Abusive Behaviour and Watching Movies

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

An article showed up on my news feed recently and it’s not unique. Every time there’s a big movie or TV show, I see similar articles. Avengers, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, etc. Interestingly it’s usually the male partner making the demands.

If you don’t want to read the article, it’s your usual list of demands that a guy has given his girlfriend for when they go see Avengers Endgame. These demands always include the following things: No talking, No eating, No peeing, and you can leave if you want but I won’t care.

This article even had a clause where she was in charge of the kids if there was an emergency and she couldn’t bother him.

Fandom is rife with bullying. From Gate-keeping which only allows “true” fans; to Taste-keeping which categorizes things into “good” and “bad” forms of media, mocking anyone who likes the latter. These are both commonly used to tease or insult others. Especially others tastes. It’s also extremely common.

Fandom is also rife with abusive behaviours. If your significant other gives you this list of demands, or something similar, refuse to participate in the activity. They are either trying to control you or are so blinded by passion that they don’t understand that what they’re doing is abusive. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re wrong for enjoying something differently than them.

If you are the person giving this list to someone, don’t. Seriously, if this piece of media is so important to you that someone shoving popcorn in their mouth will ruin your fun, then don’t take that person. Go alone, pirate it and watch it in your room, or a hotel room. Buy out the cinema. Or just go see it multiple times and don’t care.

This behaviour is not cool, it’s not right, and it’s not healthy. These events, shows, media, etc; are meant to be enjoyed and everyone enjoys them differently. If you can’t respect that, go alone.

WARNING: I have tickets for Tuesday evening at the Cineplex Ottawa on Carling. I plan of getting a large drink and popcorn. I will go pee at least once during the movie. I will laugh (probably before you) at the jokes, and boo or groan at the fat jokes (yeah I know what fucking year is it that there has to be fat jokes in this sort of movie?). I will whisper to my wife and I will exclaim when it’s appropriate. If you have a problem with this, don’t go to the same showing.

Later Days,
Éric

Game of Thrones Legacy Project

Game of Thrones fans might already be experiencing withdrawal, as the final season is set to be aired in 2019. The end of Westeros? Well, not completely.

The Game of Thrones Legacy Project has been officially announced! (You don’t know how hard it was to find the official press release. SO many articles citing it without actually linking to it!)

As early as 2019 (potentially), you’ll be able to visit Winterfell, Castle Black, and Kings Landing in person, not just through your TV screen. Northern Ireland will be the host of these locations, along with Linen Mill Studios, and will be preserving them for years to come.

Game of Thrones set in Northern Ireland. Image from tourismni.com

As if Northern Ireland wasn’t already a great place to visit, now there’s a fandom element to it? Sign me up.


Are you interested in travelling to Northern Ireland? You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

Northern Ireland

I’ve already written a general post about Ireland here, but I didn’t go into much detail about the Game of Thrones tours that are available.

Tourism Ireland offers several on their page, as does Winterfell Tours. There are tons of tours offered through Viator and Expedia as well.

Banner image from www.ireland.com

While visiting Ireland, you should definitely check out at least one of these tours!


Are you interested in travelling to Northern Ireland? You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

I want Entertainment and Hope; Or Why I Gave Up on Daredevil

Dear Grimdark Entertainment,

Everyone tells me you’re fantastic. My friends rave about you, they obsess about you, and their eyes grow wide in surprise that a giant geek like me doesn’t watch you.

I’ve told them it’s not my thing, I’ve told them it doesn’t interest me, and eventually I’ll lie and say it’s too violent, I don’t like zombies, I hate the actor, or whatever will get them to shut up.

Dear Daredevil

You’ve enchanted the world, brought mobsters, zombies, fantasy, cops, superheroes, mystery, and countless other things into the public mind. You’ve touched our culture in a way that people everywhere have an idea who your protagonists are. The older among you have influenced your genres in ground breaking ways. Where would character dramas with an overarching story be without The Sopranos? What would the colour palette and story structure of Science Fiction be without Battlestar Galactica?

I appreciate your writing, your story structure, and your fantastic dialogue. Daredevil has some of the most thought provoking themes about what it means to kill and about being a Hero.

Despite your awesomeness, I can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry but I can’t do it anymore. It’s not you, it’s me.

Behind your edginess, your clever writing, and your amazing dialogue, you have a constant message. “Life Sucks!” “Everyone you love will die!” “Feel the Pain!”

Award winning and popular entertainment seems to have lost its sense of humour and its sense of hope. Even television shows that should be funny beyond belief to counteract their subject matter, like American Horror story, fail.

I’ve tried. I’ve tried for years to love you. I’ve forced myself to read and watch you. I just can’t do it.

I want fun. I want Hope. I want cheesy one-liners. I want sappy moments. I want friendships that last. I want love that burns beautifully. I want awkward people. I want characters that care about their friends.

In short, I want to enjoy my entertainment.

This doesn’t mean I’m against character death, sadness, or trauma. It just means I don’t want those to be your main emphasis.

Robert J. Sawyer is a master of making a book hurt me deeply but still be wildly entertaining. Frameshift was both sad and beautiful. It was hopeful, entertaining, and still makes me want to cry.

Joss Whedon’s Doctor Horrible is a wonderful Supervillain romp with singing and laughs aplenty but it doesn’t shy away from asking the important questions about killing and nature of evil.

The Final Girls examines the guilt and trauma of losing someone you love. It has a character that is borderline suicidal and blames herself for the death of her mother. It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen with one of the most entertaining premises.

Hope and deep character drama shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.

So I’m sorry Daredevil, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, The Shield, The Expanse, Breaking Bad, American Horror Story, The Sopranos, Punisher, Gotham, True Blood, and countless others.

