The gist of the article seems to be, at first read, that girls (no mention of guys) who do not have an iron solid claim to the geekdom fame should just stay away. It reads as an elitist piece, excluding large groups of could-be geeks. I did read some of the comments as well, where the author of the article makes clear that she’s only lashing out against those who simply pretend to be obsessed with something in order to come off as cool. I can understand that, to a certain point.

But here’s the thing: Is that so bad? Is it any worse than being any other kind of, for lack of a better word, “poser”? Can’t faking an interest in something in order to fit in with a certain group eventually lead to an actual interest in the subject?

Today the word is the exact opposite of its original meaning; a term once used to inflict social cruelty is now a term of endearment, everyone and their dog self-proclaims themselves as a geek in whatever passing interest they have.

Yes. That happens. One of the first things we discuss in historical method is that terms change. All the time. This will probably always enrage those that felt a special connection to the term, with the meaning it had when they first identified with it. But it happens. These times have, on several occasions, been proclaimed “the age of the geek”. How can we call it that, yet deny entry to this group to a whole lot of people, simply because we don’t agree with their definition?

I’m a self-proclaimed Harry Potter geek. That doesn’t mean that I frown upon those who haven’t read the books in English but in their original language, or those who have no idea what Hermione’s middle name is, or where you would look to find a bezoar. It’s ok. You can still geek out with me over your general love for the subject.

I also like to think that I’m something of a scifi geek. However: I haven’t watched Star Trek. I’ve tried, it didn’t catch my fancy. I didn’t watch the original Star Wars trilogy until after the prequels (mostly because my little brother would watch them pretty much on repeat when we were growing up, thereby forever taking up the TV and VCR).

If you are otaku-obsessed about something, keep doing what you love and share with others that have the same passionate interest as you. And if you think something is interesting but aren’t willing to put the time and effort into understanding it deeply or becoming extremely skillful at it, do everyone a favor and call yourself what you are: a casual hobbyist.

I disagree. You can be intensely passionate about something, anything, without “understanding it deeply”. Also, again, it’s all about definitions. How deep do you have to go? How about if you’re just starting out and learning something new? It’s all a bit too “you have to be this high to ride” for me.

Now if someone sticks a video game into their XBOX 360 console, they self-label themselves a ‘gamer.’

Isn’t that what they are? The term itself suggests that if you play games, you should be able to call yourself a gamer. Yes, I know that many – probably myself included, I can be somewhat elitist sometimes before I catch myself at it – would say that you’re not a gamer until you’ve devoted X amount of years to playing games, owned at least one pre-Playstation console, played at least Y amount of different games. You didn’t play Super Mario Bros until Galaxy? LOL, newb. You’ve never blown into a game cartridge to make it work? Get off my lawn!

But who is to set these limits? Who gets to decide when you’re “allowed” to call yourself a gamer, or a geek?

I’d venture to say that how you label yourself is your own business. If you identify with a certain group because of characteristics or interests you believe yourself to have, great! Everyone needs to feel that they belong somewhere, with someone, in a context that can be identified by others. Who is to say that someone is more worthy than others? If we’re talking a close circle of friends or aquaintances, fine. If we’re talking the geek population of the world, not so much.

Again – the way I see it, it’s about coming to terms with the changing of definitions. Or perhaps not changing, but widening. A lot of the comments on the article seem to share this sentiment – shouldn’t we who have identified as geeks for a while now be welcoming towards those who want to join our ranks? Does the term “geek” lose all meaning if we’re suddenly not a hunted, bullied minority?

To be fair, I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent being pretty much the only girl in my group of friends who enjoyed video games. And yes, I might foam at the mouth a bit if I see someone claiming to be a SUPERGEEK LOL because they just read a book, or watched a couple of hours of Discovery Channel. But when I do, I shake myself a bit (as much as that is possible without just looking like I’m spasming for no apparent reason, seeing as no one can hear my internal discussion with myself) and tell myself to stop being a judgemental bitch. You don’t know everyone and why they say the things they say. Maybe it seems like they’re throwing your identity around without care, but maybe there’s more behind it. Maybe they want to get more into comic books, scifi movies, miniature model painting, what have you, but choose to approach it as if it’s something they’re ashamed about – after all, it’s pretty recent that society has told us that it’s ok to have these kinds of interests without also indicating that you are socially inept.

So my point, in so far as I have one major point, is that if you think you’re a geek, or you want to be a geek, of whatever shade or degree – you go right ahead! Terms and definitions are what we choose to make them.

(Apologies is this is ranting and disjointed – it’s late, but I know that if I save this as a draft to revisit tomorrow for review and editing, it will most likely stay there until the end of times.)

What was I saying?

