The latest “The Manga Guide To..” series brings us the universe. This is the second book from the series I have reviewed and I was looking forward to how this will encompass the vastness of the universe as a topic. As always, the story unfolds in manga form while teaching the reader all the questions raised. It starts with the Japanese story of Kaguya-hime, and her wish to go back to the Moon where she came from. This setting opens up the universe, with the book guiding you on your journey.

The history and discovery

What I love about this book is how it goes right back to the roots. Before modern technology, civilisations from ancient times only had their perception of the universe based from what they saw with the naked eye. The ancient Greeks for example adopted the geocentric theory (the Earth being the center of the universe) by Ptolemy for nearly 1,400 years until Copernicus arrived on the scene in 1543. These facts and many more make for an interesting read, with explanations on why each theory was adopted.

This then leads onto the development of telescopes and how great discoveries by Galileo et al changed the way we viewed the universe completely. There are some elements within the book that explain such things and calculations in detail, but the information is not overwhelming to the point where it is hard to understand. Diagrams coupled with analogies reinforces the explanations throughout. This reminds me of The Manga Guide To Relativity which was also laid out in the same vein. I am glad they kept this format as it works quite well.

Manga story with science

The manga story weaves seamlessly with the science; the manga is quite amusing and the fusion between the two works well. The enthusiasm for the topics discussed from the author is noticeable throughout, and you can tell that the passion is there. It is great to see this passion come alive in each of the pages, which makes it a joy to read. I am still amazed by what has been covered in those pages; even though there are so many unanswered questions about the universe it covers so much of what we know and what we want to know. From our solar system, to the universe and multiverses, the book itself seems to expand with knowledge just like the universe expanding as described.

In the end, the story of Kaguya-hime takes an interesting turn as the students play out what they have learned. Even Proessor Sanuki that help them on their cosmic journey plays a part in the end. Overall, I highly recommend this book; as a teaching tool for school kids and for anyone that has a love for manga with science thrown in.

About Motoko

First embraced the inner geek at the age of 10 with a Commodore 64 and programming in BASIC. Avid PC gamer, Gundam Gunpla builder, manga editor and anime enthusiast. Loves Mountain Dew and Ghost in the Shell. Twitter: @Motoko_K

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“The Manga Guide To…” series has been reviewed before, but this time we hit the topic of relativit­y. This being a lazy Sunday afternoon, I had several options. Play StarCraft 2, watch anime or put my brain into gear and see how much information I can absorb. I chose the latter, and this being a manga as well, I figured it would be fun at the same time.

The Prologue sets the scene; it is summer break and the crazy headmaster has decided that all students need to write a report on one topic over the holidays. A quick spin of the wheel and… it lands on relativity. All the students gasp in horror, relativity?! No one has a clue at all! But in steps the heroic Minagi to volunteer and take their place. However, he soon regrets his decision but he has Miss Uraga to teach him.

A dry topic made interesting

The sciences are not something I am particularly strong at; the interest is definitely there but all those numbers and equations. I was never fond of mathematics at all and of course a topic such as relativity does involve calculations a great deal. Also there are many concepts involved which you need to grapple with on top of everything else.

After reading the first couple of chapters, I started to ease into all the explanations. It helps that all the explanations Miss Uraga outlines are demonstrated in story form or scenarios which make it easy to understand. Not only that, but I felt compelled to read on to see the manga story unfold with Minagi. It’s not exactly a full on manga serial, but there are funny elements that keeps the interest.

From the brief to the in-depth

One of the things I like about this book is that after the initial manga explanations, there are much more detailed descriptions afterwards. All important equations are explained with diagrams to help cement them. The key thing with topics like this is the ability to understand without feeling overwhelmed. It does this superbly without having to dumb down too much any of the concepts involved.

Another nice touch is going through the history behind relativity; from Newton to Galileo and of course Mr. Einstein himself. E=MC2 is explained but the reader soon learns there is much more to relativity than this.

To summarise…

I like this book a lot; it is a perfect companion for children wanting to learn more about relativity and for them to develop a sound working knowledge of the theories involved. Even adults would enjoy this and it is pitched just right for people who have no knowledge before. And even if you DO have knowledge of it, you will still find this an engaging read.

