Top 5 books for dads who are geeks

“But raising geeks goes beyond teaching them the difference between Darths Vader and Maul. It means teaching them an empowering worldview.”
- Ken Denmead

Having posted 5 parenting books for real people I thought it time to even up the gender balance… and post something for my soon-to-be-a-father nephew-in-law (sheesh, that was longwinded!).

The adults surrounding this future baby fully expect her (we’re 99% sure it’s a her) to be a geek and proud of it. She’ll be absorbing science-fiction movies at an early age; will be gaming – board and computer – young; and will be making stuff (probably more with her mum – including the woodworking & soldering bits). These titles will surely inspire her future-dad to learn new skills along with his baby girl. We’ve all got to start somewhere, right?

~ Annie

5 quotes from this book that make me want to do Comic-Con ohsomuch more

“…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”
- John Green

Title: Comic-Con. Episode IV, A fan's hope
Author: Morgan Spurlock

I have never been to San Diego's Comic-Con. This probably doesn't shock anyone who knows what Comic-Con is about. I mean, it's that hard to get tickets. Just to give you an idea of how truly hard it is, I remember reading a while back that 2012's Comic-Con tickets sold out in the time it took for a Doctor Who episode to air. That's roughly 40 minutes. (I know, right? One geeky reference smooshed right up alongside another. It's a little bit meta). That blew my mind. And made it hit home just that little bit more how next-to-impossible it's going to be for me to get there. For 2013's event, it took 96 minutes for tickets to sell out. Now, you might think I would give up. I mean, as Nerdy Girl problems go, this is right up near the top of my "Ruh Roh List." You'd be wrong. I'm going to do other cons (conventions) in other places - NZ - I'm attending the Wellington one this year, Australia, other parts of the US, hopefully even the UK - while I bide my time waiting for that perfect moment where I score a Comic-Con ticket. Or something close to it. (Like maybe I'll have to write my own little piece of pop culture heaven that everybody wants a piece of and then I'll be appearing on a panel. Which could be disastrous because I don't act, draw OR write and, even if it did happen, I'd be too busy being on panels and not able to do much else. And then how could I meet Tyler Hoechlin? (Assuming he's there next year). First world problems. I haz them). Until then, I've got books like THIS to keep me company. (And Tumblr, awesome friends, The MarySue, and a whole host of other websites and people). And, as if the book isn't enough, there's also the documentary by Spurlock (YES! Morgan Spurlock). Oh! And I can always do another Supernatural con like I did in Toronto last year. (Psst: I met Jensen Ackles. And Jared Padalecki. And Misha Collins. Jealous, much?). So, sure, I won't be there this year. But I'm not giving up, either. And while I bide my time, I'm reading this. Sshh, do not disturb...

(An aside: I've never wanted to visit London because...I dunno, I just never wanted to. However, next year I'm going. AND I'm going to do Comic-Con because OMG how could I not? Plus, it gives me a reason to really go. That and visiting 221B Baker Street, because OBVIOUSLY, right?).

5 geeky Star Trek-related Etsy links (because geeky links = geeky love)

Image from Etsy.com

“Five card stud, nothing wild. And the sky’s the limit."
- Captain Jean Luc Picard, uttering the last line of the series, Star Trek: The Next Generation “All Good Things…”

Star Trek Matryoshka dolls. Let me say that again: Star. Trek. Matryoshka. Dolls. I have this weird thing for matryoshka dolls. Every time I see them I feel this crazy compulsion to buy them, touch them, pull them apart, and ooh/aah over them. I blame it on Sesame Street. In particular, THIS CLIP RIGHT HERE. In New Orleans last year I succumbed and bought a set of the dolls from the French Markets on Decatur Street. Ostensibly for my niece, but really so I could give in to the compulsion mostly free of guilt. They were a hit with her. (And with me, too, heh). I'm waiting - rather impatiently, I might add - for the Star Trek film to come out. Every few days or so I pop into Etsy and look up Star Trek related THINGS and STUFF. Weirdly(?), not to buy anything. I like to look at the items. Some of them are totally LOL-worthy. Others are a major case of WTF-ery. And just as many are ones I want to make myself (only I never do), or buy (yet another thing I never do). That means, folks, that today's list has absolutely nothing to do with our collections or libraries, and everything to do with indulging my forever fangirlness/geekiness. I'm wholly unrepentant about that. If this isn't your thing, feel free to skip this post. If it is, YAY. And if you need more Star Trek-related Etsy goodness, check out this link for ALL OF THE THINGS. Live long and prosper, people! (Sorry, couldn't resist - I'll be honest, I really didn't try to).

