Today’s blog post is going to be a fairly even split between personal yim-yam and political and social ranting and raving. Well, I’m not good at all our ranting, but there will be CAPITAL LETTERS at some points, I assure you.
So first, the personal:
Thanks to everybody who has talked to me in the pas while offering their congrats to me and Katie over our Engagement (link). I thought I’d give you guys a small update, partially so I can stop answering myriad questions (who am I kidding? I’m still going to have questions coming out of my ears.)
This is what we know:
We want it to be in the fall sometime. October would be ideal.
We’ll most likely have the wedding in Illinois and a reception in Texas, to accommodate the fact that our families are grouped in entirely different portions of the country.
That’s pretty much all we know. Pretty vague huh? Well, it’s even worse when you consider I don’t even have a clue if we’ll be able to have it in October because of my student teaching that fall.
Everything else is unknown.
On to school, eh? Well, it’s been a pain getting registered again, but that’s finally over. Now it’s on to the actual Doing stage. I’ll probably approach it the way I did last year, reading a chapter a day and doing its quiz while pushing all other projects and papers to the back end of the semester. I also want to start sitting in on classes of teachers I like to try and observe the way they teach. This is primarily so I don’t feel like a complete fool when I try to do student teaching this next fall. I need to get a feel for the classroom again.
Work, of course has also already started up. Back to the same old media and tutoring grind. On the plus side, only Wednesday and Thursday have any tutoring hours, so Sunday through Tuesday are essentially work free. On the negative side, I’m still going to be making a pittance. Ah well.
Rough Writers have also already started up with our Staff Meeting today just to get back in the swing of things and do some planning for the semester. VP Scott is turning into a regular minister of propaganda, as he’s taking on the effort of advertising for the group, so hopefully we’ll get some more new members. We’ve also got the writing competition that we run coming up soon, so there’s that.
I think I’m going to begin to switch gears writing-wise for a bit, reducing my focus on Jaine so that I can try to come up with a short story for the contest. We’ll see if I have to abandon all progress on Jaine to address it adequately. Oh! And I met my Christmas goal of 10,000 new words on Jaine. I’m pretty happy with what I have to, though I’m sure it will need serious re-tooling later.
For those of you who remember the collaborative blog post I mentioned that myself and Scott were working on, it’s still coming, but the holiday rush has kept it bogged down a bit. No worries though, it shouldn’t take too long from now.
In the entertainment sector, I’ve been wanting to start up Red Dead Redemption, but I’m beginning to doubt that I’ll have that kind of time. Besides, I’ve jumped back into reading. Specifically, I’m back into the Change series by S. M. Stirling, which some of my long-term readers may remember I was seriously into for a while there. After putting enough time between me and the in-book event that made me put down the series around mid-way through The Scourge of God, I’ve jumped back in and found I can enjoy it again. Furthermore, I polished off SoG in a just a few days and I’ve moved on to The Sword of the Lady, the last book in the series. So I’ll finally be able to get these books back to Dr. Robinson, who has been justly worried about his books for some time. [Update: Just finished Sword of the Lady. Might have thoughts in a bit.]
Speaking of worries, it’s about time we got to…
The Political and Social Crap:
In some respects, the year seems promising. In others… well, we’re off to a bad start. Let’s start with the Apocalypse.
"The Aflockalypse!" Oops, sorry for perpetuating an unfunny SNL skit. My bad.
Well, okay, not the Apocalypse, but something fascinating nonetheless. All those dead birds falling all over the place, and those tons of dead fish elsewhere. If you haven’t heard about it yet, well then read a newspaper, watch some TV news or check the internet (go ahead, Google it. I’ll wait.) The event itself is fascinating in a morbid sense, but that’s about all there is to it, really. Though if you’re one or omens, it doesn’t get more omen-y than thousands of dead birds falling out of the sky and dead fish washing up on shore.
"What dost yon dying birds mean!" "I hath nary an idea! I have not yet partaken of the Lost finale to know. They dost explain this tragedy do they not?"
Like this crazy lady. A supposed “respected prophetess” who says that repealing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell thing somehow caused it. This, of course, can all be read in her new book about how America is under siege from things like Pokemon, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and the ever popular Marilyn Manson. Needless to say, I lol’d pretty hard. Literally. Not the “I grinned a little” lol, but the “I laughed out loud” lol.
The Very Face of Satan and His Foul Henchman!
While we’re talking about wackos, let’s move on to the shootings in Tucson Arizona of a Congresswoman, a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. The act was unquestionably horrid; the lashing out of an unstable crazy person. I mean look at the guy’s mugshot:
*SHUDDER* For you fans of Stirling's "The Change" series, is this not the face of the High Seeker?
Is that not the scariest thing you’ve ever seen on this blog? I just gave somebody nightmares by posting this. Non of these elements are readily disputed. What is disputed is where the meta-blame lies. I say “meta-blame” because the real blame lays squarely on the wacko’s head who pulled the trigger. Meta-blame is what happens when people draw parallels between their enemies and the crazy person. This isn’t unlike the word Nazi being shouted across from both sides of the isle at the other. Neither the democrats, nor the republicans are Nazis, even at their worst. Even the Tea baggers, whom you know I despise, are not Nazis (well… not in public anyway.) But see what I did there? That’s the problem, and even I fall for it.
This looks like something I'd post doesn't it? Hilarious, maybe. Acurate, probably. Constructive? No.
The truth of the matter is, we don’t know what exactly set this guy off. His political beliefs appear to be all over the spectrum. Claiming that he’s right wing because he shot a democrat, or that he’s left because he likes the Communist Manifesto and hates God, neither one is a full picture. It amounts to name throwing and taking advantage of the event.
