Geek Catalog Update 10/26/2014

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And here’s the latest update on the Geek Catalog.  Be sure to check out the ever-growing lists for Geek Focus or Community Focus.

Comics

  • History
    • Wonder Woman Museum – A museum dedicated to Wonder Woman – and sponsors various charities as well.
  • Literacy
    • Comics For Kids – Collects and donates comics to kids, with a focus on literacy and developing creativity.
  • Military Support

Computing

  • Female Geeks
    • Girl Develop IT – A nonprofit that provides accessible programs for women who want to learn coding.
  • General
    • Code For Progress – A community that trains IT professionals, provides residency, and helps people get involved in communities and causes.

Video Games

  • Charity
    • GamesAid – An UK-based “Umbrella Charity” that supports a number of smaller charities that help disadvantages and disabled young people via video-game related events and activities.
    • Indie Games For Good – Indie Games For Goods raises money for Child’s Play by focusing on Indie Game marathons.

Writing

  • Literacy
    • LitWorld – A global nonprofit that does on-the-ground solutions to address literacy.

 

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Why Archie Is Hip

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http://www.salon.com/2014/10/25/how_archie_went_from_dull_to_daring_the_worlds_tamest_comic_series_is_now_our_most_groundbreaking/

Best summary I heard “In Riverdale Anything Can Happen.”

I think there’s something to that. Archie in concept is tethered to certain ideas and characters who are archetypical. This in some ways is limiting, but as the characters are about very human situations, it is a human tether.  Archie’s situations are human ones – love, school, life, death, food (especially in the case of Jughead).

But because Archie has this tether, you can then go hog wild with it in a way. It always has a ground, so go nuts.  Team Archie up with the Punisher, have him fight Predator, explore alternate timelines, create the Legion of Archie.  Whatever works – Archie and company are still themselves.

In turn the series own limited focus – wholesome teams in their rather nice town – provides a limitation.  In some ways the best thing to do is go a bit nuts – and you can, as you have themes to work with and return to.

Finally the human-humorous grounding gives you fertile ground to experiment. The message of Riverdale is “Everyone belongs,” as we’ve seen with the groundbreaking Kevin Keller.  Everyone is a pretty wide berth to experiment with.

Glad to meet the new Archie, same as the old Archie, a difference we can all be glad is the same.

 

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Skin In The Game

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Trust requires sacrifice.  Someone has to be willing to give something up to be trusted. It’s a mixture of vulnerability, giving, economics, and communication.

Society is built around people making some sacrifices for the greater good – essentially as you cooperate you get more than you give.  Everyone builds trust by putting “Skin In The Game.”

But there’s always that desire to have no ties, no obligation, to be outside of the system.  It’s that dream – always unattainable, of being “separate.”  It never comes true, but people will build walls and castles and countries just to hope to have a bit of it.

When you want to be separate, you don’t want to put skin in the game.  Escaping that need is the very goal.  When you do that, how can you be trusted?

 
– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.