Potpourri - Geek Girl Scent

Oh my it has been awhile. Quite a few things going on to share :) Let us begin!!

Kids: After giving me many a tour of the local hospital, they are both FINALLY all better. Pretty sure my nerves will never be the same. However, as much as they test my stress levels, they also make me giggle and smile over their budding geekness. The older one, already a big Doctor Who fan, has now gotten into Torchwood (yay!). Being that he is almost ten, unfortunately, the more risky scenes he is now getting.....not to mention all the same sex make out sessions (LOVE BBC's openness! Seriously...I am happy I can expose him to such positive tolerance on the issue). As I write this he is also watching the newest Star Trek movie in awe.....awesome!! Will have to start exposing him to older Star Trek (he already is way into Star Wars...so we are good there :) )

NOW the younger one.....really resisted the Doctor Who movement....which lead him to be a bit of an out cast when it came to family TV time......but he has come around. He has a few favorite episodes, I am hopeful that he will go full geek on this one soon......well at least more geek than he is now......he may never be as geeky as me and his brother, but I will take what I can get :)

Derby: Is kicking my ass. We are now in pre-season training mode. From what I hear EVERYONE is going at full tilt....which is good. I did officially choose a derby name. I choose Tesla Tussle (for the big fight between Tesla and Edison). I am excited about it. More so when I meet people who KNOW who Tesla is.....which is rare :( However, the boyfriend's dad got it....which makes me REALLY happy!

Speaking of "Simon"......: things there are going very well.....so I think it is time to knock the list down to ten. That means numbers 11-14.....I must say goodbye. Because there are four, I am gonna make this short and sweet :)

14. Steven King: I love the way your mind works. What you did with the mini-van that hit you was priceless. However, you are losing your talent in your old age....but I will always remember you and your early work fondly.

13. John Oliver: You are British, always a plus. You are hilarious, another plus. However, you must go. You are scrawny and your teeth are a bit funny.

12. Anthony Stewart Head: You are also British. And you are the most awesome school librarian ever! However, Buffy is over. Has been for years. And so this is over too.

11. Jeff Lewis: Cannot wait for the next season of The Guild.....but I will no longer be watching it to just stare at your balding head lovingly. *sigh*

So.....that is four down, ten to go.....the next five I imagine will be easy.....the last five......they will be around for a while....and Alan....oh Alan.....I am still waiting, for now.....


The Walking Dead: The tv show will be premiering soon (15 days!!!!) and I am SUPER EXCITED! Almost bouncy excited.....as we get closer, I will get bouncier....bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy!!!!

My geek moment: I went into the comic book shop and when I asked what I was looking for the guy said "I figured you were looking for that".....how awesome is THAT!! Comic book shop guy recognizes and remembers me!!!

I think that is all.....for now.....as we get closer to Christmas, there will be all sorts of fun technology news of cool stuff coming out....so I will have that to go on about.....still holding my breath for iphone to go to Verizon........

Passions of the Geek

One of the things I have noticed about many "geeks" is that we are very passionate people. Our passion I think is part of the geekness. Our passion is what drives us to pour over a comic series and then wait in anticipation for the next issue. Same with certain TV series. It is what drives us to wait in lines for hours for a con or a new movie or game. Geek passion is a driving force of unlimited power. Case in point: Serenity. Or how about The Walking Dead??? Season One has not even begun to air yet, and already they are on board for a Season Two.

So what is my point? For me, my geek passions have led me to carry some geekesqe torches for some (quite a few in fact). Torches that my boyfriend, who is not nearly as geeky as I (on a geek scale of 1 to 10, he is a 2, maybe 3 while I am more a 7 or 8) finds amusing.

Okay. Side note. As an adult, it kinda feels weird saying the term "boyfriend". For his privacy purposes, I am going to rename him Simon. He is most definitely the Simon to my Kaylee (a reference I will have to explain to him as NOT my dog....see what I mean about the 2 or 3...)And this is Simon and Kaylee AFTER they stopped dancing around the issue (which is also appropriate for the reference).

Okay. So Simon, not so geeky. Which is probably why he finds my geek-crushes amusing. Like I said, there are quite a few. However, I have decided, as things progress with Simon, I will ceremonially "extinguish" these torches. While I will never stop enjoying what these people bring to my world. My "love" for them, will be redirected. As I extinguish these torches, I would like to share with you my reasons for why I had a torch for them in the first place.

So the official list, from most loved to lesser is:
Alan Tudyk; Robert Gibbs; Christopher Eccleston; David Tennant; Nathan Fillion; Wil Wheaton; Rachel Maddow; Orson Scott Card; Joss Whedon; Jim Parsons; Jeff Lewis; Anthony Stewart Head; John Oliver; Stephen King; John Hodgman with honorable mention of NPH and John Barrowman (torches I need not worry about for obvious reasons)

So.....we begin with #15...John Hodgman.

