I was thinking the other day, whilst looking at the new films out this year (Prometheus, Avengers Assemble, to name but two) and ruefully reflecting that I'll probably not get to see any of them, that the last time the Grognards went to the cinema was almost a year ago (Kung Fu Panda 2, to be precise). The subsequent eleven months of cinematic bounty passed me by; in my ivory tower, I sit almost hermetic in my immunity to the currents of popular culture. During the heated debate about the merits or otherwise of the Conan remake/reboot/reimagining, it occurred to me that I had never seen the Schwarzenegger version either.
To be frank, I am not cool. I have never seen an episode of the Wire, The West Wing, The Sopranos, Lost, the new Battlestar Galactica. I have never played a computer game. Junior Grognard is the member of the family who knows his way round an X-Box.
I've tried to get into Fritz Leiber. I watch Dr Who but not Game of Thrones. I don't read graphic novels (I prefer the film adaptations of Watchmen and V for Vendetta) but I do enjoy HPL. Oh, and I've never been to a gaming convention.
In short, I am a faux geek; perhaps my only claim to geekery is that I play D&D and am trying to pass on the love of the game to the next generation.
So, having confessed my lack of cred, I now throw the floor open to all of you out there; anything that you don't actually like or haven't seen or read but were too embarassed to admit?
GURPS House Rule: You're A Natural
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I've been using this rule, or close to it, since my 3rd edition GURPS
games. I remember my friend Fred's brother Dave benefiting from this in his
very firs...
10 hours ago
I'm much more geeky than you, it seems. That said, I've never been -- nor wanted to go -- to a comics or gaming convention, and I really don't get the fuss over A Game of Thrones.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who calls himself a geek, I'm not much of one by the standards of my peers. I've never been much of a comics reader (and still aren't), I don't like George R.R. Martin or Joss Whedon (indeed, I loathe almost everything either one of them has ever done). I don't like the new Doctor Who and don't really watch much TV at all and haven't since the '90s.
ReplyDeleteJudge yourself by this scale.
ReplyDeleteIf I say 'prequels' and you instantly know what I mean = geek.
If you write a gaming blog = super geek.
If your work colleagues don't know about your gaming blog = closet geek.
If your work colleagues do = mega geek.
Or more simply, if you do any of these things and the things you outlined, more than the next person, you are more geeky than them.
^^ closet geek
DeleteJust like what you like and do not worry about "cred". Cred is for suckahs!
ReplyDeleteWell:
ReplyDeleteThe 11th Doctor storylines bummed me out enough to make me stop watching. I haven't bothered with the second seasons of Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, as I find them pale imitations of their sources.
The love-fests people have for Battlestar Galactica and Firefly/Serenity were completely beyond me.
I hate most superhero oriented stuff and actively avoid it. Misfits is the only exception.
I have 7 of the Savage Sword of Conan volumes from Dark Horse, 5 of which I've only looked at the pictures.
(...but the upcoming Groo vs. Conan still excites me?!?)
I was never able to read more than a couple chapters of an Anne McCaffrey, Rob Hobb, R. A. Salvatore or Terry Pratchett book. And haven't completed reading a fantasy novel in about 3 years...
Well, I'm not "embarrassed" to admit these, but here goes:
ReplyDelete1. Didn't watch the new Battlestar Galactica because the old one was shitty. Then I heard the finale had angels or something and now I don't ever want to.
2. Firefly and Doctor Who are both things I avoided for a long time because they looked dumb, but I really enjoyed them both immensely once I gave them a shot.
3. Tolkien is hella boring to me. The Hobbit is decent. I've never managed to make to make it through the Two Towers.
Everyone has a different idea of what makes a geek. I'm aware of a lot of things that I'm not a really a fan of, though. I don't know how to fix or program computers. I don't collect comic books anymore. I've been to sci-fi but not gaming conventions. I'm indifferent to most genre television. I don't know much at all about Dr. Who, and actively disliked the new Battlestar Galactica. I see geek movies, but usually on video. I don't like horror. I tried MMORPGs, but couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably too late, but since when is a geek defined by what he/she consumes (TV shows, conventions, books etc) rather than by what he/she produces (detailed maps, blogs, fixed computers, fan-fiction epics, intricately carved chicken bones, etc). Anyone can be a "fan" of Battlestar... not everyone can make a birthday cake that is also a map of Westeroes.
ReplyDeleteGeek cred is too hard to define. Is it time used in geeky pursuits? If so, MMORPG players would be the geekiest. Is it amount of money spent on geeky things? If so, card floppers would probably be the geekiest. If it's the amount of consumption of geeky things, then the younger generation would be the geekiest, because they have the time to keep up on all of it.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go to cons, but I can't afford it.
That being said, I could never get into Dr. Who, but Firefly and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica are fragging awesome!