Top 10 Ways to Provoke a Geek Argument - Cast&Crew

That's funny.

I don't even know if I want to say this but Bangel or Spuffy seems to do the trick with us Whedonites anyway :)

[ edited by property of Mr Gordo on 2009-06-10 16:23 ]

Whedonette | June 10, 16:21 CET

Ha. Numbers 5 and 2 would drive me bonkers.

jkalderash | June 10, 16:29 CET

#3 made me a bit nauseous.

kazzmere | June 10, 16:34 CET

Trolls that dwell in certain online places would beg to differ on the "We like to think things through, so passionate confrontations aren’t commonplace for us.

I think there might be missing something concerning Michael Bay, another ferocious subject, and there's always that traditional Ninja Vs. Pirates, which seems more serious to me than the PIrates of the Caribbean item from the list.

But have to agree on a few of them making me go, as well put by jkalderash, bonkers too.

Numfar PTB | June 10, 16:36 CET

#1 and #9 - are the only ones that could mostly make me care for an argument.

#2 - I can't be bothered with anymore. If people don't like Whedon's stuff, they don't, and probably won't.

#10 - I actually agree, somewhat.

#8 - Whatever. I don't play them (except for the occasional Xbox 360 Fallout 3, which doesn't even count, I think?)

#7 - Erm, who cares?

#6 - I own an Xbox 360. What other people use it for? Don't care.

#5 - I actually agree, and don't care. The only thing that could cause an argument from me would be linux and Mac-devotees insisting that I should "convert".

#4 - I don't think the Ewoks was the best thing about Star Wars, but I don't like Star Wars anyway.

#3 - I agree. Without having read any Terry Brooks - or even knowing what he wrote. =oP

And I mostly don't bother thinking things through. Maybe I'm not a geek anyway... =o)

Kaneda | June 10, 17:08 CET

Well, Terry Brooks is one of the first fantasy authors I read as a young teen and thus one of my favorites. I went to see him when I was 16 (my cat had died a month prior so I was quite depressed) and he was very nice.

So he will always have a special place in my heart.

I was about halfway through LoTR when I moved from Japan to the US. That book, along with all others, were stolen during shipment, so Tolkien is associated with a negative memory.

I also think that the Ewoks are underrated (everyone seems to remember them as cute and cuddly, forgetting that they eat people and are scary). Greedo didn't shot first. And of course, Joss is not a hack.

But nothing on that list raises my hackles. The one that resonated the most is Greedo shot first.

eta: Forgot the word didn't the first time, which made my statement opposite what I intended.

[ edited by theclynn on 2009-06-10 19:56 ]

[ edited by theclynn on 2009-06-10 20:02 ]

theclynn | June 10, 17:28 CET

And here I was expecting "if cavemen and astronauts got into a fight..."

barboo | June 10, 18:08 CET

2. “Joss Whedon is a hack!”

Would actually do quite the opposite, it mean any further disscusion would be pointless, we're not going to agree on anything.

7. “The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are so realistic!”

Doesn't seem particular geeky, I think everyone would sigh on that one. Though I guess actually taking the bait would be quite geeky. (I can imagine the very long list of impropablities in the movies already.)

4. “The Ewoks were the best thing about the original Star Wars trilogy.”

I quite like the Ewoks too, though I do have to admit I had forgotten that they eat people, who would that be again, theclynn?

[ edited by the Groosalugg on 2009-06-10 21:45 ]

the Groosalugg | June 10, 18:09 CET

#8- I get a little riled up when people confuse RPTs with RPGs. But that's not the point of this... point.

#7- Wait, they're not? :D

#4- I loved the Ewoks, but... Chewbacca was the bestest.

#3- Who the hell is Terry Brooks? ;)

#2- I didn't really know what 'hack' meant, so I wasn't provoked. I copy&pasted that into Google, though, and... *gasp* Someone thinks Stephanie Meyer is "far better than him". Now I'm provoked. :o

Braeden Fireheart | June 10, 19:25 CET

theclynn, Greedo didn't shoot first in the original release of A New Hope. The movie was (clumsily) edited to add a shot from Greedo prior to Han's, in order to make him a more classically heroic character, but originally he just shot Greedo without warning, mid-conversation. Sorry if you already know that; it was unclear from your post.

I think the Mal we see in Serenity is a realization of what Han could have been, were he allowed to go to a darker place instead of being forced to be a hero. Shooting an armed and threatening opponent is a long way from Mal's three shots at unarmed, non-hostile men in the BDM, but I think it would have been interesting to explore Han's efficiency/unscrupulousness further in Star Wars 5 and 6.

Mercenary | June 10, 19:25 CET

Hey Mercenary, my post was unclear because what I wrote was completely opposite of what I meant. I completely meant that Greedo didn't shoot first. Han did, because he is smart and awesome and no re-release can change that.

Making such an embarrassing mistake like that shows that I made the wise decision to waste time on the internet rather than write pages for my websites.

Stupid allergies, fogging up my brain.

theclynn | June 10, 20:01 CET

The Groosalug said:

I quite like the Ewoks too, though I do have to admit I had forgotten that they eat people, who would that be again, Kaneda?

Who would the what now? =o)

I really can't see any Ewoky goodness. They were scary when I was a kid, boring when I grew up...

[ edited by Kaneda on 2009-06-10 20:27 ]

Kaneda | June 10, 20:27 CET

I knew the 'who shot first' thing was important! I'm not a Star Wars fan at all, but I mentioned that to someone as a reference for my Whedon-y life, like "you know, we talk about stuff like... like if it were Star Wars, 'who shot first'." And I was told that was an unimportant point. I was pshaw-ed!

I knew he was a loser.

ormaybemidgets | June 10, 20:37 CET

Terry Brooks is a fantasy author. His first book The Sword of Shannara he did not merely use sources but literally lifted the plot, in detail, from The Lord of the Rings. He's done other books since.

DaddyCatALSO | June 10, 21:23 CET

Kaneda wrote:

The Groosalug said:

I quite like the Ewoks too, though I do have to admit I had forgotten that they eat people, who would that be again, Kaneda?

Who would the what now? =o)

I really can't see any Ewoky goodness. They were scary when I was a kid, boring when I grew up...

---

Woops! I meant theclynn (who wrote everyone seems to remember them as cute and cuddly, forgetting that they eat people and are scary), were I wrote Kaneda

the Groosalugg | June 10, 21:45 CET

I love my Mac!

Dana5140 | June 10, 21:56 CET

At first glance I thought it said "Top 10 ways to Prove a Geek Argument" which would have been much more interesting to me. I've always got some geek argument I'm trying to prove...

I had no idea that the term for Buffy/Angel romance was "Bangel." Yikes.

Revolver | June 10, 21:58 CET

Ah, well, in that case, I think I can actually answer that question, Groo =o) The ewoks were about to eat Luke and co when they arrived on the planet of the furry shark-eyed ones. So yes, they eat people (although I'm sure that could start another academic geek argument) ;-)

[ edited by Kaneda on 2009-06-10 22:28 ]

Kaneda | June 10, 22:28 CET

I was nine years old when RotJ came out, so I found Ewoks adorable... even with their penchant for nearly eating people. Even at that age, though, they were far from the coolest thing in that universe. Obviously, that's Han. On the other hand, put Jar Jar Binks in that statement and I think my head would explode.

I'm surprised there wasn't a nod to somebody saying Fox made the right call on pulling Firefly's plug, though (or Angel, for that matter). Them's fightin' words.

Meltha | June 10, 22:38 CET

Ah, that's it. Thanks Kaneda (and sorry for the mistake).

Meltha, I was about the same age (a little bit younger, 7 or 8 I think) when I saw Return of the Jedi, which I think is the perfect age since I found them neither scary nor boring, but kinda cute and funny. Somehow I haven't seen the second half of RotJ in years (I have seen IV&V and the seen bit with Jabba, but somehow I don't make it through the second half. Maybe it's because af the Ewoks ;)), so I don't really know what I think about them now.

the Groosalugg | June 10, 22:55 CET

Revolver, you can pretty well take any two characters and squash their names together for a relationship. Spuffy. Spander. Spangel...

Angel and Anya would be a challenge.

[ edited by redeem147 on 2009-06-10 23:13 ]

redeem147 | June 10, 23:13 CET

They missed the one I always run into - they're not dolls, they're ACTION figures!

kmb99 | June 10, 23:33 CET

Anyagel?
Angya?

Giles_314 | June 10, 23:37 CET

I hate when people compare Charmed to Buffy. Drives me nuts!

CowboyCliche | June 10, 23:48 CET

Aw man, Anyagel does not sound right. They'd probably just go with a... I want to say "code name." Literati for Gilmore Girls was Jess/Rory.

Edit: I was just in here, I clicked on my Stumble!, and this article came up, linked on Wired. WEIRD.

[ edited by ormaybemidgets on 2009-06-11 00:03 ]

ormaybemidgets | June 11, 00:01 CET

kmb99:

They missed the one I always run into - they're not dolls, they're ACTION figures!

Or miniatures that are called dolls or toys!

[ edited by the Groosalugg on 2009-06-11 00:02 ]

the Groosalugg | June 11, 00:01 CET

Its not just geeks that admire Mr. Whedon's work. And whilst on the subject, Ewoks are indeed stupid.

Peanut Noir | June 11, 00:03 CET

I guess I really don't understand the point of the article. Why would anyone ever wish to provoke a geek? I guess I always assumed that geek vengeance has to be at least as bad as the revenge of the nerds!

fanbuoyant | June 11, 00:45 CET

This list is terrible, because these aren't the worst ways at all to provoke nerds.

These do work:

PC vs. Mac vs. Linux
Star Wars vs. Star Trek
George Lucas' 1997 and 2004 alterations to the original trilogy ("Han shot first"... or actually, was the only one who shot at all.)
the prequels suck--prequel lovers vs. prequel haters
Bangel vs. Spuffy
Star Trek TOS vs. TNG (or Kirk vs. Picard)
Elvis Presley vs. The Beatles
etc...

NileQT87 | June 11, 03:22 CET

Oh, JOSH Whedon? Yeah, I've heard of him.

Oh, and #2 - definitely fighting words!

Rusty626 | June 11, 03:43 CET

Oops! I meant #3. #1 doesn't mean a thing to me.

Rusty626 | June 11, 03:44 CET

Quite a few of those could get me into an argument if I was in the mood. With the exeption of the computory ones as Im on the "machine go BING" level when it comes to that stuff.

Satai (with Punsch) | June 11, 07:53 CET

Oh, JOSH Whedon? Yeah, I've heard of him.

When people do that, I grit my teeth; especially those who I had THOUGHT were Whedon fans.

What about the (barely heard) phrase "Raymonad E. Feist is a really original writer"?

[ edited by Archduke Sebassis on 2009-06-11 10:54 ]

Archduke Sebassis | June 11, 08:19 CET

I can be provoked into a Mac vs PC argument (Mac, for the record), but most of the others don't really apply to me, except maybe #3.

Rachelkachel | June 11, 08:21 CET

A good test to se how deep the nerd roots go is to say: PURPLE! or if you prefer: GREEN!
And se it that gets a reaktion.

Satai (with Punsch) | June 11, 09:43 CET

Rusty626, that reminds me of when I met another Browncoat in my school at the start of this term, and was vocally upset when he seemed to confuse Joss's name. Then it turned out he had a lisp; oops.

Mercenary | June 11, 10:10 CET

AND you all call yourselves Whedonites!

Cavemen vrs astronauts.

nuff said.

treenie | June 11, 12:30 CET

Yeah, but that's an easy one to win...

Archduke Sebassis | June 11, 13:07 CET

Well, it worked!

Not quite the arguments I expected, but educational/amusing none the less.

redfern | June 11, 13:46 CET

June 10 2009