About Motoko

First embraced the inner geek at the age of 10 with a Commodore 64 and programming in BASIC. Avid PC gamer, Gundam Gunpla builder, manga editor and anime enthusiast. Loves Mountain Dew and Ghost in the Shell. Twitter: @Motoko_K

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This is really not something you want to be reading to your children as a bedtime story, unless you want to give them nightmares. An adult comic, Brimstone and the Borderhounds tells of a story of two sides of a coin; the mortal coil of our current existence, and the other worlds you may end up when you die. Where souls are a commodity and death is just the beginning, the remains of your consciousness drifts through the Nexus upon your demise: a corridor to other forms of existence such as Heaven, Valhalla, or Hell. Good deeds in your life or bad ones make no difference, as the choice of where you will end up was made before your inception. Unfortunately for some, Hell is the only destination you will go and centres around the main character Brimstone.

Brimstone and the Borderhounds, with a little Hostility

The black market for soul smuggling out of Hell is a common problem, and this is where Brimstone steps in. Soul retrieval is his speciality, and catching as many as he can along the wastelands keeps him in a job. The Borderhounds, meanwhile, try to contain the souls, watching them being ferried back and forth on cargo ships which are constantly being attacked and raided. The relationship between Brimstone and the Borderhounds isn’t exactly friendly; constantly vying to be top dog on the soul count.

At the same time back on our world, a psyhotic killer is on the loose: Mr. Hostile. Hostile was caught and executed before, but he is back with a vengeance with an unhealthy obsession about his dead mother. Detective William Altar, the man who caught him the first time, is having déjà vu and is once again out to hunt down the man who killed his family and almost killed him.

Mixed Influences

Having read 3 out of the 4 of the comics in this series, I was initially taken aback by how much violence was in it. Although to be fair, I had no idea what I was in for. A cross between Hellboy meets Mad Max meets Psycho, it combines a lot of elements from these to give you a futuristic yet murderous story. By the end of the 2nd comic, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. But, it kept me engrossed enough to read the 3rd comic I was given. The story did pick up, as both worlds collide to meet head on trying to take down Hostile. I forgot to mention, Brimstone can cross over to our existence as well, which makes his hybrid origins very useful and also provides the bridge between both worlds for plot development. The mystery behind William Altar is also interesting. It seems he and Brimstone have met before…

The Brimstone character is very masculine and macho, I would expect so given the nature of his job! But it would have been cool to have a female protagonist that also kicks ass (unless there is one in the 4th and final comic). There is definitely room for expansion there, maybe in another series. Initially, it was all very bizarre to me but I am glad I stuck with it. Brimstone and the Borderhounds reminds me of a manga called Berserk. Even though both are set in different time periods, the similarities are uncanny and also deal with hellishly evil machinations with a very strong male central character, Guts. Of course, in Berserk, there is also ample bloodshed and violence. Basically, you wouldn’t want to upset either of them, comic, manga or otherwise! Overall, after reading the 3rd comic I did enjoy it and I am now thinking of grabbing the 4th one to see how it all ends. However, I definitely would not recommend this to anyone who suffers from hemophobia or has a dislike for extreme violence and gore.

I’m all for supporting independant comics, so if it has grabbed your attention then please do check them out on their website. You can also buy an electronic copy here.

About Motoko

First embraced the inner geek at the age of 10 with a Commodore 64 and programming in BASIC. Avid PC gamer, Gundam Gunpla builder, manga editor and anime enthusiast. Loves Mountain Dew and Ghost in the Shell. Twitter: @Motoko_K

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What is Scanlation?

If you are a manga fan, then you will be aware of “scanlations“. This is when you take a Japanese manga, scan the pages, and then translate them for a western audience when there is no licensed English translation. There are literally hundreds of fangroups doing this kind of activity, and it is a very well oiled machine if not strictly law abiding. The core staff will include the following functions:

Editors or “Cleaners” – A Cleaner’s job is to take the raw scans and to make them clean and presentable for reading. A lot of raw scans require much work, and some redrawing will be necessary. Photoshop is the primary tool; to become a good editor you need to know how to level each page (the balance of black and white) and to be able to spot all the “dust” on the page. A typical page takes 3 to 5 minutes to edit if you are proficient.

