My Whovian Proposal

I got engaged! And it went viral! Here's sites that it was featured on! This is crazy!

http://www.cnet.com/news/will-who-marry-me-time-lords-tennant-and-smith-join-proposal/

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2016/04/doctor-whos-day-roundup-smith-and-tennants-magical-weekend

http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/17/doctor-who-fan-is-proposed-to-just-as-she-meets-david-tennant-and-matt-smith-5822432/

http://www.blastr.com/2016-4-18/doctors-take-manhattan-12-things-learned-david-tennant-matt-smith-nycs-doctor-who-event

http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/showbiz/matt-smith-david-tennant-doctor-who-proposal-wizard-world/

Ok sooo.... my life was a bit crazy for awhile... My now-fiance, Brad, got tickets to this meet & greet via Wizard World convention circuit. He goes hogwild for Doctor Who celebs. And almost no price is too high for him. Haha! So I knew we were going since Feb.

We both got up and cosplayed as the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, appropriately. For those who don't know, Matt Smith played the 11th Doctor and David Tennant played the 10th Doctor.

He bought extra autograph tickets for me because Brad is very generous that way. I had brought my Tennant and Davison 8x10 I got at NYCC autographed by Peter Davison already. I wanted Tennant to sign this one too. And for Matt Smith, I had the postage stamp for him to sign if I decided to not get an 8x10 at his table. I wasn't sure yet. Little did I know why Brad really got the autograph tickets for me....

We waited on a very long line for the photo ops to begin and go through most people. I noticed Brad was acting weirder than normal... like overly excited than his usual "meeting celebs" self but i shook it off, he paid a lot of money to be here, let him have his day. hehe. We made friends with the people in line behind us. They were really sweet and fun and never done anything like this before... So we talked about all sorts of nerdy things and plugged the Way Station in Brooklyn of course.

Then I recall Brad having his phone up to his face at one point typing something out. I asked him what he was doing, again not normal behavior... You'd think I woulda known by now. Nope! Ha!
Apparently he was writing the people in line behind us, that we became friendly with, to try to videotape what was going to happen. So they knew what was about to go down! Of course when we got up there the con people put a stop to them videotaping anything. But at least we got a few photos out of it.

Ok back to the moment in time... So eventually it's our turn. As usual, we throw our bags on the side table, I get out my sonic screwdriver to pose with it. As per the photos, you can see Tennant is first and then Smith. I walked to Smith first, hugged him as he had his arms wide open for such a thing. (I did not ask him nor expect it...I'm not that kind of fan! lol) And Brad was behind me. So when I turned around to greet Tennant, I look down to see Brad is basically at eye level (not normal! Ha!) and see that he has a box in his hand... Then it all came crashing down on me and I knew what was happening! And that's the first photo in the series... With my mouth wide open not knowing what really was happening or that it *was* happening, etc! My brain was going a mile a minute!

By the way, I love Tennant's curious look of "Oooh I think I know what is about to happen!" and Smith's 5 year old face "Ooh what's happening?", like he's waiting for a cookie to appear or something. haha

I do recall Brad actually saying the words, "Will you marry me?" So I do recall I needed to answer or this is not going to look good at all! Ha! So I answered loudly, "Yes!"Which is probably this photo, right before I said yes...

Then I think that's when this photo was taken, a "hooray, congrats, she-said-yes," photo with Tennant and Smith cheering! There was no time to actually put the ring on while in front of them because photo ops are usually 10 seconds long. I'm happy the photographer took four photos!

Original photo before they signed it.

Signed photo afterwards.

Technically, besides the couple behind us, Tennant and Smith were the first ones to congratulate us. Which is very touching! ^_^

My instagram video shows the photos above and one photo of the ring.

My instagram video here shows the ring and Tardis ring box best.

Tardis ring box with ring on top.

R2D2 ring inside the box.

It says "Travel with me in time and space"

Brad wrote up his version of the story earlier, when it happened. (Life went crazy after this and I didn't have a chance to write this up until now...)

As of now we have no definitive date or plans. We have some things up our sleeves but... spoilers!

Regeneration Who 2 Recap

Regeneration Who 2 was another huge success for Oni Hartstein and James Harknell!

The con had brought in major Doctor Who guests like Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor; Terry Molloy, Davros; Colin Baker, Sixtth Doctor; Nicholas Briggs, voice of the Daleks and many other villians or creatures within the Who-verse; Nicola Bryant, Sixth Doctor companion; and just so many more!!

The panels that I attended were wonderful and moderators were great at asking relevant questions and keeping on topic.

The vendors and artists were pretty awesome as usual. Great products and artwork for sale.

As with most cons, I usually go for the celebrity hunt. But this year I was actually more about the panels. I did meet Peter Davison for a selfie with my now-fiance, but overall, I really surprised myself by not "needing" any autographs or photo ops this time. I have met most if not all the celebs already at previous conventions. So, I focused more on the panels this con.

Friday's panels, for me, started with the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison; moderated by Nicholas Briggs. Peter talked about his time as the Doctor of course but also talked a lot about the special he did for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, the Five-ish Doctors. I audio-recorded most of his panel but I am not sure how to edit it to add here haha! Peter is so funny and loves talking with his fans. He's really great with them.

After taking a nice dinner break, I came back to attend the "Freaking Out" panel that a friend was helping to moderate. It was about anxiety at conventions, or associated with attending cons in general. It was really helpful for those in the room to discuss anxieties and how to cope with them. But also I found interesting, was a couple audience members also discussed that it may not be them whom are dealing with anxieties but someone they care about and how to help that person cope at a con (or in life in general as some issues applied for both life in and out of cons). I found myself nodding to a lot of issues that the panelists talked about, agreeing that either I have those same anxieties, or how to cope with them in certain ways, or the way we behave in general based on our insecurities or anxieties. Stephen Webb, Clay Dockery, and Decca Dent did a fabulous job addressing everyone's issues and how to cope. Highly recommend if it's offered in another convention or future RegenWho again.

Saturday started with an awesome "Geek Chic" panel that more friends were moderating again. Being a geeky girl, ahem my blog name hehe, it was great to listen to others who loved dressing up geeky in everyday fashion. They of course touched upon cosplay in general, as all of them do cosplay at conventions and such. But then also related in how they have so many pieces that are normal everyday clothing, bought from second-hand stores or bog box stores, that when they wear those pieces alone, they still get recognized as a specific character. But there are ways to not just look like your favorite characters but rather what you can do to just accessorize your outfits with geeky items like scarves, ties, cardigans, shoes, jewelry, etc. So you may not want to go out looking like a character, but you can still show off your fandoms with little hints of flair. Stephen Webb, Kristin Sirota, Christine Evans, and Decca Dent did great in explaining it all, especially with a lovely slideshow!

I went to the "Doctor Who Travel Guide" which explained many of the places you can go in the UK, United States, and Canada to visit places either Doctor Who (and spin-off Torchwood) have taped or took place at. It was great to hear about the places like museums or exterior locations where they have taped and how to incorporate it into your travels. I've been lucky enough to travel overseas to London and Wales for the main discussion points, but it was before I was that deep into Doctor Who to find the places they filmed. Other than Wales, which was the main reason I traveled there. My friend and I at the time, took a bus to Wales to see the Torchwood hub and had friends who gave us a personalized tour of Cardiff and where they grew up. So now that more seasons of Who and Torchwood and even Sherlock have aired, I'd love to visit more of the places Brian Savoie talked about or to look at with different eyes. One day I'll save up enough to go back and revisit!

Then came my own "panel". I did a live-to-tape taping of our web series "Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight" with host Kyle Williamson and guest cosplayer, Angela Pritchett. It took some time to set up the room of course to tape everything and light everything correctly or as good as we could given the room dynamics. But Angela was fun and engaging as Osgood. And we had a really good audience count for being at a convention taping! The episode will air sometime this fall on SciFiGeekProductions Youtube page! Then it was a very fast breakdown as another panel of course needed the room right after us. But it was definitely fun!

Somewhere in the weekend I also went to Angela Pritchett's book signing! She has an awesome second cookbook inspired by Doctor Who! I have the first one and missed out on getting the second one on site so Amazon it is for me! Haha! She handed out a sample peanut butter cookie from the books recipes. It was so yummy! Fun and delicious recipes! Buy her books!!

I went to the Davros Variety Show. It was so much fun! Terry Molloy is of course the most entertaining! But I loved the ukele performances by Cat Smith and Angela Pritchett. The singing from Hannah Harkness is always funny! So that was a great time! I hope they have something similar again next year!

