posted by Chris on December 27, 2007 4:07 PM in Games, Geek Culture
I have many fond memories of unwrapping completely excellent gifts at X-Mas time, you can even see my look of glee at the acquisition of Teddy Ruxpin on an article posted earlier today. I remember the X-Mas when I first got an NES, I literally cried. It's neat to think that many a future gamer experienced similar moments this past week, and today I stumbled across this excellent post at DS Fanboy with a fantastic gallery of kids unwrapping Nintendo DS systems at X-Mas. This one of the red cheeked Bruce Lee fan (or something. Seriously, what is that kid wearing?) is my favorite.
Link via [DS Fanboy]
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posted by Chris on December 27, 2007 10:10 AM in Rant
I went back to the place that shall not be named for the first time in about 7 years this xmas. Due to various familial rifts post-high school, I chose to avoid any sort of activity in which I'd have to see my family, so holiday get-togethers have been an entirely foreign thing to me for a while. This year I had a change of heart and the overwhelming desire to impress my family with my ultra-awesome girlfriend and Rock Band won out. It was like stepping into a strange alternate dimension, where there's no wi-fi, decorations everywhere, holiday music plays and boozy drinks flow.
I managed to avoid the typical "hey my computer is acting up, can you fix it?" kinds of scenarios, and we all ended up playing Rock Band instead of pretty much anything else. Family and friends of my parents came and went, each one hesitantly looking at the game, and eventually breaking down and trying at least one song. It's remarkable to me how something like that really breaks down inhibitions and emotional barriers. Pretty much everyone just cut loose, singing Bowie songs and having an amazing time.
There were a few humorous moments when my parents sounded quite out of touch. My dad asked me how much a Playstation 360 costs. He wore tights and a football jersey when we had to go to Game Crazy to pick up a new component cable for my 360. I played some of Sufjan Stevens' Christmas recordings, to which my step-mother said indignantly "This is Christmas music?" They marveled at the wireless capability of the Nintendo DS, and even broke out the old Super Nintendo to play Mario All-Stars. It was surreal and humorous at times, but I survived.
I'd love to hear everyone else's holiday tales. How does your family respond to your geekiness? Are they oblivious or savvy? Did you get that Playstation 360 you've always wanted?
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posted by Chris on December 5, 2007 9:17 AM in Geek Culture
Maybe your family all died in a fire. Maybe you don't have any friends to exchange gifts with this holiday season. Perhaps you are an anti-social psychopath holed up in a cabin in Montana with only your internet connection to keep you company. All are welcome in The Weekly Geek Secret Santa gift exchange, going on right now in the forums! Miss Amy gives us the rundown:
Ok. Here are the rules:
1. Participants should be willing to spend a minimum of $10, not including shipping.
2. You must have an Amazon Wish List. Verify your mailing address is current.
3. Make sure your Amazon list includes lower priced items. For example, most paperback books are $10(US) or less.
4. All gifts must be received by January 15, 2008.
Here are the details:
1. To sign up, send an email to amy@weeklygeekshow.com with your forum name and a link to your Amazon Wish List.
2. The deadline to sign up is December 9th, 2007.
3. Participants will be randomly matched up (most likely with the pull-a-name-out-of-a-hat method).
4. An email will be sent to you with the name of your Santee and a link to their Amazon Wish List.
Make your x-mas a little less lonely and participate in something fun with your fellow Geekateers.
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Gift Exchange
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I have many fond memories of unwrapping completely excellent gifts at X-Mas time, you can even see my look of glee at the acquisition of Teddy Ruxpin on an article posted earlier today. I remember the X-Mas when I first got an NES, I literally cried. It's neat to think that many a future gamer experienced similar moments this past week, and today I stumbled across this excellent post at DS Fanboy with a fantastic gallery of kids unwrapping Nintendo DS systems at X-Mas. This one of the red cheeked Bruce Lee fan (or something. Seriously, what is that kid wearing?) is my favorite. 
