It’s a little shocking, but I haven’t been to a single convention this year. I had plans on the weekends when the conventions were occurring, or I had to rethink my travel plans due to airfare price increases. In the past few years, I have found several out-of-state conventions that I love to attend. However, traveling for a convention has its downsides. I wanted to share my experience with traveling to conventions out of state along with the pros and cons of both.
Pros
Exploring a New City
Indianapolis (Gen Con), Chicago (C2E2), and Kansas City (Planet Comic Con) are all cities I have visited because there was a convention that I was able to attend. I have been to Chicago and Kansas City so many times and yet I always find something new. It could be a new restaurant or brewery or a tourist attraction that I didn’t have time for on my prior trips.
Traveling + Conventions = My Two Favorite Things
Being able to combine my love of traveling with the thrill of attending a convention has been a blast. I like being able to be a tourist while also taking a day off and cosplaying or browsing the artists who are tabling at the event. I still have Emerald City Comic Con on my list to visit along with New York Comic Con.
Cons
Travel related expenses
I’m fortunate because I have friends and family in various parts of the US. However, that only goes so far. I need to decide how I’m getting to the convention (flying, driving, or taking a train). Once I figure out my method of transportation, I have to weigh out the costs and the PTO I have to take off of work. While I love road trips, I wouldn’t consider driving to Seattle for example because of how time-consuming that would be. It gets to the point of contemplating if I have money to travel especially now that I’m a homeowner.
Time Consuming
Traveling for a convention is time-consuming. It’s kind of nice to attend a convention within 2-3 hours of driving and be able to get home and relax. Waiting around at an airport, or spending 6+ hours in the car is a huge chunk of time out of my day.
In general, I do think it’s worth it to travel for a convention if you like the city the convention is held or the convention itself. I don’t think I would ever travel on a whim to a convention unless I researched the con beforehand. How far have you traveled for a convention? Let me know in the comments below.
Last Fall, I felt like I didn’t get to enjoy the season. Wedding planning took all of my time and our weekends were busy with other weddings and obligations. I’m so looking forward to enjoying Fall and what the season has to offer. I wanted to share my bucket list of events, activities, or things to look forward to this season.
Fall Themed Candle Melts
For my birthday, one of my best friends gifted me an “Open Road Candles Sample Set” with fall-themed scents. OpenRoadCandles sells candle melts to use in a Candle Warmer. There are ten different scents including Apple Butter, Pumpkin Pecan Waffles, and Autumn Leaves to name a few. I’m thrilled to use them and have our entire apartment smelling like an apple orchard. My husband will either be happy or annoyed, we shall see.
Trip to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival
I love the Renaissance Festival! I usually go at least once every year except last year. This year, I have set aside two September weekends to devote to a Renaissance Festival trip. Each weekend has a different theme, so I wanted to have two weekends free to pick which weekend I wanted to go to. There are a few food options I always look forward to such as the soup in a bread bowl or the apple cider float with cinnamon ice cream.
Wearing my Spooky Clothes
Last year, I bought a Nightmare Before Christmas jersey sweater at Disneyland along with a witchy graphic t-shirt that I didn’t get to wear. I have a black bats cardigan that’s one of my favorite cardigans to wear. I look forward to pulling out my Halloween-themed clothes to wear throughout the season.
Visit an Apple Orchard
Another Fall activity that I didn’t get to do last year. Apple Orchards are often crowded, but well worth the visit. I usually like to try some apple-themed treat or if the orchard serves hard apple cider, that’s another Fall themed drink I enjoy. I like being outside in the cooler weather and seeing families bringing their kids to the orchard.
It will be so nice to truly enjoy Fall this year. Let me know what your plans are for the season in the comments down below.
One of the mini-projects that I’m working on is reviewing all my past posts on Bizarre Brunette. Now that I use Grammarly, I have been editing previous posts along with making sure the images I used are covered under Fair Use. When I re-read some of my older posts, I realized that there were certain topics I wrote in the past that I got away from. I wanted to share what I used to write about and whether I plan on bringing this up in future posts.
