This week, our favorite geeks were happy to share their best snaps with the rest of the Twitterverse. Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams showed off some Vulcan art, and Marvel legend Stan Lee, aka Generalissimo, wished Brian Tee a comical day of birth.
We've got social media goodies from J.J. and Stan, plus actors Wil Wheaton, Maisie Williams, and more in our top 10 tweets of the week from geeks we love.
The time to say goodbye to the eleventh Time Lord may be upon us. Doctor Who fans were buzzing today about reports that Matt Smith may bow out of Doctor Who come Christmas, though the rumors have yet to be confirmed by the BBC. While we're optimistic that the actor will stay on, it's only inevitable that Matt, who's been with the show for nearly four years, will one day leave our beloved Doctor Who.
But before bidding him farewell, we found it a fitting time for a Whovian retrospective. The only way to fully experience the extent of the Doctor's wild and eccentric ways is, of course, to see it — in action — for yourselves. So in what follows, we, as members of The Matt Smith Appreciation Society, proudly present 11 of the Eleventh Doctor's best moments.
We hit the red carpet for last night's Game of Thrones season-three premiere in San Francisco to ask the stars of HBO's hit series how they really feel about their characters and about their own personal geeky obsessions.
Natalie Dormer, aka Margaery Tyrell, told us what it's like to be a part of two major fantasy projects (the other is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere on BBC Radio 4), and John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly, dished his penchant for the Dark Side.
Find out more about Game of Thrones's geeky actors and what A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin had to say about the much-anticipated book six in the gallery! And don't forget to catch the third season when it premieres March 31 on HBO.
Reddit's Ask Me Anything is famous for letting Internet users ask brave souls any question they want. Some of our favorites geeks took the hot seat, and shared little known facts and gems during their Reddit sessions.
We've rounded up our favorite snippets from the Interwebs's best Q and As with famous statisticians, astronauts, astrophysicists, and more. Read on for both serious and light moments from the geeks we love.
On this celebration of International Women's Day, we're paying respect to the women who left their mark on modern life through science. Proving that physics, wireless technology, and computer programming aren't just traits of a boys' club, and years ahead of their time at that, learn more about the women who showed us that science is the coolest subject of all.
If sci-fi is your genre of choice, Her Universe wants to give you your moment in the Vulcan sun as part of its 2013 Year of the Fangirl. The project will showcase a different geek gal daily on the Her Universe blog as chosen by the fans and a team of five writers selected by Ashley Eckstein, founder of the geekwear company.
How do you or your best TARDIS-dressing friend get selected? It's as easy as filling out a few questions and submitting a picture (if you choose) that exemplifies your pick's fandom enthusiasm.
Nominations for fangirls of all ages are encouraged, though anyone under 13 can be nominated by a parent or guardian only. Get nominating and create a space for your cosplay-loving friends to celebrate geek life!
Pixar's first feature film with a female lead, Brave, took top honors at last night's Oscars, snagging the award for Best Animated Feature. While the story itself of a Scottish princess defying tradition of picking a suitor, searching instead for her destiny was award-worthy in itself, the artistic and technical feats — remember Merida's perfectly created curls and the Scottish countryside? — were captivating.
We spoke with one of the behind-the-scenes wizards on the film, Shading Art Director Tia Kratter, on how the crew and artists at Pixar turned the story of a girl in ancient Scotland into a technically and artistically jaw-dropping legend.
GeekSugar: What are your duties as shading director?
Tia Kratter: My job is to figure out the colors and the textures of everything that is modeled in the film so that when it's modeled in the computer, it has beautiful shape and detail. I figure out how to color it or texture it to make it look believable. If it's a leaf, say, I have to figure out if it's a fresh leaf, one that's dried out in the Fall, or if it's just the vein work [of the leaf]. The same goes with characters — what are they wearing, what's the fabric like, what's Merida's hair like? What color is it? How does it behave?
GS: What sort of research is needed to make the clothing and all visual details of a mythical ancient Scotland accurate?
TK: I went back to London, to the Victoria and Albert Museum where they have old tapestries and a great library of information. We usually start out by doing that, trying to find out what happened in reality [in ancient Scotland], and once we feel comfortable in that world, we feel OK to leave it and add the fantasy back.
Keep reading for Tia's take on the technical feats mastered during Brave's production and her previous work on Monsters, Inc.
As Aaliyah said, "Age ain't nothing but a number," but these youngsters should be applauded for the impressive amount of tech accomplishments already on their résumés. Some of the best and brightest whiz kids have learned complex coding languages, become certified technicians, and developed iOS apps — all by the age of 9.
Exceptionally young computer prodigies from across the world are using technology to harness the greater good, and we're inspired by their youthful spirit and drive. Meet six precocious kid programmers and preteen IT prodigies who will remind you that anything is possible, even before you hit double digits.
Happy birthday, Simon Pegg! The 42-year-old writer, actor, and director has a special place in our hearts, so it only seems appropriate to commemorate one of our favorite witty Brits on Valentine's Day.
The star and writer of cult classics like Hot Fuzz first earned his geek cred by writing a Marxist-themed thesis on Star Wars in college, before becoming the cheeky comedic actor we know and love today. Join us in wishing Simon Pegg a happy day of birth, and find out more geeky reasons why we're gushing over one of Britain's finest funnymen.
Microsoft chairman and founder Bill Gates tops the Forbes list of richest people in America year after year, but it's his current venture as cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that he would rather discuss. Which is why the billionaire turned to Reddit this week to participate in an Ask Me Anything Q & A. Reddit users submitted questions on everything from the theatrical portrayal of his early career in the film Pirates of Silicon Valley to his relationship with Steve Jobs to how much cash is in his wallet. Take a look and discover tidbits from the Reddit session and other previous interviews that you may not have known about Bill Gates.
