That's the statement: "Cool people don't play RPGs". Agree or disagree, and discuss.
RPGPundit
It's just plain old dismissive bullshit.
First, we'd have to agree on a definition of "cool". Then, we'd have to agree that none of us know "cool" people playing RPGs beyond the anecdotal occurence. That's already a lost-cause type of statement.
It's just a cliché.
It allows people to call each other uncool, nerds, geeks, and dismiss whatever they're talking about because "nobody cares" or it's "nerdrage". That's typical internet BS fare, to me.
Yet another self-inflicted stigma. Whatever.
I hate to trot this one out, but Vin Diesel is cooler than the person who suggested that "cool people don't game", and...well, y'know...
I'm nearly 50, and I can't imagine applying that term to anyone these days.
But back in high school I was 'cool' by the standards of the day (it involved polyester, long collars, and color patterns that make me flinch when I see the pictures now, but on the other hand, other than pregnancy, there wasn't anything penicillin or white vinegar couldn't fix), likewise in college, and I war gamed in HS and added RPGs in college.
Most of my gaming companions were, in the terminology of the day, 'with it'.
Post-school-daze, I suppose the groups remain 'cool' for the age group. My current group is guys in the late 20s and early 30s, middle class, established in their careers, married or in relationships. Home-owners, fathers, sportsmen. One guy that just left was a college-age slacker, though.
I would say that as a whole our hobby attracts a lot of socially outcast individuals, though.
First person that comes to mind is my black, rasta-wearing friend who plays reggae and funk. I daresay he's a pretty cool guy, and he plays D&D in my group.
Since I am a cool person and I play RPGs, I'd have to disagree. ;)
Well, I know I'm cool. According to one of my students, I'm the coolest teacher at my college!
Seriously I always find this one a touch silly, since I'm sure most of us can trot out examples where it simply isn't true (and for the record, one may say I was and am not cool, but I am known as a truly awesome babe magnet, so...there! ;) ). Though my wife might disagree.
On a serious note, I do understand that gaming does attract what I think is a larger segment of misfits (geek social fallacy et al) but by and large I don't see that.
For example, here in Hungary, many RPGers are geeky according to their lights - and have plenty of girlfriends/boyfriends, husbands/wives and kids by the gross ton, so they must be a little cool. I even just met a high-up guy in the Foreign Ministry here, gamer, whose wife is also a gamer (and apparently some sort of horror on WoW, but I cannot confirm this).
P.S.- forgot to add, my university students also think I'm pretty awesome. This one's true by the way. They say I'm "cool" (or perhaps they mean "fool").
Quote from: joewolz;315683Well, I know I'm cool. According to one of my students, I'm the coolest teacher at my college!
Same thing here. I have an XBOX 360 and play Halo 3. According to the Grade 4s in my wife's classroom, I'm cool.
Quote from: Mencelus;315684I even just met a high-up guy in the Foreign Ministry here, gamer, whose wife is also a gamer (and apparently some sort of horror on WoW, but I cannot confirm this).
I am not sure you are allowed to use "cool" and [Hungarian] "Foreign Ministry" in one sentence. There ought to be a rule... ;) Good points, though.
All the circular talk aside the stigma that only geeks play RPG's still holds true. Though how much that actually matters is largely in flux.
I'm both Cool and a Geek, and a Pro-Wrestler (all true).
I also like to take long walks on the beach, with a set of dice in my pocket.
Just in case.
What the hell. Let's pitch in.
I'm cooler than quantum foam and I wear a duffle coat in July.
If cool people don't play RPGs, then cool people suck.
Quote from: Benoist;315669It's just plain old dismissive bullshit.
First, we'd have to agree on a definition of "cool". Then, we'd have to agree that none of us know "cool" people playing RPGs beyond the anecdotal occurence. That's already a lost-cause type of statement.
It's just a cliché.
It allows people to call each other uncool, nerds, geeks, and dismiss whatever they're talking about because "nobody cares" or it's "nerdrage". That's typical internet BS fare, to me.
I'm with him.
I mean, I don't consider myself cool, and I have never considered myself cool...and I probably never will.
I'm a geek. Pretty proud of it. I pretty much play with geeks. Not the socially-inept mouth breathers you tend to hear about, but not the classic example of "cool".
Vin Diesel was once considered cool, and he wrote the foreword to a D&D book. Does that count?
Quote from: thedungeondelver;315671I hate to trot this one out, but Vin Diesel is cooler than the person who suggested that "cool people don't game", and...well, y'know...
This is what I get for not reading the whole thread first...=)
Quote from: KrakaJak;315694I'm both Cool and a Geek, and a Pro-Wrestler (all true).
I also like to take long walks on the beach, with a set of dice in my pocket.
Just in case.
I'm NOT cool, I AM a geek, and I'm also a pro wrestler.
How weird is that?
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;315707This is what I get for not reading the whole thread first...=)
Not cool, man. Not cool. :D
I get called a cool granddad.
Admittedly by my grandchildren but hey!
Guys, guys, guys... we are not cool. Not only do we play RPGs we also post on a geeky website where we discuss geeky games geekily.
Suck it up, you are a geek, live with it. I don't care if you did a three way with the Sweedish women's beach volley-ball team, I don't care if you played base guitar with The Stones back in 85-92, I don't even care that you make a top selling movie in which you played an ultra-cool prison escapee with a shine job and an an amusing attitute to ultra-violence. You are still a geek.
We can all pretend to be cool we are role players pretending is in our genetic code it's hard-wired. But if you think that Monks have been severely nerfed since 3.5e, if you know instinctively that the average of 3d6 is 10.5 and not 10 or 11, if you have any sort of opinion on GM-fiat or worse still thaink that WoW players don't know what they are missing and if they tried pnp games just once they would see the light, hey actually if you knwo what 3d6, WoW, pnp or GM-fiat actually stand for, you are a geek.
Live with embrace it, buy a Dr Who tee-shirt, install linux (ubuntu probably) on your toaster, buy the entire first 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory on DVD (sorry that should have read download the entire first 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory from Pirate torrent) but please please please never ever try to pretend you are cool.
Quote from: KrakaJak;315694I'm both Cool and a Geek, and a Pro-Wrestler (all true).
I also like to take long walks on the beach, with a set of dice in my pocket.
Just in case.
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;315708I'm NOT cool, I AM a geek, and I'm also a pro wrestler.
How weird is that?
Steel cage match anyone? Pundit, wanna promote it?
Where have you been for the last decade or so? Geek is cool. Has been for... a long long time now near as I can tell. I'd set the start at the eighties at the earliest, late nineties at the latest.
Videogames, comics (of some kind or another), cartoons, and crappy sci fi movies are all pretty mainstream now, and among older folks than they generally have been.
The stigma only exists in the long memories of those to whom it's been attached.
Role-players can't be cool, but we can potentially be k3wl.
Quote from: Darran;315711I get called a cool granddad.
Admittedly by my grandchildren but hey!
My son says I'm cool...
...NOW.
But he's five, so he doesn't know any better.
Quote from: Joethelawyer;315713Steel cage match anyone? Pundit, wanna promote it?
(no offence to either participants is meant by this and I have no idea what they are like but its just the idea of 2 geeky role-players in a cage fight)
In the blue corner weighing in at 120 lbs and wearing the slightly too large Spiderman costume, voted the virgin with the highest IQ in Cincinatti , a big hand for
In the red corner weighing in at an impressive 348 lbs, the bearded behemoth, the Collossus from Cologne, Heeeeerrrrrreeee's
I'm cool. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am. Of course, I don't need anyone else to define cool for me, because damn that, I know what I find cool, and I am it.
My dog and my fiancee think so too. I also get some props from my nephew and niece. It's all that matters really to me. Sure I like other cool people on the internet--friends I have and neat people I know, and I can call them cool too. Because in my world, that's all that matters. What I think about things.
Quote from: beejazz;315714Where have you been for the last decade or so? Geek is cool. Has been for... a long long time now near as I can tell. I'd set the start at the eighties at the earliest, late nineties at the latest.
Videogames, comics (of some kind or another), cartoons, and crappy sci fi movies are all pretty mainstream now, and among older folks than they generally have been.
The stigma only exists in the long memories of those to whom it's been attached.
You see that just puts the nail in the coffin, nothing mainstream is cool, just cos we geeks are now in the majority does not mean we gained any street cred (hey I said street cred how geeky is that) and all the stuff you identify has a target market of 13 -17 year old boys (except for Watchmen way too much cock in that movie to let your kids see it) . Same demographic we were always in except now we are older. And don't tell me old is cool either. 30 is not the new 20, 40 is not the new 30, 50 is not the new 40, we are not special snowflakes.
Now do I watch Trueblood or fix the security permissions on that wiki?
Someone would've posted this sooner or later:
(http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/info_and_tech/assets/its_all_geek_to_me.jpg)
Quote from: Age of Fable;315721QUOTE]
That is the loudest I have ever laughed whilst reading the internet (including the whole 8 years when Bush was president)
That is getting printed and going up on my desk at work
Once again, I aspire to write erotic versions of Star Trek where everyone is a Furry....
.... Just Because.
Just so we're clear, I'm not from Cincinnati.
Quote from: Spike;315723erotic versions of Star Trek where everyone is a Furry....
Don't suppose you could maybe . . . y'know . . . tell me where I might get my hands on some of that - sounds real hot
Quote from: Joethelawyer;315713Steel cage match anyone? Pundit, wanna promote it?
Let's do it.
You know, as Joe 'the Lawyer', you sound like a pro wrestler too.
Make this happen.
I wouldn't say "cool," but I would say the majority of gamers are geeks/nerds/sci-fi fans/working in IT/what have you.
Seanchai
Quote from: jibbajibbaYou see that just puts the nail in the coffin, nothing mainstream is cool,
just cos we geeks are now in the majority does not mean we gained any street cred (hey I said street cred how geeky is that) and all the stuff you identify has a target market of 13 -17 year old boys (except for Watchmen way too much cock in that movie to let your kids see it) . Same demographic we were always in except now we are older. And don't tell me old is cool either. 30 is not the new 20, 40 is not the new 30, 50 is not the new 40, we are not special snowflakes.
Now do I watch Trueblood or fix the security permissions on that wiki?
Firstly, geeks are in the majority, not roleplayers. There's no more stigma *and* we're obscure enough to still be cool.
As for the 13-17 target audience... we aren't watching the same cartoons, apparently. And I really hope 30 isn't the new 20, cause that'd make me 11.
Personally, I've played with a lot of truly stellar people over the years. Whether they count as "cool" by anyone else's definition means very little to me.
I don't really know what 'cool' means.
Jeff nails it.
Does it matter?
Are roleplaying and the people who do it cool?
No, we are really no better or worse than any other group of people participating in a harmless and fun passtime.
Does roleplaying and the people who do it have an image of cool?
No, we are considered to be some of the worst of the worst before getting into people doing immoral, illegal, and deviant passtimes.
Which is total retarded bullpuckey, but image means more than content.
(Explains how Mike Bay is still allowed to make movies.)
Someone made a good point on the Penn & Teller show Bullshit. If American Football was invented recently it would be outlawed or decried all over the place as being overly dangerous and a threat to our youth as thousands of injuries have happened over the years and quite a few fatalities.
Yet a harmless thing like videogames has tons of anti game crusaders.
Why? Its all about image, and what is socially acceptable, not the actual reality of the situation.
Alcohol kills and destroys thousands of lives every year but if any nation tried to outlaw it there would be a fucking riot. (Just see Prohibition) Its taken multiple family members from me to the point I hardly have any left alive. (And even fewer one could say are doing well.)
Why is it defended? Its a way of life and so established its not going away, and the reasonable explanation that most people who partake of it are perfectly fine and not getting into accidents, fights, or drinking themselves to death or poverty.
You can put this same line of thought to RPGs which maybe have a tenth of a percent of actual relatable "damage" to the users of it, but thanks to image its considered horrible.
Luckily we ARE doing better on image than the 80s with Pat Pulling and her reactionary nonsense though.
But sadly, perception always beats reality. It keeps political parties going, starts pointless wars, gives religions power, and helps the people who enjoy staying stupid and ignorant keeping to this status quo.
I'm not sure what else one can really say.
I guess it just sucks to be gamers. But there has to be something to it if in spite of the image it has we keep doing it in spite of all the obstacles.
I've been fortunate to have some seriously cool experiences in my life, but I personally have never, ever been what anyone would consider cool.
Except to my five-year-old daughter. :)
It doesn't suck to be gamers in particular.
Every hobby or job has people who snark at it and bitch about it. Every one.
I'm studying to be a personal trainer, and you would not believe how many people there are who say, "who needs a personal trainer? just do your own research, and motivate yourself." Nice theory from a guy with a body like a puff pastry, but even if it came from a buff one - "Who needs to go to a restaurant? Just get a cookbook and cook." There are all sorts of things we pay others to do which we could really do entirely by ourselves.
Likewise with hobbies. Whatever hobby you have some idiot will bash it. Who cares?
Quote from: The Shaman;315749I personally have never, ever been what anyone would consider cool.
Except to my five-year-old daughter. :)
Which in itself is very, very cool. :)
"Cool" is a kind of social currency we seek to gain in order to gain status among our peers.
Specifically, it's a type employed by young people, who don't have a lot of possessions or accomplishments to show their status. Instead, by achieving a certain look, manner, or engaging in certain activities, you can gain respect and attention from peers and especially the opposite sex.
Most of us inevitably stop playing the game as hard when we get older, as we gain prestige from our career instead, and are no longer seeking the best sexual partner our market value can command.
So the cool game fades away, and we look to prove our status in other ways - display of material possessions, professional accomplishments, etc.
None of us are immune to the treadmill. It's what human beings do, and most religions and ideologies are attempts to ease the anxiety caused by the relentless sorting by status that occurs in human society.
If we are balanced, we manage to meet our basic needs, especially by establishing our own family, and status becomes less important. The search for status is after all a proxy for reproductive power, and when this need is being objectively met, we don't feel as driven to prove ourselves.
What was the question again?
Quote from: Benoist;315751Which in itself is very, very cool. :)
You know it! :D
Personally, I'm too old to care...
...except when my son's Friends(he's 11 yrs old) think I'm "Kewl" because I play video games with them sometimes...
However, Tash, lead guitar of The Irresponsibles (http://www.myspace.com/theirresponsiblesband), not only plays RPGs, she plays HackMaster! And that's 'Kewl' enough for me... :)
Quote from: jibbajibba;315718(no offence to either participants is meant by this and I have no idea what they are like but its just the idea of 2 geeky role-players in a cage fight)
In the blue corner weighing in at 120 lbs and wearing the slightly too large Spiderman costume, voted the virgin with the highest IQ in Cincinatti , a big hand for
In the red corner weighing in at an impressive 348 lbs, the bearded behemoth, the Collossus from Cologne, Heeeeerrrrrreeee's
I'm 180 on a good day, but for about a year was billed as being 375...but that was the joke...=P
The avatar I use is me in my old gear, drawn by an artist friend.
I agree that there's "geek chic" nowadays. I don't know if I'm exactly cool, myself, but I do kick ass.
RPGPundit
You know what "cool" is? Really? Not giving a flying fuck about whether you are "cool" or not, whether anyone else is, whether anything you do is, and it sure as fuck isn't announcing whether you are on a stupid message board.
Jesus fuck people, you want to show people an excuse to revive old stereotypes? Show them a lame fucking thread like this with a bunch of nerds babbling about how "cool" they are.
The NA high school system is leaving a big mark on your societies. It never stops to amaze me.
Quote from: Settembrini;315783The NA high school system is leaving a big mark on your societies. It never stops to amaze me.
Yeah, like German schools are completely and utterly devoid of social clique, class, strata, or judgement.
Come on, you guys practically
invented the hipster, well, you and the French.
Quote from: J Arcane;315781You know what "cool" is? Really? Not giving a flying fuck about whether you are "cool" or not, whether anyone else is, whether anything you do is, and it sure as fuck isn't announcing whether you are on a stupid message board.
Jesus fuck people, you want to show people an excuse to revive old stereotypes? Show them a lame fucking thread like this with a bunch of nerds babbling about how "cool" they are.
Jesus fuck dude, take the stick out of your ass and lighten up a bit.
Quote from: Drohem;315786Jesus fuck dude, take the stick out of your ass and lighten up a bit.
I'm the one with the stick up my ass? I'm not the one posting in a thread about how "cool" I am like some out-of-touch middle aged banking executive trying to sound "with it".
It's funny when Eugene Levy or Elliot Gould do it. Not so much for the regular schlubs.
Well, maybe a little funny. You guys couldn't be more obviously lame if you were actually wearing horned rims and pocket protectors like some character out of a movie.
Quote from: J Arcane;315788I'm the one with the stick up my ass? I'm not the one posting in a thread about how "cool" I am like some out-of-touch middle aged banking executive trying to sound "with it".
It's funny when Eugene Levy or Elliot Gould do it. Not so much for the regular schlubs.
Well, maybe a little funny. You guys couldn't be more obviously lame if you were actually wearing horned rims and pocket protectors like some character out of a movie.
As an out of touch middle-aged banking executive I resent that remark :)
But you are so right about everything else so I will let it slide...this time (i especially like the guys that say my 11 year old's mates think I am cool because I can beat the final level boss on Gears of War, on the insane setting, or the guys that say they are cool because they watch adult anime cartoons not the kids stuff , although early G-force episodes were classic ...)
I love you guys :)
Embrace the inner geek!
Quote from: jibbajibba;315790As an out of touch middle-aged banking executive I resent that remark :)
But you are so right about everything else so I will let it slide...this time (i especially like the guys that say my 11 year old's mates think I am cool because I can beat the final level boss on Gears of War, on the insane setting, or the guys that say they are cool because they watch adult anime cartoons not the kids stuff , although early G-force episodes were classic ...)
I love you guys :)
Embrace the inner geek!
Think of it this way, and you will be enlightened: "Cool" isn't a label you get to apply to yourself, it's a label others apply to you, and you apply to others.
Not to sound cliche, but seriously, you are who you are, and anything more than that is unnecessary.
Quote from: J Arcane;315791Think of it this way, and you will be enlightened: "Cool" isn't a label you get to apply to yourself, it's a label others apply to you, and you apply to others.
Not to sound cliche, but seriously, you are who you are, and anything more than that is unnecessary.
Now don't get preachy or we will start to think that you think you're cool because you don't care that other people think you are cool or not and that is the key indicator of being cool.
Any way cool is so '82 everything these days is Sick... get with the programme :)
What did Mr Myagi say 'In Okinawa cool used to hold up trousers..." ? something like that ...
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;315750Likewise with hobbies. Whatever hobby you have some idiot will bash it. Who cares?
Quote from: J Arcane;315791Think of it this way, and you will be enlightened: "Cool" isn't a label you get to apply to yourself, it's a label others apply to you, and you apply to others.
Not to sound cliche, but seriously, you are who you are, and anything more than that is unnecessary.
This two posts sum up my thoughts. You don't get to decide if you're cool: you can decide if you are happy with yourself, though, which is an entirely different question.
Anyway, trying to be cool is too much work for me.
Quote from: RPGPundit;315668That's the statement: "Cool people don't play RPGs". Agree or disagree, and discuss.
RPGPundit
Disagree. Any absolute is almost always wrong, and that's close enough.
Heck, Vin Diesel games, and he's considered pretty cool... He geeked out on Jimmy Kimmel's show one night...
Quote from: aramis;315802Disagree. Any absolute is almost always wrong, and that's close enough.
Heck, Vin Diesel games, and he's considered pretty cool... He geeked out on Jimmy Kimmel's show one night...
Vin Diesel is just pretending to be cool he is a geeky actor role-player. You have seen "The Pacifier" right? (however I do think he seems like a really nice bloke)
Quote from: The_Shadow;315755"Cool" is a kind of social currency we seek to gain in order to gain status among our peers.
?
I have about five cool in my pocket right now, but s'okay cause I got a couple hundred cool in the safe at home and some more stashed under the matress...
My Cool Bank account? Well, that's another story. Then there is my cool credit, which is totally maxxed out... but since I did it getting a motorcycle, that just makes me even cooler....right?
Yellow is the new black, yo.
Quote from: Settembrini;315783The NA high school system is leaving a big mark on your societies. It never stops to amaze me.
1. There are several people from your hemisphere participating in this thread.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biased_sample
3. You realize that you're essentially saying how much cooler you are than everyone else by virtue of not being from North America, and therefore not being concerned with how cool you are, I'm sure. Good show.
Quote from: J Arcane;315788I'm the one with the stick up my ass?
Honestly, I don't understand since you're normally a sharp and intelligent dude. Let me spell it out for you then: almost everyone in this thread has posted that they are cool with themselves, cool to their loved ones, and cool to their close friends and, outside of that, they don't give a flying fuck what others think about them. Seriously man, you couldn't pick that up from all the posts? See the glass as half full, rather than half empty.
Edit: *sigh* I'm not looking for yet another Internet fight or showdown. All I'm trying to say is lighten up a bit dude. :) <-- The smiley is genuine, and I'm not trying to be a dick by using it.
At the Buffy meetup I went to Twilight was generally agreed to be pretty silly.
role-playing is serious business, therefore the people who participate must be cool, important, and beautiful.
Wow. J Arcane melted a fuse!
Humor, man. It's called humor.
Quote from: jibbajibba;315712Guys, guys, guys... we are not cool. Not only do we play RPGs we also post on a geeky website where we discuss geeky games geekily.
...A Whole big paragraph was snipped from here....
....... but please please please never ever try to pretend you are cool.
I have to disagree with most of your post in general. What some people are failingbto recognize is that what used to be cosidered 'geeky' or nard behavior has actually shifted over and becaome a subset of "Cool Behavior" or at least mainstream accepted behavior.
The thought in the thread title or enworld thread is close to 10 to 12 years out of date - the trouble may be that terminology has not caught up yet.
Think about it - "Big Bang Theory" is actually a ratings success. The reason? Most people have some part of those characters as themselves these days. (or thier boyfriend/girlfrien or spouse) The Big Bag characters 20 years ago would have been the 'odd' flavor characters on most sitcoms - now they are the heroes the general public roots for and we enjoy it when Penny starts accidentally absorbing the 'geek culture' references.
World of Warcraft - is a HUGE mainstream hit. Let's admit it , it has become "Cool". That game is basically boiled down D&D on a computer network.
Two years ahgo I went shopping with a female friend (a married friend) to the local HUSTLER store - while talking with the really nice looking sales clerk ...she admitted that she played WoW ...but she was worried poeople would think she was a geek.
See? Secret "Geek Girl" blending in at the adult book store.
Mire recently, this past week I'm shopping at the MEIJER store....
I'm at the counter browsing at a promotional booklet for the newest 'RESIDENT EVIL' game.(the one with the orange cover and two fighters with rifles) - this guy asks me "You play that game , man?"
ME: "NO, I just liuke the artwork...I was thinking of borrowing for my Roleplaying game. " me pausing "I don't really like video games much"
Let me describe the guy talking to me : Tallish young African-American in an oversize white t-shirt there with his two friends dressed in mostly the same way. All three wearing denim pants and big sneakers/ Gym shoes on. When I say tall - I mean tasller than me....and I'm 6',1". When I told him my group had been 3 girls and 1 girl playing for about four years plus he said "That not that common". Turns out he and 1 of his friends had played D&D before at least 3 or 4 sessions. These guys would never normally fit some people's view of what 'geek' or 'nerd' looks like.
From what I can see I can see in and and around these suburbs - the world of subcultures and what is and is not 'cool' has changed massively, but not everyone has realized it yet.
- Ed C.
If "not playing RPGs is cool", then most people on online RPG forums have been cool for a long time.
I, however, prefer to be damn hot.
Quote from: Koltar;315842Two years ahgo I went shopping with a female friend (a married friend) to the local HUSTLER store
Koltar = Swinger?
I learn something new every day! :0
Quote from: Age of Fable;315831At the Buffy meetup I went to Twilight was generally agreed to be pretty silly.
I think you should win the thread
Quote from: Spinachcat;315846Koltar = Swinger?
I learn something new every day! :0
Not exactly, when a woman friend of mine wants someone to go shopping with I always say yes. I'm odd for a 'straight guy' in that I actually enjoy shopping with women...also I give valid informed opinions whe they're trying on clothes. Tht day my friend was looking for something to surprise her husband and she knew that i kind of know how he thinks.
Oh - and all of the above mentioned people are gamers.
When out shopping - I'm running into more and more people that know me from the game store.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Drohem;315786Jesus fuck dude, take the stick out of your ass and lighten up a bit.
He can't. He's all stick.
Seanchai
Quote from: Benoist;315841Wow. J Arcane melted a fuse!
Humor, man. It's called humor.
Sure, this thread is chock full of it. It's like a bad parody of a Eugene Levy film.
You guys make me laugh.
Is that cool or what?
Quote from: Seanchai;315851He can't. He's all stick.
Seanchai
I thought he was all ass.
I am cooler than any of you guys here.
PD. and in en world too.
Quote from: Spinachcat;315846If "not playing RPGs is cool", then most people on online RPG forums have been cool for a long time.
There is not a big enough rolleyes emote for this dude. Can't that be saved for the 4e thread clusterfucks?
Quote from: boulet;315847I think you should win the thread
Thanks! It's a true story too. Another example of the same thing was when people in our Vampire: the Eternal Struggle group would talk about the Spider-Man movie or something. I was always thinking "why would a grown man want to see a film about
superheroes? Can't we just play our vampire version of Pokemon?"
Well, I guess I'm in the minority, because I derive my entire sense of self-worth around what anonymous people on the Internet (especially ENworld posters) consider cool, and I consider it critical that my behavior be in line with their perceptions. Therefore, I am done with this hobby forever. Dammit!
Quote from: ticopelp;315874Well, I guess I'm in the minority, because I derive my entire sense of self-worth around what anonymous people on the Internet (especially ENworld posters) consider cool, and I consider it critical that my behavior be in line with their perceptions. Therefore, I am done with this hobby forever. Dammit!
Aww...someone needs a hug.
If you were in town - I'd encourage the lady I'm dating to give you a hug. Thats how I met her - she gives great hugs.
- Ed C.
I can go into the Mall of America, stand on a table in the food court, bellow "FOR THE HORDE!" and people will actually respond to the call.
We're cool. We won. Get used to being mainstream.
Quote from: Aos;3158183. You realize that you're essentially saying how much cooler you are than everyone else by virtue of not being from North America, and therefore not being concerned with how cool you are, I'm sure. Good show.
I don't think that's what he was saying, and I think that there's no doubt some truth to what he said. There's no question in my mind that the North American high school social-experience IS different, and not in good ways, to those of other places. And there's no doubt at all in my mind that many people keep with them scars or stigmas from that time.
Of course, other nationalities take their own experiences from their childhood/school experiences. Witness the English and sodomy, for example!
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;315886I don't think that's what he was saying, and I think that there's no doubt some truth to what he said. There's no question in my mind that the North American high school social-experience IS different, and not in good ways, to those of other places. And there's no doubt at all in my mind that many people keep with them scars or stigmas from that time.
Of course, other nationalities take their own experiences from their childhood/school experiences. Witness the English and sodomy, for example!
RPGPundit
I don't disagree that the NA HS experience is different, but we weren't really talking about high school. Furthermore, there are several folks in this thread from the other side of the pond too, and their responses don't strike me as too different.
And I DO think he's hinting out his own superiority- behavior that is certainly not limited to this thread or topic.
Quote from: Aos;315857I thought he was all ass.
No. You can't beat someone over the head with an ass. You can beat someone over the head with a stick and since all he does is verbally beat people over the head...
Seanchai
Poit taken- but you can't shit on someone with a stick.
Quote from: Koltar;315875Aww...someone needs a hug.
If you were in town - I'd encourage the lady I'm dating to give you a hug. Thats how I met her - she gives great hugs.
- Ed C.
My wife gives great hugs. She plays in my games, and thinks I'm cool. That's way more than enough for me.
Quote from: Aos;315895Poit taken- but you can't shit on someone with a stick.
Well, technically you can, but beware of the retaliation...
I would like to reply to some of the posts here, but I can't.
I'm too cool for this thread. :cool:
Quote from: jibbajibba;315806Vin Diesel is just pretending to be cool he is a geeky actor role-player. You have seen "The Pacifier" right? (however I do think he seems like a really nice bloke)
You mean his highest grossing movie? =)
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;315877I can go into the Mall of America, stand on a table in the food court, bellow "FOR THE HORDE!" and people will actually respond to the call.
They're not
us.
Quote from: RPGPundit;315886Of course, other nationalities take their own experiences from their childhood/school experiences. Witness the English and sodomy, for example!
That only happens in Church Schools and Public Schools [I think you would call them Private Schools?] that the upper and middle classes go to.
The comprehensive schools that the working class go to it is all cheap cider and hanging out behind the bike sheds.
:)
Quote from: OneTinSoldier;315908I would like to reply to some of the posts here, but I can't.
I'm too cool for this thread. :cool:
That's cool.
Quote from: J Arcane;315788I'm the one with the stick up my ass? I'm not the one posting in a thread about how "cool" I am like some out-of-touch middle aged banking executive trying to sound "with it".
It's funny when Eugene Levy or Elliot Gould do it. Not so much for the regular schlubs.
Well, maybe a little funny. You guys couldn't be more obviously lame if you were actually wearing horned rims and pocket protectors like some character out of a movie.
That's cold.
Seriously, I think this is really the wrong hill on which to fly your outrage flag. It's mostly tongue-in-cheek answers to a silly question. Try to read it in that spirit.
Quote from: GRIM;315923They're not us.
Bullshit and fuck you. Not only are they us,
they are our successors. We shun them at our peril, because they don't need us- and we very much need them.
Quote from: GRIM;315923They're not us.
Not yet, anyway.
But they could be. If we ask them.
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;315877I can go into the Mall of America, stand on a table in the food court, bellow "FOR THE HORDE!" and people will actually respond to the call.
We're cool. We won. Get used to being mainstream.
A year or two before WoW came out I was at a 'Rogue Trader' tournament in Tennessee, held in a Hotel of all places.
When the various Ork players did their Waaagh! we had to deal with, for the next hour or so, random employees and patrons wandering by to admit they played, or had played.
We won years ago, its just more obvious now.
I could point out that I once saw a copy of SLA industries boarding a plane for deployment to Haiti in what must have been 1994, and that the damnedest people see books on my desk or in my bag and wander by to admit they once, or currently, game.
Still, I have to admit that 'For the Horde' has a certain charm that just doesn't get matched by the Alliance... and I now must head to the local mall and shout out just for the amusement value.
There is no us; there is only them.
Quote from: Aos;315976There is no us; there is only them.
Do, or do not. There is no try.
P.S. Judge me by my size, do you?
Eehurmmhurmm... Away put your crack, mine we will smoke...Eehurmmhurmm...
Quote from: Darran;315931That only happens in Church Schools and Public Schools [I think you would call them Private Schools?] that the upper and middle classes go to.
The comprehensive schools that the working class go to it is all cheap cider and hanging out behind the bike sheds.
:)
Snappy happy hoodies with cellphones and ASBOs. See? I'm hip!
RPGPundit
Quote from: The Shaman;315982Do, or do not. There is no try.
P.S. Judge me by my size, do you?
He always did get the Taoism wrong.
I think it should be 'Be or be not, there is no do. Doobie-doobie-doo!'
Quote from: RPGPundit;315986Snappy happy hoodies with cellphones and ASBOs. See? I'm hip!
Yep, you're cool.
Except we call them mobiles here! :D
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;315877I can go into the Mall of America, stand on a table in the food court, bellow "FOR THE HORDE!" and people will actually respond to the call.
We're cool. We won. Get used to being mainstream.
Make sure you have someone who can post bail.
I don't care too much about cool. In the day, I certainly was, although those days were some time ago.
In middle age, I only care about "cool" in my peer group; love and respect from my kids. I don't need to be cool like a kid, but a cool dad, which certainly doesn't mean imitating or mimmicing the culture of 20 somethings.
Quote from: Settembrini;315783The NA high school system is leaving a big mark on your societies. It never stops to amaze me.
Not High school... Psychological research generally indicates that personality is fixed around age 12... middle school (grades 6-8, sometimes elementary/intermediate (grades 5-6). Almost always by age 14, and seldom before age 10. Takes brain trauma to alter personality after that point.
It's that nasty socially conscious middle school environment that is to blame. High school is the side effect, not the cause.
Quote from: jibbajibba;315806Vin Diesel is just pretending to be cool he is a geeky actor role-player. You have seen "The Pacifier" right? (however I do think he seems like a really nice bloke)
No. I've seen the Riddick stuff, and a few odd bits. The interviews, tho', make me think he'd be right at home playing T&T, and I'd have a blast with him in the group.
I agree on Vin Diesel. He actually seems to be an awesome guy.
Quote from: aramis;316031It's that nasty socially conscious middle school environment that is to blame. High school is the side effect, not the cause.
Thanks! I´ll have to check that out. I lumped them together, but maybe wrongly so.
Yeah, in my experience (if my memory serves me correctly), middle school had the biggest concentration of assholes. High school was pretty mellowed out in comparison.
Quote from: Machinegun Blue;316045Yeah, in my experience (if my memory serves me correctly), middle school had the biggest concentration of assholes. High school was pretty mellowed out in comparison.
I remember back in high school, the assholes got kicked out or they just dropped out. The assholes frequently skipped a lot classes, and/or they got kicked out of class frequently whenever they showed up.
In middle school, the same assholes were not allowed to drop out and they usually didn't get kicked out unless it was for something really serious. One case I remember in middle school, was some kid who got expelled for kicking the principal in the balls and then punching him in the face. It was typically stuff which brought in the police, that was an expellable offense. Usually what happened when a kid was expelled in middle school, was that they were either moved either to another middle school or they ended up being homeschooled by their parents.
