Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

I’m taking a drawing class at Utah Valley University this summer, and have been required to keep a sketchbook. “These should be finished sketches,” the teacher said. We can draw anything, but no stick figure gesture drawings or the like for actual points toward an actual grade.

So I’ve spent a fair number of hours drawing objects that are laying around my house and I like some of the results. No fruit bowl still lifes for me, though. I’m drawing only the interesting objects laying around my house. Like this 2-foot Love-A-Lot Care Bear stuffed toy that Ben gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

The last time I took an art class was in 6th grade, so I’ve been delighted to discover that I’ve improved over the years. Like good wine. I’m sure that actually paying attention in class has helped. I have been known to doodle a little bit on my own, but not enough to ever believe that I am destined to become a Great Artist. Still, it’s been fun. Now I only have 10 more sketches to finish by Tuesday…

I really think that I need to get one of these t-shirts. But first, I want to know why the dinosaur is wearing braces. That’s just ridiculous.

Thesaurus t-shirt from snorgtees

[Idaho trip summary is still in the works, once I get off my busy/lazy butt and upload the photos.]

My writer friend Ted is spending the month of June traveling across the country, staying with kind friends along the way. Ben and I managed to convince him to make a weekend stop in Utah along his journey. It has been rainy and stormy and chilly the entire weekend, effectively presenting Ted with the image that Utah has a wet, temperate climate. Though we can certainly use the rain here, this is a false image. It’s also ruined our plans to take him on scenic tours, short hikes, and have a barbecue.

We attempted to win a hot air balloon ride on Saturday morning, getting up at 6am to do so. We watched the balloons inflate, but then were given the sad news of some “safety first” crap because of incoming storm cells and that meant the balloons would not be launched at all. This made Ted very sad. I still feel guilty, even though the weather was not my fault.

Some friends came over Saturday evening and helped us inaugurate the new cornhole boards. We were able to clear out space upstairs to play this otherwise outdoor lawn game, and it went very well. Our Utah friends seemed to enjoy this Cincinnati-based game that started to become popular while I was living there in the early part of this decade. (Can we say “early aughts” or is there some other way to say it? Early 00s or Early 2000s just don’t seem right.) Once the cornhole craze died down and winners of a mini-tournament were declared, we headed downstairs to play Rock Band. Ben succumbed to (a lot of) peer pressure and sang. He’s the Guy Who Doesn’t Sing In Front of People so this was a very big deal. I’m very proud of him. Though I know it may never happen again.

Today was another crappy weather day, and we postponed a scenic drive up to the Sundance resort until after 4pm. When there was a break in the weather, Ben, Ted, and I jumped in the car and actually saw a little sunshine heading up Provo Canyon. Now, I volunteered the past two years at the Sundance Film Festival, and have worked a few heavy-lifting shifts this summer for the Summer Labs, so I could look all cool and stuff by saying hi to one of the Sundance Institute managers.

The timing was good, and we were invited to sit down in the screening room with a crowd (under 100 people) of visiting directors, writers, producers, and Sundance staff for a private screening. It’s great to know people! The Summer Labs are for creative types (who have to go through a competitive application process) to workshop some scenes from their manuscripts.

The screening consisted of 1-6 scenes from each of about 10 screenplays, and we were warned beforehand that they were very rough cuts. Some looked more promising than others, but it was really cool to glimpse into the lives of Professional Film People. We were cautiously aware that we didn’t really belong, so we tried to be inconspicuous.

And we kept our cool when Alfre Woodard was introduced and then sat right behind us. And also when the lights came up at the end and we noticed that Alia Shawkat was sitting three empty seats over from Ben. She put on a baseball cap and slinked off pretty quickly, not giving any of us the opportunity to walk up to her and awkwardly/fannishly say hello and then maybe lick her face. It’s probably for the better.

This whole volunteering for Sundance thing is turning out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. It makes living in Utah a little brighter, even on a somewhat dreary day like today.

Our lovely Thursday in Seattle was followed by an equally beautiful Friday in terms of weather, but more grumpiness on an emotional level. This likely had to do with the fact that we walked about 5 more miles than expected throughout the course of the day.

The plan was good; walk down Pike Street from the hotel to First Avenue, where we would catch a bus in the free ride zone to Jackson Street and walk two blocks to Safeco Field for a 12:30 game day tour of the ballpark. Except… for some reason, the only bus that passed us on First Avenue was not going that direction. This directly contradicted the hotel front desk ladies, who assured us that LOTS of buses go straight down First Avenue. So. We walked 2 miles (according to Google Maps) and arrived at Safeco Field a breezy 15 minutes before tour time. But I was damp with sweat and not nearly as caffeinated as I would have liked, and I was hungry and thirsty, so even the nice weather did not seem as nice as it could have if we’d been able to take a damn bus for a portion of our journey.

