Shameless Self Promotion

One of my many pipe dreams is to be a writer.  I started writing horrible poetry in my teens and then moved on to short stories.  My goal is to eventually publish a novel, but man it is hard.  I have kept some of my work and if you are at all interested in checking it out then hit the link below.  If you find any of it worthy of feedback then please let me know what you think.  I need all the push I can get to keep riding the paper and coming up with new stuff.


The works of Tim Howard

Thank God For The Big Bang Theory

Thank God for the Big Bang Theory.  If you are reading this blog then you already know all about it, but if by some chance you don't;  FOR GOD"S SAKES GO WATCH IT!!!

Never has there been a more stereotyped social group than the nerds.  With our affinity for stats and dragons and alien conspiracies we really do paint a pretty large target on our backs.  The Big Bang Theory proves that even amongst a persecuted people there is fun to be had in a good natured ripping from those peers who share your love for all things nerd.  The show routinely pokes fun of our social inadequacies and predisposition for naivety but does so with such a loving tone the jabs become endearing rather than confrontational.  The show's writers very clearly understand the delicacy of the nerd sensibility and with their careful handling of the characters and themes they honor us by being nerds themselves.

While the writers may not have Star Trek posters on their own walls they have the respect to do justice to the culture they portray by doing thorough and exhaustive research into everything from character traits to set pieces to ensure they are not talking down to us but rather telling us they get what we are and it's cool.  Every true nerd will find a character or a prop or line of dialog that instantly rings familiar and it can be fun to scan each episode for a particular toy or comic book that you once had (or still have).

Dr. Sheldon Cooper is the ego-maniacal genius with limitless knowledge and absolutely no social skills what so ever.  His near two hundred IQ leads him to believe he is a superior human evolved far beyond those around him.  He is blunt and honest and in all truth is an ass but his social shortcomings make him sympathetic enough to not be off putting.  He can recite PI indefinitely but lacks the ability to comprehend simple sarcasm. 

Dr. Leonard Hofstadter is Cooper's foil and conduit to the outside world.  A genius in his own right, Leonard is much more humble and self-doubting, a loveable klutz you can't help but root for.  Aside from his own problems he often acts as a mediator for Sheldon and the rest of the world.  He instructs the unfamiliar on how to deal with Sheldon and interprets Sheldon's lengthy rants into language understandable to everyone else.

With references from Star Trek and Star Wars to Stan Lee and Wil Wheaton (yes, Wil Wheaton), every episode is packed with love letters to the nerd community and we couldn't appreciate it more.  The sci-fi community is a risky bunch when it comes to being a profitable demographic for prime time television.  We tend to be very passionate about what we like and dislike.  If we like what you give us we will be fiercely loyal like no other group, however if we don't like what you give us we dislike with just as much passion and will bitch on our blogs about you until way after you've stopped paying attention.  This makes it a very dangerous decision to invest a large sum of money into something that will be judged on those terms.  CBS took the risk and gave us something special so it is our nerd duty to repay the gesture by making sure we support their work.

The Big Bang Theory has been pickup up through the 2014 season so we have at least a few more years with these nerds.  So come Thursday night, put down the comic books, make some Cylon toast, and tune in to CBS for new episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

Welcome To Dark Of The Nerd

The main purpose behind DotN is, quite frankly, to give me something to do.  After 15+ years of using the internet I have always been a lurker, reading all that is out there while contributing nothing back.  I never felt I had anything useful to say, still don't, but what the hell.  I figure I will share my mind with the internet and if a post results in a pleasant diversion for someone then wonderful.  If you find this all to be a waste of your valuable time, well I wish I could give it back to you.  For a detailed breakdown of who I am check out the "About Me" section (No Duh, right?).  Otherwise let me explain what you can expect to find here.
I am a nerd, let's get the obvious out of the way.  More specifically I would call myself a "Dark Nerd".  The same idiosyncratic themes apply though with a harder edge, a darker slant.  Whereas a standard nerd may worship Frodo or Captain Kirk as demigods of their culture, a dark nerd might worship Freddy Krueger or The Crypt Keeper.  The common ground between the two types is their equal levels of devotion to their interests and how those play into their life.  A nerd is someone who is brave enough to live their lives the way they choose as opposed to the way the status quo demands.  While society goes to business meetings we go to lan parties.  When Glee comes on the TV we change it over to Stargate.  We love the things we were told to grow out of because we were never given a valid reason why we should grow out of it.

Back to the "Dark" modifier, this does not inherently imply a gothic or "black fingernails" overtone, though that is not excluded.  Dark simply means a nerd who prefers horror over sci-fi, though sci-fi can be a close second.  Both genres (yes, they ARE separate genres) deal with imagination and creativity and therefore are mutually acceptable.

If you are still here after all that rambling, kudos to you.  As the flagship post it is necessary to lay all this down now so we can move on.  I promise future posts will not be so condescending and long winded.

For what you can expect from this blog,  time will tell I suppose.  I intend to throw up things like movie/game/book reviews, interesting horror related news, personal thoughts as they come up.  I'll be perfectly honest with you.  This blog is mostly for me to inject a piece of myself into cyberspace as a form of preservation, a sense of immortality.  Much of what I post may be of no interest to you.  If that is the case I apologize for taking your time and urge you to seek out a blog more to your liking.  If anything I post interests you in the least, stick around, drop me a line.  Perhaps in time both myself and others of a similar mind can come together and be friends.  Being a Dark Nerd can be a lonely way to go.

Lastly I just want to throw this out there:  This is my first blog, I have no idea what I am doing with it, and am a naturally shy person who has trouble expressing myself even from behind the shields of the keyboard.  Please give this blog a chance, it may take a little while for me to find a groove.  Any Dark Nerds out there with any suggestions of what you would like to see on Dark of the Nerd, Do Not hesitate to let me know.  I need all the guidance and encouragement I can get.  See you on the Dark Side!