Quote from: Koltar;315842I have to disagree with most of your post in general. What some people are failingbto recognize is that what used to be cosidered 'geeky' or nard behavior has actually shifted over and becaome a subset of "Cool Behavior" or at least mainstream accepted behavior.
The thought in the thread title or enworld thread is close to 10 to 12 years out of date - the trouble may be that terminology has not caught up yet.
Think about it - "Big Bang Theory" is actually a ratings success. The reason? Most people have some part of those characters as themselves these days. (or thier boyfriend/girlfrien or spouse) The Big Bag characters 20 years ago would have been the 'odd' flavor characters on most sitcoms - now they are the heroes the general public roots for and we enjoy it when Penny starts accidentally absorbing the 'geek culture' references.
World of Warcraft - is a HUGE mainstream hit. Let's admit it , it has become "Cool". That game is basically boiled down D&D on a computer network.
Two years ahgo I went shopping with a female friend (a married friend) to the local HUSTLER store - while talking with the really nice looking sales clerk ...she admitted that she played WoW ...but she was worried poeople would think she was a geek. See? Secret "Geek Girl" blending in at the adult book store.
Mire recently, this past week I'm shopping at the MEIJER store....
I'm at the counter browsing at a promotional booklet for the newest 'RESIDENT EVIL' game.(the one with the orange cover and two fighters with rifles) - this guy asks me "You play that game , man?"
ME: "NO, I just liuke the artwork...I was thinking of borrowing for my Roleplaying game. " me pausing "I don't really like video games much"
Let me describe the guy talking to me : Tallish young African-American in an oversize white t-shirt there with his two friends dressed in mostly the same way. All three wearing denim pants and big sneakers/ Gym shoes on. When I say tall - I mean tasller than me....and I'm 6',1". When I told him my group had been 3 girls and 1 girl playing for about four years plus he said "That not that common". Turns out he and 1 of his friends had played D&D before at least 3 or 4 sessions. These guys would never normally fit some people's view of what 'geek' or 'nerd' looks like.
From what I can see I can see in and and around these suburbs - the world of subcultures and what is and is not 'cool' has changed massively, but not everyone has realized it yet.
- Ed C.
Dude, I don't even know where to start.
I will limit it to. Big bang is funny because its about geeks. Just cos there are more geeks now than there were in '83 does not make the geeks cool just in a majority ( a 5'10" guy in Tokyo is not tall he is just taller than 80% of the other people). Black guys can be geeks too and you met the guy in a video game store not in the gym or in Emporio Armani. Finally you seem like a nice bloke but why in every 'socially themed' post do you have to mention you game with a load of girls and loads come into your store. We get it you are a stud muffin now stop trying to make us jealous and go and finish that space station deck plan :)
I love space station deck plans. I've been working on updating one of my old ones for my next Traveller game. :)
I need a 2,000t cargo sea ship deck plan for Tramp Trader.
'Cool' effectively means '17-year olds want to have sex with you', so anyone who's cool is at least one of a musician, an actor, or gross. Think about what Fonzie would be like in real life.
Quote from: Darran;315994Yep, you're cool.
Except we call them mobiles here! :D
Sorry, it should have been hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones.
RPGPundit
This weekend my wife was talking to both Wil Weaton and Felicia Day. Both Wil and Felicia are D&D players. Are they cool people? Many people seem to think so...
Quote from: Mistwell;316247This weekend my wife was talking to both Wil Weaton and Felicia Day.
Who?
Quote from: jibbajibba;316096Dude, I don't even know where to start.
.....................whole bunch of words snipped here.................Black guys can be geeks too and you met the guy in a video game store not in the gym or in Emporio Armani.........................
No I didn't .
Read the detail in my post - I was at a local MEIJER store. Those stores are the "Big Box" kind but a smidgeon or so classier than WAL-MART. Just 3 yards away from where I met the guy was sporting goods, in the other direction was stationary/ office supplies, then Toys. We were in the corner of the store that Electronics, CDs, DVDs, and other electronics related stuff.
- Ed C.
Quote from: The Shaman;316250Who?
Who who? My Wife (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0600758/), Wil Weaton (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000696/), or Felicia Day (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1260407/)?
Quote from: Mistwell;316293Who who? My Wife (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0600758/), Wil Weaton (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000696/), or Felicia Day (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1260407/)?
Oy Vey!!
His Wife was Hygena!!
Thats okay - we had Feedback, Major Victory, & Fat Momma in the Klingon Jail 2 years agofor charity.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Benoist;315669It's just plain old dismissive bullshit.
Didn't read the context of the source?
Quote from: Benoist;315669First, we'd have to agree on a definition of "cool". Then, we'd have to agree that none of us know "cool" people playing RPGs beyond the anecdotal occurence. That's already a lost-cause type of statement.
Yes, absolutely. There's no way to consider it an objective or definitive statement in any sense. So it's also silly to take offence, since it can mean anything. Why not interpret it in the best light instead of the worst?
Quote from: Benoist;315669It allows people to call each other uncool, nerds, geeks, and dismiss whatever they're talking about because "nobody cares" or it's "nerdrage". That's typical internet BS fare, to me.
It could be used that way, I suppose. But that's not the way I intended it, as I explained in the other thread.
Also, nerds
are cool. There, figure that one out.
Quote from: Koltar;316295Oy Vey!!
His Wife was Hygena!!
Thats okay - we had Feedback, Major Victory, & Fat Momma in the Klingon Jail 2 years agofor charity.
- Ed C.
Feedback is also a D&D player. Major Victory and Fat Momma not so much :)
Back in High School playing RPG's wasn't considered cool so I think people got labeled as "uncool" for playing them. All I' have for evidence to the contrary is the fact that over the years I've GM'd for soldiers, Air Force nuclear missile launch officers, two college teachers, two lawyers, several engineers, a deputy sheriff, and an FBI agent. About the only thing these people had in common was that they tended to read more than most of the general public, did well academically, and liked to play RPG's for entertainment.
I've had some people who would probably be considered uncool in games in the past but the vast majority IMHO wouldn't fall into that category....although in fairness none of us gave a flying fuck if we were cool or not (which may be uncool I suppose).
Quote from: Grimjack;316609All I have for evidence to the contrary is the fact that over the years I've GM'd for soldiers, Air Force nuclear missile launch officers, two college teachers, two lawyers, several engineers, a deputy sheriff, and an FBI agent.
Most of the people I've played with have been Air Force and Navy, plus an ex-army private investigator.
Militaria is a branch of nerdness, so I don't think service people qualify as "cool", but it certainly undermines the common belief that gamers are pale basement-dwellers, detached from the real world.
The irony is greater because some of the guys I've played with took part in military actions that the mainstream jockocracy considers hardcore.
Posted in Mobile Mode
Quote from: Hairfoot;316621Most of the people I've played with have been Air Force and Navy, plus an ex-army private investigator.
