Bleeding from the Bunghole

[FrankGrimes]

Oddly enough, FfTB network is down as well as my Skeptischism site. Atlas Network seems to be down as well so I wonder if there's something bigger going on.

Do those sites all have something in common? I'm not a techie by any means but I didn't think they did, which would be very odd indeed.

[mordacious1]

I think Brayton just pushed the wrong button again. They should remove access from him.

[FrankGrimes]

Atlas network seems fine to me.

[Tribble]

<snip>

I do think there's room for critical discussion of gaming. But at the end of the day it has to come from a perspective of love for the medium, not a perspective of hate.

The problem is that it's 'rock and roll' and the morality brigade all over again. As a gamer, I've been in the cross-hairs of the left and the right for better part of 30-years now. And I'm sick and tired of bloviating wankers talking about shit they don't understand and, frequently, based on stuff that's obsolete, all while making their ludicrous attempts at shaming and control based on lies and confirmation bias.

[Tribble]

So, I'm not big on shooters, slashers, etc. I prefer a game where you have to solve puzzles to move on, e.g. Indiana Jones is in a tomb and has to climb, push things around, find objects, etc in order to open the door to the next room, that kind of thing. Taking out a few Nazis along the way is fine, as long as it's not blasting your way through the game. Several shooters that my son has, the puzzles consist of opening a box to find bigger and better weapons, that gets repetitive to me.

Any suggestions? And oh, I no longer have Xbox, Nintendo...since the boy keeps forgetting to plug them into surge protectors and I got tired of replacing the power units...so out they went. They don't seem to make a lot of games for PC anymore.

I don't play adventure games anymore. But I of some good recent titles:

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
The Walking Dead (it's a tie-in with the TV show).
Portal 2

But it's not like the days of Zork and Myst and what-not. Your best bet is to get a Steam account and look for some good independent offerings. (And there are a lot of offernings. I just don't know what's good and what's not.)

[Karmakin]

<snip>

I do think there's room for critical discussion of gaming. But at the end of the day it has to come from a perspective of love for the medium, not a perspective of hate.

The problem is that it's 'rock and roll' and the morality brigade all over again. As a gamer, I've been in the cross-hairs of the left and the right for better part of 30-years now. And I'm sick and tired of bloviating wankers talking about shit they don't understand and, frequently, based on stuff that's obsolete, all while making their ludicrous attempts at shaming and control based on lies and confirmation bias.

Yup. That's one of the things that bothers me about SJW-dom in general actually. For all the talk about intersectionality and power dynamics, there's a lack of understanding of how one's social grouping plays a big role in that. Gaming and gamers have been shit on for decades now...and while that's been changing over the last few years, there's still decades worth of hurt and mistrust to overcome here.

Not that i think that the hurt and mistrust is always expressed in a useful or constructive fashion...I often think it's not...but it's something that's there and has to be acknowledge. When people go around triggering this shit (like Sarkeesian did), it's going to have an expected response. If these people are demanding that people tip-toe around their triggers...why are they not tip-toeing around everybody else?

Oh wait. Privilege and entitlement. Right.

[JackRayner]

All this talkin' about videogames is reminding me that I'm not much of a gamer anymore. I had to stop buying games when I realized they were beginning to stack up pretty high without being finished or even played past the first checkpoint/save point. The only reason I'm on here much is because I'm always working from my laptop and going from Photoshop to Chrome is single click away.

By contrast, booting up my PS3 and playing a game which might suck me in is too much of a commitment. I miss not being an adult. :|

[dogen]

<snip>

I do think there's room for critical discussion of gaming. But at the end of the day it has to come from a perspective of love for the medium, not a perspective of hate.

The problem is that it's 'rock and roll' and the morality brigade all over again. As a gamer, I've been in the cross-hairs of the left and the right for better part of 30-years now. And I'm sick and tired of bloviating wankers talking about shit they don't understand and, frequently, based on stuff that's obsolete, all while making their ludicrous attempts at shaming and control based on lies and confirmation bias.

I think Halo is a tool of the patriarchy. When Eh kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything, eh is just flaunting xis Fearless Spartan privilege. Discuss.

[SPACKlick]

The fact is Sarkessian had 160 grand fall into her lap. There are countless indie programmers out there that could have turned out a significant piece of work with much less than that. The bravest and most respect-worthy thing Sarkessian could have done is produced a role model game for others to emulate. Why didn't she?

Because she doesn't have the skill, knowledge or talent to do such a thing. And she didn't even say that she would do such a thing. All she promised were her videos. I'm all for taking her to task where she has erred. But she never promised to make a game with the money.

But for laughs, evidently EA has determined that she will be working on the next Mirror game with Dice.

Nevertheless it was an enormously lost opportunity.

Instead of having stretch goals of making 12 videos when 1 - 3 would do, she could easily have turned that $160,000 into:

a) stipends / pay for 16 game specs
b) contest for game designers
c) angel money for game development

This would have had the effect of showing what feminist games without these abused tropes would look like, as well as helping jumpstart the industry, and would likely be far more productive than just producing more videos.

Um, it was such an obvious opportunity too, in answering the question "$160,000 we only asked for $5,000 what do we do now" that I find it reasonable to "take her to task" for it.

I would do the same if any dumbshit took $160,000 and blew it on videos for mens rights as opposed to organizing a rally, or what have you.

Take alook at what Extra Credits did when the support fund for their artist went supermassive. They started a publisher to get some games without the problems they hate in games published. Looks like it's not that hard to do...

[katamari Damassi]

I'd be curious to hear what you think about it. My friends wife(whom I refer to as "Vegan Nazi" because she considers it her job to judge what everyone else eats, including my 94 year-old father in declining health, "Well if he would just go vegan...")swears by that movie, and Food Inc. The problem is that T. Colin Campbell is one of the movie's producers and I find him to be rather suspect. Of course I find most of the vegan evangelists suspect; Dean Ornish(fundamentalist Hindu convert), John McDougal, and that doctor from the Cleveland Clinic whose name escapes me at the moment are all part of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a PETA front group. These doctors prioritize animal rights over human health but they're dishonest about it. They say that eating animal products is bad for you because they think it should be bad for you, at least karmically bad. Needless to say I have difficulty trusting the lot.

I'm very wary of people who push their dietary manifestos, vegan or otherwise, on others. A mostly vegan diet works for me in terms of maintaining a healthy weight and activity level, but that doesn't mean it would work for others. It also fits with my views on environmental issues and sustainability - that's where I was hoping the documentary would provide some insights or information, though it may very well be a PCRM vegan evangelical screed. We'll see!

I think my career as a cancer researcher working with animal models for inherited tumor syndromes has eliminated the karma argument. I also knit with a lot of animal fibers (including dog hair, which is not intentional).

A friend of mine has a coffee cup that says"Everything tastes better with dog hair."

[katamari Damassi]

Reminds me of some of the arguments I've had with anti-vegans.

Anti-vegans? I can see people objecting to a vegan diet for themselves, but why should it matter to them whether others adopt a vegan diet?

As an aside, I just ordered the Forks Over Knives DVD. Most of my meals are vegan, and I've eschewed overly processed foods for many years now, so it might be somewhat preaching to the choir, but it looked like an interesting documentary.

I suspect that anti-vegans might be arguing that raising animals for slaughter gives said animals 'the precious gift of life, if only for a short time.' Which is pretty fucked up, tbh.

I have had Forks Over Knives for a while now, need to watch it :) Food Inc. was interesting.

Evolutionary speaking, domesticated animals have had much more success than non domesticated species. There are a lot more cows around than aurochs.

[debaser71]

Just gonna say that "hurt" "mistrust" and "triggers" are feelings and words I'd never use to describe my "gamer experience". For me, not liking what is considered popular isn't something to be ashamed of. At some point most people learn to not give a shit what other people think...especially in regards to pop-culture and personal tastes. YMMV.

[Jonathan]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

[katamari Damassi]

Maybe because some vegans and other "green" folk give non green people shit about what they are eating or how their food is produced. I also find, and YMMV, if someone is vegan then their chances of being a left wing asshole are greater. Vegans are more likely to be anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, and against farming except for "organics". And note my non-absolutist language.

