Have heard that for years now. I am not debating the factual accuracy of the statement. I happen to think it will eventually be Google that winds up with the whole enchilada, and that is pretty damn geek. There are some good and bad things about Geekdom. Let's explore, shall we?
And while I will be using the term "geek"... I am fully aware of all the terms one can use instead of "geek". If you feel that there is a better term, feel free to tattoo it on a rat's ass. You will have to find your own, because I could not give one.
First, we all have some geek in us. One can protest this fact until they are blue in the face, to no avail. Jock-Sporto types used to be the first to deny any trace of geek in themselves. Listen Chief, the first time you memorized the number of Joe Montana's Career Number of Fourth Quarter Comebacks... you entered the realm of geek.
Ladies... Being able to spot a designer's fashion on another female, and being bitchy enough to point out to your friends that it was "last years" in a whispered, catty tone... Geek-chique, baby.
My brother was "not into" comic books... He could say that because he did not spend HIS money on them... He waited until I spent MY damn dollars, or 65 cents at the time (they run about $2.99 and up now), then read them... There were one or two "violent disagreements" because I would have my stack and he wanted to read the ones I had not yet read... FUCK THAT, after I take their virginity, you can have my sloppy seconds, but til then you keep your fuckin' dick-beaters off of them... BLOG FLASHBACK!
Being a geek knows no bounds. No race, gender, sexual orientation, creed, color, or religion. The moment you start to obsess over something and want to know EVERYTHING about it. Every nugget of information is devoured like you are that fat kid at Willy Wonka's. You memorize stats, countless variables, historical anomalies, influences, which leads to even more geeking out. The most important caveat about these morsels... THEY MEAN FUCK ALL TO EVERYONE ELSE!!!
Genres
Genres are where the lines begin to form. I can identify myself as a comic geek, movie geek, Ren Faire geek, music geek, and computer geek...
Genres lead to conventions... or "Cons". This is when you abandon the private nature of your special obsession and seek out other to share the aforementioned non-essential details you have memorized. There will be more about community later... Oh, this is when shit gets expensive!
Here is where the trouble starts...
Sub Genres
Divisions in the community exist all over the place... I mentioned I am a movie geek... Movies are already divied up into genres. Comedy, Drama, Classics, etc.
We shall examine Sci -Fi genre. It gets into the biggest Sub Genre of all geek-dom. "Star Wars" vs. "Star Trek". Long has this battle waged... Each side has it's battle cries... "Has Lucas raped your childhood again???", "How does a franchise survive with only the even numbered movies being good?", "Jar Jar Fucking Binks!", "C'mon man, that's not fair..."
But... An Abrams will unite the clans... And we shall know of his coming by a lens flare!
See... THAT is a prime example of geek. J.J. Abrams directed the last two Star Trek films and is set to direct at least one of the next trilogy of Star Wars films. He is also known for have a damn lens flare as often as a human retina can withstand it.
YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT FOR IT TO BE FUNNY, AND THE PEEPS WHO GET IS LAUGH THEIR BALLS/TITS OR BOTH OFF!!!
Comic books are primarily divided into the Houses of Marvel and DC. Each has their stable of characters and each bring something to the table in either art or story. However, much like free agency in the sports realm, people are moving from one title to another all the damn time. Hard to build continuity.
Thankfully, I stopped buying comics a long time ago... NOTE: "buying" is a very important word.
Sub Sub Genres
Now, we are getting into the heavy duty of realms of geek. Lets take a look at the Movie Realm, Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Sub Genre: Fantasy. Sub Sub Genres: Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter.
While both the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter are phenomenal successes and have legions of fans around the world, and a countless number of those fans loving BOTH of the franchises... South Park exploited the conflict... And I love those guys for that.
Geek Warfare
In order to outgeek your adversary, you might have to dish out some cash in order to get that one limited edition card/game piece/downloadable gear, or whatever to give you the edge.
When I was in the USAF, the "card battle game" craze was really building up steam. "Magic: The Gathering" being the granddaddy along with Pokemon. A friend of mine was telling about the rules. This one douche found his way into the conversation. He was from Kentucky or some other state where no one likes you.
The next day, Douche Boy shows up with a binder full of some really, really expensive cards. My friend told me exactly where he got them and how much he paid for them, because he had been eyeing a couple at the comic book shop where they were sold.
What El Doucherino did was "outgeek" my friend. Did he need those cards? No. Did he try to wedge himself into a community that just one day previously he had zero interest in? Some people have a SENSE of community and are welcomed into it, others BUY their way in.
The information power play is not as douchey as the Daddy Warbucks Gambit. It is also not as successful. The moment you nail your opponent with a little known Star Wars fact that you read on the pg. 38 of a Starlog magazine in 1979, is the moment they go all "Treaty of Versailles" and simply state, "Really! Cool! I did not know that".
You also have to be gracious in your victory... The line of "Know it all Ass Clown" is easy to miss.
Community
A sense of community is pretty cool in one simple fact... You are not the lone weirdo anymore. Strength in numbers. All those stupid factoids that didn't mean shit earlier??? WELL THEY DO NOW!!!!
You will be surrounded by your peeps. You will make connections with people you would have never run into in the world, all do to your shared love of something that others just don't get.
Also, the geek communities are very accepting of new members. They don't question your motives. They appreciate imparting knowledge to the noobs. An instant, positive support system. Just add geek.
I loved at the end of "Fanboys". when the main cadre of... well, fanboys, are waiting to see Episode I, and the older brother shows up, causing the younger brother to ask, "Chaz, what the hell are you doing here?"
"C'mon, Bro. It's the 'Wars'!"
All he had to say. Welcome to the tribe!
Damn it feels good to be a geek...
Marvel announced it's film line up out to 2019!!! This was just to bitch slap DC and their tentative film schedule.
The latest Star Wars film just wrapped.
The last trip into Middle Earth is next month...
Harry Potter has been whispered to have another story coming.
The number one show on TV is "The Walking Dead". Based on what? A comic book... you damn right.
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In the end, geeks will inherit the earth because we are all a geek - in one way or another. It is a passion, going beyond a "hobby", and straddling the line of an obsession.
I leave you with a quote...
"Every day, I wake up and I say, 'Why... how... did I end up with 1.7 million Twitter followers?' It's freaky to me, every day, but that tells me that there's an appetite out there that had previously been under-served. There's an inner geek in us all, an inner bit of curiosity that people are discovering, and they like it." - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Are you gonna go my way,
d
This blog brought to you by Lenny Kravitz, Slipknot, Korn, The Police, Marilyn Manson, Down, Anthrax, Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, Fleetwood Mac, Infant Sorrow, Steve Vai, House of Pain, Beck, The Clash, Metallica, Mark Knopfler, AC/DC, Ugly Kid Joe, Van Halen, and the Beatles
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