x Henry Behrens | GeekGirlCon - Part 4

Alert: New GeekGirlCon Staff Members Approaching

Written by GeekGirlCon copywriter, Henry Behrens

 

A group of friendly and excited new GeekGirlCon staff members approach you. They are smiling and wearing shirts marked with the word “staff” on the back. What do you do?

>  Greet them.

You choose to greet them. You greet the first staff member.

The first staff member is AMY GRADZEWICZ. She says, “My name is AMY GRADZEWICZ, but telling you who I am would take way more time.” What do you do next?

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

Just a Few More Weeks for Early Bird Pass Pricing!

Have you got your passes for GeekGirlCon ’15 yet? Make sure to do so before August 15, 2015, because prices are going up. Tickets sold out last year before the con even started, so if you want to participate in two amazing days of lady-focused, geek-centered panels, merch and fun, get your passes now!

Early Bird pricing ends AUGUST 15, 2015, and these screaming deals on adult passes will soon be gone!

  • 2-Day Adult Pass: $35
  • 1-Day Adult Pass: $20
  • Kid Pass (1-day or 2-day): $10

Remember—Kids 5 years and younger get in for free (with accompanying adult)!

After August 15, adult pass prices will go up:

  • 2-Day Adult Pass: $45
  • 1-Day Adult Pass: $30

Some local comic and games shops will be selling GeekGirlCon passes in-store at Early Bird pricing, but these passes will be limited, so be careful.

Hope to see you at the Con!

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Henry Behrens

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

Harry Potter Sorting: Slytherclaw, Ravenpuff, Gryfferin—Oh my!

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Henry Behrens

The last Harry Potter book came out eight years and a day ago—July 21, 2007—which I can’t really believe. I clearly remember waiting in line at Borders with my friends, getting the book just after midnight, and then rushing home to sit on my couch all night long and devour it. I read it in a single sitting and am still not quite over it.

Nor is the rest of the world, thank goodness. The influence of Harry Potter doesn’t seem likely to fade anytime soon, even if we as fans and followers grow up and discover a few flaws in the original canon. One of the most regularly discussed and fought about topics is the fact of Hogwarts Houses and how impossibly, simultaneously rigid and malleable Sorting can be.

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

Women on the radio — Or not, as it were.

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Henry Behrens

It was my best friend who pointed it out to me first—there aren’t many women on the radio. She sings along to the songs more than I do and she was complaining that too many were out of her range. When I started to pay attention, it was shocking how long I could listen to certain stations for before I heard a song with a woman on vocals, let alone a lady-only band.

Because I am who I am, the next logical step for me was to crunch some numbers and analyze just how big this disparity between the genders on the radio was. I contacted several Seattle-area radio stations in hopes of getting data directly from them (including Star 101.5 FM, KISS 106.1 FM, Kube 93.3 FM, The End 107.7 FM, and KEXP 90.3 FM), but only heard back from program directors at STAR and The End. Both stations provided a list of their most-played bands and artists from late May and early June. Luckily, KEXP has charts available online that, if I’m correct, show similar information.

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

Agent Applications for GeekGirlCon ’15 Now Open!

Looking to meet new people who share your interests and values? Wanting to donate your time, mind and/or muscles to a nonprofit, grassroots organization? Why, look no further than GeekGirlCon, your favorite lady-focused geeky convention, where we’re just happening to be looking for capable, excited and eager volunteers for this year’s convention.

The fifth annual GeekGirlCon will be taking place at The Conference Center at the WSCC on October 10 and 11, and we need you to help run it!

Volunteer for GeekGirlCon as an Agent or Special Agent. GeekGirlCon is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and while we have an incredible, hard-working staff, we can’t pull off our convention without our consistently wonderful army of volunteers.

Agents are the people at the con in charge of seating in panel rooms, wrangling lines, setting up and tearing down the convention, directing traffic, and generally being the best, most helpful, and friendliest people around. When you’re accepted as a volunteer, you’ll get an official, exclusive GeekGirlCon Agent t-shirt and free admission to the convention in exchange for working part of the weekend.

Go to the Volunteer Application today and sign up—and don’t wait, because the application deadline is July 31, and no applications will be accepted after that date!

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Henry Behrens

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

5 of the Best Asian Video Game Characters

Written by GeekGirlCon Copy Writer Henry Behrens

In honor of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I thought I’d highlight some of the best Asian video game characters out there, only to realize that the selection isn’t very large. For an industry that was, in a way, birthed by Asian companies like Nintendo and Sony, there’s surprisingly very few Asian characters in major (or even minor) games.

Professor Dimitri Williams of the University of Southern California did a study back in 2009 about, among other things, the representation of different races in video games. He found that while 80.05% of characters in video games are white, only 5.03% are Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2014, Ross Orlando, a graduate from Ithaca University, looked at the top 10 most highly rated games from 2007 to 2012 and found that Asian characters were only 3% of the games’ protagonists. He even found, perhaps surprisingly, that 75% of the games developed in Japan had white protagonists.

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

Strong Female Character: Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation

Written by GeekGirlCon Copywriter Henry Behrens.

I’ll admit, I haven’t watched the last season of Parks and Recreation yet. I keep putting it off because the longer the episodes stay unwatched, the better I can convince myself that it isn’t over yet. Because Parks & Rec not only has (not had! We’re not in past tense yet!) the best ensemble cast TV has seen in years, but it also boasts the best lady role model I’ve ever seen in primetime.

When Parks & Rec first debuted in 2009, it seemed almost rote to compare it to the other workplace mockumentary airing at the time: The Office. But where Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott is incompetent, irritating and whiny, Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope is determined, friendly, caring, devoted, feminist, and strong—and I want to be just like her when I grow up.

Henry Behrens
“Rock On!”

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