There are several issues I would like to address tonight, thus the reason for this rare appearance i'm making on my own blog.

One: The resurgence of old school video games like pong and the mario brothers on old platforms like nintendo, atari, and the like.

It appears as though this return has become quite the trend setter for the hipsters and indies. This observation might be the influences of a new project at work, or the fact that everyday on my way to the garage at work, i pass by a cart that is selling plug and play controllers with several games built right in. However, my suspicions of this rapidly growing trend was confirmed by a trip i made to target yesterday.

While strolling by the guys tshirt section, i came across a tshirt that had an image of a nintendo controller affixed upon it. My first reaction was to get one for my brother. Everytime someone asks him about it, he would be able to say his cool sister got it for him. :-) My second reaction was to "think about" getting one for myself, in my weak attempt to be cool. My third reaction was to walk away in disappointment as there were no other "nintendo controller affixed image" tshirt anywhere, other than the one on display (which was not for sale).

The fact that there were no more nintendo tshirts available for purchase prompted a lightbulb to go off in my head, reaffirming that yes, this has indeed become quite the trend.

However, this trend was definitely not the first.

A couple years ago i noticed the popularity of old school video game music remakes. Indie bands like Ozma, Mr. Bungle, and Estradasphere all had great versions of those catchy tunes from the games we love. Whether or not video game music is still a continuing trend, i've long lost track. But i'm sure once this new "old video game" trend is at its peak, I'll be hearing those beloved tunes once again.

Two. If you proclaim yourself to be a nerd, are you really still a nerd?

Are real nerds ever really aware that they're a nerd? My theory is, if you have enough awareness of your nerdiness, then you are aware of your actions. To me, there are several levels of nerdiness, and a real nerd is one that is not aware of how others perceive them. Unless, you self-proclaim yourself to be one in order to fit in with the counter culture folks. Y'know, those who wish to be unconventional and unorthodox in their ways. So if you realize you are a nerd, maybe you're really not a nerd? But if you are a nerd, and you want to counter those who go out of their way to be unconventional, then aren't you really just plain conventional? In one word...normal?

To sum up, when is one ever "cool?"

If you're a nerd, you're considered uncool. If you're a nerd with a nintendo shirt on, you're considered indie cool. If you're cool by nature, you're considered uncool by the anti-cool, which may or may not be the nintendo shirt wearing, self-proclaiming nerds. Mario wears uncool red overalls. Yet the person that wears him on a shirt is cool. When do we draw the line? Aren't we all the coolest nerds in our own way?

I rest my case.