Join the Nerdolution

WOW! In just a few short weeks, Zac Levi and the Nerd HQ campaign has raised over $212k with nearly 10 thousand contributors!

This alone is a testament that we nerds are not walking this earth alone.

If you missed what #IWantMyNerdHQ is all about, you can view my last post here

Technology has come so far and in a reasonably short amount of time, flash back 10 years and there would be no way on this earth I would have been interested in something like this. Not because I don't love Zac and what NerdHQ is all about but from feeling disappointed that I was on one side of the world while this event is on the other.

Guess what? That doesn't matter!!

I will be attending panels that fans from anywhere in the world can log on and watch online.

So who wants to join me? I know most of my readers are based within Australia but this is an opportunity for anyone to be a part of making this event happen.

Picture courtesy of The Nerd Machine

How do you do this you ask??

We have 27 days left to contribute, anything as little as $5 can help.

His team have started adding some really cool incentives to spice things up a little, the current one is for "contribute a minimum of $5 from now until Sunday at 11:59pm PDT, you could receive a thank you call from Zac Levi himself!".... Did I contribute again to win this, you KNOW I Did!! 

Give now at IWantMyNerdHQ.com

Last Sunday, Zac answered questions and talked about the campaign on Ustream.

You can watch below.
I promise you, watch 10 minutes of this and you will find it hard to keep your wallet in your handbag and NOT give him some financial help.

And cause I know you're gonna want more as soon as you're done, this was a Google Hangout with Zac from this week also.

Well, What are you still doing here?? GO...NOW.... #NerdsUnite 

MrsJRad xxx

Chuck, Flynn, Fandral... Introducing King Nerd Zachary Levi

“Being nerdy just means being passionate about something, including everyone - the coolest people on Earth are passionate and therefore nerdy about something whatever it is, whether it's sports, or gaming, or technology, or fashion, or beauty, or food, or whatever.” - Zac Levi

I want to introduce you to someone, for the purpose of this post, let's call him a "friend" of mine.

This is Zachary Levi, you might know him as Chuck, Flynn Rider from Disney's Tangled or most recently Fandral in Thor: The Dark World. To be honest, it doesn't matter if you haven't met him right up until this moment, what is important is that we help him.

Every year for the past 3 years, Zac and The Nerd Machine team have put on a pop culture event "Nerd HQ" a 100% completely FREE event that coincides with Comic Con in San Diego. Until now, Zac has had to rely solely on sponsorship dollars and his own funds.

In 2014, Zac needs our help.

He is asking that anyone and everyone contribute $5 (or more if you have it) via Indiegogo to help make #NerdHQ happen.



This is a fan's dream come true, it is an event that to quote Zac is "trying to incentivize celebrities and fans to come together and in really intimate and interactive ways, all whilst raising money for charity."

That's right people, not only is this event free, 100% of any of the paid celebrity photo ops, signing ops or panels goes straight to Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is a not for profit charity that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the world.

"Fans will treat something preciously if given the opportunity to do so" - Zac Levi

I believe in that quote with every part of my being, as you all know, I was pretty much born a fangirl and through the power of social media and technology, I have been able to be a part of so many wonderful things that a lot of fans would dream about.

So what are you waiting for? Join me in becoming a part of #NerdHQArmy today.
Not only will you be helping a selfless event take place, your name will appear on the "Nerd HQ Wall of Honour" at the event and on The Nerd Machine page.

All Zac needs is $5, if you have more great, but if not, its incredible to know that you can help such a selfless event happen for the same price as a good cup of coffee.

Go to the Indiegogo page now #IWantMyNerdHQ!!

MrsJRad xxx

Reuben Koops

In November 2013, my sister turned 30 so we went out for dinner and a few drinks to celebrate.

At the bar that we went to, I was immediately draw to the back where the talented Reuben Koops was doing a solo gig. I had heard of him from being on Australia's Got Talent but in all honesty, I didn't watch the show.

In my opinion, Reuben's sound is a young combination of John Mayer and Jack Johnson, two of my favourite artists ever! So I had a great night dancing the night away (because of the chilled lounge setting of the bar, I may have even been the crazy lady that was dancing on her own but hey I was feelin it!)

The next morning the first thing I did was jump on google, I had to know if there was a CD I could buy! 

Low and behold, Reuben was crowd funding via indiegogo.com to make his debut album, I signed up instantly!!

I got this baby in the mail last month & I have had it on daily in my car ever since.

The YouTube album sampler that Reuben released is  http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=mCZtinCbRlw

Reuben sings a number of songs that are clearly written from the depths of love for his wife. It's really refreshing to have a love song that is pure, honest and isn't tainted by sexual undertones as most of the pop scene is these days.

This is something that with a daughter approach her teen years is incredibly dear to my heart, the love reuben sings about in most of his songs is one of self worth and value. 

That is a message I am more than happy for my pre-teen to listen to on repeat!

The debut single "Where You Water It" which is also the name of his album, sends a clear message about you getting out of a relationship what you put in, the specific lyric "the grass is greener when you water it". This message is one far beyond his years but one that I think the world needs to hear.

You can view the film clip here - http://youtu.be/-L_7emT2EbM

I truly have been swept up in this album and can't recommend it highly enough.

My favourite pick has to be "Two Little Words" which I believe Reuben wrote for his wife before they married last year. It's a touching song about starting their married lives together.

An acoustic video of it can be found here - http://youtu.be/zLXMSxb6bP0

I hope you all consider checking this young Tasmanian artist out, I feel there will be great things ahead of this guy & I for one will be looking forward to seeing it happen!!

Buy Reuben's album on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/where-you-water-it/id805279636 or for any of my international friends that might want a copy, email me or comment below and I can source it locally for you!

Thanks for reading,

MrsJRad

P.S check out the tasmanian tour dates

I knew chocolate was good for me

***I am a participating Influencer at The Entertainment New Media Network. I have received free product for review to facilitate this post. I was not compensated for this review and all expressed opinions are strictly my own.***

For anyone that knows me, the only hot drink this body consumes is a strong hot cup of coffee or a honey and lemon drink when I am sick.

Until today.

Today I have been introduced to a whole new world of hot drinks, one that just might see me reaching past a large double shot skinny latte and making myself a delicious Crio Bru hot chocolate.

Crio Bru is a hot drink made from 100% cocoa beans, brewed like coffee and is filled with flavour and packed full of antioxidants. The health benefits alone were enough for me to want to give it a try.

We have tried our Bru a number of different ways over this past 5 days. Primarily because I am impatient and couldn’t wait to buy a new French press to try it out. Each time we added a little skim milk and 1tsp of sugar, just as we would our coffee.

First attempt was in a tea pot (yes desperate times call for desperate measures).

                                                  

Needless to say, it wasn’t ideal. The Cavalla Crio Bru was nowhere near strong enough but I could already tell by the flavours coming through that I had found a new night time companion.

The following day, I again forgot to buy a French press so we gave the Thermomix a run as per the Crio Bru website’s “How to Bru” guide.

50gm Crio Bru (we used the Cavalla), 800-900mls water and 10 min/90°C/speed 2

The smell in my house was simply divine. This time by using the Thermomix, it was a much stronger flavour and I just knew we were nearly there with perfecting the art of Crio Bru.

My husband Roger tried this with me and found that after having a night time Crio Bru he felt much more relaxed and sleepy. A definite winner for our nightly wind down once the kids are in bed.

On Sunday, I finally remembered to buy myself a new French Press.

    
                                                                

This took the Crio Bru to a whole new level. Using the French press made for rich and deeply enhanced flavours. If I had to try and describe it, I felt like I was drinking a silky, creamy, rich chocolate bar.

My favourite aspect of the Cavalla was the undertones of the dark chocolate that came through in every mouthful. The saddest part was that with the introduction of the French press to our household actually meant that within no time our Cavalla ran out.

Last night we gave the Maya Crio Bru blend a whirl. Personally this flavour wasn’t one I fell in love with, I still enjoyed it but the cinnamon flavours were a bit too strong for my liking.

Another fun way we tried the Cavalla Crio Bru was actually using the grounds in place of some of the cocoa in protein bars.

The Recipe for anyone interested in trying them is as follows.

250gm raw almonds
12 pitted dates
60gm Protein Powder of your choice (we used chocolate)
1.5tsp Vanilla extract
1tbsp Cocoa
1.5tbsp Crio Bru grounds (we used the left over grounds out of the French Press instead of composting them)

Blitz up in either a food processor or Thermomix and slowly add up to 2tbsp of water to bind them together.  You can roll the mixture in to walnut sized walnut balls or if you’re feeling slack like me put in a slice tray and set overnight in the fridge before cutting in to bars.

The verdict overall is in, we adore Crio Bru and if I am honest with you all, I am awaiting delivery of 3 new bags I ordered last night, I cannot wait to consume some more chocolatey, healthy goodness!

Head to www.criobru.com now to try some for yourself, I promise you won't be disappointed.