Game on Girl

Relationships Those we love, those we wish for, and those we mourn. For our February hangout, we discuss relationships. We talk about canon couples: those fictional couples who set the bar for love and romantic gestures. But we've talked about those geeky relationship moments before so to spice this up we threw in our favorite doomed couples and our favorite "ships" or relationships we wish for. AKA "Fanon." We've got some crazy matches in store for you and some sad couples who either had tragic ends or tragically ended their shows because they ended up together. (Writers: don't kill the sexual tension! It really ends things!) My 'ship couple brought up quite a bit of discussion and some creative ideas. Check it out to see what crazy world we really would like to see come about. We WRaP the end of the episode with what we are Watching, Reading, and Playing. So much great geeky material to discuss! Make sure to check out the live video and the podcast episode. Until next time, get  your geek on! Regina & Isabela & Julie & Dante To Discuss Tell us:  Your favorite couples? Who do you 'ship? Who is doomed but awesome in your mind?

New Year's Eve has come and gone but the staff of The Geek Embassy had to take some time to reflect on 2016. We suffered plenty of misery, had some good times, saw some good movies, and read some great books. 2016 is one for the record books for sure and we are hoping that 2017 will bring everyone lots of joy. Or at least a few less celebrity deaths. Rhonda and I recall our fabulous time at Geek Girl Con in Seattle. We presented a great panel titled, "Capes & Baskets: What fairy tales can teach us about superheroes." It was really well received and a blast. The comments were amazing. It was so much fun to see people take our ideas and run with them. We also offered some advice about what not to do if you have a panel at a con. (The dreaded, "We want to hear from you!" is at the top of the list.) We shared some of our expectations for 2017 and things we hope to find this year. We also shared some geeky gifts we got from the holiday season. One of Rhonda's gifts to me is going to play a pretty significant role this year for the site. Keep an eye out for that in the coming months. Unfortunately, we will not be at Emerald City Comic Con this year. Our panel and press badges were both rejected. Maybe we will make it again in 2018. Until next time, geek your geek on and have a fabulous 2017! Regina & Rhonda & Mark & Ryan To Discuss What was your favorite moment from 2016? What are you looking forward to in 2017? Let us know in the comments.

New Year's Eve has come and gone but the staff of The Geek Embassy had to take some time to reflect on 2016. We suffered plenty of misery, had some good times, saw some good movies, and read some great books. 2016 is one for the record books for sure and we are hoping that 2017 will bring everyone lots of joy. Or at least a few less celebrity deaths. Rhonda and I recall our fabulous time at Geek Girl Con in Seattle. We presented a great panel titled, "Capes & Baskets: What fairy tales can teach us about superheroes." It was really well received and a blast. The comments were amazing. It was so much fun to see people take our ideas and run with them. We also offered some advice about what not to do if you have a panel at a con. (The dreaded, "We want to hear from you!" is at the top of the list.) We shared some of our expectations for 2017 and things we hope to find this year. We also shared some geeky gifts we got from the holiday season. One of Rhonda's gifts to me is going to play a pretty significant role this year for the site. Keep an eye out for that in the coming months. Unfortunately, we will not be at Emerald City Comic Con this year. Our panel and press badges were both rejected. Maybe we will make it again in 2018. Until next time, geek your geek on and have a fabulous 2017! Regina & Rhonda & Mark & Ryan To Discuss What was your favorite moment from 2016? What are you looking forward to in 2017? Let us know in the comments.

Get your geeky gifts here! For our November hangout the staff of The Geek Embassy put together a wonderful gift guide of all kinds of geeky themed gifts. I won't lie. Quite of few of my suggestions are things on my very own wish list. Check out our consulate themed gift suggestions. Tantalus Depths https://www.inkshares.com/books/tantalus-depths Paper Girls (volume 1, volume2 out Dec 6) - sci-fi The Martian https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ "Emergence" by David R Palmer https://www.amazon.com/Emergence-David-R-Palmer/dp/0553245015/ http://product.half.ebay.com/Emergence-by-David-R-Palmer-1984-Paperback/1299986&cpid=2689560 Tickets to a play https://www.pcs.org/oregontrail Mothering the Game  https://www.inkshares.com/books/mothering-the-game The Dresden Files https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Butcher/dp/0451457811/ ThinkGeek - Solar System Glasses http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/2033/ Art book - Lois van Baarle https://www.amazon.com/Art-Loish-Look-Behind-Scenes/dp/190941428X Cooling Pillow  https://www.amazon.com/Acanva-Memory-Cooling-Natural-Standard/dp/B01JFRW1L4/ Nap Pillow Buddy Minion Storm Trooper MyBOOKmark bookmark http://mybookmark-shop.com/ Postage Stamps Star Trek postage stamps Wonder Woman postage Lego Ghostbusters Firehouse http://www.target.com/p/lego-ghostbusters-firehouse-headquarters-75827/ 3D Lamps https://www.amazon.com/WOlight%C2%AE-Bedroom-Children-Decorative-Millennium/dp/B01FX8ILZY/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FW00NI6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Tickets to Bridgetown Comedy Festival - 4 days of comedy in May https://www.bridgetowncom

Get your geeky gifts here! For our November hangout the staff of The Geek Embassy put together a wonderful gift guide of all kinds of geeky themed gifts. I won't lie. Quite of few of my suggestions are things on my very own wish list. Check out our consulate themed gift suggestions. Tantalus Depths https://www.inkshares.com/books/tantalus-depths Paper Girls (volume 1, volume2 out Dec 6) - sci-fi The Martian https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ "Emergence" by David R Palmer https://www.amazon.com/Emergence-David-R-Palmer/dp/0553245015/ http://product.half.ebay.com/Emergence-by-David-R-Palmer-1984-Paperback/1299986&cpid=2689560 Tickets to a play https://www.pcs.org/oregontrail Mothering the Game  https://www.inkshares.com/books/mothering-the-game The Dresden Files https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Butcher/dp/0451457811/ ThinkGeek - Solar System Glasses http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/2033/ Art book - Lois van Baarle https://www.amazon.com/Art-Loish-Look-Behind-Scenes/dp/190941428X Cooling Pillow  https://www.amazon.com/Acanva-Memory-Cooling-Natural-Standard/dp/B01JFRW1L4/ Nap Pillow Buddy Minion Storm Trooper MyBOOKmark bookmark http://mybookmark-shop.c

We embraced the season for October's hangout and talked about our favorite horror and suspense films. The basics are covered like our favorites but we also talk about our history with suspense and horror films, branch off into TV show, and briefly mention zombies and that show that premieres in a few weeks. Here are the questions we considered: What was your first horror/suspense movie? What movie scares you? What novel scared you? What suspense/horror movie made you laugh? What is your all time favorite suspense/horror movie? Are there horror/suspense movies that belong canon? We do a horror themed geek and tell but I just couldn't help myself and had to share a print that my friends, Amy and Don, got for me of a little baby Wonder Woman. She is just amazing as you can clearly see from the post image. Check out Jeff Pina's work here. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any of the adorable-ness on his site but you can see some on his Facebook page. Just click on the photos and scroll down.  Also, Isabela and I both wear our elf ear cuffs from Geek Girl Stuff. Yes, they look cool and they are seriously comfortable. G

We embraced the season for October's hangout and talked about our favorite horror and suspense films. The basics are covered like our favorites but we also talk about our history with suspense and horror films, branch off into TV show, and briefly mention zombies and that show that premieres in a few weeks. Here are the questions we considered: What was your first horror/suspense movie? What movie scares you? What novel scared you? What suspense/horror movie made you laugh? What is your all time favorite suspense/horror movie? Are there horror/suspense movies that belong canon? We do a horror themed geek and tell but I just couldn't help myself and had to share a print that my friends, Amy and Don, got for me of a little baby Wonder Woman. She is just amazing as you can clearly see from the post image. Check out Jeff Pina's work here. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any of the adorable-ness on his site but you can see some on his Facebook page. Just click on the photos and scroll down.  Also, Isabela and I both wear our elf ear cuffs from Geek Girl Stuff. Yes, they look cool and they are seriously comfortable. Go order yourself a set now! Rhonda mentioned a book she picked up at Geek Girl Con, "Zombopocolypse," by Matt Youngmark at Chooseomatic Books. That's right. It's a chose your own adventure for adults. TOTALLY AWESOME. Make sure to check out his books and his super secret webcomic. New ambassador Evan Graham joined us for this hangout. Keep an eye out for a project he and I will be working on in the near future. In the meantime, order his book or mine on Inkshares. Until next time, go be awesome! Vote Should my sign off stay, "Until next time, get your geek on!" or change to "Go be awesome?" This is choose your own sign off! Tell me in the comments.