I just can’t be with you. I hope you find an audience that loves you.

I’ll just be over here reading, watching, or writing something that makes me feel more than just sad, broken, and hopeless.

Your ex-consumer,

Éric

P.S. Rape and torture aren’t fun. They aren’t necessary, they’re not something I want to experience (even second hand), and they certainly aren’t funny.

Introducing Two New Coffee Flavours

Hello,

Ottawa Comic Con is coming very soon. (Just typing those words sends a shiver of panic up my spine.)

This year JenEric Designs will be sharing a table with the awesome Renaissance Press, along with Gilove2dance.

New Flavours

One of my many new years resolutions was to bring our total amount of coffee flavours to 15. We’re a little closer to that goal now. Our two newest coffee flavours are:

Returning Flavours

They will be available at Comic Con along with our core flavours and a few other favourites:

Decaf

And because decaf has proven to be popular we’ll also have three kinds of decaf:

 

As you can see we’ll have lots of coffee for you this year. Don’t forget that if you get to our table early enough we’ll have free samples.

I’m currently loving Minter’s Coming. What flavour is your favourite?

Éric

Ireland

The beautiful Emerald Isle (which I went to a workshop about on Thursday last week, incidentally) is an excellent place to visit if you’re interested in Fandom Travel.

Doonagore Castle is situated on a hill about half way between the village of Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher on the County Clare coast. The castle is a round tower house with a small courtyard enclosed by a defensive wall. With its elevated position overlooking Doolin Point, the castle serves as a navigational landmark for boats approaching Doolin Pier. West of Ireland , Doolin. Image from travelandleisure.com
Doonagore Castle is situated on a hill about half way between the village of Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher on the County Clare coast.
The castle is a round tower house with a small courtyard enclosed by a defensive wall. With its elevated position overlooking Doolin Point, the castle serves as a navigational landmark for boats approaching Doolin Pier. West of Ireland , Doolin. Image from travelandleisure.com

Galway Film Fleadh

This is Ireland’s leading film festival, and 2016 is its 28th year! It runs from July 5 – 10, 2016 in Galway, Ireland. And while you’re there, you might as well check out a bunch of other really cool places!

Castles

I don’t care who you are, if you say you don’t like castles, you’re lying. Ireland is full of castles, many of which have been turned into hotels.

Vikings

The popular TV series Vikings  is shot on location in Ireland, around the Dublin area.

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

 

Skellig Michel. Image from irishtimes.com
Skellig Michael. Image from irishtimes.com

The scene at the end of the movie was filmed on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Skellig Michael, an island located six miles off the coast of Ireland, to the Southwest. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

Game of Thrones

The ever popular Game of Thrones TV show in Northern Ireland, and near Belfast. There are many tours that will show you around the sets, and you can even join a cosplay tour! It will really make you feel immersed in the books.

There are tons of other movies filmed in Ireland, and many different options of tours, either hosted or on your own, that you can take. Let me help you plan your trip. It would really be my pleasure! (And then I will beg you for pictures afterwards…) You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

Croatia

A friend may be travelling to Europe shortly, which reminded me I wanted to write about Croatia. Located on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, west of Hungary and Serbia, south of Slovenia, and wrapping around Bosnia and Herzegovina to the north and west, Croatia is considered part of Eastern Europe.

Also known as "The Pearl of the Adriatic", Dubrovnik is a World Heritage City. Image from Geece and Mediterranean Travel.
Also known as “The Pearl of the Adriatic”, Dubrovnik is a World Heritage City. Image from Greece and Mediterranean Travel.

Croatia is an up-and-coming fandom travel destination. Although several movies have been made there, none of them have made an impact on the Fandom community. Game of Thrones, however, has filmed quite a few scenes in King’s Landing Dubrovnik. There are plenty of choices for fandom travel. Viator offers several tours, including the cities Dubrovnik and Split. “Memorable locations from the series include the Minceta, Bokar, and Lovrijenac fortresses; the Dubac quarry; the island of Lokum, just off the coast of Dubrovnik; the village of Mlini; and the island of Mrkan just off the coast of Cavtat” (Viator). Dubrovnik is also a great place to soak up the sun in a Mediterranean climate.

Zagreb, Croatia's northern capital. Image from Lonely Planet.
Zagreb, Croatia’s northern capital. Image from Lonely Planet.

If you want to visit the interior of Croatia, the capital Zagreb has tons of geeky things to offer. The Technical Museum offers a planetarium, an underground coal mine replica, and Nikola Tesla’s laboratory, where you can become a test subject. There’s a bar called Tolkien’s House next to a monastery. There’s more, check out this link for short descriptions of all the cool things to do!

Koprivnica, Croatia becomes a Renaissance town in August for a festival. Image from Croatia Tourism.
Koprivnica, Croatia becomes a Renaissance town in August for a festival. Image from Croatia Tourism.

Further inland is the city of Koprivnica. What drew my eye is its Renaissance Festival, held the 25-28 of August 2016. Over ten European countries will be competing in this year’s events, the central theme of which is “Equestrian Knight’s Tournament”. Hundreds of performers from Croatia and the other ten countries will be in full costume, and welcome the chance to interact with tourists and locals alike.

If you’d like help booking this trip. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca


References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_shot_in_Croatia
http://www.viator.com/Croatia-tourism/Game-of-Thrones-TV-Locations-in-Croatia/d730-t10599
http://www.likecroatia.com/news-tips/destinations/the-geeks-guide-to-zagreb/
http://www.mdc.hr/tehnicki/en/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/Tolkiens-House-16990844511/
http://croatia.hr/en-GB/Activities-and-attractions/Events/NewEvents/Renaissance-festival
http://www.renesansnifestival.hr/renesansni-festival-0-22.php