Dorkdom

Straight from the Urban Dictionary:

Dorkdom (Not to be confused with geekdom, or nerdocracy)comes from achieving a mere fraction of the coolness that one believes they are emmulating.*

I believe that everyone has a bit of dorkdom -- i.e. Knows way too much about something in particular, be it a movie, TV series, author, game, toy, location, time period, etc.

Lately I have been pondering my own geekiness while listening to The Dork Forest with comedienne, Jackie Kashian. This show focuses on the dorkdoms of various guests on her program. Most are comedians but some come from the comic and gaming industry while others have science and engineering backgrounds. The past few shows have included a cat dork and a food dork.

Here are a few of my dorkdoms, the proud and the lame:

Music: specifically local San Diego music. I have been known to be the wiz kid in answering music trivia on our local music artists. My husband and I own about 200 albums of local music. (Note: I don't count my CD's so I really have no idea how many we actually have. 200 sounded reasonably correct). Compared to the likes of Rosey of SD Dialed In, Tim Pyles from the Local 94.9 and Bart Mendoza, I can't compare. But it is a subject and an art that I love and know a little too much about. And I don't mind sharing.

Local San Diego History: One of my collections (of which I have very few), is a library of books focused on the history of San Diego. I love the city I live in and it's history, although short is very rich of interesting tales. From the Spanish to the Mormons to the Navy, cultures shaped the ideals. From Wyatt Earp to Ulysses S. Grant to Dr. Seuss, individuals shaped the landscape and identity. My favorite of all of my collection is San Diego Legends: Events, People, and Places That Made History by Jack Scheffler Innis. Although, not a comprehensive history, it is a good read.

Disney: I worked for Walt Disney World for a month at the end of 2000. I was already a bit of a Disney dork before working there, but they really do brainwash you. I was always interested in the behind the scenes stories, but never a collector of Disney stuff. I feel anyone who likes Disney is a bit of a Disney dork. Walt hides so much in the magic that people are compelled to know what is behind the curtain.

Ray Bradbury: This man is my hero and really should be at the top of my list for dorkdoms. I have read nearly all of his works (except for the newest stuff). Last September, I shared about my inspiration from his writing genius. He is connected to San Diego through his design of Horton Plaza and connected to Disney through his animatronics creations. He is the reason that I am a dork.

Semi-Dorkness: Muppets, Roller Derby, Beer

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I am aware that I am not an extremist or an expert on any of the above. There are many more individuals in this world that take dorkdom to new heights including the collection of random crap, interrupting conversations with random facts, and sometimes stalking others to "understand them more".

I am one of those people that retain various little factoids about a variety of topics so as to remain somewhat aware and knowledgeable in various discussions. This sometimes gets me in trouble with true dorks, where they truly believe I care about their collection of comic book action figurines. Sorry, really, no offense.

*Note: Emulating is spelled incorrectly. What does that say about me?