Looking back, there were several things that were constants in my childhood.  Ever present music, stacks of books, and Sherlock Holmes.   Some of my earliest memories were of watching Sherlock Holmes on PBS.  Basil Rathbone in “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, black and white hour long dramas featuring foggy London, the long coat, deerstalker hat and the infamous pipe.  I found it fascinating that Sherlock Holmes played the violin and took cocaine in a 7% solution. 

Halloween costumes consisted of either “The Wolfman” with real Hollywood makeup applied by my Dad, or Sherlock Holmes complete with pipe and magnifying glass.  For me, Sherlock Holmes was at the same level as Batman, Spiderman and Superman.  It was the power of the characters mind that had be so taken from the very beginning.  Problems solved, people comforted, and wrongs turned in rights because of insight, intellect and deduction. 

The tradition of Sherlock Holmes is clearly as strong as ever.  Some of the most outstanding TV around features the same character.  SHERLOCK on the BBC is witty and fast paced and engages you on a level that is strong and tight.  ELEMENTARY on CBS is similarly fast paced but with a twist that takes the characters to New York City and features WATSON as a female ex-Surgeon as the traditional partner to Holmes.

In a world where mediocrity and stupidity are celebrated at so many levels and area of society, it is so encouraging to see that there are those that still want to celebrate the workings of an extraordinary mind.

As the New Year starts I began to think about a collection of books that I own.  In one corner of my living room are stacks of old medical textbooks that belonged to my Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather.  Each volume is signed by the original owner and often has a date under the signature.  “Dr. C.G. Brethouwer.  Private Library.  1908”  The signature is classic and flowing and like nothing you ever see today.  Each volume represents the history of each owner and part of the history of my family.  The volumes are old, slightly dusty and bound in leather.  Although the information contained within the volumes is most likely completely out of date, they represent the cutting edge of medical science at the time they were published.

These volumes represent the concept of GEEK from over 100 years ago.  I am proud to have them in my home and proud of what they represent.  

Doctor Who is  a program that I grew up watching.  Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor was perhaps one of the coolest characters on TV.  The wit, the humor, the subtle life lesson that came out of these shows is something that sticks with me to this day.  A couple of years ago I started to watch Doctor Who once again starting with the Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor.  From the first episode that I watched, “Rose”, I was immediately hook.  The show combines science fiction and history and philosophy and a moral direction that speaks to me.  Solving problems through thinking, humor and the complete lack of guns and violence.  It’s GEEKY to the core and I simply cannot get enough of what the show has to offer.  

Last night I watched the Doctor Who Christmas special “Time of the Doctor”  This was the show where the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith, regenerated and the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi was introduced.  Briefly.  A few mysterious lines were spoken before the show ended.  Now there is a long wait until August when Series 8 begins with the 12th Doctor in the spotlight.  The anticipating will be fantastic.

Those people that don’t watch Doctor Who are skeptical when they hear the premise of the program.  But then….they watch an episode are two and all of a sudden they are a true Whovian.  I love seeing this happen to people.  There is a sense of pure joy in this show that energizes the mind.  The writing is brilliant and the characters are engaging at a high high level.  If you haven’t watched Doctor Who, give it a try, you will not ever regret your decision.

Fantastic!  Allony-Y!  Geronimo!

One of the wonderful things about being infatuated with all things geeky, nerdy and dorky is that one is never bored.  At the same time, one of the drawbacks is that there is such a vast amount of material out there to wade through and enjoy that it can be overwhelming.  To wrap your mind around your options and what direction to take, you must first break things down into categories.  An oversimplified list of categories would be board game/role playing games, reading material, TV and movies.

In my world, board and role playing games is an area where I spend the least amount of my time.  However, as a kid growing up in the early 80’s, many an hour was spent in front of the Dungeon Masters Guide and plotting adventures on graph paper.  Character numbers in the areas of charisma and strength were vital to the direction you took during any epic quest.  As an adult, I am once again being drawn back to the simple pleasure of playing a game on a table.  This could be Monopoly, Battleship, OUIJA, STRATEGO or Fact or Crap?  But please, no basic card games.  And yes, I would kill to find an old fashioned game of Dungeons and Dragons played in a dark basement on an otherwise beautiful day.  Memories.  

Geeky reading material is an area that one could spend a lifetime and never get bored.  Graphic novels, science fiction, comic books, Hentai, Anime and fantasy.  Even reading an old copy of the D&D Players Handbook can be incredibly interesting and nostalgic.  Comic books are an area that I find best to enjoy and not to become obsessed.  A person could spend a lifetime on any one single character and collect everything involved with that character.  To me, this sort of intense collecting is more stressful than pleasurable.  I prefer to spend long stretches reading comic books that I picked up based on the cover artwork, tearing through long works by Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein, or enjoying the storytelling by artwork you find in graphic novels.  Never a dull moment.  

if you have a bit of the geek or nerd in your mind then you most likely have access to NETFLIX or some other online system that gives you access to vast amount of programming.  This is the place to get back in touch with those TV shows that you remember as a child.  Watching all 3 seasons of the original Star Trek series is a fantastic adventure.  The sets and costumes may appear very basic, the story lines and messages contained in those stores are timeless and address issues that are still relevant today.  Acceptance, learning from others, and never stop exploring every part of your world.  Discovering new TV shows is also an adventure.  I’ve recently discovered and finished every episode of FRINGE, FIREFLY and CONTINUUM.  Amazingly smart and interesting TV.

Film.  Where to begin?  Visually stimulating sequences that excite and inspire.  J.J. Abrams directing Star Wars Episode VII with a release date of 2015.  What else needs to be said?

Enjoy the abundance of geek.  Your mind will never be at rest and you will be thankful for that fact. 

Listening to a full length opera on vinyl is a commitment.  Not only are you listening to a work of art two and a half to five hours in length, but you are also required to flip the record over and over.  Something as short as Puccini’s “La Boheme” or “Tosca” presents a fairly easy task not only in the listening department but also in the vinyl maintenance department.  A work as dense and lengthy as Wagner’s “Gotterdammerung” or “Die Walkure” will take up a considerable amount of brain and vinyl maintenance energy.

One of the highlights of listening to opera on vinyl is the amount of information contained within the vinyl packaging.  Liner notes are often presented in booklet form that provides the reader/listener with a vast amount of information about the history of the work, the composer, and the historical happenings of the world when the piece was composed.  This sort of information is rarely seen when purchasing a CD and never when purchasing a download from iTunes.

I believe that listening to opera on vinyl brings you closer to the work.  I love hearing the scratching sound at the beginning of a record and the hush just before the first note.  The listener can often hear the sounds of the bow scratching on the screen and the shuffle of chairs on the orchestra pit floor.  The notes of the singers sound as if they are in the same room with you and you can hair the intake of a new breath between phrases.  It’s a matter of listening closely and having the volume at a level that is appropriate for accurate listening.  Opera should not be background music when vinyl is being used.

I’m grateful that my mother was passionate about opera and collected a great number of vinyl recordings during her years of collecting.  Opera trips to San Francisco, Chicago and New York produced some of the finest opera recordings on vinyl ever made.  I’ve taken the time to rejuvenate these old vinyl records and catalogue them in a way that will preserve their quality along with their place in recording history.

Inspiration comes from looking at the lives and careers of those that think for a living.  Look at the pop culture status of Albert Einstein.  One of the greatest thinkers of all time now appears on magnets, calendars and mugs.  Why is this?  i think people elevate thinkers to a mythical level because at some level they themselves would love to be able to contemplate our world around us in a way that changes things forever.

For me, this individual has always been Richard Feynman.  The more I read about his life and watch his lectures and interviews the more inspired I become.  Here is somebody who got great joy of discovering things about his world and thinking about the way things work.  He found great joy in thinking and telling others about his findings.  In addition, he was one of the most carefree humans that has ever lived.  He found inspiration while writing and working in strip clubs.  Playing the bongo drums brought a huge smile to his  face and safecracking was a passion just for the curiosity involved in the process.

Individuals who are inspired by thinking are too few and far between.  We need to embrace those that embrace thinking and celebrate their lives and their discoveries.

You have to have confidence in the GEEK.  If you embrace things that are relegated to the term GEEKY then you have to embrace what you love without compromise.  Having an interest in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), enjoying science fiction writing, being part of a fandom, or playing video games for 3 days straight without showering is something that you embrace.  Completely.  Those that try to distract you or try to convince you that your interests are a waste of time must be given some distance.  If after some explanation of why you love these things doesn’t persuade them to at least accept who you are then you must release these people from your lives.  Their negativity and need for the “everyday” and being “normal” will only distract you from binge watching one of your favorite shows on NETFLIX or from full re-connecting with the Dungeon Masters Guide in the original hardback.  

Some of the happiest people that you will come across are those that have no interest in conforming to what others consider to be the norm.  They come full face with their interests and passions and get a large amount of fulfillment from their quiver of geek.  So if you are a person out there that has a burning passion for the Empire Strikes Back, role playing games that feature graph paper, or Japanese Anime, take a deep breath and jump into the pool of wonder that is geek.  Let other people embrace boredom and the ordinary.  Have confidence in the GEEK.  

As a fan of television and what it has to offer, I often hear people advocating for the death of TV and advising people to throw their TV away.  When asked, these people often state that they watched a steady stream of reality TV, vocal and dancing contests and ultimately decided that TV in general is a waste of time.  Well…yeah!

On the other hand, when you ask a science fiction fan about TV they will immediately begin advocating for their favorite shows and characters and provide you a list of the benefits of a particular show.  Benefits listed often include great storytelling, characters who use wit and intelligence over guns and violence, kindness as it is applied to all races, breeds, origins, etc.  In fact, this is one of the main trademarks of the original Star Trek series.  Kindness to and acceptance of beings across the universe.  Science fiction fans think deeply about what they watch on TV and their reasons for watching often go far beyond mere entertainment.

I’m a firm believer in the educational benefits of television.  If one looks just a bit beyond the fluff and the crap that some stations provide you can find several amazing shows on the outlining channels such as the SCIENCE channel, BBC, PBS and Discovery.  Shows such as “Through the Wormhole” with Morgan Freeman provide a great overview of incredibly complex topics in Astronomy and Astrophysics.  The BBC offers intelligence and witty shows such as SHERLOCK and DOCTOR WHO.  If in depth conversation is what you are looking for then it’s hard to beat CHARLIE ROSE.

Take a minute and re-evaluate your viewing habits and your attitude towards television.  It’s not difficult to find something out there that will you inspire you, teach you and make you laugh at the same time.