SEXY NERDS

Greetings,

Don’t ask me why I’m doing this, really. In lieu of the fact my blog is an elitist snob’s paradise and has been particularly crusty in tone as of late, I’ve decided to take a step back and focus on what we all came here for: hard-core nudity! (Ah, brilliant Simpsons riff)

I’ve compiled a fun list of folks who, like it or lump it, can be classified as nerds, albeit sexy nerds. There’s an outdated tendency among some folks that “nerd” and “sexy” don’t work together anymore, but that’s just not true. The edgiest, most innovative people out there are the ones who act and look like they don’t give a damn what people think, and that’s damn sexy. Being “cool” is, in the words of Fugazi, eternal but always dated (tip of the hat to Chris Turner on that quote). Nerdy folks? Doing their own thing with passion in this individualistic era is the coolest thing of all. Incidently, nerd, in this case, does not always equal digital. It can just be doing what you do because you have a passion for it.

Hilary Rowland is the kind of person who sort of makes you wonder, are you really doing something with your life? Because this woman’s almost other-worldly in terms of the creative energy she comes up with. She started designing web sites in 1994, launched hilary.com in 1995 and is a Ford agency model. Did I mention she dated James Woods at one point? Oh, and she’s from Toronto no less.

Damon Albarn? Well, yeah, he’s a nerd. But I mean that in the nicest possible way: Blur’s definitely for the Britpop alt.nerd.obsessive type on some level, but his real claim to geek fame is Gorillaz. Their web site just won a Webby Award for Artist of the Year and it’s easy to see why. The site is a Flash-enabled tour de digital force. If that doesn’t make Damon a nerd in the best way possible, I don’t know what does.

Steve Jobs may be a geek, oh yes, but he’s a geek that embodies the new mantra of “technosexual” - the urbane, well-groomed type who still digs his gadgets like an MP3 player or cell phone. Steve may also be the first nerd in modern history to embrace the all-important design quotient for the digital world. Let’s face it: if the iPod looked like a dank, crappy little metal gizmo, nobody would have bought it en masse. But while Steve’s geek cred was with the digital music thing, he made the geek du jour item - the iPod - a sexy creature.

Steve Nash. What can’t be said about this guy that hasn’t already been said? World-class b-ball player in every way, a stand-up guy who’s one of the best liked players in the NBA, and he reads Immanual Kant and does a distinctly intellectual, anti-jock move by wearing an anti-Iraq war t-shirt during the warm-up to the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.

Keanu Reeves is nerdy in a way that defies normal expectations. He’s almost like the personification of all the qualities we espouse to nerds. Zen-like in his commitment to his craft and a damn fine actor (I say that without a trace of irony - few others could have pulled off Neo in The Matrix), Keanu’s sci-fi cred - the underrated Johnny Mnemonic, Matrix, Constantine - is huge. He loves video games, loves chess (see, chess is the game of intellectual titans everywhere!) and knows the value of special effects in his movies. He’s also apparently quite nice and very generous with his money.

Sharon Stone? What? I know, sounds weird to have an actor on here who once bared her crotch to the world in Basic Instinct. But Sharon’s a nerd because she’s done a whole bunch of films that are basically for nerds, by nerds; Sphere, Broken Flowers, Catwoman, The Quick and the Dead are just some - all by very nerdy filmmakers or based around geek content like comics. Concidence?

Will Smith may be the most unexpected entry here. But get this: Smith loves chess, the nerdiest (and best) game around, was once considered for Keanu Reeves’ role in The Matrix, has starred in some sci-fi films you may have heard of like Men in Black or Independence Day (two ultra-geek films), was a big enthusiast for Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, was recruited by MIT (which is basically a geek paradise on earth) and has three iPods to his name. Smith may play the role of detached and cool, but really, he’s a nerd at heart.

Feist is part of that mantra of nerdy girls who play it cool. Let It Die is still one of the best EPs in recent indie music history, and her video for Inside and Out is awkward dancing at its most endearing way possible. She’s bloody awesome.

Ah, that was fun, eh? So please, be a nerd, it’s ok. Really.