Bah.

No, I'm not updating today. Sorry. Just too busy with things right now. Getting back from the trip, and going to school. I'm just really busy, so this will not be like, a topical update, just a what's going on thing.

Like I said, I'm back. The trip was absolutely great. I'm still on a bit of a buzz, actually. We had a ridiculous time. Some cool things happened, which at some time, I'll relate to you.

Gah, cannot think. Too much to do. I am having a party tonight, and I have a birthday party tomorrow night that I must attend.

Oh! I got a new phone. It's a BlackJack. So, I wanna get some little programs for it. If anyone knows some good stuff or sites to get the good stuff, lemme know.

Until Monday!

I fall to bits

Again,

Not much of an update. Expect a real one Friday. Sorry about this. But I'm not sorry about having a kick ass vacation.

all I ever wanted

Don't worry, if anything were to happen, there are two lifeboats aboard.

No, there isn't really an update. I'm on vacation. Just know, however, that I am having a grand time.

Do something for me boys, if I should die at sea boys, write a little note boys, set if off afloat saying, "Bless you, bless you, all of you pretty girls."

Wait...when did this happen?

So, since when did being a nerd become cool? Did Napoleon Dynamite do this? What the hell? I mean, we've spent our entire lives not being cool, not being hip, and the whole concept that our culture has suddenly become "in" well, it's unsettling.

So, I've decided to come up with a way that helps us weed out the people who have just jumped on the bandwagon. It's a simple quiz. And if you doubt for one second that I do not have the credentials to make this quiz, you are sorely mistaken. You are currently reading the blog of someone who has spent many a Saturday night de-fragging a hard drive. Ready?

1. Have you ever actually opened your computer to fix or upgrade anything?

2. Have you ever sat through and watched at least 5 hours of Star Trek in one sitting? (Bonus points if you organized a marathon!)

3. Firefox or IE?

4. Do you have a miniature figure of any character?

5. Have any game systems? (And no, the NES the family had when you were a kid does not count. Virtually everyone had an NES growing up.)

6. Built a model?

7. Bonus! Leia or Amidala?

No, there is no score. Just stop telling me you watched Transformers when you were a kid, so that make you a nerd. It doesn't work like that.

Fuckers.

Also, updates might be coming for a week. Things will be shaky given my position on or over the Atlantic.

you may be drawn by sight

Sorry.

but there isn't much of an update today. I'm getting ready for my cruise in two days, so I'm super busy getting my ducks in a line. I'll try to write and update while I'm away, but I make no guarantees.

Suffice to say, there should be a real update on Wednesday.

If only I had more time.

Get your racial agenda out of my video games!

I usually avoid topics like race, creed, and sex when it comes to “equal rights.” In my mind, the easiest way to fix the issue is to well, ignore people’s race, creed, and sex. I guess those things never really mattered to me. And I avoid the topics because I find them ridiculous in most facets. Where some people see racism and horrendous acts similar to lynching, I see an event, one not even necessarily real. Such is the case with the Resident Evil 5 trailer.

Before I get to the main topic, let me first give you a brief synopsis of the games story. Someone has found a parasite that infects a host, and as it grows, it makes the host more and more susceptible to the commands of someone who has a thing, I am not sure of the details, that part is never really explained. Something to do with the human equivalent of a dog whistle, I think. Anyway, this makes the host have many zombie-like characteristics, but they are not undead, so they are not technically zombies. I have grown fond of calling them as such. “Not Zombies.”

Anyway, the latest in the series has a character from a previous game, Chris Redfield(or some shit) coming into a town in Africa and fighting these not zombies. The game looks much like it will play very similarly to RE4. Anyway, back to the point.

http://tinyurl.com/2apanx

Some overly sensitive nut job has officially taken the crown for overly sensitive nut job Queen. She has taken serious issue with “the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing.” Whoa now. See, this is a direct quote from her page. I just want to point out something that may or may not have any bearing on my point before I get to the real meat of this post. Notice that “Black” is capitalized, while “white” is not. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

See, she has no idea that this is the fifth main installment of Resident Evil. There have been close to a dozen games so far, and this is the first time the zombies have been black. The rest of the time, the zombies have been white, (save for the Spaniards in the beginning of RE4). I’d say blacks are getting off pretty easy if anything.

But that’s the problem, isn’t it? We have to talk about who is what color. I mean, it stands to reason that if the game is set in Africa, the people there would be black. Or does the author simply want us to ignore Africa and black people all together? Is that what people need to do to get rid of racism? Because that, my dear readers, is not only offensive to myself and people like me who don’t fear or hate people because of their skin color, it is also fucking retarded.

