Adorkable Grrl

And, we're back!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:36:01 -0500

Gah, I’m a terrible blogger. I apologize, Internet, for being such a slacker over the last few months. To be quite honest: I’ve been stupidly busy with a day job (writing) and working on my graphic novel. This has led to little time and little desire to blog and/or maintain this site.

But, things are starting to relax now, so you’ll see more content from me coming soon. For one - KYPO over on BleedingCool.com will be starting up again next week, as will Geek Girl on the Street Reports.

I also have some interesting quasi-personal things I want to write about on this site in the near future. So stay tuned…

In the meantime, I leave you with this amusing photo which marries two of my favorite things (Doctor Who and LOLCats) to give you the Friday lol:

Event Shout-Out: National Association of Professional Women Midwest Conference on 11/18

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:39:04 -0500

Hey y’all - remember last week when I gave the shout-out to Ms. Career Girl Connect this Thursday and I talked about the importance of networking? I also mentioned I was doing public relations for a great group which was holding a Chicago area conference *the-very-next-day* after MCGC?

Yup well this post is about them: I’ve been working with the National Association of Professional Women to publicize their 1st Annual Midwest Conference in Naperville this coming Friday. NAPW is a national organization which is designed to empower women for professional success. While it’s targeted at mainly those in marketing and sales, NAPW has something to offer and teach all professional women about leveraging “assets” (not what you’re thinking, you pervy monkeys!) they already have (expertise, contacts, skills) to create meaningful business relationships. I know that in the short time I’ve been working with them, I’ve even had my skill-set sharpened (as I’ve had to start thinking again about writing in a completely different way than I do when writing about pop-culture funness like comics and Doctor Who and geek dating).

Here is what our buddies at GeekMom said about NAPW:

“The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) is a group whose goal is to help professional women overcome those challenges. This nationwide organization holds meetings and events across the country through local chapters and gives women the chance to meet professionals both online and in person to support and encourage their professional success.”

(Thanks Nicole!)

If you’re in the Chicago area and are interested in attending, you can register here: http://www.napwmidwest.com/

If you’re a journalist or blogger and are interested in attending, if you write about the event before Friday or pinky-swear you’ll write about the event FROM the event via your blog or Twitter, you can even attend for free… Granted this is only open to the first five bloggers to hit me up via email.

Plus there will be swag. I know how you jokers love swag. This stuff is GOOD STUFF (including a cashmere scarf courtesy of J. Hillburn, which if you don’t want, I’ll happily divest you of.)

Event Shout-Out: Ms. Career Girl Connect on Nov. 17th

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:36:00 -0500

So, one of the things about being a freelance writer (and freelance communications professional - PR, marketing and content services available for reasonable rates, hit me up via email if you’re interested) is that you CONSTANTLY have to be networking to get your next job.

This means I attend a lot of press events and networking cocktail hours, coffee sessions, dinners, lectures, etc. Armed with a stack of business cards, you never know when you’re going to meet the person who is going to connect you with your next job.

Recently I’ve become aware of an AWESOME site: Ms. Career Girl, run by Nicole Crimaldi, is a blog and educational resource for business women across a variety of career segments - helping women to refine their ideas for small businesses via an incubator, get employed via career coaching and connect with other Chicago-area business women to create business relationships with tangible benefits.

Next week Ms. Career Girl is hosting a “Ms. Career Girl Connect” networking event at Proof Chicago (networking is always best done in a cocktail setting, IMHO) where the following panelists will be speaking about how to use social media to boost your sales around the holidays:

Blagica Bottigliero, Global Director of Social Media at Motorola Mobility
Leah Jones, Account Director of Emerging Media at Olson PR
Cait Weingartner, Senior Engagement Specialist at Aspen Marketing Services and founder of PrettyandFun.com
Nicole Crimaldi, Marketing Consultant and founder of MsCareerGirl.com

Further, there will be free food and complimentary champagne:

Food provided by Chicago’s top food trucks!

