Five Fandom Friday- Fandom Resolutions

When I think of fandoms, I think of people I see at conventions. The ones that can recite episodes by the names and numbers in which they're produced. The ones that can spot even the most minute mistake in a character's storyline. A person that owns every piece of memorabilia they can get their hands on. I am not one of those people. But I wanted to give today's Fandom Five a shot, because maybe 2015 can be the year that I really devote myself to a particular fandom (or two).

1. I will achieve a rank higher than 20 during a season in Hearthstone. I'm not a particularly good Hearthstone player, but I can usually eek out that rank of 20 by the end of each season (month) to get the special card back. I'd like to get into the teens at least once this year, just to say that I did.

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2. I will learn more about the lore in World of Warcraft. Apparently its quite extensive, and some players really take it seriously. I can't tell you how many harcore lore lovers cried over the Mists of Pandaria expansion because the pandas had no place in original WoW lore. With Warlords of Draenor (the most recent expansion), they set the game back in time about twenty years, so you get to see some of the leaders that you had only heard about in past expansions. I wouldn't mind reading the books about WoW to see how all of it stacks up.

3. My husband and I are probably going to start a podcast about nerd things and conventions. What better way to hone your fandom than to start a podcast talking about it, right? This one is kinda iffy, but it might be cool if we actually pull it off. He does a bi-weekly podcast with some other guys that pertains to airsoft, but he wants to do one with me that focuses on geekier things. The one he does for airsoft is pretty good, and I can listen to it and be entertained even though I don't play airsoft. What's interesting though, is that my sister-in-law also does a podcast. She does it with some people that she works with on her university's paper and they seem to focus on nerdy things, but with some other stuff thrown in. Her's is pretty boring (even though she's not a boring person), and I worry that ours will be like that if we try.

4. I'm starting a Geek Girl Brunch in my city. This is fandom related, right? A brunch that's dedicated to different geeky things can't be bad. I'm pretty excited for it. I think we decided on May for our launch date, but I have to check with the other ladies. If you live in central California and are interested in becoming a member, email us!

5. I will find one new fandom a convention this year, and follow through with figuring out what it is and if I like it! This is actually inspired by Kacie. She wrote about how she attended panels on Steampunk to learn about what it was, and now she aspires to create her own Steampunk character/cosplay for a convention. I think thats great, because I think Steampunk is really neat looking, but I don't know a damn thing about it. I'm a bit like Clara from The Guild, if you've ever watched the episode where they all go to The Convention, and shes mesmerized by the Steampunk cosplayers but she doesn't really get it. So this year, when I do my convention rounds, if I see something I like but don't know much about, I'm just going to jump on in and ask. 

So those are my fandom resolutions, even though I'm not sure some of them really classify as such. Anyway, I hope you all have a geeky 2015! Share some of your fandom resolutions with me in the comments below. And of course, thanks to Megan and Kristin for coming up with these prompts!

Goodbye 2014- GTFO

There are years when you can't believe its over, you don't want it to end, you just can't imagine that life gets any better than that year. 2014 was not that year for me. These posts are supposed to be the highlight reels of a fantastic year, but the truth is, I had a pretty rough one. Turning thirty wasn't quite the treat I had hoped it was going to be. I don't understand all the celebrity hype about the thirties being the best time of  your life. I'm a few months from thirty one, so maybe this will change, but this year has been probably one of the most lonely years I can recall. There have been some personal things I've been dealing with that I didn't want to bring to the blog, because I don't want it to be that kind of blog. But then I kinda let it spill onto the blog in other ways, so that wasn't super great. And all of my health issues have just been....a nightmare, to say the least. I can't even imagine what my senior years will be like if I'm this sickly now. Its difficult not to let every negative thing consume you, and I admit, I did a pretty horrible job at that this year. Every little thing got to me, and I have to learn to not let that happen anymore. Like Pitbull says,"any day above ground is a good day," so I just have to keep on truckin'.

I hope all of you have a happy and safe night tonight, and a fantastic 2015! I will be back on the 2nd to discuss what I hope to accomplish with the blog for 2015, and maybe some personal goals as well.

