Tag: chris hardwick

Nerdist does all the things

Yesterday’s post was all about how much Wil Wheaton has been up to lately. Today we focus on another one of my favorite people: Chris Hardwisk *aka* the Nerdist.

I was listening to the Acker & Blacker podcast on my commute to work, and they were talking about scheduling conflicts and how hard it is to get Chris on Thrilling Adventure Hour since he’s always so busy. One of the Bens literally said, “I don’t know how you do all the things”… which got me thinking about just how much Chris Hardwick has become involved in recently.

It all started with some stand-up comedy, a podcast, and a website. (No, Singled Out did not happen, I don’t know what you’re talking about). Slowly Nerdist podcast grew into what is now Nerdist Industries, a company that has many different branches that shoot from it’s tree trunk of awesome. Next we add the “Talking” after-shows for The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. He also recently started his comedy game show @Midnight, which apparently has been doing very well since he’s mentioned on the podcast people have started yelling “POINTS” at him on the street.

With that many different things (which don’t include any guest appearances or tv/movie involvements he might have), it’s hard to imagine how this guy has time for a life, but he keeps talking about a girlfriend so one assumes they do stuff together other than watch each other work. It’s really impressive and makes me wish I could get my shit together as well as he has. It also kinda gives me a warm happy feeling to see this guy succeed, since I’ve always said in an alternate universe Chris and I would be the best of friends. (Editor’s note: I actually was on Chris’s street team for a bit before he got interns to do everything for him).

I know the past couple days have been all about the nerd love. I had ideas that just came to me and I didn’t want to hold them back. Honestly, I could write a book about all the reasons I love my Nerdist, but I’ll leave it here for now. In a couple days I should be doing a post on what I’m calling “season finale week” and then we’ll be back to music reviews and news, most likely. I hope you’ve liked the change of pace because I’m a nerd at heart, and while most of my nerdy posts go on Nerds in Babeland, sometimes I just wanna get real with my audience. Happy Tuesday, folks. Try not to break the tv when Agents of SHIELD finishes tonight!

Nerd Birthday (x3)

I’ve had to put the blog on hiatus for a bit due to other obligations, but there are three birthdays that pulled me out of hiding for the day.

1) First, a very happy birthday to one Molly Lewis. I was first introduced to this young musician thanks to a few dozen w00tstock videos I trolled on the YouTubes. Anyone who follows her on the interwebs knows the trouble she has had with venues and such due to her being underage. Well, that won’t be an issue after tonight (although her response to the most notable incident – SDCC w00tstock – was quite enjoyable. Ninja gig ftw!). Happy 21st Birthday, Molly!

2) Next, a very happy birthday to our Nerdist, Chris Hardwick. It is thanks to this guy that I waste countless hours on one of my favorite websites. He also is one of my favorite people to follow on the Twitter. Oh, and let’s not forget the podcast and nerd social networking site he also runs, called Node. (Wow, I didn’t realize how much of my life is connected to this one person. Kinda cool.) In addition to being a presence on the interwebs, Chris does some stand-up comedy as well. He’s really funny and if you get a chance to see for yourself you really should (and I’m not just saying that because of the street team hat I occasionally wear for him). If you don’t believe me, then see for yourself.

3) Last, but certainly not least, I would like to give a happy birthday shout-out to Doctor Who! That’s right, the British sci-fi series turns 47 today. The first episode, An Unearthly Child, aired on this date in 1963. Since it’s start on this date it has seen 11 different people play the lead role of The Doctor. The new Christmas Special is set to air on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC America. If you’ve never watched this show then you are seriously missing out. It was one of the few things that can always make me smile when I’m down, and makes me think about the world in a whole new way. I love everything about it, and would love nothing more than to spread this love with the rest of the world. (Wow, that’s a lot of love for one show).

That concludes another birthday edition of News on Shuffle. Hope all those celebrating have a wonderful time. Congrats to you all!

Thinking Back: The Anniversary Post

The blog’s 1st birthday came and went with not much more than a mention on Twitter about it. I meant to do this whole post on the music world and things I love about it, but I think that’s something that will actually sound better when I’m fresh from rambling about it with someone else (although if I warm up now it might just happen later in this post). When this blog was first created, it was honestly something done out of boredom and a passing interest in writing. I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to stick with it, but I figured it would probably be a summer thing. It’s now a year later and the blog is still alive and kickin’ – which I am absolutely thrilled about. A lot of my posts don’t get much notice, but the ones that do are about the things I care most about. It makes me really happy to see people respond to the same things that I get excited over. I try to keep track of the traffic to the site, and was very proud to see the number of views for the Alex Band CD review and some of the entries on Jukebox the Ghost. The CD review was both fun and scary to write at the same time. I was a little intimidated by that one, so it was great to get all the positive feedback after it was posted. The best part though was hearing Alex say he liked it. It’s great hearing from artists and getting to talk to them (both via the Internets and in person). It’s one of the things I wanted to talk about in the “reasons why I love the music world” post that looks like it’s starting to blend into this one. I love getting to meet artists and seeing how they interact with their fan base. My favorite examples right now are, again, Alex Band and Jukebox the Ghost. I’ve been to a lot of Jukebox shows and have been able to talk at least briefly with them every time. It’s gotten to the point where when we see each other we’re usually catching up on life since the last time we saw each other.

Another really cool example of interacting with artists is actually a comedian: Chris Hardwick. I already did a whole post on him so I won’t repeat too much, but Chris met up with everyone after his set finished, and I had a really good conversation with him. It was definitely one of those “my life is awesome” moments.

This has probably been the most personal blog post I have ever done, but I always get sentimental during anniversaries. It’s time to get back to work now, but I’ll leave you with a fun little thing as a birthday present to the blog and it’s readers. It’s something that was posted on w00tstock.net – it’s a spoof on a previous meme that was absolutely hysterical (once you realized it was a joke). And since I feel like adding a video to the end of this thing too, here’s one of the most featured artists on the blog doing a very fun cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever”

I’m working on a little project of my own that involves this song, but it’s just in the planning stages right now. Hopefully I’ll have something to show you guys soon. For now, enjoy and have a great day.

Chris Hardwick @ Caroline’s – A Review (Sorta)

Warning: This blog might start off semi-professional, but it will quickly turn into “Reasons I Think Chris Hardwick is Awesome”. If you don’t want to read my rambling about, well, anything, then you might want to skip this one. On the other hand, it might be fun to watch me ramble. Heck, I’m rambling right now. But since I’m talking about possibly one of the funniest guys I’ve ever had the privilege to meet, I’m gonna say I’m allowed to be a little silly. And with that I’m just gonna dive into this thing here.

Sorry about the super long intro, folks. I’m gonna rein this one in and finally call this meeting to order. First order of business – the 8pm show at Caroline’s last night. The MC for the evening was Nate Bargatze, and the “Oh God, why do I have to be the one to keep these guys from Chris Hardwick” slot went to Ryan Hamilton. To his credit, he was quite good. I don’t think there was ever more than two minutes throughout the night when I wasn’t laughing. Everyone was funny, and the audience definitely got their money’s worth.

Next I wanna be serious about something for a minute. I’m not usually one to go see live comedy, but I do enjoy watching clips of things online. It is through these means that I have seen a sample of Chris’s stand-up before last night. Even knowing some of the jokes that were coming, I still laughed. This wasn’t a little chuckle, “oh yeah, I remember that one” laugh either. I laughed a lot. I actually don’t remember the last time I laughed that much. So yeah, thanks for that, Chris. You are awesome.

*ding ding ding*

We’ve come to the part where I ramble about reasons Chris Hardwick is Awesome.

1) He’s really funny. See above for some examples why, as well as the sample clip I’ve been passing around to people.

2) He’s a really nice guy. After his set he invited everyone to hang in the lounge and chat with him for a bit. People lined up to get their few minutes, and he was friendly with each and every one of them. I stood back after my few minutes to talk further on what will be my next point, so I witnessed most of the meet-and-greet action. It made me smile.

3) If you follow Chris on Twitter (@nerdist) you might have noticed an invite he did for his street team that wasn’t going to be called a street team. Nope, that didn’t sound cool enough, so instead we are called the Node Warriors. Node is on Twitter as well. The invite lets you create a profile on a site made just for us Warriors. When I talk about this with my friends I usually describe it as a social networking site for nerds. Another way I’ve been looking at it is like a playground that is safe for us nerds to play in. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and if you are looking for fellow nerds to connect with then you should snatch one of those invites the next chance you get. Not only is it a lot of fun, it is pure genius and seriously has made my life just a little better. A big highlight from last night was getting to tell Chris how great I thought this thing was.

That about concludes my ramblings for the day. To recap – Chris Hardwick is awesome and hysterical and you should go see him if at all possible. He’s got two more shows tonight (one at 8, one at 10:30) and a final show on Sunday. Details on Caroline’s website. Also, Node Warriors rule the internet! That is all. Class dismissed, meeting adjourned.