The Geekiest Thing You'll See This Week

This is a picture of a young person named "Pickle." Or, at least, someone called "Pickle." As it happens, I actually went to high school (and performed on stage) with a kid who was nick-named "Pickle."

The "Pickle" in this picture is not my high school friend. I have no idea where either of these "Pickles" are, but if you were called "Pickle" in high school, went to Woodrow Wilson and was in Bye, Bye Birdie and Godspell there, look me up on Facebook. And, like a great "Simpsons" episode, this opening actually has very little to do with the brunt of this post (I love that word. "Brunt." So butch!).

Anyhoo... This is really more about the fact that the Pickle in this picture is apparently a huge Star Wars fan and he (I think it's a he - I can't imagine a girl being called "Pickle." That wouldn't be appropriate at all, would it?) is simply the first amusing result I found on Google Images for "Star Wars fan."

So then, this post is really about two very special kinds of geeks (both of which I am proud to call myself). So watch this video, and then come back for the discussion. 'We'll tawk; we'll have cawfee. No big whoop.'

As I said, this advertisement appeals to two very specific (though often over-lapping) kinds of fanboys. First, and most obviously, it is aimed at Star Wars geeks. My friend Dan is a massive Star Wars and Star Trek geek. Whenever I come across Geek News, I email it to him (this time I'm emailing a link to this post - Hi Danny! Love ya!). Personally, while I like both franchises, there's a special place in my heart for the original Star Wars trilogy. I was in high school (ah - a link to the opening paragraphs - genius!) when the first movie came out. Having grown up on American Sci-Fi from the 50's and 60's and Japanese Sci-Fi from the 60's and 70's, I expected little more than an action-oriented version of The Green Slime. Needless to say, like for everyone else seeing that movie on a big screen for the first time, Star Wars was a revelatory experience. I imagine audiences seeing the original King Kong felt much the same way. So yes, I fall in to the first category, though not as deeply as some.

The second Geek Squad is comprised of fans obsessed with film scores and soundtracks. Of the nearly 700 CDs in my collection, the vast majority of them are films scores and/or soundtracks. From the obscure (Forbidden Zone) to the seminal (A Clockwork Orange); the abstract (Howard Shore's glorious scores for The Fly and The Cell) to the iconic (Bernard Herrman's Psycho), and just about every thing in-between. It is here that I really let my freak flag fly. there are few films without scores, but many films that would have been dismal failures wihout them. That rhythmic bass from Jaws; the 'screaming violins' from Psycho; Darth Vader's March from Star Wars... iconic notes from today's modern classical composers; as integral to those films' successes as the script, direction, camera-work, lighting, costumes, scenery and performances.

Man, I really am a movie geek, aren't I? sigh...
More, anon.
Prospero

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