There but for the grace of Lloth* go I...

At least I'm not this bad. I hope.

There comes a time in every nerd's life when they must ask themselves: 'how far is too far?' Today, I believe that I have found the answer: An all Klingon opera. That's too far. But this answer left me feeling a little empty inside, as well as a little guilty. It's not that I think devoting weeks of one's life to producing an opera based on the life of the fictional Klingon Jesus can really be all that healthy, it's not. It's more like a 'who am I to judge' kind of thing. Is there a line? If so, where is it? At what point does obsessive fandom cross the neutral zone into slobbering tinfoil hat wearing crazy? And the most terrifying question of all: 'could I have crossed this line and not know it?'

Crazy, located just east of Earth Outpost 7

Pictured: not me.

Look, I like my nerd stuff as much as the next guy, maybe a little more so, but I cling (notice how I pass on the pun) to the fact that I have never dressed up as a Hobbit, nor have I ever participated in a plastic lightsaber fight outside a movie theatre. I don't speak Klingon, Na'Vi or Elvish.

Actually me.

Yeah, I can do the Vulcan salute. Yes, I have an opinion about Babylon 5. And who among us hasn't engaged in heated debates over whether or not the Starship Enterprise would win against an Imperial Star Destroyer? (Yes, it would. Every time. So shut up.)





Today I found myself judging the good people at Zeebelt Theatre Company in the Hague and feeling just a little superior. But why? I mean, they're staging a full opera in a made up language. That's kind of awesome. The amount of work that must have gone in to it is amazing. I haven't put any operas on today...So why am I looking askance (yeah, I used askance) at these people?

fig. 2a
Cautionary tale or everyone's inner nerd?

We're all geeks, some more than others I'll grant you (see fig. 2a), why then does the Klingon Opera make me roll my eyes and cry: 'neeeerrddd!'?

Is there really anything wrong with being a Dutch Klingon opera enthusiast? Or Captain Nintendo up there? (possibly.) In our heart of hearts, are we really all that different? Prick us do we not bleed? (albeit sometimes green, or concentrated acid) 

As nerds, why must we take a hit to our charisma roll, just for knowing what a charisma roll is? 

The only foolproof form of birth control.

Yeah, these dudes are nerds, bigger nerds than we'll ever be. The question is: can we laugh at and admire them at the same time?

*

Living in the 58th Century

Rosh Hashanah! I love the Jewish calendar, it makes it sound like we're living in the future. Happy 5771!

Glenn Shadix for Dick Cheney, any takers?

Today I read about the passing of Glenn Shadix (whose name is totally something out of Star Wars). He is probably best known for playing the bitchy interior designer in Beetlejuice:

and the kimono clad majordomo from Demolition Man (yes, I love that movie. It's awesome and I don't care who knows it).

The passing of such a delightful character actor in a world so full of living douche bags reminds us all how fleeting life is and how we should make each moment count. Also, wouldn't it be nice if we could swap the worst of the worst for people like Glenn Shadix? I mean, why does Gilda Radner die at 42, while Strom Thurmond gets to live to 100? Look, I don't really wish death on anyone (at least, not that I'd admit to), it's just that I wonder sometimes what the world would be like if life were a little more fair. It doesn't seem right that some people who have added to the world with art, music or muppets should be dead while others who do nothing but spread fear, hatred and host Fox news shows get to live to ripe old ages. To that end, I have invented a game. It works like this, you take a living person who sucks and trade them for a dead person who died before their time. Simple, no? 

Par example:

Glenn Beck for Madeline Khan. One of these people spent her short time on this planet bringing light and joy into the lives of others. The other is Glenn Beck.

Donald Rumsfeld for Jim Henson. Say these two were drowning and you could save only one of them. Seriously, which one would you save? 

Rush Limbaugh for Chris Farley. Pound for pound, I think you'll agree that this exchange is more than fair.

It's a fun game, and you can play it at home. One rule though: never use people you know. Nothing kills a party like: "I wish mom was still alive."

Burning Man: Because everything is better on fire...

I went to Burning Man with my friend Becca last week. It was rad. 

Before the Man burns there's a fire show. Hundreds of people wielding fire weapons, because everything is better on fire. Also, there was a dragon. On fire. There was a fire dragon, then a dude with a fire sword fought it. Who won? We all did.

Best album cover ever.

I love art cars.

What, did you think they walked?

I want.

Oh yes, it's a steampunk snail car. Does it spit fire?
You bet it does. From it's eyes.

This was the line to get out. I'd estimate about one or two
hundred billion cars, give or take.

Also, the line was six lanes wide. Six.

Star Trek XI: The Rebootening

So thanks to a lot of time on my hands, Comic Life and some images borrowed (stolen, but for fair-usey parody non-sueable purposes) I have been able to finally express my feelings about the new (ish) Star Trek movie.