5 fandom New Year resolutions I've made

"New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time."
- James Agate

I abhor most resolution making. Things like 'Lose weight' and 'Spend less time online' and 'Watch less tv' and 'Spend quality time with family' and 'Have meaningful conversations' are a waste of time for me. I enjoy food, I heart being online, I adore tv, I share a house with siblings and quality time happens to be whatever we're doing at that moment, and I challenge you to define 'meaningful conversations.' Resolutions like that are just another thing I won't keep/maintain/follow. It's because I lack discipline, probably. Well, that and I could care less about any of those. I'd wager that at 37, that attitude isn't going to change much at all. I'm okay with that. The kind of resolutions I've decided I am making this year, though, are ones that I can 1) easily keep and that 2) hold my interest because they 3) speak to the fangirl in me. Truly. Like today's list that is made up of 5 fandom New Year resolutions I'm setting down for 2013. Bring it!

Top 5 get-your-geek on

Ok, I’ll admit it – I’m a Doctor Who / Torchwood / Star Trek / Star Wars pseudo-geek. I know enough to sprinkle references and quotes into pretty-much-every conversation, but I can’t do it word-for-word. [My ex’s PIN is a line from Star Wars: A New Hope. Yes, I still know it. No, he hasn’t changed it.] Some of us at work refer to ‘Worf Days’: from the times Worf said 'maybe today is a good day to die' (from a Klingon phrase Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam). When you know it’s all going to be full on, like an invasion or an attack – and you just go into the day full steam ahead and take on whatever comes.

The preponderance of Doctor Who related titles makes me fully aware of where my geekdom loyalty lies.   Honourable mentions:

The science of Doctor Who by Paul Parsons

Star Wars: where science meets imagination / introduction by Anthony Daniels

5 sites my fangirl self follows like I need air BECAUSE REASONS

"Fan girling: Any girl extremely obsessed with any celebrity, t.v. show, movies, books, or other entertainment/media who is participating in fan activities such as message boards, fanfiction, or convention.
Has been used in the past as derogatory but has become less and less so in certain fandoms. Fan girling frequently happens with large amounts of squee."
- UrbanDictionary.com

Large amounts of squee? You say po-tay-to, I say "Define large!" Sure, sane people might argue that this post title isn't a particularly good one. I mean, really, "5 sites my fangirl self follows like I need air BECAUSE REASONS." Bizarre, right? Luckily, I have never declared myself to be sane OR good OR non-bizarre like. Therefore, I win at life. And my prize? The interwebs. ALL OF THE INTERWEBS. I make no bones about the fact that I consider myself a fangirl. I earnestly tell people I'm just a nerdy girl with a laptop and an inappropriate love of Jensen Ackles and we all laugh about it but, at the heart of everything, it's the truth. I enjoy tv shows, movies, books and all things geeky SO MUCH that I get all flail-y and GAH and ACK and lose the ability to use my words and just experience FEELS because my fandoms are that awesome. These five sites listed below are where I get to revel, celebrate and indulge my fangirlness in all its crazy. What do they do that's so great? They keep me in the fandom loop with fanfic, fanvids, fanart, cranky mcranty pants posts about sexuality and the concept of beauty and why people shouldn't tag AO3 fic like it's Tumblr run amok, and they dedicate gifsets to Jensen's mouth and Jared's dimples. Yes, we are crazy, we are plentiful, and we are on your screens. So, here's to fangirls the world over!

Honourable mention:
LiveJournal.com
From the site: "LiveJournal is an online community, a social network, and a place for self-expression. We strive to create an environment where you can connect with others, share your thoughts, and be yourself. Our core values guide us to protect and cultivate that community."

Tosca: LiveJournal is where I find some of the fanfic I read. If you know where or how to look you, or even who to follow, you can find some great stuff. Of course, you also find some truly, TRULY, terrible stuff. Beyond terrible.

5 geeky bookish links totally worth sharing

"Also, if you're sweating the difference between a geek and a nerd, you're definitely a nerd, you dork."
- John Scalzi, the writer, HERE on Twitter (and OH how I LOL'd)

I spend the first and last part of each work day clearing RSS feeds for a variety of topics. I've arranged them all into folders with names like Libraries, Geekology, Books, New Orleans, Social Media and a few others. I skim somewhere around 1000-1500 articles/blog posts/websites a day. Probably a little more. A lot of them I use as inspiration for post ideas, some to increase my readers advisory knowledge (I can never have too much), some I share on our work tweetstream or Facebook page, ones that aren't quite appropriate for work I share on my personal streams, some that are relevant to my role I share with other librarians in the same field as I am, others I read to keep up with new technology, some stuff is political and for general awareness, others I read for geeky giggles and chuckles, and then there are things I so much want to share with SOMEBODY ANYBODY that I save them up for instances like this. Lucky you, right? *Hint: this is where you nod politely and agree with the crazy person writing this post* Last week I skipped a geekology post :( So this week you're getting two; one here today, and one over on the Auckland Libraries blog this coming Friday. Two in one week. YOU'RE WELCOME! And so I give you: 5 geeky bookish links totally worth sharing.

5 geeky graphic novel/comic book links

"Using comics to promote literacy? Well I’d hope comics would do so anyway, regardless of "trends"." - Declan Shalvey

KAPOW! BANG! KABLAM! Holy birthday cake, Batman - it's Comic Book Month :) Throughout September we're celebrating the wonderful world of graphic novels/comics with a series of events, competitions and workshops taking place across the city. I remember last year when Onehunga Library had a Cosplay parade and customers/dressed up as characters. It looked like so much FUN *sigh* I wish I could've been there to see it. Don't miss out like I did - find out now what's happening this September. I'm feeling a tad bit guilty at the moment because our New Titles lists were posted this morning and within err ten minutes I'd found/requested 13 new graphic novels because obviously I don't have enough to read. Oops. Knowing my luck they'll all turn up at once and instead of finishing my assignment I'll be nose deep in superheroes, villains and kickbutt plans to save the world. Life being normal, then heh. To kickstart my Comic Book Month celebration I'm sharing 5 geeky graphic novel/comic book links that y'all might enjoy.(One I use all the time, and the rest I've started following recently-ish). Feel free to suggest sites/blogs you follow - I never say no to new links. Happy Comic Book Month, everyone!

Do you read comics?

5 geeky links I totally have to share

Microsoft: "You’ve got questions. We’ve got dancing paperclips."
- Unknown

Next to no intro from me today BECAUSE REASONS. Reasons that are all to do with the links. Link goodness. Link love. Linky McSlinky. (It's like I always have to go that one sentence too far that makes it all suddenly so absurd). I'm thinking of making this a regular weekly post where I round up geeky links I've seen that I feel are worth sharing. Or something. Hopefully, you find a gem or two. Happy weekend, people!

5 geeky links (from one geek to another)

"Roses are #FF0000
Violets are #0000FF
All my base
Are belong to you"
- Unknown

Some of you will get the poem that goes with today's post. YAY! Some of you won't, and that's okay. It's kind of a dorky/geeky thing that makes me laugh whenever I see the t-shirts. (Yes, of course there are t-shirts, and I've seen some at ThinkGeek.com because THOSE GUYS, THOSE GUYS, they think of everything, right?). I told it to my sister and she wore this fabulous look of confusion that always makes me want to say to her, "Y U SO BEAUTIFUL?" I've never bothered to read any geeky stuff to her since. (Not even the one I really wanted to, which was: "There’s no place like 127.0.0.1"). Short post because REASONS. Namely, who wants to hear me prattle on? It's all about the links. So, from one geek to another - 5 geeky links that are totally full of win.

Small note: As I was hunting up images for this post I came across this one in Flickr by the Library of Congress that is gorgeously amazeballs. Just wanted to mention that.

Honourable mention:

SDCC: San Diego Comic-Con International group on Flickr - Comic-Con is my mothership and one day - ONE DAY - I shall attend. Until then, I visit the SDCC Flick group more times than is good for me and IMAGINE