A tale of two Lincolns

... or really, two tales of one Lincoln: the one and only Abraham Lincoln.

As a history major, I have spent a couple of years of my college career studying the Civil War, but I have a lifetime of interest in it. I find Abraham Lincoln to be a fascinating person. Most have heard the basics of his story in school. He was born in near Hodgenville, Kentucky and his family moved to Indiana when he was a young boy. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died when he was only nine years old. He went on to practice law, serve as a state representative for Illinois, and led the Union through a Civil War before being assassinated on April 14, 1865. Lincoln has been portrayed many times in cinema history, but in 2012 there will be two very different depictions of him, one having a very supernatural twist Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Lincoln.

Game of Thrones RPG on the way

Since I began immersing myself in the Kingdom of Westeros by reading "A Song of Ice and Fire" and watching "Game of Thrones" I began to imagine what it would be like to play a video game based on George R.R. Martin's epic story. Those who have been jonesing for an ASOIAF video game will not have to wait much longer. Cyanide Studios recently released a real-time strategy game based on the series, and are developing an RPG that is slated to come out in quarter one 2012. The game takes the information that we already have about The Seven Kingdoms and weaves in original characters. One of the great things about this game is that the story is being written in conjunction with the man himself, George R. R. Martin.

Around the Web: All The Trekkie Ladies

You good folks know that I am a huge fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Poking around the internet today, I saw a brief mention of this video, but wasn't able to watch it. Now, having feasted my eyes upon its simple brilliance, I can definitely say that this is now one of my favorite things ever. I wish it had been longer. Also, I would like to see Sir Patrick Stewart and the very Honorable Lords Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton act this out in real time. If you're a fan of Robot Chicken, then you'll definitely like this video which features their Star Trek action figure counterparts dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies.

(via The Mary Sue)

Trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is here - in HD!

We wants it... we wants the precious.... and it's here! The long-awaited trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" the first of two film adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" has been released. Here, we are introduced to a young Bilbo Baggins, as we recall from The Lord of the Rings is Frodo's uncle. We are also reunited (though it feels like the very first time) with our very good friend Gandalf the Grey and get to meet Bilbo's thirteen dwarven traveling companions. Young Bilbo is played by the ever-so talented Martin Freeman, whom you can also hear in 2012's The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Of course, he also plays Arthur Dent in the 2005 adaptation of The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Watch the trailer after the break!

Epic giveaway: Game of Foams - WINNER

Huge congratulations to the winner of the Game of Foams GEEKSOAP! The winner of this giveaway was Konstantin! He will receive the Stark and Lannister soaps courtesy of The Pink Toque.

Check back for more contests soon!

Official Dark Knight Rises trailer released

Some who expected this here in Lexington this weekend got the teaser from July, which is just plain unfortunate. Thankfully though, the official trailer for Christopher Nolan's conclusion to The Dark Knight saga has been released. Huge thanks to GeekTyrant for the tip on comingsoon's embed code.

The film takes place eight years after the events in The Dark Knight. The trailer features a look at Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Catwoman. We also get to see Tom Hardy's Bane. Oh, and that's a glimpse of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake as well. Michael Caine reprises his role as Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth. The film also stars wonderful actors Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, and Matthew Modine.

After the death of Harvey Dent, in order to preserve Dent's reputation, Batman (Christian Bale) assumed the responsiblities for Dent's crimes. This leaves him an enemy of the state, so to speak, hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. He is called out, however, by the villain Bane who wishes to destroy the city and must deal with Selina Kyle (Hathaway).

The Dark Knight releases on July 20, 2012.

What will be the next step in the Batman franchise?

This Day in Geek History: The Fellowship of the Ring is released

Having been dubbed a history maven and all around queen of useless knowledge, I thought I would start discussing some awesome geek history tidbits. Today, I thought I would start with a favorite of mine, the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Buzz is surround the release of Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" adaptation. I've heard that the trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is attached to both Sherlock Holmes and the Adventures of Tintin. I read, however, that here in Lexington the trailer didn't appear. Curses!

Anyway, about LoTR: FotR. The film, the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, premiered in the United States on December 19, 2011, nine days after the UK release. The film went on to earn 870 million dollars worldwide and was the second highest grossing film of 2001, behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 2001 was a big year for first in series movies.

A ring which was thought to have been lost for centuries has been found, and the bearer is a young Hobbit named Frodo. It is up to him to destroy the ring so that it may not return to the hands of its master, the evil Sauron. We meet Frodo, Legolas, and their merry band of adventurers, including Merry and Pippin, et al. (Oh and everyone's favorite Lord of Winterfell, I mean Boromir.) Over mountains, through forgotten woods, and by blood sweat and tears, the Fellowship works to complete their epic quest.

Who is your favorite character from the Lord of the Rings series?

Epic Rap: Star Wars The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic officially releases on Tuesday, December 20. It's the latest game from Bioware and the next chapter in the Star Wars video game franchise, set thousand of years before the rise of Darth Vader. Youtube user Dan Bull, who recently rapped about Skyrim, has just released a new rap based on SWTOR. The video features a lot of footage from the game and is very well made. Kudos to Dan Bull!

Were you granted early access to SWTOR or will you be picking it up on release? Share your thoughts!

Second Day of Christmas: WoW vs SWTOR Holiday Singoff

Apologies, I am certainly behind in my 12 Days of Christmas postings. That just means we get Christmas cheer well past Christmas!

With World of Warcraft's patch 4.3 coming out just in time for the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, there has been some heavy debate (and friendly banter) and comparison of the two games. Some are calling SWTOR a WoW-killer while others say that TOR will crash and burn.

Mike B aka Fony of Gamebreaker.tv and ZAM.com's BFF Report has created 42 episodes of  the World of Warcraft machinima show Blizz Blues for Gamebreaker including this video "12 Days of Smack Talkin'." It features Darnell, the host of Blizz Blues, singing about his "rogue only legendary" that was released with patch 4.3. However, his holiday fun was interrupted by a visitor from a galaxy far, far away.

I think that Blizz Blues gets better with every episode. I've always been a huge fan of machinima and Mike's doing an awesome job!





Be sure to check out the other episodes of Blizz Blues!
Question: Are you a WoW player? Do you think that the game is on death's door? Leave a comment below!

First Day of Christmas: boogie2988

It's coming on Christmas around here at Kentucky Geek Girl and I wanted to kick off the season with my own special 12 Days of Christmas. It'll be 12 days of awesome things that I love or that are particularly cool this time of year. Today, it's boogie2988. I'm sure most of you have seen his videos on Youtube where he plays a character named Francis. I must admit that I thought that this wasn't just a character at first. Turns out, though, that boogie is really awesome! He has a lot of great things to say about life, gaming, and everything in between. His Francis videos are hilarious. I'm including two special Christmas-themed Francis videos after the break!

Fall asleep the "Star Trek" way

I'm the type of person that needs sound to fall asleep. I used to watch TV or listen to the radio. Netflix has made it super easy as well. I've already fallen asleep on several occassions to "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Murder, She Wrote" (and by golly I'm admitting it too!)

There are countless smart phone apps that allow you to generate white noise or other random sounds such as rain, crickets, or ocean waves. Now, through the engineering of youtube user crysknife007 you can listen to the USS Enterprise-D's engine idling for 24 hours! Yes, I'm quite serious. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty awesome. I had it in the background while I was writing a paper last night (on Star Trek, I might add) and it canceled out the silence of the library perfectly. Check out the video after the break!

"Game of Thrones" Season 2 teaser

The cold winds are rising... what does it mean? Has winter arrived? What about those Whitewalkers? Oh and what's this about Stannis Baratheon? Will Joffrey get the crap kicked out of his stupid face? Oh and what of Arya? SO MANY QUESTIONS. SO MANY MANY QUESTIONS!

Are you a Thronie? What did you think of the trailer? Are you SO FREAKING HYPED for April?!

Epic Giveaway: Game of Foams GEEKSOAP!

Winter is coming, friends. Be sure you smell your very best with this newly released line of Game of Thrones inspired soaps by the lovely Lesley at GEEKSOAP.net. Lesley has been a huge friend and supporter of Kentucky Geek Girl this last year and has graciously donated her Game of Foams soaps for an epic Pre-Christmas giveaway. It's been a great year for fans of George R. R. Martin's epic series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and what better way to celebrate than by lathering up?