Yeah. Going on Twitter.

Sometimes when I open up my Gmail account, I see this totally awesome subject line that captures my interest at once, and I’m all “FINALLY, something that isn’t Groupon”. Then I realise that it’s an e-mail I sent myself.

I e-mail myself a lot. I’ll see a site or something that I want to explore further, but I can’t be bothered with it while using the iPhone, so I e-mail myself the link to have a look when I’m on the laptop.

But then this happens. I get all excited, and then disappointed, and then kind of excited again, because hey – I sent this to myself for a reason!

Nostalgic for the times when drinking at the job was practically mandatory? Mad Men is for you.

One of my biggest obsessions, TV show wise, is Mad Men. Season 5 just started, and I was for a bit rather upset at the timing of episode 1+2 – I’d be away in Bergen for a conference at the time. Then I realised that as long as the hotel I stayed at had a decent wifi connection, preferrably a free one, I could just download it onto my iPad. Win! This turned out to be even more of a win since I got sick just before leaving, so staying in my hotel room with Mad Men on the iPad was perfect! Except the being sick part.

Since there is a week between each episode, I’m keeping my obsession in check by rewatcing all the previous seasons. Thanks to the Easter break, I’ve plowed through season 1 in just a couple of days. Rewatching it made me think about how I first came to watch the show, a story I thought I’d share (yeah, I took three paragraphs to get to the real point of this post, SO WHAT).

I was at a course-seminar thing through my job at the university, all about marketing. I’m not really sure why I went, as I have nothing to do with marketing. It might be because I thought I could better at marketing my department? Definitely not sure. Anyway, they showed us a clip from Mad Men – from the last episode of season 1, the one where Don Draper (insert swoon here) did his presentation of The Wheel/Carousel for Kodak.

This is Don Draper. You'll probably buy whatever he's selling.

This is where I would have put the video clip from Youtube, but embedding has been removed by request. If that was you requesting, AMC, you suck. Seriously, not letting people embed and share a show that’s centered around, among other things, advertising? Sharing on the internet = free advertising for your show. I shake my head in disbelief at you.

Here’s the link instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2bLNkCqpuY. Not as awesome as an embedded video.

When I first saw that clip, I didn’t see any of the other trappings that might have enticed me into watching the show – namely, the 60′s setting. But the presentation of The Carousel, the feelings it apparently enlicited in the watchers – that’s what got me. I’m big on nostalgia. Very, very big. I’m hit by it almost every day, by the strangest little things. I’ll watch the snow falling outside, something that I actually despise, and suddenly feel a wave of longing for when I was a kid and the best thing that could happen was snow during the Easter holidays, because that meant skiing and sledding all day long. I’ll hear a song, and almost shed a tear for the bygone times when my mother would sing to me before bedtime.

I read a comment on one of the Youtube videos, saying how the clip plays on nostalgia twice over:

Do people get the self-reflection in this scene? Don is actually giving reason for the success of the series “Mad Men”. “Sentimental bond” with the Sixties, “nostalgia” for a classy era, “place we ache to go again” etc. Mad Men is the actual “time machine” for the viewer. This scene works so on many levels.

So there you go. Might be that my love for the show itself stems from nostalgia. Now go, watch, and let me know what you think – I’d love to have someone to talk to about this show!

Not convinced? Don Draper says it's your loss.

Hobbit power! Image credit

So I should just go ahead and do that, right? NOT RIGHT. Because here’s the catch: You kind of have to have people to play with! I don’t have any of those. I’ve asked my dear husband. He doesn’t want to play games with me. I’ve asked my brother. He knows what a sore loser and gloaty winner I am (picture Sheldon Cooper, but with a much more sarcastic flair), mostly because he’s just the same, so we’re not sure that would work out. And then… I’m kinda out of people to ask. I know, I know. Sad. I have almost no friends.

I downloaded Carcassonne on the iPad, because it allows you to play by yourself. Yes, that’s also a little sad. And then I often lose, and I’m all “SCREW YOU, IPAD. I’M GOING TO READ A BOOK INSTEAD, SO SUCK IIIIT.” And then I remember that I have all my new books on the iPad, too. Shit.

Well, after that fiasco, I did what any normal person would do: I googled “board game Trondheim”. Only, in Norwegian, because I figured it wouldn’t make sense for any websites about that to be in English. And I found a board game club! In Trondheim! And they accept newbies! Raise yo hands, people!

So I should just go ahead and do that, right? NOT RIGHT THIS TIME EITHER. Because here’s another catch: I am so completely shy and awkward around people I don’t know, that I can’t ever see myself mustering up the courage to go there and be all “oh hey guys, I want to play board games but I only know Monopoly, and also I suck at Carcassonne on the iPad, so please be gentle with me.” I just…can’t. And I don’t have anyone to bring, because did you read the second paragraph of this post?

