What we are is what we are (sort of)

An ode to the geek....

When in need of service in tech,
there is no one better to call.
In an argument over Star Trek,
many facts they can recall.
If your computer runs slow,
or game is too hard.
Never shall you fear,
they will help you although,
they may proclaim you a "retard".
The geek is home in the final frontier.

You must excuse me because that was my first shot at an ode which is supposed to be in iambic verse, but I at least got the rhyming scheme right (it's ababcdecde if you'd like to know).

This is my blog, and although today's post is about geeks I assure you that it is not the entire focus of the overall blog. There may be a few more posts on the matter and of course the subjects I will normally choose are "geek" subjects, but there it is. This is an idea I had today as I was sitting at home watching the live coverage of Comic Con '09.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Comic Con is a convention (Con = convention in nerd speak) that is entirely comprised of comic book themed material. Now it's been a long time since I've picked up a comic rag and taken a look at some crazily dressed and ridiculously bodied superheroes/heroines duke it out with their arch-nemeses, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the festivities.

Comic Con is about so much more than comics. As we all know, comic book hero movies do incredibly well with "The Dark Knight" taking home at least 1 Oscar as well as "Iron Man" grabbing one for special effects, they have been taken more and more seriously in recent years. Not to mention the HUGE box office numbers that they put out, it's safe to say that we'll keep seeing more and more of them. Television is seeing its share of comic book influence with shows like "Heroes" and even "Lost" having some sci-fi/fantasy roots. Also the very channel I'm watching this coverage on, G4 TV, has a huge section of its programming (almost all day) devoted to the Con. But why all the commotion over something that sounds to be a small microcosm of society?

To put it bluntly, its a geek's world. Technology and pop-culture make up a huge part of what makes this nation and thereby a good chunk of the world. Because geeks (and nerds, which before you ask there is a difference) are statistically 42% smarter than the average person according to a survey that I made up ten minutes ago. Being smarter means better jobs, higher pay, and therefore higher disposable income. That coupled with the "obsessive" gene that all geeks posses makes for a huge market that advertisers and movie execs take advantage of on a regular basis.

To go back to the whole point of this post, I am proud to be called a geek. Being a geek is something that once upon a time people were ashamed and often afraid to admit, but no longer. The numbers are there, the people have spoken, and now is the time for us as a people to take our rightful place as leaders of this nation!

Ok maybe not that, cause we also have a tendency to not really want to do much in politics unless it's....INTERGALACTIC POLITICS!! Maybe when we discover life on other planets geeks will want to become more involved in government. Until then we'll just continue doing what we've been doing all over the world. Making it safe for people of color....or a severe lack thereof.