This past weekend, I attended the wedding of two former classmates. The bride chose not to shy from the fact that her groom shares the moniker of Nintendo's famous plumber, carving these wedding cake figurines for the reception. She further exemplified her geekiness by setting their retrospective slideshow to the music from "The Inner Light". And now, all the good ones are taken…

Sadly, at this same wedding, I was seated next to a woman who had nothing but contempt for gamerkind. When a friend mentioned the lines of people who had waited for the PlayStation 3, she angrily demanded why these people couldn't just wait until the PS3 was more available. When I described the Wii as an alternative and how much more energetic an experience it was, she asked, her voice dripping with disgust: "Why not just play real sports?"

I'm so glad there are people out there who don't let a lack of understanding stop them from demeaning people who passionately pursue and derive joy from life's pleasures. However has she made it this far in life without encountering people who are – gasp! – different from her? How sad to be so angry all the time…

I was much more heartened when I stopped by a local salon (not a saloon, unfortunately) to visit a relative. This conversation also touched upon people waiting in line for the PS3. A little old lady overheard us and chimed in, "Those people are sick and depraved," referring to gamers who sell such wares on eBay. Before I could either defend or condemn capitalism, she continued: "Besides, they should be getting a Wii. It's a much more fun system." Whoa! Will you be my grandma??

Conversely, when I spotted a friend in his forties using some sort of cell phone-PDA, my query of whether it had Tetris was met with, "What's that?" I guess I've been immersed in this culture I call "America" for so long that my small mind is boggled by the existence of people – adults! – who've successfully cloistered themselves from such popular elements as even who Luke Skywalker's father is…