Gallifrey Squares was something I missed the previous year so I needed to go this year!! The room was still crowded but not standing room only busy. Found seats and watched the fun begin! There were a couple ladies who had too much to drink near me and were acting up, mostly just being loud and shouting out answers and general obnoxiousness. But once their friend was done being "on stage" they left. And then I could enjoy the rest of the game show. It was a lot of fun. Great questions, trivia and such. And I loved everyone who was in cosplay! So much fun!

Sunday was a down day for us. Got up, packed the car and checked out and then just wandered the vendor room for a bit. Didn't really hit any other panels. With the semi-long drive home, we got on the road around lunch time. That meant I would miss Oni and James' closing panel though again. But such is life. Maybe next year!

RegenerationWho is really the only con I actually want to do everything a con has to offer! I love the celebs of course. Meeting them and getting autographs or photos are fab with them. And Regen always gets great guests! And I of course love shopping, so the vendor's room is always a fav to walk around in and try to spend money on local artists and such. And of course I get to see friends from afar. But it's the one con (and Intervention) that I actually enjoy going to the panels. They have wonderful guest speakers, discussions, interesting topics, and topics to entice anyone's interests! So it really is just a wonderful con to go to. I can't wait for Intervention Con in Sept and RegenWho 3!!!! Thanks for a great con Oni & James and your quality staff!!!

P.S. - Next year's guests are already lining up and it's going to be magnificent! Michelle Gomez, who plays Missy, is going to be there! I will finally get to meet her!!! My "namesake" hehe. So my hotel and tickets have already been bought! And I'll be first to get her autograph/photo ticket if there are presales! heehee Cannot wait for next year!!

Geek Girls' Castle Is Coming!

My next big project is getting an online store ready and together to sell handmade nerdy skirts (with pockets!!) on Etsy that I've been working on for myself and friends. But I've decided to finally bring my product to the world. I'm really excited to get all this under way and have inventory to start it all!

A website is being designed to house this blog and the store at Geek Girls' Castle. I have a lot on the backend to still do, a lot of tech and design work to do, along with actual production of my wares I plan on selling. But I'm hoping to get it all done by month's end and be able to share the baby with you all soon.

I'm really excited to finally have the time and energy to get this project off the ground. I know I have some business lingo to learn and web tech to learn and get through too so my apologies if things are bumpy at first. Nothing is perfect out of the gate though and I'm more than willing to learn it all as best I can and as quickly as I can. So just bear with me as I get through it all.

I'll be announcing everything across the board on social media when it's all ready so keep an eye out! I can't wait to share this with everyone!

Regeneration Who 2!!

Maryland’s Doctor Who Convention returns this March 18-20th in Hunt Valley, MD!! And I couldn't be more excited!! Not only are we taping an episode of Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight there, (Saturday at 5pm!) I have a couple new cosplays to debut!! (Can you guess with my name??) haha!

Re)Generation Who is just one of those cons that are so well run and and have the best staff members around, that I now look forward to it every year. And just like any convention, of course I go because I love the celebs, seeing all the fans for Doctor Who in one place, and meeting up with friends I may not get to see everyday!

The programming schedule is also now up and though the hotel is sold out at the con rate, there might still be rooms available through travel websites or the hotel site itself. Also buy tickets asap!! They will be going quickly!!! As you can see below, daily tickets are being sold on March 4th as well, so even if you can only join the fun for one day, those will be available in a couple days. And it's totally worth i!! 

From Regen's website: 

With a very rare Peter Davison (5th Doctor) USA appearance and fan favorite Doctor Colin Baker (6th Doctor) and companions such as Nicola Bryant (6’s Companion), Sophie Aldred (7’s Companion), and Frazer Hines (2’s Companion) the convention has already been named one of the top things to do in Baltimore for 2016 by The Baltimore Sun. Over 25 celebrity guests will greet fans this year. 

Many other celebrity guests from the television show are appearing in person such as Nick Briggs (the voice of the Daleks), Deborah Watling (2′s Companion), Nev Fountain and Rob Shearman (DW writers), Terry Molloy (Davros), and a very rare US appearance by Anneke Wills (1 and 2’s Companion). Doctor Who music composer Dominic Glynn will also perform a full concert for fans. 

