Science Pin-Ups!
I went to a bachelorette party that involved doing vintage pin-up makeovers. I paired them with science!
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Author: Rebecca Angel
Rebecca Angel was one of those kids that put the dragon book on top of her pile in the hopes that someone would say, "Hey, I'm into that stuff too!" Alas, she had to wait until she was an adult to find fellow geeks. Luckily, she married one and their kids are too. A music teacher by day, Rebecca is also a lover of tea, science literacy, funky tights, RPGs, anime, manga, comics, fantasy books and movies.
History Geek: Golden Age of Hollywood
What do Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, and Gone With The Wind have in common? They were all made during the 1930s, an era considered The Golden Age of Hollywood.
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History Geek: Comics and Games from the 1930s
Superman and Monopoly. Can you imagine the world without them? Both began in the 1930’s.
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Confessions of a Loser
I learned early on not to play games of chance. My name was never picked from the hat, the dice never rolled in my favor, I rarely picked the good cards. I wasn’t oddly unlucky; I didn’t have random horrible things happen to me, but I was not a winner.
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History Geek: Radio Plays
Old Timey radio is so fun to listen to, but writing and recording your own is even better. During my history camp, we did just that!
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History Geek: 1930s Week
Swing dancing! The creation of Superman! Adagio for Strings! Radio Plays! Migrant Mother photojournalism! Heath bars! The Wizard of Oz! Monopoly! Last week I directed a summer camp all about America during the 1930’s.
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Geeks, Music, and Lyrics
As a singer/songwriter, I’ve been told by other musicians to never share your inspiration. Let the audience decide what the songs are about. I agree for songs about love and life, experiences the listener can put themselves into. But what about a song about the perils of having an evil wizard as an ex-boyfriend? Or one about creating a clone to take over your life while you have outer-space adventures? Those songs need explaining.
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Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule!
Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule is a card game with delightful images, silly names, and rhyming fun. It’s been played about a dozen times in my household; a new popular past time. This is interesting to me because I think the game has a kink to work out, yet the kids in my house won’t stop playing it, figuring out their own rules to get around any issues.
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Blue to Pink: The Magic Chemistry of Violet Flower Tea
Make violet flower tea, which is blue. Add lemon juice and it turns pink! Why? My daughter made me this beautiful and magical drink for Mother’s Day, but then her chemistry teacher made her figure out why the color change happened. It’s anthocyanins (but still magical.)
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Prom Night Memories: The Good, the Bad, and Tears for Fears
Do geeks go to prom? In fiction, it depends on the gender. Geek guys rarely go, unless they are the comic relief. Geek girls can often have the “Cinderella” dream happen and become the belle of the ball.
But that’s fiction. What about in real life?
I recently shared my prom story with the community of geekmoms and a few dared to tell about their own:
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Tallest!
My son was researching wonders of the modern world for an essay. He decided that Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, should be a modern wonder, saying it would stand tallest for a long, long time. I asked him to back that last statement up. What buildings were in construction that could top it soon?
He started researching and we both had a great time exclaiming over the architecture, engineering, and incredible amount of money being spent all over the world to create enormous buildings.
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Game of Thrones Music Geek: The Little Children Song
So after watching the latest Game of Thrones, I wanted to sing that lullaby Samwell sang to the infant. Here’s my take on it 🙂
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Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
I have to admit, when I was sent a review copy of Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, a YA graphic novel by Prudence Shen and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks, I wasn’t as excited as I could be. In Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong Hicks was only doing the art.
But I should have trusted that Hicks wouldn’t collaborate on something unless it was worth her mad skills. I, and my two teens, very much enjoyed it. Amusing dialogue, great art (duh), and characters that have fun with their stereotypes, tossing or flaunting them at a whim.
Saga: The Book Club
This week I attended a book club where my friend Karen and I recommended a comic series for our “book.” We are both fans of Saga by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples. For the seven women there, Karen and I were the only ones who read comics or graphic novels on a regular basis. Our previous book was The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love. This month’s selection of a science fiction comic book rated Game of Thrones level NC-17, was a bit of a departure from the norm.
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Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes
There are some books I read more than once. Mystery novels are not part of that group. I already know who “did” it, so that’s that. With Matt Kindt’s graphic novel Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange Crimes. I’ve read it a couple times and plan to read again. At its most basic, this is a detective noir story. But ethics and the boundaries of the law are the heart.
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Procrastination Destination
Housework would never get done if it weren’t for procrastination. It’s amazing how important the organization of the spice cabinet is when I have a writing deadline. But the internet gives me so many, many ways to distract myself from the task at hand.
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Make Me Laugh!
SOMEONE MAKE ME LAUGH, DAMMIT! Ah-hem. Yeah, so to keep me from ripping my children’s heads off for no particular reason other than they seem to be there all the time, I’ve found some web channels that lighten the mood. Sometimes I even watch them with my kids. The channels have multiple funny videos; here are my favorites. Hope you enjoy them too!
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Half-Way Through Next Generation
We are about to begin Season Five of The Next Generation and it’s been good, real good. The journey began with an idea to share Voyager with my kids. It’s a series that means a lot to me. But then I realized they should have some background before we got into that part of the timeline. But to begin at the beginning would take soooo long. So I asked for help from readers like you. I compiled the suggestions into a big list, and we began our Star Trek watching adventure.
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Stormdancer: The Lotus War Book One
Japanese steampunk. Yeah, I said Japanese steampunk. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff is a dystopian feudal Japan setting with Iron Samurai wielding chainsaw katanas. Chainsaw katanas. It is a well-done kung-fu movie as a book, but with a female heroine, and a detailed new fantasy setting.
Continue ReadingLove/Hate Leia
At around six years old, my friend BJ and I would play Star Wars in his basement. He had this white mountainous set where our dolls — oh, excuse me, action figures — would have adventures. I got to play Luke, since BJ always wanted to be Han Solo. My sister was never interested in […]
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