Apparently, I’ve lead a sheltered life.
But I know why.
First, a rec from the man behind Wesley Crusher:
http://wilwheaton.net/2013/07/nothing-to-prove/
I have only been aware of this misogyny-in-geekdom problem in the past year or so via blog links and posts on the topic. The short version is Continue reading “When is a geek not a geek?”
Ten years ago, I was living with my friend Kevin in his apartment in the Haight district of San Francisco. I used to wake up to the classical music channel every morning on the clock radio (I don’t even use an alarm clock these days–no point). I remember waking up to music, but then when the music faded, they broke for a news report about the one of the twin towers in NYC being hit by a plane. No one knew why yet. I think everyone assumed it was a really incompetent pilot.
So I went in to work, and heard about the other planes hitting their targets. I spent the rest of the day glued to streaming video news on my work computer. I watched the towers crumble. The ATPo board was full of anxious posts as we worried over our NYC friends, and waited for each to check in (http://www.atpobtvs.com/existentialscoobies/archives/sep.html).
At some point, it was revealed that one of the planes, the one that crashed in rural Pennsylvania because the brave passengers took it away from its target, was originally bound for San Francisco. Many SFers were on the plane. None that I knew personally.
I went to New York in July of 2005 along with many ATPoers to hang out with each other and see the city. midnightsjane and I took a double-decker bus ride around lower Manhattan, and saw ground zero, among other sights.
I guess the closest I came to losing anyone I knew in the disaster was wondering if that week was the week my writing coach was supposed to go to NYC to do a writing seminar for some New York executives in the tower. Turns out, it wasn’t.
Happy Fourth, all! I have updated my personal page on the ATPo website with a portal to Vancouver 08 Gathering pics, which I of course ganked off all my shutter-bug-buds.
As usual, if you find a pic you’re in objectionable for some reason and want it altered or removed, speak up. But why not just let others writhe in envy vicariously enjoy the fun?
ETA: I am also cleaning up the main site, fixing the grammar, content, *&^% formatting tables, and links. Because I don’t have a zillion other projects to do this summer. Pfft! ; )
Nabbed from various people and uploaded to ATPo:
http://atpobtvs.com/existentialscoobies/images/Toronto/
There may be more later if more are uploaded by the gang.
x-posted to
Eight and a half years ago (Jan 1, 1999), I got arm-twisted by some friends at the Bronze Posting Board into creating a website for my thoughts on the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I called it “All Things Philosophical on BtVS.”
I got email. People wanted to talk to me (for some reason), and people wanted to talk to other visitors to the site. So seven years ago this Thursday (June 14th, 2000), I created a discussion board for the site.
Cool people came to the board. They had really cool thoughts* on the show, and on the spin-off, Angel. The board grew and grew. Small groups of ATPoers (or Existential Scoobies, as we sometimes called ourselves) who lived close to each other or were visiting towns where other ATPoers lived got together in person for food, laughs, and conversation.
And then, in 2003, the television show that brought us together was to come to an end. ladystarlightsj wrote me an email suggesting that perhaps we should all get together as a big group to celebrate the finale. We decided on a location: Vancouver, British Columbia, and a date (alas, not May 20th, 2003, but later that summer). ATPoers came from far and wide to that picturesque city. There was food! There was drink (spilled on the carpet)! There was singing! There were BtVS and Angel DVD-viewing sessions! There was much laughter and discussion and silliness.
It was so much fun, we decided to do it again the next year. We gathered in Chicago (2004)
We gathered in New York City (2005)
We gathered in Lake Tahoe (2006)
And this year, we are gathering in Toronto.
So you’ll understand if I’m excited!!1!
*It’s called discussion people, DISCUSSION. For some of us, that is the whole *point* of fandom. The term “meta” is a derogatory misnomer. Ptui! We shall speak of it no more!
OMG, I don’t remember there being *half* as many pictures taken of previous gatherings as there were this year! All those people, all their digital cameras with 100’s of shots. It was really hard selecting and choosing for the atpobtvs.com collection, and I have a feeling I’m not near done. My priority was to show the range of activities we engaged in and get close-ups of everyone, rather than pick my favorites per se.
So here’s what I have so far:
I’ve set up a folder over at Existential Scoobies in the same place we keep Vancouver and Chicago pictures for NYC. If you want your pictures (or some of your pictures) uploaded there, just let me or ladystarlightsj or atpolittlebit know.
See my pics!:
http://www.atpobtvs.com/existentialscoobies/images/New_York/
http://www.atpobtvs.com/existentialscoobies/images/Chicago/
http://www.atpobtvs.com/existentialscoobies/images/Vancouver/
Pictures of the SF mini-meet:
Author Nancy E. Shaffer 