On the eve of New Comic Day I think that another geek-related post seems appropriate. I found this on Jenn See’s site here which references this post. Evidently Robert created this game in which you list 10 things that make you a geek. I like his explanation of geekiness: “So here and now I am going to come out of the geek closet and list a few things about which I am pretty passionate, about which I know at least slightly more than the average person and about which I am constantly in fear of talking too much”. Read Jenn See’s as its really fun and then add your own in the comments section.
Here are my 10 “examples of my glorious geekiness”, as Jenn put it, in no particular order”
1. Comics! I love em! Won’t go into this as a I elaborate here.
2. Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD’s. I’ve watched them quite a few times, watched the appendices even more than I’ve watched the movies, and frequently drop hints to others that they should watch these.
3. British comedies! Vicar of Dibley, Monty Python, Jeeves and Wooster, As Time Goes By, Mr. Bean, Are You Being Served, That’s My Boy, All Creatures Great and Small…these are all great and I’ve watched them many times over.
4. Neil Gaiman. I’ve read Neverwhere and Stardust at least once a year since they were first published (both of those links include the beginning of the first chapters of each book). I read his online journal daily. I’ve given Neverwhere to at least a dozen people as gifts. I have autographed copies of his books. I have CD’s of him reading his stories. My entire top shelf at work is a Gaiman shrine with his books, Sandman and The Dreaming figurines, and Gaiman related items that have been made for me.
5. Classic literature and movies based on classic literature. Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Emma, Sense and Sensibility…I’ve watched these dozens of times. And I love the modern stuff based on classics. 10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless, Get Over It…these are just a few that I’ve watched over and over. I’ve read the classics that these are based on as well. I’ve also watched the Wonderworks collection of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea countless times and read the books as well. They are wonderful. Recently Mosker loaned us the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. This was 5 hours of pure bliss!
6. Old cheesy television shows that I loved as a child. Dr. Who with Tom Baker, The Muppet Show, Star Trek, Night Gallery…these are shows my brother and I watched and I love them today and feel a special connection to him when I watch these now. I also love Star Hustler which was on after Dr. Who on PBS and closed out the broadcast day. I’m still sad that Jim Henson is dead and that there won’t be any more original cast Star Trek movies.
7. Music videos. I spend hours watching videos on Launch and Real Rhapsody in addition to VH1 and CMT. I love all kinds of music but actually own The Corrs, Shania Twain, and Sarah Brightman DVD’s. These are 3 of my favorites.
8. Books…one thing I couldn’t imagine living without. I love to collect them, read them, re-read them, and share them with others.
9. Labyrinth…I’ve seen this movie more than any other…I may have watched this 100 times, I kid you not. Its embarrassing but this movie reaches back into something deep inside me and thrills me every time I see it. I searched for years to find the novelization of this to see if it added anything to the movie and finally found it recently courtesy of ebay.
10. Computers…I’ve built my last 2 PCs myself, I’ve built PCs for friends, and I’m addicted to computer games. Good PC games are like living in a book or a movie…they’re amazing! There are too many that I love to make a list but the Thief series has definitely been my favorite overall.
There it is, a long but incomplete list. I didn’t include Star Wars, anime, Jeunet (there’s a post coming about him soon!) Please make yours! You’re all geeks according to Robert’s definition. Let us know. Feel free to put in links. If you have difficulty with this put them next to the word you want to be the link and I’ll fix them in editing.
Feel free to make shorter lists if you want…although each of you probably have 10 things your obsessed with to the point of being geeky. Your pets? Dark beer? Sports?
If your comments don’t show up right away it may be because they are ‘awaiting moderation’. If this happens I’ll get them posted asap.
1. Sesame Street. As a young child I watched this show every morning sitting on a stool up to our kitchen counter. Even yesterday I caught myself remembering a scene featuring Ernie and Bert in an egyptian pyramid. I wish I could find all the episodes that were shown in the 80’s.
2. Books. I love walking into Barnes & Nobles. I could stand in one spot forever and just gaze in awe at all the books. I don’t read as much as I did as a kid but I could spend hours in a bookstore.
3. Movies. A short list of movies I’ve seen hundreds of times – Dream a Little Dream, Goonies, Return to Me, Gross Pointe Blank…………….
4. Stationery & office supplies. I love to go into Paper Source, Office Max, Target, or any place like this and look at all the different pens, paper, and gadgets that are created to make your workspace more organized and enjoyable.
5. Sunshine. My cute kitty that likes to bite!! Even though I have only had him for a short time and he annoys me to no end, I love my kitty and can’t bear to think about ever parting with him.
Carl, you are starting to make me feel boring!!!! Maybe it is my headache making my thoughts stale. I probably know more about babies than the average person, I suppose.
Abby, I have Dream a Little Dream on DVD if you ever want to borrow it…I’ve seen that one TONS of times as well. Its even more fun now that some time has passed cuz its so cheesy…but I love it!
Julie….boring? Not hardly. You are a coffee geek for sure. Photography, etc….you could just copy your ‘what I like’ list from your site over here…its quite long (meaning you have several interests/obsessions) and fits the bill perfectly!!! 🙂
1. Books (especially of the scifi & mystery genres)
2. Movies (especially of the scifici, comedy, & action genres)
3. Computers (mac & windoze)
4. Star Trek (all series & movies)
5. X-Men
6. Spider-Man, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, & a few other Super Heros
6. Stargate, Stargate SG-1, & Stargate Atlantis
7. Star Wars
8. Battlestar Galactica
9. Agatha Christie, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, & other murder mystery shows & books.
10. I have my own website dedicated to Science Fiction. Enough said.
1. Running my own web server and sites.
2. Running my own gameservers
3. Computer games
4. Running my business
5. tbd
6. tbd
7. tbd
8. tbd
9. tbd
10. tbd
James, your things made me suddenly tired when I read them. Must be all that runniing.
I am with Julie. I can’t come up with ten things or even five for that matter.
1. newborns and surviving sleepless nights.
2. margaritas (the El Presidente from Chili’s)
3. scrapbooking (wish I could be doing that right now)
4. hmmmm??
I think we need to have a class on “knowing yourself”…you guys all have alot more things that you are, or were, geeky about….James used to be the Star Wars trivia king, is a specialty beers geek. Karen, don’t you and Tommy Boy download songs off the internet like there is no tomorrow? Same with you James and Julie. As I said above, Julie has a whole list of things on her own site.
Angela, I’m really surprised about the science fiction stuff…who’d have known!?!? 🙂 Since you like all those murder mystery TV shows did you ever see Poirot? I love that one, wish it was still on PBS.
James is right about the computer stuff, he is a computer geek! Quickly becoming a computer guru! 🙂
Karen, looking forward to indulging in one of your obsessions Friday night…hopefully. I’m not talking about scrapbooking or newborns either… 🙂
5. Alcoholic
…. 🙂
You asked for it…
Coffee, especially when James makes it and brings it to me in bed in the morning (hint).
Crushed red velveet (don’t ask)
Christmas decorations. The really tacky stuff tickles me the most. My collection grows each year.
My cappucino machine
Dishes, glasses, serving stuff of any kind that appeals to me. Especially old pyrex.
My Mikasa stuff. The punch bowl really gets me going.
Crocheted doilies, especially the ones my Grandma Vera and Grandma Pearl made and my two aunts Tootsie and Punky.
My Levis
Tableclothes. I picked up a couple of vintage ones at an old lady garage sale last summer. My heart was pounding.
Lace window sheers. I miss them. Gave them up for not being trendy. Who cares about trendy?
I love my china collection. My mom started my collection when I was three. It’s Haviland China, Blue Garland pattern.
My scrapbooks
Delicious recipes
I think I need to add rum and cokes to the list. Mmmm…. Especially since James bought me a bottle of Vanilla rum. Perfection…
My list makes me sound like a housewife geek. Kinda weird…
“My list makes me sound like a housewife geek”…although you sort of mentioned it I will add garage sales to your list. I believe that garage sale-ing is in women’s blood…if you’re a woman and not into it its because you haven’t been to garage sales with someone like Julie. Julie is the only person I know who has people pay her to take stuff from them…and not junk either. She gets stuff that looks brand new…for nothing! I obviously don’t have the eye for it because all I ever see at sales is garbage…but she can find the most amazing kids clothes, toys, etc. She needs to write a ‘how to” book.
And lest we all start sounding like raging alcoholics….
James is a beer connoisseur. Years ago he introduced me to the pleasure to be had sitting in a nice restaurant/pub and drinking one or two Black and Tans. He also introduced me to our own local Boulevard Beer Company’s Pale Ale…delicious stuff in the bottle, better on tap.
James, Julie, Tommy Boy and Mosker are all blog readers who have introduced really good wines to our family as well.
(I must be feeling really guilty) We are all adults who enjoy a glass of wine or cold beer, etc on occassion.
And I meant to point out earlier that Angela is one of the few people that I know who have watched all the Star Trek series.
Carl, I know you want to be a geek (which is kinda scary actually), but I’m sorry, Angela’s list is better than yours. I agree that the comics, computer building, and Neil Gaiman count, but literature? (And she got more points in the geek quiz.)
But I do think you should get lots of point for both nurturing the geekiness you have achieved and for being so proud of it.
Angela-are you sure murder mysteries count?
Here is the “how to” for getting good bargains…I pray for good deals every time I shop!!!! Seriously.
Gee, I hope we aren’t leading you into the gutter with all the alcohol introductions!
1. I love all of the Die Hard and the Lethal Weapon movies.
2. I like reading British fluff mysteries especially when the two unlikely young people are thrown together, solve the mystery that all of Scotland Yard has puzzled over such a long time, and then suddenly realize they are in love with each other (it helps if one of them is either rich, misunderstood, or in some way connected to the killer).
3. I adore board games.
4. I think it is so fun to take long walks around the neighborhood with my family.
5. I love cheesey SciFi shows and movies. I especially like the overacting and unrealistic monsters.
6. I am completely hooked on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Martian Tales – John Carter is my kind of hero.
7. I have to read the Laura Ingalls Wilder “Little House” books every couple of years.
8. I love writing letters (not e-mails, real letters on real stationery) especially to my elderly relatives.
9. I like young adult fiction…okay, some of it doesn’t qualify for young adult as it is geared more toward late elementary age.
10. I like learning more about my husband every time I read his geeky website.
Hey Nic, commenting but not answering the question doesn’t get you off the hook. Remember, this game or exercise or whatever was defined by things about which you are passionate, talk about alot, or want to talk about alot….things that you just love to have come up in conversations. Things you know a little more about than the average person because you’re a geek about those things. Things you’re obsessed with, things you used to be obsessed with and can easily become obsessed with again, etc, etc…so everything counts…come on Nic, let’s hear em!
Mary, I would never have pegged you for a Die Hard/Lethal Weapon fan. No wonder we’re friends.
Okay Carl. But everyone else has done the hard work, so I’m stealing from them.
I love action movies and have seen the third Die Hard movie probably a hundred times. That’s a comfort movie
I like mysteries, including British Village mysteries. I always try to catch the mystery movies on A&E and the Bio Channel (Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders)
Borrowing from Mary again, I really like the cheesy movies on the SciFi Channel. The acting is often horrible and the special effects are pretty weak, but it’s pure mind candy.
Board games (I only get to play them when I visit the Andersons though)
Books. Particulary books that I get to choose for myself, rather than those that are assigned.
School. It’s not that I always enjoy it, but I sure spend a lot of time on it.
Writing. Okay, well, that’s not really true, but I’m pretending it is.
Garage Sale-ing is really not an area of interest, but I’m sure that’s only because I’ve never been with Julie.
Thank you Nic! Didn’t know you liked cheesy sci-fi movies. We used to have Cheesy Sci Fi Movie Night with a guy I used to work with and it was really fun…may have to start that up again.
School??? That’s just sick….very sick. 🙂
Never heard of Midsomer Murders….we only have the basic satellite…can’t afford those fancy channels like A&E and Biography….although I think we get Bio so that arguement isn’t very good.
Thanks for playing everyone, feel free to add more, etc and feel free to jump in if you haven’t…..I like this kind of stuff because it helps me get to know everyone better and makes it easier to think of ideas during gift giving times.
Abby, you need to get Mike in here!
Bio usually has an episode of Midsomer Murders at 5pm on Sundays.
I think Mary might like it.
yes, Carl, i’ve watched some episodes of “Poirot”.. it’s Agatha Christie after all.. lol
Dominique, i’m pretty sure that murder mysteries count when i’ve seen/read so many I can guess the end (killer) by the first chapter of some books (especially, mary higgins clark novels.. tho hers are mostly the same anyway.) and i usually don’t like to admit i watch “diagnosis murder” & read the novels, since i’m not a senior citizen & that tends to be the audience.
and yes, i get probably get double points for all my nerdy scifi addiction. lol
…. 🙂 I resisted the urge earlier to make a senior citizen comment! Far be it from me, however, to make fun of anyone else’s addictions as mine are equally open to being made fun of. The nice thing about those “senior citizen” tv shows is that they have great source material in Agatha Christie.
1. Comics – Kabuki, Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Sandman, Anything by Jeph Loeb/ TimSale, New Frontier, Planetary, and Walking Dead.
