[Believe it or not, ontopic] Mike Myers on "Inside the Actors Studio"

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

Well, darn.

Perhaps Vin Diesel can, then. Or Lexa Doigy Howser or whatever her name is.

At any rate, seeing the humor in every situation is good for the heart. Reduces stress and lowers the blood pressure.

--HT

 

[alsih2o]

gamers as geeks?

i have bungied, i used to work security for 3 major rock bands, i am ashamed of how many women i have slept with(not my lack thereof), i am married, have a relatively successful art career, i spent a short time (a long 18 months) running one of the most popular tity bars in the midwest, i am physically fit, musically current and well read.





and i giggle like a school girl when my sorc/druid unleashes lightning and summoned critters.

am i a geek? YES!!! but i am also a whole bunch more

 

[Wolfen Priest]

I don't mean to question something that is without question, but how d'ya figger? I know he's vaguely nerdy and geeky, but Katzenberg, The Wachowskis, Kevin Smith, Bill Macy, David Spade, Woody Allen...

You're right. I misspoke. I meant to say he is the biggest nerd in Hollywood right now ("big" being in terms of popularity/name-recognition).

Woody Allen might be more famous overall, but he was probably less of a geek as well, even in his prime. I mean, the guy was into baseball, jazz, and young chinese women(!)... plus, his movies usually had a point or revolved around some kind of real-life theme/issue, rather than simply being a parody of something that was stupid anyway (Austin Powers).

I'm not saying Mike Meyers is in no way cool. But, when I was last at the theatre (to see Attack of the Yawns), and the ad for Austin Powers 3 came up, at the very end of the trailer it was a closeup of Austin Power's face smirking, saying his usual "oh behave" the theatre literally fell dead silent. One guy could be heard saying sarcastically, "oh yeah, that looks really great."

I had to agree. I think Mike Meyers is funny, but he's not really clever funny. He just makes an ass of himself and expects us to laugh at him; but that formula can get old fast. MM, much like Adam Sandler, is just exploiting an idea over and over again to make a buck (IMO). Woody Allen didn't really do that. We could simpathize with him (a.k.a. a geek, but in a good way), but MM just pushes the limit of his idiocy until we laugh at the absurdity.

There might be bigger nerds in the world, sure. But there aren't any BIGGER nerds in the world.

 

[sigfried]

Myers confimed Geek

About a year ago a friend of mine ran into Myers at a local game store here in Seattle. I'm thinking he still plays something. Commedians make fun of everything.

Also Robin Williams also dropped by a local store buying Warhammer books, and he out ranks Myers, in celebrity points anyways.

 

[Henry]

It's funny, but back in the 1980's and the early 90's, It was the norm to be a "closet" gamer, yet you had to actually go out and buy the books in public places, since online shopping was not as prevalent.

Now, ironically, anyone could be a closet hobbyist of any sort, but the trend is to be "loud and proud" as a gamer. Where were those online resources when I was trying to play my Satanic Devil-Game quietly???

I do think that gaming has reached a new level of acceptance over the past few years. This may be the peak level of mainstreaming, or it may have even more success. It really depends now on marketshare. If gaming becomes as big as, say, pro skateboarding, or bungee jumping, and becomes higher profile through things such as interactive fiction or new gaming platforms such as Everquest or NWN, then we may see even more acceptance.

I guarantee that if a majorly accepted source (like, say, all the Veejays on MTV) came out as pro gaming or pro-LARPing, then RPG's would have more popularity than we even would have wanted for the game. In fact, we all would probably want a return to the simple days of the "Devil-gamers" stigma.

I just say, the more it's mentioned, the merrier.

 

[Neowolf]

Interestingly enough, I've never had anyone make fun of me for being into D&D. I've never made a secret of it, and have played in some capacity since middle school (for reference, I graduated from high school this past spring).

<disclaimer>
The next few paragraphs are not meant to be offensive or insulting, so if anything I say bothers you, I apologize in advance.
</disclamer>

I think the best thing for us to do if we want to fight the stereotype/stigma is just to prove to people that it isn't true. Be normal. Don't wear your Gencon or WotC shirts around all the time. Don't tote your dice bag everywhere you go and quote Monty Python. I'm not saying we should deny our hobby (quite the opposite actually), it's just best if we don't wave it in everyone's faces. Think about it like this: do the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronisms) people always run around in chainmail and wear a scabbard on their belt? NO.

Granted, I doubt our interests will ever reach the level of acceptance achieved by things like professional athletics. However, that doesn't mean we need to reinforce the negative press we've gotten over the past 20 years (and I realize I'm too young to really know what it was like back in the 80s when it was thought that all gamers were Satanists, but consider that I'm from Alabama, where people by and large haven't changed their opinions about the subject since then. )

 

[Wikidogre]

This is funny.....this discusion is one, i had last night trying to defend gamers, and that not all are poor-hygene, pizza faced, dorks who do nothing but site and play DnD.

Lots of people in high-school and now always look at me and say your a...a.. Gamer! why you say, well i have always attracted the In croud....me and my friends (gamers) were posible to most popular people in our neighborshood and school, and we are all open about gaming, we dont care. Everytime, someone new finds out we are gamers they reacte the same......your...a...a..gamer! I am sure some of you out thier have come across this illness.

So for everyone out thier, who mocks gamers as being geeks your wrong.

Football player+ All State Hockey Player+ Rugby Club Player = Wikidogre = GAMER!

F*off Mike!

 

[Zot_Wyzo]

Mike Meyers is the epitome of ubergeek.

He's one to talk, but heck, I'm proud to be a geek.

Geeks run the world. The richest man in the world got there by capitalizing on his geekiness.

I consider myself a professional geek. I've made a living working with computers for the past 20 years.

We are geeks.
We are proud.
We make the world run.

 

[kenaustin]

I just think it's sad that someone has to deride fellow fans of an activity you enjoy, just to save face.

However, the guy in that audience was probably some twink LARPer, so who cares about him? D&D is way cooler than that.

Caught me off guard with that one. Had to wipe tea off of my desk.

 

[bloodymage]

While we're all sitting here making fun of Mikey, let's take a look at the group he's calling nerds. Can you look at your average gamer and say "No, you're wrong, I'm sure this is a very nice fellow who doesn't stink, won't quote Monty Python in every sentence, and has actually kissed a real live girl"? I think we've got reason to be offended, but I think he's got even better reason for saying what he did. Even if he was joking.

First of all, as to my personal geek quotient, I've jumped ot of airplanes, I've been 1500 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley ascending a rock face, I've bicycled from San Diego to the Salton Sea (nearly 400 miles)...lemme see...I've been married, have 3 children, don't know a word of Monty Python and, oh yeah...I wear glasses! One other thing, I turn 50 this year!

As to my group, only one could truly be considered a nerd and he's just transitioning to D&D from LARP...go figure! I also have a prospective new member, my masseuse!

As far as Mike Meyers goes, I sat down to watch Austin Powers bound and determined to enjoy it. I couldn't take more than 20 minutes. I walked out!

There's definitely some geek in me, in my players, probably in all of us gamers. Not many I see these days, or in the past for that matter, fit the derogatory "gamer" stereotype.