Dear John,
You are crazy smart. I find your books amusing and informative. Your deadpan humor and sarcasm speaks to me in a way I thought no man could. Somehow you pull off the suit and combed over slicked hair in a way that works. However, I must let you go. I have met someone wonderful and so I am moving on from you and while that is sad, in a way it is fitting. Because, dear John, I am a Mac. :)

Phew. I hope the poor guy takes it well ;)

Still Alive!!!!

The good news.....I was not taken over by zombies or some crazy spirit haunting my home (although....kinda sure there is one or two here.....) Just been extremely busy with all sorts of fun stuff. Which leads to more good news.....more blogging subjects. Soon to come: Raising Geek Children (on purpose), The great derby name debate (slutty or geeky), Why I love it when my BF has equally geeky friends (but doesn't out geek me....), Zombie Education sounds awesome!, and Why I love The Guild/Legend of Neil so damn much.

Just some thoughts that have been running around in my head :) Once things calm down a bit I will be back....back with nuclear weapons!!! (Ohhh....another idea.....great geek films of the 80's......oh so many.....oh so many.....)

Derby is as Derby does

It was a derby practice night....so I shall write about....DERBY!!!

The good news: The "fresh meat" group got to scrimmage a little bit tonight. I even got to try and be jammer. It was pretty awesome

The bad news: No new bruises..... I know, I know that should be good news because that means I didn't get knocked on my ass like it's majob but...they are my battle scars!! It is the reminder to me that not only did I take a hit and fell, but that I got right back up again and kept going. It is a bit of a sickness and possibly issue. Oh well.

Back to scrimmage. Wait. No. That was the end of the night. Let us start at the beginning (a very good place to start?)

I began my night running into the Hess to get water. While normally a very mundane task, let me explain to you what I was wearing. Black shirt, purple short shorts, pantyhose with quite a few runs in them already (they ended up having their last run tonight...pun slightly intended) and rainbow brite like knee socks (sneakers too...but they were rather unimpressive). Pretty sure the clerk thought I was slightly nutso. (technically...he probably isn't too far off, but it's not because of my kick ass knee socks)

Practice was awesome (as always) and I didn't get my ass kicked too much (which should be awesome too but a part of me is a bit sad about this). I got to try my hand at being the jammer (she's the one who gets through the pack to score points. For those of you that are lost. I promise a "derby basics" is coming soon.) OH BOY that is a tough position to play!! But I want to try it again. More so now that I remembered as a jammer, I can hit the other girls too (derby hits people...we are not savages!) I do think I like being in the pack a bit better. But we will see.

After practice.....same outfit, but add a purple bandanna and a few gallons of sweat...Hannaford trip!!! More odd looks. Best part of the night....my 9 year old asking me if derby has been affecting my driving. I asked him why...he got quiet...and finally answered that I did a nice u-turn. I think he is lying.

Derby is really one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I am more confident, getting more fit and slightly athletic, and I now know the greatest group of women who can kick my ass in a heartbeat. Not that they would. I am just saying.... plus it is nice to have an explainable reason to own so many pairs of fishnet stockings.....

ON A SIDE NOTE. I know I cannot keep up a daily post and not bore the crap outta people. Once I do about a week's worth, I think I am going to choose a day, and switch to a weekly posting. Unless something really cool happens and I absolutely cannot contain myself. Like..... resurrection of Firefly...(hey...it could happen!)

The Geek Gene

So all day I swear I had a ton of different ideas of what to write tonight. I got home, made dinner and POOF! Gone. Which was okay as I had stuff to do (while catching up on some great tv shows :) ) However, I was still at a loss whenever I was ready to break for 5 and let my geek self go at it.

Then....came my family to save the day.

Bit of back story. My dad's side, the Burns side, is pretty much either in New York or Florida (in reference to my first cousins) When I was younger I saw a bit of some. More so of my cousins Sarah and Christa. Occasionally of Heather and April. Rarely of Todd and Chad. Then....came Facebook. We all are in touch and frankly I feel closer with them all now as an adult online than I think I had growing up. (Oh...I have a cousin Joe too....however, he has yet to show his geek...as far as I know).

All in all we are fairly geeky. Sarah and Christa are librarians. Sarah married a librarian. (geeky in a cool knowledgeable way) Christa is a gamer (MMORPG I belive) with a gamer fiancée. (If I use term y'all don't like....I apologize). Not sure about Chad. He has chickens.....I want chickens.... Same with Heather....minus the chickens. Then there is Todd and April.

I am pretty sure that when the zombie apocalypse comes, we need to find a bunker together so we can be with our own kind.....(and booze)

April....cracks me the eff up. Todd, is my comic book junkie dealer. Even though I have seen neither in over 10 years, our likes are very parallel. When a family can take up a whole thread on an episode of True Blood....that is togetherness.....in a geeky sort of way (which is what triggered this particular blog).

OH! And then there is my brother. We are 8 years apart...did not get along for the longest. But now...we geek out together all the time. Even though I don't really feel like we "grew up" much together. We now are sharing things like if a new preview for Tron is out or if there is more information about The Avengers movie (we both really hope there is an Ant Man.....and Nathan Fillion)

So...gentle reader (yeah....I know....I won't call you that again. At least not in front of your friends) this lead me to the question. Is there a "geek gene" out there. In the nature vs. nurture quest, what has drawn a family, separated by miles and years, to so many of the same interests and thoughts and opinions on those interests. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn't. If I was ambitious I could Google this. But I still have Haven to get through and an attempt at Warehouse 13 again, now that the Eureka crossover has occurred. For now I am going to assume that the Geek shall inherit the earth and in order to do so, some of us are brought to a higher calling. Someday....the masses of comic con and of the like will be the ones to survive the zombie apocalypse, because frankly, we knew it was coming. And the earth will be populated by fanboys and fangirls alike. At least from the Burns Bunker. And maybe a trekkie if I am allowed to bring one along.....I have to ask for special permission.....maybe if the trekkie brings along a certain cast member.... ;)

Roller Derby....in brief....

Before I head off to bed for the night, I figured I should say something about my favorite sport. I realized I didn't say much in my earlier blog.

I play roller derby. If you want to know what roller derby is, go to Youtube and look it up (I am to tired to figure out the link right now, but in the future....pics and videos galore!) I LOVE roller derby. More than almost anything else. As a single woman, if the guy I am interested in were to try and come between me and roller derby, he would lose. Fast. Even if it was Robert Gibbs. Or Alan Tudyk. As you get to learn about my Alan Tudyk obsession, you will see truly how much I value derby over almost anything. I have been lucky enough so far that this is not an issue.

I am on probation, which means no name yet. However, hopefully, come October, I will have one :) A good one too. Preferably geeky. What that means is I still practice with the girls, and I get to scrimmage at practice, but, no bouts yet. I am with Albany All Stars and they are an amazing group of men and women. Yes, while Roller Derby is mainly a woman's sport, we have a men's team. And in practice we scrimmage with them too.

So far only one practice have I scrimmaged, but let me tell you it was AWESOME. I got knocked down...twice! I have some sizable bruises, which, regardless of where they are, I will show anyone at anytime they ask (well....not at work....so almost anyone/anywhere) I was SORE from the earlier drills for days afterwards. However, I can not wait to do it again!! I also got some good hits/pushes in. I truly enjoy picking the person on the other team and just gunning for her.

I also have to join a committee with in the league. I am going to try to join the Public Relations/IT committee. I think I will kick butt there too :) It is my niche. Right now it is the off season, so not much seems to be going on that I can tell. Once the season begins in January, things, I hope, will get more interesting there.

Well....that is the basics, in a bit more than I originally planned to say about derby for now. As the bruises amass and the hits get harder, I will write more. Also, I am constantly looking for derby name suggestions :) Perhaps I should start a list of good names that are not already taken.....(oh yea...there is a register for derby names) Now I will try to sleep. :)

Greetings and Salutations

Okay...this is another attempt to blog. I am not great at regularly sharing my thoughts in this format, but I think I need to start more. This is my outlet for all the times I get "geeked out" about something, I can ramble here. Maybe others are equally "geeked out" and we can share the experience.

Currently I am excited about the eventual Avengers movie and all the movies that are being created to lead to that (some more than others) and Tron Legacy. I also like to rag on the Twilight movies because, well they suck. However, having read the books and seen the first three (the first two, against my will......) I feel slightly invested. I am also delving into the world of comic books with The Walking Dead and the Scott Pilgram vs. The World (must read before see movie.....) and a few others (OH! American Vampire)

TV shows wise....I am gonna stay up to date with True Blood, Eureka, Haven, and once they resume, Doctor Who, Big Bang Theory (I love Sheldon), How I met your Mother ( I love NPH) and Bones. I am also late to the following parties: SG1, BSG, and SNG (if you don't know what they mean you are either on the wrong blog or need to catch up like me). I also love Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Maddow. AND I am a huge Joss Whedon fan (Whedonite?? Whedy??). Oh so much to elaborate on. We will start with my oddest of loves.....White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Yes. Him. That nerdy looking guy that comes out and lets you know what is going on with the White House and the President. Why do I love him so? I don't know. Why do some people love, oh say, cream cheese? He is a great public speaker and I love how he stands up for his people. He is composed and not afraid to tell a reporter, in kindish words, what a jerk they are. I have a dear friend who postulates that in a few years his "filter" will clog and BS will run amok (is his filter provided by BP?? Hmmm) but I hope not. I am looking forward to six more years of him. I would take longer if possible...... *sigh* I promise, this will not be the last of him you shall hear from me :D