The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Photo by Stephen Stephens

See the CONvergence photo gallery here.

For some reason, it's very hard to represent nerds onscreen. Movies keep trying it, but, for whatever reason, they seem to end up with endless variations of the characters from Revenge of the Nerds, with their thick glasses, pocket protectors, questionable hygiene, and adenoidal voices.

If you happened to read my last article, you've probably already pigeonholed me as a sci-fi geek. While that much is true, I'm also an art, music, and Photoshop geek, among other things. I use the term loosely because in my mind a "geek" is someone who obsesses on any given topic with unabashed over-interest to the point of social questionability. I personally find this endearing. At any rate, last weekend, my understanding of the word "geek" took on a whole new depth.

In the last couple of years, the Twin Cities has gained a reputation as a hipster Mecca; the chic architecture (new Guthrie, Walker, and Central Library) has garnished international praise, the rocking music scene is hotter than ever with both indie and mainstream bands (Atmosphere on Conan! The Hold Steady opens for The Rolling Stones!), and a powerhouse literary scene has now become a screenwriting oil well thanks to Diablo Cody and the Cohen Bros and their shiny new Oscars. For crying out loud, Esquire Magazine even named Nye's Bar the Best Bar in America. The