PoP! Fangirl of the Month – November 2011

Name: Jamila Rowser
AKA/Handle: Girl Gone Geek
Birthdate: April 3, 1987
Location: NYC
Marital Status: Single
Current Occupation: Marketing and Communications Intern for VYou
 Favorite Comics: The Walking Dead, Sandman, Planetary, Y The Last Man, Bakuman, The Watchmen, Transmetropolitan I dig most Vertigo stuff and I’m a Grant Morrison fangirl so anything he touches especially The Invisibles
 Favorite Writers: Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Steven Moffat, Joss Whedon, Edwidge Dandicat, Roald Dahl, Jamaica Kincaid, Shakespeare, Sherman Alexie, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Paulo Coelho, J. K. Rowling, David Sedaris, Ernest Hemmingway, Chuck Palahniuk, HP Lovecraft, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allen Poe
 Favorite Artists: Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, African Art in general, Takashi Murakami, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kara Walker, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstien, Anish Kapoor, Bansky
 Favorite Movies: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, A Clockwork Orange, The Lion King, Princess Mononoke, City of God, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Fifth Element, Tokyo Godfathers, Interview with the Vampire, Star Wars, Disney’s Fantasia, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix, The Dark Crystal, Harry Potter movies, and pretty much all of Tim Burton and Hayao Miyazaki films
 Favorite TV Shows: Sit down this may take a while… Doctor Who, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Misfits, Fringe, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, United States of Tara, True Blood, Torchwood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Adventure Time, Sherlock, Entourage, Firefly, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Cowboy Bebop, Cromartie High, Sex and the City, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Death Note, 24, X-Files, Supernatural, Samurai Champloo, and a bunch of junk food reality shows that feed my guilty pleasures
Favorite Video Games: Super Mario Bros. everything, Portal (1 & 2), Little Big Planet, God of War, Bayonetta, Mario Kart N64, Kirby games, Zelda games, Zombie games, Bomberman, Tomba, a lot of Nintendo games
 Favorite Music: Bob Marley, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Noisettes, Outkast, John Coltrane, Luciano, Miles Davis, Janelle Monae, No Doubt, MIA, Erykah Badu, Marc Anthony, Mika, Lady Gaga, Billie Holiday, MGMT, Phoenix, Chester French, Fela Kuti, Vampire Weekend, Juanes, Kid Cudi, Raphael Saadiq, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold, Thelonious Monk, Passion Pit… I’ll stop now before you run out of space
 Favorite Books: The Third Policeman, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Harry Potter series, His Dark Materials, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Lolita, Lucy, American Gods, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Kite Runner, The Alchemist, Survivor, Haunted, Richard III, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
 Turn-Ons: Fanboys, humor, confidence, super violent/gory kills in video games, Time Lords, intelligence
 Turn-Offs: Cockiness, bad breath and bad hygiene in general, conservatives, homophobia, ignorance

 There are those around here that may not know you yet, so what makes you a Fangirl?

Well I have a very addictive personality. When I like something a lot I damn near obsess over it and get extremely passionate about it. It just so happens that a majority of the things I obsess over live in the Geek Realm!

 How long have you considered yourself a Fangirl?

Not until recent years actually. It wasn’t really until I kept meeting people and they would ask me what I liked and my hobbies and when I responded they always said something like, “Oh wow I didn’t know you were a geek.” (Or they didn’t believe me, because I’m a girl but that’s another story altogether).

It’s funny because I love the things I love because they are brilliant and awesome and not just because they are necessarily geeky. It just happened that way. I also grew up with a lot of these geeky things all around me because of my family so it was just normal. It wasn’t until I’d try and talk about my favorite things with others that I realized it wasn’t as common as I thought.

 What are your current Fangirl obsessions?

Doctor Who by far. My brother put me on to Doctor Who and it has now become my favorite thing in all of time and space. I recently watched all of Misfits in one week, so it’s safe to say I really liked it. Other than that, Fringe and The Walking Dead always make me squee.

Also I’m enjoying going through my long list of “comics to read” because I’m relatively new in that fandom, only a few years old. I’ve really fallen in love with the manga Bakuman as well.

