This blog is a story of my early life. My name is Zak. My middle name is Lee. Like most kids, my parents called me Zak Lee which sounded so close to XZAKLEE. I didn’t mind as a kid being called XZAKLEE because I was so interested in superheroes. The name XZAKLEE was special because I played video games that had all kinds of names that had the letter X somewhere in it. Pop culture was no different. So my mom took it upon herself to call me XZAKLEE hoping one day my name would become my alter ego as a hero of myself.
My early hero inspirations with my middle name were Stan Lee and Bruce Lee. Who doesn’t love a real life hero like Bruce Lee fighting in Kung Fu and looking super cool. Then, there is Stan Lee, who unfortunately died recently on November 12th, 2018 of last year, and who developed so many awesome characters in the Marvel Universe as well as other graphic novels during his lifetime. I may have missed my chance to introduce XZAKLEE to Stan Lee in person but hope I can honor his tremendous success by creating my own character in the world of communication.
A little background on my personal characteristics that I have dealt with as a kid up to being a young adult, is having difficulty in speaking and getting my ideas across to other people. Of course, my mother could understand me no matter what I said. So it was easy for me to communicate with her. Unfortunately for my friends, teachers, and other people that I came in contact with, was another confusing and crazy story of miscommunication.
Many times my mom would interpret what I had to say to others and then explain to me how to say what I needed to say so that other people could understand what I had to say and vice versa. While this is a mouth full to understand, I hope you catch my meaning. In learning to overcome my extreme shyness, I became a very visual person, read a lot of visual books and comics, watched a lot of TV programming, films, and played a lot of video games like so many other kids my age and older. Even though many people did not realize my setbacks because I was extremely quiet, I was always able to keep up with the other kids because I was really good with video games thanks to my hand-eye coordination.
We decided to make it a game when we heard on television, radio, and other forms of media, the word “exactly”, used frequently to get an idea across from one person to another. Everyday we would listen for who would say the word “exactly”. My mom would jump up and exclaim that they just said your name XZAKLEE. So we decided, we would make “exactly” a fun play on the word to communicate one’s ideas and also help me communicate with other people (close to my age) by referencing my name XZAKLEE.
As time marched on, we really wanted to develop XZAKLEE as a blog, but then my mom got cancer, setting us back with the introduction of XZAKLEE. She promised me if she made it through, no matter how long it took, together we would make it happen!
Even though years have gone by, we still wanted to share the XZAKLEE concept with those who may have difficulty expressing their ideas. I have completed my college education and earned a degree in Graphic Design. My moniker today is “A meeting of the minds is XZAKLEE what I want with you”.
I’ve looked into the word “exactly” and now realize the definition and its synonyms are so vast; it’s no wonder that so many people like to use the word “exactly”. I’ve been recording people who use the word “exactly” in a variety of ways to get their point across or to have a meeting of the minds. It’s just that I would like to find people whether it’s in print, television, or radio using the word “exactly”.
It is a word that is in the top 4,000 most used words. I’m looking for creative people who can envision XZAKLEE as a concept for communication, then I am looking for you to help me design new logos for XZAKLEE. If you are a person who likes to go to Comic Cons and other fun places where people are challenged in communication and want to improve those skills along with me, then e-mail me with your ideas at www.xzaklee.com.
Here are a few fun examples from shows and films where characters have used the word “exactly”.
A classic show on Nickelodeon called Kenan & Kel (1996) that used the word exactly is in A scene from the episode about April Fool’s Day where Kenan and Kel have constantly pranked each other but then come to a truce. Kenan states to Kel that they are a team like, Siegfried and Roy and Abbott and Costello. After Kel states, Magic and Kareem or Penn and Teller? Kenan tells him “Exactly”.
Another moment where “Exactly” was used in a classic show would have to be in a scene from an episode of the Simpsons which premiered in early 2010 where Homer Simpson along with worker pals, Lenny and Carl, argue with their boss, Mr. Burns, about why the power plant won’t be serving donuts anymore. After Mr. Burns makes it clear that their will be no donuts, Lenny says “No”, Homer says “Doh”, and Carl says “Nuts”. Mr. Burns finishes his statement by saying “Exactly”.
I have many files on short scenarios using the word “exactly”. So it was clear to me that a play on the word “exactly” using my name XZAKLEE just emphasized that people were communicating like-minded ideas. “A meeting of the minds is XZAKLEE what I want with you” has become my slogan for my communication alter ego hero in getting my point across and likewise for others to do the same.
This is an invitation to all those who read this blog who can find the word “exactly” used in television, radio and movies, to send me a link to where I can find the word “exactly” and how it is used. If you can send me at least 100 links, I will send you a free XZAKLEE t-shirt. If you want additional t-shirts, you can order them online here at the site. I have a limited supply, so return your responses to my link with the use of the word “exactly” and “We will have a meeting of the minds”.
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