Health & Fitness
I started writing Bizarre Brunette back in 2014. I was still in college at the time, so a lot of my posts were centered around Health & Fitness. I talked about my personal journey into Exercise, why I chose this major, and any personal health goals I had for myself.
Once I found my niche with Bizarre Brunette, I got away from writing about exercise. At this time, I don’t have any plans to write about health & fitness. My health goals are personal to me and something I don’t want to share. Additionally, I think the health & wellness industry is over-saturated and I don’t want to contribute to that. There’s still a lot of misinformation and toxicity being promoted and I’m not a fan of that. This is a topic that I do intend to leave in the past.
Fashion
I used to write “OOTD” or “Outfit of the Day” posts centered around geek fashion. One of my favorite posts I wrote was centered around my Batman leggings that I had. Unfortunately, I had to throw them away because they had holes in them.
This is a topic I do want to write more about. The one barrier I have is trying to take pictures of the outfits I’m wearing. I don’t want to force my husband into being my photographer. This might be something I do every now and then versus on a regular basis. I’m passionate about fashion, especially incorporating my geeky interests into my sense of style.
Doctor Who
I started watching Doctor Who in 2015 and quickly became a full-time Whovian. I was surprised at how many Doctor Who-centered posts I wrote. I haven’t watched Doctor Who in years due to developing other interests. I’m all for a Doctor Who re-watch. I would love to come up with an associated blog prompt to help keep me on track. This is something I need to think about as it’s been on my radar to do a Doctor Who re-watch and write about it.
Going through my old blog posts has been an eye-opening experience. My writing has gotten a lot better over time and it’s intriguing to see how much I have accomplished. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for Bizarre Brunette.
I started cosplaying in 2013 when I attended my first convention. Me and my friend thrifted overalls for a Mario & Luigi cosplay. My interest in cosplay developed since then as I have cosplayed Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, the Punisher, along with a variety of other characters. I set two personal rules for cosplay. The first rule I had was to wear comfortable shoes. I have no problems wearing heels for a nice dinner where I know I won’t have to walk too far. At a convention, I know that I walk everywhere, so I will not wear uncomfortable shoes and be miserable the entire time I’m there. The second rule was to never wear wigs. I figured wigs were itchy and I didn’t want to be uncomfortable. Recently, I started wearing wigs for certain events and I realized I was wrong. I wasn’t itchy or uncomfortable, and I loved how wearing a wig elevated my cosplay. I wanted to talk about my experience with wigs.
My first experience wearing a wig was for a friend’s birthday party. She was hosting a color party where each person would be assigned a color and had to wear that entire color. I told my friend to give me the color no one wanted because I wanted a challenge. The color I was assigned was orange. I ended up finding a short orange bob wig on Amazon and paired that with orange tights, an orange crop top, and orange shorts. Included in my wig were various wig caps to ensure that my hair was put up and out of the way. The wig I bought fit my head perfectly, and I didn’t have a problem getting the wig on my head and staying on. Unfortunately, I ended up throwing the wig out because I think someone spilled a drink on it? It smelled like booze, sweat, and it was clear some of the hair fell out through the night.
Besides the orange wig, I ended up renting Halloween costumes this year since I didn’t have time to plan out my costumes. I used Royal Fashions Costume Emporium to portray both Alice in Wonderland and Daenerys. Both costumes utilized the same blonde wig. Similar to my orange wig experience, I loved this wig. I felt sassier portraying Daenerys and part of the reason the look came together was because of the wig. The more I incorporated wigs into my cosplay or costuming, the more I became a part of that character. I slowly started to realize how wrong I was about wigs.
I’m still new when it comes to wearing wigs, so I find I’m still learning how to care for a wig to ensure it lasts longer. I found in both experiences I had, it’s important to find a wig that fits. This is an obvious statement, but it’s still important. If the wig is too small, it won’t fit and that can lead to excess rubbing. Additionally, I think wearing a wig cap is crucial. This keeps the hair in place and prevents any itchiness. Both of these statements may come across as being unhelpful, although coming from someone who didn’t like wearing wigs, I found that this helped me in overcoming these negative pre-conceived notions I had towards wigs.
For my future cosplays, I plan on ensuring I have a wig to match if that’s necessary. I have a long orange wig hanging near my closet that I still have to use. I want to make a Keylethcosplay from Critical Role or use it for a future Starfire cosplay. I’m excited to start incorporating wigs into my cosplays!
I’m in need of a blog tag. Blog tags are so fun to do and I haven’t been tagged in one for a while. I found this blog tag from Our Favorite Jar that seemed fun to do. No, I wasn’t tagged to do this, I just wanted to do this for fun. The rules are down below:
The Rules
Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post
Put the rules at the beginning or after introduction
Answer the 13 questions
Tag 13 people to do the tag
Delete Question 13, add a new number one question of your own
You are free to use the tag image somewhere in the post
What’s Your Favorite Thing About October?
My favorite thing about October is the cooler weather. It’s transitioning my Halloween themed sweaters out of storage, it’s wearing a comfy cardigan with some boots, and it’s putting away the summer clothes. The cooler weather is what I look forward to because it sets the stage for what’s to come.
Are You a Big Celebrator of Halloween?
Heck yes! I have been celebrating Halloween ever since I was little. My most memorable costumes from when I was little were Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jesse from Toy Story #2. If I do have kids, I will make Halloween a big thing for them too.
What’s Your Favorite Horror Movie?
I love slasher films. My favorite slasher franchise is the Scream movies. It’s representative of the 90s and it takes horror tropes and makes fun of them.
Would You Rather Have a Cozy Night In or a Big Night Out for Halloween?
Waldo Costume
I love to go all out for Halloween, so I prefer to go out and do something. In 2017, I played a Call of Cthulhu role playing session on Halloween and in other years I have gone to a brewery all dressed up in a costume. Halloween is a big deal, so I want to go all out. The cozy nights in are perfect leading into Halloween to prepare for the event itself.
Which Has Been Your Favorite Costume to Date?
I don’t have a favorite, as I like them all. I like how I can tell what year the picture was taken based on the costume I was wearing. I will say, I like the year that we dressed Athena in a costume. It was very cute even though she didn’t like it at all.
Bobbing for Apples or Pin the Hat on the Witch?
Neither! None of the Halloween parties I have been to had either activity.
How Do You Celebrate Halloween?
By going all out! I like to go out or if I do decide to stay in, I like to have a plan of what to do. Halloween only comes around once a year, so I like to have a plan going forward.
What’s Your Least Favorite Horror?
I’m not sure I understand the question. If it means least favorite horror movie, I’d pick the Saw film franchise. It’s a bit too gory for me and the later movies seemed to focus on how graphic the traps could be instead of the actual story to go with it. If it’s my least favorite supernatural creature, I’d pick the Mummy.
Do You Have a Favorite Trick or Treating Memory?
I remember one Halloween in either 2003 or 2004, I slept over at my friend’s house. We went trick or treating, dumped out our candy and watched Hocus Pocus. It was a fun night and it’s special to me because I’m still friends with her years later.
What’s Your Favorite Thing About Halloween?
I like how Halloween can be anything you want it to be. It can be a night of staying in watching scary movies, or playing spooky board games or it can be a big party! Halloween is all up to the person as to how they want to celebrate.
Scary Sexy or Silly Costume?
I will be honest, when I was in college, I loved to dress in sexy costumes. I thought it was a fun time and I liked being able to control how I wanted to show off my body. Now that I’m older, I try and dress a little more tame, but I still like to have fun. I don’t usually dress in scary costumes usually. I like to wear something cute that I feel good in versus a silly costume.
My Favorite Halloween Candy?
I’m not a big Halloween candy fan. I have mostly cut out sugar for my own reasons, so when I would have a piece of Halloween candy, I found it to be way too sweet. If I had to pick, I’d pick the white chocolate kit kat bars.
