Kung Fu Panda!!!

Sometimes, a few things can compel you to write about them; the latest release from Dreamworks Animation, Kung Fu Panda, being one of them. It's one of the few movies of its kind that offers ninety minutes of pure comedy. The entire team behind this laugh-riot movie deserve a standing ovation.

The movie is the story of Po, a giant panda, who has dreams of becoming a great 'Dragon Warrior'. but dreams remain as reality demands of him to serve in his family noodle shop. However, all that changes when the old Grand Master Oogway has a vision of a dreaded enemy's return, and decides to hold a contest to select the Dragon Warrior who will save the people. Although the story is the stereotypical Chinese action flick, the novelty in the movie is the brilliant blend of comedy in each scene.

The rest of the story is about Po being chosen and the subsequent events which narrate a concept of realization and wisdom, despite the obvious action and fun. The movie guarantees entertainment for any kind of audience. Watch it!

Nerd Talk

Some time back, one fine day, Mr.K happened to categorize me as a nerd. When asked to justify, he replied that reading Wikipedia, being superficial in sports, and being my usual self in the class were characteristics that had earned me the rather infamous title. Although I protested by citing our movie, music and other "Ornithological" discussions, that cap was there to stay...

This morning, I was going through this month's IEEE Spectrum (alright..you may label me a nerd at that), when I saw this article dedicated to people of my kind.."Homo Nerdus" reads the title.
To my surprise, people write books on nerds!! The very first quotation reads,

"Nerds are the ones who don't go to the party so they can stay at home and do homework;
Geeks bring their homework to the party." - David Anderegg, Nerds:Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them(2007)

The rest of the article introduces some very nice words into the existing vocabulary :

The population of nerds taken as a whole is called nerdom.

A person's nerdy traits and characteristics represent their nerdity.

Any long and nerd-oriented activity is known as nerdathon.

If that activity happens to be a computer game or LAN party, its called nerdstorm!

Rap with lyrics relating to computers, technology and engineering, comes under a genre called nerdcore/geeksta (from gangsta)

Any town or suburb populated by a sizable number of high-tech workers is called nerdistan

The emplyees with vested stock options in successful tech start-ups are called millionerds or, if they started the company, entreprenerds

Despite being considered an insult for nongeeks, the word 'nerd' is an identity for one. Nerdhood is his character of which he's proud of and he knows that living nerdily is the best revenge! So, when he hears the word 'nerd' being tossed around with reference to him, he flashes his geek-god looks and turns back to his obsession while telling it to himself,"One day, nerds shall rule!!".