What the hell?
Not long ago on one of many forays into the big city in search of manga and games, my friend casually mentioned as we hit the interstate that the girl she was staying with had a magazine and in it it was selling Ramune for 12 for $20, or some similar deal. For those of you unfamiliar with the product, Ramune is Japanese sugar with some water and flavoring added.
So I thought "that's a pretty good deal... They're usually $1.50-$2 per bottle at a Con", so I inquired as to the name of the magazine this was discovered in. She replied "Something her dad gets called X-treme Geek".
Whoa. Hold the logic train, because I missed it. Let me repeat the name.
What the hell? The words "X-treme" and "Geek" don't belong in the same conversation, much less the same phrase. What the hell is so "X-treme" about being a geek?
Does not "X-treme" imply physical activity? The average nerd's physical activities are, but are not limited to, Dance Dance Revolution or similar games, possibly pool, and employment activities. That's about it. Real geeks sit at home laughing at RPG parodies or seeking out new ways to screw with newbies on chat servers. We don't go rock-climbing, or skiing, or whatever the hell "X-treme" is. What IS X-treme anyway? It's not even a word. Break it up into its components "X" and "treme", it means nothing! Is it a jab at the over-used "Generation X" label? The logic train just passed my stop, kept going and collided head-on with a cow on the track. The more I think about this, the more it pisses me off.
People piss me off. Only some dumb shit in his late fifties/sixties could have came up with a magazine like this trying to capitalize off the term "geek". I know I'm a nerd, and I've encouraged the act of being one, but I'm not making money off it, now am I? Ugh. X-Treme Geek can shove it. Boycott the bastards.
It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't imply so many connotations. After all, to be an "X-treme geek", one must "X-treme game". The closest thing to "X-treme gaming" I've ever done involved a six-pack of soda, a bag of chips and my PSX. How is that "X-treme" to sit infront of a television for half a day? Or do you mean sports games as "X-treme"? After all, if "X-treme" does indeed imply physical activity, why not have it be FAKE physical activity? Does this bother no one else that this makes no sense and yet they're still making money?
I repeat... "X-treme" and "geek" do not belong together. Anyone who speaks these words in the same sentence should be slapped in tradition backhand style. Anyone who buys from a company with these two words in the name should be kicked in the cornhole.