Also known as a weapon of Self-Destruction
But one way or the other, no matter what sparked the killing and attempted assassination, it has sparked a debate over the political rhetoric in this country. Rhetoric so base, violent and foul that it barely qualifies as “Rhetoric” at all. That is a discussion worth having. Sarah Palin’s cross hairs (don’t give me that Surveyor’s mark bullshit) that are being taken down, Glenn Beck’s calls to fight and “take back the country,” Rush Limbaugh of the same, all of it needs to be examined for what it is. Responsible or not, these people have created an atmosphere of violence and hate. That is the last thing we need (lefties, ‘m looking at you too. Hate speech doesn’t just come from the Elephant and the Tea cup.) So I’m glad it is a topic for debate, even if most politicians and pundits are just posturing and bluffing to remain unscathed.
Seriously, though. Don't even pretend, okay?
The backlash against this already is wearing at the Republicans, largely due to the ever growing split in their own ranks. The Tea Party is biting the hand that feeds, as predicted. And so, Republicans are resigning to protect their families from Tea Party death threats. Oh yeah. The crazies have broken the chain. It’s only a matter of time before something gives, now. Here’s hoping nobody follows through and actually succeeds in killing a senator or congresswoman. My deepest well-wishes and prayers for Giffords and her family; thankfully she is doing well.
Of course not all of us are decent human beings who hope and/or pray for the violence and hate to cease. There’s also the Westboro Baptist Church, who had stated they were going to picket the funerals of the victims of the shooting, including the 9-year-old girl’s. (And the story around that poor girl is heartbreaking) I know I’ve said it before but, I DESPISE THESE PEOPLE! (There’s your caps-lock for the day). I could go on and on about how much I really, really loathe these people, but John Scalzi already said it better and more even-headed than I, so I direct you to him for that.
So we’re off to a rollicking start, ain’t we? At least the videogames look good this year.
– Edward L. Cheever II
P.S. Sometimes I pontificate, sometimes I aggregate. Today was more me providing links than commentary, but that’s because I’m tired and not in a ranty-rant mood. Give it time.
Ladies and Gentlemen, today may be the last day you see one of these gigantic sized blog posts. I’m not going away, though! Certainly not! But the time and pressure of these big blog posts is getting to me. So, I’m going to try blogging daily from now on, focusing on only one or two small ideas at a time. Imagine one or two of the topics I talk about today being their own blog and you’ll get where I’m planing on taking this thing.
So, if you’re a fan of my massive long-form blogs, I’m sorry. I hope you like the new approach starting tomorrow.
Today’s blog post is going to diverge far away from my last blog post’s topic matter. Instead of talking about personal trips and so forth, I’m going to dive directly into a couple of political, religious and cultural topics today.
Let us begin with the small fries, eh? Cultural topics, it is!
Now, most people out there are aware of Mel Gibson’s… issues.
Tug on your beard if you're crazy! 😀
You know… Of the anti-Semitic kind. What? You don’t remember? Well, let me lay it out for you. Waaaaay back in the yea 2006, Mr. Gibson was driving (well, if you call swerving back and forth across the road in a drunken stupor driving, anyway…) along a highway in California when he was stopped because he was obviously a bare hair above “Totally Smashed” and that description may very well have been more appropriate had he kept driving in such a state. Once he was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol, he began making nasty comments at one of the officers about his Jewish heritage.
Tooootally sober.
This, combined with subtle anti-Semitic shadings in the Passion of the Christ (which is a movie I actually like, btw,) didn’t shine well on Mel Gibson. He subsequently confessed and apologized, but late night jokes and online satire would follow for months. Not much longer than that, Gibson dropped off the scandal map for a while.
That is until a recent gaff that just recently exploded in his face. He’s been known for some time to have an anger streak, and relationship problems. That is more evident now than ever as a recording of an angry tirade involving heavy cursing, misogynist language and racial slurs has broken loose on the internet. I won’t repeat what he said. It’s too disgusting to sully my blog post with. I will, however provide a link for the curious. You can listen to a part of the recordings HERE.
Back in Mr. Gibson’s heyday it would have been pretty darn hard to imagine This Sort of Thing. I love the guys movies, and he has some absolute classics under his belt: Braveheart, the Patriot, Mad Max, The Passion of the Christ (director) and believe it or not, his voice acting in Chicken Run and Pocahontas. The fact that he’s turned out to be just this side of a Ku Klux Klan member is very disappointing. I personally don’t want to have anything to do with his future movies, and thankfully having to pass up something good is looking unlikely now that his Talent Agent Dropped Him Like He’s Hot.
The sad thing is, there’s never only one bad apple in a basket. Mel Gibson is just the guy we know about. I think I would be shocked to find out just who else shares these sorts of views in Hollywood; who’s movies I’m enjoying that doesn’t deserve the money I pay for a theater ticket. In a way, I hope I never have to find out, though they deserve their just rewards, even as Gibson is facing his.
Time to talk gaming. Yeah, gaming is cultural. Don’t give me that look!
Woo!
Besides, I’m not talking about individual games, I’m talking about gaming as a whole. And as is strangely often the case, we’re going to talk about violence in video games.
Why rehash the topic, you may ask? Because I was inspired to do so by an ingeniously titled article over at IGN written by Michael Thompson, “The Case for More Violent Games.” Now does that title catch your attention or what? When I first read that I was intrigued, curious and somewhat flabbergasted. We live in a world of Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt, after all. Why would we need more violent video game? How could one possible even go about doing such a thing?
Pumpkin Gore!
