I Am Not Hamlet

I don't like beer.  I've tried over the course of the last 20 years to like it, but have failed every time.  My most recent try was last September with a beer after a 22 mile bike ride.  Yuck!  That liquid is so bitter, it reminds me of sawdust (not that I ingest that, either).  Occasionally, some interesting brew will have an intriguing smell, but much like the deception of coffee, the smell masks the lurking taste of ewwwwwwwwwww.      This lack of hopsphilia comes at a price.  Many, many (if not most) adult social events revolve around beer.  Sure, sometimes hard liquor or wine (or some other kind of alcohol) is available, but not always.  And certainly not at beer's price.  So, I stand around with my glass of wine or water looking inside at all the beer drinkers and their fun.      Much like my antipathy for professional sports, I remain at the edges of American culture.  Not many people st...

Why is it that if you enjoy words and their development (etymologies) you are a word nerd? Or if you enjoy entering another world or life through books you are considered a book worm or book nerd? Who determines this? If you know all the minutiae associated with baseball (and there's a lot of that) why aren't you considered a baseball nerd? Are there hunting nerds? There are band nerds. I get a thrill out of fishing, does that make me a fish nerd? It seems to me that physical activities act against the thought of one being a nerd, but any action that requires cerebration doesn't. So the athletes made the rules on this, why? Why have we let them? Just because my enjoyment of reading makes me better than you doesn't mean I can go around labeling the sub-literate. Of course, camping and rock climbing are clearly superior to some loud, drunken tailgating party, but those adherents of outdoor recreation shouldn't condemn the less-fortunate sucking down chili d...