Still, the ballpark tour was cool. Even though Ken Griffey, Jr. did not lead it as I was expecting. (I thought he worked for the team now?) A shrewish woman in her 70s named Helen led the tour instead, and she was full of information and excitement as long as nobody asked any questions. Most of our fellow tour-takers were Japanese and abided by her unspoken rule—too busy affirming stereotypes by fawning over every mention and piece of memorabilia related to Ichiro. We got to sit in the press box for a few minutes, and I thought that was cool. Ben about wet his pants from the excitement of standing in the dugouts and then on the field behind home plate. On the dirt, mind you. DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING THE GRASS, Helen said, with the implied sentiment that she would put on her Gremlin face and bite off your Tender Parts with one snarl if you did.

After the tour, we browsed the team store and confirmed that we are well past the Obtain Chinsy Souvenir From Everywhere stage. Well, that was more my hurdle than Ben’s to begin with. We went across the street to Pyramid Brewery for lunch. I enjoyed water and some of Ben’s Audacious Apricot Ale. My burger was okay, but the sweet potato fries were Audaciously Awesome and satisfied both my carb and vegetable cravings.

We walked back up First Avenue afterward to Yesler Way and Pioneer Square, where a great miracle occurred and we caught a bus. Instead of taking it all the way back to Pike Street, we got off a little early and went down to the waterfront where we caught the last Argosy Harbor Cruise of the day. We wanted to take full advantage of the nice Seattle weather and got some great views of the skyline. There was also a sea lion hanging out on a buoy by the West Seattle peninsula who posed for photos as we cruised on by.

Still full from lunch, we finally made it back to the hotel in the early evening for a nap. Later on we relied on The Internet for our bus itinerary to the Space Needle. Guess what? The Internet (specifically King County’s Metro Trip Planner) provided much more accurate information than the front desk. There was no line at the Space Needle, and not many people hanging out at the top while we were there (about 10pm-11pm). We ended up back at Tap House Grill for a late-night snack and, of course, some beer. Well, Ben had a beer and I drank water and we complained to each other about our sore legs and feet.

Saturday we met up with our friends Liz and Josh (and their 3.5-year-old daughter, whom I haven’t seen since she was a month old) and ate good Chinese food at Pike Place Market. Except the diet Pepsi was nasty. We stopped by Golden Age Collectables to pick up our allotted one-per-person comic for Free Comic Book Day, and then headed back to Safeco Field (in their car, thankfully) for an actual baseball game. We sat in “Area 51,” which is in right field close to where Ichiro hangs out. He’s number 51.

The most exciting part of the game for me was batting practice, where Liz and I whimpered and cowered together as baseballs came screaming toward us multiple times. Ben and Josh were ready to knock us down “for safety” to catch any balls headed in our direction. A few came close, but attempts were foiled by people with bug mitts and long reaches who didn’t even end up having seats in our section.

Josh said that I HAD to try the stadium’s garlic fries, so I did. And I basically breathed garlic fire for three days. I officially recommend them, but with caution. And plan to share because you actually get a lot for the overpriced fee.

It was “Turn Back the Clock” night at Safeco Field, and the Mariners and the Oakland A’s were dressed in retro jerseys from 1939. So they were actually the Seattle Rainers and the Oakland Oaks. There was no modern music played, only Swing and traditional baseball tunes on the organ. It was pretty cool… the Jumbotron even displayed video with a sepia and crackle filter so it looked like film footage from 1939. I liked the gimmick. The game went pretty quickly, and though we thought it might go into extra innings, Oakland ended up winning it in the ninth. Josh was sad, but Ben was just happy to be able to watch a live pro baseball game again. Going to a minor league Salt Lake Bees game just isn’t the same.

Sunday we met up with Liz and Josh again to go to the zoo. Seattle has a nice zoo, and if you like birds, you NEED to visit the Willawong Station. It’s a “bird feeding experience” that brings out the best of bird ownership without the need for you to clean up any poop or change the cage. In a different exhibit, I was rushed by a kookaburra. Luckily there was a plate of glass or plexiglass between us, because that m’f'n beak would have hurt bigtime.

After the zoo, we went back to Liz and Josh’s sweet new digs for dinner (some of the best take-out Pad Thai I’ve ever had) and general hanging out. It’s hard to not live closer to them.

On Monday, there was some time to kill after we checked out of our hotel and before our flight, so we meandered down the street to the Seattle Aquarium. Ben enjoyed it more than expected, and revealed to me that he wasn’t sure he’d ever been in an aquarium. I couldn’t believe it, but then again I worked a summer at Sea World of Ohio (when it still existed) and can’t imagine life without occasional aquarium visits. In any case, it turns out that I really, really love puffins. Is it possible that I’ve never seen them before? Perhaps. I spent a proportionally large amount of time staring and smiling at them and taking a bajillion crappy photos that didn’t turn out. Well, a couple kind of did. I’ll get those up on Flickr in the next couple days.

And that was our Seattle trip. We won’t be moving there anytime soon, but I definitely want to go back to visit. Now that we’ve done our downtown tourist trip, we can try it from a different angle. If it’s baseball season, though, the angle will still have to include a game! No garlic fries next time, though.

I’m just doing a quick PSA here to remind you to visit your local comic book store this Saturday to pick up some free comics.

Free Comic Book Day is an annual nationwide event sponsored by  industry representatives in publishing and distributing comics. If you haven’t been in a comic book specialty shop in a while (or *gasp* NEVER!), this is the day to go.

If you’re thinking to yourself that comics are just for kids and for those socially inept guys who live in their moms’ basements, well, you’re partially right. Comics are for them. But there’s a good chance that you’ll like some of them, too. Aside from the forever-ongoing Marvel and DC comics like Spiderman, X-Men, Batman, and Superman, there are a lot of literary and entertaining gems in the comic world.

The FCBD site has some basic information for those new to comics, but if you’re a “mature reader,” i.e you don’t mind the F-bomb or mature themes like sex and violence, I would recommend that you start out with the following Vertigo-imprint series that are now available in (multi-volume) book form: Fables, The Sandman, and Y: The Last Man. Fables is the only one that still has new issues coming out.

Want to start with something a little more tame but still really good? Try the complete collection of Bone comics. I would personally steer you away from ye olde Archie comics, though new ones are still being released on a regular basis.

If you have the opportunity to start some kids out on comics, or even just reading in general, there are lots of kid-friendly options including Pixar movie spin-offs and The Simpsons. I recently nabbed the first issue of The Muppet Show at Dragon’s Keep in Provo. It’s nothing spectacularly literary, but it’s fun and I’m a sucker for anything Muppet-related (even if I end up panning it).

So get thee to a local (participating) comic book store on Saturday and get thine free comics!

I watched the first Star Trek movie last night, in full, for the first time ever. Wow. It was… trippy. And long. Ben and I laughed to the point of crying during a couple parts… and I may have cried a Spock tear when it was all over. During the last part, (SPOILER) when Decker goes all sparkly, I couldn’t help but think of what the sparkly vampires supposedly look like in the movie Twilight. (It’s doubtful that I’ll read the books or see that movie, let’s be honest.)

Ben and I are going to attempt to watch all the Star Trek movies, in order, before seeing the new Star Trek movie that’s coming out on May 8. Sylar as Spock intrigues me. I hear that the new movie involves some time travel as Leonard Nimoy visits from the future as “Old Spock” to help his younger counterpart.

So, in line with Star Trek movie hype and the theme of time travel, I want to share a magazine flashback with you.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up in the basement and came across a vault of Ben’s magazines from his childhood. During the 1980s—while I was playing black and white Macintosh games, devouring hundreds of library books, and reading Cricket magazines—Ben was taking apart electronics, learning how to program on a Commodore, and reading 3-2-1 Contact magazines. (Is is really surprising that GeekDad’s 10 Annoying Habits of a Geeky Spouse basically listed things that we love about each other?)

I found this gem from December 1986 with the enticing cover question, “Is Time Travel Possible?” The cover article includes kid-level coverage of several TV shows and movies basically by filling four pages with exciting photos of Dr. Who, Superman, Marty McFly, Time Bandits, and The Time Machine.

The secondary spread covers the then-new Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Click on the photo to get a PDF of the scan… it’s precious. I especially love the photo caption that says “Star Trek movies include special effects such as smoke and fire.” I mean, WOW!

After 20 years on the air, The Simpsons will finally get their own United States postage stamps! Our beloved prime time cartoon family will be available to adorn snail mail and/or stamp collections on May 7. There are five different stamps, each featuring the face of a core Simpsons family member.

The USPS definitely understands the minds of collectors. There are several options to purchase The Simpsons stamps online, not all of which are actual stamps.

• Booklet of 20 (4 stamps of each face) with a random cover
• 4 Booklets of 20 (so completists get all of the covers without that pesky blind box anxiety)
• First Day Covers (envelopes with the stamp and a special digital postmark dated May 7)
• First Day Covers—but with special color postmarks
• “Simpsons Cancellation Keepsake” (all 4 colorized First Day Covers plus a booklet with random cover)
• Stamped postal cards (but since postcards only cost $0.28 to send, I’m assuming they’re ironically not  stamped with the Simpsons stamps)
• Individual 11×14 inch giclée art prints of each stamp, matted
• A family set of giclée art prints, 11×20 inches, matted and framed

So, if you have an extra $250, you can get all of that for your stamp and/or Simpsons collection. I know, I know, it cuts into your Qee budget. But if you’re a real fan, you know that “budget” is synonymous with “oppression” and not even something called “therapy” could help quell your desire to acquire everything SIMPSONS. (And that’s probably why Matt Groening has issued you a restraining order.)

