Thank You Mario!

I've noticed a certain frequency of the notion that #Gamergate should not be waged on the cultural front, that is, as just another engagement between cultural marxists and libertarians. These people argue that journalistic ethics should be the focus of #Gamergaters. There is certainly evidence of corruption in gaming journalism. Even the FTC has noticed, updating their FAQ to better inform consumers of undisclosed affiliate links.

There are many reasons that I am interested in #Gamergate. I have been playing video games for decades. I'm not a hard-core gamer, considering I haven't clicked "Play" in maybe two weeks. The medium has always fascinated me.

The video game angle set the hook for me, but it is being on the front of the culture war that has reeled me in. I strongly resent the attempt by feminists and their white knights to reform my space. Anita Sarkeesian claims that the "damsel in distress," trope in video games is pernicious. "Pernicious" is defined as harmful, especially in a subtle way.

So subtle that only a feminist can detect the level of harm. I don't think I would have even played "Super Mario Brothers" if Mario wasn't tasked with rescuing the princess. Thus begs the question of exactly who is being injured when I hop onto a mushroom and advance into yet another castle.

The Overwatch

One thing about #Gamergate that has always seemed kludgey to me, is how to refer to the social justice warriors who form the main body of attack against gamers. They are most often called "anti-Gamergate." This is unwieldy and non-descriptive.

I therefore propose the following nomenclature: The Overwatch. The Overwatch is the police force in the video game, Half Life 2. They are the shock troops, the enforcers. They do the bidding of their masters, The Combine, who have invaded earth and subjugated it. The Combine may be understood as the underlying progressive movement. The progressive movement is just marxist totalitarianism with a nice-sounding name.

#Gamergate, in its purest sense, is contention between people who love liberty against people who want to maximize equality. A nation of free persons, making individual decisions in their own best interests, terrifies The Combine.

The Combine spans multiple universes, just as marxism, or international communism, sprawls across many western nations. The Combine uses many methods to control humans, such as a suppression field that prevents procreation. The Combine desires to bring the human birth rate down to zero. This is evocative of the Malthusian environmental extremists who believe that humans are destroying the planet, and that there are about seven billion people too many already here.

Feminists and their white knights have major problems with male sexuality. Noted feminist Andrea Dworkin wrote in her book, "Intercourse," that "Intercourse is the pure, sterile, formal expression of men's contempt for women." A major tactic of our new Overwatch is the implementation of this suppression field, but just for male sexuality.

All Your Tears Are Belong To Us

Almost time to go to work, standing over marsala reductions and schlepping goat cheese calzones. I see stark reminders of the misandry at work in the #Gamergate Blue Team. The anti-#Gamergaters. For them, anyone on the #Gamergate side is a misogynist.

#Gamergate generates hundreds of tweets every hour. And visual proof that there is plenty of hate on the anti side.

How much shit would rain down on my head if I posted a picture of myself drinking from a mug labeled, "Black Tears." Considering the anguish that my fellow citizens feel about the No True Bill decision from Ferguson, plenty, and justly so.

Hey, @Triscuitable, shame on you.

Shut Up, They Explained

A persistent feature of the culture wars is the epistemological closure of progressives. The mental image this conjures is that of a child putting their hands over their ears, then repeatedly saying, "La la la la I can't hear you..." The progressive core belief is that they are on the side of science and good intentions, and that their adversaries are evil and ignorant.

The unwillingness to engage opposing opinions is endorsed by our President, as reported by this New York Times article. In it, the President sees an "overarching problem" in the media when "two opposing sides are given equal weight regardless of the facts," calling this a "false balance."

Legacy media has been all too happy to oblige. Last year, the Los Angeles Times announced that they would no longer print letters from 'climate-change deniers'. Legacy outlet Popular Science decided that they would permanently disable comments on their web site, explaining that "comments can be bad for science."

