Aaron Duran
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Aaron Duran (born 1976 in
Susanville, California Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) (, ''bush creek country'')Simmons, W. S., Morales, R., Williams, V., & Camacho, S. (1997). Honey Lake Maidu Ethnogeography of Lassen County, California . Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropolog ...
) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
and media producer in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, of Mexican and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
descent. Duran currently hosts the weekly
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
''Geek in the City Radio'' (FKA ''Film Fever Radio''), with Denise Espinosa and Kabel Hashitani; serves as webmaster of GeekInTheCity.com, is an occasional guest on the daily podcast ''Funemployment Radio.com'', and was a regular guest on the ''Cort and Fatboy Shows'' and ''The Rick Emerson Show''. He also served as a producer for the paranormal talk show ''Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis''.


Geek in the City

Duran was a frequent caller to the ''Rick Emerson Show'', while working for the city. Eventually, he acquired the nickname 'Geek in the City', which he latched onto and began to identify himself as. He began a geek orientated website soon after with the same moniker. In 2006, he connected with Scott Daly of ''Film Fever Radio'', a local podcast and former Cable Access program, as a producer and co-host. Over the ensuing 3 years, the show expanded and began to try to move out of just review of films, but found the name as a hindrance. At which point, the show was rebranded ''Geek in the City: Radio''. Over time more members of the Portland Geek Community began to contribute to the show, at one point reaching 8 regular hosts. Around 2015, several hosts began to step away, and Daly retired from the show. Duran enlisted the help of Kabel Hashitani to continue the show, whose acerbic wit was a welcome addition to the show. Portland newcomer Denise Espinosa also joined the show, and began a deep dive into the geek culture that she was interested in, but was only tangentially aware.


Boo Yah Awards

From 2008 to 2012, Duran and Daly organized an awards show/listener party for ''Geek in the City: Radio'' fans. It would include categories similar to the Academy Awards, but with some more geeky interpretations. The events were held at local Portland businesses, and were often well attended for a podcast event, with listeners from all across North America (and a few from Europe), coming to partake in the camaraderie. Due to logistical challenges, the show was cancelled in 2013, and has not yet returned.


Writing


La Brujeria

Upset with the current state of comics, Aaron began working on his own comic in 2007. He was able to locate an artist in 2009 and a letterer in 2010 and began self publication in January 2011. At present, the comic is available in many comic stores in Portland and online at ''Geek in the City.com''. ''La Brujerias plot involves a
Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...
woman named Althalia, gifted with powers from her ancestors, joining a
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
investigation company based in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
. The comic draws on Duran's heritage, adoration for comics such as Hell Boy and love of Portland.


The Forgotten Tyrs

In 2015, Duran published his first novel ''Welcome to the Grizzlydale'' part of a planned series of novels called "The Forgotten Tyrs". Many of the elements of the novels are taken from his childhood in Susanville, and the stories and legends that he grew up with. The second novel ''Rise of the First City'' was published in 2017. There is at least one more novel planned.


Rename42nd.org

Duran organized a failed effort in 2008 to rename Portland's ''42nd Avenue'' to ''Douglas Adams Boulevard'' in honor of science fiction author
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
.


References


External links

*
Geek in the CityRename42ndRenaming 42nd Avenue for Douglas Adams - The Portland MercuryTransfixed! Grown men line up for boyhood's - The Oregonian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Aaron Living people 1976 births American male writers