Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

Though this was my fourth year as a festival volunteer, it was my first year as a full-time volunteer in Park City. I worked in theater operations at the Egyptian Theater in Park City my first year, then worked the box office at the Sundance Resort for the past two years because it was a much closer drive. I loved the remote venue and the tight-knit group of people, but I was ready for an immersive experience in the heart of the festival and was free enough to be able to do it this year. I have no idea where I’ll be at this point in my life next year, so I am delighted to have had the opportunity and über-grateful for my encouraging husband who enabled me to have this experience.

I was recruited for a new position called a Festival Insider Pro, which put me exactly where I wanted to be: roaming on Main Street, the heart of the festival. Though I could have done without the “ASK ME” hat (it kept riding up and making it look like I was a Conehead) and the 8-hour mostly outdoor shifts in below-freezing weather, I had a blast.

I qualified for free lodging, so I spent 12 nights in a decent little condo with three roommates (coincidentally all from the DC area) who are now my friends. I shared a room but got my own twin-size bed… I don’t even remember the last time I slept in a twin. The bed was okay, but I slept a lot better after I acquired earplugs to drown out the busy Park Ave. street noise. I’m used to sleeping in a quiet house in quiet suburbia where I’m usually only awakened by the sound of vomiting cats.

My check-in date and first training were on Tuesday, January 18—two days before the official start of the festival. I was exhausted from the week leading up to my travel, which was not the best way to start out the trip. But Park City was pretty quiet upon my arrival.

(Oh, and my arrival was aided by fancy schmancy Google Navigation on my Droid X! Good thing I got the little doohickey that suctions to my windshield to hold my phone at eye-level. Unfortunately, Google Navigation really only helps when you enter the correct address.)

I skipped the two available volunteer film screenings (Bengali Detective and Mad Bastards) that evening in favor of sleep. It was a good choice. Tuesday was full of meeting people, smashing a bunch of learning into my brain, receiving my wardrobe plus accessories, and participating in a trial-run tour of Main Street with the other Main Street Insider Pros. The day looked like this:

My wardrobe consisted of a Kenneth Cole-insignia’d royal blue down vest, which I knew about, and may have partially contributed to my choice of coordinating pink hair… whoops, I forgot to mention that I refreshed it a few days before the festival. It looked sort of this, and my apologies but I was tired and this is the only photo that even came out:

Anyway, all Sundance volunteers received the blue Kenneth Cole vest, a gray hat (sponsored by Chase Sapphire), and a scarf (sponsored by Acura). For my specialty position, I also received a bright pink (it matched my hair!) pin that said “ASK ME,” a dorky white “ASK ME” hat, and a black messenger bag that was printed with “ASK ME” in an orangey-red that was apparently supposed to be pink. Of course I also had a credentials pouch on a lanyard, where I stuck a few buttons over the course of the week. I accepted a special “Jeg Snakker Norsk” button to announce that I speak Norwegian… which came in handy twice during the festival. First time!

All outfitted, I looked something like this:

And you can’t really tell because all of my photos were taken with my Droid (whose 8MP camera is most certainly not as good as my 8MP Canon Powershot or my 8 million MP Canon Rebel that I did not take along) but in this photo I am wearing glamorous blue and silver eye shadow thanks to Isaac in the l’Oreal sponsor room. Well, you probably wouldn’t be able to see it even with a better camera because my eyelids are invisible thanks to genetics. But I’m wearing l’Oreal mascara, which in theory you should be able to see. And please just ignore the yellow shirt underneath because it doesn’t really match. After I saw this photo I made sure that my scarf (which was mine, not the blue-gray one that Acura provided because I actually didn’t get mine until later that week) was tucked into my vest and hiding whatever garishly-colored shirt I wore each day.

With all of these excuses, I wonder why I’m even posting this photo. I don’t know. Maybe because I went to the trouble of putting all the links in the right places, and you should appreciate the time and effort I’ve taken to write this lengthy and not really descriptive post?

Uh-oh, I’m starting to go all Meta and breaking that fourth wall. I think it’s time to wrap up this post and take a breather before starting up part 2.

