Miss Geeky

Events: Geeks of London

Melinda — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:29 +0000

If you’ve been following my Twitter account, you will have noticed I’m working on a new series of events: the Geeks of London.

Most of you here know that I’ve been doing the Geek Dinners for two years now, so why the sudden new event? While I loved organizing the Geek Dinners, I noticed a couple of things: For starters, it’s always been confusing to people what ‘Dinners’ meant. In a lot of people’s eyes that meant a sit-down dinner, and some were then scared off by such a formal setting. We never ever did an actual proper sit down dinner, most of the time it was just a buffet, but it’s always been a bit unclear to people what the dinner part entailed.

Besides that I’ve always felt the term Geek doesn’t necessarily only mean techy geek. I think geeks come in all types of varieties, like movie geeks and comic book geeks. One final reason to change the event was because of the Girl Geek Dinners. I appreciate what the Girl Geek Dinners are doing, but they’ve grown so much by now that a lot of people didn’t realized there was also a “normal” Geek Dinner (I hate using the term “normal”, because that would imply the GGDs are abnormal, but I hope you get my drift).

So the idea of this new series of events was to step away from the former Geek Dinner name, but to also organize meetups for all different types of geeks, be they movie geeks, comic book geeks or tech geeks. The first meetup will a Movie Geeks of London meetup, which will take place next week on Tuesday the 16th (for more details check out the website).

I’m hoping more people will get involved and will take on the role of organizing some of the meetups. I really want this to be as varied as possible with all sorts of themed events. The first event will just be a hang-around-a-pub-and-meet-lots-of-new-cool-people type meetup, but I’d love to do some meetups with special speakers or sponsors (or in the case of the movie meetups maybe a certain movie that everyone agrees on seeing before meeting up). I know we might have a pub quiz being planned and once the weathers a bit warmer I want to do some photography and geocaching walks. If you’ve got an idea for an event, let me know and I’ll help get you setup.

Link Love: February 1st through February 8th

Melinda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:02:34 +0000

Interesting links for February 1st through February 8th:

Happy Pills!? Sweet Happiness in Sugar-Pill Supplements – Shop that sells “medical emergency sets” filled with sweets.
Can Live-Action Airbender Live Up To The Cartoon? – Some side by side comparisons of the teaser trailer and the cartoon. Plus: Appa!
Do Knot Forget – Cool ad from Ford.
Spelling Society : Chaos poem. – Awesome poem.

Mini Book Reviews: Rest of 2009

Melinda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:28 +0000

My arm is finally starting to feel better, and I’m slowly getting back to sitting longer behind my laptop. It’s still not completely healed, but it’s much, much better than the past couple of weeks. I’ve got so many blog posts to catch up on: my final movie and book reviews of 2009, the Secret Santa I organized and more.

Here are some short review of books I read last year:

A Song of Ice and Fire – George R R Martin

Ages ago I tried reading A Game of Thrones and just couldn’t get through it. When I heard HBO was making a TV show out of them I knew I had to give them another try. Maybe I was too young the 1st time around, cause this time around I loved the books. The story, the characters, the world, everything is so detailed and built up, I think I might be spoilt for other series. I still have to read the fourth book (A Feast For Crows), but the first three are amazing.

I’m now so looking forward to the HBO show, I just hope they get this right. This is the type of fantasy TV show I’ve been hoping for; something that’s more like a costume drama, just not set in our world.

A Game of Thrones (UK, US), A Clash of Kings (UK, US), A Storm of Swords (Book 1 UK, Book 2 UK, US), A Feast For Crows (UK, US).

The Nightwalkers - Jacquelyn Frank

I really enjoyed these books, it’s again a cool different type of world. In this case it’s set in our world, but with demons, vampires and shapeshifters. The demons (with which the series starts) are the most interesting species with the characters each having elemental powers. The series starts off pretty cool, with some revelations being made over the demons and their back history. There are 5 books in the Nightwalkers series (Jacob, Gideon, Elijah, Damien, Noah) from Jacquelyn Frank. The story continues in her next series Shadowdwellers, about the 4th species in that world, but these 5 form a complete story.

Jacob (UK, US), Gideon (UK, US), Elijah (UK, US), Damien (UK, US), Noah (UK, US)

The Black Magician Trilogy – Trudi Canavan

I read this series a couple of years ago… and absolutely hated it. Well, I liked the premise, but somehow at the time I just didn’t like the ending. Re-reading it now though makes me realize how your tastes do change through the years. This time around I loved every bit of it.

The trilogy is about Sonea, a young girl who lives in the slums and finds out she has magical abilities. But as long as the city can remember only people from the upper classes have been found with magic and have gone on to train at the Guild. The first book drags on a bit and it only really becomes interesting once Sonea is actually at the Guild learning her powers. There are some cool concepts in here, like the way the magic works.

The Magician’s Guild (UK, US), The Novice (UK, US), The High Lord (UK, US)

Heart Fate – Robin D. Owens

The 7th book in the Heart series from Robin D. Owens. I didn’t love this book as much as some of the previous ones, but still an enjoyable read. Heart Fate is about Tinne Holly, the younger brother of Holm Holly (who was the hero in book 3) and his heart mate Lahsin Yew.

Heart Fate (UK, US)

Fire Study – Maria V Snyder

I loved Poison Study and Magic Study (the first two book from this series) and had been looking forward to their conclusion for ages. I won’t say anything about the plot, cause I’d otherwise spoil the first two books too much. Yelena is a great character and it’s cool to see how much she grows during the series.

I liked Fire Study, but somehow at the same time I was a bit disappointed by it. I think I just wanted it to be more than it was; with characters and a world this rich, I was expecting a grand emotional finale. It’s sort of there, but it’s missing that special something that makes me fall in love with a book.

