New Nerd Talk!!! Nerd Talk is where some of the Nerds here at SWN (with special guest this week, Chris 51 from Area 51 Tattoo shop and A&E’s Epic Ink (FB page HERE)) answer questions from you, the fans, about Nerd culture … this week we talk some of our favorite Nerd activities and what kind of Nerds we are. Also check out our last Nerd Talk HERE where we talk about our favorite Sci-Fi TV shows. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE, we have some video Nerd Talks up right now and we will continue to do our video toy reviews here in the future. Thanks for reading and if you got a question to ask the Nerds you can email us at Snarfkris@somewhatnerdy.com and make sure to comment with your own answers in the comment section below or on the FB page HERE.
Raz
Favourite nerd activity, well this was really fuckin’ difficult! I’m what you’d call an all round nerd, I read comics, read books, watch tv shows, collect figurines, collect memorabilia, collect signed stuff, the list could go on and on. So after much contemplating I decided that my favourite Nerd activity is watching Horror films.
I watch a minimum of one Horror film every single day, not a-lot of people believe me but it’s true, I can watch Horror all day from waking up to going to bed and I’ve done it many times (more than I should have) and it’s been this way for years. It’s one thing in my life that truly helps me escape the daily grind and focus on something that I enjoy, it’s something I couldn’t live without and that’s the main reason I chose it as my answer.
Yes I have figurines yes I have comics/books, yes I have signed pictures from my favourite actors but none of it would matter if there wasn’t a film or tv show that brought them all to life on screen. So not only is it my favourite nerd activity it’s also the most important.
I’m a Horror nerd and proud.
Chris 51
My Favorite nerd activity!
What keeps me going, motivated and passionate in my extraordinary league of fandom is one thing…collecting. By far my favorite nerd activity on this planet (only because I haven’t explored any other planets as of yet) is the thrill of the hunt. Not Mission Impossible’s thrilling Ethan Hunt, that’s a whole different kind of thrill, I am talking the thrill of hunting down those rare, lost or missing links to complete your collection. Like Indiana Jones on an mission for antique diety relics, I too would run from perfectly round giant boulders and caves full of creepy-nasty-deadly snakes to find those golden gems missing from my arsenal of awesome!
It doesnt matter what you are after. If it’s old video games, action figures, baseball cards or comics, nothings is more satisfying and serine than a rainy afternoon spent searching and sifting through flea markets, garage sales, Goodwills and toy/comic shops or conventions. If just the thought of this doesn’t totally arouse you, I question your true geekery!
Personally, I am self-classified as an Action Figure Junkie. I am drawn to action figures like Bruce Jenner is to makeup or Miley Cyrus is to a complete lack of self-respect and class. I hit up the Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble at least three times a week, do the thrift store circuit and garage sales almost every weekend and have a complete alter-life at comicons. I do all this in excess and I am not ashamed of it. I have brainwashed my children into loving it and my career in art is completely driven by it. Some might think this is rediculous, but my fellow geeks will just think it is normal behavior…
Thanks for reading. Keep collecting, it’s innocent and pure. As always, geeks unite!
Derf
This week’s NERD Talk focuses on our favorite Nerd Activity or pastime. Well, to anyone who knows me in person or just from my blog should be able to guess that my favorite area of Nerdom is Comics. I am a collector of all things comics. I collect comics, trades, trading cards, action figures, statues, posters, video games, and movies that revolve around the world of comics. I am constantly looking for something to add to my collection, that’s why I’m broke, LoL. Seriously, I have been collecting comics since I was a kid and will continue to do so. Granted the price increase of today’s comics limit how many I buy in a week, but I still get my fix. As a good friend of mine put it, “I need my paper crack fix”.
I know we live in a digital age, but I still prefer to hold my comics in my hand and turn each page to see what is around the corner. Don’t get me wrong, I have digital issues in my library, but there is nothing like the paper comics. The feeling in your hand and the smell when you first take it out of it’s protective casing is really satisfying. Well, now you know my favorite Nerd activity, what’s yours?
Billiam
It was hard for me to pick just one thing to be my favorite nerd activity. I buy and go to a lot of movies, I watch a lot of TV, I play a ton of video games but what I think makes me earn my nerd card more than anything is my love for role playing games. The first role playing game I ever tried was second edition Dungeons and Dragons. The problem was, the group I was playing with back then had a novice Dungeon Master who was so out of depth that a simple rat wiped the whole party. That made me so discouraged with the idea of role playing that I didn’t try it again until about ten years later when I met my current group of nerd friends. They introduced me to Dark Heresy (a game in the Warhammer 40k universe) and the rest was history. These days my biggest game is Mutants and Masterminds. It’s a superhero role playing game using the d20 system that is the easiest system to pick up and use that I’ve ever seen. you can also create any superhero. You can have a already established superpower like strength and flight or you can make up anything you want.
Mutants and Masterminds is a game that I run and I try to make it episodic so each session is like a stand alone comic book. There are reoccurring characters of course, but i f someone can’t make one session then it’s no big deal. The continuing adventures of the heroes Greyscale, Tesla, Frostburn, and The Alchemist can go on even if one of them, usually Frostburn, has something to do. Roleplaying is a great activity that brings the group together and gets the creative juices flowing. It gives me ideas for my writing and allows me to test out characters for Liquid the superhero book I’m writing. If you’re a fan of roleplaying games or if you’re interested and want to try, I suggest you pick up Mutants and Masterminds. Other games to try would be D&D (of course), Pathfinder, Edge of the Empire (A Star Wars roleplaying game), Dark Heresy, or any one of the plethora of others. The group and I don’t play a lot anymore due to work and adult life getting in the way, but when we can get together and can get everyone to focus, it’s a great time.
Critter
When it comes to the nerd culture, I feel like I get stereotyped a whole lot. I work for web company, and since I wear glasses everyone comes to me with their computer problems. Truth be told, I know very little about computers and how to fix issues with them.
That being said, I’m not arguing with them that I’m not a nerd. I am. But when it comes to nerdy activities, I have a very limited range of things I do. Obviously I know jack crap about computers, I don’t play video games, or have ever played magic. But you can be damn sure, that when it comes to reading comic books and watching comic based movies and TV, I’m all over it. Like every movie made. Yes, I’ve seen all the recent blockbusters, which are great, but I’ve seen the darker side of comic based movies. So all those embarrassing early attempts of Marvel movies, movies based off of a tier 2 character or an obscure comic, I’ve seen them…multiple times. Every cartoon based on comics on channels like Cartoon Network and Disney, well I watch those too. Surprisingly, many of these kids’ cartoons of these characters are extremely well done (for the most part at least). I’ve even been impressed with what the CW was able to accomplish with their comic shows. Of course at first I had little faith they were going to be as good as they are. Not to mention the magic Netflix has created with their exclusive Daredevil series. I’m looking forward to more of what Netflix has to offer on this front. It’s a very exciting time for nerds.
As for comic books, I’m fairly certain when I was a kid, I thought of those things as a serious investment into my future wealth, and the good news is they’ve paid off. I’m literally worth tens of dollars from them. All kidding aside, I love having them and still enjoy reading them. I have easy access to my old comic and comic card (dear sweet Glactus I have so many comic cards) collections, as well as continuing to add to the books. However, now I read them purely for enjoyment and got rid of the notion they will be worth enough for me to retire on (but how sweet would that be, right?).
