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April 21, 2006
Geek Prom in St. Paul
According to this morning's Star Tribune, "After four successive annual incarnations in Duluth, the only prom catering to adult [21 and older] nerds, nimrods, dorks, dweebs and other "misfits," has gone metro and arrived at its geekiest venue yet: a museum with science experiments and dinosaur bones."
"We celebrate the geekiness in all of us, and that certainly is what the Geek prom does, too," said Gail Vold Breco, the museum's director of public relations. "We needed to call our people home."
What a great concept! In the spirit of "calling my people home," especially with my blog's title, I had to take note of this important event. For more information, visit the website here. The event promises "awkward romance, cheesy music, and the dissection of a cow's eye." "For those who were too cool to properly enjoy their high school prom, it's an opportunity to finally let that inner-geek out."
Inner geek ... hmmm.... does that mean I should go? Actually, I did enjoy my high school prom. I didn't particularly enjoy high school, but I knew that the prom marked the end of something and the beginning of a big new adventure. It was 40 years ago this spring, and our country was on the cusp of a cultural sea change. The Beatles reigned, but it was still their relatively innocent stuff. (Rubber Soul was out - I think I played that record until it had a hole in it - but Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt. Pepper were yet to come.)
Strange thing about my high school class. The football players married the cheerleaders, and they all stayed in the same town. (I, on the other hand, live a comfortable 1000 miles away.) One of them is now running for city council and is sponsoring our class reunion website on the home page for his election campaign! (PS: This is not from a small town.)
But I digress.... When asked to define a geek, Paul Lundgren, organizer of the first Geek Prom, said he didn't have a hard and fast definition. "I usually go with the old saying about pornography: 'I know it when I see it.' " Hmmmmmmmm... an unfortunate association.
In any case, I predict that the Geek Prom will grow in popularity. Although I can't make it this year, maybe another time. Guess I'd better check with my potential date for the evening. It might take a year to talk her into it.
To all Geeks everywhere, inner and outer, enjoy!
Posted by hgroteva at April 21, 2006 8:40 PM | Identity
Comments
I went to Senior Send-off this spring at the U of M and the keynote speaker was Robert Stephens, founder of the Geek Squad. When talking about the difference between a nerd and a geek he said, "Geeks know that they're geeks. Nerds have no clue." He pegged Bill Gates as the biggest nerd of them all.
Posted by: Mandy at May 18, 2006 10:48 AM