Thank You

In just a few more days, we'll be saying goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. It seems like only yesterday I was saying hello to 2014 and writing my goal setting post! Its funny how some parts of the year seems like its moving so slowly, and then all the sudden, you're hearing Auld Lang Syne and watching the ball drop on teevee (or if you're lucky enough, in person). This year was my first full year of blogging, and I feel like I have learned so much! This post is to say thank you to everyone that has helped me through this year. This is for everyone that donated to Extra Life and Play Live. This is for all the people who have sponsored and supported me through various endeavors and for the people that I have sponsored. This is for the conventions that were kind enough to grant me attendance as press, but my crappy health made it impossible for me to attend as such (I hope that they extend such grace to me again next year). This is for the people that I have won giveaways through, and for the blogs that I think are doing a great job at promoting a welcoming geek girl culture. Hopefully I don't forget anyone, and if I do, I am truly sorry! Your support has meant the world to me this year, and I hope you all know that :) And most importantly, before I start in on this list, I would like to thank you, my dear readers. Without you, there would be no Krystelle's Miss Tells. This would just be another blog taking up space on the Internet with no one to read it.

Geek Girl Con
Stan Lee's Comikaze
Datevitation

The Geeky Squib

Scrawny Girl 

Jordandene

Boutique Academia

JK Rock and Spencer Hill Press

Con*Quest Journals

Mama Needs Mana

International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club

Gamerwife

The Written Words

Superheroesque

Glitzy Geek Girl

Geekphoria

Hellhound Fashion

That Girl's Site

Eris-Discord42

Bacon and Glitter
The Nifty Nerd
GirlHero

JanDaJewelry

Little Geek Lost

Geek Girl Brunch

Female Geek Bloggers

The Nerdy Girlie

Confessions of a Book Pimp

Usagi in Wonderland
Augmenting Geekology

                                                       

Merry Christmas :)

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Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have the happiest of days today. I hope you get everything you asked for, make people happy, and eat lots of delicious food. Share laughter and joy, and please, be safe. 

Poppin' Off Early Edition- Best Teevee Shows of 2014

I feel like I haven't watched as much teevee as I did last year, which is why making this list seems more difficult to me. It also explains why a few of these shows aren't even technically teevee shows, they are Netflix shows. This list isn't necessarily shows that were new this year, they are just the shows I loved the most this year.

1. House of Cards. (Netflix) My husband and I binged watched this so fast! Kevin Spacey is a fabulous bad guy, and why do we have to wait until February 2015 for the next season? It has all the political snark and sass that Scandal has, but to me, this show seems a little more realistic. I completely believe that politicians have reporters in their pockets, and I can see how votes get swayed the way Frank does it. Now the way he got to the Presidency.....that's a little much. But its still a great show!!

2. Bojack Horseman. (Netflix) I didn't think I was going to like this show at first. A cartoon about a washed up 90's sitcom star that also happens to be a horse? What? But its actually pretty hilarious. And it has the voices of Will Arnett, Aaron Paul and Alison Brie, just to name a few. Here is Buzzfeed's breakdown of the background jokes in Season One. Season two starts some time next year.

3. Sons of Anarchy. Love this show, so sad its over. How many people died this season?! Like practically everybody. This was a show that took me forever to start watching, but once I did, I was so glad. And now I'm sad that its over, but really, it would be worse if they tried to drag it out. If you didn't get a chance to watch it on teevee, its on Netflix!

4. Cold Justice. I really like that this is a "reality" show, but its not completely outlandish like most reality teevee is. They don't always solve their cases, which is a bummer of course, but that goes to show you how real the show actually is. In a world where people think they know everything because they watch CSI or Law and Order, where the crimes get solved with witty one liners in an hour, its nice to have a show that actually shows people that it doesn't get solved that quickly. And fun fact, Marg Helgenberger's character on CSI was based on Yolanda McClary.

5. Rizzoli and Isles. I like cop shows. And really enjoy the dynamics that Jane and Maura's friendship share. I was a little nervous watching the rest of the season this year. Lee Thompson Young committed suicide in the summer, and he was one of my favorite characters on the show. I wasn't sure I wanted to see where the show would go without him. It did pretty well, though. They didn't rush to fill his shoes, gave the cast time to mourn, and as a fan, I appreciated that. I wasn't ready to see anyone sitting in his desk just yet.

Honorable Mentions-
Here are a couple of shows that I like, but I don't go out of my way to watch.

