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Geeky Confessions

October 3, 2014 Nina Penalosa17 Comments

When one identifies themselves as a geek, people will assume that they like and are knowledgeable about certain franchises in the Nerdverse, but this is never the case. Despite what Tyler Durden may say, us geeks are all special unique snowflakes because none of us are completely alike. Not all geeks love Doctor Who, think Ewoks are great, have never read the Harry Potter books, or watched Firefly — although I gasp dramatically when I learn these things from fellow geeks. I know deep down (waaaaaaay way way deep into the core of my soul) that it’s okay. Except for maybe the Ewok thing. HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE EWOKS? They are adorable and totally badass and the Rebellion would be nothing without them!

– deep breath – Okay, okay. I’m okay.

Anywho, Mariko over at Gamerwife put together a list of her geeky confessions and has invited other bloggers to join her in sharing their deepest and most honest confessions about their geekyness.

So these are my geeky confeeessioooonsss (sung like Usher):

1. I decided to hate Harry Potter before I even read the books.

I am beyond ashamed to even admit this, but I was super “hipster” about Harry Potter. In 8th grade a librarian came to my one of my morning classes and talked about different books we all might be interested in. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone was among one of the books and I thought it sounded interesting, but quickly forgot about it. Then a few years later Harry Potter was EVERYWHERE. Shirts, backpacks, socks, lunch bags — HARRY POTTER MERCHANDISE UP THE WAZOO. And it bothered me! Like, “ugh, why is this little wizard boy all over the place? What the eff is Quidditch? UGH.” Then it was adapted into a movie, and my aunt bought the book since it was all that was being talked about and I was like, “WHY?!” because it’s cool to hate on crap you don’t know about, right?. /sarcasm. My older sister read it out of curiosity. She told me it was actually good and I’d probably like it. After I read it I was hooked and devoured books two, three, and four over winter break since those were all the ones that were published at the time. Now I wish I had a time turner so I could visit my younger self (in disguise so I wouldn’t go insane) and punch her in the lady parts for being such a stupid Muggle!

Lesson learned: Give things chances before I decide if I hate it or not. 🙂

2. I loathe Tinkerbell.

I am self-proclaimed Disnerd. Disney is the very first fandom I was ever part of. But just because I love Disney doesn’t mean I love EVERY character the company has ever created. That being said, I LOATHE TINKERBELL. I think she’s a jerk (I’m actually putting that very lightly, because I’ve called her more colorful things). She tried to have Wendy killed because she was jealous of all the attention she was getting from Peter for eff’s sake! Peter’s not even worth any girl’s time of day because he’s a jerk too. I can’t stand how she’s one of the most popular characters or how her image is used for almost every piece of Disneyland merchandise. And Disney, you are not fooling me with the franchise based on Tink and her fairy homegirls. Am I supposed to believe she was a nice little fairy that makes little do-dads before her days with Peter? Nope. Nu-uh. Not buying it.

3. I’ve never seen any of the original Star Trek episodes/movies, or The Next Generation (TNG). I’ve only seen the two JJ Abrams movies.

When I was on my community college’s newspaper staff, some of the writers talked about how much they loved TNG growing up, and when I admitted I had never watched it they were all shocked. And despite the fact that it’s now on Netflix, or that my former co-worker gave me a big binder full of bootlegs of EVERY Star Trek incarnation (except TNG because her brother told her to keep it), I have yet to sit down and watch them. I’ve always been familiar with the characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed the JJ Abrams movies… I’ll get around to watching the originals/TNG. I swear!

4. I don’t ship Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

This bothers me so much I actually wrote about it in my journal. Here’s a gist of what I wrote in it:

I think Kermit the Frog is a great as an individual. He’s extremely loyal to his friends and a well accomplished performer (“Rainbow Connection” brings me to tears), but as a significant other, he absolutely sucks. Here he has Miss Piggy who is utterly fabulous and loyal to him, and loves him to bits and pieces, but he DOES NOT APPRECIATE HER!!! He’s a total commitment-phobe. He doesn’t want to settle down with her properly despite the fact that they’ve been together for years (long before I was even born). Their relationship is just so messed up, I don’t even know why they’re together. I mean, I realize they’re fictional, but still! I want to slap both of them! I want to slap Kermit for being an unappreciative prick with a wandering eye (have you seen The Muppets Take Manhattan?). And I want to slap Miss Piggy because even though she can be obnoxious she’s still super fabulous, has an amazing sense of style, and is totally confident in her own skin, however when it comes to Kermit her senses turn to mush. It’s like dammit, Piggy! You are strong and confident, and that frog clearly doesn’t love you the way you love him. You deserve better!

Oh, and one of my friends told me while she was watching an old episode of The Muppet Show, Kermit made comments about Miss Piggy’s weight. MUCH RUDE. And y’know what? Just watch the last two Muppet movies that came out recently, and maybe you’ll miffed too. Okay, I’m going to stop now. I could go on about this, and I know it’s kind of ridiculous, but it seriously irks me to no avail.

5. I have never read a Jane Austen novel all the way through.

It’s expected for all English majors to have read at least one Jane Austen novel. Hell, I even took a Jane Austen class and was super excited about, but I would lose interest with each damn book almost immediately after opening it. I had to consult Spark Notes and whatnot, and whenever I read a chapter summary I’d think, “Well that interesting, what’s next?!” Then I’d go back to the book and re-read with a better understand, and then I noticed what my problem was. Jane Austen likes to ramble. I read the graphic novel version of Sense & Sensibility and loved it! And I assume I only enjoyed it so much was because it took out all the tangents the original text had. A year or so ago I attempted to read Pride & Prejudice and even downloaded an audio version to read along with (those sometimes help me stay focused on the text so my mind doesn’t wander), but I just couldn’t stick with it! So I’m thinking the only way I can enjoy Jane Austen is if her entire collection was turned into graphic novels. * shrugs shoulders *

I still don’t know how I passed with a B.

So what are your geeky confessions?

Cheers,
Nina

Magic, Color, Flair

September 11, 2014 Nina Penalosa5 Comments

The Walt Disney Family Museum‘s Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair art exhibit in San Francisco closed last weekend, but I was able to go 3 weeks before it made its grand exit! I had been dying to go to this exhibit since they first announced it last year, so I made sure my bum got down to the museum because I’m completely in love and in awe of Mary Blair’s art! I’m sure I’ve mentioned what a huge fan I am of her on numerous occasions here, but I digress.

If you’re not familiar with her, she’s very well known for her bright and cheery concept art for Disney movies (Saludos Amigos, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan), designing It’s a Small World (yes, that ride that you either love or hate at Disneyland. And I wore a Small World inspired outfit for the exhibit too which included my It’s a Small World bag by LeSportsac!), and illustrating children’s books (notably I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss).

Magic, Color, Flair was a retrospective of her work which was utterly fascinating because I’ve only really ever been exposed to the art she’s done for Disney and children’s books. Her earlier work was gorgeous and vibrant, and a bit more realistic than the whimsical art that I grew to adore (you’ll see down below).

I went snap-happy with my camera and took pictures of EVERYTHING. So hopefully people who would’ve love to have gone but couldn’t make it may stumble upon this post. And I hope you all enjoy it too, my little ponies! 🙂

In case you’re wondering what the small text by her photograph says:

Mary Blair (1911-1978) was one of Walt Disney’s most original, beloved, and influential art directors. A protean and prolific painter, designer, and colorist, she found artistic expression in a variety of media, including film production designs; fine art watercolors, print illustrations and advertisements: and large-scale, three-dimensional theme park attractions.

The aim of Magic Color Flair: the world of Mary Blair is to reveal and explore Blair’s artistic process and development. The most obvious aspect of her body of work is sparkling graphic inventiveness and a brilliant color sense that dazzles the eye. But there is also in her art an emotional component – an empathetic identification with characters and situations — that appeals directly to the heart. Disney animation features director Wilfred Jackson’s comment touches upon that a special element in Blair’s creations. The exhibition investigates the sources of her art’s visual and emotional qualities — which melded together, make Blair’s work uniquely appealing.

The nearly two hundred works shown here offer a full and balanced overview of Blair’s almost half century of achievements before, during, and after her Walt Disney tenure.

– John Canemaker
Exhibition Curator

I’m not able to show you the nearly two hundred works that I took pictures of, but I did my best to include the pieces that I enjoyed and to also make it feel as if you saw the exhibit yourself 🙂

The clipping next to this horse design says:

Miss Mary Robinson, second year student at Chouinard Art School experienced the thrill of a lifetime when she picked up a current issue of a national magazine to find on the back cover advertisement her winning design in the annual Art Alliance competition.

The competition, which is national in scope, is conducted in the spring but this is the first time that the design had been made public by the company for which it was made. Miss Robinson’s work is called the Trojan Horse design and was made for bath mat, bath towel, small towel, and face cloth for a towel company. She received a $100 award and she competed with thousands of art students and professional artists as well.

According to Mrs. Chouinard, director of the school, the purpose of the competition is to build up interest among artists in this country in types of commercial and industrial design which heretofore have been done during have been done mostly by Europeans. This is the fifth time that a student of this school had won first prize in this competition.

^ This is the cover of a music book and I actually found a beaten up copy of it in my parent’s garage last year! SQUEE!!!

In 1962, Blair created paper sculptures for department store Bonwit Teller’s display windows. Below is one of the sculptures she designed.

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Under the Sea

October 9, 2013 Nina Penalosa9 Comments

outfit details – t-shirt: RedBubble (buy here) // skirt: Marilyn Monroe (buy here) // cardigan: GAP // belt: Xhileration // flats: Blowfish Malibu Shoes // tote: Tokidoki for LeSportsac // ring: Betsy Johnson (buy here) //hair bow: Judy & Park (buy here) // glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy here) // earrings: Crossroads Trading Co. // watch: Timex x Disney

Greetings my little ponies! It’s been awhile since I’ve done an outfit post hasn’t it? I finally managed to find time to sneak in a shoot while I house/dog sit for Tim’s mom and sister! As I type this, Rory and Jezi are curled up by my side enjoying a little nap. It’s almost been like a tiny vacation, this house/dog sitting gig, despite the fact that I still had to go to work. And speaking of tiny vacations, Tim and I are going to be heading to SoCal in a week! We’re only going to be there for a few days, but we’re hitting Disneyland, exploring LA for a day, and then we’re going to visit my sister in San Diego. I’M SO EXCITED!!!! I’ve never been to Disneyland while it’s dressed to the nines in jack-o-lanterns and other spooky Halloween decor so I’m super stoked! Oh, and my sister’s going to take Tim and I to some yummy local SD restaurants. I cannot wait to om nom on some pizza knots from Soda & Swine ::drools::

Anyhow, today’s outfit is inspired by The Little Mermaid/Once Upon a Time. I picked up this art nouveau Ariel t-shirt by Megan Lara last month on RedBubble and paired it with my Peter Pan mermaid bow by Judy & Park and gold dinglehopper earrings from Crossroads Trading Co. I despise the mermaids from Peter Pan (I mean, they only tried to drown Wendy for no good reason), but I couldn’t resist the bow! Look at how effing cute it is! And it was handmade beautifully too. I don’t remember how I came across Judy & Park on Instagram, but I’m glad I did. I also bought a Coraline bow from her as well. And check out my hot pink shoes! I bought them years ago when I still lived in Daly City at Bakers for $20! I don’t know why it took me so damn long to start wearing them. I bought my black skirt at Macy’s last week when I was in Modesto visiting my dad at the hospital. Don’t worry! He’s fine, he just had knee replacement surgery. My mom, sister, and I headed to the mall while he was napping and the dress I wore that day was really short (I normally wear it with black tights since it makes it look not so short, but I couldn’t find my black tights that morning sooo, yeah). I bought the skirt because I was getting really self-cautious about it. But I’ve been searching for an a-line black skirt that’s nice and sturdy for a while anyway, and it’s a good length unlike the other two I have hanging in my closet — one is too flimsy and the other one is too short. I apparently have been having Goldilocks issues with black skirts. I’m also obsessed with it, so don’t be surprised when it pops up a lot in future outfit posts. 😀

My Tokidoki for LeSportsac tote went perfectly with my outfit with all the glam pirates, kawaii mermaids and sea creatures! One of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time, is currently set in Neverland and Ariel is supposed to make her debut in an episode to be aired later this season. EEK! I’d go on about it, but Tim’s not caught up yet and he reads my blog sooo ::fingers on lips::

This outfit magically conjured itself up since I’ve had Once on the brain. And the fact that The Little Mermaid came out on DVD/Blu Ray last week probably had something to do with it too.

I hope your Wednesday is swimmingly delightful, my little ponies ♡

Cheers,
Nina

geek style

Dapper Day at Disneyland

February 26, 2013 Nina Penalosa16 Comments

With my annual pass expiring very soon (*cries infinite tears of sadness*), Tim and I decided to go to Disneyland for one last hurrah over the weekend and Dapper Day just so happened to be on Sunday!

Dapper Day isn’t an official Disney thing, but twice a year fancy ladies and gentlemen dress to the nines in their finest threads and head to both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort in style. This event was inspired by Disneyland’s concept art from the 1960s where visitors were depicted in dapper attire — think Mad Men.

photo courtesy of vintagedisneyparks.tumblr.com

Many folks were dressed in retro fashion, but I wanted to focus on snapping pictures of the fancy people that let Disney characters inspire their ensembles — this to many on the interwebz is known as “Disneybounding.” The term Disneybounding comes from the DisneyBound site in which its webmaster, Leslie Kay, uses Polyvore to create outfits inspired by Disney characters whether it be for casual or formal occasions. I’ve always let all things I nerd out about influence my outfits, so knowing that there’s this whole movement with devout followers about Disney inspired fashion is just spectacular!

I didn’t get to take as many photos as I would’ve liked to since I didn’t have my business cards handy during the first half of my day. It’d be super awkward if someone came up to you and asked to take your picture for a blog without some physical form of credibility, right? I thought so! But my first fabulous find of the day was this woman named Cindy who had a crazy awesome Mary Poppins outfit. Her hat, red coat, and parrot umbrella were spot on! And I wasn’t the only one enamored by her practically perfect ensemble (haa… see what I did there?) — a little boy was super stoked to see her and asked to have his picture taken with her. 🙂

There was a DisneyBound meet-up and I read that it was at 3:30, but by the time I got there they were taking the huge group photo and I totally missed the part where people were mingling and whatnot. But after they dispersed I walked into the crowd and approached as many people as I could until it got too overwhelming. SO. MANY. PEOPLE. D:

These two ladies were dressed as Belle and the Queen of Hearts. I’m dumb and automatically assumed they were both Snow White (like me!) with the reds and yellows, but once they told me who they were I was like “Oh! Duh.” Mah bad.

This lovely couple are dressed as Prince Naveen and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. I saw a picture of them on the Dapper Day Facebook page beforehand, so I was pretty stoked to see them in person! 🙂

I found myself rather envious of the card suite cardigan the girl in the middle was rockin’. Need I even say what characters inspired this trio’s spiffy outfits? I don’t think I need to.

I totally flipped out when I saw this woman’s Tiki Room inspired outfit, and then she went and busted out her parasol when I asked if I could take her picture (it’s just like the ones they put on the Dole Whip floats!)! And you can’t really see it, but she has a tiki god pendent on her necklace.

I’m not sure if this lady was Disneybounding per say, but I thought she looked quite stunning in her retro glam dress and hairstyle so I asked if I could take her picture 🙂

I spotted a dapper Peter Pan in a Newsie-esque outfit and Princess Tigerlily. They were too friggin’ adorable.

Lastly, I found these posh ladies in front of City Hall. I know for sure the girl in the lavender is wearing a Rapunzel inspired ensemble (loved the fact that she had Pascal attached to her shoulder!).

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Here’s a peek of my Snow White inspired outfit. I’ll be doing a separate post of my ensemble, you can expect to see that sometime tomorrow!

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Once upon a smorgasbord…

October 25, 2011 Nina Penalosa5 Comments

I’ve worn some really cute outfits since my last post, but instead of taking pictures of them and blogging about my day, I’ve been hiding in my garage for the past week making necklaces… and listening to Adele’s “Someone Like You” on infinite loop while doing so (it’s the most beautiful form of torture, but I don’t know why I did that to myself because it gave me a major emo). I’m hoping to open my Etsy shop, Once Upon a Smorgasbord…, sometime in November. I want at least 10 items done to put up for sale before I officially open it. And when I do, I will have my first give-away here on Le Fancy Geek! So stay tuned for that. 😀

I’m growing a bit too attached this Bambi necklace I just completed the other night. That’s the tricky part in making things — you become so fond of your creations that you don’t want to part with them at all. AH!

Here are some of my other finished pieces:

The Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose, Peter Pan and Degas necklaces are all the same length, and much longer than the Bambi and Alice in Wonderland ones, which have lobster clasps. I have yet to measure either though — my jewelry making method is somewhat weird as I just put things around my neck and say, “Hmm, well I think that’s a good length” or compare them to necklaces that I already have, and just go from there. I also made it so that the pendants don’t swing around, so when you wear it you don’t have to constantly adjust it when it goes crooked (’cause my shit ain’t crooked). 🙂

Most of my stuff is Disney for now since I have a lot of random Disney images lying around, but I swear my stuff will be more than just Disney!<– but it’s not like too much Disney is a bad thing either. 😛

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Happy 100th Birthday Mary Blair!

October 21, 2011 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

mary blair home studio — Mary Blair working in her home studio.

Like I said in my last post, I’m a HUGE fan of Mary Blair’s artwork (she basically drew my childhood), so I was pleasantly surprised to see a tribute doodle on Google to celebrate her would-be 100th birthday today. 😀