Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I’m on a plant kick. Air plants are on nearly every table or flat surface. The garden is full of basil and mint. And terrariums… They’re kind of all over the house. None of this is particularly geeky, but one. It happens to be the terrarium… where wild creatures dwell.
When I got the job to shoot some unique terrariums for BrightNest, I was super pumped. Especially when they said I could incorporate dinosaurs. It turns out that this $1 method of adding a little personality to my terrariums is far more fun than basically any $10 doo dad you can buy at the greenhouse. Yes, the plants are great too. But come one - check out the rhino…
This project literally is a five minute add-on to any terrarium project. You just have to find some animals or dinos at your local dollar store that will fit into your container. You can see the 7 simple steps for this fun project over at BrightNest.
BrightNest is a free site that provides tools and tips to help homeowners save money and keep their homes in great shape. Sign up for a free BrightNest account today!
A lovely internet reader name Jin recently emailed me with some pretty crazy LEGO flower pot creations and I just felt I had to share them. Not only do they use LEGO, but they utilize geeky minifigs to tell stories in them.
You can check out the rest of Jin’s creations on her Flickr account. If you’re just getting started with LEGO flower pot building, I recommend checking out our DIY video from last summer, which makes the process supremely easy.
Welcome to the latest installment of our Divergent recipes series. If you haven’t seen the first movie (which just came out last weekend!) or read the books, then mild spoilers ahead.
In the Divergent series, future Chicago has divided the population into five factions, each with the emphasis on a personality trait: caring, honesty, intelligence, courage and kindness.
In the first book, during the “Choosing Ceremony” the main character Beatrice decides to defect from the faction she was raised in, selfless Abnegation, to join the brave Dauntless. Her brother, only slightly older and therefore choosing during the same ceremony, also defects, leaving to join the intelligent Erudite.
Eventually, the Erudite become the main antagonists of the first story, putting the Prior siblings at odds with one another.
It’s only later in the second book, when they’re reunited and are discussing the factions that they each defected to.
“We had good cake,” I tell Caleb.
“We had fizzy drinks,” he says.
Later, in the third book, Tris and Tobias sample the fizzy drink, having nicked a bottle from the Erudite kitchens. Whatever it is, it’s sweet as syrup and lemon-flavored and is for serious sweet tooths. My tip: the second sip is less intense. So raise a glass, here’s your sweet as syrup and slightly lemon-flavored fizzy drink.
ERUDITE FIZZY DRINKS (serves 6-8)
Note: The great thing about this recipe is that it’s incredibly flexible. The flavors below turned out delicious, but you could swap out any citrus + any lightly carbonated beverage + any berry + a complementary herb.
You Need:
Let’s make these Fizzy Drinks:
1. Add the mint and lemons to the bottom of a large pitcher. Use a wooden spoon or fork to muddle slightly, releasing the oils from the mint leaves.
2. Mix in the strawberries and a handful of ice cubes.
3. Top with the soda.
4. Serve right away or keep very cold until party time.
Other flavors that could be equally tasty:
Sprite + strawberries + basil
Fresca + raspberries + orange slices + rosemary
Gingerale + blackberries + lemons + mint
Recipe by Emma Carew Grovum. She is the web and social media editor for Foreign Policy magazine and uses her newsroom colleagues as taste testers. Emma has previously worked for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Webbmedia Group, The Cooking Club of America and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She loves Star Wars, pandas and all things Joss Whedon. Find her on twitter at @emmacarew.
In your best Kristin Bell imitation voice: “But seriously, Marshmallows. This is it.”
Last spring, 91,585 fans of the gone-before-its-time cult classic Veronica Mars made Kickstarter history by donating more than $5 million to fund filming for a continuation of the cancelled series.
It was both the highest-funded film Kickstarter, as well as the fastest project to raise a million dollars. 11 months later, the film is finally hitting theaters this weekend.
Veronica Mars is one of those culty, nerdy things I always knew I would end up liking, but only recently had time to dive into. (I was also super late to loving Chuck) I probably won’t quite wrap up in time to see the movie on opening night – I just started season 3.
