If you are reading this then you are probably spending more time at home than usually. All schools are closed in the Netherlands and we are practicing social distancing. Hopefully this will flatten the curve! Our Geeklings are home 24/7, which is a challenge..  Time for crafts! It keeps us busy, is good for hand-eye coordination and also lots of fun. So this is part one of Corona crafts!

Creating designs with perler beads/iron beads is easy, time consuming, and good to practice fine motor skills. I was done with the regular shapes, so I spend some time online to find Geeky patterns to share with you! The unicorns are one of my favorites, not complex and very cute. In the end I made a unicorn and rabbit with and for Evy, and pikachu and Iron Man for Lise. I found out that Lise (four in June) is a bit to young for this craft. After playing with de beads for five minutes she just wanted to wrestle with her dad ;-)

Check out this instruction on perler beads, it's easy, but the ironing can take some tries to get it right. And please tag me in the results if you are making your own!

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).

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..

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.'”

Looking for Geeky toys, made out of natural materials? Check out By Knus.
Petra, the woman behind By Knus uses materials such as wood and wool, to make things like these cute Peg Dolls. Until now, she already made different Disney princesses. Such as Elsa and Anna, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Moana/Viana, Jasmine and Snow White.

A few days ago she wanted to make some new characters and had superheroes on her mind. I couldn't resist, and suggested she'd make Captain Marvel. After all, the movie is almost coming out. This is the result!

Interested? Visit her FB or Instagram and give a Pegg Doll a new home :-) She also makes cute gnomes!

Oh my... they are so cute.. 
Cubcoats are a hoodie and plush toy at the same time. Even better, they have several Geek editions available. 
Spiderman, Star Wars (Wookiee and Darth Vader) and Black Panther. Only downside, I would have liked some female heroes as well. 
Besides the superheroes Cubcoats also has a Minions version and Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  And some sweet original forest critters.  The hoodies are for Geeklings aged 2 - 8.
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It the season for cookies! A great way to entertain Geeklings when it's too cold or rainy to play outside.  The dough is like clay you can eat, and the cookies are nice too! ;-)

Geeks wouldn't be geeks without Geeky cookies cutters. I found a bunch of them on the website Wish. Especially Marvel is well represented.. I bought several versions, the more traditional cookies cutters, but also some silicone molds. The good thing about the last category is that you can use them for all kinds of things, cookies, chocolate, icecubes, and even soap. 
After the first batch I noticed that the cookie recipe is very important when you make detailed cookies like these. Otherwise the dough will flow out too much and ruin the design. So: use the best basic recipe! 
I use the recipe from this website:  150 grams white caster sugar (basterdsuiker), 50 grams vanilla sugar, 200 grams butter, 1 egg, and 400 grams of flour. It is the flour that keeps the cookies 'in shape'. Also, keep the dough in the fridge for at least an hour!
See the results above: which cookies do you prefer? I like the regulars best, for a normal cookie recipe. The silicone mold is quite deep, so the cookies get rather thick. You can make them thinner, but it's a hassle, especially for Geeklings.