shows like Damages (and she’s loving it). Writing is also a factor, and if you look on TV you can find a lot of female characters who don’t fall prey to the stereotypes. They all agreed there will always be some kind of resistance.

– When asked about bad costumes, Kristen Kreuk said a lot of the wardrobe on Smalleville made her uncomfortable because her character was supposed to be a seventeen year old and they’d have her in lingerie. Anna Torv explained Fringe has really relaxed clothing and the worst thing she’s ever had to wear is a skintight suit to make her look nude. Nikki Reed said to ask her in about five years when she can talk about Twilight. Sarah Wayne Callies replied that the Walking Dead is the enemy of vanity and they pretty much just slather her with sunscreen and throw dirt on her instead of there being makeup (and she likes it). Lucy Lawless said it was a bad merkin they had her wear on Spartixcus. And Kristen Bauer von Straten exclaimed that on True Blood she actually wears more clothes than the boys (which is refreshing!) however the stuff they have her wear for Pam is generally uncomfortable. Because of all the nakedness she believes the cast of TB is healthier, because they’re more conscious and eat their veggies more often.

-They sighted Sigourney Weaver as a major inspiration. Also Elizabeth Moss and Kate Blanchett.

-During the Q&A they were asked what was the biggest hurdle facing women’s rights. They talked it over in depth and came out on the other side agreeing that Comic Con wasn’t the best place to talk it over, simply because they didn’t have enough time to give the question the answer it deserved. There are a lot of issues that span from national to international, there are so many issues and rights it’s not fair to the question.

-Anna Torv did say that she feels a hurdle we do face is that we are the generation to trailblazers. We’re this new generation of feminists who don’t have an extended past to look back on as a good example. Yet at the same time we don’t really see ourselves as trail blazers and that gets lost.

– Most of them can totally tell when a guy writes dialog for them.

-Kristen Bauer von Straten wants Pam and Tara to HOOK UP on True Blood.

– The final question was what cliches did they all wish would go away. Lucy loves cliches and thanked the sci-fi community for being so supportive of women, even through embracing cliches. Kristen Bauer von Straten said she was tired of the black widow cliche (even though she admits Pam kind of is one). Sarah Wayne Callies said women running in a bikini without anything moving. Nikki Reed said the issues of body image and the fact that men do not have it to the degree we do as well a the effect it can have on a women’s career. Kristen Kreuk agreed and said she also wants what it means to be a strong female character to be redefined. That it will no longer be about kicking ass and taking names, but more about inner strength.

Best Thing Ever: All of them the entire time. Also Sarah Wayne Callies cracking a joke about being able to help spring Lucy Lawless out of prison (as her show before WD was Prison Break). Also, also, also Kristen Bauer von Straten going off into a hilarious tangent about nudity.

Dark Horse: Joss Whedon “Well, it’s been an interesting year.”

Panel Members: Just one guy who’s name starts with a J wearing a black shirt that said “Much Ado About Nothing”.

The Down Low: Not a whole lot or breaking news here. Joss didn’t come prepared to say much as he has been talking pretty much since he arrived to the con and everything had already been announced. It was mostly a big Q & A, however:

– The movie Much Ado About Nothing (aka ‘Me and my friends got together and decided to do Shakespeare’) just wrapped post last Wednesday. Joss not only directed the movie, but wrote the entire score which was a first for him. The film is actually in black and white and they’ll be shopping the film to festivals soon.

– About 45 minutes after finishing Much Ado he began working on Dr. Horrible 2! Some songs are already done and they are hoping to get things started next spring.

– The CW will air Dr. Horrible itself for the first time ever on TV!

– Right after SDCC he was flying to England to get together with comic writing star Warren Ellis about their collaborative project Wastelands.

– There will be 25 issues of Buffy comics.

– 25 issues of Angel and Faith with one of the main story lines being Angel and Faith trying to resurrect Giles.

– There will be a Willow mini series.

– And a Spike miniseries.

– There will be more Firefly Comics. Both comics that delve into characters pasts a la the best selling “The Shepherd’s Tale” as well as comics that push the story forward after Serenity.

– If you bounce the Wonderflonium you may bring about the Zombie Apocalypse.

– His advice to struggling artists is to make more art, to not wait on others and do it themselves and “make it happen”.

– He would like to return to TV because he really loves the medium of television, however he has no plans to do so at the moment.

– He was a bit dodgy about whether or not he would direct the Avengers sequel.

– Joss would really like to do a stage musical, but has a lot of projects possibly lined up.

– He would like to write more Fray and Sugar Shock, but it’s the same issue of other projects.

Best Thing Ever: When he opened up the panel to Q & A he said he wanted questions like “What’s it like to work for FOX?” and then proceeded to mime being trapped in a box.

‘Glee’ and ‘True Blood’ Panels at Comic Con, Abridged

This past weekend at San Diego Comic Con, theater dorks and vampire enthusiasts alike had their cravings for spoilers moderately satiated as Glee and True Blood panels revealed teeny tiny bits of information about the shows’ upcoming seasons.

Glee

The Glee panel featured executive producers Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Dante Di Loreto, with cast members Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz and your imaginary girlfriend Naya Rivera. If you’ve watched Glee from the beginning as I have, you probably have a lot of feelings regarding its slow and painful descent into the kind of show that you hate yourself for watching but just can’t stop watching, because what if it starts to get better and you missed it? It’s hard to tell from the hints that the cast dropped whether or not Glee is going to return to its original glory. For example, they didn’t mention anything about introducing an additional queer female character with a gender presentation other than high femme, something that I’ve been waiting for since the beginning — not that I don’t love Santana! I mean just watch this video.

via The Huffington Post

What they did reveal is that season four will begin with Santana at the University of Louisville, cheerleading, rather than in New York with Rachel. Santana and Brittany’s relationship will be in a “good spot,” which is unfortunate if you were hoping that Santana’s College Lesbianage would involve her hooking up with lots and lots of girls.

Kurt will still be at McKinley, working as some sort of teacher’s aid to Mr. Schue as together they fill the Glee Club’s empty spots. Hopefully he will be getting paid for his labor. Also, that means Kurt and Blaine will still be together, and probably still tearfully processing what will happen to their relationship if/when Kurt moves to NYC. The producers hinted that Kurt will indeed be joining Rachel in NYC eventually, so you can count on a lot more processing in the upcoming season. Also, Darren Criss had a beard, which apparently did not go over well with the audience.

Rachel will be taught by guest star Kate Hudson at NYADA, who will be the anti-Mr. Schuster in terms of teaching strategies – which makes her sound a lot like one Sue Sylvester. Speaking of Sue, she will have given birth at the beginning of the season, but we still won’t know who the father is. I’m not sure why that’s important, since she signed up to have and raise the baby as a single mom, but apparently it’s a thing people are curious about. Ian Brennan assured the audience that Sue will still be Sue, and even though she’ll be raising a baby she’ll still delight in tormenting others.

The second episode of the season will be yet another Britney Spears tribute.

Also: Will and Emma are not yet engaged but are “doing dirty things.” Mercedes and Puck will be in LA. Damian “Irish Breakfast” McGinty won’t be returning, at least not for the first half of the season, but Samuel “Teen Jesus” will, along with fellow Glee Projector Alex Newell. Finn remains the “question mark of the season,” much to my overwhelming indifference.

via Zimbio.com

True Blood

The True Blood panel featured Alan Ball, Alexander, Skarsgard, Christopher Meloni, Kristin Bauer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Joe Manganiello, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Setephen Moyer and Anna Paquin and her baby bump. The panel began with a brand new preview reel jam-packed with vague yet thrilling glimpses of scenes in which Sookie maybe tries to become human, Tara has some pole-dancing skills and a confrontation with her mom, Jessica sleeps around, Godric Returns, Russell Edgington eats people and also wants to be with Eric, and overall it seems that there is an impending war between humans and vampires. I’m into it. After the preview reel, the cast members took turns showing off their superior abilities to body roll.

via Zimbio.com

There hasn’t been any good sex on True Blood yet this season, but don’t worry, that’s apparently about to change. Alan Ball said that there will be much more sex in the next few episodes, during which “all tastes will be satisfied.” ALL THE TASTES! I think that’s an awfully ambitious statement to make. Did they make a list of all the tastes first? Also, there will be three new romances that are yet to be revealed. These are the three romantic combinations that I think would fulfill all the tastes: Tara and Pam, followed by Tara and Jessica, followed by Tara and a new butch-ish vampire named, oh I don’t know, Shane.

Speaking of Tara, Wesley said that playing her character as a baby vampire is an “overall joy” involving her “more leathery side.” She means this literally with regards to her new wardrobe, which perhaps we can all feel “overall joy” about.

Moyer and Skarsgard got their flirt on as they discussed how much they love working together, discussing their “bromance” that exists both on-screen and off. There is apparently something from their history together that we haven’t seen yet, and I’m thinking it might involve them sensually rubbing their chest muscles on each other.