Anyway as I get older I enjoy eating meat less and less and I like deep dark green leafy vegetables...like kale more and more. A few years ago I "discovered" juicing and greenjuice. I drink kale. Yum.

I do green smoothies but find kale to be bitter so that it requires extra fruit to sweeten it. BTW-leafy greens are more nutricious when cooked. I like to sautée them in olive oil with garlic. I also like to make kale chips, but am not sure that baking them breaks down the oxalic acid sufficiently.

[another lurker]

Evolutionary speaking, domesticated animals have had much more success than non domesticated species. There are a lot more cows around than aurochs.

I kill aurochs for the skins and quest xp in LOTRO!!!!

[katamari Damassi]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

Interesting, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Silverman drank the kook-aid and lives in the upside down world of FfTB, so he's probably referring to the Pit though that makes no sense whatsoever.

[Huehuehue]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

Oooh now that's interesting, his post before that was:

"The abundance of anti-skepticism and anti-movement sentiment on-line is making me care MUCH LESS about what is written about me and my allies. So many cry wolf, so many times, it just becomes noise."

Very interesting, I've been away with some terrifying deadlines for clients due so I'm not in the loop so much right now. Could this be fallout from the whole Skepchick post about him and Dawkins "black balling" Watson?

[Southern]

I think we should add EllenBeth Wachs to the Witch of the Week. Just sayin....

Oh Adria Richards, what have you done?

[Southern]

So, I'm not big on shooters, slashers, etc. I prefer a game where you have to solve puzzles to move on, e.g. Indiana Jones is in a tomb and has to climb, push things around, find objects, etc in order to open the door to the next room, that kind of thing. Taking out a few Nazis along the way is fine, as long as it's not blasting your way through the game. Several shooters that my son has, the puzzles consist of opening a box to find bigger and better weapons, that gets repetitive to me.

Any suggestions? And oh, I no longer have Xbox, Nintendo...since the boy keeps forgetting to plug them into surge protectors and I got tired of replacing the power units...so out they went. They don't seem to make a lot of games for PC anymore.

Get and SNES emulator, play Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistral. Two great games with lots of puzzles, pure sprited goodness.

On the PS3, 3D Dot Game Hero is a Zelda homage with pixelated cubes instead of square pixels (because the Kingdom of Dotnia moved to three dimensions, ha, ha, you see how clever it is?), and it does a good job of being fun to play.

[Linus]

Reminds me of some of the arguments I've had with anti-vegans.

Anti-vegans? I can see people objecting to a vegan diet for themselves, but why should it matter to them whether others adopt a vegan diet?

As an aside, I just ordered the Forks Over Knives DVD. Most of my meals are vegan, and I've eschewed overly processed foods for many years now, so it might be somewhat preaching to the choir, but it looked like an interesting documentary.

People who vocally disagree with ethical veganism is what I meant.

[Southern]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

Oooh now that's interesting, his post before that was:

"The abundance of anti-skepticism and anti-movement sentiment on-line is making me care MUCH LESS about what is written about me and my allies. So many cry wolf, so many times, it just becomes noise."

Very interesting, I've been away with some terrifying deadlines for clients due so I'm not in the loop so much right now. Could this be fallout from the whole Skepchick post about him and Dawkins "black balling" Watson?

Well hello PZ Myers, David Silverman is apparently sick of your shit.

[John Greg]

Tribble said (http://www.slymepit.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 18#p130418):

One of hundreds of fixes that have been published. Most of them are the same fix. But some are not (depending if you're disk or steam or digital).... It's almost as if you're completely unaware of the modding/gaming community. And how little teams of hobbyists, in their spare time, fix these old games to run on modern systems.

For the record, I have tried the top three or four fixes (in particular, the three lines of INI change, and the compatibility fudge) and, like several other disappointed gamers, none of them worked for more than a few hours total game-play time. As far as I can determine, the fixes (all variant depending on systems specs etc.) only work consistently for more than a few hours game-play time for about somewhere between 30-40% of ongoing Fallout 3 players. And frustratingly, for me, I am not one of that group.

