Nerdpocalypse Now!

TOTALLY SWAMPED AT SCHOOL. I hope I'll be back once this crazy week is over!  Here's a fitting song: "But we're never gonna survive until we are a little crazy ... !"

Nerdworld Soundtrack: "What Doesn't Kill You"

It's been a long time since I posted in the "Nerdworld Soundtrack" category, so here's another song from the trenches of higher education and research/writing Nerdpocalypse Now.  "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger"?  Of course, I should note a former classmate's cynical comment on that: "That which doesn't kill you just postpones the inevitable."  He then proceeded to flunk out of grad school.  ANYWAY.  Here's some Kelly Clarkson!

 

Nerd News: Research Rigmarole Rat Race

We're totally screwed?  Yeah, we're totally screwed.  A lot of contemporary scholarship is bunk too -- and badly written bunk at that.  (Of course, my research is awesomely awesome, natch!  Hahaha!  Nerdpocalypse Now, a juggernaut of footnotes, rolls on.)

Nerd Victory Is Mine!

Remember the Shakespeare haiku contest?  The judges have deliberated, and I won second place!  Don't tell the Nerd Lords, though, who would be horrified to know that instead of working on Nerdpocalypse Now research and writing I'm running off to enter poetry contests, heh!  Admittedly I dashed off that haiku in 5 minutes while rushing out the door to go to school.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME: Wasting time online boosts worker productivity!

BEST. STUDY. EVER.  (Done by the National University of Singapore.)  Yay!!!  I feel soooooo much better about posting this instead of working on Nerdpocalypse Now.  

Nerd News: Bookmark Notepads

Brilliant!  I really don't like writing in books, so I'm always sticking tiny Post-It notes in them. The "guilty pleasure" bookmark notepad is especially nice.  I really should get it, since in this season of Nerdpocalypse Now, a "guilty pleasure" book is any book that has nothing to do with my research.  Heh.  When was the last time you could count Shakespeare as a "guilty pleasure"?  By the way, Knock Knock, the folks who offer those bookmarks, has a ton of other entertainingly cool gifts and cool bookmarks, so take a look!

Nerd Journal: I Need a Fanfare, Part 2

The previous fanfare was fun, but I think I need something new to play every time I waft into the Library of Doom for my Nerdpocalypse Now summer research cram!

If music be the food of love, play on!

Nerd Journal: Musick Hath Charms to Sooth a Savage Nerd

I'm basically in a nasty mood this morning (OK, nastier than usual).  Here's some music to beguile my desire to pillage the nearest village as a way to express my frustration with school and life in general.  Yeah, the video's archival ... i.e.,  from  a time when Charlotte Church (a) could still sing, and (b) wasn't skanky-looking UK tabloid fodder.  In the meantime ... MUST. HAVE. MORE. COFFEE. (Coffee counts as breakfast, doesn't it?)

Film Culture Commentary: Ferris Bueller and His Discontents

Not everybody loves Ferris, apparently.  For the record, I've loved "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" from the first viewing and I still do.  (Is this flick really 25 years old this year?!)  Never mind.  I think I'll watch the DVD later as I work on Nerdpocalypse Now.  Bueller ... Bueller ... Bueller ...

Nerdpocalypse Now: Decorating the Laptop For It

What do you think about this?  I've got to spend the summer researching and writing like a madwoman, so I might as well have some fun with the laptop that I am beginning to hate more and more with every passing day.

Nerd Journal: I Need a Fanfare

Imagine how much more fun it would be to go into the Library of Doom if I got a fanfare whenever I push through the doors!  Shoot, who couldn't use some fanfare and flower petals and a wee bit of adoration during the day?  (In case you're wondering -- yes, my Nerdpocalypse Now research project for my Nerd Lords is beginning to drive me mad.)  So, if I could choose a fanfare, I think Handel's "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" just might work, don't you?  Or perhaps you have another suggestion?  "The Imperial March" is just a bit too obvious ...

The BiblioFiles: "Toward the Gleam"

Here's a fascinating-looking new fantasy book written by a former professor of engineering.  But when will I ever get the chance to read something that isn't for the Nerdpocalypse Now research project?

Awesome Nerd Fun: the Rick-Rolling Essay

I don't know what enterprising student wrote this essay, but Kudos, Sir!  Click the image to enlarge it.  You will be amazed at this fabulous acrostic!

Part of me is now dying to try something like this in my next academic paper.  Nerdpocalypse Now will never be the same!

Nerdworld Soundtrack: "Mamma Mia!"

I didn't think I was going to like "Mamma Mia!" but I was watching it tonight while I was proofreading a paper.  Maybe it's because the weather is freezing and I'm buried under Nerdpocalypse Now, but the little musical flick was like a playful, light-hearted mini-vacation.  Besides, looking at all that Greek sunshine (the movie was filmed on location) made me feel better ... and there's enough relentlessly bubbly ABBA pop to make you laugh.  So in honor of another night of research and writing, I give you a bit of the soundtrack sung by the flick's admittedly adorable star Amanda Seyfried:

Nerd Journal: A Little Help for Hump Day

Ugh, it's only Wednesday!  Who else needs a little help getting over Hump Day?  Here in my neck of the woods,  it's just one ray of sunshine after another on campus, what with blustery snow everywhere, horrible cold, Nerdpocalypse Now, and undergrads running amok.  But enough whining.  Here's a little pick-me-up for all of us, complete with nerdy hero:

Nerd Journal: The Nerd Lords Have Spoken

Here's an announcement, gentle readers.  My Nerd Lords have spoken.  More importantly, the Nerd Emperor -- aka Nerd Who Must Be Obeyed -- has issued his decree.  I must -- MUST -- finish my massive research-and-writing project by the end of this summer.  200+ pages, baby.  Failure is not an option.  Oh, boy.  I think I'm as terrified as I am excited.  So here is a new blog tag for all posts on this topic -- "Nerdpocalypse Now."  You can expect a slight decrease in the number of daily posts, but you can also expect a whole lot of blogging about the Nerdpocalypse Project.  You know, I'm almost glad to be given a hard deadline and what amounts to a Nerd Lord Ultimatum.  It's happened to most of my nerdy friends.  Besides, I've been playing around with research and whatnot for a while now, so it's probably time to Put Up Or Shut Up when it comes to nerd work.

Now the question is, do I have all the right moves?  Even if I don't, it's time to get them!  (The video by One Republic is fantastic, and there's a metaphor somewhere in there, amid all the masked dancers, about my life both online and off, don't you think?)