Homage Street Good
Gaztro Wagon
Tamalie Foodie
Ste Martean Vegan Food truck
Mama Green’s Gourmet Goodies

Complimentary champagne and cash bar!

Pickup tickets via Eventbrite: http://mcgconnect.eventbrite.com/

Sadly, I won’t be able to attend as I’ll be prepping for the NAPW Midwest Conference the next day (which I am doing PR for, more on this tomorrow) — but, I’ll be there in spirit, for sure.

(FYI - this is why 2011 has been one of the hardest business years for me ever, as I have had to miss two HUGE networking events due to family obligations - San Diego Comic Con and NYC Comic Con - my work has suffered immensely. If any of you youngin’s out there were wondering how important those events are, I’m just saying - 50% of my business comes from attending those two shows.)

What I'm listening to and other stuff:

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:51:41 -0400

You know what the library has in addition to books and DVDs? Music… lots and lots of music, surprisingly good and hip music. Also cheesy music, that only I like… Here’s what I have in my CD player right now (some are mine, some are property of the library…)

The Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack — WE ARE SEX-BOB-OMB AND WE ARE HERE TO WATCH SCOTT PILGRIM KICK YOUR TEETH IN!
Chris Cornell, Euphoria Morning — a throwback to 1999 and driving around in the blue rollerskate of doom with Tony.
All Caps, Lowercase — Kowabunga, dude!
Kirby Krackle, Kirby Krackle — I bet it’s hard to join the rest with fanboys staring at your chest.

Mmm, dreamy late-90s Chris Cornell… :)

Other than that, not much new… still being a broke-ass, but doing it in style. Had a great interview with an innovative advertising agency yesterday (LimeGreen), hopefully I’ll be joining their team soon! Doing some freelance/contract pr work for the National Association of Professional Women… on a tight time frame, but doable and it’s really testing my ability to work under pressure. Fun stuff.

Back to writing KYPO on Bleeding Cool, you can see my solo column here: A Tale of Two Dates

Will be back writing GGotS Reports next week.

Until then… l8r, sk8rs!

Books I have read in October:

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:21:38 -0400

Since I’m broke and don’t have the Internets at home (or cable, for that matter) I have been reading at the pace of about three books per week. Here is a list, in no particular order, of what I’ve read in the last month and my brief thoughts on each title.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman — This was the spring 2011 “One Book, One Chicago” selection and I actually had never read it before. I really enjoyed Richard Mayhew’s tale, which was really no surprise as I like Gaiman’s other books, such as American Gods. Though I found the eventual unraveling of the mystery of Door and the execution of her family a little anti-climatic and predictable. I was willing to overlook that because the meat in the middle of the book was so wonderfully written.
Finny by Justin Kramreon — For the most part, I enjoyed this book. I found the 20+ year relationship between Finny and Earl quite compelling, almost an allegory for a relationship I’ve had with a particular man for half as long. The end made me cry. However, I felt like the character of Judith was somewhat unnecessary. And, at times I felt like the book changed voices (first to third) unpredictably, which caused me to be jarred out of the story. It was pretty clear this was a first novel (a fairly good one at that) - so I’ll look forward to seeing what Justin Kramron produces next… hopefully holding onto the charming aspects he has nailed already as a writer and improving upon where his structuring could really use some solid foundation work.
Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich — Light, fluffy, predictable. I enjoy the fact that you can pick up any Stephanie Plum mystery and be caught up on who Stephanie is, what has happened in books previous and what is currently happening in her life within the first chapter. I mostly read this because Joan Hilty suggested that perhaps Evanovich would be wise to turn her varied series into graphic novels to grab a female audience… and, honestly I’d not read her work until that came up, so I was curious.
The Last of the Savages by Jay McInerney — A disappointing, fairly predictable, Holden Caufield-esque novel from an otherwise talented writer. Don’t bother.
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin — This was a re-read. I read it when it came out last fall and was disappointed in it. I wanted to give it a second chance, because I thought I might have been predisposed to dislike it by having recently read Shopgirl. But, no, it was still not very good. Felt like Martin was phoning it in. Which he’s entitled to do… but… yeah I was a little bummed I spent $25 on the hardback of the book.
On Writing by Stephan King — Another re-read, I think that writers or anyone interested in becoming a writer should read this book at least once per year. The autobiography portion of the book holds up to being interesting the second time around, and the writing advice is interesting to look back on after a whole year of trying to apply said advice to your craft. A+ non-fiction, go buy it now.
States of Confusion by Paul Jury — Jury, a Northwestern film school graduate, struggles to find himself while on a 48 states in 48 days roadtrip across America. I tore through this book (I started it last night and I finished it around noon this afternoon.) It’s funny, insightful, annoying in the way that 23-year old type-A overachievers (like my brother, Matthew - this book TOTALLY reminded me of him) can be and a pretty fun read. I hope Jury writes more. I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