What I actually found in the article was actually quite fascinating, and I suggest you read it in detail. Thompson isn’t asking for more blood, more gore, or higher body counts. From the way he describes such displays of violent acts, it’s not unlike being the bowling ball to the pins. You just knock them down. There is no guilt. No terror, no fear, no driving purpose or tearing of emotion and uncertainty. Death and violence in most games today mean nothing. That is not violence. When he says he wants more violent video games, he means that he wants violence that matters.
Yes, but does it MEAN anything?
One particular portion of the article that really hit me comes latter on where he describes the first time he ever killed a chicken to eat it. The way he describes the act of killing the creature, the process leading up t the moment, is tense, disturbing and emotional. He was just describing the action and it was amazing, and perhaps on some level terrifying. He merely killed a chicken. This is something that happens every day across the world in villages and in factories, and yet it was intense and impacting. He asks why video game violence can’t tap into that emotional core of killing. If gaming is an art form, he asks, then why doesn’t it plumb the depths of the emotional consequences of the one act gaming is most known for.
She looks like she's having fun. Uh, good for her?
His description of killing that chicken resonated with me. You see, I too have killed a chicken. It was not the deliberate process that Thompson described. It was in many ways an accident. And yet that event had a similar impact on me and my views of killing and death and, ironically, life.
It was night time already, and most of the hens and roosters were packed away inside the little coop that sits next to our garage. It was the middle of summer, and so we knew that predators were out and about, hunting for easy meals. Any chicken left outside of the coop would almost certainly not be there the next morning. Aware of this, we patrolled the fenced area around the coop to make sure all of the wandering hens had indeed found their way indoors. Whenever we found a chicken outside of the fence, we had to go and try to catch it and throw it back inside.
The thing about catching chickens is that it is easier said than done, especially when they are outside of the fence. It is easiest to corner them somewhere between the fence and the garage, but while the junk on another side makes things difficult it isn’t so hard to catch them there either. The third side isn’t so bad, but it is really easy to chase them around to the fourth side of the fence where catching them becomes decidedly difficult. The fourth side of the fence is not on our property. The area is mostly wooded, but the biggest reason for what makes catching a chicken on that side so difficult is that we are fenced off from it. While a chicken can slip through, a person has a much harder time getting there. Once a chicken in on the fourth side of the coop’s fence, it becomes nearly impossible to catch them.
This night there was a chicken outside of the fence on the fourth side. We tried scaring it back to the third side by shaking the fence. We tried calling it, we tried throwing twigs at it, we tried throwing pebbles. Nothing worked. Convinced that we simply weren’t throwing big enough objects, since the pebbles barely made the chicken twitch, I decided to throw over a large rock.
The rock was the size of the chicken itself, and it was heavy. Surely, I thought, this will scare the chicken enough to run around back to the coop. I hefted the stone to my shoulder and took aim for a spot just to the right of the chicken. I pulled back and launched it with all of my might over the fence. In launching the rock I had slightly aimed too far to the left, which would have been alright if the chicken hadn’t moved just to the right. The rock came down hard on the chicken’s back.
A lot of people question or mock those moments in movies where time slows down whenever a character dies. I don’t mock it because I know it for truth.
The rock crushed the chicken to the ground beneath it in slow motion. I could feel the thump through the ground under my feet. The rock rebounded heavily off of the bird’s back to one side, and like a coiled spring the chicken jerked upwards. The image would have been comical under any other circumstances. Just like a cartoon who’s been pancaked by an anvil and springs back up, the chicken lurched into the air, one foot extended off to its side, the other on tiptoes. Its neck extended upwards at an angle and I could see it’s eye, as clear as day, looking at me questioningly. And then it slumped to the ground, dead.
I know chickens to be profoundly stupid creatures. Whatever intelligence I saw in its eyes at the moment of death was likely as not imaginary, and its querying gaze a construct of my mind. But watching the creature die, by my hand as surely as if I had held it down and smashed it with the rock still in my hands, is an experience that has never left me.
Interestingly, I don’t like chickens. In many ways I couldn’t care less if they die. They aren’t much smarter than the crickets they love to eat. They’re vicious, cannibalistic, smelly and thy scare easily. And yet I can’t stand the thought of killing one.
But we’re talking about video games. What does all this chicken killing have to do with anything?
Less meaningful than killing a chicken?
Both Thompson and I want to see the same thing. We want to see a video game in which killing something matters, and not just to the storyline, or to other characters, we want it to matter to the player. Let’s take a possible example from Assassin’s Creed. What would an assassination attempt be like under the conditions I’ve described? Would their target scramble frantically out of bed as he sees you coming through the window? Would his feet get tangled in the sheets as you close in? Would he struggle against you feeble as you grab him by the neck and poise your blade? Would he beg for his life as you pulled his head back by his hair, plead for the sake of his children or wife? Would he sputter and gasp as the blade rams home into his exposed throat? Would you watch as the life goes out of his eyes? How would you manage to reconcile the screams and tears of his family as you flee into the night with the fact that the man had to die for the sake of others?
Instead of... you know... knocking down polygonal bowling pins...
Video games have the potential to make players feel things in ways that movies, books, music and painting can only do marginally. Games can make people question and wonder and see the world in a new light. That is why Thompson wants to see more violent video games, and to be honest, I’m right there with him.
Well, in lieu of further cultural ramblings it’s probably about time I moved on to religious whatnot.
I think pretty much everybody who reads this is in some way familiar with the psychopaths at the Westboro Baptist Church. Well, Mr. Phelps, the leader of the church and ringmaster of crazy town has a rather extensive litter of kiddos. I can only assume he has so many so that there are enough hands to hold up all of his hateful signs at the various protests he stages at the funerals of soldiers, gays and natural disaster victims. Anyway, there was no telling exactly what hells he puts his family though until recently when one of his runaway children, Nate Phelps, spilled the beans in This Revealing and Disturbing Account.