Fire Study (UK, US)

The Rogue Hunter, The Immortal Hunter – Lynsay Sands

Two books from Lynsay Sands’ new Rogue Hunter series; it’s basically a continuation of the Argeneau series (same world, same recurring characters) only she ran out of Argeneau family members to write about.

The first books from the Argeneau series were hilarious, they’re the funniest romance books I’ve read. But the last couple ones… meh. They’re still okay, but I’m missing the funny in them. The Rogue Hunter has some cute moments in it, but most of the plot is pretty boring. The Immortal Hunter, however, gets interesting again, setting up a new main storyline and mystery. I can’t wait to see how this continues.

The Rogue Hunter (UK, US), The Immortal Hunter (UK, US)

The Tamir Triad – Lynn Flewelling

I’m a fan of Flewelling’s other series, The Nightrunners, and was curious to see more of one of the stories we heard about in there. This trilogy takes place a couple of hundred years earlier, when the country Skala is being ruled by an usurper king. For Skala to prosper though, there must always be a Queen on the throne, so the current king is secretly murdering his own female king to protect his own reign. Following prophecy, two wizards spellbound a princess at birth, with a glamour to disguise her, making her look like her dead (sacrificed) brother. The girl grows up believing she’s a boy…

The premise of this book is pretty unique, yet without interesting characters this could have failed completely. The characters and the world that Flewelling has created are fascinating; I sped so quickly through these books, I just wanted to know what happened to them as quick as possible. Great books, I recommend them to anyone who wants a cool new fantasy world.

The Bone Doll’s Twin (UK, US), Hidden Warrior (UK, US), The Oracle’s Queen (UK, US)

The Summoning Series – Robin D. Owens

I read the first two books of this series in early 2009 and finally got around half a year later to finish this series. The books are about the world of Lladrana, where forces of darkness have invaded. The different factions of the world resort to their final option: Summoning their prophesied saviours from the Exotique land aka Earth.

Each book is about the summoning of a human to this strange world where they each discover they have magical abilities. What I loved about these books was how unpredictable they were; they didn’t follow the standard romance formula. Plus it’s got a great fantasy story with lots of magic and talking hamster!

Protector of the Flight (US), Keepers of the Flame (US), Echoes in the Dark (US)

Video of The Day: Google’s Superbowl Ad

Melinda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:42 +0000

Episode 159: “cafes near the louve”

Most of you might have seen this yesterday already, but if you haven’t… so sweet:

Fashion Focus: Black and White Laura Ashley Dresses

Melinda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:35 +0000

Ever since getting my bridesmaid’s dress from Laura Ashley, I’m kind of digging some of their designs. I still find most of their stuff a bit too stuffy and proper, but some dresses look really cute.

This first one is leaning towards the too ‘neat and proper’, but I think with the accessories it could look awesome.

And this second just looks elegant:

Both dresses are on sale right now, and are only available in limited sizes.

Video of The Day: Oceanic 815 – Side by Side

Melinda — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:40 +0000

Episode 158: “Well, it’s not a very strong drink’.

SPOILER alert: if you haven’t seen last week’s season opening of Lost, don’t watch this video.

Via io9

Mini Game: Grayscale

Melinda — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:00:25 +0000

Funny little flash game where you have to turn gears. It’s only 20 levels, but gets pretty tricky:

Tee-rrific: Build Robots, Not Bombs

Melinda — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:00:30 +0000

Yep, I’m starting yet another “rrific” post, this time all about terrific t-shirts! I managed to get this one in a sale yesterday at David & Goliath’s Carnaby Street store for only £5:

Cute, right? And perfect for Hackdays!

Trailerrific: The Last Airbender

Melinda — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:00:49 +0000

I told you last week I’ve been waiting to see more footage of The Last Airbender. We saw a teaser last June, but since then we’ve only gotten glimpses of posters and screenshots. Well, the TV spot for the Super Bowl has just been released and supposedly some time soon we’ll get to see a full trailer:

This looks awesome! I loved the cartoon on which it is based and I think M. Night Shyamalan has the skills to make this work. I’m still worried about how they’re going to squeeze 8 hours of story into only 3 hours max of movie (yeah, not every single episode of the first season is important to the main plot, but you’d be surprised how many episodes are necessary for the story or feature recurring characters).

I also want to see some non-action scenes and see whether or not these kids will be able to portray the characters the right way. The TV show was pretty goofy at times, but that goofiness made the serious episodes all the more worthwhile. I hope that they don’t get rid of that for the the movie.

Cool Stuff: Priya’s Painting (Plus My Dollhouse Finale Review)

Melinda — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:01:15 +0000

Ever wanted to own a prop of your favourite TV show? If Dollhouse was your fave, here’s your chance. Priya’s painting from Sierra’s background episode “Belonging” is on auction on eBay to raise money for charity. The proceeds will go to the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, a nonprofit, academic, pediatric medical center. They provide the highest quality healthcare for children who are the sickest and most seriously injured in the Southen California region.

From the eBay page:

During the filming of the episode Michael Voelker, who works in the art department as a set dresser, brought his son Hunter to set. Hunter Marlowe Voelker is two years old and was recently diagnosed with ALL (acute lympoblastic leukemia). He is an adorable, positive kid and to call him a trooper doesn’t cover it.

