On yesterday’s episode of The Geekosystem Podcast we took a look back at 2013. Today we want to look at the year ahead and share our geeky New Year’s resolutions, and ask you about yours. Are you going to learn to knit yourself a Jayne hat? Translate The Silmarillion into Klingon? Get a Pac-Man kill screen? Let us know.
We started talking about New Year’s resolutions at Geekosystem HQ the other day, and found that not surprisingly, ours are all pretty geeky. Also not surprisingly, a lot of them have to do with books, movies, video games, and television. Take Associate Editor Victoria McNally’s resolution for example. She wrote:
This year I want to actually keep a list of all the shows/movies I want to watch, books I want to read, and games I want to play so that I can check stuff off when I finish them.
Every time someone recommends a new piece of media to me, I say something like, “I’ll add it to the list!” But I don’t. There is no list. I go home, and I watch the same three seasons of 30 Rock and Law and Order: SVU over and over again until I fall asleep. No more! I’m going to give Liz Lemon and Olivia Benson a break and try to do something else with my time. Maybe check out more of that “The Wire” thing I’ve heard so much about.
Dan Van Winkle’s resolution also has a lot to do with culture, but he’s also going to try to focus on positivity.
For the new year, I resolve to be more open to new movies, books, and anything really based on intellectual properties I like (and those I don’t). I’ll admit up front I tend to fall prey to a common geek failing of rolling my eyes when I see a trailer for a movie (or a preview for any other kind of media) that I assume I won’t like and then completely writing it off.
I generally do a good job at keeping those snap judgments to myself, because let’s be honest, they’re super obnoxious, even when they turn out to be correct. This is a problem I’ve noticed a lot in geek culture, and it only serves to prevent you from finding out about things you might actually like.
That’s why, in 2014, I’m going to try to set a good example for everyone else by expanding my horizons and looking for reasons to enjoy things instead of picking out ways to mock them. (Unless it’s a so-bad-it’s-good situation, in which case I will mock with love and joy.)
Weekend Editor Sam Maggs is making what we imagine is the direct opposite of a lot of peoples’ resolution. She wants to watch more TV.
My Geeky New Year’s Resolution is to step up my genre TV game! Even though I feel like I already watch so much television, there’s always a countless number of shows that I’m leaving behind on my “to-watch” pile. I say it’s because I don’t have time, but really, I could just watch one less mindless episode of Chopped every week and suddenly I’d be up-to-date on The Walking Dead. Shows on my New Year’s list (some of which I’ve already watched a few seasons or episodes of) include: Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, Dracula, Grimm, Once Upon A Time, Arrow, Supernatural, Haven, The Legend of Korra, Continuum, Hemlock Grove, Teen Wolf, American Horror Story, and Witches of East End. So, you know, no pressure. I better start, like, yesterday.
Finally, Senior Editor Glen Tickle thinks the telephone is an invention well past its prime.
In 2014 I don’t want to make any phone calls. I’m not knocking the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell did something incredible. The phone was a remarkable technological achievement that changed the world, but it’s been surpassed by the Internet. I think it’s time to let phones go.
I know that the objects we carry with us everywhere are still called “phones” but let’s call them what they are — computers. Alright, calling them that would be silly and confusing. We could adopt the British “mobile” or maybe the more generic “device” but they’re so much more than phones.
I use my phone/mobile/device/computer a lot. Some say too much, but when I’m using it I’m not making calls. The actual calling features of my phone make up for a tiny percentage of its use. I haven’t run the numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were less than 1%. Weeks go by where I don’t make or receive a single phone call. Those are good weeks.
We have text messages, email, Twitter, Facebook, and if you really want to use your voice or face there’s Skype, FaceTime, and the like. There will still be times where I may need to make a call, but I think almost every instance where I would otherwise need to use the phone can be replaced by another means of communication. In 2014 I’m going to try to be the change I want to see in the world and set an example by not using my phone as a phone.
If you’d like to keep tabs on how we’re doing with our resolutions you should follow us on Twitter. Victoria is @vqnerdballs. Dan is @Dan_Van_Winkle. Sam is @SamMaggs, and Glen is @glentickle.
On the podcast we decided to assign the Internet a resolution of its very own by asking it to be nicer to itself. We’d like everyone to keep that in mind, but we also want to hear your own geeky resolutions. Let us know what you want to do/not do in 2014 in the comments.
(Image via Jens Rost)
- We looked back on 2013 in our latest episode of The Geekosystem Podcast
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