Your Nerd Queen Speaks

Today is November 30th. The official last day of National Novel Writing Month. I started this blog as a NaNoWriMo project to see if I could get the word count. As they say in the Kinetic Sculpture Race world, I was racing but not acing. I didn't make the word count but I started a project that I love and I think that is much more important. Once I find my stride with this blog, it could be a very good thing. For the record, my word count for the month of November is a measly 21,000. Okay, it isn't terrible but it isn't 50,000! I'm thinking next year I'll try again but in a different month! November is a crazy month. I don't know whose keen idea it was to pick that month but I disagree with him!

I hope you all are loving this as much as I am because this has been a really inspiring project for me. Thank you to everyone who is reading and to Christa for being my lone subscriber. :)

And now, a pretty picture.

Remember: Not all brains are created equal.

EDIT: Oh joy! I have two subscribers now! Hi Rose!

Nerd Jams "The Ballad of Barry Allen" by Jim's Big Ego

This is such a sad and beautiful song.The Flash must be the loneliest of superheros. You think about The Flash and you think, "Gosh, it must be pretty cool to be that fast!" but really, think about it. He moves so much faster than anyone else that actual human interactions must be excruciating. Poor guy...

We Are the Media: The Big Bang Theory

I ADORE The Big Bang Theory! I feel like this show is a gentle bridge between nerd culture and "normal people." (Can I just call them Muggles?) I did not find this show on my own, it was introduced to me by my mother. (Yes, the same woman who chants, "I don't like Sci Fi!") I think in a lot of ways, my mom related to Penny in that she isn't a nerd but she finds herself surrounded by nerds a lot and by default, has to learn some nerd lingo. (My mom is a nerd. She is a Disney nerd.)

The Big Bang Theory speaks to everyone. It is a rare show that has the ability to make really, really nerdy references that only a small number of people will understand and then follow it up with something everyone finds amusing. There is a relateable character on the show for everyone who watches. The diverse cast shows that not all nerds are the same and we will always have something to fight about.

Over the years of watching, my favorite interactions are between Amy Farrah Fowler and Sheldon Cooper. They are both very educated and highly educated individuals but they have such incredibly different desires in life. Amy is such a sweet little hopeless romantic who just wants to be normal and accepted by her peers and Sheldon is only interested in mint-condition comic books and his journey toward a Nobel Prize.

The only problem I really have with this show is that it is sometimes obvious that the actors are not actually in fact nerds. I've heard the ComiCon panels and they have admitted (which I think is a poor decision on their part) to often not understanding the conversations that are going on between their character. This makes me a bit sad. I know it isn't always possible, but I would love for the nerd community to be represented by actual nerds. It isn't always obvious in the show but subtle things make it a little obvious for example, the way they handle comic books. They touch them too much. They'd make wrinkles.

All in all, this is an adorable show and I applaud Chuck Lorre for his efforts to bring nerds into the media in a positive way.

Delayed Hot Nerd Friday

Oh geez! I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about posting yesterday!!! I think it is cruel to have November be National Novel Writing Month because there is so much stuff going on in November! I vote it be moved to September. For my convenience mostly. Doesn't work like that? Damn...

Well, since I spent all my time yesterday hunting down Wii games and toys during the Black Friday sale, I suppose I'll give you a twofer today. You're welcome. :)

So here are two hot, nerdy ladies. One in Doctor Who theme, one in Tron theme. Oogle away! 

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and you got all the toys you wanted at the Black Friday sales. I know that my shopping cart always looks like I have young boys at home. (I don't) Nerf guns, action figures, video games, Sci Fi movies... Really, all the toys are for me, my honey and my mom. We're all just a bunch of big kids. :) That, I think, is the best part about being a nerd. There is always something for you to be excited about, always something to look forward to. What a gift.

Doctor Who Christmas Special Trailer!!!!!!

This was aired during BBC 1's annual telethon. First, The Doctor gives the clothes off his back. ;) And then the first trailer from this year's Christmas Special!

Hot Nerd Friday

For today's Hot Nerd Friday, I present the lovely Miss Karen Gillian. I like to call her Amy Pond. Yes, I have a picture of her hanging in my living room. Amy Pond has quickly become one of my very favorite companions if not my absolute favorite. (She's in competition with the other red-head, Donna Noble.) Not only is she hot, but she's smart and sassy and infinitely loyal to her boys.

Here's another picture because it's my blog and I can.

The Doctor leaving Amy behind in the second to last episode of the most recent season of Doctor Who tore my heart apart. I have never cried so hard watching a television show. I hear that she will be in the new season but to what extent is unknown. 

So continue to enjoy her while you can!

Curiositities

I have a new fascination. I mean like, really new. Yesterday on my way to work, I was listening to NPR like I do every day. (The weather report comes on at exactly 7:51am. I can tell if I'm running late or not.) On Monday morning (after the weather report) they had actor and rapper Donald Glover on for an interview. You may know Donald from his role as Troy on the show Community. I love Community and I follow Donald on Twitter. He's a really funny guy and I had heard him talking about his alter ego, Childish Gambino, but I had no idea what that was all about.

