Nerdle Pop founder April E. Allford
When I originally created this site, Nerdle Pop, I had to laugh. The welcome statement I crafted was a simple question:
“Do you like to have fun?”
Then I took one look at the homepage on my phone and there was the query, staring up at me like a scantily dressed model on the cover of a nudie magazine. I remembered the internet might not be the best place to ask such a question. Answers could immediately go south (pun intended). Fun can have an entirely different meaning for a lot of different people. So I scratched that idea. I’m also going to try and not use the term nudie magazine ever again.
Like seriously, never ever.
Of course my original intent of the question was to spark some interest and camaraderie in people who enjoy fun. Not the blue kind of x-rated fun on the web that would make a burlesque performer blush. I’m talking more like community-driven arts and entertainment. Farm-to-table cuisine and artisanal cocktails. Mel Brooks movies and coffee table books about Andy Warhol and Lucille Ball.
And cheese, of all varieties.
For me, fun is especially derived from the arts, be it through comedy, music, dance, cinema, literature, fashion, food, wine, microbrews, travel, and much, much more. Fun is just about everywhere I look. I figured if I’m finding it when I’m out and about or cruising social media, I might as well share it with my fellow nerdy fun-lovers.
Around here, being a nerd is a good thing.
I decided to skip the “Do you like to have fun?” question and start with a simple, “Welcome to Nerdle Pop!” What exactly is it? Nerdle Pop is a state of mind, and it all started with an old furry friend. Nerdle was my cat growing up, a goofy orange-and-white guy always looking for fun and amusement. Cat nip was a favorite. Once, possibly after a serious cat-nip fix, he stole a Burger King Whopper with Cheese off my dad’s plate when he wasn’t looking. Nerdle liked to sit upright next to me at our breakfast bar. He could easily make me laugh.
I’m convinced Nerdle was half-human.
My family and I named him in the ’80s, when nerds were a kind of a thing. Back when parachute pants were cool and Michael Jackson was teaching the world how to moon walk. We thought Nerdle best represented this cat’s happy-go-lucky personality. Flash forward 30 years, and I think Nerdle is a perfect name for my new adventure in publishing. After a long stint in print journalism for a corporate news outlet, I’m going rogue.
Rogue might be a little on the hyped-up side.
I am feeling fairly adventurous these days, though. I’m moving on from my newspaper column of 13 years, and starting fresh and new. I’m self-publishing my own content on whatever I feel like discussing. Whatever I consider fun.
Boy do I have a lot to share.
That could range from how much I love watching Gwen Stefani’s different fashion looks on The Voice to a recipe for a hip, old-timey cocktail I tried at a vodka bar I recently visited. Maybe it will be a feature on a comic who’s making me laugh as much as Nerdle did. Could be a Q&A with someone making a difference in the world.
Helping others can be a whole lot of fun, too.
I’m not limiting myself or my content to just one regional location, demographic or genre of art. The subject of my writing may span miles and decades, depending on who inspires me and how far back I feel like reminiscing. I love to travel and expand my horizons beyond the mundane. I also love to entertain and be entertained.
So I’m dubbing myself an equal-opportunity observer of all things fun.
I’m here to share with you what I see, hear and feel in my own Nerdle Life. Of course I’m nervous and scared starting something brand-new, and I feel like I have no idea if this will really fly. I’m going into this life change a bit naive. I’m also extremely eager and motivated. I’m a big proponent of the idea that nothing truly changes in our lives unless we make that happen ourselves. So here we go. Let’s have fun with this. Let’s live the Nerdle Pop life and learn a little bit more about the world outside our bubbles, and more about ourselves, along the way.
It will be fun, I promise.
April E. Allford is ready for the world, just like that band in the Eighties that sang, “Oh Sheila.” She can be reached by commenting here.
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