Would You Visit a Haunted House at Night?
Nope. I care about my personal safety. I wish I could walk at night by myself and not have to worry, however, that’s not the case.
If I forgot to tag you, you’re more than welcome to do this tag!
Here are the questions below:
1. What’s your favourite thing about October? 2. Are you a big celebrator of Halloween? 3. What’s your favourite horror movie? 4. Would you rather a cozy night in watching horrors or a big night out in a costume? 5. Which has been your most favourite costume to date? 6. Bobbing for apples or pin the hat on the witch? 7. How do you celebrate Halloween? 8. What’s your least favourite horror? 9. Do you have a favourite trick or treating memory? 10. What’s your favourite thing about Halloween? 11. Scary costume or Silly costume? 12. What’s your favourite Halloween candy? 13. Besides Halloween, what’s your next favorite Holiday?
I’m a sucker for quizzes. I have taken numerous personality tests and Buzzfeed quizzes on numerous topics. As I’m typing this post, I’m listening to Critical Role. This made me think about whether there’s a quiz regarding which member of Vox Machina I am. Sure enough, I went looking for one and found Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role Character quiz. I decided to take a full post dedicated to which character I get. I have attached the link above, so you can take the quiz for yourself.
If I Could Live Anywhere in the World, Where Would I Live? (Options are: Hawaii, Seattle, New York, Tokyo, Iceland, and Scotland).
My first choice was going to be Scotland. However, I would miss my family too much and they live in the states. I’m not much of a beach person, so realistically, I picked Seattle. I’m a fan of rainy days and while I love New York, it’s a bit too populated for me. Seattle it is.
What Always Puts Me in a Good Mood? (Options are: Animals, Money, Hiking, Music, Movies, Legos, Happy Hour or Dinner)
Out of all the options, my top three would be animals, hiking, or dinner. I think I’m going to pick animals because nothing cheers me up more than being sent a cat video by my fiance.
Team Cap or Team Ironman?
Team Cap forever and always
When I Get Paid, The First Thing I Spend it on Is. . . (Options are: Necessities, Food, Books, Toys, Liquor, Music, Shopping in General)
This was an easy choice for me. I would spend my money on books. I live five minutes away from my local bookstore and every time I stop by, I end up purchasing a new book to read.
What Makes Me Angry? (Options are: Abandonment, Self-Doubt, Rejection, Betrayal, Everything, Can’t Tell You)
I picked Betrayal. I’m a loyal person meaning I will always have my friend’s back or my fiance. Any betrayal whether it’s a lie or cheating would hurt me deeply. I think honesty is always the way to go especially if it involves another person and their feelings.
What Luxury Do I Have in my Home? (Options are: Gym, Hidden Room, Wine Cellar, Workbench, Shrine, Library)
I would love a library. It would be a dream of mine to have a room in my house where all my books can be found.
I got Keyleth! (played by Marisha Ray) It must be my love of books as Keyleth is constantly reading to learn new spells for the group. I’m a sweetheart and I’m a bit awkward, I would agree with that.
As mentioned above, I did link the quiz, so feel free to take it for yourself to see who you get.
Every Sunday, Heather at Just Geeking Bycreates a blog prompt with various themed questions. I pre-schedule my posts, so I always end up missing out on participating. My writing routine has been a bit off-kilter which worked for me being able to participate in this entry. This Sunday’s theme is centered around comics.
What was my first comic book?
My first comic book wasn’t a comic book, but a comic strip. My dad used to get the newspaper, and I would read the comic pages once he was done reading them. I always read Garfield, Dennis the Menace, and The Peanuts. From there, I started reading Calvin & Hobbes. I still have a couple of Calvin & Hobbes books on my shelf. I credit them for building interest in comics at a young age.
Which comic did you read recently?
The last graphic novel I read was Space Battle Lunchtime by Natalie Riess. For single issues, I’m reading all of Marvel’s King in Black crossover along with DC’s Future State Yara Flor and Wonder Woman.