Project Runway Threads. I stumbled upon this when I had nothing to watch while folding laundry one day. I'm honestly falling out of love with the Project Runway franchise, there isn't anything new about it anymore. But with Threads, its different designers every week and they're teenagers! Its amazing how talented they are, and I really enjoy seeing their creative process. And the fact that they get to bring an assistant (usually a parent), is pretty great. The only thing that bothers me about the show is Ingrid Nilsen. She looks so young yet so old at the same time. It just bothers me.

Ladies of London. I want to live in London, and I love a good Housewives franchise. But this one was kind of eh. They made the Americans look rude, ignorant and loud, and they made the British ladies look too cool for school and mega bitchy. I had my favorite (Caroline) and my least favorite (Caprice), but it just fell a little short of what I was hoping it'd be. I still watched it though, because England.

Homeland. Without Brody, its nothing. Lol, okay, its not nothing- I just didn't really feel into it this season. Of course I still watched it....

And I still have my regular shows like Pretty Little Liars, 2 Broke Girls and the Real Housewives of Atlanta, Beverly Hills and Orange County that I watch too, but I think I put them on the list last year :)

How about you? What were your favorite shows this year? Did you keep to your old favorites or did you watch anything new?

Poppin' Off Early Edition- Best Music of 2014

Last year I did best albums and singles, but I have to admit, I only bought one CD in its entirety this year. It was Taylor Swift's 1989. And while that album is amazeballs, I think I'm sticking to just my favorite singles this year. Just like last year though, these are based purely on my musical preferences alone, and have no bearing whatsoever to any Billboard charts.

1. Bloodstream- Ed Sheeran This song is off his album x and it is just amazing. Its so sad, but beautiful. Its good if you're going through a rough time, especially in a relationship.

2. Shake It Off- Taylor Swift Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that people are going to be who they are no matter what, and you just need to shake it off and get on with your own fabulous life.

3. Black Widow- Iggy Azalea ft Rita Ora This song is just catchy to me, and for all the play its been getting on the radio, I'm still not sick of it yet. Plus, I'm a huge fan of Rita Ora. Find on Iggy's album The New Classic.

4. Centuries- Fall Out Boy I will always have a special place in my musical heart for Fall Out Boy. A band that references the Simpsons just can't fail in my book.

5.Till It's Gone- Yelawolf I love this song so much. It was debuted during the first episode of the last season of Sons of Anarchy, and it fits the show perfectly.

6. L.A.Love (La La)- Fergie I like Fergie's music for exercising or car rides, because its catchy and fun, and this song is no exception.

7. I Can't Stop Drinking About You - Bebe Rexha She sounds a bit like Miley Cyrus to me, but that's not a bad thing!  And I just really like this song.

I might be making a part two to this, I'm not sure. Because there are a lot of songs I liked this year! What about you? What are your favorite songs from 2014?

Five Fandom Friday- Must Watch Christmas Movies

Thanks to Megan and Kristin for coming up with these prompts! 

Christmas has some of the best movies and teevee shows around, don't you think? I like that they all have snow, since I don't live in a place where the term White Winter applies at all. 

1. All I Want For Christmas. This was one of my favorite Christmas movies growing up. Tiny Thora Birch is just so cute! And I had a mad crush on Ethan Embry lol. I guess growing up with divorced parents, I could relate to the story. Although, and this is mega harsh, I never wanted to pull crazy schemes to get my parents back together. They split when I was just a baby, so living with my dad was the only thing I ever knew. I've always wondered if anyone has ever tried to do that though.

2. Home Alone. "Kevin!!" So many quotables in this movie! And Macauly Culkin was living the dream in that  movie, well, until the burglars showed up. 

3. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Its hard to have a movie live up to its predecessor, especially a family comedy. But this one did. And because of this movie, I obsessively hunted for turtle dove ornaments lol. I found them too, at an antique store.

Derpin' through the 90's

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas. I don't think this is technically a movie, but this is a must watch every year. I love Charlie Brown's sad tree, and "Hark! Then Harold Angel starts to sing." Not to  mention it probably has one of the best soundtracks ever. 

5. A Christmas Story. "You'll shoot your eye out with that thing!!" If you have seen this movie, I really don't think I need to explain it. Its great. Its probably the first Christmas I watch every year. 

I also have to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon version), The Santa Clause and all those teevee specials with Rudolph and Frosty. The Christmas episodes of Family Matters and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air are also some of my favorites, if I can catch them on. 

What are your holiday must watch shows and movies?