In between calls at work, I listen to podcasts. Podcasts allow me to learn, laugh, and relax at work. One podcast I listened to 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.

Also, if you’re wanting to read the original story of Kacie Woody written by Cathy Frye, you can find the story here: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2003/dec/14/evil-door/

Sources:

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/aug/20/former-reporter-calls-out-podcasters-20/?@TheCeliaStorey

https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/crime-junkie-podcast-plagiarism-scandal.html

https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/longform/the-problem-with-crime-junkie

A Geek Girl’s Guide is at it again with the blog tags. This blog tag is the Horror Tag. I never used to be into anything horror. Now, I’m finding myself watching scary movies and reading horror books. These are my answers to the Horror Tag. You can find A Geek Girl’s Guide’s original Horror Tag here

How old were you when you saw your first horror movie?

I can’t remember a specific age in which I watched my first horror movie. Growing up, my brother watched a little big of Chucky and had nightmares for weeks. I would say this is my first horror movie I remember despite the fact I never watched any of it.

What was the first horror movie you saw?

Scream is the horror slasher film I distinctly remember watching for the first time. I also remember watching One Missed Call at a sleepover with girlfriends during middle school.

What is your favorite horror movie?

I’m a fan of slashers. The Scream franchise is my favorite horror movie franchise of all time. I like the fact that the movies make fun of slasher movie horror tropes. Sidney Prescott is my favorite “Final Girl”.

Do you prefer gore or thrillers?

Thrillers. I can’t stand gore. It’s why I will never watch The Walking Dead. I get why the gore exists, but it grosses me out.

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

NONE. Who wants to be trapped in a horror film? If I have to pick, I would say Scream. It’s a bunch of high schoolers in the 90’s partying and having a good time, so that’s more fun than anything I suppose.

If you were in a horror movie, would you be the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the smart one, or the killer?

Everyone wants to answer this question as being the “Final Girl”. If I were to answer this question accurately, I would say the smart one who may not live to the end of the movie. I make rational choices most of the time and I do worry about my own personal safety if need be.

While watching a horror movie, are you the person who yells at the characters, the person covering their eyes the whole time, or the person who falls asleep?

Covering my eyes! I hate jump scares.

Have you ever played a horror game? What is your favorite horror game?

I don’t play horror games much because I hate jump scares in a game. Is Resident Evil a horror game? If so, I would pick the franchise in general.

If you got trapped in one horror game, what would you want it to be?

NONE. I would say Dead by Daylight because at least you’re not alone and you’re working together to escape the killer.

Here are all the questions:

How old were you when you saw your first horror movie?

What was the first horror movie you saw?

What is your favorite horror movie?

Do you prefer gore or thrillers?

If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

If you were in a horror movie, would you be the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the smart one, or the killer?

While watching a horror movie, are you the person who yells at the characters, the person covering their eyes the whole time, or the person who falls asleep?

Have you ever played a horror game? What is your favorite horror game?

If you got trapped in one horror game, what would you want it to be?

As mentioned in my Reflecting on my Harry Potter Tattoo – One Year Later blog post, I’m ending my Harry Potter WYR series. There’s been too much hatred coming out from the author of the series and I have decided to write about Harry Potter less on my blog. I will always be a Harry Potter fan, but I think, for now, it might be a good idea to move away from the series. Here are the rest of the prompt cards I had with my answers right below.

Would You Rather. . . Come Across a Dementor or Thestral?

Thestral! I haven’t seen Death, so I wouldn’t personally see it, but anything is better than a Dementor.

Would You Rather. . . Have an Unlimited Supply of Butterbeer or Chocolate Frogs?

Butterbeer. Chocolate Frogs creep me out since they move around once you open the packaging.

Would You Rather. . . Fly on a Broom or Travel by Floo Powder?

I’d want to answer with “Fly on a Broom”, but realistically, I would probably travel by Floo Powder. Heights have always freaked me out and brooms don’t have any safety measure on them. Floo Powder would be safer.

Would You Rather. . . Be a Hogwarts Professor or An Auror?

An Auror!! A Hogwarts Professor would be fun, but I wouldn’t want to be a teacher in any capacity.

Would You Rather. . . Wear a Weasley Christmas Sweater or Funky Glasses like Luna Lovegood?

A Weasley sweater. It’s made with real love from Molly Weasley.

Would You Rather. . . Have Relatives like the Dursley’s OR Bellatrix Lestrange?

I don’t think there is a good answer here, I would say the Dursley’s. Both families are racist/prejudiced, but at least the Dursley’s don’t kill people, so I guess that’s the better choice.

Would You Rather. . . Go to the Quidditch World Cup or Triwizard Tournament?

The Triwizard Tournament since it doesn’t happen as often as the Quidditch World Cup does.

Would You Rather. . . Have Unlimited Spending at Honeydukes or Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes?

Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. I’m not a big candy person. I would get more out of Weasley’s since I could prank my friends or get out of class.

Would You Rather. . . Be a Member of Dumbledore’s Army or Order of the Phoenix?

BOTH! If I had to pick, Dumbledore’s Army. It’s more accessible to join and I find it courageous that the students revolted against Umbridge’s ruling.

Would You Rather. . . Have Your Future Told by Professor Trelawney or Be Able To See Your Past in Dumbledore’s Pensieve?

See My Past in Dumbledore’s Pensieve. I would review the moments of my childhood with my dad. Being able to relive those memories would allow me to reconnect with my dad from my own archive of memories.

Would You Rather. . . Be Stunned by a Stupefy Curse or Confused by a Confundo Curse?

Confused by a Confundo Curse. Being Stunned could be a life or death situation due to being conscious or not. At least being confused, I still could have a chance of fighting back.

Would You Rather. . . Be Sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?

I’m sticking with my original house, Hufflepuff. I was surprised I wasn’t sorted into Ravenclaw at one point, although my personality aligns well with the Hufflepuff house.

Would You Rather. . . Have a Pet Cat Like Hermione or Have a Pet Owl Like Harry?

Cats! I would start with a cat and then add an Owl eventually when I could afford another pet.

Would You Rather. . . Be Really Good at Quidditch or Pass The Owls With Flying Colors?

Pass My O.W.L. I could pick whichever career I wanted in the Wizarding World. I’m more studious than athletic anyway.

Would You Rather. . . Drink Polyjuice Potion With the Essence of Draco Malfoy or Professor Snape?

Draco Malfoy.

Would You Rather. . . Go To Durmstrang or Beauxbatons?

Durmstrang.

Would You Rather. . . Play as a Chaser or Keeper?

Chaser! The Keeper has too much responsibility.

Would You Rather. . . Have to Help Hagrid Take Care of Fluffy or Take Care of Aragog?

Fluffy!

Would You Rather. . . Be Born a Squib like Filch or Have The Ministry Take Away Your Wand like Hagrid?

I would pick “Having the Ministry Take Away Your Wand”. Hagrid can still do magic secretly whereas Filch can’t do magic at all.

Would You Rather. . . Have Lunch at Three Broomsticks or A Home Cooked Meal by Molly Weasley?

A Home Cooked Meal by Molly Weasley could never be replaced. The Three Broomsticks exists at Universal Studios.

Would You Rather. . . Spend a Week in Azkaban or As a Prisoner in Malfoy’s Basement?

Prisoner in Malfoy’s Basement because there are no Dementors there.

Would You Rather. . . Spend the Afternoon in the Slytherin Common Room or the Bathroom with Moaning Myrtle?

Slytherin Common Room, why would I want to hang out in a Bathroom for an Afternoon?

Would You Rather. . . Take Charms or Potions?

Charms would be generally more useful than Potions.

Would You Rather. . . Live in the Charming Village of Hogsmeade or Bustling Center of Diagon Alley?

Hogsmeade would be my choice. I think Diagon Alley would be too chaotic whereas Hogsmeade would be quiet for the Summer since the students would be moving back home.

Would You Rather. . . Accidentally Take a Love Potion from Someone You Don’t Like or Accidentally Give Someone You Don’t Like a Love Potion?

Both options are horrible for different reasons, but I would rather the love potion wouldn’t impact me. I would choose “Accidentally Give Someone You Don’t Like a Love Potion”. To be honest, I wouldn’t give anyone a love potion because I wouldn’t want to force someone to be in love with me.

Would You Rather. . . Attend Halloween Feast or the Holiday Feast?

The Halloween Feast!

Would You Rather. . . Take a Tour Of Gringotts or Take Whatever You Wanted from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes?

A Tour of Gringotts would be cool, but I would still pick the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

Would You Rather. . . Be Invited to Dance All Night Long at the Yule Ball or Watch the Final Quidditch Match?

The Yule Ball! I could watch a Quidditch match throughout the season.

Would You Rather. . . Be Able to Transfigure into a Cat Like Professor McGonagall or A Black Dog like Sirius?

The Cat!

Would You Rather. . . Have a Cloak of Invisibility or A Marauder’s Map?

The Invisibility Cloak! The Marauder’s Map would be neat, but being invisible whenever I wanted would be preferred.

Would You Rather. . . Duel Dumbledore or Voldemort?

Duel Dumbledore. I could use it as a teachable moment to learn from him, so I could take on Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

If you made it to the end of this post, I applaud your patience. I’m still debating what I will replace my Harry Potter WYR blog series with. I’m still a part of the Harry Potter fandom, although I think it’s good to put some distance right now with everything going on. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe during this time.

I miss conventions. My only convention I attended this year was C2E2 before Covid-19 hit. Conventions are my scene. I found this blog tag on A Geek Girl’s Guide

Have You Ever Wanted to Attend a Specific Con?

Yes! Gen Con was one of the conventions I crossed off my list. Gen Con is primarily a gaming convention, but there is something there for everyone. Gen Con hosts a 5K, brewery tour, charity events, gaming and more. It was a dream come true to attend Gen Con.

Other conventions I would want to attend are Emerald City *cancelled this year due to Covid 😦 * San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con and Dragon Con.

Have You Ever Traveled for a Convention?

The farthest I have traveled was for Gen Con. If Emerald City was supposed to happen, this would have been my farthest convention. I’m based in Minneapolis and Emerald City is in Seattle.

Have You Ever Attended the Same Con Multiple Times?

100% If the Convention is fun, why not go multiple times? I have been to Convergence six times. C2E2 twice. MSP Spring Con four times. The caveat is for any conventions requiring travel, this is more tough to attend multiple times in a row.

Have You Ever Gone to a Signing or Photo Op?

Yes! Me and my friend met Matthew Lewis who played Neville Longbottom. We also stood in line to meet Jason Momoa. For photo ops versus autographs, I prefer photos. Photos are more personal for me. The one negative part about doing autographs and photo ops is it takes up the whole day. If you’re going to a convention for a single day to meet that one person, it’s probably worth it.

Have You Ever Cosplayed for a Con?

I love Cosplay! My cosplays aren’t 100% accurate because I don’t make every aspect of my cosplays. Cosplay helps me feel a part of the event. It would feel odd to me if I never cosplayed at all.

Have You Ever Worked at a Con?

Yep! The website I write for Twin Cities Geek usually tables at local conventions. If I’m free, I love volunteering to table. It allows me to connect with people who walk by.

Here are the questions:

Have you ever been to a con?

Have you ever traveled far to go to a con?

Have you ever attended the same con multiple times?

Have you ever gone to a signing or photo op?

Have you ever cosplayed at a con?

Have you ever worked at a con?

One of my favorite vloggers on Youtube is Tessa Netting as she is the ultimate Harry Potter fangirl. She posted a video where she decided to take the Buzzfeed Harry Potter sorting quizzes to see what her responses would be. I wanted to turn this concept into this blog post. In Tessa’s video, her results didn’t align with her house, so I’m curious if this happens to me

Before reading my post, I highly recommend viewing the original video and following Tessa on Youtube. She is truly a breath of fresh air.

**Quizzes were all made by Buzzfeed**

Sorting Quiz To Tell You Which Hogwarts House You Will Be In.

Quiz Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/accurate-af-sorting-quiz

My Results are…

I’m still a True Hufflepuff at 29%. I’m shocked to see my second rated house is Gryffindor. If I had to pick, I think Ravenclaw would be the second choice.

Pick My Favorite Disney Characters and We Shall Sort Your Hogwarts House!

Quiz Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hattiemad/pick-some-disney-character-and-well-tell-you-whic-c6q6dyxgey

My Results are…

Slytherin!?!!? I didn’t even choose villains. I picked Ariel, Simba, Woody and other nice characters. Fascinating.. not sure about this one.

Choose a Food in Every Color and We Will Reveal Your Hogwarts House

Quiz Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/cchen6389/well-tell-you-which-hogwarts-house-you-truly-belo-b3dggbk2gp

Hufflepuff, yay! This is the second quiz where I have resulted in my true house.

Rate The Romantic Pairings & We Will Choose Your House

Quiz Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/actually-voldemort/rate-these-ships-and-well-tell-you-your-true-hogw-8twprsu9pb

My Results are…

Gryffindor! Most of the ships I liked are really popular choices i.e. Leslie + Ben, Steve Rogers + Peggy Carter. I wonder if this is why I was grouped into Gryffindor.

If you want to do this prompt, I did link the quizzes I took throughout this post. Tessa took way more Harry Potter sorting quizzes than I did, so watch her video to find more.

I’m a fairly decent driver, although my parking skills need some work. I drive a Subaru Forester which I adore, but I used to drive a minivan and I found parallel parking a minivan to be quite challenging. In today’s Harry Potter WYR question, it’s all dependent on vehicle preference.

Harry Potter WYR: Take a Ride on Hagrid’s Flying Motorcycle or Drive the Knight Bus?

Being a passenger on Hagrid’s motorcycle would be an experience. Hagrid doesn’t seem to be the best driver in the world. Granted, Hagrid was trying to escape Death Eaters. I’m afraid of both heights and rollercoasters, however it would be refreshing feeling the breeze high above the world.

As I mentioned above, I’m a terrible parker. I would be the worst driver for the Knight Bus. I’m someone who gets motion sickness in a car now and then. I don’t know how I would get through driving the Knight Bus without vomiting.

I’m going to pick. . . Being a Passenger on Hagrid’s motorcycle. It’s probably much more dangerous than driving the Knight Bus, but it would be a cool way to traverse the Wizarding World.

Which option would you pick?

The two most common human fears have to be Ophidiophobia and Arachnophobia. Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes. I grew up with pet geckos in my house, so snakes or reptiles in general, don’t bother me. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. If there’s a spider in a bathtub, I have no issues capturing it or touching it. In the Harry Potter series, Harry has had to fight life-size snakes and spiders, which one is the scariest to fight?

Harry Potter WYR: Battle a Basilisk or a Giant Arachnid like Aragog?

Starting with the Basilisk, I think this battle would be tougher than Aragog. Instant death is a result of staring the Basilisk in its eyes. Where else am I supposed to look while fighting a Basilisk especially when its head is lunging straight at me? If the eyes weren’t enough, the Basilisk has venomous fangs. The Basilisk itself wouldn’t be the scariest fight, but it would be the most challenging.

Having to deal with Aragog would be a hell of a lot scarier than a Basilisk. Aragog with his gigantic limbs and bulging eyes staring at me would freak me out. Another disadvantage of having to fight Aragog is the webbing. Webbing is sticky enough to prevent escape, it’s how spiders capture most of their insects is through their webs. For me to win this fight, I would have to ensure that doesn’t happen.

I’m going to pick. . .

Fight Aragog. I don’t want to choose either option, but I think Aragog would give me a better chance of survival. The eyesight and the fangs on a Basilisk would kill me.

Which one would you rather pick? Let me know in the comments below.

