The Geek Tree is back. There are no major upgrades this year; same white lights, same Buck Rogers-style lights, same Santa Yoda tree topper, same blue rockets-and-planets tree skirt. There’s a new ornament — Hallmark’s 2007 three-warp-nacelled, alternative-future Enterprise-D — but that’s about it. Not that I didn’t try. I found some cool pulsing LED … Read more
The Gods of Geekdom have heard my prayers. Or at least Hallmark has. After years of giving us dud ornaments (the Scorpion from Star Trek: Nemesis) and more so-so ones (how many variant Enterprises do we need?) they have finally released the Star Trek ornament I’ve wanted most: The Reliant. Yes, the Enterprise’s nemesis from … Read more
T’was a very geeky Christmas once again this year, and the Geek Tree’s rocket tree skirt is filled with all manner of games and toys for thirtysomething boys. First up, this year’s Hess truck goes off-roading with a huge engine-revving 4×4 with two motorcycles. Very cool, and an instant hit with the kids. My annual … Read more
The Geek Tree has spawned. With my 18-month-old son NeutronLad obsessed with putting almost everything he finds in his mouth, we decided that hanging up my various mini (and easily swallowed) ornaments wasn’t a good idea. At the same time, my parents discovered my old Christmas tree from high school, a 18″ tree that I used … Read more
Hallmark’s released their Winter 2007 ornaments, so it’s time to warp ahead to the future of this year’s Geek Tree. I have my eye on three new ornaments, two spawned by Star Trek and and Joss Whedon’s Firefly. First up is the three-warp nacelled Enterprise 1701-D from the episode of “All Good Things”, the series finale … Read more
For years, people have been asking me for pictures of the Geek Tree, and for years, I’ve been promising to find a way to take them. This year, I finally did. Check out the Geek Tree in all its glowing glory in this Flickr photo set. I experimented with a couple of different approaches, but … Read more
The holidays loom large, and with them so does that most venerable of Nuketown traditions: the Geek Tree. This year’s Geek Tree includes a major addition which my wife Sue bought for me last Christmas: the Hogworts Express. This is an HO Gauge train set featuring a large oval train track, several over-long sleeper cars, … Read more
Ah yes — another Christmas, another Geek Tree! The Geek Tree, for those unfamiliar with it, is an annual tradition for me, one that arose when my wife pleaded for me to stop overloading the family tree with TIE Fighters, Enterprises, and Jedi. This year it will contain all the trimmings of previous years, but … Read more
My quest to improve the Geek Tree this year continues. I have found what I think is the perfect size for the tree — 9 feet tall, and 40 inches in diameter. That makes for a narrow, slender tree that shouldn’t have huge footprint in the living room, but provides ample space for the various … Read more
Hallmark officially released its Christmas 2004 tree ornaments earlier this month, so naturally that brings to mind thoughts of what to do with this year’s edition of the Geek Tree. For those who don’t know, the “Geek Tree” is my annual celebration of speculative fiction … in the form of a Christmas tree. Originally, all … Read more