Oblivion geeks

[Belthan]

It was recently pointed out to me that I'm an Oblivion geek, because aside from the hundreds of hours I've spent playing and modding, I named one of my cats Mankar Camoran.

Which made me wonder where I fall on the Oblivion fanboy spectrum. Are there other people out there with pets (or children) named after Oblivion characters, people with Oblivion tattoos or vanity license plates, people who dress like their favorite character, or whatever?

[dragon wench]

No offense intended, but this has to be one of the most frightening threads I've read in quite a long time.... :laugh:

To answer you question... Er... no. In fact, I've never named anyone or anything after a game... No doubt my son is probably relieved, he gets dubbed with some "interesting" nicknames as it is

[Invisable Man]

this is not meant to be offensive but yah your a geek, i mean ive heard of emersion but naming your cat a character from oblivion, go play some fallout 3 that should cancel the oblivion out while keeping your awsome gameplay going

[DesR85]

No. I like playing games, but not until I become fanatical of any of them up till the point of becoming a fanboy (seriously, I detest them). Besides, I found Oblivion boring until I lost interest after a week of playing it.

[fable]

...go play some fallout 3 that should cancel the oblivion out while keeping your awsome gameplay going

No, that would only make him a geek, twice over.

[Fljotsdale]

It was recently pointed out to me that I'm an Oblivion geek, because aside from the hundreds of hours I've spent playing and modding, I named one of my cats Mankar Camoran.

Which made me wonder where I fall on the Oblivion fanboy spectrum. Are there other people out there with pets (or children) named after Oblivion characters, people with Oblivion tattoos or vanity license plates, people who dress like their favorite character, or whatever?

ROFL!! :laugh: And no... but I do have a kitten named Yoshi (after a little dragon in SuperMario) She wasn't named by me, though!

But there is nothing wrong with being a geek...

[LeoStarDragon1]

Please! Don't be a "geek"! Eek! Gross! Poor animals!

I am proud to say that I have never been a "geek" nor ever shall be one. I do not condone such activity either as a profession or a hobby. I do not accept it as a pun for "Greek" even. If I catch you in person being a geek, you'd better start running or stop what you're doing before you've actually began the cruelty and apologize sincerely and swear off it.

"Geek" is a noun. It pertains to a carnival performer, or a circus side-show performer, who publicly bites off the head of a live animal, such as a chicken typically, as a sensational spectacle.

So why anyone would want to be associated with such a term is beyond me.

As an allegory insult, you are being called a "low form of life, such as those poor freaks and geeks as seen in such shows." For "freak", see the movie, "FREAKS" but ignore the TV-series, "Freaks & Geeks" for it goes along with the misnomers.

This is not meant to be "inflammatory", but a word of caution against going along with being labeled as a "geek" by so called "jocks" or other parties.

So Belthan, you are not a "geek" unless you bit off your cat's head!

By the way, "chic" is pronounced the same as "sheik" and has nothing to do with being a baby bird. "Chick" goes along with the British slang for "girl" as an alternative to "bird", probably a teen or at least youth reference, with "bird" as older or more mature at least, while a "chick" would be immature by comparison. For example, on "Are You Being Served?", Mister James Lucas would refer to Mistress Betty Slocombe as an "old bird" and Miss Shirley Brahms as a "young chick" by comparision. "Chic" meaning stylish or smart, is an element of fashion and the counterpart of posh.

I diverged to there to use it as another example of word misuse.

I'm not a moderator, but I have noticed frequent misusage of various words within this forum. I dare say it would cause less flaming and bickering if people were careful about their semantics and how they use words and why.

[Shesau]

StarDragon, the evolution of the English language varying upon regions that use it is nothing new. Words change meaning with the passage of time. "Awful" used to be a positive description ("deserving of awe") and "beer" used to refer to an enjoyable pub drink as opposed to domestic gutter swill. The internet is a big cause of this phenomenon, and the term "geek" has been generally accepted to refer to those of us who have some srsly mad gamer skillz.

Belthan, you are not alone in your (admittedly deep :laugh hole of obsession. I have a friend who named a new parakeet Sheogorath. I do not understand why, but hey, to each their own. Weirdos.

[LeoStarDragon1]

StarDragon, the evolution of the English language varying upon regions that use it is nothing new. Words change meaning with the passage of time. "Awful" used to be a positive description ("deserving of awe") and "beer" used to refer to an enjoyable pub drink as opposed to domestic gutter swill. The internet is a big cause of this phenomenon, and the term "geek" has been generally accepted to refer to those of us who have some srsly mad gamer skillz.

Belthan, you are not alone in your (admittedly deep :laugh hole of obsession. I have a friend who named a new parakeet Sheogorath. I do not understand why, but hey, to each their own. Weirdos.

Hello, Shesau! I know about that, but there's that and then there's literacy versus illiteracy. In numeracy versus innumeracy, when people say, "2 + 2 = 5", we don't shrug it off as mathematical evolution, do we? No, we tell them that the answer is wrong, and help them figure out the correct answer, or tell it to them. So why let people get away with word abuse just because they are words not numbers? When I was in elementary school, I was bullied and teased, and most of the time I didn't know why. My ignorant paternal grandparents where of no help, for the most part, when it came to asking them what certain slurs meant. So I vowed to learn on my own. Now I can correct people that insult me and thus make them the fool, not I. I can also back it up with research, unlike them, who merely repeat words they heard others use and hope that they are using it correctly. Using a word just because someone else did, is not the best way to use it yourself. You should learn the definition!

Take for example, Gary Larson. He was confused as to why his publisher sent him a memorandum that he shouldn't use the word "dork" in one of his cartoons. He asked why. They told him it was another word for "penis". He was in shock, for he thought it was another word for "nerd". So he looked it up. His publishers were right! So he remade his cartoon. He said that he couldn't believe that for 15 years he'd been misusing the word "dork" and that it would teach him to repeat a word just because he thought it was funny, without knowing the proper context.

One of the writers for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", in a commentary for an episode, was proud to point out that she used "geek" in the right context, unlike some of her coworkers. So at least in her episodes, the characters use "geek" correctly.

By the way, in Latin, "penis" means..... Oh never mind. This reply is long enough as is.

[Magelord648]

I have Gerbils called David Bowie and Mick Jagger but nothing from a game. That's a bit too far.

[CFM]

I have accumulated many cloth and paper maps that have come with the many RPG and CRPG games I have acquired over the years. These include various maps of the lands of Britannia, Faerun, Ravenloft, and many others. (Alas, I don't play Oblivion.)

My wife (of all people!) had the idea of putting some of my favorite maps all together in a giant collage and having it professionally framed. Now, I dig my wife's $1000 Thomas Kinkade paintings, but damn! do I love looking at my framed collage of maps. It's an art memorial to past adventures had in fantastic worlds of imagination. Looking at all the landmarks brings back the great times of years past.

Does that count as geek?

I play alot of organized sports, so all my friends are jocks. I'm affectionately considered The Nerd in the circles I run with, because I'm the only one that works in the I.T. field, or plays PC games. They (as well as my wife) all agree that it does in fact count as geek.

But every last one of them thinks my collage is cool.

[LeoStarDragon1]

I have accumulated many cloth and paper maps that have come with the many RPG and CRPG games I have acquired over the years. These include various maps of the lands of Britannia, Faerun, Ravenloft, and many others. (Alas, I don't play Oblivion.)

My wife (of all people!) had the idea of putting some of my favorite maps all together in a giant collage and having it professionally framed. Now, I dig my wife's $1000 Thomas Kinkade paintings, but damn! do I love looking at my framed collage of maps. It's an art memorial to past adventures had in fantastic worlds of imagination. Looking at all the landmarks brings back the great times of years past.

Does that count as geek?

I play alot of organized sports, so all my friends are jocks. I'm affectionately considered The Nerd in the circles I run with, because I'm the only one that works in the I.T. field, or plays PC games. They (as well as my wife) all agree that it does in fact count as geek.

But every last one of them thinks my collage is cool.

Hello! Congratulations on your art aquisitions! "Geek"? No! Your friends have fallen for the misnomer of what "geek" is and are simply repeating what they've heard other use in the wrong contexts. "Nerd"? Maybe, albeit I can presume that you aren't a candy made by "Willy Wonka".

As for the collage itself, one day maybe it will appear on "Antiques Roadshow" and then we might learn if it was a bad idea or not, if the show still exists and if we are alive to see it by then.

[Belthan]

But every last one of them thinks my collage is cool.

I agree!

"Geek" is a noun. It pertains to a carnival performer, or a circus side-show performer, who publicly bites off the head of a live animal, such as a chicken typically, as a sensational spectacle.

So why anyone would want to be associated with such a term is beyond me.

Sideshow acts that require little or no proficiency with complex skills and have an over-the-top "ick factor" are certainly the origin of the term (and while I find animal cruelty apalling, I have nothing at all against folks who can eat glass or insert 16-penny nails entirely into their nostrils), but the Random House dictionary includes some more contemporary definitions:

geek (slang) - noun
1. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
2. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

In my case, "2 out of 3 ain't bad" :laugh:

One of the writers for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", in a commentary for an episode, was proud to point out that she used "geek" in the right context, unlike some of her coworkers. So at least in her episodes, the characters use "geek" correctly.

There was also an X-Files episode that involved a carnival and, as I recall, featured a character who was a "geek" and used the term in the traditional sense.

[Belthan]

go play some fallout 3 that should cancel the oblivion out while keeping your awsome gameplay going

No, that would only make him a geek, twice over.

Oh no, too late! Been playing Fallout3 for a few months now. Egad!

(And I have to say, if you think you'd like a game with similar gameplay characteristics to Oblivion but in a science fiction setting, it's worth a look).

[LeoStarDragon1]

I agree!

Sideshow acts that require little or no proficiency with complex skills and have an over-the-top "ick factor" are certainly the origin of the term (and while I find animal cruelty apalling, I have nothing at all against folks who can eat glass or insert 16-penny nails entirely into their nostrils), but the Random House dictionary includes some more contemporary definitions:

geek (slang) - noun
1. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
2. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

In my case, "2 out of 3 ain't bad" :laugh:

I have no problem with those acts either. In the first episode of that game show where they bit off fish heads thinking they were being cool, I shouted at them, "No! You're geeks! Ha! Ha! Idiots!" My Random House one lost it's front cover and I think someone in my family may have wasted it. I like to have have several to consult, if just to see how many ways a definition can be written to avoid copyright issues, yet still maintain the same meaning. The one I keep close to me is, "Webster's New Encyclopdeia of Dictionaries". It is my favorite because it includes the dictionaries for male and female names that I refer to quite often, for character creation purposes. Anyway, ah, you see, I don't like the "slang" uses. They evolved from the actual term. I don't call people "jerks" anymore now unless they actually come from "jerkwater towns". I live in one, so I'm surrounded by them! Curse them for teasing me just because I was born in Seoul, but they thought I was "Chinese looking" or because the Vietnam War was still in progress, for looking like a "gook". I was the first person with any Asian ancestry at all in my class. But when I learned that I was also part Chickasaw and thus more American than they were, ha ha! My fellow "Native Americans" took my side against the White Man and the teasing and bullying decreased, as far as racial matters were concerned. But, not about the rest, like not being into sports and preferring to chase girls around the playground instead. But I digress. My point is, learning to speak the language like the locals and writing it better than them or reading it better than them, is a defensive mechanism, and hence why I sympathised with Mister Spock, but unlike him, I would've beat on Doctor McCoy when Jim wasn't looking, ala Scott's sensitivity about the ship, I was sensitive about being of mixed race, and not knowing it. To my eyes, I looked as white as any body else and still do. Cops even checked "White" on their forms when I've been pulled over or had an accident. So I'm still puzzled why some boys made those "slant eye" faces at me and told me to go back home and called me a commie. The odd part, I had allergies and didn't know it until I was 19. The adreneline from the fights made me feel better one way, although I had tears because of the other issues, so it was confusing. But that's the origin for why I'm a stickler about semantics and communication.

There was also an X-Files episode that involved a carnival and, as I recall, featured a character who was a "geek" and used the term in the traditional sense.

Aha! Marti Noxin! She's the name I couldn't think of before. I think that you just referred to an episode she wrote too, coincidently enough. By the way, did you realize that because of a long string of crossovers, the biggest crossover block there is I think, Scully and Mulder are just a part of the autistic fantasy world of the boy in the very last episode of "St. Elsewhere"?!

To the post below, I had to uninstall all of my other games, just to make room for Oblivion! So other than those Windows Vista Games, Oblivion is my only PC game. I envy you guys and gals sometimes.