He describes the mental and physical torture he would put his children through, the horrible things he does to his wife, the way hatred and venom permeates every action he commits. And he also describes how he used religion as justification for it all.
I seriously feel sorry for Nate Phelps and his siblings.
In light of how Nate Phelps was raised, and the crap he was put through in the name of religion, I don’t blame him for his lost faith. In many ways religion, as Christians usually think of it, is ruined for him. He can’t even sit through a sermon without thinking about how much weaker and wimpier other pastors seem in comparison to his father. How could he ever reconcile these Christians who seem to posses such little force of will, but a better message, with his dad who seemed to be driven? How could he not think that Christian theology is all fire and brimstone and hate and that nice pastors are merely watered down versions of the faith?
And sitting on Fred Phelps' desk...
This is what Christians do to Christianity on a regular basis. They misrepresent it. They bring in hate and disparagement and exclusion. The Phelps family is an admittedly extreme example, but it is nevertheless illustrative of the sort of thing that pushes so many people away from Christianity. Sometimes I wonder if its even possible to salvage the name “Christian.” Will future generations of people who follow the will of Christ have to go so far to separate themselves from their dark past as to abandon the name of “Christianity” altogether?
That is something I don’t have the answer for.
Yeesh, this has gotten dark, hasn’t it? Well then, I guess there’s no harm in jumping into the hilarity that is politics, eh?
Seriously, though. We’re starting things off with the craziest politician I think I’ve ever seen.
So, What’s the number one threat to the American way of life today? Terrorists? Heart-disease? Obesity? Mexicans? Aliens? Americans?
No! None of the above! You want to know? Do ya? It’s…
Or so says Paiboon Sunthonchart Jr. of Florida who is running for the Senate. No, I Am Not Making This Up. If you go on to read the full article or his website, you’ll find all sorts of crazy fun facts about whatever world this guy hails from. Everything from the Devil being forgiven, to Sorcerers slashing people’s butts through their toilets and making it look like a natural occurrence.
But if Sorcerers are Terrorist Rapists then that means... oh no...
To top it all off, the man can’t put together a sentence that makes even the barest resemblance to grammatical correctness. But really, in the face of everything else, that’s just being nitpicky.
We are SO Screwed...
I almost can’t tell if it’s just a big joke or not being placed on the news. It’s too amazingly ridiculous. I mean, this is practically a masterpiece of comedic political parody! I wish I could divorce myself from common sense and reality long enough to type up something as gut-busting as this. I mean, really… what more is there to say? Go read it, you’ll thank me later.
Moving on from there, let’s talk really, really briefly about Libertarians. I found this wonderful comedic image that you see below:
If it’s too small to read (I’m pretty sure it is) then go to THIS LINK where you can read it fully blown up. Now, I can see the appeal of certain Libertarian thinking. I like their emphasis on personal rights and so forth. But in the end, I’m really not Libertarian. At all. I’m pretty liberal socially, and I’m more or less moderate economically and militarily, which pretty much makes me the devil in their eyes. But all the same, they’re entitled to their opinions, and I’m entitled to enjoy poking fun at them. If you want the comedic yet truthful lowdown on the different types of Libertarian, then the above image is for you. I’m particularly fond of the “Missionary” at the bottom center. I’ve had many a brush with this type over my Bioshock Project.
Okay, nothing tops Mr. SorceryCarRape up above, but I’ve got to say, Harry Reid’s competition in Nevada, Mrs. Sharron Angle, is running in the same race of crazy.
Don't let her face fool y.... well, actually that's not a problem, is it?
You see, in the early days of Mrs. Angle’s campaign, when she was still vying for the Republican party’s nomination, she said a lot of weird things in an effort to grab the Tea Bagger base that makes up the extremely conservative core of the new un-improved Republican Party and posted them on her website. These extreme tactics won her the nomination, but in the general election these positions would lose her votes amongst more even headed individuals. She cannot afford to lose those votes, so she changed her site to be more approachable by the moderately minded. Reid seized on the opportunity and, as is described in the article, re-posted her website claiming that the voter needed to know the real Angle.
Angle has sent a Cease And Desist letter since then claiming copyright violations. In response, Reid’s campaign has taken the site down and moved much of the material to THIS SITE, which unfortunately seemed to be having troubles the last time I saw it. I wish the original site was still up so I could see it, but if what Reid is saying is true, the lady is a verifiable nut job. That is, of course if this is true: “Sharron has long believed in killing Social Security, eliminating the Departments of Education and Energy and shipping nuclear waste to Nevada.”
While I am inclined to believe the accusation, politicians on both sides will hyperbolize and even lie flat out, so take it with a grain of salt. Just keep in mind that Angle filed on the grounds of a breached copyright, which means she lays claim to the material and she obviously doesn’t want it viewable. Isn’t this sorta like pleading the fifth, where it just makes you look guilty?
Of course that is really only the tip of the iceberg for this lady. See video below:
Not only do I find it offensive on a religious level (would God, a loving God no less, “Will” a father to rape his thirteen year old daughter? Really?) But I also find it repulsive on a humanitarian level. How can you tell someone who has just gone through such trauma something as callus as “Make Lemonade out of Lemons?” This lady blows my mind. (I agree wholeheartedly with This Commentary on the situation by The Young Turks)
I happen to be pro-life in most cases and scenarios. I think that instead of supporting abortion, as a general rule, we should be supporting adoption services and information. But in the case of incest or rape… while I think it’s a laudable decision to still carry a child from a rape, that is ultimately the mother’s decision, same with incest. Forcing a preteen mother to keep the child could very well ruin their lives mentally, physically and financially. The net loss of existence there is too great.
I don’t know if Harry Reid deserves to get back into the senate, but he has to be the lesser of two evils at the very least in this case. If Nevada has any sense, they will not be voting for this crazy, cold-hearted person.
In positive news, it looks like the Oil Spil in the Gulf may Finally Be Winding Down. Of course we’re still a ways out from knowing for sure, and this is BP we’re talking about here. If anyone could keep screwing this up it would be them. Beyond that, the cleanup and recovery will takes years yet and the toll on the coastal economy is still on the horizon. The only thing that’s certain right now is that the spill needs to end and it needs to end now.
And I’m tired of writing about it. Blah.
Briefly on the Arizona front, the administration has said it won’t rule out Suing Arizona over the law a second time if it appears obvious that Racial profiling is going on. In response, Govenor Brewer said, “Why would they have to hesitate, after all the comments they made, and all the outrage that they made against the bill in regards to racial profiling, that it didn’t show up?” The answer is fairly simple. Racial Profiling is a serious charge that has to be thoroughly provable in a court of law. If the federal government jumped on it now they wouldn’t have evidence. While I believe profiling is inevitable, it is merely a belief at this point and that isn’t good enough for a court. The feds can’t blow the one chance they’ll get at this. Once a ruling has been made either way it will make subsequent cases that much harder to win, thanks to the system of precedent. It’s all or nothing, folks. But what really gets me is this statement by the governor: “The bottom line is that people in the Southwest, particularly Arizona, we love our diversity. It’s in our DNA. We are almost, I believe, colorblind.” I’m sorry, but “colorblind?” That is naive. Idealistic and desirable, certainly, but naive. We do not need naive people leading our states.
Okay, okay. I’ve done my ragging on Conservatives for the day. But they are not alone in their ridiculousness. It’s time to even up my criticisms a bit, eh? It’s time to take aim, for the second time on this blog, at Obama.
Shocking I know. I’m a big supporter of the man. I think he’s been a fine President, especially considering the harsh conditions of our nation and politics. But boy has he made a doozy. At least he has in my eyes. Bush’s Patriot Act was terrible, but this is just as bad or worse.
Now I must be clear, this citizen is a vociferous anti-American terrorist sympathizer. Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who advocates attacks against America.
The face of crazy... and He's American.
He isn’t even on home soil. He is hiding in Yemen somewhere. It is obvious that he is an incredible danger to America and American lives. I understand this and I understand the desire and reasons to assassinate him. However, assassinating him is a dangerous action that should be avoided and would be a major misstep of this administration.
“Why?” You may be asking, “What is wrong with killing someone who obviously hates and would harm America and her people?” It is wrong because it sets a dangerous precedent. Americans have rights. Inalienable rights. Rights to due process under the law. We are guaranteed that the government cannot harm us without first being tried in a court of law by a panel of our peers with the right of legal representation. Only once found guilty by a jury can sentences be carried out, whether they be life sentences or death or otherwise. To cast aside this right is to rob American’s of the protection of the law.
To assassinate al-Awlaki would be setting a precedent for “dealing with” American citizens without having to bow to their rights to protection under the law. I can understand the need. I can understand the expediency. I can understand the desire for an easy win. But this must not be allowed.
But who can say no to Sniper Kitteh?
Some may argue that al-Awlaki is now an enemy combatant, and thus he has forfeited his rights as an American Citizen. First of all, where do these people get the definition for actions that cause you to lose your citizenship? Second of all, al-Awlaki has only been known to support Terrorists, not actually do any combating himself, which is the only way to define the term “enemy combatant” without widening it to “those who really dislike America” which is another slippery slope all its own. And Third, the order allows him to be killed on sight, no matter how far away from a battlefield he is (aka not in combat.) This even lets him be killed in front of innocent civilians in the midst of a city. Hardly the killing of a “combatant.” In the end, al-Awlaki is an American citizen, no matter how bad a citizen he may be, no matter how much it burns us that he is one of us.
Wait for it... wait for it...
The Patriot Act has already done horrible things to the freedoms and rights of American citizens. Guantanamo Bay was full of examples of what could go wrong with such a system. These rights should protect us from such horrible things as what happened to A Canadian Man In 2002(http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=22&art_id=qw1158690600769B253), when he was detained in America before returning home under false information that he was an “Islamic-extremist” and deported to Syria where he was imprisoned and tortured for almost a full year. They only stopped torturing him because the Syrians decided he wasn’t connected to Terrorism. The man was a Canadian, so I do not know how their legal system works, but in America we have the right to representation and a trial. We cannot be, or perhaps now only “should not be,” deported for a year of torture only on the suspicion of terrorist activity.
You know what? al-Awlaki deserves it. There is amongst no doubt that he deserves to be punished to the full extend of the law for his crimes against America. But I will not approve of the rights of any citizen being surpassed in the name of ease and convenience and security, no matter how much he deserves it. It is easy to say that the slippery slope theory is alarmist. “Just because we’re willing to take out enemies of America who happen to be Americans doesn’t mean this will start happening to just any Joe Shmo.” Yes, well, it sounds alarmist until someone with the blackness of heart and the support to do it steps into the Presidency. Hitler shouldn’t have happened, but he did. He rose to power through legal means. Shenanigans, yes, but legal. There are certain things that cannot, must not, be breached and our rights to a trial are one of them.
Obama, I am ashamed.
Not to mention poor Bongo.
That should satiate all of the Conservatives who read my blog and seethe at me in silence for today. I wish I could end it on a more positive note, but I want this to stick, so… Goodnight everybody!
Today I’m going to go in for some serious randomimity. I’ve got some entertainment chatter to talk about, some life stuff and I’m even going to jump back onto the political commentary bandwagon again. Let’s get started shall we?