Since I’m not that “real” of a fan, the only stamp collectibles I’ll probably get are the 4-pack of stamp booklets so that I get each cover. The First Day Covers would be neat, but not top priority. However, if I could convince Ben that we should spend $25 on it instead of a gallon paint to touch up the front of the house, I would really love to have a giclée art print of Lisa.

I wouldn’t call myself a stamp collector, per se, but I do have a small stash of stamps sheets featuring images I love. Maybe someday I’ll tell my uninterested children about why I find them so interesting. I hope that they’ll appreciate commemorative stamp issues like Jim Henson and the Muppets, Marvel superheroes, Hubble telescope, etc. I’m not going to hold my breath. (Since my uninterested children are still imaginary, you’d think that I would imagine them as being interested. But since they’ll likely get half their genes from Ben, I’m a little more realistic. He has a pretty practiced BLANK STARE OF INCREDULITY whenever I get excited about my cool little stamp stash. Or my coin collection, for that matter.)

And on days when I’m feeling optimistic and happy, I can get a good dose of bitterness just by looking at my stash as a record of the rapid price increases of stamps from year to year.

By the way, USPS prices are going up again on May 7 to counter your Simpsons excitement. The standard stamp will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents. So if you still send letters via snail mail, you might want to consider buying some more non-denominated Liberty Bell “forever” stamps.

Don’t hang on to them too long, though, because I estimate that the Forever Stamp Bubble will burst around 2011, when nobody will have any use for any sort of snail mail whatsoever. Because that’s when 3D fax machines (aka Transporters, natch) will make it possible for you to receive that adorable bargain-priced kitten calendar from Aunt Helen over the internet.

I have been unable to finish a blog entry lately, which is horrible considering the amount of crap that I’ve wanted to share. So, in the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s xkcd.com comic that made me swell with enjoyment. The last panel made my day. (Perfect weather this morning also helped, but my semi-worthless evening definitely got a boost from another viewing of this comic.)

Oh, and if you’re not already an fan of xkcd, a “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language,” you should seriously consider it. It’s one of the only comics that makes me love it a little more when I don’t always get the joke—because I know that other people wouldn’t necessarily get the ones that I do.

Happy Square Root Day! Even Scientific American is talking about it! This holiday comes only 9 times a century (and 9 is my favorite number), so please do something to celebrate.

For example, choose to eat square foods—preferably made from some sort of root. You could cut a potato into a cube, then cut it into 15 slices and fry them up. Eat the slices in groups of 3, 3, and 9. If you don’t have any square and/or root foods available, just try to eat or drink in groups of 3 and 9.

Or watch the trailer for the upcoming Tim Burton Movie, 9, and send it to 3 friends with the instructions that they should each send it to 3 friends. (But that’s it, okay? It’s a mathematical celebration, not a chain meme.)

It’s also a great day to learn shortcuts for typing the square root symbol (√)!

Mac OSX: option + v

Windows: alt + 0251

Number code: √

Character code: 221A

If you choose to celebrate Square Root Day, please leave a comment to share what you did!

In related news, I would like to publicly apologize for disappointing my friend John on Febrary 13. I neglected to blog about 1234567890 Day. Perhaps this little factoid will help with my redemption: I cherish the memory of my mixed 4th/5th grade class pausing to celebrate sequential numbers at 1:23:45pm on 6/7/89.

March of ’09 is pretty special because it’s the only month in each century wherein one may celebrate both Square Root Day and Pi Day (3/14). It’s also my dad’s birthday!

Dad is a scientist and fairly geeky in his own right, so I happily explained to him over the phone what a special day it was to have a birthday. He told me to have fun with whatever fumes I was huffing. Happy Birthday, you crotchety ol’ smartass! Love you!

As if I needed ANOTHER reason to learn how to crochet, I came across this creative DIY project: the Pie-ret, presumably pronounced “pie-ray.” It’s 44 flavors of fiber genius!

Product image yoinked from Monster Crochet

As soon as I learn how to crochet, I’m going to buy this little pattern ($10 to have the Monster Crochet creator email me a PDF) and make wearable pie berets for every day of the week. And then maybe grab some recipes from pieofthemonthclub.org and bake a pie every day of the week! I’ve been pie-ning for a purpose in life like this…. (Um, I just made myself groan from my own pun. That can’t be good. And yet, I’m still not going to edit it out. You’re welcome!)

Speaking of pie, don’t forget that Pi Day is coming up on March 14. I’m going to start planning a party on Friday, which is approximately 3.14 weeks before Pi Day. Hmm… I hope I have enough time to learn how to crochet so that I can greet people at the door with a beret that looks like this:

Photo yoinked from Monster Crochet