Also, I am not unaware of the modding community -- for example, I played Counterstrike for years, and have researched several mods/indie add-ons for some of the games I play (I also happily played through the latest Doom and Doom II rehashes a few months ago). However, it is true that I am unaware of the indie game writing (original games as opposed to modding) community. But some of the other folks here have pointed to some resources for me to dig into.

[katamari Damassi]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

Oooh now that's interesting, his post before that was:

"The abundance of anti-skepticism and anti-movement sentiment on-line is making me care MUCH LESS about what is written about me and my allies. So many cry wolf, so many times, it just becomes noise."

Very interesting, I've been away with some terrifying deadlines for clients due so I'm not in the loop so much right now. Could this be fallout from the whole Skepchick post about him and Dawkins "black balling" Watson?

Well hello PZ Myers, David Silverman is apparently sick of your shit.

Again, don't get your hopes up. This is Silverman we're talking about. If he breaks Peezus(and thats a big if)the best you can expect from him is a half-assed "pox on both your houses" statement.

[Ericb]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

Oooh now that's interesting, his post before that was:

"The abundance of anti-skepticism and anti-movement sentiment on-line is making me care MUCH LESS about what is written about me and my allies. So many cry wolf, so many times, it just becomes noise."

Very interesting, I've been away with some terrifying deadlines for clients due so I'm not in the loop so much right now. Could this be fallout from the whole Skepchick post about him and Dawkins "black balling" Watson?

Well hello PZ Myers, David Silverman is apparently sick of your shit.

Couldn't he be talking about the Pyt?

[Kareem]

Couldn't he be talking about the Pyt?

No, we're the hyper-skeptics. The hyper is what makes us bad.

[John Greg]

FrankGrimes said (http://www.slymepit.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 31#p130431):

So to whoever said this:

"In that sense...." Dumb cunt.

Actually, I am not wrong so much as mis-stated and overly simplistic and incomplete.

Anyone who denies that the commercial side of the music industry is not a corporate machine knows nothing about what they are talking about. That being said....

Yes, there are some independent musicians who have some success within the music industry as independents, and who can actually make something of a living at it. But they are very far and few between, and the "living" sure ain't what it used to be. Fuck, it was even once possible to make a reasonable living playing in bars, but those days are long gone.

As I say, the number of independent musicians who can actually make a living at it is very, very small. Some of Canada's most successful independent musicians still need to crash on people's couches when touring Europe, for example, because the pay is so low they cannot afford proper accomodation. And income from things like record sales (almost seems mythological now) and the various forms of writer's publishing/performance rights have almost vanished.

Oh, and by the way, Frank, I was a professional working musician for much of my life (mid 70s to early 90s, and beyond), and although I took time away from it between 1992 and 2003 (to try and earn a living), as recently as 2005 and 2006 I was still performing live, and writing and recording music. So no, not a dumb cunt, just someone with different personal experience and perspective than you and your successful friends.

Oooh! Look! Frank has friends who are successful in the music business. I guess everyone in the world can be successful in the music business now ... unless they're dumb cunts like me.

[Linus]

Reminds me of some of the arguments I've had with anti-vegans.

Anti-vegans? I can see people objecting to a vegan diet for themselves, but why should it matter to them whether others adopt a vegan diet?

As an aside, I just ordered the Forks Over Knives DVD. Most of my meals are vegan, and I've eschewed overly processed foods for many years now, so it might be somewhat preaching to the choir, but it looked like an interesting documentary.

I'd be curious to hear what you think about it. My friends wife(whom I refer to as "Vegan Nazi" because she considers it her job to judge what everyone else eats, including my 94 year-old father in declining health, "Well if he would just go vegan...")swears by that movie, and Food Inc. The problem is that T. Colin Campbell is one of the movie's producers and I find him to be rather suspect. Of course I find most of the vegan evangelists suspect; Dean Ornish(fundamentalist Hindu convert), John McDougal, and that doctor from the Cleveland Clinic whose name escapes me at the moment are all part of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a PETA front group. These doctors prioritize animal rights over human health but they're dishonest about it. They say that eating animal products is bad for you because they think it should be bad for you, at least karmically bad. Needless to say I have difficulty trusting the lot.