As I’ve said in previous blog posts, Katie has moved down to my area. Understandably, this was hugely distracting and took up much of my precious writing time. Alas!
Now that Katie is getting into the swing of living down here, she’s out hunting for jobs, banks and apartments (not to mention extended Fallout 3 playing hours), leaving me lots of time to get back to the Writing I’ve been forgetting until last Monday. I was behind by nearly 6,000 words. Yeesh! I’m starting to catch up now with some strong word counts from Jaine as well as some more work on the John Scalzi and Will Wheaton fan fic competition (and this blog, actually). It all gives me hope that I’ll still manage to hit the word count for the deadline.
Speaking of the Fan fic, I’m actually one more spell check away from the finished product at this point. The first ending sequence I had was a chase, and it was kind of lame, so I replaced it with a massive Epic Fantasy style fight, and I think it’s much better and more exciting. I’ll post it up on here soonish (this weekend, mayhaps?) and from there I’ll send it off to Scalzi. Fun fun. I really hope I win. 🙂
Get Ready To Read A Lot To Understand Anything
Though I’ve had lots of writing success lately, that’s not to say there aren’t still distractions (Today looks like a slow writing day where I barely make the minimum =\ .) Through some unexpected turns, Final Fantasy XIII is now in the Xbox and God of War III will be mine soon. I’m already playing through FF and God of War III will almost certainly follow on its heels. Whenever me and Katie get some free time to play together we team up on levels in Mario Galaxy 2 which is pretty dang fun, I must say. Oh, and Katie’s Supernatural disc just cam in the mail today so there’s that.
You Rock, PS3!
I know this is old hat to a lot of PS3 owners, but I’m in a Squee filled mood, so I feel I must talk about the awesomeness that is the PS3’s ability to play media through the network. You see, for some time now, I’ve had to simply watch my downloaded anime episodes and so forth in my room, at my desk on my computer. Not a terrible way to watch anime, mind, but not ideal either. Then one day I realize that the PS3 can see computer media files through the network if said files are placed just right. Voila! Now me and Katie can watch all our downloaded vids on by big screen HDTV. Heck yes!
Okay, showing my random side a bit, I’m going to take a small detour into Dungeons & Dragons for a minute. Due to Katie’s arrival, and my sudden realization that Kyle is a young gamer as well, I have found myself with three guinea-pig players. While getting Kyle to play may be a challenge, if I can get all three adventurers ready and wiling, I’d like the opportunity to get them hooked. In that vein, I’ve had a general idea for a short introductory campaign swirling in the back of my mind lately, complete with surprises and everything. Of course it helps that I now have these babies!
WooHoo!
How about that, huh? 39 character minis (three are doubles, unfortunately) which I got on a fantastic sale recently. Just looking at them has given me lots of ideas. For instance…
I've got plans for you two...
The two minis above, a war-forged Artificer and a Gnome Rouge have given me ideas for characters I will control who will journey with my newbie adventurers. However, these two helpful NPCs might not be all that they seem! And that’s all the hints I’m giving there, as I know that at least Katie reads my blog (maybe Kyle? Hello, Kyle! I know you read the stuff about Cave Story a moth or so back!) so it’s possible that if I give away too much they’d know what to expect. Surprises are half the fun. 😛
Whenever I get around to finding some people to play with where I am not the newbie Dungeon Master, I have a number of Ideas for characters involving the minis you see below…
From Left: Dragonborn Warlord, Human Invoker, Elf Ranger, Human Druid
The Dragonborn character I’ve fashioned is my favorite, so I’m going to put off playing with him until I get used to D&D playing so that I know I won’t just kill him off stupidly. The Druid character and Ranger character are similarly important, so I’ll put them off as well. That leaves a sorcerer that I want to build (yes, I know the mini in the pic is an invoker. I like the look of him, so he’s a sorcerer now! Whatcha gonna do? Cry?) and I’ll use him as my guinea-pig character while I get used to things. I guess I’ll move along before Katie gets annoyed that I’m talking D&D again. (sorry, Love! I’m obsessive, I know!)
E3 is continuing its triumphant march into my mind share and even though I’ve already given my predictions for the event, I’m still constantly thinking over what might happen, and what will happen. Some games I forgot to mention last time that I’m looking forward to new media on include Transformers: War for Cybertron, Super Scribblenauts, Civilization V, XCOM, Naughty Bear, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Fallout: New Vegas, Rage, Okamiden, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (ultra Squee!), Epic Mickey (really looking forward to seeing how Warren Specter’s project is turning out), NBA Jam Wii, El Shaddai, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, The Force Unleashed II, Whatever the teased Pac-Man project is, The Conduit 2, Vanquish, God of War, Ghost of Sparta, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, … and others. I’m getting all geeky just writing about it.
Look At The Little Space Invader Wearing His Headphones. Daw!
Related to video games, this Friday Video Games Live comes to the Myerson in Dallas. For those of you who do not know, Video Games Live is a concert spectacular that plays some of the most iconic music of video game history. Everything from Halo and Final Fantasy to Mario and Bioshock. They combine it with light stage performance, video and lighting. Rock Concert meets Geek Convention meets Classical Music = awesome. I bought our tickets months ago. Huzzah! If they come to your area, just keep in mind that it comes highly recommended. We went to their performance last year at Bass Hall, and it was a lot of fun.
Also related to video games, I just saw a teaser trailer called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, which is apparently a pitch for a new film based on the franchise. It looks rated R and totally cool. I just hope they maintain the series’ fantasy elements (What is Sub-Zero without Ice Beams? Nothing. That’s What.) We’ll see if it even gets off the ground, of course.
Related to that, in a not so positive turn, I’m becoming extraordinarily frustrated with Google and YouTube. Why? Because they’re not letting me sign into my YouTube Account. How is that, you might ask? Well, you see, Google recently has forced YouTube users to sign in with their Google account names and passwords I the accounts are linked. You might think that this is not such a bad thing. After all, it cuts back on the number of necessary passwords and user names. The problem is that I is impossible to de-link the accounts from inside YouTube. I see you are still confused as to why this is a problem. Let me paint a picture for you…
No, I don't think I will trust you...
Let’s say that when the whole Gmail thing first started up, you were quite excited and managed to get your hands on an invite. So, you create a Gmail account and use it for minor things. After all, you still have that hugely useful and indispensable other e-mail account. Now, when you find out that you can link your Gmail account and your YouTube account together, you do so immediately. Linking is a good thing, right? Right. Okay, now… years pass. In the intervening time, you had ceased use of your old Gmail account because, quite frankly, you didn’t really need it. But as you grew older, you realized that maybe you needed an E-mail address that bore your name, and not some funny phrase or nickname. You are, after all, going into the serious world of businesses and no-nonsense! So you find yourself with a very different Gmail and a lovely YouTube account. They are not linked.
Suddenly, the linked YouTube account will not let you sign in with your old user name and password. No. It instead requires you to use the user name and password of your linked Gmail account. “But!” You cry out, “But, I don’t remember my old account at all!”
Yeah, I'm Kinda Wanting To Tear Them Apart Too.
“Too bad!” Says Google and YouTube. “You’re screwed buddy.” For good measure, Google kicks you in the side with the hard steel-toed boots of bad customer service and leaves you sobbing in the streets of the internet while rain soaks your battered body.
Yeah. That’s me right there. I almost didn’t get this blog written today because I spent over an hour and a half trying to figure out a way to fix the problem. But no matter how hard I looked, there is no way back into my YouTube account. I’m starting to think I’ll have to start up a secondary account as supplemental to my old one. *MEGA SIGH*
Isn’t this a lovely mood to talk about Politics in? Yes, I think so too. On to Politics!
I’ve largely avoided the Arizona issue. Not because I don’t have any opinions (boy do I have opinions!) But rather because I didn’t want to go all rant-y. However, I just recently read a story that sheds some light on the true nature of the clashes happening now in Arizona. Many people downplay the blatant, sick racism that permeates the immigration laws, saying it is to protect citizens from criminals. We’ll get to that. First I want to bring this Story Of An Elementary School Whitening The Faces Of Black And Hispanic Students In A Mural On Campus. This mural was painted by the kids themselves, and it stars them too. In other words, they whitened representations of kids actually attending the school.
No, I’m not kidding.
They try and paint it so many ways (hyukhyuk) but it’s impossible to escape the fact that it is flat out racist. This sort of evidence underscores the racial tensions present in their culture, climate and indeed their politics. They need to stop lying to themselves. AAAARRRG! The story, as I said, only illustrates a deeper problem. Simple racism. The motivation behind the law recently enacted in Arizona is said to be race-blind, that it is merely trying to stamp out criminal activity. What they do not see is that under the circumstances, those two statements are mutually exclusive. Why? Because they equate foreigners, meaning Hispanics, with criminals. It’s much the same problem that Blacks face when everyone assumes that they are either a drug dealer, a gangster or two steps away from murdering you while you sleep. It’s a lie that has made life hard for them, and it makes it hard for Hispanics. As the Arizona school mural incident illustrates, people see anyone of any color other than white as being an illegal immigrant. The Racism is even more pronounced when you look at stories like This One About A Poor 14 Year Old Boy Shot By A Border Patrol Agent. The kid may have been throwing rocks, but he was on the Mexico side, and it did not deserve deadly force retaliation. There is even suspicion that the Agent actually crossed the Border into Mexico to shoot the kid up close. that last part is just suspicion, but it is still alarming, and even if not true, it doesn’t undo the rest of the tragedy. While I recently had good reason to become upset at Roger Ebert over his comments on video games, he still manages to say some pretty powerful stuff about social issues. After recently talking about a Somewhat Related Issue In California, he decided to Weigh In On The Arizona Debacle. I highly recommend a read of his views concerning Arizona as he takes a narrative and insightful and disappointed turn. It’s an emotional look that asks questions of people’s hearts, which is a nice change from the ranting, raving backhanded defending and attacking of most commentary (like my own, I must admit.)
While racism is at the heat of the issue here (no matter how hard the paranoid, xenophobic, racist Arizona lawmakers deny it) I think the law is dangerous for another reason. It sets a dangerous precedent for the government to be able to stop civilians (yes, American civilians) and ask them for immediate proof of citizenship. Isn’t this the kind of thing all the Seventh-day Adventists, Left Behind-ers, and End-Of-The-World sign wearers terrified of? Where are they and their opposition to this?
Instead, let me take my home church as an example, the SDA church I am a member of is filled mostly with individuals who support the measure. Are you kidding me!? I mean I know about the whole SDA conferences being stuck in the Jim Crow dark-ages thing, but isn’t this sort of Government ability, to be able to barge into your personal life and demand proof of your rights to exist outside of a prison or exile, that they have been preaching against for years?
Whether or not the world ends tomorrow or in a few hundred years, they should know this sort of action is wrong. But that is not the kind of reaction the law is receiving.
Bah! That’s enough about that for today. Time to move onto better things.
Okay, so I’ve gotten some of the random whatsits out of my system. I’m going to end today’s post with a little… I don’t know, tribute? Memorial? To the best manga series I’ve ever read, which is ending with this most recent chapter released in Japan.
I Love This
Fullmetal Alchemist.