Up next: The Fall 2011 OBOC title, The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellows. I’ve heard from a reliable source that this book is dry and humorless, but we’ll see… I’ll give it a shot.

Kate on LinkedIn

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:57:01 -0400

Kate on LinkedIn:

Despite rampant rumors, I’m not dead. Just been dealing with some crunchy personal stuff lately and haven’t been writing much. However, new with me is this: I am looking for a “day job” because I’m sick of being broke (and just learned that Wizard is discontinuing the weekly feature they hired me in August to write. Boo, Wizard. No wonder people complain about working for you.) Ergo, here is my updated LinkedIn Profile link. If y’all hear of anything… let me know. Look for columns from me on Bleeding Cool and the GGN starting again next week. xoxo, KK

Wizard World Digital - Daily Dozen

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:51:18 -0400

Wizard World Digital - Daily Dozen:

I am one of the feature writers on WWD’s new Daily Dozen feature. So far “Awesome Superheroes That Don’t Get the Spotlight” and “Titles That Should Be On Your Pull List” are mine… keep an eye out for more content by me later this week/month.

David Tennant in eyeliner makes me swoony…

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:49:00 -0400

David Tennant in eyeliner makes me swoony…

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: Joan Hilty on Being a Woman at DC Comics

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:05:48 -0400

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: Joan Hilty on Being a Woman at DC Comics:

#2 of 5 in the first set of interviews with women in comics for Bleeding Cool. Enjoy!

Bullet Points of Life: Crazy stinkin' bizzay, yo!

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:45:07 -0400

I have been stupidly busy since I got back from Baltimore. Here’s a short summary of what’s been going on with me…

I’ve been heads down working on two projects right now. First, I’ve been trying to get into the swing of writing the Daily Dozen feature for Wizard World Digital. This is a new gig that I got via my pal, Ethan Kaye. It’s basically what it sounds like — writing lists of cool shit to publish on a daily basis. I like it, it’s fun, the best part? When they pay me the money.
The other project I’ve been working on is a series of interviews with women in the comics industry for Bleeding Cool. Last week the first of about ten of these interviews ran (with Louise Simonson, link in the post immediately below) and this week an interview with former DC editor, Joan Hilty is going to run. This is blending itself into the panel I’m mod’ing at Geek Girl Con in a few weeks… it’s exciting stuff with the potential to turn into a book or something not far off on the horizon.
And, of course, Elliott and I are still plugging away on the geeky-dating advice column which is KYPO. We had two columns run last week: One about friends with benefits and one about the horrible anti-geek Gizmodo article which blew up the net last week…
I’ve had some changes to the landscape of my personal life recently, too. Don’t really want to talk about it, so I’m not going to - but suffice it to say that I’ve been a little down in the mouth in recent weeks. HOWEVER: That is about to change, as one of the people I love the most - Dave - is coming to visit me this weekend. I haven’t seen him in way-fing-too-long. I am giddy at the thought of spending a weekend with him getting up to no good (because that is what we do). There are burlesque and roller derby plans in the work. Plus I imagine a goodly amount of time will be spent dicking around Chicago…
Following Dave’s visit I will be bivouacking to Ohio for my nephew’s FIRST BIRTHDAY. Craziness, right? I’ll be hunkered down at the parental’s until the 25th, then back to Chicago — then to Seattle for Geek Girl Con and NYC for NYCC, respectively. THEN back to Ohio for Mid-Ohio Comic Con. Then I am going to curl up in the fetal position and take a long-ass nap.

