In this episode, I recommend a number of YA books and a couple of video games, in case you need a few gift ideas for your little geek! Here’s the list of books reviewed (not all pictured above):

Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath (The Leviathan Series #1-3) by Scott Westerfield

Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

The Alchemist ( The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott

The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles #1) and The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles #2) by Rick Riordan

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Series #1) by Kelley Armstrong

And these games I recommend – I’ve not played them yet, but the reviews are good, and we’re getting them!

Little Big Planet 2 by Sony (PS3)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword by Nintendo (Wii)

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) and leave your thoughts.  And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing and Tuning in to SciFi TV

Hooray for VoiceMails! Gary calls in with several topics, including how to manage your kid’s online gaming experiences, how to get your kids to do chores and what kinds are appropriate, and the great Punkin Chunkin’ contest on the Science Channel, hosted by Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters. I give our household’s opinions and answers, and go totally fan-girl on Dungeons and Dragons Online and Punkin Chunkin’!

Also, check our some funny voice work by me and some truly talented others at Comedy4Cast. Clinton wrote a great spoof of “Ghost Hunters!”

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  (678) 235-GROW (4769) and leave your thoughts.  And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Photos by The Science Channel

Promo: Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast and Firefly Between the Lines Auditions

This episode, I wax poetic over Morgan Freeman’s voice and content on the “Through the Wormhole” series on the Science Channel. Check it out on Wednesday nights!

Then we have voicemails from Tim regarding my birthday, the Parsec Awards and flu shots, and Wyatt gives us a gaming update and a sad report on the state of his Xbox 360.

We’re starting a new podcast for those fans of Eureka and Warehouse 13 on SyFy – the EurekaVerse Podcast! Follow us on Twitter at @EurekaVerse!  And I urge everyone to visit the Parsec Awards site to see the list of winners and finalists!

And if you’d like to ChipIn to help out some friends in need, go to this site or click on the ChipIn link below on the blog. Thanks!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my NEW voicemail number at  206-337-8533 and leave your thoughts.  And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Photo from The Science Channel

Promo: The Chronic Rift and Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Happy Independence Day to the U.S.! I hope folks had a great holiday weekend! We have a number of great voicemails from Tim, highlighting Darcy’s awesome reviews here on the blog, and reinforcing my discussion on recycling and reusing stuff! Then Lizzie calls in to tell us about her babysitting gig and how the parents are cool Brits who let their kids watch old Dr. Who! Then Tim gets me going again on role-playing online, so I gush about DDO again.  Finally, I pipe up about our love of Steam for downloading PC games, and Wyatt calls in about GameStop for console games. I hope you guys love the mailbag stuff! I’ll be back next week with another topic after my week at my folks’ home down on the farm.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek-at-gmail-dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Jesus Geeks (Now Twisted Geeks!)and What The Cast

Due to a busy week at our house, and good timing from him with a couple of great long voicemails, I’m going to let  Wyatt have a special long version of his Xbox Live and gaming reviews on the show, this week. He discusses a lot of new games and releases, gives his opinions on some great Vietnam-era gameplay, and then gives a great rant on which game franchises need to take a break or just die. Feel free to share your opinions on this – you may love these games and hate others! Please send Wyatt some feedback, and look him up on Xbox Live – his gamertag is Astrozombie1222 – see the pics below! Then we have a voicemail from Doug in Alaska about a great indie game!

Next week, I am going to tackle how to discuss the BP oil spill in the Gulf with your kids, and what things that we all can do to help a little bit.  Send me your recommendations, advice or questions please, because this isn’t an easy subject to tackle!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309   and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Geek Spin and The Signal

So, what are kids good for, anyway? This week, I attempt to answer that question in snarky, serious, and funny ways.  It is getting a little hectic around here with the end of the school year, so I am both venting a little and reminding us all that kids are really great. Gary helps with several voicemails adding what he thinks as well. Then Wyatt has a little rant of his own, discussing the less-than-good quality of most little kid games and movie-tie-in games.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309  and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and What The Cast?

This week I present a couple of cool activities you can do with your kids – tye-dyed t-shirts made easy (see pictures for example and the dye used, SEI TumbleDye, which I got at Hobby Lobby ), and gardening in a pot or a spot! Then we have some voicemails from Gary about Legos and Tim about games and the Nintendo Power Glove. Finally, Wyatt calls in again to give us another Xbox Live update!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309  and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and Podculture

In this episode, we review a card-based game Amanda got for her birthday, Incan Gold. I recommend it for kids – it is quick, easy, and you can work on their simple math skills without them complaining much! Next, I review the Science Channel show Meteorite Men, which I recommend for hardcore rock hounds and meteorite buffs. Finally, Wyatt calls in with a discussion of motion control platforms in gaming, a commentary on  Army Men, and a comment on Bioshock.

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Parsec Awards and the Safe Haven Podcast

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Chronic Rift and The Seeker Cast

This week, we catch up on all of your voicemail comments! We have a comment on the Percy Jackson books and movie, a new podcaster friend, a question about ear-piercing for Gary’s daughter, and Wyatt goes old-school while he can’t get on XBox Live!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Signal Podcast

Spoiler Alert!

This episode, we focus first on the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Lightening Thief, by Rick Riordan. Amanda helps me review the book in preparation for us seeing the movie just released, and we even tackle the inevitable comparison to Harry Potter.

Then Wyatt calls in to tell us about the Alien vs. Predator demo, which is suitable for teens. And finally Kevin reviews the original Halo game, as he is now catching up with the series very slowly. I did edit this a little, and you can hear some of Kevin uncut in an upcoming new promo for HTGYG!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Boom Effect Auction

It’s time for some fun! This episode, I discuss the cool tech gizmos we got for Christmas – our PS3 and Blu-Ray players, and how that is making our streaming content to the tvs easier! We also have a game review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on the PS3, and my cousin Wyatt joins our team as a reviewer for all things console and XBox Live! Then I get Amanda to give us a review of her Nintendo DS Lite and the games Scribblenauts, Club Penguin, Cake Mania 3 and the Hardy Boys:Treasure on the Tracks . Please let us know other games you would like reviewed, so we can keep Wyatt busy on the team!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Promos: The Casting Game

This week, in honor of the holidays in the U.S., I discuss how we are handling finances and Christmas and charities with our kids, and what lessons can be learned from that to make them not only better geeks but better people! I also include a quick review of Dungeons and Dragons Online- with the best price point of any game – FREE!  We also have a voicemail show coming soon, so feel free to send in your comments!

Don’t forget to check out the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast! We have a new show that went up on Dec. 8 about Kuiper Belt Objects!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter at SusietheGeek or the show at HowToGrowGeek!

Promos: Tuning in to SciFi TV and The Leviathan Chronicles

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Reviews Galore!  Today we have a review of the spelling program/software SpellQuizzer, with I found very useful in helping the kids practice their spelling words both for class and for the school spelling bee. You can visit their site and download a free 30 day trial to see if you find it useful too!

Next we review the new downloadable Popcap game, Plants vs. Zombies. This game is well worth the $10 price, as it is cute, entertaining, addictive, and offers many variations to make it replayable for a very long time.

Finally, we have my review of the TV show Castle, on ABC. It isn’t scifi or fantasy exactly, but it is a well-written, well-acted mystery/police drama, and portrays a great family relationship between the title character Rick Castle, played by fan favorite Nathan Fillion from Firefly/Serenity, and his teen daughter, as well as his mother who has moved in with them. Rick Castle is a best-selling murder mystery author who works with the police to get ideas for his novels, and his unique perspective helps Detective Kate Beckett and her team solve murders in creative, unconventional ways. I totally recommend catching it on Hulu.com or when it comes out on DVD this summer, and when it returns next season.

Also, Kevin Cumming’s son Evan has also written and is producing an audio drama, The Airship Diaries, and I encourage you all to check it out. Kevin is a proud dad, and Evan’s work sounds great!

Thanks for all the input, and keep it coming! And, if you have some time, I would appreciate a review on iTunes! And if you appreciate this show and other great Farpoint Media shows, please visit my website and contribute to the campaign to help Farpoint Media!

Don’t forget to check out the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast!

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums.And last but not least, you can follow me on Twitter!

Bumpers: Love Long and Prosper

Promos:  The Parsec Awards and The One Tree Hill Podcast

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton

Please email me with your own comments at howtogrowyourgeek – at-gmail -dot-com, or call my voicemail number at 206-202-7309 and leave your thoughts. You can also visit our forum at the Farpoint Forums. You can also see our super cute t-shirts, mugs and bags at our Zazzle store link, if you are interested. I love the logo so much that I thought it would be great on shirts, etc.!

Sponsor: Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.GotoMyPC.com/podcast

Logo Art by Tim Coffey

Theme music courtesy of Jonathan Coulton
Sound effects and other music courtesy of pacdv.com