These stupid posts are the reason for racism. I feel that needs clarification. The reason that stupid racist crap exists in our nation, a nation which wholly endorses people of mixed races (or gives those who are not white an advantage, depending on whose side your on), is that we are so afraid of being considered racist, that we try and block out all knowledge of other people. And not necessarily in the way that I discussed earlier, but in a way that is foul. Sidestepping the race entirely, pretending they do not exist. So, with that fear instilled in people, whenever they see race, it’s immediately wrong. It’s ignorance, plain and simple.

The reason we have people like this, is quite simple. Other people, probably their parents or other authority figures, instilled this idea that anytime a black person is portrayed as evil, it’s racism. She can’t even begin to grasp that maybe, just maybe, the 300 Japanese people working on this game don’t give a shit about who the zombies are. That this wasn’t on purpose to hurt the black community. It seems to be beyond her comprehension.

Another of her quotes really gets me angry. “..the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.” Really? Fucking really? First, young people huh? A game rated M, the equivalent of “R” in movies, is targeted towards youth? Suppose the rating system didn’t even exist. Does she think that a game about blowing the heads off zombies with a 9mm is for kids? Like 8 year olds?

And again, it’s only logical that a game that takes place in Africa would have black people in it. I don’t really think that the player will think of this as “destroying” (not killing mind you, destroying) black people. I would even doubt that their color will be brought up in the game at all. The player will only be concerned with one thing; Killing those Goddamned not zombies. We (as gamers) aren’t going to be thinking “Oh shit! A nigger! Shoot it! Shoot it!” We will, however, be thinking “Oh fuck, not zombies are after me! Run the fuck away and then fire. Shit…I’m out of ammo. Shit. Shit. Shit.” I’m almost certain the idea that they are black won’t even cross our minds. We will be too busy having fun.

We, as a nation, spend too much time on this shit. Why do we even need to worry about it? Thinking about skin color only further separates us as people. Acting like you are the poor and impoverished only further places you in that group. Not to mention that people who hear you, will be more likely to believe that it’s true. Making your statement a self- fulfilling prophecy. Grow some balls, and realize that sometimes, the bad guy will be black. And don’t take it personally. They aren’t evil because they are black, they are evil because they are not quite zombies, and they happen to be black. It’s almost racist that it’s taken this long for the villains to be black.

Worrying about who we will offend is seriously only going to make racism worse. This takes away from actually racial issues in the world. Ones that are important, ones that actually have an affect on you. Actual hate, and fear, and destruction. You are cheapening these events when you pull some bullshit like this and want to scream “foul!” The more we look around and point, and say “Hey look! There’s racism over there!” the more there will be. Unless we just act like black people are just that, people, we will always be aware of the differences. And isn’t that what racism is anyway? Pointing out that you are different than me?

Now, I’m not saying that from this point onwards, all zombies or villains should be black, or anything like that, but I am saying that it’s not an issue if they are black on occasion. I mean, I never complained about white guys being killed before. Why is it suddenly a race thing? I could just as easily bitch and moan about every other game that’s even been made where the bad guy is white. Fuck, I could say that as a human, I am offended that humans are portrayed as bad.

Oh, and the biggest, most important reason this is not racism; It’s a video game. It’s just for fun.

I think that’s enough Whiskey Tango Foxtrot for today. Until Monday!

with your strict machine...

Not that it really matters anyway...

But I feel bored with alot of the old stuff that used to excite me. I think this is a normal thing for most people, so I don't really feel like I'm an oddball or anything like that. Just that it's odd.

Case in point, there are a few webcomics that I used to love reading everytime a new one popped up. But lately, they are just boring me. XKCD mainly. It's just...not funny anyway. Maybe it's just the type of humor is wearing thin, or maybe the artist is just running out of ideas. Either way, I don't really rush to read the new ones or anything. I still keep up, but I think that's becoming more out of habit than anything else.

Humor is an interesting thing sometimes. Most of the time really. Spock claims it to be an illogical concept. I would agree. It often doesn't make sense what's funny and what isn't. I mean, it's hilarious when Wil E. Coyote falls off a cliff, but in most cases, it's an intense and stressful event. Most comedies to me, are not funny. There are a few yes, that I will laugh at. And even fewer that are still funny some time later. But Austin Powers never really did it for me. Nor Jim Carey, or Adam Sandler. And what the hell, can we move on from Dane Cook? He is not funny. He just says the same word over and over again until you laugh at it. He's the flesh and blood equivalent of that Foamy the Squirrel* flash cartoon.

Maybe I am just jaded when it comes to these things, but I don't really find dick and fart jokes funny. It's different though, when you and some friends are cutting up. For some reason, that's a different matter. I dunno.

But like Spock said, it's illogical.

1) http://tinyurl.com/23vqy7

with ya gangsta lean