The programming will feature a new children’s program, autograph and photo opportunities, deep discussion of both the new and old TV shows, books, audio dramas, viewings of both common and rare Doctor Who videos, scavenger hunts, cosplay contests, an extensive vendor’s room, artists, giveaways, and plenty of surprises TBA. You may view a draft of this year’s program here: https://regenerationwho.com/programming/programming-descriptions/ 

Our entire convention team is thrilled to be working with so many great Doctor Who actors to bring this to the fans. (Re)Generation Who is a safe space where all Doctor Who fans can meet the actors, show off their costumes, and meet other people who love the show just as much as we do. Sign language interpreters are available upon request.
(Re)Generation Who is an Onezumi Events production. Helmed by Oni Hartstein, this will mark the organizations’ eighth time organizing an exciting major 3 day event. 

Tickets for (Re)Generation Who can be bought at ReGenerationWho.com may be purchased in advance online at $75 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under for the full weekend. At door cost is $85 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under.Daily tickets will go on sale on March 4th if the event does not sell out before then. See the website for daily admission prices. Advanced tickets may only be purchased until Tuesday 3/15 at midnight. After that tickets may only be purchased at the door while they last.

Santasical: A Very, Merry Twistmas

So I was a guest journalist for Oni Hartstein's blog recently while she's out on medical leave. She asked me to cover this fun event of "Santastical: A Very, Merry Twistmas" for her in NYC. I was happy to oblige!

Via her blog, here's what I thought about it:

http://www.onezumiverse.com/2015/12/new-york-city-holiday-attractions-santastical-a-very-merry-twistmas-is-christmas-from-the-nightmare-nyc-team/

Enjoy!!

And thanks to Oni for the opportunity to go to the event and write for your blog! I am honored!

InterventionCon: Where the Not-So-Strong Have a Place As Well

I have a guest writer this time around. Please welcome Brad Trechak to the blog! He writes a review of Intervention Con.
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InterventionCon: Where the Not-So-Strong Have a Place As Well
By Brad Trechak

In an age of mega-conventions with top tier stars charging top dollar for either a photograph or autograph, it’s nice to know that conventions like InterventionCon exist.  That is, conventions that exist for love and not for money.

I attended Intervention 6 in Rockville, Maryland August 14th and 15th and was amazed at the levels of creativity on display for the attendees.  Want to create a web presence and build a following for it?  There’s a class for that.  Want to create a film and put it online for the world to see?  There’s a discussion group for that.  Want to develop crafts to sell online?  Well, you get the picture.

InterventionCon is a strange mix of fan and professional conventions where members are there to learn and get new ideas.  You will not find any big-name media companies at this convention.  This is to break in to that world, and then maybe break out to an audience.

You still get the occasional celebrity.  I attended one of Terry Molloy’s presentations on the audio drama and got to listen to clips of audio plays of the last seven decades.  Terry Molloy is best known as the villainous Davros in the Doctor Who television series, but in this case he was there as an instructor, not a celebrity.

InterventionCon is not about taking money from you.  It’s not about giving you the opportunity to meet your favorite celebrity.  It’s about sharing the knowledge and tools that could potentially make you a celebrity. What you next do with this information is up to you.

Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight Show

Over the summer I had the pleasure of directing this very cool web series from Captain Kyle's brain.

The series starts Wednesday, Aug. 19th at 7pm ET on the YouTube channel SciFi Geek Productions. Take a look at the trailer and subscribe to the page so you don't miss an episode. It airs every week on Wednesdays at 7pm ET.

Watch our trailer now!

Each episode Kyle interviews a cosplayer in costume, as their character and then interviews the person behind the mask. It's one of the few cosplay shows out there that puts a positive spin on cosplayers and depicts them in a favorable light. Cosplay is supposed to be fun and celebrated rather than all the negative publicity its gotten in recent months.

Within the series, there are helpful con tips with Constance Chesney, Kyle's "Man on the Street" interviewer. She talks to young cosplayers at various conventions to see how much they love to dress up and go out to the cons with their families. Constance also plays some trivia with various cosplayers and some short comedy pieces, along with characters reciting Shakespeare. You might even recognize a few familiar famous faces along the way...

Taped in front of a live studio audience, season one has wrapped in-studio production but we will still be present at upcoming conventions like RetroCon in Oaks, PA Sept. 12-13th, Walker Stalker Con Philly Sept. 26-27th, and Walker Stalker Con Boston Aug 22-23rd. Constance will be continuing to interview cosplayers and playing more trivia with some lucky guests.

A special treat at RetroCon, we will taping an episode in front of the convention audience! The taping happens on Sunday Sept. 13th. Come out and be a part of the live audience! Maybe you'll be in cosplay and will want to be interviewed by Kyle! Stop by for some fun!