Disturbingly, Manganiello mentioned that he will sexually “eviscerate” one of the other cast members. Hopefully he will also be getting enthusiastic consent and a safe word beforehand.

We’re also about to learn more about the untimely deaths Mama and Papa Stackhouse. And Anna Paquin gave the not-at-all vague or unsurprising hint that the season finale is going to include a “very, very crazy scene at the end.”

Alan Ball received a standing ovation as this will be his last season with True Blood, since he’s “old and tired.” Apparently, writing and directing one of the most popular shows on television is a really hard and exhausting job.

via LA TIMES

All in all, these panels looked to be a lot of fun but also looked like they didn’t really reveal anything that fans couldn’t figure out on their own. I’m pretty excited for the rest of this season of True Blood, though, and hesitantly looking forward to seeing what will happen with the Diaspora of original Glee characters. What do you all think?

Maker Camp: Sounds Awesome, Bestows Relevancy To Google+

This week marks the first time in literally a year that I’ve felt excited to be on Google+. I created my account on July 10, 2011 because everyone told me I had to if I wanted to stay relevant, and I’ve pretty much ignored it ever since. But today all that changes, thanks to Maker Camp!

Maker Camp is exactly what is sounds like: a camp where you learn to make things. But there’s a twist — this camp is virtual, which means it’s completely free and available to anyone who has an internet connection and a Google+ account (cue the long-awaited relevance). It’s actually designed for teens, but I’m 23 and still super excited, so I imagine many other humans of various ages will be pretty psyched, too. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn how to make rockets, animated gifs, and mason jar terrariums? And that’s just in Week One! And you don’t even have to leave your house or put on pants! This is definitely our kind of camp.

This exciting situation runs from July 16 until August 24 and presents a total of 30 potential projects, one each day. There will also be a weekly virtual field trip. Those of you paying close attention at home will realize that camp started yesterday, but no worries — better fashionably late than never! You missed out on making rockets but you’ll be okay. Anyway! The projects are posted a week in advance so campers have time to gather the necessary materials, most of which are household items or readily available at grocery or hardware stores. In the mornings, an expert camp counselor will introduce the new project and give tips and advice on completing the project successfully. Campers can upload photos of their project and tag them with the designated tag for the day (today is #TinkeringTuesday, for example.) Counselors will host an afternoon hangout on Google+ to talk about the project and admire all the pretty hash-tagged pictures.

You can watch this video to learn more from camp director Nick Raymond. He seems really enthusiastic and adorable, plus he just blew my mind talking about a 3-D printer.

What do you guys think? It seems like if you ever once enjoyed any of our DIY articles, you’ll probably love this camp. I’m feeling particularly thrilled because of my own very complex relationship with camp as a teen. Personal story time: I attended sleepover camp for nine years both as a camper and as a counselor, and I really wanted to love it. And while I do have some good memories from my time at camp, the truth is, I often felt like an outsider. I never liked the right activities, never had a date for the social, never got picked as Color War captain, never wanted to talk about the same things all the other girls were talking about. I was never cool enough. But I kept begging my parents to send me back because I had convinced myself that I was supposed to love camp. Even now, I’ll readily tell people that I’m a “camp person.” I’m not sure what that means, but I do know that the stereotypical sleepover camp experience was probably not right for me.

But you know what could have been right for me? A camp like this one. The fact that it’s inclusive (insofar as you have a computer and internet access, of course) and free means a lot, because it gives teens and even preteens — or unteens, like myself — one more accessible space to just be people. People who want to make terrariums and not feel weird about it. Maybe right now a young person is participating in Tinkering Tuesday: Animated Gifs and feeling really good about themselves. And hey — maybe that young person is you! In which case, please show us your gifs immediately.

Happy Tinkering Tuesday everyone!

So Many Cunning Hats: “Firefly” Superfan Attends ComicCon’s “Firefly” Reunion, Loves It

So first of all, apologies on there not being an article yesterday. I was in line trying to send it off but apparently with free con wifi the deal is that when everyone is using it, NO ONE CAN REALLY USE IT. So there’s that.

+

First Off, Let’s Get Some Shiny Feelings Out Of The Way

Firefly. Most people have feelings about it. Personally I tend to have all the feelings because it came into my life when I was a sheltered little small town girl being raised in the church. I was struggling with these crazy intense mental and physical reactions I was having when I met cute girls, and I was also a budding writer who wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to write. The keyboard was this thrilling and scary new beast I was doing my best to figure out how I would master.

Then I bought Firefly: The Series on the whim and my world opened up. Kaylee had her engines, Zoe toted around her Winchester Special, River was beautiful / innocent / powerful / fucked up and Inara had the female client scene I watched about five times, slack jawed, and then uttered “Holy shit I’m gay.”

I also quickly learned that that was how I wanted to write: about the family you make with only the people you’re surrounded by, where women keep up with the boys and the boys like it that way and where the story is driven by the characters, not the other way around, and the dialogue is smart and defined and the world is lush and it makes you believe and it makes you want to stay. I wanted to write like that. I was more passionate than ever about being a writer and using that to grow into my queerness.

+

A Campin’ (In Line) We Will Go

The Line

So when they announced that the Science Channel was having a Firefly Reunion and that it was being filmed for a team special, I, like many others, knew I had to be there.

Which meant at about 11:30 the night before when I was somewhat drunk and strolling back to my friend’s place and I saw the already staggering line that had formed, I quickly made the decision to sleep in line. I grabbed a cab, hauled ass to the hotel, packed my duffel and returned to an even longer line, relegating me to sitting on the grass with a bunch of others.

But it was alright, because we were all there for pretty much the same thing: Firefly. Not just Firefly though, most of my fellow fans were also interested in the panels that would come on beforehand (Community and Legend of Korra).

+

“Joss Is Boss!”

Despite the fact that it was drizzling and I was wrapped in only a coat and a blanket, I managed to get some sleep. In fact, I slept through quite possibly the coolest, most touching thing that happened: at around 2:30 in the morning, Joss showed up. He started at the front of the line, taking pictures and signing stuff (from t-shirts, to badges, to someone’s kindle). He went through the entire line, making sure everybody who was awake got something special out of the line-waiting experience (he also stepped over sleeping fans and called them “Lazy.”). Clearly he didn’t have to, but he wanted to, and after I was roused by a “Dude! Wake up! JOSS WAS HERE!” it was great to see the impression he left on everyone. We were there for something that we loved, and in turn the creator wanted to give us some love back. Everyone in line seemed filled with a sense of validation and unity afterwards.

This Really Happened

+

Your Coat Is Kind Of A Brownish Color

Around six, they finally let us into the convention center and we all headed in to use the bathrooms and get dressed. A lot of Firefly shirts, a lot of earth tones and brown coats, many many cunning orange knitted caps, and a peppering of cosplay here and there (lots of Kaylees and male Jaynes, some Rivers and Mals, at least one Zoe, few lesbian Jaynes!). I had a floral dress, some tights, tall moto boots and a brown aviator jacket, which I felt was an homage to the style.

At around nine we were let in, and I found a really good seat just above the middle of the room where I could easily see both the people on stage as well as the massive screens. Community and Korra started, and I will write up about them later as they were both very excellent, but even the people on those panels knew everyone was already focusing on reaching the special event at 12:30.

Group Photo

+

The Montage Plays, The Crowd Goes Wild

When the time came, the air was electric and I had goosebumps. I felt extremely high as a montage of scenes from the show began while “Sexy and I Know it by LMFAO played and we went nuts. Jeff Jenson, the moderator, quickly came out afterwards and began to introduce the cast and crew, who were all met with great fanfare. As each one stepped onto the stage they all looked extremely surprised by how massive their reception was. At one point, Sean Maher (Dr. Simon Tam) stepped onto the stage, looked around in bewilderment, then committed himself to a particularly well-executed swoon that sent him behind the panel table.

However, when Joss finally emerged on stage the room turned from eager cheers to a passionate, singular roar as we gave him a standing ovation. As we all settled into out seats it was easy to see the entire crew of Serenity couldn’t make it (Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Ron Glass and Gina Torres were not present), but having the others plus Producer Tim Minear and Writer Jose Molina was still wonderful.

+

“These Are The Finest Meat Puppets I Have Ever Controlled.”

The panel got underway and was more of a retrospective. Clips from pivotal scenes from the show were played and the panel was asked about the show and how it affected them. Nathan Fillion (Mal Reynolds) said he was grateful because Joss was the guy who gave him a chance to be a leading actor when everyone else cast him as ‘the boyfriend who leaves early on’ or the ‘fifth guy’. The very quiet (and teary eyed) Summer Glau explained how she tapped into her 17 year old self when she was playing River Tam.

Joss extolled the virtues of the entire cast, but singled out Tim Minear for keeping it the show alive while he was also juggling Buffy and Angel, and Nathan for being the captain on set and making sure the rest of the crew meshed and did their best (it made Nathan tear up). Sean Maher explained how he was won over by the beauty of the concept because Joss explained the entire thing to him himself. Jose Molina was grateful to have written on the show because it was one of the first gigs he had coming out of being a writing assistant for the longest time.

Adam Baldwin (Jayne) talked about the infamous cunning hat so many had on, how it was knitted by a woman in the office, how he fought to wear it for the entire episode and also gave one away (to a very appreciative Kaylee). Alan Tudyk (Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburn) explained how Nathan forced everyone from cast and crew to get to know one another by making up the incredibly competitive game Who Can Learn The Most Names. And during Q & A we learned that is Joss had known the show was being cancelled and had time to wrap it up on TV we would have gotten more Blue Sun, Book and Inara’s backstory, and someone in particular wouldn’t have gotten skewered through the chest with a giant spike (at that point Alan threw both hands in the air and rejoiced).

The cast reminiscing

+

“Quick! (Sean) Say Something Intelligent!” “I Think You Have A Fever?”

The cast was also incredibly silly the entire time, with obvious hams Alan and Nathan stealing the spotlight as they goofed around. There was no shortage of the two interrupting the panel (and Joss) with their ridiculousness by making faces, quipping, Nathan whipping out his Mal pistol and at one point even acting out ‘Firefly The Radio Show’ in which Mal ordered Wash to the bridge so he could seduce Zoe. Adam Baldwin took his Jayne hat and put it on his mic, and was delighted to find it still worked so he talked into the hat for a short while. Summer also got Sean in trouble by doing something behind the table that caused him to crack up. It turned into a chain reaction of us all laughing at him trying to compose himself and failing miserably, which interrupted Joss who assumed it was Nathan doing something silly, who then ratted out Sean, who at that point burst out laughing and said it was all Summer’s fault. It was so good to see them all close with one another after all these years, as well as hearing they still get together and are working on projects together (Joss just wrapped post on his Shakespearian movie Much Ado About Nothing, which Nathan and Sean are both in as Dogberry and Don John).

+

“They Are The Biggest Selling Books Of All Time.”

Some small announcements for the ‘Verse also happened. We learned that despite being slightly busy due to directing that epic movie, Joss is still working on getting out more Firefly stories through Darkhorse Comics (it is their best selling title). He and his brother Jed are working on more stories that touch on the backstory of each character like the best selling Shepherd Book comic. However, he also said that they have begun brainstorming some very cool comics that move the story forward in the comics. It was met with a a big round of applause, and my heart felt all tight in my chest because as a comics writer I have been saying for a long ass time comics is the best medium to continue Firefly in.

+

“Do You Remember The Time When We Were Off The Air For 10 Years And Thousands Of People Showed Up To See Us Anyway?”

The entire time we sat through the panel the most prominent thing that was felt was the appreciation towards the fans. The love in the room was immense. Everyone on the panel deeply thanked us for being there, and talked about how the fan base resurrected the show into the movie (Which Joss considers “One of the finest nervous breakdowns a man has every had.”). More than once Nathan and Joss got choked up and had to compose themselves.

We also learned Joss likes to make jokes about George Lucas

But they saved the best for last. First, the lights dimmed and the clip of the pilot aired where Mal sits Simon down and says the famous “Still flyin'” quote where Simon responds, it’s “not much,” and Mal say’s “It’s enough.”

Our moderator then asked Joss how “Still flyin'” became a mantra to the fan base and what the fans meant to him. His eyes turned red and he got teary to the point of being unable to speak, and then Nathan started crying as well as Joss attempted to compose himself.  We filled the gap by making some noise ourselves — everyone stood to give Whedon another standing ovation. Some screamed with joy and appreciation, many yelled “We love you Joss!”, and most of us, including Summer onstage, were reduced to tears with them. Sean and Summer hugged while Adam tapped his heart to show how he felt as we cheered the man on. It was a beautiful moment to be apart of, and after awhile Whedon grabbed the mic and looked at us all and said this:

Only an idiot would actually try to follow that with a sentence. When you come out of a great movie, you feel like you’re in that world. You come out of ‘Brazil,’ and suddenly everything is duct piping and everything’s weird and too much. You come out of certain things, and the world has become that. when you’re telling a story, you’re trying to connect to people in a particular way… The way in which you guys have inhabited this world, this universe, have made you part of it, part of the story. You are living in ‘Firefly.’ When I see you guys, I don’t think the show is off the air. I don’t think there’s a show. I think, that’s what the world is like. I think there are spaceships, there are horses, and our story is alive.

The Real L Word Season 3: Brooklyn Premiere Party Highlights

On July 8th, the cast of The Real L Word celebrated their third season premiere at a bar called, “The Knitting Factory.” I was pleased to see that it wasn’t at an actual factory and that nobody was knitting when I got there (because I don’t know how to.)

I was standing around outside waiting for the red carpet area to get set up, while Vero (one of the new girls, band member of Hunter Valentine) started talking to me. I am not ashamed to admit that her stunning good looks set my loins aflame, as though I were a straight lady discovering Fifty Shades of Grey for the first time, and that I kind of just stood there gawking at her while she talked.

At one point she said, “Hey, wait, what is your name? Etsie? Estie?”
I said, “Uh, Esther.”
She said, “Well, I’m gonna call you Estie. You have something in your hair.”
She plucked it out and I said, “Th-th-thank you!” and basically, there you have it: Estie is the new Sah-Dah.

Believe it or not, she was 75% sexier than this IRL when removing lint from my hair.

After this, I went back inside (to take photos, not because I was following Vero or anything) and watched the whole cast be fabulous and gorgeous on the red carpet

When the photo shoot was done, I checked out the “NY vs. LA: Battle of the Bartenders” set up at the bar. I might be a little biased, but I think Sabrina Haley was the winner of the evening with her signature drink, “Dyke-o-tomy,” and not just because of her ability to throw/promote fantastic parties OR because she’s total eye candy, but because of her actual talent as a mixologist— Kombucha, cinnamon and alcohol never tasted so good.

Sabrina has successfully protected me from/helped me hook up with crazy lesbians at bars for a while now…and THAT’S the Real L Word.

With drink number one in hand, I got to talking with Somer and her wife, Donna at the bar. Somer and I recalled a hilarious phone interview we did a few months ago, where she confessed that she fled from Donna the first time she tried to hit on her because she got too nervous. Also, that when she saw her future wife eating a falafel sandwich that was falling all over the ground, she knew she was The One.

Both were incredibly sweet and down to earth…all I have to say is that these are two nice ladies who take good care of their nearly identical, tiny dogs!

After this, I watched the opening electro-ish band called, Making Friends. They were super gender-fluid and awesome and rocking out with maracas. In fact, people vogued.

That girl in the middle was very sweet— she saved my spot and protected my second drink from roofies when I had to make a quick trip to the ladies room.

At this point, a preview of The Real L Word‘s opening credits for the new season came on, featuring Whitney and Kiyomi in a fierce stare off with California and LA backgrounds behind them. The camera definitely established and ensuing West Coast/East Coast rivalry reminiscent of 1996.

After that, Hunter Valentine came up and sang songs such as “The Stalker” and “Treadmills of Love.” Of course, I spent most of the time taking multiple shots of Vero and obsessing over her like a 16-year-old girl over Justin Bieber, then regretting a missed opportunity to throw my “Estie” monogrammed panties onstage.

Track 6 on their CD: “She Only Loves Me When She’s Wasted.” Now that’s a song that I can relate to.

And finally, the wait was over— I clutched a preview copy of Season 3’s first episode to my heaving bosom as I ran to the nearest cab. I can’t give away any spoilers quite yet, but let’s just say that it’s wacky, people. Wacky.

Ladies, Start Your Skillets: International Summer Brunch Day Is This Sunday

Bunchsters! Don’t forget that you’ll be brunching this Sunday in along with the rest of the brunchateers at Autostraddle International Summer Brunch Day 2012.

Thanks to our intrepid hosts and the dubious magic of Facebook, we’ve got brunches planned all over the world and we’d love to have you. You can get all the details on your local meet-up on the original AISBD post.

If you don’t see your city on the map, it’s not too late! Grab a group of friends, put a call out on Autostraddle Social or brave it alone and flirt with your waitress. Do something!

While you’re there, don’t forget to take pictures; seeing your shiny happy faces warms the cockles of our hearts and gives us hope that we’re doing more than just furiously typing away on keyboards all day long.

Onward ho, brunchees!

You Should Come: July 15th Is International Autostraddle Summer Brunch Day

Brrrrrrrrunch! It’s like crunch, but colder. It’s like lunch, but …. with more eggs? Brunch! It’s whatever you make of it! Just like life. And we decided to make brunch of July 15th and call it International Autostraddle Summer Brunch Day, or AS Summer Brunch, or Int’l AS Brunch, or #ASSBrunch or just BRUNCH.

It’s happening on July 15th!

The original idea came from Rachel in NYC, who’d already planned a brunch at Petite Abielle, and it all just sounded so lovely that we couldn’t stand to be left out. This is a great excuse to ditch all your other friends and find new friends! Or wear that cute vest that you still haven’t worn yet. But most importantly, it’s your chance to meet other Autostraddle readers in your city! If you’re new to Autostraddle meetups, please see:

+ It’s A Thing: International Meet An Autostraddler Week
+ International Know Your Autostraddler Week

Doesn’t that look like fun? You’re damn right it is.

As with past Autostraddle meetups, if you’re interested in hosting / coordinating a brunch on July 15th in your city, email autostraddlemoderators [at] gmail [dot] com with the following info, and update this post to include your meetup!

Name
City
Brunch Location
Time
RSVP info
Special Instructions

International Autostraddle Summer Brunch Day locations and times are below. Wanna go to your local meetup? Just RSVP on Facebook and get your cute shoes ready. Have fun, little fish!

New York City
host: Rachel
Candela Candela (in the East Village) *NEW LOCATION*
12 PM
RSVP
Flagship brunch!

Oakland, CA
host: Marni
The Fat Lady Bar & Restaurant
12 PM
RSVP

Boston, MA
host: Lizz
The Friendly Toast
10 AM
RSVP
“That’s technically in Cambridge but that’s totally the same as doing it in Boston.”

DC
host: Carmen
Carmen’s Haus
2 PM
RSVP
Potluck

Columbus, OH
host: Grace
Surly Girl Saloon
1 PM
RSVP
You can catch Alex’s band, Hell & Lula, later this night at The Basement!

Portland, OR
host: Taylor
Mississippi Food Carts
11 AM
RSVP
“Meet me by the cupcakes!”

Phoenix, AZ
host: Laneia
Switch Restaurant & Wine Bar
1 PM
RSVP

Ann Arbor, MI
host: Rachel
\aut\bar
11 AM
RSVP
“Because love means never having to choose between going to a gay bar and going to brunch.”

Chicago, IL
hosts: Elli & Liz
Liz’s Place
11 AM
RSVP
Potluck

Northampton, MA
host: Jesse
The Roost (corner of Market St and Main)
Noon
RSVP
Special Instructions: I will be wearing my “STRADDLE THIS” t-shirt so y’all can find me!

Orwell, VT
hosts: Lisa & Angela
Singing Cedars Farm
6:00PM
RSVP – Email lkalan89 [at] gmail [dot] com

Eckerö, Finland*
host: Soph
Linny’s House
1PM
RSVP: email Soph at karmedic [at] gmail [dot] com
“It’s not everyday you get at least four straddlers on an island in-not-really Finland.”
*Brunch will be held on August 13th!

Philadelphia
host: Hannah
Cedar Park Cafe
11am
RSVP

Bloomington, IN
host: Paige
Rachael’s Cafe
11AM
RSVP: email her! guitarchicpt [at] yahoo [dot] com

Ottawa, Canada
host: Kristin
The Lieutenant’s Pump, 361 Elgin St.
12:00 noon
RSVP

Nashville, TN
host: Rae Schobel
Brunch Location: Bagel Face Bakery, 700 Main Street, Nashville, TN. 37206
11:30 AM
RSVP
Special Instructions:  You want Nashville to have more queer events?  Here ya go.

Denver
host: Alison
Brunch Location: Lucile’s  (Logan and Alameda)
1:30 PM
RSVP
Special Instructions: “I’m trying my bestest to get Lucile’s to take a reservation, but they never do, so we’ll see! Just please RSVP with your amount so I can give them a tentative number!”

Glasgow
host: Seph
Brunch Location: The Curler’s Rest on Byres Road
12 noon
RSVP – Email josy [at] lavabit [dot] com
Special Instructions: “I will put a wee rainbow flag on the table for identification purposes.”

Toronto
host: Camilla
Brunch Location: The Beaver (yes, really)
11AM
RSVP 

Montreal
host: Kristen
Brunch Location: Royal Phoenix Bar 
12 noon
RSVP 

Vancouver
host: Ferin
Brunch Location: St. Augustine’s
12 noon
RSVP 

St. Louis, MO
host: Bethany
Brunch Location:  Uncle Bill’s Pancake and Dinner House, 3427 South Kingshighway Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 6313
12 noon
RSVP – email Bethany: bethany.nikstad [at] gmail [dot] com

Seattle
hosts: Allie and Shelby
Brunch Location:  Volunteer Park (it’s a picnic potluck!)
12 noon
RSVP

Wellington, New Zealand
host: Nicole
Brunch Location:  Espressoholic, 136 Cuba Street, Wellington
11AM
RSVP

Auckland, New Zealand
host: Frith
Brunch Location:  Zus & Zo, Herne Bay, Auckland, New Zealand 1011
10AM
RSVP

Brisbane, Australia
host: Tiara (Creatrix Tiara)
Brunch Location: TBA (likely somewhere in the West End) — Come to the FB page to help decide!
11AM
RSVP
Special Instructions: Friends of AS readers welcome too!

Melbourne, Australia
host: Cara
Brunch Location: The Bell Jar, 656 Smith st, Collingwood
11:30AM
RSVP – email crgreenham [at] gmail [dot] com AND/OR RSVP here
Special Instructions: “Please come! I will feel very odd alone at a meet up!”

Dallas
hosts: Christine and Nicole
Brunch Location:  Buzzbrews (On Lemmon)
10AM
RSVP – email christine at boomhowerchristine [at] gmail [dot] com

San Diego
host: Leslie
Brunch Location: Bread and Cie *NEW LOCATION*
12 noon
RSVP

Austin
host: Julia
Brunch Location: Yellow Jacket Social Club
12 noon
RSVP on the FB event page OR email Julia at jaykayebee [at] gmail [dot] com

Providence
Host: Daniela
Brunch Location: Brickway
11AM
RSVP – Join the Rhody Straddlers Facebook group, and we’ll go from there!
Special Instructions:  “Rhode Island is tiny, we probably know each other, let’s just make it official.”

Aberdeen, Scotland
Host: Ashleigh
Brunch Location Giraffe, Union Square
Time 11am
RSVP – email Ashleigh: ashleighjayne.allan [at] gmail [dot] com
Special Instructions meet at those bench-y things by the top of the escalator? I know it’s very unlikely that they’ll be many, if any (hey that rhymes,) people for this one but it’s worth a shot.

Los Angeles
Hosts: Brittani, Alex Vega, Sara Medd
Brunch Location: Barnsdall Art Park
Time 11:30AM
RSVP
Special Instructions: Potluck in the park!

The staff at Autostraddle would like to formally acknowledge that it isn’t summer all over the world. We just really love the word ‘summer.’ 

Fringe Festivals are Weird in the Best Way

Brittani’s Team Pick:

Do you like theater, music, film, spoken word, and dance? Do you also like weird shit? Well guess what. The Fringe Festival takes those things and mashes them together like a really artsy and probably less delicious Cold Stone Creamery. The Fringe Festival focuses on original performance arts pieces. For those of you that haven’t had too many brushes with independent performance art, it usually makes you go WTF in a WTF way but sometimes it makes you go WTF in an awesome way. There are Fringe Fests all over the world. They began in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival. The festivals aren’t nationally incorporated so their operations vary from city to city but the structure is reliant on providing an “open forum of expression that minimizes the financial risks for both artists and audiences.” That means it’s fairly easy to register as a performer and pretty cheap to see shows.

Recently I caught a couple of shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Maybe next year when I have a car (please sweet baby Jesus) and am generally less lazy (a girl can dream), I will go to more of them. However this is not the future and the two shows I saw were 30 Minute Musicals and How to Do Thangz with Words. Both of which I enjoyed immensely. Both shows I can’t imagine having seen anywhere else except maybe on a college campus because people aren’t given this kind of freedom when there’s money on the line. When there are other people to please and executives with expectations or theaters to keep afloat, creativity is at times stifled or cut down and stripped until it becomes “marketable.” I might be in the minority but at this point in my life, I’d never pay 15 bucks to see a blockbuster movie but I’d pay it to see a dude sing “Hold on to your butts.”

30 MINUTE MUSICALS debuts their first Double Feature at Fringe! 30MM’s hilarious musical theatre adaptations of SHOWGIRLS and JURASSIC PARK will leave you on the edge of your seat. These two fast and furious romps, featuring original songs and choreography, clock in at a breathtaking 30 minutes each.

Licki Ucroj “knowz” how to do thangz with wordz. Originally inspired by hip-hop icon Nicki Minaj, the rapper believes in the transformative power of language. She sings, speaks, and proselytizes: propagating a faith in words and their power to heal broken hearts. Wounds were made for licking.

The Hollywood run is over but there are upcoming festivals in New York, San Francisco, Boulder, Seattle, D.C., Chicago, Minnesota, Toronto, Calgary, New Orleans, and other cities all over the world. The Dublin, Vancouver, and Brighton city guides all mention their respective Fringes so it seems like they’re a great place to find the lady queers.