But at least let me leave you on a positive note from Wednesday before the festival officially started: I attended a volunteer screening of the documentary Being Elmo, which is about Kevin Clash and the puppeteering journey that led him to become Elmo’s alter-ego and a major player on Sesame Street. As a lifelong Muppet fan, I knew I’d love it, but even so I was still impressed and loved it more than I thought I would. When it comes out, you should definitely see it. My favorite part was learning about how, as a teenager, Clash was ridiculed by his peers because he was obsessed with puppets. But he set his skills to use entertaining kids around the neighborhood and started working on a local children’s TV show while still in high school, turning his reputation around. Like most of us geeks, he never forgot what it was like to be labeled different, and that had an effect on how he and his characters developed.

Being Elmo hasn’t been picked up for distribution yet to my knowledge, but when it comes out, trust me that this is a documentary you have to see. I dare you to not get teary-eyed.

Ben and I finally watched Inglourious Basterds last night. And… wow. There’s no question that Quentin Tarantino’s films push my boundaries when it comes to violence and gore, but  he is an auteur who creates some really amazing films.

I didn’t always think so, though. I generally dislike gory films and still get nightmares from psychological thrillers. But I was forced to watch Pulp Fiction for a (really awesome) creative writing class at Miami University in 1999, and not surprisingly I had a hard time with the violence. But I toughened up enough to want to see Kill Bill in the theater a few years later—and was blown away. (Har har.) The second Kill Bill was just as amazing and made me brave enough to watch Pulp Fiction again. I love it more every time I see it, even though certain scenes still make me cringe.

I kept waiting for both Kill Bill films to be released as a special edition set on DVD before I would buy them. Not long into my wait, though, I was introduced to HDTV and started paying attention to the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war (March 2007). Kill Bill jumped off the DVD wait list to Priorty One on my future high-def home video want list. But eleven months later, when HD-DVD officially died, I knew it would still be a while until we bought a Blu-ray player. And so I have waited. Blu-ray players, and the discs to some extent, have come down in price over the last two years.

BEN ORDERED A BLU-RAY PLAYER FOR US YESTERDAY.

I would like to officially thank Quentin Tarantino for the film Inglourious Basterds, which reminded us how much we’ve wanted to own Kill Bill on home video, and thus directly tipped the scales on the final decision to purchase a Blu-ray player.

(I am vaguely suspicious that the Ghirardelli caramel-filled chocolates I gave to him for that recent hallmark holiday also had something to do with it.)

We won’t be replacing/upgrading any of the films or shows we already own on DVD, but we did order a few Blu-ray discs (are we calling them BRDs yet?) to start off our collection: Kill Bill I and Kill Bill II, Bourne Identity, Wall-E, and Gattaca.

Next up on the wish list (Pi Day is coming up soon!): Battlestar Galactica complete series (the new one, yes, even after the last episode), Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum, Iron Man, Ratatouille, and Up. Go ahead and judge me if you like. I’m also looking forward to renting delicious eye candy via Netflix.

What are the first five movies you would purchase (or have already purchased) in high def?

To continue the new (and probably short) string of geeky artwork by moi… here is my graphite rendering of Darth Vader: The Cookie Jar.

I got this 10-inch tall plastic cookie jar a few years ago by collecting UPCs from cereal boxes and sending them in. His helmet comes off to reveal room for about 2 cookies inside… so he’s used as a bust on the mantle instead of a cookie jar.

I have 4 more sketches to complete by Wednesday, plus 1 self-portrait and 1 abstract drawing collage-type thingy that I’ve already started. I’ll take a quick final for that art class on Wednesday morning, then I’ll leave that afternoon for Denver, where I will watch my little sister defend her PhD thesis on Thursday! Holy crap! On many levels!

This is a graphite drawing of my bobblehead Marvin from the movie Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I hadn’t quite learned about proper shading, so I stopped before adding too much shading.

[Idaho trip summary is still in the works, once I get off my busy/lazy butt and upload the photos.]