Anyway, we were standing around the painting a few days later, talking about what would happen to it when the show was done. Would it fit in our living room? And then we got on the subject of the devoted, pro-active fans of the series and how they would love to own this. Maybe we could auction it off! For a bunch of money! And then use that money to build a private glow-in-the-dark jacuzzi water-slide park in our back yard! Or we could give it to charity, I guess…

At the moment, the bid for the painting is $4350… so does anyone have at least $4400 available? Here’s how the painting looks like :

BEWARE – after the photo are SPOILERS for the Dollhouse finale

So have you seen the Dollhouse finale yet? The penultimate episode with the current day wrap-up was a bit of a letdown for me. Some great acting especially from Enver Gjokaj (Victor) with a return of his Topher-Victor. Man, that guy can channel other actors eerily (found out he’s actually playing the young version of Robert de Niro in the upcoming Stone, can’t wait to see that). But most of the plot just felt rushed and clunky.

The last episode though? That was awesome. It wasn’t perfect, but I loved that it at least had a complete full circle story. Things I liked:

Topher. I loved him from the beginning. Even though he was bit annoying at the start, he was the only one with funny lines and the only character that, well, showed character. Through the last season he became a more sympathetic character. That final scene with him and Adelle was so sweet!

Victor and the Mad Max rebels. It might have been a little over the top, but it was interesting to see how they used the tech and had adapted to it. Plus the whole Priya/Victor thing was interesting to see, especially cause we got to see the consequences of their decisions from the previous episode.

Ballard getting shot. I should have expected something like this from Joss Whedon. It didn’t hurt as much as previous of his ‘killings’ (Angel, Doyle, Wesley, Wash, Penny and more), I think I as a viewer wasn’t as invested in Ballard as in other characters, but it was still heartbreaking to see the effect it had on Echo.

Things I didn’t like: the Ballard/Echo ending (kind of sweet, but also kind of creepy if you think it through). The all-powerful MacGuffin that solved the entire brainwiping in one go. I wish we could have seen more of the future world, and I wonder how this show would have continued if Whedon had gotten more seasons.

So that’s it for Dollhouse. What’s next for Whedon I wonder?

Link Love: January 20th through February 1st

Melinda — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:01:34 +0000

Interesting links for January 20th through February 1st:

Social Venn Diagram – A Venn diagram, explaining the differences between Geek, Nerd, Dweeb and more.
The 10 greatest post-kill puns – Some of these are just cheesy… well, puns are almost always cheesy… but still good.
LOST: The Complete Chart of Characters’ Past Connections | The Scordit Blog – Cool interactive map of the relationships on Lost. I do think they're missing a couple though (but it's been some time, so I can't remember what it might be). Also love what happens when you click on 'Kevin Callis'.
International Makeup-Artist Trade Show London (IMATS) – Awesome makeup.
A CUP OF JO: Calligraphy tattoo – I'm not really a fan of tattoos, but this calligraphy one is gorgeous!
How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You – LOL

Fashion Focus: DUO Boots Sale

Melinda — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:02:11 +0000

I blogged about DUO Boots a couple of months ago; these boots are just so gorgeous! And yet I still haven’t gotten a pair yet (mainly cause my current set of boots are still fine and I can’t really justify getting a new pair), but now they’re having a sale… so I’m tempted. So very tempted.

The great thing about DUO is that they offer calf-fitted boots. So besides just giving your foot size, you also get to specify your calf width for the perfect fit. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Sicily: Platform leather boot with stacked heel, flattering double stitched front panel and a softly sculpted almond toe. Colours: Black leather, Brown leather. Lining material: Fabric. Heel height: 9cm heel plus 1cm platform. Zip: Full-length. Cushioned insole. £120 £75 (black) and £95 (brown)

Madeira – Opulent over the knee boot with an asymmetric toe and a covered platform & heel and button detail. Vary your look with the optional turn down cuff. Colours: Black leather, Teal suede. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 8.5cm £245 £170 (teal) and £185 (black)

Olbia – Classic, elegant knee high boots with pointed toe and leather covered heel. Colours: Black leather. Lining material: Fabric. Heel height: 9cm. Zip: Full-length. £145 £115

Rochelle – Captivatingly sleek stiletto heeled boots with front panel detail and neatly rounded toe. Colours: Black leather, Cocoa brown leather. Lining material: Fabric. Heel height: 9cm. Zip: Full-length £145 £85 (brown) and £100 (black)

Jesolo – Stunning crinkle patent leather boots with covered platform sole and heel. A beautiful sleek silhouette with minimal detailing and a flattering front seam. Colours: Jet black crinkle patent. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 9cm. £205 £140.

Toscana – Stylish asymmetric toe knee high boots made from soft suede and glossy patent leather with suede covered buckled straps and button detail. Colours: Black suede & patent leather, Amethyst purple suede & patent leather. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 9cm £215 £155 (purple) and £170 (black)

Besides offering these lovely boots they’ve also got normal shoes (which you can also order with a specific shoe width). My favourites:

Alina: Beautifully flattering leather high heels, with tonal patent trim and neat velvet bow. Colours: Black leather & patent leather, Toffee leather & patent leather, Violet leather & patent leather. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 8cm. Cushioned insole. £75 £35 (black), £50 (toffee) and £60 (violet)

Mona: Elegant 1930’s style two tone Mary-Jane. Incorporating brogue detail and velvet lace tie with a rounded toe. Colours: Black & white leather, Chocolate & cream leather, Jet & ruby crinkle patent leather. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 8cm. Cushioned insole. £80 £40 (chocolate & cream), £55 (jet & ruby and black & white)

Cecile: Mary-Jane shoe with an almond shaped toe and double strap. Colours: Emerald green patent leather & suede, Amethyst purple patent leather & suede, Ruby red patent leather & suede, Jet black patent leather & suede. Lining material: Leather. Heel height: 9cm. Cushioned insole. £80 £40 (red), £55 (purple, black, teal)

There are tons more on the DUO Boots site. I have no idea till when this sale is though, so if you want to get a pair, I wouldn’t wait too long!

