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I'll admit that this is one game that snuck up on me. I loved the original Golden Sun games for the Gameboy Advance, but I thought the series had died, since there hadn't been even a rumor of a new game that I'd heard of in years. Then suddenly, I walk into my local Gamestop, and there are displays for preorders for a new Golden Sun!
Fast forward to now, and I've just finished my first playthrough of the game. And it was everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. Fans of the original games will find the core mechanics virtually the same. Newbies to the game will find helpful tutorials early on, but really the controls are easy enough that anyone familiar with turn-based RPGs like the original Final Fantasy games should be able to figure them out with ease.
As in the earlier Golden Sun games, the name of the game is Djinn hunting, and finding the more powerful summons. Some of them are easy to find (more than one Djinn literally comes up to your party and asks to join) but some take creativity to reach, solving puzzles. And some are scattered around the world map, as random encounters. Likewise, you have to hunt for most of the powerful summons. My only suggestion is to follow every path, and see where it goes.
The story takes place 30 years after the events of Golden Sun - The Lost Age. The return of Alchemy to the world has issued in new challenges, but the credit (and blame) for saving the world is given to the legendary Warriors of Vale (the PCs from the first two games). Isaac and Garet live in a cabin overlooking the remains of Mt. Aleph, and the ruins of Sol Sanctum, but when the soarwing they need to cross the volcanic wastes between the cabin and the sanctum is destroyed, they send their children, who have inherited their Adept powers, to get a Roc's Feather that is needed to repair it. And thus the kids are launched into their own adventure, which soon becomes a quest to save the world, just as their parents did thirty years ago.
One thing that is different from the original games is that your Psynergy Points (PP) will renew themselves over time as you're walking around. To me, this made the game much easier through large stretches of the game, as I would simply use Psynergy to heal my characters as I went around leveling up and getting the gold I needed for the best equipment. Items like vials and herbs seemed largely pointless, until you hit a Boss encounter and the healer went down.
Speaking of boss encounters, there are several of them in this game, and for the most part they are challenging, though not impossible encounters, especially if you've leveled up enough first. The final Boss, of course, is another matter entirely, as he has an insane number of hit points, does massive damage to one or more of the party members four times every turn, and is largely unaffected by anything other than djinn summons. Fortunately, when he beats you (yes, I said WHEN, not IF), you revive a little ways away, and can trek back to try again.
Golden Sun - Dark Dawn is a solid, enjoyable RPG, and I recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the genre. In addition to providing dozens of hours of entertainment searching for the djinn and summons, while progressing the detailed and intriguing storyline, Dark Dawn is one of the games that definitely falls into the 'workplace friendly' category. By which I mean that you can be playing it at work, and set it down in an instant, even in the middle of combat, and you can rest assured that you won't get destroyed while you actually do your work.
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Head of Vecna
Those of you who are gamers will get a laugh at this. Those of you who aren't, will still get a laugh, even if you don't understand everything.
http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm
Just goes to show that players can be their own worst enemies...
http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm
Just goes to show that players can be their own worst enemies...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com
The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com
This is an interesting article that was passed to me by my brother in law. Definitely worth a read.
This is an interesting article that was passed to me by my brother in law. Definitely worth a read.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Strengths and Weaknesses
For those of you who know, I'm a gamer, but it is often hard to find a game in real life, so I do some Play-by-Post games online, at a great site called Roleplay Online. Now, one of the best things about the site is that there is an open forum in one section, where the community can chat about anything and everything (subject to certain guidelines, of course, since the site is open to all ages).
Over the past week, there's been an interesting discussion going on about some of the differences between the two major political parties, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the issue. Yes, gamers can talk about serious issues. Try not to let it throw you. We'll be back to arguing about which edition of D&D is better in a sec.
I'd like to think of myself as a neutral observer, since I'm not a part of either party, but that would be a half-truth. While I see myself as a stubborn independent, I will freely admit that I tend to vote one way more than others. I'll explain that more later.
To paraphrase a poster in the forum I mentioned, Democrats and Republicans act the way they do because they act more like a Democracy and a Republic than the other. Let me explain.
In a true democracy, everyone has a say, and it can be something akin to mob rule. While this certainly hurts when it comes to actually getting things done, it does act as a very effective limiter on some of the more radical elements of the group, as they have to first sway the more moderate types.
In a republic, people choose leaders, and then those leaders run the show until their term of office is over, with everyone else toeing the line, unless something major happens. This makes things much easier in terms of getting things done, but there isn't much to stop the crazies from running things how they like it if they get the leadership.
Yes, I know this is a very broad-based analogy, but in broad strokes, it does fit. Look at how things have been going. Democrats act like a herd of cats, going this way and that, which makes them ineffective at governing, but does keep the far left from doing anything too crazy. Republicans walk lock-step with one another, repeating the same crappy sound bites, like some kind of Borg collective.
I've said before that I'm an independent mainly because both parties piss me off about different things. Frankly, I believe government does have a role to play in helping people. And don't give me that crap about private companies or charities filling that role. The reason we have things like Social Security is because private companies and charities WERE NOT filling that role, and the federal government was the only one with the resources to step in and fill it.
But I also believe that we should balance the budget (allowing for emergencies, of course), and that the balancing act shouldn't come from tax increases alone. Yes, I know that sounds like crazy-talk, considering my last paragraph, but it is true. I think that the government should find a way to get into the black, and start paying down the debt.
Unfortunately, the only way you're going to do that is to do a series of things that are political suicide.
First, you have to stop giving tax cuts at the drop of a hat. In fact, you need to take some of them away, and close a lot of loopholes. Yes, that means effectively raising taxes on most everyone, especially the rich. This will especially rankle Republicans, who seem to answer every question with "tax cuts", but that's the simple truth. We need to take in more than we pay out in order to reduce our debt, and eventually pay it off. For all the talk of fiscal responsibility that we heard in the 90s, most Republicans seem to have forgotten this simple fact.
Second, we have to reduce spending. In some cases, this means cuts. In others, it means restructuring programs so that we can eliminate red tape, and make things actually work like they are supposed to. This will piss off Democrats, who answer every question with "I've got an app for that". But it is an undeniable fact that there are many programs which do not work, and have not worked for years.
So what would I do to balance the budget? Well first off I would close all tax loopholes and remove all tax credits for ten years. Yes, it will SUCK to pay more taxes, but there is not going to be any painless way out of this. The only thing we can do is spread the pain as evenly as possible.
Second, I would decriminalize many illegal drugs. Anyone who thinks our drug policy is working is either certifiably insane, or they've been living under a rock for the last thirty years. People are already using drugs. They have been for years, and they are going to keep using drugs. Best way to deal with it is to make it legal so we can tax it and regulate it. Not only would we save a ton of money that we currently spend prosecuting and jailing users, but it would also cut the legs out from under organized crime outfits who have been getting rich for years off the drug trade.
Third, I would go line by line through every department of every federal agency, and eliminate as much of the bureaucracy as possible. Streamline agencies, and remove red tape, so that people can actually do their jobs without filling out eight different forms in triplicate, which then need to be filed with however many different departments... Lot of waste there.
Fourth, I would cut the pay of Congress and the President to no more than $100K a year, including leadership positions. Not only would it save a great deal of money, but it would also help to discourage people from becoming career politicians. Afterall, $100K is a lot of money, more than some people make in five years, much less one.
Of course, this drastic course of action would never happen, because it would require politicians to actually do what is best for the country as a whole, rather than what is best for them, or even what their constituents want. Because this would be political suicide, requiring actual courage and fortitude, it is easy to see why this won't happen while the career politicians are in power.
Over the past week, there's been an interesting discussion going on about some of the differences between the two major political parties, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the issue. Yes, gamers can talk about serious issues. Try not to let it throw you. We'll be back to arguing about which edition of D&D is better in a sec.
I'd like to think of myself as a neutral observer, since I'm not a part of either party, but that would be a half-truth. While I see myself as a stubborn independent, I will freely admit that I tend to vote one way more than others. I'll explain that more later.
To paraphrase a poster in the forum I mentioned, Democrats and Republicans act the way they do because they act more like a Democracy and a Republic than the other. Let me explain.
In a true democracy, everyone has a say, and it can be something akin to mob rule. While this certainly hurts when it comes to actually getting things done, it does act as a very effective limiter on some of the more radical elements of the group, as they have to first sway the more moderate types.
In a republic, people choose leaders, and then those leaders run the show until their term of office is over, with everyone else toeing the line, unless something major happens. This makes things much easier in terms of getting things done, but there isn't much to stop the crazies from running things how they like it if they get the leadership.
Yes, I know this is a very broad-based analogy, but in broad strokes, it does fit. Look at how things have been going. Democrats act like a herd of cats, going this way and that, which makes them ineffective at governing, but does keep the far left from doing anything too crazy. Republicans walk lock-step with one another, repeating the same crappy sound bites, like some kind of Borg collective.
I've said before that I'm an independent mainly because both parties piss me off about different things. Frankly, I believe government does have a role to play in helping people. And don't give me that crap about private companies or charities filling that role. The reason we have things like Social Security is because private companies and charities WERE NOT filling that role, and the federal government was the only one with the resources to step in and fill it.
But I also believe that we should balance the budget (allowing for emergencies, of course), and that the balancing act shouldn't come from tax increases alone. Yes, I know that sounds like crazy-talk, considering my last paragraph, but it is true. I think that the government should find a way to get into the black, and start paying down the debt.
Unfortunately, the only way you're going to do that is to do a series of things that are political suicide.
First, you have to stop giving tax cuts at the drop of a hat. In fact, you need to take some of them away, and close a lot of loopholes. Yes, that means effectively raising taxes on most everyone, especially the rich. This will especially rankle Republicans, who seem to answer every question with "tax cuts", but that's the simple truth. We need to take in more than we pay out in order to reduce our debt, and eventually pay it off. For all the talk of fiscal responsibility that we heard in the 90s, most Republicans seem to have forgotten this simple fact.
Second, we have to reduce spending. In some cases, this means cuts. In others, it means restructuring programs so that we can eliminate red tape, and make things actually work like they are supposed to. This will piss off Democrats, who answer every question with "I've got an app for that". But it is an undeniable fact that there are many programs which do not work, and have not worked for years.
So what would I do to balance the budget? Well first off I would close all tax loopholes and remove all tax credits for ten years. Yes, it will SUCK to pay more taxes, but there is not going to be any painless way out of this. The only thing we can do is spread the pain as evenly as possible.
Second, I would decriminalize many illegal drugs. Anyone who thinks our drug policy is working is either certifiably insane, or they've been living under a rock for the last thirty years. People are already using drugs. They have been for years, and they are going to keep using drugs. Best way to deal with it is to make it legal so we can tax it and regulate it. Not only would we save a ton of money that we currently spend prosecuting and jailing users, but it would also cut the legs out from under organized crime outfits who have been getting rich for years off the drug trade.
Third, I would go line by line through every department of every federal agency, and eliminate as much of the bureaucracy as possible. Streamline agencies, and remove red tape, so that people can actually do their jobs without filling out eight different forms in triplicate, which then need to be filed with however many different departments... Lot of waste there.
Fourth, I would cut the pay of Congress and the President to no more than $100K a year, including leadership positions. Not only would it save a great deal of money, but it would also help to discourage people from becoming career politicians. Afterall, $100K is a lot of money, more than some people make in five years, much less one.
Of course, this drastic course of action would never happen, because it would require politicians to actually do what is best for the country as a whole, rather than what is best for them, or even what their constituents want. Because this would be political suicide, requiring actual courage and fortitude, it is easy to see why this won't happen while the career politicians are in power.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Job Search Update
Sometimes, the only thing that is worse than not having a job is having one that not only doesn't pay well enough, but also has hours so unpredictably spaced that you can't get a second job because you have no fraking clue what your schedule will be one week to the next.
Such is the position I now find myself in.
So after literally carpet-bombing the surrounding area with applications, I finally managed to get a part time job at a gas station. Yeah, that ain't cutting it at ALL.
So here I am, looking for more work, different work, anything really.
The problem is that, while I enjoy the gas station (it isn't exactly difficult work) the hours are too unpredictable. If it was a set schedule, I could at least find a second part time job to supplement those hours. So now I'm basically looking for something full time, and hoping the bill collectors don't come after me until I find something that works.
Personally, I would like to get a job in one of the local game shops, or a bookstore. Something where I actually know a thing or two about the product being sold. A video game store would be pretty much ideal.
Such is the position I now find myself in.
So after literally carpet-bombing the surrounding area with applications, I finally managed to get a part time job at a gas station. Yeah, that ain't cutting it at ALL.
So here I am, looking for more work, different work, anything really.
The problem is that, while I enjoy the gas station (it isn't exactly difficult work) the hours are too unpredictable. If it was a set schedule, I could at least find a second part time job to supplement those hours. So now I'm basically looking for something full time, and hoping the bill collectors don't come after me until I find something that works.
Personally, I would like to get a job in one of the local game shops, or a bookstore. Something where I actually know a thing or two about the product being sold. A video game store would be pretty much ideal.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Scam Alert
As some of you might know, when I get emails that are obviously scams, I like to share them, so that some other poor schmuck doesn't fall prey to these things.
New Release! Medal of Honor for PS3, Xbox & PC only $59.99 available 10/19 at Kmart.com
from Mackey Kathi
reply-to Mackey Kathi
to info@notice.com
date Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM
subject Hello
mailed-by uwm.edu
hide details 10:40 AM (2 hours ago)
Partner,
I write to you as a matter of utmost urgency in respect of abusiness transaction which I trust will be of interest to you.It pertains certain accounts which in the wake of the september11 attacks were "MARKED" by the Counter-terrorism unit of the FBI,these accounts are belonging to key arab businessmen and influentialplayers in the mid-east,these accounts have been a subject of investigation and has since been cleared by the FBI and I have been entrusted with the duty of returning these account to the rightful owners but unfortunately a lot of these people are no where to be found.My proposal is for you to be the sole beneficiary of these funds which is running into $126,000,000 USD. This partnership is to be on 50%-50% basis.Get back to me immediately on this Email (rog206@usa.com) if you are interested.
Sincerely,
Mackey Kathi.
OK, first off, anyone who falls for this piece of crap deserves to be taken. Seriously, does anyone really expect someone to just be sending out $126 MILLION dollars without any kind of auditing looking over their shoulders?
Second, note that the email the thing came from is different from the email replies go to. This is usually the first sign that something is up.
Third, notice that the address the email was sent to is not my email. This means it was sent to a listserv, which sent it to who knows how many people in the address book.
The sad thing is that these kinds of schemes actually work on some people.
Don't be one of them.
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New Release! Medal of Honor for PS3, Xbox & PC only $59.99 available 10/19 at Kmart.com
from Mackey Kathi
reply-to Mackey Kathi
to info@notice.com
date Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM
subject Hello
mailed-by uwm.edu
hide details 10:40 AM (2 hours ago)
Partner,
I write to you as a matter of utmost urgency in respect of abusiness transaction which I trust will be of interest to you.It pertains certain accounts which in the wake of the september11 attacks were "MARKED" by the Counter-terrorism unit of the FBI,these accounts are belonging to key arab businessmen and influentialplayers in the mid-east,these accounts have been a subject of investigation and has since been cleared by the FBI and I have been entrusted with the duty of returning these account to the rightful owners but unfortunately a lot of these people are no where to be found.My proposal is for you to be the sole beneficiary of these funds which is running into $126,000,000 USD. This partnership is to be on 50%-50% basis.Get back to me immediately on this Email (rog206@usa.com) if you are interested.
Sincerely,
Mackey Kathi.
OK, first off, anyone who falls for this piece of crap deserves to be taken. Seriously, does anyone really expect someone to just be sending out $126 MILLION dollars without any kind of auditing looking over their shoulders?
Second, note that the email the thing came from is different from the email replies go to. This is usually the first sign that something is up.
Third, notice that the address the email was sent to is not my email. This means it was sent to a listserv, which sent it to who knows how many people in the address book.
The sad thing is that these kinds of schemes actually work on some people.
Don't be one of them.
Canon PIXMA MP560 Wireless Photo All-In-One $79.99 from PC Connection Express
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Medal of Honor
Today the President of the United States honored a hero.
On January 25, 2008, Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller (3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, US Army) and his squad of 24 US and Afghan soldiers were clearing out an insurgent base in Kunar Province, when they were ambushed by over one hundred and fifty Taliban fighters. Miller ordered his men to fall back, while he charged the enemy, drawing their fire, and was killed. For his sacrifice, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the 3,471st member of the armed forces to earn the award since its creation in 1861.
Honor him, for few are so worthy of walking in the fields of Elysium.
On January 25, 2008, Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller (3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, US Army) and his squad of 24 US and Afghan soldiers were clearing out an insurgent base in Kunar Province, when they were ambushed by over one hundred and fifty Taliban fighters. Miller ordered his men to fall back, while he charged the enemy, drawing their fire, and was killed. For his sacrifice, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the 3,471st member of the armed forces to earn the award since its creation in 1861.
Honor him, for few are so worthy of walking in the fields of Elysium.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Freedom of Speech
A lot is said about the freedom of speech. Personally, I'm a big fan of it. Unlike others, I recognize that there is a dark side to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech must be applied to all, or it has meaning for none. Unfortunately, that means that it also protects idiots like the Phelps klan out in Kansas. Oh, you know them, they're the church that goes around protesting at funerals of soldiers, because they believe their deaths are a punishment from god because the US tolerates homosexuality, or some crap like that. I'm sorry, I know I should be more objective, but I have this allergic reaction to raving lunatics that makes me want to pretend they're zombies and go Left 4 Dead on them.
Which actually brings me to my point.
I think pretty much everyone agrees that these people are well deserving of a beat down. Freedom of Speech does not mean freedom from consequence. The father who sued the Phelps klan and won is one way of dishing out some consequence to them, but I think most of us would like a more... aggressive type of consequence to happen to them.
Unfortunately, these tools are just going to keep spouting their hate speech until someone takes a bat upside their head. So the next time these idiots are out and about, why don't we all get together, and beat the everloving crap out of these assholes? Anyone asks, we all just say Marilyn Manson made us do it. It worked at Columbine, right?
What, you don't like me encouraging people to commit acts of violence against douchebags filled with hate? But this is freedom of speech, isn't it?
Ok, so maybe that was out of line. But don't tell me you all weren't thinking the exact same thing. So how about something a little more legal? Fred Phelps, the leader of the Phelps klan, who lives in Topeka, Kansas, does not have an unlisted phone number. His home phone number is listed as (785)267-3615. His son, Fred Phelps Jr., who is also a member of the 'church', lives at 3600 SW Holly Ln., Topeka, KS 66604-2553, and his phone number is (785)272-4135. Link to the search I did below.
http://www.whitepages.com/search/Replay?lower=1&search_id=73051330149262216472
Go exercise some freedom of speech.
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I recommend the sledge hammer, myself.
Which actually brings me to my point.
I think pretty much everyone agrees that these people are well deserving of a beat down. Freedom of Speech does not mean freedom from consequence. The father who sued the Phelps klan and won is one way of dishing out some consequence to them, but I think most of us would like a more... aggressive type of consequence to happen to them.
Unfortunately, these tools are just going to keep spouting their hate speech until someone takes a bat upside their head. So the next time these idiots are out and about, why don't we all get together, and beat the everloving crap out of these assholes? Anyone asks, we all just say Marilyn Manson made us do it. It worked at Columbine, right?
What, you don't like me encouraging people to commit acts of violence against douchebags filled with hate? But this is freedom of speech, isn't it?
Ok, so maybe that was out of line. But don't tell me you all weren't thinking the exact same thing. So how about something a little more legal? Fred Phelps, the leader of the Phelps klan, who lives in Topeka, Kansas, does not have an unlisted phone number. His home phone number is listed as (785)267-3615. His son, Fred Phelps Jr., who is also a member of the 'church', lives at 3600 SW Holly Ln., Topeka, KS 66604-2553, and his phone number is (785)272-4135. Link to the search I did below.
http://www.whitepages.com/search/Replay?lower=1&search_id=73051330149262216472
Go exercise some freedom of speech.
Buy More, Save More on Tools! EXTRA 5-15% off already reduced Tools 10/5-10/7
I recommend the sledge hammer, myself.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Job Search
It is the most difficult, time consuming, and humiliating thing that people are allowed to do to one another in public without breaking public decency laws.
I'm talking, of course, about job hunting.
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Think about it. The frantic scurrying from one business to the next, bearing resumes and filling out the same information over and over again, having to explain everything time and time again, using up all that time and energy. And for what? For the hope that, if the person doing the hiring happens to like how you spun your work experience, you can get an interview.
Which brings us to the humiliating part.
If you're like me, when you get called for the interview, you're excited, because you actually have a chance at a job. Then you remember that the interview process is not unlike choosing a class president in high school. There's some speaking involved, but it boils down to looks and popularity, especially with anything where you'll be dealing with the public.
And, if you're like me, you'll start remembering how you never did get picked for any of those things. And then you start getting nervous, and trying to figure out what to do to make the best impression so you can get the job. Should I go with shirt and tie? Is that too formal? Would a polo shirt and jeans be too informal? What about colors, would green or blue be better? Black? Maybe white? Then you remember that the interview is still four days off.
Day of the interview comes up, and you get dressed, and head to the location. Do you show up half an hour early, or does that seem desperate? What about fifteen minutes? Should you come in right on time? Or what about five minutes early?
Then the interview itself. How much do I say so that I highlight my experience, without bragging or sounding like I'm exaggerating? How do I gloss over my shortcomings without sending up red flags? Should I be honest, or more tactful? Should I ask questions, or would that make me look uncooperative? But does not asking questions make me look uninterested? Should I lean back in the chair, and look relaxed, or does that make me look unconcerned? Should I lean forward, or does that make me look too eager? Sit up straight, or does that make me look nervous?
And then, when the interview is over, they thank you, and send you off, so you can wait a week or more for the results.
Why, oh why must it be this difficult?
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I'm talking, of course, about job hunting.
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Think about it. The frantic scurrying from one business to the next, bearing resumes and filling out the same information over and over again, having to explain everything time and time again, using up all that time and energy. And for what? For the hope that, if the person doing the hiring happens to like how you spun your work experience, you can get an interview.
Which brings us to the humiliating part.
If you're like me, when you get called for the interview, you're excited, because you actually have a chance at a job. Then you remember that the interview process is not unlike choosing a class president in high school. There's some speaking involved, but it boils down to looks and popularity, especially with anything where you'll be dealing with the public.
And, if you're like me, you'll start remembering how you never did get picked for any of those things. And then you start getting nervous, and trying to figure out what to do to make the best impression so you can get the job. Should I go with shirt and tie? Is that too formal? Would a polo shirt and jeans be too informal? What about colors, would green or blue be better? Black? Maybe white? Then you remember that the interview is still four days off.
Day of the interview comes up, and you get dressed, and head to the location. Do you show up half an hour early, or does that seem desperate? What about fifteen minutes? Should you come in right on time? Or what about five minutes early?
Then the interview itself. How much do I say so that I highlight my experience, without bragging or sounding like I'm exaggerating? How do I gloss over my shortcomings without sending up red flags? Should I be honest, or more tactful? Should I ask questions, or would that make me look uncooperative? But does not asking questions make me look uninterested? Should I lean back in the chair, and look relaxed, or does that make me look unconcerned? Should I lean forward, or does that make me look too eager? Sit up straight, or does that make me look nervous?
And then, when the interview is over, they thank you, and send you off, so you can wait a week or more for the results.
Why, oh why must it be this difficult?
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Friday, September 24, 2010
Elves, Dragons, and Electric Guitars
I have to say that, given a choice, I don't listen to any American music any more. Not that I have anything against America. I love it here. But I simply can't stand Country, Pop reminds me of all the most idiotic parts of high school, and I outgrew my rap phase years ago. With a few exceptions, the best music I've heard recently is from European groups like Rhapsody of Fire or Blind Guardian or Nightwish. I crave something more than the basic country line of "My dog died, My Wife left me, and My truck broke down", or the incessant teen pop that is everywhere, or rappers telling me how great life is when you deal drugs and shoot people. I just don't need any of that stuff.
What I want is something to take me out of my own life, and into something better, more exciting, more epic. Which is why groups like Rhapsody of Fire appeal to me. For those of you unfamiliar with Rhapsody of Fire (pretty much all of you, I'd guess), take one part Metallica, back when they were good, one part orchestra, and season with a liberal dose of Lord of the Rings. Stir well, and in short order you have AWESOMENESS!
Seriously, though. Most music coming from America these days is either depressing, enraged, or inane. A Rhapsody of Fire album is more than just a collection of singles made for radio, it is a story, bridging multiple albums, where you can set them up in order on your iPod and just run through the albums in order, and hear the story weaving around you, sweeping you up along with it. You just don't get that from boy bands and slutty pop princesses. You don't find that in the drek that you find in Nashville. You'll never witness that on a gangsta rap album.
When I'm needing music, I can think of little better than to hear tales of elves and dragons, to the melody of an electric guitar.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
FML
Sometimes I take a step back, and wonder if I am sane. Then the voices tell me that asking the question proves I'm not insane.
I guess it comes from playing roleplaying games, and how I create my characters. I never simply run through the book and put together a character with some interesting stats. That would work for a simple hack and slash game, but I'm looking for more in a RPG. I dive down, getting inside the character's head, and getting a feel for the complexities of their way of thinking.
But the simple truth is that you can't get into someone's head without them getting into yours.
At times, I'm simply going along with my day, and I find that, without warning, I've slipped into thinking like one of my characters, seeing the world through their eyes, approaching problems as they would, even though there is no such thing as magic in the world, and I definitely don't have a sword at my side. And then I catch myself, and shake away the thoughts, and return to being me.
It is times like that which make me think, why not? Why couldn't I be more than the shy guy in the corner, too oblivious and too scared to make any kind of move on someone he likes without a computer screen in between? Why couldn't I let go the man I was, and become the dashing rogue, the cunning warrior, the witty poet? Why not just burst into song, and sing for a time that existed only in a fantasy game?
And yet, I am trapped in this flabby form, prisoner of my own insecurities. I long to set aside that form, and become the legend I created, a man who has no fear, a man who can act in the face of adversity, and flirt with the lady even as he trades blows and banter with the villain.
But I cannot do that. I cling to sanity, and refuse to offer myself to the blessed oblivion of the imagined. I am a prisoner in a high tower, the windows all unbarred. I could escape if I just slipped out the window, but I know I cannot, because the fall would destroy me. And so I sit at the window, and lust for those things that I know I will never see, the things I could never be, the things that I may never know. I sit there, and it brings me both pleasure and pain, for though looking through the window brings an ache to my heart, if it was shut, I would go mad, trapped with not even a glimmer of hope to sustain me.
The world is a wonderful place, if you're the attractive, the popular, the wealthy, the fearless. But I am just an overweight man, shy, broke, and all too aware of my own failings to be fearless. There are things I would like from this world, but they are closed to me. Soon I'll be twenty-seven, working at a desk, and never even been on a date, to say nothing of anything else. Hell, the only time a girl pays any attention to me is when I go to a strip club. This world is not meant for people like me.
Or maybe I am not meant for this world? Maybe these characters I create are all simply echoes of past lives, rattling down the hallways of time, and my malcontent festers for the fact that I compare my life to theirs, and see myself wanting.
I wonder if simply ending it all will release me from this cycle of hell, and return me to that cavalcade of voices so that I might begin again, in a form more suited, and be who I was meant to be.
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
And yet, I find myself restrained, fearing that undiscovered country. And I cling desperately to my window, not daring to cast myself out it, but unable to turn away from it. And the pain continues. And I see the entirety of my existence boiling down to a single phrase: FML.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
A Mosque at Ground Zero?
I've tried to avoid commenting on the proposed mosque near the former World Trade Center site. I thought that, surely, people would get their heads out of their collective asses, and see the light.
They haven't.
For all conservative nutjobs talk about the greatness of America, they have an annoying tendency to ignore some truths about America when it doesn't suit their dogmatic point of view. Our nation was founded with the idea of religious freedom in mind. An idea that people, regardless of their creed, should be able to practice their religion freely, and not fear the government's intrusion into that practice, so long as they themselves did not break any laws.
The terrorists that attacked us almost nine years ago to the day did so for many reasons. But one of the most common threads you hear the conservatives talk about is that they attacked us because they hate our freedoms. And there is some truth to that. They want to terrorize us, and use fear and hatred to get us to change our ways.
But the freedom to practice your religion, whatever it is, without prejudice is one of those freedoms.
And it isn't like the Islamic group in question doesn't already have a presence in Manhattan. In fact, they are not making a new congregation. THERE IS ALREADY A MOSQUE NOT TWO BLOCKS FROM THE PROPOSED SITE!
Take a walk around Ground Zero. You know what you'll find? Strip clubs, adult video stores, fast food joints, and the like. Real 'hallowed ground' stuff, right?
Some of the families of victims of 9/11 say that moving an existing mosque two blocks closer to Ground Zero is offensive, that it is some banner of victory to the terrorists who attacked us.
I say they are wrong. It is the people who oppose the mosque that are the offensive ones. It is they that are the banner of victory for the terrorists. For if we change who we are in the face of fear and hatred of what happened, haven't the terrorists truly won? We can win every battle overseas, and not have a single attack on our soil, but if we give up who we are, then we have lost. If we do that, then we vindicate the monsters who attacked us. If we do that, we piss on the memories of the people who died that day. If we do that, we are the testament to our failures as a people.
Freedoms are tricky things. If you say you love a freedom, any freedom, then you have to love that freedom even in times you might disagree with it. Would you oppose a Christian church going up there? Or a Jewish synagogue? Or a Hindu temple? Or a Wiccan shrine? If you love the freedoms this country was founded on, and you say No to even a single one of those questions, then you should not oppose the Islamic mosque going there.
It is a simple thing, to sell out someone else's freedoms when you don't like them. But karma is a bitch, and eventually it will come around to be your turn again. How you act now may determine how others act towards you in the future.
Tell the world that we truly are the land of the free, where a man is judged not by his race, his gender, or his creed, but by the acts he himself does. Because if we look at the terrorists, who have said for years that we are the enemies of all Islam, and we paint all Muslims with the same brush, then we are only proving the terrorists right, vindicating their claims that a jihad is warranted against us. But if we put aside our fear for resolve, or hate for understanding, and allow the mosque to be built, then we show the world that the terrorists were WRONG! We will show them that they may destroy our buildings, and they may take our lives, but they will never change who we truly are, that they will never take our freedoms.
Will you stand for what is right, despite your own bias, your own misgivings, your own fear, your own hate? Will you stand for the freedoms you love? Or will you give in to the terrorists, and allow them to steal our very soul?
Who will stand with me?
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Spoilers)
This post may contain spoilers.
First off, manage your expectations. It is a Disney movie based off a Disney short film featuring Mickey Mouse. Do not go in expecting a bunch of gore, or sex, or even foul language. There isn't any. This movie is designed to be kid friendly.
Second, if you aren't a kid, or a geek, you probably won't like this movie. There are a lot of subtle moments that would only appeal to children or geeks who know what the references were. If you don't appreciate a good "These aren't the droids you're looking for," joke, then go watch another episode of American Idol, and forget about this movie.
Third, and most important, DO NOT TAKE THIS MOVIE SERIOUSLY! It is supposed to be a bit silly at times. No, it doesn't do stupid humor like Will Farrel movies, and no, it isn't sarcastic humor like an episode of the Daily Show. It is just good fun silliness, with a bunch of geeky references.
All right, for those of you who are still here, I'll just come out and say that this movie is 100% good, clean fun. I loved it! If you remember the short from Fantasia, with the enchanted mops, you're going to absolutely love when they recreate that scene. THEY EVEN HAVE THE MUSIC WITH IT! I literally died for a moment there.
Also, the explanation for how magic worked was awesome, as it lent the movie a bit of much needed plausibility. The idea that if you were able to use 100% of your brain you'd have strange powers is not new. I've seen similar ideas in other sci-fi movies and shows, most recently in Eureka, where a man's ability to use his entire brain gave him telekinetic and telepathic powers. Seeing the quasi-science method for explaining how magic works was very satisfying to my inner geek.
The magic battles are fun, especially when the heroes beat their foes through cleverness and strategy rather than through overwhelming power. At the end, when the Apprentice is fighting Morgana, he lays a trap for her, drawing her into the center of a jury-rigged Tesla coil, which allows him to destroy her.
Overall, I found it to be a fun movie that you could take the whole family to see, so long as you don't go in expecting Lord of the Rings. If you enjoyed the old Godzilla movies, you'll probably enjoy the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Monday, July 12, 2010
What is Anime?
I will freely admit to being a geek. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm geeky beyond all redemption. When I tell people that I also like Anime, people usually respond in one of two ways: either they go into the 'how can a grown man watch cartoons' spiel, or they think I'm one of those hardcore otaku.
To be honest, I wouldn't call myself an otaku, if only for the fact that money (or the lack thereof) and laziness (or the overabundance thereof) have prevented me from experiencing all the anime series and movies out there that I would love to see. Moreover, I am not one of these 'purists' who insist on seeing anime in the original Japanese. Subtitles are a pain, and distract from the action. I would much rather be able to understand what's going on, and enjoy the images, than be constantly switching back and forth between words and image. I am nowhere near hardcore enough for Otaku status.
But I do take offense at the people who see anime as simply 'cartoons'. First off, the difference between anime and cartoons is simple. Cartoons are for kids. Anime is for adults, no two ways about it.
Moreover, to lump all anime together into a single category is as ignorant as lumping all movies and TV shows into a single category. Anime is a medium, not a genre. You wouldn't say that Gone With the Wind, Friday the 13th, and The Wild World of Sports belong in the same genre, would you? It shows the same ignorance to say that Ghost in the Shell, Spirited Away, and Blood+ all belong in the same genre.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
hey! just found your formspring on twitter ...apple released a new thing the ipad if ur a member of twitter u can beta test 1 for free if u use this site http://bit.ly/acnqyd
This, folks, is what is called a scam. Sure, you get a free iPad, but only after you sign up for a couple hundred dollars in 'discount' offers.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
#Oilspill, or #WhyTheGovernmentNeedsBP
Thirty-five days after the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded into flames, oil continues to spill.
This is an environmental disaster unlike anything that the US (or anyone, really) has faced before, and it has shined a light on some major deficiencies in our government, both in oversight and response capability.
BP has taken the lead so far, because they are the ones with the technology and the people to do work at the ocean floor, a mile deep. Some of the talking heads wonder why the government doesn't have all this brainpower and technology at its disposal, so they could deal with the situation without BP. These morons clearly don't remember the last couple decades, as we've struggled with budget deficits, and trying to balance the spending we already have while cutting taxes and keeping Social Security and other such things.
There is one thing that the government could have done, day one, to stop the spill. In fact, it is a technique that the Russians have used on more than one occasion to stop a spill. What did they do? They nuked it.
Of course, detonating a nuke in the Gulf of Mexico is not what anyone wants to do. Which means that, like it or not, the government needs BP to end this spill.
In the days and weeks to come, there will be time to debate the future of offshore drilling, and how to move forward from here in terms of environmental concerns, renewable energy, and the relationship between oil companies and the agency that oversees them. For now, all we can do is sit down, shut up, and hope BP gets it right, sooner rather than later.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Old People Don't Get It
There are times when I think people over a certain age just don't get it.
Then there are times when I KNOW they don't get it.
For instance, take the movie Kick-Ass. The movie (based on a comic book of the same name) is based on the premise 'Why hasn't anyone tried to be a superhero?'. In it, we follow the adventure of a high school geek who's only super power is "being invisible to girls". When he orders a costume over the internet, and goes to try and fight crime, he promptly gets stabbed, and then hit by a car. The result? He's got metal supporting his bones now, and his nerve endings are shot, so he can't feel pain. And then he goes back out, crimefighting again, becoming an internet sensation, while at school he's still the geek who can't score.
So far, all the critics love the movie, enjoying the close parallel to Spider-man and Peter Parker. Of course, that's only the first twenty minutes or so.
Then we meet Hit Girl and Big Daddy, a pair of costumed vigilantes who are more Punisher than the Batman and Robin they echo. Hit Girl first appears in costume wielding more blades than a chef at Benihana, and she proceeds to destroy the gang-bangers who Kick-Ass had come to intimidate, before Big Daddy takes down the last one with a shot from a sniper rifle through the window.
From that point on, the critics lament and moan how horrible the movie is, with graphic depictions of violence, and the way Hit Girl curses enough to make a sailor blush, all the while being cute and adorable. A review in the local paper actually whined that the movie would have been better if it were more like Peter Parker in Spider-man.
News flash. This movie is NOT Spider-man.
What this movie is actually a more realistic representation of what would happen if people in real life tried to be superheroes, and there is a simple reason why it doesn't portray the main characters as wearing blue spandex tights, flying around, and behaving like an extraterrestrial boyscout. These are real people, with real flaws, and real limitations on what they can do. And nothing they do (with the exception of jetpack-mounted miniguns) is within the realm of human ability.
Moreover, the character of Hit Girl is SUPPOSED to be disturbing! She and Big Daddy have given themselves completely to the 'by any means necessary' approach to bringing retribution to those who are outside the law. Like Rorschach in the Watchmen, they are agents of vengeance, and there is a certain nobility in their almost psychotic behavior, their clarity of vision. They do the things we all wish we could do.
The reason Hit Girl and Rorschach are disturbing is because we have all thought that the world would be a better place if we just took the fight to the criminals, the terrorists, the people who make our lives miserable, and laid waste to them all. But we always hold back, either through fear, or morality, or apathy. We talk the talk, but they walk the walk, and that is what disturbs us. It isn't that we hate what they do, but that we hate the fact that they are doing it and not us.
But perhaps old people just don't get it.
And then there's the recent outrage by commentators and public morality hypocrites over the recent video circulating the internet showing Miley Cyrus dancing up on a guy, grinding on him. Now commentators are bitching and moaning about how she shouldn't be doing that, or whatever.
I've seen the video, and honestly? It is painfully obvious that the people who are outraged haven't actually been to a high school dance in a couple decades, at least. News flash, people, that was pretty tame for what teenagers do. Hell, at my high school prom I saw much worse, and that was back in '02.
This is simply how people dance now. Or did you think teenagers went for doing a nice waltz, or perhaps a square dance? Did you think that they were somehow more pure than you were when you were a teenager? Don't tell me none of you got freaky growing up in the 60s and 70s!
Old people just don't get it.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Kill the Primary System
America has always been a place of strong opinions, and strong differences. There has always been heated debate on the floor of the Congress. But it used to be that people could disagree upon the issues without being unpatriotic. It used to be that having an idea for a program didn't draw comparisons to Nazis. It used to be that politics was civil, despite ideology.
The last few decades have seen a steady erosion of the civility in politics, to the point where now we find ourselves locked in perpetual campaigns, every sound bite dissected, and politicians publicly saying that a bill would mean the end of the world.
What caused our political system to fall to the point where you see more civility in kindergarten?
In short, the primary system is the root of a great many of our country's political woes.
The primary system forces politicians to pander to the fringe of their parties, because only the fringe can be bothered to vote in these minor ballots that decide so much. And before you start, this is a bipartisan problem. Democrats are beholden to the far left crazies just as much as Republicans are beholden to far right crazies. For the fringe, the system works great. It is everyone in between who gets the shaft.
The essence of politics is compromise. You wheel and deal, and you take two opposing viewpoints and try to find something in between, that both parties can live with. Hell, the reason we have a House of Representatives and a Senate is because of a compromise! Compromise makes laws stronger.
But in the primary system, politicians who reach across the aisle to compromise are vilified by the extremes, so anyone who actually tries to get things done, rather than put things in a deadlock, finds themselves with the fringe booting them out of office in a primary. Even when the majority of Americans favor compromise on an issue, politicians are too scared of losing their job at the hands of the nuts in their own party to do the people's business.
And this is not limited to Congressmen and Senators. Even Presidential candidates must play to the crazies of their own party through the primary process, before moving to the middle for a general, opening them up to well deserved accusations of hypocrisy.
The only solution I can see is to kill the primary system. Open up the ballots in the elections to whoever can fulfill the requirements, and let the people pick from the full spectrum of the candidates out there. Sure, there may be some craziness as you see more run-off elections, but I see that as a good thing. Instead of having primaries for each party, where the extremes choose the candidates everyone is stuck with in the general, open up the general to everyone, and have a run-off between the two with the highest vote counts. The eventual winner would be a compromise, of course, but why is that bad?
Compromise candidates may lead to more compromise in legislation. And that is a good thing.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Success in the War on Terror
In wars past, victory involved ticker tape parades, celebrations in the street, and a sailor kissing a young woman.
Anyone expecting such things in the war on terror is sadly mistaken. Success will not come heralded by the roaring crowds. There will be no articles of surrender. Anyone looking for the end of all terrorism against the United States will be sorely disappointed. There have always been terrorists, and there always will be.
What, then, will success in the War on Terror look like? It will look a lot like what we have right now. There will still be attacks, some broken up ahead of time, some foiled due to incompetence, and every now and then a successful one. Short of making this country into a police state that would make Soviet Russia look positively like anarchy, there is no way to prevent a lone extremist from driving a car bomb into New York, or flying a plane into an IRS building.
Success in the war on terror means that large groups such as Al Qaeda are so scattered that they cannot draw together to produce the sophisticated, devastating attacks like we saw on September 11, 2001, not that terrorism is gone forever. Israel has some of the best anti-terrorist intelligence capability in the world, and they are still hit with terrorist attacks. There is no way to eliminate terrorism completely.
Success means that the terrorists are reduced to these simple, unsophisticated attacks. A little trouble, in a small, mean way, capable of killing to be sure, but being few and far between, with no real organizing principle behind them.
Success means not the absence of attacks, or even the absence of successful attacks. Success means the absence of coordination.
What made September 11th so devastating was not that an attack happened, it was that an attack that was the culmination of years of planning, years of gathering the proper credentials, and years of training all came together, and became an event so spectacular that we could not help but be scarred by it. There had been hijackings before 9/11. There were planes that blew up, or were forced to crash, or were taken hostage. None of these had the same impact as four planes, simultaneously, hitting three buildings, completely destroying two of them and killing thousands of people.
But what have we seen since then? Every attack has been less sophisticated than the one before. From hijacked planes, they regressed to train bombings. From train bombings, they regressed to sending guys with guns to run around a tourist city shooting as many people as they could before they were killed. From there, they have regressed to the point where they rely on a lone extremist with so little training that he forgot to open the valves on the propane tanks.
Is there more to do? Of course. And it is clear that some lessons learned from the Times Square attack have already been put into practice. Airlines now have to check the no fly list within two hours of a change being made, rather than within 24 hours, like it was before. Are there more lessons to learn? Of course. Each attack, whether it is broken up, flops, or is successful, teaches us new lessons, allows us to refine our methods.
This is what Success in the war on terror looks like.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Champions Online
Readers of this blog know that I'm a self-professed geek, and gamer. So when, a couple years ago, I heard that Cryptic (the guys that created City of Heroes) was bringing out Champions Online (CO), I was pretty stoked. However, due to the budgetary constraints of being a broke college student, I didn't have a chance to try it until now.
To start, CO uses the Champions setting, by Hero Games. Champions is your standard super-hero setting, focused around Millenium City (formerly known as Detroit, thank Doctor Destroyer's version of 'urban renewal' for the name change). And while it may not be anything groundbreaking in terms of superhero settings, it has something that CoH didn't have: an established mythos to build off of.
Let's be honest here, the whole storytelling aspect of CoH and CoV tended to be formulaic and repetitive, which is what happens when you're building a world from scratch. With CO, however, they were able to build on an established universe, with decades of plots woven into the setting. What does this mean for the person who's never played in a Champions game? It means that, unlike CoH, you get characters who have a lot more depth to them, right off the bat, such as the villainous (and deranged) Foxbat, who uses a custom made gun that fires ping-pong balls. Ordinary, unmodified ping-pong balls. I kid you not.
Beyond the mythos of the setting, there are some vast improvements over CoH when it comes to the game itself, starting with character generation (chargen, for short).
CO takes the basic costume designer from CoH, and improves upon it, adding in more options, and more ways to customize your character's build. Even better, gone are the days where you had to wait to level 20 to get a cape, or play a certain amount of time to get a trenchcoat, or craft wings to put on your costume. There are costume pieces you can unlock via different items and achievements in game, but the big things, such as being able to play the cloaked hero, or the person with angel wings is open to you right at the start.
Then comes the 'crunch' of chargen, picking powers and abilities. In CoH, you pick an archetype, pick one of a few 'themes', and you had your starting powers assigned to you. If you saw one Cold type blaster, you've seen them all. Not so in CO. Starting right at Chargen, you can dispense with archetypes, and mix and match powers based on what you want to do. Perhaps you want your energy building attack to be using twin swords, and your special attack to be a lightning bolt? Done. You want to make that lightning bolt red, and have it come out of your chest? You can do that, too.
One of the other major problems with CoH was that they gave you movement powers like you got your mount in World of Warcraft. At level 7, you could get a basic power that allowed you to slowly hover in place. It wasn't until grinding through to level 14 that you actually got to fly. And if you wanted to do an ice slide, or rocket boots, or an energy disk? Yeah, not so much.
In CO, you get a travel power once you leave the tutorial area, and you aren't limited to just Leaping, Super-speed, Flight, and the like. Tunneling? We got that. Teleporting? We got that, too. And this isn't a crap power that'll have you eating a tortoise's dust. This is an actual movement power, allowing you to fully explore the zones.
Ah, the zones. You know how CoH had mobsters on every street corner, accosting people and stealing purses, even when they were strong enough to beat the crap out of rookie heroes (if they ever ventured out of Perez to go to Atlas), and you'd just go around beating them up until you got what you needed? Sure, there are mobsters around Millennium City, and yes, you do occasionally see them menacing civilians, but its no where near as bad as you see in CoH.
Missions. There are still missions, of course. You've got three basic types: manhunt, collection, and escort. Manhunts are when you go around a certain section of the city (or, more rarely, in a building) and hunt a person, or group of people. Collection missions are when you find a certain type of item (either lying about in containers, or as loot from defeated enemies). Escort missions are the bane of your existence. You typically end up following along behind a person who has little fighting skill, and if you die, or they die, or you get too far apart, or you get jumped by a patrol, you fail, and have to start over. And the people never walk faster than a slow stroll.
Still, gone are the days of nearly identical building maps with goons from different gangs in almost the exact same positions. For the most part, you don't go into the buildings, and when you do, each one I've seen so far has been a unique layout, with different challenges.
I could go on, but then there'd be nothing for you to discover in the game. If you're looking for a new game to play, pick up Champions Online, for either the X-box or the PC. You won't regret it.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
An Open Letter to Glen Beck
For those of you who don't know, Glenn Beck is a conservative radio host who spoke at the recent CPAC conference. If you haven't heard his speech, here's the transcript. While reading it, please remember that while slamming your head against the desk in frustration may feel like the right thing to do, try not to hit it so hard that you damage the desk, or your head.
