In this episode, Liz and Heather discuss DC Comics, as a counterpoint to our Marvel episode from 2015. This episode should be called DC - Don't Fuck it Up.
We talk all about the DC Comics movies, past, present, and current. Heather is a HUGE Batman fan, so she has been waiting to do this episode for a while.
We talk about Deadpool, Batman vs. Superman, and the appearance of Wonder Woman! We also talk about the upcoming Suicide Squad movie that will be coming out later this year.
We talk a bit about the lack of female characters in both the DC and Marvel universes, but we really don't see a Marvel counterpart to Wonder Woman.
Side note - DC Comics seems to be much darker and gritty and super rapey from time to time (I'm talking to you, Watchmen!). These are dark, but also fairly funny, so we are interested in seeing what comes forth.
Aquaman is also apparently getting his own movie. I'm interested in seeing whether or not he will be the pussy of the Justice League, like in the comics, or if he will actually be an interesting character.
Another side note: You suck, Megan Fox. We hate everything you are in. Always. Eat a cheeseburger, please. And cover yourself, for the love of dog!
DC is really doing great things in the realm of TV shows: Gotham, Supergirl, Arrow, etc. They surpass Marvel, who only has Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, both of which are fabulous.
Recommendations
Check out our upcoming Book Club choice, Lamb: The Gospel According to Christ's Childhood Friend, Biff by Christopher Moore. It is hilarious, and you may go to hell, but you might learn a thing or two along the way!
Also, make sure you subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. Seriously, we are everywhere people. Feel free to stalk us.
In this episode, Liz and Heather welcome back some other nerdy bitches for a boozylicious girl talk day! We have Cassie, Kitty, and Sophie in the studio with us to drink and talk what it is like to be a girl geek! This episode's drinks are sort of Star Wars themed.
Heather's drink: Tatooine Sunset
Liz's drink: Smuggler's Delight
Cassie's drink: The Dark Side
FYI - Don't forget to turn the boot when guzzling beer a la Beerfest. Otherwise, you will get it in the face, like a bad porno.
Heather shares an article on ridiculous lies pop culture tells to women (from the Daily Dot):
Be sure to check out our next book club selection, Lamb by Christopher Moore.
A big thanks to Cassie, Kitty, and Sophie for being on the show again!
In this episode, Liz and Heather invite Cassie, Kitty, and Heather back into the studio to discuss Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This episode will be full of all kinds of spoilers and squees! It has been a full year of Nerdy Bitches podcasting leading up to this movie's release, so it is finally time for us to talk about it, having actually seen it!
Again, this episode is FULL OF SPOILERS!!
so, proceed at your own risk if you haven't yet seen the movie.
We talk about how much we all loved this movie, our favorite parts, parts we may not have liked as much (ha!), and what we would like to see from the next movie(s). Most of the panel have seen the movie 2-3 times with more plans to keep seeing it. We all noticed that the more we watched, the more we noticed. So, we all clearly loved the movie. Even Heather, our non-Star Wars girl, is becoming a bigger and bigger fan!
Favorite Characters
Han Solo - SO MANY TEARS!! Heather called it in our last episode, where Han Solo needs to die to be able to give the new generation something to hold on to. It was both the best and worst way for him to die. Does he, perhaps, have the Force? He is incredibly lucky. Who knows?
Did Kylo Ren actually save Rey? Did he take away her memory? Are they siblings? Cousins? WE DON'T KNOW! But, we are so ready to find out!
Least Favorite
Note: David Bowie did NOT fight at the battle of the Alamo. Also, several days after this recording, David Bowie passed away at age 69 from cancer. We did discuss his Labyrinth cod piece, but in our defense, he was alive at the time. Rest in Peace, King Jareth. Please enjoy.
Upcoming Book Club: Lamb by Christopher Moore. Read it.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and at our Nerdy Bitches Store. You can now buy this awesome Nerdy Bitches flask to make any day Boozylicious!
This episode is yet another Book Club: American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This is the quintessential geek books out there.
Gaiman is a Brit and has basically come to America and told us who we are. It is interesting to see from an outsider who we are based on the perspective of other people. (We saw this with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series.)
The book opens with the character, Shadow. We don’t really know why he is in prison, but he just keeps his head down and serves his own time. Days before he is to be released, he finds out that his wife has been killed in a car accident with his best friend. He ends up being released a few days early for his wife’s funeral. While flying home, he meets up with a strange man (whom he feels is a plant to screw him over). He has to deplane and ends up renting a car and driving to the middle of nowhere, and weird guy from the plane is sitting there (Mr. Wednesday).
Shadow decides to take the job offered to him with Mr. Wednesday (for reasons unknown to anyone). Shadow makes it home to the end of the funeral to find out that his best friend and wife were having an affair. He gives the gold coin from the leprechaun to his wife.
There is a lot of background info on what happened and why, but the majority of the book talks about the old gods (Odin, Loki, Easter, etc.) versus the new gods (TV, technology, Internet, etc.) and how when people leave their homelands they tend to leave their old Gods behind.
If you haven’t read this book, please do so and then listen, as it is a book club and full of spoilers.
Upcoming episodes are going to be STAR WARS related, so be prepared for that!!
Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also check out our online store HERE. (Make sure you turn your content filter to OFF to see the good stuff!)
In this episode, we are covering our favorite 1985 Summer Movies Part 1. It’s been 30 years since all of these movies came out, so we took a note from Operaman on what he would like to hear!
There were so many movies that came out in 1985, but we narrowed it down to just the summer movies. We picked our top favorites, and this show will be split in two so that we can get all of them in.
Part 1 – Favorites
Check back in next week for the second part of the 1985 Summer Movies!
(Upcoming book club – American Gods by Neil Gaiman)
In the Holiday Gift Guide episode, Liz and Heather talk about some awesome gifts to give to the geek/nerd in your life.
A big congrats to Liz’s sister on the birth of the newest little nerdy bitch, Miss Olivia! She’s super cute!
It’s hard to buy gifts for geeks, if you are an outsider. Even if you are outside of someone’s specific geek genre, it can be a chore. In this episode, we talk about some good guidelines for buying for others without looking like a tool.
Think Geek is an awesome place to start. They have a fantastic gift giving guide for the holidays, and the “Gifts for Her” isn’t stupid condescending like other lists we have seen.
Tips:
Specific examples of holiday gift ideas:
Recommendations:
Bitch of the Week (Liz): White Elephant Gift Exchanges – I keep getting screwed, so I refuse to participate anymore. Bah Humbug.
Check out some of our fun holiday gift ideas on our Pinterest and at our Store.
STAR WARS!!! In this episode, Liz and Heather discuss the new Star Wars movie with fellow nerdy bitches, Sophie and Kitty!
Episode 7: The Force Awakens opens December 18th, and at least 3/4 of us are SUPER excited! This is a Boozylicious episode, thanks to Kitty's Magic Martinis (Star Wars name still pending). We do also give a nod to both the Robot Chicken and Family Guy's versions of Star Wars, which are freaking hilarious. If you haven't seen those, check them out.
We discuss what has been leaked, what hasn't yet been released, and what we are hoping will be released. Also, Star Wars math is wonky. The ages from movie to movie just don't add up.
Anakin may be Jesus. Listen, and we will tell you why. (Also - read Lamb by Christopher Moore) We also play Fuck, Kill, Marry with the Star Wars universe - it doesn't get better than this!
Alert - Po is not the black Stormtrooper - that's Finn. We were drinking. A lot. You don't need to tell us we are wrong. We know it. We admit it. Get off our backs! ;-)
We are all planning on watching the movies again before the movie is released. We will definitely be having a post-release episode discussing the movie which will be full of spoilers and speculations.
And the merchandising! WTF? Star Wars fruit? AT-ATs at the Astros game? Totally overboard, in our bitchy opinions. Please stop changing the shape of our pasta to meet your Force needs.
Recommendations - Go watch everything we have been talking about!
Proper order to watch Star Wars movies: 4,5,6,1,2,3 - This doesn't ruin all of the later reveals.
Follow the shit out of us: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and our Nerdy Bitches Podcast Store
It's Book Club Day! In this episode, Liz and Heather invite other Nerdy Bitches into the studio to discuss this week's Book Club - Dark Disciple:Star Wars by Christie Golden. We brought back Kitty (Boozylicious and Cards Against Humanity episodes), along with new guests Cassi (Sarah and Cassi's Nerdy Adventures [podcast]) and Sophie, to discuss their take on this book. Fair warning - this episode is Boozylicious!
This is the story of Asajj Ventress. Ventress was a character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who played the assassin and apprentice of the evil Count Dooku. During the run of the series, Ventress is a thorn in the side of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but also ends up being betrayed by Count Dooku, and ultimately takes off freelance with some bounty hunters (including a young Boba Fett). Her storyline was never concluded when the show was cancelled, so this book follows what happens after she leaves.
This book starts out with the Jedi Council deciding that they needed to send someone to assassinate Count Dooku (much to the dismay of Obi-Wan), so they bring in Quinlan Vos, a rogue, undercover Jedi, to go seek the aid of Ventress. We all have a bit of an issue with the Jedi ordering an assassination, which is completely out of character for the Jedi Order. Vos is sent to seek out Ventress under the guise of being a bounty hunter with her. He thinks he is being pretty sneaky at hiding his use of the Force, but in true Ventress-fashion, she figures him out pretty quickly.
Here is the picture of Quinlan Vos, though in our minds he is a combination of Shemar Moore, Lenny Cravitz, and the love-child of Obi-Wan and Han Solo. He's pretty much a badass.
We love how complex Ventress is - she is bad, but she also has the heart of gold, and can kick the ass of any Jedi. She is incredibly clever but still stands back a bit. She has been burned a lot by both the dark and the light and knows better than to trust either side completely. She is a really strong female character in her own right and doesn't define herself by a dude. She is also willing to kill him when he turns to the dark side rather than have him go through what she has been through, and so that he can die who he was. No one else even notices that he is still dark.
Spoilers - Ventress sacrifices herself to save Vos, and by doing so, she brings him back from the dark side (like Jesus), and she also saves the Jedi Council and brings them back to who they really are.
Consensus - This book is awesome. Go read it.
Our visitors today can be heard:
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can also email us directly at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com. You can also visit our Nerdy Bitches Store.
On this episode, Heather and Liz talk about Peter Capaldi as The Doctor. This is the 12th doctor (or is he the 13th, with the edition of the War doctor), and our 4th doctor in the new series.
We compare him to previous doctors, including Matt Smith, who is the Labrador of the Doctor Who series. We are also desperate to see River Song come back (and she will at Christmas!).
Capaldi's Doctor is the grumpy doctor we had to kind of grow to love. He is so different from the previous doctors, so it took a little time for the fans (and Clara, as his companion) to warm up. He doesn't ask for permission or approval from the humans - he just gets it done. He has a little glint in his eye that shows he cares, but he isn't outwardly cuddly.
We also really love Capaldi as an actor. We have seen him in several other things, and he is fantastic. If you want to see him in something adorable, check him out in Paddington as the nosy neighbor.
*Random note - We will be creating a new geek cocktail - Sex on a TARDIS.
Check out our Instagram page to see Liz and Heather rocking their new Nerdy Bitches logo tees from our new Zazzle store. Check out the store at zazzle.com/nerdybitchespodcast
FYI - We are pretty much over Clara and are ready for her run to end. Her character has finally gotten a little better, but since she is leaving, we know something is going to happen. We are also still wondering what the hell happened to the kid that Danny Pink sent back from death. And how they ran across Danny's descendant in the future. Did Clara get pregnant and we haven't seen that? Was it that kid that she raised? We just don't know. Is it lazy writing, or will we get the answer two doctors from now?
How do you feel about the switch from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi? Matt Smith is like a cute baby animal, where as Capaldi is a grumpy cat barn owl.
We had zero bitches this week, so good happy week for the Bitches.
Recommendation:
UPCOMING BOOK CLUB: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden
In this episode, Liz and Heather talk about their favorite childhood commercials then and now.
ANNOUNCEMENT – Our next book for the Book Club is Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. This is one of the new Star Wars (canon) books, but is just an awesome book, even if you have never read a Star Wars book. Check it out, as it will be released in a few weeks.
And back to our regularly scheduled commercials! Heading back to the 1980s, when we were barely born (ahem), the commercials were incredibly memorable. To this day, we can remember the songs and jingles even more than the actual products. Some of our favorites are:
Commercials Now: Not near as cool, since most of us have DVRs, Netflix, Hulu, and things that we use to avoid commercials all together. Branding and marketing is genius. No one looks for a “copy machine,’ they look for a Xerox. In Texas, a Coke could mean any variety of soda.
How do you get our attention in three seconds before we can fast forward through the ad? And now, our old people commercials are looking a lot less old than we remember them looking, thereby making us feel old. And Super Bowl commercials? Forget it. We can watch the Puppy Bowl instead and catch the commercials worth watching tomorrow on YouTube.
Recommendations:
Bitch of the Week: People talking to Heather in the morning. Stop talking to us before we have had our morning coffee or pink drink or whatever. Heather is smart enough to use the Do Not Disturb function on her phone. “Good morning” before coffee is a lie.
Random Tweets – “According to all maxi-pad commercials, all women are full of windshield wiper fluid.”
Announcement – We now have an open and active Zazzle store to sell our Nerdy Bitches Podcast merchandise! Thanks to our own Nerdy Bitch Heather and our friend Ofelia for the awesome designs! Here is Liz showing off our logo t-shirt:
Check out all of the NERDY BITCHES PODCAST store options! Make sure you turn your content filter OFF so that you can actually see more than the kid shirts. But, we also have a kid-friendly line.
See you next time!
It's Book Club day! In this episode, Liz and Heather discuss Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Obviously, this episode will be full of spoilers, so make sure you have read the book or, even better, listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Weaton!
Summary (From the Publisher)
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake ... A quest for the ultimate prize ... Are you ready? (From the publisher.).
Note: Both Heather and Liz listened to the audio book.
The nostalgia factor on this book for anyone who grew up in the 1980s is absolutely off the charts. The references to pop culture are so great, you could split a lip. The real world in this book is not that great, so pretty much the entire planet lives and works inside a virtual reality platform called The Oasis. The story picks up after the death of Halliday, the creator of the Oasis with a contest that would lead someone to become the sole heir to his fortune and become the ruler of the Oasis.
Egg hunters = Gunters (Liz hates this word) around the world have been looking, with zero success for years, until Wade finds the first key. Then, all of the sudden, the game is back on and Wade is now being actively perused by everyone on the planet, but especially by the evil Sorrento and his league of professional gunters (the Sixers), who are willing to commit very real murder in order to take control of The Oasis.
This is a long episode, so settle in with your favorite boozylicious cocktail and listen to us talk about this awesome book.
(FYI - Ernest Cline, as of this podcast, is 43 years old, so he is 4 years older than Nerdy Bitch Liz.)
Recommendations
Bitch of the week - STOP BODY SHAMING PEOPLE! Especially pregnant people! Not cool, dude. And thigh gap is stupid. Just stop shaming people all over. Fat, thin, short, tall, pregnant, whatever - just keep your trap shut!
Next Book Club - Dark Disciple by Christie Golden - This is one of the new canon books in the Star Wars Saga. We will be joined by some other awesome nerdy bitches in studio to discuss this book. Read and learn about the character Asajj Ventress and what she gets done.
This episode is 2015 Movies Part 2; Liz and Heather talk about the remaining movies from September to December this year.
September
October
November
December
Bitch of the Week – Why must we remake everything?? Jem? Point Break? Please stop.
Recap – the movies were awesome this year! Unless they weren’t.
Recommendations
Real Bitch of the Week – iPhone photographers – you are NOT a professional photographer. Just because you have a nice camera or a high quality phone camera does not mean you can replace the professional who WAS actually hired to shoot the wedding. Get out of the way. If you WANT to do it, learn to do it and do it! Just stop making life harder for those of us who have already done that.
Announcement: We DO now have our very own Nerdy Bitches store! Go check it out atzazzle.com/nerdybitchespodcast – Please note to see the good stuff, you MUST have the site’s content filter turned to OFF. Apparently, the word “bitches” is seen as “offensive” to some. This is also a good place to note that we have heard this and have created a mostly-appropriate line of Nerdy Bitches wear for infants and children that probably won’t get them thrown out of daycare. Mostly.
In Part one of this episode, Liz and Heather talk about 2015 Movies that have already come out and get into the remaining movies for the rest of the year. We ended up going so long that the episode had to be split into two parts – so don’t forget to check back in next week for the second half!
Shout out to Ofelia for some awesome new Nerdy Bitches artwork! We have created a shop for some Nerdy Bitches merchandises, but here are some of the new drawings.
[Literal Nerdy Bitches (L to R: Daphne, Lucy, and Gertrude)]
The list of movies we used came from movieinsider.com, if you would like to follow along. 2015 has been a fantastic movie year and we still have more awesomeness to come!
Heather tends to watch a lot more movies in the theater than Liz, so she has seen more, but here are some of the ones we covered in this episode:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
Stay tuned for Part 2 – 2015 Movies, coming next week!
Email us at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com with your faves for the year.
In this episode, Liz and Heather discuss how today’s culture of social media has influenced every day communications and culture, and how it has brought about the rise of the nerd/hipster characteristic as a desirable trait.
REMINDER: Our next book club is coming up in a few episodes – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Read it, or better yet, listen to the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton.
In the 80s/90s, it was DEFINITELY NOT cool to be thought of as a nerd. Even if you had nerdy tendencies, you kept that shit to yourself. If not, you could count on being viciously mocked (publicly or behind your back) or worse, bullied. The world was a much smaller place, even when we finally got the Internet (Prodigy, AOL, AOL UNLIMITED!!, etc.).
Enter MYSPACE.
Then came FACEBOOK.
TWITTER.
THE RISE OF THE NERD
Recommendations
Heather: Pickelbacks – This is a whisky shot followed by a shot of pickle juice. They are completely delicious and awesome. We are going to make them for the next Boozylicious episode. We are also now implementing a rule that ALL book clubs after Ready Player One will include booze. Because booze.
Liz: Armada by Ernest Cline – This is the same guy who wrote Ready Player One (a book club episode). I love his references, especially to 80s pop culture icons, music, movies, and games. OH, but like Ready Player One, this one is best listened to as an audiobook, as it is also read by the hilarious Wil Wheaton! Check it out.
Bitch of the Week – “Share if you agree” posts on Facebook are driving Heather mad! Just because I don’t want to re-post your stupid post doesn’t mean I want puppies to die. You also cannot ask or buy for likes and shares on Facebook, so be forewarned. Also, don’t undermine our intelligence if our opinions do not align with yours.
Announcement: We are now selling t-shirts and merch with awesome designs created for us by the insanely talented Ofelia Williams! Keep an eye out on our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages for the latest designs! Check out our store at www.zazzle.com/nerdybitchespodcast – One word of warning: you have to turn the content filter to OFF to find the good stuff, since apparently we are considered “PG-13”.
Welcome to our Battlestar Galactica episode!! After two years, Liz finally got Heather to watch the whole series. Was it worth it? Listen to see! Oh, and SPOILERS!
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. – Dwight Schrute, The Office
In this episode, we are talking all about Battlestar Galactica. About two years ago, Heather challenged Liz to watch all of the new episodes of Doctor Who, and Liz challenged Heather to watch the new Battlestar Galactica series.
Enter to win a gorgeous print by Sarita Ackerman by contacting us with the keyword!!
**GIVEAWAY!!!** We are still looking for entries to win this amazing print by local Houston artist, Sarita Ackerman! Listen for the keyword, contact us by email, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc by JULY 31, 2015. We will announce the winner of this drawing on August 1, 2015 on social media and will give a shout-out to the winner on our next podcast.
You can check out the rest of Sarita’s work at www.saritaackerman.com
So, back to Battlestar –
Starbuck! We freaking love her. Apparently, in the original series, Starbuck was a dude. We love her now.
This series was seriously a little tough to get through. Especially if you start with the two-hour mini-series that started the whole thing. If you can push through that (which is kind a slow piece of crap), it gets better.
The first two seasons are more geared toward war, so it was a little less interesting to us. The second half of the series was a little more interesting, because you get into the nuances in the story. It’s also a little more sci-fi than just action.
