Nerding It Up and Dorking Out

Recently, I was trying to decide which writing project to pursue during the downtime of my primary writing project, Pillow Crisis. I finally settled on a project (one of three I have on the backburner) called Lobsters Vs. Butterflies. This was a decision fraught with consequence, so I was somewhat uncertain of tmy course. But impelled by no small amount of synchronicity, I made a choice and sided with the Nephropidae and the Papilionoidea.

A month or so later, it's becoming increasingly evident that I made the right decision. Other projects would have required research of an intensive nature, utterly exhausting any residual powers of concentration unconsumed by Pillow Crisis. Many dry primary historical accounts, many creaky old genre movies with shopworn cliches.

Lobsters vs. Butterflies, however, merely requires that I do what I do best.

That is, nerd it up and dork out.

Impossibly Nerdy/Dorky Things Done In The Name of Researching This Script

Events: Comic-Con in San Diego (July) - the world's largest comic book convention. My room is subsidized and my meals are paid for, and I have a free ride down. That's my excuse.

Hardware: In order to facilitate the enjoyment of a Dungeons & Dragons(!) game called Baldur's Gate 2, I recently reformatted a computer hard drive and installed an obsolete operating system (Windows 2000); along the way, I adjusted some CMOS settings, and attempted to flash a motherboard BIOS. You know, just to remind myself why my newest computer is an Apple.

And to play the fourth installment of a video game series - one that concerns not the overwhelming problem of global evil, but rather the more manageable quandry of residential evil - I endeavored to repair my roommate's Nintendo Gamecube, which has been broken for over a year. This involved melting a Bic pen and molding it into the shape of a proprietary screwbit screwdriver, disassembling the console, and adjusting a LASER POTENTIOMETER. Amazingly, I did it, but I don't know how long this Gamecube will live on borrowed time, especially given the intermittent and spooky clicking noises it makes.

Television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - so far, watching this show is like being stuck in a trigonometry class full of annoying chicks who spend the hour comparing brands of tampons. I really don't want to be there. But I've made an agreement to watch at least the first 48 episodes, so what can I do?

Also... OMFGNaruto!!!11 ^_^ I can say two things about this show, having watched SEVENTY-TWO episodes. One, it's easily the greatest cartoon I've ever seen in my life. Two, I will no doubt watch at least 60 more episodes before I give it up. In order to do so, I joined Narutofan.com, which charges the mere pittance of five dollars a month in order to provide access to unlimited downloads of Naruto effluvia.

Comic Books: The Long Haul, Runaways, Powers, and countless other comics you've never, ever heard of. I am bidding on lots of old comic books on eBay, and I don't even read comics.

Video Games: Resident Evil 4, Red Dead Revolver, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Well, this isn't so bad. You could probably find some frat boys somewhere playing the same stuff.

Dude, I could make the scariest Myspace page ever.