Happy Geek Pride Day 2010

Internationally today is the day in which we celebrate geeks, myself included. If you weren't aware, May 25th is the day on which Star Wars was first released in 1977. Not that today is only Star Wars themed mind you, but all things geek.

You can read more about the day over at the nerdage blog and learn about the history and how today is also sci-fi themed "Towel Day" for the Douglas Adams fans out there.

So, today thank a geek, dork or nerd who has used their purchasing power to keep great geek movies and TV shows coming over the years!

Risk is our business...

To Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and
dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because
the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing,
has nothing, is nothing.

– William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)

Happy Earth Day

You can't see it from this angle, but the "mankind" t-shirt actually says "Inhofe for Senate" on the back.

Wilma Mankiller 1945 - 2010

I really can't say much, other than she was perhaps the greatest and most inspirational Oklahoman I ever knew.

Date A Nerd

Advice to Sandra Bullock: Date a Nerd

By Tony Panaccio

First of all, can anyone say they were that darn surprised?

Sandra Bullock, America’s sweetheart, Oscar© winner, Razzie winner and still the best darn bus driver that the movies has ever seen (anyone remember Speed?) marries a biker. Who makes Bikes. In a bike shop. Stars in a TV show with other bikers making bikes for rich bikers. Is named Jesse James, one of history’s most notorious outlaws. This guy was the poster child for bad boys. OF COURSE he was going to cheat on her. His cheating on her was better odds than Bill Clinton having a heart attack on intern orientation day.

And Sandra, come on. Did you REALLY think the biker bad boy with the outlaw name was going to stay home, read comic books, play video games and eat French Bread Pizzas for months at a time while you were filming movies? That’s like expecting Donald Trump to forego the combover and shave his head (which might not be a bad look for him, really… okay, not so much).

But don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Smart, beautiful, successful women from all over the world love the bad boys, and invariably wind up getting screwed over by them. I’m sure there’s a Facebook group for them. I think they made T-shirts. But the truth is, you have GOT to break the cycle. It’s time for you, and frankly all the other successful women nursing shattered dignity and wounded pride at the hands of a rock star or reality TV star, to see the light and change your life for the better.

It’s time for you to date a nerd.

Nerds, by and large, are rich, stable, loving and would be so knocked out to date a smart, beautiful, successful hottie, that they’d be utterly and irrevocably devoted to you. They’d cook, clean and do laundry for you. They’re good with electronics and computers, so you’d never have to worry about your computer crashing. Chances are they’d hack you free Internet service, anyway.

They’d pledge their lives, bank accounts and comic book collections to you. And the fact is, many of them aren’t just rich, they’re famous. Renown and unrepentant comic book and video game geeks include Keanu Reeves (Remember him? Tall guy, had the sense not to be in Speed 2?), Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Hamill, Star Trek director J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau, Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader, Jerry Seinfeld and Nicolas Cage (who sold his comic book collection to satisfy Lisa Marie Presley when he was married to her!).

Now, you may have to put up with a pantry full of Twinkies and Doritos, comic books on the floor, and every so often in bed they might cry out “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” or “Flame on!” or “Excelsior!”

I figure it’s a small price to pay for a guy who isn’t going to cheat on you with the nearest tattooed circus freak the second you go off to win an Oscar.

(Tony Panaccio, Senior Campaign Strategist for EMSI Public Relations, is a 25-year veteran writer, marketer and producer in the entertainment industry, having worked with luminaries such as William Shatner, Stan Lee and Michael Uslan. He has been a journalist and a senior executive with several of the world’s largest PR firms.)

A Healthy Celebration

For those of you celebrating St. Patrick's Day today, just a reminder to be good to yourself - drink Guinness and be healthy!

Risking Everything To Vote

Imagine risking it all to vote.

I don't mean figuratively nor am I speaking metaphorically. In Iraq, at least 25 people have died this weekend just attempting to vote in their national election.

And they kept coming after the attacks.

The violence and acts of cowardly terrorism didn't halt men and women from leaving their homes and risking their lives in order to participate in Democracy. Some had to walk because of a ban on cars, yet still they came. Polling places were blown up, mortars fired and still they came to vote.

Sahib Jabr, a 34 year old taxi driver, said defiantly "We came to participate in this National Day
and we don't care about the explosions."

Kind of makes it sound silly when you hear people say they "didn't have the time to vote" doesn't it?