Leadership Roles
Other characters with key roles – Starbuck, Chief, the Sharons, Heilo, etc.
Character discussions
Story Arcs talked about at length. The Civil War between the Cylons. Angel of Doom, etc.
Celebrities We Think Could Be Cylons
CALL TO ACTION – We want to know what topics YOU want us to talk about. Also, if you know someone, or want to be a guest on our show, who is into things we don’t understand, please contact us! You can e-mail us at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com, Twitter, etc.
KEYWORD MENTIONED – Let us know!! We WANT to give you this print!!
Recommendations:
On the tail of Heather attending Houston's Comicpalooza, we discuss all of our favorite things we have learned about the Harry Potter universe after the series ended. A lot of this came from the Jason Isaacs' (Lucius Malfoy) panel at the convention.
ANNOUNCEMENT: We have a giveaway! At Comicpalooza, met an awesome artist who gave us a Wonder Woman print ($60 retail value) to give away on our podcast!! Sweet!!! The photo of our giveaway is posted on our Instagram page, so make sure to check it out! In order to qualify to be in the drawing for this print, we will announce the keyword sometime throughout this podcast - you need to tweet us, Facebook, Instagram, or e-mail us the keyword. You have until July 31, 2015 to enter! You need to make sure it is addressed to us, and you can post the keyword. On August 1st, we will randomly draw the winner and will contact you if you win! We will also announce the winner on our podcast following the drawing. So sign up! The print is amazing!!
Topic 1 – Jason Isaacs' appearance at Houston’s Comicpalooza 2015 and how he impacted the outcome of the Lucius Malfoy character. The video is on YouTube, so make sure to check that out.
Topic 2 – Harry Potter facts we learned after the series/movies ended
Topic 4 – Horcrux in Harry vs. the Dursleys (from the article) – Is this why they were so cruel? Horcruxes make people that much worse, even if they are already terrible people. We don't know if this is intentional by Rowling, but it makes sense to us and becomes Head Canon.
Topic 3 – From the article “37 things the Harry Potter movies need to answer (to the books)”, here are a few that we agree definitely needed to be mentioned in the movies.
**Keyword mentioned**
Internet comment of the week – “I didn’t get in, but it was still neat to have a small owl deliver my rejection letter.” – Commentary from The Onion
Bitch of the Week – (Heather) – Stores not having enough people to run the store. Especially during the busiest times of the day! The stores are trying to save money by cutting their employees, but they are doing it at the expense of their customers.
Mr. Massingill Award - The dude with the shoe ad. (check out Pinterest page for the full report)
Recommendations –
Don't forget to enter into the drawing!! This print is really cool! Send us the keyword through social media or through e-mail!!
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
You can e-mail us at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com, or you can e-mail each of us directly at liz@nerdybitches.com or heather@nerdybitches.com
Welcome to the second Nerdy Bitches Book Club: The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth! We decided not to cover just one at a time, but all three books at once, so we are talking super spoilers here!! We are covering the BOOKS, not the movies.
So, here we go!! We would love your feedback on our opinions, as well as your own, so you can always e-mail us.
Book 1: Divergent: We learn about the different factions that exist in this society, and how they came to be. Each of the factions has their good point, but of course will all have a downfall. The main character, Beatrice/Tris, begins in Abnegation and chooses to move into Dauntless during her choosing ceremony. Once the kids choose their new faction, they have to prove themselves worthy, or risk becoming "factionless." Liz: Dauntless or Candor; Heather: Candor. We pretty much think that most people would really be Divergent. We were completely blown away about the Factions Before Family theme. Every faction had both good and bad leaders. Also, each faction has their own serum for controlling their people, overcoming fear, and the super evil shit serum. Lots of good action in this book. We love Four/Tobias in this book and his training of Tris throughout the story. It was a little stupid that people had no idea that Four was Marcus's son and the only other one to leave Abnegation. The plot holes are pretty deep. Anyways, the Erudite uses the serum on Dauntless and has them take out a bunch of people. Tris kills Will and then becomes completely fucking worthless.
Book 2: Insurgent: This is the aftermath of the Erudite takeover. We start to find out that they are hiding a lot from everyone else. We also learn more and more about the Factionless and how many there really are, including Four's mother, who was supposed to be dead. Four kicks some major ass throughout this book, but he does become obnoxiously protective of Tris and keeps telling her that she is being reckless. Tris is Abnegation AND Dauntless... of COURSE she is going to be both selfless and brave. And Tris's piece of shit brother, Caleb! OMG!! He totally strapped her to the table to be murdered! Douchenozzle. Not only did he betray his sister, he also betrayed his parents and is basically the reason they are dead! We would have shot him in the head ourselves. The ending of this book was pretty good. They killed off Jeanine and that would have been the end... except then we had to show that damn Edith Prior video. This is the curse of the trilogy. We blame you, Stephanie Meyer, George R.R. Martin, and the like.
