June
3
Name the Geek – Two Days Left!
There’s only two days left in our Name the Geek contest! Go vote now – your choice might be the winner!
June
3
Elvish ABCs Prints
Having been raised in a bilingual home, I know how helpful it is to introduce a child to both parents’ languages as soon as possible. However, what do you do if your partner is fluent in a fictional language?
Thankfully, Denise Giffin is two steps ahead of the curve. Her charming and educational Elvish ABCs for baby’s nursery will have your little geekling learning that “A” is for “Aras” (deer), “B” is for “Brog” (bear), and “C” is for “Cabor” (frog).
You can buy the set of three at Denise’s Etsy shop, Tie Dye Jedi, which is full of lovely J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired prints.
Now, if only there were resources for those half-Klingon households…
June
2
Name the Geek – Four Groups Left!
We’re down to four groups of eight names to pick a moniker for our geek. Go vote now!
June
2
Giskin Anomaly Detector
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting San Diego’s Balboa Park, you’ll know what a beautiful place it is. With its Spanish-Renaissance architecture and landscaped gardens, you feel like you’ve truly stepped back into another time.
It seems like I’m not the only one who feels that way. The Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) recently launched an interactive cell phone game called Giskin Anomaly, to encourage visitors to fully explore the park’s historic treasures.
Guests can dial in to hear the adventures of two people who use a memory-sensing device (called the Giskin Anomaly Detector) to retrieve WWII-era recollections throughout the park.
As part of the game’s launch, BPOC hosted a contest inviting artists to create a Steampunk-inspired model of what this fanciful device would look like.
San Diego-area artist John Hosford walked away with the grand prize. His intricate model, dubbed “Sir Tellabeem’s Tempress Mark II” took him over 80 hours to construct, involving cutting and dying the leather of the glove by hand.
Though there was only one grand-prize winner, the competition was fierce indeed. Check out the Flickr pool showcasing the winners, and the afternoon their costumed creators spent playing with the contraptions in the park.
A moment of full disclosure: I used to take karate classes with John and his siblings, back in the day. I knew he was a creative kid, so it’s great to see how his talent has blossomed over the years. Congrats on the win, John, and keep up the awesome work!
June
1
Name the Geek – Day 4!
We have eight groups of names! Go vote and help us narrow it down for tomorrow.
June
1
Name the Geek – Round 2
Thanks to everyone who voted in Round 1. Round 2 is up so get to voting! There are 16 groups of 8 names and you can vote for 4 names in each group. Check back tomorrow to see who makes it to Round 3!