Live Long and Prosper - RIP Leonard Nimoy

There isn't much I can say, as we have lost a legend in Leonard Nimoy today. He truly said it best in his last tweet:

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015

Rest in peace, Mr. Nimoy. Thank you for all the perfect moments.

COMICS: "Doctor Who - The Tenth Doctor Issue 7" With Weeping Angels!

Some of my recent dreams have come true and I'm officially reviewing Titan Comics' Doctor Who series! Cue Whovian-overload! Click the image below to pop over to SoundonSight.org and see what I have to say about the latest issue! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Rejoining the blogosphere... with COMIC BOOKS!

I have been one of the laziest bloggers ever lately. I'll openly admit that. I had fallen into a funk, gotten tied up in novel writing (with which I still am not finished), had the holidays to deal with and recover from, and so much more. I even applied for some new writing gigs... one of which, I got! I am now one of the Comic Book contributors for SoundOnSight.org! My first article is already live over there, and I'd love for you all to pop over there and give it and SOS some love for me! Click the image below to read my take on the new Female Thor!

I'm still going to be promoting my work here, and maybe occasionally doing the random review here and there for my blog. However, I am working on having new things to focus on, new frontiers to explore, and hopefully more to talk about for all of you fabulous readers of mine. Plus, hopefully now I'll be able to head off to more comic cons--on business, of course--and participate in panels, meet cool people, and parade TV Boy around in his 10th Doctor cosplay!

As they used to say... STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

Official #StarWars Episode VII Teaser Trailer!

Have you seen it yet? No? Well, look no further! The official Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer is HERE!




That red lightsaber... with the HILT! And the Milennium Falcon! And X-Wings! And TIE Fighters! And and and.... GEEKSPLOSION. (Click any image to enlarge!)

©Lucasfilm/Disney.

©Lucasfilm/Disney.

©Lucasfilm/Disney.

©Lucasfilm/Disney.

And I'm dead of geek. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving for my American readers. TV Boy has been sick all week, so our holiday was a little more low-key than we'd hoped. Sigh. And sorry I've been quiet... I participated in NaNoWriMo! I'm writing a BOOK, guys! And it's actually going really well. I got a late start, but I'll end the month with nearly 14,000 words and more than 30 pages. It's a realistic-sci-fi conspiracy thriller. That's all I'm going to say. But I'm happy with how it's turning out.

The Day #Marvel Broke the Internet

HUGE Marvel news today as they unveil the next series of amazing Marvel films for which we will now all wait anxiously!

All images courtesy Marvel©.

This morning, during a special event at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed the films that will make up Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring a mix of fan-favorite characters and several heroes who will be making their big-screen debuts. Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man”), Chris Evans (“Captain America”) and Chadwick Boseman (newly announced “Black Panther”) all made special appearances.

Feige also unveiled the next two release dates for the Avengers Infinity War series and the release date for the highly anticipated sequel to their summer 2014 blockbuster hit (that is still breaking records worldwide!), Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here's the complete list of films from today's announcements: 

·       5/1/15 –  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

·       7/17/15 – ANT-MAN 

·       5/6/16 – CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

·       11/4/16 – DOCTOR STRANGE 

·       5/5/17 – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 (previously dated 7/28/17)

·       7/28/17 – THOR: RAGNAROK

·       11/3/17 – BLACK PANTHER

·       5/4/18 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART I

·       7/6/18 – CAPTAIN MARVEL

·       11/2/18 – INHUMANS

·       5/3/19 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART II

Which film(s) are you most excited about? Sound off on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments section! I personally can't wait to see the female version of Captain Marvel. Check out Marvel.com for more info on all your favorites! 

More #DoctorWho fun at Media Medusa!

©MediaMedusa.com

This week I talk about Peter Harness' (yes, I keep trying to put a K in that... old habits and all!) writing debut with the popular BBC drama series. We get hit over the head with an ethical argument and Clara yells at the Doctor. Check it all out at MediaMedusa.com!

Gear up for How To Train Your Dragon 2 with new graphic novel! #DreamworksDragons

With the upcoming release of Dreamworks' How To Train Your Dragon 2 (due out June 13th!), kids are going to be clamoring for anything Dragon related. Titan Comics comes to the rescue with their new kid-friendly graphic novel series based on the Cartoon Network hit Dreamworks Dragons Riders of Berk!

The full-color comic is easy to read and appropriate for even the youngest Toothless fans. It is written with the humor of the television series, and the characters are all our familiar favorites: Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly, Snotlout and Hookfang, Fishlegs and Meatlug, Tuffnutt and Ruffnutt with their two-headed dragon Belch and Barf, and more viking village folks.

The art is fantastic, and the characters--while not drawn in the CGI fans might be used to--are true to the ones we've come to know and love on both the big and small screens. It's the perfect way to get your Dragon fanatics excited for the movie, or even just introducing your child to the world of comics. Because you totally should. Comic books are a fun way to get kids interested in reading!

The story: Snotlout's dragon Hookfang has an issue that puts the village of Berk in danger, and he must be quarantined. However, Hookfang goes missing! The friends must find Hookfang before he ends up in even more danger!

The comic releases on Tuesday, May 27th, which gives Dragons fans a few weeks to gear up for the new animated feature. More issues are planned to release later in the summer and periodically throughout 2015. It retails for $6.99, but pre-order price seems to be running at $6.29. For more information or to pre-order, check out the Titan Comics website or you can buy it now using this Amazon widget!



*Disclosure: I received a free copy of this comic for review purposes. For more information, please see my Disclosure tab above.

#IWantMyNerdHQ Home Stretch!

Zachary Levi and the Nerd Machine group are only two days away from the end of the #IWantMyNerdHQ campaign, and we all still need your help to get the word about about Nerd HQ and why it's awesome!

Image courtesy TheNerdMachine.com

Check out this video featuring three years of awesome Nerd HQ Conversations for a Cause!



Also, just released from my friends over at The Nerd Machine... 
"When we reach 333K, one third of our one million dollar goal, every funder that has contributed $5 or more to the campaign will be automatically entered to win the most awesome prize offered to date, a visit from Zachary Levi. That’s right, a funder somewhere in the Continental United States (sorry international funders) WORLD will win a visit from Zac in July before Nerd HQ. He will fly to the nearest city and accompany the winner and a guest to dinner.

And that’s not all.

After the city is chosen, all funders in the area are invited to meet Zac to say hello, grab an autograph, and take photos after the dinner with the selected funder. The Nerd Machine will find a venue close to the winner’s location that can accommodate the event, dependent on how many attendees want to come. When all the details are arranged, we will ask funders who live close enough to attend to RSVP so we can get an accurate count for the venue.

Remember, this incentive is only possible if we reach 333K during the campaign.

Go to www.iwantmynerdhq.com to support the campaign

- See more at: http://www.thenerdmachine.com/iwantmynerdhqupdate/#sthash.BeicvSjs.dpuf"

That's right, everyone who becomes a funder of the Indiegogo campaign is eligible to win a DINNER WITH ZAC LEVI!!! But it's only if they reach $333K by this Friday! Even just $5 helps!

Still on the fence? Here is an awesome list of reasons why you should contribute to making NerdHQ happen thanks to my friend Audra at RealityToDreams.com:

Visit IWantMyNerdHQ.com to contribute or find out more about the campaign or the event! Also, you can use the widget on the right side bar to donate directly. Let's make NerdHQ '14 the most incredible one yet! Thanks to all my nerdy, geeky, fantastic friends who have already contributed! 

Now... whose suitcase is big enough to smuggle me to San Diego in July?

Geek, Thy Name is TV Mom

Some of you who are frequent readers of the blog here at TheTVMom.com might have noticed a slight change recently... look around, I'll wait....

Did you find it?

The banner.

There ya go.

That's right, I'm adding in a component of my everyday life to the blog: Geek Culture. And as part of that, I'm going to let you in on a little bit about who The TV Mom is on a day to day basis.

First of all, here's a more recent picture of me, surrounded by a friend's massive video game collection:

Geektastic!

Here are just a few things you might want to notice about that picture. First of all, I'm wearing a shirt that is a Doctor Who/Donkey Kong crossover (found at BlueBoxTees.com, by the way). I'm also sporting a lovely pair of NES controller earrings that were a birthday gift from TV Dad to me for my thirtieth (he got them from Etsy... seller unknown, he won't tell me!). Third, you can see most of my tattoo in this shot... an 8-bit heart with TV Boy's first initial in Binary written on the banner. And of course, my geek glasses.

Then, there's pinball.

Pinburgh 2014 - Image credit: S. Vieth.

There's TV Dad and myself at what is essentially heaven/Mecca for pinball enthusiasts: PAPA... the Professional and Amatuer Pinball Association. It's a huge warehouse just outside of Pittsburgh, PA that houses pretty much every pinball table ever created. They host tournaments every year (no, I'm not *that* good, I'm only ranked 9706th... but I'm friends with the #10 ranked guy!) and events like Pinburgh, when you can show up, get a cup full of tokens, and play until you can't feel your fingers anymore. Here's a shot of me putting the boys to shame on a Black Rose table:

Image credit: S. Vieth.

Those are just a few of the ultra-nerdy things I fill my days with. There are more R2D2's around my house than most normal people have, and I may or may not have gotten to talk to Star Wars actors Jeremy Bulloch and Peter Mayhew a couple of years ago at Comic Con in Chicago...

Boba Freakin' Fett people!

Yeah, this totally happened!

Essentially, I'm a huge nerd, and I love it. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I want you to not only know that I have serious geek-cred, but that I am now an official supporter of the #IWantMyNerdHQ campaign! You may or may not have heard about the Nerd HQ event that is put on concurrently with THE huge Comic Con on the west coast. The event is hosted by The Nerd Machine and features guest speakers from across the realm of all things nerdy including a special panel called Conversations for a Cause, which helps raise funds for charity Operation Smile that provides free surgeries to children with cleft lip and palate across the globe.

The Nerd HQ 2014 event is scheduled to run July 24th-27th at Petco Park in San Diego, CA.

Here's why this is important. This year, Nerd Machine is crowdfunding the event to cover ever-increasing costs for hosting. Here's spokesman Zac Levi to tell you a little more about Nerd HQ and how YOU can help!



Here's what you can do to help. First of all, visit IWantMyNerdHQ.com or use the widget on the right to donate to the NerdHQ fund. Even small donations of only $5 can help! Then, you can share or tweet this campaign using the hashtag #IWantMyNerdHQ across all social media platforms, even if you can't give financially. This helps get the word out to all nerds across the world who might want to help and participate! And, just announced: "If we reach our goal by 250K goal by 11:59pm PDT this Friday, April 11th , Five (5) contributors will win a Skype call with Zachary Levi. Anyone who has contributed at least $5 since the beginning of the campaign will be eligible to win." How cool is that?

So please, give if you can, and share, share, share! Nerd it forward! Click the image below for more!