i'm not ashamed.

I posted something today, and it came out sort of teen angst-y today. I was basically saying how the whole "nerds are cool" thing never mad it to Ireland, and how I was in no way viewed as "cool" by the general populus. It came across as whiny. I'm not ashamed of being a geek.

I'm not ashamed that I like Trek, Who the X-Files.
I'm not ashamed that I've read more pages of fanfiction than most people have read books.
I'm not ashamed that I've got every Star in Mario 64.
I'm not ashamed that well over a thousand hours of my life in RPGs.
I'm not ashamed that seven hundred of those hours were spent on Pokémon.
I'm not ashamed that I bought the DnD books and dice, even though there are no RPers in my area.
I'm not ashamed that I wore my zombie repellant shirt and jacket with two dozen in-joke pins to school on non-uniform day.
I'm not ashamed that I spend twelve pounds on magazines every month. (SciFiNow, NEO, and ONM.)
I'm not ashamed that I spend even more on books.
I'm not ashamed that I read the Science textbooks for fun.
I'm not ashamed that my favourite book is "Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd.
I'm not ashamed that I have a zombie apocalypse survival kit.
I'm not ashamed that I have read more books than most adults.
I'm not ashamed that I have an entire Glasstown style world inside my head.
I'm not ashamed that I know what Glasstown is.
I'm not ashamed that I'd rather do the techie stuff than be in a musical.
I'm not ashamed that I know all of "The Element Song"
I'm not ashamed that I took the time to type this with a frakking iPod.
I'm not ashamed that I use the terms "frakking", "Oh My Arceus", and "Phasers Down."
I'm not ashamed that I speak fluent Scooby.
I'm not ashamed that my NaNoWriMo plans are more detailed than a lot of finished novels.
I'm not ashamed that I've made my NaNoWriMo plans, even though it's April.
I'm not ashamed that I write a short story every Tuesday during triple Physics.
I'm not ashamed that I keep a journal comic.
I'm not ashamed that I watch the commentaries on every movie I buy.
I'm not ashamed that the tabs I have open now are this, Soul Eater, FF.net, and the Pokémon Tabletop Adventures Handbook.

I'm not ashamed of who I am.

RIP.

Diana Wynne Jones is dead, and I didn't know.

I view her as one of the greatest children's authors ever, and now she is gone. She died on the 26th of March 2011, and I only just found out. She passed away due to lung cancer.

Neil Gaiman puts it better than me.

A short post, I know, but I have nothing else to say.

Yuko Ota fanboyishness.

This is the first of many posts about comics. Get used to them.

The first comic I'm nerding out on is Johnny Wander, and the work of Yuko Ota in general.

Johnny Wander might be about life after college, being a kid, growing up and all the people you meet and all the things that happen in that brave new world.

Or it might be about something else entirely.

All I know is that it's awesome.Ananth Panagariya writes the comics, (I think) and Yuko illustrates them. Ilove Yuko's art style; sort of a halfway point between manga and western art. I love the character design, even though the characters are real people. I love the comics themselves, and most of all, I love Maw.

Sample Comic:

 

Nerdist! Yay!

OK, I said I'd post about something I knew about, and this is that thing:
Chris Hardwick's Nerdist Podcast. This is, quite simply, the best podcast ever. It's bi-weekly, with one of the episodes being an interview and one being a guestless, or "Hostful" episode. The hosts are Chris Hardwick, Matt Mira, and Jonah Ray. Both Chris and Jonah are professional stand-up comedians, and Matt works for The Fruit Based Computer Corporation, but is also an aspiring comedian.

Each show's about an hour long, and is awesome ninety-nine percent of the time. There can be a little swearing sometimes, for those of you who dislike bad language, but it's nothing to be too concerned about. Most guests are nerds themselves, and some interesting conversations ensue. (Anyone for a game of Dance Dance Industrial Revolution?) Anyhoo, here are some links to my own favourite episodes.

Episode 10, with Adam Savage.
Episode 32, with Felicia Day
Episode 35, with Jonathan Coulton
Episode 46, with Matt Smith
Episode 63, with Wil Wheaton

LISTEN TO THEM.

First Post.

OK, I just started this blog. I will tell you what I like, and try to force you to like it too. That is how it will work.

Alright. I just ordered this: 

   I really, really hope it lives up to how awesome it sounds. It's a collection of nerdy short stories from some Young Adult authors. John Green, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix and Kelly Link have all contributed. Each short story is accompanied by an illustration by Hope Larson or Bryan Lee O'Malley. (Whom I adore.)

   However awesome the illustrations may be, the short stories are what matter. The one I am possibly most excited about is Kelly Link's story Secret Identity. I love Kelly Link, and I'm sure the story will be amazing. From what I can gather, the story is about a girl who pretends to be her older sister in an online game. She arranges to meet a man with whom she has sparked a romance, but he believes she is her much older sister.

  Also, it's edited by Holly Black. Always good. As a Nerdfighter, Whovian, Trekker, Otaku, Whedonite, Star Wars fan, RPer, X-phile and all-round geek, I cannot wait for this to arrive. 400-odd pages of awesome.

Next time, I'll try and post about something I've experienced firsthand.