Long time neogaf lurker here.
Something that had me curious for a long time, how come no one ever called out a certain neogaf sweetheart about his obsession (or if you prefer, creepy stalker tendencies) for a celebrity? I do understand having a crush for one and, to some degree, having some pictures, but having 1 TB hard drive filled with pictures of that person? Always talking about that celebrity or using her picture to the point where it was considered a meme by the rest of the community? An obcession that started when she was underage (and i do hope that person was somewhere near that age range)? Talking about how he would follow her to certain events?
How was this considered normal, especially for that community?
Allow me to address these individually:
1) I don't have a hard drive full of pictures and never have. I'm fairly certain the source of this tidbit confused me with either fistful and his Natalie Portman folder or zkylon and his/her Zooey Deschanel folder.
2) I'll admit I was once rather liberal with my reaction gif usage, which I greatly limited and gradually reduced to zero after a couple of members informed me they found it bothersome, but I never once attempted to derail a thread just to talk about her. I'd answer questions if they came up as it seemed rude to ignore them, but that's it.
3) I started using the avatars when she was 17-and-a-half. I myself would have been 22 at the time. I should also note out that I've never had an avatar of when she was young, so while I'm acutely aware of the perception my use of the avatars over the years has created (which is why I don't really take any offence when someone decides to infer that I'm something less than a normal person), reports that I'm sort of *phile in training are not based in truth.
4) That's patently false and most likely a mischaracterisation of my plan last year to holiday in the US,
in part to catch The Crucible as seeing her perform on stage could very well prove to have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Hell, I even said at one point that I had absolutely zero intention of trying to see her after the show when someone made a joke(?) that she'd need to increase personal security. To say she's one of my favourite actors working today would be stating the obvious, but I don't keep track of her personal life and don't envision a future in which I'm acting out my own personal version of Ingrid Goes West. That's nobody business but her own. That she's a public figure doesn't preclude her right to privacy and living a normal life.
(The trip didn't end up happening as my hours at work were cut and I wouldn't have been able to comfortably afford it. My parents offered to pay the difference, bless their hearts, but with my dad retired and my mum working only part-time, I couldn't in good conscience have accepted the offer.)
I don't expect any of this to change your mind about me; again, I understand perfectly if you're still convinced I'm weird, so no hard feelings. I just thought I'd chime in and set the record straight.
