Almost exactly one year ago, a new documentary series made its debut on BBC Two. Wonders of The Solar System, presented by the then relatively unknown Professor Brian Cox with whom I share a hometown, captured the imagination of the nation and launched Cox as a new star in the world of popular […]
Continue ReadingI am a geek about many things. Television, books, comics and even some types of technology. But I completely fail when it comes to video games. I remember when Pong came out. I played the original Atari at a friend’s house but we never had one of our own. Then I went off to college, […]
Continue ReadingI stumbled upon Mary Roach’s brilliance in a rather roundabout way. I’m a regular at my local library, but I didn’t find her there. I don’t belong to any book clubs. I read the book reviews in newspapers and magazines, but that’s not where I found one of my favorite authors. I found her in […]
Continue ReadingI hope you got a chance to vote in our Geek Oscar poll. The votes were pretty close in several categories, and best actor and actress were both ties! Here are your picks, had the Oscars been run by geeks: Best actor in a geeky movie (tie) Michael Cera, for being that sweet little Scott […]
Continue ReadingPicture this: A beautiful, 16-year-old girl, a bright A-student, a good kid, my daughter. Her main extra-curricular activities are the marching and jazz bands, and now she’s been dating her first love, another band geek, for almost one year. He’s adorable, funny, and a true gentleman. What a relief that my girl is sweet on […]
Continue ReadingOne of the many nice things about working for G4 is traveling. Thanks to Attack of the Show and Ninja Warrior, my husband and I have been to Japan quite a few times – and this October we took our daughter (then 13 months) with us. Tokyo with a toddler in tow was just incredible. We met people […]
Continue ReadingI’ve been a fan of John Scalzi’s blog, Whatever, for a while now. In fact, I’d been reading and enjoying posts there for quite some time before it hit me like a slap to the head: I hadn’t actually read any of the man’s books. What in the world was wrong with me? I set […]
Continue ReadingThe Golden Kite Awards are given each year to the most outstanding children’s books published during the previous year, and written or illustrated by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The following blurbs are from the SCBWI Press Release. Jennifer Holm’s novel Turtle in Paradise receives this year’s Golden Kite […]
Continue ReadingLet’s face it, kids grow and they grow fast, especially in that first year. So how are money savy moms going to dress their kids on the cheap but look like they spent a million bucks? Look no further than your friendly neighborhood consignment sale or store. Our local sale, Just Between Friends, is a huge […]
Continue ReadingOur winters in Oklahoma, USA are typically mild with occasional bouts of precipitation that melts within a couple of days. Last year, however, we had a blizzard on Christmas Eve and this year we had record snowfall. We don’t have blizzards here. We aren’t prepared to deal with that much snow. Our daughter’s school was […]
Continue ReadingImagine your kid is too young to care about the weather outside. Imagine (s)he’s so young (s)he won’t even notice it’s snowing, except if you stick his/her tiny nose to the window and point the strange white falling things, exclaiming loudly “Look! It’s snowing!” (or “Regarde! Il neige!” if your geekling is supposed to understand […]
Continue ReadingThis Sunday, I’ll be in LA during the 83rd Academy Awards. Except I’m not going to be there for the gowns on the red carpet. I’ll be there for the Southern California Linux Expo. But that’s OK with me, since the Oscars often ignore our favorite movies–the geeky ones. (Although to be fair, The Social […]
Continue Reading“The Instability of Matter,” inspired by cyanotype images in Lauren Redniss’s new book Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. I’ve been itching to get back inside the breath-taking, Beaux-Arts New York Public Library’s Main Branch ever since I attended Karen Armstrong’s lecture on compassion there in January. As embarrassing as […]
Continue ReadingYou might have experienced this feeling. The admiring amazement towards these flowing ideas that flit around your brain when reading a book, almost overwhelming, about one per second, ideas which all could be developed into full stories of wonder. Except they aren’t. They’re just grace notes, elements of the wonderful BookWorld’s backstory, even footnotes. After […]
Continue ReadingIt figures that after sixty degree weather in NYC last week, we get covered in a blanket of snow for winter break. In between bouts of playing outside, warm up to a great movie that you can actually enjoy with your kids. You know your Pixar movies, and you’ve seen Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, and […]
Continue ReadingI have two most-awesome sons! They’re smart, fun, funny and adventurous boys. Now that both are at school all day (my youngest is in Kindergarten this year), it’s been almost shocking how peaceful and quiet things are around the house. My youngest especially enjoys crafts, and we spent a good part of the winter in […]
Continue ReadingSeymour Science, “the dean of children’s science writers,” has launched his first mobile app. SCIENCE FUN TO GO features in-app purchase of original eBooks for kids on both the iPhone/iTouch/iPad and Android platforms. You can download Simon’s original eBook, FUN FACTS ABOUT PETS, for free-it’s available exclusively for either the NookColor device or the NookKids […]
Continue ReadingSeven smart and unusual ways to spend time indoors with kids.
Continue ReadingRecently my family endured a week of cabin fever brought on by snow, weblessness, and our general proximity to one another. We survived by watching movies together each night after dinner, but were limited to our rental cabin’s movie collection. This included only dusty classics that every adult Homo Sapien has seen at least fourteen […]
Continue ReadingSomething very strange is happening in the cinemas around the world. Whilst in our reality we constantly hear about equal opportunities, gender equality and the removal of the glass ceiling; the female role models we see on the big screen seem to be turning a blind eye to it all and living in a world […]
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