The First Geeks

The First Geeks PDF Author: Orty Ortwein
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476651728
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The writer Ray Bradbury, science fiction expert Forry Ackerman, and special effects genius Ray Harryhausen are world-famous for their careers involving tales of the imagination. Before anyone had heard of them, they were friends as teens and college-aged boys enjoying all that 1930s L.A. had to offer: getting celebrity autographs, watching blockbuster movies, and haunting dozens of bookstores. As members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Science Fiction League, the three belonged to a tight-knit group that was involved in the earliest science fiction conventions and the birth of cosplay. This book follows the lives and careers of these three literary and film legends and tracks the origins of science fiction fandom. Each chapter builds a chronology of how their paths intertwined, and ultimately connected to, the beginnings of renowned fan conventions like Comic-Con. Devoted science fiction fans and new readers alike will learn how a young friendship launched three illustrious careers and changed the face of science fiction forever.

The First Geeks

The First Geeks PDF Author: Orty Ortwein
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476686300
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The writer Ray Bradbury, science fiction expert Forry Ackerman, and special effects genius Ray Harryhausen are world-famous for their careers involving tales of the imagination. Before anyone had heard of them, they were friends as teens and college-aged boys enjoying all that 1930s L.A. had to offer: getting celebrity autographs, watching blockbuster movies, and haunting dozens of bookstores. As members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Science Fiction League, the three belonged to a tight-knit group that was involved in the earliest science fiction conventions and the birth of cosplay. This book follows the lives and careers of these three literary and film legends and tracks the origins of science fiction fandom. Each chapter builds a chronology of how their paths intertwined, and ultimately connected to, the beginnings of renowned fan conventions like Comic-Con. Devoted science fiction fans and new readers alike will learn how a young friendship launched three illustrious careers and changed the face of science fiction forever.

Bringing Up Geeks

Bringing Up Geeks PDF Author: Marybeth Hicks
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440630240
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
A breakthrough parenting book that redefines the meaning of 'geek' and inspires parents to free themselves and their kids from the 'culture of cool.' In a world of superficial values, peer pressure, and out-of-control consumerism, the world needs more GEEKS: Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids. Today's 'culture of cool' has changed the way kids grow up. Rather than enjoying innocent childhoods while developing strong, authentic characters, today's kids can become cynical 'even jaded' as they absorb the dangerous messages and harmful influences of a dominant popular culture that encourages materialism, high-risk behaviors, and a state of pseudo-adulthood. Author and mother of four Marybeth Hicks suggests an alternative: bringing up geeks. In this groundbreaking book, she shows parents how they can help their children gain the enthusiasm to pursue their passions, not just the latest fashions; the confidence to resist peer pressure and destructive behaviors; the love of learning that helps them excel at school and in life; and the maturity to value family as well as friends, as well as make good moral decisions. With a foundation like that, kids will grow up to be the coolest adults.

Age of the Geek

Age of the Geek PDF Author: Kathryn E. Lane
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319657445
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
This collection examines the nerd and/or geek stereotype in popular culture today. Utilizing the media—film, TV, YouTube, Twitter, fiction—that often defines daily lives, the contributors interrogate what it means to be labeled a “nerd” or “geek.” While the nerd/geek that is so easily recognized now is assuredly a twenty-first century construct, an examination of the terms’ history brings a greater understanding of their evolution. From sports to slasher films, Age of the Geek establishes a dialogue with texts as varied as the depictions of “nerd” or “geek” stereotypes.

100 First Words for Little Geeks

100 First Words for Little Geeks PDF Author: Brooke Jorden
Publisher: Familius
ISBN: 9781945547959
Category : Board books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
There's a TARDIS cookie jar in our kitchen. A Picard air freshener in our car. And we won't even mention Harry Potter in the bathroom. We're geeks and proud of it! But is there nothing for baby? Inconceivable! Introducing 100 First Words for Little Geeks, a deliciously nerdy primer for kids learning their first words! Forget apple and dog. Little geeks are ready for holy grail, warp core, and intergalactic catastrophe (okay, forget that last one, but they'll learn tribble and that's about the same thing). Packed with hilarious illustrations and 100 words every geek baby should know (before any others, of course), 100 First Words for Little Geeks is the perfect board book for geek families everywhere. Great Scott!

Nerds, Goths, Geeks, and Freaks

Nerds, Goths, Geeks, and Freaks PDF Author: Trevor Boffone
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 149682749X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Contributions by Carolina Alonso, Elena Avilés, Trevor Boffone, Christi Cook, Ella Diaz, Amanda Ellis, Cristina Herrera, Guadalupe García McCall, Domino Pérez, Adrianna M. Santos, Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, Lettycia Terrones, and Tim Wadham In Nerds, Goths, Geeks, and Freaks: Outsiders in Chicanx and Latinx Young Adult Literature, the outsider intersects with discussions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. The essays in this volume address questions of outsider identities and how these identities are shaped by mainstream myths around Chicanx and Latinx young people, particularly with the common stereotype of the struggling, underachieving inner-city teens. Contributors also grapple with how young adults reclaim what it means to be an outsider, weirdo, nerd, or goth, and how the reclamation of these marginalized identities expand conversations around authenticity and narrow understandings of what constitutes cultural identity. Included are analysis of such texts as I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Shadowshaper, Swimming While Drowning, and others. Addressed in the essays are themes of outsiders in Chicanx/Latinx children’s and young adult literature, and the contributors insist that to understand Latinx youth identities it is necessary to shed light on outsiders within an already marginalized ethnic group: nerds, goths, geeks, freaks, and others who might not fit within such Latinx popular cultural paradigms as the chola and cholo, identities that are ever-present in films, television, and the internet.

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks PDF Author: Ethan Gilsdorf
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762766786
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
An amazing journey through the thriving worlds of fantasy and gaming What could one man find if he embarked on a journey through fantasy world after fantasy world? In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, forty-year-old former D&D addict Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds—from Boston to New Zealand, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. “For anyone who has ever spent time within imaginary realms, the book will speak volumes. For those who have not, it will educate and enlighten.” —Wired.com “Gandalf’s got nothing on Ethan Gilsdorf, except for maybe the monster white beard. In his new book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, Gilsdorf . . . offers an epic quest for reality within a realm of magic.” —Boston Globe “Imagine this: Lord of the Rings meets Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.” —National Public Radio’s “Around and About” “What does it mean to be a geek? . . . Fantasy Freaks andGaming Geeks tackles that question with strength and dexterity. . . . part personal odyssey, part medieval mid-life crisis, and part wide-ranging survey of all things freaky and geeky . . . playful . . . funny and poignant. . . . It’s a fun ride and it poses a question that goes to the very heart of fantasy, namely: What does the urge to become someone else tell us about ourselves?” —Huffington Post

Geeks

Geeks PDF Author: Jon Katz
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767906993
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
“A story of triumph, friendship, love, and above all, about being human and reaching for dreams in a hard-wired world.”—Seattle Times “Too often, writing about the online world lacks emotional punch, but Katz’s obvious love for his ‘lost boys’ gives his narrative a rich taste.”—The New York Times Book Review Jesse and Eric were geeks: suspicious of authority figures, proud of their status as outsiders, fervent in their belief in the positive power of technology. High school had been an unbearable experience and their small-town Idaho families had been torn apart by hard times. On the fringe of society, they had almost no social lives and little to look forward to. They spent every spare cent on their computers and every spare moment online. Nobody ever spoke of them, much less for them. But then they met Jon Katz, a roving journalist who suggested that, in the age of geek impresario Bill Gates, Jesse and Eric had marketable skills that could get them out of Idaho and pave the way to a better life. So they bravely set out to conquer Chicago—geek style. Told with Katz’s trademark charm and sparkle, Geeks is a humorous, moving tale of triumph over adversity and self-acceptance that delivers two irresistible heroes for the digital age and reveals the very human face of technology. Praise for Geeks “Ultimately, Geeks is not a story about the Internet or computers or techies. It is a story about personal bonds, optimism, access to opportunity, and the courage to dream.”—Salon “An uplifting and hugely compassionate book.”—Philadelphia Inquirer “A story of friendship, optimism, social despair, and an updated version of that American icon, the tinkerer.”—USA Today

Unnatural Selection

Unnatural Selection PDF Author: Mark Roeder
Publisher: Arcade
ISBN: 9781628724356
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Unnatural Selection is the first book to examine the rise of the "technocentric being"—or geek—who personifies a distinct new phase in human evolution. People considered geeks often have behavioral or genetic traits that were previously considered detrimental. But the new environment of the Anthropocene period—the Age of Man—has created a kind of digital greenhouse that actually favors their traits, enabling many non-neurotypical people to bloom. They resonate with the technological Zeitgeist in a way that turns their weaknesses into strengths. Think of Mark Zuckerberg versus the towering, Olympics-bound Winklevoss twins in the movie Social Network. Roeder suggests that the rise of the geek is not so much the product of Darwinian "natural selection" as of man-made—or unnatural—selection. He explains why geeks have become so phenomenally successful in such a short time and why the process will further accelerate, driven by breakthroughs in genetic engineering, neuropharmacology, and artificial intelligence. His book offers a fascinating synthesis of the latest trends in these fields and predicts a twenty-first century "cognitive arms race" in which new technology will enable everyone to become more intelligent and "geek-like."

Geektastic

Geektastic PDF Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316052620
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside)and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr. With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

Geeks and Greeks

Geeks and Greeks PDF Author: Steve Altes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780996350440
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Graphic novel about brilliant high-tech pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Inspired by actual events. Jon Cooke, editor of Comic Book Artist magazine, says, "Geeks & Greeks combines the high-brow intelligence of Good Will Hunting with the rowdy frat antics of Animal House and the heart of Dead Poets Society."