348 Days until Dragon*Con 2012…

I realize that that is a stupid name. “About the Abouts”. What kind of numbskull comes up with something like that? Well, lucky for you, today is the last day you must hear it. Er, read it.  And today is about Media, meaning all forms of pop culture, and how it plays into my grand vision of how I picture fitfordragoncon.com to be one day.

See, the title “Fit for Dragon*Con” also refers to material that would be “fit” for Dragon*Con, meaning stuff that would fit in there, get it? I know, I am a clever raptoropterus.

I see a website where geeks can get together and share their love of Jack Kirby (as though there aren’t about a gazillion of those sites already) but also come together as a group of geeks who have made a decision to make their lives better, even if it’s just by feeling better. Who sez we can’t be fanboys and fit too? It’s not just the meatheads and jocks who picked on us when we were 90 pounds that can feel and look great! As a matter of fact, most of those dudes are probably like us now: fat.

But the point isn’t to exclude any Sporty Spice types… the point is that we can all make a difference in our own lives, no matter what our interests are.

Which brings me to the media portion of the post:

What makes us nerds, or geeks, or whatever you want to call us, is that we simply do not fit into any mold, which is part of why Dragon*Con has gotten so frackin huge.

I feel like a lot of people who identify with parts of geek culture feel some sort of pressure to embrace all of it, whether they like it or not. It’s like, around here guys feel a lot of pressure to only do things that are “manly”. I think there are plenty of guys in my area who may not actually be interested in hunting or fishing, but they do it obsessively and wear the gear because they were just raised that that is men do.

I have no doubt that there are people who attend Dragon*Con and still feel like outcasts because they don’t like Battlestar Galactica or anime or some other large facet of the culture at Dragon*Con.

Fear not, my friend who does feel he/she fits in anywhere!!! We are all like that! It’s just that some people don’t mind admitting that they’ve never played a game of D&D or that they’ve never blown a deer’s head off his shoulders.

Just for a quick example, here are some of my own, personal, geek confessions:

1. I do not care for the original Star Trek. I was always a Star Wars sort of guy. I liked quite a few episodes of TNG, but I never really got down and dirty with it either.

2. I’ve only seen the first season of the new Dr. Who. The one with Chris Eccleston and Billie Piper. I enjoyed the show, but honestly I’d just rather be playing Lord of the Rings Online.

3. I do not care for Firefly. I tried to like it, honestly. I thought the dialogue was great, but I just have never cared for any “Cowboys in Space” show.

4. I’m rather non-plussed by the whole steampunk thing. I like the aesthetics of it sometimes, but I just don’t understand how it got to be such a huge deal.

And ya know what? I am more than ok with the things that I don’t like. In fact, I love going to Dragon*Con and seeing people in steampunk costumes or dusters or standing in line for hours to see the cast of Star Trek: TNG (whom I honestly thought were kinda dicks in their panel). Our lives are not defined by what the media (ahhhh. secret word.) says that geeks should, or should not, like. I think that is a big problem over on the West Coast with Comic-Con right now (I’ve never been, but I’d like to check it out someday).

So what are your geek confessions? What is something that you feel pressure to like, in order to fit in with the D*Con crowd? Hook us all (all two of us) up with your thoughts on this serious matter.

Happiness is a Crown Royal bag filled with these....