GeekPapas

In this last GeekPapas of 2011, Justin and I recap his amazing and quite literally historic trip to Havana, Cuba, to paint a mural featuring Snoopy and Woodstock! Hear him talk about the meticulous detail he put into preserving Charles Schulz’s line work, and the joy of doing such a wonderful cultural exchange.

Then we talk to Lorien Green, a documentary film maker who is just about to release her film about the rise of “designer” board games in recent years. What’s behind the story of games like “Carcassonne,” and why is Germany the hotbed of the industry? Lorien has traveled all over to get interviews with the top people in the field.  We talk about her Kickstarter success, the difficulties in putting together hundreds of hours of interview footage into a coherent film, and the challenges of doing all of this with a day job and two kids! It’s a great talk about finding your passion for a subject and just diving in!

Take a look at her trailer here, and you’ll be able to buy a copy soon!

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We’ve collected a veritable “GeekPapas of the Roundtable” for you this week! I love these sorts of discussions with funny and interesting guests, and it doesn’t get much better than this grouping.  Brian Anderson of the comic “Dog Eat Doug,” and several other great kid’s books and novel/webcomics (like the recently announced “The Conjurers,” which you must see), and Jonathan Lemon of the brilliant “Rabbits Against Magic,” as well as the hilarious “Twist of Lemon” audio spots here on this podcast, join Justin and I to talk about Thanksgiving.  The food, the traditions, the family time, the wonders and the horrors. It’s all here!

And speaking of Lemon, there’s a brilliant new “Twist of Lemon” awaiting you at the end of the episode, where he takes a listen to all the amazing noises that are coming out of his newborn baby boy! And I do mean ALL of them.  Enjoy!

As always, thanks to my co-host Justin Thompson of the great “Mythtickle” comic, and the lovely and talented Irma Eriksson, webmistress extraordinaire, of the comic “Imy,” where you can find Volume 2 of her collection on sale now!

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Reading! Something that all GeekPapas out there should be focused on with their kids. Study after study has shown that reading to your kids a little every day from birth makes them better learners and life-long readers. There’s not many better gifts we’ll give our kids than a love of reading.

That being said, Justin (“Mythtickle”) Thompson and I talk about our own experiences with reading to our kids, and discuss some of our favorite books. You’ll find some links below to some of our faves.  And of course, being good GeekPapas and all, there’s got to be some gadgetry involved! The wonderful Carisa Kluver joins me for a discussion on iPad kid’s books.  Carisa is the genius mom behind the site “Digital Storytime” (www.digital-storytime.com), which is fast becoming the go-to site for iPad book reviews and tips for using your iPad with your kid. The site is searchable by multiple parameters, and her Daily Deal page alone is worth checking out. There are top 25 lists, and over 280 reviews of kid’s books.

We talk about the state of the digital book industry, what you should look for when buying, what you should do if you’re a kid’s book creator and more. It’s a must-visit site, and Carisa is a joy to talk to.

Here are some links to books and authors we love that we talk about in the episode. (Disclaimer, naturally…we’re not endorsing any particular site or paid by anyone to send you anywhere…these are just links for you to explore!)

Shel Silverstein

Roald Dahl

“The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln”

Amulet Series

Percy Jackson Series

Mo Willems

“When Pigasso Met Mootisse”

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The artist and writer extraordinaire Chris Watkins joins Justin Thompson and Tom Racine to talk about his strip, “Odori Park.” It’s about a geeky white guy and his Japanese wife, and follows their life as owners of a small bookstore and proud parents of a toddler, with a dash of mixed culture and nerd culture tossed in for good measure.  Chris is a terrific artist, and the characters are real and grounded. And, he’s done what few of us GeekPapas have had the ability or the bravery to attempt; travel internationally for 18 hours with two young children!  He’s got some great advice and we talk about what you can do to make it easier on yourself should you choose to try this insanity yourself!

Can’t recommend “Odori Park” enough, and you can pick up your very own copy of his first book here!

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