Which Comic Series Would I Recommend to Someone Just Starting to Read Comics?
This is the beauty of comics, there’s something for everyone. Before I would recommend anything, I’d ask basic questions about their interests or what they liked to read. From there, I could specify a comic recommendation that I think they would like. For general recommendations, Snotgirl, Saga, and Paper Girls are generally well-regarded comic series to start with. I think it’s important to start with graphic novels and then start picking up single issues. It helps to have a full story first versus coming into the middle of a story.
Comic Series on My TBR?
My comic TBR is divided between single issues and graphic novels. Since starting a pull list earlier this year, I seem to never be able to catch up on my TBR. In my single issues stack, I have Marvel’s King in Black, DC’s Future State, Critical Role Vox Machina Series III issue #2, Witchblood Issue #1 and #2 and so much more. In my graphic novels stack, I have the first volume of Dredd, Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill,and a few other Onipress titles I’m not remembering.
My Favorite Books / Series
I love Sex Criminals by Chip Zdarsky and Matt Fraction. Based on the title, there’s a lot of intimate sex scenes, nudity, and shenanigans. Additionally, Nailbiter is one of my favorite horror comics. I’m also enjoying Paper Girls. There are so many series I love, so I’m going to end this here.
Favorite Comic Artists/Writers etc.
I like artists who have their unique styles. I could look at any comic in my local comic book store and know that comic was illustrated by that person. Some of these include Jen Bartel, Liana Kangas, and K Lynn Smith. For writers, I like Jed MacKay, Chip Zdarsky, and Matt Fraction.
Seriously Geeky Sundays are hosted by Heather at Just Geeking By, you can find this Sunday’s question’s here
This is my second nomination for the Sunshine Blogger Award. This time I was nominated by Stephen over at Honest Gamer. I’m awe-struck as to how he can play so many video games in one month. I have been trying to play more video games throughout my week, but I somehow seem to fall short of my gaming goal. Here are my gaming answers and thanks again to Stephen for nominating me.
If you could have a new entry from your favorite video game franchise, but in a new genre, what would it be?
Image from Bioshock Wiki
The first idea that popped into my mind was a Bioshock Big Daddy parenting simulator. Bioshock is easily one of the video games in my life that has the most meaning to me. It would be a fun spin on the franchise to make a horror game into a parenting simulator.
What video game crossover would you love to see happen?
I think an Uncharted / Lara Croft crossover would be neat to see. When I purchased my PS4 back in 2017, one of the first games I played was the Uncharted franchise. Nathan Drake and Lara would have great chemistry together and I could see them balancing each other out in combat.
What platform did you start gaming on?
I started playing PC. My dad felt at the time that having a PC was all we needed. My first console was an Xbox 360 in 2007 which brought me to the world of console gaming. Now, I mostly play consoles with a little bit of PC gaming thrown in here and there.
There is often talk about difficulty vs accessibility in video games. Do you think that developers should include difficulty settings in their games?
I think game developers should have the freedom to do what they wish as it’s their game. At this point, I don’t like to play extremely difficult games. Gaming is a relaxing hobby to distract me from my daily life stresses, so I don’t want a game that emphasizes that. I tried playing Cuphead last year and while I think it’s a well-made game, the difficulty turned me away.
Which legendary video game franchise do you think has the better music, The Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy?
I’m not a big Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy fan. Right now, I’m listening to the Spider-Man Miles Morales soundtrack on repeat.
What popular video game, movie, or book series could you not get into?
Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Mass Effect were three that I couldn’t get into. I respect why these franchises are as big as they are, but I am unable to get in on the hype.
Serious question now….dogs or cats?
I grew up with cats, so I always will prefer cats over dogs. My rescue kitty, Athena is eight years old now and we love her to pieces.
What three indie games do you recommend and why?
