Maria's Mélange

There are so many times when it is truly wonderful to be the mother of budding geeklings. As I find new fandoms to embrace, my sons often joyfully jump into the deep end with me. The world of geekdom is filled with events that rival those the non-geeky take for granted. Opening Day at the Ballpark? We've got season or series premiers. Stanley Cup Playoffs? This is the time in each season when we wait with nervous anticipation for the confirmation that our favorite series has been given the green light for another season. NFL Draft Day? We get those same pins and needles for each casting announcement. Some of those casting calls are met with intense controversy - like the recent brouhaha over Ben Affleck as our next Batman. Some are met with calm acceptance or a little thrill of eagerness. When I heard that the casting announcement for the twelfth Doctor would be simulcast everyone in the world, I knew that my sons and I had to be part of the celebration. Unfortunately for...

It's been a little while since I posted a SciFriday review - mostly because my summer reading has included a lot of fantasy and trying to wrap up my Newbery reading. The Planet Thieves has been on my "to read" list since it came out in May... so I was excited to get to read it during one of my last lovely days of summer break. The Planet Thieves (The Planet Thieves #1) by Dan Krokos (Goodreads Author) Hardcover, 256 pages Published May 21st 2013 by Starscape ISBN 0765334283 (ISBN13: 9780765334282) Goodreads Summary:       Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded theSS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.      But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.      With the ca...

I love my sister. We shared a room growing up, and I'm pretty sure both of us wish we'd had more space to ourselves back then. Now? Now I'm positive we'd agree that we wish there were less space between us. She's done so well for herself, my darling baby sister. She met "the one" for her ( that is an amazing story of miraculous meetings all its own) and married into a wonderful family. Her own little family consists of a man I'm proud to call my brother-in-law, a darling little cherub of a toddler, and another wee one on the way. We only get to see each other a few times a year, and that's one of the reasons I'm so thankful for the extra time summer grants. This past week we've gotten time to just hang out. Time by the pool, time playing games, and time making and eating delicious food. Rediscovering his love for toddler car sets. My sons are so sweet with their little cousin, and it's adorable watching them play with to...

I skipped last week because I'm visiting family, but I want to get a quick post up to share the books I've ready over the last two weeks. Don't forget to stop by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers for other great posts! Newbery / Nerbery Voyage  86/92 complete!  I'm getting within spitting distance (ewwww... that's a really gross phrase) of the end of this particular journey! Three more completed over the past two weeks. I'm trying to pick up the pace on this challenge because I tossed my hat into the ring for the Cybils judging. I may not be chosen, but if I am I'll be a busy little beaver getting those books read! Graphic Novels Captain Marvel continues to be... marvelous! I wasn't super keen on the artist for a big chunk of this trade (interesting style, but just didn't mesh well with my view of this character), but the story and dialogue rocks. Joey Fly was in the "hard bitten old fashioned" detective st...

Once more into the breach! Kathy (aka @thebrainlair) and I share our ending thoughts about this lovely book. Oh.... is that a spoiler? Yes, I did really love this one, though there were a few things that I point out along the way that didn't sync perfectly for me. As always, my thoughts with Kathy's responses are here. Her thoughts with my responses are on The Brain Lair . Did you read it? Join in the conversation! Catch up with our first few posts -      We chat about the Hero's Journey and our thoughts about the cover .      We discuss part one - " The Departure "      We discuss part two - " The Initiation " This last section had some lovely parts, but wasn’t nearly as appealing to me as the other two parts of the book. I’m trying to figure out what caused my lack of enthusiasm for Part 3.   I wonder if it’s because it moved so quickly? They hardly had any confrontations and after going nearly day to day with them, we ...

I had every intention of joining this marvelous celebration of picture books - and then my summer got busy. I am sure that you've all been there, right? Yet I woke up this morning with a great idea for my perfect list, and so I'm typing like mad to get it completed before the rest of the house wakes up and I am required to get packed for our trip today. So, please pardon my mess. Excuse any typos or incomplete thoughts - and just enjoy some fabulous books for quirky kids of all ages. 1) Odd Duck is a celebration of all the slightly off beat, the creative, the persnickety. More of a graphic novel than a straight up picture book, this is still the perfect way to start off a list of books for kids who see themselves as "odd ducks", or those who wonder why everyone else isn't just like them. I finished reading  this one (which I was thrilled to win from KidLitFrenzy) and had every intention of doing a full review. Alas, time has slipped away and it may not...

I invited you to come along on my silly Chompsticks journey just over a week ago. I went with a "geeky Chompsticks" theme this year. I tried to give each day a different twist, tying in my shirt and book choice. Early Start - Hogwarts theme to honor Harry Potter's birthday. My boys had a great time getting into the spirit of this wizarding event. The official start date was a Thursday - so of course we needed to make this one Star Wars themed! Friday was dedicated to comics! My shirt is a fun mashup of Firefly and Calvin and Hobbes. Saturday younger and I brought out some superhero comics and shirts. Captain Marvel rocks! Sunday was extra special, since my younger son and I got to learn the identity of the actor who will play the 12th Doctor. We made a day of it (and I'll share more details another day), but we also made sure to wear our Doctor Who shirts and use our blank River Song journal as our book. ...