Also, besides being socially awkward, I have this suspicion that is totally unfounded in any truth whatsoever, that existing groups of geeks kind of band together and don’t easily open up to new people. I base this on my visit to one of Trondheim’s geeky stores (kind of like Forbidden Planet) a few years back. A friend of mine and me went there, and the moment the store clerk saw us walk in the door, he ran upstairs and didn’t come back down again all the while we were there. Of course, there might be a plausible explanation for this: He might have just eaten a whole lot of licorice, because we all know what happens then. If you don’t, you can totally try it at home. Or just google it.

I’d just like to take a moment to say, in case any Trondheimers read this, that I have since been back to the OTHER geeky store in Trondheim, Outland, where I still feel awkward, but the store clerks are so nice and welcoming.

I think it mostly comes down to me being awkward, and also being very quick to believe that everyone else thinks I am out of place, hence I feel out of place.

There is no real point to this post besides me whining about wanting to play board games. There has been some talk at work of getting together a group, but we’re so slow to get things going. This might be because I said I’d host the first gathering since I don’t have any kids to shoo out of the house.

Feature image nicked from here. And now I read the post it was taken from, and desperately also want to play Pandemic. DAMMIT.

Nawww.

Tonight I finally got around to re-watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. Several of my earlier complaints about it still stand – namely two: The whole “let’s finish this the way we started it, Tom” thing (ugh WHY); and the epilogue, which makes me throw up in my mouth a little, both in its written and its visual forms.

Because the thing about the epilogue is that it reads like fanfic of the very worst kind, the kind with Mary Sues and Gary Stus abound. Seriously, it could have been written by a 12 year old fangirl. Here’s pretty much what will happen after the new Potters and Weasleys and Malfoys board the Hogwarts Express (please note that this list is not exhaustive):

• Albus Severus is the first ever Hogwarts student to be put in two houses at the same time. He’s both a Gryffindor AND a Slytherin. This of course also means that he can play for both Quidditch teams, using a time turner to be able to play against himself when the two house teams face off against each other.
• Lily Luna mysteriously develops colour-changing eyes, which by old wizarding lore signifies great talent for absolutely everything.
  

  Suck it, Hermione - Lily Luna is in da hooouse!

• Snape’s illegitimate son shows up unexpectedly, he may or may not be the result of a drunken night Snape and the female Carrow had shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts. God only knows where she has been hiding the kid up until now. Love triangle between Snape Jr., Lily Luna and Hugo Weasley ensues.
• Albus Severus with friends (probably named the New Marauders or Marauders 2.0) are daring each other with bungee jumping from the Hogwarts bridge, when one of them spots one of the pieces of the Elder Wand.
• Rose Weasley uses her super awesome library skills to scrounge up information on how it ended up there and where the other piece might be (considering Harry’s throws, I’d say it’s a few meters away from the first one, but what kind of adventure would THAT be?).
• The gang go on an adventure to find it. They do find it. Lily Luna then uses her excellent skill of EVERYTHING to mend it.
• With the newly mended Elder Wand, Albus Severus can also be awesome at everything. At least everything that requires a wand.
• Since no one can ever be as awesome as Albus Severus and Lily Luna combined, they assume the family name of Dragonborn and marry each other, Targaryen-style. Because seriously, no fanfic is complete without at least one crossover.
• Ok, one more point to complete all obligatory points of a HP fanfic: James Sirius and Scorpius Hyperion turn out to be madly in love with each other. Thus ends the long, proud Malfoy bloodline.

THE END.

I’m not much of a cook, but I really would like to be. I try to cook new dishes every now and then, but my problem is that I’m not often able to make a menu and stick to it – I’ll have something awesome planned, but then when I get home after work I’m all “meh, tired, ordering pizza”.

This doesn’t stop me from trying, though. I’ve made a menu for this week. To be honest, though, we’ve already deviated from it. Yeah, yeah – a week menu, and Monday is already a cheat day, heh. What happened was that I’d planned orange chicken, but then Tor texted me and told me a friend of his had bought him dinner as a thanks for helping out with some car stuff.

ANYWAY. This doesn’t completely screw up my plans, since I haven’t really been grocery shopping yet.

So here it is, this week’s menu:

Monday: Cheat day.

Tuesday: Orange chicken.

Wednesday: Pan fried halibut with steamed potatoes and undecided sauce.

Thursday: Pirogies.

Friday: Tandoori salmon with green salad and tzatztiki (or possibly raita)

Saturday: Assorted sausages (I know we have bratwurst, at least) with sweet potato fries and possibly red pepper relish.