Lucky me, Donald Glover was on NPR to talk about his new nerd rap album under his pseudonym Childish Gambino and his new album that just came out. I thought, "Hold on, did they just say nerd RAP? Is that a thing? Do I not know about this thing?" As always, the answer was yes. I had no idea about the things and all the wonderful stuffs they provided. Out of the loop!

When I got to work, I loaded up my Grooveshark and searched for Childish Gambino. ADD ALL. PLAY. I was so entirely enthralled. Instead of talking about bitches and hoes, the raps were about Star Wars and Mario Brothers. If there was any mention of a gun, it was probably in a song about Halo. Oh gods, music like this exists?! Rap I can not only relate to but also enjoy?! Amazing.

as I was listening, I heard Donald start to name drop other nerds who happened to rap and who may or may not have inspired him. (I really wish more artists would do stuff like this. Just in the middle of the song say, "Hey! If you like us, you should go check out this other group because they're super great too!" Why is it only cool for rappers to do this?) From Childish Gambino I was able to jump off onto MC Chris and MC Lars and I now officially have enough nerdy music on my work Grooveshark station to not only keep me occupied but also keep anyone else from attempting to use my desk. (Also it helps that I replaced my chair with a giant blue ball this week. Desk paranoia? Who knows.)

I have never been a person who really feels comfortable listening to rap. It felt insincere to me to listen to any rappers other than The Beastie Boys and I could only get away with that with the knowledge that their fiirst album was made as a joke. I feel liberated to have discovered yet another way for me to express my nerdiness and also not fear that I'm not going to get my ass handed to me if I ever attempt to see these performers live. I like my life and would enjoy the continuation of it.

Here's a video for your enjoyment.

We Are the Media: James Hance

This is James Hance.

James Hance is a nerd. From what I can tell, a big ol' nerd. He's also artist. I ADORE his work and if I had the funds, it would cover my walls. All of his art is inspired by nerd culture and is usually a mash up of two nerdy things. Amazingly, not only do these mash-ups coexist happily, but they create a new level love and appreciation for the nerdery referenced. Art speaks louder than words so here are some examples.

I'm seriously considering getting this one to put behind my desk at work.

The above is art adapted from his short graphic novel, "Wookie the Chew," which is a story about Chewbacca and his friends in the classic style of the Winnie the Pooh stories. I own a copy of this book and while it isn't perfect, it is still an absolutely delightful story.



I encourage you all to visit his website, jameshance.com and see more of his work. If you're trying not to buy from corporate stores this holiday season, he is an artist whose good tiding are much deserved. So support a fellow nerd and decorate your home with something relectlessly cheerful.

My "Doctor Horrible" Experience

It seems like such a cliche for Los Angeles. You know a guy who knows a guy who is doing lighting for Robert De Niro's new movie. Everybody has some kind of connection, even my parents have hung out with Jay Leno is his legendary garage. It's just what happens. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when my boyfriend at the time, Jonathan said that his friend Otto was the First Assistant Director to Joss Whedon on his new project starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. Yeah, sure he is.

I'm pretty sure that's how the conversation went on the other end when Otto told Joss he knew a guy whose house looks like a mad scientist's secret laboratory all year round. Yeah, sure you do. But as luck would have it, in that magical Los Angeles way all of these things were true. This was the summer of 2008. I was living in Reseda with my boyfriend Jonathan and two roommates in a house named The Monster House. This house was called The Monster House because it had been renovated on the tv show, Monster House in 2004 to resemble that of a mad scientist's evil lair. Jonathan is a bio-chemist and so this theme is quite appropriate for him. I'd say you can read more about this episode of the show on the website here: http://www.tv.com/shows/monster-house/mad-scientist-house-321131/ but there isn't a heck of a lot of information. There's a big "It's a live!" spinny wheel which lowers a thing from the ceiling that booze comes out of and big metal operating table, brain scan curtains, etc. Basically this is a great place to host a party or film a low-budget web series that needs to take place in a mad scientist's house. Convenient, right?

Before I talk about the actual filming process and all that I have to say something about personalities. Jonathan and I are both only children. We are the opposite kinds of only children. He is the kind who felt lonely as an only child and thrives in big crowds with the massive social interactions and everyone being his friend by the end of the night. I am the kind of only child who thrived in her solitude and has purposefully run from crowds for ages. I get easily overwhelmed when in big groups and I would much rather stay home and have a glass of wine and read than go to a massive party and dance all night. Opposite types of only child personalities.

Well, after Otto told Joss that he knew a guy who has he perfect house for the shoot, Joss was skeptical of course but sent a location scout out anyway. Shock and awe do not begin to describe how this guy felt when he saw the interior of the house. There was no argument. It was perfect.

A little history for anyone who doesn't know why Joss Whedon made "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog." There was a writer's strike in 2006-2007 which brought all productions in Hollywood to a halt during negotiations. (It also caused all the movies for the next two years to SUCK. We are only just now beginning to recover.) Joss Whedon and his brother Jed wanted to prove that you could make low-budget, quality productions without having to jump through all the Hollywood hoops. By the time productions were underway, he had roped in Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion and Simon Helburg. Also, the strikes had ended. This did not deter the Dr. Horrible team! There was still a point to be made!

