Being A Nerd in 2010
Like everybody else in the world, we love talking this time of the year to look back on the past 365 days and sort everything into lists. Best of Lists, worst of Lists, and remember that time lists. This is one of those lists. Without further adue these are best moments of 2010 to be a nerd as deemed by the Awesome-ites.
Avengers Assemble: I will eternally be jealous of those who got to see live the first time the cast of the upcoming Avengers stood together on the same stage. Like most of the world I viewed footage on the internet to see the first time the cast of superheroes and for the first time see the movie I never thought could happen start to take place. And to top it off. Joss Wheaton came out confirming that he would indeed be directing saying “I have had this dream all my life and it was not this good.” It’s how we all feel Joss.
Celebration V: I didn’t get to see the Avengers live but there was no way I would be missing Celebration this year as well. In honor of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back The four day convention was filled with more Star Wars than you could ever hope to consume. The event was topped off with getting to see George “The Man Himself” Lucas interviewed by John Stewart and included an announcement of Star Wars release on Blu Ray that also had a never before seen moment from Return of the Jedi. The best way to describe the convention is to simply say that we’re all ready to do to Celebration VI.
Roger Ebert vs. Nerds, Rumble in the Virtual Jungle: The debate as to what and what does not constitute art has raged for as long as art itself. The debate took a decidedly 21st century twist this April when famed film critic Roger Ebert said without reservation, "Video games can not be art." The statement set off a firestorm amongst the proverbial "nerd community" and, in my opinion, justifiably so. Not only does Ebert's argument drip of cultural elitism and blanket stereotypes that he writes so eloquently against, but it is an argument trapped in the days where video games were Mario and Pacman. I could understand an argument against those primitive games as not art (not an argument I would make, mind you) but anyone who has seen games such as Halo, Mass Effect or even Grand Theft Auto can tell you they have the same aspects, story, engaging and well defined characters, beautiful ART direction, that make cinema an artistic medium. Sadly, one of the most respected and revered men in the criticism industry has lost touch with his readership and has been relegated to shouting at those damn kids from his porch.
Nintendo's 3DS: At E3 2010 Nintendo made the year's biggest announcement in the gaming industry, the 3DS. While we still have a couple more months to wait on it, the announcement alone was a huge deal for nerds worldwide. As the successor to the widely popular Nintendo DS handheld system, the 3DS comes with all kinds of changes and upgrades. The biggest addition, as you can guess from the name, is the 3D screen, but the big surprise is that it doesn't require 3D glasses. Other additions to the hardware include a "slide pad" alongside the D-pad, two cameras (one regular camera on the inside, and one 3D camera on the outside), and a motion sensor. These being only a few of the many features of the 3DS, leads me to believe it's release will make the list for 2011's best moments to be a nerd.
The End of LOST: After six long years of head scratching twists and turns, LOST came to an end. Possibly the most confusing show ever on television, but at the same time completely addicting. Millions watched as a lot of ends were left undone, a lot of explanations completely disregarded, but at the very least it ended on a pretty happy note. Now we just want our Hurley and Benry run the island show, please.
Nexus attacks: Covering WWE, no moment displays the potential of the show better than the first time Nexus (then called the NXT Season 1 Rookies) attacked John Cena back in June. Sure the bit got a little stale after we saw the same attack every week but that first moment was something truly memorable. Lets not forget that the episode was a fairly forgettable three hour show that had us checking our watches around the 90 minute mark. However the end had eight guys come out. Eight guys who weren’t even on the radar the day before suddenly became the most talked about wrestlers on that or any other program.
Lisa’s Wedding: You had to be quite a big Simpsons nerd to see this one coming. Back in 1995 an episode of the Simpsons gives us a look into the future of the Simpson’s family including a shot that showed an invitation to Lisa’s wedding, set to happen on August 1st 2010. Of course Lisa is still her perpetual age of eight but plenty of people still wished her good luck on her wedding day through Twitter.
Matt Smith: I know finally getting to see Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor was a good one for me. It seems like we had to wait forever to see him in action after his name was announced. I know that first promo picture really concerned a lot of us with that 'flock of seagulls meets emo bangs' haircut he had. Who of us knew what the teak would become. David Tennant's final specials were hard to watch and no one knew if Matt could fill the enormous shoes (my) Doctor left. All of that changed in the first 5 minutes Matt was on screen. Over the course of season 5 we all learned just how fantastic an actor and a Doctor Matt is. The future of one of the largest sci-fi franchises ever is safe and secure in his fez-loving hands.
Microsoft Kinect: Anyone who has ever played video games has dreamt of futuristic, 3-D virtual reality gaming. This year, we have taken one more huge step towards that reality. The project was announced back in '09 as "Project Natal" and it sounded REALLY cool! But most people figured it was just a work in progress and that it would be something simple and catchy. When it was unveiled in November, the world got to see just where video games are heading. Using motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition technology, the Kinect provides the gamer with an immersive gaming experience in which they can directly interact with game elements without the interface of a controller. Now, combine that with the open source software and people are going nuts! They are working on 3-D navigation paradigms and better interaction software as well as more refined motion capture. Can you imagine playing a game like Assassin's Creed where you ARE the assassin?! Beyond that, it is being used for touchless web browsing, remote robot control, even virtual orchestras! Just another step into the future!
Hurricane Conan: It was almost exactly a year ago that it was announced that NBC would be yanking Conan from his newly-appointed Tonight Show slot so that Leno could take his old time slot due to his generic failure at 10pm. Conan has never enjoyed stellar ratings at either of his time slots but he has enjoyed a rather devoted fan-base (usually of the nerdy disposition) and has made him a force to be reckoned with. That being said, Conan rather uphold the integrity of Tonight Show history rather than having a job at NBC (can you blame him?). He was banned from appearing on TV but during the summer, he traveled around the country doing a stage show to keep his staff employed. He was then rewarded by TBS and given his own show almost identical to his former Tonight Show but with a little chip on its shoulder and its more evident that Conan is doing what he wants and having a great time in he process. It makes the list because by and large, nerds tend to be good, decent people and that definitely was the case with Conan and its very rare to see someone get rewarded for doing the right thing...plus there's the nerd fan base but who's counting.
Avengers Assemble: I will eternally be jealous of those who got to see live the first time the cast of the upcoming Avengers stood together on the same stage. Like most of the world I viewed footage on the internet to see the first time the cast of superheroes and for the first time see the movie I never thought could happen start to take place. And to top it off. Joss Wheaton came out confirming that he would indeed be directing saying “I have had this dream all my life and it was not this good.” It’s how we all feel Joss.
Celebration V: I didn’t get to see the Avengers live but there was no way I would be missing Celebration this year as well. In honor of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back The four day convention was filled with more Star Wars than you could ever hope to consume. The event was topped off with getting to see George “The Man Himself” Lucas interviewed by John Stewart and included an announcement of Star Wars release on Blu Ray that also had a never before seen moment from Return of the Jedi. The best way to describe the convention is to simply say that we’re all ready to do to Celebration VI.
Roger Ebert vs. Nerds, Rumble in the Virtual Jungle: The debate as to what and what does not constitute art has raged for as long as art itself. The debate took a decidedly 21st century twist this April when famed film critic Roger Ebert said without reservation, "Video games can not be art." The statement set off a firestorm amongst the proverbial "nerd community" and, in my opinion, justifiably so. Not only does Ebert's argument drip of cultural elitism and blanket stereotypes that he writes so eloquently against, but it is an argument trapped in the days where video games were Mario and Pacman. I could understand an argument against those primitive games as not art (not an argument I would make, mind you) but anyone who has seen games such as Halo, Mass Effect or even Grand Theft Auto can tell you they have the same aspects, story, engaging and well defined characters, beautiful ART direction, that make cinema an artistic medium. Sadly, one of the most respected and revered men in the criticism industry has lost touch with his readership and has been relegated to shouting at those damn kids from his porch.
Nintendo's 3DS: At E3 2010 Nintendo made the year's biggest announcement in the gaming industry, the 3DS. While we still have a couple more months to wait on it, the announcement alone was a huge deal for nerds worldwide. As the successor to the widely popular Nintendo DS handheld system, the 3DS comes with all kinds of changes and upgrades. The biggest addition, as you can guess from the name, is the 3D screen, but the big surprise is that it doesn't require 3D glasses. Other additions to the hardware include a "slide pad" alongside the D-pad, two cameras (one regular camera on the inside, and one 3D camera on the outside), and a motion sensor. These being only a few of the many features of the 3DS, leads me to believe it's release will make the list for 2011's best moments to be a nerd.
The End of LOST: After six long years of head scratching twists and turns, LOST came to an end. Possibly the most confusing show ever on television, but at the same time completely addicting. Millions watched as a lot of ends were left undone, a lot of explanations completely disregarded, but at the very least it ended on a pretty happy note. Now we just want our Hurley and Benry run the island show, please.
Nexus attacks: Covering WWE, no moment displays the potential of the show better than the first time Nexus (then called the NXT Season 1 Rookies) attacked John Cena back in June. Sure the bit got a little stale after we saw the same attack every week but that first moment was something truly memorable. Lets not forget that the episode was a fairly forgettable three hour show that had us checking our watches around the 90 minute mark. However the end had eight guys come out. Eight guys who weren’t even on the radar the day before suddenly became the most talked about wrestlers on that or any other program.
Lisa’s Wedding: You had to be quite a big Simpsons nerd to see this one coming. Back in 1995 an episode of the Simpsons gives us a look into the future of the Simpson’s family including a shot that showed an invitation to Lisa’s wedding, set to happen on August 1st 2010. Of course Lisa is still her perpetual age of eight but plenty of people still wished her good luck on her wedding day through Twitter.
Matt Smith: I know finally getting to see Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor was a good one for me. It seems like we had to wait forever to see him in action after his name was announced. I know that first promo picture really concerned a lot of us with that 'flock of seagulls meets emo bangs' haircut he had. Who of us knew what the teak would become. David Tennant's final specials were hard to watch and no one knew if Matt could fill the enormous shoes (my) Doctor left. All of that changed in the first 5 minutes Matt was on screen. Over the course of season 5 we all learned just how fantastic an actor and a Doctor Matt is. The future of one of the largest sci-fi franchises ever is safe and secure in his fez-loving hands.
Microsoft Kinect: Anyone who has ever played video games has dreamt of futuristic, 3-D virtual reality gaming. This year, we have taken one more huge step towards that reality. The project was announced back in '09 as "Project Natal" and it sounded REALLY cool! But most people figured it was just a work in progress and that it would be something simple and catchy. When it was unveiled in November, the world got to see just where video games are heading. Using motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition technology, the Kinect provides the gamer with an immersive gaming experience in which they can directly interact with game elements without the interface of a controller. Now, combine that with the open source software and people are going nuts! They are working on 3-D navigation paradigms and better interaction software as well as more refined motion capture. Can you imagine playing a game like Assassin's Creed where you ARE the assassin?! Beyond that, it is being used for touchless web browsing, remote robot control, even virtual orchestras! Just another step into the future!
Hurricane Conan: It was almost exactly a year ago that it was announced that NBC would be yanking Conan from his newly-appointed Tonight Show slot so that Leno could take his old time slot due to his generic failure at 10pm. Conan has never enjoyed stellar ratings at either of his time slots but he has enjoyed a rather devoted fan-base (usually of the nerdy disposition) and has made him a force to be reckoned with. That being said, Conan rather uphold the integrity of Tonight Show history rather than having a job at NBC (can you blame him?). He was banned from appearing on TV but during the summer, he traveled around the country doing a stage show to keep his staff employed. He was then rewarded by TBS and given his own show almost identical to his former Tonight Show but with a little chip on its shoulder and its more evident that Conan is doing what he wants and having a great time in he process. It makes the list because by and large, nerds tend to be good, decent people and that definitely was the case with Conan and its very rare to see someone get rewarded for doing the right thing...plus there's the nerd fan base but who's counting.
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