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.
