American Nerd Magazine is dedicated to idea that the coolest, happiest people in the world are the ones who are so deeply lost in their own interests that they look like total freaks to people on the outside (we firmly believe that the geekwad who could sit down with a map of Victorian London and show you where each of Sherlock Holmes’ cases went down is happier and more fulfilled than the asshole holding forth at the bar about how much he spent on his cigar). We’re here to explore the obsessions of big nerds coast to coast, and, in the process, maybe expose you to a few of our own.

If we have another axe to grind, it involves the all-pervading uber-cynicism that dominates American intellectual culture in 2006. We’re not too wild about that. As such, our official position is that if we say something is cool, it’s because we really, actually think it’s cool and not because it’s sort of ironic-cool, like wearing a trucker hat or using your influence as a Hollywood insider to make a big-budget movie about dodgeball.

At least one new feature will appear every week, as long as several shorter-length pieces. If you’re interested in trying to throw something onto the nerd pile, check out our Submissions page.