Militaria is a branch of nerdness, so I don't think service people qualify as "cool", but it certainly undermines the common belief that gamers are pale basement-dwellers, detached from the real world.
The irony is greater because some of the guys I've played with took part in military actions that the mainstream jockocracy considers hardcore.
Posted in Mobile Mode
That is a good point since there were nerds in the group, but they were nerds who got to drop bombs and shoot people and such so they may need a new category for service members: "Mili-Nerds" or something.
I submit that if you must consider a term like 'Mili-nerds', or suggest that soldiers are nerds because they like militaria... just like many nerds... that you've broadened the definition of nerd out to uselessness.
I am sure there are nerds who become soldiers (though by a traditional defition of nerdiness they probably leave the nerdiness behind, or only suffer in comparision to other soldiers...)
This excessive fascination with pigeonholing and status quo-ism (once a nerd, always a nerd...) is only interesting academically. Personally, its disturbing.
Quote from: Spike;316695I submit that if you must consider a term like 'Mili-nerds', or suggest that soldiers are nerds because they like militaria... just like many nerds... that you've broadened the definition of nerd out to uselessness.
I am sure there are nerds who become soldiers (though by a traditional defition of nerdiness they probably leave the nerdiness behind, or only suffer in comparision to other soldiers...)
This excessive fascination with pigeonholing and status quo-ism (once a nerd, always a nerd...) is only interesting academically. Personally, its disturbing.
I can't imagine thinking a soldier was a nerd for liking militaria.
Actually I think you hit the point I was trying to make better than I did, which is that even if some of the guys I gamed with in the ROTC may have been nerds back in college they outgrew it by the time they got out of basic training but they kept right on gaming.
And I agree about pigeonholing, it is rarely accurate and therefore useless.
Quote from: Grimjack;316715I can't imagine thinking a soldier was a nerd for liking militaria.
Actually I think you hit the point I was trying to make better than I did, which is that even if some of the guys I gamed with in the ROTC may have been nerds back in college they outgrew it by the time they got out of basic training but they kept right on gaming.
And I agree about pigeonholing, it is rarely accurate and therefore useless.
The implication here is that all soldiers are cool... WTF? You have met soldiers right?
Look own you inner geek. Role players are not cool we are geeky, nerdy bookish folks you get a kick of pretending to be other people/things and working out ways of simulating that experience through a combination of rules, randomisation and lets-pretend.We are not cool. just accept it.
I would have thought that people who join the military would be nerds in the sense of 'socially awkward and so looking for structured forms of interaction', but also would be people who liked sport and the outdoors.
It could be a lot simpler than that.
First 6 months the game store was open, in mid 2004 - soldier came in on his leave and said he learned to play D&D while in Afghanistan.
He never played it in Hugfh School.
He said he liked the game because it was really fun to play.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Mistwell;316293Who who?
I was making a "life on the D-list" joke.
I play RPGs and I'm cooler than all of ya put together. ;)
Quote from: jibbajibba;316747The implication here is that all soldiers are cool... WTF? You have met soldiers right?
Look own you inner geek. Role players are not cool we are geeky, nerdy bookish folks you get a kick of pretending to be other people/things and working out ways of simulating that experience through a combination of rules, randomisation and lets-pretend.We are not cool. just accept it.
False dichotomy. Nerd and cool are not opposite ends of a spectrum, nor are they a binary pair of polar opposites.
No one claimed that soldiers were cool. That's a case by case consideration. What we said was that going by a traditional definition of 'Nerd', a soldier is disqualified due to the requirements of the job, and by a more liberal definition can only be considered 'nerdy' in comparison to other soldiers.
Look: the job is hard, physical and involves dangerous shit like guns and explosives and so on. Even if you want to claim a 'nerd' status for some reason, as a soldier, the traditional arbiters of 'nerdiness'... that is to say high school and college kids would be very hard pressed to make a solid case without looking like utter tools.
Quote from: Spike;316950False dichotomy. Nerd and cool are not opposite ends of a spectrum, nor are they a binary pair of polar opposites.
No one claimed that soldiers were cool. That's a case by case consideration. What we said was that going by a traditional definition of 'Nerd', a soldier is disqualified due to the requirements of the job, and by a more liberal definition can only be considered 'nerdy' in comparison to other soldiers.
Look: the job is hard, physical and involves dangerous shit like guns and explosives and so on. Even if you want to claim a 'nerd' status for some reason, as a soldier, the traditional arbiters of 'nerdiness'... that is to say high school and college kids would be very hard pressed to make a solid case without looking like utter tools.
For every hardbody in the dirt, there are 8 REMFS. (Rear Eschelon Mother F*ing S*heads... explitive form the asterisks as seen fit.) And most of those REMFS are desk-jockeys... and many are soft-bodies that make kyle's avvie look like Mr. Universe, rather than merely top 5%...
Were it for the Physical Fitness tests, we'd see a lot more tubbies in the ranks of the REMFS... The paper pushers don't need to do a lot of lift and tote. The fittest REMFS are the medics and civil engineers...
As I said: there are gradiations within the collective body of persons known as 'soldiers'.
However, collectively, regardless of gradiations those individuals have shot guns and been held to physical standards that are tougher than 'nerd' in the traditional sense, with assorted other factors.
Even if you expand the 'soldiers' to include Naval personnel and Airmen (who, collectively are entire corps of people that could be considered 'REMFs', leaving aside the pararescue guys, maybe the fighter jocks, and the SEALs...), the fact is that they do stuff that is outside 'nerd-dom' on a regular basis... often involving heavy machinery and/or death dealing shit, even if that 'regular basis' is twice a year.
Quote from: Spike;316975As I said: there are gradiations within the collective body of persons known as 'soldiers'.
However, collectively, regardless of gradiations those individuals have shot guns and been held to physical standards that are tougher than 'nerd' in the traditional sense, with assorted other factors.
Even if you expand the 'soldiers' to include Naval personnel and Airmen (who, collectively are entire corps of people that could be considered 'REMFs', leaving aside the pararescue guys, maybe the fighter jocks, and the SEALs...), the fact is that they do stuff that is outside 'nerd-dom' on a regular basis... often involving heavy machinery and/or death dealing shit, even if that 'regular basis' is twice a year.
Dude, I live next to an army base... Fort Richardson- "Pot bellies R us"... home of the 172d hunting and fishing...
The guys in good shape are deployed. The guys left behind are not, and outnumber the combat arms by a large margin. Hell, a lot of guys get riffed over weight, and take over the exact same job as a civil servant.
The Army alone has an 8:1 support:combat arms, not counting combat-unit-attached mechanics in the arty and armor as support. (DOD, 2002.) Medics, civil engineers, mechanics, they tend to be in good shape because the job requires it. Personnel clerks, supply clerks, computer techs, intel analysts, signal intercept... many don't even get daily PT. The modern army isn't mostly combattants, and hasn't been since about 1946...
