by Most all of you know i’m currently a hobo foodie wandering about Europe on a shoestring budget. But I’m also a P.M.G … Proud Mother of a Geek!! (By the way, he hates it when I say that.)
The word “geek” had many root origins out of early Europe from fool, to crazy, to even clever trickster. In the late 19th century and early 20th century North America the term “geek” referred to human oddities in a carnival side show. And even up until the 1980’s “geeks” were usually pinned as those on the fringe of social norm, playing Dungeons & Dragons, wearing out pirated VCR tapes of Star Wars, acing math class, drawing comics in his English journal, and usually the only guy who understood what bit & ram was. But no more is that the case!!
Thanks to the evolution of technology and social media, entertainment like the Big Bang Theory, and the expertise credibility one gains from being a geek; geeks of the world have united through the internet, have organized mass fandom gatherings (Comic-Con) and shown everyone that they are the majority and are the
real “cool kids” of the universe. Geeks are the experts, the super fans, the guys that have the answers, have all the cool toys, and will only share with the world if the world deserves it….cant blame them, can you?!
Ill be honest, I was a bit worried with my sons expert knowledge at the young age of 9 on EVERY planet, universe and civilization existing in the Star Wars canon (lingo for fiction based universe). By 7 he knew most every dinosaur, their time periods and could recite verbatim the movie Jurassic Park. This love of Jurassic Park has stuck with him and has even brought him the status of “expert” in the J.P. world which he puts to use as a co-host on the regular Pod-Cast called “Jurassic Cast” an all things J.P. discussion show created and hosted by Sam Phillips out of London Uk.
Most geeks/fans find greatest satisfaction in the E.U. (extended universe) of their fan interest and because geeks have greater creative potential, find themselves producing Fan Fiction. My son Sam’s latest passion is just that. Sam as creator and writer with 4 other friends from across the country, have begun producing a FanFiction based Audio Series titled “Star Trek – New Beginings”. They are planning on a 14 episode series with 2 currently available. I realize I sound like an overly proud parent, but whether your a “Trekkie” or not you’ll enjoy and
appreciate the effort these young adults have put in creating their form of fan appreciation.
So for all you mothers of the world worried about your child playing on-line games, rewatching the same scifi movie 100 times, participating in role playing weekends with their buddies, or any other “geek related” behavior…. Have no fear, encourage their interests and creativity, and keep it at healthy levels and you too will be a P.M.G.!
Extra Geek Tidbits:
Fan based names of interest : StarTrek – Trekkies, Dr Who – Whovians, FireFly – Brown Coats, Twilight – Twihards, Harry Potter-Potterheads
The “Geek God” in the above picture with Sam is Joss Whedon, creator and director of too many to list iconic t.v. shows and films. The picture was taken at Comic Con 2012 about 2 am as we stood in line with 400 other people camping out for the next days “FireFly Reunion” panel. He had just shown up and walked the entire line of fans signing autographs and snapping pictures. By 9am one of the security guards said there were over 4000 people in the line with us waiting for one of 1000 seats- good thing we got there early!
