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I drink tea, and haven’t touched coffee since, erm, 2001.

Triggers god awful migraines. Well, it at least triggered them back then. Not terribly keen to explore whether it was just a phase my biology was going through.

But it has meant I’ve basically entirely missed coffee shop culture in the UK.

Got nowt against it, or those that enjoy it. Just don’t want my brain to feel like it’s going to make a break for it out my eyes.

 Kroem wrote:

 reds8n wrote:
I'm British.

Do not like or drink tea.

I think you can get away with not liking tea nowadays, a fair few people drink coffee despite the taste.

What I can't understand is how people get on if they don't like any hot drinks, having a cuppa with someone is just such an important social interaction to miss out on!

I don't drink any hot drinks except the occasional hot chocolate in the winter, if I am in a coffee shop I will get a milk shake or fruit slushy/smoothie everywhere else its coke. I also have not drank for well over a decade due to my pain meds and can no longer abide going out, things have improved slightly in the last few years as my area has been overun with micro pubs which means if we do go out we tend to stay in one place to get a seat and the prices keep most people soberish.

Oh and I am from the Nort east of England where the main form of entertainment on a weekend for most of my life was drinking until you puked and then trying to beat someone to death followed by a take away pizza, so being tee total put me level with southerners and other soft bastards until recently.

I also can't stand anything alcoholic. I've had plenty of beers and wine and tequila other drinks and they all taste the same to me... like alcohol. I just can't stand the taste, and I don't want to get used to it if I already hate it. If I have to go to a bar, I'd rather have a $1 coke then spend all my cash on overly expensive glasses of crap. I also hate when people are like "OMG you have to try [insert drink here], you totally can't taste the alcohol at all!" .. well, betcha I can.

Kinda sucks for me though sometimes, I'm always the default designated driver and I really can't stand trying to talk to drunk friends, because they're drunk.

At the same time, i'm not preachy about it. If you wanna get all liquored up, go for it.

Funny, in out area we have a large gaming convention called "HotLead", I was at the hotel it is usually held at for my kid's hockey tournament and my wife mentioned Hotlead and the clerk laughed (?!?!).

When asked she said it was one of the largest venues they get that few if anyone drinks and there is NEVER a problem but it is the absolute strangest group of people as well.

I remember my wife sending the kids in to find me at the event, they came back confused telling her "They all look like dad!" I am not sure I am happy fitting a stereotype so completely.

Thats really weird, I would have thought with most Wargamers being men they would sell more beer than usual!

They do reckon less young'uns are drinking nowadays, very different from my days as a student.

that's cos multi-day events are all about the energy drinks and chemical flavoured fast food !

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
that's cos multi-day events are all about the energy drinks and chemical flavoured fast food !

Ah yes, wargamer must Drink energy Drinks.


The only thing i hate more then the steench of beer is the smell of these E Drinks.

I never got the appeal of energy drinks. Maybe my body is just differenter.. I had a can of Monster once, I didn't feel like I had more energy at all, or more awake or anything, but my heart felt like it was beating faster than it should. So I never touched one again.

Caffeine also doesn't wake me up in the morning, but if I have coffee or soda too close to bedtime I'll feel sleepy like normal but I won't be able to fall asleep for hours.

 Necros wrote:
I also can't stand anything alcoholic. I've had plenty of beers and wine and tequila other drinks and they all taste the same to me... like alcohol. I just can't stand the taste, and I don't want to get used to it if I already hate it. If I have to go to a bar, I'd rather have a $1 coke then spend all my cash on overly expensive glasses of crap. I also hate when people are like "OMG you have to try [insert drink here], you totally can't taste the alcohol at all!" .. well, betcha I can.

Kinda sucks for me though sometimes, I'm always the default designated driver and I really can't stand trying to talk to drunk friends, because they're drunk.

At the same time, i'm not preachy about it. If you wanna get all liquored up, go for it.

So, my real question is, where are you finding bars with coke for $1?
Usually its marked up beyond belief like everything else.

The last time I actually went to a bar, it was $1 .. so like 1992

As the designated driver, I usually got drinks for free. Of course, I also tended to tip 50 to 100% on drinks for my wife.

 Kroem wrote:

 reds8n wrote:
I'm British.

Do not like or drink tea.

I think you can get away with not liking tea nowadays, a fair few people drink coffee despite the taste.

What I can't understand is how people get on if they don't like any hot drinks, having a cuppa with someone is just such an important social interaction to miss out on!

