Meet my good friend Marisa McClellan. A celebrated blogger (and now a published author!), Marisa runs the wildly popular Food in Jars blog, where she teaches the Internet how to make delicious canned nibbles.

Yesterday Marisa’s book, Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round, hit stores everywhere via Running Press, a lovely publisher here in Philadelphia. The book is fantastic, the photography is beautiful, and you should absolutely pick it up immediately.

Seriously. Do it now. Here’s a link to Amazon. You’re welcome.

In honor of her book release, Marisa’s our Geek of the Week. Enjoy, and make sure you visit her blog at foodinjars.com.

1. What made you decide to launch Food in Jars? Why canning?

I started Food in Jars in early 2009 because my job as the editor of Slashfood (AOL’s now-defunct food blog) was ending and I wanted to stay in the food blogging world. I grew up canning with my mom and have been entirely obsessed with jars for years, so it was something that was always part of my life. At the time, there weren’t really any blogs out there dealing with canning, so I figured it would be a good niche for me. At the time though, I had no idea that canning would effectively become my career.

2. A lot of times when a blog lands a book deal, we see those blogs go quiet, start updating less. You? You don’t stop. How did you find a balance between writing on the blog, pursuing your other writing interests, and working on your cookbook?

To my mind, it was never an option to stop writing the blog while writing my book. One of the reasons that I got the opportunity to write the book was that I had an engaged community of readers. A large part of my value as an author was that audience. I had to continue to feed that relationship and develop that community so that there would be people welcoming the book when it was finally released. So I kept writing.

I will say that the summer of 2010 was really hard, because that’s when I was developing all the recipes for my book and was still working full time. I spent all my free time canning and making sure all the recipes for the book worked, while also continuing to invent stuff for the blog. It wasn’t so much about balance as it was general brute force.

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This week we talk to Tara Bennett. You might know her from… oh man, where do I start?! Tara is one busy geek!

She is currently writing for SCI FI Magazine, SFX Magazine, FEARnet, Blastr, Snakkle.com (to name a few), has co-written the Official “Lost Encylopedia”, “Firefly: Official Companions 1-3” as well as authoring “300: The Art of the Film” and all four of the “24: Official Companion Guides.”

Whew! That’s a lot of pop culture awesome right there! We spoke to Tara about all of this as well as living in the Philadelphia area.

You are writing for a ton of awesome publications and sites and have also written extensively about 24 and LOST. How did you get started in “geek related” journalism?

Tara Bennett: I’ve loved film and television since I was a kid. There was nothing better than setting myself in front of the TV after school watching my favorite shows or having my parents take me to the movies. My dad is a huge cinema fan too so we had a huge library of VHS, Laserdiscs and then DVDs with our favorites playing on a loop any given night or weekend. I was a voracious reader of all things Hollywood from behind the scenes magazines like Starlog to novelizations of every movie that interested me. My passion for storytelling became my career goal.

I went to Rowan University (at the time Glassboro State) for their Radio/Television/Film program, graduated and went into corporate and then then live TV production. I loved it but I didn’t love the content I was producing. I wasn’t able to relocate at that time to pursue the kinds of entertainment I always dreamed of making so I actually fell into writing with my day job. I’d write scripts and eventually was a contributor for @Home as a film reviewer.

I stepped up my online writing to include interviews and features and really fell in love with it. In 2003, I got downsized from my producing job and it became the perfect moment to give writing a try as my new full-time profession. Gratefully, I managed to get in the door of some magazines covering sci-fi shows and I never looked back.

As a self-proclaimed LOST-ie, I read the LOST Encyclopedia front to back. How long did it take you and co-author Paul Terry to compile all the information for that epic tome?

Tara Bennett: We love to meet new Losties! The LOST Encyclopedia was hands down the hardest book I’ve ever had to wrestle into submission. It was Paul’s first authorship on a book and it sure was an introduction and a half for him. In November 2009, we basically started breaking down every element of the show alphabetically into an Excel file and ranked everything according to importance.

We then submitted that to the LOST writing team for approval. With everything sanctioned, we broke all of the entries in half and then spent from January 2010 to May 2010 writing every entry of the book with the guidance and clarification of the show’s writing team. They vetted all of our copy, tweaked it and then approved it.

The extra fun part was that we were writing as the last season of the show was unfolding so after every episode we had at least 4 – 10 new entries and we had to continue to add to every existing entry as more story was revealed. We were pretty wiped out by the end of the show and the book.

I can only imagine! It’s a great read. Who is your favorite LOST character (if you had to pick JUST one)?

Tara Bennett: That’s such a hard question and one I can never answer well. I loved so many but I usually lean towards Sawyer, because I am such a sucker for a character’s redemptive arc. I think Josh Holloway really came into his own playing Sawyer and taking him from a surly jerk to a man who learned through love how to be a selfless hero at the end.

My other pick is Ben because he was such a deliciously deceptive and manipulative character. Michael Emerson made him an indelible part of that show’s mythology and an absolute scene stealer that had me riveted to my TV.

You also list comics, toys, movies, TV, and music as your other interests. Name what you’re currently geeking out to in those categories.

Tara Bennett: Comics, I am behind in my comics reading but I was last reading The Walking Dead and Chew.

Toys? I am the proud owner of a Katniss Everdeen action figure by NECA on my desk right now. She’s right next to my Jim Henson by the sadly defunct Palisades Toys and my Bad Robot maquette from QMX. My desk says everything you need to know about me with toys.

I am behind on movies right now too but I did take a breather the other night to re-watch J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (which is still awesome) and I can’t wait to see what Gary Ross does with The Hunger Games.

TV? Fringe! Such an amazing show with such incredible fans akin to the Losties. Music, I went to see Zola Jesus a few weeks ago and she put on a great show.

Fringe is so great! Definitely one of my faves as well! What are some of your places in Philly?

Tara Bennett: I’m usually in Philly to catch a live show with friends so I love the TLA (meandering on South Street before to soak up the sights and sounds and food), WXPN’s World Cafe or the new Union Transfer club. Philly has amazing restaurants so my friends and I like to hit Penang on 10th, either of the Continental’s, or do a chocolate walk at any of the city’s sweet cafes. If you can get access, Ralph’s Cafe in the Comcast Center has the best view of the city.

—

Tara on Twitter and scope out her website and personal blog.

Let’s play a game. I’ll say a word, and you respond with the first thing that comes to your mind, mkay?

LARP.

How might you respond? If you’re like my friends, whom I polled in a completely scientific way, your thoughts ran the gamut from “Huh?” to “Goofy!” to the more knowledgeable “Hit points” and “boffers!”

LARPing, or Live Action Role Playing, involves taking your favorite sci-fi or fantasy characters, dressing up like them, and then acting out scenarios in those roles. Have you ever imagined yourself storming a castle or surviving the zombie apocalypse? Sure you have. LARPers act out their fantasies, in the process inviting the derision of the hipper-than-thou crowd and dyed-in-the wool “grown-ups,” who sneer or scratch their heads at folks dressing up and running around the woods “slaying orcs.”

Lizzie Stark takes an axe to LARP misconceptions in her debut book Leaving Mundania. Lizzie, a journalist, immersed herself in the LARPing scene (Lizzie uses the lower case term, “larp”) as research. She played an interdimensional detective from an alternative 1920s universe and produced a medieval newspaper in the Pennsylvania woods.

And Lizzie spoke with a lot of LARPers, all of whom are much like you and I: Geeks who are passionate about something. Normal people. Fathers, sons, mothers and daughters. Folks who just want to escape reality for a while.

Each chapter of Leaving Mundania introduces the reader to a new aspect of LARP: The first chapter brings the reader along as Lizzie heads down the rabbit hole, and the second humanizes LARPers whom I (yes, I admit it) might otherwise have scorned. A later chapter talks about in-game economics and racism. Lizzie writes with clear prose and an observant eye, and she opens up to the reader worlds about which he or she never knew. Anyone with an interest in gaming, pop-culture or even sociology will be fascinated by Leaving Mundania. (more…)

“Bread, and two of those little fish, and a mug of that good dark beer to wash them down. Oh, and some bacon. Burn it until it turns black.” – Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones

Among the images of blood, dragons and war, the Game of Thrones series (or A Song of Ice and Fire, to you diligent readers) conjures a king-like hunger with its mouthwatering descriptions of great feasts, simple meals and regional fare from Kings Landing to Winterfell to across the Narrow Sea. Both in print and in the HBO series, food is a powerful force, and has spawned at least one detailed food blog and several spinoff publications.

Just in time for Season 2 to begin, we have an advanced copy of The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook, which features more than 150 recipes inspired by the A Song of Ice and Fire books’ detailed descriptions. Written by Alan Kistler, this cookbook is one of the most detailed and well-researched niche books I’ve ever read – and I own quite a few nerdy, one-off cookbooks.

Within the hefty 250-page volume, you’ll find recipes from all the known regions, broken up into themed sections by meal type: Breakfasts for Warriors; A Morsel in a Moment, aka appetizers and snacks; Something for the Sideboard, (sides and bread); Fireside Fare (soups, stews, salads); Feasts for Friends and Enemies (mains); and Deceitful Delights, Desserts and Poisonous Cocktails.

The language is accurate to the story throughout, yet modern enough that anyone with patience can understand and assemble the recipes. Quotes or contextual details from all of the books preface each recipe, which is a helpful touch. I appreciate that the author took such care to read through each book and make so many dishes come to life in an authentic way, not just grasping for what the characters could potentially have eaten, which happens with many niche or character-themed cookbooks.

Luckily, The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook is as authentic as it gets. For our premiere party, we cooked a rustic “Inn at the Crossroad 7-Grain Loaf,” assembled the “Pentoshi Stinky Cheese Plate” and “Doran’s Chickpea Paste,” and naturally had to make “Arya’s Lemon Cakes” to finish it off. Enterprising maesters can even try a hand at brewing, as there are more than a dozen recipes for various ales, spiced wines and mysterious brews (Wildfire, anyone?).

Even more lucky, we’re giving away a copy to one reader. Comment on the post below with your favorite food-related quote from any book or episode (no major spoilers please) and we’ll pick our favorite sometime next Friday.

If you read this blog, chances are you already know about Guilded Age, the World of Warcraft-inspired webcomic created by T. Campbell, Phil Kahn (a recent Geek of the Week), and Erica Henderson. Begun as a way to put a spin on common fantasy stereotypes, the comic chronicled the exploits of an unlikely group of adventurers as they made their way through various tasks.

Those early tales are available now in book form in Guilded Age: Volume 1, which brings together the first comics as well as cast biographies and a bonus chapter about Byron Hackenslasher, more commonly known as Byron the Berserker.

Volume 1 details how the adventurers met – there’s Bandit Keynes, a gnome who makes off with more than she bargained for when she steals Syr’Nj’s hat. There’s Byron the Berserker, who is more rational than you would imagine. My favorite is foul-mouthed Frigg Akerfeldt, who taunts enemies, curses everyone out, and kills everything in her path.

Gravedust Deserthammer, a Savasi mystic, is a dwarf with the most badass name ever. Payet Best is an elven bard, singing and impregnating his way through towns. And let’s not forget the wood elf Syr’Nj – it rhymes with “orange” – who can “always do science to it.”

Campbell and Kahn have created distinct, lovable characters in Guilded Age, and this compilation of their first adventures together is one that should grace your shelf – be you a World of Warcraft nerd or just a lover of webcomics. Their off-the-wall humor is balanced with a solid storyline, giving the characters depth while not succumbing to common stereotypes. Fantasy can be funny, it can have a plot, and it can do all this while looking good.

Guilded Age is a comic that’s worth your time and your money – unless, of course, you’ve already spent all of your ralds on booze and wenches.

Tired of making the same old hat, scarf, baby blanket, and iPod cozy? Want to spruce up your knitting with something a little more exciting and geek-tastic? Well you’re in luck, because Toni Carr, also known as Joan of Dark, has you covered with her latest book, Knits for Nerds.

In this delightful offshoot of contemporary knitting, Carr brings to life some must-haves for science fiction, fantasy, and comic book nerds. She’s got Hermione’s beaded purse that can store just about anything (though you’ll find it might fit fewer schoolbooks than she did), Penny’s gloves from “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” and Star Trek sweaters and sweater dresses (a little something for guys and girls).

Some are a bit obscure, like Mr. Nancy’s hat and gloves from Anansi Boys, and a sweater from the movie Real Genius. Others are inspired by your favorite fandoms: instead of Jayne Cobb’s hat from “Firefly,” you’ve got a scarf and socks based on the same design, as well as a “brown jacket” based on the browncoat Mal wears.

Me rocking the Mobius scarf

All in all, the designs are fun and easy, and there’s enough in Knits for Nerds to satiate any nerd’s appetite. I decided to make the Mobius scarf, mainly because my boyfriend had been asking me to make a scarf that he could just put over his head and have snug around his neck instead of having to deal with ends and tying and all that exertion involved with normal scarves. It took no time at all and I did it in a nice grey color.

I think next time I might combine her DNA helix tie with this design to make a Mobius DNA strip scarf. So many possibilities!

Interested in scoring a free copy? Leave a comment about what geeky thing YOU would like to be able to craft. I’ll select one of you at random next week for a free copy.

The Pollinator’s Corridor, a self published graphic novel by Aaron Birk that was funded through Kickstarter back in December, is finally hitting publication. You might have heard about it when the Citypaper covered it and had this beautiful front page illustration. Now that it hit the press, Aaron wants you to come celebrate with him at Studio 34 this Saturday.

The graphic novel tells “the story of three friends in their attempt to connect watersheds, city parks, and forest fragments via the corridors of flowering plants, restoring biodiversity to the streets and awakening communities to the soil beneath their feet.” They have to convince bees and butterflies to cross the industrial wasteland and help save the environment.

You can scope out Aaron’s Kickstarter video here. It’s full of images from the book, and Aaron talks about the project far more eloquently than I.

Guests at the release party can look forward to shaking it up to Balkan, Bollywood, funk, soul, and hip hop all night long. Admission is free, and Aaron is selling copies of the graphic novel for $20.

Go support a talented local writer and artist. Congrats, Aaron!

The Pollinator’s Corridor Release Party
Saturday, March 3rd,, 7:30pm

Studio 34 Yoga
4522 Baltimore Ave
www.studio34yoga.com

As a nerd who spent most of his middle school existence memorizing Monty Python’s Flying Circus sketches, I can completely relate to folks who feel that the legendary British troupe is the center of the comedic universe.

Zack Handlen is clearly one of these people. In his new book If You Like Monty Python…, Handlen (best known for his TV recaps at The AV Club) offers up “suggested additional material that should keep you busy watching, listening, reading, and laughing for however long it takes science to write a program that will give us more Python sketches.”

The book takes a sort of Python for Dummies approach, offering up a diverse assortment of shows, books and even videogames that are likely to appeal to anyone who ever found themselves quoting the Knights Who Say “Ni” or lamenting over an ex-parrot.

The greatest strength of this publication is how it rightfully recognizes Python as a gateway drug for other offbeat entertainment options. As such, the suggestions it makes are usually right on the money. Obviously most Python fans will already be familiar with Fawlty Towers and The Rutles, but they may have somehow missed worthwhile shows like Garth Marengi’s Darkplace and That Mitchell and Webb Look whose comedic DNA can be directly traced back to the work of Cleese, Palin, Idle, Jones, Chapman and Gilliam.

Also worth mentioning is the book’s opening section, which lists an assortment of the Python’s team influences. It’s compelling reading if you ever wondered exactly what forces shaped their comedic perspective. There are also chapters dedicated to movies and TV shows that were released post-Python. These tend to focus on cult properties like the Simon Pegg series Spaced, The Venture Brothers and The Big Lebowski. Again, all are well worth checking out.

Judging by the fact that you are reading a website called Geekadelphia, it’s likely that most of the information presented here you are familiar with. Not everyone is as fortunate. So do yourself a favor and pick up a copy for your clueless co-worker who thinks Two and a Half Men is the pinnacle of comedy. It will blow their minds.

Thanks to the folks at Limelight Editions, we are giving away one copy of If You Like Monty Python… To win, simply name your favorite Monty Python sketch in the comments. A winner will be chosen at random.

Given that Philly was the home of legendary noir writer David Goodis, it seems fitting that the latest show at South Street’s Phantom Hand gallery pays homage to our city’s dark and romantic underbelly.

Co-curated by former Geek of the Week Jeff Kilpatrick and local artist Eamon Doughtery, the Pulp Love exhibition spotlights works that look at romance as viewed through the prism of sordid fiction.

The pieces on display –from Kilpatrick and Dougherty as well as Sam Heimer, Christian Patchell, Concetta Barbera, Christine Larsen, Melissa Lomax and other Philadelphia-based illustrators — all draw inspiration from the “wealth of cheap and lurid culture” found in various pulp genres. Although individually different, they all offer a welcome contrast to the Hallmarkization of romance we all just had to endure with Valentine’s Day.

Count on seeing plenty of drawings of crooks and the dames who love them, as well as offbeat science fiction-themed illustrations that would make Kilgore Trout proud. All of the pieces will be available for purchase, so be sure to pick one or two up and support the artists and Phantom Hand.

When you’re done checking out the art, be sure to head to Tattooed Mom for a suitably booze-filled after party which will give you plenty of opportunities to create your own tales of love and loss.

Pulp Love
Opening Friday, February 24th. 6-10pm. Free. Through March 17th.

Phantom Hand
604 South Street
phantomhand.blogspot.com/2012/02/pulp-love-and-show-closing-double.html

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Everyone knows that the Jim Henson was a genius. Whether you watch Fraggle Rock or The Dark Crystal or The Muppet Movie, you know immediately that this was a man whose imagination worked on a different level. He could conceive and give life to concepts that made you think, made you cry or just made you laugh. But with the publication of Tale of Sand from Archaia, we see that Henson’s brilliance was greater than I think any of us realized.

Tale of Sand was originally a screenplay for a Jim Henson movie that, unfortunately, never got made. It was written by Henson and longtime writing partner Jerry Juhl between 1967 and 1974 and has sat in the Henson archives, gathering dust, until now. Thankfully, Archaia has teamed up with The Jim Henson Company and Henson’s own daughter Lisa to bring the screenplay to life as a graphic novel. To accomplish this they have enlisted the insanely talented Ramon Perez to turn Henson’s words into a story you will never forget.

At its simplest, Tale of Sand is a story about a man who goes on a journey in the desert of the American Southwest for some unknown reason. Along the way we meet and experience things that don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Part parody, part comedy, it is a book that will make you think and make you look at graphic novels, and Jim Henson, differently. (more…)

For most people, the South Pole is one of those places that we know about in the abstract. Most of us will never get the chance to go there and see it for ourselves, but we know it exists.

Now imagine it is 100 years ago and you are part of a team that is racing to be one of the first humans to see the South Pole. Not only that, you are competing with another team to see who will get there first. What would inspire such a journey and what toll would it take on those involved?

That is the subject of the book Race to The End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole. Written by Ross MacPhee, it examines the reasoning behind the expedition, what was learned and what it cost those involved.

For the science geeks among us, MacPhee will be doing a book signing and author talk at the Academy of Natural Sciences Wednesday, February 1st at 6:30 pm. The event is free and open to the public, so you have no excuse not to attend and learn a little something about one of the most remote areas on the planet.

An Evening with Ross MacPhee @ the Academy of Natural Sciences
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
www.ansp.org/adult-programs/lectures.php

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1009
www.ansp.org

Howard Gordon might not be a name you are overly familiar with, but if you’re a geek, you should be. As well as being one of the creative minds and show runner for the hit 24, he has also written and produced for some geek favorites, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and The X-Files.

Last year, he published his first novel, Gideon’s War, and espionage/thriller starring Gideon Davis, international peacemaker and all around man of action. The book garnered great reviews as fans found a new hero who could stand along side the likes of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and David Hagberg’s Kirk McGarvey. (more…)