{"id":15,"date":"2008-04-01T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2008-04-01T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/2008\/04\/01\/irredeemable-no-more\/"},"modified":"2008-03-30T21:59:07","modified_gmt":"2008-03-31T01:59:07","slug":"irredeemable-no-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2008\/04\/01\/irredeemable-no-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Irredeemable no more…?"},"content":{"rendered":"

So I’ve been considering\u00a0changing my adjective, and no this isn’t an April Fool’s joke …\u00a0\"Ant-Man\"<\/p>\n

Those of you who listen to either THE UNIQUE GEEK<\/a> or VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX<\/a> podcasts know that on-air I go by “The Irredeemable Shag”.\u00a0 It started off as a joke honoring the then-current Marvel comic book series The Irredeemable Ant-Man<\/a>.\u00a0 After reading a few issues of this comic, I absolutely fell in love with the book.\u00a0 This new Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) was a complete jerk, liar, cheater, womanizer,\u00a0all-around bad person, but still managed to be interesting to read about.\u00a0 I guess you might compare him to J.R. Ewing from Dallas.\u00a0 He was the jerk you loved to hate.\u00a0 I mean, Eric O’Grady accidentally\u00a0causes the death of his best friend, Chris.\u00a0 Then a few weeks later, Eric tries to seduce Chris’ girlfriend literally on top of Chris’ grave!\u00a0 This was a bad, bad person.\u00a0 He truly lived up to the adjective “Irredeemable”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There were several things that attracted me to this comic.\u00a0 First was the Phil Hester\/Ande Parks\u00a0art.\u00a0 I really liked them on Green Arrow and Nightwing, so it was nice to see them here.\u00a0 They did some really interesting things with panel designs on this book.\u00a0 The second attractor for me was the writer Robert Kirkman.\u00a0 While I hadn’t read any of his other books, I’d been hearing his name more and more.\u00a0 Third was the fact that this was an Ant-Man book.\u00a0 I’ve always had an interest in comics about\u00a0Ant-Man and\/or the Atom (no “tiny” jokes please).\u00a0 Finally, I was just totally wowed that Marvel was willing to turn one of their major characters into such a jackass.\u00a0 Other than a few exceptions (Guy Gardner and Lobo), I can’t think of a monthly superhero comic that featured a character this far south of nice-guy-ville.\u00a0 And each month, Kirkman ratcheted up the irredeemability of Eric.\u00a0 I just loved it more and more every month.<\/p>\n

While I not as far gone as Eric O’Grady, I do enjoy playing the antagonist on the podcasts.\u00a0 So I felt the adjective fit.\u00a0 When The Irredeemable Ant-Man series was cancelled, I swore to carry on the adjective in honor of this series taken before it’s time.<\/p>\n

I started thinking the other day… should I continue with being “The Irredeemable Shag”?\u00a0 Should I just call myself “Shag” on the podcasts?\u00a0 Or should I pick a new adjective?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well… I didn’t want to just go with “Shag”.\u00a0 I like having an adjective with my name.\u00a0 Recording a podcast is basically like recording a radio show.\u00a0 And usually the radio jocks have a corny nickname to help describe their on-air character (i.e. Bird Man, Wolf Man, etc).\u00a0 Additionally, I’ve listened to a bunch of podcasts where afterwards you can’t remember peoples names at all.\u00a0 But people often remember the nicknames of radio jocks.\u00a0 So there must be something there to the whole on-air nickname thing.\u00a0 The on-air character I portray on these podcasts is like me in real life, but ratcheted up a bit.\u00a0 So having a nickname seems to make sense.\u00a0 On the podcasts, I mainly talk about comics.\u00a0 And nothing evokes\u00a0the thought of comics quicker\u00a0than a crazy adjective (Uncanny, Amazing, Fantastic, etc).\u00a0 I thought on this for a while and decided to take “The Bombastic Shag” out for a spin.\u00a0 “The Bombastic Shag”… has a nice ring to it.\u00a0 Let’s take a look…<\/p>\n

Here are the definitions of “Irredeemable” and “Bombastic” for comparison\u00a0(thanks to Dictionary.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n

ir\u00b7re\u00b7deem\u00b7a\u00b7ble<\/strong>
\n\u2013adjective
\n<\/em>1. not redeemable; incapable of being bought back or paid off.\u00a0
\n2. irremediable; irreparable; hopeless.\u00a0
\n3. beyond redemption; irreclaimable.\u00a0
\n4. (of paper money) not convertible into gold or silver.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

bom\u00b7bas\u00b7tic<\/strong>
\n\u2013adjective
\n<\/em>(of speech, writing, etc.) high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Synonyms<\/em> pompous, grandiloquent, turgid, florid, grandiose. Bombastic,\u00a0pretentious, verbose all describe a use or a user of language more elaborate than is justified by or appropriate to the content being expressed. Bombastic suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed: a bombastic sermon on the evils of cardplaying. Pretentious refers specifically to language that is purposely inflated in an effort to impress: a pretentious essay designed to demonstrate one’s sophistication. Verbose characterizes utterances or speakers that use more words than necessary to express an idea: a verbose speech, speaker.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For being “Irredeemable” on the podcasts, I like this definition: beyond redemption.\u00a0 It also means that no can turn me in for a $0.10 cash deposit in Michigan.<\/p>\n

For being “Bombastic” on the podcasts, I like this definition: suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed.\u00a0 Sounds very Stan Lee.<\/p>\n

Both work pretty well.\u00a0 “Irredeemable” lets me get\u00a0away with\u00a0saying really mean things\u00a0about other people and stuff.\u00a0 After all, the adjective tells you upfront that I’m beyond redemption.\u00a0 “Bombastic” lets me speak boldly and authoritatively, while in all honesty I’m not saying\u00a0anything important in the scheme of the universe (like comics or Doctor Who).<\/p>\n

Hmmmm… tough decision.\u00a0 What to do… what to do…<\/p>\n

Okay, I’ve decided.\u00a0 I know you are on the edge of your seat….\u00a0<\/p>\n

I will remain THE IRREDEEMABLE SHAG!\u00a0 The reason why?\u00a0 So I can say horrible, horrible things and fall back on the forewarning adjective.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

By the way, did I mention\u00a0that no one likes you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh yeah,\u00a0you smell funny too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you’re short.<\/p>\n

See… you can’t be mad.\u00a0 You were warned… I’m IRREDEEMABLE.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Tell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>