----
Dear Mr. Beck,
I would like to start by saying that you are clearly a very intelligent man, who fervently believes what you are saying. Unfortunately, that also means you are clearly either ignorant, or insane.
At the CPAC convention on February 20th, you made some remarks that showed this quite clearly.
You rail against government taxes, and government programs. You say you got your education for free, because you went to the public library and read. While I certainly applaud you for reading, I suggest you do actual research into something before you speak. THE LIBRARY IS NOT FREE! The only reason you were able to go into the library and get all those books for free is because the library was supported by, you guessed it, TAXES!
And lets not forget that the reason you were able to read at all is because of a public school system that is paid for through taxes.
You say that Progressivism is a cancer that is eating our Constitution. You decry all the supposed evils that the progressive movement has given us, like taxes, but your logic fails, I'm afraid, on a few key points, and the only possible explanation is that if you either skipped the 'History' section of the library, or you ignored the parts you didn't agree with, and didn't think you could use to support your agenda.
First, you speak of the framers of the Constitution as though they were a united block, all believing exactly the same things. Take off the rose-colored glasses, Glenn. Even when they were writing the Declaration of Independence, there were deep divides in the country, even amongst those who wanted independence.
Even a cursory glance through Wikipedia will show you that, at the beginning of our nation as it now stands, there were opposing camps inside the constitutional convention. You had the Virginia and New Jersey plans, before The Great Compromise combined them. And the question of what to do about slavery was so contentious that it threatened to derail the entire process. Which is why, if you read the actual text of the Constitution, as I'm sure you've done, you'll find a section expressly allowing the importation of slaves.
Furthermore, as someone who has read the actual text of the Constitution, you should know that the power to tax is one of Congress's primary powers, laid out in Article I, Section 8. The ability to do an income tax was always there. The only thing the 16th Amendment did was change the ability to tax so that it could be split amongst individuals, whereas before the taxes each state paid were equal regardless of the population or economic conditions of the different states.
And what has the progressive movement done for us? Well, let's take a look, shall we?
Abolition of Slavery - The abolitionist movement was a progressive movement. A progressive movement that spawned the Republican party, I might add.
Child Labor Laws - It is because of the progressive movement that you don't see kids working 15 hour days in sweat shops in the United States any more.
Voting Rights - It was progressives that extended the right to vote to blacks. It was progressives that fought to allow women to vote. It was progressives that fought to remove white-only primaries, poll taxes, and other barriers to allowing people to vote.
Social programs to help the needy - I'm talking about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Yes, they have problems, but they at least make it so that when you get too old to work, you don't have to mooch off your kids, or starve. Or perhaps you'd like your kids to put you out on an ice floe when you get older, like the Eskimos do?
I could go on, but you get the point. Is there an extreme fringe to the progressive movement? Of course. But then there's an extreme fringe to the conservative movement, as well. Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself.
Sincerely,
Stuart Grosse
Independent
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why is it taking so long?
By now everyone has heard of the tragic events in Haiti. Everyone sees the tragic shortfalls in food and medical supplies. And now people are starting to ask how come things aren't getting in there quicker.
But think about this for a second. When a disaster strikes, aid organizations typically work with the local government to organize aid distribution, using the infrastructure already in place. In Haiti, the devastation was so utterly complete, the government is in shambles, and the roads are completely choked with debris. The airport is only a single runway, and the road serving the port has been buckled and must be repaired before trucks can roll. Its like hiking the ball, just to see a safety blitz coming your way. You have to roll out, and make things up as you go along.
When you don't have any infrastructure in place to deliver aid through, you only have two options. 1) You dump massive amounts of aid into the country, willy nilly. 2) You take time to get things organized, and move in an orderly fashion to help things out.
If you do the first choice, things get to the people, sure, but its like filling a gallon jug from a fire hose. It gets the job done, but there's a lot of waste. If you go slower, there's less waste, but it takes more time. Now picture that you're in an area where the taps already didn't work that well, so the supplies of water are limited. Anything wasted is affecting many times more people. That is the problem aid agencies are facing. How do you balance getting aid to the people who need it quickly, while eliminating waste and ensuring the security of your people, and the Haitian people?
But the entire process is bogged down by the bottleneck at the only airport and the port, as everything backs up. It is a horrible situation, but unless you deal with the logistical side of things, and the security aspects, then things will only get worse.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Please don't fall for this crap.
Got this today. If you fall for this, I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
| hide details 1:39 AM (17 hours ago) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
CUSTOMER SERVICE
REFNO.:BMW/74-A0802742010
Batch: 044/05/ZY369
REFNO.:BMW/74-A0802742010
Batch: 044/05/ZY369
Dear E-mail Owner,
You are a winner of the BMW Automobile awareness Online Promo Programme that was held on 1st of January 2010. You have therefore been approved to claim a
total sum Five Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds (£500,000.00). Please this informations are required for verification. Name, Address, Country, Age,
Gender, Occupation, Phone, Fax Winning E-mail Address.
Please contact:
Thomas Wells
Email: bmw2@8u8.com
Thomas Wells
Email: bmw2@8u8.com
Telephone: +44-704-570-7201
Heavner Lee
Annoucer For BMW Automobile Awareness Online Promo
Annoucer For BMW Automobile Awareness Online Promo
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Role Models
So I was on twitter the other day, when one of my followers started complaining about recent pictures of Miley Cyrus showing her wearing a shirt that left her lower back exposed. When I asked why she cared, she said that Ms. Cyrus is on Disney, and supposed to be a role model.
Since when did being on television (even a kid-friendly station like Disney) mean you were a role model? Sure, your character might be a positive role model, but why should the person be a role model? What did they do that makes them worthy of being a role model?
Being a celebrity does not make you a role model. Being famous does not make you a role model. Role models are people who live their lives doing things to better themselves, and the community. Role models are people who fight injustices they see in the world. Role models are people who stop, and give others the tools they need to help themselves out of a bad place. Role models, in other words, are people who don't seek the limelight.
No human being is perfect. You shouldn't expect a human to be the perfect role model, no matter what they do, or what they're like. Rather, take those elements of the person that you like, and emulate them, while ignoring the parts of them that are not perfect. In those areas, find a different role model to emulate.
There are only two reasons why someone would look at a person, and expect them to be perfect role models in every way. 1) They're idiots. 2) They're looking for reasons to bitch, and tear down someone who has more success than they do, because it makes them feel good. Either way, they're just pathetic.
If you want a role model, look in your community, to the people you see that make a positive difference in the world. Don't look at gossip blogs or Entertainment Tonight, or anything like that. They never show the whole person. You only see the whole person when you're in their life, day in and day out. Look to the people around you for role models. Either as the kind of person you want to be, or the kind of person you don't want to be. But don't expect them to be perfect in all things. You'll only be made the fool.
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