I’m not sure if the games I’m describing count as “indie”, but here goes. Costume Quest II, Life is Strange, and Hidden Through Time. Costume Quest II is a Halloween-themed game where kids have to save Halloween from this evil dentist. Life is Strange is a story about love and friendship, and Hidden Through Time is a hidden object game I found on Steam.
What do video games mean to you?
Video games to me are a visually stimulating experience. Playing a great video game can be emotional, invigorating, and memorable. Gaming is a hobby above all else, but it’s also gotten me through tough times in my life. I think back to getting through middle school by playing Halo 3 and getting through a breakup by playing Batman Arkham City on a snow day. Gaming will always be in my life in some capacity.
I tag anyone who wants to complete this challenge. I’m going to use the questions Stephen originally came up with in case you would like to do this along with me:
If you could have a new entry from your favorite video game franchise, but in a new genre, what would it be?
What video game crossover would you love to see happen?
What platform did you start gaming on?
There is often talk about difficulty vs accessibility in video games. Do you think that developers should include difficulty settings in their games?
Which legendary video game franchise do you think has the better music, The Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy?
What popular video game, movie, or book series could you not get into?
Before posting my review of Dr. No, I wanted to do a blog tag. I did a quick search and didn’t see a Bond blog tag out there, so I decided to create my own. If you’re a Bond fan, feel free to do my tag. If so, please tag me, so I can view your answers.
Favorite Bond Movie
My favorite Bond movie is License to Kill. License to Kill was released in 1989 and it was the last movie to feature Timothy Dalton. This movie is a revenge styled 80’s drug movie and I’m here for it. A powerful drug lord goes after Felix Leiter (Bond’s CIA friend) and Bond goes rogue. License to Kill is a perfect Bond movie and no one can tell me anything different.
Worst Bond Movie
Die Another Day is not great. The plot is so odd. It’s the only movie where a Korean guy becomes a British guy? If Die Another Day was made today, it wouldn’t fly.
Your “Bond”
Timothy Dalton will forever be my “Bond”. My top #3 are: Timothy Dalton, Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan.
Bond Movie You Love That Everyone Hates
The World Is Not Enough gets a lot of flak, although it’s one of my favorite films. I like Elektra’s character arc and how she is manipulative to everyone she meets. I constantly think about whether her character was influenced negatively by the titular villain Renard, or was she always a psychopath plotting revenge on her father. This is one of my favorite Pierce films to re-watch.
Bond Movie You Hate That Everyone Loves
I wouldn’t use the word hate, but I think Goldfinger has been over-hyped as being a classic “Bond”. Goldfinger features the infamous woman painted in gold and Oddjob with his dangerous hat. I prefer From Russia With Love as a good Sean Connery Bond film.
Favorite Travel Destination from the Bond Movies
One of the most classic Bond film locations was Phang Nga Bay in Thailand. This location was first used in The Man With the Golden Gun. This is where Bond and Scaramanga (played by Christopher Lee) face off to the death. Tomorrow Never Dies features a scene where Pierce Brosnan’s Bond is attacking Elliot Carver’s (played by Jonathan Pryce) boat.
I’m blown away by Thailand as a country and would love to visit.
Favorite Movie per Bond Actor Era
Sean Connery – From Russia With Love
George Lazenby – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Roger Moore – Spy Who Loved Me
Timothy Dalton – License to Kill
Pierce Brosnan – Goldeneye
Daniel Craig – Skyfall
Which Actor Should Replace Daniel Craig?
I’m rooting for Richard Madden. If you haven’t watched Bodyguard on Netflix, this will give you serious Bond vibes from Richard Madden.
Who Should Have Been Bond, but Never Was
Henry Cavill would have been a great Bond. He fits the Bond look and I think he’s able to pull off Bond’s charismatic and seductive persona.
Favorite Villain
Alec Trevelyan (played by Sean Bean) has to be one of the best villains. Alec is Bond’s equal in many ways. Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan have amazing chemistry together. Sadly, Sean Bean doesn’t live to the end of this film.
Favorite Henchman
Jaws terrified me as a kid. He bites into people’s flesh and it seems like his body is made of steel. As a bonus, Jaws is featured in two Bond movies: Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
Favorite Bond car
The Aston Martin is the best Bond car. The runner up would be the Lotus Esprit featured in The Spy Who Loved Me.
Favorite Bond Themed Memory
The first official Bond movie I remember seeing in theaters was Skyfall. Skyfall was released in 2012 when I was a freshman in college. I went to see Skyfall three times in theaters. Daniel Craig’s first Bond film, Casino Royale, was released in 2006 when I was in 6th grade, so I was still too young to see in theaters. Skyfall was the first Bond film I saw as an adult. It’s a favorite memory of mine.
The Bond blog series will kick off next week with my review of Dr. No. After the movie review, I will post a science based post about the science behind that particular Bond movie. Finally, I will finish with a third post highlighting the Bond women in the film. This will touch on the actresses, their backgrounds and where women’s rights were at the time the Bond film was released. I’m excited to begin!
Once Upon a Crime – sharing similarites of Ester’s episode versus the Crime Junkie episode.
In between calls at work, I listen to podcasts. Podcasts allow me to learn, laugh, and relax at work. One podcast I listenedto was Crime Junkie. Crime Junkie hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat details various true crime cases. I liked Ashley’s narration style and her tonality while she told the story of a particular case. A few weeks ago, I found a Reddit post of possible plagiarism from Crime Junkie. I wanted to investigate this further and it seems there is significant evidence Ashley plagiarized other works from true crime individuals.
The accusations were initiated by a woman named Cathy Frye. Cathy is a writer at the Arkansas Gazette. In a Crime Junkie episode, Ashley discussed the murder of Kacie Woody. Cathy wrote about the case and found certain sections of Ashley’s podcast episode were passages from her article. Cathy is visibly upset because she spent significant time researching the case only for Ashley to read it on the podcast without citing her article. Ashley is profiting off of Crime Junkie and the corresponding Patreon account for the page. I can understand why Cathy is upset. Crime Junkie hasn’t acknowledged Cathy’s statement and has since removed the episode in question.
Those who defend Crime Junkie say that Ashley and Brit aren’t trying to be journalists. This argument doesn’t make sense to me because you can still plagiarize material in any format, it doesn’t matter if they’re journalists or not. Another argument I have read is “are there really that many ways to re-tell the same story?” Facts of a case will be told multiple times in various ways, again it boils down to whether the sources were cited or not. The Crime Junkie episodes I listened to didn’t have sources featured in the episodes.
Ashley did come out with a statement, although her statement never admitted any wrongdoing. She stated how she removed episodes after the research couldn’t be cited and how there are going to be new safeguards in place to prevent this from happening. Ashley never admits to plagiarism in her episodes. I genuinely don’t believe Ashley was doing this purposefully, but she doesn’t admit she’s wrong and that doesn’t sit well with me. This is especially concerning since Ashley is the founder of Audiochuck a podcast company. If Ashley has already had plagiarism scandals for one show, how can we trust that she isn’t doing this with her other shows?
My goal in writing this post isn’t to be negative. As a fan of the show, I’m extremely disheartened to hear this about Crime Junkie. I appreciated Ashley’s work with Crime Stoppers of Indiana and felt she had good intentions with making Crime Junkie and not capitalizing on these violent cases. I think there’s nothing wrong with owning your mistakes and taking steps to improve and I feel Ashley’s original statement didn’t acknowledge the accusations.
Ultimately, I’m going to stop subscribing to Crime Junkie and go back to listening to Once Upon a Crime who also says Crime Junkie plagiarized some of her episodes too. At the top of this post, I linked a video where Once Upon a Crime compares the statements from her episode versus Crime Junkie. It’s sad because I looked forward to a new episode of Crime Junkie, but I can’t stand behind someone who can’t acknowledge any mistakes that have been made. Are you a Crime Junkie fan? Let me know what you think in the comments.
Bizarre Brunette 