June 2015 – Guardians of the Geekery

Episode 23: Author Nancy Northcott

June 24, 2015 by giddygeeker

Agents of Shield, ConCarolinas, Giddygeeker, Mages, Nancy Northcott, Renegade, RWA, Sentinel, Warrior

On Episode 23, we were joined by author Nancy Northcott, a new friend the giddygeeker made while moderating the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel at ConCarolinas 2015.

Here’s a bit about Nancy (taken directly from her author page on Amazon.com)

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the the books she writes.

Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal. The reviewer called it “genre fiction at its best.” Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book.

Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.

For more information on Nancy and her mages, visit her website, www.nancynorthcott.com.

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 23

Episode 22: Dances with Schonewolf and Knop

June 17, 2015 by giddygeeker

Podcast

David Weber, Geek Gala, Honor Harrington, HonorCon, Honorverse, Micki Knop, Stephen Schonewolf, The Charlotte Geeks, The Royal Manticoran Navy

Episode 22 featured our first of three Indiegogo Perk podcasters! These wonderful people supported our Geek Gala “Bridge the Gap” campaign by selecting to donate $75 for our “Gab with the Geekery” perk. (Their mental stability is obviously in question.) We also were delighted to have the lovely Goddess of Trivia, Miss Micki Knop!

Stephen Schonewolf is a member of The Charlotte Geeks, the The Royal Manticoran Navy, the fan association for Honor Harrington and the Honorverse (a military science fiction series written by David Weber). He has also recently joined as a volunteer for HonorCon, which is October 30th – November 1st in Raleigh, NC (the week after our own Geek Gala – phew!) And as you can tell from his picture, he’s also a big Star Wars fan along with a frequent attender at our Board Game nights.

Micki Knop is one of the assistant organizers of The Charlotte Geeks and has been on the committee for the Geek Gala since almost the beginning. She is our residence Goddess of Trivia and has hosted many trivia nights for The Geeks in the past and hopefully again in the future. In addition, she is a voracious reader, a lover of bad movies, and an amazing cook. You can read some of her recent posts on our sister website for The Charlotte Geeks.

The recording of Episode 22 - Starneslord, Carol the Cat, Micki Knop and the back of Stephen Schonewolf

The recording of Episode 22 – left to right: Giddygeeker, Starneslord, Carol the Cat, Micki Knop and the back of Stephen Schonewolf

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 22

Episode 21: Heroes & Robots

June 10, 2015 by giddygeeker

Podcast

Hero Movie Podcast, Heroes Aren't Hard to Find, Heroes Convention, HeroesCon, MTV2, Robot Johnson, Sean Keenan, Shelton Drum, Stan Lee, Talking Baby, The Perch

We are now 21 – legal drinking age! And you may need to drink up for this one! For our 21st episode – and first episode at the New Geek Gala HQ – we were honored to have two very special guests:

Shelton Drum is the owner of the Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find comic book store and founder of the renowned annual Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. HeroesCon (as many call it) was founded in 1982 by Shelton. Since then the convention has become famous for its comics-first and family-friendly atmosphere, where fans can mingle directly with professionals and exhibitors. Boasting an incredible guest list built mainly on reputation and goodwill, HeroesCon is known nationwide as a “must” on the summer schedule, drawing fans, exhibitors, and creators from every region of the country to the Charlotte Convention Center.

HeroesCon 2015 is at the Charlotte Convention Center on June 19-21 with legendary Stan Lee appearing on Saturday, June 20th. For more information on Shelton, his comic book store, and HeroesCon, visit www.heroesonline.com.

Sean Keenan is one of the founders of Robot Johnson, a sketch comedy group based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The show format consists of sketches, commercial and song parodies and original comedy songs. Relying on local humor and pushing the envelope on racial, sexual and political issues, Robot Johnson claims to provide “good humor by bad people.” Sean is also one of the original members of Charlotte stalwart comedy group The Perch, and was the hand and voice behind “Talking Baby” as seen on MTV2 in the early 2000s.

Sean is also co-host for The Hero Movie Podcast, a funny, nerdy podcast about superhero movies. His co-hosts are Adam Portrais and Bruce Leslie.

For more information on Robot Johnson, including upcoming shows (June 26th & 27th!), visit www.robotjohnson.com. And make sure to check out Sean’s weekly podcast on iTunes!

A sneaky picture taken of (from left to right) Sean Keenan, Shelton Drum, and the Giddygeeker during recording. Thanks, studio audience!

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 21

Episode 20C: Mikey Mason at ConCarolinas

June 5, 2015 by giddygeeker

Podcast

All in the Reflexes, Bandcamp, Beer-Powered Time Machine, ConCarolinas, Mikey Mason

For our 20th episode, Guardians of the Geekery took our show on the road! We appeared live at ConCarolinas in beautiful Concord, North Carolina. With so many great guests on-site, we took advantage of a few of them (we can’t discuss the details) and did 3 guest-focused episodes, rather than our typical 1-hour news ramble. We hope you enjoy!

Mikey Mason is a comedy monster. A naughty cartoon character. An experiment gone wonderfully wrong. He explodes onstage with unfathomable energy, relentlessly pounding away at his audience with a wit as fast as his mouth, infectiously hilarious original songs, and his completely twisted world view. He’s the psycho stalker ex-boyfriend of comedy, except that you want to see him again. And again. And again.

Mikey is a comedy rockstar by day and a nerd alll the time! His hobbies and passions include sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, role-playing games, video games, cartoons, and more! He’s been featured on Nerdist.com, SyFy’s Blastr.com, Time Magazine’s Techland, MTV’s Geek News, The Funny Music Project, and even DrDemento.com!

In addition to touring the country, he also has a few podcasts of his own including All in the Reflexes and Beer-Powered Time Machine. To find out even more about Mikey, visit his website at www.mikeymason.com.

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 20C

Episode 20B: Valentine Wolfe at ConCarolinas

June 4, 2015 by giddygeeker

Podcast

ConCarolinas, Geek Gala, Valentine Wolfe

Braxton Ballew and Sarah Black have been composing and performing music together as Valentine Wolfe since 2006. They call themselves “Purveyeros, Performers, and Composers of the finest Macabre Melodies for Voice, Double Bass, and Electronics. Proudly providing elegant decadence for Living, Dead, and Otherwise, since 2006.”

We are delighted to have them as the musical guests of honor for this year’s Geek Gala as well!

Their scores have been heard in productions of The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest (Warehouse Theater), The Winter’s Tale (Furman University), and Twelfth Night (The Distracted Globe). Both hold graduate degrees from the University of Georgia, where they studied electronic composition with Dr. Leonard V. Ball. In addition, Sarah completed her Masters degree in composition studying with Dr. Adrian P. Childs. She currently studies voice with Lisa Barksdale from Furman University. Braxton holds a DMA in Double Bass Performance and has studied with Milton Masciadri, Albert Laszlo, and James Barket. He is the Education Director of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and a member of the double bass section.

To find out more about Valentine Wolfe, visit their website at www.ValentineWolfe.com.

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 20B

Episode 20A: Bob Beshere at ConCarolinas

June 3, 2015 by giddygeeker

Podcast

#straightcrushingit, Alter iD, Bob Beshere, ConCarolinas, Mon Frere

Bob Beshere has been performing improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy since the tender age of 17. A resident of Greensboro, NC; he performs regularly at The Idiot Box and is a member of the award-winning sketch comedy group Mon Frere.

In the summer of 2012, Bob began writing his first one man show, “The Alter iD.” The show features a unique mixture of monologues and rap, all focused on the trials and tribulations of growing up as a nerdy white guy. The raps are all homages to Bob’s favorite rap/hip-hop artists including Eminem, Kanye, Jay-Z, The Bloodhound Gang, House of Pain, and The Beastie Boys. His first album is called #straightcrushingit and is currently available on Bandcamp.

Guardians of the Geekery Episode 20A

Monthly Archives: June 2015

Episode 23: Author Nancy Northcott

Episode 22: Dances with Schonewolf and Knop

Episode 21: Heroes & Robots

Episode 20C: Mikey Mason at ConCarolinas

Episode 20B: Valentine Wolfe at ConCarolinas

Episode 20A: Bob Beshere at ConCarolinas