However, in honor of a large, rabid, and passionate fanbase, generally referred to as “Marshmallows” – a reference from the pilot episode, here is the Veronica Mars Marshmallow recipe.
Veronica Mars Marshmallows (Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe):
NOTE: Unlike most of our BGC recipes, you do need a stand mixer for this one. I tried once to make them with a cheapie hand mixer and ended up with a strange puddle of goo.
Ingredients:
Special equipment: Stand mixer, one 9x9 square pan, plastic wrap, parchment paper, and a large rubber band.
Now, Make them Mallows! Step by Step:
1. Pour the half cup of water into the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle all three packets of gelatin over the top. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes while you prepare the pan and sugar syrup.
2. Line the bottom of the pan with plastic wrap, and spray the plastic with cooking oil. There should be a generous amount of plastic hanging over on each side.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining quarter cup of water, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over medium high heat. Stir gently and be cautious - this kind of candy syrup hurts like no other if it splatters on your skin. When the mixture starts to boil, keep stirring and continue to boil for at least one minute.
4. If 10 minutes have not passed since you first added the water and gelatin, remove the sugar syrup from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add a pinch of salt.
5. Start your mixer on a medium speed and slowly start pouring the sugar mixture. Once it’s all been added, turn the mixer up to a higher speed.
6. Allow the mixer to continue on high for 10-12 minutes. In the final minute, add the vanilla extract. The mixture will expand and resemble marshmallow fluff when it’s finished.
7. Spoon the mixture into your prepared pan and smooth the top of it. Spritz the parchment paper with cooking oil, and press it oil side down on top of the marshmallows. Use the rubber band to make the seal airtight.
8. Allow the marshmallows to sit for at least two hours, but up to overnight. Turn the marshmallows out on a cutting board and blot any excess cooking spray with a paper towel.
9. Pour half a cup of powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.
10. Coat a sharp knife with cooking oil and cut the marshmallows into squares. You’ll get up to 16 very large marshmallows or 20-24 smaller ones. Toss each marshmallow in the powdered sugar to coat the sticky sides. Enjoy!
Recipe by Emma Carew Grovum. She is the web and social media editor for Foreign Policy magazine and uses her newsroom colleagues as taste testers. Emma has previously worked for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Webbmedia Group, The Cooking Club of America and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She loves Star Wars, pandas and all things Joss Whedon. Find her on twitter at @emmacarew.
Mandie Bettencourt, our Lady Geek of the Week, lives in vibrant and sunny Los Angeles and runs Geeky Glamorous, a blog celebrating geeky lifestyle. Geeky Glamorous is full of geek chic fashion and beauty finds at your favorite stores; reviews, reports, and recommendations of various conventions; and of course, amazing giveaways. Betthencourt also holds a bachelor’s degree in Game Art and Design, “but realized after a stint in the industry, that being more involved in the culture of games and geek was more my speed.” Find Bettencourt on Twitter at @geekyglamorous, on YouTube, and Tumblr.
Earlier this month, Bettencourt was totally in her element at the Stan Lee Comikaze Expo. She participated in a geek girl fashion panel - along with some other lead geek fashionistas (including previous Lady Geeks of the Week Kristin Hackett and Molly McIsaac), discussing trends in geek fashion, along with the best places to find geek chic clothing and DIY fashion tips to create unique looks.
So, are you asking yourself, “what potent cocktail would Bettencourt share with her fave Mass Effect character?” Or, “what advice would she tell her middle-school self?” Read on!
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: It started when I was introduced to the Final Fantasy series in high school. My gaming experience before that was just with games like Donkey Kong Country or Super Mario Bros.. When I discovered RPGs, I was entranced with the music, visuals, and characters. It snowballed from there and I got into related geek genres like graphic novels, anime, cosplay, figure collecting etc.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky?”
A: When I was pulling all nighters playing MMORPGS or staying up way too late to catch anime on Adult Swim.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: I would choose my space boyfriend, Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect. We’d drink ryncol and I’d probably end up passed out in a corner of the Citadel.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: That being a nerd is way cool and you should get into this now and not when you get into high school.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
