frivolouswharf

[frivolouswharf]

OMG so fucking hilarious!

[frivolouswharf]

So.. about The Mist TV show....

So I finally got around to watching the first episode of the TV series based off of Stephen King’s short story The Mist. WOW was that terrible. It’s like someone off of the worst parts of Tumblr wrote a fanfic of the story after having had someone describe the premise to them. I understand that it’s normal to take some liberties with the source material when you adapt stuff for TV, but they essentially threw out pretty much everything except the idea that there’s some kind of mist with shit that can kill you in it. To top that all off, the characters are all completely 1-dimensional and mostly unlikeable.

There’s so many stereotypes in this thing that it’s a freaking joke. First off we have the main female protagonist who is a sex-ed teacher who is on suspension for teaching the kids about condoms yet won’t let her 16-year-old daughter go to parties for fear that she’ll have sex. Also, she’s such a stereotypical “strong womyns” that always knows best because vagina hats. Oh and of course there’s the stereotypical daughter who is completely innocent in the ways of things and who manages to puppy dog eye her dad into letting her go to a party where she is of course... drugged and raped by the quarterback that she’s been making moon-eyes at. Then there’s the stereotypical small town residents who immediately react to said rape by declaring that the girl is lying and even do the cliche “throw rocks through a window and spray paint ‘whore’ outside her house” crap. Then there’s the stereo-typically brutal small town police force that thinks it’s okay to just randomly beat up black soldiers who are obviously traumatized and to toss them, still handcuffed, into a cell overnight for no reason. And of course said police force is terribly sorry to have to take the quarterback rapist in for “routine questioning” about said rape, but they assure him that he won’t be serving any time. Then there’s the daughter’s friend who is an agendered pan-sexual who doesn’t get along with pretty much anyone but is sassy and “way too cool for this town”. Oh and his father refuses to talk to him when he’s wearing makeup. Also, for some reason the main guy and the main woman in the show trust their daughter with him implicitly and yet somehow don’t have any animosity towards him for letting their her get drugged and raped at a party even though they only allowed her to go because he was going with her. They do give a sleight nod to the source material by keeping Mrs Carmody, except instead of being a religious nut she is instead the tired stereotype of the small-town stay-at-home-mom busybody who is actually responsible for getting the main woman suspended over the condoms because “think of the children”. There’s also the tired trope of the tough and no-nonsense woman with a shady past who is 300% more capable than any other character on the show, but whom nobody trusts.

Basically this thing is a trainwreck. The first episode watched like every “very special episode” of Degrassi rolled into one. Oh and there was also killer mist for the last ten minutes. They also seem to be cheaping out with the effects, choosing to have the mist be some sort of physical manifestation of nature, punishing mankind for... ah who fucking cares? It’s basically just an excuse to throw in an environmentalist angle and so they can use stock animal and insect models to kill people instead of having an actual artist make neat-looking critters to do so.

All that being said, I will not be continuing to watch the show. If you like it, then great but I found it to be INCREDIBLY heavy-handed and contrived. It felt like the writers of the show learned everything they know about small towns from watching reruns of Saturday Night Lights and bad movies. The contempt shown for small towns is pretty pervasive throughout the show. Honestly, I found myself thinking a couple of times that “this kind of shit is why people think lefties are idiots”.

[frivolouswharf]

This podcast says everything I've noticed that has happened over the last few years. It even goes into the causes. Very good stuff.

[frivolouswharf]

I wish people would post more stories like this. Certainly there are black people that have a hard time finding success. Hell, I’m even willing to admit that there are a larger percentage of blacks than whites that have a hard time becoming successful. But by refusing to acknowledge African-Americans who do find success, we send the message out to young black Americans that they can’t make it or that the system is rigged against them. This just fosters resentment and incites racial tension. Successful black people should be celebrated, not hidden away like some dirty secret. Many are the ultimate manifestation of the American dream. Certainly there are plenty of poor blacks out there, but there are many poor whites too. I find it both disingenuous and disturbing that the vision that most people push of whites is of wealthy elites sipping wine in the Hamptons and that the vision of blacks is of urban inner-city children of single parents who are destined to become gang-banging drug addicts. The reality is that there is a lot of similarity between inner-city blacks and trailer park whites - and there are a lot more of those trailer park whites. As a society, we should want to help every American in need, and we should celebrate every American’s success. Ultimately we should be striving for a world in which a person’s color is the least important thing about them.

[frivolouswharf]

If you, like me, have been horrified by people who are supposedly "tolerant" and "open-minded" advocating violence towards people they disagree with, then this video is for you.

[frivolouswharf]

Posting on Twitter that you plan to stop the Russians from setting up moon bases to launch rocks at the United States from the moon… ooookaaaay, that’s not weird. /S

Having people point out that nukes would be cheaper and do more damage? Not surprising, since that’s true.

Arguing with detractors and essentially saying,  “Nuh Uh I have friends with PHDs that say it’s totes way more dangerous to launch rocks from the moon”… How old is this person?

Smugly posting a message from said friend with PHD demonstrating that “no it’s really more efficient to launch nukes and here’s the math on it” without actually READING said message that proves you don’t know what you’re talking about? Yeah that’s pretty damned priceless.

Is anyone taking this girl seriously in her bid for the Senate? Judging from how many of the comments on that Twitter post are agreeing with her, I’m kind of worried that there are people out there that just assume that she’s qualified for shit because she’s trans. There are many wonderful trans folks out there, and even many that would make fantastic legislators. Brianna Wu is NOT one of those.

[frivolouswharf]

This is a MUST READ in these current times. I don't particularly like Donald Trump, but the idea that he is Hitler is absurd.

[frivolouswharf]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMaaDav46gM)

[frivolouswharf]

Well Shit...

The election results are in and, for better or worse, Donald Trump is our new president. I’m sure that many people out there are scared, angry, sad, and overall shocked at this turn of events. My Facebook feed is pretty depressing right now.

All I can say is that, despite how you may feel on all this, America today is no different than the America of yesterday. We aren’t living in a racist totalitarian state any more than we were living in a golden era after the election of Obama. I think that this should serve as a wake-up call to a lot of us.

I’m going to say something that a lot of folks are not going to like hearing, but the real reason that the Democrats lost is because they’ve spent the last 8 years being smug self-righteous asses. We were all so caught up in the “rightness” of our "side” that we just assumed that nobody in their right mind could feel differently. Even now, rather than accept that maybe Trump simply had some points that resonated with some people or that Hillary had enough baggage that people weren’t comfortable with, we leap to label the other side as “racist”, “sexist”, “homophobic”, and a slew of other ugly words that may not be true at all.

I was not caught unprepared last night because I do something that a lot of my friends don’t. When I see someone make a post that doesn’t jibe with my politics I don’t get angry and immediately unfriend them. I read what they have to say and I put myself in their shoes. Occasionally I message them and ask them to elaborate. It’s not easy and many times it’s frustrating, but I think that it’s absolutely vital for us to progress as a country.

See, by not unfollowing those people and listening to what they have to say it gives me insight into what’s going on with their lives. As someone in the tech industry, I’ve noticed that many of us tend to cloister off with people that are just like us. That’s great and it’s normal BUT, it means we have a tendency to shut out those that aren’t like us. The last time I checked, shutting out people that aren’t like you is just segregation.

We have been living in a time where we focused so much on diversity of people that we stopped caring about diversity of ideas. When you form a plan, it’s important to hear ALL ideas, even the bad ones. Too many people on my side of the fence have labeled ideas they disagree with as automatically “bad” simply based on their source, and this needs to stop. The future exists for ALL of us and any plans we make need to take in input from all sides, even the sides we disagree with.

If you ask me why the Democrats lost last night, it’s because somewhere along the line, we stopped caring about or listening to the people we disagree with. Say what you want about Trump, but his message resonated with those people in our country who have become disenfranchised. He told them that he would listen to them. While Hillary was telling them they were obsolete, Trump was telling them that they weren’t old garbage that needed to be cleared away to make way for a new generation.

If you’re still reading this and haven’t just unfollowed me, I have a piece of advice for you. If you see someone you know who voted for Trump, don’t get angry at them. Don’t immediately assume they are a horrible person. Ask them why and listen to what they say in response. Then, if you feel like it, explain to them why you voted how you did. Have a conversation with that person as a person. THAT is how we will advance as a society. The future is a scary place and we need all hands on deck. No matter how right we may think we are, we can always learn from others.

[frivolouswharf]

This has been, by far, my favorite game purchase to date. The world is incredibly well thought out. I bought the art book along with the game and I've just been pouring over it. Every time I think I've seen it all, I see something new. The game has some of the best visual storytelling that I've ever seen. Each character's look tells more about the character than a thousand words could. Each corrupted minion of the others or avatar of one of the sins is so deliciously evocative of the evil power it serves, but in a way that is so unique and non-stereotypical that it is a work of art. The art and production values alone are phenomenal, but the game play complements it so well. I've seen reviewers complain that the rules aren't evocative of the richness of the game world, but I disagree. I think they're so used to a game relying on scenarios with reams of exposition to pull the players into the story. This game relies on the characters to do that. Brad's ability to eliminate an enemy by taking a corruption and placing a fire token make him that character that goes all psycho and nearly blows up everyone else in the building just to take out that squiggly beauty. You can almost imagine him turning to his companions and going, "Whas'a matta mate? We took tha bloody thing out din' we?". Leah's ability to dole out extra turn tokens totally represents her screaming out orders during combat and telling the other members of the squad to "move it!", like the hardened combat leader she is. Likewise, the various sins each have their own feel. The way lust doles out corruption to players that pair off, insinuating that they might be indulging in forbidden dalliances. The way that sloth reduces the movement of each character that engaged in combat gives the feeling that merely engaging its minions infect the humans with a toxic lethargy. In these ways, the game lets the players create the story and the narrative, rather than forcing one on them. In any case, I just can't say enough good things about this game. If you have a chance, pick it up. Be warned though. The game can get rough. The humans have a LOT stacked against them. The apocalypse is nigh and the game does not pull any punches. It's vital that they use every resource at their disposal to get the mission done, or our world is lost.

[frivolouswharf]

Were will you be when walleye strikes?

[frivolouswharf]

I’m sure some folks will disagree with this, but it really resonated wth me because I have always lived by the idea that it’s easy to defend opinions you agree with, but that it was important to defend opinions you disagree with since it’s important that the sentiment be reciprocated. I hear a lot of people saying that things, which ultimately harm nobody, should not be allowed because they are “bad” or “evil”. I remember a time, not so long ago, when these self-same attitudes were used to silence gays and other marginalized groups.

[frivolouswharf]

This is so much awesome!

The Stranger kids as their D&D counterparts. by Bob Al-Greene

[frivolouswharf]

As a rat owner, this is nothing new. When one of our kids is sick or doesn't feel well, the others will make a point to huddle up to them and keep them warm. Had one pass away while we went on a trip and the others had covered her body with bedding in the downstairs cage and wouldn't go near her. I'd heard all the horror stories about rats eating deceased ones, so it surprised me to see that.

Rat Empathy

Upworthy carried a story summarizing an experiment demonstrating that rats exhibit empathy. Why do I care about this? Because the graphics showing the experiment on Upworthy made me smile, and smiling is good. Here’s the link in case you want to watch the video embedded in the story.

Some scientists ran an experiment to demonstrate that. Here’s how it worked:

The scientists put a rat in water (which rats hate). Not enough to hurt the rat, but enough to annoy it.

Then they put another rat in a safer, dry area with a door it could open to save the first rat.

When the dry rat heard the damp, miserable rat get upset, she came to the rescue.

Still not satisfied with the result, the scientists ran a more complex test.

What if you bribe the dry rat with food? Will she ignore it to rescue the wet rat in the next chamber?

Scientists presumed it would be easier for the not-in-peril rat to take the obvious selfless route when it was given only one choice. But what if they gave her a delicious bribe (chocolate cereal) and then let her choose between saving her friend and a buffet?

The rats, by a significant margin, still usually saved their friend before getting their delicious bribe. What does that mean?

Rats might care more about each other than things like food, and that prioritization might be encoded in their DNA.

Why should we care about super-thoughtful rats?

It is often argued that humans are inherently selfish — that without guidance, we would all default to killing and stealing and an “every person for themselves” mentality. That we only help others if it helps us. That evolution can’t make us selfless; it’s something we have to force ourselves to do.

But if rats show human-like qualities (they laugh like us, they dream like us, they like to have selfless lovers) like altruism, that means it isn’t a human-learned behavior. It could be encoded in our DNA. It means humans could be empathetic and kind by default.

It also means that rats and humans have more in common than we think.

An adorable rat not spreading the plague and hugging a tiny teddy bear. Much empathy.

[frivolouswharf]

So a German study confirms what most actual gamers have known all their lives.

New Study Finds No Link Between Gaming And Sexist Attitudes

“A few days ago a German longitudinal study was published that explored the connection between gaming and sexist attitudes. The results broadly show that playing videogames doesn’t make people sexist.”

 “In order to ensure a degree of reliability in these findings, there are also two elements that should be highlighted. The first is the fact this was a longitudinal study and the second is who funded the research.

Longitudinal studies are undertaken over a period of time, with snapshots of data taken within that. In this instance large samples of participants from the age of 14 and up were included in three waves of testing over a few years, starting back in 2011. That’s a lot of data and, more importantly, it also predates any current controversy regarding the belief that playing games somehow makes people sexist.

As for who funded the research if it were a games publisher then that would call the study into question, as they would clearly have a vested interest in the results. In fact it was independently funded by the European Research Council.”

The study: “Sexist Games = Sexist Gamers? A Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between Video Game Use and Sexist Attitudes

ABSTRACT:

From the oversexualized characters in fighting games, such as Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden, to the overuse of the damsel in distress trope in popular titles, such as the Super Mario series, the under- and misrepresentation of females in video games has been well documented in several content analyses. Cultivation theory suggests that long-term exposure to media content can affect perceptions of social realities in a way that they become more similar to the representations in the media and, in turn, impact one’s beliefs and attitudes. 

Previous studies on video games and cultivation have often been cross-sectional or experimental, and the limited longitudinal work in this area has only considered time intervals of up to 1 month. Additionally, previous work in this area has focused on the effects of violent content and relied on self-selected or convenience samples composed mostly of adolescents or college students. 

Enlisting a 3 year longitudinal design, the present study assessed the relationship between video game use and sexist attitudes, using data from a representative sample of German players aged 14 and older (N=824). Controlling for age and education, it was found that sexist attitudes—measured with a brief scale assessing beliefs about gender roles in society—were not related to the amount of daily video game use or preference for specific genres for both female and male players. Implications for research on sexism in video games and cultivation effects of video games in general are discussed.”

[frivolouswharf]

Censorship is censorship. I’ll gladly defend garbage that I find horrible because I know that, once it’s okay to deny something to other people because you don’t like it, then it’s only a matter of time until someone uses it on something you DO like. Learn to disregard things you don’t approve of or agree with, instead of trying to prevent it from being allowed. It’s better for your stress levels and you won’t accidentally end up making it okay for zealots to get stuff banned that has no business being banned.

woah two comics in like, two days?????? outrageous. this level of productivity will not stand. at this rate, ill never best aaron diaz at being a lazy fuck.

heres atleast, like, two sources