Translators – Translators will read the manga and translate from Japanese to their chosen language. Of course, translating to English is typical but also there will be other languages such as to German, Italian, French and so on. A script will be compiled, so that the text is ready to be placed on each page.

Typesetters – The script is taken and the typesetter decides the orientation of the text and where it will be placed on the Photoshop document created by the editor earlier. Most of the text will be placed in speech bubbles.

QC - Quality Control. This is to check that the final pages are translated correctly and to check the overall quality of each page. Any final corrections are made at this point.

And finally, after all these elements are combined, a chapter or volume is created in the file format of your choice, such as JPG, and then uploaded onto the fangroup’s website for viewing.

Why do these fangroups exist?

The problem with manga, is that only certain Japanese mangas will be able to obtain a license to be published in the west for translation. There are thousands of Japanese manga that do not make it over this side of the world, even though many feel that it should be. Because of this fan base, they put the effort to take it upon themselves to try to bring them to others who cannot read Japanese.

There is a certain amount of underground activity with fangroups, with very good reason.

Is it right?

From a legal perspective, a fangroup is essentially taking a licensed product, manipulating it, and releasing the content to others without authorisation from the author. From this viewpoint, you are breaking the law. However, there are two sides to this coin with a somewhat grey area.

Firstly, as a general rule, a fangroup will stop translating a manga series if it acquires a license to be released in North America. This is to encourage readers to go out and buy the material they love. Secondly, some manga publishers have no issues with scanlation groups, as it helps them gauge whether a certain manga is popular for a western audience… an unofficial beta release as it were. If a manga is successful, they can re-evaluate their marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, not all publishers feel this way and will try to clamp down fangroups or shut down their sites to protect their intellectual property. I can understand this, but at the same time you are closing down and upsetting the very fans who will read your manga. The art of scanlation is not out for profit or gain, fangroups spend their own time doing this because to put it simply, they love manga. Perhaps Japanese publishers should be less cautious in whether their product will be accepted outside of Japan, so that we wouldn’t need fangroups.

About Motoko

First embraced the inner geek at the age of 10 with a Commodore 64 and programming in BASIC. Avid PC gamer, Gundam Gunpla builder, manga editor and anime enthusiast. Loves Mountain Dew and Ghost in the Shell. Twitter: @Motoko_K

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Jennifer Stuller, author of Ink Stained Amazons, is one of the coolest people (if not the coolest person) I’ve met in 2010.

I was first turned onto her book (a critical historical analysis of women super heroes in popular culture) by a writer for my website, Geek Girl on the Street, after she saw Jennifer speak on a panel at Wondercon earlier this year.

Forging a friendship together via Facebook and Twitter (on which Jennifer states “You have to give me lessons, okay?”) San Diego Comic Con was the first time we’ve ever met face to face. Truly it was an exciting moment for me and we’ve spent a bunch of time getting to know each other IRL over this crazy weekend. This morning I sat down with Jen at a coffee shop near the convention hall and we discussed what the highlights of the weekend were:

Hey Girly Geekdom readers! I’m here at San Diego Comic Con International chatting with Ink Stained Amazons author, Jennifer Stuller. So I’ve been hanging out with Jennifer all weekend and she’s my new geeky soul-sister. I suspect that our London (UK) geek-sisters weren’t able to make it out here the year that [geek girls] took over Comic Con. So, Jen I think maybe we should talk about the highlights of our experience here, so our friends across the pond can share vicariously with us. Do you want to start?
One of the things that I’ve always really, really loved and that I’m seeing in full force here this year is women coming together in celebration of the things they love and in celebration of each other. And, we’re seeing a real sense of sisterhood here [in San Diego], which is kind of like a corny word, yanno? But, the concept behind it is really cool.

I think that’s a really important thing to note, because I’ve talked to a lot of women in tech in my professional life who have talked about how women [in tech] can be kind of back stabby. Instead of getting together to work together, they can be back stabby. I think that it’s an important point to make, we’re talking about sisterhood here, everyone has been so warm and open and lovely…
I think that it is that we’re not fighting, necessarily, in a male dominated career space. These women, and I admire them and want to learn from them, a lot of young women who are doing this [pop culture stuff] who are using social networking techniques to build their brand, build their connections, build their career and then take over these spaces. They’re not having to fight from within them, where you end up being kind of back stabby by nature, nothing against the other girls, but it’s fighting for survival.

I think that’s a really good point, too. One of the things I’ve loved the most is meeting — the people I talk to on Facebook, or read their blogs or Tweet at — because, I usually only use Twitter to get my own brand out into the world… But, when I take the time to have a direct message conversation with someone, I feel like I get to know people. It’s so refreshing to me to put names and Twitter handles and blogs to faces and feel like I’ve cemented that friendship.
My Dad actually convinced me to get on Facebook and I was like “Dad, that’s so weird!” Yet, I’ve connected with all of these people, I’ve made friends… I met you by Googling myself and someone had mentioned me on your site from Wondercon, and we became friends.

Yes, yay!
When you think about it, it seems really strange getting to know people through Twitter and Facebook and blogs. And, you don’t really see each other face to face, you almost have this secret identities “Ink Stained Amazon,” “Nerdy Bird,” “Action Chick”. If you go back to the early comic cons, you have the same thing letter columns in science fiction magazines or comic books or…

Or, BBCs… yeah!
So I think it’s a neat evolution.

BBC… duh, BBSes. That was my nerd faux pas of the day, I hope I won’t have any more.
I think it’s a neat evolution of that, it’s on a much bigger scale and with new forms of communication.

All weekend, besides me, who is the person you were the most excited to meet?
I was pretty excited to meet Clara Kramer yesterday, she was so kind and so nice. I was pretty excited, I was sitting here at the coffee shop and I saw these two women walking and there was this totally gorgeous woman. And, I was like “who is this totally gorgeous woman, she looks totally familiar.” I was like “Oh my god, it’s Marti Noxon!” (ed note: Marti Noxon is one of the producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) I was on the phone with my Dad and I was like “Gotta go!” I jumped out of my seat and like a big shameless nerd, I introduced myself to her… that was really cool. That’s the kind of thing that happens at Comic Con, all the sudden you’re sitting next to a comic book writer or an actress, there is a really comfortable sense of community.

I think that the person I was most excited to meet, besides you, was Debbie Myers, the president of the Science Channel. I was like “oh my god, you’re so cool!” I’m going to interview her for the Geek of the Week spot on my website. Everyone has been so cool… I was also excited to meet Kylee Lane, she does the geek soaps, the Fight Club, the Han Solo in Carbonite…
Oh is she the one in Spokane, Washington?

No, she’s in Iowa.
There is a girl in Spokane who does video game controllers in soap.

Oh yeah, I saw her on Etsy. Then at the Geek Girls and Friends Tweet-up last night I won a Han Solo in Carbonite soap for answering a Doctor Who trivia question. I was so psyched!
You have to post a picture of it!

I will, I have too much stuff to post, people are telling me “post your pictures, Kate!” And, I’m like “I’m too bizzay!” What are the highlights of comic con for you? I know you did two panels yesterday…
I did one panel yesterday and then I went and sat in on a panel called Girls Gone Genre.

I’m lovin’ all the geek girl content. And, that’s a lot.

That’s a lot compared to last year. There was none, women were so margenalized and then we were included in the LGBT programming. Not that I mind at all being included in the LGBT programming, that’s a huge component of our community and it’s great. But, women were included in those panels because that was the only place [the con organizers] thought we could fit. Though there were more spotlights last year. Last year we had Hope Larson and Gail Simone and a bunch of other women who were spotlighted last year.
Have you checked who won the Eisners yet?

No, I haven’t.
Trina Robbins was nominated for The Brinkley Girls, I wonder if she won.

What’s the best piece of schwag you got?
That’s a hard question. I think my Scott Pilgrim shirt was pretty cute. The best thing was that I got a poster signed by Brendan Ross and Mae Whitman, because Mae Whitman is just so awesome and I hope she gets more roles.

I got a poster signed by all the Mythbusters, I got an Adam Baldwin as Jayne in Firefly lithograph, I got a Han Solo in Carbonite soap and I really love the Black Phoenix Alchmey Labs gift bags from the Geek Girls and Friends Tweet-up last night!
I like it, too! Except that I thought it was pretty funny that they gave us a bunch of liquids and I hope that everyone remembers…

To check them?
Or, to put them in their quart bag. Because you know you’re going to be so sad when you’re going home and your Neil Gaiman perfume gets thrown out.

Oh that perfume is so funny! Everyone was like “What? Neil Gaiman doesn’t need a perfume!!” And, I was like “No that’s exactly why he has one, though!” I interviewed him in Chicago and he was so sweet. Then when I got home his merch manager sent me a thank you package for the interview. How cool is that? Like I should be saying thank you to Neil Gaiman, not the other way around! Okay: the biggest geek out moment you’ve had with a celebrity?
I don’t know, introducing myself to Greg Rucka and thanking him for writing such amazing women, that was a pretty big geek out moment.

I don’t know what my biggest geek out moment is. Have I had a geek out moment yet? Inside I was geeking out over Eugene Mirmen and Kristin Schaal, mostly because I think that Kristin is a great example of a geeky woman in mainstream media. Ray says I’m very reserved. He totally geeked out over Kari Byron yesterday, which I thought was totally cute. And, Eugene Mirmen. Ray is our photographer, London geek girls, in case you don’t know that. He’s been following us around all weekend taking awesome pictures.
He’s doing a great job.

What is the best professional moment you’ve had here this weekend?
Actually being able to say something smart and entertaining and that got laughs in the 13 minutes I had to speak on the panel I was on. I spoke in front of the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken in front of.

Were you nervous?
I was totally nervous, I was up all the night before and I thought I was going to throw up. But, then I got up on the stage and I get that first laugh, then I’m cool – I can do the performance and get through it. People kept coming up to me and saying “Can I buy your book at the convention?” So I tried to sign promotional postcards for them, because they’re not for sale here.

They should be! Jennifer is the author of Ink Stained Amazons. Us geek girls we’re all into feminist studies, we all had the women’s studies minor in college and anyone who is into comic books should read her book.
Or TV or film.

Yes, there’s a lot of Buffy in there, too.
So that’s my best professional moment.

I think that my best professional moment was introducing myself to Debbie Myers and asking her if I could interview her for my site. And, also, meeting the geek blogger for the Chicago Tribune – as Chicago is where I’m about to move – he said he’d sit down with me and I could pick his brain about pitching geek stories in Chicago.
That’s awesome!

Yeah I thought that was really awesome.
I have a friend in Chicago, she’s in her early 20s and she’s a burgeoning film critic and I totally want to introduce you two to each other.

Oh totally! Oh, yes and I’m going to interview Kristy Guevara-Flanagan next week, because she’s in San Francisco and I really want to talk to her about her Wonder Woman documentary!
She’s in Oakland, like you! We went out to dinner last night. At the restaurant they had seating so we thought that it would be good. All we wanted was to get a drink and then they were like “We lost our liquor license.”

Oh no!
That’s why when we got to the Geek Girl Tweet-up we were so over it.

The Tweet-up was really great, except it was hard to get a drink. Are you going to go to the Celebrate the Web stuff this afternoon?
No, I’m being interviewed for the Comic Con documentary -A Fan’s Hope- the documentary that Morgan Spurlock is doing. Then after that: all weekend I’ve avoided standing in lines for things, I would have loved to go to the True Blood panel, I would have loved to go to the J.J. Abrams/Joss Whedon panel… there’s so many things going on I think it’s a waste of time to stand in line for hours and miss things, especially for things that will be posted online, anyway. But, I need to get into the Nikkita panel this afternoon. I need to write about it. Then I want to go to the SmartPop party.

Oh, maybe we’ll try to meet you there! The thing that you guys reading need to know is that Comic Con isn’t just about panels and the schwag, it’s about the opportunity for free booze and to rub elbows with people far more famous than yourself. So we’re going to Celebrate the Web because I got the inside scoop perhaps there might be someone from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog there. Then our friend Ethan (Kaye) introduced us to the editors from Topless Robot and they invited us to the Topless Robot party.
Was he the really excited blond?

Yes, that was Ethan — he writes for Wizard, Topless Robot and now for BleedingCool!
Which is awesome!

Let’s talk a little bit about your book, because we should… I hate to say I haven’t read it yet. I’ve skimmed through it, though and I think it’s a really smart, critical look at the roles of women in pop culture. I just kind of wondered how did you get put on the path to become a comic scholar? You’re actually the first person in this field I’ve ever met. I’ve heard of geek scholars, there’s a whole slew of women in tech who are geek scholars, but I’ve never met a comic book scholar.
That’s so funny! I could be called a comic scholar, I could be called a pop culture historian or a feminist pop culture historian. The comic scholar thing, I started this whole process I was very much into TV, which as we were discussing in the panel yesterday is kind of traditionally been seen as a women’s media. Because women are keepers of the home, so commercials and television are geared towards women. As opposed to film or comic books, which are geared towards…

Dudes.
Dudes. So I began thinking what I really wanted to study was the role of women in popular culture. And, I began looking at women in comics and film, as well as women on television. I tried video games, too, but even though my husband works in the industry I just couldn’t get into them. I read the book by Trina Robbins, The Great Women Superheroes, which was great and amazing. Then I went to a conference in Australia called the “Holy Men in Tights Conference”. I met Pete Coogan who was one of the founders of the Comic Arts Conference and Randy Duncan, also co-founded that conference. But, Pete was there and he had just recently been at a conference with my mentor – so I was able to go up to him and introduce myself – that night, utelizing the shameless networking skills, I managed to get myself invited out to dinner with all the keynote speakers and the organizers of the conference. So I kept in touch with Pete and proposed a paper for the Comic Arts Conference. And, I’ve been speaking here or at Wondercon every year since then as a comic scholar. While I couldn’t tell you everything about the history of comics, because that’s insane, there are things I like to look at different arcs, different characters over different eras to see what we can learn about popular culture at that time. Like Lois Lane in the 60s. What does that say about gender in the 60s? What are male writers equating feminism with through comics?

I wanted the book to be really accessible.

And, it is. I started reading it before I left and the thing I noted a lot of times – like I said, most geek girls have some sort of feminist/women’s studies background – it just seems to be, that at least women of our age, in our mid-30s, we came of age in a time when that was a really popular choice. And a good one, I think that studying those things really broadens your mind to think about life outside your own little box. But, when you read a book, even if it’s on popular culture, if it’s designed for gender studies, sometimes it’s really tough. Because it’s got a lot of jargon and a lot academic talk. Thankfully I speak academic because both my parents are academics — incidentally, if you’re the child of a teacher or a professor and you’re reading this — if you haven’t gotten to college yet, take comfort in the fact that once you do you’ll kick some serious ass. But, the book is really accessible, it’s written in a really familiar tone of voice, in a really open way and I think that with the right networking and marketing that Ink Stained Amazons will become as big a success in popular culture as it is in academia.
Aw… thank you. I hope so, I really really hope so.

So the question that I ask everyone that I interview, do you have any piece of truly salient advice that you’d give to young women who want to grow up and do what you do, professionally?
I say be persistent, be polite, know your passions, work really hard and just put yourself out there. You’ll never know who you’re going to talk to.

[Photos by Rason Sampson]

About Kate Kotler

Kate is a self-proclaimed “Doctor Who expert,” and thinks the most romantic gift she ever got was a copy of the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Her most prized possession is a stuffed animal her uncle Mike gave her when she was four.

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In case you haven’t heard: 2010 is the year of the Geek Girl at SD Comic Con International.  This year there is an unprecedented amount of programming designed for us with the lady parts.  The vibe in these programs and surrounding the con is one of awesome collaboration.  (Because that’s what we she-geeks are about – collaborating and helping each other reach new geek heights.)

Last night we attended the first ever Geek Girl Tweet-up at Joltin’ Joe’s in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.  Organized by Geek Girl Diva, Kristin Rielly (publisher of Geek Girls Network), Nerdy Bird (of Has Boobs, Reads Comics) and the Science and Discovery Channels (respectively), this was a party where the girls PWND.  We talked to: Debbie Myers (president of the Science Channel!!), Grant Imahara (Mythbusters), Taryn O’Neill and Stephanie Thorp (Celebrate the Web), Kylee Lane (Luxury Lane Soap), Thom Zahler (Love and Capes), Elliott Serrano (Geek to Me – The Chicago Tribune) and a ton of other really cool new geeky friends…

And the schwag, OMFG, the schwag!

Here’s the deal: Though I would love to keep all the amazing schwag I’ve gotten at Comic Con, I would feel exceptionally greedy if I did.  So I’m going to give some of it away to you, our loving and devoted readers!  Here’s how to play: The trivia quiz below is a replicate of the one we had at the Geek Girls and Friends Tweet-up last night.  Email the correct answers to me at geekgirlonthestreet@gmail.com and the first five people will win a prize.  Here’s what you could win:

• A Geek Girls and Friends Tweet-up gift bag from The Geek Girl Diva and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (includes a custom scent made for this event).
• A Darth Maul LED Lightsaber key chain (courtesy of StarWars.com).
• A limited edition Firefly lithograph of Nathan Fillion as Mal (unsigned, but soooo cool!  Doc is keeping Kaylee and I’m keeping Jayne, sorry!)
• A Mythbusters giant tote bag with Ms. Kari Byron on the front.
• A complete set of SyFy collectible Comic Con pins.

Prizes will be assigned randomly by me – but, basically the first five people to email me the correct answers (without using Google!! Honor system!!) will win.  I’ll be mailing out prizes next week when I’m back in San Francisco… so make sure to include your addy in the email.  Without further ado:

Kate’s GeekGirl Comic Con Quiz

1. Name five of the 11 actors who have played the Doctor on Doctor Who.
2. Name three of the Secret Six.
3. What are the Lantern Corps colors?
4. What does TARDIS stand for?
5. What are the names of Tatooine’s two moons?
6. Who played the female Yoda?
7. Who were the original creators of Dungeons and Dragons?
8. What are the names of the five Sailor Scouts?
9. Who was the instigator of the original Secret Wars?
10. Who wrote the theme song for Daria?

Thanks to all the amazing geek girls who put on the party last night!  (And, if you write for this blog, have won schwag from other cons we covered or are attending Comic Con, please let the peeps who aren’t able to be here play to win.  M’kay?)

Read my guest blog post on Attention Deficit Delirium!

About Kate Kotler

Kate is a self-proclaimed “Doctor Who expert,” and thinks the most romantic gift she ever got was a copy of the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Her most prized possession is a stuffed animal her uncle Mike gave her when she was four.

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If you look up the term “geek girl” in the dictionary, you’re likely to see a picture of the lovely and talented Kari Byron (from the Mythbusters Build Team) next to the entry.

Byron came to the attention of geeky fans in 2003 as part of the Build Team on the new Discovery Channel show hosted by Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman  aimed at proving urban myths either “true” or “busted” using scientific experiments to do so.  Her first day as a paid employee at M5 Industries (Hyneman’s San Francisco special effects studio) happened also to be the first day of Mythbusters filming, she was asked to help dispel the “vacuum plane toilet” myth by modeling her bum for a cast used in the experiment.

Since then, Byron has gone onto securing herself a larger role in the show and is about to become the host of her very own show on the Science Network: Head Rush.  She is appearing at Comic Con this weekend in support of the show (which is targeted at middle school aged kids in the hope of engaging them in math and science) which premiers on August 23, 2010.  We were lucky enough to catch up with her this morning for a quick interview:

I was interested to learn that you got your Mythbusters gig by showing up at M5 and asking for an internship over and over.
Pretty much. I didn’t have to ask too many times, it was back when M5 was just a special effects company, it wasn’t Mythbusters. I just told Jamie I would work for free, I was just going to take as long as it took until something happened and slowly I just became more and more of the build team. I was just really lucky that my first day was the first day of Mythbusters. It was just kind of the start of the line for me…

That’s pretty cool! What kind of experience did you have prior to Mythbusters that drove you to want to intern with M5?
Ever since I saw the Making of Thriller when I was young, I always wanted to do something in that field, because I thought it was so cool that I could grow up and do that kind of thing. So I got really into sculpture, I’d go really crazy on Halloween, I’d have the really big haunted houses in front of my house… My parents probably never thought that I was going turn that into a career, they’re probably pretty happy about that. The sculpture thing, I kept that as part of my life for a really long time, even when I was a receptionist I was doing sculptures underneath my desk in between phone calls. Then I heard about Jamie’s shop, my friend had been there and said “Oh my gosh, you’ve got to see this place!” And, I walked in the door and I was just like “Wow – I want to learn how to use all of these tools!”

So, the next day I showed up with – I have to say, not the best portfolio, because I was making stuff to put in the portfolio the night before – and, he was nice enough to give me a chance.

Of course, from there you got onto the Mythbusters Build Team, which has increased in popularity.
Yes.

Do you have any plans to exhibit your sculpture in the future?
The Mythbusters and Head Rush and some of my other projects on the Science Channel have become pretty full time. I still do sculpture at home, but I’m a new mom…

Yes! We heard, congratulations!
So there is a finite amount of time that I get to do sculpture, so I kind of just do it for me right now.

That’s cool, I get that, I’m a writer and I write for just me sometimes and don’t share it with other people. Aside from Mythbusters and Head Rush and the coolness of just being at Comic Con, what is the one thing at Comic Con you are super super excited about?
Oh my god…

The person you’re excited about meeting or the panel you’re excited about attending?
I really didn’t know what to expect! This is so much bigger and crazier and fuller of interesting people than I ever expected, I kind of want to go get a mask and just walk around the floor for a while just to get to see it. I haven’t really been able to walk down there, because I’m always signing autographs and talking to people… So at some point today I think I’m just going to go find a hood and a mask and really just walk around.

What kinds of things do you geek out to in your normal every day life?
When I was pregnant I really got into a few TV shows. I really love Dexter!

Dexter’s great!
I freakin’ love that! I watched every episode back-to-back when I was going into labor. I was in labor for 42 hours, so I just watched every single episode and now I’m totally into it.

The big news is that you’re premiering a show on the Science Channel, Head Rush – which is targeted at middle school kids, girls in particular – which I think is really great. Can you tell us about the project and what we can expect from it? Is it like Mr. Wizard meets Bill Nye the Science Guy, hosted by the lovely and talented Kari Byron?
A little bit like that, but a little more YouTube, MTV pop-culture-ish, for kids now. The project is completely commercial free, it’s part of the STEM initiative (Science Technology Engineering Math), part of the intiative that Obama is pushing. So Discovery partnered up with the White House to create this one hour time slot between four and five pm, when kids come home from school they’ll have this programming to keep the mind still going. And, maybe get intrigued by really interesting little facts about science, because it’s not just all the textbook things that you and I probably read when we were in school. There are just so many interesting little curiosities in life, science is everywhere, and we’re trying to peak an interest anywhere we can – because if we can just peak it kids can keep going with it.

And, that premiers on the 23rd of August on the Science Channel. Can you give us any spoilers or teasers about what you’re going to be taking on first?
We’re taking Mythbuster episodes, we’re taking out all the commercials – the commercial spots are where we’ll have Head Rush, we’ll have small experiments and lots of clips from all the different Discovery stations. We’re going to incorporate them into quizzes so that at the beginning of the episode we’ll ask a question about one of our experiments and [the viewer] has to figure out, “Well if we shrink this balloon in liquid nitrogen, what’s going to happen when it un-shrinks?” I’m hoping it’s going to be really, really fun.

We’re excited to watch it! I’ll watch it, I’m not ashamed to admit it, I watch kids programming!
I think we’re just targetting who I was at 12 years old. If you think about role models you’re not going to think about geeky scientist guy in the white coat, you don’t want to be that, you know? All the girls want to be an heiress or a rock star. We’re hoping to create more role models that are in the sciences, get people onto the show who can be role models.

So, this is the question I ask everyone: Do you have advice for young women who would like to enter into the profession you currently work in or have a lifestyle similar to yours? Is there one piece of advice you’d share that you think is really, really important?
I think the way that I go into this: internships. People are always willing to let you work for free.

That’s true!
If you can prove yourself there’s a good chance you’ll become a part of whatever you set out to be.

[Stay tuned to Geek Girl on the Street and GirlyGeekdom to learn how you can win some sweet Mythbusters and Head Rush schwag!]

About Kate Kotler

Kate is a self-proclaimed “Doctor Who expert,” and thinks the most romantic gift she ever got was a copy of the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Her most prized possession is a stuffed animal her uncle Mike gave her when she was four.

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