For September  we close out summer talking about our favorite geeky amusements from the summer and delve into a conversation about conventions. We discuss books we are reading, and one someone is writing. We talk about games we've been playing; lots of phone and board games including Pandemic: The Cure. Binge watching addictions and series that may depend too heavily on nostalgia for the younger crowd. In our discussions of the recent cons we've attended, we discuss what makes a con work and what stands out as a failure. Regina and Isabela talk about their first experience at Rose City Comic Con (they plan to go next year) and Rhonda's fifth year at Dragon Con (and likely her last). Have you ever felt like a con you were at turned into a Geek Zoo with people just coming to view the spectacle and not take part in the fandom? We share some great swag we picked up in our show and tell segment and how much we appreciate the indie artists available at smaller con venues.  Who is your favorite artist you discover while walking through Artist Alley? Share your con experience with us in the comments. The good, the bad, and the ugly! We want to know! Until next time, get your geek on! Regina, Rhonda, & Isabela

For September  we close out summer talking about our favorite geeky amusements from the summer and delve into a conversation about conventions. We discuss books we are reading, and one someone is writing. We talk about games we've been playing; lots of phone and board games including Pandemic: The Cure. Binge watching addictions and series that may depend too heavily on nostalgia for the younger crowd. In our discussions of the recent cons we've attended, we discuss what makes a con work and what stands out as a failure. Regina and Isabela talk about their first experience at Rose City Comic Con (they plan to go next year) and Rhonda's fifth year at Dragon Con (and likely her last). Have you ever felt like a con you were at turned into a Geek Zoo with people just coming to view the spectacle and not take part in the fandom? We share some great swag we picked up in our show and tell segment and how much we appreciate the indie artists available at smaller con venues.  Who is your favorite artist you discover while walking through Artist Alley? Share your con experience with us in the comments. The good, the bad, and the ugly! We want to know! Until next time, get your geek on! Regina, Rhonda, & Isabela

For the last episode in our summer movie podcast series, we shake it up a bit and both saw different movies. I saw Star Trek: Beyond and  Rhonda saw Suicide Squad. We discuss the evolution of the Star Trek movies, and the careful consideration given to all the character backstories. There is one major critique I have for the franchise. Make sure to listen and let us know if you agree. Rhonda discusses how Suicide Squad had a huge opening weekend even with less than stellar early reviews. She attributes this to the marketing of the movies and how posters and trailers and interview (oh my!) for this movie were everywhere. How has the marketing of a movie caught your attention and did the movie hold up to the hype? (Hint: Suicide Squad definitively fell short for Rhonda.) For streaming recommendations, Regina is aghast to learn Ronda hasn't seen Stranger Things and attempts to keep her cool over how cool it is. As a secondary recommendation, Regina explains her current obsession with the Food Network shows on Netflix but especially Good Eats with Alton Brown. Rhonda suggests viewing 10 Cloverfied Lane and regrets that it took her so long to start watching it. Did you binge watch any shows this summer? As the episode ends, I announce that The Geek Embassy has a panel at Geek Girl Con in October. We are presenting, "Capes and Baskets: What fairy tales can help teach us about superheroes." Rhonda and I will also be doing sister cosplay both at GGC and at local cons we are attending in September. Rhonda will be at Dragon Con Labor day weekend and Regina will be at Rose City Comic Con on September 10 and 11th. If you are attending, find us and say hello! Keep an eye out for our next show on the new YouTube Live platform (G+ Hangouts are retiring).

For the last episode in our summer movie podcast series, we shake it up a bit and both saw different movies. I saw Star Trek: Beyond and  Rhonda saw Suicide Squad. We discuss the evolution of the Star Trek movies, and the careful consideration given to all the character backstories. There is one major critique I have for the franchise. Make sure to listen and let us know if you agree. Rhonda discusses how Suicide Squad had a huge opening weekend even with less than stellar early reviews. She attributes this to the marketing of the movies and how posters and trailers and interview (oh my!) for this movie were everywhere. How has the marketing of a movie caught your attention and did the movie hold up to the hype? (Hint: Suicide Squad definitively fell short for Rhonda.) For streaming recommendations, Regina is aghast to learn Ronda hasn't seen Stranger Things and attempts to keep her cool over how cool it is. As a secondary recommendation, Regina explains her current obsession with the Food Network shows on Netflix but especially Good Eats with Alton Brown. Rhonda suggests viewing 10 Cloverfied Lane and regrets that it took her so long to start watching it. Did you binge watch any shows this summer? As the episode ends, I announce that The Geek Embassy has a panel at Geek Girl Con in October. We are presenting, "Capes and Baskets: What fairy tales can help teach us about superheroes." Rhonda and I will also be doing sister cosplay both at GGC and at local cons we are attending in September. Rhonda will be at Dragon Con Labor day weekend and Regina will be at Rose City Comic Con on September 10 and 11th. If you are attending, find us and say hello! Keep an eye out for our next show on the new YouTube Live platform (G+ Hangouts are retiring). Until next time, get your geek on! Regina & Rhonda