'Social interaction'? Whats dat

I don't like: American beers. For me it seems like in USA they make only 2 types of beer. Bulk beer is water with little hops thrown in. Craft beer is hops with little water thrown in. I get that Americans like extremes but c'mon. Also I don't like IPAs.

While we're at it, as has been mentioned, Big Bang Theory. No, as a socially awkward dude in academia I don't like a show whose entire premiss is to make fun of a stereotype of me. Quelle surprise.

 Necros wrote:
I never got the appeal of energy drinks. Maybe my body is just differenter.. I had a can of Monster once, I didn't feel like I had more energy at all, or more awake or anything, but my heart felt like it was beating faster than it should. So I never touched one again.

Yeah, energy drinks also make me feel very jittery. I also don't drink alcohol, like you, I find it (usually) kind of gross and a total waste of money.

But I also just dislike drinking anything. It's just a really bizzaro thing to do, in the abstract, so I really only drink something when I am very thirsty. There are times where I might eat an entire meal and then realize I hadn't drank anything the whole time.

Backfire wrote:

 Kroem wrote:

 reds8n wrote:
I'm British.

Do not like or drink tea.

I think you can get away with not liking tea nowadays, a fair few people drink coffee despite the taste.

What I can't understand is how people get on if they don't like any hot drinks, having a cuppa with someone is just such an important social interaction to miss out on!

'Social interaction'? Whats dat

I don't like: American beers. For me it seems like in USA they make only 2 types of beer. Bulk beer is water with little hops thrown in. Craft beer is hops with little water thrown in. I get that Americans like extremes but c'mon. Also I don't like IPAs.

Sounds like IPAs and Budweiser. I’m with you, I dislike both. Give me a thick, bourbon barrel aged porter, a Rye, or a Barleywine any day. Something with flavor that isn’t just bitter.

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
While we're at it, as has been mentioned, Big Bang Theory. No, as a socially awkward dude in academia I don't like a show whose entire premiss is to make fun of a stereotype of me. Quelle surprise.

People's reactions to that show were really surprising to me actually. The fact so many people seem to believe it was laughing with the characters(when in reality it was clearly laughing squarely at them 99% of the time) made me realise either neurotypical people are actually the ones with a warped perception of humour, or they're just so used to slagging off nerdy folk that they genuinely don't see any problem with it.

In any event, it serves as a useful early warning system - anyone who professes to like the show without acknowledging the reality of it can be safely jettisoned.

 Yodhrin wrote:

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:
While we're at it, as has been mentioned, Big Bang Theory. No, as a socially awkward dude in academia I don't like a show whose entire premiss is to make fun of a stereotype of me. Quelle surprise.

People's reactions to that show were really surprising to me actually. The fact so many people seem to believe it was laughing with the characters(when in reality it was clearly laughing squarely at them 99% of the time) made me realise either neurotypical people are actually the ones with a warped perception of humour, or they're just so used to slagging off nerdy folk that they genuinely don't see any problem with it.

In any event, it serves as a useful early warning system - anyone who professes to like the show without acknowledging the reality of it can be safely jettisoned.

but shutting them down with "but what did you think of The Guild" is funs

I don't have a problem with the humour in Big Bang Theory tbh, but it's hardly 'must watch' T.V. so you guys aren't missing out on much.

Yes it pokes fun at the main characters for being nerdy, but that's no different from the Simpsons making jokes about Homer being a fat, stupid, lazy alcoholic or Cheers cracking jokes about Sam being a narcissistic, washed up z list celeb who thinks he's gods gift to women!

Also there are plenty of jokes in the show at the expense of Penny, Zack, Mrs Cooper etc. and the stereotypes which they represent.

Big Bang just dragged on far too long, a fairly frequent curse of many a popular show and the lazy writing got to the its funny cos its that funny show (see Roseanne, Cheers, Fiends, et al)

People always assume I like wargaming. Urgh! I hate those stupid games, with the silly stupid little plastic models that don't even come painted, and the dices, and all those annoyingly boring rules. Who has time for that crap, really?

 Kroem wrote:
I don't have a problem with the humour in Big Bang Theory tbh, but it's hardly 'must watch' T.V. so you guys aren't missing out on much.

Yes it pokes fun at the main characters for being nerdy, but that's no different from the Simpsons making jokes about Homer being a fat, stupid, lazy alcoholic or Cheers cracking jokes about Sam being a narcissistic, washed up z list celeb who thinks he's gods gift to women!

Also there are plenty of jokes in the show at the expense of Penny, Zack, Mrs Cooper etc. and the stereotypes which they represent.

You're right, it's not different.