My writer friend Ted is spending the month of June traveling across the country, staying with kind friends along the way. Ben and I managed to convince him to make a weekend stop in Utah along his journey. It has been rainy and stormy and chilly the entire weekend, effectively presenting Ted with the image that Utah has a wet, temperate climate. Though we can certainly use the rain here, this is a false image. It’s also ruined our plans to take him on scenic tours, short hikes, and have a barbecue.

We attempted to win a hot air balloon ride on Saturday morning, getting up at 6am to do so. We watched the balloons inflate, but then were given the sad news of some “safety first” crap because of incoming storm cells and that meant the balloons would not be launched at all. This made Ted very sad. I still feel guilty, even though the weather was not my fault.

Some friends came over Saturday evening and helped us inaugurate the new cornhole boards. We were able to clear out space upstairs to play this otherwise outdoor lawn game, and it went very well. Our Utah friends seemed to enjoy this Cincinnati-based game that started to become popular while I was living there in the early part of this decade. (Can we say “early aughts” or is there some other way to say it? Early 00s or Early 2000s just don’t seem right.) Once the cornhole craze died down and winners of a mini-tournament were declared, we headed downstairs to play Rock Band. Ben succumbed to (a lot of) peer pressure and sang. He’s the Guy Who Doesn’t Sing In Front of People so this was a very big deal. I’m very proud of him. Though I know it may never happen again.

Today was another crappy weather day, and we postponed a scenic drive up to the Sundance resort until after 4pm. When there was a break in the weather, Ben, Ted, and I jumped in the car and actually saw a little sunshine heading up Provo Canyon. Now, I volunteered the past two years at the Sundance Film Festival, and have worked a few heavy-lifting shifts this summer for the Summer Labs, so I could look all cool and stuff by saying hi to one of the Sundance Institute managers.

The timing was good, and we were invited to sit down in the screening room with a crowd (under 100 people) of visiting directors, writers, producers, and Sundance staff for a private screening. It’s great to know people! The Summer Labs are for creative types (who have to go through a competitive application process) to workshop some scenes from their manuscripts.

The screening consisted of 1-6 scenes from each of about 10 screenplays, and we were warned beforehand that they were very rough cuts. Some looked more promising than others, but it was really cool to glimpse into the lives of Professional Film People. We were cautiously aware that we didn’t really belong, so we tried to be inconspicuous.

And we kept our cool when Alfre Woodard was introduced and then sat right behind us. And also when the lights came up at the end and we noticed that Alia Shawkat was sitting three empty seats over from Ben. She put on a baseball cap and slinked off pretty quickly, not giving any of us the opportunity to walk up to her and awkwardly/fannishly say hello and then maybe lick her face. It’s probably for the better.

This whole volunteering for Sundance thing is turning out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. It makes living in Utah a little brighter, even on a somewhat dreary day like today.

Welcome to another “a few things all at once” post!

• I missed Worldwide Dungeons and Dragons Game Day yesterday. *sadface* But one of my local friends is preparing to be a kickass DM, so there’s something D&D for me to look forward to. *happyface*
• I started another semester of classes at Utah Valley University, where I’m working toward a 2-year degree in Digital Media (technically it’s “Digital Communication Technology”) which sounds kind of vaguely Technical with a splash of Cool. And it is. I already have my bachelor’s degree in English/Creative Writing, so it’s kind of weird to be gunning for as associate, but hey, it’s achievable, man! And all of my general ed requirements transferred and/or are waived because of the pre-existing degree, so that’s nice.

  This summer I’m packing in all of my art classes that count as Digital Media electives: 2D Design (required, actually), Typography (LOVE this class), and Drawing I (because I’d like to be able to hand-draw something by which I’m not embarrassed). I’m the only Lady Student left in my Digital Motion Picture Essentials class, i.e. Making Crappy Short Films 101. Half of the class dropped after the first day when the prof presented himself as an egotist asshole. I get along with the 7 other guys, so the class is still fun. And I’m excited to be learning how to use Final Cut Pro.

