Geek Chic Lifestyle #6 Makeup (By Rebecca "Bonks" Rothschild)

Oh you thought I forgot about this one? HELL NO! Look, I have no problem with you all wanting to express yourselves or look a certain way. By all means go ahead and do whatever you want. Go ahead and do the sparkles and 300 billion colors on your eyelids to go to the grocery store, I will not judge you, BUT there may be some ramifications. For example, if you want to be taken seriously as an adult by someone who doesn't know you personally, you'll have a hard time with electric blue, eye shadow mousse caked on like frosting. Mainly because they'll be too busy staring at your eyes to really pay attention to anything you're saying.

Remember this look? Sure she had a job, but that was T.V. No one in their right mind would hire anyone walking into an interview looking like this unless they had one insanely impressive resume, I mean untouchable resume. Keep this image in mind as exactly what not to do.

So, tip number one for this segement: TONE IT DOWN!!! There is a right place and a right time to go bat shit insane with your makeup, work, thanksgiving and first dates are not really ideal times. Now let's break this down.

Foundation, the name says it all. It lays down the foundation for your look, evens the skin and helps hold eye shadow and blush in place. Rules I will not let you break are as follows:

1. FOUNDATION MUST MATCH YOUR SKIN TONE!!! IF YOU CAN'T FIND A MATCH, YOU'RE NOT LOOKING HARD ENOUGH. Use the underside of your wrist as a guide to help you find a good match. If you put the foundation on your wrist, it should blend really well, that's how you know you have a winner.

2. YOU ARE NOT A CAKE! How many layers of foundation do you ladies think you need? Piling it on does not cover more flaws, it's makes them more noticeable.

* For those who have the dark circles and require concealer, I strongly recommend going to see a professional about how to apply it. It can get a little technical and typically requires some practice.

Blush, oh boy, there are so many ways ladies go wrong with this one.

Let's start off with what I like to call clown cheeks. If you have applied the blush in a why that gives you two little rose colored circles, you need to spread it around a little. If you look like you've got a sunburn, you've put on too much.

Always apply blush with a brush, that should be easy enough to remember, blush with a brush, blush with a brush. Say that three times fast. Yes, there should be no hands for initial applications, you can use your hand to blend a little bit and that's it. Also, there shouldn't be clumps of blush in the brush when you go to apply it. If you see them, just tap the brush a little bit to get rid of them before applying to your face. Start at the apples of your cheeks then spread and blend upward a little bit toward your hairline.

There are many shades to choose from. Well, let me put it this way; Work and Thanksgiving, you'll want that color to be more subtle, stick to the more pastel lookin' stuff. If you've got a hot date or wanna hit the clubs, you can put something on with more punch to it.

Oh yes, those are some seriously awesome looking eyes, great for the club and cosplay, NOT for the everyday. These kind of looks take a lot of time and effort, you don't have to do it everyday. I know you geeky ladies love your eyeshadows and glitter and everything in between, and when the occasion calls for it, go nuts! But this is something that should not be seen at most work places for sure. All you'd be saying to your employer is, "I spend way too much time to make myself look this garish, maybe my priorities are out of whack." I think you'd be amazed how much time you'll save just by going with something more simple, I guarantee you'll still look great.

*Mascara note: Yes, mascara comes in really fun colors now like electric blue and magenta, again, great for the clubs. When it comes to more practical stuff stick to black or brown please.

*Quick note on eye liner, the raccoon eyes is such a tired look. There's a new set of trick out there to try, wow me.

I know there are a ton of you out there saying, "I don't care what people think, I don't care if they judge me, this is how I want to look." And that's fine, more than fine, that's your right. I'd still love you no matter what, I put this out there for those who might want to make themselves more professional or more approachable. There have been a ton of surveys and studies done to determine people's reaction to heavy or very flamboyant makeup. Here are some of things to keep in mind.

1. Lots of men stated it puts them off, to some it even makes you appear deceiving or materialistic. Men also feel it makes you like immature and childish and even crazy.

2. Having so much makeup on all day everyday does not allow the skin to breathe, skin needs to breathe, period.

3. Women say it is a clear cry for attention and smaller groups say it makes you look like you have low self-esteem.

Well, whatever the masses say, I love all my geeky sisters, even the ones with the liquid paper faces.

MOS (Myouterspace.com) (By Rebecca "Bonks" Rothschild)

Nerdy mac daddy himself, William Shatner has a new brainchild on the loose. No more spoken word albums for this Sci-Fi stud. Say hello to myouterspace.com:

Shatner said he wanted to create a social network for those passionate about the arts, sci-fi, horror and more. He is also paying special attention to writers and directors. I personally took the time to register Sugar Gamers for the site, how could I not? The site appears to still be in it's early stages as the term "beta" is underneath the header on the homepage. Groups are represented as planets, for example, Sugar Gamers is a member of the planet Sirius which is all about gaming. Could you just die? How deliciously geeky!

