Nerd News in Brief

This week’s Nerd News in Brief is a bit later than usual. There are a number of reasons for this, but I’ll not bore you with them. Suffice it to say that I’ve been fairly busy, and the bulk of the things keeping me otherwise occupied are related to the site and its various projects. Always with the projects, I am!

I recently had a friend ask me how I did it: the family and the blogs and the podcasting and the real job. My answer? I pretty much half-ass my way though. In a world of excellence, I am striving for mediocrity.

• Nerd Ink, the Continuing Saga: Church rounded up another bumper crop of nerdy (and rather disturbing) tattoos. The nerdy comes in the form of a tribute to the NES, while the disturbing is just too odd for words.
• Old Nerdy Bastard: Not to tempt fate or anything, but I think the new Hipster, please! compilation album should be ready for release come Monday. I had sort of promised myself it would drop this week, but early in the week I received word from a wonderfully unexpected source concerning a late addition to the album. I’m excited. Are you excited?
• Reciprocal nerd <3: My pal Matt of the blog free_geek posted a really nice write-up about the pre release version of the aforementioned compilation that I recently sent him. Almost too nice! I kid, I kid. Seriously though, look at his post to get his take on the comp. And Matt, thanks!
• Potter-free: Thanks also to Matt for pointing out that this month, for the first time in 10 years, the NY Times Best Sellers list is sans Harry Potter. We all knew it would happen some day, but who expected it to be so soon?
• Meanwhile, in Potter-dom: The ladies behind the Wizard Rockumentary have announced that you can now pre-order copies of the DVD through their Web site. For more info on this item and WRock in general I will, as always, direct your attention to the Wizrocklopedia.
• Mega: Lots of news this week from the Random camp, the first of which is the release of a new Mega Ran video from the folks at Music Video Mayhem. Ran also got some love on the new Okay Player mixtape The Lesson, on which his Megas collab “Boss Battle” is featured. And lastly, German hip-hop site Ugrap.de has posted an interview with the Blue Bomber. In English, no less.
• Rock out with your Hawk out: I have it on good authority – as in, from the man himself – that nerdcore legend MC Hawking is hard at work on a new album. A firm release date has yet to be set, but the Hawkman is toying with the idea of doing an exclusive Hipster, please! interview to celebrate the forthcoming launch. I’ll keep you in the loop as things develop.
• YTCracker, you’re the best: In a bold move toward, y’know, trying not to suck, G4TV has tapped YTCracker, MC Frontalot, MC Lars, and Del the Funkee Homosapien for a new ad campaign entitled “It’s a Nerd’s World.” YT says, “(We) have all produced little thirty second raps which will have accompanying videos to run as promos in heavy rotation on the television… (and) we also put together a sixty second posse track featuring six bars from each of us which is also epic.” YT goes on top say that next week he’ll be LA filming a spot for Freestyle 101. First basic cable, then the world!
• Wiid is by my side: Though I am unwilling to pony up 90 bones for the unproven peripheral that is Wii Fit, other American consumers are eating that shit up. Or so says TIME magazine. Okay, not in so many words, but I totally fooled you, right? Seriously, though, peep the review at time.com and further decry the death of the hardcore gamer. Go on. You know you want to.
• SEGA!: Hot on the heels of recent release Here Comes a New Challenger (and the soon to be released Heavy Troopa is Ready to Launch!), Anthony and the GM4A crew are launching yet another compilation! This time around the project is a tribute to that oft overlooked console of yore, the noble Sega Genesis. Interested parties are encouraged to holler at Ant. Tell him Z. sent you.
• Nerds, come together!: And taking us home this week is a little advert from Hex Warrior, Nerdapalooza’s co-coordinator, about the spirit of the event. It’s short, sweet, and to the point.