A Holiday in Geekville

With the holidays upon us, and my calendar already digitally inked with social events and family obligations (not that they won't be enjoyable as my family and friends are pretty cool), I took a moment to wonder 'what if?'  What if I didn't have every day of the next two weeks pre-scheduled with an activity or a dinner reservation?  What would I do?  No time consuming day job or cross town treks to commercial auditions...hmmm...what constitutes a fanciful winter repose in my mind?  Colorful images of Wonder Woman and Buffy came flooding into my mind. A vision of a digitally aged Brad Pitt in a perfectly dark theatre devoid of Blackberry beeps and unruly children manifested.  Even the Mac guy popped into my head.  'I'm...dreaming of a...geek...Christmas'. 

I'd be curious to hear your personal geek escapist thoughts (unless it's a weird Megan Fox fantasy so keep that one to yourself) but mine pretty much came down to Sci Fi/Fantasy/Technological 'catch-up'.  Hours and hours of it.  There are A LOT of shows and books and, well, things, that I have to catch up on and a geek holiday is the perfect time to do that.  

First and foremost: 'Buffy' Season 8 comics.  The 4th volume has just come out so I have a lot of reading to do.  Joss has apparently taken Buffy on quite a roller coaster ride since preventing Armageddon at the end of Season 7 on UPN and if there is indeed going to be a film (because of the 'Twilight' success) then it's time for me to get back on the bus.  (BTW, what's your favorite episode of all time?  I pretty much concur with the 'Hush' episode as it was brilliant, moving and terrifying all at the same time but I have to say that I knew SMG could really act when I watched 'The Body' episode after her mom died.)  OK, an hour a day of 'Buffy' comics, check.

Moving on but not straying from the theme of 'Joss is a god'- I will finally watch 'Serenity' and 'Firefly'.  Yes, I fess up, I admit, I have never really gotten into the series.  Whhatt?!  I know, I know, I'm banned from ever becoming a member of Whedonesque.  I did watch some of the episodes, most of the movie, but for some reason the Sci Fi outlaw cowboy theme didn't gel with my sensibilities.  I think I had a circuit loose or something.  So one ENTIRE day would be dedicated to watching all of 'Firefly' and then 'Serenity'.  I'll be really relieved when that gets done because I truly believe that I will work with Joss one day and I'm not a fan of uncomfortable silences.  Ability to converse with Joss without guilt and dig Nathan Fillion even more than I do, check.

Next, (and this isn't possible where I'm spending the holidays but I'll just pretend) I would book four back to back tutorial appointments at the Apple Store.  Honestly, I'm just not very software savvy and I'm incredibly impatient when it comes to trying to educate myself through online workshops.  My producing partner is the technical genius so he takes care of all that technical 'stuff' (see I can't even describe what he does above and beyond words like 'upload' and 'compress') for our different projects so I'm starting to feel inept!  So with the help of a 'Chuck' like instructor, and because of my innate brilliance, I would become an expert on Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Soundtrack Pro in the course of an afternoon.  I would also learn the ins and outs of my fabulous new Macbook Pro, you know, learn what this monster is really built for and most importantly get help with auto sorting my emails!!  I honestly need intervention when it comes to my inbox.  I'd like to learn code too, but just for party conversations when it turns dull.  So, in control of my technical destiny, check.

I think my brain has had enough exercise so it's time for the body- ninja warrior style!  I got into martial arts because of 'Buffy' and I think it's fun to admit it (guys get a kick out of it).  But there's nothing cute about my fighting style and how much I enjoy it.  I've been doing too much of the hard core boxing and muay thai as of late so I want to mix it up and do some of the crazy creative stuff.  So every few days during this geek week I would head over to Xtreme Martial Arts and train in Caporeira and ariel stunts.  And because this is a 'what if' post, my knees and wrist wouldn't hurt at all!  Able to do own stunts as star of 'Alias' type show, check.

Back to books and I have a laundry list of Sci Fi/ Fantasy sagas to read.  As much as I'd like to settle in to the Twilight series for a third time (cue the eye rolling from some people I know), there are myriad series that I should focus my creative eye on.  Do I hit Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' series?  'A Song of Fire and Ice'?  'Thomas Covenant: The Unbeliever'?  Even the 'Dark is Rising' series?  I'd also like to dive into the new Wonder Woman comics (The Circle) now that Gail Simone is writing.  I'd like your opinion on this one as I don't have a full year to dedicate to this vacation.   Submersed in alternate universe for countless hours, check.

Heading back to the computer one last time, I would watch every movie trailer available on the Apple site and YouTube.  Seriously.  It drives my husband crazy when I ask him to stop fast forwarding through the commercials while we're watching 'Fringe' as I spot a movie trailer that I want to see.  The silent dialogue between us, only articulated through his nostril flare, is 'why don't you just go online and watch it?!!?' Well, when I'm online, there is a lot of content vying for my attention, both work and non-work related and I'm always jumping to a new page or back to my email as I have inevitably forgotten something that I'm supposed to be doing (just realized two things right now as i write- so be right back- OK I'm back).  Sitting on the Apple site for an extended period of time just to watch trailers seems way too indulgent, so it's the perfect activity for this personalized vacation!  I'd watch them all on HD and make notes on the up and coming filmmakers and actors that I want to keep an eye on, maybe post a blog about one of them.   So perfect!  Brain saturated with movie trailers, check.

Finally, I would head to the theatre for the one film that I truly want the full cinematic experience of.  No, not 'Twilight' (already did that...twice...and no I am not buying the life sized stand-up poster of Robert Pattinson as Edward- my house just isn't big enough for his coolness).  I'm heading for some reverse aging F. Scott Fitzgerald storytelling through the mystical eye of director extraordinaire David Fincher.  Yes, I am indeed Curious about Benjamin Button (I even auditioned for the part of Benjamin's mother so I'd like to learn about the strange little guy who caused my teary audition death).  Wit aside, I am incredibly proud to see such a unique, epic story brought to the big screen by such a visionary director.  Holiday movies hold a dear place in my heart as it was a December the 27th viewing of 'Shakespeare in Love' that moved me to follow my dream of acting.  I look forward to a magical moment in the theatre this year with Brad, Cate and even my friend Bianca (playing Cate's friend in the film) lending their talents to the type of storytelling that fills me with purpose.  Cinematic inspiration to make 2009 a banner creative year, check.

Thanks for joining me on my geek journey, I have to head back to reality, and luckily it's a pretty good one and for that I'm very thankful.  

Be back soon and Happy Holidays 2.0!!!!

All Things T