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: Talking With Louise Simonson

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:17:08 -0400

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: Talking With Louise Simonson:

The first of five interviews I conducted with kick-ass women in the comics industry while at Baltimore Comic Con. I <3 Weezie, she was wonderful to talk to!

“Goddamn it JDate.” Bwahahaha! Golden. It’s...

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:07:42 -0400

“Goddamn it JDate.”

Bwahahaha! Golden.

It’s tomorrow, people. I’ll be at Challengers bright and early to grab copies of Fury of Firestorm, Wonder Woman and JLA. Never know when you’ll get the chance to have a #1 in your collection… yes, I’m a nerd. Suck it, Internet.

Baltimore Comic Con recap...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:07:00 -0400

I truly had an amazing time at BCC. I had never been to Baltimore, and truthfully - I saw very little of the city beyond what was in the Inner Harbor between my hotel and the conference center - but, the trip was extremely productive (and exhausting) for me. Here’s a quick day-by-day recap for those interested in details of what went on beyond the reports/interviews you’ll read from me on Bleeding Cool and Geek Girl on the Street:

Friday: After a crazily frustrating day of travel, I arrived in Baltimore at my hotel at about 4pm. Given that I had been up since THREE-AM, I decided to check in and try to take a nap while I waited for my friends P and T (and, T’s Mom and their friend Bob) to arrive. As I was extremely amped up, I had a hard time sleeping, so I got up and worked on my column for Bleeding Cool.

Once T and P had finished setting up their booth, they came over to the hotel and checked in. T, T’s Mom and B went off to do their own thing and P and I went to dinner. After that we went to the bar at the Hyatt where we met up with some other comic creators, including S (a good friend of both P and T). That’s where I also met for the first time IRL Amber and Ashley - Amber writes the occasional “Sex Geek” column for Geek Girl on the Street, so it was cool to be able to put a face to a name, etc.

On our way out of the bar I met Amanda Conner and rambled at her in a my sleep-deprived state about my lost luggage. Apparently I didn’t sound like too much of an idiot, as P told me in the morning that I succinctly pitched her my series of interviews with female comic creators and secured agreement for an interview at some point over the weekend.

After that we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Saturday: I got up around 9-ish and finished my Geek Girl on the Street Reports: Where Are The Women In Superhero Comics? After finishing that up, I headed over to the con center and tracked down P and T’s booth. I then made my rounds of the floor to say hello to friends and track down people I wanted to interview.

I found C and A at the Kill Shakespeare booth and shot the shit with them for a while. Then, I happened to run into Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn (Awakening) and Brian Smith (The Intrepid Escape Goat) and Billy Tucci. I hit them up for interviews the following day. I re-introduced myself to Amanda and tracked down Louise Simonson and Danielle Corsetto (both of whom I’d scheduled an interview in advance with) to say hello.

After the floor closed, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the Harvey Awards (of which I was a VIP guest… helps to know people, yah?)

After getting glammed up, we headed back over to the Hyatt for the cocktail reception for nominees/presenters. Over drinks I chatted with former DC Editor Joan Hilty, Art Baltazar and Franco. That was pretty damn cool.

Cooler still?

Stan Lee was at the aforementioned cocktail reception.

I told T (who actually designed an “Excelsior!” glass which was being given out in the swag bags at the Harveys) that I’d go in for the photo op if he’d go with me. So me, T and T’s Mom headed over to say hello. In the process, I ran into Barry Kitson - who was British and charming, as one would expect. After waiting a bit I got to talk to Stan - whom I thanked for my childhood memories of Spider-Man. He said to me, “Well I must have done a good job making an impression in your childhood if you’re here at the Harveys tonight!”

I then told him about my Bleeding Cool column and working for Wizard World Digital and we sang the Spider-Man theme song together. (Really, we did. T was there, he can verify.) T chatted with Stan, too and told him he’d been the one who designed the Excelsior! glass and Stan told T’s Mom the glass was great and said, “He came as close as anyone could to capturing how handsome I am.”

T’s Mom also had a picture taken with Stan. I don’t remember if T did or not, but presumably he did.

We then went into dinner… the four of us were sitting at a table with two VIP ticket holders, DC colorist Laura Martin (nominated for a Harvey) and DJ Kirkbride and Adam Knave (winner of the Harvey for Best Anthology). We had a great time chatting and being silly. Dinner was delicious. Then the award ceremony started. While T (who was nominated for Love and Capes) and C/A (nominated for Kill Shakespeare) didn’t win, it was still a good evening with a lot of deserving creators taking home Harveys. Read who won here.

Mark Waid (who I briefly met) presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Stan and, of course, Stan’s remarks brought the house down.

After the awards ceremony, A and I reposed to the bar in the Hyatt where I was introduced to the CEO of IDW Publishing. As it was stupidly crowded, we went upstairs to the VIP Lounge where P’s good friend Denise was and sat around shooting the shit with T, P, S, A, Denise and Shannon Wheeler until about 2am.

Sunday: This was a crazy day for me. Before hitting the con floor I wrote and turned in my Harvey Award recap for Bleeding Cool. Then in the course of six hours I interviewed Nick Tapalansky, Alex Eckman-Lawn, Brian Smith, Billy Tucci, Danielle Corsetto, Amanda Conner, Laura Martin, Joan Hilty, Louise Simonson and the Kill Shakespeare guys.

You can look for those interviews on Bleeding Cool and Geek Girl on the Street over the coming weeks.

It was after this that I decided I was pretty done for the day, so I just chilled out behind P and T’s booth until 5 when breakdown started.

After everything was closed up, we headed back to our hotel where we quickly got cleaned up and went out to dinner with Rich Faber (Comic Book Diner podcast), Bob and a few other people. After that… well, my memory gets a little fuzzy… but, I seem to remember ending up back at the Hyatt Bar chatting until the wee hours with Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, Steve Conly, Barry Kitson, Shannon Wheeler, Todd and Craig from the Perhapsnauts, Charlie Adlard and Mark Nathan (the con organizer.) I believe Kitson and I planned some sort of revolution and judging by the headache I had the next day, I drank about five big glasses of red wine.

At about 1am T and I extracted our social butterfly, P and we headed back to our hotel to crash.

Monday: After getting up, having breakfast and checking out of our hotel - I bid P, T, T’s Mom and Bob goodbye as they dropped me off at the train station in Baltimore.

From there I took a train up to Washington, D.C. where I had lunch with my high school friend AM. After lunch I decided to go to the Smithsonian - but, when I got over there the line was way too long and since I only had a few hours to kill before I had to go to the airport, I knew there was no way I’d get in and out in time.

So, instead, I decided to take a walk in the sun and quiet around the Mall. I took a lot of pictures, which you can see on Facebook.

I saw the Washington Monument (which was good timing, because apparently after yesterday’s earthquake on the East Coast it’s due to start leaning,) the White House, the Treasury Department and the Capital Building, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the new WWII Memorial (from a distance.) I also went to the Daughters of the American Revolution museum and the Renwick Gallery.

