My dad wasn’t a nerd. Not at all. In his youth, he was a jock, a baseball star, a third baseman at Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey, the second four-letter varsity player (the first is in the Baseball Hall of Fame). After getting injured in the Korean War (playing baseball, that is, as one of the American soldiers sent to Germany to play ball for the amusement of the officers stationed there after World War II), he had to find something else to do. That’s how he became a school teacher, then principal, and then I came along.
I don’t know how disappointed he was that I wasn’t very good as an athlete. I tried — I played baseball and basketball — but, and I say this objectively, I sucked. I loved, and still love, sports, but I just wasn’t destined to be a competitive player. Instead, I was a garden-variety nerd with the additional sports-fan gene. It was always in the back of my mind that this disappointed him, but if it did, he never let on, even though I think he was never quite sure what it was that I did for a living, other than that it involved radio. We were always close, going to ball games together, talking on the phone every single day at the same time right up until he passed away seven years ago.
Sunday is Father’s Day, and I intend to honor my dad by doing what we loved to do together, and by that, I mean burgers on the grill and a ballgame on TV. If your dad is still around and you have a good relationship with him, I hope you get to do something you both love to do this weekend. And if you’re a father yourself, I hope you have a great time with your kids and get what you want from the day, preferably in cash or gift cards. And the emotional stuff, too, because that’s what it’s supposed to be about, right? Plus the gifts.
If Dad was still around, he’d probably be a little baffled by what we had at Nerdist.com this week, which included this:
1. The latest episode of That Show had Kyle mulling the Big Reveal and asking questions as the first half of the season came to a semi-shocking conclusion. He’ll, and you’ll, have plenty of time to prepare for the next episode.
2. Emily got Damon Lindelof to tell us his favorite comics. Zombie Archie! Make it so!
3. Ted noted that Ferris Bueller’s Day Off turned 25. Raiders of the Lost Ark is 30. I’m… feeling old.
4. Love… exciting and new! Come aboard, we’re expecting you! It’s Legos…. Yes, the Lego Love Boat set sail for the hearts of everyone who appreciates Legos and cheesy 70’s-80’s TV shows.
5. Did we love NPH at the Tonys? Yes, yes, we did. He should host every awards show.
6. The podcast welcomed Zooey Deschanel, who had a great time talking about music and comedy and gluten.
7. BBC America picked a winner in the homemade TARDIS contest, and it was a TARDIS ice fishing house. You go in there and you catch fish from the past. Or the future. Also, someone stole a TARDIS school bus shelter in Oklahoma. That’s just wrong.
8. We got excited over an epic shredder, even if the stuff the video showed being shredded wasn’t as epic as we’d have liked. It doesn’t take an industrial shredder to shred sanitary napkins, does it?
9. Airbus showed off a video with their vision of the plane of the future. See-through fuselage! Seats that move and rearrange themselves based on the projected load! Pathetically limited overhead bin space! Can’t have it all.
10. Danny caught the Harry Potter poster, in which Harry gets all bad-ass. And, later in the week, Warner Bros. released a Harry Potter And The Movie That Got Divided Into Two Parts — Part 2 trailer, which they say is the last, final, really, the ultimate trailer before the movie opens July 15th. Pottermania is only building.
11. We got peppered with information alarming and calming about the prospect of Doctor Who in 2012. We’re not getting a full series? “Special run” in 2013? Steven Moffat left it all up in the air but counseled, “Hush, and patience.” So… hush. And be patient.
12. Becca hosted a band at her place. They’re called Walk the Moon, and they played around L.A. to sold-out rooms after playing SXSW and Bonnaroo. Plus, they left Becca’s place looking the way you’d expect it would after a band lived in it for a week. What, you’re too big a star to grab a mop and bucket, music boys?
13. Cara Santa Maria joined us to discuss the effect of pot on the brain. Read it, stoners, and find out what weed does to your synapses.
14. Anjeanette reported on the high school prank that got a student in deep trouble — a felony charge! — for planting a blow-up doll in the girls’ bathroom. Overreaction or prudent?
15. Mindy showed us someone who’s built a giant Digi-Comp II, which those of us of a certain age will fondly remember as something we all wanted, then lost interest in when it didn’t actually DO anything much. But I’d still love to play with this thing. Also a giant Wheel-O, if anyone ever makes one of those.
16. A guy in China went to work in a giant foam Iron Man costume. Ted had the video. Going to work in costume? Maybe if you’re standing at the side of the road spinning an arrow sign.
17. Jay saw Super 8 and liked it. I hear mixed things, but I’m curious about it. I wonder how much it depends on your expectations going in.
18. The new Muppets parody trailer is likely better than the actual Green Lantern movie. (Oh, please, come on, it’s just a joke. I haven’t seen the ‘Tern. Not anti-‘Tern, just pro-Muppet)
19. Kyle came back to show us some promos for the new Torchwood: Miracle Day series. Anyone here subscribe to Starz? ‘Cause I don’t.
20. Matt’s going to the shuttle launch! Craig Ferguson’s the guest for the Nerdist Podcast TV pilot! Chris sings! Jonah… well, he got some bad news, but he’s doing fine. It’s all in the Hostful Podcast, accompanied by a great 8-bit piece of artwork that begs to be a poster.
21. Chris cranked out more promos for BBC America’s Ministry of Laughs. You’re going to watch, I trust.
22. They had riots in Vancouver after the Canucks lost. They had celebrity-studded commercials for British Columbia tourism during the Olympics last year. Someone inevitably had to put them together. And did.
Chris is playing the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse Friday and Saturday nights, so if you’re in the D.C. area, head on out there, and take your dad, too. But whatever you do this weekend, take the time to enjoy your burrito. Hey, your dad probably likes burritos. Take him out and buy him one Sunday.
Is there a chance they’ll put Torchwood: Miracle Day on Netflix instant like they did with Spartacus? No Starz subscription needed.