Fashion Focus: Kate Spade

Melinda — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:00:44 +0000

Another two dresses I’ve fallen for:

Graphic Garland Nelly Sweater Dress in black/red/purple and black/cream – $375

Broome Street Rosie Dress in black/cream – $355

I love the black, red and purple colour combo in both dresses!

My Thoughts on the Ladies Night at Comic Store

Melinda — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:00:22 +0000

A comic book store in Nova Scotia is holding their first Ladies Night tomorrow; only women will be allowed in, only women will be working in the store, and a few local female cartoonists will come in to talk about their work. On the one hand, I like the idea of this, cause I know how intimidating it can be for girls to walk into a comic book store the first time. On the other hand… I wish we didn’t need things like Ladies Night to make it *not* intimidating.

To be honest, my first experiences with comic stores were pretty good. I never felt intimidated or scared to walk in, but I kind of have a feeling that was because the ones I visited in the Netherlands were aimed at a less geeky crowd. Those shops were full with the European comics and stuff like Donald Duck and Suske and Wiske, which are aimed at quite a young audience.

As a girl pursuing the more geeky pursuits though, there have been quite a few occasions where I can relate to being a bit intimidated by entering a new unknown place, be it a store, school, or networking event. The first thing that came to mind when hearing about the Ladies Night was my own experiences going to board game stores and fantasy stores. It happened so often that they were only filled with guys, all staring at me as if I was some weird alien creature that didn’t belong there… and then acting as if I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about because I was a girl.

Same goes with studying computer science at university, being 1 of 5 girls and 90 guys. There’s one encounter that still riles me up, and I wish I had said something at the time. I had just completed an assignment, one that a lot of people was struggling with and had it signed off by the student assistant. I was pretty chuffed with myself, being one of the first people to have finished it. Moments later that was ruined by the student assistant telling another (male) student: “if she can do it, you certainly can”. Most of it wasn’t that bad, especially cause I proved pretty quickly that I was smart and belonged there (but again: why did I have to prove I belonged there?).

What annoys me though is that stuff like that still happens. Since moving to London, I’ve visited the Forbidden Planet tons of times. I love the place, it’s filled with wonderful geeky delights, and if I could I’d buy everything that caught my eye. And yet… almost every single time I go there by myself I get hit on. Okay, I kind of get that (geek store, geeky girl, chances of possible perfect match increases). But half of the time they open with something along the lines of whether I ”needed help in finding a present” or something else that completely neglects the fact that I might be there for myself. The thing is it almost always happens when I’m browsing the comics. If I’m at any other part of the store (like the fantasy/scifi books section or the manga section) that type of stuff doesn’t happen. It’s as if most geeks have accepted that girls are into geeky things, like fantasy and manga, but comics… then it’s suddenly “you don’t belong here”.

Seriously, guys? Why assume straightaway that a girl doesn’t belong there? I thought that by now it should be obvious for guy geeks that the geek girl does exist, but it’s moments like I’ve described above that some guys are completely oblivious to that fact. And it’s those guys that are making it difficult for new geeky girls to feel comfortable with being a geek and going to places like comic stores. I know there are tons of guys out there who do understand and don’t make stupid remarks like those above to girls, but it’s that small oblivious group that do that mess it up for everyone.

So to wrap things up: yeah, I like the idea of the Ladies Night. It’s a great way to get those girls involved who never dared stepping into a comic book store filled with mainly guys. But the mentality of some of the guy geeks out there has to change; they have to realize that girls can be into comics (and whatever other geeky pursuits), and that they have a right to be at comic stores without being stared at as some weird seven-legged two-headed panda. Until then, things like Ladies Night will have to be around to get girls who get intimidated, along to comic stores.

Posterrific: The Last Airbender

Melinda — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:09 +0000

I’m still a bit hesitant about The Last Airbender movie. I loved the Nickelodeon cartoon on which it is based (Avatar: The Last Airbender, renamed to only The Last Airbender so that people wouldn’t get confused with Avatar) and I’m still not sure whether we even need a movie version of this.

Still, I am curious to how the visuals of this is going to be. The world of The Last Airbender is so rich, with weird creatures, cool powers and a ton of beautiful settings. I can’t wait to see how this translates to the big screen, seeing all this stuff in “real life” (well, calling it *real life* is a bit silly, cause we all know it’s going to be CGI, but you know what I mean).

So far everything I’ve seen is spot-on and these two new posters add to that:

As I said I am really loving the look so far of The Last Airbender. I’m just hoping the kids in this can act and actually make the characters as likable as in the TV show. And that they don’t butcher the entire story…

Via /Film

Me Wantz: Moleskin Passion Journals

Melinda — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:15:39 +0000

I’ve never really gotten the whole Moleskin thing. I mean, I love notebooks and own tons of them, but I’ve never seen the appeal of specifically the Moleskin notebooks. They don’t seem any more special than any other notebook, right?

Well, this line of Moleskins might just convince me to finally get one. They came out last year October some time, but somehow I managed to miss them. The Passion Moleskin collection is specially designed for your life passions; so far, there are six different categories: Book, Film, Music, Recipes, Wine and Wellness. Each journal has dedicated pages for the different passions. For example, Recipes has 6 separate sections for appetizers, first courses, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, cocktails, while Film has alphabetically organized sections to fill in.

I do like the idea of these, but I still would really want to see these in real life before getting one. Especially the Film and the Book ones seem appropriate for me, but I wonder how the pages exactly look like and how they’ve been labeled.

Each of the journals are available on the Moleskin website for £15.99.

Me Wantz: Super Mario Question Mark Boxes

Melinda — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:05 +0000

These boxes are just too cute!

The designs are burned in with a wood burning tool and stained in a golden oak finish. The bigger box is roughly 5×5 and the smaller box is roughly 3×3. On the etsy site there are multiple designs for the smaller box (mushroom, fire plant, gold star, etc), but I couldn’t figure out if you can specify which design you want or if this is done randomly.

The boxes are available in the etsy store gogita724 for $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

Via ChipChick

Video of The Day: Pac-Man Illusion

Melinda — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:00:51 +0000

Episode 157: “I just can’t get enough of these. I think I’m addicted to creating them.”

Awesome room illusion with Pac-Man:

I love how a part of the drawing is actually the reflection in the mirror.

Laptop Decals: Iron Man, Batman, Snow White and More

Melinda — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:00:40 +0000

In the past week alone I’ve come across 4 different laptop decal shops and 3 pretty laptop bags, and I knew it was time to start blogging more about these pretty things I stumble upon.

I’ll start with a laptop decal design store that has been around for some time now and most of you might have come across already: the etsy store Movie Magic Man. He’s got some wonderful MacBook designs there, each integrating the Apple logo into the design. Here are my favourites:

Iron Man Decal – $16.00

Batman Decal – $16.00

Eve, The Serpent and Your Apple – $17.00

Snow White – $15.00

Mickey Mouse – $13.00

There are even more designs in Movie Magic Man’s store, like Street Fighter, Lego and even Twilight designs. Shipping costs are $1.00 if you’re in the US and $5.00 for everywhere else.

Trailerrific: Final Fantasy XIII International Trailer

Melinda — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:00:40 +0000

I can’t wait till this game comes out in March! Regular readers here will know how much I love the Final Fantasy series, and this latest installment looks gorgeous. I haven’t heard that many good reviews about the storyline though, but even that won’t stop me from getting this game. Enjoy:

Shelftastic: Geeky Equation Shelf

Melinda — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:30:37 +0000

I love love love this! This was posted ages ago on Boing Boing and various other sites, but it’s worth a repeat for those of you who mightn’t have seen it. It would fit perfectly in my sitting room:

Fashion Focus: Twitter, Octopus and Other Funky Tattoo Socks

Melinda — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:30:31 +0000

Last year in April I wrote about a cool Etsy shop I had come across that sells tattoo socks, see-through socks with tattoo-like designs printed on them. Since then they’ve added a couple more designs to the store and I knew I had to share them with you:

A Twitter “follow me” design! Not sure whether I’d ever wear this, but I know some people who would love these socks!

The Octopus one is super cute! Although this one is my favourite design:

There are 6 different colours, but it depends per design which colours are available: white, ultra pale, light mocha, deep mocha, cafe latte and grey. The socks come in knee-high and thigh-high length, in sizes S-XXL, and the prices range from $13-$23.

Check out the Etsy store to see more designs and to get a pair for yourself.

Link Love: January 11th through January 18th

Melinda — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:01:50 +0000

Interesting links for January 11th through January 18th:

Rooftop Trailer Park: 7 ‘Mobile Home’ Penthouses for Rent – I've never understood what people see in mobile homes, but I kind of like what this hotel has done with them.
Game Design 101: What Are The Odds? – Good post about the odds in game design.
Modern Architecture – All Along the Watchtower – Awesome apartment.
Does Lost Have The Biggest Ensemble Cast Of All Time? – Nice overview of the amount of recurring characters in our favourite sci-fi shows, including Lost, Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1.
A Peek Into Netflix Queues – NYTimes.com – Cool interactive map showing the amount of rentals of the most popular movies from Netflix in different regions.

Book Lust: Shalador’s Lady by Anne Bishop

Melinda — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:00:10 +0000

Another book of which I haven’t even read it’s predecessor yet (The Shadow Queen), but which I’m already coveting:

Shalador’s Lady is the fifth stand-alone book after Anne Bishop’s Black Jewel’s trilogy. It will be released in March 2010.

Winners! Moon, Lush and World of Warcraft Giveaway

Melinda — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:00:31 +0000

I should have done this last week, but because of my arm, I’m really running way behind with my blog posts. It’s already feeling better though, so staying completely away from my laptop is doing the trick.

This post is kind of a round-up of the contests I’ve held during the holidays, finally announcing all the winners. Thanks to everyone who entered, I loved reading all the comments that you entered. For each of the contests I did a random draw, picking 1 person to win.

So to start things off, the winner of the Moon DVD is:

saamFG!

With the comment:

Moon’ was pretty great, an interesting exploration into humanity and identity, emphasised by a fantastic score by Clint Mansell and compelling performance from Sam Rockwell. And Gerty. I love Gerty.

In terms of fave sci-fi films, I’d have to echo ‘Sunshine’ and also ‘Gattaca’, ‘Twelve Monkeys’ and ‘The Matrix’. But I think one film that’s stayed with me even more than those is ‘The Prestige’. Although I’ll probably change my mind tomorrow!

Labelling ‘The Prestige’ as sci-fi does give away the game a bit but that’s not such a big deal in the context of the ending. Certainly a film that deserves repeated viewings. Great little cameo from David Bowie, brilliant central performances from all the lead actors and Christopher Nolan does his usual, impeccable work in the director’s seat.

The winner of the World of Warcraft books is:

Sporky!

With the comment:

Awesome giveaway! I’ve been into gaming ever since I could hold an SNES controller. My parents thought I was too distracted from studying playing with the playstation and soon the ps2. And they were right! Since I’m in an art school now, I’ve been viewing videogames as a modern art form. It’s a good excuse to play good games so I can study and know what makes them good.

And finally the winner of the Lush goodies is:

Cecilie Harris!

With the comment:

It always smells very good when I walk into a lush shop, and there are so many things I haven’t tried yet. I love the smell of xmas (yes I know it’s over, but still), so anything with spice and cinnamon. Also love the smell of vanilla.

