Gary Brecher

Gary Brecher is the pseudonym of John Dolan, author of The War Nerd, a twice-monthly column discussing current wars and other military conflicts, published originally in the eXile, then NSFWCorp, and currently in PandoDaily. A collection of his columns was published by Soft Skull Press in June 2008 (ISBN 0979663687).

Brecher analyzes military strategy, tactics, and contexts of ongoing and past conflicts. Brecher has participated in radio interviews including a April 5, 2008, interview by Chuck Mertz on the Evanston/Chicago radio station WNUR and a May 25, 2008 interview by Steve Paulson on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Identity

Other than the Steve Paulson interview, the only non-eXile source of information about Brecher is an email interview with him conducted by Steve Sailer and published by United Press International. The image at the top of each War Nerd column supposedly representing Brecher is actually that of Roger Edvardsen of the Norwegian rhythm & blues band Ehem.

Brecher claims to have been born in 1965 and to have attended community college after high school, dropping out before graduating. He claims to be employed as a data entry clerk in Fresno, California and deeply unsatisfied with his job. Around that time he met Mark Ames, editor of the Moscow-based, English language newspaper the eXile, who offered Brecher a column. He wrote in his first eXile column that life in Fresno is a "death sentence" and that he spends 15 hours a day in front of a computer ("6 or 7 hours entering civilian numbers for the paycheck and the rest surfing the war news"). The War Nerd has since established a large following of its own, and Brecher's work is a regular subject in the eXile's letters to editor.

Nerd

Nerd (adjective: nerdy) is a descriptive term, often used pejoratively, indicating that a person is overly intellectual, obsessive, or lacking social skills. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many nerds are described as being shy, quirky, and unattractive, and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. Though originally derogatory, "Nerd" is a stereotypical term, but as with other pejoratives, it has been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity.

Etymology

The first documented appearance of the word "nerd" is as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950), in which the narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo. The slang meaning of the term dates to the next year, 1951, when Newsweek magazine reported on its popular use as a synonym for "drip" or "square" in Detroit, Michigan. By the early 1960s, usage of the term had spread throughout the United States, and even as far as Scotland. At some point, the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude.

Nerd (disambiguation)

Nerd is a term for a person who is intellectually knowledgeable or bright, but socially inept.

Nerd or nerds may also refer to:

In entertainment:

Other uses:

Navy eReader Device

Navy eReader Device, or NeRD, is an e-reader developed by the United States Navy's General Library Program for use aboard U.S. Navy submarines. Released in May 2014, it gives sailors accessibility to the Navy's library and various books while on a submarine, which has limited storage space for paper books and sailors are normally on a six-month deployment. Each submarine is assigned five NeRDs. The Navy has plans to release the device to the surface fleet, starting with the smaller ships.

The NeRD device:

Titles included

It is loaded with nearly 300 books in a wide variety of genres, some of the books are: