Rise of the Dork Ranger

(A while ago I started a blog called The Dork Ranger. I ended the blog, but before deleting it, I am moving the posts here for safekeeping. Enjoy! Welcome to the very first entry into this new blog/column which I am calling The Dork Ranger. Who am I? I am … … The Lone Ranger … Batman … Spider-Man … Iron Man … “Captain” Jack Sparrow … Your father (Obi-Wan never told you this!) I am all of these things and none of these things. I am a dork or a nerd or a geek, depending on how you define each of those words. After extensive research (i.e. browsing the Internet and polling friends on Facebook) I have concluded that of these three seemingly interchangeable terms of endearment, “dork” is the one that works best. (Actually, “nerd” is much cooler but that name was taken by a Night Ranger parody band.) All three words – geek, nerd, and dork – are slang terms for someone who is obsessive and socially inept. Geek has become associated with computer people. Nerds are basically very smart people lacking in social graces. Geeks and nerds are more closely associated and the terms are easily interchangeable. We dorks, however, stand apart from the rest … mostly because no one else would be caught dead with us in public, but that’s another story. Our social ineptitude is matched by our carefree flamboyance that is typically a notch shy of a gay pride parade. I am not flamboyant. I am quiet and shy. But I’m not afraid to be seen in public wearing my cowboy hat, my Lone Ranger costume or my Boy Scout uniform. I have numerous Star Wars T-shirts and my work space at the office is populated with dozens of action figures. The shelves above my computer desk at home are a shrine to the Lone Ranger. I like comic book and fantasy art. Movies are my thing, especially ones based on superheroes, Star Trek, Star Wars, cowboys, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, history and space exploration. Costuming is really cool. Your typical cosplyer (costume player) is a dork. We can be found at comic cons, sci-fi cons, renaissance festivals, midnight movie openings or charitable events or promotions. We also show up at sporting events overly-garbed in the paraphernalia and face paint colors of our favorite teams. The Dork Ranger is my secret identity or alter ego or whatever you want to call it. This is my dark side, my power and my curse. This is who I am when I don’t want to be me anymore. This blog, column, (pointless commentary) or whatever you want to call it is a place where we dorks, especially those of us in the Houston area, can explore dorkdom together. It is my intention to share news, information, hype and opinion about upcoming genera movies, comic book stuff, cosplay events, comic and sci-fi conventions and so on. I don’t want this to be entirely a one-way conversation. I’d love for readers and fellow dorks to leave comments, send emails and pictures or even to contribute guest commentary. I eventually hope to see this become Dork Central of the Internet. So get your geek on, nerd up and join me in the Dork Side. I promise that this will be fun, funny, informative, embarrassing, stupid, radical, gnarly, and otherwise a complete waste of time. Your satisfaction is almost guaranteed or you will receive a full refund. Signing off for now, I am … The Dork Ranger!