I'm not hating on the Nerd Girls - I think education is a fabulous thing. I hate the idea that the thing that's supposedly amazing is that they like lipstick and high heels and things that "typical" girls like. Which may be more a function of how the Newsweek writers wrote them (and I think I even say this in my post) rather than who they are.
The whole idea of the NERD GIRLS arose because of a lack of females in the engineering community. The founder is a female professor who felt that she had to overcome to reach the same levels of success that she saw her male counterparts encounter with less [whatever] - typical story in any field.
The point then, that you can extrapolate, is that the NERD GIRLS are meant to be an outreach program. The image of the NERD GIRLS you see has little to do with the actual program, an image created by studios and photographers to sell an image to the bright lights and flashy colors media machine.
The NERD GIRLS are meant to show that girls who tend to shy away from science at a young age because of the stigmas attached to the 'Nerd/Geek/Whatha veyou' community which dictate that you cannot be both 'wanted/beautifuf ul/recognized/pop ular' and also study hard and use your brain for something other than color matching and body painting.
The NERD GIRLS are a good thing. Did they sell out the name a little by doing a super upbeat photoshoot/video shoot, sure. Will there be any negative side-effect as many of you have suggested, absolutely not. This will not cause girls to forget that they are smart. This will not cause girls who are smart to long for beauty any more than every magazine and tv show you've ever heard of already does. Hating (if i may use a colloquialism) on the NERD GIRLS seems to be nit-picking minor aspects of how you 'wouldn't have done this or that' and much less about constructively criticizing a group that is seeking to promote the value of education. So you're against education? Now I understand your point of view...
Love the site! That was the best smack in the jewels since "Man hit by Football in Groin" won an Academy Award. I enjoyed the science lesson as "pain receptors" let the body know to elevate pulse heart rate, etc... Maybe next time they'll show us how the amazing human body will shut down to protect itself when hit repeatedly in the head with a shovel. Sport truly is a sweet science.
You make a very valid (but terrifying) point. You gotta pick your battles. Plus I read an article about Travolta and it referenced a movie called Staying Alive, where Johnny played an oiled up half-shirted dancer. I'm guessing that had Bill & Ted by a decade (excluding any time travel scenarios).
Outside of Friend Zoning, the other big complain I hear from the male side of the Nerd Romance War is:
I'm a nice guy, and girls - even nerd girls - don't want nice guys.
But then you hear girls say:
All I want is a nice guy!
Nice guys complain that they get shot down. Boys blame girls. Girls blame boys. And, as is usually the case with things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
2. Thank God, I Thought He Was Running Out of Money.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has just inked a deal with Google to write an animated web series. Phew. I was beginning to worry that his children's children's children's children might have to work someday. (via Medialoper!) 3. But the Clap is Sooo Cute!
Don't know how to explain to your partner that you've got Herpes? GIANTMicrobes has made it easier - or at least cuter - with these series of microbe plush toys. I just want to curl up with Chlamydia and take a nap, don't you? (via Geekologie!)
4. What Did You Stick Up Your Nose as a Kid?
I confess: I didn't stick anything up my nose as a kid, I was the sort of evill kid that convinced other kids to stick stuff up their noses. I blame my genetics. Anyway, Neatorama has a list of the top ten things kids stick up their noses. Crayons are the number one item - and here I thought it would be Wiimotes! I was shocked to see that little green army men didn't make the list. Perhaps those of you with kids can help the army reclaim its nasal passage glory? (via Neatorama!)
5. Aliens Don't Let Aliens Drive Drunk. As the holiday weekend approaches, let's all take a little lesson from Star Wars Universe:
There were so many excellent entries for My Nerd Crush that I couldn't whittle down the playing field to just four or five. So we're going to have two rounds of voting.
Just a reminder: you have until midnight tonight (PST) to get in your entries for My Nerd Crush! Post in the comments, link to your uber page or your blog, just make sure you have your entry in today!
One of the Executive Producers made melearn all about grills when I worked on the Nickelodeon Romeo! However, now you can go one step further and get your teeth tattooed. That's right, Steve Heward of the Heward Dental Lab in Salt Lake will handpaint your crowns - no word if he only does portraits or if you have the option of Celtic Crosses and "I Have Too Much Money" in kanji . (via The Daily Dairy!)
2. &^%&$%()*&%$!
Back in 1991, I trekked down to Newbury Comics to buy a Dead Kennedys' Too Drunk to Fuck t-shirt. (I know, sooo punk rawk. Although later that year, I produced Jello's spoken word show at school and had dinner with him. He ate cannelloni off my plate. But I digress.) Anyway, some of my friends insisted I put a piece of duct tape over the f-word if I wore the shirt in public - although a great Beacon Hill Biddy said to me "I know what dirty word that is!" and chuckled. (I love Boston!) But Slate investigates Why Bands Give Themsleves Unprintable Names. My favorite? Fuck Buttons. (via Medialoper!)
3. The Backwards Beatles. There are some truths we hold to be self-evident: namely, what is considered evil. You can tell evil from the fact that it has a goatee and casts no shadows. Also, evil will because it's played backwards. The blog Echoes in the Wind offers a up the Evil Beatles, taking the Paul is Dead controversy one step further by showcasing a collection of Beatles songs played backwards. (via WFMU's Beware of the Blog!)
4. Proof That Sometimes, Focus Groups are a Good Idea. Check it out, Minnesotans, you can now pump, and, erm, munch. Why does this sound like a gas station named by Diablo Cody?(shared by Sizzle Says, via Manager Mom!)
5. If Joss Whedon Pooped, His Fandom Would Fight for It. I kid, I kid, I like the Joss Whedon. In fact, I think we should just give him a network and be done with it. In the meantime, you'll have to settle for this sneak peek at his Sci-Fi Musical, Dr. Horrible, with Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! (via Transbuddha!)
Remember when the Internet was a safe haven for the socially awkward? With the advent of social networking, we're expected to be honing our social skills online and off. Antisocialnetworking is a little bit of Nerdvana: a place to ask questions and wax poetic about the politics of dating and relating in a social networking world with your host and Nerd Yenta, the slackmistress.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Press the magic button below:
"So, Slack, let me raise a glass to fellow nerd chix who don't dig SATC. We'll drink wine because I don't like Cosmos. Now if you're talking about Carl Sagan's "Cosmos", then IT'S ON LIKE AN ATOM BOMB."
