Your deep thought for the day:

Through the miracle of modern technology, there will be a Geek Girl book signing in two different states on the same day.

Erm, actually, it’s because there’s two of us.

So, circle December 5th on your calendar. Darcy will be in Chicago and I’ll be in a suburb of Minneapolis, and we’ll both be signing books.

Darcy has two signings in Chicago, one in the early afternoon and one in the evening.

I’ll be signing at the Hopkins West and North Jr. High book fair at Barnes and Noble from 11:00 – 1:30. If you can’t make it then, stop in from 4 – 6 p.m. I’ll be working the gift wrapping table, where I’ll be glad to sign your book and then wrap it for you.

And for more information on Debs signings this holiday season, check out the link below.

Darcy:

December 5th, Holidaze with the Debs:

1-3 p.m.
Borders
161 N. Weber Road
Bolingbrook, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin

7-9 p.m.
The Book Cellar, Inc.
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin

Charity:

December 5th, First annual Hopkins West Jr. High Book Fair:

11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and 4 – 6 p.m.
Barnes and Noble Ridgehaven Mall
13131 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305

The Geek Girls have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

To show a little bit of our appreciation we bring you a timeless turkey classic:

Video from sharkhost

Writer and star of the Broadway musical In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda performs “The Hamilton Mixtape” at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009. Accompanied by Alex Lacamoire.

And it’s full of geeky goodness (and a bit of mild adult language).

Star Wars geeks and Gilbert and Sullivan nerds unite! Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?

I’m serious. It’s like chocolate and peanut butter. They just go together. Todd (from Geek Girl’s Guide) gives it a big thumbs up.

Ahh, November! So full of surprises! So flexible! So yummy! November is the month to increase your awareness of: Pancreatic Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Lung Cancer, Ulcerative Colitis, Diabetes, Homeless Youth, and the Transgendered among us.

It’s also the month set aside to celebrate Adoption, Pomegranates and Novel Writing. The Roman Catholic church dedicates lovely November to the Holy Souls of Purgatory.

It’s a pretty full month. You’ll need a few extra minutes each day to fully appreciate all its causes and remembrances. You’ll need a LOT of extra minutes every day if you hope to write 50,000 words of a novel to “win” at National Novel Writing Month. What’s a geek to do?

No worries. The Geek Girls have searched far and wide to bring you a solution — and here it is:

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER!

That’s right, geek gals, give up your razor for the month, grow some insulation on your legs for the coming winter. And for you geek guys, we offer:

NOVEMBEARD!

Let your chins get wooly while you contemplate whether the next sentence in your novel should be punctuated with a dash, an em-dash, or an ellipsis. There’s even a website dedicated to the process, with pictures!

Warning! Some of the boys on that page are cute. Don’t spend too much time staring at them, okay? After all, it’s still November — you’ve got lots to do!

Here’s something to be thankful for: The November edition of the Debsness Bag! But hurry! As always, the window to enter the contest is short. You have until 1:30pm EST, November 16th, 2009.

Good luck!

Well played, Molly Lewis. And we mean that in every sense of the word.

Enjoy!

h/t: John Scalzi

Twenty years ago this week, the Berlin Wall fell. And back in the day (this would be way back in the day), I worked in V Corps Intelligence in Frankfurt, Germany. It was my first job in the Army and in addition to being the assistant officer in charge of my section (a weighty responsibility), I worked as an intelligence analyst.

I was the main analyst for the First Guards Tank Army (those pesky Soviets) and Soviet Command, Control, and Communication.

Now, C3 covers what you might think it covers. It was also the catchall for what can only be described as “miscellaneous stuff” – the sort of thing no one knew how to categorize.

And … you guessed it. This is where all the intelligence traffic about what was happening in East Germany ended up: in my inbox.

So, before the world knew, I knew. Well, me and many other intelligence organizations, including the three-letter ones.

November was always so dark in Germany. I went to work before the sun came up and I left work after it went down. I worked in a secured facility, no windows, so if I wanted to see the sun, I had to check out, go through a series of doors, and so on.

I grew so pale, my friends accused me of being a vampire (and, dude, this was way before Twilight).

But I remember that November. I remember how I couldn’t wait to get into work so I could see what had come in over the wire over night. I’d grab a German coffee from the snack bar, the stack from my inbox, and read. And I remember thinking:

Wow. Something is happening in East Germany.

A few months later, I had the opportunity to venture into East Germany. But that’s a post for another day.

For today, it’s good to be reminded that people can come together, and the seemingly impossible can happen. And I’m reminded that, in the long run, it’s more rewarding to be an idealist than a cynic.

Know hope. And listen:

The Debs are everywhere this holiday season!

As you can see, Darcy is working overtime on December 5th in Chicago. I guess I will be too, since I’ll be signing–and volunteering–at the fundraising book fair for my son’s Jr. High. You know what that means, don’t you (other than the fact I have ample opportunity to embarrass my offspring)?

Not only will I sign your copy of The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading, but I will wrap it for you. (Because I’m also scheduled to work the gift wrapping table, if you haven’t already guessed.)

Hope to see you there!

And for more information on Debs signings this holiday season, check out the link below.

Darcy:

December 5th, Holidaze with the Debs:

1-3 p.m.
Borders
161 N. Weber Road
Bolingbrook, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin

7-9 p.m.
The Book Cellar, Inc.
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Including: Cynthea Liu, Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Kristina Springer, Darcy Vance, Lara Zielin

Charity:

December 5th, First annual Hopkins West Jr. High Book Fair:

10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 4 – 6 p.m.
Barnes and Noble Ridgehaven Mall
13131 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305