So early one summer day, a large Uhaul looking truck pulled up in front of my house and camera equipment, craft services, costumes and giant lights came pouring out. I anticipated this would be severely overwhelming for me so, like a boss, my best friend Ashley pulled in right after this truck. That much chaos that early in the morning is not my idea of a good time so we killed a couple hours while they set up and started filming.

When we returned a few hours later, most of the contents of our living room were on the front lawn, there were extras milling about, the neighbors were peeking through their mini-blinds and there were dudes with clipboards and earsets. "Hi, I live here. Is Jonathan around?" I asked a clipboard dude. He looked at me and pushed on his earpiece,"Jonathan's friends are here. Please send Jonathan out." Magic! It became clear that this whole process was a little unnerving for everyone, even Jonathan. We all love Firefly, we all watched Buffy and now the magic was happening in our house. I was hiding, Jonathan was drinking. (If you listen to the director commentary on the dvd, they mention this fact as well.)

I managed to get into the house between takes but it quickly became clear that there were only two safe places in the house: in the front yard and in the bedroom. The problem with the bedroom was that this was also NPH's dressing room and where he was hanging out to nap and learn lines between takes. (I will take this moment to note that NPH also brought his shiny new iPhone with him and he was reading, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." It warmed me to know that there are actual nerds making the nerdy things I like.) For most of the day, I was too overwhelmed to go into the house. Luckily, the giant, pink, fuzzy Love Sack was one of the things tossed on the front lawn to make room for lighting and camera equipment. I spent a lot of the morning on that reading graphic novels and napping. I spent a little bit of time talking with the extras about how cool this all was and gushing over the AMAZING pink combat boots The Pink Pummeler was wearing.

When the crew broke for lunch, I finally had the courage to go look inside at what they were doing. On the way to the backyard I ran into NPH with his lunch. "Hi!" he said trying to balance his food on one hand while extending the other to shake mine. "I'm Neil! This place is pretty cool, eh?" (Okay maybe not exactly that but something like that.) I tried really hard to not say, "I know!" and instead introduced myself in a normal, non-rabid fangirl fashion. Yay thumbs up to me for treating him like a human and not Doogie Howser, M.D. (I heard he hates it when people ask him about that.) and yay to him for being super nice! The living room looked mostly the same expect most of the furniture had been moved out, there was a bunch of equipment everywhere and there were dudes dressed like cowboys in my hallway.

I spent the next several hours in the bedroom where I could sort of hear and see what was going on but didn't have to interact with anyone. I was mostly emailing my mom and probably fiercely updating Live Journal. (My mom was emailing me back saying, "Tell Neil "I love How I Met You Mother!" It is such a shame he is gay. He seems like such a nice guy...") Listening to the filming was a great deal of fun. I got to hear some of the songs and watch as little things got tweaked and perfected. And then the magic moment happened: I was clicking away on my laptop sitting on the bed and NPH came in and asked if I minded if he took a nap next to me. Apparently this kind of filming was really tiring and he was trying to learn all his lines quickly and he had a mean need for naps. Of course I couldn't say no. I tried really hard not to stare little holes into his back while he slept but my first thought soon became, "Neil Patrick Harris is sleeping next to me. I'm sleeping with Neil Patrick Harris!" Out of context, this sounds a lot different than what was actually going on but none the less, it is a true statement.

So they said it was only going to be a twelve hour shoot but it ended up being like, 15 -17 hours. It had been a long day and everyone was getting irritable. I had been kicked out of the bedroom so NPH could change and I was commandeered by the wardrobe lady. Turns out, she was the same lady who did wardrobe for "Firefly!" "Oh, you remind me of Kaylee!" she said to me. I blushed and thanked her. I had seen some "Firefly" at this point but I wasn't a rabid fan yet. They were about to shoot the final seen of the night which is the final scene of the web series. You know, the one with the villain party. Jonathan had already made it known that he wanted to be in it (they were just trying to figure out what he should wear) and the wardrobe mistress thought I should participate as well. My inner bookworm came out and I tried to hide but there was nowhere to run! She put me in an UGLY brown leather and faux fur coat and told me to go look like I was having fun.
Proof:

After they perfected this shot and the shot of Dr. Horrible donning his red Super Villain costume, they started packing up and Joss said he was ready for autograph and photo time. Unfortunately, I was too tired and overwhelmed to say anything profound so I asked Joss for an autograph for my friend Leigh who is a die-hard "Buffy" fan and nothing for me. Jonathan did the smart thing and got an awesome picture taken with Joss.

Now, I can look back on this event and fill my head with all the things I could have and should have said. Now, I want to thank Joss for continually making wonderful, brilliant television and movies for nerds like me to enjoy. I wish that I had started watching, "The Big Bang Theory," it the first episode so I could have told Simon Helberg how much I enjoy that show. Yes, it is a shame but at least I have this memory and some proof that this happened.

The weirdest thing was watching this web series explode across the internet. Suddenly people were looking into my living room and trying to find hidden messages. "Why does Dr. Horrible have three copies of the latest Harry Potter book?" Because there are three of us who live here, we're all Potter fans and we are TERRIBLE at sharing! "The pots and pans hanging in the kitchen are an homage to Firefly!" Actually no, that's just how we have to put out pots and pans because we have limited cabinet space. "The giant red chair is a prop! Totally not real!" No, the giant chair has lived their for years. The fan commentary went on and on. I found myself in chat rooms dispelling the rumors and and probably making things much less exciting people. People were taking screenshots and zooming in to look at our dvd collection and trying to find secret messages. The message is not-so-secret. Hi, we're nerds. We have lots of nerd dvds. We watch a lot of nerd movies. No hidden messages.

We were super sad that this was the year we decided not to go to ComiCon because really, our costume could have been ourselves. We watched the internet for weeks as new Dr. Horrible costumes cropped up. It was absolutely fascinating. It still is. Dr. Horrible is one of those things where I feel kind of awkward being a fan. I love it because it is a fantastic piece of nerd history and I was very lucky to be a part of it but I know it was my fifteen minutes of fame. Every year, at least a small handful of people introduce me as, "that girl I told you about in Dr. Horrible." That's really cool to me. I may not be cool enough to have gotten and IMDB.com page out of it like Jonathan did: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3076659/ but I got to be a part of something really cool. If I ever run into Joss or Neil or Nathan again, I will have something else to thank them for.

Nerd Lust

OH MY GAWD, SHOES!

Italian shoe designer Andre has me DROOLING over his new collection of women's shoes inspired by Cat Woman and Wonder Woman. The shoes shown above? 120 euros. I WANT THEM ANYWAY!

These Cat Woman heels?

129 euros.

You can see his full collection here: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/11/03/andre-wonder-woman-catwoman-french-shoes/

Please refrain from licking your screen. It will do you no good.

*sigh*

Hot Nerd Friday

Congratulations on another week spent solving your problems with words and not fire! As a reward, I present to you, the 10th Doctor himself, David Tennant. MMmmmmmmmmm...... Oh sorry, let me wipe the drool off my keyboard.

David Tennant was my first Doctor and it is no wonder I got hooked. He's smart, he has good sense of fashion, and he has the coolest ride in the universe! I adore the idea of a "super hero" who doesn't have any kind of powers and he solves all his problems with a screwdriver and his ability to be the most clever person in the room ALWAYS.

So please enjoy this sexy, sexy picture of David Tennant, my Doctor. For all the dudes, complaining about the lack of hot lady, you'll have to be patient for next week.

Happy weekend, everyone! I'm off to see the new "Harold and Kumar," movie of which the name escapes me... So I'm just calling it, "Something Something Something Neil Patrick Harris."

Oh one more for the road...

We Are the Media: Tom Wilson

Tonight I intended to do my big long write up about my experience with "Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog," but by the time I found the dvd and made a screenshot and got all prepared, I'm too tired now and I have ballet soonish. So, this weekend! Stay tuned!

Tonight I want to talk about a guy who I have accidentally listened to a lot the last two days and that is actor, comedian and artist, Tom Wilson. Most people know him as Biff from "Back to the Future," but it turns out he's a really smart and funny guy in other regards. He was first brought to the forefront of my attention while I was listening to The Nerdist podcast yesterday. He is in episode number 125 which can be found here: http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/nerdist/

Tom spent a lot of time talking about all the things he has been doing besides being in movies which I always enjoy. It turns out that he's quite the artist. His passion is painting portraits of childhood toys in heroic lighting. These painting are meant to incite a certain reaction in people. He wants people to look at them and say, "I remember that! I got that for Christmas in 1982! I loved that thing to pieces!" He likes to hear the personal experiences attached to these otherwise meaningless objects. The personifications and memories are what makes your action figure your hero; it has nothing to do with the quality of plastic or cloth the toy is made of. Wilson said in his Nerdist interview that he sees this experience very much the same as when a person sees a celebrity from their favorite movie for the first time. The person wants to tell you about the experience they had with that movie and it is much more about them than it is about the celebrity.

I find that to be an absolutely fascinating perspective and I wish that more celebrities would adopt it. Rather than cultivating fame for yourself, every movie, book, tv show or whatever you involve yourself in is an experience for another person.

Tom recently started his own Podcast called "Big Pop Fun," just like his website. So far he only has one episode and he spends most of it talking about his "Back to the Future," experience. I personally am looking forward to hearing more from him and learning from him.

Tom Wilson's website: http://www.bigpopfun.com/
Big Pop Fun the podcast: http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/big-pop-fun/

And for your viewing pleasure, the song in which Tom Wilson answers all the questions you have about "Back to the Future."

Book Club: Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

I am currently reading the book, "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran," written by Rob Sheffield. This is a books about one boy of the 80s' journey through adolescence guided by his radio. I'm only about half-way through this book so I don't feel like I can give an accurate analysis of the book as a whole, but what I have read thus far has been very enjoyable.