In the front of the culture wars known as #Gamergate, the blue team is keenly interested in filtering out unwanted viewpoints. Newly-minted feminist icon Anita Sarkeesian doesn't allow comments on her Youtube series, "Feminist Frequency." For sensitive Twitter users, Randi Harper has developed a tool, gamergate autoblocker, that allows them to preemptively block other users. By using this autoblocker, you have to assume that anyone who follows both Milo Yiannopoulos and Mike Cernovich is a misogynist and that the risk they will issue harassing tweets is too great to assume.

Randi Harper then turned to a gentleman named Jacob Hoffman-Andrews to implement another tool, called Block Together. With Block Together, "every time Harper blocks an account, every user subscribed to Gamergate autoblocker also blocks that account, automatically." This is done, supposedly, to make the job of blocking hundreds or thousands of Twitter users easier for the user who is "tired of hearing about Gamergate."

I wonder if Randi Harper heard about I Can Be A Computer Engineer Barbie? Computer Engineer Barbie had to get "Steven and Brian's help to turn it into a real game."

What if a Twitter user follows a #Gamergate 'ringleader,' and also follows NARAL? Would that be enough to mitigate the block? I don't know everything about Twitter, but it strikes me that if a user is "tired of hearing about Gamergate," they could just block everything with that hashtag.

The Lens of Gratitude

My sister and I have an inside joke, about someone who "ruins Thanksgiving," or "ruins Christmas." I started it by assuming a mock outraged falsetto, and accusing her of this transgression. The joke is that I am mimicking our mother, when in fact it was usually our mother who did the ruining.

This year's Thanksgiving day wasn't ruined, but it was certainly weird.

The temperature climbed into the high eighties, the sky cerulean. Late in the morning, dueling chainsaws drowned out the birdsong. Our next door neighbor's house has been vacant for months. The owner occasionally visits to water the little orange tree in the otherwise barren back yard. The front yard has some nice landscaping, with pepper trees providing shade and privacy, and a contemplative bench next to a bird of paradise.

We share a one hundred and eighty-foot long chain link fence with this neighbor. Running inside their fence line is a row of trees, which provide privacy to them. Or was a row, anyway. Now they are stumps, and our neighbor's faded yellow house sits naked and exposed. The drought had stressed some of the trees and killed others, but the view before now was preferable.

My wife has always had the ability to help me see the bright side of things. Her perspective is that now, we can plant vegetation or fencing of our choosing. "When one door closes, another door opens," she said. I wondered if the converse was true, that when one door opens, another closes. She assured me that A is a subset of B, but B is not a subset of A.

We worked together to bring a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to the table. When I got back from walking the dogs, I started to prepare the stuffing and then rinsed the bird. When she arose, we seasoned the stuffing, stuffed the bird, and got it in the oven.

The meal would have been perfect, if it weren't for the pumpkin pie that I made. It tasted like an ashtray. I tried to substitute whole milk for sweetened condensed. She noticed, as I added the milk to the can the pumpkin puree came in, and questioned why I was adding fourteen ounces of milk. It seemed like a random amount to her. I believe she may have begun adjusting her expectations around this time.

Our turkey came out magnificent, same with the stuffing and the potatoes. The drippings went into a skillet, and I started making the gravy. I added teaspoon after teaspoon of cornstarch to the drippings, and it refused to thicken. My wife noticed the white powder I was adding was not cornstarch, it was baking soda. Luckily, she had bought chicken stock, which made a quick gravy.

As we said grace over our meal, I was reminded of the 23rd Psalm, the passage which says, "my cup runneth over." It's true. We have so much, that it is needless to become cross over a little scorched pie or lethally salty gravy. It's true that we have been provided for by our Creator, sometimes embarrassingly so.

The Freaks Don't Want No Greeks

The local news has been running a story at the top and bottom of every hour. Fraternities and sororities at San Diego State University have been shamed into suspending social activities indefinitely. Probably until they complete "sexual violence and bystander training."

Fraternities stand accused of harassment, including shouted epithets, and eggs being thrown at marchers taking part in a "Take Back The Night" rally. When the marchers passed in front of one fraternity house, fraternity members waved sexual devices at them. Considering how ubiquitous cell-phone cameras are, and the preoccupation these youngsters have with social media, one wonders why there isn't any video that confirms these reports.

The TV station interviewed a local student, Jordan Busse, who related this tale of harassment. The rally was in response to a reported fourteen sexual assaults on campus since the beginning of the school year. This high number confounds anyone who has been paying attention, such as the Union Tribune, who reported four days ago about the seventh sexual assault involving an SDSU student since the beginning of the school year. A quick scan of the article reveals that nearly all of these occurred off campus.

Even one sexual assault is one too many. One problem we should keep in mind is that the definition of sexual assault has been devalued and appears to be fluid. For example, the Department of Justice defines 'forced kissing' as sexual assault. It may only be a matter of time before unwanted looks or catcalls are violations of the criminal code.

This redefining of sexual assault serves to devalue the true victims of sexual assault. For example, about six weeks ago there was a sexual assault reported in a San Diego neighborhood. The details are very frightening: The assailant entered a woman's apartment at two o'clock in the morning, wielding a knife. He then sexually assaulted the woman.

It is understandable that a news outlet would not want to publish certain lurid details involving cases like this. They may wish to imply that the woman was raped, but cannot, because these details involve sensitive things that the police and victim wish to keep to themselves. We are just relieved that the woman survived, and hope that she can recover emotionally.

Jordan Busse is described as a 'survivor,' although we are not told what it is she survived. It probably does a disservice to group the victim who survived the knife-wielding assailant with Jordan Busse. Her ordeal may have been to be drunkenly groped at a college mixer. We are not told. We are empowered only to empathize with her, and champion her cause, lest we side with her "attacker."

Rolling Stone Shenanigans

The top NBC news story this morning was about the University of Virgina, which has suspended all fraternity activities for the rest of the year. This is in response to a 'Rolling Stone' article, which describes a violent gang rape at a fraternity house.

The aftermath of the assault describes a "disheveled girl hurrying down a side staircase, face beaten, dress spattered with blood..." This is the type of attack that would leave the victim shattered for life, and earn her assailants long prison terms. A heinous crime.

One detail about the alleged crime seems to stand out as possibly fabricated, thus casting doubt onto the entire story. "'Grab its motherfucking leg,' she heard a voice say." This sounds contrived, that these men were so evil they didn't even consider her human.

For years now, the feminist memebots have been pushing some insidious ideas. That our society is a 'rape culture,' and my current favorite, #teachmennottorape. Teach men not to rape.

We already teach men not to rape. It's called socialization. We hold men accountable.

The 'Rolling Stone' article must be viewed through the lens of marxist critical theory. That is why UVA is a perfect setting for this little story. The university is described as "grounds of red-brick, white-columned buildings designed by founder Thomas Jefferson [that] radiate old-money privilege."

Our alleged victim, Jackie, is intimidated by the "overwhelmingly blond students." The fraternity where the alleged assault takes place "had a reputation of tremendous wealth."

The invocation of Jefferson is a dog-whistle to the crits. Jefferson, the slave-owning founding father, puts the lie to any American pretense of liberty and equality. Their root problem is 'white privilege.' I admit to having conflicted feelings about Jefferson, which I attempt to reconcile by remembering that he was not a god, he was an imperfect man who attempted to create a more perfect union.

The article is an attempt to devalue and undermine the fraternity system. The writer repeatedly uses the shorthand term, 'frat,' which all collegiate Greeks consider a slur. The fraternity system itself is an institution of exclusivity, and for this reason alone must be smashed.

The university system is called to account. The article repeats the false meme that, "one in five women is sexually assaulted in college..." If true, it would be a crime wave of tremendous proportions. Parents would never send their daughters away to college if it were true. This falsehood keeps being repeated and amplified. And it reminds us of Mark Twain's quote that there are three kinds of lies: "Lies, damned lies, and statistics."

This bogus statistic is based on a single study that has never been replicated. The study is based on responses to an email sent to students at just two universities, and includes as sexual assault acts such as "forced kissing." While no female should be subjected to "forced kissing," this is a clear misclassification, and seeks to do what 'Rolling Stone' magazine has furthered: the institution of a moral panic.

Celestial Bodies

In elliptical orbit around the sun, an icy rock continues its journey. People on our rock, earth, notice the celestial body, and focus their energies upon it. Rockets are launched toward it, and ground controllers plot their trajectories. A craft named Philae makes a gentle landing upon the surface. The brotherhood of man has made contact with the cosmos.

The reasons for this endeavor are many. Scientists curious about whether similar comets seeded our planet with water, want to understand what it is made of. Other scientists see an object like this as a potential impact threat to our planet.

Of all the reasons to intercept this comet, one at aphelion may be to encourage female gravitation to the hard sciences. Yet, supposed disservice to that has loosed the molten core of feminist rage toward a project scientist, because he displayed a shirt featuring attractive women on it.

Feminism has lost its way. The noble purpose of early feminists was equality of opportunity. Somewhere along the way, its programming became corrupted. Feminists now see any lack of equality of outcomes, as evidence of male hegemony. Since this dominance is intrinsically linked to male sexuality, any expressions of this sexuality must be smashed.

Rational people are starting to notice this totalitarianism, and are pushing back. Time Magazine published the results of a poll, which asked which words should be banned. The top answer was the word, 'feminist.' People realize that an ideology which believes men are obsolete, is inherently offensive.

When we look back at this year, we may see the beginning of oppositional force being applied to radical feminism. It was applied by Matt Taylor's socially awkward brethren, gamers. The people who play video games were awakened on August 28 by dozens of articles in industry journals that declared them dead.

Gamers responded to this attack with attacks of their own, on social media. Unfortunately, some female social justice warriors found themselves threatened online, and their personal information published. Since SJW's are notorious for false flag operations and the use of proxies, and there has not been any actual violence, I will withhold further speculation about the source of these attacks. I would never condone such attacks, only note in passing that the tactics of personal destruction were perfected by the radical left. If you are against doxxing, then don't dox anyone.

Comic Book Store

I had a dream about a comic book store last night. I only just realized that this is a recurring dream. Therefore, my subconscious is communicating with me, and I feel tasked with understanding what it is saying.

One of the most satisfying dreams I ever had was about thirty years ago. I was a late-season call-up to the major leagues. I hit a home run in what amounted to a handful of plate appearances. I remember vividly seeing the ball disappear just beyond the fence, and circling the bases. I wouldn't mind having that dream again, every now and then.

About two years ago, I had a dream where I was back in college, and was in a co-ed sleepover. When in my dream I stirred, there were young women sleeping all around me, and the one next to me was mine. I wouldn't mind having that dream again, every now and then.

Last night, I dreamed that I walked into a comic book store, seeking a specific type of comic book. They had only one type on the shelf, a cheesy 'Star Wars' graphic novel. The type of comic book I seek is from the late 1960's and early 1970's. My friend Ed Stover exposed me to these comic books one day when we browsed this book store in Pasadena, which had a huge section of all sorts of comics.

One of my favorites back then was 'Richie Rich,' the story of a super rich kid and his dog, Dollar. They do good deeds. Another one of my favorites was 'Weird War.' A soldier behind enemy lines finds himself facing an army of undead Nazis, for example. I also read every 'Mad' magazine. On one family vacation, I kept myself busy on long car rides, day after day, with a copy of 'Mad,' and a copy of 'Wierd War.' I read them over and over again. I would challenge myself to notice one new thing each time.

Sometimes this dream takes place in Montrose, the town next to my old hometown. I go from store to store, looking for comic books, but the shelves are always empty, or they have roadmaps or atlases or other publications, but never the specific type of comic I am looking for.

Perhaps on my way home from work today, I will divert to Paras newsstand. Or perhaps not. I have followed mindless quests before to the point of madness. But there is a feeling of being impelled to search, to seek, and ultimately, to understand.

The Parisienne

The Parisienne has disappeared, for good it appears. It used to be parked on Conrad. I walked by it every day with Cayce Jones and Inara.

It was one of those cars that you don't notice. Painted primer gray, it had few identifiable features. Front and back license plates were both missing. The interior didn't have so much as a gum wrapper. The windshield had a yellow sticker that granted Naval Base access, for the year 1997. Perhaps I could have glanced at the dashboard to see if there was a VIN, but that would have ruined the mystery.

Sometimes I would be walking the pair, and the Parisienne wasn't there. I wondered what types of errands the owner of the car used it for. I considered the mundane and the nefarious. If the owner was out scoring drugs, it was a very non-descript vehicle. But the lack of provenance would rightfully produce curiosity in a policeman.

Maybe the owner was a little old lady who used the car to pick up her prescriptions, or visit her grandchildren. That way, when she was inevitably stopped and questioned, there would at least be a slight chance the officer would let her on her way. When the car was out, I always wondered if it was on its last voyage.

Yet time after time, the vehicle found its way back to its usual parking spot. Maybe the car has a cloak of invisibility, and only I can see it.

Alas, it's been a gone a month. The Parisienne won't be coming back this way, ever.

Fifty-Two Card Pickup

From Althouse

It's official: "everyone... in the country who wants to be married is legally able."
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — with 6 children and 10 years into their relationship and after saying they would not marry until "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able" — have married.

Should they not have waited until the Supreme Court releases the virtually undoubtedly forthcoming decision declaring a right of same-sex couples to marry? Ah, we're close enough! And is the Supreme Court really a more authoritative expositor of American rights that Brad and Angelina?

It is emphatically the province and duty of pop culture icons to say what the law is.




Blogger chillblaine said...

The only thing missing from this story was the wedding envelope from GLAAD stuffed full of cash and in-kind. And it validates what I have said recently, that in order to normalize a dysfunctional behavior, first the corresponding functional behavior must be torn down. It's Critical Theory 101.

This wedding does not consecrate anything. At best, it gives Angelina a chance to reset the shot clock on Brad's next consort. Really, is there anything more hollow than a Hollywood marriage? Brad and Angelina haven't celebrated it, they have mocked it and turned it into a nakedly political event.

Mary, so great to see you back. I always preferred full moderation anyway. You seem to be arguing that children of homosexual unions are no worse off than children of divorce. Talk about damning with faint praise! Comparing them with one of the most destructive dysfunctions imaginable! That's Progress!

8/28/14, 7:37 PM Delete





Blogger Mary E. Glynn said...

Mary, so great to see you back. I always preferred full moderation anyway. You seem to be arguing that children of homosexual unions are no worse off than children of divorce. Talk about damning with faint praise! Comparing them with one of the most destructive dysfunctions imaginable! That's Progress!
-----------------
No Asshole,
that's what happens when the professor deletes half the thread because she wants to appear as though her arguments hold water.

You see, when the discussion gets going, she has to jump in and "protect" you people. You're not intellectually qualified to respond to honest arguments and ann gets that.

She had to delete half the thread, while leaving some of your half-assed arguments up, so you people will still come here and think she's supportive of your views. LOL.

So sure, you win the thread then. With a big assist from the neutral refs. This is what passes for intellectual argumentation in Wisconsin. Selective deletions.

8/28/14, 7:44 PM


Yay! Thread Winner! It really must be my birthday! As of now, this specimen has written

Blogger Mary E. Glynn said...
somefeller said...

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

about eighty times.

Happy Birthday To Me!!