• A few weeks ago, I applied for a part-time summer internship and was offered a position right away. I didn’t realize at first that it was unpaid, but I decided to go for it anyway for the college credit and potential resume/portfolio boost. After two weeks, though, it became clear that I was not going to benefit much from the experience, and I quit. It is very out of character for me to quit a job so quickly, but the fact that I wasn’t being paid made it easier. Oh, and the fact that the woman in the cubicle next to mine played her music at an unprofessional volume, AND it was country, AND she sang along. Gah.
• Quitting that “job,” however, has freed up my availability to pimp my freelance writing services and to volunteer more for the Sundance Institute, which runs a bunch of “artist labs and workshops” for film directors, screenwriters, etc. This is the first year they’ve accepted volunteers outside of the annual winter film festival. So far, I’ve just been moving boxes and doing inventory and asking a lot of questions. Not surprisingly, I love hanging out at the Sundance resort and doing “backstage” stuff for the incoming workshops. I’m hot for creative environments. Also, I’m really looking forward to sorting office supplies. I was serious when I told the venue/production manager that office supply stores put me in my zen place.
• Ben and I drove up to Boise, Idaho, two weekends ago, and life has been pretty busy since then. I have notes but need to formulate that into more of a coherent story. Stay tuned!

I watched the first Star Trek movie last night, in full, for the first time ever. Wow. It was… trippy. And long. Ben and I laughed to the point of crying during a couple parts… and I may have cried a Spock tear when it was all over. During the last part, (SPOILER) when Decker goes all sparkly, I couldn’t help but think of what the sparkly vampires supposedly look like in the movie Twilight. (It’s doubtful that I’ll read the books or see that movie, let’s be honest.)

Ben and I are going to attempt to watch all the Star Trek movies, in order, before seeing the new Star Trek movie that’s coming out on May 8. Sylar as Spock intrigues me. I hear that the new movie involves some time travel as Leonard Nimoy visits from the future as “Old Spock” to help his younger counterpart.

So, in line with Star Trek movie hype and the theme of time travel, I want to share a magazine flashback with you.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up in the basement and came across a vault of Ben’s magazines from his childhood. During the 1980s—while I was playing black and white Macintosh games, devouring hundreds of library books, and reading Cricket magazines—Ben was taking apart electronics, learning how to program on a Commodore, and reading 3-2-1 Contact magazines. (Is is really surprising that GeekDad’s 10 Annoying Habits of a Geeky Spouse basically listed things that we love about each other?)

I found this gem from December 1986 with the enticing cover question, “Is Time Travel Possible?” The cover article includes kid-level coverage of several TV shows and movies basically by filling four pages with exciting photos of Dr. Who, Superman, Marty McFly, Time Bandits, and The Time Machine.

The secondary spread covers the then-new Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Click on the photo to get a PDF of the scan… it’s precious. I especially love the photo caption that says “Star Trek movies include special effects such as smoke and fire.” I mean, WOW!

After 20 years on the air, The Simpsons will finally get their own United States postage stamps! Our beloved prime time cartoon family will be available to adorn snail mail and/or stamp collections on May 7. There are five different stamps, each featuring the face of a core Simpsons family member.

The USPS definitely understands the minds of collectors. There are several options to purchase The Simpsons stamps online, not all of which are actual stamps.

• Booklet of 20 (4 stamps of each face) with a random cover
• 4 Booklets of 20 (so completists get all of the covers without that pesky blind box anxiety)
• First Day Covers (envelopes with the stamp and a special digital postmark dated May 7)
• First Day Covers—but with special color postmarks
• “Simpsons Cancellation Keepsake” (all 4 colorized First Day Covers plus a booklet with random cover)
• Stamped postal cards (but since postcards only cost $0.28 to send, I’m assuming they’re ironically not  stamped with the Simpsons stamps)
• Individual 11×14 inch giclée art prints of each stamp, matted
• A family set of giclée art prints, 11×20 inches, matted and framed

So, if you have an extra $250, you can get all of that for your stamp and/or Simpsons collection. I know, I know, it cuts into your Qee budget. But if you’re a real fan, you know that “budget” is synonymous with “oppression” and not even something called “therapy” could help quell your desire to acquire everything SIMPSONS. (And that’s probably why Matt Groening has issued you a restraining order.)

Since I’m not that “real” of a fan, the only stamp collectibles I’ll probably get are the 4-pack of stamp booklets so that I get each cover. The First Day Covers would be neat, but not top priority. However, if I could convince Ben that we should spend $25 on it instead of a gallon paint to touch up the front of the house, I would really love to have a giclée art print of Lisa.

I wouldn’t call myself a stamp collector, per se, but I do have a small stash of stamps sheets featuring images I love. Maybe someday I’ll tell my uninterested children about why I find them so interesting. I hope that they’ll appreciate commemorative stamp issues like Jim Henson and the Muppets, Marvel superheroes, Hubble telescope, etc. I’m not going to hold my breath. (Since my uninterested children are still imaginary, you’d think that I would imagine them as being interested. But since they’ll likely get half their genes from Ben, I’m a little more realistic. He has a pretty practiced BLANK STARE OF INCREDULITY whenever I get excited about my cool little stamp stash. Or my coin collection, for that matter.)

And on days when I’m feeling optimistic and happy, I can get a good dose of bitterness just by looking at my stash as a record of the rapid price increases of stamps from year to year.

By the way, USPS prices are going up again on May 7 to counter your Simpsons excitement. The standard stamp will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents. So if you still send letters via snail mail, you might want to consider buying some more non-denominated Liberty Bell “forever” stamps.

Don’t hang on to them too long, though, because I estimate that the Forever Stamp Bubble will burst around 2011, when nobody will have any use for any sort of snail mail whatsoever. Because that’s when 3D fax machines (aka Transporters, natch) will make it possible for you to receive that adorable bargain-priced kitten calendar from Aunt Helen over the internet.

Anything with the keyword geek in it captures my attention because I am always interested in its usage. Not just whether it’s being used as a noun or verb, but whether it’s used in an insulting or admiring manner and how the stereotype is changing over time.

When I assembled the first version of the Geek Test in 1999, the dictionary definition of geek was “1. An odd or ridiculous person. 2. A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.”

In 2002, when I started creating innergeek.us and researching the nature of modern geeks, I was amazed to discover that the entry for geek on (then shiny/new) Wikipedia still reflected the “traditional” definition of geek. Though I’m no Wikipedian, I registered so that I was able to add more current information—and it’s been tweaked and updated over the years by others to create a very full meaning of the word geek.

So as an avid student of geekology, I naturally watched the first season of “Beauty and the Geek” when it aired on the CW network in 2006, plus a few episodes here and there in later seasons. I have mixed feelings about the show as it relates to the stereotype of geek.

Granted, it’s a reality show produced by Ashton Kutcher. But it’s only the third TV series to contain the word geek in the title—the first was the undervalued and prematurely canceled comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks in 1999-2000. Then there was the Comedy Central game show Beat the Geeks in 2001-2002.

Now, I like the idea of expanding people’s world views through forced cooperation between individuals with (apparently) little in common. Many of Beauty and the Geek’s participants also seem to come away from the show with a better sense of self. Or at least episodes are edited that way. What I don’t like, though, is the polarization of the two sides that perpetuate the stereotypes in the eyes of the viewer.

Back in December, I came across this casting call for geeks: Read more…

The entire festival is over at this point, so you can view all of my photos from Sundance 2009 here. (Of course most of them are nature and environment-related because I couldn’t very well take photos of the movies, could I? Well, technically I could have, but I chose to follow the rules and refrain.) Here’s my recap with some selected photos.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

I had a beautiful morning drive up Provo Canyon to the Sundance Resort Screening Room for another 10am-2pm box office volunteer shift. The first film shown was Barking Water, which people seemed to like but made them cry. I received hands-on box office training while the film was showing, though the process was slowed due to the fact that the festival’s internet connection wasn’t working. I learned that the Sundance Resort, because it’s away from the festival hub of Park City, doesn’t receive as much support as you’d think it would.

Don’t worry, nobody’s bitter about it or anything. Until the snacks run out, that is. Read more…