Congratulations, you three! Thanks to everyone else that entered, keep an eye on the blog cause ‘m sure to do more giveaways in the future.

Me Wantz: Math Geek Pocket Watch

Melinda — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:30:10 +0000

I haven’t been posting much lately, mainly because I strained my arm during the holidays and sitting behind my laptop only makes it worse. This entire post is now being typed with only my left hand… freaking annoying. Anyhow I’m going to try to get posts out on a regular basis, but I also have to try and give my arm as much rest as possible.

I love slightly quirky, not that normal jewelry and this pocket watch definitely fits that description! For the math geeks among us:

Here’s a cheat sheet for if you don’t know what all the numbers stand for:

1 – Legendre’s constant is a mathematical constant occurring in a formula conjectured by Adrien-Marie Legendre to capture the asymptotic behavior of the prime-counting function. Its value is now known to be exactly 1.
2 – A joke in the math world: An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says, “You’re all idiots,” and pours two beers.
3 – A unicode character XML “numeric character reference.”
4 – Modular arithmetic, also known as clock arithmetic, is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers “wrap around” after they reach a certain value. The modular multiplicative inverse of 2 (mod 7) is the integer /a/ such that 2*/a/ is congruent to 1 modulo 7.
5 – The Golden Mean…reworked a little.
6 – Three factorial (3*2*1=6)
7 – A repeating decimal that is proven to be exactly equal to 7 with Cauchy’s Convergence Test.
8 – Graphical representation of binary code.
9 – An example of a base-4 number, which uses the digits 0, 1, 2 and 3 to represent any real number.
10 – A Binomial Coefficient, also known as the choose function. 5 choose 2 is equal to 5! divided by (2!*(5-2)!)
11 A hexadecimal, or base-16, number.
12 – a radical

The watch is available for $85 on UncommonGoods.com.

Via ChipChick

Video of The Day: Just Colour

Melinda — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:30:01 +0000

Episode 156: ” Red. Black”

Cool music visualization with coloured ink and water:

The creator actually shot each drop individually and synched each one with the music using multiple layers in Adobe Premiere Pro. He ended up using 134 layers in total. To find out more about the project, check out the Just Colour blog.

Me Wantz: Oye Modern Jewelry

Melinda — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:00:53 +0000

More pretty jewelry, this time from Oye Modern:

Zip-it Necklace in three colours: Antique Silver, Antique Gold and Polished Silver £34

Zip-it pendulum earrings in Antique Gold £31

Headphone Ring £171

Pencil shaving necklace £114

Via Kingdom of Style

Update: The Saga of the Eyes and Sim Cards

Melinda — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:30:35 +0000

Sorry, it’s been a bit quiet here the last few days. I’ve been enjoying the Christmas/New Year aftermath and trying to catch up with some reading while at my parents (the more books I finished while there, the less I had to bring back with me to London). Anyway, yesterday we got back to London, and while it was great to visit family again and spend Christmas there, I am kind of glad to be back home.

It wasn’t all fun and games this trip though. Somehow every Christmas (at least for the past 5 Christmases) I manage to discover “something” that makes me have to do to doctor/dentist/etc. 5 Christmases ago I sprained my ankle really bad, 3 Christmases ago was the saga of my wisdom tooth surgery (if you weren’t around then yet, here’s the complete story). This year: it’s my eyes. Last time I went to Holland I got my eyes checked for the first time in 4 years. Of course, there was quite a jump and my eyes had each declined about -.50 (instead of -3.50 and -4.25, they were now -4.00 and -4.50). It didn’t feel right though and I went back 3 times to try different strengths out. In the end, I knew it wasn’t completely right, but didn’t have time to try out more and ended up with a set that was sufficient, but still not right.

So this time I got my eyes tested again. The verdict was my eyes had declined another -0.50 (now -5.00 and -5.50) and the optician felt uncomfortable with providing me new contact lenses until I’ve gotten it checked out by an eye doctor at the hospital, because it’s jumped twice in one year. Grrr. What I think happened is that it gradually got worse over the past 4 years and that last time they just didn’t check it properly.

I had an appointment on Monday with the GP about my eyes (not sure how it is here in UK, but in the Netherlands you always have to go through your GP to arrange anything at the hospital) and as I expected it was 3 minute meeting with the doctor going “nope, I can’t do anything, I’ve faxed your details to the hospital”. Now I have to wait until the hospital has time for me, so I’m guessing I’ll have to book a trip around February/March again. I know it’s better to have them checked just to make sure there isn’t anything wrong, but it feels like I’m wasting time.

Next to that my Dutch sim card died. Okay, not a problem, I thought, just go to the KPN store and ask for a replacement. Went to the KPN store and was told it wasn’t possible, because I’ve got a prepaid card. What I had to do was buy a new sim card, call customer services to get my old number transferred. Now normally I wouldn’t even have bothered with transferring my number, I would have bought a new sim card with a new number and live with that. But my bank account is linked to the old number and I didn’t want to go through the hassle (and the time) to get that transferred. I thought transferring the number would be easier.

Wrong. I ended up buying a new sim card a couple of days later at another store where the guy said the same thing. Buy a new sim card here and then call customer services to get the number transferred. So bought the new sim card and once home I called customer services. Call number 1: the girl told me they didn’t do that over the phone, but that it was on the website. Okay, easy I thought. I checked the website, couldn’t find the option. Call number 2: no, no, we’re not able to transfer numbers for prepaid cards, maybe if you call the department of “Nummerbehoud” (number retention?) on Monday they can help.

So on Monday I called, and unlike all the previous people I talked to this one actually knew what she was talking about. What I should have done and what all the other people should have told me was to order a new prepaid sim card on the KPN website checking the box “transfer this number”. There was no way whatsover to transfer the old number to the new sim card I got.

What did I do? I ended up keeping the new number (which is also way easier to remember than the old one) and transferring my bank account details. The stupid thing is I’m mainly annoyed with the amount of time I wasted, because the four people I talked to first each didn’t know what I should have done.

Sorry for the rant, readers. I know it’s the second one in two weeks, but I’m now back in London and hopefully I’ll get my regular postings back on track.

TV Preview: Doctor Who Season 5

Melinda — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:30:25 +0000

Farewell, Tenth Doctor! I’ve just finished watching the latest and last episode with David Tennant as the Doctor. Sniff. I won’t spoil anything yet for those who haven’t seen it, but it was a nice goodbye to Tennant. Not as great as an episode as I had hoped for (and nothing as spine-tingly exciting as previous finals), but still good (albeit a bit soppy).

I loved David Tennant as the Doctor, and since it was announced that he’d leave the show after the specials, I’ve been really curious to his successor. It was revealed a couple of months ago that the role went to Matt Smith; I wasn’t that impressed by the first photos we saw from him, but looking at the latest trailer and the little tidbit at the end of the final, I’m having more faith as him as the Doctor now.

What do you think? D you like how this new Doctor looks like?

Mini Movie Reviews: 2009 (Part 1)

Melinda — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:56 +0000

Every year I say the same thing: I must try to review more of the movies and books I’ve seen, preferably right after I’ve actually seen them. And for the past two years I’ve ended up with a long list of all the stuff I hadn’t had the time to review. So for the next couple of days I’ll be doing a couple of posts with all the “left overs” I’ve got: short mini reviews about the movies and books I’ve seen/read in 2009.

I’m not even going to try to promise that 2010 will be any different. Instead, I think I’ll make these mini reviews a more regular thing and try to do one once every two months or so. I’ll still be doing reviews for the main movies and books I’ve read, but the smaller stuff (like things I watched on TV a full 2 years after the movie originally came out) will be just done in these mini reviews.

So here’s part 1 of the things I’ve watched in 2009:

Up

I don’t think I can say much about this movie that hasn’t been said yet. It’s a brilliant tale and if you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favour and watch it. It isn’t my personal favourite Pixar movie (that still remains Wall-E), but it’s got some great moments in it and everyone I know who’s seen it loves this movie!

Rachel Getting Married

I saw this movie around Oscar season trying to watch most of the movies that were nominated (in some way or another). This has to be one of most boring movies I saw this year. Yes, Anne Hathaway is good in it, and there’s tons of drama and tension, but really not the type of movie I enjoy watching.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Loved this movie, but I have to admit it has it’s problems. Visually it’s stunning (think the old drawings of Monty Python in CGI), but the plot doesn’t make much sense and I completely lost track of what happened in the last quarter of an hour. I know it could have been so much greater if Heath Ledger was still alive, but as it is, the story kind of falls apart.

FAQ About Time Travel

Brilliant little movie about 3 guys who get stuck in a time loop in a pub. It’s been described as a Shaun of the Dead type movie but about time travel, and it does kind of fit into that description. I had never heard about it before watching it and it pleasantly surprised. Plus it’s one of those movies that does require a 2nd viewing to completely appreciate it.

Law Abiding Citizen

The difficulty with this movie was that you weren’t really sure who you were supposed to be rooting for. Gerard Butler is kind of billed as the main character, but to call him the protagonist… no, not really. After a plea bargain sets one of his family’s killers free, Butler decides to take justice into his own hands. It edges on the border of being a smart, intelligent movie, but in the end fails to deliver.

Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa

Cute, easy sequel to the first animation. Nothing really special, but still an enjoyable movie.

Trick ‘r Treat

I first heard about this movie in 2007, but because of some trouble with the studio it didn’t get released properly until this year. It’s an anthology of 4 Halloween stories, all happening on the same Halloween night. I didn’t like all of the stories, but it works well together. I think my favourite was the one about Anna Paquin, who together with her friends has dressed up as sexy fairy tale princesses to pick up boys.

The Reader

The second Oscar-y movie in this list and one that I hadn’t expected to like. The movie is about Michael Berg, a German lawyer who as a teenager in the late 1950s had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in the later years of World War II. Kate Winslet is great as Hanna Schmitz and her Oscar win is completely deserved.

The Oxford Murders

Another movie of which I had seen the trailer ages ago and then just never heard anything about. I loved the movie for its mathematic references and discussions and I really think I should read the book. Better than most movies in this genre without the assumption that the viewer is a complete idiot (which annoys me with a lot of movies).

Stranger Than Fiction

From all the films on this list, Stranger Than Fiction is a typical “me” movie; it’s a bit quirky, bordering the line of comedy and drama with an unusual. Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a slightly OCD tax auditor, who one day suddenly hears a voice narrating his life. It’s an unusual movie with that touch of fantasy and whimsicality while still remaining quite serious.

Happy New Year!

Melinda — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:22 +0000

Happy New Year, dear readers!

May you all have a fantastic 2010!

Video of The Day: Cinema 2009

Melinda — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:30:37 +0000

Episode 155: “It’s love, not Santa Claus”

1 Year, 342 Movies:

Shelftastic: library

Melinda — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:55 +0000

I’ve blogged about one of these type of bookcases before, and I still love the idea of a bit of personal space within the shelves where you can curl up and read you book. Also, loving the little coffee mug shelf!

Via The Blog on the Bookshelf

Christmas Giveaway: Lush Goodies

Melinda — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:00:57 +0000

My discovery of 2009 was Lush and their wonderful products. I’m so addicted to their stuff now! So I’ve decided to give a couple of their products away to one reader!

