Happy Tuesday - on a Wednesday! XD Sorry that this is coming to you late, but better late than never! It's time for another Geeks Run The World spotlight, and today we're meeting Ari Carr, aka @Ariellaphabet! She's been nominated by someone anonymous, but they did have this to say:
"I met Ari online a long time ago and she's very cool. She's a great writer and does fantastic comic reviews" - Anonymous
Without further ado, time to meet Ari!
Ari: Ooh, tough question! Video games have a special place in my heart, and latest game of choice has been World of Warcraft. My boyfriend recently talked me into playing it with him, and I just can't get enough of it! The new expansion came out recently, and despite the server and latency problems, it's been so much fun to play.
Next up is my current favorite TV show, Bones. When I was younger, I really used to want to be a forensic investigator, and after overdosing on CSI when I was a kid, it was nice to find a crime show that's fresh and fun, even after ten seasons. Not only that, but I totally love all the characters and their relationships in it. As a screenwriting student, I really enjoy watching how the relationships develop in each episode and season, and I can always write off marathoning it as research!
Another thing that's always close to my heart is comic books. I've recently put a preorder in for the UK release of The Wicked and the Divine, the new ongoing comic series from Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. I only read the first two issues on release (I'm really bad for falling behind on comics) so I'm super excited to see where the rest of the series goes. Roll on 25th of November! I'm also a huge fan of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky's Sex Criminals, and it never fails to make me laugh. I can't wait for the next issue to come out!
I'm anxiously awaiting the release of The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, as I'm so in love with the Hobbit films. Peter Jackson has really outdone himself with the films, and I've watched the first two films loads of times. I read The Hobbit when I was a kid and I'm currently trying to read Lord of the Rings, and I am so, so excited for the final film to come out. I don't think I'm ready to have my heart broken so much!
Lastly, my number five geek love is hot chocolate! As the months get colder here in Britain, hot drinks are consumed on an hourly basis. I've recently started putting candy canes in with hot chocolate to make it a tiny bit minty and it's delicious. Best decision ever!
TWW(s): I'm really liking Sex Criminals as well, it's so funny! But I've only read the first graphic novel, so no spoilers :P
TWW(s): If you had to describe yourself in 5 words, what would they be? Why those words?
Ari: Introverted - I'm the dictionary definition of an introvert! I'm shy and prefer one or two people rather than hanging out with a large bunch. Working at events and talking to a lot of people tires me out loads, so introverted sums me up perfectly.
Nerdy - Given that my blog is called Comics and Cookies, most days I wear nerdy tee shirts or necklaces, and I have an encyclopedic knowledge of nerdy things, it absolutely has to be nerdy.
Daydreamer - My friends and family know that I can be a bit spacey, and I'm usually daydreaming about something . . . Typically food.
Creative - As a screenwriting student, I'm always coming up with new ideas for scripts and furiously scribbling them down on the closest piece of paper. I'm also always thinking of new blog posts and themes I can do!
Homebody: I'm quite lazy, and not one for outdoorsy things. Most days you'll find me lazing around my house, wrapped up in blankets watching TV or writing.
TWW(s): What is the #1 thing in your life that you are the most excited about right now? Something that you're just dying to fangirl/gush about?
Ari: Playing the new World of Warcraft expansion smoothly! Ever since the release, there's been problem after problem, either with the servers being full, getting randomly disconnected, or things in-game just not loading in. I played a bit on release day, but given the problems I had, I elected to wait until everything had calmed down somewhat, and I could log in with no problems. I'm super excited to write about my experiences in ongoing Confessions of a World of Warcraft Noob blog series too.
TWW(s): Tell us about your World of Warcraft character(s)! I used to play WoW back in the day, so I'm very curious.
Ari: My main is a blood elf warrior called Wém (pronounced Wehm). Her name sounds really dumb and not very elven, but it's part of a long-standing joke. My first name (Ariawen) is really hard for a lot of people to spell, and on an official letter from my city council, they spelt it 'Ariawem' and so Wem has been my go-to name for characters. My Monk on Diablo 3 on Xbox is called Wem, and it's just become habit to name characters Wem! She's currently level 98 and exploring/fighting her way through the Spires of Arak in Draenor. I'm working on getting to 100 and getting half decent armor! My alt is a Death Knight Orc called Shulky. She's fun to play, but I've been playing Wém since I started playing WoW so I'm a bit attached. I mostly just wander around questing, as I'm not quite good enough to join dungeons with my boyfriend. I'm also thinking of making a Tauren hunter called Mootilda if I ever get bored of Wém.
