There's a Fine Line Between Geek and Nerd

Recently I had a hankerin' for some Beavis & Butthead, so I put in one of their DVDs. Work Sucks and Feel Our Pain to be specific. I know a lot of people, particularly women and the older generation find them insufferable, which I can understand. Initially I thought all their huh huhs and heh hehs would make me mental, but I eventually got into them and now I love them. It's not so much that it's Pulitzer prize-winning comedy or storylines, but because I can relate to them on some levels. One episode entitled "Patsies" is one of my all-time favorite episodes (shown). It's about a group of goody two shoe nerds who've formed a social club at school called The P.A.T.s. P.A.T. being the acronym for Positive-Acting Teens. Lol! You can pretty much imagine the types of kids that make up the group. If not, creator Mike Judge has done a good job making them come to life through his animation.

The episode begins with the dad of one of the P.A.T.s suggesting that they share some of their positivity with those less fortunate. Namely Beavis & Butthead, who are pulled from detention and forced to participate in an impromptu trash pick up along the highway. After enduring a car trip filled with inane debates over whether one would make Data a human being or restore Jordi's sight (re: Star Trek the Next Generation), naturally Beavis & Butthead are horrified. Once they reach their destination, everyone (with the exception of B&B, of course) begin singing Micheal, Row The Boat Ashore. The look on Butthead's face is priceless. My sentiments exactly.

My point? Geeks are annoying. Dorks and nerds I can tolerate, but geeks are insufferable. Yeah yeah I know what the goodies out there are gonna say "But those people who you call 'geeks' are going to be rich someday." And.... your point is? Sorry, you can have all the money in the world, it's still not gonna NOT make you a geek. So much for living "well" being the best revenge.

I was at Half Price Books recently with a couple of friends and we were privy to a cluster of geeks so intense that they even managed to transcend nationality. Interpret this however you will, but it was my first black geek sighting. Seriously! I've known Asian geeks, white geeks, even some Indian geeks, but never had I been cognizant of a black geek. I mean, think about it: Jazz, Rap, the Blues, Kool & the Gang. Not necessarily the realm of geeks. The closest thing we've had was Jaleel White playing Urkel on Family Matters, and that was just a television character. With that said, I was compelled to take photos of the next generation of the Trench Coat Mafia. I just know they were in a Matrix state of mind. Both my friends and I couldn't help but overhear their every gorked out conversation. Whether it was about computer software or, well, computer software.

For my older readers who are thinking "What about me? Is geekdom only for the young?" Fear not, geeks come in all ages, shapes and, apparently, nationalities. Why, just take a look at my collage for a picture of the road block with a pulse who felt compelled to pull up a chair right in the middle of one of the aisles. Nice. This doesn't necessarily fall into the category of 'geek' per say, but more in the category of 'idiot.' If my camera's charge hadn't puttered out, I would have been able to take pictures of TWO more people (I swear they could have been triplets) doing the exact same thing. One camped out in front of the Fashion section, Performing Arts section and ironically, the Health section. Why do people do stupid shit like this? I find it hard to believe that they take absolutely no consideration of others around them. It's not like there aren't out-of-the-way places in the store. I don't get it.

Oh, and to add insult to injury, the woman pictured sitting in the chair above was also browsing the DVD section at the same time I was, when whoever she was with called her name from across the store to which she bellowed "WHAT!?" Apparently tact isn't in her vocabulary. I've said it before and I'll say it again: People stink.

This brings me to some older photos I had stored in my camera. A few months ago, Nathan and I paid an impromptu visit to the local comic book store. Since I hadn't been there in like 10 years, I was anxious to see if there was any new, cool graphic novels and/or some of those groovy Ugly Dolls. Well, we knew we were in for a geekfest before we even reached the front door. Written in chalk on the sidewalk was the announcement that today was "D&D Game Day" Sigh. Evidently, Dungeons & Dragons' popularity didn't die in the 80's. Once inside, the geekularity was overwhelming. Apparently shoulder bags are the premiere geek accessory, as everyone seemed to be sporting them. What's in there anyway? A deck of Magic The Gathering cards, some Wrigley's Spearmint Gum and assorted LOTR action figures? Perhaps. Whatever the case, my photo shoot was cut short when I heard someone nearby making explosion sounds, yells and cries under their breath. When I turned around I saw nothing. Heard nothing. There were a couple of people browsing, one was some cute skater-type guy with hair in his face and the other was some guy in a motorized wheelchair (I had a class with him in college. He has an identical twin brother who is ALSO in a wheelchair. How bizarre is that? And no, it's not genetic. Both were due to accidents. Freaky).

I spy the Ugly Dolls and some really great Pulp Fiction Lego-style toys. As I'm looking the stuff over, I hear it again. More "explosions" and this time, assorted clicks and grunts. I turn around, and to my dismay, it's cutie skater guy acting out some battle between some action figures on a shelf in front of him. Oblivious that anyone is watching...listening. On the one hand it's great that he's got an active imagination, so many people don't these days. On the down side, he's acting out battle scenes between inanimate objects. In public. SIGH.

So there you have it. My rant for the day. And for those who feel the need to have Dork, Nerd and Geek terms defined, here they are, courtesy of Geekculture.com:

• Dork- Purely derogative. There is no implication of any skills (or useful knowledge) whatsoever. Interest may be present, but no actual skills.

• Nerd- Derogative but skills and/or knowledge are present. However a useful outlet for those skills is usually missing. Amateur status is also implied. For example: a "Computer Nerd" is most likely your neighbor who is quite familiar with the workings of the internet. (He/She might be able to install an extra hard-disk in a computer but is clueless about LVD SCSI.

• Geek- Similar to "Nerd" in basic description. "Geek" however implies hireability (for their skills and/or knowledge). Key to "Geek" is the implication of hireability.