Terry Pratchett
Sir Terry Pratchett, 1948 – 2015

May 25th is an important day to those of us who proudly claim the titles of Geek and Nerd. All sorts of things important to the geeking world happened today. Here are just some of them:

  • May 25, 1977 Star Wars IV: A New Hope was first released in American theaters.
  • May 25, 2001 was the first Towel Day, a date designated exactly two weeks after the passing of Douglas Adams. Fans of his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy have commemorated this date ever since.
  • May 25, 1939, Sir Ian McKellen, CH, CBE, was born. The British actor played Magneto in the X-Men movies and Gandalf in the Lords of the Rings films.
  • May 25, 1966 Mike Myers was born in Ontario. He voiced Shrek in all the Shrek movies and TV specials. He played both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise. He starred as the Cat in the live-action The Cat in the Hat film.
Star Wars poster
  • May 25, 1944 Frank Oz was born Frank Oznowicz in England. He immigrated to the USA when he was 5. The voice of Yoda, he is. Oz also voiced Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Cookie Monster, and Bert. He directed The Dark Crystal and Little Shop of Horrors.
  • May 25, 1966, author/artist Vera Nazarian, author of the award-winning The Atlantis Grail series was born in Moscow.
  • May 25, 1976, Irish actor/musician Cillian Murphy was born. He starred in the horror movie 28 Days Later and played the Scarecrow in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
  • May 25, 1932 Goofy made his first appearance in Mickey’s Revue. He would not be officially named Goofy until 1939.

In Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, today is the Glorious 25th of May, a day to honor survivors and remember the fallen of a revolution in his novel Night Watch. In honor of the occasion, many Pratchett fans wear sprigs of lilac on this date. As Wear the Lilac Day, it is a day to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s.

How are you celebrating International Geek Pride Day? Are you watching Goofy cartoons on TV? Are you rereading Professor Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or reading Mansfield Park and Mummies? Are you writing a haiku about the beautiful scent of lilac blossoms? Are you baking a cake for Sir Ian? Are you writing fanfic? Are you going for a stroll on this lovely Spring day and playing Pokemon Go as you walk?

However you celebrate, have a great day! Make sure to get to bed on time tonight; don’t stay up late drinking Tullamore Dew. Tomorrow is the lunar eclipse. You’ll want to watch that.

-30-

Susan Macdonald
Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as short stories in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, “Supernatural Colorado”, “Barbarian Crowns”, “Cat Tails””Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
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