That's why I don't like it.

(On a slightly less glib note, those series aren't centred around laughing at stereotypes. While such "humor" is present it's not the central premise).

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Kroem wrote:
I don't have a problem with the humour in Big Bang Theory tbh, but it's hardly 'must watch' T.V. so you guys aren't missing out on much.

Yes it pokes fun at the main characters for being nerdy, but that's no different from the Simpsons making jokes about Homer being a fat, stupid, lazy alcoholic or Cheers cracking jokes about Sam being a narcissistic, washed up z list celeb who thinks he's gods gift to women!

Also there are plenty of jokes in the show at the expense of Penny, Zack, Mrs Cooper etc. and the stereotypes which they represent.

You're right, it's not different.

That's why I don't like it.

(On a slightly less glib note, those series aren't centred around laughing at stereotypes. While such "humor" is present it's not the central premise).

I think the difference between the big bang theory and simpsons, or even say, Friends, is that the stereotype of the character is not central to the humour or plot. Homer is stupid, lazy fat alcoholic, but has further character traits such as being a wimp and a loving husband that makes him well-rounded. Similar to sheldon, Lisa Simpson is a huge nerd/dork/science buff but that doesn't define all the interactions she has with her friends and family, only some of them. Admittedly I've only seen a little BBT but from what I can tell its just a bunch of people poking fun at each other for being nerds or autistic nerds for the amusement of a live audience with no deeper humour.

 Deadshot wrote:

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Kroem wrote:
I don't have a problem with the humour in Big Bang Theory tbh, but it's hardly 'must watch' T.V. so you guys aren't missing out on much.

Yes it pokes fun at the main characters for being nerdy, but that's no different from the Simpsons making jokes about Homer being a fat, stupid, lazy alcoholic or Cheers cracking jokes about Sam being a narcissistic, washed up z list celeb who thinks he's gods gift to women!

Also there are plenty of jokes in the show at the expense of Penny, Zack, Mrs Cooper etc. and the stereotypes which they represent.

You're right, it's not different.

That's why I don't like it.

(On a slightly less glib note, those series aren't centred around laughing at stereotypes. While such "humor" is present it's not the central premise).

I think the difference between the big bang theory and simpsons, or even say, Friends, is that the stereotype of the character is not central to the humour or plot. Homer is stupid, lazy fat alcoholic, but has further character traits such as being a wimp and a loving husband that makes him well-rounded. Similar to sheldon, Lisa Simpson is a huge nerd/dork/science buff but that doesn't define all the interactions she has with her friends and family, only some of them. Admittedly I've only seen a little BBT but from what I can tell its just a bunch of people poking fun at each other for being nerds or autistic nerds for the amusement of a live audience with no deeper humour.

Exactly, that was a better way to put across what I was trying to say.

Even then I don't like the "hurr Homer stupid hurr" kind of humor. Ignorance is sad, not funny.

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Big Bang just dragged on far too long, a fairly frequent curse of many a popular show and the lazy writing got to the its funny cos its that funny show (see Roseanne, Cheers, Fiends, et al)

Turns out when its the day job and basically whole career for hundreds of people, cutting it short just because the story is over is a lot harder to do. A lot of it just comes down to it being people's day job for a good decade and not wanting to put your entire office out of work.

 LunarSol wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Big Bang just dragged on far too long, a fairly frequent curse of many a popular show and the lazy writing got to the its funny cos its that funny show (see Roseanne, Cheers, Fiends, et al)

Turns out when its the day job and basically whole career for hundreds of people, cutting it short just because the story is over is a lot harder to do. A lot of it just comes down to it being people's day job for a good decade and not wanting to put your entire office out of work.

a fair point, and maybe another quirk of difference between the UK and US as most of our sit-coms run very short compared to the 20ish episode 10 seasons pondside (apart from Two Pints which steadfastly refused to die)

 LunarSol wrote:

Turns out when its the day job and basically whole career for hundreds of people, cutting it short just because the story is over is a lot harder to do. A lot of it just comes down to it being people's day job for a good decade and not wanting to put your entire office out of work.

Also, sitcom actors are usually typecast after few seasons and will have trouble getting interesting roles so as long as you have even bit of motivation and the show remains popular, you might just as well squeeze everything out of it while you can.

I am SOOO late to this thread...sorry. Warning, chance to rant taken...
I have very similar things as others above. Mine mostly break down a different way/reason though.

