Geek, Nerd, Dork: Which is Good? Which is Bad?

I’ve always found the word “geek” to be a term of endearment. A geek, to me, is someone who is passionate about something, to the point of ridiculousness, and who is totally willing to admit that. A “nerd,” to me, always signified someone who was a geek but tried to deny it. And a “dork” was just somebody who did something silly or stupid. You were only ever temporarily a “dork.”

But, this isn’t about me. This is about you! Tell the world, in the comments below, what the words geek, nerd, and dork mean to you.

Comment on this article here.

New Hampshire Media Makers August 2008 Recap

This morning, I attended the fourth meeting of New Hampshire Media Makers, which was, in the words of organizer John Herman, “[a]n incredible gathering of new and old faces.” Not only did we have on hand almost all of the attendees from the inaugural meeting, which took place back on May 11 of this year, but we also managed to attract a slew of newer faces to the cozy front room of Crackskulls in Newmarket. Both Random Kitty and the official NHMM blog have full write-ups. Or, if you’re in need of something briefer and more audiovisually oriented, check out my Utterz post from the ride home.

My four-photo Flickr set is available here. More photos are available from Brian Turnbull and Rob Jaques.

If you’re a creative type in New Hampshire (or even northeastern Massachusetts), you should be attending this event. The next meeting will take place on Sunday, September 14. Each attendee is offered three minutes to pitch/advertise and/or to ask questions of the group. I know that I come out of the meeting every month feeling incredibly energized, and I can almost guarantee that you will too.

Comment on this article here.

What Is Your Favorite Concert?

Having just written about my latest concert-going experience (which maybe wasn’t my absolute favorite of all time, but which ranks pretty high right now), I find myself curious about what concerts you guys have enjoyed the most. Leave a comment and let us know what your favorite concert-going experience of all time is. And if you’ve been to so many good shows that you can’t narrow it down to just one, why not provide us with a list of your top five? 

Comment on this article here.

Worth Your Consideration 014 - A GF5 Linkdump

I think I’ve been collecting these links since Thursday, and the fact that I haven’t done anything with them since then is probably proof of the fact that I’ve been playing with my new iPhone way too much. Oh well. Better late than never, right? Here are some links worth your consideration:

• Mashable has an article about despamming your iPhone e-mail, which is probably worth it to some people, but seems like a whole lot of overkill to me. Does anyone really get that much SPAM anymore? I thought that almost every e-mail account (any worth having, that is) had some sort of SPAM-protection at the server level. My Google Apps @ Your Domain e-mail does. My Engine Hosting e-mail does. Really, I’m not sure why we should be doing anything this elaborate anymore. Why not just forward everything to a central Google account (why get the desktop and filters on a desktop client involved?) and let their servers sort everything out? That’s what I do, and it works fine for me.
• There will be another Harry Potter book, after all. Sure, it won’t be quite the same as the others, but the announcement that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be published this December has me more than a little excited. If you watched my 5 Things video the other day, you know that I’m obsessed enough with Potter that I re-read the books each summer. I can’t wait to add another to my collection.
• And, while we’re on the subject of Harry Potter, why not check out this shot-by-shot look at the trailer for The Half-Blood Prince, which I previewed this week. You haven’t seen the trailer itself yet, you say? Well, check that out here.
• In other news, there’s a workers revolt going down in the Mushroom Kingdom and it’s pretty darned funny. The minions of Bowser have some really good points about how they could more effectively fight the scourge of the Mario brothers. The question is, will the big boss listen? Watch and find out. And then, go thank Kottke for pointing the way to this clip.
• Oh, and speaking of Kottke-provided links, check out this list of the top nine songs about masturbation.
• Or, if you’re more of a sports nut, check out 20 Ways to Die Trying to Dunk a Basketball. Though, I must warn you, these clips do nothing to disprove the notion of jocks being dumb. In fact...
• Moving on, here’s the trailer for the first traditionally animated Disney film since 2004. It’s called The Princess and the Frog and it’s supposedly set in Jazz age New Orleans. It features Disney’s first African American princess. And, if you ask me, it looks like it could be pretty good.
• And if you’re feeling like going negative on me after that story ("Disney sux! Pixar 4-eva!” or some such shit), please do yourself a favor and read this Tweet from Merlin Man (found via our good friend Kottke): “Some days, the web feels like 5 people trying to make something; 5k people turning it into a list; and 500MM people saying, ‘FAIL.’” If you don’t like the creative output that’s out there (on the Web, on the silver screen, or wherever), shut up with your fucking complaining and go make something yourself.
• Dan Walsh is someone who does his creating by re-creating, but that’s paying off for him. His online comic strip, Garfield Minus Garfield, (previously mentioned here) is coming to a book store near you, thanks to an understanding and supportive Jim Davis.
• DarkUFO has an embedded version of the latest episode of The Official Lost Audio Podcast. This one was recorded live at Comic Con 2008 (previously mentioned here and here), so it’s definitely worth a listen.
• Anyone who can tell me what instrument Trent Reznor is playing in this photo of a recent Nine Inch Nails performance wins a free Geek Force Five t-shirt (whenever I finally make some). That’s not just a xylophone, is it? It’s something else, isn’t it? In any case, seeing them doing this kind of experimenting on stage makes me salivate over the thought of seeing them later this week in Connecticut.
• Just a couple more… Did you know that Wal-Mart is basically ordering its employees not to vote for Barack Obama? It doesn’t surprise me, but that doesn’t make it any less scary.
• In happier political news, NBC has hired Luke Russert to cover the Democratic and Republican national conventions. I had no idea that the lad had previous experience, but it appears he does, and that this isn’t just a publicity stunt in the wake of his old man’s passing. I think Big Tim would be proud.
• And, lastly, check out Kevin Smith’s interview with Ain’t It Cool News for Kev’s thoughts on Zack and Miri Make a Porno and George Carlin’s performance in Jersey Girl (a performance I praised in my goodbye to George).

Comment on this article here.

5 Things You May Not Know About ChrisClark (Video)

July is 5 Things Month at Viddler, and yes, I know I’m a little late to the party on this, but whatever.

Brandice summed things up nicely in her July 3 post:

At some point this month, I want each and every one of YOU to tell us 5 things about yourself, join the 5Things group, and share your 5 things with all of us! The most popular 5Things video at the end of the month will be rewarded with some Viddler goodies in the mail from yours truly, and there will also be a “judge’s pick” that will result in Viddler goodies, so get crackin’!

It’s kind of deplorable that it took the guy who runs Geek Force Five thirty-one days to submit his vid, but that’s just the kind of month it’s been. To make up for my lateness, and to just give a little bit more press to what I think its a worthwhile event, here I am, telling you to go record your own 5 Things video. Or, at the very least, head over to Viddler and vote for the winner. You don’t even have to vote for mine! I promise I won’t cry if you don’t.

Comment on this article here.