Talk Nerdy to Me

I had a bit of a Tiffany epiphany this weekend. Okay, maybe “epiphany” is a strong word since it’s really something I’ve always known. This weekend just made it really clear. So, here goes…

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m a bona fide nerd.

And as I get older, I seem to be reaching exponential levels of nerdiness. It’s reached critical mass – as in I should probably have a “Nerdy 30” instead of a “Dirty 30” when I reach that monumental age in a few years.

But I’m swirling…

Why was this weekend so telling, you ask? Well, my friends, on Sunday I went to Phoenix Comicon. And it was glorious.

Once a year, the Phoenix Convention Center is taken over by the likes of Wolverine, Dr. Who, zombies, and countless anime characters. And every year I look forward to this takeover, because I love the public surfacing of geek culture. I love the booths that sell Death Star ice cube molds and retro G.I. Joe action figures and multi-colored contacts for cosplay – or whatever. I love the people who go above and beyond to create costumes for this event – especially the steam punk collectives, because let’s face it; theirs are expensive, creative, heavy costumes. I respect that level of commitment.

I love the things I walk away from Comicon carrying. This year, my finds include the first book in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy – which I had the author, Frank Beddor, sign for me – two volumes of the graphic novel adaptation of The Stand by Stephen King, one pair of darling origami crane earrings (yes, they are paper!), a free comic, The Edge of December, the first installment of Preacher, and a “Cumberbitch” shirt to publicly announce my crush on Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock and this summer’s Kahn).

My loot would have included some steam punk jewelry if not for the emergency alarm that ruined nerd paradise and forced us to evacuate the Phoenix Convention Center toward the end of the day – yeah, all 30,000 of us. Watching Superman leave a building in distress is kind of disheartening.

And though my love for Benedict Cumberbatch is strong, I chose to stroll home instead of strolling back into the building for a panel on the widespread success of BBC’s Sherlock once the firemen had put out a small fire. I’d had enough adrenaline for one day.

Besides, there’s always next year. I already have plans to purchase full event passes for Phoenix Comicon 2014. No more of this one day shit; I’m going for four next year. And I can’t wait to plan which panels I’ll go to! And there will definitely be an outing to Geek Prom!

The second indication of nerdiness from this weekend? (Okay, maybe it’s really the third after that little outburst).

I went to see Oblivion. Which probably wouldn’t have happened a few years ago.

Sci-fi has never really been my thing. I am all over fantasy and magical realism like maple syrup on chicken and waffles. Give me a twisted fairytale. Give me the expanse and escape of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Give me creepy things like goblins and zombies and vampires (as long as they aren’t of the Twilight variety) and I am a happy girl.

Technology and space? That’s generally where you lose me. Sure, I’m a smart girl and I have experience with technology, but it’s never been my strong suit. And space and I have just never…clicked.

At least that’s the old me talking.

This weekend, Oblivion captivated me…and made me wish there were more movies out there like it. (Although, this whole genre is new to me, so there are probably many out there like Oblivion that I’m not aware of…and that my uber nerdy boyfriend will “make” me watch after reading this blog post.)

Photo by flickr user “bubbletea1.”

Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, part of the “clean-up crew” on post-apocalyptic Earth who maintains drones by day and dreams about his life on Earth before the invasion by night – that is, what he can remember after the mandatory, government-sanctioned memory wipe. As the story goes, aliens, called Scavs, took out Earth’s sun, causing tsunamis and earthquakes with the imbalance. Then, they invaded with the intent to strip Earth of its natural resources. We won the war, but the planet was trashed. Survivors were taken to Triton, one of Saturn’s moons, found inhabitable by humans. Jack and his partner/lover, Victoria, are on Earth to monitor technology that collects energy from Earth’s oceans, energy that is critical for human life to exist on Triton. They report to the Tet, a spacecraft orbiting Earth and housing operatives responsible for the mission. Rogue Scavs still inhabit the planet, trying to take out Jack and his drones as they work to protect the energy-collecting machines.

But not for long. In two weeks’ time, Jack and Victoria will complete their mission and join the rest of humanity on Triton, leaving Earth behind.

During his final two weeks, Jack starts to wonder if he should leave…and if his mission is really as it seems. Passages from books found in the rubble start to resonate with Jack. He spends time at his cabin off grid and undetected by mission control, shooting hoops, playing records, and wondering if the planet should be given another chance. A beautiful woman haunts his dreams…and then crash lands on Earth.

And that’s when it really starts to get interesting. And crazy. And awesome.

As we were walking out of the theater, my boyfriend said that Oblivion had tapped into some very classic sci-fi themes, which left me thinking, “Wow, I just really enjoyed a sci-fi flick – and one boasting classic conventions at that. Perhaps the force is strong with me and I just never knew it.”

Yep. It’s official. Nerdy, nerdy, nerdy.

So, I guess there’s really only one thing left to say…

Talk nerdy to me, baby. Geek out. Confess your mutual nerdiness. What’s your favorite aspect of geek culture? Go!

 

Photo licensing – bubbletea1