Archive for February 15th, 2008
When you think of a geek, especially if you are not one, you picture one of two people :
This guy … the scrawny, stiff wind could blow him over, high pitched squeaky voiced guy…
Or this guy … The chubby to overweight, messy hair (usually curly), with a seemingly desperate look in his eyes…
No offense [ Chris Sligh ] … whoever you are.. your picture just happen to come up on a google image search for “chubby geek” … you might want to look into that. 
While I understand that stereotypes are stereotypes because there is a measure truth to the idea being garnered, not all geeks have zero sense of style, or a lack of desire to comb their hair. Even with my affinity for geeky looking shirts with computer sayings that no one but me gets, I still like to think that I can get my fashion on.
In the last year or so, being a geek has become cool. I even saw a kid the other day with a t-shirt on that said “Adorkable”. When I was a kid, we would never have admitted to being dorky, and would have been crushed to be in that category. Personally, I have a mixed reaction to this new geek chic movement. I am glad that geeks are being given some well deserved love, but at the same time, I hate to think that we are in for a swelling of geek “posers”.. people who want to ride the geek train, but don’t really fit the mindset. Those people will endeavor to fit into the stereotypes (glasses, geeky sayings, etc..) but will miss the point of what it means to be a geek.
So, love the geek, but lose the stereotypes. Geeks don’t have to look a certain way, or talk through their nose.. they simply need to be consumed with life, and learning. The topic is not always important, just that it be what you are about.
OK - here is a link to the story [ Star Trek Article ]. I won’t bore you with the mundane details, suffice to say it is a money thing.
Anyway, when I first heard about the latest Star Trek movie, the inner geek in me squealed with joy, but the outer cynic
was saying… are you kidding me?
Then, of course, I started hearing more and more about the movie - firstly that J.J. Abrams was directing. Now, I am generally not a fan of directors. Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas have historically been the only directors that I will go to see a movie for the simple fact that they are directing it. Abrams though did [ Alias ]. Now as far as non-scifi shows go, Alias was the best TV show ever made… Even including scifi .. Alias is easily in the top 5. Abrams also did MI:3. I have always loved the Mission Impossible TV series, and the first MI was fantastic. Then [ Tom Cruise went nuts ], and then they hired John Woo to direct the second movie, and pretty much ruined the whole series for me. To the point that I almost didn’t bother with the third movie. JJ did it though… he won me back, even with Tom Cruise.
Going beyond Abrams another great thing about the new Star Trek movie is the cast they are picking…
Spock will be played by [ Zachary Quinto ] whom we all know and love as Sylar, the evil power stealing hero from Heroes.
Bones will be played by [ Karl Urban ] You would remember him as the assassin in The Bourne Supremacy, Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick (a grossly underrated scifi movie.) and, of course, Eomer in Lord of the Rings.
Another highlight will be [ Paul Mcgillion ] who is still missed from Stargate Atlantis in his role as Dr. Beckett. I still wished he was playing Scotty though …
I also like the fact that they picked relatively unknown for the role of Kirk. It would have been very easy to get some hugely known “hunk star ala brad pitt” to play Kirk, but this will work much better.
So, now that my cynic, and my geek can meet in perfect harmony and actually be excited for the upcoming Star Trek movie, they go and push it back a whole year….
FRAK!!!