**THIS IS WHERE THE SERIES SHOULD HAVE ENDED. BUT, IT DID NOT.**
Book 3: Allegiant: This is where the real bullshit begins. From the second chapter, I knew what was going to happen because the story starts changing points of view. This didn't happen in the first two, but once that happens, you know that one of those points of view most likely will not be around for the end of the story. The story was not well written, and the author keeps drilling things into our heads that don't need to be there. This poor girl is 16 years old and basically becomes the face of this revolution. Hello, Katniss Everdeen much?? We really feel like the concept was stolen from much better writers. Now, they are outside the gate only to find out that they are part of a giant genetic purification experiment. FYI - None of this was science. It was purist bullshit. And in this book - anything you enjoyed or cared about in the first two books is totally fucking gone. Might as well never have been written. We found out that Tobias is actually NOT Divergent, which completely changes his entire personality. Boo. Now let's blame it on his "genetic deficiency" to remove any and all responsibility for his actions.
At this point - Heather goes on a rant about Tris and her terrible Kate Goslin/soccer mom haircut. That's not badass!!
And FYI - Tris and Four DID have sex in the third book. It's in Chapter 41. They don't come out and say it because it is a Young Adult book. Read it again. That is the YA version of sex. I was so freaking happy that they finally did it. Of course, that means one of you is going to die.
And now we come to it - We've had POV shifts, no consistency - and then comes the worst ending of any book that I was actually enjoyed reading. Right at the end, she kills off Tris. Fuck you, Veronica Roth. Fuck you very much. We didn't need Tobias and his mother having a fairy tale ending. We needed Tris and Tobias to actually live happily ever after. Veronica Roth apparently thinks she is well above her writing. You cannot kill off your main character in a YA novel! The Bernstein Bears never fucking die at the end! Come on!!!
We will never read anything else of hers, for sure. Ms. Roth tried to blog about why she killed her off - and it was just lame. Her logic is illogical. She also said that she would kill off Harry Potter if she had written that. Yeah, that's why you didn't write that!
Liz's sister keeps clinging to the hope that they will change the ending of the third movie, but I'm pretty sure that would be like saying "The end of Titanic is just too depressing... let's let them all get to New York together!" Lame. Heather is completely offended that Ms. Roth thinks she is that good of an author.
The morale of this story is - Sometimes, two books is just enough. And, when you write everything to the point of absolute stupidity - you lose us.
Bitch of the Week - Killing characters off for sport/shock/awe value. We are talking to you, George R. R. Martin. Never fall in love with a character because they will be gone. The drinking game for Game of Thrones is to drink until the pain stops. Douchebags always rise to the top.
Internet comments (in-context):
Don't waste your time on this corny love story stretched into three lame books. Not even the same ballpark as Hunger Games. BTW - she dies at the end. - Amazon 1-star review
Recommendations:
Ready Player One will be our next book club episode in a few weeks time!!
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MOTHERFUCKING CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY!!! On this episode, Liz and Heather invite fellow nerdy bitches Michelle and Kitty (from our Boozylicious/Geek Cocktails episode) back into the studio to play a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity!! You DON'T want to miss a minute!
Cards Against Humanity is described as a "Party Game for Horrible People," so you know you want to play! We are definitely going to hell in a handbasket! The game itself is very similar to Apples to Apples, yet much more adult and hilarious.
*Warning* - This is not an episode to hear with the kiddos around. It is REALLY NSFW, so remember - we warned you!
Liz explains the rules of the game for everyone, including Kitty, who was a CAH virgin before this game. We popped her cherry, though!
We have determined that this game counts as a ab workout if you laugh hard enough. And we do... We also decided not to let Producer Craig play because he has "too many Y-chromosones." Apparently one is just too many ;-)
Our next episode is our 2nd Book Club episode where we review the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. This episode will cover all three books in the series and will, of course, have major spoilers! Make sure you have read the books or that you don't want to read them before listening!! We may or may not rip this series a new asshole! Be sure to tune in to find out all the bitchiness.
Want to be a guest on our show?? - We are looking for fellow Nerdy Bitches who are experts in their area of Geekdom to join us on our podcast and teach us about some new areas! If you are interested in coming on our show, please contact us directly at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com and let us know what you want to talk about. Possible areas could include: Anime, Cosplay, Tarrot, Roller Derby, and so on...
Don't forget to follow us on social media!! This will become REALLY important in the next few episodes!! We will be doing a giveaway soon! Make sure you don't miss out on that!!
In this episode, Liz and Heather invite some friends into the studio to get Boozylicious with some amazing geek cocktails! This week, our friends Michelle and Kitty join us in celebrating some of our favorite geek movies and series with their favorite geek beverages.
This all started when we saw a YouTube video based on people trying the drinks from the Harry Potter universe, but we decided to expand on that premise. Michelle also schools us on home brewing and the dangers of drinking home beer long after it has been bottled. Heather also explains Craft Beer to those of us who don't know what they are.
Now, for our cocktails!!
Round One:
Round Two:
Thank you Michelle and Kitty for joining us!! We can't wait to have you back again!
xo,
Liz & Heather
Welcome to Episode 13 - Guilty Pleasures! This episode, Liz and Heather talk about their favorite guilty pleasures and what makes them guilty. Could it be social acceptability of age-related interests? Am I too old to do these things?
What makes it guilty?
Why do people try to make us feel guilty? Or are they trying to make us guilty or is that our own internal dialog? Heather thinks that people don't give a shit (too busy with their own stuff) and Liz thinks they do, because it gives them the ability to feel better about their own stuff.
Monster Truck Shows, Bouncy Castles
Our Guilty Pleasures:
Food is a huge pleasure - guilty or not. Wavy Lays, a whole box of Twinkies, Little Debbie snack cakes. Easy Cheese (spray cheese) - delicious. Ranch dressing - it is the universal condiment...it goes on anything!! 2,000 calorie salads? Yes, please. Miracle Whip vs. Mayo.
TV - Glee; MASH; Cosby Show; Frasier - Now we can get sucked in to binge watching our favorite guilty pleasure shows, thanks to Netflix.
Books - Crappy romance novels (Twilight), kids books (Ramona the Pest), chick-lit/girl porn, Sookie Stackhouse books, Shopaholic series, Young Adult (YA) novels - And WE LOVE E-READERS!! They are the best thing in the world for hiding the fact that you are reading something trashy.
Movies - Shawshank Redemption (is it guilty or just good??); Bad network tv movies - Cobra; Eraser, Commando, Predator, The Running Man (These are basically the exact same movie - trust me). FYI - Rae Dawn Chong is actually the daughter of Tommy Chong.
Food Porn - Pinterest, Instagram, Food Network
Stalking People You Hate on the Internet - Former flames, people we hated forever, etc. It's addicting to see how people are crashing and burning on social media.
Bitch of the Week: Schizophrenic Social Media - That super religious person on Sunday, but back to being a psychotic bitch on Monday. We also feel that God would be upset with making assumptions on his behalf (telling other people that God hates them for whatever).
Recommendations:
Out of Context Internet Comment
Twilight - A girl's choice between necrophilia and bestiality.
Reminder about our next book club choice - The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth (Episode 16). Be sure to read all three books, as there WILL be spoilers! Big ones!!
Send all e-mails and your favorite guilty pleasure to ContactUs@nerdybitches.com and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter!
HELLO! MY NAME IS INIGIO MONTOYA! YOU KILLED MY FATHER! PREPARE TO DIE!
This episode, Liz and Heather are introducing the first Nerdy Bitches Book Club - The Princess Bride by William Goldman. We will talk in depth on the differences in the book and the movie. Please note there WILL be spoilers in this episode... it's a book club.
This is a tough book to categorize, as it has adventure, romance, and so many other facets. Heather grew up having the book read to her, but this was Liz's first time to read the book. Liz started watching the movie in high school, so the book was completely new.
The book is very different from the movie in the fact that the book is full of asides where the author is breaking in to the story to describe what he is changing from the "original S. Morgenstern" and also what he is thinking and why. [Example: I have removed 86 pages describing hats.] Other differences:
We found some of the style a little of a slap in the face with some of the fakey bullshit in the book. We were also annoyed with Buttercup's Baby - so you can just skip that load of crap. He really screws with you! The movie is definitely the good stuff.
Have fun storming the castle! - Miracle Max
We also go through some of our favorite quotes from the movie, so join in!
Heroes of the story—The Dread Pirate Roberts (Heather) & Fessik (Liz)
Book Club Questions (from the book):
Next Book Club - The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth (4 weeks)
Bitch of the Week - Online parties on Facebook/social media - We used to get invited to one party on one day. Now, we have to deal with this for a freaking month and be constantly harassed by the host. You can't just order and be done with it. We need wine and snacks, people. WINE AND SNACKS!!
Recommendations
Random Internet Comment of the Week
A small minority of murderous nuts doesn't make us all murderers and nuts. - mathematicians and atheists
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. E-mail us directly at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com with any questions, comments, or glowing reviews. Make sure to subscribe to our show on iTunes and leave a 5-star rating!
This week, the Nerdy Bitches talk all things Harry Potter. We are supermassive fans of the series, both books and movies. Why were they on the banned list at one point?
Liz is currently reading the books to and watching the movies with her 7-year-old niece.
Themes
Are we the only ones who think that Hogwarts is the most dangerous school on the planet?? Why do people keep sending their children there? For example, why in the world would the Tri-Wizard Tournament even be a thing? Like is it ok to let 14-17 year olds play in some tournament that could kill them?
Where do magical children go to school before age 11? Do they go to Muggle school? Are they home schooled? What gives? What happens to the Squibs? Do you have to go to Muggle school? Are you just out? We need to know these things, J.K.
Favorite Characters
Least Favorite Characters
The Dumbledore Twist - What the hell? Everything along the way tells us that Dumbledore is the benevolent figure - until the end, when we find out that he has really been keeping Harry safe until it is the right time for him to die. Backstory on Dumbledore - also power hungry in his younger days, but when bad shit happens, his life changed.
You think you know people, but you don't always.
And then there's Hagrid. We LOVE Hagrid. He is the one person from the very beginning to always put himself out there for Harry. He really was a father-figure to Harry. He is sorely overlooked in this capacity. He is consistently good.
Bitch of the Week: Movie theater close-sitters: Hello, I got to the movie on-fucking-time, so no, I am not moving so you can sit together 2/3rds of the way back. Sit up front like the rest of the late assholes. If the theater's not full, you get to sit on the very edge or the front four rows. If you wanted a good seat, you should have got here on time. Once the lights go down... game over. I'm in my spot - I don't need to make more of an effort for your late ass.
Out of Context Comment of the Week:
Unless they say Hogwarts on the ass a'la juicy couture, these are a rip off... And even if they do, I dont want the word "warts" that close to my genitals. – JM
Recommendations:
Next week - Book Club! Princess Bride! Join us for the fun!
E-mail us with any feedback at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com. You can always find us on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, give us a 5-star review on iTunes and we will shoot Delores Umbridge out of a cannon!
On this episode, the Bitches talk about Rabid Fandoms!
Ten Superheros Who Can Never Have Sex (abridged)
Fans Who Ruin Things for the Rest of Us: (Click for link to original article)
Reference Article: “10 Things I'm Going to Have to Tell My Gamer Daughter” by Houston Press author Jef Rouner [http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2015/02/10_unfortunate_things_im_going_to_have_to_tell_my_gamer_daughter.php]
Even when you do see female characters a lot of the time they're going to be indistinguishable from power-ups or trophies. It's called objectification, and it sucks because it costs female characters big chunks of their humanity. If the woman's role could be replaced with an inanimate object with little to no change then you're seeing it, and it should trouble you.
Older male gamers may try to make you feel guilt or pity, claiming that they were picked on and snubbed by girls for their interest in video games in their youths. Empathy is fine, but the past transgressions of girls who for whatever reason (maybe because they were not really invited to the party by the industry?) treated gamers poorly are not your concern. The focus should be on eliminating current and future bullying, not maintaining a toxic space where old wounds can fester in the free air untreated.
Here is a good quote - Don't raise your kids to be little tiny douchebags.
Other unusual Fandoms?
Cosplayers we like and don't like.
Like: Cross-gender, Steampunk, awesome costumes
Don't like: Lazy, Duct tape, Halloween costumes, etc.
Why do people want to associate with the bad guys?
If you were a bully growing up - Send us an e-mail. We are totally interested in hearing if you were into the good guys or the bad guys.
Bitch of the Week: Childhood Ruined!! Here's the deal - changes or revelations about our favorite things in the past do not ruin your childhood. Because childhood is done. It can't be changed not. It might change the way you look at things going forward, but nothing is really any different than it was before you learned about it. Get over yourself and quit whining. If you want something that WILL ruin your childhood, go checked out the Scientifically Accurate videos on YouTube (Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, Duck Tales... be warned - these videos are NOT safe for work and are completely disturbing on every level). Go watch. We'll wait.
Out of Context Comment of the Week:
DC, ya done gone fuqed up again!
Recommendations of the Week:
REMINDER - Two weeks from today is our first Nerdy Bitches BOOK CLUB!! Our first selection is The Princess Bride by William Goldman. If you haven't started, get reading, bitches!!
Remember to follow the Bitches on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest AND to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave us some awesome feedback! If you want to e-mail us directly, send all e-mails to ContactUs@nerdybitches.com or complete the form on the Contact page. We read all of our fan e-mails and may even give you a shoutout on our show! (AKA we will TOTALLY give you a shoutout on our show)
Welcome to Vag Power, with the Nerdy Bitches! In this episode, Heather and Liz discuss how women are portrayed in movies, video games, and comics.
Liz tells her story of her niece's realization of how discount/overstock stores work. Nerdy bitch in the making? Absolutely!
Clothing:
Comment from Jessica, a loyal listener:
“Right now I'm playing Legion of Heroes on my android phone and am trying to figure out the practicality of a lot of the outfits. I play games sometimes and I have to wear a blanket OVER my official gaming bathrobe because my female characters look so fucking cold….”
“I know men are the main demographic for video games, and I know men like seeing scantily clad women. Got it, but how would men feel if they saw their character fighting trolls on a snowy mountain in a Speedo? Their testicles would shrink INTO their small intestines.”
Fair point, Jessica. We agree!! Check out this video that completely describes what you are talking about: Female Armor Sucks
Even your average three-year old understands that it isn't fair that Wonder Woman doesn't get armor, but Batman does (with nipples!)
Listen to how we feel about an all-female Avengers. Check out the Hawkeye Initiative to see how it would really look if male characters were drawn like female characters. (And we vote Death to Duckface!!)
The Bechdel Test - Does it have a good representation of women?
What movies failed? Avengers, Spiderman, Batman (new or old), Superman
Let's talk about the ways in which media has gotten women's roles right:
What does the future hold? We've come a long way, but still have a ways to go. We have hope with Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel coming up in the next few years.
ANNOUNCEMENT: We are announcing our first official choice for the Nerdy Bitches Book Club: Princess Bride by William Goldman. We will be discussing this book in three weeks (Episode 12)! Go, read it. Then listen. It's a book club, so there will absolutely be spoilers.
Random - Liz reveals her awesome Zombie Apocalypse Plan. Heather is just planning to burn her home down while still inside.
Bitch of the Week: Electronic addictions. Video games (Heather) and Internet (Liz).
Out of Context Quote of the Week:
“A story about a female superhero is just too far-fetched. Studios won’t make what they can’t sell. They'll stick to machine gun raccoons and emotionally complex house plants. It’s just easier for people to relate.” -BigLuca
Recommendations:
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