Thursday, April 12, 2007

Nerd Man of the Month: John Hodgman


Every day men come up to me on the street and ask, “When will I be named Nerd Man of the Month?” I say, “Not until you put some pants on, Mr. Attorney General,” or “Not until I forgive you for Battlefield Earth, Mr. Travolta – which means never, sucker!” And then I laugh and laugh, and then they walk away, sad and dejected, unsure if they will ever again truly feel like men.

This month’s Nerd Man recognition goes to John Hodgman, who has never once approached me about the award, because he’s a dude who just doesn’t care. You no doubt will recognize Mr. Hodgman from his Daily Show work and his star-turn as “PC” in the Apple ads which have subliminally convinced millions of unwitting Americans to buy iMacs and tape pictures of Justin Long to their screens. You also might recognize him as the author of The Areas of My Expertise, a book which looks like this:


Just as prisoners have found solace in the pages of Oprah Magazine and America’s leaders have found inspiration in the words of their lobbyists, I too found salvation in The Areas of My Expertise. Its tales of hobo uprisings (seriously) and gigantic lobsters and myriad other matters both profound and insignificant held me rapt through a 27-hour-long Nyquil haze this past week. It’s a very funny book and is highly recommended for both sober readers and those totally wrecked on cold-care products.

For his gloriously smooth humor and subversive writing, which includes a very fine blog, and for increasing the value of my Apple stock and for wearing very pleasant-looking glasses, The Park Bench is pleased to name John Hodgman its April Nerd Man of the Month.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love John Hodgeman. He's great as PC!

annie said...

Jumping juniper! I've got a new boyfriend.

Really, I think you should call this feature, "Boyfriend of the Month" club.

kerry (washu) noodles said...

I'm not too familiar with John Hodgeman, because I don't often watch the Daily Show (I know, I know) -- I mean I know who he is and what he does, but I don't KNOW him know him, like, "oh there is my friend John from the Daily Show." But those PC/Mac commercials have convinced me that I will never ever buy a Mac, because PC is WAY more adorable and likable than that stupid smarmy hipster.

Mickie Poe said...

OK to talk about here? Is it safe? I find it odd that there's a time in a woman's life where we find such men adorably irresistible. A time when we start feeling scared about approaching, even over an anonymous e-mail, Nerd Men of the Month. Why should I, a deliciously French-looking woman of means suddenly start feeling nervous about talking to someone like J.H.? It is to wonder when back in high school we shied away from such fellows and instead mooned over the soccer team, dullards all.

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! John Hodgeman's my hero. :D

Anonymous said...

First time visitor via Nerve.

Thank you, Park Bench! I am so glad to read about your choosing John Hodgman as your Nerd Man of the Month. Here I was thinking I was virtually alone in my crush on him.

I agree with Annie, I like "Boyfriend of the Month" Club too, but, John's married w/ kiddos. Waah!

Liz said...

Melina -- welcome to The Park Bench! It's a good place for us all to unite in our nerd crushes. :-) Hope you come back and visit again!