Never seen Food Inc. or Forks Over Knives, but I'm suspicious of such films and wary of health vegan advocates in general. Then again, I'm suspicious of pretty much any health claim made about anything. Too much BS out there to accept anything without really researching it.

Food morals are one of the best displays of subjective morality. Peoples food morals shift about all the time and the most pretentious vegan can change their morals at the smell of a bacon sandwich.
The only food moral that I have been able to maintain is - You should not waste food.
I think that it is possible to make a good argument for cannibalism being morally right. I have seen an argument for eating endangered animals(, which I personally don't think it is entierly valid)!
My position is that you can eat what you like, but I usually take an Anti-vegan position because vegans seem to think they have some higher functioning moral compass that other people should follow.

Really? Most vegetarians and vegans I've known have not been anywhere near so fickle as you describe. My parents I've been vegetarian for over half their life. And most vegans I've known have been at it for at least several years.

Disdain for people who attempt to live more ethically by their own standards on account of reasoning like "they must think they're better than us" is an interesting, but not very encouraging phenomena. Since I drive, should I be opposed to the idea of taking the bus and/or riding a bike for the purposes of reducing pollution because "those people think they're so great and that makes me mad"?

Maybe because some vegans and other "green" folk give non green people shit about what they are eating or how their food is produced. I also find, and YMMV, if someone is vegan then their chances of being a left wing asshole are greater. Vegans are more likely to be anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, and against farming except for "organics". And note my non-absolutist language.

Anyway as I get older I enjoy eating meat less and less and I like deep dark green leafy vegetables...like kale more and more. A few years ago I "discovered" juicing and green juice. I drink kale. Yum.

True indeed. Personally I have no problem with GMOs, non-organic produce, vaccines and the like. Although I am a left wing asshole. Vegans in general are more likely (though it's far from universal) to hold crazy left-wing positions than omnivores are. Vegans are also less likely to hold crazy religious beliefs (more likely to be atheist) and more likely to be secular progressives. It's only fair to point out the good along with the bad. Of course both the good and the bad are generalizations that often don't hold true. There is a good blogger who goes by "skepticalvegan" (skepticalvegan.com) who argues with anti-fluouride people, anti-vaccers and so on as well as tackling various vegan-related subjects.

[JackRayner]

While it's still sorta-topical:

[youtube]1WD6ikigeJA[/youtube]


:popcorn:

[Service Dog]

If Silverman firmly and explicitly renounces PZ & Team Ladyvictim,

I'll chip-in toward buying Vacula a Platinum Life Membership.

Who's with me?

It's $12,000.

If Shermer sells his bike, we're halfway there!
Hallelujah! :pray:


https://www.atheists.org/life-membership

[Dave2]

Couldn't he be talking about the Pyt?

Doubt it - the "business model that invites drama" thing he's moaning about doesn't really apply.

Which isn't to say he's fond of the Pit. He was pretty furious regarding it during his rant at Justin V.

But I doubt it's what's on his mind ATM.

[Guest]

If Silverman firmly and explicitly renounces PZ & Team Ladyvictim,

I'll chip-in toward buying Vacula a Platinum Life Membership.

Who's with me?

It's $12,000.

If Shermer sells his bike, we're halfway there!
Hallelujah! :pray:


https://www.atheists.org/life-membership

Hmmm...sounds like a great Kickstarter campaign in the making.

On the other hand, I really can't see him freely acknowledging WHO is awful and pointing out WHY. Even though they named him as a sexual predator. Which no one on his Facebook seems to be bringing up.

[Southern]

Again, don't get your hopes up. This is Silverman we're talking about. If he breaks Peezus(and thats a big if)the best you can expect from him is a half-assed "pox on both your houses" statement.

I know, I know. But their lack of self-awareness is kinda impressive. It's too funny to see Silverman rambling about "anti-skeptics" while being BFF with PZ Myers, ex-skeptic and new-PoMo convert.

[Southern]

Couldn't he be talking about the Pyt?

No, we're the hyper-skeptics. The hyper is what makes us bad.

Besides, I noticed he's ranting about an "anti-movement sentiment", which... is that supposed to be a bad thing? Good news, everyone: you now are all required to filliate yourselves to a movement! Just like Christianity! You need to belong!

Fuck you, Silverman, you dumb mangina.

[Tony Parsehole]

Hey, David Silverman. I see you're (very ambiguously) denouncing drama bloggers and shit stirrers? Well, better late than never I suppose.
Here, have a song:
[youtube]MCQ7VLoY7bQ[/youtube]

By the way...You're ambiguity is pointless and looks (to me) like a cowardly, transparent attempt at shielding yourself from reprisals. Be direct or don't bother. The usual suspects are going to fuck with your reputation and then lynch you anyway. It's just a question of when.

[Søren Lilholt]

I'd be curious to hear what you think about it. My friends wife(whom I refer to as "Vegan Nazi" because she considers it her job to judge what everyone else eats, including my 94 year-old father in declining health, "Well if he would just go vegan...")swears by that movie, and Food Inc. The problem is that T. Colin Campbell is one of the movie's producers and I find him to be rather suspect. Of course I find most of the vegan evangelists suspect; Dean Ornish(fundamentalist Hindu convert), John McDougal, and that doctor from the Cleveland Clinic whose name escapes me at the moment are all part of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is a PETA front group. These doctors prioritize animal rights over human health but they're dishonest about it. They say that eating animal products is bad for you because they think it should be bad for you, at least karmically bad. Needless to say I have difficulty trusting the lot.

I'm very wary of people who push their dietary manifestos, vegan or otherwise, on others. A mostly vegan diet works for me in terms of maintaining a healthy weight and activity level, but that doesn't mean it would work for others. It also fits with my views on environmental issues and sustainability - that's where I was hoping the documentary would provide some insights or information, though it may very well be a PCRM vegan evangelical screed. We'll see!

I think my career as a cancer researcher working with animal models for inherited tumor syndromes has eliminated the karma argument. I also knit with a lot of animal fibers (including dog hair, which is not intentional).

I do have a certain respect for those who are willing to speak up for their anti-meat stance. The argument "it's in our nature so it's ok" isn't good enough, since could be applied to any number of barbaric practices/customs that the civilised world rightly abhors. I can't, personally, see a good moral justification for killing concious, intelligent species for food when vegan alternatives are available.

Unfortunately, though, I'm a selfish asshole, so the ethical dilemma evaporates the minute I remember Burger King is a thing. If I could (be bothered to try and) give up meat, I would.

[Gefan]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

[feathers]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

Epic. Now I really want to see that blocked fucker.

[16bitheretic]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

http://i1322.photobucket.com/albums/u58 ... a411c4.gif

[Zenspace]

So, I'm not big on shooters, slashers, etc. I prefer a game where you have to solve puzzles to move on, e.g. Indiana Jones is in a tomb and has to climb, push things around, find objects, etc in order to open the door to the next room, that kind of thing. Taking out a few Nazis along the way is fine, as long as it's not blasting your way through the game. Several shooters that my son has, the puzzles consist of opening a box to find bigger and better weapons, that gets repetitive to me.

Any suggestions? And oh, I no longer have Xbox, Nintendo...since the boy keeps forgetting to plug them into surge protectors and I got tired of replacing the power units...so out they went. They don't seem to make a lot of games for PC anymore.

I was never much of a gamer, although I did my time in the arcades (Defender!) and some of the earlier computer based games. The one that finally got me hooked for a couple of years was the pc based Mechwarrior series. I've blown through the entire bunch of them - but never online against live opponents. There are several versions of these coming online now (yay!). You can see some out-takes real-time video missions on youtube (search on 'mechwarrior') and they look like they have some real potential.

After I'd gone through all the various iterations I started playing a lot less (don't really have the time for it anymore) but settled into an occasional 'instant action' mission format. I would set up a 3-4 member wolfpack based on a modified Bushwacker chassis: fast, maneuverable, jump jet capability, good firepower punch for the weight and decent for both long and close range hits. Big fun and a great way to blow off steam at the end of a long day was to run just a couple of missions.

Been a while since I fired that sucker up. Should give it a go for old times sake.

Oh, to keep it on track - totally gender neutral. The female mech pilots were every bit as capable as the males. I would select pack members based strictly on experience and ability. Gender never mattered one bit. Good game, that - all about the machines!

[piginthecity]

That was very very good, Gefan

[Guestus Aurelius]

I do have a certain respect for those who are willing to speak up for their anti-meat stance. The argument "it's in our nature so it's ok" isn't good enough, since could be applied to any number of barbaric practices/customs that the civilised world rightly abhors. I can't, personally, see a good moral justification for killing concious, intelligent species for food when vegan alternatives are available.

Unfortunately, though, I'm a selfish asshole, so the ethical dilemma evaporates the minute I remember Burger King is a thing. If I could (be bothered to try and) give up meat, I would.

I'm pretty much in exactly the same place.

Re: dark green vegetables, the toaster oven is king. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus, oh my! Carrots, too... a little caramelization does wonders for carrots. The toaster oven must be the most underrated kitchen appliance.

On an unrelated note, I want to apologize again for Sarkeesian triggering so many of you. I really am quite ignorant on the subject and should have just kept my mouth shut. I also didn't know that it was a topic that had been discussed at length at the 'pit (I'm new). Mea culpa.

(On the plus side—for me, at least—I learned a lot from your responses.)

[JAB]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

Now that's an epic tour de farce right there.

[piginthecity]

I wonder exactly what Silverperson means by Anti-Movement sentiment ?

Is it a reference to the Atheist Mysogeny meme perhaps ? Or does he mean opposition to the idea that Atheism itself is a movement ?

I would have thought that, given his position within American Atheists he would be happy to tolerate people who don't see Atheism as a movement itself, because nothing American Athiests does hinges on that. Those individuals can still join AA if they want to. The organisation carries on whether 'Atheism' is a moverment or not.

It's people like Carrier, who don't have any leadership role but want to be seen as leaders (without doing any of the work or getting any of the votes) who need to push this idea that there's something called 'Atheism' which is a movement (and has leadership vacancies). Is Silverman's latest statement a support of the Carrier position, and if so, why ?

[JackRayner]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

:think:

To be sure, this is not about all bloggers. There are many writers out there who blog, get paid, and do not just look for hooks to create drama. They know who they are. My point is, so should we.

Yeah, well, maybe if you weren't being such a passive aggressive little bitch, you'd tell us who you're talking about and be done with it.

:violin:

[feathers]

I wonder exactly what Silverperson means by Anti-Movement sentiment ?

The fact that many think that the Gnu Feminists are rather lazy perhaps? Or constipated?

[JackRayner]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

:lol: Damn you, you cunt! I'm barely 2 minutes into it and I can't stop laughing!

Major props, man! :clap:

[JAB]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

:think:

To be sure, this is not about all bloggers. There are many writers out there who blog, get paid, and do not just look for hooks to create drama. They know who they are. My point is, so should we.

Yeah, well, maybe if you weren't being such a passive aggressive little bitch, you'd tell us who you're talking about and be done with it.

:violin:

He might just be feeling a little too flammable at the moment. Although, flammability of others never stopped him from throwing matches.

[JAB]

Anyone know what exactly has prompted this from Silverman?

:think:

To be sure, this is not about all bloggers. There are many writers out there who blog, get paid, and do not just look for hooks to create drama. They know who they are. My point is, so should we.

Yeah, well, maybe if you weren't being such a passive aggressive little bitch, you'd tell us who you're talking about and be done with it.

:violin:

He might just be feeling a little too flammable at the moment. Although, flammability of others never stopped him from throwing matches.

Oh, and Jack... you spelled witch wrong.

[Aneris]

Gefan, absolutely brilliant, "perhaps mercifully fuzzy"
:clap: :clap: :clap:

[LurkerPerson]

I especially liked the "glasses spontaneously refilling with wine against the will of the owner, of kindergarten ceramics miracuously transforming into cold hard cash". XD

[James Caruthers]

Yeah, I generally think that's a young-man, full-of-crap answer. People like to gender-bend because its' fun for both sexes (women do it too). I know more hard-core, male-power-gamers who like to play 'dress up' with their female characters and spend most of the money they earn on different outfits. And they're not necessarily even 'sexy' outfits. Just a wide variety of outfits.

So, while I've heard the excuse, what I've seen, for all their macho talk (at least with the guys), is that it's not much about the pixelated asses and is much more about playing dress-up. Something that, as boys, they weren't/aren't 'allowed' to do without sever social consequences in the real world.

My female Dragon's Dogma main character says you are right. :lol: I'm constantly fiddling with her clothes to make sure I look nice for my date with three evil drakes.

[piginthecity]

Can I post to say how much I bloody hate the term 'Mangina' and I think anyone who uses it is an idiot. (I know someone's going to say That's because you are one)

Firstly, it betrays some sort of childish dislike for female reproductive organs. How you can go there and expect to be taken seriously I don't know. Secondly, it's such a cheap dig to imply that a man who tries to see things from a woman's perspective must be effeminate or less of a man. Thing is, there are some ways in which women's experience is different from that of men's and it's pretty much obligatory to make some effort to see things through other people's eyes and to listen to people from other demographics within reason.

I know that some of our brothers have fallen for victim narratives and have bought into it, perhaps with some self-loathing element, and I know that another group like to see themselves as avenging white knights. These are misguided, and mockery is sometimes appropriate, but it has to be good mockery and not this adolescent playground shit !

[Random Lurker]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

I was literally laughing out loud at my desk at work while watching this. Absolutely brilliant!

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[Tribble]

Since the final Clownfall chapter has to sit in a file, gathering dust until the conclusion of the Shermer lawsuit, we present instead the Abbie Smith Memorial Documentary from the year 925 ASE (After Space Elevator).

They serve coffee in Space Elevators, by the way.

[youtube]LRtvU20NqU4[/youtube]

Wow, that was great.

[justinvacula]

Perhaps Silverman had a revelation? Maybe that Tumblr accusation turn on the light...

[JackRayner]

According to the turd [it's a freeze page], a flagging campaign by RadFems has gotten his precious Block Bot suspended. :lol:

[James Caruthers]

Can I post to say how much I bloody hate the term 'Mangina' and I think anyone who uses it is an idiot. (I know someone's going to say That's because you are one)

I definitely agree. This word pisses me off and it's use in the MRM is one of the big reasons I will never publicly associate with them. Because I've been to their message boards and seen the way they talk about women and men who are sympathetic with women's issues when they think no women are looking. "Mangina" is a disgusting way to refer to someone. It is a shaming tactic just like the FTBloggers saying "dudebro" "sister punisher" "rape apologist" and "chill girl."

There was recently some drama with A Voice For Men, which solidified in my mind that AVfM and many other MRA organizations are just as chock-full of pretend victim bullies and victim narratives as the radical feminists. I'm well aware there are real men's issues and I'll happily work on them with anyone who agrees (I believe in a big tent approach,) but I won't publicly associate with AVfM because of shit like this:

[youtube]AX-och5h8kY[/youtube]

Off-topic, I find it funny that Silverman, who went on Fox News multiple times to argue with people who believed he was going to be eternally tortured when he died... I find it funny that this guy is now afraid to come out and call the SJWs on their bullshit.

Oh, and if you go to pharyngula it brings up a bunch of weird code. I'm not computer savvy so I don't know what any of it means. Except, obviously, the site is down.

[Guest]

According to the turd [it's a freeze page], a flagging campaign by RadFems has gotten his precious Block Bot suspended. :lol:

Oolon is a mra! Omg, haha my fucking sides!

[Sulman]

Perhaps Silverman had a revelation? Maybe that Tumblr accusation turn on the light...

I am entirely tired of him, frankly. I wish he would put up or shut up. If he's annoyed with someone, he can bloody well say so. This bedwetting, passive aggressive display just makes him look weak.

[AndrewV69]

According to the turd [it's a freeze page], a flagging campaign by RadFems has gotten his precious Block Bot suspended. :lol:

http://nametheproblem.com/2013/08/25/ja ... mment-1760

bugbrennan August 25, 2013 at 8:36 pm

Go link on your own blog, sir. Your agenda here is clear – you are a men’s rights activist who believes in silencing lesbians and feminists. Have a nice day.

One can only imagine what reaction Oolon had upon being called a MRA. :lol: