May 29, 2008
The Internet (TNR) - Earlier this month, 19 year old video gamer John Tyler Hammons was elected mayor of the town of Muskogee, Oklahoma, a large town of approximately 38,000 residents.
The Nerd Report does not have a correspondent in the area, so it has been unable to secure interviews. The Associated Press reports that his first priorities as mayor are to establish tougher campaign finance reporting rules and an independent ethics commission.
A registered Republican, Hammons served as president of both the Young Republicans and Young Democrats while in high school. His position as mayor makes him the youngest at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention from Oklahoma.
However, Hammons has pledged to leave politics at the door to City Hall, focusing on the needs of the city in his duties.
AP reports that Hammons has ambitions to run for governor of Oklahoma in the future, and if successful in that, to consider seeking the Presidency. There is no word on his position regarding the role of government in gaming, but TNR finds it safe to conclude that he would not be as restrictive as some current-day candidates for high office.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Interview: Zendulo of YouTube
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The following is an interview conducted with the fabulous Zendulo of YouTube fame. The Nerd Report caught up with her on AIM and had the opportunity to ask a few questions before we ran out of time. The names given for the interviewer and interviewee are not their actual AIM handles.
The Nerd Report: First thing's first. What got you started on vlogging?
Zendulo: A few of my friends in New York would get on iChat with me every few weeks and we'd just goof off and make each other laugh. They asked me to make YouTube videos. I didn't know anything about the YouTube community but I got on and found BenLoka and YourAverageAdam. They made it look really fun, so I gave it a shot. Now I'm totally addicted.
TNR: Okay. I know before getting started with YouTube, you did at least some amount of acting, with the Pizza Show and Daughter of the Dagon. What was your favorite role and/or sketch, if you have one?
Zen: Actually I just worked on a short film called The Communicators by Justin Boyes. I loved the script which was sort of a Mel Brooks take on 1950s scifi with a solid dose of political satire. I feel madly in love with the cast and now we're moving to LA together in the fall. Every time we see each other we end up writing sketches on napkins or leaving ideas for sketches on our phones. I loved Chloe from Daughter of the Dagon because I can relate. She's a big dork like me.
TNR: Hmmmm. Apart from Star Wars, which we already know, what's your favorite movie?
Zen: It's so hard to have favorites, I love so many movies! This question makes me hyperventilate. Last Crusade is my favorite Indiana Jones. I love most of the Bond Movies. I love Cloverfield. I think it's a milestone in filmmaking. Cool Runnings. Serenity. Um! Um! Army of Darkness. If I have to pick one, let's go with Army of Darkness.
TNR: Army of Darkness is good. You've attained some amount of popularity on YouTube since you started. Did you have any idea this would happen before you began vlogging?
Zen: Absolutely not. I was like, "WHAT? How many people watched that?! And they liked it? WHAT?! Awesome." It's inspired me a lot.
TNR: Well, what's not to like? You've got talent. Anyway, from what you've seen of your newfound fanbase, what do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
Zen: Wow! Interesting question! It's really strange to just be myself and have people interested in watching it. There have been a lot of people who think I'm acting like whatshername from LonelyGirl15. Especially after people found out that I teach, act, and direct as a day job. I try to take it as a compliment, but that's pretty weird.
TNR: You know, it's a reasonable suspicion, but the fact that your real name is easily found actually puts a damper on that; someone playing a prank would make it hard to find details on her. Okay, to wrap up, here's the big one: What drew you into nerd culture, so to speak? This may be too bold, but you frankly don't see many females of the species taking these kinds of interests. Was there any big influence towards that, or did it just sort of happen?
Zen: Hahaha! Great question. My Dad. My Mom too. But sharing Star Wars with my Dad as a kid was magical. I have amazing parents. I also have an awesome brother.
And I started noticing at a young age that there are different social standards for men and women. Girls do some ridiculous things sometimes because they are allowed to get away with it. Girls are encouraged to talk about their insecurities, while boys are taught to do something about it. Princess Leia was out there doing something about it. All the other women in movies that I'd seen were whining about something or some guy. Then I discovered a whole realm of bad ass women.
I decided I would rather know how to kick ass. I thought, "If Leia can still look good while coping with an interrogation droid - THAT would be something worth reading about in a women's magazine."
Nerd culture believes in people living to their fullest potential. There is a hero in everyman. There is an epic love in every block of carbonite. There is a happy ending. You just have to be willing to fight for it. If you're not willing to fight for it, then you're probably asking someone else to justify it for you, and that is a waste of time.
The dorks, nerds, and geeks - we just know how to live. We know how to believe. How could you not love it?
The following is an interview conducted with the fabulous Zendulo of YouTube fame. The Nerd Report caught up with her on AIM and had the opportunity to ask a few questions before we ran out of time. The names given for the interviewer and interviewee are not their actual AIM handles.
The Nerd Report: First thing's first. What got you started on vlogging?
Zendulo: A few of my friends in New York would get on iChat with me every few weeks and we'd just goof off and make each other laugh. They asked me to make YouTube videos. I didn't know anything about the YouTube community but I got on and found BenLoka and YourAverageAdam. They made it look really fun, so I gave it a shot. Now I'm totally addicted.
TNR: Okay. I know before getting started with YouTube, you did at least some amount of acting, with the Pizza Show and Daughter of the Dagon. What was your favorite role and/or sketch, if you have one?
Zen: Actually I just worked on a short film called The Communicators by Justin Boyes. I loved the script which was sort of a Mel Brooks take on 1950s scifi with a solid dose of political satire. I feel madly in love with the cast and now we're moving to LA together in the fall. Every time we see each other we end up writing sketches on napkins or leaving ideas for sketches on our phones. I loved Chloe from Daughter of the Dagon because I can relate. She's a big dork like me.
TNR: Hmmmm. Apart from Star Wars, which we already know, what's your favorite movie?
Zen: It's so hard to have favorites, I love so many movies! This question makes me hyperventilate. Last Crusade is my favorite Indiana Jones. I love most of the Bond Movies. I love Cloverfield. I think it's a milestone in filmmaking. Cool Runnings. Serenity. Um! Um! Army of Darkness. If I have to pick one, let's go with Army of Darkness.
TNR: Army of Darkness is good. You've attained some amount of popularity on YouTube since you started. Did you have any idea this would happen before you began vlogging?
Zen: Absolutely not. I was like, "WHAT? How many people watched that?! And they liked it? WHAT?! Awesome." It's inspired me a lot.
TNR: Well, what's not to like? You've got talent. Anyway, from what you've seen of your newfound fanbase, what do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
Zen: Wow! Interesting question! It's really strange to just be myself and have people interested in watching it. There have been a lot of people who think I'm acting like whatshername from LonelyGirl15. Especially after people found out that I teach, act, and direct as a day job. I try to take it as a compliment, but that's pretty weird.
TNR: You know, it's a reasonable suspicion, but the fact that your real name is easily found actually puts a damper on that; someone playing a prank would make it hard to find details on her. Okay, to wrap up, here's the big one: What drew you into nerd culture, so to speak? This may be too bold, but you frankly don't see many females of the species taking these kinds of interests. Was there any big influence towards that, or did it just sort of happen?
Zen: Hahaha! Great question. My Dad. My Mom too. But sharing Star Wars with my Dad as a kid was magical. I have amazing parents. I also have an awesome brother.
And I started noticing at a young age that there are different social standards for men and women. Girls do some ridiculous things sometimes because they are allowed to get away with it. Girls are encouraged to talk about their insecurities, while boys are taught to do something about it. Princess Leia was out there doing something about it. All the other women in movies that I'd seen were whining about something or some guy. Then I discovered a whole realm of bad ass women.
I decided I would rather know how to kick ass. I thought, "If Leia can still look good while coping with an interrogation droid - THAT would be something worth reading about in a women's magazine."
Nerd culture believes in people living to their fullest potential. There is a hero in everyman. There is an epic love in every block of carbonite. There is a happy ending. You just have to be willing to fight for it. If you're not willing to fight for it, then you're probably asking someone else to justify it for you, and that is a waste of time.
The dorks, nerds, and geeks - we just know how to live. We know how to believe. How could you not love it?
Opinion column: Susan Estrich blasts Rockstar Games for GTA 4
Thusday, May 8, 2008
In her column released today by Creators Syndicate, columnist Susan Estrich lambasted Rockstar Games and its employees for creating Grand Theft Auto IV, saying she writes from the perspective of the mother of a gamer.
Well I write from the perspective of a gamer, the brother of a gamer, the friend of many gamers, and, incidentally, a sane, rational, and mentally sound person. And I say she's wrong.
To explain: I find the Grand Theft Auto series distasteful; there are plenty of other ways to get in a good gaming fix without playing a mobster. But where she's wrong is when she says Rockstar's designers are wasting their talent, in essence. The thing is, they're not.
Why not? Well, as Ms. Estrich so astutely points out, Rockstar is rolling wheelbarrows of money to the bank off of the GTA series, and have a large segment of an American generation playing their games. She says they're wasting their talent because they could be using this influence for other things (presumably designing more wholesome games), but this ignores one fact: They have all this money and influence because of the kinds of games they produce. If they were making games with GTA's graphics and complex level design but with a different premise, would they have such a wide audience? Probably not. Grand Theft Auto is a proven game concept, like it or not, and as a for-profit company, it is not a waste for Rockstar to profit by capitalizing on it. Saying that they should use their money and influence to make different, less violent games is putting the cart before the horse. In games, violence sells. Whether this is a bad thing or not is up for debate, but as Ms. Estrich also notes, there is no proven correlation between playing violent video games and an increased rate of actual violent crime.
I have to commend Ms. Estrich for refusing to blame GTA for real violence in society, but on the whole, she has completely misunderstood the gaming market.
In her column released today by Creators Syndicate, columnist Susan Estrich lambasted Rockstar Games and its employees for creating Grand Theft Auto IV, saying she writes from the perspective of the mother of a gamer.
Well I write from the perspective of a gamer, the brother of a gamer, the friend of many gamers, and, incidentally, a sane, rational, and mentally sound person. And I say she's wrong.
To explain: I find the Grand Theft Auto series distasteful; there are plenty of other ways to get in a good gaming fix without playing a mobster. But where she's wrong is when she says Rockstar's designers are wasting their talent, in essence. The thing is, they're not.
Why not? Well, as Ms. Estrich so astutely points out, Rockstar is rolling wheelbarrows of money to the bank off of the GTA series, and have a large segment of an American generation playing their games. She says they're wasting their talent because they could be using this influence for other things (presumably designing more wholesome games), but this ignores one fact: They have all this money and influence because of the kinds of games they produce. If they were making games with GTA's graphics and complex level design but with a different premise, would they have such a wide audience? Probably not. Grand Theft Auto is a proven game concept, like it or not, and as a for-profit company, it is not a waste for Rockstar to profit by capitalizing on it. Saying that they should use their money and influence to make different, less violent games is putting the cart before the horse. In games, violence sells. Whether this is a bad thing or not is up for debate, but as Ms. Estrich also notes, there is no proven correlation between playing violent video games and an increased rate of actual violent crime.
I have to commend Ms. Estrich for refusing to blame GTA for real violence in society, but on the whole, she has completely misunderstood the gaming market.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Free Comic Book Day in Evansville a smashing success
Saturday, May 3. 2008
Evansville, IN (TNR) - Comic Quest was jumping today, with Free Comic Book Day in full swing. Much of the free stock was already gone by the time TNR arrived on the scene, but the sale, 20% off all in stock items, as well as several ongoing games, had area gamers and comics enthusiasts still packing the store into the afternoon.
Store owner Jim Jones told The Nerd Report that the store had been even busier earlier in the day.
Elements of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, Vader's Fist, were present at the store, though Lord Vader was not available for an interview.
The Comic Creators' Alliance was also on hand, set up in Comic Quest's game room to show off their members' creations. Several outstanding independent comic books and graphic novels were on display at the many tables occupied by the group.
The staff at The Nerd Report hopes all of our readers who cared to enjoyed Free Comic Book Day.
Evansville, IN (TNR) - Comic Quest was jumping today, with Free Comic Book Day in full swing. Much of the free stock was already gone by the time TNR arrived on the scene, but the sale, 20% off all in stock items, as well as several ongoing games, had area gamers and comics enthusiasts still packing the store into the afternoon.
Store owner Jim Jones told The Nerd Report that the store had been even busier earlier in the day.
Elements of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion, Vader's Fist, were present at the store, though Lord Vader was not available for an interview.
The Comic Creators' Alliance was also on hand, set up in Comic Quest's game room to show off their members' creations. Several outstanding independent comic books and graphic novels were on display at the many tables occupied by the group.
The staff at The Nerd Report hopes all of our readers who cared to enjoyed Free Comic Book Day.
Free Comic Book Day today, May 3
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Evansville, IN (TNR) - Free Comic Book Day, a day where many participating comic book stores across the world give away comic books to anyone who comes in their doors, falls today, May 3.
Started seven years ago by Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California, the day has grown into a larger event each year as more stores participate and more events are planned on the day.
New Nerd Report staff reporter Renegade Paladin will be on hand at Comic Quest in Evansville to report on the happenings at the city's premiere comics and games shop, and will post his report later in the day. To find a participating store near you, visit http://freecomicbookday.com/
Evansville, IN (TNR) - Free Comic Book Day, a day where many participating comic book stores across the world give away comic books to anyone who comes in their doors, falls today, May 3.
Started seven years ago by Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California, the day has grown into a larger event each year as more stores participate and more events are planned on the day.
New Nerd Report staff reporter Renegade Paladin will be on hand at Comic Quest in Evansville to report on the happenings at the city's premiere comics and games shop, and will post his report later in the day. To find a participating store near you, visit http://freecomicbookday.com/
Friday, May 2, 2008
Contributors Wanted!
From the Desk of the Editor - As noted in the news story-style opening post, we're looking for contributors. News reports and editorials are both welcome; we simply ask that editorial content be marked with the word "Editorial" before the title, i.e. "Editorial: Why Jack Thompson is wrong," or similar.
We prefer to keep a light and occasionally humorous tone, though serious reporting is certainly allowed, if that's to our contributors' tastes. Subjects of stories and editorials should be of interest to those widely considered "nerds;" gaming, computers, technology, Internet topics, conventions, and so forth. The scope of stories can range from the international scale all the way down to local events or small websites.
I will not exercise much in the way of editorial control, though one word of caution: Plagiarism is taken very seriously. If I find that an article has been ripped from a news source, blog, or otherwise does not belong to the contributor who submitted it, the article will be removed and the contributor will have to either explain himself or face revocation of posting privileges.
Each contributor will have his or her own handle to post from. With the current setup, simply get a Google account (this is as easy as signing up for Gmail) or use your current one if you have one, contact me at thenerdreport@gmail.com, and ask to be added to the staff. I ask for a writing sample or two; it doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I at least want to know you know how to spell and construct coherent sentences. We also accept video reporting, though I ask that videos intended for use at The Nerd Report be done in something at least approaching newscast style. The Nerd Report has its own channel on YouTube, http://youtube.com/thenerdreport, for videos to be uploaded to. I will arrange for contributors who wish to do video reporting to transfer the video files to me so that they can be uploaded to the channel; trusted contributors may be given the password to remove the inconvenience of this step, but I don't hand out account passwords to just anyone who asks.
So if you wish to become part of this blog, please contact me. If not, just sit back and enjoy.
We prefer to keep a light and occasionally humorous tone, though serious reporting is certainly allowed, if that's to our contributors' tastes. Subjects of stories and editorials should be of interest to those widely considered "nerds;" gaming, computers, technology, Internet topics, conventions, and so forth. The scope of stories can range from the international scale all the way down to local events or small websites.
I will not exercise much in the way of editorial control, though one word of caution: Plagiarism is taken very seriously. If I find that an article has been ripped from a news source, blog, or otherwise does not belong to the contributor who submitted it, the article will be removed and the contributor will have to either explain himself or face revocation of posting privileges.
Each contributor will have his or her own handle to post from. With the current setup, simply get a Google account (this is as easy as signing up for Gmail) or use your current one if you have one, contact me at thenerdreport@gmail.com, and ask to be added to the staff. I ask for a writing sample or two; it doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I at least want to know you know how to spell and construct coherent sentences. We also accept video reporting, though I ask that videos intended for use at The Nerd Report be done in something at least approaching newscast style. The Nerd Report has its own channel on YouTube, http://youtube.com/thenerdreport, for videos to be uploaded to. I will arrange for contributors who wish to do video reporting to transfer the video files to me so that they can be uploaded to the channel; trusted contributors may be given the password to remove the inconvenience of this step, but I don't hand out account passwords to just anyone who asks.
So if you wish to become part of this blog, please contact me. If not, just sit back and enjoy.
The Nerd Report opens
Friday, May 2, 2008
The Internet (TNR) - The new nerd news agency, "The Nerd Report," opened today, with a mission of bringing news of interest to nerds together in one place, with a mildly humorous bent.
"This agency is starting out small, but we hope to become a part of many nerds' and geeks' daily news fix," said the Editor-In-Chief in a statement. "We are currently looking for writers and editors, willing to write and post articles for the site. We also hope to eventually open a video newscast division."
Subjects that The Nerd Report will cover include gaming, technology, Internet news, and sundry other geeky topics.
Asked about the intended tone of the agency's reporting, the Editor-In-Chief responded: "We don't want to just report dry facts; I personally would like to inject some humor into this. That's not to say we'll be like The Onion; while we have great respect for America's Finest News Source, we're looking to report actual facts here, not just make stuff up. We'll leave that to the professionals," he said with a smile.
Applicants for open positions on The Nerd Report's staff may contact the Editor-In-Chief. "Anyone with an interest in writing news stories of interest to geeks and nerds is welcome to apply. Contact information is listed on the Nerd Report's website, http://thenerdreport.blogspot.com/."
The Internet (TNR) - The new nerd news agency, "The Nerd Report," opened today, with a mission of bringing news of interest to nerds together in one place, with a mildly humorous bent.
"This agency is starting out small, but we hope to become a part of many nerds' and geeks' daily news fix," said the Editor-In-Chief in a statement. "We are currently looking for writers and editors, willing to write and post articles for the site. We also hope to eventually open a video newscast division."
Subjects that The Nerd Report will cover include gaming, technology, Internet news, and sundry other geeky topics.
Asked about the intended tone of the agency's reporting, the Editor-In-Chief responded: "We don't want to just report dry facts; I personally would like to inject some humor into this. That's not to say we'll be like The Onion; while we have great respect for America's Finest News Source, we're looking to report actual facts here, not just make stuff up. We'll leave that to the professionals," he said with a smile.
Applicants for open positions on The Nerd Report's staff may contact the Editor-In-Chief. "Anyone with an interest in writing news stories of interest to geeks and nerds is welcome to apply. Contact information is listed on the Nerd Report's website, http://thenerdreport.blogspot.com/."
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