It was almost time to head to the airport when I got out of the Renwick, so I grabbed and iced coffee and just sat outside being quiet. Which was quite nice.

From there, it was the airport and home… I landed about 10pm and Meg picked me up (thank you, Megggg!) We stopped and grabbed a late dinner on the way home and then she dropped me off and after being greeted by my tiny jumping, licking ball of love better known as Max - I fell exhausted into bed.

And, so ended my BCC weekend.

I just wanted to thank Mark Nathan and the whole staff of BCC again, it was a truly wonderful show, everyone was so friendly and welcoming — I had a great time. I’m very much looking forward to coming back in 2012.

Keep Your Pants On: I've Got Low Friends in High Places

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:46:37 -0400

Keep Your Pants On: I've Got Low Friends in High Places:

This week’s a doosey… See what Elliott and I have to say to a 29 yo still living in Mom’s basement, hoping to snare the affections of a geek girl.

A photo taken in the backseat of my Mom’s car on the way...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:00:50 -0400

A photo taken in the backseat of my Mom’s car on the way to my niece’s baptism on Sunday. Edited on Instagr.am… from my new iPhone, beeotches! ;)

Keep Your Pants On: Avoiding the Friend Zone & What's the Trouble With His Little Fireman?

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:02:16 -0400

Keep Your Pants On: Avoiding the Friend Zone & What's the Trouble With His Little Fireman?:

Elliott and I tackle two new questions in the third week of our geeky dating advice column on Bleeding Cool.

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: You Should Be Much More Careful When You're Talking About the Sensitive Subject of Race

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:00:20 -0400

Geek Girl on the Street Reports: You Should Be Much More Careful When You're Talking About the Sensitive Subject of Race:

I respond with my feelings about racist responses to the Marvel announcement that Ultimate Spider-Man will be a teenager who is black/Hispanic.

Oh my god, I love these guys! Mario and Fafa - I want to have a...

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:58:16 -0400

Oh my god, I love these guys! Mario and Fafa - I want to have a slumber party with you… Evolution of the Hipster, for your Saturday viewing pleasure!

Bullet Points of Life: Mah familia, iPhone, talkin' mobile gaming to the RedEye n' stuff

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:37:14 -0400

Today happens to be the five-month birthday of my gorgeous little niece. And, next month will be the first birthday of my handsome nephew. I’m really kind of amazed at how my family has changed (for the better) in the last year. I had no idea that I could possibly love little creatures as much as I love my nephews and nieces - but, I do - and, I’m so blown away by what amazing parents both my brothers are. My family makes me very happy, indeed.
I’m finally breaking down and getting an iPhone. My craptacular phone from Virgin Mobile/Sprint has broken for the eighth time since I bought it a year ago and I’m just fed up with it… as I am ass poor I have asked for said iPhone as an early b-day present and it looks like I’m gonna get it in time for Baltimore Comic Con.
Oh yeah - I’m covering Baltimore Comic Con. I’m excited because it will give me a chance to catch up with “Major Blushing” and a variety of friends. Plus I’m interviewing Katie Cook, which I’m very excited about. If you don’t know Katie, check out her webcomic, Gronk. It is full of awesome.
I was interviewed by a writer for the Chicago RedEye about women and mobile gaming. Apparently, some statistic was released recently that said 50% of people who play mobile games are of the female persuasion… I think that people are trying to find meaning in this that isn’t there, video games have long been enjoyed by almost as many women as men, I actually used the example of a friend from elementary school who was addicted to Pong when the Atari first came out in the early 80s… It’s not really surprising to me that women continue to enjoy mobile video game content as the market share for that commodity grows… Just like it’s not shocking to me that girls read comics. The article should be out sometime this week, will post up a link or whatever as soon as I see it. :)

Keep Your Pants On: Torn Between Two Worlds

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:11:33 -0400

Keep Your Pants On: Torn Between Two Worlds:

Elliott and I answer a very heavy question in today’s KYPO…