I saw so many amazing Geeklings at the Dutch Comic Con! Have a look at the new generation of geeks, you are awesome! Until next edition (23 and 24 november).

This weekend it's Dutch Comic Con again, in my hometown Utrecht. My eldest Geekling Evy loved her visit last time, so naturally I took her with me again. She dressed up as a rainbow fairy, and I decided to go as a the tenth doctor.

One thing we both loved was the house of wax, close to the entrance. It's theme was fairytales and everything looked amazing, from witches to princesses, to the emperor without clothes and sleeping beauty.. it had it all.

For children I can really recommend  the experience hal. I like the set up, with a lot of space to move around and discover everything. Major network Fox was there, but you could also have your picture taken with Dumbo, or as Shazam. At the Powerpuff Girls booth you could design a shirt with a personalized Powerpuff Girl, so we did :-) The smallest size was 116, which was fine (if not a bit big) for my four year old. You can also play card games in this hall, or work a collective painting. Children need supervision under the age of seven, because they take this sh*t seriously!
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The gaming hall was not for us, but could really be for other boys and girls. In the dealer hal you can find things for everyone. But, it's also one of the most crowded places. I am still amazed that no company specializes in making things for Geeklings. Then again, you can find things like Disney statues, kids shirts and (pluche) toys everywhere.  

But in the end my Geekling had the most fun by looking at all the Cosplayers. She really liked the Disney princesses again, but adores furries too. They always get a hug from her, and she wants to have her picture taken with them.
I am visiting DCC again tomorrow, after that to can expect another report, with pictures of all the sweet, cool and amazing Geeklings I met there!

Some ideas you just can't top.. I was in awe when I first found the website My Nerd Nursery.  

The lady running this site made a lot of cute Geeklings things. She organized a lot of parties in geekstyle. One of them is this amazing Doctor Who Party. She gives suggestions for everything, from the backdrop, to the snacks.

Have a look at it, and also check out her other ideas. From popular fandoms like Harry Potter, to Legend of Zelda and Gravity Falls. So if your Geekling has a birthday coming up sometime soon..

There has been a lot to do about Captain Marvel before it came out. Was Marvel just trying to make money by choosing a female hero? Probably.. Marvel is in it to win it, obviously. But I don't have a problem with that. For me it's the result that counts.

Is Captain Marvel a decent superhero movie, that adds something to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And is the female orientated content done well and not too much? And maybe I'm asking too much, but is there a message that you can relate to? That children can relate to? I'll try to answer these questions, starting with the first.

                                                                        (Possible spoilers ahead)
Captain Marvel is indeed a decent, and even nice, superhero movie. It is a typical origin story. Carol Danvers tries to figure out who she is and what her place in the universe is. The plot is straightforward, the characters do what you expect them to do. Some people criticize Brie Larsons acting, but I was quite impressed with her talent to portray emotions in a single look. That having said, she is a bit detached. She cares, but there is a certain distance in her emotions. That makes sense though, for reasons I will not spoil here.

​Where was Alanis?
I will not mention all the other characters, but I really liked Jude Law. He does a great job. The young Samuel L. Jackson looks amazing, it didn't bother me at all. The alien make up is done very well too, movement, emotion, it's all there. I also loved all the 90's songs in the movie, although a feminist choice during a fight scene felt a bit too much. Could have done with a bit of Alanis Morissette as well..
Oh, and there are very funny 90's references. But those will not work for the younger fans ;-)
 
But, in itself, the movie doesn't really add anything to the MCU that we were missing. Some backstory maybe, but those nods don't fill plot holes, or connect things that needed connection. It is a nice origin story, that paves the way for more involvement of Captain Marvel. You will not leave the cinema disappointed in that regard..
 
No chickflick
 Now, then about the feminist point of view. Captain Marvel has strong female characters, but it doesn't feel like a chickflick. It does show how women feel being put down a lot. In their development, in their aspirations, especially when they want to do a 'mans' job. Other than that men and women are portrait as equal characters, a man might kick a womans ass, and the other way around..

I admit, I have a problem.. Over het last few months I bought a lot of silicone molds. I can't help myself! They are just so versatile, I imagine all the things I can make with them, and buy another one.. You can find a lot of them on Wish, such as the one I'm using here. But Bol.com has several too.

At first I used them for cookies only, which had mixed results. Some molds are quite deep, and thick cookies are not always what you want. It gets even more complicated when other molds are not that deep.. some cookies are brown and others still not done, not cool.

Making washing up fun!
But you can do so much more with them, such as making soap! And that's easier then it seems. Geeklings can help with it (adding color or stirring) and make their own soaps when they are a bit older. And I can guaranty from experience that they will love washing their hands when they made the soap themselves!

White or transparent?
Okay, making soap, part one. The best way to make soap is to buy soap that is especially made to pour. Have a look around the internet, because prices vary.. The soap can be either white, or transparent, and both have advantages. White soap is not translucent, and that gives the soap a nice effect. Downside.. when the base is white, adding pigment can be tricky. White and red makes pink, not red, white and black makes grey. You can do cool things with transparent soap, such as adding things to the soap, another small mold in a bigger one, glitter, or flowers, the possibilities are endless.

The thing I love about Cosplay: imagination is the most important thing. Over the years I've seen amazing costumes of self invented characters. But even when cosplaying a famous character, it's the thought that counts. Your own spin on a character, but with enough likeness to get a reaction from fellow Geeks.

Which is thé Doctor Who scarf?
One of my Geeklings needed a new scarf, so I thought about the famous Doctor Who scarf. But which one?! There doesn't seem one original, so I didn't really know which version to pick. But then I found a Osgood pattern on Pinterest. I decided to translate the colors to the wool I actually had.. which aren't the precise ones.

The Geeklings version
​I made a quick drawing for myself, to remember the order of the colors. And made the scarf on a loom, because I can't knit well. It was meant as a practical kids scarf, so it couldn't be too long. The question is, does it still look like a Osgood scarf? I'm not sure, I might make another one with correct colors. I still like this one though , and it's almost spring. So another one will have to wait till next year. :-)

Recently I bought Guardians of the Galaxy figures at my local drugstore. They where an instant hit with my Geeklings. I was a bit frustrated though, I had all the figures, except for Gamora. What was that about??
Totally ready to blame the drugstore I send an e-mail about the problem. But then I did some research.. Even though Gamora is cleary visible on the package, there is no figure of her in this set! Instead of the missing Guardian, they choose to feature badguy Ronan.. No kidding..

Where is Gamora??
I am a bit late at the game, but Marvel has a habit of doing this. When the first Guardians movie came out, Gamora was also missing from the action figure set that came out. I was quite shocked when I found out. How can you dismiss her? The Guardians are a team of five, not four! The internet thought so too and #whereisgamora was born.
Personally I don't consider myself much of a feminist, but even I couldn't help but question, does Marvel have an issue with its female superheroes?

Marvels issue with female heroes
Sadly, the answer is YES. Gamora is missing from my set of figures too, and also excluded on t-shirts. The same story is true for other female heroes Scarlet Witch and Black Widow.  After Age of Ultron came out website The Mary Sue wrote: "Marvel and Disney announced all of their official Ultronmerch, and Black Widow is virtually nowhere to be found (though she’s better off than Scarlet Witch, who is literally nowhere to be found)."

Girls won't buy action figures?!
On the website Womenyoushouldknow, Contributor John Marcotte – feminist dad, web designer, writer, comics junkie, and “Award-Winning Author” – weighed in on the Gamora matter. “I bet their logic is that adding Gamora would not gain any sales to girls, but might cost them some sales to female-averse boys.” He added, “It’s a self perpetuating cycle: the toy companies say that girls won’t buy action figures so they only make them for boys. Girls who like action figures look and find absolutely nothing for girls, so they don’t buy anything. The toy companies say, ‘See? Told you. Girls won’t buy action figures.'”