My Geek Credentials

I wear bow ties. I watch Dr. Who. I think Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan is one of the greatest films of all time. Why, you ask? Because it involves themes of aging, loyalty, sacrifice and redemption of a father to a son. Plus space ships.

I am also a lawyer. I know Civil Procedure and Evidence exceptionally well. It enabled me to save thousands of dollars not dating while in law school, but made me popular at finals.

I know a lot of US History. I found an error at the Smithsonian’s Presidential Exhibit where it stated President Andrew Johnson served as a United States Senator after he was President. Not true. While the Redeemer Government in Tennessee elected him to the Senate, Johnson died before taking the oath of office, thus never served.

Some of you might wonder if I could be deemed a geek expert under Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702. Well, here are my credentials:

I have watched Doctor Who since elementary school, long before it was cool or remotely socially acceptable by “the in crowd.”

I attended my first TimeCon in 1985.

I read my fair share of comic books.

Leonard Nimoy sent me a get well card in 1990 when I was deathly ill and hospitalized.

To Boldly Go

Nimoy is a class act. In 2009, Nimoy was the keynote at legal technology conference. I was one of the first 20 in line to meet him after his speech. When my turn came, I shook his hand and stated, “You sent me a get well card when I was 15 and in the hospital. That really meant a lot and I just wanted to say, thank you.”

I started to move away (because the needs of the many dictated not holding up the 900 people behind me) and he put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. No, Nimoy did not do the Vulcan Nerve Pinch. He stated, “I was very glad I did that.” I started to move again, and again he stopped me two more times, asking what had happened and if I was ok now.

Class act. A wonderful human being.

I Remember It Differently 

Two weeks before meeting Leonard Nimoy, I was in Los Angeles to see the opening of Star Trek with my brother. Prior to the show, we saw a high school stage production of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. I was very impressed many of the actors from Dr. Horrible attended to support the high school students, including Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day.

Fillion was extremely gracious, signing autographs and talking with students. Kindness to others is a wonderful virtue.

Not being shy (I was actually terrified), I decided to talk to Felicia Day. A very cool woman. My brother violated every Man Law by saying it was time to go to dinner while she was asking me questions about my career.

No, I Am Your Father

My mother took me to see Empire Strikes Back the day it opened. I was 5. We waited for hours in the movie theater parking lot sitting on a blanket. As the story goes, I watched that Sci Fi epic with my feet barely going to the end of the seat, completely enthralled by that masterpiece. I reportedly did not blink the entire film.

There are few other movie shockers than Darth Vader saying, “No, I am your father.” I can still recall the gasps and total shock of the entire movie theater, as if thousands of voices screamed out in terror, then nothing.

Today, that is forever engrained in pop culture to the point where the shock has been heavily diluted to common knowledge. At the time, it was masterful storytelling that threw every moviegoer a sucker punch they did not see coming.

A good friend of mine honored this film in the geekiest way possible: He named his son Luke. That’s right, he can honestly say, “Luke, I am your father.”

Bow Ties Are Cool

I love the law. I also love being a Geek, because Sci Fi is one of the best parables for describing the human condition. It also usually involves space ships.

I hope you enjoy The Legal Geeks, as Jessica and I analyze the Law and all things Geek.

And who knows, the future isn’t written. We might have an eDiscovery/Geek panel at Comic-Con one day.