Sunday: Mustard pork chops with boiled potatoes and oven baked carrots.

Heh, I may have watched too much of Hell’s Kitchen, but whenever I see or hear the word “halibut”, I keep thinking about Gordon Ramsay and his awesome temper. IT’S RAW, IT’S FUCKING RAW!

My halibut will not be raw. Hopefully.

Also, note to self: Take halibut out of freezer tonight or your menu will be borked once more.

No love for the water levels, though.

It’s no secret that I’ve been playing games for a long, long time – since before the term “gamer” was coined to represent, among others, those of us glued to the screen, mesmerized by Mario’s seemingly endless quest to rescue his beloved princess. Since then, the world of games has evolved like crazy. I remember thinking that Super Mario Bros. 3 was the most graphically sophisticated game ever. Now? Not so much, even though the entertainment value remains the same.

Anyway: With the advent of the newer gaming consoles, 3D games became more and more the norm, while my beloved 2D platformers more or less faded into Oblivion (capital O intended – get it?). And I miss them, I miss them so much. Besides Wind Waker, which is probably my favourite game of all time, I prefer 2D platformers above most other games. Point in case? When the Nintendo Wii was released, I bought one on release day (purely by accident – or providence – but that’s another story), along with two games: Rayman Raving Rabbids, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I’ve finished Raving Rabbids, mostly because it’s hilarious and made up of small games, hence making it very casual. However, I’ve probably logged only about 3 hours total of Twilight Princess since its release. What I’ve used the Wii for, mostly, is purchasing old NES and SNES (and the occasional Sega Mega Drive) games and played those. And they are – you probably guessed it – platformers.

But now. Now there’s a new kid in town. Mario has already called me a blasphemer for this, but when I got The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Christmas, I exchanged it. I exchanged it for one of the most awesome and hilarious games I’ve ever played: Rayman Origins. When I first heard about it being marketed as a return to the 2D platformer, I was hooked. When I watched a gameplay video on Youtube, I was sold. I had to have it. And I have not regretted it for one second.

Yes. This actually happens in the game.

Rayman Origins is made by insane people, there can be no doubt. But insane in a good way. Like – on acid, but without in any way being a danger to themselves or others. From the moment you start the game, it is like being on an intense sugar high. It. Is. Crazy. CRAZY FUN. And it IS a return to the roots. Rayman was my first Playstation game, and it has held a special place in my heart ever since, along with the early Super Mario Bros. games, Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Wind Waker. Origins does it justice, most definitely. I especially love the zany intro movie, and the Mosquito levels.

It’s a rare thing these days that I want to sit down and play a game for hours, but that gaming joy has been rekindled with Rayman Origins. Ubisoft, I am grateful.

HAH.

Well, one can always hope.

Anyway. Before letting renate.nu fade into nothingness, I did remember to take a backup of the database. I did not, however, remember to export the posts from WordPress, and I didn’t want to use the entire database, so here I am, with a blank blog. I’ve manually imported the Bioshock Adventure posts via my Livejournal, because that’s a series that I aim to continue, and I didn’t want the beginning to be gone.

And, well, that’s it. Please have a look at my About page, as I’m asking for contributions.

She looks friendly.

Well, before going there I finished some other things, most notably dodging a Little Sister and her Big Daddy (in a cut scene, but whatever), killing a splicer on fire and taking the elevator to higher ground. A part of me is still a little sad that completing an objective gets me nothing. A level up would have been nice about now.

I’m somewhat getting the hang of moving around and aiming to kill things. However, I encountered a moving target, which caused some problems because I kept turning the wrong way, looking up when I should look down etc (sidenote – since I can’t invert the X-axis, I’ve opted not to invert Y either). I got him in the end, though. I also learned that you can’t shoot electro bolts between stair railings. Pah!

Today’s play hasn’t been too scary – I’ve even ventured into areas away from where the objective arrow pointed me, just to check out what was there! Other achievements of today include using a weapon other than the wrench, hacking a Security Bot, and not dying. Yay!

All in all great progress has been made today. 1 – I made it to a new place, the Medical Pavilion, 2 – didn’t die, and 3 – I only stopped playing because the game crashed, not because I was too scared to go on. The game crash is somewhat disconcerting, as it is the second time this has happened. Hopefully the disc just needs some cleaning – I would hate to have to abandon my new project because of a broken game disc (or worse, a broken Xbox! (although to be honest, I’d like to get a new one of the new generation that are smaller and less noisy (but I’d rather not have to spend that money until I have to))).

Also, no whales spotted. They might be hiding to pop out at me when I least expect it, though – just like everything else in this game.