Forever Geek

Posted: 02 May 2011 04:00 AM PDT

Ever since 2006, there has been one authoritative 'religion' among anime fans and that has been Haruhiism. Unless you're new to anime, you no doubt already know about the sometimes melancholic god, Haruhi Suzumiya. Recently though, a new deity as appeared on the scene and she goes by the name Madoka Kaname. From the series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Madoka has quickly gained a large following of worshippers under the Church of Madoka. Considering the popularity of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Haruhiism looks like it's going to have to battle it out with the Church of Madoka in the near future for the title of the top anime religion.

For someone who likes both Haruhi and Madoka, it may be hard to pick one or the other, but the easiest way is perhaps to take a look at the differences.

First off, let's consider the deities on both sides. While both are cute teenage girls, they have completely different personalities. Haruhi is a dominant person that likes to boss people around, but she manages to get things done. On the other hand, Madoka is sweet and kind, perhaps too much so as she is often ignored. Both sides have their good and bad points, so it all depends on what you're willing to put up with.

A god wouldn't be a god if they didn't have any divine powers, and these two certainly aren't lacking in that area. Haruhi has the ability to create as well as destroy universes until she gets one that she likes. That means that your whole existence could be gone in the blink of an eye, but on the bright side, at least you can't complain or feel bad about it. Madoka doesn't have quite as much raw power as Haruhi, but she does provide something that Haruhi can't, hope. While hope doesn't exactly sound as appealing as creating and destroying universes, at least it gives people the chance to change their future for the better.

The central idea underlying both religions is also drastically different. Haruhi stated with the formation of the SOS Brigade that their purpose was to overload the world with fun, and that has become the main purpose of Haruhiism. The Church of Madoka doesn't sound as appealing, leaving you only with the lines “Don’t forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone.” You could say that worshipping Madoka is in some ways like the worship of Jesus, as long as you remember them and their sacrifice, then they will always be there for you.

Whether you're a devoted Haruhiist, or newly converted Madokaist, both sides have some good things to offer, it just depends on preference. Of course, there's always Belldandyism for anyone who doesn't like either religion.

Incredibly Geeky Headstones

Posted: 01 May 2011 12:38 PM PDT

Everybody dies, sooner or later. But dying doesn’t mean you have to stop being a geek.

There are no Photoshopped images here. Every one of these headstones is the real deal. And you’ve got to love the gumption of anyone willing to show off their geeky-ness on something as long-lasting as a grave marker.

Computer

Grave for a 26-year-old computer geek from China who — no joke — died in front of his screen. [Source]

Network Error

“He came, he saw, he logged out.” I can so relate. [Source]

U.S.S. Enteprise

It’s not enough that he was a Star Trek fan — he actually shared the exact same name as The Next Generation‘s first officer (yep, even his middle name). But the Enterprise depicted on the grave marker is from the original series. Wonder why they didn’t go with the 1701-D? [Source]

Jaws

Hm…. You suppose Lester died at sea? Maybe he needed a bigger boat. (Apologies to the Madden family. Couldn’t resist.) [Source]

Laptop

No idea what the story is for this one, but you have to assume this guy was super attached to his laptop. [Source]

Light Bulb

Don’t scoff. Without electricity, you wouldn’t be reading this. Totally awesome. [Source]

Maze

Come for the wake, stay for the brainteaser. [Source]

Infinity

Doesn’t seem all that geeky, right?

Wrong.

Check out what’s engraved on the sides:

That’s right. Buzz Lightyear for the win. [Source]

Optimus Trek

There’s no subtlety here. This person is proudly letting their geek flag fly. And good on ‘em. [Source]

Rocket

Strangely, the man buried here had nothing whatsoever to do with rocket construction or the space program. He just liked the design so much that he picked it for his own headstone. Extra credit: the sculpture has lots of rocket trivia engraved into it. [Source]

Scrabble

I refused to believe that this was real at first. But I found various sources verifying that this is the real deal, and can be found at a cemetery in Portland, Oregon. If you zoom in to the high-res image, you can see that each of the Scrabble spaces and tiles is actually a ceramic tile. [Source]

Snoopy

I tried to stick to real headstones used at real graves for this list, but I couldn’t resist this unmarked, model Snoopy piece still waiting to be used. [Source]

Star Wars

No geek list is complete without at least one Star Wars entry. I love that this one has geeky stuff on both the front and the back. [Source]

TARDIS

I totally want a TARDIS headstone on my grave. Okay, so this isn’t technically a “TARDIS headstone,” but come on. It’s impossible to look at it and not think of the Doctor. [Source]