My first exposure to FMA was a couple of years ago, maybe more, when I was exposed to the original anime. I really enjoyed it. It had great art, fun characters, an interesting storyline and a sort of magical pseudo-science system (What they called Alchemy) that the characters used.
I don’t remember how I was introduced to it, but it was fun. I enjoyed it and it was on my list of favorite anime (admittedly near the bottom.) The original anime didn’t blow me away. I would find out later that it was for a very good reason.
Katie has long been a more avid manga reader than myself. Oh, I love reading manga, to be sure, but she has the kind of devotion to it naturally that I have to foster to keep anywhere near her level. For some time, she had been collection the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, reading and enjoying it, and assuring me that the manga was very different and superior to the anime (though she liked the anime too.)
The Cover of Volume 1
I believe that I first began the manga when I was lying around her apartment one evening while she worked at Red Lobster, bored and too lazy to pull out my laptop and write. I cracked open the first volume and began to read. It was very similar to the anime. In some ways I suppose I was disappointed, because I had expected something revolutionary. When I told this to Katie later, she reminded me that she had said before, many times, that the manga is very similar for the first few chapters or so.
In the back of my mind, I decided to read further. Later. I had so many other things to read! It wasn’t until I was surfing a certain manga site some time later (having traveled back home after my visit to Katie) when I spotted Fullmetal Alchemist (It is kinda hard to miss, considering it’s always on the top-ten most read lists.) The little voice in the back of my brain popped up and reminded me of my decision to get back into reading FMA. So, I clicked the link.
From Left: 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye, Colonel Mustang, Winry, Alphonse (Background), Edward
Everything that Katie had assured me was true. Only a few more chapters into the manga than I had previously read differences began making themselves known. Characters from the anime weren’t there, and new characters were showing up. Homunculus like Lust began acting differently, or didn’t take the same character path. Tragedies were still present (Hughes! *weeps*) but were done even better, with more artistic flair. Little differences in the art-style (for no mangaka’s style is 100% translated into anime form) were better, more dynamic, more expressive. And then big changes came down the pipe. BIG changes. The manga had all the things I loved from the anime, but better. The characters, the setting, etc. But the story and plot, as well as the development of the characters (because character profiles and character development are two very different things) were all astronomically better. Without resorting to simple cliffhangers (most of the time) the author kept me hanging on her every word, every twist and turn of the story. Many manga make more sense than their anime counterparts, but something about usual Asian storytelling makes things unclear in most manga as well. This was not the case for Fullmetal Alchemist. I knew exactly what was going on. I knew the stakes. I knew the motivations. The important characters never bent to singular stereotypes common in anime and manga, and the side characters were either just as developed or so perfectly pitched in their archetype that it didn’t matter. The story became more and more epic and intricate, with a massive cast of interesting characters, and yet I was never lost. I never felt like I had jumped into a situation over my head.
As I mentioned earlier in this blog post, I’m playing through FFXIII right now. The only reason I’m able to keep up with the story is because I read every datalogue entry and think about them and how they connect. The story is there, but it’s in pieces. Pieces which I have to put together to know what’s happening only five minutes into the game. It very much has the trappings of Anime and manga storytelling. Somehow, Fullmetal Alchemist evades that potential misstep magnificently.
The Elric Brothers Pre-Series
Part of what makes FMA’s story so fulfilling is how it fires on all cylinders. It begins with the very personal and intimate story of two boys who have lost their mother and father (their mother died and their father left years ago) and their desperate and dangerous attempt to bring their mother back to life using Alchemy. The story expands little by little, carefully introducing new elements and people to the plot, always at the perfect place with an incredible understanding of how disparate lives intertwine, break loose and intertwine again. No matter how big the story became (and it gets to be epic-fantasy end-of-the-world big) it always had a personal and intimate core in the story of two hurt but skillful and determined boys and the relationships they formed with others.
I apologized thoroughly to Katie for having missed out for so long. It was harder to apologize to myself (I can be so infuriating sometimes!) Needless to say, I’m very glad Katie is collecting the series as it comes out in volume form. I plan to re-read it once we have the whole set beginning to end.
Speaking of endings! It was only less than an hour ago that I finished the final chapter (which came out today) and it was fantastic. It gives just enough closure, and just enough of a glimpse of what lies beyond the final turning of the page to give me the right mixture of happiness and sadness that accompanies the end of any good book, movie or video game. Today I have finished the best manga I have ever read. I highly recommend it.
And if you’re not big on the whole “reading” thing, then let me recommend Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the newest version of the anime. The original anime split into a completely different direction from the manga at a certain point in the story. Brotherhood does not. While I will always recommend the manga first, this new series follows its source material to the T and does so masterfully. While it has a harder fight in the anime realm to reach spot number 1 for me (I love a number of excellent anime,) it has already proven itself to be one of the best. Top ten easily, probably in the top five (top three?) This too comes highly recommended, though I don’t know when the English dubbed version is coming out for all you who hate reading subtitles.
There are many more things I could say. I could talk about each character and what I love about them, and how they contribute to the story intrinsically. I could talk about the philosophy running behind the motivations, actions, and that intriguing religious conversation between otherworldly beings near the very end. But I’ll leave that for another time.
Every time I finish a series which has stayed on with me for a long time, I feel like I’ve closed another chapter in my own life. When art such as this becomes a part of me, seeing it end is like saying goodbye to a friend you’ve lived with for years. From this point on, the world is going to look a little different. That is what quality entertainment, quality art, does.
Thanks everybody for sticking this through till the end. I hope you all have a terrific day!
Edward L. Cheever II
P.S. The only thing I have to say today about the Oil Spill, is that if Video Games met real life, things would be much better, as you can see…
Into the Deep 