The Origin Story of the Bodhi Brigade

July 9, 2018August 30, 2018 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Bodhi Rook is one of my faves in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so it was pretty upsetting to see how he got (and still does get) the short end of the stick when it comes to being represented in Star Wars merch. ‘Cause if you know me, I’m the perfect consumer; I want to buy all the things that feature my favorite characters! Plus, knowing that the ensemble cast was comprised of so many POC actors was so important to many Star Wars fans, myself included. And the fact that they cast Riz Ahmed, a Muslim actor, in a heroic role rather than a stereotypical terrorist one is of utmost importance. POC of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds want to see themselves represented in the types of stories we love (in roles that aren’t one dimensional and stereotyped) because it makes us feel like we matter. And when it’s something as epic as Star Wars, we want the merch too!

#REPRESENTATIONMATTERS

It’s been a couple years since Rogue One came out, but even now his absence on merch featuring the core team is absolutely noticeable. Even when Disneyland had their Season of the Force event going on in Tomorrowland a few years ago, every character from Rogue One could be found in banners and displays except for Bodhi. He played an integral role in Rogue One — he’s the one that delivered Galen Erso’s message about how to destroy the Death Star and came up with the Rogue One call sign a.k.a. the movie’s damn title for eff’s sake!

So one day last year, I tweeted about it:

After that one tweet, Alice, who I became friends with through Instagram, retweeted it and CC’d s her sister Cat. And Gladys, who I’ve been internet friends with for years, also chimed in on her disdain for the lack of Bodhi. I remember Syl, another longtime internet homie, chimed in too, but I can’t find her tweet!

From there, the Bodhi Brigade was born! Its members include myself, Syl, Gladys, Alice, Cat, Laura, and Amber. Originally, we had a few other members but they have since left (we still have much love for them though!). We didn’t officially christen ourselves with the Bodhi Brigade name until months of back and forth tagging each other in every single Bodhi/Riz Ahmed related thing we came across (shout out to OG member Gwen for coming up with the name); we eventually made a private chat on Twitter to make it easier to share all the Bodhi/Riz news 🙂

Sometime before the private chat was made, I proposed that we start a Bodhi related gang complete with denim jackets/vests, because I sooo badly wanted to be in a cool girl gang with the apparel to show it off, and we practically were one, so why not?! Luckily, everyone was on board with the idea! Alice and Cat (I think) found the perfect vests that were reminiscent of Bodhi’s jumpsuit at Target, and I searched Etsy for a place to make a custom patch (WrightCreationsPA made our gang name banner, half Rebel/Empire, and Bodhi backpack patches!).

A majority of us were going to be at SDCC so we decided to meet up and debut our awesome Bodhi swag! Laura came through and made a life-size Bodhi cutout so we could take pics with “Riz.”

The Bodhi Brigade is still going strong! Our love for Bodhi Rook/Riz Ahmed brought us together, but our love for Star Wars, passion for representation of POC in the shows and movies we love, porgs, and Rose Tico are a few other things that’s brought us so much closer. And through sickness and personal triumphs, we’re all constant cheerleaders in each others lives and I couldn’t be happier to call these women my friends and sisters ❤

Follow my fellow Brigade sisters on social media:

Amber – IG: @ambernwest | Twitter: @amberwest
Alice – IG: @akangaru | Twitter: @kangaru
Cat – IG: @catherine | Twitter: @cfnchng
Gladys – IG: @usagimylene | Twitter: @usgaimylene
Laura – IG: @lsirikul | Twitter: @lsirikul
Syl – IG: @syllykay | Twitter: @syllykay
Me (just in case you don’t already!) – IG: @lefancygeek | Twitter: @lefancygeek

Some of us will be back at SDCC next week too, so don’t be too shy to say “hi” if you see any of us! 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

PS: Riz Ahmed totally saw us on Twitter last year and retweeted Laura’s tweet and this has been written from the great beyond because we are all dead and are just wandering around as ghosts.

geek style

All the Loot: My SDCC Haul

August 10, 2016 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Look at my cute lil’ ~~General Hux~~ Huxband Funko Pop figure! Isn’t he the cutest?! He’s one of the many things I picked up at SDCC this year.

So, I finally made a haul video to show off all the awesome stuff I picked up at SDCC. I’ve actually made a few over the last couple years, but never ever got around to actually publishing them. And even though I’ve made a few vlogs already, it’s quite odd because it’s like I’m just talking to myself. And then editing? Uugggh… listening and watching myself talk so much is w-e-i-r-d. WEIRD.

Anywho, you can watch the video down below:

Do you vlog too? Let me know how you get through it! And if you also went to SDCC, I’d love to hear about some of the cool things you picked up too 😀

geek style

Geek Couture: The Her Universe Fashion Show

July 28, 2016 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been a whole week since San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC)! Last Thursday was also the day of the Her Universe Fashion Show at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. It was hands down one of the highlights of this year’s con for me. The designs this year were insanely brilliant and so awe inspiring. It was definitely hard for me to pick a designer to vote for because I loved so many of the creations that were presented on the runway! What I love so much about this show is that it really shows how much of a force fangirls are, and just how much geek culture can easily be translated into both high and casual fashion. Gone are the days where we have to resort to ill-fitted unisex tees, or standard pink ones. Not that I have anything against the color pink, but us ladies want more than just that! Her Universe has opened so many doors to help make fashionable geek apparel for women of all shapes and sizes, and I’m both forever grateful and constantly broke because of it. But at least I know I’ll look cute! 😉

Ashely Eckstein, the founder of Her Universe, wore a one-of-kind, never been done before “little block dress” (pictured above) with an image of Ashoka Tano that weighed 25 lbs and was made of over 10,000 Lego bricks. It was designed by the 2014 audience choice winner Andrew MacLaine, and renowned Lego artist Nathan Sawaya. How likely do you think it’ll be to see another “little block dress” pop up at next year’s Met Gala? HIGHLY LIKELY!

If you head over to Comic-Con HQ, you can watch the fashion show and the Her Universe docu-series featuring the journey of every designer featured on the runway. I just signed up for a free 30 day subscription so I can binge-watch it. And rather than having two winners (judge’s choice and audience vote), a third winner can also be chosen by the public via the Her Universe website. So I urge you all to watch the show, which is up now, and vote before August 11!!!

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the pictures I took while at the show. Enjoy!

“Define Couture” Wall-E inspired design by Laura Cristina Ortiz. Everything was made out of recyclable materials!

The attention to detail was bananas. PS: I totally voted for this design at the show

“Newt’s Menagerie” inspired by Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, by Harmony Keller. Watch the fashion show to see this dress in action!

“First Order of Fashion” inspired by General Hux from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, by Rose Ivy. This design had great details too! Plus, it’s inspired by my Huxband ♥

Falkor inspired design from The Never Ending Story by Jesse

“The Pilbasian” inspired by The Last Man on Earth, designed by Kristin Koga. She used PVC pipes as gigantic knitting needled to create this couture piece!

“Soldier of Embrace” inspired by Sailor Neptune, designed by Lydia Tachkov. This moved beautifully on the runway and was gorgeous in person.

“TARDIS Through the Wormhole” inspired by Doctor Who, designed by Lynne Marie Martens

“I Solemnly Swear I’m Up to Couture” inspired by Harry Potter, designed by Camille Falciola. This dress was MAGICAL and it won the audience’s vote!

Don’t forget to watch the show on Comic-Con HQ and vote for your favorite! Seriously, my pictures do no justice to any of these designs, plus there are so many others I wasn’t able to capture.

Let me know which designs you loved most in the comments section. 🙂

PS: You can check out more of my pics from the fashion show here.

PPS: Photo credit for Camille Falciola’s winning design goes to my seester ♥

geek style · out & about

Geeky Fashion Finds @ SDCC

July 30, 2015 Nina Penalosa11 Comments

I can’t believe it’s already been 3 weeks since San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) happened! I feel like I’m still recovering from it and that it only ended a week ago. My suitcase is seriously still hanging out on my bedroom floor and I haven’t unpacked everything yet… except for my dirty clothes which I laundered, of course. <– that’d be so gross if I had a week’s worth of dirty clothes just hanging out. Eww!

Anywho, let’s talk about fun fashion-y geeky things now!

Conventions like SDCC definitely helped influence my personal style ever since I started attending in 2004. Naturally, I’m all kinds of excited to see how fashion targeted towards lady geeks (and dudes, but mostly ladies because I am one — duh!) continues to grow more and more each year!

Fashionable con attendees don’t have to wait until July to fulfill all their geeky fashion needs with stores like Hot Topic, Spencer’s, Torrid, and online retailers such as Think Geek, and the abundance of Etsy stores and indie geek clothiers online like Gold Bubble Clothing that have tons of great fandom related clothes and accessories. But that still doesn’t stop me from looking for brand new geek inspired attire and accessories at SDCC though! 🙂

Well-known geek retailers such as Her Universe and We Love Fine are always a no-brainer when looking for something super cute and nerdy. As you know from a previous post, Her Universe nearly took all my monies! Both companies had two booths this year (2 of which were located in the Star Wars pavilion). I was THIS close to picking up the Han Solo skater skirt (pictured below), but then I stopped myself since my friend already made one for me. And the R2 knitted pullover is something I regret not going home with. – le sigh –

Loungefly also had a booth at the Star Wars pavilion with tons of cute coin bags, backpacks, wallets, and purses. They had two exclusive SDCC items this year, one being a sparkly Darth Vader coin bag (which seems more like a wristlet to me) and a hot pink Stormtrooper coin bag. I picked up the sparkly Darth wristlet because resistance was futile (I KNOW. Wrong Star franchise reference).

Another great geek fashion line I came across was Lace & Lore. I remember passing by their booth at Anime Expo, but I didn’t get to take a look at them until SDCC. Lace & Lore has tons of fun skater dresses and leggings that are similar to Gold Bubble Clothing and Black Milk Clothing. Some are obviously geek themed such as their pastel pink dress with 20-sided dice printed all over it (I don’t play Dungeons & Dragons, but I want it!), 8-bit hearts, and a few Naruto prints, but there’s also a few designs with kawaii Asian cuisine, donuts, and strawberry shortcake. Everything about their booth made me squeel with delight! From the novelty purses, the sweet pastel hues of their dresses, right down to the decorations of their booth — SO. FLIPPIN’. CUTE. I don’t know what else to say but that.

The one panel that I was able to go to was the Business of Geek Fashion that included Ashely Eckstein of Her Universe, Sara Scargall from We Love Fine, Ed Labay from Hot Topic, Jed Seigle ThinkGeek Solutions, and Arthur Gibree from Sanshee. It was interesting to see how many big name franchises have the licence to create tees and other apparel geared towards women, but they never did anything with it because they didn’t think there was a market for it. Like Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Big. HUGE!” There definitely is, and the fashions that are out in stores and online for us geeky fashionistas just keeps growing thanks to those that were on the panel. I also love the fact that Ashley Eckstein specifically stayed away from the color pink in Her Universe’s first few lines to show that us fangirls don’t always want to wear pink. I personally love the color, and Ashley said she did too, but it was very important that the color be used in limited amounts during Her Universe’s early days to stay away from the stereotype.

You can watch the full panel here thanks to the folks of Fashionably Nerdy : Geek Chic TV!

What are some of your favorite companies or stores to shop at for geek apparel that I might not have mentioned? I definitely know I wasn’t able to get everything, so lemme know in the comments section!

5 fandom friday

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Swag from SDCC

July 17, 2015 Nina Penalosa15 Comments

I can’t believe it’s already been a week since Comic-Con happened! I’m still trying to recover from it. Going back to work was R O U G H, you guys. There were a few times I woke up in the morning feeling like a sack of garbage and was tempted to call in sick to sleep a bit more. But I didn’t. Thank goodness I don’t work Fridays though. WOO! So today’s theme for 5 Fandom Friday is to share some of our favorite pieces of swag we got at a convention. Since SDCC just happened, I’m sharing the best things I scored!

1. Agent Carter poster

This is the one freebie that I truly cared about obtaining, and it was bitch trying to get it. I went to the Marvel booth a few times, but they never had it when I’d go there. I asked the workers if they would be passing them out, and each time they answered with, “Yes, later today. I don’t know what time, but check back later.” UGH. I always asked very politely too (because I’m a Hufflepuff, duh), but they were quite bitchy. It’s like, okay, I understand that this is probably the millionth time you’ve been asked that question today, but if someone is being polite as hell the least you could do is try and be courteous. Am I right?

I went to the ABC booth on Sunday and my friend asked one of the workers if they had any Agent Carter posters there, and they were super nice about it and checked for us. And they did have them! So I finally got one after I did the photo booth thingy that they had at their boothw. YAY!

2. Photo booth pictures

I took A LOT of photo booth pics during SDCC. Pixster was at both the Geeks Go Glam and SherlockeDCC parties I went to, and my bloggy buddies and I had way too much fun hamming it up in front of it. And at the ABC booth they had photo booth with a random generator — characters that you could possibly take a picture with were Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie Bear from The Muppets or Regina from Once Upon a Time. I was freaking out because I was so worried that I’d get Regina. Although she’s one of my favorites on the show, I REALLY wanted to take a picture with a Muppet. I was beyond relieved when I got Animal. 😀

3. Pins/buttons

I got some really cool buttons and pins this year! At the Tsum Tsum booth they passed out envelopes with pins after you take a picture at either of their photo ops. There were a total of 24 pins that you could collect, but who has time to do that? I managed to get Minnie and my absolute favorite Lady. I also got some free Star Wars pins from Loungefly (only Darth Vader is pictured), a button from Sam Maggs’ book signing that says “I’m the Doctor, Not the Companion,” an exclusive AT-AT pin from Think Geek with my purchase, and an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Warriors pin. 🙂

4. Legend graphic novel by Mari Lu

My sister is a huge fan of Marie Lu’s Legend series and I decided to go to book signing with her since she’d be signing free copies of the graphic novel adaptation of Legend. I love graphic novels, especially since my attention span isn’t as great as it used to be when it comes to reading (I get SO distracted), so I’m really excited to start reading it.

5. Personalized Coke can

Over at Nerd HQ they had a machine where you can personalize your own Coke can! You could make two at a time so I wanted to make one that said Peggy Carter and Captain America… except it wouldn’t let me. RUGH. So I made one with Peggy and kind of panicked for the second one and just did my name. After I left I was like, “I COULD’VE MADE ONE THAT SAID STEVE” (for Captain America’s civilian name). Oh well. At least I now have a little Coke can with my name on it (despite the fact that I bought a Diet Coke bottle bearing my name last month).

Were you at Comic-Con this year too? Let me know what your favorite freebies were this year! And if you didn’t go, feel free to leave whatever kind of comment! 🙂

To find out the origins of 5 Fandom Friday, go here. And check out The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick to catch up with the latest prompts!

geek style · out & about

Her Universe Fashion Show @ SDCC

July 16, 2015 Nina Penalosa9 Comments

Last Thursday I got to go to the Her Universe Geek Fashion Show and it was so awe inspiring. It also has my bank account sweating like somethin’ fierce with all the new dresses, tops, and skirts they debuted from Studio Ghibli and Marvel!

In fact, I straight-up bought the Avengers skirt and collared top:

No joke, I tried the skirt on over the dress I was wearing at the Her Universe booth the day after the show, paid for it, and then walked away wearing it. 😀

I also have an article about the fashion show up on Wear Your Voice Mag (WYVM) that you can read here including some pictures of the two winning designs, and a couple of my favorites (a Bob’s Burgers inspired design and Groot!). But I wanted to share some other pictures I took over here on Le Fancy Geek that didn’t make it into the final article on WYVM, including some of the newer fashions that are being released and the other contestants’ designs. My pictures aren’t that great, but I did my best to document the show to share with you all!

Ashley Eckstein rockin’ the Black Widow gown designed by Andrew MacLaine.

Laura Cristina Ortiz in her gorgeous Jack Skellington inspired gown, complete with a Zero whose nose lights up!

Design inspired by Rose Tyler from Doctor Who

Design inspired by Khaleesi from Game of Thrones.

Sam Skylar in her Baymax inspired design.

The rivalry between the Empire and the Rebels never looked so fashionable.

I got to meet my Instagram pal @AMANDAJEANNN! Here she is wearing one of the Spirited Away dresses that’ll hit Hot Topic in the Fall.

Her Universe also announced during the show that Lionsgate will be launching the Her Universe Fashion Show as a reality series on their Comic-Con International SVOD service next year! It’s going to follow the events leading up to the final runway show — how exciting is that?! 🙂

What are some of your favorite looks from the show? Let me know in the comments section!

out & about

Comic-Con Hangover

July 13, 2015 Nina Penalosa9 Comments

I set my alarm for 5am this morning so I could finish packing all my things for my flight back home tonight, and do a write up of the Her Universe show for Wear Your Voice Mag, but my body was like, “OH HELL NAH, GIRL. SLOW THE FUCK DOWN.” And OH HELL NAH indeed. My head felt as if Iron Man was inside the Hulk Buster suit brawling with the Hulk, and the rest of my body felt like it got the 100 hand-slap treatment by E. Honda, and topped off with a Care Bear stare.

Comic-Con, why do you hurt me so much???

Besides the physical pain I’m in, I had so much fun this year! I was extremely anxious with all the social gatherings I decided to go since I’m super introverted and socially awkward (unless I’m with people I know), but when I met Travis, Gwen, Gladys, Joie, Megan, Mia, and Liz, they were all so fantastic and welcoming. Thanks for making this year’s con so awesome! I miss you guys. 😦 #superfunfetti #staydumb

I’m still recuperating, but I’ll be putting up some posts throughout the week about my geeky adventures from SDCC, and I’ll let you all know when my Her Universe article goes up on Wear Your Voice Mag. This is just one of those hey-I’m-still-alive-I’m-totally-not-dead kind of posts. Stay tuned!

geek style

A Shiny Wish List for SDCC

July 8, 2015 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Brace yourselves, COMIC-CON IS COMING.

In the past years I haven’t been a wise shopper. Just because something is “exclusive” doesn’t necessarily mean I must own it, right? I’m going to attempt to be a bit more strict on what I spend my precious monies on this time around, but there are some exclusives that have me doing the heart-eye emoji BIG TIME.

– Sparkly Darth Vader coin purse by Loungefly

How fabulous is this sparkly Darth Vader coin purse?! I have a ton of coin purses at home, and I actually just took all my coins to the bank to cash them, buuut… I mean… this would be a practical purchase. <— it’s DARTH VADER. Of course I’m trying to justify my want for it!

– Firefly necklace by Quantum Mechanix

OMG SO SHINY. I don’t think I need to explain why I want this. I mean… look at it!

Unmasked Captain America Pop! Figure by Funko

This little unmasked version of Captain America is too cute for words! It would be perfect to put alongside the Peggy Carter figure that’s coming out later this year too. Since Barnes & Noble will have a few Funko SDCC Exclusives, I’m asking my friend Jennifer to go and take a look to see if they have this little Cap figure so I won’t have to stand in that crazy long-ass line during the convention.

– Doctor Who: 11th Doctor Pop! figure by Funko

The 11th Doctor is my favorite Doctor and purple is my favorite color, so that’s a completely justifiable reason to want this adorable rendition of him, right?

– Direwolves plush set by Factory Entertainment

Last year I was on a mad hunt for a Grey Wind plushie, except the only ones that were in the exhibit hall were all prototypes. UGH. This year Factory Entertainment has an exclusive set featuring little 6 inch versions of Grey Wind, Ghost, and Nymeria. AHH!! I just might cave, you guys. I just might. O__O

– pretty much EVERYTHING at the Her Universe booth

So none of these are officially exclusive, at least not that I know of, but HOLY. CRAP! Her Universe just released images of a few new items making their debut at SDCC and everything looks AMAZING!!! I’m particularly stoked for the Peter Pan collar Avengers top and Agent Carter t-shirt. I saw on Instagram that there won’t be any plus size Agent Carter tees available since they didn’t have enough shirts, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to squeeze into an XL. – crosses fingers –

What swag are you most looking forward to getting your hands on?

5 fandom friday · out & about

5 Fandom Friday: Conventions I Wish To Attend

January 16, 2015 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

This week’s 5 Fandom Friday prompt is about one of my favorite things: CONVENTIONS!!! I’ve been lucky to go to a few — some big, some small, and some multiple times — such as San Diego Comic-Con International, WonderCon (but only when it was in San Francisco), Anime Expo, Stockton Con, Sac-Con, and BookCon. One of my favorite things about going to conventions are all the artists and small brands. I remember when the Tokidoki booth wasn’t always flooded, and you could actually just go up to Simone Legno and say, “Hey!” Gone are those days. But still, I think it’s so cool to watch these companies and artists grow more and more each year I go! 🙂

SDCC circa 2008 when I was hella into Tokidoki

There’s a plethora of different conventions going on all year, and so little time (and definitely little money) for me to get to them! But here are the top 5 I’d love to go to one day:

1. D23 Expo

This is a definitive DUH. A convention dedicated to all things Disney? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. No need to further explain my extreme desire to go.

2. Star Wars Celebration

See explanation for D23 Expo, but replace Disney with Star Wars.

3. Gallifrey One

A convention dedicated solely to Doctor Who! Same explanation as #2, but this time replace Disney with Doctor Who. 😉

4. New York Comic Con

I’ve heard really great things about NYCC, and a lot of the people I follow on social media always post pictures every year and it just looks like so much fun!

5. Geek Girl Con

A convention that celebrates my tribe! I don’t remember how I heard about Geek Girl Con, but I remember looking into being a vendor a couple years ago, then deemed that would be a bit much since it’s all the way in Seattle. I’d love to just go as an attendee though and be amongst all my fellow lady geeks. 🙂

What conventions are you aching to go to? Lemme know in the comments!

To find out the origins of 5 Fandom Friday, go here. And check out The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick to catch up with the latest prompts!

out & about

Garfunkel & Oates @ Nerd HQ

August 6, 2014 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

I’ve been a fan of Garfunkel and Oates, the musical comedy duo that consists of actresses Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, since I saw Micucci on Scrubs about 6 years ago (?), and they’re going to have their own TV show and it’s premiering on IFC tomorrow @ 10pm!

I’M SO EXCITED!!!!

If you haven’t heard of G&O, they’re basically like a female version of Flight of the Conchords, except ~~some~~ a lot of their songs would probably make Bret and Jemaine blush redder than a red delicious (watch their music video for “Loophole” at your own discretion — PS: it’s totes NSFW). Their Conversations for a Cause panel at Nerd HQ during Comic-Con weekend was just a wee bit NSFW as well (f-bombs galore), and I got to witness it all in person! I don’t know how many times Zachary Levi had his head in his hands or eagerly asked the audience for the next question. Haha!

You can watch their conversation in this video (and you can totally see me chomping on my gum in the audience):