Hey my geeks, nerds, and fandom freaks, here is a top 10 list for you. I hope you are all surviving the Coronapocalypse (as I am calling it). We geeks have become pretty spoiled with all of the KOOL geek stuff out there for us to do and enjoy. We have so much available to read, contemplate, argue about, and engross ourselves into that we often forget how lucky we are and where we came from just a couple of decades ago.
Some of us are still working full time where many of us are not able to work with the Coronapocalypse going on outside. Stay in if you can.. If you have lost your job or been laid off because of it, you might have a bit more free time on your hands. Here are some fun ideas of how to keep your social distance and yet get your geek on.
1) Pick up a new geeky book from a less known author and read it. There are tons of great authors out there that are not big names … yet. I have 3 suggestions.
Check out Lament of Midnight by Ashley Grant (yes Geeky KOOL’s own Ashley). This book contains two short stories that are amazingly written with a dark twist and imagery filled poetry that that sucks you right in. You can see a lot of Edgar Allen Poe influence in Ashley’s writing.
Read the Urban Fantasy Nasaru Chronicles from E.M. Ervin. Start with Wake Up Call and I am positive you will get sucked into this series. You will find a touch of humor through out the intriguing adventure. The humor reminds me of some of Terry Brooks and Allan Dean Foster’s writings from the 80s. E.M. witty and sarcastic personality shines through this story and it is amazing.
Definitely check out The Wards of Iasos from my good friend J. Christopher Wilson. The rag tag group of young misfists and castoffs have to work together as adventure overtakes them. This young adult fantasy adventure speaks to all of us that were the leftovers in our childhood and youth. Vivid imagery and relatable characters bring the world of Iasos to life.
2) Rewatch the Trilogy as it is was intended. For some of you, this will be the original Star Wars Trilogy (hopefully without all of the extra stuff) or it might be the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in extended format or it might even be the Indiana Jones trilogy (forget the fourth one). It could even be the Mad Max trilogy. Whatever it is to you, watch it back to back to back with some popcorn and chill time. Heck you could even watch more than one of the Trilogies.
3) Re-Read those comic books in your collection. I know some people are cringing on this one . Yes, it is okay to read those comics. It is even okay to re-read them. I don’t suggest being like my father and rolling them up and sticking them in your back pocket but it is okay to touch and enjoy this great source of entertainment. If you had a collection from your childhood, go back and re-read those issues of Spidey, X-Men, Justice League, Batman, Spawn or whatever got you into comics as a kid.
4) Discover information on something geeky you want to know more about. It could be the truth about aliens, the hollow earth theory, Nazis on the moon conspiracy, or even maybe Nessy. You could research how swords were made in the time of the Roman Empire. For some it might be learning about horror movie make up artists and how they do their job. Most of us are very curious about geeky things that we just haven’t had time to research and learn more about. Now is the time.
5) Explore something geeky/nerdy that you never thought you would enjoy. I did this last year with anime. I didn’t think I would ever be into anime but decided to try some of it out. Some of it I really enjoy and some I don’t. Like most things, you have to find what works for you. This could be giving a chance to a show or a movie or a genre that you never thought you would like. You might just be surprised. If you do this, find friends or ask us at Geeky KOOL for recommendations for you. The recommendations of my friends led me down the right path to find what I did and didn’t like.
6) Start an geeky argument over who is better while validating the other persons thoughts. We geeks are great at touting the flag for our favorite brand of geekdom if it is Star Wars vs Star Trek, Marvel vs DC, or even Classic BSG vs New BSG. We love to to argue with our fellow geeks. Too often we try to feel superior in this and put down the fans of the other side. This time, lets try it with a twist. Get into those fan favorite discussions. Make your points on why you love one over the other but when a fellow geek gets sucked into the discussion, this time validate their thoughts and likes. “I hear what you are saying about Star Trek and you are right it is KOOL but I have always like Star Wars better because of XY&Z but you have some good points.” This will be fun to watch the reactions of those expecting to fight it out in support of their favorite geekdom. Personally it is good for us to recognize it is okay for others to like the other one better.
7) Play D&D or other table top role playing games. That is right, you can play your favorite or your favorite from years ago role playing games. Get that group of friends back together to play. You can play with group video chats and stay safe with social distancing. Like any group video chat, you have to learn to take turns in speaking. There are specialized sites that you can join to play with your friends or join quests and missions like Roll 20 and Fantasy Grounds. Some virtual world games like Second Life also have gaming system you can play with yours around a virtual table top. You can even roll your dice online if you don’t have a bag of gaming dice (or misplaced them) at Wizards. Here is a great article from Tech Radar about it.
8) Post on Social Media about your favorite geeky stuff. Here is your chance to talk about why you love what you love. Tell the world. Share with friends. You might just make some new friends and help existing friends find something they will love too.
9) Re-connect with the creative side. Most geeks have a creative side if it is writing, drawing, painting, videos, Legos, or whatever. Not many of us can make a living using our creative side but it doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Tap into that side and do it for you . See how fulfilling it can be to reconnect yourself to your geeky side. Ace (AJ) has created a Facebook group to support getting back to art- Pandemic Art Party and you should check it out.
If you find you are a writer or podcaster/vlogcaster and you want a place to be creative regularly, shoot me a message about working with Geeky KOOL. We are always looking for new voices on Geeky KOOL.
10) Find a way to promote that geeky friend who is being creative already. In geekdom, most of us have those artist friends or writer friends are super KOOL. We love their art or comics or books. Talk about their stuff on social media and with other friends. Buy their stuff if you can. They will be thankful that someone is saying something nice about their work because the trolls are always squawking hate out there. Be the voice of positiveness in their lives and about their passions and creativeness.
I hope you enjoyed my top Ten list. Let me know what suggestions you have or if you try any of them.
#Coronapocalypse
Stay Geeky!