I sum it up as (topic) Lite. As in, (topic) for people who know little about the topic. (See how I brought the keyword system in? This is Dakka after all)

For Example: (please bear in mind, I think age has a lot to do with this. I am older. I have seen TONS! I have a great memory. I catch repeated gags, twists, etc. In fact I have often thought of creating a chart that relates every sitcom episode after 1984 to either the MASH or I Love Lucy it is stolen from. This also isn't new. Somewhere there is a great article on "there are only 10 plots in the world")

I am INTO fantasy, but no, I don't like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. Because I am INTO fantasy. Both of those strike me as fantasy lite, for non fantasy fans. One is a standard soap opera with gore and sex thrown in (See Dallas, 1980's for an example of standard everyone is a power hungry selfish bastard), and the other expects me to marvel and be amazed because a centaur showed up...ummm, no. As I said, I'm INTO fantasy. Centaurs and such are the weather, not the news. Same for the first. Someone being fireproof because, you know, dragons and all, is so original I only found it in 6-7 books on my shelf right now...

Most of the vampire shows fall into the same category. I've roleplayed for 30 years. I'm not shocked and amazed when the vampire turns into mist and sneaks under the door. What I am amazed at is how the stupid NPC's (they must be NPC's, no player character reacts the way they do) in these shows is clueless. How come no one in these shows has watched the same TV I have for the last 30 years? Please, SOMEONE keep shooting/stabbing/dismembering a bad guy even though they are "down".

Most TV shows about nerds aren't really about nerds or roleplayers etc. they are about the stereotype non-nerds create. About how non-roleplayers think RPG's go. So I'm out on those as well.

Here is one I haven't seen yet, although it certainly follows the "My job is...so I must like..." pattern.
I was a history Professor. I find it very hard to sit through 95% of the shows on the History channel because they are aimed at people who know almost nothing about the particular subject. After you've read and studied say the Battle of Midway through 30+ books from all sides, a one hour documentary barely covers the blurb on the back of the textbook. And absolutely! no! I will not be seeing the latest Midway movie. 30 seconds of CGI showing Hollywood has decided to ignore all of the relevant data on actual dive-bombing in WWII is all I needed. And yes, shockingly I managed to hear about the code-breakers once or twice or 500 times in my life...

@Elbows (from way in the beginning...) I also have a very short list of people I trust to suggest pretty much anything. Sadly, my brother is off. He describes almost any movie as "Great" because he turns his brain off at the door. Which is fine, but I am not easily amused...When he says a movie was "Okay", I generally expect it to be in the 10% range for rotten tomatoes. He saw Wing Commander the movie twice in one weekend...and desperately tried to get us to go with him. Love the dude, but he was off the list that day.

Edited for poor typing skills, and a few new thoughts I realized make my opinion easier to understand.

edwardmyst wrote:


I am INTO fantasy, but no, I don't like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. Because I am INTO fantasy. Both of those strike me as fantasy lite, for non fantasy fans. One is a standard soap opera with gore and sex thrown in (See Dallas, 1980's for an example of standard everyone is a power hungry selfish bastard), and the other expects me to marvel and be amazed because a centaur showed up...ummm, no. As I said, I'm INTO fantasy. Centaurs and such are the weather, not the news. Same for the first. Someone being fireproof because, you know, dragons and all, is so original I only found it in 6-7 books on my shelf right now...

Hmm. That's an interesting take. I tend to read fantasy for human drama and relationships, as unlike sci-fi, fantasy tends to about characters rather than tech toys and technobabble. So I tend to regard the fantasy aspects as set-dressing in a lot of ways, and how they handle it helps me determine how well they know they genre.

For Harry Potter, I find it boring because its some brat's 'coming of age' story, and I've read dozens of those (especially with orphans as main characters as that's easy and lowers the number of characters to keep track of), and the brat in question is kind of a lazy loser, who somehow gets away with doing the minimum required and being angry most of the time. That isn't interesting. The real main character eventually suffers some kind of ice pick lobotomy and stops functioning halfway through the series. The world building was somewhat interesting to begin with, but eventually fell apart like a house of cards as Rowling failed to plan or even try for consistency. So it comes down to macguffins, suicide and a bafflingly costless resurrection.

Sadly my opinion of GoT is even lower. I don't want to read about terrible people murder raping through a bland anachronistic historical pastiche with fantasy elements loosely appended to it. There's zero draw there.

That's pretty much a spot-on description of the theory of cultural appropriation (the actual academic idea, not the Internet madness version of it).

Voss wrote:
The real main character eventually suffers some kind of ice pick lobotomy and stops functioning halfway through the series.

Curious who you consider the real main character.