Now I know not everyone likes the same stuff, so my question to you dear readers is: What type of scents do you like? I love honey, jasmine and strawberries, so Lush products like Flying Fox and American Cream are my faves. To enter leave a comment behind with your favourites scents, and I’ll try to put a nice sample of Lush products together for the winner based on what you like. Also let me know if you have a bath or not! You’ve got until January 1st 18:00 to enter. Btw, if you re-tweet you get an extra entry!

Anybody is free to enter, but there shouldn’t be any weird delivery costs or restrictions (like I have to be able to ship liquids etc to your country).

Video of The Day: Muppet’s 12 Days of Christmas

Melinda — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:00:33 +0000

Episode 154: “On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me”

The Muppets perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

And then there was this Muppet video a couple of weeks ago which I hadn’t shared with you yet:

Christmas Giveaway: World of Warcraft Books

Melinda — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:00:31 +0000

I received a pair of World of Warcraft books a couple of weeks ago that I knew would be a prefect Christmas giveaway!

The first book is a World of Warcraft Master Guide (from Brady Games) with tons of tips, useful lists and maps.

The second book is an Atlas with hand-drawn maps of regions, dungeons and towns.

To enter, leave a comment behind answering the following: How did you get into gaming? You’ve got until 1st January 2010 18:00 to enter. Btw, if you re-tweet you get an extra entry!

Anybody is free to enter, as long as there are no weird delivery costs or restrictions.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Melinda — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:00:23 +0000

Have a Merry Christmas, everybody! Thanks for coming by and reading Miss Geeky the past year. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Trailerrific: Kick-Ass, The Karate Kid and More

Melinda — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:00:28 +0000

Kick-Ass: I already showed you one trailer, but a new red band one has just been released focusing on Hit Girl. Wow, this movie looks even more awesome than I thought. It’s got that Kill Bill/Wanted vibe going (although leaning more to Wanted) and looks, well, kickass! Release Date: 2nd April 2010 (UK), 16 April 2010 (US)

The Karate Kid: Set in an exotic Asian locale, the new film will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth (Jaden Smith) learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor (Jackie Chan). Some films just shouldn’t be remade and I still think Karate Kid is one of those. This doesn’t look as terrible as I imagined it could be, but I still don’t see the point of this movie. (plus correct me if I’m wrong here, but that isn’t karate shown in the trailer, right? And it’s set in China, not Japan?) Release Date: June 2010 (US), July 2010 (UK)

Knight & Day: This movie is about a lonely woman (Cameron Diaz) whose seemingly harmless blind date suddenly turns her life upside-down when a super spy (Tom Cruise) takes her on a violent worldwide journey to protect a powerful battery that holds the key to an infinite power source. Kind of getting a feeling of Mr and Mrs Smith with a touch of True Lies. Release Date: 2 July 2010 (US, UK)

Cop Out: Two longtime NYPD partners (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. I’ve been hearing a lot about this movie lately, but all in regards to the title change (it was called A Couple of Dicks first). Not sure about it though, doesn’t really look that funny. Release Date: 26 February 2010 (UK, US)

Sex and the City 2: To be honest, I couldn’t care less about this Sex and the City movie. I never got into the tv show and sure as hell didn’t go to the cinema for the first movie. But I know I’m an exception and that (Twilight aside) most girls have been dying for this movie. Release Date: 28 May 2010 (US, UK)

Repo Men: Take the world of Repo! The Genetic Opera, cut away the singing, and you’ve got Repo Men. Set in a world, where you can buy expensive mechanical organs from a company called the Union. If you don’t pay, the repo men are sent to take back what’s theirs, no matter the cost. Jude Law plays Remy, one of the best repo men around, until he suffers a cardia failure and is fitted with a heart from the companyWhen he can’t make the payments, The Union sends Remy’s former partner Jake (Forest Whitaker), to track him down. Release Date: 2 April 2010 (US)

Furry Vengeance: This. Looks. HORRIBLE. A real estate developer (Brendan Fraser) moves his family from Chicago to Oregon when his job calls for him to oversee the building of a major housing development. But when his latest project threatens the homes of the local forest creatures, the animals seek revenge by turning a peaceful cul-de-sac under construction into a battlefield of epic proportions. Release Date: April 2010 (US), May 2010 (UK)

Frozen: A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind dangling high off the ground with no way down. Release Date: 5 February 2010 (US)

Valentine’s Day: The second trailer for this movie. I know it looks quite cheesy, but I’m hoping it has that Love Actually vibe going on. Release Date: 12 February 2010 (US, UK)

Shrek Forever After: There really milking this series, and it’s looking even as more annoying than ever. Release Date: May 2010 (US), July 2010 (UK)

The Bounty Hunter: a bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) who is hired to track down his own ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston), who has skipped out on bail. Release Date: March 2010 (US), April 2010 (UK)

Winner! Dollhouse Season One DVD

Melinda — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:45:16 +0000

Thanks for all the entries to the Dollhouse giveaway. I had a lot of fun reading everyone’s comments on what their favourite Joss Whedon moment was. Alas, there can only be one winner though, so I’ve randomly picked one person to get the dvd.

And the winner is…

*drum roll, please*

Adrian!

With the comment:

This is a bit of a cheat, but for me it’s got to be the entirety of Ariel in Firefly – to me, that ep really fulfilled the promise of Firefly, and it was great to see the diversity of the world that he’d created. Ah well, poor Firefly!

Enjoy the dvds, Adrian! As for all the other people who entered, I’m also doing a giveaway of the dvd of Moon right now, which will stay open till the 27th. Besides that I’ll be doing another contest on Christmas Day and two more next week!