When I say “I’m a geek” it means I have a lot of different interests. Comics, board games, card trading games, DnD, movies, playing various video games, reading scientific articles, and more. This blog tag by A Geek Girl’s Guide allows me to discuss my geeky interests in a lot of detail. Here are the questions:

Have you ever made fan art?

Nope. I’m not talented enough to create fan art. Occasionally, I buy fan art at conventions in the artist alley.

Have you ever written fan fiction?

Nope. I have read fan-fiction before, but I don’t seek it out. I know many fans find comfort in fan fiction if a certain character dies in a show or the season isn’t great. It’s not for me.

Have you ever gone to a special event for a fandom? (midnight releases, etc.)

Yes! I went to two of the Harry Potter book release parties. All of the conventions I attend count for this question too. In my bedroom, I have most of my convention lanyards hanging on one of my walls. I have them sorted by whether they’re out of state or my annual Minnesota conventions.

Have you ever been active in a fandom community online?

I used to be on various online forums. One was for an online game called Vmk that stood for “Virtual Magic Kingdoms’ It’s when Disney tried to have an online MMORG. It was a blast. The forums I was on allowed you to talk about the game and where to find items. I don’t have the time to post on forums anymore, but that’s how I used to interact with the fandom community.

Have you ever made friends because of mutual fandoms?

I would say the easiest way I talk to people is at conventions. I met a Captain America cosplayer at Gen Con last year. I still follow him on Instagram and talk to him occasionally. Talking to random people allows you to meet new people in different areas geographically and meet new friends.

Here are the questions to this particular tag:

Have you ever made fan art?

Have you ever written fan fiction?

Have you ever gone to a special event for a fandom? (midnight releases, etc.)

Have you ever been active in a fandom community online?

Have you ever made friends because of mutual fandoms?

My birthday was last week and being in the middle of a pandemic, there’s not much to do to celebrate. Once a Covid-19 vaccine is mass-produced, I look forward to surrounding myself with groups of people whether that’s attending a sporting event or going to a concert. The Harry Potter WYR question I picked today has to deal with how to spend a night out in the Wizarding World.

Harry Potter WYR: Have a Quiet Night Out at Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop OR a Loud, Fun Night Out at a Weird Sisters Concert?

Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop is a tea shop located in Hogsmeade. It’s the same shop where Harry had his terrible date with Cho. One of my favorite activities is getting coffee with a friend. I’m not a big tea person, but it’s a relaxing way to catch up with friends. In the books, Harry heavily dislikes this shop as there are too much pink and the decorations reminded him of Umbridge’s office.

Going to see the Weird Sisters would be a fun time. The Weird Sisters did perform at the Yule Ball and their music reminds me of 80’s rock. I’m envisioning a concert of theirs outside of Hogwarts would have a magical mosh pit. I wonder what magical venues would exist for concerts in the Wizarding World.

I’m going to pick. . .

Attending the Weird Sisters Concert. A tea shop that heavily resembles Umbridge’s office is a huge pass for me.

Let me know in the comments which one you would rather pick!

The month of July gives me Harry Potter vibes. Harry is born in July, Daniel Radcliffe is born in July (we even share the same birthday) and each Harry Potter book usually begins in the summer. This is the perfect time to keep publishing my Harry Potter WYR posts. Here is my latest WYR question for you:

Harry Potter WYR: Be Sorted into the Wrong House for your Entire Time at Hogwarts Or Have to Live with the Dursleys During the Summer?

I’m a classic Hufflepuff. There is no doubt in my mind that I would be sorted into any other house. Being sorted into the wrong house doesn’t sound bad. No matter which house I would be sorted into, I would still make friends. I think we all have qualities from all the Hogwarts houses within us, so it doesn’t seem terrible if I were in another house.

Living with the Dursley’s would be horrible. The Dursley’s are bigoted people and I would find it difficult to be able to live with them. The question doesn’t say whether you would be spending every summer with the Dursley’s or only one summer. One summer though is too much for me to handle.

I’m going to pick. . . being sorted into the wrong house at Hogwarts. Being in the wrong house wouldn’t define who I am.

As always, let me know which one you would rather pick in the comments below.