 Do you have a favorite geek memory of your childhood?

Probably having Hayao Miyazaki movie nights with my family. My parents are really amazing; they are into anime, Japanese horror, sci-fi and fantasy so we always had those shows and movies in our house. Oh and gaming for hours and hours on Sega Saturn and N64 with my brother Myles, he’s pretty awesome too.

 What has been your biggest geek-out moment?

It’s split between two. One was meeting and talking to Grant Morrison at Midtown Comics when he had a signing for his book Talking with Gods. Morrison’s The Invisibles is what really got me into comics and I’m a huge huge fan of his so it was an honor. I was shaking I was so nervous!

In April I waited for about 6 hours to get Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill of Doctor Who to sign the season 5 DVD at Barnes & Nobles. I never waited in anything longer than a line for Space Mountain so that was major for me. I just saw it as absolutely necessary, I must see the doctor and that was that! A few days after that I waiting in another line for over 6 hours again to see the screening of the season 6 premiere of Doctor Who and a Q&A with the cast and Steven Moffat who is a genius in my eyes. I was geeking out and freaking out the entire time, it was so exciting!

Jamila & Grant Morrison at Midtown Comics

How has being a Fangirl affected other aspects of your life?

I’ve got to meet so many amazing and fun fangirls and fanboys. Most of my RL friends aren’t into the stuff I am so I always love meeting new people who “get” that aspect of me. On a funnier note, I remember one time after I ended things with a guy I was dating I immediately thought; well at least I have more time to game now! And I’ve definitely skipped parties because I’d rather be home watching Firefly a new Fringe episode or something equally brilliant.

Is there an aspect of geek life or culture you’d like to explore more?

I’d like to read more manga, make more time for gaming and be better at FPS.

 There’s been a lot of talk about a rise in female geek culture. Do you think we’re in a “geek girl renaissance?” Why or why not?

I suppose we are. Geek girls have always existed; I think what is happening is with the help of the internet a lot of us making our presence known whether it’s social media, blogging, art, podcasting, etc.

I know personally, I’ve had many times where guys didn’t “believe” I’m into the geeky things I’m into because I’m a girl, which is just plain old stupid and irritating. A lot of fandom’s were, and still to a point are, predominately male but I think a lot of women are caring less and less what others have to say and raising their geek flag high.

 Tell us about your blog Girl Gone Geek.

I started Girl Gone Geek in May 2010, I basically made it to just write about the things I love. I had no intentions for it’s future, I just hoped some people would read it, but it’s grown to nice lovely size. I even got to write two posts for MTV Geek covering New York Comic Con, which was very cool! Sometimes I meet people who have read my blog and it’s still such a surprise and it makes me so happy. It just seems that Girl Gone Geek has taken on a life of her own and I love it!

 What would be your advice to someone wanting to win over the Fangirl/boy of their dreams?

Despite how corny and cliché this is, just be yourself. Because at the end of the day, if you aren’t your true self with the person you like, nerd and all, they aren’t really getting to know and like the real you and then what’s the point of it all?

And for the winning over part, be a good listener because little things go a long way. For example, if the person you like mentioned how they really wanted a sonic screwdriver and one day you surprise them with one, it will go a long way. Trust me, I’m the doctor.

I’m the marketing and communications intern for VYou and I love it there! VYou is a new social platform that is basically conversational video. I was always apprehensive about vlogging but VYou makes it so easy by allowing people to ask you questions and leave comments for you to respond to with video responses.

There are tons of “regular people” (like me) on it, but also high profile people like Doctor Who (Yes Matt freakin’ Smith) and authors Deepak Chopra and Mike Dooley and a bunch more. Luckily for me VYou is filled with tons of geeks too so I’ve made new internet friends! I love how it’s more personal than just text-based platforms like Formspring and Twitter.

Aside from your blog, where can people find you on the internets?

Where can’t you find me?!
Blog: http://www.girlgonegeekblog.com
Blog Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/girlgonegeekblog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/girl_gone_geek
Tumblr: http://missapocalipstick.tumblr.com/
Portfolio Site: http://jamilarowser.com
VYou: http://vyou.com/girlgonegeek