TWW(s): Tell us about your World of Warcraft character(s)! I used to play WoW back in the day, so I'm very curious.
Ari: My main is a blood elf warrior called Wém (pronounced Wehm). Her name sounds really dumb and not very elven, but it's part of a long-standing joke. My first name (Ariawen) is really hard for a lot of people to spell, and on an official letter from my city council, they spelt it 'Ariawem' and so Wem has been my go-to name for characters. My Monk on Diablo 3 on Xbox is called Wem, and it's just become habit to name characters Wem! She's currently level 98 and exploring/fighting her way through the Spires of Arak in Draenor. I'm working on getting to 100 and getting half decent armor! My alt is a Death Knight Orc called Shulky. She's fun to play, but I've been playing Wém since I started playing WoW so I'm a bit attached. I mostly just wander around questing, as I'm not quite good enough to join dungeons with my boyfriend. I'm also thinking of making a Tauren hunter called Mootilda if I ever get bored of Wém.
TWW(s): Describe a typical day in your life. Where do you go? What do you do?
Ari: On a typical Monday, I have class at university. I'm a third year Film and Screenwriting student, and my Monday class is American Contemporary Horror Films. I'm extremely passionate about horror films, both the delivery and creation, and this class has been one of my all-time favorites. My time at university consists of a seminar in the morning where we talk about the film we watched the previous week (or just films in general), and then I have a two hour lunch break. I usually go home to get my lunch, but sometimes I go to my university cafeteria to get some yummy cookies or seasonal drinks. In the afternoon, I have a lecture, which is usually about the film I'm about to watch and then a screening. My university has a full sized screen to watch films on, and I've seen some amazing films in my three years there. After my screening, I'll come home, get some food, and then spend my evening playing video games, watching TV or hanging out with my boyfriend and our housemate. It sounds kinda boring, but it's perfect to me!
TWW(s): Aside from World of Warcraft, what are a few of your favorite video games?
Ari: Oh gosh, this is such a big question . . . I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember! Some of my favorite titles that instantly jump to mind are Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 4, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas (I put 100+ hours into that game in about a month . . . Time well spent!) and a classic, Tetris. Tetris has ruled/ruined my life ever since I was a little girl playing it on my GameBoy Colour.
TWW(s): What's one of the nerdy t-shirts/necklaces/items that you own that you're the most proud of?
Ari: I recently won a Sailor Moon necklace in a giveaway and it is My New Favorite Thing. I wear it as much as I can! My best friend Lawrence got me an amazing Lumpy Space Princess tee for Christmas last year and that's one of my all time favorite shirts too. My Fallout 3 Vault 101 tee is also a favorite. However, in all the time I've owned it, it's been recognized by one person. I also have a really cool UNSC Halo tee that my boyfriend gave me that I really love.
TWW(s): Aside from World of Warcraft, what are a few of your favorite video games?
Ari: Oh gosh, this is such a big question . . . I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember! Some of my favorite titles that instantly jump to mind are Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 4, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas (I put 100+ hours into that game in about a month . . . Time well spent!) and a classic, Tetris. Tetris has ruled/ruined my life ever since I was a little girl playing it on my GameBoy Colour.
Ari: I recently won a Sailor Moon necklace in a giveaway and it is My New Favorite Thing. I wear it as much as I can! My best friend Lawrence got me an amazing Lumpy Space Princess tee for Christmas last year and that's one of my all time favorite shirts too. My Fallout 3 Vault 101 tee is also a favorite. However, in all the time I've owned it, it's been recognized by one person. I also have a really cool UNSC Halo tee that my boyfriend gave me that I really love.
TWW(s): If you could travel anywhere, real or fictional, where would it be and why? A foreign country, the world of your favorite novel, sky's the limit!
Ari: I'd love to go into the world of Sailor Moon and be a Sailor Scout! Fighting for love and justice, and wearing a super cute outfit!
TWW(s): Reading any good books right now? Also, since you're a screenwriting student, what's one of the best films that you've seen as of late?
Ari: I recently read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for the second time, and I absolutely adore it. I love the combination of futuristic technology, dystopia and good old fashioned nerdiness and all the geek references you could shake a Bat'leth at. It's one of my most favorite books (it's up there with American Gods) and I honestly never get bored of it. I plan on starting Solitate by Alice Oseman, which my best friend Gina let me borrow several months ago but I haven't got round to reading yet. As far as films go, I recently watched American Psycho in class and loved it! Christian Bale is such a riot.
TWW(s): Tell us a bit about your blog and how it came to be.
Ari: It's kinda strange really. Two years ago, I was friends with a lot of writers - novelists, bloggers, fan-fic writers, and a few artists for good measure. They convinced me to do NaNoWriMo for the first time, and I still had the writing bug for some time after that. I'vealways been interested in writing (I wanted to be a journalist for the longest time when I was at school/college) and have dabbled here and there, but I'd never actually made the jump. After reading the Hunger Games books and then seeing the first film, I felt that I absolutely had to write about it, and write about my experience. At this point, I wasn't a film student, didn't know a jump cut, but I still felt like I had to write about it. I secretly set up an account on Blogger, wrote my review, and then kept it to myself. A few months later, I went to see Avengers Assemble with Lawrence and again, I felt like writing about it. So, I wrote a review, and this time I actually posted it to Twitter. After receiving quite a few views in a small space of time, I decided to make the jump and start regularly posting! In the time since I've started my blog I've changed platforms to WordPress, learnt a ton of stuff, and hit 70,000 views. I've never been prouder of anything else I've done before, and my blog has been a fixture on CVs and job applications. It's a part of me, and is one of my greatest achievements - it may not seem much to other people, but to me; it's everything.
TWW(s): Reading any good books right now? Also, since you're a screenwriting student, what's one of the best films that you've seen as of late?
Ari: I recently read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for the second time, and I absolutely adore it. I love the combination of futuristic technology, dystopia and good old fashioned nerdiness and all the geek references you could shake a Bat'leth at. It's one of my most favorite books (it's up there with American Gods) and I honestly never get bored of it. I plan on starting Solitate by Alice Oseman, which my best friend Gina let me borrow several months ago but I haven't got round to reading yet. As far as films go, I recently watched American Psycho in class and loved it! Christian Bale is such a riot.
Ari: It's kinda strange really. Two years ago, I was friends with a lot of writers - novelists, bloggers, fan-fic writers, and a few artists for good measure. They convinced me to do NaNoWriMo for the first time, and I still had the writing bug for some time after that. I'vealways been interested in writing (I wanted to be a journalist for the longest time when I was at school/college) and have dabbled here and there, but I'd never actually made the jump. After reading the Hunger Games books and then seeing the first film, I felt that I absolutely had to write about it, and write about my experience. At this point, I wasn't a film student, didn't know a jump cut, but I still felt like I had to write about it. I secretly set up an account on Blogger, wrote my review, and then kept it to myself. A few months later, I went to see Avengers Assemble with Lawrence and again, I felt like writing about it. So, I wrote a review, and this time I actually posted it to Twitter. After receiving quite a few views in a small space of time, I decided to make the jump and start regularly posting! In the time since I've started my blog I've changed platforms to WordPress, learnt a ton of stuff, and hit 70,000 views. I've never been prouder of anything else I've done before, and my blog has been a fixture on CVs and job applications. It's a part of me, and is one of my greatest achievements - it may not seem much to other people, but to me; it's everything.
TWW(s): When did you first become an iggle and how did you originally hear about the IGGPPC?
Ari: I joined really early on . . . Maybe in round 4 or 5? I heard about it because I follow Leslie, Emily, Jen and Emma all on Twitter and they kept on mentioning it and I thought it was a fantastic idea. I used to do penpal letters when I did NaNoWriMo a few years ago and I loved it so I jined up straight away!
TWW(s): Tell us about any pen pals you've met through the IGGPPC!
Ari: Sadly I don't sent letters to my penpal any more - we stopped talking (I think the distance was too much!) but I still chat to Kaye and Alicia, two other iggles I met through IGGPPC! Kaye takes the most amazing pictures (Check out her photography page) and Alicia is just the biggest everything-nerd I've ever seen and has the cutest little Chihuahua!
TWW(s): When did you start self-identifying as a geek?
Ari: I don't really know . . . I've always been geeky. I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember, and I've always been hugely into reading, be it novels, magazines, comic books and more. I guess I've always been a geek because not that many of my other friends at school were into the same things as me! It's only as I've gotten older and made friends with other people who are just as geeky I've really welcomed 'geek' as a description.
TWW(s): Look at the Iggle Manifesto and tell us your favorite line from it, or the line you'd like to most apply to yourself, and why.
Ari: I love the Iggle Manifesto. It's so precious and cute! My favorite line has got to be "I will encourage my fellow geek community." I think it's always important to support friends in their geeky endeavours, and it always helps to have a community who have got your back.
Want to get to know Ari? Find her on her:
Also, her birthday was on the 1st! Wish Ari a Happy Belated Birthday!
What an awesome interview! You picked the right lady for it!
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