Christmas films with guns, violence and rude words

If you think that Christmas films are all about tidings of joy you clearly aren't watching the right films.

Do you dream in puppet?

Neil Patrick Harris is making a web series about puppets. Really.

Source: youtube.com via Anne on Pinterest

Reasons to love or hate a social media holiday

I fly to China for work on Saturday and will be behind the "Great Firewall of China" for a week. I won't be able to access my Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or YouTube accounts (legally).

This is freaking me out a little, so I thought I'd lay out some pros and cons of taking a social media holiday.

Movember inspiration for geeks

Happy Movember to everyone growing facial hair for charity!

Here's some inspiration for the style of mo you should grow from the world of geekdom.*




* Some examples do include beards. Actually most of these examples include beards.

Preparing for China with a little help from Firefly

I'm off to China in a few weeks for work and I'm starting to panic about my lack of language skills. Give me a dead language like Latin and Greek and I'm all over it, but ask me to learn a language you actually need to speak and I'm screwed.

So I'm placing my trust in Firefly to help me prepare for my trip.

Source: azbrowncoats.org via Eve on Pinterest

5 things a geek like me wants for Christmas

I read on Twitter today that we have nine Wednesdays until Christmas. When I got over the shock I had a root around Pinterest for some geeky things I can put on my wish list for Santa. I have to admit, most of them are pretty unlikely to arrive down my chimney.

Source: Uploaded by user via Julia on Pinterest

Benedict Cumberbatch charms the Cheltenham Literature Festival

I was one of 2,000+ people packed into the Benedict Cumberbatch event at the Cheltenham Literature Festival last night. You'll be pleased to know that I internalised my Sherlock fangirl squeeing and actually paid attention to what he was saying.

5 things I won't do at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

I'm spending this weekend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in the company of J.K. Rowling, Benedict Cumberbatch and Christopher Eccleston. As is my pre-geekout ritual, here are five things I'll try not to do at the event.

One reason to watch... ParaNorman (2012)

One reason to watch ParaNorman (2012) - the undead aren't as scary as the living.

Finding a geek spot - Weymouth

I tend to find a geek spot everywhere I go, and my family trip to Weymouth in July was no different. Who knew that a visit to a lighthouse would be so entertaining?


Do the truffle shuffle and then read on...

Cheltenham Literature Festival gets my fangirl approval

I'm going to the Cheltenham Literature Festival this year for non-literary reasons.

The (O)Lympics are coming!

Yes yes yes, the London 2012 Olympics officially kicks off with Danny Boyles' 'The Isles of Wonder' opening ceremony tomorrow night. But did you know that there's another short performance about the Olympics that you should be watching?

Comic-Con 2012 - 5 fantastic things

San Diego Comic-Con is officially over for another year and the fanboys and girls have gone back to their homes to countdown until the 2013 event. Here's my pick of five fantastic things that happened this year, in no particular order.

Comic-Con 2012 - Firefly panel reduces Ballroom 20 to tears

What happens when you announce a Firefly 10th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con? Well, you get people camping out on the street in the queue to get in, an impromptu visit from Joss Whedon at 3.30am, and a Ballroom 20 full of teary-eyed Browncoats.

Scully, Skinner and the Iron Throne - a day at London Film and Comic Con

If you're a geek like me you've been reading Twitter this week and crying tears of pain that you're not in San Diego enjoying Comic-Con. But last weekend I was geeking out big style at London Film and Comic Con, and it was awesome! 

X-Files marks the spot at London Film and Comic Con

This weekend I join legions of fanboys and girls at London Film and Comic Con, the annual celebration of TV, film and all things geeky pop culture organised by Showmasters. And as far as I'm concerned, this year is all about the 'I' in FBI...

The Gotham Preacher in London

Did you see the Gotham Preacher in London recently? It looks like he spent some time in Covent Garden trying to convert the city sinners to Batmanism. And it makes me happy that he had some success.

The Gotham Preacher talks Batmanism on BBC radio

Remember that guy preaching the word of Batmanism on the streets of Birmingham? Well, he's been all over the local papers recently and this week he was a guest on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire.

One reason to watch... A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)

One reason to watch A Fantastic Fear of Everything - we all have a banana to face.

The Gotham Street Preacher - Batman in Birmingham

Occasionally you find something on YouTube that makes you laugh and also makes you ponder the bigger questions of life. And what's not to love about a guy in a Batman mask preaching on the streets of Birmingham?

Kapow Comic Con 2012 - an audience with Nick Frost

When Nick Frost spent an hour at Kapow Comic Con 2012 discussing his life, career and love affair with Simon Pegg he was wearing a Last Exit to Nowhere t-shirt homage to the Ghostbusters. I’m sure I saw someone else walking around the convention in the same t-shirt.

Reasons to get your geek on at Kapow Comic Con

This weekend I'll be assembling with the geeks at Kapow Comic Convention in London. But I'm not a comic book geek, so what's in it for me?

One reason to watch... Avengers Assemble (2012)

One reason to watch Avengers Assemble - Joss Whedon knows what he's doing.

Bloggers assemble for BlogCamp Birmingham

A hoard of enthusiastic bloggers assembled in Birmingham on Saturday to chat, learn and eat cake at BlogCamp. Sally Whittle and her Tots100 team had put together a schedule covering the basics and the future of blogging - from building your brand to understanding the dark art of SEO. But was it any good?

5 things I won't do at BlogCamp Birmingham

On Saturday I'll be one of a select hoard of bloggers learning and eating cake at BlogCamp Birmingham. As with most events I go to, I should remind myself what not to do before I get there...

Joss Whedon answers fan questions on Reddit

Joss Whedon did a brief but brilliant AMA (Ask Me Anything) chat on Reddit today. I haven't been through it all yet, but one comment caught my eye.

One reason to watch ... The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

One reason to watch The Cabin in the Woods - you need to discover the secret for yourself.

Attack of the clones - will kids always become geeks?

I spent the weekend with some friends up north and their three year old son. His dad's a geek like me, his mum is most definitely not. What are his chances of a fandom-free future?

Goonies never say diet!

Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile at work. Today it was a miniature BabyRuth bar.

Something about being human and playing hunger games

Today is all about killing and stuff.

Hello BlogCampers!

I'm going to BlogCamp next month and thought I should take the time to introduce myself to the other lovely people attending. I hope this photo doesn't scare any of them.

The leap year post

Happy actual birthday to everyone born on 29 February! I just read in The Telegraph that these people are called 'leapings' or 'leapers', so I'd like to declare today a day of celebration for the ultimate leaper ...

5 things I won't do when I meet Amanda Tapping at a Stargate convention this weekend

This weekend I'll meet Amanda Tapping at the Chevron 7.8 convention in London, and will henceforth have a full collection of team SG1 autographs and pictures for my geek collection. *applause*

But before I get carried away with how awesome this is, I need to remind myself what not to do when I meet someone famous from a TV show. So here are five things I won't be doing when I meet Amanda this weekend.

The obligatory Valentine post

Is today supposed to be about romance or rumpy? Not sure, but here are three of my favourite songs about that stuff.

Sherlock series 2 DVD extras - the good stuff

I love DVD extras, they are the special sauce of my fangirl world. So when I received my Sherlock series 2 DVDs in the post I went straight to the good stuff.

Three things to do after saying Goodbye Chuck

So, you're wearing your Nerd Herd t-shirt, you've watched Chuck v Sarah and Chuck v The Goodbye, you're feeling sad but satisfied that the show ended where it did.... what's a Chuck fan to do next?

Goodbye Chuck

Tonight Team Bartowski face their final mission - the end of five seasons of spy jinx, Intersect flashes, romance, laughs, tears, Subway sandwiches, fights, family drama, explosions, shock twists, kung fu, Jeffster performances, geeky guest stars and so much more that if I wrote it all here I'd start weeping nerd tears of sadness.

One reason to watch... W.E (2011)

One reason to watch W.E - style.

Hayley from Roeni event stationery and styling shares her thoughts on W.E, after walking the red carpet at the London Film Festival premiere last year.

One reason to watch... Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

One reason to watch Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia - "We solve crimes, I blog about it and he forgets his pants."