# The Onion AV Club's Top Nerd Pop-Culture Obsessions - how do YOU rate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553 "2008-02-06T18:08:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/41 "2008-02-06T23:49:38Z")
A few more pop-culture-related obsessions they left out: being a most influential/prolific reviewer on Amazon, IMDB, etc. posting videos to YouTube James Bond It’s important to note that the Onion’s list includes _only_ “pop-culture obsessions,” thereby DQ’ing a whole host of legitimately nerdy obsessions that have nothing to do with pop culture, to wit: collecting (stamps, coins, glassware, guns, wine, you name it) non-pop-culture modelling (model trains, miniature battlefields, planes, ships, etc.) birdwatching photography (anything but nude subjects, which isn’t nerdy at all) political-conspiracy theorizing (UFOs, JFK, 9-11, etc.) competitive animal husbandry and horticulture (Kennel Club competions; cultivating new varieties; preserving legacy varieties) history buffs & historical re-enactors (WWII counterfactual history; Civil War battles) metal-detector scavenging and/or GPS caching automotive restoration & modification pumpkin chunkin’ cannon/catapult/trebuchet building There’s a whole lot of nerds out there who just aren’t into RPGs and Joss Whedon shows. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/42 "2008-02-06T23:50:48Z")
I have a fantasy NASCAR team, but hated fantasy football the one time I tried it, for exactly the reasons in that article. I also like the Simpsons. That’s it. And I’d never even heard of game show tape-trading. (This should not be construed as a request for informative links.) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/43 "2008-02-06T23:51:59Z")
Used to be: Star Trek Battlestar Galactica (though this is one where I missed so much of the new series my plan is to wait for it to end and then watch it all) Magic: The Gathering The Simpsons Anime Currently: Joss Weadon (I’ll give whatever he makes a chance at this point but I’m not fanatical about him; call me a borderline case here.) Dr. Who I’d like to think that I never descended into the spiral of full blown obsession with these, just the “I really enjoy” level of fandom. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/44 "2008-02-07T00:28:47Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] Joss Weadon (I’ll give whatever he makes a chance at this point but I’m not fanatical about him; call me a borderline case here.) [/QUOTE] _bzzzzzt!_ Sorry, but you’re not allowed to have Joss as an obsession until you can spell his name correctly. Your penalty is to watch _Beer Bad_, _DoubleMeat Palace_ and _Buffy vs. Dracula_ in unending rotation until FOX greenlights the next Whedon show. Thanks for playing! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/45 "2008-02-07T00:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] _bzzzzzt!_ Sorry, but you’re not allowed to have Joss as an obsession until you can spell his name correctly. Your penalty is to watch _Beer Bad_, _DoubleMeat Palace_ and _Buffy vs. Dracula_ in unending rotation until FOX greenlights the next Whedon show. Thanks for playing! 😛 [/QUOTE] Uh… That was a clever ploy to downplay my fandom, of course and you were completely whooshed by it. I laugh at your foolishness now. Ha ha ha. Covered that up nicely I think… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/46 "2008-02-07T00:42:25Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] _bzzzzzt!_ Sorry, but you’re not allowed to have Joss as an obsession until you can spell his name correctly. Your penalty is to watch _Beer Bad_, _DoubleMeat Palace_ and _Buffy vs. Dracula_ in unending rotation until FOX greenlights the next Whedon show. Thanks for playing! 😛 [/QUOTE] I actually like two out of three of those “punishment” episodes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/47 "2008-02-07T00:49:41Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I actually like two out of three of those “punishment” episodes. [/QUOTE] Aren’t you a twisted little homunculus. 😉 (Before I get mod-slapped, it’s a \*Buffy \*quote (Giles referring to Snyder) and a joke, not an insult.) ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/48 "2008-02-07T01:00:06Z")
Well, let’s begin by saying that whatever else I might have or not have, with Otaku firmly taking pride of place in my name… (WTF, how can they use fanboy as a synonym for obsessed nerd and talk about how “otaku” is perjorative in Japan?) I’ve got to cop to anime. I will admit to having done the following: Ren Faires LARPing fanfic Wikipedia editing and, of course, Dr. Who from before WGBH bought the originals. (Tom Baker forever!) I think I’ll get to keep my nerd card, but it does seem to be a close-run thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/49 "2008-02-07T01:01:38Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I actually like two out of three of those “punishment” episodes. [/QUOTE] Me too. Willow doing her drunken bar patron impersonation in \*Beer Bad \*and Xander being Dracula’s butt monkey in \*Buffy vs Dracula \*both entertain me greatly. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/50 "2008-02-07T01:17:24Z")
0/20. That probably explains why I don’t spend much time in this forum! I hadn’t even heard of a lot of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/51 "2008-02-07T01:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Aren’t you a twisted little homunculus. 😉 (Before I get mod-slapped, it’s a \*Buffy \*quote (Giles referring to Snyder) and a joke, not an insult.) [/QUOTE] Besides which, it’s a perfectly accurate description of your’s truly. I’m pleased that **Aesiron** correctly guessed which two episodes I was defending. Is there anyone, anywhere, who liked _Doublemeat Palace_? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/52 "2008-02-07T01:49:35Z")
hold it… there are people who tape game shows? and trade them? really? It is the onion - so, are they kidding with this one? Aren’t game shows something you just kind of watch in the background while waiting for something else to come on? or at the gym? I mean, I understand if, say I ended up on Jeopardy or a close friend or family member ended up on something, I might want a copy. (If I won. If I lost, well, nevermind.) But why on earth would I want to watch some guy to whom I have no connection buy a vowel? Why would I want to watch the same guy do that over and over again? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/53 "2008-02-07T02:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] _I Wanna Be The Guy_ isn’t a romhack- it’s an original game which features cameos from characters from other games. That said, I’ve seen some very creative romhacks, such as the one in [this video](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6204903272262158881) which has shown up on this board a number of times. (Warning: strong language) [/QUOTE] And here we see the _TRUE_ sport of nerds. Quibbling over minutae! (I know, technically, I Wanna Be The Guy isn’t a romhack. But the only thing I could think of was Asshole Mario, and I wasn’t going to go searching for that at work) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/54 "2008-02-07T02:37:58Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] It’s important to note that the Onion’s list includes _only_ “pop-culture obsessions,” thereby DQ’ing a whole host of legitimately nerdy obsessions that have nothing to do with pop culture, to wit: collecting (stamps, coins, glassware, guns, wine, you name it) non-pop-culture modelling (model trains, miniature battlefields, planes, ships, etc.) birdwatching photography (anything but nude subjects, which isn’t nerdy at all) political-conspiracy theorizing (UFOs, JFK, 9-11, etc.) competitive animal husbandry and horticulture (Kennel Club competions; cultivating new varieties; preserving legacy varieties) history buffs & historical re-enactors (WWII counterfactual history; Civil War battles) metal-detector scavenging and/or GPS caching automotive restoration & modification pumpkin chunkin’ cannon/catapult/trebuchet building There’s a whole lot of nerds out there who just aren’t into RPGs and Joss Whedon shows. [/QUOTE] I see a point, though, where one’s breadth and diversity of interests begins to take one out of the nerd class. A nerd is basically someone whose world is limited and bound in by hi/r passions and pastimes, to the exclusion of…what, if you’re involved with so many different activities, contexts and communities? Where’s the tunnel vision? Could there be such a thing as a Renaissance nerd? I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553/55 "2008-02-07T03:51:45Z")
Back in college, I was into Star Trek, Rocky Horror, Ren Faires, and Anime. Had there been WoW back then, I probably would have been into that (my friends and I had to obsess over Angband). Now, all I’ve got is the fantasy Sumo league I run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-onion-av-clubs-top-nerd-pop-culture-obsessions-how-do-you-rate/436553.md?page=2)