2. Sci-Fi TV shows – I got hooked on watching Star Trek reruns as a kid and have loved Star Trek ever since all the shows and movies. Plus I’m a fan of Farscape, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Space Above and Beyond, and Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. i also like reading Star Trek novels.
3. Books – I also love just going to book stores and looking around. I can’t stop picking up new books even if I don’t know when I will ever get a chance to read them. My pile to read books is always growing but there is just so much interesting stuff out there. Favorite to read are fantasy novels and Star Trek universe books. I find all sorts of subjects interesting though. Favorite authors include JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Neil Gaiman, David Mack, Terry Goodkind and Terry Brooks.
4. Movies – I love going to the movies. Wathcing movies at home just doesn’t compare to seeing it up on the big screen.
Movies I can always watch whenever they come on include such cheesy classics as Breakfast Club, Roxanne, Christmas Vacation, Doc Hollywood, and Roadhouse ( I know I can’t belive I said that either – the shame ).
5. Photos of my kids – I love developing film of family moments
6. Queen – My all time favorite band. My wife can tell you I own way to many versions of their albums.
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls – Fun shows with great dialogue.
8. LOTR DVD’s – I’m with Carl on this one. The extras are on par with the films.
9. Zoos and Museums – I love visiting new ones. The family and I have never been to the Omaha Zoo and we intend to go this summer. I have heard good things about it.
10. Royals and Chiefs – I’m a home town fan of each. Even when I know there bad I still root for them. When I grew up the Royals were great and I still follow them every day know hoping someday they will be good again in my kids lifetimes. 🙂
Awesome list Jeff, great to see you in again. Think you’re the first comments since switching servers!
I haven’t been to the Omaha Zoo since high school. It was an awesome zoo then and they’ve done a ton of stuff to it over the years.
Pre-skull-hardening:
1) Legos. I’d spend virtually hours sitting on the floor with my big blue bag of legos, sorting them meticulously. I’d sit there so long, my legs would go all numb, but still I would search for the perfect pieces. Legos were instrumental in helping me hone my obsessive compulsive disorder. After a model was completed, I remember I had this odd routine where I would stare at it, blinking a certain number of times until it looked just right on display in my closet. Yeah, let’s move on…
2) Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was so into TNG that I called it “TNG”. I went through a 12 step so I’m better now. See below.
3) TNG technical paraphernalia. I had (by “had”, I mean “have”) the Technical Manual; the dang-near-life-size Enterprise D cut-away poster, showing decks and away vehicles and such; and the Enterprise D die cast model with working separation between the engine and deck portions.
4) Star Trek: The Next Generation books. Yep, I read the books too. That Trek was in print was embarrassing enough. It was quite another thing explaining the occasional titles to people. Metamorphosis: The Giant Novel clocked in at probably under 150 pages. They actually had to include the word “giant” on the flagship books to convince their readership of its legitimacy.
5) Basketball. Played since I was 7 or 8 I think. I practiced every morning from 6:30am till the school bell rang.
6) Star Wars role playing. Jimmy can tell you all about this. He and I used to make up whole episodes the ongoing saga in his basement with our action figures. Great fun. He even had an audio cassette of one such episode, but I think it’s dead.
7) Going to bed and rising early. I remember waking up so early on Saturday morning for cartoons that the stupid color bar test patterns were still on the TV!
8) Black & White outlook. Things are never quite as clear as through the eyes of a child.
9) Single-piece wardrobe. I loved my green shirt and blue jeans. That’s all I ever wore, I think, if it weren’t for my mother.
10) Girls. Girls were gross, and I would rather be caught dead than caught looking at one.
Post-skull-hardening:
1) Girls. You can’t tell me God’s not a guy. “Wo, Man!” were the first two words that Adam uttered after his rib-ectomy operation. And gauging the male comments on a recent Percolations.net post, it’s safe to say that I have much company.
2) Debate. This is one that, if I’m not careful, I will embarrass myself silly. I’ve argued myself into corners and tend to get way too emotionally invested and defensive. But I love to argue and I’ve been told that I’m contrarian.
3) Spirituality & Doctrine. I think it’s extremely fun to wax poetic about The Big Questions.
4) Using big words. It’s a raging habit that embarrasses me after the fact. It’s a sure sign of pretense and compensatory for a weak intellect. Oops, I did it again!
5) Quality sci-fi like Firefly and Battlestar (remake), and of course Star Wars and lots of other stuff.
6) Indie music. One word: podcasting. FM radio annoys me. It makes me furrow my brow (except NPR). Top 40 is music for the masses. I don’t want to be part of the masses. Give me underground music, or give me death. Life without The Shins, Innocence Mission, The Gerbils, Clinic, or Wilco would be a bummer. They’re the best music you’ve never heard.
7) Indie movies. You’ll often hear me go on a tirade of how studio-driven, committee-marketed movie drivel sucks. The cure for all of that is independent filmmaking. It’s fresher, more sincere, lower budget, non-formulaic, unpredictable, and zanier.
8) Documentaries. Of all the movies I’ve seen (logged 1280 movie ratings on Netflix), probably 25% of them are documentaries. I tend to get really worked up about them and feel a little embarrassed when I throw the word around too much. I’m afraid people will think I’m “one of those arty snobs.”
9) Netflixing. Not only have I been a member for 5 years, but I have over 1200 ratings, 350 movies in my queue, and I even use a special client program for my computer (a Mac, see below) called NetflixFreak which gives me more control over my Netflix account.
10) Macs. I’m a computer “power user.” That means I don’t just write email and play solitaire. I know how to maintain them and tweak the interface and repair them. Having to do that enough times on the PC with any Windows OS flavor is enough to drive any sane person to other platforms. Tried Linux, BeOS, but settled on Mac OS. I own a PowerMac dual 1.0 GHz machine. It’s sexier than your PeeCee and you know it. What can I say about Macs vs. PCs that hasn’t been said before? It’s summed up more eloquently by this great comic strip from Nickel Arcade
Great list, glad you got in here.
The test pattern…ah, I remember it well. My brother and I were early risers as well and we would actually sit mere inches from the tv and stare at the test pattern until Rocky and Bullwinkle came on. (R&B would be another geek area of mine…I have several video tapes of episodes. Love that brand of humor and its such a nostalgia thing with me).
Haven’t read any TNG books, I was more of an original fan. Have read several Star Trek novels, however. Some quite good ones too (Prime Directive, Federation-has TNG cast as well as original…I hated the Next Gen movie First Contact because I had read Federation not long before and in it Zefram Cochrane was a very heroic character, not the drunken coward he was in FC. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are my fav. Star Trek authors)
Firefly is one of the things that I want to eventually check out someday. Never watched it when it was on.
If you play computer games, Mac sucks and PC rules….’nough said! 🙂
I admit, there is some great music that no-one listens to, but there’s some darn good stuff that makes top 40 radio as well. Occasionally the masses have good taste. It is really fun to discover music that is great that no one you know has gotten into yet….just please tell me that you’re not one of those music snobs who get bent out of shape when their indie band actually makes it and accuse them of ‘selling out’. 🙂
And lastly I have to call you out…..I know you still Star Wars role play…come on, admit it.. 🙂
Haha! You’re close, Carl. Remember that video of the fat kid playing with the light saber in the dressing room? That was practically me. Check it out.
You know, later on in college, a fellow Trekkie pal convinced me to start reading TOS books and they were quite good. Lost Years was fabulous, so was Prime Directive (still have the hard back :-)). Have to agree with you on Federation. My roommate calls that situation with First Contact “ret con” problems, or retroactive continuity. Thy screwed up the timeline with the books! Ever read Strangers from the Sky?
Hehe, no I’m not that much of a music snob. But there is something perversely added to my listening enjoyment when my band is still underground! There’s a great line in the documentary (oop, I did it again!) Hype! where a grunge kid bemoans the state of his music being infiltrated by the masses. He says, “But I liked it first!”
Well, I’m no longer a gamer, so I dodged that Mac-bullet.
I loved the Star Wars kid videos…there are a ton of em and some quite funny ones too. That and the Attack of the Nerds bit by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog are some of the funniest sci-fi spoof stuff I’ve ever seen.
Yes, I believe I have read Strangers from the Sky. First Frontier, Twilight’s End, and Ashes of Eden were others that I remember really liking.
I’m kind of a book snob in some ways. I often refuse to read what ‘the masses’ are reading…John Grisham novels are a perfect example…yet I want others to read what I’m reading. I have to not be like that. Obviously I want my favorite authors to be wildly successful so that they write more but its odd in that I can relate to the idea of wanting to be ‘first’ at ‘discovering’ authors, etc. Its not as bad as it may sound but there are those feelings there sometimes that I have to cast off.
I don’t want to be like the masses of moms out there, so I’ve decided to go underground. I’m no longer going to clean my house and I think I will start feeding my kids suckers and pop tarts at every meal. Don’t expect anymore invites to come hang out. Do you think I may attract a following? Just call me indie mom.
Have you seen the commercials for ‘The Nanny’? I think alot of parents have already adopted this approach!!!