GO OUTSIDE!!!!!

Get ready to go outside tonight. I don't care that it is freezing cold in your town. There is something amazing occurring tonight. Something that hasn't happened in about four hundred years. Something that won't happen again for another eighty years.

The TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE is TONIGHT!!!

The show should start at 11:33 pm Arizona time.

Drag your kids out of bed! Drag yourself out of bed! It is sure to be amazing.  Just cross your fingers that the clouds don't block the view.

Seriously people! You have to get out of bed and see this. It will be such a wonderful experience to have. Rose is currently putting together her telescope so that we can get a better view when the moon turns red!

That's right...RED!

You absolutely do not want to miss this. So set your alarm clock.

We're going to start watching earlier than 11:33 pm. We want to see the entire shift from Full Moon to Red Moon and Back.

What a marvelous planet we live on!

Sonic Screwdriver!

One of my favorite blogs to read was The Park Bench. It was a gathering place for nerds to go for all the latest news. The author has gotten busy with life and not posted for a while, which means I've had to troll the internet myself to keep abreast of all things science and sci-fi. I have to say, I am not anywhere near as good as Liz. Science news is often buried under the flashy celebrity gossip. And the Sci-fi nuggets I manage to find are, more often than not, fake. It can be quite discouraging. But as the true nerd that I am, I keep plugging along.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I came across this story! This AOL.news story is the U.S. version of this story for the U.K.'s The Telegraph. They both report that a team of British engineers has created a gadget that can manipulate objects via ultrasonic sound waves! Can you believe it!  I am so excited! What a marvelous development! It will be fun to watch and see how their new tool develops.

Meanwhile, the Doctor Who Christmas Special is just weeks away. A trailer was released, but is "not available in my area". That's because I live in America and not the U.K. *sigh*

I really love America. It is a wonderful place to be. It truly is the greatest country. I'm happy to be here and wouldn't trade it for anything. But sometimes, when I know the Doctor is coming and I know that he'll arrive in the U.K. soon, but I'll still have to wait months to see him...well, sometimes I wish that I could live in the U.K. ;)

Luckily for me, though, some wonderful fan who feels sorry for us Americans will post the episode somewhere on the wide, wide web. Which takes me back to trolling the internet... Haha! Wish me luck.

Holy Nerd-dom Batman!

I think I might have to turn in my nerd card.

.

Between entertaining the troops, transitioning foster kids to their new placements, and caring for my newborn, I completely spaced Comic-Con this year!

.

I can hardly believe it. This is such a huge event. And I missed it. All the hype, all the pre-con interviews, all the new anime. Everything! I missed it all.

.

I should mention that I have never attended Comic-con in person, but I have stalked the event online for years. There is so much great information that is available online pre-con.

.

Last year I almost attended in person. I had finally convinced myself that buying a ticket and ditching my family for a few days was not a selfish thing. It was one of those "Take care of yourself so you can take better care of your family" things. But at the last minute (meaning two months prior to Comic-Con when the really good tickets were still available) I chickened out. Like many nerds, I do not look forward to fighting large crowds for a seat in each event. (I'm the type that will pay extra for a concert ticket to ensure a reserved seat.)

.

I've spent the last week browsing the web for updates and reviews. While I am not an avid comic book fan, I do have a few that I follow. And it's always nice to see the new sci-fi and fantasy movie trailers.

.

My favorite thing, though, is Anime. And this year's Comic-con had an Anime overload. All four days of the convention, Anime was streaming. They had three rooms set up with each room streaming different Anime from 10:00 am to midnight and beyond! What a treat that would have been!!

.

Oh well. In other nerd news, a guy working on the Kepler mission has reported that the Milky Way could be home to 100 million Earths. Although preliminary and maybe not 100% accurate, the news is very exciting.

Naive Dr. Who Fan

After many days of searching the internet, I found the links to watch the final episodes of Dr. Who starring David Tennant and written by Russell T Davies. I'll provide the links first then my review. I don't want anyone spoiled before they can watch. But be warned, the review will contain SPOILERS!!

.

Dr. Who End of Time Part I

.

Dr. Who End of Time Part II

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The End of Time was magnificent! So many wonderful story lines all coming together in the most brilliant way! When I first saw Timonthy Dalton on screen I was both confused and ecstatic. Ecstatic because he's such a fun and talented actor. Confused because what is he doing narrating Dr. Who??? I would never have imagined that Davies would actually show us the end of the Time Lords. Holy Guacamole!! That was such a big surprise!

.

We got to see more of Gramps. I knew Donna (Catherine Tate) would be back from watching the trailers. I just assumed that Gramps would be secondary to her storyline. That caused quite a bit of concern for me. I like Donna. A lot! I really didn't want her brains to get burned from remembering. I was most pleasantly surprised that Gramps turned out to be the companion for the End. It was marvelous! Bernard Crippins was a complete joy to watch. He was a perfect companion for Dr. David to end his tenure with. Perfect! And I must say my heart just about leapt out of my chest when dear old Gramps knocked four times to be let out of the nuclear holding cell. "He will knock four times and you will die." What a kick in the bum for poor Dr. David!

.

I loved that the Doctor returned to visit all his old companions. I wish that he had spent more time with Martha. That was a bittersweet moment for me, and her! Her poor Hubby had to comfort her a bit after the Doctor just walked away. Again! Sheesh. I loved that the Doctor attended Donna's wedding. That he saw his best friend happy, safe, and loved.

.

But the best companion visit was to Captain Jack. It was the best because of Hubby's reaction to the Doctor's set up of Jack and Alonso. And I quote:

.

"Wait...What?? Captain Jack is a flamer?!?!?!"

.

Hahahaha! Can you believe my poor naive husband? Hahahaha! I just about had an asthma attack laughing at him. I pointed out that when first introduced, good old Jack had come onto the Doctor. Hubby doesn't remember that. I then pointed out that Captain Jack made eyes at every single living creature he met. Didn't matter the gender, species, size, color, or temperature of the creature. Good old Captain Jack would be making googly eyes at him/her/it, trying to get him/her/it into his bed.

.

So, No, dear Hubby of mine. Captain Jack is not a flamer. Dr. Frank-N-Furter is a flamer. (and a gorgeous one, I must confess!) Captain Jack is... Well, Good old Jack, He is SO.  MUCH.  MORE!!! Hahahaha!!!

They Have Returned!

Annie is officially over. Hooray!

.

This afternoon Rose and Anne came home from school, finished their homework in twenty minutes flat, and left to play with friends!!! They were so excited. They got to play until close to 6:00 pm. And when they got home, they were happy. No meltdowns. No exhaustion. No rushing about trying to find their jazz shoes and the tube of lipstick. Nope. They were calm and happy! It was refreshing. I should clarify...Both girls were thrilled to be in Annie, but it was a lot of work. It took most of their free time away. Plus it sapped at their energy levels. And, as every Mom knows, when you mix exhaustion and stress into a little girl you will end up with (as we refer to it in our family) a melted mess of a kid.

.

Hubby got home just in time for dinner. He was calm and happy too. No rushing to shove food down his throat before going in search of the eyeliner. No rushing to change his clothes and get out the door. Just calm. It was great! Joe had a performance this evening with his Kindergarten class, and even getting ready for that, everyone was calm! So nice! No stress. No rushing about. Just calm. *sigh* It's so nice to have my family back.

.

And as I am typing this, the girls are in bed sleeping and Hubby is on the couch watching Dr. Who. He was three episodes behind! Poor guy! Haha! He watched the first episode, The Next Doctor, last night. Currently he is watching The Planet of the Dead. And while I'm on the subject, I have to say...I am going to really miss David Tenant playing The Doctor. He has done such a great job. I've really fallen in love with his Doctor. And I just know the final two episodes are going to really pull at the heartstrings. For one thing, they are bring back Donna (Catherine Tate). I am so happy about this. I hated how they ended her story. It was such a kick in the bum! I hope she gets her memories back or at least finds her Silent Man.

.

Anyhoo, I'm glad to have my family back. Now I can have Hubby paint my bathroom. ;)

I Want to Go!

I am a great, big nerd. I love all things Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Science, and Comic-related. Well, to be completely honest, I love most all. Some stuff is just to gory for me. ;)

Anyhoo, Comic-Con 2009 is being held July 22-26 in San Diego this year. SAN DIEGO! Only three hours away from me. And I totally want to go!!

I've been talking to Hubby about attending for months. And the more info that's come out regarding this year's Comic-Con, the more I want to go. Of course, all conference packages were sold out long ago. And I really doubt there will be any scalpers because really! Who in their right mind would give up a ticket to Comic-Con? No one. That's who. Besides, it's against Comic-Con rules to resell, reuse, or transfer registrations. I know there's no way I'm going.

Even though I'm not going in person, I am still super-excited about several of the events that will occur. I'm just crossing my fingers that someone, somewhere will blog and post pictures of the events I would have attended had I gone to Comic-Con. Now, you may be wondering which events have me so hyped up. Well, frankly there are several. If I was attending, I would be hard-pressed to choose which events to attend because many of the events that interest me overlap. ;)

Interesting Events:

1. Behind the scenes look at The Hobbit, including the latest news, announcements, and rumors.

2. Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey - Key production personnel and cast members discuss the making of Quantum Quest, the 3D, CGI Large Format film that combines beautiful animated sequences with actual space imagery captured during seven ongoing NASA and NASA/ESA space missions...The panel will offer new work-in-progress clips and an in-depth exploration of the science behind the film.

3. Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture - EW will moderate a conversation with Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kristen Bell, and other stars about the actresses who have redefined the rules and the female characters that have shattered the glass ceiling for all women. **I would attend this to see Mitchell, who plays Juliet Burke on Lost, and Bell, who rocked playing Veronica Mars and then one of the truly interesting Heroes characters that was killed off too soon.

4. Terry Brooks discusses his return to the Magic Kingdom of Landover series with the August release of A Princess of Landover, as well as what's next in the Shannara series.

5. Mad Science: The Science Behind Science Fiction ...explore science as a double-edged sword - it's ethically and morally neutral in and of itself, but science depends on who wields it and how.

6. The Anthropology of Star Trek

7. Green Lantern: First Light world premiere!!

8. The Masquerade party. I would love to see all the cool costumes fans have made.

9. Dr. Who's David Tenant will make an appearance and might make an announcement about a Dr. Who movie in the works. I'm crossing my fingers that rumor is true!

10. Stan Lee has a new story coming out. I believe it's in movie format, but really. It's Stan Lee!! Who cares what platform he uses? We'll all throng to him no matter what. :)

11. It is Comic-Con's 40th Anniversary, so there will be many celebrations for that. There are many events that look back on the beginnings of Comic-Con and it's creators. History is always fun!

There are a myriad of events happening each day! It really is a good thing I'm not going because I would probably miss everything anyways just standing around trying to decide which event I wanted to see more! Hahahaha!!! I'm looking forward to all the reviews and pictures that will be coming soon. :)

Asteroid Alert

One of my favorite sites is The Park Bench. This site is chock full of news and information regarding some of my favorite topics. ;)

On Thursday, she had a bit of disturbing news to share. Actually, I think it's pretty cool! That is why I'm sharing it with YOU!

She referenced an article at Gizmodo . I'm following it up with an article from Space.com. There are several other articles referencing this news item, so without further ado:

On Monday, March 2, 2009, an asteroid about 35 meters wide flew past Earth. The asteroid was closest to Earth at 8:40 am ET and passed a mere 60,000 to 72,000 km away from Earth!

Different sites are reporting different statistics, but they all agree that there was an asteroid. And that the asteroid was very close to earth.

Isn't that Awesome!! I wish I would have known. I would have broken out my telescope to watch it. Usually they burn up in space, so you don't get to see them unless you have a super-telescope. But something that large and that close...I'm sure my telescope would have picked that out. *sigh* I'll just have to wait for the next one. :(

Anime!

I am a fan of Anime. It is truly one of my favorite things. I love the animation, the storylines, and the fun and quirky scripts. They hold a special place in my heart.

So, imagine my thrill when I saw a trailer for a Live-Action Dragonball movie! I wasn't expecting it at all! It was in the previews for Inkheart. When the trailer started, I thought Wow, this movie looks good...wonder what it is. And then it showed the Seven Mystics banding together and I about jumped out of my seat. And then they flashed to a cute young man with a high hairline and I knew. I knew!!!!! At this point I DID jump out of my seat and startled the poor Babycakes who was sleeping on my lap. He fortunately fell back asleep once his crazy Mama sat back down. I'm so excited. The movie is scheduled to open April 7, 2009. That's only TWO Months away! Yahoo!

Another great piece of news...M. Night Shyamalan is currently making a live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It will be a trilogy with the first movie scheduled for July 2010. Now, I love me some Dragonball, but it cannot compare with my love/obsession with all things Aang. The cast is all lined up. I'm not sure what they'll do for locations. I feel sorry for the actors who will portray Katara and Suko, because they start out in the icy cold. Brr! I do have to tell you...if a midnight showing is offered for this movie, I will be in line. Seriously. I know that I will probably be surrounded by a bunch of teeny-bops (afterall-it is a Nickelodeon show) but I will hold my head high!

So, I've got my next two years planned out. How about you??? ;)