The Geekly with a Twist: December 2nd-8th

Hey everyone, your favorite slacker here with your favorite dose of history for the week.  I haven’t heard back from our winner yet, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone that entered my Cyber Monday Guide and Giveaway Contest (where the prize was a fantastic gift credit to the fabulous Rainbow Darkness Studios).  For those of you that maybe missed out (yes, turkey coma is still a valid excuse, don’t worry), stay tuned for more of everything…more news, more awesome deals, and more contests!  You never know when something awesome is going to drop…okay, well, actually you do…every Friday!  So, without further rambling on my part, onward with the history!

December 2nd, 1942: Dr. Enrico Fermi changes the face of nuclear physics when the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction goes critical at Chicago Pile-1, an “atomic pile” under the football stadium at the University of Chicago.

December 2nd, 1993: The space shuttle Endeavor blasts off into space for its first service mission on the Hubble Telescope.

December 3rd, 1999: NASA loses contact with the Mars Polar Lander as it prepared to enter the Mars atmosphere.  It was unmanned and it was not heard from again.  (Any bets on the little green men?)

December 4th, 1965: Gemini 7 launches from Cape Kennedy.  The mission was to study the effects of space on the human body after 14 days.

December 4th, 1973: The space probe Pioneer 10 reaches its closest point to Jupiter, an estimated distance of 132,252 km.

December 5th, 1978: The space probe Pioneer Venus I inserts into an elliptical orbit of the planet Venus. 

December 6th, 1998: Astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavor connect the first two pieces of the International Space Station in the cargo bay of the shuttle.

December 7th, 1941: It’s not exactly geeky, but we’d be remiss to not mention the attack on Pearl Harbor.  This “date which will live in infamy” marked the entry of the United States into World War II.  That tragic morning alone cost 2,402 lives (57 of which were civilians) and wounded 1,247 others. 

December 7th, 1972: The final U.S. moon mission, Apollo 17, launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

December 8th, 1976: The man who would be a hobbit, a mutant, a plane crash survivor, and an awesome narrator (seriously, you need to see Ringers: Lord of the Fans if you’ve not yet), Dominic Monaghan is born in Berlin to British parents.  He’s such an awesome geek that his confirmation is actually Luke…as in Luke Skywalker.  Star Wars was even his inspiration to become an actor!  (Okay, I need to stop nerdgasming.  He’s awesome, we’ll leave it at that.)

December 8th, 1978: The man who would be the first actor cast on Lost (where he acted alongside the other man celebrating a birthday), the first character killed off on Lost (I was so angry, I’m not going to lie), and the man who would go on to grace the small screen as the gorgeous immortal Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries (yes, Dustin and Molly got me hooked on it), Ian Somerhalder is born in Covington, Louisiana.

December 8th, 1995: The spacecraft Galileo inserts into an orbit of Jupiter.

So this week, instead of just one Twist, I couldn’t resist sharing this awesome article for a Lost inspired cocktail party over at Celebrations.com.  They’ve got drinks themed for Kate, Desmond, and even that loveable Sawyer (if only Josh Holloway had taken the role of Gambit for X3…darn).  Go check it out for yourself and enjoy!  Tell ’em AJ sent ya!

And, of course, in continuation with our Holiday Shopping Guide, I’ve found more things I would love to find under the tree that I’m positive would help finish your shopping lists for your favorite geeks!  This week’s Garnish is The Gorgonist.

The artist, who simply goes as “The Gorgonist” (Gorgon+artist, if you were wondering), creates adorable scenes featuring every geeky character from Link to Spock, the Xmen to Peter Pan, Batman and Alice and everyone in between and beyond.  If someone feels really generous, this picture has made my wishlist (and my birthday is in only 16 days! 🙂 ).  You have to go enjoy the work, if nothing else.  If you’re thinking holiday gifts, get over there quickly… you have until December 15th to order if you want it before Christmas.

Also, in case you missed it, check out the Cyber Monday Guide for a few fun websites.  The deals may be gone, but there’s still some awesome place to enjoy.  In addition, you can check out my Etsy profile where you can keep up to the minute on my latest finds and favorites to satisfy the geeky needs of the season!

Until next week, geek on!