Outside-In: Geek Charity

So....hey.

Yes, I'm a contributor here. Haven't seen me around yet, but that's because I've been fully absorbed in Batman: Arkham Asylum (something on the evolution of licensed video games is forthcoming, I promise). But right out of the gate, I figured I'd speak to something that's an odd part of geek culture - the charitable impulse.

Face it, charity isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think geek. We're best known for our extravagant spending on ourselves, after all - $600 video game machines, $1000 first issues, hordes of baseball cards or a credit card maxed out on "Special Edition" Blu-Ray discs. In fact, one could even go so far as to say that greed is what defines a geek, a certain kind of hording impulse that causes us to squander our personal time and resources on our own obsessions.

And yet...look at the bizarrely social nature of the geek. If you cut out the internet (which isn't socialization - it's group play with no consequences), you get groups of disparate people that come together to enjoy a hobby. We're oddly merit-based most of the time - except on the internet, race, gender, disability, appearance are usually (if grudgingly, in some cases) trumped by skill and knowledge. I can't tell you the number of times I've been flat out GIVEN things by my fellow geeks who just want me to enjoy what they enjoy.

So is it any wonder that a bunch of so-called "Geek Charities" have been springing up? Look at the recent Mario Marathon for charity. Or Extra Life (support it! It's for a good cause). Or the grand-daddy of them all, Child's Play. It taps our geeky impulse to do what we want, when we want...but also to share that feeling of accomplishment and turn it in to something that makes others feel good.

Ignore the internet. Don't listen to your X-Box Live headset. Being a geek is about giving through what you love.

Extra Life

I'm proud to say that The Geek Project will be participating in Extra Life. Now for those of you who don't know about Extra Life it's a fundraiser started by Sarcastic Gamer to raise money for pediatric cancer. The fundraiser is a 24-hour gaming marathon from October 17 to October 18. And if you want to help you can do one of four things, or a combination of the four. You can donate to us by going to our donation page or by clicking on the Extra Life ad on our site. You could sponsor us during the event, this means you would have to give us at least a dollar an hour for every hour we play. That would be a total of $24. You could also start your own team and get to work raising money for Extra Life. Or you could just give your money to one of the many other teams that are participating in the event. Whatever you do you'll be helping in the fight against pediatric cancer.

MTV: Strangulation of the true underground.

MTV: Strangulation of the true underground.

MTV sucks, and pretty much always has. Besides the advent of a few good programs such as: Beavis and Butthead, Aeon Flux, The Maxx, Daria, and all those other depressing 90’s shows, they are deader then hell; and the tombstone reads,” MTV: 1981 – 1997ish”. The network itself is 28 years old, yet has reverted to satisfying the needs of middle school girls, and college kids that are immature enough to watch middle school girl shows. For example: look at the programming guide for the next month. Do you see anything that isn’t a scripted “reality show” about some 16 year old “daddy’s girl” spoiled bitch, or some bullshit about “date my mom”? The original idea of the network was to show music videos, and feed the need for the “underground” of the time period (which primarily consisted of mainstream music with an alternative twist added on for market value).

Now this is all well and good, but where is the music? I have yet to see any… and if there is this supposed music played on this alleged music network, what is the quality of said music? Standards have dropped dramatically over the last decade in the mainstream culture, and MTV documents every second of it, while fattening their pockets along the way. Has anyone except me noticed that modern talent is nothing compared to our predecessors? Every generation before us has released heart felt, and meaningful artwork (their music). Modern music is essentially garbage, based on the fact the lyrics themselves aren’t written by the actual artist. The videos promote sex appeal designed to reach younger and younger crowds as time goes on. It is no secret the “music” industry is based around greed, and the artists themselves are to blame. The networks are based around greed as well. Consumers love to eat this corporate shit seeing as they don’t know any different.

As a generation we have been taught to accept, and lie down on our backs, belly up. We should accept the fact talent is going extinct, while the talent-less strut the big impressive red carpet. MTV is killing the little that’s left of the underground, but hey the counterculture is alive and kicking. That’s why we keep it hush hush, baby.

-PCP

Halo 3 Ego Trip

Halo 3 Ego Trip

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A few months ago I won the Millington Naval Base’s Halo 3 tournament; I barely pulled this feat off seeing as I had an appropriate adversary. Now, I’m not going to say I’m perfect, but I’m damn near close to it when it comes to Halo. This is something earned (skill), not necessarily gained seeing as you have to be unemployed, or basically live with your parents and have no social life what so ever. Headshots are attained… three shot BR isn’t luck, it’s skill… Being an egotistical asshole is attained as well, which is why I quit playing Halo 3 for the most part. Xbox live has been going strong since it’s release in 2002, but the entire system promotes a nation wide pissing contest.

I guess I started to think about quitting Xbox live after I started several arguments via email; that led to arguments over the phone. Yelling at the top of my lungs through a headpiece at opponents wasn’t quite enough for me, so I needed to yell over the phone as well. I believe I have personally threatened the life of many people via live…That just doesn’t seem mentally sound. I never threatened to kill anyone, but I have made many propositions to fight in real life after I got wiped across the floor on MLG Guardian/MLG Slayer game type (Whatever the fuck its called.. All the MLG kids name the shit like ,“M..L.G. TSK5.50” and other little fancy abbreviations).

Anyway, the online gaming is typically a pissing contest. I used to get infuriated when I lost, even if it was a stupid game mode meant to be fun, I took my head shots very seriously. I still despise “Infection” game types for the most part because it isn’t serious at all, but it is good to play for fun which is what most of us forget about. I quit playing based on the fact that I genuinely felt guilty after killing that same noob for the 18th time in a row. I just know there is somebody having a terrible day out there, and me shooting them over and over in the face and then calling them a bitch isn’t helping matters at all. I got so good, I just decided to quit for my sake, and others because “karma” exists just as the air we breath.

If you really think about it, video games are similar to drugs. It gets you through problems in life by getting the user basically ignoring them. Here, focus on something else for a while. Lose out there, but in here, safe in your room, you can win! An internal attitude like that is designed for epic failure. These are rather abstract concepts, but the lines become sharper when you look at the issue as a whole. The ego trips are an escape from some sort of shortcoming in reality. My ego issue was I didn’t have a job, and at the time I was literally 100 pounds over weight… I wonder why? My Halo skills corresponded with my weight if you get my drift. Instead of bicep curls, I was killing Master Chief zombies. Instead of 100 crunches, you could catch me simply zoned in on “the next battle to be won”. I was losing the war, that was the only problem.

Personally absolute trust in God has helped me see a clear path ahead. I would suggest the reader to maybe look in the mirror. Are the games just fun, or is it truly an escape? Are you lying, or are you being honest with yourself? Is it your life, or your lifestyle? Some people are balanced and happy, but I’m just here to remind you even people that claim to plan on making a mental escape of some kind. Plan for this week: I’m going to focus on reality and throw the virtual reality to the pros.

-PCP

We Got A Podcast!!

I’m proud to introduce The Geek Project podcast. In this episode of the podcast Greg and I talk video games and technology. Give it a listen will ya.

http://www.mevio.com/episode/174908/First+Episodes+Suck

Welcome

I would like to be the first to welcome our very first writer to the blog, Kristine Pratt! I am looking forward to some amazing articles from her in the future. And she is just the first that will grace us with their presence, so be on the look out for even more wonderful writers.

Hello World

The Geek Project is a very ambitious plan to combine all things Geek. To us here at the geek project a geek is just someone who has a strong passion for a certain subject. Those subjects can range from fashion to video games. Here at The Geek Project blog we will cover fashion, anime , books, music, video games, sports, comic books, movies, technology, and pop culture. I strongly believe that this blog will successfully combined all of these topics and more.

-Jerel Smith