State of My Union

Hi, hello... I'm sorry... I have been neglecting my blog and I feel terribly. For some reason writing has just been really hard recently and the longer I wait, the harder it seems to get. The only way to break through this is to assume that no one is mad at me for not writing and to just start doing it again. I find I've been falling into the internet loop at work. Instead of doing anything productive with my free time, I've been stuck checking email, checking Facebook, checking Twitter, repeat. Not useful. Not even a little.

One productive thing I did was make some good looking pies. I mean, look at this pie!

That is a pear pie with Gruyere cheese baked into the crust. Bam!

So I apologize for my absence. I'm going to try to get back on track again. My goal is going to be writing twice a week but I have a lot of catch-up to do. I mean, have you seen how many awesome movies have been coming out? I'm overwhelmed. I didn't even get to see all the ones I wanted before they left theaters.

So, I'm back. Here's a thing. I'll probably post a Hot Nerd on my 3pm work break.

Doctor Who

I've kind of been avoiding talking about Doctor Who because I know how rabid I can get about this show and I'm such a fangirl, that I sometimes forget that there are people in the world who haven't seen this show or have seen it and don't like it. Actually no, I don't think there are any people who have experienced this show in such a way as to understand what its about and have not enjoyed this show. I find myself getting very judgey of people who will not give the show a chance or who brush the show off as "stupid." One of the things that makes Doctor Who is charming is that you can tell that when they started, they had a very low budget and they still made magic with trash bag monsters and and Daleks with plungers and wire wisks.

Doctor Who, for those of you who have managed to avoid BBC American and any number of rabid fans (because those are the only kinds of fans The Doctor has.), is the longest running show in TV history. This year, the show will be celebrating 50 years on air! The Doctor (no, Doctor Who is not his name. Only River knows his name) is a Time Lord, the last of his kind, from a far away galaxy who thinks humans are just the neatest things and he spends most of his time with a a human companion touring through time and space saving the world. Okay, not just our world, all of the worlds!

The Doctor, being a Time Lord, has the ability to regenerate into a new body when the old one dies. This is probably the smartest thing the TV creators could have woven into the mythology of the show. This allows an actor to only play they role of The Doctor for as long as he wants to and the show never gets into a rut and is always fresh. Each actor has his own interpretation of who The Doctor should be and how he will react to situations. Some Doctors are silly, some are serious and tortured. The Doctor is more than 900 years old and he's always learning about himself.

My first Doctor was David Tennant. I loved how he solved problems with his brain instead of weapons. He wanted to help everyone and make everyone OK even if that person wasn't supposed to be at the end of the day. I fell in love with the idea that there was someone watching out for all of humanity and for the innocent lifeforms on other planets. I'd like to think that whenever something good happened in history, The Doctor was there helping and chasing away the baddies.

If I ever have children, I will not be teaching them about any of religious deities, the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. I will be teaching them about The Doctor. The Doctor is the one who is watching over them at night and chasing the monsters out of the closet.

I was away from The Doctor for a few years while I was in college but when I graduated, I found myself living in a house with satellite tv and BBC America and a man who had never seen a single episode of Doctor Who. There were many, many evenings when he would come home from work and I would be on the couch, hiding behind a pillow from a statue of an angel. He didn't get it. He thought it looked stupid and didn't understand why I was so enthralled by the hokey special effects.

Between Matt Smith's first and second season, I convinced Chris that he really would like the show and should give it a chance. Luckily before the new season, there were several "Best of" and "Behind" shows talking about the mythology and the history of the show and lo and behold, he was converted. He and I have now watched every single episode since the reboot and our nerddom is scattered all over the house. There is Amy Pond art on the walls, I've made Chris a 4th Doctor scarf and we currently have three sonic screwdrivers.
Everyone needs to have someone or something to believe in. I believe in The Doctor.

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.

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.

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/

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: