- Exclusives
I get why they do it, I really do, if a developer and publisher signs a deal to only release their game on the XBox 360 with Microsoft, chances are Microsoft is throwing them some pretty hardcore scratch, which helps cut down the risk inherent in making games. So I do understand why it's done.
It still pisses me the hell off.
It might be good for the companies involved, but it dicks over the consumer. Quick question, what has been shown to be the one thing all consumers want? Book Buyers, Gamers, Coffee Lovers? What is the one thing they all want? Choice.
Choice is the backbone, give people choice and they'll love you for it, take away that choice and they might still buy your product but they'll be pissed off. You want to know my favourite eBook store? Amazon has the best range, and some of the cheapest prices, but it's not Amazon. It's Baen Books. They might not have the best range, but when it comes time to check out I get to decide what format I want it in. HTML? Got that. Lit? Got that. ePub? Got that? etc. Amazon gives me one choice, a shitty format that they control. It's annoying because it removes my choice. If I want to view in my browser with all my custom settings I can't when I buy from Amazon unless I break the law and hack the book.
The same is true of the games industry, if a game is only released on the 360 and you've got a PS3, well tough shit you're screwed unless you want to buy another console. If EA is only releasing the Digital Distribution version of a game you want using it's download service but you prefer Steam? Tough shit.
As I said above I understand why they do it, but that doesn't matter, it's not good for the customer so it sucks, and in the long run it hurts the companies too. I'd totally buy some of the games that are exclusive to the PS3, but I wont because I've got a 360, and leaving aside the merits of each console since both are fine machines, and I simply can't afford to buy a whole other console just for a handful of games.
It's different for online services without a cost, but it's also bad because it stifles competition, the reason people are going to use Origin isn't because it's better then Steam (though it might be), it's because you wont be able to buy EA games you want through Steam. So it means neither side has an incentive to improve their services, because people are locked in. Which is bad.
All that being said, there are non-harmful exclusives, which are called short-time exclusives, remember when we use to buy magazines? If you subscribed you'd get the mag a week before it hit the news stands, so you had an incentive to buy a subscription. Unfortunately no-one has realised doing the same thing in the Games Industry would be a good idea. Give a game a month headstart on the 360, or a month of only for sale on Steam. - MMO Boxes
As above I understand why MMO developers need to put out hardcover boxes of their games and expansions, the publishers and retailers want it in order to cash in, and I would be fine with that if they also offered a simple digital version, but they can't because said publishers and retailers would go apeship. Why should I need to go into a store to upgrade my MMO account to the latest expansion? It's not like I actually need the CD or DVD, everyone is going to come down via the patcher. Anarchy Online did it. It worked fine, it was great for the gamer, and for the company because people can simply upgrade when they see something they want in-game, without having time to cool off and think "nahh I don't really need that".
I've got to make an account with the game anyway, so why shouldn't I be able to simply pay them the same way as I pay my subscription. Hell some games don't even offer a standard upgrade for their trial accounts, which is the height of stupidity, because you really don't want to make a prospective customer work harder then needs be in order to buy your product. - Currency Points
I think this one is going to be pretty damn common. Microsoft points, Cryptic Points, Bioware Points, Buggery Points!
It's just plain stupid, you find what you want, but instead of being able to buy it, you've got to buy the points for your account, then buy the product, needlessly complicated.
Again I know why they do it, and in this case it's unethical to a large degree, you know how you can only buy points in blocks? 500? 1000? 2000? You also know how products are never those nice round numbers, but rather 1200, 320, etc? It's so that you're overpaying without thinking your overpaying, we've all grabbed something like that and got loose points floating around doing nothing. - Always Online Single Player
It's part of the "treat paying customers like criminals" DRM trend. Don't get me wrong I don't hate DRM, Steam is basically DRM with a store interface after all, but I hate DRM that gives the customer no advantage while taking away choice. It doesn't do shit to the pirates, because they've got a cracked version that they can play offline, it only screws with the paying customer and the trend needs to die a horrible death. I'm always online, my 'net connection is very good, so it's the pure principal of the thing, and of course the times when the god-damn servers they've got crash and you can't play what you paid for because you're being treated like a pirate. - In Game Pre-Order Bonus'
Pre-Order and collectors editions are great, they help the publishers and developers make some extra bank, they allow the retailers to bring in more stock and lower the risk of sales.
But I freaking hate pre-orders that give stuff in game, that stuff should be default. Pre-Order and Collectors editions should be things like books, making-of DVDs, posters, hell even the Night Vision Goggles that came with MW2 made me think about buying a game I had zero interest.
But an extra level? A different costume? That's bullshit and insulting.
Showing posts with label Rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rants. Show all posts
Things I hate about the Games Industry
Just a list of random thoughts I hate about the games industry, though some apply to other industries as well.
Jobs Australians Wont Do?
Okay so I'm watching the Colbert Report, very funny as always, but something came up, the often repeated phrase "they do the jobs Americans wont" and it reminded me of something that is said in Australia a fair bit as well, the problem is it's total bullshit.
It's not that Australians (and Americans) wont do the jobs commonly done by illegal immigrants, backpackers, and new immigrants, it's that they can't do those jobs, it's just not possible. Now let me explain, speaking from experience from where I live backpackers often come in and pick up seasonal work that use to go to local workers, they work for cheaper as they don't have to worry about paying the rent, putting food on the table, making sure their kids have something to wear, no, they just want some extra spending money on their holiday, so farms employee these workers at less then what it would cost for an Australian worker, great for the farm in the short term, horrible for the local economy.
The same can be said of other types of migrant workers all over the world, they are paid less then what the local people would expect for the same job, because they have lower over-heads, often times working for cash in hand ($100 cash in hand is worth more then $150 paid correctly, after tax, super, etc is taken out), this in turn drives down what farms are willing to pay, why should they pay local workers what they need in order to live if they can get workers for cheaper? This leads to the expression "they do the jobs XYZ wont do", which is patently false.
Now I'm not against migrants picking up work (well I am against backpackers, fuck off you cunts, you're either here working, in which case you should be paying tax, or here on holiday, stop trying to have it both), I just think that in order for it to be fair for local workers, and migrants the governments of the world need to pull their thumbs out and sort out this problem, by enforcing minimum wage, by enforcing fair treatment, by stopping the exploitation of migrant workers; doing that will not only help the migrant workers, but the local workers as well, because pay rates will go back to where they were, allowing them to take jobs they currently can't because the pay isn't enough to live on.
It's not that Australians (and Americans) wont do the jobs commonly done by illegal immigrants, backpackers, and new immigrants, it's that they can't do those jobs, it's just not possible. Now let me explain, speaking from experience from where I live backpackers often come in and pick up seasonal work that use to go to local workers, they work for cheaper as they don't have to worry about paying the rent, putting food on the table, making sure their kids have something to wear, no, they just want some extra spending money on their holiday, so farms employee these workers at less then what it would cost for an Australian worker, great for the farm in the short term, horrible for the local economy.
The same can be said of other types of migrant workers all over the world, they are paid less then what the local people would expect for the same job, because they have lower over-heads, often times working for cash in hand ($100 cash in hand is worth more then $150 paid correctly, after tax, super, etc is taken out), this in turn drives down what farms are willing to pay, why should they pay local workers what they need in order to live if they can get workers for cheaper? This leads to the expression "they do the jobs XYZ wont do", which is patently false.
Now I'm not against migrants picking up work (well I am against backpackers, fuck off you cunts, you're either here working, in which case you should be paying tax, or here on holiday, stop trying to have it both), I just think that in order for it to be fair for local workers, and migrants the governments of the world need to pull their thumbs out and sort out this problem, by enforcing minimum wage, by enforcing fair treatment, by stopping the exploitation of migrant workers; doing that will not only help the migrant workers, but the local workers as well, because pay rates will go back to where they were, allowing them to take jobs they currently can't because the pay isn't enough to live on.
The Burqa is insulting to Men!
Recently there has been some debate, sparked mainly by that idiot in Sydney, about banning the Burqa (the Muslim full head covering worn by women). There have been many comments on both sides, very few worth the air used to voice them, but one thing that stands out is the woman who said that women who wear them are "liberated", it was that that incensed me.
It harkens back to the comments made a few years ago by the moron who said that women who go around uncovered are asking to be raped, both statements are very insulting not just to women, not just to Australians, but to men, the male gender, as well.
It implies that we are slaves to our sexual organs, that we can not control ourselves, that we do not know right from wrong, that we are one step above animals looking for a place, if you'll forgive my vulgarity, to stick our dicks, regardless of the willingness of our partner; and that it is up to woman, the smarter, fairer, gender to hide themselves lest we loose control of ourselves.
To that, I say Bullshit, yes there are men who can not control themselves, yes there are men who murder, yes there are men who rape, but you know what, for every single man who acts like that there are a thousand, or more, who do not, who could not imagine doing such a thing.
For every man that strikes his spouse there are hundreds and thousands who find the very thought of doing so repugnant; for every sexual deviant who can only get aroused by violence there are uncounted men who would rather cut of their own sex organs then even contemplate doing something so hideous, for every criminal there are many more who live their lives in peace.
So, stop using us as an excuse, any man who claims that women should be forced to be covered lest he be overcome with lust is not a man, and needs to seek medical help; stop using your own inadequacy as an excuse for this repressive "tradition", and women on the side of this debate, if you want to wear it, fine, but don't place the blame on the millions of good men around you.
It harkens back to the comments made a few years ago by the moron who said that women who go around uncovered are asking to be raped, both statements are very insulting not just to women, not just to Australians, but to men, the male gender, as well.
It implies that we are slaves to our sexual organs, that we can not control ourselves, that we do not know right from wrong, that we are one step above animals looking for a place, if you'll forgive my vulgarity, to stick our dicks, regardless of the willingness of our partner; and that it is up to woman, the smarter, fairer, gender to hide themselves lest we loose control of ourselves.
To that, I say Bullshit, yes there are men who can not control themselves, yes there are men who murder, yes there are men who rape, but you know what, for every single man who acts like that there are a thousand, or more, who do not, who could not imagine doing such a thing.
For every man that strikes his spouse there are hundreds and thousands who find the very thought of doing so repugnant; for every sexual deviant who can only get aroused by violence there are uncounted men who would rather cut of their own sex organs then even contemplate doing something so hideous, for every criminal there are many more who live their lives in peace.
So, stop using us as an excuse, any man who claims that women should be forced to be covered lest he be overcome with lust is not a man, and needs to seek medical help; stop using your own inadequacy as an excuse for this repressive "tradition", and women on the side of this debate, if you want to wear it, fine, but don't place the blame on the millions of good men around you.
"Racist" Australian KFC Ad - An Australian Rant
So here is my rant back at the fucking septic tanks.
Sequel Needed: The Day The Earth Stood Still (Remake)
So here I am thinking about a movie I watched months ago, wondering if anyone else got the ending... I decided then and there I was going to make this post, you see the remake of the classic Sci-Fi movie The Day the Earth Stood Still was not only crap it had one of the stupidest endings ever, if you look at it from a "what would really happen after this" point of view.
I'm thinking of making this a series of posts called "Sequel Needed", anyway on with the show.
You see Expressionless Man (Keanu Reeves) comes to Earth to talk over what we are doing to our planet, something about there only being so many life supporting worlds out there and watching us kill one is kind of a downer, so he shows up, the yanks being yanks shoot him, hold him against his will, and refuse to allow him to speak to the UN (though what he thinks the UN can do is anyone's guess, it's a toothless tiger).
Anyway skipping over the stupid, the movie ends with him being convinced by a young black kid and his white step mother to spare the human race, you see he was going to kills us all with a swarm of nano-machines or some shit, only he changes his mind and instead stops all our current technology from working... that's right boys and girls, no cars, no planes, no power stations, no Ipods, even fucking wrist watches stop working...
And this is him showing mercy I'd hate to be on his bad side... I'd personally rather of being obliterated by WMD in one step rather then deal with the fall out of his "mercy". No I'm not showing my geeky roots, I'm not talking about life without internet... I'm talking about starving to fucking death.
Let's check the death tool from his "mercy", first off no power, okay everyone on life support in hospitals everywhere just died, mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, old people, new born babies, just died. Millions dead. Everyone in an aeroplane, dead. Millions dead in car accidents, dead, dead.
Now we get to the real fun, no cars/planes/boats? How are we going to harvest our food and then transport it? Oh what? we can't? That's BILLIONS dead over the next few months, in one of the worst ways imaginable. Yea look up what a horrible way that is to go, and this is him showing fucking mercy? Jesus.
At a guess I'd say something like 90% of the Human Race would be dead within a year of the end of that movie, maybe more given what happens when you put a ton of dead bodies in one spot (pandemic time!), and then guess what? The survivors are going to be pissed the fuck off, this is where the sequel is needed, let's call it The Day The Earth Stood Still: Humanity's Revenge.
Knowing that there is alien life out there and they royally fucked us over would do what thousands of years of war, kings, queens, emperors, prime-ministers, fuhrers, and presidents have failed to do, unite humanity in a common cause, getting revenge.
As a race we're not a nice group of people, I personally think if Aliens ever show up above our planet they'll take one look at the shit we're capable of and run like hell.
I could see our race spending centuries rebuilding, making technology that works around whatever this dick did, building interstellar vessels, weapons of incredible destruction, and breeding, all the while teaching our children to hate this guy, and then one day, we'd go to war. And that's where I want the movie to be based, us fucking up this "Federation of Races" that decided it was allowed to murder our people.
The remake makes the following assumptions, technology is evil, we'd be better off living in caves, and people as a group are capable of forgiveness... err big fucking no on both counts. We do need to treat our planet better, but Christ, the death of billions is not a fucking a fucking answer. Fucking Hollywood bullshit.
The word "super"
So here I am reading an article about Guantanamo bay inmates being sent to "supermax" when I got to thinking... why the fuck do people feel the need to add the word "super" to everything?
Let's think about it, "supermax" means super maximum security in this context... so maximum by definition means the most... super maximum doesn't make any fucking sense, you can't make maximum more fucking maximum it's already maximum.
And while I'm here, why do they need to call the US aircraft carriers "super carriers" I mean FFS ships already have classes, and one class might be bigger then another of the same type, why the fuck do they need to add super to the front...
Fuck. I swear people hate English. I blame Superman, without that degenerate interplanetary refuge we wouldn't have this obsession with adding super to every-fucking-thing.
What's next? Super ATM Machines (Yes I know, it's suppose to be there)?
Super Car washes?
Grrr fucking people shit me.
Let's think about it, "supermax" means super maximum security in this context... so maximum by definition means the most... super maximum doesn't make any fucking sense, you can't make maximum more fucking maximum it's already maximum.
And while I'm here, why do they need to call the US aircraft carriers "super carriers" I mean FFS ships already have classes, and one class might be bigger then another of the same type, why the fuck do they need to add super to the front...
Fuck. I swear people hate English. I blame Superman, without that degenerate interplanetary refuge we wouldn't have this obsession with adding super to every-fucking-thing.
What's next? Super ATM Machines (Yes I know, it's suppose to be there)?
Super Car washes?
Grrr fucking people shit me.
Damn the children. Damn them to hell
Damn the children. Damn them to hell.
I'm so fucking sick to death of the "oh wont someone think of the children" crowd. Screw the damn children, look after your own stinking kids you fat headed morons.
In case your wondering what brought this on, it was hearing from someone how his legally purchased copy of Left 4 Dead 2 was stopped by Australian customs.
If you've been living in a cave you might not of heard about how the game was "refused classification" or "banned" in Australia due to the fact that the fuckwits running the country have no fucking clue actually plays games... you know adults.
But oh no, games are for kids, so we don't need an 18+ rating, so anything that exceeds the M15+ rating is "banned". For the record from what I've seen of the game, it's not a kiddy game and does need an "adult's only" rating, you know if we had one in this country.
I'm not even interested in this game, hell I haven't played any of the "banned" games over the last few years, not because I respect the law in this case, or because I'm afraid of getting caught, but because I'm not interested in those types of games.
But even still, seeing stuff banned for "the sake of the children" just makes my blood boil, we have X rated movies, kids are allowed to read crap like twilight which is basically a how-to guide for setting up an abusive relationship...
Speaking of books, is there even a ratings system for books? I've got some stuff in my collection that has some fairly detailed bloodshed/sex in them and no sign of any kind of rating, all purchased in stores. The John Ringo Kildar (good story, horrible politics not even subtly hinted at) series for example has descriptions of people getting their limbs blown off, graphic depictions of sex, and that's just the fucking TAME stuff in them. If it was a movie it would be R18, easy.
But oh no, we can't shoot zombies in a video game. And everytime the hint of boobies comes out in a game (see Mass Effect) it's like someone set fire to their bibles.
The same rational is use to defend the idea of a national internet censor... how about parents actually freaking take responsibility for their spawn and look after them and stop infringing on the rights of adults.
I'm so fucking sick of this crap. I don't have kids, I don't want kids ever and all I hear about is how we need to screw over the adults for the sake of the children, but there is an easier cheaper way to deal with this shit, make parents actually parent their kids... rather then plomping them down in front of the computer, TV, or X-Box.
It's time like this I want out of this damn country, fucking moralistic hypocrites ruining things for everyone else, fuck you, fuck your god, fuck your holybook, fuck your moralising, I'm sick of you twats, live and fucking let live you cunts, leave us alone.
Come to think of it, all the name calling, swearing, and just plain ranting isn't like helping my case... oh well. Fuck 'em, they'll just blame it on all the video games I played growing up and ignore my argument anyway.
WoW is a seductive beast.
World of Warcraft is evil. I'd just like to get that out there. I played for a good four years almost non-stop, with only small week or two breaks here and there, and finally about 6/7 months ago quit.
I've been doing good. Now I'm not bashing anyone who likes WoW, each their own and all that, it is after all a fairly good game if you can get passed it's community of retards.
It's just I found it was the only game I was playing, I'd hardly play anything else, instead of reading a book, I'd play WoW, instead of watching a movie, I'd play WoW, instead of writing I'd play WoW, instead of working on a coding project or video or any other hobby I use to have, I'd play WoW.
I think you've got the point, it was taking over my leisure actives, which before WoW (and to a degree AO) were veried and while geeky, much more rounded.
Funny thing is, I didn't notice any of that until after I quit the soul-sucker, I quit because I was bored with all the existing content, the headaches (literal and figurative) that would come after long frustrating raid sessions, and then after I'd done a few bits here and there that I was actually interested in... that would be it for the week, nothing else to do. But I'd still log in, and sit there... for hours... doing nothing in-game or out.
I mentioned the community above... well if you've played WoW you know it's about one step above non-stop 24/7 riot without the police showing, and I don't mean the fun kinds of riots, I mean the burn down everything in sight while hurling hideous memes at everyone kind of riots.
And the forums were worse.
Err... this isn't going how I intended... anyway my point when I started this post was to related that today I was watching the IGN daily fix and they mentioned a new WoW patch, and then I got an email from blizzard about free game time if I wanted... then I noticed a video for the WoW patch on IGN in the other content box at the end of the video...
I've watched and looked at WoW content since I quit, but damn Blizzard knows how to make a good cinematic, always has, I've often said that if they went into CGI movies with their current staff of writers and artists they could put Dreamworks and Fixar would of the game in months.
So I was sitting here tonight, feeling slightly bored, unable to go play Dragon Age or AC2 due to the sleeping child in the lounge room (her mum's sick and we're baby sitting for a few days while she's in the hospital), and there sitting in my inbox is the WoW invite... taunting me... seducing me with it's tight lines and free epics...
But no! I've 6 months clean! I can enjoy other games! I've seen more movies in 6 months then I have in the last 5 years, and I'm finally making head way through the stack of books I brought over that time that I'd "been meaning to read".
So no WoW, you wont seduce me again! I'm not falling for your lies again!
Now if only cigarettes would as easy to quit I'd be free of my most self-destructive vices.
Michael Jackson is dead... get over it.
Okay let me start off by saying yes I laughed at jokes about him over the years, but if you claim not too have done the same you're either a saint or (far more likely) a liar.
I liked some of his music, the early stuff, I feel vaguely (I didn't know him personally so I'm not going to claim some deep sadness like some dicks out there) sorry for his kids and family, just like any decent person does when someone dies, but honestly, do we need to see yet another news report about him?
He was a big name in the entertainment world, so I put up with the first few days of coverage, but after they buried him I expected them to calm the fuck down about it. But months have dragged on with them still bleeting on about it.
I even know some people who at the news thought "damn that's sad" who got angry about it all after a few days of non-stop wall to wall coverage, they were just plain pissed off about it and couldn't stand hearing any more about him. They turned off the TV in disgust, closed the browser window in anger, etc. That's when you know you've gone too far.
Come-on people... It's not news any more. It's gone far beyond tribute and reporting into exploitation. Just let it go.
Blacklists don't work, try a whitelist
Every now and then you hear about some dude with a bee in his bonnet screaming "Wont somebody think of the children!!oneoneone!!!" and wanting to ban different websites using blacklists.
Okay cool, I personally have no problems with blacklists so long as they are opt-in, but you know what? They don't fucking work. Getting around a blacklist is piss easy, and new websites pop up all the time, so maintaining a blacklist is a horrible time and money sink.
Here's the fix, something a bunch of us came up with on Whirlpool years ago, and it was hardly original, it was just spit balling a way to offer a good service to schools and parents, sit down 30 representative members of whatever group you want to make the list for, and tell them to go wild on the internet, every time they find a website they don't object too, it gets added to a list.
Now take that list, write some software that prevents visiting anything outside that list, or hell just use the function built into browsers (easy as piss to get around, but most people are fuckwits), and bingo, you've got a reasonably safe internet for your kiddies.
Well until they work out how to get around it.
The government could even take it a step farther and make a central repository of these lists for parents, Muslim friend content only, Christian friendly only, etc personally I think anyone using one of those lists is a twit, but hey personal freedom is great, do what you will.
Trying to regulate the internet is like pissing into the wind, messy and very ineffective. Better to go with regulating people who want to be regulated.
Okay cool, I personally have no problems with blacklists so long as they are opt-in, but you know what? They don't fucking work. Getting around a blacklist is piss easy, and new websites pop up all the time, so maintaining a blacklist is a horrible time and money sink.
Here's the fix, something a bunch of us came up with on Whirlpool years ago, and it was hardly original, it was just spit balling a way to offer a good service to schools and parents, sit down 30 representative members of whatever group you want to make the list for, and tell them to go wild on the internet, every time they find a website they don't object too, it gets added to a list.
Now take that list, write some software that prevents visiting anything outside that list, or hell just use the function built into browsers (easy as piss to get around, but most people are fuckwits), and bingo, you've got a reasonably safe internet for your kiddies.
Well until they work out how to get around it.
The government could even take it a step farther and make a central repository of these lists for parents, Muslim friend content only, Christian friendly only, etc personally I think anyone using one of those lists is a twit, but hey personal freedom is great, do what you will.
Trying to regulate the internet is like pissing into the wind, messy and very ineffective. Better to go with regulating people who want to be regulated.
Random Irks
You know what irks me today? Reading someone seriously write "male stewardesses" in a sentence...
The word is steward you fucking dip-shits, and while we're on the subject, why the move to "flight attendant", sure it's accurate, but what was wrong with steward and stewardess? We don't call women "men without testicles" we call them women! What's wrong with gender pronouns?
I don't get it, it's not like when you read about "flight attendants" in the news or wherever they don't tack on male or female in front of it... so they might as well just stuck with steward and stewardess.
And that's my irk of the day.
The word is steward you fucking dip-shits, and while we're on the subject, why the move to "flight attendant", sure it's accurate, but what was wrong with steward and stewardess? We don't call women "men without testicles" we call them women! What's wrong with gender pronouns?
I don't get it, it's not like when you read about "flight attendants" in the news or wherever they don't tack on male or female in front of it... so they might as well just stuck with steward and stewardess.
And that's my irk of the day.
(Most) Prostitution is RAPE
Okay so last night unable to sleep due to a massive fit of coughing up my lungs I logged onto the cesspit that is IRC, I jumped into a random channel, in this case #politics on fuck... I forget the server.
Anyway there was a debate in progress about the legalising prostitution and after a rip roaring debate lasting a few hours I gave up in a fit of rage and logged off.
You see I just couldn't get a lot of the people claiming prostitution is a "victimless crime" to understand prostitution is basically rape in a lot, and I'd personally the majority, of cases (not that I can back up the majority part, I don't have numbers).
Okay here's a question, man attacks, holds down, and has sex with a woman against her will, clear cut rape right? (If you said no you're a dirty scumbag that I hope meets his end shortly)
Now, take the same man, same women, only now the man has a gun, unless the woman has sex with him he'll shoot her, is it rape? Yes!
The same thing is done a lot in prostitution, the woman (or man, it does happen to men, but I'll just keep using the female pronoun rather then he/she) in question has a choice between a) having sex with a stranger or b) getting the crap kicked out of her by her pimp or c) going hungry or having her family go hungry.
It's still a form of coercion, just not as overt as the gun metaphor. And that's not even taking into account the women sold into mother-fucking slavery in some countries out there.
Having sex with a prostitute is more then likely (I'd say something like 99 times out of 100) rape in today's world.
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are prostitutes out there that are willing and not forced into it, by either a 3rd party or economic problems, and more power too them, their body do with it what they will. But those men and women are the vast vast vast minority.
Contrary to what you might think after what you've read above, I'm actually in favour of legalising prostitution, after all criminalising it hasn't been effective at shutting it down, there is a demand so a black market has risen to fill the demand, however in order for legalisation to be an effective solution you need to regulate the hell out of it, placing protection for the prostitutes as the highest priority and cracking down unmercifully on pimps (one of the lowest forms of scum around, just above paedophiles on my personal ladder of people who need to die a horrible death).
Incidentally the same approach would work well on illicit narcotics. Let's face it, there is a reason they call prostitution the "World's oldest profession", it's been around forever and not going anywhere, the only way to make things better is to regulate it.
Think it over people.
Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
US President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize for giving the world 'hope for a better future' with his work for peace and calls to reduce the global stockpile of nuclear weapons. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Mr Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/09/2710141.htm
Okay before anyone starts calling me Anti-American or racist I'd just like to say to those people, fuck off and die a slow death you morons, you can disagree with someone without hating them.Onto the rant, it was my understanding that the Nobel prizes were given for accomplishments and not to hate on the guy, but he hasn't accomplished anything yet, he's made some pretty major promises that I personally think are awesome-sauce and made some moves towards things that make the future look less like the shit-hole it was even a year ago, but he hasn't actually done anything yet.
It seems to me like they are jumping on the "Whoa first black American president, better kiss up or we'll be called racist" bandwagon.
Oh and before anyone jumps on the "he's getting rid of nukes! it even passed the UN!" thing, let me be clear, nukes aren't that big of a deal anymore, they've been slowly getting rid of them for decades now, disposing of those evil things is a lot harder then making the damn things.
Frankly the fact the US/France/England/Russia have them doesn't worry me too much... okay Russia's internal security based on my limited understanding scares the fuck out of me, but the major powers having nukes over-all isn't that much of a worry, they've had them for decades and not used them, it's the nutjobs like India and Pakistan (fine countries and peoples) having them that worry me, and the really nutso fuckwits like North Korea and Iran looking at making them scares the shit out of me.
And I don't see NK/Iran coming to the table, they don't see the danger in nukes, only "ohh big boy toys!" appeal.
I'm trying to remember who said "I don't loose sleep over the man who wants a hundred nuclear weapons, I worry about the man who only wants one" I think it was in a movie, and it sums up the problem perfectly.
Anyway I've gotten way the fuck off topic here, back to the point, I think Obama is doing good and has the promise to do a lot more good, but honestly he's not really ready to be given such a high honour, maybe in a few years, but not right now.
Edit: Seems I'm not the only one, but the Wall Street Journal are a bunch of smary pricks who need to tone it the fuck down.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/10/2710482.htm
TV is TV
You know what I hate? The line "This isn't a TV show" or it's variants on a fucking TV show or Movie. It's just retarded.I'm sure the first time someone wrote it down it was mildly funny, but you know what? In jokes aren't funny to those of us that aren't in on it and memes are even less funny.
Besides not being funny, they break immersion.
You know immersion that thing that's suppose to keep us from questioning why the dude in the funny hat is kicking the ass of the super-powered bad guy or why there is sound in a fucking space battle (other then it makes it cooler) or the fact that super model chick is married to a guy that makes me look like Fabio by comparison.
It's gotta be like at least one of the top 3 rules of writing, "Thou Shalt Not Fucking Break the Fourth Wall"
Okay felling better now.
Evolution is a theory
Okay so I'm fucking sick to death of you fucking wack jobs, both lots of you, the intelligent design fucktards and the evolution is science so it's inconvertible moronic donkey fuckers.
Okay so I personally think evolution is the closest we've got to a real answer about how life came about (I also believe in god, shocking I know, but science by definition should be challenged and examined otherwise it's just fucking dogma. You know that shit you hate on religious folks for?
Evolution is a theory, it says right there in the fucking name, The Theory of Evolution you morons.
Now as I said above it makes sense and there is some proof that it takes place, that doesn't mean you should accept it as pure gospel truth (and the funny at using that phrase here is obvious to me thank you), science is about expanding the limits of our knowledge, until such time as there is incontrovertible proof one way or the other, or a better theory, I'm going to tell you morons to shut the fuck up, you're getting as bad as the bible bashers who think God put dinosaur bones in the ground to confuse us.
We're like small children as a race, we've just hit that point where we know just enough to understand just how much we don't know, so stop being so dogmatic and use the squishy pink stuff between your ears.
Okay so I personally think evolution is the closest we've got to a real answer about how life came about (I also believe in god, shocking I know, but science by definition should be challenged and examined otherwise it's just fucking dogma. You know that shit you hate on religious folks for?
Evolution is a theory, it says right there in the fucking name, The Theory of Evolution you morons.
Now as I said above it makes sense and there is some proof that it takes place, that doesn't mean you should accept it as pure gospel truth (and the funny at using that phrase here is obvious to me thank you), science is about expanding the limits of our knowledge, until such time as there is incontrovertible proof one way or the other, or a better theory, I'm going to tell you morons to shut the fuck up, you're getting as bad as the bible bashers who think God put dinosaur bones in the ground to confuse us.
We're like small children as a race, we've just hit that point where we know just enough to understand just how much we don't know, so stop being so dogmatic and use the squishy pink stuff between your ears.
If God Had...
Okay so every now and then I'll be reading about something new and exciting in the world of science or medicine and when I get to the comments section of the article there is always some douche bag saying "if god had meant us...".Okay just clear up a point I believe in god, but I'm not overly religious, my faith in god doesn't need a book or a dude in a funny robe to exist, I can see why some people take comfort in it, but personally I think too many people take the dogma and leave the message, but that's a rant for another day.
Back onto topic, God doesn't want us living in mud fucking huts you morons. God gave us our minds, our curiosity, to explode his wonderful world and universe.
My personal opinion is that everything we discover and learn about was put there by god, science is the way we can understand this wonderful creation of God's will. Yes there is more to the world then just what we can see, but that's the whole point, for everything we learn we still only grasp a fraction of the truly majestic wonder that is this universe.
If God made it so chemicals made in a certain way cure cancer, he wants us to find it and use it.
I view God as a loving parent that wants us as people and a race to grow, to understand, to embrace the majesty of his creation.
Oh and also I believe in evolution, I think it makes sense that God the all knowing and all powerful simply touched over the proverbial pebble that started the avalanche. After all if you know all the variables you can know exactly what will happen if you set off an event.
So in short, stop being so fucking dogmatic you morons and try and us that mind God gave you.
Breaking News: Space is Fucking Big
So I've been thinking about this for a while, you know how one of the more common themes in sci-fi is a big fucking asteroid or comet slamming into earth killing everyone? It's fucking bullshit.
Not that shit doesn't hit the earth all the time, and really really big shit has hit the earth in the past, and well big shit going really fast does a lot of damage (kinetic impact is the fancy way of saying it), no that's not my issue, my issue is how they always "solve" the problem of something really fucking big flying at the earth.
Rock the size of a small country coming at us like a rabid monkey and the first reaction is "err lets blow that shit up with nukes!" it never works, of course fucking not, you can't vaporise something that fucking big and even if you did break it up, you'd go from having one huge ass rock to having lots of fairly big rocks. Even if most of them burn up in the atmosphere you've still got things the size of houses falling on cities with an explosive impact measured in fucking megatons.
So they always move onto some cop-out bullshit sci-fi Dues-Ex plot twist, when in actual fact, nukes would work just fine.
Now you're thinking "Hang on Bunyip you just said it's patently stupid", and I did, but vaporising isn't my goal, you see space is fucking huge, so huge in fact that the human mind (apart from a few really fucking smart people) can't comprehend it, kind of like Will Shatner's ego, and our solar system is full of rocks and shit, and big stuff rarely hits us.
The reason for this is the earth is always moving, so it's two lines having to intersect at the same time in order to do any damage, now as anyone with any grasp of reality will tell you, the farther away the two objects are the less change they need to make in order to avoid hitting each other.
Example, two cars coming at each other head on, now if they see each over 200-300 meters away, they only have to make a slight correction to avoid running into each other, at 20 meters they need to swerve like a mother fucker.
The same can be said for things in space, only more so, a few nukes aimed at the right spot using math worked out by people much smarter then me at a rock far enough away can nudge the big ass thing far enough off course that it will miss us by millions of kilometres.
So in short, Hollywood sci-fi is stupid, I'm cranky and tired and wanted to rant about something.
Not that shit doesn't hit the earth all the time, and really really big shit has hit the earth in the past, and well big shit going really fast does a lot of damage (kinetic impact is the fancy way of saying it), no that's not my issue, my issue is how they always "solve" the problem of something really fucking big flying at the earth.
Rock the size of a small country coming at us like a rabid monkey and the first reaction is "err lets blow that shit up with nukes!" it never works, of course fucking not, you can't vaporise something that fucking big and even if you did break it up, you'd go from having one huge ass rock to having lots of fairly big rocks. Even if most of them burn up in the atmosphere you've still got things the size of houses falling on cities with an explosive impact measured in fucking megatons.
So they always move onto some cop-out bullshit sci-fi Dues-Ex plot twist, when in actual fact, nukes would work just fine.
Now you're thinking "Hang on Bunyip you just said it's patently stupid", and I did, but vaporising isn't my goal, you see space is fucking huge, so huge in fact that the human mind (apart from a few really fucking smart people) can't comprehend it, kind of like Will Shatner's ego, and our solar system is full of rocks and shit, and big stuff rarely hits us.
The reason for this is the earth is always moving, so it's two lines having to intersect at the same time in order to do any damage, now as anyone with any grasp of reality will tell you, the farther away the two objects are the less change they need to make in order to avoid hitting each other.
Example, two cars coming at each other head on, now if they see each over 200-300 meters away, they only have to make a slight correction to avoid running into each other, at 20 meters they need to swerve like a mother fucker.
The same can be said for things in space, only more so, a few nukes aimed at the right spot using math worked out by people much smarter then me at a rock far enough away can nudge the big ass thing far enough off course that it will miss us by millions of kilometres.
So in short, Hollywood sci-fi is stupid, I'm cranky and tired and wanted to rant about something.
PSA: Don't Masturbate in Public
So I'm not talking about the actual act of masturbation, you know the thing everyone does, I'm talking about the act of mental masturbation, you know what I mean, the wanker going on about his latest project, that's basically public masturbation.
Here's why I'm sick of it, I was reading reviews about the movie Inglorious Bastards, pretty good movie apart from the fact like all Tarantino movies it's basically a feature length jerk off fest about other movies he considers classic.
It's just limited to the man whose name is really hard to spell either, it comes in many forms, just as the Twilight novels which are another form of masturbation material, only rather then keeping it private like normal decent people, it was published.
Oh and then there are games like the 50 cent (and who the fuck names rappers?) Blood on the Sands games, but don't even get me started on them.
Now that I think about it, lumping Tarantino in with "Fiffy" and the Sparklepire is pretty fucking harsh, so Tarantino I'm sorry man, really, you at least have talent, just keep it in your pants, now back to the topic at hand.
Every review I'd read about Inglorious Bastards goes on about the references and nods to other films, but none of them see it as a bad thing, why the fuck not?
It's not part of the narrative, it detracts from the story, personally I don't give a shit about film history, I don't hate it, or people who care it, I'm interested in a lot of weird shit other people don't get (such as spending three hours reading up on Damascus steel based on a throw away line in a trashy war novel), but when you're making something for mass consumption keep the fan-boy geekyness toned the fuck down.
I'm not saying dumb down the product, but few people will even notice the little "wink wink nudge nudge" jokes in there, and those that aren't fan-boys themselves will just get pissed off, the same way we do when someone mentions the cake is a lie in a non sarcastic manner.
And that's that for my sleep deprived rant of the day.
Youtube, Finding Gold in Elephant Shit
So, I was bored and couldn't sleep, so what did I do? I went on the Internet looking for something to laugh at. Big mistake.
Why was it a mistake? I looked on Youtube.
For every Yahtzee, Spill.com, MovieBob, and their ilk you have close to a million retarded monkeys talking softly into crackly mics while looking intently into their WebCams.
Seriously, there is nothing said in those videos that couldn't be better said in writing, I don't need to see your face or hear your voice to empathise with your opinions and frustrations, in fact the opposite is true, chances are I'll find you so annoying that I'll disagree with you on general principle.
If you're going to label something a humorous rant against something or other, at least make it funny and put some fucking effort into it you turd gobblers.
If you're "reviewing" something, how about instead of staring into your web cam for 5 god-damn painful minutes you try actually showing some footage of it, it's not like you can't find any-fucking-thing online and there is freeware video editing software out there by the bucket full.
Before you say the words "they'll sue me", they can't, it's called fair use a clause in most copy right laws the world over, or if you're plain just shitting on something, the parody protection, and hey generally unless you're one of the big named guys no-one gives a shit about you anyway.
Oh and also? Saying something sucks, even if I agree it does, just because you don't like it is patently fucking stupid, if you think something sucks at least try and articulate why you don't like it.
I can give you a fifty point list on why most main stream "musicians" should be shot into the sun, the most people on youtube can come up with for the most part is "ghay"
Why was it a mistake? I looked on Youtube.
For every Yahtzee, Spill.com, MovieBob, and their ilk you have close to a million retarded monkeys talking softly into crackly mics while looking intently into their WebCams.
Seriously, there is nothing said in those videos that couldn't be better said in writing, I don't need to see your face or hear your voice to empathise with your opinions and frustrations, in fact the opposite is true, chances are I'll find you so annoying that I'll disagree with you on general principle.
If you're going to label something a humorous rant against something or other, at least make it funny and put some fucking effort into it you turd gobblers.
If you're "reviewing" something, how about instead of staring into your web cam for 5 god-damn painful minutes you try actually showing some footage of it, it's not like you can't find any-fucking-thing online and there is freeware video editing software out there by the bucket full.
Before you say the words "they'll sue me", they can't, it's called fair use a clause in most copy right laws the world over, or if you're plain just shitting on something, the parody protection, and hey generally unless you're one of the big named guys no-one gives a shit about you anyway.
Oh and also? Saying something sucks, even if I agree it does, just because you don't like it is patently fucking stupid, if you think something sucks at least try and articulate why you don't like it.
I can give you a fifty point list on why most main stream "musicians" should be shot into the sun, the most people on youtube can come up with for the most part is "ghay"