Quote from: aramis;316983Dude, I live next to an army base... Fort Richardson- "Pot bellies R us"... home of the 172d hunting and fishing...
The guys in good shape are deployed. The guys left behind are not, and outnumber the combat arms by a large margin. Hell, a lot of guys get riffed over weight, and take over the exact same job as a civil servant.
The Army alone has an 8:1 support:combat arms, not counting combat-unit-attached mechanics in the arty and armor as support. (DOD, 2002.) Medics, civil engineers, mechanics, they tend to be in good shape because the job requires it. Personnel clerks, supply clerks, computer techs, intel analysts, signal intercept... many don't even get daily PT. The modern army isn't mostly combattants, and hasn't been since about 1946...
None of that is in dispute. What IS in dispute is that your comment in any way makes those remf's 'NERDS'.
Okay, one dispute: Obviously you have never worked a logistics job in your life or you wouldn't have included supply clerks in your 'fat barstards' litany. As near as I recall the minimum standards of fitness for supply personnel include: the ability to lift a 150 lb box and put in on an 8 foot high shelf unassisted and to transport a 300 lb weight 100 yards with assistance.
I can not speak for Fort Richardson, as I've never heard of it or the 172nd, though that is neighter here nor there, but of the three Army bases I've lived near 'fat' soldiers were in the distinct minority. Then too: Fat is not synonimous with 'nerd'.
I can't believe we're discussing "soldier" and "nerd" as if these were some kind of scientific taxonomical thing. "This is the skull of homo sapiens sapiens, this is the skull of homo erectus, this one of homo nerdus, and this one homo soldierus. The nerdus is identifiable by the usb port in the side. Excuse the bullet hole in the soldierus, he had a stoppage and looked down the barrel to see if it was loaded."
Seriously, what the fuck? "Nerd" is just an insult or self-deprecating joke. It's not some scientific category with detailed parameters and stuff.
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;317035....
Seriously, what the fuck? "Nerd" is just an insult or self-deprecating joke. It's not some scientific category with detailed parameters and stuff.
Are you so sure? ;)
http://dracos-otter.com/GeekJournal/GeekJournalHome.html
Just wait a couple hundred years, Jimmy my boy.
You'll see....
Quote from: Spike;316993None of that is in dispute. What IS in dispute is that your comment in any way makes those remf's 'NERDS'.
Okay, one dispute: Obviously you have never worked a logistics job in your life or you wouldn't have included supply clerks in your 'fat barstards' litany. As near as I recall the minimum standards of fitness for supply personnel include: the ability to lift a 150 lb box and put in on an 8 foot high shelf unassisted and to transport a 300 lb weight 100 yards with assistance.
I can not speak for Fort Richardson, as I've never heard of it or the 172nd, though that is neighter here nor there, but of the three Army bases I've lived near 'fat' soldiers were in the distinct minority. Then too: Fat is not synonimous with 'nerd'.
The 172nd is a separate brigade, and seperate bdes (except the 173rd Airborne) are the place careers go to die. Alaska is a shit duty assignment, so the 172nd is the lowest of the low.
Alaska sucks as an assignment because it counts as a Stateside tour, while being nearly as far from home as an overseas tour. As a general rule, if you're overseas and a screw-up, your orders come up for Alaska when you DEROs.
The exception might be for guys from Alaska, but odds are good they'll get Fort Drum or Hood as a Stateside tour, because that's how the Army works. :D
I retired from the Guard (served two enlistments in the Regular army) after 22 years combined service, and up to the day I retired I had to meet the height-weight-age requirements, so its hard to imagine a bunch of overweight Regulars. And BTW, 'riff' is Reduction in Forces-the last RIFF was in the early 90s. If you consistantly fail weight standards, you're chaptered out.
Quote from: OneTinSoldier;317175The 172nd is a separate brigade, and seperate bdes (except the 173rd Airborne) are the place careers go to die. Alaska is a shit duty assignment, so the 172nd is the lowest of the low.
Alaska sucks as an assignment because it counts as a Stateside tour, while being nearly as far from home as an overseas tour. As a general rule, if you're overseas and a screw-up, your orders come up for Alaska when you DEROs.
The exception might be for guys from Alaska, but odds are good they'll get Fort Drum or Hood as a Stateside tour, because that's how the Army works. :D
I retired from the Guard (served two enlistments in the Regular army) after 22 years combined service, and up to the day I retired I had to meet the height-weight-age requirements, so its hard to imagine a bunch of overweight Regulars. And BTW, 'riff' is Reduction in Forces-the last RIFF was in the early 90s. If you consistantly fail weight standards, you're chaptered out.
When I was in, Alaska was off limits for Alaskans. You couldn't be posted back here... fears of the AIP. It was, at the time, in DoD regs; my recuiter showed me that restriction, tho' it appears to have been lifted. Only Guard and Reserves people got to come back home.
And yes, the 172 Inf Brigade is the armpit of the army. Most of it's REMFS are overweight or right close to weight limit. One guy, a non-com, is about 100# overweight; he's been waivered because he's mission critical for his unit, and in a slot over his own grade due to lack of persons. He's E6, about 6', 350#, and samoan. He was talking about it over lunch in local restaurant, whilst feeding his 1Sg a samoan lunch of laulau and pulled pork.
I dunno, man. I've worked with Samoans. They may be big (very big) boys, but usually they have no trouble with the BMI...
Of course, since I recently found a local Hawaiian joint a couple miles down the road I may soon turn into a fuzzy yellow pseudo-samoan in my own right soon enough... same cost as any other food joint, four times as much food. How the FUCK do they keep the prices down?
If by cool you mean people like Paris Hilton, the recently deceased MJ, and/or Miley Ray Cyrus... then yes. I prefer they NOT play my game. Because they freaking ANNOY me.
Well MJ less so now that's he's dead.
Quote from: Spike;317228How the FUCK do they keep the prices down?
I don't know.
But the stray dog problem went away, too. ;)
(Actually, not a joke around some Viet joints in central Texas.)
This is wrong because I play RPGs!
Yeah, yeah I know, there is probably already someone upthread who has said the same thing.:)
Gal,
Sokay better to say now than be like "Oohhh!" and aah...or something.
Also tinny, I have no idea what you just said...but it's at least interesting. thumbs up.
Quote from: OneTinSoldier;317299I don't know.
But the stray dog problem went away, too. ;)
(Actually, not a joke around some Viet joints in central Texas.)
We used to say that about the stray cats, and why there never were any near this one chinese buffet I used to frequent in Fayetteville.
But I'm a pika, we'll eat anyone and anything, so its all good to me.
Quote from: Spike;317419But I'm a pika, we'll eat anyone and anything, so its all good to me.
Would you eat Rachael Ray pretty please?
Quote from: boulet;317567Would you eat Rachael Ray pretty please?
So long as she shucks my corn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNhBV9HxagU&feature=related) first!