The 12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread + Geek Edition

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: two small stormtroopers and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: eight ninjas kicking, seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: nine Serenity crew, eight ninjas kicking, seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 10 yogis stretching, nine Serenity crew, eight ninjas kicking, seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 11 TARDIS ships, 10 yogis stretching, nine Serenity crew, eight ninjas kicking, seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 12 comic heroes, 11 TARDIS ships, 10 yogis stretching, nine Serenity crew, eight ninjas kicking, seven Daleks floating, six Android mascots, five Portal Cubes, four Starfleet crew, three AT-ATs, two small stormtroopers, and a gingerbread Enterprise-C.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to The Mary Sue, Geeks are Sexy, Where's the TARDIS?, Imgur, Inhabitat, Walyou, Dorkly, Smosh, Daily Bits, Frøken Trondsen, Fandomnia, Mon Pays, Livejournal, Metallicar on Deviant Art, Texas Kiwi on Deviant Art, Merdog7 on Deviant Art, Buzzfeed, Gamefrosting, Makey-Cakey, Neatorama, ThinkGeek, Sangofairy on Deviant Art, Android Forums, Brainfood, rKrovs on Flickr, Smcgee on Flickr, and Kewing on Flickr.

Musical Glasses

Imagine touring Europe for 16 days with a bus full of high school band geeks. It was awesome being one of the high schoolers. But I imagine it was less awesome being one of the chaperones. Especially when we did things like play with the crystal glasses in a semi-formal Swiss restaurant. Hey! It's real! At least we were all musicians.

Some creative person decided to make life better for chaperones of musically-inclined, crystal-playing high schoolers (and those of us who would still play with their wine glasses on occasion, even into adulthood). Instead of guessing at pitches, these glasses conveniently mark how much water needs to be filled in order to get specific notes. The set of 12 glasses gives you a full octave.

My question: but in what key?

Found at Luna and Curious.

Recipe: Vincent and the Doctor

Try to see what I see... Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there! Lights are blue. And blue in through the blueness, and the blackness, the winds swirling through the air. And then shining. Burning, bursting through! The stars, can you see how they roll their light? Everywhere we look, complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.

Yes, I've named a cocktail in honor of one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. If you're an artist, if you grasp the beauty and wonder of the world in a way that others don't quite seem to understand, if you're one of the many that works hard and excels at your craft but still can't live well from it, you will appreciate Van Gogh's appearance in this episode. If you're a geek (or British), well, it's Doctor Who. For everyone else: watch it anyway. It's fun, and you'll gain a new appreciation for Van Gogh and the creative people in your life.

Vincent and the Doctor

Ingredients:

• 1½ oz. ABSOLUT Ruby Red
• 1/2 orange, juiced
• 1 lime, juiced
• simple syrup, to taste
• blackberries, for garnish

Combine ABSOLUT, orange juice, lime juice, and simple syrup in a rocks glass. Pack with ice and garnish with blackberries.

Tip: Maximize the amount of juice you can get from citrus by starting with fruit at room temperature. Roll the fruit around a few times on a hard surface with heavy pressure before cutting and squeezing.

The Cake is a Lie

Boy meets girl. Wedding bells play. A Katamari cake is served. Three years later, they commission a Portal 2 cake for their anniversary. I think they have many more happy years ahead of them.

Image courtesy of Flickr. Made by Mike's Amazing Cakes in Redmond, WA.

Gingerbread AT-AT Says Merry Christmas

Gingerbread AT-AT will destroy your rebel candy cane defenses. Where are Luke and Wedge when you need them?

Courtesy of 9GAG.