Some of the other features include the standards such as:

-Twitter feeds

-RSS

-Chat

-Blog

Very easy to use, post up all your photos and videos with little hassle and discuss any and all nerdy topics on the boards. I imagine all hardcore Shatner fans will sign up with out a second thought. I personally think it's fantastic to have a networking site specifically for the Sci-Fi inclined. Mr. Shatner has also vowed to monitor all projects. And of course there's always room for video messages from the "Adminral" himself. I say this is way better than a wine label or energy drink, well done Billy boy, stay fabulous.

God of War Preview @ Gamestop (By Rebecca "Bonks" Rothschild)

Once again, Gamestop was kind enough to allow us in for an exclusive look at the latest God of War installment. As always, I would like to extend my gratitude.

GOW was really taken to new levels in this game without straying away from the fan favorite formula of hack n' slash, blood n' guts, and a dash of drama. Meanwhile Kratos is back looking more fierce than ever with a dive attitude to boot. Stomping around in his new threads like he already owns Olympus.

This may sound a bit rude, but it is a compliment. Upon my first look at the screen, the first thought to cross my mind was, "this does not look like a PS3 game." Meaning the graphics are stellar. The shading and light play are seamless, and the textures are distinct.

Controls are familiar and without any complaint from me or anyone else in the room. The game utilizes the trendy technique of navigating your way through a cut away battle scene with the push of a singular button to trigger an action to continue. And the action tends to take you by surprise keeping you on your toes and engaged. You won't go too long looking for where to go next either.

If you've never picked up a God of War game before, now would be the time. If you're a fan of the mythology behind it as I am, I would strongly recommend it. Considering the tumultuous relationship the Olympians have with each other as well as the the titans and their predecessors the storyline fits very well. Development of each character was clearly taken very seriously, the essence of each god or creature is captured with a great sense of imagination as well adherence to legend.

The battles, in typical God of War fashion are out of control epic. You will never see more crazy creatures going at it this wild at once. Pulling hair, kicking in teeth, calling each other all sorts of nasty names. If you insist on a certain level of brutality and blood, have no fear, the levels or more than par for all tastes.

Now normally I like to bitch and moan about cheesy dialog, but for this game, it fits perfectly. Nothing choppy or cheesy sounding. That's one of the joys of doing a game in this mythical time period, you can big, have your characters say overly obvious, declarative statements, and it's just bad ass.

So here's where I tip my hat to PS3 and say welcome back to the game. *Good luck.

Infinity Ward vs. Activision: What a Clusterf**k (By Rebecca "Bonks" Rothschild)

March 1st, Vince Zampella and Jason West, co-heads of Infinity Ward for eight years are terminated. For those unaware, these two are responsible for Call of Duty Modern Warfare and it's ravishing, cash cow follow up, CODMW2. Fun fact about the termination: Activision was a week away from paying Infinity Ward substantial royalties when the two were fired. So, the two have filed suit for several claims including breach of contract.

Apprently there has been friction between the two for a while now. Claims were made that Activision did not want COD to go modern, instead they were opting for more WWII. At first it seemed like mere creative differences, but with the recent success of COD it would now appear to be a hostile takeover. The COD franchise has generated something to the tune of three billion dollars, I can't help but feel like the core of this battle is nothing more than money. However at the press release after the suit was filed attorney Robert Schwartz had the following to say about the claims:

"Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of insubordination and breach of fiduciary duty, which became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."

Okay, so that's a fancy way of saying "we hired attorneys to quietly investigate Infinity Ward for a reason to fire them." Doesn't speak well of Activision, their attorney is a moron and was better off not saying shit.

Now I've done my best to dig for crucial statements from both sides and have turned up with very little from the Activision side of the fence. So far I've heard what the moron lawyer has had to say. Activision only continues to boast about the new direction and genres and plans it has for the COD 'brand.' So, I've laid out what I've found and now I get to say my parting words and in typical "Bonks" fashion, it's gonna be a list.

1. Get a new attorney.

2. Video gamers are not simple minded, uninformed dead beats. Stoners, layabouts...yeah okay, there are a few but we love the internet and the internet loves to inform us. You f*ck with two very accomplished developers who have shown nothing but passion for their craft and we will revolt.

3. You have brought your bullshit, CEO, money grubbing politics into our gaming world. Not that is hasn't been there before but now because of your greed you're going to ruin a brilliant franchise, so that makes it OUR business. And when you f*ck with thousands of nerds who have great taste and high expectations for their video games, we will f*ck you right back, where it hurts, your f*cking wallets. Bad move, you better pray you find someone damn near immortal to develop your next game.

4. Man up and pay up.