<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Showbits &#187; Radio and TV Correspondents</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.showbits.net/tag/radio-and-tv-correspondents/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.showbits.net</link>
	<description>A blog of news, reviews, commentary, and quirks from Hollywood and Broadway, with a focus on quirky, geeky stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, and superheroes.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:23:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
<image><title>Showbits</title><url>http://www.showbits.net/wp-content/uploads/twitter-icon.jpg</url><link>http://www.showbits.net</link><width>73</width><height>73</height><description>Showbits - http://www.showbits.net</description></image>		<item>
		<title>Who&#039;s a Geek?</title>
		<link>http://www.showbits.net/2009/07/01/obama-hodgman-geek-advancement/</link>
		<comments>http://www.showbits.net/2009/07/01/obama-hodgman-geek-advancement/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:30:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Gagne</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Celebrities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barack Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conan the Barbarian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geek Advancement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[geeks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Hodgman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Coulton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Levar Burton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[president]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radio and TV Correspondents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society for Geek Advancement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stereotypes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wil Wheaton]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.showbits.net/?p=476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week, John Hodgman, perhaps best known as the PC from Apple&#039;s &#034;Get a Mac&#034; ads, spoke at the annual Radio &#38; TV Correspondents&#039; Dinner, with President Obama in attendance: Though the USA&#039;s current presidential administration does seem to be more science-oriented than its predecessor, the correlation between that and the President&#039;s own geeky [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Earlier this week, John Hodgman, perhaps best known as the PC from <a href="http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/" title="Apple - Get a Mac - Watch the TV Ads - Customer Care">Apple&#039;s &#034;Get a Mac&#034; ads</a>, spoke at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW7OPByRGDY&#038;fmt=18" title="YouTube - John Hodgman at Radio &#038; TV Correspondents' Dinner">the annual Radio &amp; TV Correspondents&#039; Dinner</a>, with President Obama in attendance:</p>
<pre>
<center>
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yW7OPByRGDY&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;color1=0x3a3a3a&#038;color2=0x999999&#038;border=1&#038;ap=%2526fmt%3D18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yW7OPByRGDY&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;color1=0x3a3a3a&#038;color2=0x999999&#038;border=1&#038;ap=%2526fmt%3D18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
</center>
</pre>
<p>Though the USA&#039;s current presidential administration does seem to be more science-oriented than its predecessor, the correlation between that and the President&#039;s own geeky nature and background is oft overlooked.</p>
<p><a href="http://devilsdue.net/index.php?option=com_content&#038;task=view&#038;id=427&#038;Itemid=51"><img align="right" src="http://www.showbits.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/barack_01c-195x300.jpg" alt="Barack the Barbarian" title="Barack the Barbarian" width="195" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-477" /></a>Obama&#039;s familiarity with Superman&#039;s legacy is evident not only in the picture Hodgman presented, but also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk5YJkhizRs&#038;fmt=18" title="YouTube - Obama Roast McCain @ Alfred E. Smith Dinner Part 1">when Obama roasted McCain some months ago</a>.  The President has since appeared in several comics of his own, including not only <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-obama-spider-man-090108-story,0,2231909.story" title="Spidey swings into Obama?s world -- chicagotribune.com"><em>Spider-Man</em></a>, but also <a href="http://devilsdue.net/index.php?option=com_content&#038;task=view&#038;id=427&#038;Itemid=51" title="Devil's Due Publishing - Barack the Barbarian #1">an original title</A> that segues perfectly with Hodgman&#039;s slideshow.</p>
<p>However, as proud as I am to have a geek president, I think we need to consider the image that Hodgman reinforced.  It was just a decade or two ago that geeks were shoved into lockers, had sand kicked in their face, and never, ever got the girl.  To hear Hodgman speak, those days are still with us, and the lines are still sharply delineated as the jocks-and-geeks war rages on.</p>
<p>In reality, as society becomes more technologically dependent, the geeks are inheriting the earth.  Those who know how to use Twitter aren&#039;t just sharing <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/" title="Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures of Cats – I Can Has Cheezburger?">lolcats</a>; they&#039;re helping <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&#038;articleId=9134460" title="Twitter becomes a lifeline to an Iran in turmoil">the Iranian revolution</a>.  Playing video games does not make us geeks; <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/06/06/" title="Penny Arcade! - The Sucking: Origins">that activity has gone mainstream</a>.  Some of us would just as soon go for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30426434&#038;id=1458498675" title="Facebook | Steve Sookikian's Photos - Wall Photos">a 150-mile bike ride</a> as we would watch <em><a href="http://www.showbits.net/category/star-trek/" title="Showbits - Star Trek">Star Trek</a></em>.</p>
<p>So if not the classic stereotypes of yesterday, and not the extremes that Hodgman parodied, then what defines the modern geek?</p>
<p>For that, I&#039;ll let <a href="http://geekadvancement.com/" title="Home :: GeekAdvancement.com">geeks speak for themselves</a>:</p>
<pre>
<center>
<object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rCq6E6tnQKg&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;color1=0x3a3a3a&#038;color2=0x999999&#038;border=1&#038;ap=%2526fmt%3D18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rCq6E6tnQKg&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;color1=0x3a3a3a&#038;color2=0x999999&#038;border=1&#038;ap=%2526fmt%3D18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object>
</center>
</pre>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.showbits.net/2009/07/01/obama-hodgman-geek-advancement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

<!-- Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/

Page Caching using disk: enhanced
Database Caching 12/20 queries in 0.044 seconds using disk: basic

Served from: www.showbits.net @ 2012-02-11 17:32:45 -->
