thanks jarrod, nerds are better.

last night was our staff christmas party. It was the first time I partied with most of my co-workers. I guess I felt like I had something to prove. New girl, slightly older and seasoned, nearly a decade spent in urban metropolis Toronto, Ontario and all I ever talk about is my new obsession with boys. These people have been listening to me run my mouth for 3 months now, I owe them a good time. And a good time was had by all. However, what I enjoyed most was not the myriad of christmas cheer we all consumed at dinner, and then at natasha's, and then at grace gallery or finally at the after party, I enjoyed the homage to the modern nerd.

Inevitably in a conversation with me talk will turn to one nerdy subject or another (if you are lucky I will spare you the star wars trivia; my dominance is starting to get old). After a lively conversation about Patrick Stewart spencer says 'strange how being a nerd is so popular right now'. Exactly why I used to get drunk and then challenge all the 'band wagon betty's' to a star wars trivia face off, there are so many new arrivals in the world of super nerd. Of course this pisses me off, there is always the un-comfortable question, are you just saying this because you know it is cool? There is no way to tell. the Picard research took 4 minuets on wikipeidia and the visual education was a night of surf the channel and joints.

I blame irony, old faithful servant of the post modern revolution. I guess it is the direction we are going, what is the opposite of really cool? Really dorky. Lets all watch 'Dark Crystal' and then have a discussion about Luna Lovegood's profound importance in Harry Potters final book 'Deathly Hallows'. When someone says they prefer 'Empire' to 'Jedi' I am not convinced it is because 'Empire' has the best love scene of all time (Leia: i love you .. Han Solo: i know) or because everyone knows 'real fans' hate Ewoks and loath the main stream success of 'Jedi'. The truth is I LOVE Ewoks. Why? Because I was 4 when I first saw Star Wars and I wanted to live in a tree fort with all the bear magicians.

I grew up cut off from society. My only connection to the outside world was the special occasion (every couple of months) when my parents would dust off the tv, plug it in, rent a VCR and then let us watch one of the 5 movies they did not consider demonized. Disneys 'one hundred and one dalmations', 'the man from snowy river', Star Trek 4 'the voyage home', Star Wars 'Empire' and 'Jedi'. Why these 5 movies made the cut I will never know (especially since star wars is FULL of hooky religions and sorcery). I grew up with no friends, very little social skills and a profound love of Robert Jordan novels. But this is not a manifesto for my nerd queen authority. This is actually a thank you venture. And what I am thankful for is the main stream recognition. Being smart is cool, knowing the lame fantasy scenarios from our collective past is nostalgic and relevant and kind of sentimental, and once you get to this point you have me. You have me at hello, because i am a nerd, and i am all about the zeitgeist of this revolution. Yes, I like Battle Star Galactica and I am never going to pretend it is because the 'writing is really good' its because i like to watch things blow up in space and then complain that nothing explodes in a zero oxygen situation, (it implodes) and everyone knows it. I just want to be the first person to point out that i know more then a writer that has made his career bringing sexy robots to life. He knows I am watching for the fantasy and not the accuracy, he also knows that I am an insufferable know it all and relish the chance to tell someone just how clever i am. And i am clever, i know i am, because i am a nerd and being a nerd is really cool right now.