As I hope you all know by now, I recently joined a new community of writers trying to get their books published: Inkshares. I jumped into a contest for the Nerdist for books about video games and found myself in a strange new land surrounded by strange new customs. Every heroine needs a guide as she begins her journey and Evan Graham was my guide. He introduced me to this strange land and introduced me to the powerful community could be made there.  About Tantalus Depths But this post isn't about me or my book, it's about Evan and his amazing novel, Tantalus Depths. This novel tells the story of Mary Ketch who is leading a survey mission deep into space.  The Diamelen’s survey mission to Tantalus 13 takes an unexpected turn when the entire planet turns out to be an ancient artificial structure. What lies in the heart of Tantalus? And why is the crew’s AI, SCARAB, willing to kill to keep its secret? Filled with adventure, exploration, tension among the crew, and dangerous artificial intelligence, this story has all the components to a great work of science fiction. On top of that, the lead character is a female pilot who is not afraid to kick ass and take names.  We discuss the writing process, running a crowdfunding campaign, and talk about some of Evan's influences while he was writing. He mentions 2001 and Star Wars as huge influences and then I compare him both to Joss Whedon and J.R.R. Tolkien. Let's just say we had a good time.  Please make sure to support Evan's campaign. He's in the homestretch to reaching full publishing on Inkshares and I cannot think of another Inkshares author who deserves it more. Go forth, Geeks, and help support one of our own in making his book a reality.  Where to Find Out More Tantalus Depths on Inkshares and Facebook Evan on Twitter and YouTube

As I hope you all know by now, I recently joined a new community of writers trying to get their books published: Inkshares. I jumped into a contest for the Nerdist for books about video games and found myself in a strange new land surrounded by strange new customs. Every heroine needs a guide as she begins her journey and Evan Graham was my guide. He introduced me to this strange land and introduced me to the powerful community could be made there.  About Tantalus Depths But this post isn't about me or my book, it's about Evan and his amazing novel, Tantalus Depths. This novel tells the story of Mary Ketch who is leading a survey mission deep into space.  The Diamelen’s survey mission to Tantalus 13 takes an unexpected turn when the entire planet turns out to be an ancient artificial structure. What lies in the heart of Tantalus? And why is the crew’s AI, SCARAB, willing to kill to keep its secret? Filled with adventure, exploration, tension among the crew, and dangerous artificial intelligence, this story has all the components to a great work of science fiction. On top of that, the lead character is a female pilot who is not afraid to kick ass and take names.  We discuss the writing process, running a crowdfunding campaign, and talk about some of Evan's influences while he was writing. He mentions 2001 and Star Wars as huge influences and then I compare him both to Joss Whedon and J.R.R. Tolkien. Let's just say we had a good time.  Please make sure to support Evan's campaign. He's in the homestretch to reaching full publishing on Inkshares and I cannot think of another Inkshares author who deserves it more. Go forth, Geeks, and help support one of our own in making his book a reality.  Where to Find Out More Tantalus Depths on Inkshares and Facebook Evan on Twitter and YouTube

"Who's afraid of those ghosts?" For the July Summer movie episode, Rhonda and I take on the ever controversial Ghostbusters reboot. There was quite a bit of fuss about the casting of a female Ghostbusters team and the internet exploded after the first trailer dropped making it the lowest ranked TV trailer in the site's history. We discuss the controversy and what we thought stood out in the movie (Holtzmann Forever!) and what didn't work as well (man candy). The all star cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristin Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. Listen to hear us discuss the good and bad moments, what we enjoyed and could have done without.  We also have some excellent shows for your summer binge watching in our streaming recommendations. Make sure to check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriends and Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz via Amazon Prime subscription. To Discuss What other gender swapped TV shows or movies do you remember? When does it work or not work and why? Until next time, get your geek on! Regina & Rhonda

"Who's afraid of those ghosts?" For the July Summer movie episode, Rhonda and I take on the ever controversial Ghostbusters reboot. There was quite a bit of fuss about the casting of a female Ghostbusters team and the internet exploded after the first trailer dropped making it the lowest ranked TV trailer in the site's history. We discuss the controversy and what we thought stood out in the movie (Holtzmann Forever!) and what didn't work as well (man candy). The all star cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristin Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. Listen to hear us discuss the good and bad moments, what we enjoyed and could have done without.  We also have some excellent shows for your summer binge watching in our streaming recommendations. Make sure to check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriends and Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz via Amazon Prime subscription.To Discuss What other gender swapped TV shows or movies do you remember? When does it work or not work and why? Until next time, get your geek on! Regina & Rhonda