NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Daniel Cormier, Indy Comics and Kristen Stewart

Aug 20, 2019, 7:37 am

ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ

Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!

It's Tuesday, today is the day we execute all the plans we made yesterday!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

So I figured someone would e-mail me some info about this yesterday but no one did....

This week I found a very odd thing that I want to point everyone's attention towards, it's this Saturday's James Harden & Friend's Charity Concert w/ Secret Special Guests. It's at Revention Music Center and it's at 6pm on Saturday and tickets are on sale. That's literally ALL of the info. I don't know yet who it benefits or who is performing, but I do love a good mystery. Check it out!

INDY COMICS ROCK

So as I've said before, now that I'm on this awesome Indy comic journey and working my way into this thing, I've met some awesome people and seen some awesome projects. One of these is Ken Bouthillier and his project Zindagi, it's a cool sci-fi story about ancient Hindu gods and how they try and impact and observe Earth and its people. Issue #5 is now for sale on Drive-Thru Comics and the first four issues are free, which is a great marketing tool honestly. The ability to read the previous issues for free and then buy the fifth issue after you're hooked is super smart and I think this story will stick with a lot of people, the ramifications and the weight of conflict at the expense of power is always an important story and one that can be told in tons of ways. Check this thing out.

FATHER TIME REMAINS UNDEFEATED

Daniel Cormier is 40 and just lost his title. Stipe Miocic is only slightly younger, 37, but he is longer and looks more put together for a Heavyweight MMA fight. Daniel's body has always seemed to carry a little bit more weight and he was a shorter fighter with less reach than many of his opponents and I kind of always thought these things would catch up with him at some point. To his credit they never seemed to except in those Jon Jones fights that kept getting voided due to Jones failing drug tests, and Cormier had a heck of a run. However, Father Time is undefeated and there isn't a long runway left on his career. Even if he gets a rematch, he'll want to camp and study after he heals and recoups from this fight so maybe three months at the fastest, then from there if he won, then what? How much longer can he defend it reasonably? Two or three more fights and he's looking down the wrong side of 42 and a fast slide physically. At some point, your body just doesn't give you what you're looking for when you need it. It happens in all sports and it happens to all athletes and while going out on a loss will leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth, if his money is good, then why keep fighting?

A BIG STAR RETURNS

Seemingly every woman in their mid-twenties can recognize Kristen Stewart because of her reign over the box office during her Twilight run. She was everywhere for a little bit and made a ton of money and was in several smaller movies after the Twilight series and it didn't go as well financially for her but she then took a step back as fame seemed to overwhelm her. Now she's in the new Charlie's Angels, which the trailer looked great for, and now they just released the trailer for a new movie, Underwater which she also seems to star in. This one looks great, a classic monster-horror movie at the bottom of the ocean, think Abyss meets Jaws and it seems like that's what we got. This looks like a pretty intense movie and I'm interested to see the trajectory of it.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

The Rock seems like an awesome guy, also so does Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds cameos in the new Hobbs and Shaw movie and I bet it's cool to just be a famous person and all know each other and hang out and drink and have a good time. They all seem like really good guys, they either manage their PR well and it's an act OR they are really cool. If you know which, don't spoil it for me.

Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR heads to Music City for the Ally 400

Keep an eye on Alex Bowman this weekend. Image via: Wiki Commons.

For the first time since July 1984, NASCAR returns to one of its most popular cities in Nashville, Tennessee for the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Super Speedway. This track is a 1 1/3rd mile concrete oval that was dormant for nearly ten years and was only used as a testing facility. So it came as a bit of a surprise last season when it was announced that this track would be getting a date. For a lot of drivers, this will be a brand new racetrack, but we will see practice and qualifying, so that will be a huge help for the newcomers that haven't raced here before. Back when the Xfinity and Trucks ran here, this track featured a lot of first time winners. Back in 2008, future NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski shocked the world by jumping in Dale Jr's car and capturing his first win here. There will be a lot of veterans like Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick who have plenty of experience at this track, but it will be tough to compare. It should be fun with everyone coming into this race with minimal knowledge.

Last week, Kyle Larson continued his hot streak by winning the All-Star Race. Overall, while Larson and his Hendrick teammates probably enjoyed the race, the feedback from crews and fans was less than positive. As I was walking through the garage area and talking to a few crew members, a lot of them were very critical of the 450 horsepower motor and the tall spoiler to try and keep the cars bunched up. When I asked one of the crew-members what he thought about the package he told me, "Oh it's awful. The track is terrible, the package makes it impossible to pass and it's super hot out here." On green flag runs, it was the same as it ever was as the lead car would pretty much take off and the only time there was really any "pack racing" it came after there were restarts. The whole race was well-intentioned and the fans showed up as it was nearly a capacity crowd, but the whole thing just didn't make any sense. From the start time being in the nearly 100 degree heat to the wacky full-field invert at the end of each stage. Let's hope that next season's All-Star Race is a lot more concise.

In Silly Season news this week, Truck Series regulars GMS racing announced that they would be fielding a full-time cup series team. The team is currently owned by Allegiant Airlines CEO Maurice Gallagher and his son, Spencer, who used to drive for them in the Xfinity Series. This move seemed to come from out of nowhere as there was never any indication that this was a move they were exploring anytime soon after they turned down the opportunity to purchase Furniture Row Racing in 2019. This is certainly a great sight for the sport as there will be more new teams on the track and with their close relationship with Chevy, it wouldn't be a surprise if they step in and help this team become competitive. The favorite to drive their car has to be 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed. He has easily been their best driver in trucks, and it would make the most sense for him to get the promotion.

This week at Nashville, the driver that I have winning is Alex Bowman. Now while this is a brand new racetrack and he has a grand total of zero starts here, this track suits his driving style perfectly. With the inclusion of this track, there are now four tracks with a concrete surface. Nashville, Bristol, Dover and Martinsville. At the three of the tracks they have run at, he has shown a lot of speed, including a victory at Dover this season and a top ten finish at Bristol. This is also a track where crew-chief Greg Ives said Bowman has gravitated towards during testing. In an interview with Sirius XM Ives was quoted as saying "we used to have a lot of fun testing there," so this is clearly a track that they both enjoy going to. Another big factor going into Sunday will be just how fast these Hendrick Motorsports cars are, they have finished 1-2 over the last four points races. He has watched his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have immense success, and now this week I think he is due for a third win of the season. Look for the bright purple #48 Chevy to go to victory lane this week at Nashville.

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