The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 75: 90s & Noughties Cringe Factor on “She’s All That”

Episode 75 of The Geek Saga Podcast is our very first 90s & Noughties Cringe Factor discussion about 1999’s She’s All That, starring Rachel Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr!

GEEK SAGA PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

Hosts Tara and Manny from the Geek Saga Podcast series Hot D Takes are back for a brand new podcast series, in which we will watch, dissect, and discuss the most popular “teen movies” of the 90s and early 2000s! Our first episode is a diatribe that features the 10 Things We Hate About She’s All That…as well as the “These’re All That” things that we actually, err, “liked” (?) about this movie, and our final 90s & Noughties Cringe Factor rating of it on a scale of 1 to 10 Zach Morrises!

Geek Saga Podcast Episode 75: 90s & Noughties Cringe Factor Discussion of “She’s All That”

Too Little, Too Late?: Alec Peters & Bullying, Interlude 2

I started writing this series because I was seriously concerned about Alec Peters of all people – someone who has threatened, harassed, and bullied me for a while now – joining a supposed anti-bullying Facebook group called Trekkers Against Bullying (which, in an attempt to link said group in this post, I am being told no longer exists, meaning it was either deleted or has been hidden from searches or even direct links – OOF).

I was in the process of writing part 4 of my series when it came to light that “TAB” had asked AP to leave their Facebook group. My first reaction was “good, you finally removed a bully from your anti-bullying group”, but unfortunately it turned out that there was more to it than that…and this is where I have to digress (not entirely, but more than a little bit) from my own story to explain how things have evolved since I began writing this series.

Continue reading

I’m Not Perfect: Alec Peters & Bullying, Part 3

As I mentioned in part 2, I joined the Axamonitor Facebook group at the end of 2020, well after my partner had been sued (again, in the wrong jurisdiction) by Alec Peters. My “membership” in said group is what has [apparently? supposedly?] led Alec Peters, his girlfriend, and his flunkeys to deem me a “hater”…but that cohort involving me in their drama began well before I was an active member in Axamonitor.

But I need to begin this part of my story by admitting that I. Am. Not. Perfect. I can’t say that I haven’t made mistakes, screwed up, hurt people. What person can? But the thing is, I OWN my mistakes – I mean shit, that’s the reason I’m still very close friends with my ex-husband. And it’s why I’m not afraid to post what I’m about to say – because I wouldn’t lie about anything, let alone shit that is easily provable. Period, full stop.

So that said…

From the time I joined Axamonitor in November 2020 through the point where everything really came to a head in the summer of 2021, I commented on a total of 13 posts in that group…and there were a LOT of posts in that group in this time period. Of the comments I made, 40% were silly jokes. Of the others, one was me calling out the so-called “Axanar dog rescue”, and was from a position of someone who actually volunteers for a legitimate dog rescue. Another was me questioning them selling cheap messenger bags for $50 each when, from my personal experience with mass-producing items with screen-printed logos (which I do for my convention), one could mass produce those same bags for around $5 each (if not less).

So imagine my surprise when I came under full attack – not just as a “hater”, but as a “stalker” – and also as someone being threatened with lawsuits…among the other absolutely incorrect and awful things they were saying about me!

Continue reading

I’m Not an “Axanar Hater”: Alec Peters & Bullying in Fandom, Part 2

As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, I’ve seen Prelude to Axanar (and also “the Vulcan Scene” released by Axanar Productions…or Ares Studios…or whatever they’re calling themselves these days) and agree with their fans that these are high-quality productions.

So imagine my surprise I was lumped into a group that Alec Peters and his flunkeys call “AXANAR haters”…simply because I joined Axamonitor, a Facebook group of people who are upset with Peters for his apparent inability to produce the two 15-minute episodes allowed by the CBS lawsuits; his possible probable misuse of donor funds; his constant fundraising despite the money that he earns from sales of items that belong to the CBS IP; his “Ares Studios” Patreon, his superchats in his numerous webcasts, etc. etc.; and MOST OF ALL – his bullying of literally anyone who ever says anything that he perceives might be against him.

Really, I wouldn’t call myself a “hater” of any sort; my feelings about Alec Peters, the rabid people in his camp, and the things they’ve done and said are obviously strongly negative, but “hater” is a childish term that I’ve only ever used jokingly, and it’s honestly pretty damn scary how often they throw it around and how serious they are in their use of it, especially as they regularly take it further and refer to the aforementioned Facebook group as a “hate group” – which, in case you aren’t aware, is patently incorrect, as the definition of a “hate group” is as follows:

A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society.

– Wikipedia

But in reference to my original point: I am not an “Axanar hater”. I mean first of all, how can one be a “hater” (even if you ascribe to that term, which I do not) of something that doesn’t yet exist? Second of all, I have zero problem admitting that the actually existing production that started this whole lot of shenanigans is very high quality.

And yet here I am, being shoved into a faction that has been erroneously named by the person it aims to call out for his actions…so whether you want the following details or not, this second part of my series on Alec Peters and bullying in fandom is going to focus on how and why I came to join that Facebook group…and it begins with my being introduced to a friend of a friend at a San Diego Comic-Con industry party in 2018.

Continue reading

Proving My Point: Alec Peters & Bullying in Fandom, An Interlude

In the past few days I’ve had to revisit my original plan for this series due to two developments. Therefore, in an attempt to keep part 2 at a more readable length, I wanted to make this brief interlude post.

Perhaps I should have opened part 1 of this series on my experiences with Alec Peters and bullying in fandom with the following disclosure: I understand that by writing about my experiences dealing with a person like Alec Peters, I open myself up to more harassment and threats (because yes, I have been threatened with lawsuits by AP before, and as you will see in part 2 and beyond, threatening people with lawsuits and often following through with them is a favorite tactic of his).

As if to prove my point about Peters and his followers, within 10 hours of my first post there were already libelous comments full of false allegations made by someone in the Alec Peters camp.

You can of course – at least as of my posting this at around 11:50 PM Eastern on 1/27/23 – view these comments on my previous entry.

(This is not the first time Alec Peters or someone in his camp tried to say I was involved in some sort of “conspiracy” to do something bad to AP and/or his girlfriend when of course I have never been involved in anything of the sort, so yes, there is much more to come regarding these types of disparaging remarks and accusations that have been wrongfully levied against me…but this particular one is certainly a new one, and so beyond ridiculous that it would be outright hilarious…IF it weren’t so frighteningly obvious that they are continuing to go out of their way to convince people I have done them wrong when, again, I have done nothing of the sort.)

Additionally, within about 24 hours of my posting part 1, for the first time in my LONG history utilizing WordPress and running a blog and then this website through this platform, someone attempted to “hack” (for lack of a better word) into my WordPress account, resulting in my receiving two emails notifying me that someone was attempting to change my password.

To be fair, the latter could have been unrelated, but considering said long history without a single attempt of this sort, the timing is, as they say, extremely sus. Especially as anyone with half a brain – including anyone who has used WordPress before – would know that you can’t change a password on an account without access to the email address attached to that account – which begs the question, was this perhaps just a scare attempt by a person who knew that I would receive the notifications that someone was attempting to reset my password?

Either way, therein lies the heart of the matter – why I am calling out the behavior that I have personally experienced at the hands of Alec Peters and his followers. As I’ve already stated, Alec Peters of all people joining and touting his membership in a supposed anti-bullying group was the impetus – but as someone who has prided myself on being a person who called out this sort of awful, toxic behavior time and time again in the past, it was really past time for me to do so in regards to this situation.

Now, having put that information out there, stay tuned for part 2, which I will hopefully have ready to post tomorrow!

Previous installment:
Part 1: I’m not a Star Trek Fan
Continue reading:
Part 2: I’m not an “Axanar Hater”

Part 3: I’m Not Perfect
Interlude 2: Too Little, Too Late?
Part 4: I’m Not Required to Ignore Attacks Against Me
Part 5: I’m Going to Protect My Family
Interlude 3: The Aftermath of an Interview

I’m Not a Star Trek Fan: Alec Peters & Bullying in Fandom, Part 1

I feel the need to preface this with the fact that I am not a Star Trek fan.

I don’t DISLIKE Star Trek – in fact, I have watched many episodes of TNG, loved The Wrath of Khan, truly enjoyed Strange New Worlds, and also enjoyed the first (and ONLY the first) new Star Trek movie in 2009 (yeah, I know, how dare I, and all that).

The thing is, I was never a part of Star Trek fandom, and honestly at this point I can’t help but think “thank the gods”.

To begin, I have to begin in the present – the situation that prompted me to actually write this story in its entirety.

Last week, I got wind that Alec Peters [of still-not-released Axanar fan film fame] was advertising a Facebook group called “Trekkers Against Bullying” (@TABnation2022 on Twitter). Having had personal experience being stalked and bullied (including an attempted doxxing) by Alec, his girlfriend, and their flunkeys, I immediately went on red alert.

But listen, I get it. At first glance, the guy who “produced” the admittedly high-quality fan film Prelude to Axanar and raised over a million dollars (via Kickstarter & IndieGoGo) to create a feature-length fan film based on that standard seems like a good person with whom to link hands in solidarity…despite him being sued by CBS for copyright infringement.

The problem is, Alec Peters himself is an absolute bully, harasser, and stalker, as is his girlfriend and many of his flunkeys. This is something I know from personal experience, and while I have previously done my best to stay vague or not go public with this honestly very traumatizing experience, what I have heard about the recent webcast interview between Alec and the leaders of “Trekkers Against Bullying” is so problematic that I feel as if I can no longer remain, if not silent, then at least not quiet, about my experiences any longer.

Continue reading

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 74: Hot D GIVES & Takes Viserys I Targaryen

house of the dragon hot d takes viserys I targaryen

Episode 74 of The Geek Saga Podcast is the first installment in our interlude series, “Hot D GIVES…and Takes”, which will feature discussion of characters we met and then lost in House of the Dragon‘s first season…and of course we had to focus on none other than OUR KING, Viserys I Targaryen, to kick off this series!

GEEK SAGA PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

Hosts Tara – an avid reader of all things ASOIAF – and Manny, a GoT/HotD fan who is Unsullied (aka has never read the books) – are joined by new guest Moe for this discussion of House of the Dragon‘s treatment of Viserys I!

Geek Saga Podcast Episoe 74: Hot D GIVES & Takes Viserys I

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 73: The HOTTEST Hot D Season 1 Summary!

house of the dragon season 1 hot d takes

Episode 73 of The Geek Saga Podcast features our HOTTEST Hot D Takes from House of the Dragon‘s first season.

GEEK SAGA PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

Hosts Tara – an avid reader of all things ASOIAF – and Manny, a Game of Thrones fan who is Unsullied (aka has never read the books) – are joined by new guest Alli (aka “Black Alli Blackwood”) and returning guests Jason (episode 3), Patrick (episode 1), and Tommy (episode 2) for this HotD season 1 summary episode that covers our favorite hot takes, moments, characters, episode, and more!

Geek Saga Podcast Episode 73: The HOTTEST Hot D Season 1 Summary!

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 72: Hot D Takes on “The Black Queen”

house of the dragon the black queen hotd takes

Episode 72 of The Geek Saga Podcast features our Hot D Takes on House of the Dragon‘s tenth episode, “The Black Queen”.

GEEK SAGA PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

Hosts Tara – an avid reader of all things ASOIAF – and Manny, a Game of Thrones fan who is Unsullied (aka has never read the books) – are joined by Bekah, another Unsullied Game of Thrones fan and Ice & Fire Con Small Council Member, and Chris, an ASOIAF fan and IAFC attendee, to discuss “The Black Queen”.

Geek Saga Podcast Episode 72: Hot D Takes on “The Black Queen”

The Geek Saga Podcast Episode 71: Hot D Takes on “The Green Council”

house of the dragon the green council hotd takes

Episode 71 of The Geek Saga Podcast features our Hot D Takes on House of the Dragon‘s ninth episode, “The Green Council”.

GEEK SAGA PODCAST ON SPOTIFY

Hosts Tara – an avid reader of all things ASOIAF – and Manny, a Game of Thrones fan who is Unsullied (aka has never read the books) – are joined by Ashley, co-host of the longest-running ASOIAF podcast A Podcast of Ice & Fire and Ice & Fire Con Small Council member, to discuss “The Green Council”.

Geek Saga Podcast Episode 71: Hot D Takes on “The Green Council”