What this book mostly makes me think of is my own journey through music and life and I feel like I could write a book called, "Talking to boys about David Bowie." His title stems from the fact that no matter what female he is talking to or how old he gets, if he mentions Duran Duran, that female will have a strong reaction in one way or another. She will tell him about the first time she dance with her girlfriends to, "Rio," or making out with her first boyfriend to, "Girls on Film." Or maybe she's one of those girls who got dumped while, "Electric Barbarella," played on the radio. The point is, every girl of his generation has a Duran Duran story. There is a strong connection between those women and those songs and you want those girls to notice and bond with you, you ask them how they feel about Duran Duran.

I feel very much the same way about the guys I've dated or thought even considered dating and their connection to Mr. David Bowie. Some guys think he's a pansy rocker who doesn't deserve all the fame he's received. Other guys worship the rocking ground he walks on and their idea of foreplay is to growl, "Oh baby, just you shut your mouth," into a girl's ear. (Not that this would work or anything...) It doesn't really matter what the feeling is, every male I know has a strong connection and memory associated with David Bowie. It really is a shame I'm not interested in dating anymore simply for the reason that I will never be able to test my theory. I would love to spend an evening in a random bar asking guys what they think about David Bowie. I think you can tell a great deal about a person's personality from their answer.


I give "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran" a grade of B-. It's a fun book but it isn't terribly insightful and I feel like the author spends a lot more time indulging in his anecdotes about tight gym shorts than actually discussing the songs and artists. 

We Are the Media: Podcasts: Nerdist

I have said it before but it bears repeating, I have a job where I don't have to have a great deal of human interaction in a day. Yes, I have some but it is always brief and either useful or nerdy... usually. This gives me a great deal of time to listen to things on my computer. I have a profile on Grooveshark, Pandora, and Slacker but sometimes it isn't music I need, it is information and amusement. This is when I turn to iTunes and a plethora of podcasts. I have loved listening to podcasts for years. I used to record hours and hours of industrial music Podcasts onto my iPod so I could rock out while I sat in traffic in LA.

Now I am a little older. I listen to a lot of NPR in my car and I need something intellectually stimulating, informative and entertaining to listen to while I work. Nerd podcasts. I have been trying to gather up as many podcasts as I can find that meet my criteria but I'm picky. I'm a very finicky listener. If the person hosting the podcast doesn't know how to adjust her levels so that I can hear and understand her without cranking the volume on my computer, I'm out. If the host doesn't know how to talk into a microphone and I get a lot of mumbling and sharp "s" sounds, I'm out. If the podcast discusses any religion for longer than a fleeting moment, I'm out.

I have tried lots of podcasts and I have been sorely disappointed by most of them. There are a handful I choose to click the "Get All," button instead of exterminating. Through all my hunting, foraging and researching, I always come back to the same show, The Nerdist Podcast hosted by Chris Hardwick. I don't know how the Nerdist guys do it but they always have the coolest, most squee-inducing guests, and the interviews manage to walk that fine line between totally freaking out and treating the guests like a human. I find this show so incredibly entertaining that I actually try not to listen to the podcast while I work. My office is a very quiet place and it is absolutely noticeable if I'm sitting at my desk giggling to myself about something no one else can hear. In a word, I feel like a dork. Luckily, I don't care.

Currently there are 138 episodes of the show and I can confidently say I've listened to about half of them. My absolute guests have been Neil Gaiman, Matt Smith, Tom Wilson and the cast of "The Big Bang Theory." I absolutely recommend that every single person seeks out this podcast and listen to a couple episodes.

Over the summer, Chris Hardwick hosted the pilot episode of "The Nerdist," tv show on BBC America (home of the BBC Americans) with special guests, Craig Furguson and Matt Smith. The tv show was absolutely hilarious and I really hope the show gets picked up... Actually, since that was over the summer, I don't even know if it could be a possibility that the show will get picked up... huh...

Anyway, please go check out this podcast. I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you are, well you're much harder to impress than I anticipated. http://www.nerdist.com/

Nerd Queen: The Saga Begins

I feel like I have to admit something; I haven't always been a nerd. Well, okay that isn't entirely true. I was a nerd but I didn't know that word, I didn't know there were people like me and I didn't know there was an array of culture I was missing out on.

I didn't see Star Wars until I was about 13 even though my parents went to see the first Star Wars movie when they were dating. Sure, they showed me some of the classic movies but none of the nerd movies. I sought most of those out on my own. The main reason why I never saw Star Wars, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Stargate, Fifth Element or anything else loosely related to these movies is apparent when you go to the video store. In any given trip to the video store, you will hear my mother utter the same phrase at least three times, "Is that a SciFi movie? I don't like SciFi movies!" That kind of makes things difficult...

But as I said in the beginning, I've always been a nerd of one sort or another but I just didn't know there was a word for it aside from "bookworm," or "four-eyed freak." I have been a book nerd since I was able to sit up-right and grasp things. A great deal of my baby pictures feature me "reading" or being read to. In elementary school, one of my best friends was the school librarian. I spent most of my recesses in the library helping her file books, make "Reading is awesome!" posters, reading to the younger children and generally helping around the library in exchange for free books. I adored the library and everything about it. I would have spent more of my time in the library if it hadn't been for my classmates. On several occasions, I remember groups of my classmates barging into the library and literally dragging me out onto the playground to force me to play with them. I think my mom may have had some influence over that.

I have always felt that books are the best friends I could ever have. As an only child, they hung out with me so I wouldn't be lonely, they made me feel safe when I was scared, they reminded me of home when I traveled, they took me to fantasy world when I was sad. The first SciFi/Fantasy series I ever read and inevitably fell in love with was the "Lost Years of Merlin," series by Thomas A. Barron. This later led to the "Dragonlance," series, "The Young Wizards," series and many others. When I was a kid, there really wasn't a word for a girl who wanted to wear a suit of armor, wield a sword and ride on the back of a dragon.

I know it seems inevitable that I would love the "Harry Potter," series right off the bat but to tell the truth, this just isn't so. My grandma bought me the first three books at Costco because she knew I liked those sort of books. I resisted reading the books for a long time mostly because they were popular and I didn't want to have anything to do with a popular book because I knew kids my age were mostly stupid. I guess I was a very tiny hipster. The first time I broke down and read, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," I was on a three-week road trip with my family around the county. I had brought about fifteen books with me to read in the car including the first three Harry Potter books. I was only about a week into the trip and I had finished all my other books and I was reluctant to dig into the popular series. The problem was that my mom wouldn't let me buy any more books until I had finished the ones I had brought. Through my reluctance, my heart was melted and those heroic wizards have lived in my heart ever since.

When I was about twelve or thirteen, I had my introduction to the world of movie nerdy. I went to summer camp in Susanville, CA and I met my dear friend Daniel. He is a second-generation nerd. He learned of Doctor Demento and Star Wars from his father and then passed this knowledge on to me. As is apparently standard for me, I was reluctant to join the club. Daniel and I made a deal at the end of our summer camp session. He would listen to some bands I recommended if I would watch any of the Star Wars movies. I ended up buying the original trilogy box-set at Goodwill.

Through my explorations in nerd cinema, I became very well acquainted with an old friend; my library card. The public library is a place my dad could never refuse to take me. How could any parent knowingly say to their child, "No, you can't go to the library today." I mean, I wasn't asking to go to Disneyland every weekend, I just wanted new books, new music, new movies. I think in a lot of ways, my discovery of nerd cinema bonded my dad and I together. We would watch these movies together before my mom got home from work and my dad would say, "Oh yeah, I remember this movie... This is a great movie." Usually when he said thing like this I would ask my dad why he hadn't shared this movie with me before since it was from his era and admittedly, quite good. This probably all goes back to my mom's distaste for SciFi movies. So movies like, "The Blues Brothers," "Animal House," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," were in constant rotation, "Back to the Future," and "Star Wars," never stood a chance.

I have often felt the most passionate about things that I have discovered myself. The anticipation and the excitement that I first gain upon discovering something amazing never seem to fade. This is why I know I will always be a nerd. I may not have always been a nerd but I know I always will be and I'm proud.

Movie Review: The Rum Diaries

Before I review this movie, I would like to make a public service announcement to people who are thinking about going to a theater in order to see this movie. If you are a teenage girl who is going to see this movie because you think Johnny Depp is hot and you are expecting him to be a sexy pirate: STOP. If you are going to see this film thinking that it will be just like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," just because it is a Hunter S. Thompson adaptation: DON'T. If you're expecting Johnny Depp to be a quirky character like in all those those Tim Burton movies: YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. If you are looking for a movie in which Johnny Depp to be a very endearing and talented actor in a movie with a really good plot, then you are allowed to see this movie.

I went to see this film at the Fortuna Theater (I know, I live in a small town. The Fortuna Theater has the best digital picture and sound in the area.) on opening weekend. There were about eight other people in the theater and three of them fell into the "Johnny Depp is a sexy pirate," category. Needless to say, they didn't like the movie. Unfortunately for me, their parents were in the movie with them and actually enjoying said movie. This led them to get up and walk in and out of the theater as a group a couple times and text... probably each other. Yes, I am the kind of person who will lean in into their ears in the dark and harshly whisper for them to put their DAMN PHONE AWAY!!!!! ....please.

So before I talk about the movie, I give my viewing experience a rating of: C- (The theater gets an A even though my boyfriend thought the screen was crooked, my fellow patrons brought down the grade.)

The Rum Diaries: Absolutely Nothing in Moderation
Starring Johnny Depp
A film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's book of the same title.

Basic synopsis: American Journalism Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) travels to Puerto Rico in the late 1960s to work for an American run newspaper doing odd bits and ends. While he has been assigned to the horoscope section, what he finds is a newspaper editor trying to bleed every possible cent out of a dying paper, corrupt politicians, the general populace in disarray and real journalists feel hopeless to stop any of it. Kemp feels it is his duty to expose the unjustices and right the wrong but how do you print the paper when your boss has stolen most of the printing equipment?

I very much enjoyed this movie. I am a big fan of Johnny Depp and a huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson. I know that not all of Thompson's books are like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and this is not a bad thing. The reason Thompson was able to get away with the occasional "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," is because he was a ruthless reporter who believed in informing his readers about what was really going on in his story. I was asked recently what journalism students think of Thompson. In my opinion, journalism students fall into two categories concerning Thompson: half believe that Thompson is a hack and overrated (these people probably haven't read any of his work) and the other half worship the ground that Thompson once walked upon.

I fall into this second category. As a Thompson worshiper, I am aware that there is only one person on the planet who is qualified to ever play Hunter S. Thompson in a movie and his name is Johnny Depp. Thompson trained Depp to be him. Depp lived with Thompson in his home in Colorado while Depp was preparing to shoot "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Johnny Depp is the only actor who knows both Thompson's wild side and also his quieter, dedicated journalist side.

"The Rum Diaries," accentuated Thompson's more professional side. Kemp is a man who thinks that you're supposed to drop acid into your eye simply because it comes in an eye dropper. Yes, Kemp is after a good time in Puerto Rico but Kemp is much more focused on getting the news to print than sleeping with beautiful women, drinking highly flammable liquer or fighting chickens. Okay yes, he does participate in all of these other things but they are a minor part of the story.

If you like beautiful women, sexy cars, beautiful scenery and journalists fighting for what's right, this may be the movie for you. No, this is not my usual giant robot, mass explosion, car chase recommendation. This is a good, solid, thinking movie for adult readers.

This is not a movie you necessarily need to see in theaters, There aren't any crazy special effects that need dolby digital surround. You can absolutely enjoy this film in the comfort of your own home with no pants on.
You're welcome.

Hot Nerd Friday

There are lots of things that I would like to start doing here on a regular basis and one of those things is Hot Nerd Friday. This is pretty self-explanatory. On Fridays I would like to gift you all with a picture of a hot nerd in order to reward you for making it all the way  through the week without setting your desk, your boss or yourself on fire. Hooray for you! You've leveled up to Weekend Mode!

Please enjoy this lovely young lady and try not to think about what she's doing to the value of those poor, defenseless comic books underneath her.

Nerd Queens: Music - Marian Call

Today is probably going to quite the postful day because I still have an hour and a half before my ballet class and the house is all to myself.

Since I moved out of Los Angeles, I have not been around as many people who grab me by the hair and say, "Hey! Look at this fantastic nerdy artist!" I know a lot of cool stuff passes me by just because my nerd community is not as active as it could be but that's okay, I love where I live, I have the internet and people make these beautiful things called podcasts. My job doesn't require me to speak with humans all that often so I spend much of my day listening to music and podcasts while I work. Nerdist is my all-time favorite but I have a really hard time not giggling while listening to it. So I often find myself in a very quiet office with four other people very nearby, giggling like an idiot about something that no one else can hear. Hooray, that's what going crazy feels like. Anyway, what I've come to realize in my hunt for things to listen to, is that there are very few podcasts by nerdy women. This is a very sad thing and it makes me sad. No, I'm not going to start podcasting. One of the nerd-lady driven podcasts I did find was podcast for GeekMom.com and while I myself am not a mom, I can appreciate a lot of the stuff they talk about.

In their first podcast (I'm listening to them in order. They have seven now.) one of the ladies is talking about this great female nerd musician named Marian Call. She was saying how great this lady was and she's played several shows at the Think Geek headquarters and she's so great, blah blah blah. So I have to check her out.

Alright, I don't know a whole lot about this lady but she plays the typewriter as a musical instrument. What's not to love?

Movies: Serious Business

I realize that my approach to movies is very different than that of most women my age. If the word "love" or "sisterhood" are in the title, I'm going to avoid it. If Ewan McGregor, Katherine Heigl or any of those "Sex and the City" women are in it, I'm going to avoid it. If the trailer promises a "touching true story of courage," or "the love story of the century," or "the romantic comedy of OUR LIFETIMES," I'm going to damn well avoid it!

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I hate chick flicks. No, I don't think you understand I HATE chick flicks. No, I HATE them. Movies where the entire premise revolves around some girl needing some guy or vise versa has absolutely no appeal to me. My boyfriend is much more likely than I am to say, "Honey, that new movie with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher looks pretty good. Wanna go see it?" This is usually followed by me mocking him for about ten minutes and then humoring because I know that "Green Lantern" will be out next week.

It is inevitable that when we go see one of these "chick flicks," there will be at least four other couples their with the girlfriends dragging their boyfriends into the theaters. The only reason they are in the theater at all is because their girlfriend probably promised them head when they get home. Or they want to see "Green Lantern" next week. We all have our motives. If I'm lucky, the movie will have some funny bits so I won't fall asleep but toward the end we always get to that moment where the dude realizes he made a huge mistake in marrying his dog walker and the chick realized while she's eating a burrito that every burrito reminds her of that dude. They drop whatever it is they're doing and go to each other. How this works, I will never know. This happens every time and every time, I cannot prevent myself from laughing hysterically. This is so unrealistic and funny to me. I can't help but laugh at how completely unbelievable and cheesy it all is. So while there are a dozen or so girls clutching onto their boyfriends with moist eyes and panties, I am busting out laughing. Yes, this gets me a lot of evil death stares. Whatever. I am obviously not this movie's target audience.

