Monday, February 11, 2008

The Long, Slow Crawl

I’m not sure if this is worthy of its own post, or even newsworthy at all within the broader sense, but I figured I’d throw it out there.

As I’ve already mentioned, a couple of weeks back I was invited on Wired’s Geekdad podcast as a special guest. The Geekdads are a great bunch of guys who manage to make the dudes-sitting-around-rapping-about-stuff method of podcasting both topical and sort of therapeutic. The life of a geeky dad is often a fairly solitary existence, so getting the opportunity to talk pop-shop with likeminded individuals is a treat.

It was a great experience, and I think it really helped me put into perspective the astoundingly wide array of attitudes and topics that exist under the umbrella of nerd culture. It was, in short, enjoyable for me both as geek and as a father.

Shortly thereafter, I again spoke to Editor Ken Denmead to thank him for the opportunity. As warm and accepting as the crew had been to me, this idle pleasantry felt altogether necessary. Ken responded in kind and then invited me to come onboard as a contributing writer to the Geekdad blog.

It’s not, as we in the South like to call it, a payin’ gig, but it’s an opportunity to get more exposure for my dorky ventures and, in turn, for those that these foolhardy schemes promote. I can’t see it really changing the way I do things around here, as the Z. from Hipster, please! will still be the same foul-mouthed, malcontent that you’ve come to love accept expect; it will just provide me with a chance to do a bit of writing with a more paternal slant.

Will it open up doors for me to go on to become the for-real writer that I’ve always longed to be? Probably not, but I don’t reckon it could hurt.

I know the relationship between Wired magazine and nerdy music has been fairly rocky and that I’ve probably cracked more jokes at Wired’s expense than most, but I’ve softened my stance, particularly since Jason Tanz came on as Senior Editor. Having the opportunity to interact with folks like Ken and Geekdad contributor Brian Little has given me further pause to reflect, and there really are some good guys over at Wired.

This could be another inroad in my crawl toward legitimacy, and, even if it's not, it's still fun. Let's not forget that this is even more important.

Achievement Unlocked

9 comments:

Church said...

Hell yeah! Good on ya', and good on them.

Maybe having an actual authority on nerd music on "staff" will prevent them from the sort of silliness that we've seen in the past.

Then again, maybe not. But then they can't claim ignorance as an excuse.

Anthony said...

Congratulations man. now for a simpsons quote...

"Make us proud son,"
"Never forget who you are."

Z. said...

Thanks, Church, and let's not forget who Boing Boinged my tat and got em all this attention in the first place. It just goes to show that hard work and dedication aren't nearly as important as good friends and poor impulse control. ;)

'Preciate the love, Ant, but the Simpsons quote I was expecting was "Everything's coming up Milhouse!" :)

Anonymous said...

Milhouse indeed!

Congrats, Z.

Z. said...

Thanks, Snake!

Dick said...

congrats big buddy!

Z. said...

Hey, thanks, Pinky. :)

Anonymous said...

Achievement icon is incorrect♥ Achievement icon contains a trophy♥ Which our Z deserves a hugeass one for being the WIN in general♥

Z. said...

Yeah, Rai, that achievement generator was a little shoddy. As always, thanks for the love, your holiness. ;)