On Dorks and Dorkiness

OK, I will admit that I referenced the recent Time Out NY cover article on "New Dork City" to the editor reading my HtDaS proposal, although I did not read the piece itself. I did, however, read this, which is the kind of smart rebuttal I wish I'd written. I so need to get her to write a blurb for HtDaS when it comes out! (When it gets sold... when it gets written...)

Because, for me, it comes down to the fact that dorkiness, or nerdiness, or whatever term you want to use, isn't a trend. Calling it a state of mind instead seems rather overly grand, but I think it's possible to dork out about anything -- even if it's something "cool" like Italian film or Kate Spade [or shoes! - ktbuffy]-- because it's that idea of looking to that thing, that signifier, to let you belong because that thing belongs to you, horses, baseball, Broadway, Harry Potter, Risk, loving it as though it will love you back, without apologizing for it or winking at anyone who might be watching you. This is what makes Max Fischer a great character -- that the movie he's in is like, "Look what you can accomplish if you don't care who knows how much it means to you."