A Rare Point of Enlightenment

I find myself to be a little old fashioned for a young man of 21, to the point I will frequently tell people that I feel I am old before my time yet I would not consider myself a "Victorian" man.
I use the word man only because I have gotten to an age now where I can no longer justify the term "boy". I have come to the point also in which I have entered what I believe to be a rare point of enlightenment which I accredit in part to my both luckily and yet unfortunately long summer break from university.

In certain social situations in my life I have always been relatively reserved, not so much in my nature by any means but certainly in my actions. I have never been what many would consider a "rebel". While this has done me well so far in my life it has certainly not given me many legendary stories within my life and in some ways I sometimes feel that my youth was wasted.
But now I am looking to my future that my time should be devoted purely to what it is I love. Many of these are obvious; friends, family and my chosen career and main vehicle of my creativity that is my acting. But there are also those which are less obvious to some. Perhaps one of these less obvious passions is my love for deep, rich stories.

There was a time when I would read at least a chapter of my current book once, every night before I went to sleep, a practice that progressively disappeared as my love for watching a film a night began to take over and which itself has since been taken over by my "night person" nature of being most productive only after ten at night.
But now I have realised just how much I am missing, looking to engage myself once again into a story not of this world. It should be noted that I have no interest (at least in terms of fictional novels) in reading about modern day characters with mundane lives interrupted by some bizarre event that pulls them out of their comfort zone, or worse still a recycled version of the same love story format that has saturated the creative world or indeed more specifically the romance genre.
Those who know me well enough will know that I am interest in the magical and unearthly, the stories that could be easily mistaken for legends of old. My love for these stories is almost childlike and I am aware that it is certainly not shared by all although by the same token their are indeed many that will share my enthusiasm.

My enlightenment has come not only with my desire to explore the fantastical worlds but also with the intention of getting lost in the life long desire of the literary creation of my own fantasy realm.

Is Geek the New Cool?

One thing that I have noticed in the last couple of years is that progressively being a geek has become much more socially acceptable. At first I wondered whether or not it was because I had begun my adventure into university life, where there is a considerably smaller popularity contest but then I began to notice it when I returned home too. And then I thought, well, I'm older now, people don't care about how they are perceived quite as much when they are older. I then noticed that it was inherent in my younger sister and the circle of friends we share. But hey, maybe I'm being overly optimistic.
Yes, I am a geek. A self confessed geek. But you know what, I am proud. I am a creative mind and being a geek allows me to express that to the full whilst using what ever talent flows through my blood. That is of course not to say that those who are not geeks cannot possibly be creative. Quite the contrary, it is just that geekiness compliments my style. Anyways I am rambling.
Now, I have been a geek since as long as I can remember, and yes, I was bullied at school. Not so much in primary school, because quite frankly everyone was a geek at that age, but as soon as you enter senior school you are expected to be "cool". It's quite dog eat dog. If you are not cool you will be bullied for your nonconformist ways. Eventually I began to suppress my inner geek and tried being what I was not, and never will be...cool. Oh, how hellish those days were. But before this blog gets depressing...there is a silver lining. I woke up one morning and realised my destiny! I will forever be a geek. Ultimately if people were not willing to accept me for it then that was up to them! And I have been a fully confessed geek ever since. So anyways that was my story just so you had some perspective.
These days though, everyone wants to be a geek and these days being a geek is almost cool. This is even reflected in the media these days. In the last five years there has been the arrival of successful sit-coms such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "Beauty and the Geek" (which is depicted in the picture above). And this is just one example of many that suggests that the geek movement is on the rise.
There have been many theories as to why geek is the new cool. My friend believes it is linked to the success of the various film franchises, the example he gave was Lord of the Rings. Which yes, I can see his point but I'm not sure that it's the main reason. I have my own theory (which I'll get onto later).
I've since done a bit of digging around to see if I could find an answer and have found a few interesting, if not slightly quirky articles.

This first article explains why being a geek has become an attractive quality:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Being-a-Geek-Makes-You-Attractive&id=4071002

and this next article, though focuses on a similar vein to the one above makes some very interesting points about the rise in geeky popularity.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22219377

But I am wondering why this has happened. Perhaps as suggested by the above articles it is because of the degree that technology has now become a part of the every day life, geeks have become the new handy men of our electronic revolution. Unfortunately my theory is a little bit more cynical (sorry guys).

You see, I have noted over the years that the majority of people strive to be different to everyone else. Everyone wants a quality that makes them stand out from the crowd, particularly young people whilst they adapt to find their place in the world. I am also guilty of this and many people who know me, know my distaste for people who like things only because every body else does. I can't quite tell you why. Most likely because of the point above. Being a fan of something with a small cult following gives you a quirky quality in some respects and gives you that feeling of individual identity. This of course is how fads begin, with people attempting to go against the social norms.
Ironically however, this has the opposite desired effect, because once those quirks are considered different enough to everyone else, some people will try to emulate it to stand out from the crowd too without fear of being rejected. (Human behaviour is an odd thing). Before long, what was considered different and quirky is considered fashionable and dare I say, "cool".
With this in mind, I present you with the process which has gotten us to the geek fad (or at least acceptance).

1) Late 90s and early 00s saw the era of the Chav though I can't really explain to you how it came about but it was a brutal and very tribalistic way of looking at things. If you were not physically tough or "hard" then you were an outcast and bullied. The only other way to redeem yourself was to be a rebel.
2) After a short while, the chav movement began to get negative attention and so people sort to distance themselves from it. During the chav era, the mortal enemies of the chavs were the rockers, and so naturally what better way to distance yourself from the chav culture than to join the ranks of the other side. Slowly the rocker trend warped into the emo trend. This also included aspects of the chav culture, with a focus being on being cool, and rebellious.
3) As well as this there has been the society of the jocks which to some degree was the polar opposite of the emos. The focus was on being masculine (for the guys) and constantly looking good and being into Indy Rock and old school punk, now that rock had become the mainstream. However once again the hierarchy was based upon how "cool" you were.

Now I believe that the geek culture has come from people attempting to find a new way of being different. If everyone is cool, then surely the most fashionable and quirky thing to do now is to be deliberately uncool. The irony of course being that that would indeed make you cool. Confusing right...but I'm sure if you've followed me this far you can handle it. Before long everyone has started accepting geeks and in some ways embracing their inner geek a lot more just to stand out and find that sense of individuality.
In all honesty though, I am not sure how positive I find it. I was always a geek and will remain a geek. I had my arena and everyone who is not a geek has theirs. But hey, I guess that backs up my point. I like the fact that I was a geek first! It means is did not jump on the bandwagon. But then if everyone is on the wagon then...how do you tell who was here first, because of course everyone else will want to claim the wagon for themselves. But it was mine and my fellow pure geek's wagon. Oh well. I guess I can wait for it to pass by.

I am aware that not everyone has turned geek...and that also I have made very sweeping statements about stereotypes. And I would like to state now...everything I have said in this blog is not aimed at every individual in society. Some people may have become emo's or geeks etc for very different reasons. Just consider this me thinking out loud.

Wow, this was a long post. Some will agree with me some will not. I just felt it was an interesting observation I wanted to share with people. I could be completely out but hey, that opinions for you!

Until next time

The Field Test

This week, I made a return to Northampton to move my belongings from one room in my student accommodation to a considerably bigger room within the same building. Huzzah!
Before I left, I made an executive decision to leave my laptop behind and take only my iPad with me on my four day adventure. I have had my iPad for almost a month now and have not really had the opportunity to really test it out other than just for chilled out web-browsing and computing.
Unfortunately, when I first got back to northampton the Internet in my house seemed to be having a fit, and as I hadn't forked out an extra £100 on a 3G iPad, I had no Internet connection on the device so practically gave up on the field test idea.
The following day, I was treated to a trip down to London to see Phantom of the Opera! We arrived, had lunch at Little Frankie's in Trafalgar Square and then proceeded to travel in the tube to visit my friends who had just moved into their new flat in London. Certainly cannot wait for my move down to London now.
Anyhow, after leaving them after several hours of joyous conversation, mainly consisting of "talking shop" as is customary with us we hopped back onto the tube, using my shiny new oyster card and proceeded to the West End, and more specifically, Her Majesty's Theatre. After having an hour and a half to kill, in blistering sunlight I might add, we entered the theatre. It was the first time I had been to Her Majesty's Theatre and was surprised as to how old the whole building looked on the inside compared to some of the other theatres I have been to. Don't get me wrong though, this is a good thing particularly because I like the antique feel that some theatres can have, plus the fact that it really added to the show itself.
Throughout the piece, I couldn't make my mind up what I though about the actor playing the Phantom however during the climax of the show he really showed his talent, completely transforming the way he moved and spoke. I shall not say any more than that for those who have not seen the show/film as to not ruin anything for them. But the current show on in the West End I would recommend to everyone. Definitely a job well done.
Anyhow, after the fantastic show, a trip back to Northampton to discover that my Internet was working, meaning of course that my field test was to be a little shorter than I had first intended. Never the less, I continued and found to be honest that the iPad fulfilled my needs quite well. I did not feel that I required my laptop at all during my short stay in Northampton. Of course I had not need to transfer files to and from my iPad which is a task which will always ensure that your iPad can never replace your normal computer, but then it is not designed to. Consider the iPad more of a "PC Express".
I spent the rest of my stay in Northampton moving stuff from my old room to my new big room, and rearranging it to suit my needs. I am one of those people that when I am working I need plenty of space. I would love to be able to afford a huuuuuuge desk whereby I can spread all my work out and move from area to area but unfortunately that is not likely to happen any time soon. My room is now split into two sections. As you enter, directly in front of you is my desk and all of my work stuff, almost like my own little office and then in the other half of the room is my living space; bed, wardrobe, shower and kitchen sink and cupboards. The room may very well be rearranged again after a short while of me living in there full time but for now I am loving it. But for now I have returned back to Sutton Coldfield to enjoy the rest of my summer holiday and to start getting some solid research going.

Until next time!