Movies should be about the things we really want in life. You know, normal stuff like flying cars, giant robots, space ships, hot girls in sexy costumes who can not only defend themselves but who also want to have sex with you... Totally normal things. Wait, this is normal, right? When I go see a movie, the only thing I want to to in any way resemble my life in a movie is that some of the actors happen to be human. I go to the movies to forget about all the things going on in my little world or in the big scary world at large and I can just have fun for a couple hours. Movies that hit too close to home, I cannot enjoy. After I graduated from college and I was unemployed for such a long time, my mom would suggest movies about people who were exactly in the predicament. I don't want to watch a movie about how the economy sucks and that I'm going to have a hell of a time finding a job. I can see that every day. I see that when I go to Subway and the guy making my sandwich is in his 40s and tells me he used to be a successful lawyer. Then again, watching some of those fantastical movies can make me angry, too. "Almost Famous," is one of my favorite movies but I couldn't watch it for a long time because I have a degree in journalism and I'd just end up angry at that kid.

I fully believe a good comic book movie could change the world. I think that Americans would be a little more optimistic and patriot if "Captain America" had come out a few years earlier. Movies change the way a viewer thinks in very minor ways. If an audience can collectively decide that the world isn't totally screwed and we can make things a little better if we work together to do something a little super, that's pretty rad. Movies unite people. Go to any opening night of a major movie franchise be it Star Wars, Harry Potter, Star Trek, any of those. You won't see individuals hanging out by themselves, waiting alone to have a solitary experience. You see groups of friends interacting with other groups, merging the groups, having debates and exchanging data. Movie fights are just as important as political fights. Actually, I think you can tell more about a person's character by asking her what she thought about Han Solo or Severus Snape than you could ever tell from asking what political party she aligns herself with.

Point: I would love to see Optimus Prime do a dance on top of the cast of "Sex in the City."

An Introduction: In Which Our Hero Reveals Herself

I hate doing introduction posts but I understand they're necessary so you, the reader can understand my intentions with this blog and oh please, oh please let us go out on a second date. I swear I'll have the blog home by nine, sir.


My name is Mel. I'm originally from Los Angeles but that is the city I am incapable of being happy in and it does terrible things to my brain-meats. I moved to Humboldt County about five years ago to go to Humboldt State University and finish my Journalism degree. In those five years, I finished the degree, realized I really didn't want to be a journalist after all and then spent a collective thirteen months desperately searching for ANY job. I currently work at a local internet marketing company in the tech department and I enjoy my job lots.

I am a self-proclaimed Nerd. I prefer this term to to geek or dork because of the implied connotations that I feel are attached to those words. For example, for people, someone who is a Geek periodically eats odd, inedible objects for attention or money. This is the classic definition of the work geek. I realize this is not the active definition but I really don't care. for me, a Dork is someone who is awkward or uncomfortable with his or herself, is striving for acceptance, is probably really clumsy and probably has a lot of problems. I feel like "dork" is the word that other people use to put geeks down. It's like a Star Wars fan calling some kid a Trekkie. Not cool, man. Sure, we can all act like a dork at one time or another but that does not necessarily mean that is what we are. This brings me to my chosen title: "nerd." To me, a nerd is someone who is very passionate about one very specific thing and this person wants to find all the other people who like this one specific thing. Often a nerd can be seen dressing up in costumes to become their beloved thing and feeling not shame, but in fact pride. The nerd knows when other nerds are watching and other nerds are jealous. The nerd speaks in a secret code that only other nerds understand. Sure, it sounds kind of like a cult but what doesn't these days? I would rather be a member of the Cult of Firefly than the Cult of the Kardashians. (Why are they famous? I still don't get that one...)

I realized recently that my one main goal in life is to somehow become the queen of the nerds. I then realized my name isn't Felicia Day and therefore, never going to happen but I have to try, okay? My passion for science fiction, movies, games, books, toys, web comics, costumes, etc. should be enough to qualify me as at least a Nerd Princess or Nerd Hand Maiden. I realize I have to show some street cred. Okay here goes...

I've slept with Neil Patrick Harris.

What?

While he read Harry Potter.

What?!

And played with his iPhone...

No way!

On the set of Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog.

O.O

Well, that's sort of mostly true. I would like to dedicate an entire post to my experience with Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris and Doctor Horrible but here's the truth of the matter: Doctor Horrible was filmed at my ex-boyfriend's house while I was living there and the only safe spots to hide during filming were the front yard and my bedroom. My bedroom was also NPH's dressing room. Between takes I was hiding on my bed with my laptop and NPH came in and asked if I minded if he napped next to me. For the next half hour, I think my brain made a noise only dogs could hear. I think he's just glad I didn't take pictures of him while he slept.

So this is my blog. This is where I want to write about all my weird experiences living in LA, my love for the toy department at Target, my hatred for chick flicks, my love for space ships, giant robots, female characters who are sexy and intelligent, blue boxes that are bigger on the inside and inaccurate chicken dances.

The journey will be long and dangerous. You'll need this: