tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83603441500296952182024-03-05T13:25:59.232-05:00Mongo Angry! Mongo Smash!Meathooks, Banana Hands, Bull in a china shop! I wrap my hands around the world and
break it like a delicate figurine. Nothing in this world is safe from my brain.
Join me as I take my finger, placed firmly on the pulse of pop culture,
and shove it straight up my...blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger740125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-7032545256601387322022-07-13T13:05:00.002-04:002022-07-13T13:11:08.567-04:00Stranger Things Shirts (Fan Merch/Replicas)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><br /><br /> There is no denying that Stranger Things delivers in terms of pop culture nostalgia for every Gen X’er who has ever spent a weekend staying up late, consuming huge amounts of junk food to fuel an hours long campaign in DnD, going to the mall unaccompanied, or just generally hanging out with their small circle of friends while never checking in with parents once except to get a change of clothes, shower, a hot meal, or an advance on their allowance to go and try to beat that high score on Dig Dug at the arcade.<br /><br /> The 80s were a different time of being out of pocket. We didn’t have cell phones or social media or any other ways to get a hold of us except for yelling out the back door, down the street, or calling our friends’ land line phones to tell their parents to send us home. But we usually came home, eventually, and without incident. It’s probably a good thing those ways of contacting us or documenting our childhood adventures hadn’t been invented yet or we would have been grounded until graduation.<br /><br /> Stranger Things takes everything we experienced or felt in the 80s and encapsulates it into an 8-10 hour horror/sci-fi marathon, complete with all the sights, sounds, and bad fashion choices we yearn to have again secretly during our mid-life crises. <br /><br /> And speaking of fashions… It also produces a ton of merch, either fan inspired or replica of what you see in the show, every year. From the subtle to overtly in your face, <a href="https://www.teepublic.com/stores/angrymongoaff/albums/11788-stranger-things?ref_id=2081" target="_blank">here are a bunch that you can find over at TeePublic from each season.</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Season 1</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/589709-hawkins-radio-club?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Hawkins Radio Club</a><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHWo7OTuicskAcXFH_w_Zuo6Bxec0UNfcrlE-jZBQlLyczt5GLAQmb_KeMlOUGcx9sSzjAvgLGFh_h39fxbgiurNZRgK0O-hY89L-3P9pzKdYBZeR90PknYGiBU2U7r7qECrRdGRx_24ZgPS1QjwDy-lfHkpy6_Ol2jPBEaNgE_HOXYDHXd9KuCdtD" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/705662-strange-number-11-blue?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank"><br />Strange Number 11 by djkopet</a><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhFomp52xF_Ju38D4SS6mQD6GPxMHFxJbZxQxjargdbgRVjsZrDOxpF9BWbrBpgtI54CsVh0Vq7VJtyR0s1cqfS9rsLAAcnG2CYbL2UBegbVojzwpuMd7MglndoKQGSUqzqKF9m-2tiCl_EOBRzGUZYA2bQa9IKkSw5hP40nOYcc4ujIjwsh_mZPuI" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2048704-stranger-things-hawkins-middle-school-av-club?ref_id=2081" target="_blank">Hawkins Middle School A.V. Club by redbaron_ict</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUUVwmCaRs4w0j2E8ZPr_GrpgGXQ3N3cynPkBnK71n3SxGPdcai5O1CteyAlSCk2f3ShTvxZf8_gxeGqF4tx7F25IINUSZJIdRjqSGGyqOkEM6hfalL-9WVsATjf8AOGoYbpZZLgeHaAhC9MfCK6BJ6fm_dAdoWVljb0L06nYf_R13yUnpDkzvfklS" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b><br />Season 2</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2007766-palace-arcade?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Palace Arcade</a><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEialOkncVdZjHPTnFM5g_InJJWI7Vtj31_QaBd14U-DXjBEUpws6qqPsHS2daQSYgV9DP19ugRkH02EwDyCtxSswuF_QS4jdT6KnBS1d9ru-CF_9prZ_ihq68woGSZ9mmZmlUJZo8KmumvGPacSUMBtPxbUOf_byRy2B61afJiubgjwrpSkCU4iLvki" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2059125-bitchin?ref_id=2081" target="_blank">Bitchin’ by Vincent Trinidad Art</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5P0vb16PdQaE89t39bUvhwQ3wpboD3EinDifvDdO-2xTbnDLSqF5SdYPeVN1J9VXMGA6O7cZcOHVP9xT3QukAXnDZ8g2oVNlsoZBUS3j7BoawJNeNse4_IWCskHQ7gUfm6PUn2WxexD9MhpQilJ0lEpwFlr9RiPZqVvC4QXGTpN271jB7aMUX1NJC" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Season 3</b><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/5266060-hawkins-pool-lifeguard?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Hawkins Pool Life Guard</a><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg09NGq_SwD8BLNj5SmkSgmCEJJcQoNlxvxrbbLc1bPgNEKUQmBZF85CReZbNU4koV3InWZ7ATx8kd6MkhEFek88DxKM7NuUuSF6EZ5-7frAmR1ziHxRi-0d5MBlVjRzbq50-srlJoHc6VJDRU6gtmGQrYiT2JcY9YBAAPyrV6G1d59DHMmzI2gz5ja" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/5332447-operation-child-endangerment?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Operation: Child Endangerment By BoggsNicolas</a><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcTWv-fXe4p_rVo_Piyq-uYhzu1Byi78NfjVKE6dSTM2RYZ0zYHD4k2ff4gtvktCn4AaWowTWjLUaF5xEqn4SWuy0rithujJQ7nF4eAshElWmNavzySuYzoSuBJoLJcB30TRnBX1qkyvFoA-8hqivLS_oJWdmZt3SizddU0ZeQKgmrpsq38TTKj6-G" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/5127791-roast-beef-dustin-shirt?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Dustin’s Roast Beef Shirt by Polomaker</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNQyicxhu1DyP3ayf6BPmkh83V3hlO9VNy54fp0MFezipAjFjR0qHXLN_qSsWWaf8u8iF19CWiTdJ4LBVRa4hE2OK1t53mtagztGGQYImuwQTs7pKVjxBya3Z2JdXV4KEa7-vh8Wiz0vxdvT_zmz6BerGK1n31Ydi2iFqS9ke5BgI1uYCAYdwDUrWK" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Season 4<br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/30992320-murray-do-karate?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Murray-Do Karate</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOoUyYjpPCl5rjumPmyLa-scX9IvGiNwp0M7zFh69mbqNF2T_iIwkziCXUjdce7F2roe40woNPxK3YRer4_rWN__iL5gEmK3rIsLn2mBbhXzBQrIqAnXP-JeJ0OrX6YgevkQiPfjpZ8hW2-tVWFDBFo8b6Zfvp4XEl-CvkZw6gdEV2Kw_0ZHMc34jN" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/30929573-rink-o-mania?ref_id=2081&store_id=1944" target="_blank">Rink-O-Mania</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9dadTUvaDFMZMa5FH4XJOLhim9toDoaUx3Nj2ZIbrwVdifFB-TX88hNNbEp6wxrRu0E0TqzIlcx8BJlJOAVztapSeFJ-hUMpVUuRn-4m19f9HkXrJzGZ1YFEzuKIkwlOYxL7JpVk6OmWeEW8vDX3tS-anTmi8sGJ5iyINayr7wlKDi97TrizWKMtw" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/29412047-thinking-shirt?ref_id=2081&store_id=9353" target="_blank">Dustin’s Thinking Shirt by BiggsNicolas</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhchMGuJ-QLsrmS-bS-vxa49iS1sPoMGMO64D7zchfnzMb28W9fsYfN1mUZx_4nW5mkF-gE5iW27Lw6zVmMxhtjaJaqZ7waPK5oq08LHvLQ1V4_vlqjrv0BM_oJBvuE8eDxOMtuuwXwa1w1wjbacjCQHcFC3b2n4Dm9emBUeX3nfAnLtuZZcgZFdvEk" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And of course, how could we not sneak this one in…<br /><a href="https://www.cafepress.com/dd/130451750" target="_blank">Hellfire Club replica design</a><br /><br /><a href="#"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3D8FCwSoH4YiYxqxtZKV8woncdsQcBmgJj9OFdwm_1_O9Mid5rBQaP-yFV4nYc-60it9b3NrY3W63LAXcVnZ9kXDtKwQVYhix-nMl-5QFCYfGTDLRFGIdiGUiw8hi9SqqGFQOfjVyTqb-oIwYUoVY1DXqfOT_ntpSPrDZKQGxMbkndM8f-sxC0PdJ" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-18431051357811369002022-01-28T13:26:00.002-05:002022-01-28T13:26:19.977-05:00Tabletop RPG Fantasy Art<p>I've always wanted to try my hand at abstract art, partly from a place of ignorance and partly from a place of existentialism. The idea that people will actually pay good money (a lot of it) for a painting consisting of a red dot against a black cavass which has some contextual meaning attached baffles me to where I clumsily declare that I can do that and be rich. The other idea is actual expression of some nonverbalized feeling in my body that applies color, light, and shade to a blank slate.</p><p>With digital art, that can be realized in a manner. And while I may not have an artistic bone in my body, some do. So, I am sharing a bunch of designs made by a Redbubble shop called AbstractDreamz. It deals exclusively with digital abstract art and has been building a catalog of Tabletop Fantasy RPG mazes/maps that can be put on desk mats, phone cases, stickers, cards, and laptop skins/cases. <br /><br />While it's not something you would say, put on a shirt, the wall art idea is pretty neat. The applications could be to host your own RPG Tabletop Game party and build your campaign around their designs. The descriptions are somewhat silly but actually create a narrative for you to imagine what monsters may lay in wait inside the various chambers, or what treasures may be waiting for the brave at the center or in some treasure room.<br /><br />I can't wait to see if they start adding some other genres beside the standard D&D idea. The tabletop industry may have been a Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Dungeons & Dragons, etc. staple from the 70s and 80s. There was even a resurgence of the fantasy RPG games due to Stranger Things a few years back. But to say all Tabletop RPGs are D&D is a horrible statement. There's military, science fiction, superhero, steampunk, and even real life tabletop RPGs.<br /><br />Enjoy this selection of maps from <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/AbstractDreamz/shop?asc=u" target="_blank">AbstractDreamz</a>.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Ruby Dungeon</span></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/100365106" target="_blank">Get it at Redbubble</a></b></div><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRP2g4e5_6sMgwF7GOeHul0q5KDwtQjifeUbqs0Xbh1XbkJpqB9lscmnR3WFHkWZfmZ0nvK7s8floY0mwrLlww2xZs8Ras7mam2UXVQrKSEiAJujhCcxdipeAlul2QZnIrPqaeBo7YpiD--KF6YsfcVgDyY8Tndi2mq2j6vNmqJt4tLnr5t8zhqzc0=s704" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="704" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRP2g4e5_6sMgwF7GOeHul0q5KDwtQjifeUbqs0Xbh1XbkJpqB9lscmnR3WFHkWZfmZ0nvK7s8floY0mwrLlww2xZs8Ras7mam2UXVQrKSEiAJujhCcxdipeAlul2QZnIrPqaeBo7YpiD--KF6YsfcVgDyY8Tndi2mq2j6vNmqJt4tLnr5t8zhqzc0=w290-h152" width="290" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBjjpr2IqGYFxBScKXtJ6Ob0OtOv96r_NyrMwsa2hHwWMkbmmZGy_po2_1NWMFJ8-uKGHeyxXAJ4eh2wMRg7yvTy749b2Egurzw-Sd-8V_eZejpNneeqJhX9ffV7VBK_XEKF2Sro2_fFkIaI_94nepWuPjOmRBnor1hDV9rCvJdnEnKoFeklAObrPw=s893" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="698" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBjjpr2IqGYFxBScKXtJ6Ob0OtOv96r_NyrMwsa2hHwWMkbmmZGy_po2_1NWMFJ8-uKGHeyxXAJ4eh2wMRg7yvTy749b2Egurzw-Sd-8V_eZejpNneeqJhX9ffV7VBK_XEKF2Sro2_fFkIaI_94nepWuPjOmRBnor1hDV9rCvJdnEnKoFeklAObrPw=w177-h226" width="177" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3P8CHWcq98r9KbH7AvfHpkA3H86q9NCfxURQDJFawabQVCWviObhKiq55gp3fPE6MOHJMguoUbYCsIbI6dN5y2vZWjQRTWx3JziHSy110oRwFNyTK5dhkH0nNtEjUwhnIPqM55ZbKM67PEYiFEz7cVYJbCLItJc8kiWgGFjJJ4MP8E8g7YnnGZKjk=s738" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="733" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3P8CHWcq98r9KbH7AvfHpkA3H86q9NCfxURQDJFawabQVCWviObhKiq55gp3fPE6MOHJMguoUbYCsIbI6dN5y2vZWjQRTWx3JziHSy110oRwFNyTK5dhkH0nNtEjUwhnIPqM55ZbKM67PEYiFEz7cVYJbCLItJc8kiWgGFjJJ4MP8E8g7YnnGZKjk=w207-h209" width="207" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhliHnXql9HkkDONbBUq1t-CrrqpHDtTkSMwf9I8fgEQs_FOYwaoc6rF-TO5qiu2rouETtFB_cYrPkx26pteN394XVMxr8gwoywHPQahDVFLxsJEv3PU0kd-J40wIPSbga-5zhV7MR_O5VWajoCj_m_ebwHe0gAeBdHsgdlTwUGsoGLuKWC9SddlWNo=s869" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="869" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhliHnXql9HkkDONbBUq1t-CrrqpHDtTkSMwf9I8fgEQs_FOYwaoc6rF-TO5qiu2rouETtFB_cYrPkx26pteN394XVMxr8gwoywHPQahDVFLxsJEv3PU0kd-J40wIPSbga-5zhV7MR_O5VWajoCj_m_ebwHe0gAeBdHsgdlTwUGsoGLuKWC9SddlWNo=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dwarven Ironworks<br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/100264892" target="_blank">Get it at Redbubble</a></span></div></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKwvdKHbvG0GRYFRACsHr0buqvTu9u8US4agpMDn9bP6sxkbClXYsOfSi3lctkVBf2ObkanMGkPhIJI3x1qz38MRZcQtJhhEeTVonawQZ0PuJJLT5KLspXWl1ZF_TtMT-aHeyNj4-Yxf9-WUeLMGk61daoZmFXLjiZ4Tr1XRGoeogBWQIUv3APIMQ0=s667" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKwvdKHbvG0GRYFRACsHr0buqvTu9u8US4agpMDn9bP6sxkbClXYsOfSi3lctkVBf2ObkanMGkPhIJI3x1qz38MRZcQtJhhEeTVonawQZ0PuJJLT5KLspXWl1ZF_TtMT-aHeyNj4-Yxf9-WUeLMGk61daoZmFXLjiZ4Tr1XRGoeogBWQIUv3APIMQ0=s320" width="241" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkEghoKOb2sjz6U3sQ1DuVF2vJb1cuO-rd9HpNh6OHqyGZaLLgcxnQzVnlLdXDr1NCGiwxN-CXSh1L4CA8M_hwT8ewD5LmYoo2SbEvu7SHNnN8_KlnHPbf8myMKOkaeJQ8-1F5sv-e33huaZhhPH32web25ouR9eeB2XWLEghQ_5mUrnLUNOVAQeqG=s667" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkEghoKOb2sjz6U3sQ1DuVF2vJb1cuO-rd9HpNh6OHqyGZaLLgcxnQzVnlLdXDr1NCGiwxN-CXSh1L4CA8M_hwT8ewD5LmYoo2SbEvu7SHNnN8_KlnHPbf8myMKOkaeJQ8-1F5sv-e33huaZhhPH32web25ouR9eeB2XWLEghQ_5mUrnLUNOVAQeqG=s320" width="241" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgioTavmIQD42RryDMs-kSPRMxYv2ryu1-nciYuEPE7tpAsfhiq-7kvh38AuxZU5_PmnFo0qKR3XAa_lF83OyhOWvH7_DiD9952aaeRxBhRuN4lJC4M8AmZdMVX2_KcWPuN1ZE8D17iF5RQLSe2nqPHDJXoOoM7vug63YMvyq6iBT_RlvAsa82fZb4m=s678" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="678" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgioTavmIQD42RryDMs-kSPRMxYv2ryu1-nciYuEPE7tpAsfhiq-7kvh38AuxZU5_PmnFo0qKR3XAa_lF83OyhOWvH7_DiD9952aaeRxBhRuN4lJC4M8AmZdMVX2_KcWPuN1ZE8D17iF5RQLSe2nqPHDJXoOoM7vug63YMvyq6iBT_RlvAsa82fZb4m=w260-h231" width="260" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQQRWh1N_QEQ6dZ0VT-UMOXAVavSvjZ41WsfYgILo7pGcj7YraTceaaKMmt1k86OhQ1dPRAok7xyBOrrz6DMXy3pQS4GaX5DZREPQS3cqDOq6eH5hHEdFhGXHos8DLfsVoYmZqWgWkrrmr1YLPqKAX0TA4FrEBSmu8HoNWmc8o95fvZQTdyN_GD4E7=s738" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="733" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQQRWh1N_QEQ6dZ0VT-UMOXAVavSvjZ41WsfYgILo7pGcj7YraTceaaKMmt1k86OhQ1dPRAok7xyBOrrz6DMXy3pQS4GaX5DZREPQS3cqDOq6eH5hHEdFhGXHos8DLfsVoYmZqWgWkrrmr1YLPqKAX0TA4FrEBSmu8HoNWmc8o95fvZQTdyN_GD4E7=w249-h251" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dragon Maze<br /><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/100359583" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Get it at Redbubble</span></a></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsVaroiVnkCd9vH-QWFGS7gM7PX__cNH7Md2UwRrxowhPgNb3jPbmwQVgzcnEYoT7dHd9EBaBwxvzhBf4CWuaQVphlthY8_fIOL9Ndd2eL0TpEERgdlHCHoKwoV3tftWLVsWDjH4mL-g54LzK_iMFPiJjdo4hsTUIrfbPCzT8ETTQzPv_fTLmWlimQ=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="800" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsVaroiVnkCd9vH-QWFGS7gM7PX__cNH7Md2UwRrxowhPgNb3jPbmwQVgzcnEYoT7dHd9EBaBwxvzhBf4CWuaQVphlthY8_fIOL9Ndd2eL0TpEERgdlHCHoKwoV3tftWLVsWDjH4mL-g54LzK_iMFPiJjdo4hsTUIrfbPCzT8ETTQzPv_fTLmWlimQ=w261-h188" width="261" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhGUxz8TVFZa8a9mwLDSVJ6DwQ3Le3AxBbv3hFslMLbdR5q1sdKBIrQU-oL8411eknPTYu40K3hPNDUEE9EKQPQ8vBwRMReHr_zaAVdDk4qipCH1cAqsba0xIpfNTMomeW1BC1CyPB88sn98WelUmA92rxA1GO_o2WX90Gmfxayr4_aWuEFeC9igPH=s679" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="679" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhGUxz8TVFZa8a9mwLDSVJ6DwQ3Le3AxBbv3hFslMLbdR5q1sdKBIrQU-oL8411eknPTYu40K3hPNDUEE9EKQPQ8vBwRMReHr_zaAVdDk4qipCH1cAqsba0xIpfNTMomeW1BC1CyPB88sn98WelUmA92rxA1GO_o2WX90Gmfxayr4_aWuEFeC9igPH=w246-h233" width="246" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgitPnn0DwwMpsQBdGA7litrdtynhD3eVoelMgUT6grDQeuOKDw-Y46hHkRq0xkWBwAKxApWE_wa_U9MAbcSCozsGXZyc2tFOCB2y439vLQcovJwYsI9ntMoj3zXvjDSGLRjT-GgfwRmalgMDLo5yliad91bamvX6EpJI6dT_2M0bKKHm3HKCuNxyWG=s722" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="722" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgitPnn0DwwMpsQBdGA7litrdtynhD3eVoelMgUT6grDQeuOKDw-Y46hHkRq0xkWBwAKxApWE_wa_U9MAbcSCozsGXZyc2tFOCB2y439vLQcovJwYsI9ntMoj3zXvjDSGLRjT-GgfwRmalgMDLo5yliad91bamvX6EpJI6dT_2M0bKKHm3HKCuNxyWG=w285-h216" width="285" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiihEF2xaEST-kq5CclbFslRjxXesdn6h1lPLywH7RV1eKvjAGJ3i7dn6AuSDc81YQo86eGUcHclGQQbSovUIXnpfK9XiJQ6YUlieSMZeR7c-N51axBOU1n5cn2LymQBWHTgRZgmWcL9u2WWUnVIbNVd7mCfUMOU0KPKVwuVV-B0Ifp3zgjD_-KeUb=s540" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="340" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiihEF2xaEST-kq5CclbFslRjxXesdn6h1lPLywH7RV1eKvjAGJ3i7dn6AuSDc81YQo86eGUcHclGQQbSovUIXnpfK9XiJQ6YUlieSMZeR7c-N51axBOU1n5cn2LymQBWHTgRZgmWcL9u2WWUnVIbNVd7mCfUMOU0KPKVwuVV-B0Ifp3zgjD_-KeUb=w160-h255" width="160" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><h2>Copper Mountain<br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/100475415" target="_blank">Get it at Redbubble</a><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikU3VS5803-jLP6Q2y2Kz6-hgAymC-uyFRtKGAwXXhTB8nsWusrRKBFqaSFmeeW8-l4I80u83MrrfV-RUy_b1gQSJxIMETwIMwA77Qa2qicBcmRnNIrReJjAov9ozdabjJv0wphLiwkNoBoVPngCmvuEJgQ2d65L3IhUbbFI-xCEjAcUqoQcNd1fyq=s838" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="838" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikU3VS5803-jLP6Q2y2Kz6-hgAymC-uyFRtKGAwXXhTB8nsWusrRKBFqaSFmeeW8-l4I80u83MrrfV-RUy_b1gQSJxIMETwIMwA77Qa2qicBcmRnNIrReJjAov9ozdabjJv0wphLiwkNoBoVPngCmvuEJgQ2d65L3IhUbbFI-xCEjAcUqoQcNd1fyq=s320" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtTOzh2RYSNLQeQ3P_Pzq1-rVu1XanqATgzVsOG25uldTS7wZERKsIivAztruS2kak_mnhw994XgeHEZpUO_8ZYaxZDXrZLRZZNJKLejA-FuW2NL9i_eaD1wraR84cvuOjHphJlTdLo6aMnW0SsbG2hT6cPrxkkhIjR-JsZQiRsXY1SaNMCbNqdjNA=s677" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="518" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtTOzh2RYSNLQeQ3P_Pzq1-rVu1XanqATgzVsOG25uldTS7wZERKsIivAztruS2kak_mnhw994XgeHEZpUO_8ZYaxZDXrZLRZZNJKLejA-FuW2NL9i_eaD1wraR84cvuOjHphJlTdLo6aMnW0SsbG2hT6cPrxkkhIjR-JsZQiRsXY1SaNMCbNqdjNA=w209-h273" width="209" /></a></div><br /></div></h2></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-20337927862524318582019-01-11T16:00:00.000-05:002019-01-11T16:00:08.312-05:00Procedurally Generated Humans<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Want to Listen to This Post?</div>
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I am not completely convinced that life isn’t a
simulation. Now, I know that sounds a little bit tin foil hat flat earth
turtles all the down conspiracy theory-ish, but hear me out. Have you ever
looked at someone randomly and thought, “They look pretty familiar”? Not
that you mistook them for someone else, but that they could pass for an
immediate blood relative. I noticed this one day in the last couple of
years. It’s almost as if there is only a limited amount facial feature
types and everyone is a derivative of those types. Growing up, I used to
play a game called Covert Action and part of the game relied on you identifying
bad actors in a plot by watching a building to see if they appeared, then you
bug their car or follow them to a new destination that revealed more of the
plot. After a few cases, you would start to see the same similar features in
the hair or mouth or even shape. It’s like a game of Guess Who? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Remember the gang members in GTA III? Pedestrians in
GTA IV and V? You always saw the same ones walking about. It would
be hard for a video game to have a fully stocked universe of totally random
characters that did not look like any other NPCs. Same goes for
Skyrim. And, of course, No Man’s Sky. Now, with the latest updates
like NEXT and Atlas, we have even more diversity in the universe, but still
there are only so many permutations of creatures and alien NPCs able to be
conjured up in this procedurally generated game. That means you see the
same type of flora and fauna across the planets you visit. And that’s
where I start to lose the thread that life is not a simulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I went to school with this particular person and at the
time, he was the only one who looked like him. I would never have
mistaken him for anyone, yet here, 25 years later, every time I see a
particular Senator on television, I immediately think of him. After
Bailey’s maternal grandmother died, we were convinced on more than one occasion,
that a person we saw in the store was, in fact, her. Granted, our grief
probably manifested in some conjuration of similarities between the two, but it
is possible, they shared the same facial features. Same goes for
me. My freshman year of college, there was a student directory of
incoming freshmen and while I wasn’t in it, since I transferred in the Spring,
my doppelganger was. Clear as day, confirmed by more than one
person. Over the years, I’ve been compared to various celebrities, each
vastly different in how they looked at the time I was associated to them, but
still, I was compared to them all the same. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And it’s almost like you can look at someone and see what
they would have looked like as a young person, or even as an old one.
Same for less weight or more weight. Hair or no hair. I constantly
see the same facial types across the spectrum which could be the leading
cause of déjà vu when it comes to thinking you know someone you’ve never met,
even though you are sure you’ve seen them before. I’ve even been told by
people, after I had met them, that I reminded them of someone they knew all
their life. I suffer from the best friend displacement syndrome, I guess.
Of course, that’s something I’ve entirely made up but the definition would be
that someone you meet immediately becomes the best friend you lost years ago
for whatever reason.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, if in fact, we are trapped in some simulation, it would
make total sense that there are only so many combinations of possible features
in this world. Now, there are celebrity look-a-likes that could fool
forensic experts but even in those cases, but chances are, they made their
career out of looking like someone by actually having work done to look more
like someone. But there is something to be said out of the idea that
there are 7 people on Earth that look like you. However, chances are, if
there are that many, you probably aren’t too far apart geographically.
After all, given your own facial features, gender, race, etc. to find your doppelganger,
you have to have similar features and while the US is a melting pot of
different ethnicities, you’re probably not going to find a middle aged white
man who looks like you living in Cambodia, unless they are an expatriate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But let’s delve further. Where I work, I have to park
on the other side of the river, walk two blocks to a light rail station, ride
that two stops, then walk another block and a half before I reach my
destination. In that time, I constantly see the same people at roughly
6:30 in the morning. In fact, I can usually tell if I’m going to miss my
train if I see the same woman walking, with her lit cigarette, past me on
the street or the older woman with dark shades on coming up the escalator
before I reach the platform. And there’s always the same group of
students who pass me coming out of the station, and the same guy with his
duffle bag and black trench coat, waiting for a bus near my building.
Also, there was a time when I was parking in an alternate location, and I
would pass a gentlemen coming from the light rail station wearing a green shirt
with a recycling shape on it. We passed by on several occasions.
And in the afternoon, while standing at the window of my office, I saw him
walking past my building, across the river from our usual passing spot.
It was strange. It was almost as if I were walking through the streets of
Whiterun and passing by Belethor or Brenuin on my way to Breezehome. I
began to suspect that maybe the people, who are always on the same path during
my commute, were NPCs in my simulation… Or even more frightening, I was also an
NPC in someone else’s simulation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Think about it. I get up and do the same thing every
day, drive the same route, go to the same job… have the same routine, I always
eat the same foods. That’s it. </div>
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I’m an NPC.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I mean, I used to be an adventurer like you… but…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-45543815755885278992018-12-14T16:00:00.000-05:002018-12-14T16:00:01.189-05:00Unless<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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Full disclosure, I am not a quote/unquote Pittsburgher by
residency. I have been a lifelong fan of Pittsburgh teams. I
attended and graduated the University of Pittsburgh. I currently work in
the city. To that end, I consider myself a Pittsburgher because I am very
attached to the area in one way or another. And even if I wasn’t I would still
have been affected as deeply by the events that took place in Squirrel Hill at
the Tree of Life Synagogue last month. And I’m here to say that it, along
with the rest of the world won’t get better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I say that as I try to raise a daughter to not look at the
most horrible negative aspects of humanity. I say that as she, too, has
expressed that the world is a horrible place and everything sucks. And
quite frankly, I cannot disagree with her. But I can reassure her and I want to
reassure any of you that think that just because we are living through unusually
extraordinary times that it means the world is never going to not suck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s face it, we’re not getting out of her alive. The
moment we were born, we began to die. And that’s OK. After all, we
are a living thing and like any plant or animal, our physical beings are only
able to endure so much over so long a time. And no matter how much we try
to prevent or protect ourselves from disease or disaster, the end result is the
same. We will all die. We are born and we die. Those two
points are fixed in their existence. The degree to which we exist within two
points is flexible and therein lies the challenge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, more than ever, we are bombarded with news and
information about the world. Now, more than ever, we are aware of things
that are going on outside our doors. Now, more than ever, is that
information shaped to illicit a heightened reaction, physical and
emotional. And our children are not immune to it. We can only guard
them against technology for so long. It’s everywhere. News alerts,
crawls, social media posts… It’s all out there and the more we try to wrap our
children in a blanket of ignorance to protect their innocence, the harder
reality tries to creep in. There is no escaping the wolf that is already
in the doorway. Because of that I embrace the news and offer you a caveat
in your digestion of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The world sucks right now. People are dying from hate
and violence more than just old age. People are more divided now than
they were at a time when we were actually divided by laws. People are
more willing to accept that everything will get worse before it gets
better. And they aren’t wrong. I’m sorry, but this is the reality
we live in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Everything we eat will kill us. If we buy it, it’s got
chemicals. If we grow it, it comes into contact with chemicals. If
we synthesize it, it is a chemical. The reason you like the way a certain
food tastes is because they are designed that way. Natural foods have a real
taste that isn’t as fun or zingy as processed. But real food tastes good
if you know how to prepare it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our leaders all serve someone else’s interests other than
our own. Oh, sure, they tell us they do. They say they will remove
the corruption and drive out the evil. They dangle a small carrot to us
while giving others huge bushels. But if that’s what they’ve been telling
us for decades, and we keep falling for it, then why has no one actually done
it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Death is everywhere. As I said, your body is literally
trying to kill you every day until it actually succeeds or loses that honor to
another killer. If you eat X, it will give you Y, which is bad. But if
you try to avoid X, by eating A, B will happen. If you take F it will
cause you worse side effects than what G’s symptoms are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, there you go. It all sucks. Our food will poison
us. Our government won’t protect us. And our medicine will make us
sick. <o:p></o:p></div>
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UNLESS<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead of sitting there, making excuses for why it doesn’t
matter what you do to your body or the environment, instead of crawling into a
hole and waiting to die of old age, covered in bubble wrap with no sharp edges
on anything so you don’t get a cut, or instead of simply deciding that maybe a
long life isn’t worth it because what reason do you have to make it to 30 when
you can just gorge on processed cheese and chocolate and accept death at an
early age maybe you can do something to change it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stop being complacent that the world is horrible and make it
better. Come up with new solutions to old problems. Shout YES
louder than the loudest adult who shouts NO to changing the world. Get
off your ass, take a stand, and start making little changes that improve
things. Get help. Organize. Make a statement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stop listening to what they’re telling you is wrong and
start telling them what you can do to fix it. We used to make
things. We used to solve problems. Now all we do is make ways for
us to be enslaved by the problems we’ve created. We scare everyone into
thinking the world is horrible and that it’s all coming to get you, so hide
behind a shield of hate and lies and you’ll be safe from the truth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have access to the greatest wealth of technology and
information than we have ever had and it can be used for good. All it
takes is enough people to band together and use it that way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing
is going to get better. It's not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-59009063492994424742018-12-07T16:00:00.000-05:002018-12-07T16:00:00.351-05:00The Information Super Highway Was Paved With Good Intentions<br />
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As we continue to hurl ourselves
into Idiocracy territory, I thought about the last 25 years of my
life. After all, my 25th reunion is this fall. Good
time to reflect. Look back on my adult life. Cry in the
corner a bit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I discovered is that for all the technological
innovation we’ve seen in the last two decades, we’ve become incredibly stupid
and selfish. If I could go back in time and change one thing, I
might actually make the ultimate sacrifice. I might try to prevent
the invention of the Internet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I KNOW.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What madness is this? Why, on Earth would you
un-invent the Internet? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aren’t you
selling shirts, online? Aren’t you trying, and failing, to
produce YouTube videos? Yeah, but that doesn’t change the
truth. And, before you start clutching your routers and barking
madly, understand where I’m coming from on this. It’s
like Terminator 2. No matter how hard they tried to keep Skynet
from happening, it happened. Granted, it happened in a bad way, a la
Terminator 3, but it was inevitable. Now, I don't want to keep the
Internet from ever happening. I only wish to delay the process
until we are better equipped, mentally and emotionally, to handle it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were given fire by the Gods and we ended up torching
the world. We literally did not understand what we were
given. For awhile we just did silly things with the
Internet. Hell, we still do. Cats playing
keyboards, planking, Hadouken pics, Horse Head Mask videos, memes,
vines... But soon, it warped and became something
different. There was porn… so much porn. Then there
were cell phones and soon commercial WiFi. iPods.
Tidepods iPhones. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Facebook, Instagram, Elvis Presley, Disneyland.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It spiraled out of control. Slang (OMG,
WTF, ROTFLMAOBBQ)<o:p></o:p></div>
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We became addicted to technology. Our lives
revolved around little devices that did everything for us. A
phone replaced a pager, a camera, a gaming device, a laptop, watch, GPS, radio,
Walkman, and tons of other devices. It became the Swiss Army Lazy
Man. Texting gave way to sexting. Polaroids
gave way to selfies-in-a-bathroom-with-duck-face being Instagramed and put up
on Facebook. “Like, please!” (read: I have no self-esteem
and need constant and instant approval to maintain my shell of an
existence.) Soon, there was cyber-bullying. Hacking
phones, emails, the need for 24/7 news that may or may not even be accurate
spread like a wildfire. Hacking of elections and influencing voters'
minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fake News, trolls, and
bots. We have become unable to put the genie back into the bottle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And, I don’t think we ever will. Isn’t
it odd that in the last 25 years we’ve invented things that bring us closer
together, more so than ever before, yet they put us farther apart in terms of
actually connecting with people. Used to be, if you wanted to reach
someone, you had to catch them at home, by phone. Now, you
call their cell. And, in a lot of cases, they want you to hang up
and just text. Also, isn’t it odd that in the last 25
years, so much technology has come about yet, what’s the last thing we
cured? Polio, I think. We’ve created a generation of
customers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our kids? Our kids have become over-privileged and
entitled. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, Johnny has an iPod and he’s seven.” “Well, Johnny
is also a selfish brat that can’t wipe himself yet, but can send a
text. He probably still wets the bed.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Nobody wants to work for anything. And I don’t
mean the entitled vs. the uneducated. I’m talking about
EVERYONE. Somewhere along the way, we lost our mission. Our
grandparents went to WWII. They sacrificed a lot of things in order
to keep the country running. Now, we’re asked to give up
something and suddenly, since 9/11, our government is either out to control
or enslave us. Take away our rights. Funny. Our
grandparents sacrificed a lot in order to give their family a better
life. Our parents, well, at least mine, gave up a lot of stuff
in order to make our lives better. They scrimped and
saved. They went without new clothes or fancy appliances. They
made ends meet and did what they could to ensure that we never had to live like
that, ever. And somehow, we thought, “Oh,
cool. Great. Thanks.” And that was
it. We accepted their generous offer. We watched as they
worked hard and bled for us and we just took that better life and continued to
not pay it forward, but instead we cheapened the thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were given so much without having to ask for it and
yet, when it came to our children, or the next generation born into the
millennium, they didn’t understand what our parents did to provide, because we
were the end result. We didn’t continue the
trend. We didn’t have to work hard
anymore. Technology caught up and made it
easier. Hell, I am just as responsible. I
work in an office all day, but I also run a business where I don’t have to put
a lot of effort into it and am rewarded, monetarily. Granted,
I wish I could work more on it. I know the quality would
benefit, but at the end of the day, I get emails saying , “Congrats on your sale”
with no deserving of that praise. The Internet has done the work for
me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We take to Facebook and instead of sharing our lives with
each other, we share half assed researched and cited examples of hate against
one group or another. I can count on at least one hand how
many friends I have on Facebook that never say a word, yet post CONTINUALLY
their disdain for one group or another in this world. And 9
times out of 10, they share from one subjective group that is not even factual
all the time. It’s just a funny picture, or what they claim to be
funny, slamming another person/group/religion/etc. They don’t
say “Hi”, or “How are you” they say, “Here’s why you’re all wrong and I’m
right” in graphic form. And for all that friending and sharing that goes
on, I believe we are more so divided than we ever were as a
civilization. Friends are not friends, they are an audience for our
amusement and our agendas. We don't connect, we try to redirect.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We do not deserve the Internet. If
aliens were to come here, looking for intelligent life, we’d be blown off the
face of the galaxy like we were a plague. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“For the love of Blurg! Zyphos, we must
eradicate this menace on Earth before it spreads and infects us.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“How do you know that, Lishu?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“I saw it on Reddit. And Grimjor saw a post
on Zarnbook that he shared from "I bet this Gorpcar can get more likes
than Firtarp.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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100 Andelorians like this. (Picture of a
tentacle in a thumbs up position.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, yeah. Let’s go back, blow the servers and
tell the geeks of the 90s to keep working on it and we’ll work on being better
humans, so that one day, we may be deserving of such an awesome power.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-45869967695817842512018-11-30T16:00:00.000-05:002018-11-30T16:00:00.144-05:00I Don't Want To Leave<br />
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Open world games such as Minecraft or No Man’s Sky are
sometimes overwhelming to those of us who like a little bit of structure in our
lives. After all, we are essentially given not just a blank canvas, but a
blank studio, gallery, and entire world in which to create. The level of
awareness of how big the world or universe is in regards to what your footprint
is could crush your mind. You start out at spawn, and immediately worry
about survival, so you cobble together a shelter or hide out where it’s safe
until you can fully prepare yourself to venture beyond the safety of your
immediate surroundings. As you gain experience and develop more survival
skills, you explore further and further. Your original base is no longer
something you need and you want to look for greener pastures or more advanced
resources. You want to move somewhere that your level of evolvement is
now at the bottom of the scale and you can work your way up to the master of
the domain. Rinse and repeat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And especially, in a game like No Man’s Sky, you will shed
resources a lot. You will throw away things that seem so important or valuable
all because you need more room for consumables to build and survive. It’s
the equivalent of people who survive a shipwreck on an island with a case of
extremely expensive 100 year old scotch and they use it for fuel because
survival is more important than status or wealth. Many times, and I mean
maaaannnnnnnnyyyy times I have come across worlds, rich in valuable resources
that I would love to plunder, only to jump in, grab a small, totally unrelated
item, and then jump out. I may be tempted to grab a couple of high
quality items if they are close by, but usually inventory space doesn’t allow
for a profitable haul. The game actually forces you to play slow. It
hamstrings your efforts, even though you may be capable of higher functions
with items such as advanced mining lasers or hazmat gloves. And until you
progress far enough into the game, you won’t have access to more storage on
your person, at a base, or in a freighter. Probably the best option at
this point is to acquire a bunch of starships, park them in your freighter, and
use their inventory space to hold multiple stacks of resources you need.
You can always jump back to them and pick up what you need.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But that causes another issue. Travelling. How
many times have you gone somewhere, say in Skyrim, or Minecraft, or No Man’s
Sky and not had what you needed or the inventory space to carry what you came
for? Imagine it, you’ve landed your ship, walked over a mountain towards
an item or location and then realized I am missing something that I need or I
can’t even carry this. So, you have to hopefully have something you can
drop or you spend an hour creating something to recharge your tools or suit,
and then scrapping the rest to make room… A simple walk becomes a two hour
ordeal. And when you don’t have hours to play, it can be frustrating to
make very small moves towards a goal. So there you are, bebopping
around the universe looking for a handful of items because they can’t all be
readily available in the system you start out in. So, off I go to another
system, and another, and the explorer in me is conflicted with the
achiever. I want to search for all the species and all the plants.
I want to discover and catalog all the planets, not just a landing patch on
each one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the early days of No Man’s Sky, the idea was that you
could discover planets and creatures and name them, uploading them to the
servers which would retain that information for when the next player, who happens
to warp on by, can see your discovery. It was a multiplayer feature in a
single player instance. It meant “discover all the things” which had me
wondering that if the universe of No Man’s Sky was based on algorithms and is
procedurally generated, how does every player exist in the same space? But, of
course, with the advent of this new type of feature, mapping and discovery,
that meant that he/she gets to the end fastest, gets the spoils of being first
but misses a lot of stuff along the way, something I find annoying about people
who speed run in order to have arbitrary bragging rights. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I learned to let go. I learned that no system is a
snowflake. For as unique and detailed as each system and all their
planets may be, the one thing I learned in No Man’s Sky and Minecraft is that I
can pick up, go somewhere else and find exactly what I need, albeit after maybe
a wasted day, looking over new planets. The stuff in my inventory can be
valuable but materialism in this game is almost as inconsequential as your own
physical existence in the game. It’s all data. There’s a pattern.
It’s repeatable. It happens once and it happens again. It took me
awhile to leave the worlds I was so accustomed to, so familiar with and enjoy
finding the next place that is somewhat new but somewhat the same. At one
point in my early travels, I gave up on the allure of trying to reach the
destination and worried more about the journey. I spent a lot of time
just hanging out in the third system I traveled to. I hopped all over the place
to max out my ship’s inventory. I maxed out my weapon. I maxed out
my exosuit. I linked all the upgrades. Everything was great… and
then it all changed. And I was reset in a way. Suddenly, all the bragging
rights and inventory and discoveries didn’t matter. I’m now playing
differently.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No Man’s Sky is meant to be enjoyed, experienced, not rushed
to conclusion. And unfortunately, you have competing in game
directives. Follow the path, but explore and build. So, you move
from place to place and keep building, leaving remnants of your existence
scattered about the universe. When in reality, what I want to do is
settle down and explore an area that holds so many possibilities. But I
have to continually put that desire on hold due to a requirement that forces me
to go somewhere else. There is no rooting yourself in the experience
because the ability to do so requires you to leave your immediate area and
after searching countless systems and countless worlds for that perfect paradise
to build and grow, your objective lies somewhere else, like a princess in
another castle. The main issue became tracing back over your steps.
After a few updates my progress was lost, planets changed, bases reverted or
became missing. And for me to travel back along my path trying to find
previous worlds and systems became annoying. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Luckily, the NEXT update somewhat reconciles this
quandary. I can explore any and every world. I can follow the path
as long and as far as I need to, but along the way, I need to leave
breadcrumbs. In every system that has an essential component or seemingly
perfect world, I place a base. Getting enough resources to plop down a
wood shack and a portal isn’t too hard. As I move further and further
along, it just means more names on my transporter list. Even if I don’t
put a portal down, at least I can get back to the space station and fly down to
where my base is located. Then, when I find the perfect place to park, I
can build my final base and connect a portal network to the essential locations
for resources needed to complete base quests. The main annoyance will be
teleportation times but that isn’t as bad as having to physically fly to
different systems. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t have to leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-32344843657397561052018-11-23T16:00:00.000-05:002018-11-23T16:00:04.884-05:00A Legacy of Binary Dust<br />
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How infinitesimal will the legacy be of someone born in the 20th century. I often wonder about the effects of our lives and those who have come before us on this planet. Stonehenge. Easter Island. The Pyramids. The Nazca Desert drawings. Croatoan. These are all mysteries of history where we’re not sure what was the exact purpose of their design. In fact, what exactly was being discussed when those responsible stepped back and looked at their creations, now finished. Was it for the benefit of them to leave their mark or for us? Were they trying to simply say, “Killroy was here,” in some ancient fashion, or were they trying to tell future civilizations something important. <br /><br />But what’s past is prologues and we are the new builders of a legacy that may never be realized. We’ve built structures on the beach, a testament to our ingenuity of molding sand. We leave monuments of our gritty labors for others to partake, some to take out with their feet. Hopefully, they take delight in our design for a brief moment in time. But, ultimately, the beach, like a giant Etch-a-sketch, shakes itself each day, wiping away our efforts. Once towering castles in the sand, a new resets the board and allows the next master builders a chance to impress the passersby. But what if no one glances our works in the sand? What if not one person wanders by before the tides reclaim the sand? Did it ever exist? Did it ever matter? <br /><br />So what if we carved our initials into that tree or upon the steel beams of a rusted old bridge that spans a river. So what if we tag a water tower or train car? Someday that mighty maple may fall, a casualty of mother nature. Or that bridge may crumble due to the elements, only to be rebuilt anew, sans scratched in symbols of our defacement. The graffiti on an overpass may be painted over. And who really gets the chance to read all the tags on the boxcars as they roll by at the railroad crossing? Then what? Our monograms go unnoticed, forgotten in time. We lose a foothold on the past with our legacy erased. <br /><br />Of course these acts are all destructive. They hurt nature. We should build things not deface them. But even then, over time, those structures could be wiped from memory with a wrecking ball or an evil plot. Our history books and the Internet preserve those images, indelible in our minds and hearts for generations to come, but still the memories get corroded and the history gets morphed into something different, a narrative told by one side to blame the other. Of course, this only matters to the legacies built by those with presence. Those items are on display for a reason and the knowledge of their dedication is made public. For us, the lowly, anonymous citizen, our legacy gets wiped quite often. <br /><br />I hope, that one day, many, many years from now, a child puts on their father’s shirt. It’s faded design marks a time in the early 21st century, where a young man, no longer alive, decided to put funny images on a shirt, and perhaps a younger man bought that shirt, wearing it with pride And it held up, over the years, until he had a family all his own, and while the shirt no longer fits him, his young son can run around in the faded and cracked ink marked shirt, still giving the father a smile, remembering when he bought it so many years ago. <br /><br />And one day, when a new generation comes up with a better idea for sharing content among viewers, and the servers of YouTube are wiped and scrapped, the last remnants of these videos will be lost to time. Even the raw footage and files from their recordings will no longer be able to be viewed as we move onto different, more efficient means of compression and storage of digital media. Today’s MP4s are yesterday’s 5 ¼ inch floppy disks. Centuries from now, an archaeologist may come across a box of these thin black squares and wonder what the faded words “Lemonade Stand” or “DOOM.EXE” means. What will be the legacy of Chocolate Rain or Keyboard Cat be when no one is able to view the videos in the 22nd century? <br /><br />As for gamers, we spend time and money on a digital footprint. On multiplayer servers, long since decommissioned, we built massive bases and farms in Minecraft, creating pixel art Mario or Pinkachu out of wool, so that a n00b on the server could pass by and see our art or architecture, marveling at the design and detail. Even I gave money to a server which no longer exists. I built many structures costing me countless hours only to have them wiped away after the mods went away and stopped hosting. The videos of these structures, while still on my channel, harken to a time when I was still early into the channel, not really knowing how to best present and edit content. In GTA, we built empires and acquired clothes and vehicles, but those were all temporary fixtures as newer titles were released and support for the old was removed. The money gamers spent on shark cards to amass all this material wealth, gone in a command line execution of finality. Angry Phisting will be no more as will Bob in the world of San Andreas. These are the legacies I’ve perhaps wasted my time on. Many hours, many dollars in maintaining storage and Players Plus accounts only to have everything blinked away. What purpose did it serve? What did I hope to achieve in them? Why do we continue to leave footprints where we know someone will later erase them? <br /><br />It’s a perfect rabbit hole to climb down as you play a game like No Man’s Sky where in essence, the game wants you to be found. Perhaps not physically, or even maybe literally, but your mark on the game is left to be witnessed. Of course, as the game continues to morph and update and become something further away than what it initially started out as, our digital footprint on the universe is being wiped clean from the servers and one day, maybe a year or maybe decades from now, no one will ever see how you named your first discovery, Planet McPlanet Face. As the NEXT update gives us the option of building bases anywhere and in any quantity I am laughing as I come across the many footprints, little messages from other explorers, screaming out into the void. Their messages like little, “Killroy was here” moments as I pass through on my way to completing missions. And as new players wander by, they may see my half constructed, abandoned bases, a simple checkpoint for me to find my way back, along the landscape of some world I’ve marked up in an effort to cash in on the resources of a world until I find that perfect location in which to build my ultimate base, only to have it wiped away from existence by the next update… or perhaps one day gone forever when Hello Games turns down the servers. <br /><br />What do we hope to accomplish by making marks in the dirt or on the sides of buildings which can be erased with ease? How do want to be remembered when our digital feats and discoveries can be wiped away with impunity. Why do we care? As we move further and further online we lose more and more of our past because we become more closed off to the outside, opting to bottleneck our interaction into a screen and a signal. There’s a real chance that if we were to digitize our entire history and all of our accomplishments we could lose them all if something happens. If the power goes out, we lose everything. If some kind of attack occurs that wipes our data, we could lose our entire past. No more “Killroy was here” and no more “Ask not what your country can do for you.” <br /><br />I’ve worked in knowledge management. I know what it’s like to be in an organization where the greatest wealth of information is held close by a very few individuals. The tribal knowledge that could help solve today’s problems and prevent tomorrow’s is closely guarded because by giving up that ownership, the owners feel they become obsolete and no longer useful. We didn’t get to space by having a few mathematicians say, “It’s easier if I just do it for you.” But it’s even more than that. We, as a society, are unprepared for what happens when those who take care of us don’t pass on their knowledge of everyday things. Farming or basic maintenance or even how to function as an adult and manage finances. <br /><br />Education is the most powerful legacy we can pass on to our next generations. And it’s taught word of mouth and written. Yes, technology can help mobilize and shape the message. It can even help deliver it, but it cannot be the system of record when it comes to our past. That we must write down and teach to the youth. We must cut through all the Fake News and partisanship and pass along those details and facts that will keep up from losing ourselves completely. That is the carving on the tree we need. That is the graffiti on the water tower we should embrace. <br /><br />We need to have more than a legacy of binary dust to have blown away by the winds of ignorance and shortsightedness. We need to learn from our past or we will forever make the same mistakes. <br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-50660073565208374992018-11-02T16:00:00.000-04:002018-11-02T16:00:01.815-04:00Time, Time, Time, See What's Become of Me<br />
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Why is that some people look at their life in terms of being so many years removed from something? And at what point do you stop counting?<o:p></o:p></div>
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This year is/was my 25<sup>th</sup> high school reunion. It’s been 25 years since I graduated high school. Now, I don’t typically count the number of years since I graduated college. It’s been 20 by the way. Maybe that’s because we don’t typically commemorate the year we graduated college whether because we have opportunities to go beyond just a basic four year college tenure, or because we just don’t typically have a college reunion. Hell, I didn’t even go to my college graduation. There were over 36,000 undergrads at my school. I don’t think anyone noticed me missing, nor was my name probably called. Yet, there I was some 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 years out of high school saying, “I can’t believe it’s been 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 years since I’ve been out of high school.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And in these, now, 25 years since graduating I have been to a total of…. One reunion. I’m one for five. I went to only one reunion despite being very aware and vocal about how many years it was since I was in high school. 20%. I enjoyed high school. It was fun for me. I had good friends and had a great time there. I went to the last one. Yes, it was the 20<sup>th</sup> because I felt it was somewhat of a milestone. Now, I did attend a breakfast for the 10<sup>th</sup> which was basically across the street from where I was living at the time, otherwise I was not really interested in going. But for the 20<sup>th</sup>, I felt there was some need to do so. Perhaps it was the being almost 40. Perhaps it was a new chapter in my life. I was going through a divorce. Perhaps I just felt like I had some unfinished business to figure out and went to see about some closure. What I found out what was that any questions I had about my life and the last 20 years weren’t being answered by hanging out with people I rarely saw in 20 years, though communicated with via social media. I didn’t unlock any secrets of the universe in that evening. I didn’t look back and think, yeah, I should have really gone to the other three and this upcoming one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I knew that it was a small moment in this life. We all came together and began talking and planning and getting back into each other’s lives but I said that probably, after the 20<sup>th</sup>, we’d also drift back apart. I figured we would probably go back to our little corners of the world and keep each other at a distance over social media. And even that has changed in the last five years. The people I remember from high school were not the same people I saw that night… and they are not the same people I see today. A lot has changed in the last 25 years… mostly in the last three.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A lot of people can’t wait to get away from that orbit of counting years from high school graduation. Their time in the halls of their local public school could have been difficult. They could have been sad or even cruel. We lived in a different world. The advances we made in social equality we’re small, but very impactful, when our parents were teenagers but then a huge gap of 40 years before we even began to rethink the most basic tenets of acceptance and tolerance. We’re still fighting that to this day. Meanwhile, kids in high schools have worse things to worry about. Drugs and violence are more rampant than they were 25 years ago. It will have been 20 years since Columbine next Spring. Knowing the odds, I simultaneously scoff and worry that my own child will be in high school by the time my 30<sup>th</sup> reunion rolls around. The odds are so small, but I’m sure every parent, including those at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas and Sandy Hook, never truly believed they’d have to worry either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Their unfortunate truth is that they will begin marking time in years since someone has passed. As we get older, those we love will ultimately be taken from us and we will begin remembering that it’s been “X years since Y passed.” I look back at how it’s been four years since my first cat died, a year and a half, and six months since two others died, respectively. I still have one left and she’s so stubborn that she will probably outlive me and one day be marking the years since I’ve passed. It’s sad, for sure, and I’m not sure how healthy it is to remind ourselves how it’s been that someone has left us. Perhaps it’s better to remember how many memories they gave us, focusing on their positive impact on our lives instead of focusing on their absence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But, in all fairness here is a list of important “it’s been this many years since…” that I felt were impactful and poignant in our history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been one week since you looked at me<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 7 years since the end of the Iraq War<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 9 years since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 11 years since the introduction of the iPhone<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 15 years since the beginning of the War in Iraq<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 16 years since the attacks on 9/11 and the war on terror began, and the release of the first Xbox<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 21 years since the movie Titanic was released<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 22 years since the first Toy Story came out and the verdict in the OJ trial was passed<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 23 years since the Sony Playstation came out<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 24 years since Forrest Gump was released and Kurt Cobain died<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 25 years since the first text message was sent, the .mp3 became a thing, and the first Jurassic Park was released<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 27 years since the first web page was launched and the beginning and end of the Gulf War<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 29 years since the first Simpsons episode aired<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 32 years since the Challenger Shuttle disaster<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 33 years since Rocky IV was released and the US release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s also been 33 years since the first fully CGI character was used on film.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 34 years since the first Ghostbusters movie was released and the first PG-13 movie was released (Red Dawn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 36 years since the first Compact Disc was released<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 38 years since Pac-Man was released in arcades<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 41 years since the first Star Wars movie and the Atari 2600 was released and also Elvis died<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 43 years since I was born and the end of the American military involvement in Vietnam<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 46 years since the first email was sent<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 49 years since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 50 years since Martin Luther King was assassinated<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 54 years since the Civil Rights Act was passed and the Beatles first live American television performance <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 55 years since JFK was assassinated<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 56 the first commercial modem was released<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 63 years since the first polio vaccine came into use<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 65 years since the armistice was signed signaling the end of fighting in the Korean War <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 73 years since the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the end of World War II<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 77 years since the bombing of Pearl Harbor<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 100 years since the end of World War I<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been 115 years since the first Ford car, The Model A was produced<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-64983101641636920382018-10-26T16:00:00.000-04:002018-11-19T14:21:06.908-05:00Going The Long Way<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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Watch below or check out more videos on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAngryCast" target="_blank">YouTube Channel</a>.<br />
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In the early days of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Man’s Sky</i></b>, back when no one
cared about the game, it often became boring and tedious to world hop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would spend hours trying to nail down
every flora and fauna discovery in order to complete the collection for the
most possible units.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes you had
to travel great distances, at the expense of resources, just to find those last
couple crawlers or flying creatures in order to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while exploration is a big part of what
makes <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Man’s Sky </i></b>work, the time it takes to complete a system’s
possible discoveries and race other players to the core in order to “be first”
to get there, naming everything, became somewhat of a conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the entire game is a conflict
between what you should do to conform to the games story and what you want to
do as an open world player, traveler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After all, grinding in the game was somewhat in direct conflict of what
you were supposed to achieve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you
spend countless hours detailing every inch of every planet before moving on,
the game constantly pops up a reminder to “Travel”, “Explore”, and follow
Atlas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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We were given the options to build a base, but the amount of
time that you had to dedicate to building and completing all the quests
surrounding the base update took away from that whole Atlas path idea because
once you left a system, you either had to back track or keep a teleport node to
the space station or the base you had unless you wanted to do it all over
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many times had I revisited
the game, only to have to redo all the worker missions and building of vehicles
until the NEXT update game, erasing all of that and rendering 90% of inventory
as useless or outdated technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
almost as if it’s better to complete the game first and then do all the update
stuff, or so the developers thought most gamers would have done so when dolling
out these new updates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of us, still
haven’t reached the core, instead we soak in the landscapes, build wild
imaginative structures, and of course, spend a lot of time getting rich.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, back in the early days of the game, you could exploit
the mechanics of the game to max out your ship and backpack inventory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could invest a lot of time, finding
crashed ship after crashed ship in order to exchange it for another one with
one more slot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you found a world
with some Gravatino Balls or Vortex Cubes you could haul a ton back to the
space station and find that one traveler who had some ridiculous need for your
valuable items, overpaying for something so useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, if you were savvy, you could make
millions constructing bypass chips or components of the warp cell recipe and
selling them the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think when
I last played the original version, I had amassed something like 26 to 30
million units without travelling more than four systems and never paying for a
new ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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But, in a way, it ruins your experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These days, with the NEXT update, you can
exploit a mechanic, making millions by selling cryo-pumps or just farming
nanintes from sentinels at an outpost, using the interior as a way to stave off
the wave upon wave of attacking bipedal and quadruped level defenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it isn’t cheating, this exploit is
basically a way for you to earn fast money and then spend it all on new
freighters, tools, ships, or expansions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happens NEXT?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you build a huge base and just live?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you explore the game and finish it which
basically restarts everything?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Part of the overall experience with a game such as this is
to immerse yourself in the world or universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are given countless worlds to discover, and even though they tend to
be a repetitive exercise, taking things slow and exploring is part of the
fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, it doesn’t have an overall
pro-content spin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, when you,
as a content producer want to put forth a game such as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Man’s Sky</i></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in order to satisfy a niche on your channel,
you’re given very few options as how to approach it successfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can do hits and bits on general tips to
showcase how to discover and build certain things, a basic tutorial style.. or
you do an overall long play strategy, where you invite viewers along with you
for the experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I tend to play that way, because in essence, I want to play
the game, not just give tips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to
experience what the game is and in the fast paced real world, where gaming time
is at a premium, for someone with little time, I don’t want to work twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to immerse myself into the game and if
you want to watch, it’s all the better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, in a way, that tends to destroy the experience for others… maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say maybe, because there are games, like
point and click adventures or puzzle based titles, where the long play format
tends to ruin the game for someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, take a game like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mysterious Cities of Gold, The Bridge, Gone
Home, </i></b>or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Back to the Future</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you bought any of those games and need a tip, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mysterious Cities of Gold</i></b>,
and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bridge</i></b> may be a case for doing simple tutorials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually, there is a path to the a goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But with games like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Back to the Future </i></b>or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gone
Home</i></b>, it is more of a journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s not about move here, move here, click this, but what happens when
you do those actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s telling a
story, and if you watch someone play the whole way through, it can ruin the
experience for you if you were to choose to go back and play it after
watching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Now, if you have no intention
of playing those games or are unable and want to experience it through someone
else, then by all means go for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
just that so many content creators are more focused on what is going to get
them metrics vs. which is more enjoyable to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In essence, being demonetized frees me from having to worry about
getting “ratings” as it were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though,
one would think it would be my focus to rebuild my channel to become monetized,
in order to get those ratings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I
simply don’t care enough about the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m here to play the game and if that doesn’t fly for you… so be it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though, I can see the potential of various types of videos
with this game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s art, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be simple as following someone on
their journey or just watching the landscape go by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The possibilities are endless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just have to find them. I suggest going the long way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-66851789882404574942018-10-19T16:00:00.000-04:002018-10-19T16:00:05.653-04:00No Man's Filters<br />
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I am old enough to remember a time when we had to wait days,
if not weeks to see what we took pictures of. I had a 35mm Instamatic
camera that required sticking a flash cube into the top. The film came in
a cartridge that looked like the modern day equivalent of the voice mail symbol
on your phone. You pointed, shot the picture, then had to manually
advance the film by a dial on the top that clicked when in place. You got
maybe 24 pictures and had to mail the film away to be processed unless you went
to a Fotomat in the mall parking lot, which would still take days. There
was no cloud. We didn’t have filters. We didn’t have ears and noses to stick on
our faces. We didn’t even know if we blinked. It was all a mystery to be
figured out weeks later. And we didn’t seem to mind. Nowadays, we have
selfie sticks and Snapchats and Instagrams and weird shit that makes our faces
look like fun house mirrors. And now we also take pictures in games.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, to be fair, taking a picture of your gameplay in a
video game isn’t a new concept. Long before sharing or screenshotting became a
thing, some games required you to send in proof that you accomplished some feat
or achievement. Somewhere in a shoe box, is a blurry photo of my high
score from Atari 2600<b><i> Decathlon</i></b>, taken prior to 1984. Again, the ability
for us to snap a perfectly framed, in focus, picture with 70s/80s photographic
technology was very low and the game would have been turned off or the
television would have been burned out before the developed photo ever came
back. But if you were lucky to achieve something so grand as getting over
10,000 points in <b><i>Decathlon</i></b> or 20,000 points in <b><i>Pitfall</i></b>. Activision had
this thing called Activison Patches which they would send to you in exchange
for photographic proof that you finished or attained a particular score in one
of their games. They were these sew on patches you could put on your jean
jacket or backpack. The 80s equivalent to Xbox achievements or PS4
Trophies. But those were photos of you playing the game. Then,
something happened. We added taking photos in the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Games like the <b><i>Sims</i></b> or <b><i>Second Life</i></b> took taking photos of
your monitor or television and put the power of the photo op into the
game. <b><i>Minecraft</i></b> gave players a screenshot feature so that they could
share their epic builds or biggest fails with other players. And other
games offered the feature as part of the basic settings, some tongue in cheek
like <b><i>GTA V</i></b>, complete with selfie mode, filters and sharing capabilities.
Others were more about sharing the environment like <b><i>Uncharted 4</i></b>. But,
when you are immersed into a game like Uncharted or even <b><i>GTA</i></b>, having to stop
and take time to set up a photo op to capture a moment seems counter intuitive
to the game itself. When Uncharted 4 came out, it brought new gameplay
features to the decade old franchise. The first and last title on the 8<sup>th</sup>
generation console wanted to tout the advanced graphics of the PS4 with the
opportunity for players to take a moment to stop and look around at their
environment, snapping a picture and adding filters and other added
effects. It’s a nice little thing to do but again, it takes away from the
rough and tumble, puzzle solving action of the game. Cinematically, it
was on par with the 2<sup>nd</sup> game which seamlessly blended cutscenes and
in game action, but touting the newest bell and whistle brought to the table as
being able to Instagram your treasure hunt buried my interest in the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But, that’s not to say that in game photography isn’t
without merit. I mean, part of the initial gameplay of <b><i>No Man’s Sky</i></b> is to
scan and observe your surroundings, discovering new species of flora and
fauna. It only makes sense to enhance that initial offering by adding in
the ability to put in documenting of your journey into the great wide open by
taking some pics. After all, even though we’re unknown travelers, caught
in some weird metaphysical, philosophical mind screw about will and destiny,
we’re still tourists, exploring the universe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The overall aesthetic of <b><i>No Man’s Sky</i></b> is based in that
kitschy retro-futuristic science fiction art along the vein of Christopher Foss
and Ralph McQuarrie. Those angles and flared pieces of architecture and
the animals that look like they were placed in the Cantina scene, straight out
of central casting from the Jim Henson’s creature workshop. Odd shaped
necks and horns and flying fish dragons beg to be captured on film. Caves that
resemble overgrown maws and throats, ready to devour you. The skyscape,
streaked with jet comtrails from other travelers dividing the space from
atmosphere. It all looks so pretty. And now, with multiplayer
added, Hello Games has given players the ability to gesture in order to help
you communicate… or perhaps pose for a selfie. Saying Thank you or Help
or just sitting among the flowing stalks of grass as you contemplate your place
in the whole story of Nada and Polo or Atlas. You thoughts flash towards
the meaning of all this… hashtag pensive hashtag Thoughts before falling
asleep.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-72596809492697425572018-10-12T16:00:00.000-04:002018-10-12T16:00:08.757-04:00I Need Space<br />
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When I went away to college in the fall of 1993 I was
travelling to a school over 600 miles away from my home. I was going to
have to have everything I would to survive. That meant taking a shit ton
of stuff, packed into the covered bed of my Dad’s pickup truck with enough
space for me to slide in and out of a me shaped hole a couple times over the
course of 12 hours. It wasn’t a great idea. And after four months,
I transferred to another school about 25 miles away from my parents’.
Clearly, I had learned my lesson and didn’t need to pack everything for the
hour long trip of which I would be coming home most weekends. Nope, still
packed a single dorm room to the gills. Then, during the summer of my
sophomore and junior years, I spent three months working in an amusement park
nearly 4 hours away. Yep, you guessed it. I didn’t learn and my
parents paid the price literally and figuratively. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But, by the time I got back from my first summer sojourn I
learned exactly what I needed to get by on my own at school. In five
years of college, I never moved out of the dorms. Best decision I ever
made. First of all, I didn’t need to worry about roommates, the two
legged or multi legged variety. The area apartments were nothing if not
short of needing condemned and the last thing I wanted was to have rats or
roaches as non-paying residents. The dorms were furnished. The bed
and furniture supplied were all I needed for myself and any guests. I had
a mini fridge, a B&W TV, microwave, and hot pot along with my
toiletries. That was pretty much all I needed. There wasn’t a need
for multiple rooms or floors because quite frankly, I’d never use them.
Yes, I had to share a bathroom with 26-30 other guys, but I didn’t have to
clean it and I didn’t have to stock it. The rest of campus was my
apartment. I ate in the café or our little food court, all rolled into my
meal plan as part of my tuition. No need to go buy a crap ton of
food. Outside of what I ate for lunch and dinner, I only needed cereal, a
few boxes of Mac and Cheese, Top Ramen, and some snacks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, after college I felt this need… or at least I
was led to believe that I needed to acquire things as a homeowner. Things
I will never use save once. Things that sit in an attic or the garage or
shoved in a room somewhere, never to be seen until something goes wrong and I
have to pitch a lot of damaged or broken items due to a catastrophic
event. I am getting better because mainly I see what lies ahead of myself
and my siblings when it comes to my parents. That house is going to be a
ridiculous amount of hoarding to go through. Still, at some point, while
I have time and energy to enjoy it, I’d like to be able to build or move from
my current house I deemed a starter house because I never meant it to be a
forever home. I intended it to be a place I would fix up and sell after
raising a family and saving money. I’m half way on one, on my 2<sup>nd</sup>
attempt on the same one, and nowhere near complete on the other.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, in the world of gaming, my first ever attempt at
building a house in <b><i>Minecraft</i></b> was pretty much indicative of my loss of
imagination and creativity. The only defense I have is that I began
playing back in the days of Beta 1.3. Upside down stairs were not a thing
and if you broke a stair, aka roofing … it was gone forever. There was no
corner stairs either. So, my house, consisting of mostly stone walls and
cobblestone steps for a roof was pretty sad. It didn’t even have
windows. I would go in there and just store all my resources. I
made connecting tunnels to other parts of the area, including my first place of
refuge, the dirt house. The <b><i>Minecraft</i></b> equivalent to living in a cardboard
box.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since then, I built many bases but always struggled when it
came to building a house. And usually, that’s the thing we want to build
in <i><b>Minecraft </b></i>and now in <i><b>No Man’s Sky</b></i>. We all geeked out over the
prospect of building that dream base we all envisioned in our life only to find
that spatial proportions made it look like a sad Barbie dream crack house. On
subsequent worlds, especially ones I’ve recorded the house was either a
requirement, for instance in Skyblock, or a nicety to show off whatever
building skills I thought I possessed. But in reality, the house in
<i><b>Minecraft</b></i> is never really a functional space, it’s more for show and often
times it is a pain in the ass to even have one, causing you to traipse up and
down steps to get to your bed in order to quell the banging of monsters outside
your door, or to store all your extra gubbins in your storage areas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At one point, I condensed everything into an area that,
disregarding chests for all your shit would be an area roughly equivalent to a
6x6x12 space. That takes into account the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor containing an
enchanting table and bookshelves. The bottom would have a stacked
crafting table/furnace/brewing stand next to a bed and an avil/cauldron.
Granted you would be highly visible and vulnerable to any monsters that
followed you home you run the risk of not being able to sleep because they are
nearby. Also, if you’re not careful, waking up can place you outside your
house.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I guess I never saw the need or desire to build a house
because I saw so much wasted space. It never had any use other than to
look pretty from the outside and everything inside would be so far apart and an
inefficient use of space for a game such as this. For any game that involves
building, adventuring, or exploring, inventory management this is the furthest
thing from fun. Every episode I recorded for <b><i>Skyrim</i></b> involved me taking a
good hour to travel back to my house in Whiterun to drop off stuff, switch out
gear, and stock up or sell items. There is about 50% of the experience
you never saw because it was boring and usually involved at least one instance
where I accidentally took everything out of a bag or chest which caused me to
curse and cry. 7 Days to Die took so much time to sort your inventory and
you had only so much daylight or night to do it before you needed to get to
whatever your were doing next before the horde, which took all your
focus. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But in <b><i>Minecraft</i></b> I always felt like a great use of mods or
automation was to have a way to get stuff dropped into a central location to be
sorted into storage and then recalled when needed without the mundane task of
searching through every chest and walking up or down steps to find where I put
that thing I needed for the thing. I get that there is a mod that has a
computer that can hold all your items and allow you to craft on the fly and that’s
cool and all, but unless you’re playing with mods it doesn’t help
anything. And other mods allow for pipes and sorting but those are
usually resource heavy causing lag. It also solves a problem but it
leaned more heavily on function following form. These industrial looking
engines and pipes stand out as a stark contrast to the environment of <b><i>Minecraft
</i></b>which usually exists in nature. Now, if you were building a modern
looking city that relies on a lot of electricity or metal working or concrete,
then yes, these engines and macerators and whiz bang gadgets that automate
processes would be appropriate. However, I would like to see ones that
match the era of technological evolution a game like <b><i>Minecraft</i></b> sets itself
in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the ancient city of Petra, you know the one that inspired
the end scenes of the Holy Grail temple in <b><i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i></b>,
there was a complex piping system using math and terracotta pipes to transport
water from a source over three miles away. If you could demonstrate
through crafting functional machines from clay or sand or other primitive
materials as to solve the problems a game like <b><i>Minecraft </i></b>presents to you
without deviating from the aesthetics of your progression and surroundings I
would be all for that. Simply playing for ten minutes, building a dirt
hut, then constructing metal machines that run on electricity just seems to
bring me out of the immersion of such a game. After all, ancient civilizations
had irrigation systems and even piped methane gas to nearby settlements which
were far superior in their design compared to their relative place in history.
Fully fleshed out and functional water wheels instead of a block that generates
RF would be astounding… but probably lag inducing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I have truly got of track because those are solutions to
a different problem. The <i><b>Minecraft</b></i> house is such an impractical
structure, in my opinion, because it doesn’t do anything except protect us from
the dangers of the outside, something a dirt hole can do. It’s a status
symbol without the benefit of bragging rights because it isn’t earned any
differently whether you work all day mining for precious resources or just dig
up some rocks and chop down some trees. It’s all about imagination and
design and maybe that’s its saving grace. It exists as a testament to the
builder’s creativity, not development as a player in this world. I’m just
the stupid one who feels he can’t be bothered either because I am too lazy or
not creative enough to embrace it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since base building became a thing in <i><b>No Man’s Sky</b></i> it’s been
more of a distraction than an integral part of the game. Think about
it. What purpose does a base serve in <i><b>No Man’s Sky</b></i>?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shelter? You spend 80% of your game in a ship, flying
around. The time you do spend on a planet is for exploration or
gathering. Any shelter you need is likely because you are on a planet
with adverse conditions so you retreat underground or towards your ship.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Resources? It makes more sense to just make simplified
bases on every planet with rare or valuable resources and just portal to them
when needed. I remember spending a ridiculous amount of time doing the
base missions, then doing them again, and then again only to have my base
removed with the NEXT update. The farming aspect was neat but not really
very profitable unless you expand to a larger operation and then, it becomes
unmanageable unless you multiplay. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Cool aesthetics? Yes. This is the main
reason. Again, the only reason you build a house in any game that gives
you some form of creative control over the process is to build something with
some kind of aesthetics. And <b><i>No Man’s Sky </i></b>has a very cool 70s retro
sci-fi look to it. Those of us who grew up in the shadow of <b><i>Flash Gordon
</i></b>or <i><b>Speed Racer </b></i>and remember the original Ralph McQuarrie artwork from <b><i>Star Wars
</i></b>have this exposure to a definite style of futurism with specific colors and
shapes that we saw in other games like <b><i>Prey</i></b>. And <i><b>No Man’s Sky</b></i> plays into
that motif with the shapes and architecture available to us along with the planetary
backdrops. I’ve always had an affinity for space and science
fiction. Movies like <b><i>Blade Runner, The Black Hole</i></b>, again<b><i> Flash Gordon</i></b>, or
<b><i>Logan’s Run</i></b> were favorites. Art from McQuarrie or Chris Foss. I was
a big lover of the 70s and 80s space LEGO sets. In fact, a recent episode
of <i><b>This Old House</b></i> featured a guy wearing the space logo from that LEGO series
which made me geek out, wanting to get one. <b><i>Moonraker</i></b>, as bad as it was,
was another favorite in that cheesy operatic space motif versus the 50s and 60s
B&W space style. For me, it wasn’t steampunk, it was that retro
futuristic look.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the real problem with base building is that it sucks up
cycles to complete the quests to build the bases. And quite frankly, like
other games, bases in <b><i>No Man’s Sky</i></b> are not practical, they’re cool. Yes,
you need rooms for certain things, mostly storage as <b><i>No Man’s Sky</i></b> should have
been called, “No More Room: An Inventory Management Simulator.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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On my first go round with<b><i> No Man’s Sky</i></b>, I hurriedly
completed all of the quests surrounding the base building aspect because I
wanted to A: Complete the Game and B: Build a damn base. I had grand
plans to get towards the core of the universe and find a nice temperate planet
to move all my slapdash placement of structures to and rebuild. The
original planet I was on that offered me a base was a cold tundra whose weather
constantly fought me, even indoors, to keep from freezing. And while I
did all those necessary quests.. .TWICE mind you, I just sort of plopped things
down wherever. I needed containers. I needed a place to store all
the crap that was in my suit so that I could get stuff for building the base.
That was the main issue. And I still wanted to build out a freighter to
hold stuff but it became so resource heavy to build all the stuff that you
forget that there were other things you were supposed to be doing, especially
when the Atlas update came out. And then everything in those containers
became obsolete or no longer usable. Still, I can see where a base can be
purposeful, but usually, I need a spot for storage, and a place for
equipment. The constant wandering around, looking for things when I need
to grab it is wasteful, just like it was in <b><i>Minecraft </i></b>or 7 Days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, the prospect of being able to construct a cool base
in this genre I so love is something I want to explore, if for no other reason
than the photo mode alone. That has been one of the updates that I do
approve of. We’ll talk more on that another time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-68786597801606112292016-08-01T15:44:00.001-04:002016-08-01T15:44:59.407-04:00Unhoard Your Life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of our most of basic instincts is to acquire things in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We get a job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We get clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We get money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We get material things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we get a place to put them into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We get more money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rinse and repeat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We store the things we had already acquired.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We fill up our existence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We run out of space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We die.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone else has to deal with all of the things we acquired.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some get tossed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some get passed down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some get put into a box in some other space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The cycle continues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am as guilty as anyone else in this life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have an attic with stuff from years ago that I will never
use again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a foot locker
containing things from my grade school years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have cases containing cassette tapes from my youth, and even from the
days when I still had a car that could play a cassette tape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t thrown them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t play them on anything, but I can’t
part with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have stuff in my garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Broken bits and bobs that don’t belong to
anything that works, but I haven’t thrown them away because, eventually I will
fix them or find a use for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, I won’t.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m just as bad on a digital scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have disks, drives, and files dating back
to the Apple IIc era of technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I “try”
to keep all the footage of gameplay I record for my YouTube channel as if I can
reuse that footage for something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Multiple three or four terabyte drives sitting on a shelf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I put quotes around the word try because,
on occasion, the drives fail and I basically have a paperweight that lights up
but does nothing else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Look at video games, today. You start out with nothing
and then you have to acquire resources. You get rewarded for getting
things. If you're like me, you hold onto things because even though you have no idea what they do, at some point, you may need them. By the middle of the game, you are frantically looking to store things in your inventory or find uses for them because you have no more room. Video games have mirrored my hoarding life or enhanced. I'm not sure which.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it genetic?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it an illness?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it just laziness?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, the first thing you have to understand is that I am
the child of a baby boomer, that ever aging generation that lived through the
Great Depression and World War II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
had to scrimp and save everything because there just wasn’t any money or
materials during those times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything
was precious either from a KTLO (Keep The Lights On) perspective or because of
the war effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My parents have a house
full of things from the 60s through today and I do not relish the day I, along
with my siblings, will have to go through it all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second thing you have to understand may also explain
something about yourself if you find you have the same issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tend to resonate from mnemonic devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I associate a time and place to listening to
a song or a visual reference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can
remember a memory from a smell or listening to a sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, the tactile response to seeing
something from my past brings me back to that place better than just having to
remember it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it’s fear of
aging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it’s fear of mental deficiency
in my later years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe I am just lazy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I am getting better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, I have done a lot of junk dumping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
first moved into my house, I could actually park a car in the garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, slowly, over the next 12 years, things
got shoved into every space in that garage until you could only walk a small
path from the door to the back, after moving a garbage can or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along one wall were cardboard boxes, just
tossed on top of each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I planned
to use those for building fires in my wood burner or fire pit outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I quit using the basement because the
cats basically took over the downstairs (i.e. destroyed) and the place needs
redone, so no more fires and no renovating until they are gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other side of the garage was basically
things that just got shoved there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After a horrible set of rainstorms this summer, the garage flooded and the
place reeked of wetness and mildew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
shit got tossed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the cardboard boxes
were broken down and consolidated into one giant box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three weeks’ worth of garbage collection took
care of all the bags that were filled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, while I still can’t get a car in there, I can move freely about and
it’s more organized and I should have no problems in the event of another flood
as there is ample space for water to reach the drains if need be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not, that I want that to happen, but nature
sometimes dictates these things, not you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My daughter’s room was another sore point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I
am totally ashamed in how this played out but it happened and I can’t change
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When she was born, we had her nursery all done up and just
adorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as renovations go, I
was quite pleased with myself for being able to do what I had done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate painting and I suck at these kinds of
room things, but it really worked out, well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, she didn’t stay a baby or toddler very long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That tends to happen with humans, they grow
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, we still kept all the things;
toys, clothes, furniture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It all stayed
in that room and soon, you couldn’t find anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You couldn’t walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You couldn’t sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the age of six and even seven, my daughter
still slept on the mattress that came from her crib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crib itself became a day bed, but the
mattress and frame remained in the same shape, basically, as the day she came
home from the hospital, minus the front railing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you could not walk in her room without
stepping on something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could not
open the door all the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
horrible and I didn’t have to sleep in there, so it didn’t get fixed for a long
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, it got fixed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The crib was dismantled and stored in the attic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new bed was bought and all of her childhood
things, like toys or clothes were thrown out, packed away, donated, or
repurposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was now the bedroom of a
bright young girl who has room to move and grow and it’s not done, but it’s
headed in the right direction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The attic is another sore point but it’s on the list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My room is just the same but it’s somewhat
better than it was three years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
rest of the house is slowly making a comeback and it’s hard and it takes time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also took something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took someone else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see, my whole world crashed and burned in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t talked much about it or about
anything else, really, because like this blog, my life became neglected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My marriage ended. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But that’s not what caused everything to go to hell in that
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what changed it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, it’s not what happened during my divorce that’s
important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ex-wife and I are still
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live five minutes from each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still parents. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the sake of our daughter, we swallowed any
feelings of animosity or anything we had for each other and made it easier on
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the things that didn’t get
easy were undoing all the damage that had been done to our lives, by ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still live in the house and it still has so
many things from our life together in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, it’s hard for us to un-hoard our lives because of all the moving
parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashamedly, for a year, my
daughter had to share a bed with me every weekend because her room was
unlivable and maybe it was depression that was keeping me from getting my ass
in gear to fix it, but it got fixed because someone, other than me, stepped in
and helped.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the key to un-hoarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need someone who isn’t going to be a ‘yes’
man or woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need someone to make
you make a decision and then question that decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also helps because you don’t get caught up
in the trips down memory lane when half of the work is being done by someone
who can keep things out of your hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were times I stopped to reminisce over a onesie or a toy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the fact that someone else is there
helping you makes you feel more productive and… somewhat guilty that they have
to help with all this work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You need a support system that isn’t going to say, “Aww, I
know how you feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll just keep a few
things.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kick it in the
ass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll feel better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember, your kid isn’t going to be a baby again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone else can use it or it can be
discarded, properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get rid of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’re never going to suddenly reconstruct that teapot that
shattered into 15 pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care
how much Super Glue you use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get rid of
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then buy that person dinner or drinks or help them
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easier to throw something out
when it’s not your stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just like it’s
easier to move someone when it’s not your stuff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take back your life so someone else doesn’t have to when you’re
gone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you live to be a grand old age, you should probably pare
down to just the essentials.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Acquire memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Acquire friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get rid of all
those things you cannot use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Un-hoard your life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-40406687913439165472016-02-02T16:30:00.000-05:002016-04-24T23:16:15.122-04:00How CafePress' Admin Bot Shops Charge You Blindly<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Please stop creating these admin shops and listing products
that are not added by me, the account owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are putting products out for sale in the marketplace that are not
configured for the best use of my designs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The latest sale that came from one was black lettering on black
apparel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Yes, I see a royalty from that sale, however, I did not
approve of that design for that type of apparel, nor does this shop fall inside
my payment setting for a premium shop. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to paying my yearly fee, I also
would be responsible for a fee attached to this sale because the default
setting for that shop is to only pay royalties on items sold (10%). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are essentially selling my designs and
charging me a fee for something I did not approve as the designer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had to close several of these admin
shops or make them private in order to stop this from affecting my sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I have stuck with CafePress since 2009 even though nearly
every other Print on Demand site offers the same benefits with no fees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve
stripped us the same royalties for marketplace sales as shop sales, halved our
royalties for 3<sup>rd</sup> party and fan portal sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been loyal to this site because of
the benefit of the exposure and that scale is being tipped towards the negative
ever more with these frustrations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Please consider changing this practice as I am sure that
while I am simply a small time designer and one voice among millions of
designers who use CafePress, shopkeepers like me are how CafePress got its
start and has grown. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I don’t expect anything to come from
this request, I must make it as it has been far too long for me to sit idly by
and not voice my frustration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thank you,<br />AngryMongo</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Not the most eloquent of messages, but one that needed to be sent for a long time. Yes, it's almost passive aggressive in tone. "If you don't stop being corporate bad guys, well, then, I'll just shake my fist and yell really loud with no ramifications." Quite frankly, if I struck any kind of nerve and CafePress just decided to say, "So long, we're closing your account because of x" I would be kind of happy. I have sort of let my shop languish because it just generates a minimal amount of monthly income that I am willing to accept for hardly any work, while I focus my attention to more robust, up to date, and shops that don't charge me a fee like <a href="https://www.teepublic.com/user/angrymongo" target="_blank">TeePublic</a> or <a href="http://www.redbubble.com/people/angrymongo" target="_blank">Redbubble</a>.<br /><br /> In fact, it's been a long slow hospice for my <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/mongoware" target="_blank">CafePress</a> shop since they changed the rules to only give designers a flat 10% royalty on sales from the marketplace, whereas previously it was whatever royalty you decided. And actually, that should read "up to 10%" because they nail you for sales that come through fan portals and 3rd party sales like Amazon. Shop sales prices can't compete with Marketplace prices and no one in their right mind will pay more for something just because the designer gets a higher cut. <br /><br /> The latest trend is for CafePress to add these Admin shops to your account and pre-populate a handful of categories with select items and select designs under the guise of "We're trying out things that you may want to be aware of". Nothing you actually have any hand in when it happens. They do it and unless you constantly bird dog your account, you don't find out that something is wrong until you get a weird royalty email stating that you made a sale on a no name item. You check the sales report and see that it came from the Marketplace, featuring a design that you already offer in your regular store and already pay a monthly/yearly fee to operate. Then, on top of only getting 10% of the royalty, because these admin shops are default settings, you pay a 10% fee on your royalty for every item sold up to $10 a month. So, $60 in shop fees, plus up to $120 a year for these bot shops they set up on your behalf. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The argument here is kind of moot because I continue to do business with them, but that's only because the fees have been about 3% of my sales. It's an easy revenue stream that doesn't require a lot of work other than to guard every penny by shutting down these stupid bot sites. Still, I should stand up to this kind of behavior, closing my shop and walking away. Unfortunately, there are millions of designers using CafePress, losing me would hurt only me every month, when I don't see a paltry line item on my PayPal account from CafePress.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE 2/<span style="font-family: inherit;">8/16</span>: <span style="font-family: inherit;">CafePress did respond in <span style="font-family: inherit;">kind.... but I already <span style="font-family: inherit;">knew this would be there response<span style="font-family: inherit;">, if any.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Thank you for contacting CafePress. To Opt Out of marketplace
listing, go to the shop management page and click on your shop settings.
at the bottom you will see a check box marked Opt Out of the
Marketplace. Your designs will then be removed from the marketplace.</i><br />
<i>If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Please use this code in any further communication.</i><br />
<i>Best Regards,</i><br />
<i>CafePress</i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I di<span style="font-family: inherit;">d those steps and lo and behold, <span style="font-family: inherit;">today<span style="font-family: inherit;">, a new order for an item in that Admin shop<span style="font-family: inherit;">, which has been <span style="font-family: inherit;">marked as<span style="font-family: inherit;"> opting out of the Marketplace. L<span style="font-family: inherit;">ook at the q<span style="font-family: inherit;">ual<span style="font-family: inherit;">ity of their <span style="font-family: inherit;">pr<span style="font-family: inherit;">od<span style="font-family: inherit;">uct with my design. <span style="font-family: inherit;">It <span style="font-family: inherit;">does<span style="font-family: inherit;">n't fi<span style="font-family: inherit;">t the product. This is what happens when<span style="font-family: inherit;"> their bot stores add my designs to their products... This is horrible qu<span style="font-family: inherit;">ality product that goes to the <span style="font-family: inherit;">customer and has my name associated with it. AND I GET CHARGED A FEE <span style="font-family: inherit;">FOR THE SA<span style="font-family: inherit;">LE?!?!?!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wcql5LZJLRDYrQZ3lzYqGO0_wL_vC4lbr0SCT-p2PGfzxQH4jM7fhR1HxTwuQS_oEpsH2rAVcyhis8_z3GZz7Olb9MGqxf4Cyn5eGNIJYsl-vptHrDEfejzlZd06SRs-qBzQvnkIya0/s1600/WTF.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wcql5LZJLRDYrQZ3lzYqGO0_wL_vC4lbr0SCT-p2PGfzxQH4jM7fhR1HxTwuQS_oEpsH2rAVcyhis8_z3GZz7Olb9MGqxf4Cyn5eGNIJYsl-vptHrDEfejzlZd06SRs-qBzQvnkIya0/s320/WTF.png" width="286" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've r<span style="font-family: inherit;">emoved all products from the Admin shop, but they'll be back<span style="font-family: inherit;">. In a few months time, there w<span style="font-family: inherit;">ill be more crap in there<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that I will have to remove<span style="font-family: inherit;">, again.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">U<span style="font-family: inherit;">PDATE 2/<span style="font-family: inherit;">9/1<span style="font-family: inherit;">6:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Now, they're just trolling me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<i>Thank you for your response. I am happy to assist you today.</i><br />
<i>
</i><i>I am sorry to hear of your frustrations. At this time I would like
to suggest closing your Admin shop. In order to do so, go to "Shop",
click "Admin_CP7374716". This will bring you to your "Manage Your Shop"
page. </i><br />
<i>
</i><i><br />On the right hand side of the screen you can click "Close this Shop".
This will close this shop all together. You then would not have to
opt out of the marketplace. </i><br />
<i>
</i><i><br />When opting out of the marketplace, it takes away the option of
customers finding any of your items on our website at all, unless they
have your shop HTML.</i><br />
<i>
</i><i><br />I hope this information is helpful.</i></blockquote>
OK, so I have done these steps before. Within days, the Admin bot shops reappear. So, I asked a stupid question of them.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<i>If I close this shop, will another one be added in the future? (Included screenshot with email that shows only one shop now exists) I
have closed it and should not see any more of these Admin shops appear
in my account.</i></div>
<br />
Thank you</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, I fully expect the<span style="font-family: inherit;">re to be a new wonderfully aw<span style="font-family: inherit;">ful bot sh<span style="font-family: inherit;">op in my account within a few days. This is how they responded to m<span style="font-family: inherit;">y message...</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Hello, I will be happy to assist you with this matter. I apologize
that you are having issues with the admin shops. Unfortunately, another
admin shop will produce its self. You can opt it out of the marketplace
and mark it as private. This way the items can not be sold in the
marketplace and will not be found on search engines. I also recommend
removing any products from the admin shops as well. This will only need
to be done once and no additional admin shops will be added in the
future. </i>
<i><br />
To mark you shop as Private follow these steps:</i><br />
<ol>
<li><i>Log into your CaféPress account.</i></li>
<li><i>Click on the Shop ID of the shop you wish to edit.</i></li>
<li><i>Click “Edit Shop Profile”.</i></li>
<li><i>Towards the bottom of this page will be your Preferences. Check the
Private box and Market place Opt out. Click on “Save Changes”.</i></li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you kidding me? We<span style="font-family: inherit;">'re back to opting out. Yet, clearly, the opting out <span style="font-family: inherit;">still allowed i<span style="font-family: inherit;">t<span style="font-family: inherit;">ems to be bought through the Mar<span style="font-family: inherit;">ketplace. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sigh.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE<span style="font-family: inherit;">: 2/<span style="font-family: inherit;">2<span style="font-family: inherit;">2</span>/16</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Yep, they're trolling. The steps above outline how I am to mark the shop private and opt out of the market<span style="font-family: inherit;">place... wh<span style="font-family: inherit;">ich I h<span style="font-family: inherit;">ad<span style="font-family: inherit;"> done. Then, yesterday</span></span></span>, another shirt was sold out of that shop<span style="font-family: inherit;">. The products <span style="font-family: inherit;">just happened to appear. <br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Well, one other option<span style="font-family: inherit;"> presents itself. There is a <span style="font-family: inherit;">5<span style="font-family: inherit;">00 section or <span style="font-family: inherit;">folder limit on shops. If I <span style="font-family: inherit;">add <span style="font-family: inherit;">500 blank sections, I can force them to stop adding <span style="font-family: inherit;">them.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Shouldn't be this hard.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE<span style="font-family: inherit;">: 2/<span style="font-family: inherit;">2<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4</span></span>/16<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> So, apparently, Cafepress' rule about ma<span style="font-family: inherit;">ximum number of sections allowed on your shop is a lie. I tried to do an end run around the <span style="font-family: inherit;">bot shops by adding <span style="font-family: inherit;">500 folders or <span style="font-family: inherit;">sections, maxing out the allot<span style="font-family: inherit;">ted number. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The hope was that<span style="font-family: inherit;"> it would</span></span> stop them from adding their own, which clearly are still selling<span style="font-family: inherit;"> products, even though I've removed <span style="font-family: inherit;">that shop from the marketplace and opted out of search engine indexing.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Well, today, there were 503 sections in the bot shop, which mea<span style="font-family: inherit;">ns that they refuse to be stopped. I removed the prod<span style="font-family: inherit;">ucts from the new<span style="font-family: inherit;">ly created <span style="font-family: inherit;">sections. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, t</span>hese new sections are automatic and not done by some lackey in their offi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ces.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEewpKCK9NQEiupNosPOFp7lPmAM7jF7JzecLklF2_Aq3-VvDjyyXFOBRdL2wizrI3hRyBIBNC2Zep7jpA0wBY7fs_4QDETvEzqSXHYdlGAs7HVTuOWUKBP3XLda4sJGwgfc-e9QK7H0/s1600/blog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEewpKCK9NQEiupNosPOFp7lPmAM7jF7JzecLklF2_Aq3-VvDjyyXFOBRdL2wizrI3hRyBIBNC2Zep7jpA0wBY7fs_4QDETvEzqSXHYdlGAs7HVTuOWUKBP3XLda4sJGwgfc-e9QK7H0/s320/blog.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE<span style="font-family: inherit;">: 3/28/16<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I sent a new <span style="font-family: inherit;">message <span style="font-family: inherit;">to CafePress because it has been over a month <span style="font-family: inherit;">since I opted out of t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he marketplace with this bot shop and still orders get generated<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in sect<span style="font-family: inherit;">ions that they <span style="font-family: inherit;">add above and beyond the<span style="font-family: inherit;">ir supposed 500 section limit. I can't be b<span style="font-family: inherit;">othered to go in every day and remove pro<span style="font-family: inherit;">ducts <span style="font-family: inherit;">from new s<span style="font-family: inherit;">ections<span style="font-family: inherit;">. This shouldn't be <span style="font-family: inherit;">what a shopkeep<span style="font-family: inherit;">er has to do.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div>
<i>It has been over a month since I opted out of the marketplace with
this store. And yet, orders keep getting placed from the Marketplace.
See Attached. Also, your limit of 500 sections does not seem to apply
to this admin bot shop as there are 522 sections in the shop itself.</i></div>
<div>
<i>So,
what gives? I get a lot of apologies and understanding of
frustrations, yet no indication of anything to actually fix this issue
other than I have to manually go into newly generated sections over the
500 limit and remove all products, but as you can see from the attached,
unless I go in every day, continually and remove products, orders get
placed. </i></div>
<div>
<i>Fix this. Stop adding items, sections, orders, whatever!</i></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UPDATE<span style="font-family: inherit;">: <span style="font-family: inherit;">4/4/1<span style="font-family: inherit;">6</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, this is a new one. Logging in<span style="font-family: inherit;"> today,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> expecting t<span style="font-family: inherit;">o delete more product<span style="font-family: inherit;">s from the Admin shop<span style="font-family: inherit;">, I found a new wrinkl<span style="font-family: inherit;">e in the mess. Someone <span style="font-family: inherit;">removed the exclusions from my Admin shop, <span style="font-family: inherit;">opting it back into the mark<span style="font-family: inherit;">etplace and making it public. They also removed all of the sections that were there. Lastly, <span style="font-family: inherit;">there was a strange pr<span style="font-family: inherit;">oduct in my <span style="font-family: inherit;">shopping cart<span style="font-family: inherit;">. Serio<span style="font-family: inherit;">usly, something is lo<span style="font-family: inherit;">co here.<br />Here was the<span style="font-family: inherit;">ir response<span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<i>Thanks for your reply. I am sorry for the inconvenience that this has
caused you. We do not reset any shops unless the owner advises us. The
sections and products in your store we also did not get rid of. No,
changes are made to your store from us. Looking into what's going on
with the Admin shops, you can close them at anytime. </i><br />
<i>
</i><i>If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know.</i><br />
<i>
</i><i>Your ticket code is [redacted]. Please use this code in any further communication.</i><br />
<i>
</i><i>Best Regards,</i></blockquote>
Their explanation of how they wouldn't have done such things is ridiculous as is their advice on how to handle this as even if I close that shop, in a week, another one will open.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, <span style="font-family: inherit;">w</span></span>hy would I undo all t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he work I<span style="font-family: inherit;">'ve been doing to stop th<span style="font-family: inherit;">ese sales from happening?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
I emptied the cart, reapplied all the same exclusions, and changed my
password. Even still, there's some residual cookie thing going on because even
though it shows empty, I still get a one item in my cart icon on each
page. You can see that all the sections are gone from the picture above, to here. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-36422650637261596162016-01-25T16:30:00.000-05:002016-01-25T16:30:26.299-05:00Gamer Tags<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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I am 40.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a father.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a son.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a nerd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a gamer.</div>
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I am not a gamer.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Do I play COD or WoW or know what the difference is between
a Hunter and a Promethean Knight is? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can
I perform a 360 no scope? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But so what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You don’t get to give me a tag of gamer or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not for you to decide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I would never call myself a soldier
because I’ve never been in the armed forces or trained in the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is an entirely different thing. The
reason you don’t get to call me a gamer, or not a gamer, is because you aren’t
the governing body of video games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
are not a part of some hierarchy of video game admins that decide who or what
defines me as a player of video games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are a gamer or you are not a gamer, by your own definition.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s face it, video games have been around a lot longer
than some of you who consider yourself to be MLG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, by using that term alone I sound like an
old man, I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I also know that
video games are older than I am, which makes whatever you think of my gaming
ability to be irrelevant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have no
idea what being a gamer or not being a gamer is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve never stood in an arcade, with your
quarter sitting on the rim of the bezel, waiting for your turn as some geek
stands there, their eyes darting back and forth as they move left, right, down,
and up to avoid pixelated enemies, knowing that there is no save point or
continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One quarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, you may also wish to contend that the games of old,
back in the days of the arcade, were simplistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All it took was memorization of some pattern
or repetitive moments to be good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure,
go ahead and keep believing that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I dare
you to even try to keep up with someone like Billy Mitchell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Video games have come a long way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From text adventures to monochromatic 2D
sprites to isometric RPGs to millions of polygons per second rendering on the
screen, we’ve seen games that have told stories of searching an underground
kingdom to saving a princess in another castle to surviving the night in a
haunted pizza restaurant and sometimes, it’s not even a game by traditional
standards, but an unfolding tale of lost loves from car accidents or
cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We simulate everything from amusement parks to
prisons to farms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We blast aliens and
fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We build vehicles contraptions
and even other video games.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Playing one specific type of game does not make someone a “gamer”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an understanding of many disciplines
and it doesn’t mean you have to be any good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You don’t have to compete in tournaments or carry your own custom
controller and gear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can sit in a café
and play across a network connection with someone next door or across the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And when someone else says they are a gamer or not a
gamer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone plays video games they
can consider themselves whatever they want to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can be old, young, male, female,
Christian, Muslim, or Jewish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact
that they play, that they care, gives them the right to call themselves
whatever they want.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This idea that you have to be a male with a Gamerscore over 20,000
to be a “gamer” is ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who
cares?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have a Gamerscore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My daughter plays video games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She records videos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s under the age of 10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can be a gamer if she so chooses to be called
one. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shaming and violently
attacking others for playing games is a ridiculous practice that needs to stop,
yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are there problems in the
world of gaming in way of gender exclusion and objectifying of a gender?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You betcha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember the Nude Raider mod
for Tomb Raider, Strip Poker on the Commodore 64.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on, we need to grow up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to start acting like human
beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gaming is an outlet for expression and creativity and we
should embrace anyone that wants to be a part of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should nurture the desire to figure out
what makes games work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should engage
in a community that doesn’t hate someone because they don’t know how to play a
particular game, but helps them learn so they can enjoy the same thing we
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you tell someone that you play
video games or that you like video games what is their reaction?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they roll their eyes or do they continue a
conversation, invested in your attachment to the activity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe if they understood it like you do, had
your passion, they would be more open to accept that you like to play
video games and don’t brush it off as something juvenile or a waste of
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that in mind, why would ever
try to dissuade someone from joining your ranks as a person who appreciates and
partakes in the playing of video games?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need more people in this club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need help from all walks of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can’t make this idea exclusive to who we feel is deemed worthy to
wear the tag of Gamer or whatever is an appropriate title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Father</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Son</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nerd</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gamer</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not a gamer</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Human Being</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-32207871728704602992015-12-18T16:00:00.000-05:002015-12-18T16:00:14.021-05:002015 Annual D-Bag of the Year AwardsTen contenders. Twelve months of Douchebaggery. <br />
<br />In past years, I've devoted multiple posts to this topic. I've slacked and I've phoned it in. To be truthful, my blogging days are numbered. But, I couldn't help but honor tradition, so I've narrowed the focus to just ten on the list. And here they are:<br />
<br /><b>10. </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">EA – Selling You A Car, Then Requiring You To Buy The Engine After The Fact</b>I included EA on this list for one simple fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have not learned a damn thing in the
last few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After SimCity, and Sims
4, you would think they would not let another title be released with their name
on it unless it delivered a better experience than previous installments and
with the release of Star Wars Battlefront for next gen consoles and PC, they
went ahead and did exactly that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No single
player campaign, no space battles, stripped down, reskinned play of
Battlefield, and DLC for all the credits you can muster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You pay $60 for a game, and then on top of
that, another $50 for DLC pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
$110 for a game, not to mention it lacks all the things previous Battlefront titles
had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the nerds have spoken and the
price at GameStop was slashed by about $20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not sure if that’s GameStop realizing it’s a dying institution in the
digital download age, or if the sales of the game were really that bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kind of hope both apply, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime, I still play Battlefront II
on PC with multi player through Steam and it was a steal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the stuff I want from a game that is
over ten years old and is still great.<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">9. Roger Goodell – CEO of
Thuggery INC. aka The NFL</b></div>
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Goodell has made this list numerous times and why stop
now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year he’s managed to try and
look tough by instituting a four game suspension on Tom Brady for his role in
deflategate, only to have it overturned in the courts?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really? REALLY?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on, anyone who believes that this was
Goodell being beaten in court by the Patriots needs to understand that Goodell and
Kraft are bros.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roger only appears to
be tough on the Patriots, realizing that whatever he tries to lob at the club
will look like he’s being tough but won’t stick long enough to do any
damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, Brady started on
opening day and the Patriots are currently 11-2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of this, the ridiculous fining of
players and the allowing of thuggery like Greg Hardy’s domestic abuse
allegations that were somehow expunged from his record and he still plays
manages to be another reason why I stopped watching football two years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Goodell’s salary is another point of
contention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The NFL was a non-profit
league that manages to pay its CEO $35 million this past year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Goodell
is a horrible commissioner that makes the league money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is why he’s allowed to be in
charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The owners, for all their
supposed hatred of the man, continue to make money off of his buffoonery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pure and simple, though, Goodell is a d-bag
first team, all American.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8. VW – The Diesel Bug
That Couldn’t</b></div>
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Funny thing about new vehicles; they have more features,
more electronics, and more problems than the old ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The upside is that with all that innovation,
they’re supposed to be more efficient and cleaner… but VW didn’t think anyone
would notice that their ECU software was circumventing environmental regulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, they touted it as a selling point, and
got caught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stock went down, they tried
to buy back the vehicles rather than fix them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess, as a fair play
follower, it’s nice to know they got caught with their lips on the tailpipe,
but companies do bad all the time and they get caught, but does anyone, other
than the consumer, every pay for it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">7. Death – Perennial
Favorite and All Around D-Bag of Bones</b></div>
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Death, you had a busy year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between Paris x2, San Bernardino, and every
other tragedy that claimed the lives of humans, you didn’t take time off to nip
a few notable people from the ranks of the living.</div>
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Mario Cuomo, Beau Biden, Stuart Scott, Fred Dalton Thompson,
Jackie Collins, Leonard Nimoy, John Nash, Yogi Bera, Christopher Lee, Donna
Douglas, Rod Taylor, Taylor Negron, Anita Ekberg, Bob Simon, David Carr, Sam
Simon, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Colleen McCullough, Terry Pratchet, Leslie A.
Williams, James Best, Geoffrey Lewis, Percy Sledge, Mary Doyle Keefe, Ben E.
King, BB King, James Horner, Nicholas Winton, Amanda Peterson, Jerry Weintraub,
Omar Sharif, Alex Rocco, Roddy Piper, Frank Gifford, Julian Bond, Emma Didlake,
Yvonne Craig, Marcy Borders, Amelia Boynton Robinson, Alison Parker, Adam Ward,
Wes Craven, Dean Jones, Ben Kuroki, Jean Darling, Martin Miner, Paul Prudhomme,
Maureen O'Hara, Melissa Mathison, David Canary, Cynthia Robinson, Scott
Weiland, Robert Loggia, and Holly Woodlawn are just a small sampling and if any
of those names are unfamiliar to you, I suggest you look them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">6. Josh Duggar – Ashley
Madison’s Poster Boy</b></div>
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I guess it’s hard for a parent to keep track of what their
kid is doing when they have more than 15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar should be the poster parents for Planned
Parenthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their views, their
practices, aside, the breach of Ashley Madison’s website, releasing all of the
douchebaggery onto the web just goes to show you that when you voice your throw
a bunch of stones from your glass house, you probably will end up with a few
broken windows from them being lobbed back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anti-gay activism, child molestation, and extramarital affairs all prove
that Josh Duggar is a d-bag and serves him right to have a few windows knocked
out.</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5. Kim Davis – County
Clerk, minus the “o” and the “y</b>”<br />
She gained infamy for denying same sex couples marriage licenses after the
landmark ruling by the Supreme Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She went to jail for contempt of court in the matter and emerged with
Mike Huckabee as a supporter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
fray, it came out that somehow, Davis had a meeting with Pope Francis during
his US visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was either a
manufactured by Davis’ lawyer or in some way orchestrated as a chance encounter
but the Vatican basically denied it happened the way Davis’ camp said it
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s possible that the Pope didn’t
know who he was meeting, but in any case, anyone who sits high and mighty,
declaring herself judge of others, circumventing the law, while being a
horrible role model for marriage, deserves to be on this list.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4. Martin Shkreli –
Hedge Fund Pharma CEO and Fraud Artist</b></div>
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He gained infamy for being the CEO of a biotech company that
held the manufacturing license for Daraprim, a HIV drug, marking it up
5500%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pictures of this guy on the
Internet, alone, would be enough to put him on this list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His ‘bro’-ness is only matched by his
douchebaggery by taking a drug that is used to treat AIDS and HIV and raising
the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill in one fell swoop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because he could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as of
November, the price has still not come down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, Martin, may be coming down with something if he is convicted of
securities fraud and sent to prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boy, wouldn’t that be karmic?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Raise the price of a drug to treat AIDS and then get it in prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most likely, he won’t serve anytime or be put
in some country club prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He deserves it in the end… quite literally.</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Jared Fogle – Subway Guy
Gone Wrong</b></div>
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I really tried to not jump on the bandwagon of hate when it
came out that his foundation’s director was involved in electronically trading
child pornography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said, “Hold up, we
don’t know the real reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the
investigation happen before the hate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, it did, and unfortunately, it was bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No one really thought about Fogle’s early venture into being an entrepreneur
or of porn in the college dorms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
detail came out of all the media surrounding the investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Allegations came out that he paid finder’s fees to prostitutes to get
him younger sex partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did he
keep this life secret from his family?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This guy had a wife and kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Very disturbing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, 2029
seems to be the year Fogle will be released from prison and while he’s on this
list for 2015, he’s on the registered sex offenders’ list for life. </div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Donald Trump –
Billionaire Buffoon With Bountiful Bouffant On The Ballot</b></div>
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This guy is the Internet comment section come time
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s not just an entry on Snopes,
he’s basically his own hoax generator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In past years, he went after Obama for his long form birth
certificate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, he’s running with the
GOP and leading in the polls for the nomination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wants to build a wall, ban Muslims, and
basically turn America into the alternate reality of Back To The Future Part II
where Biff runs everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look, I like
that a non-politician has gained a following over career ones in the
polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it’s not like we got Jon
Stewart instead of Bill O’Reilly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
didn’t even get Robin Williams’ Tom Dobbs from Man of the Year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re still wondering when the bottom is
going to fall out, just remember, “Who benefits by Trump staying in it this
long?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There might be more to this than a supposed
bid for the White House.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He proves the
point of how horrible Americans can be by his hateful rhetoric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, he could never win the
Presidency, but who will get the nomination?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps Trump is a puppet to boost some other candidate that will
benefit from his sideshow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t
necessarily say Republican candidate, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Check his contributions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get
your tinfoil and bring on the Michael Jackson popcorn images.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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AND THE WINNER IS? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Everyone – You Know
Who You Are</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OK, so I consolidated The Internet, Terrorists, The Media,
and The Rest of the Politicians into a lump of douchebaggery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because it’s nitpicking the same thing from all of them. The Media
reports something, construing the context, losing the full picture, and then
the Internet shares it, via Everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Politicians use it as their fear mongering in their campaigns, pointing
to snippets of stories and stats to make you afraid and then you share it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Terrorists do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do it to inspire others to join them,
and their targets to fear the broad majority of their small ranks, labelling an
entire group as the perpetrators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Meanwhile, the fear mongering wins out, the lobbyists get their way, and
you end up cutting ties with people because they are too dumb or jaded to
investigate and see what’s really true and what’s pointed rhetoric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether we call all Democrats baby killing,
tree hugging, ISIS loving pansies; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
GOP warmongering, holy rolling, gun loving, redneck, big business loving </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bigots; African Americans thugs who should just listen to
police and stop looting their city when someone gets killed; or all Muslims and
refugees are terrorists; is pretty much the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re blaming an entire group for the action
of a handful of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The biggest
problem we have is extremism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it
be Charlie Hedbo, the second Paris Attacks, the crisis in Syria, the Attacks in
San Bernardino, the attack on Planned Parenthood, the attack in a church in
South Carolina, Baltimore, Ferguson, Chicago, Texas, it doesn’t matter… We are
all responsible for the perpetuation of hatred among the human race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what the answer is, but I do
know that the current jabber on the political and social circuits is driving
the car, and we’re just steering it into a crowd. We have to start taking responsibility
for fixing the message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truth is we
are all humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all white, black,
Latino, Asian. We are all Muslim, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Atheists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
all conservative, progressive, liberal, and pragmatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I will not say #AllLivesMatter because that goes without
saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that we have to single
out one group to say, “We matter” doesn’t mean we discount the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means that something has been wrong for
far too long with the way we’ve been doing things that maybe we need to pay
attention there.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If tomorrow, an alien race showed up saying, “We need you to
send us someone to argue that you deserve to be saved from eradication by our
superior firepower.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it were me as advocate, man I’d have a
tough time saying we don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a human,
I’d be hard pressed to say we weren’t horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And some would say, that’s akin to not
being patriotic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I would say, “Yeah,
but if they aliens gave you a choice, guilt free, as to only eradicating some
groups, would you consider it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
fact that you actually thought about it proves my point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be a non-question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are the d-bags of
2015. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Congratulations on a repeat win.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-31329284272327067402015-08-17T12:27:00.000-04:002015-12-18T10:12:07.277-05:00The House of Stuff and Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WUg0AC0Nfa0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WUg0AC0Nfa0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><i><b>This has been made into a vlog entry on my YouTube channel</b></i></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I have a lot of shit in my house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, it’s stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because according to the late George Carlin,
my shit is stuff and everybody else’s stuff is shit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s amazing how much stuff we can acquire over a
lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s amazing how many things
we gather in life and think, “This is important and therefore I must hold onto
it, forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must place it in a
box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must place that box somewhere in
my life where I can find it and look at somewhere down the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That box will be in a corner of a room in my
house where I will probably not go into and it will stay there for years.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why do we do that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why do gather so much stuff?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I still have various bits of my life as a wee thing, stuffed
in a foot locker in my garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
things from my childhood, my time at college in Myrtle Beach and Pittsburgh,
and my life as a 23 year old bachelor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And they are pretty much useless things but, I keep them around either
because I’m too lazy to toss them out or because if I do toss them out, somehow
I will forget my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The things that
make me who I am will slip away and I will have no memory of someday back in
1987 or 1993 that somehow particularly meant something to me at the time when I
collected that thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These memories, locked away in that foot locker, sit in the
back of a garage underneath a bunch of stuff I’ve collected over the years of
being a homeowner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow, at some
point, I convinced myself that I needed each and every one of these things in
that garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hose, a nut, a bolt, a
tie, a length of rope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s more of a
list of potential murder weapons from Clue than it is of any real use, and yet
they sit there, gathering cobwebs, insect carcasses, and dust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each one of these things was put there
because they served a purpose they were probably not intended to serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My hope was that they would serve a purpose,
again, quantifying their existence in a place so full of stuff, it cannot hold
a vehicle anymore. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, in every room of my house there is something that
is of no use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually, it’s me when I’m
standing in the room because I should get rid of these things that serve no
purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I’m working on that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recent changes in my life have allowed me the
ability to start weeding through the things I don’t need… or really want, but I
have just let sit in a box, on a shelf, behind a bag, in a corner, of a room, I
hardly go into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At what point do we get like this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At what juncture do we come to in our lives
that we find ourselves needing to gather material items in mass quantity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve all seen these Facebook and YouTube
posts of people living in tiny spaces and a majority of us say we could do
that, but could we, really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where would
all of our stuff go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where would we put
the appliances that serve one purpose and no other?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what I want to get away from, really,
things that serve no purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, you
could say those memories in my foot locker serve a purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are a reminder of who I was or still am,
in a sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those things will stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But everything else in this house of stuff
and things is up for grabs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But when did it start to get this bad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember for the first 10 years of my life,
I shared a bedroom with my brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
family consisted of my parents and three kids in a three bedroom house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, there’s seven years difference between my
brother and me, so for a 16 year old to have to share a bedroom with a nine
year old, well that’s pretty ridiculous, isn’t it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any case, all of my toys fit into a
shelving area in the corner of the room, and for the most part of those 10
years, I barely spent any time in that room, except to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mostly played outside or in the family
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I didn’t have much stuff those
first ten years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most things were hand
me downs from my siblings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t
have much stuff growing up, and maybe that was the best thing for us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When my parents decided to upgrade the living quarters, and
built a house nearby, I got my own room; and it terrified me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so used to having someone with me at
night that it was a scary thought to be in a room all by myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, eventually, I got over it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, it was quite awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had my own stuff, now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No worries about having to ask permission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No fear that I may break something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
all mine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My existence, my identity,
summed up in a room of stuff and things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, my new room, that was all mine, accrued more stuff over the next eight
years before I went off to college.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My parents’ biggest nightmare was not me going 600 miles
away to college, but the idea that I’d have to have all my stuff with me when I
went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed all my things to make
sure I remembered who I was, back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was silly, I know, but it was me, my identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
while I was at that school for four months, I accrued more stuff; mostly
papers, and folders, and books, and a few clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then I came home and so did all my
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Pitt, I managed to keep only
the essentials, because I was only an hour away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All my stuff could stay in my room at home,
because I was close enough to come home whenever I needed to.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most kids
would never spend their entire college experience living in the dorms, but I
liked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lived in the same wedge
shaped room for four and a half years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
really only needed my room to sleep, study, entertain myself or another if I
was so inclined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a TV, a fridge,
a computer, a microwave, and a phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of campus was my
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t have to worry about
roaches or overpriced rent or leaky plumbing or bad neighborhoods or
utilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why pay an exorbitant amount
of money for sub-par housing in an apartment when I would only be in it a
fraction of the time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I graduated, and my small collection of stuff and
things, which had grown with more papers, clothes, mementos of college, and
such, all came home and joined the rest of the things that made up me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, I moved out of my parents’ house and lived on my
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With each residence; an apartment,
a townhouse, back to my parents’ house; and then into a home, I managed to
gather more things and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the
time I closed on a home, I had planned out all these new things I would need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was called a registry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wedding registry is like a license to
check your brain and create a wish list of splurge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep,
when we get married, we ask other people to fill in the gaps of things and
stuff that we want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that was
probably the point, it got out of control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A coffee bean grinder, a water filtration device, a set of knives,
complete with a block and sharpener.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
lot of things that served one function and therefore, I had to double up on
things to perform all the tasks I needed things to perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, as things got out more of control, I
needed things to store my stuff, organized in a room I hardly ever go into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knickknacks, tchotchkes, baubles, all these
things acquired over years of living on my own, just be displayed for 8 months
out of the year, only to be replaced, for the remaining months by the same
stuff, only holiday themed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
madness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, those things have to be
stored as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I have twice as
much stuff stored in twice as many totes, in a room I hardly ever go into, and
it’s only for display.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I got a full time job and ventured out on my own, I
wanted a collection of movies I liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But that became a flawed concept because my VHS tapes suddenly became
outdated, replaced by DVDs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, after
replacing most of my collection with DVDs, Blu-Ray came out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I’ve begun getting Blu-Rays and soon
that format will be replaced by something else… probably digital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking of digital, I’ve amassed a few (like
four) multiple terabyte drives for work stuff and things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These take up less space, but they are
vulnerable to being rendered useless if they tip over, apparently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve now become a digital hoarder, too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s my fault, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wanted these things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt
that having a house full of stuff was important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I sat in my apartment, which had five
rooms, and a townhouse, that had seven rooms, I would daydream about when I
would have a house big enough to prove some superficial point about myself
making it to that level of materialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would watch shows like Fantasy Open House,
with host Claire Berger on HGTV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Not
sure if it’s sad or hilarious that I remembered that show and host, by name, from
over ten years ago.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These huge homes in
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Maui were listed for millions of dollars and I
wanted to live there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey, a bigger
place for all my stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly, all my
stuff would have probably fit in two rooms of these ridiculously sized homes,
but I had plenty of room to get more stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, now, I finally get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I recently had to tear down a pool that hardly worked or was ever used
but I had to have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a pain in the
ass and I cringe at the thought that it will get stuffed into totes and stored
somewhere for the next 10 to 15 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have junk rooms that are filled with things I couldn’t care less about and it’s
a panic attack of chest crushing magnitude to stand in the room and think, “Where
do I even begin?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know what I have to do and I know what I want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to have only things that I either use
on a regular basis or that can serve multiple functions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No more quesadilla makers or coffee bean
grinders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drink coffee regularly and
yet it took me two years to see how pretentious and stupid I was for wanting
such a thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I have a Foreman
grill which can make muffins or skillet items, as well as grills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That serves three purposes and therefore is
useful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A six small wing capacity deep
fryer that takes up counter space and is the size of an old CRT monitor for a
computer is not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have other things
that can accomplish that task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I do want to get new things, or more accurately, things
that are new to me that accomplish tasks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I want things that I can enjoy and that serve a function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t need a lot of stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few tools that perform all the basics… not
as seen on TV, enough dishes and silverware to handle my needs and maybe some
folks who stop by, and just the bare essentials that qualify for performing all
the tasks I need to do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be nice
to have a place to put all my shoes and shoes of guests when they come into my
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’d be nice to get those cubbies
that you have in roller rinks or bowling alleys; something conversational,
re-purposed, and cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also need a
place to hang coats, other than the backs of chairs, so why not take an old
window, you know the kind with those cross bar things and turn it sideways, add
some coat hooks, and then fashion the back to hold pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recognize my house of stuff and things as a problem, now,
ahead of my impending demise, hopefully many decades away, because I do not
want to bequeath to my child the inevitable task of having to sort through my
stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My parents, now in their 70s,
have a multitude of things in their house, things that are probably of good
build and use, just packed in boxes, in the garage rafters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not look forward to the day I will join
my siblings in going through their stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not so much because of the task, but the reason.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Storage seems like such an insane concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s not something you are going to use
in the next year, why do you have it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
you get older, that year metric should be reduced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you near the end of life, perhaps it’s a
weekly thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By death, your house is
no longer the house of stuff and things, but the house of you, the thing, which
will one day be nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, you,
too, may be packed into something and stored somewhere, and hopefully people
will go there to see you on a regular basis.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-32442399515368093602015-07-17T12:18:00.000-04:002015-07-17T12:18:42.339-04:00Things I Don't Understand: A Rant<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I am forever late to the party when it comes to what people
are doing these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chalk it up to
my belief that, in a way, I was born too soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I grew up in the 80s and still think it was the last best decade we ever
had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am solidifying that argument in
my own mind after watching NatGeo’s The ‘80s, The ‘90s, and The 2000s
documentaries on binge mode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it’s
generational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe my dislike or lack
of understanding of today is congruent with my parents or other baby boomers
lack of understanding of what it was like when I was growing up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any case, here’s what I still don’t get.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t get the appeal of today’s music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ariana Grande might be a talented singer, but
for the life of me, her words are indecipherable and all run together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, that may be because I’ve developed
hearing issues over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
people that can listen to the same song as myself, at the same time, and can
pick apart the lyrics while I’m still stuck on the fact that I thought Elton
John was singing, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could concede that with Grande, but
Googling the thought pointed out that a host of other people can’t understand
what she’s saying either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Iggy Azalea?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No clue what she’s about, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s the issue with her and the public?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still stuck on the fact that I though
K-E-Dollar Sign-HA had a career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
still like music from people who’ve been dead for years… except for Kurt
Cobain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t care for him in the
90s, and that hasn’t changed in 20 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any kid that comes up to me today and says, “Kurt Cobain is my greatest
influence” immediately has a “Get off my lawn” coming to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I don’t like it when someone takes
something from the era I like and tries to make it something of their own,
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blurred Lines was cool for about
a minute before I realized it was a pretty creepy thing and ripped off Marvin
Gaye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I do like Postmodern
Jukebox and stuff like David Garrett covering a bunch of rock tunes with a cello.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is kind of cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What Kid Rock did with Lynyrd Skynyrd/Warren
Zevon a few years ago was not.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t understand that niche of social media like tumblr,
reddit, and even Instagram, though I have an account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do these things work and how do people
get sucked into tumblr?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does one
tumbl...r?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I should learn so that
I can incorporate it into my YouTube or design stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, I get on Tumblr and my head just
grinds like a shot clutch in a Ford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
opened a tumblr account and I just don’t know what to do with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t that what I was doing here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d say I need a teenager to help me figure
stuff out but that sounds a little too creepy to openly announce on the
Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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What exactly is reddit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And don’t get me started on subreddits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Am I even spelling that right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
know a few YouTube producers who get a lot of conversation going and ideas from
reddit, but I don’t know what the hell reddit does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know it was partially responsible for
hosting all of those leaked photos last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know celebrities go on and do “Ask my anything” posts but seems like a
lot of noise and craziness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then
people vote up or down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t get
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even have hateful groups like
/r/rapingwomen and such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WTF?!?!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Instagram?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People
take pictures, apply some snazzy filters, and voila, they’re…
photographers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you mean to tell me we
are going to hoist some kid with an iPhone onto the same mantle as Ansel Adams
or Annie Leibowitz?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, I just took a
photo of a plate of spaghetti… slapped Inkwell filter on it, adjusted the
contrast, and BAM, I’m Henri Cartier-Bresson!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And people can make money selling their photos?!?!?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does that work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would buy an Instagram photo?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, some guy named Richard Prince took
people’s Instagram photos and hung them in a gallery and claimed it was
transformative and therefore fair use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do businesses pay you for taking pictures of their stuff?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t understand SEO.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t understand how it affects websites and why people are always
looking to hire people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it just
tagging?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how is that a marketable
skill that people rave about on job boards?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I spend a lot of time refining tags on videos and shirt designs and I do
not see any difference in the amount of traffic I get from before and
after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And furthermore, the old adage of
making money on a blog is crap… I’ve had this blog for almost seven years and
have yet to make a dime from just posting content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have any posts directed people towards buying
something of mine from a shirt site?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the whole point was
delivering content, people clicking, profit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That hasn’t happened and I do not understand how that works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The one thing I do understand is the idea of how to get rich
and I can share it with you for only five dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">:)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-16544694879238446422015-05-07T17:00:00.000-04:002015-05-07T17:00:00.514-04:00Deflated Punishment: Why It Doesn't Matter If Brady Did It<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deflategate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Interesting that the Wells Report came back with a wonderful non-answer
answer about the probability that the Patriots, no wait, Tom Brady is culpable
for deflating footballs below regulation air pressure prior to the AFC
Championship game against The Indianapolis Colts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, even with this not so new information
that Brady and two underlings are probably guilty of the act, months after the
incident, talking heads will still devote hours to drive time radio analysis of
one of the more humorous discussions about balls.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, what does it matter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brady and Belichick played through and beat
the Colts 45-7 with or without underinflated balls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brady and Belichick went on to defeat the
Seattle Seahawks 28-24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brady and
Belichick have four championships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brady
has Giselle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brady poops rainbows and
cries dollar bills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WHO CARES?!?!?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess Steelers’ fans do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They get to play New England to kick off the 2015 season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They get to play it in Foxborough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They get to play it without their star
Running Back, Le'Veon Bell, who was arrested for marijuana possession, with New
England’s LeGarrette Blount during preseason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(LeGarrette Blount is suspended for the game, too, but he gets to sit at
home with his Super Bowl ring to keep him company.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, add all that together and sprinkle in
the spectre of not being able to beat the Patriots during the post season and
you get a tonic of vitriol and ire from Pittsburgh.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, again, it doesn’t matter what happens to Brady and Belichick
in light of the report because any punishment is moot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“He could be fined.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure
he’ll be broke in a week, no longer able to wipe his tears with $100 bills or
cry softly into Giselle’s bosom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“He could be suspended for the opener.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ooooh, except it’s the opener and not even against a
division rival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“His legacy could be tarnished.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure he’ll wring his hands with all four Super Bowl
rings clacking like crazy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“The Patriots could lose a draft pick.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Kraft and Belichick were found not "probably" guilty.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B: Draft picks do not equate loss of good players…
especially when you pick LAST!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there were to be a punishment for the Patriots for
directly affecting the outcome of a game, regardless of how well they would
have done without cheating, it would have been for the next game, The Super
Bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seattle almost beat New England,
despite Tom Brady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An interception at
the goal line tanked their chances of overcoming the odds and beating the
Pats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, quite frankly, it would have
been a better story had the Patriots beat Seattle without their golden boy at
QB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would have at least put to
rest some of the controversy surrounding this team’s mounting questionable
winning strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, this is at
least the second time the Patriots have been called on the carpet for
cheating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember Spygate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barely anyone outside of Pittsburgh
does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spygate resulted in a $250,000
fine and loss of their first round pick… which was 31<sup>st</sup> since they
lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Surely, they were impacted as they missed out on drafting such
greats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, they could have had
Ray Rice in their ranks to compliment Aaron Hernandez.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, they still won their division six
out of the next seven years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again, my point is, it does nothing for credibility and
accountability to suspend Brady the first game of the season or any other
punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at this perspective.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1992, at the age of 17, I had a part time job delivering
newspapers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made maybe $20 a week
delivering 54 papers, six days a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My friends and I spent our hard earned money on tickets to a concert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would have been my first live concert,
ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tickets were a whopping
$24.95.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure if that’s the going
rate for concerts or the going rate for <i><b>Def Leppard</b></i> in 1992.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In any case, it was a week and quarter of
pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, right around Halloween, my friends and I decided to
be jackasses and go on a pumpkin smashing and egging tour of the neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, we managed to egg the one house that
everybody egged and they were tired of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They chased my friend’s Chevy S-10 until they got the plate and turned
us in to the police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next weekend,
my parents received a call from the police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My friend had already given all of us up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was grounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weekend before the concert and I was
grounded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pleaded with my parents that
I would accept my being grounded but that I had spent $25 of my own money on a
concert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I missed the concert, I was out $25, and I
learned a lesson.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, how much of a teachable moment would it have been had
my parents said, “OK, you did something wrong and you will be punished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about a week night in the middle of next
January when you have absolutely nothing important or fun going on?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s what suspending Brady is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a hollow action by a hollow
commissioner that gets paid for making the owners money, and the owners make
money when their top performers are playing in games like the Super Bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerseys and ticket sales and concessions and
fans with their butts in the seats put money in the pockets of the Kraft’s and
that’s what a commissioner does, gets the owners money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t matter what is right, what is
moral, or what is a good example for fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They don’t care because they’re addicted to the product the NFL is
selling.</div>
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If you want to make a point suspend Brady for the first
game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">.. </span>of the playoffs.
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<br /></div>
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Granted, they can’t be assured a playoff spot, but when you
plan on suspending him for a pointless game, anyways, what does it matter if
it’s a "maybe" game?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That not only
punishes Brady, but it punishes the organization if they fail to win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, playing with a suitable handicap is
better than a slap on the wrist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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And just maybe, the real threat of punishment would start to
make the rest of the players and teams realize that on Any Given Sunday… they
might just be stuck home watching, like I was, while <i><b>Def Leppard</b></i> was
playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a little poorer, but I
survived. Now where's my copy of Hysteria?<br /><br /><br /><b>FOOTNOTE:</b><br />I probably won't be watching this season as I didn't last year. It's not that I don't love the Steelers anymore, it's that I refuse to give any more time of my life to this league and this commissioner. Goodell may be the most profitable commissioner of them all, but he's corrupt, cares only about the money, and has turned this sport into entertainment, like wrestling.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-63538198145788397242015-02-18T12:57:00.001-05:002015-02-18T12:57:49.400-05:00The Fallacy of John McClane, Hero of Nakatomi Plaza?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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In July of 1988, the cold war was all but over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reagan was at the end of his second term in
which he had already made his famous “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”
speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six months later, Pan Am Flight 103 would be
blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, ushering in a too-close-to-home terrorist threat (My sister was a classmate of one of the victims).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that summer, the answer for terrorists was a lone man, a cop in the wrong place
and the wrong time, doing his job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would
singlehandedly take down a group of European "thieves" in a downtown Los Angeles
skyscraper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His name was John McClane.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><b>Die Hard</b></i> invented a new genre of film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, it lent its own name to the genre as, “Die
Hard on a blank.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The premise was
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game” offering of <i><b>Sudden Death</b></i>, the protagonist was a firefighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
The protagonist would usually pick off a few of the terrorists or criminals
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<br /></div>
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Regardless of how many times the formula was reused in the
cinema, the original was still the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i><b>Die Hard</b></i> introduced a real human protagonist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John McClane wasn’t <i><b>Rambo</b></i> or <i><b>Commando</b></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t some body builder or ripped
athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was just a man on the edge
with vices and flaws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a trucker's mouth and
a distaste for authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
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war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He appealed to us all who wanted
something more realistic than Stallone or Schwarzenegger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a political or religious
fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was usually greed that drove
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But, could the original <i><b>Die Hard</b></i> exist today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at all the drama and discussion
surrounding <i><b>American Sniper</b></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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“It’s “right wing” propaganda.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It glorifies war.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Snipers are cowards.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We should never have been there.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is why we need to defend the 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each argument piggy backing a movie to serve its own purpose
and soon an election will probably use the movie version of Chris Kyle’s life
as a way to gain votes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exploitation at
its best.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But again, could <i><b>Die Hard</b></i> work today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pacifists or “tree hugging, gun hating, pinko
commie hippies” as they are probably looked at by others would say, “John
McClane was in the wrong!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment extremists or “Gun toting tea
baggers” as they are probably looked at by others would say that Die Hard
demonstrates the need for more freedom for gun owners to carry all the time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, maybe they can both be right and wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But above all though, what if John McClane
was never involved, or involved to a lesser extent?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s look back at the film.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s 1988 America and John McClane has just arrived in LA to
visit his estranged wife at her place of business for a Christmas Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combating jet lag, McClane takes to a
private office bathroom to clean up and “make fists with his toes” to alleviate
his condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that moment, a well-organized
group of criminals with great hair care invade and take over the building. All inside are killed or rounded up for the nefarious purposes of a yet unseen crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are they taking hostages?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are they extorting some kind of ransom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just know that John McClane, shoeless, grabs
his service weapon and takes off for another floor to avoid
capture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He appears to be the only invited
guest at the party with any kind of weapon other than security, who were easily dispatched. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bad guys round everyone up and keep them confined to the
main foyer where the party takes place, while a few of the participants attend to
other matters such as security, networks, and extracting a much needed code
from the President of Nakatomi Trading for the vault downstairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, John McClane looks on in horror as
Mr. Takagi is murdered, causing criminal mastermind, Hans Gruber to go to Plan
B which involves a yet unseen element after Theo drills through the first
layers of the vault door.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
John McClane attempts to attract police attention by setting
off a fire alarm and then making a distress call on the emergency services band
using the radio from a dispatched terrorist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This forces Gruber to try and neutralize this threat, but more
importantly, it advances Gruber’s plan by involving police forces and
ultimately, the FBI.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does John take out terrorists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does John represent the best chance for the hostages’
survival?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s take a look at the death count on the good guys’ side.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Victim - </b>Joseph Takagi</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Killed By - </b>Executed by Hans Gruber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><b>Reason Killed -</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because he wouldn’t give up the code.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane’s involvement</b> – None.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reason for level involvement</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> -</b>
</span>He could have stopped them, perhaps temporarily, but then he’d be dead
too. By giving away his position, he may have been
able to take out many of the terrorists in the room, perhaps even Hans,
himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the cons in that equation definitely
outweighed the good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would probably
have been killed due to the odds, Takagi could have been killed by crossfire or
in retaliation, and most likely, had John not nailed every one of them and
saved Takagi, the smart thing would have been to go downstairs, kill all the
hostages and leave before anyone knew what was up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Karmic impact</b> – None if any</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final Word</b> - John made the most calculated and logical
decision given his circumstances.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Victim </b>- Harry Ellis – <br /><b>Kille By - </b>Executed by Hans Gruber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><b>Reason Killed - </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because he got in the way, giving Hans information about John’s identity,
and then ceased to be useful to Hans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was more of an annoyance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane’s involvement</b> – 80% <br /><b>Reason for level involvement</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> -</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ellis told Hans who John was in order to help
keep the hostages safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, he was
still a dick, but he didn’t know of Gruber’s end game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When John didn’t give into Hans demands and
was basically outed, Ellis was no longer useful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John interfering with the entire ordeal
caused Ellis to act on his own, leading to his death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, John not surrendering ensured
Ellis’ death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, John would have
been dead and so would have been Ellis pretty much. While the audience and the characters may not
still know the end game for this, Hans had no use for the hostages so Ellis would
have been dead anyways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But John interfering
with Hans plan, even while advancing it, made for Ellis’ decision to try and
quell the uprising.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Karmic impact </b>– minimal. He felt bad and even tried to save his life which made him more useless at that point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final Word </b>- John being involved moved up Ellis’ death time
but probably didn’t influence it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still,
his involvement is implied.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Victim(s) - </b>Five SWAT Team Members – <br /><b>Killed By - </b>Uli and Eddie ambushed four at the
entrance with machine guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Driver
was killed by a missile exploding the SWAT vehicle, fired by Alexander and
James.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane’s involvement </b>– Direct involvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John called the police, involved Al Powell by
dropping Marco onto his police cruiser which alerted the police’s full
attention and SWAT involvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reason for level involvement</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> -</b></span> John’s continual annoying nature exacerbated the
issue possibly causing their ultimate deaths as a statement of Hans’ “Do not
mess with me, McClane!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Karmic impact –</b> less than you think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The SWAT, by Hans’ blueprint would have been
involved and according to Theo, they followed standard procedures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would have been there anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also took that role of their own accord
so it came with the territory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John’s
involvement may have led to Hans using over the top measures but then again,
why did he have a missile launcher in the first place?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final Word -</b> It’s their job but John put them there
unknowingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, we don’t know if
Hans would have killed them or more because John took out the missile launcher
position and operators with the C4 in the elevator shaft.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Victim(s) - </b>Agent Johnson and Special Agent Johnson, helicopter pilot <br /><b>Killed By - </b>Hans detonating the explosives on the roof caused the helicopter to catch fire and crash into the building... or gravity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane’s involvement </b>– Direct involvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He attempted to get the hostages off the roof but the FBI helicopter mistook him for a terrorist and began firing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Reason for level involvement</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b> -</b></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>John went to the roof because he knew the roof was wired to blow up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Karmic impact –</b> none. Hans pulled the trigger but McClane being on the roof is what forced Hans to blow it. The copter may not have been as close to the explosion had McClane not gone up there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Final Word -</b> While they were there because of their job, they totally planned on killing any terrorist they saw and possibly 20-25% percent of the hostages due to collateral damage. John may have forced the issue, but Hans killed them and they were dicks. That doesn't give their families any solace but they were in the business of being put in harm's way.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s all the good guy deaths.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, the plot of Gruber’s crime itself hinges on the fact the
police would show up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At what point in
his original timeline would they be alerted to the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
argument’s sake, let’s say John McClane is not at the party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His plane was delayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, Gruber and company take over Nakatomi
unfettered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They manage to execute every
step of the plan with probably only one casualty, Joseph Takagi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><br />So, there they are, with everything ready to
go:</div>
<ul>
<li>Roof rigged with explosives</li>
<li>
All but one lock opened on the vault</li>
<li>
All hostages accounted for in the main area of the party
floor</li>
<li>
No loss of terrorist life</li>
<li>
No resistance to their efforts</li>
<li>
No questioning of their command</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All they need is for someone to call the police and have
them show up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, they give the fake “Release
my brothers in arms” story to sell their hostage story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SWAT team shows up with no knowledge of how
many terrorists and what fire power they have involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they do a breach of the building without
the knowledge that McClane gave them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Better yet, do they even believe the story as Dwayne T. Robinson says, “He
could be one of the terrorists, Powell” about McClane’s information?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Powell wouldn’t even be involved
because he would have been home with his pregnant wife by the time Gruber was
ready to execute the next phase of his plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No Powell means no questioning of the response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is conjecture of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The SWAT team could have still been killed as
Hans could have ordered more missiles fired.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, was John McClane the best possible way to ensure that
the greater good was served?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was a lone
wolf with a gun the best possible way to resolve the conflict?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are four possible scenarios:<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>No McClane</b> = Hans executes his plan fully, all the
terrorists escape with the millions and all the hostages are killed in the
explosion on the roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><b>Statistics: </b></div>
<ul>
<li>100% hostages dead</li>
<li>0% terrorists dead</li>
<li>0% FBI forces dead</li>
<li>Maybe 1% of total SWAT officers killed (The math is fuzzy but 5 out of all
total SWAT officers with LAPD Metro has to be around 1% I would think, even for
1988)</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>No McClane</b> = Hans executes his plan up until the involvement
of authorities, but due to the lack of McClane, the strategy changes and
perhaps Gruber doesn’t get to blow up the roof with the hostages and escape
with his money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some hostages die
because the FBI takes them out as they are prepared to accept a loss during the
firefight<b>.<br />Statistics</b>:</div>
<ul>
<li>90-100% terrorists dead (Theo and Eddie maybe taken into
custody)</li>
<li>20-25% hostages dead including Takagi killed by Gruber<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OR maybe 100% of hostages dead because the
roof blew and no McClane to get them down. </li>
<li>Same amount of SWAT officers killed roughly 1%</li>
<li>Possibly 33-50% of FBI are killed or 1 Agent Johnson during the fight if we
count helicopter pilot as FBI.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane involved but surrenders because of Ellis</b> = Takagi still
dead, Ellis still dead, McClane dies because of Ellis, plan still carries out
beyond that.<br /><b>Statistics:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>38-75% of terrorists are killed because of McClane or
police/FBI involvement<br />
20-25% hostages killed, including Takagi who is killed by Gruber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br /><b>OR </b><br /></li>
<li>99-100% killed as Holly still taken as hostage due to McClane and Ellis’
involvement and maybe killed later.</li>
<li>Same amount of SWAT officers killed roughly 1%, </li>
<li>Possibly 33-50% of FBI are killed or 1 Agent Johnson during
the fight if we count helicopter pilot as FBI. </li>
<li>
100% of heroes killed</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>McClane Involved as originally scripted</b> = Movie plays out as
it does. Gruber’s plan gets modified and timetable pushed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He blows the roof prematurely and has to try
and steal the loot during the aftermath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Statistics:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>99% of terrorists dead (Theo taken into custody)</li>
<li>
Less than 6% of hostages killed (Takagi and Ellis), </li>
<li>
Same amount of SWAT officers killed or roughly 1%, </li>
<li>
100% of FBI forces killed (Both Johnsons and helicopter pilot) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
<li>
0% of heroes killed.</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Result – John McClane was the best option, using his
training and brains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br />Yippee Ki-Yay Motherfucker!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br />And then, there's this gem:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/Lk8skZQC8po/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Lk8skZQC8po?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br />NOTES :<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></div>
<ul>
<li>
Only one terrorist was killed by McClane having a gun at the party. He shot Eddie at the end when he taped the gun to his back. Hans Gruber was shot by it, but died from falling out of the 30th floor window onto the pavement. John either killed the remaining terrorists with other means or their own weapons. The list of deaths and how they occurred is here.<br /></li>
<li>Had any of the guests been carrying a registered and concealed firearm, it is more than likely they would have been shot before getting a chance to use it or it would have been confiscated had they been round up before being able to respond. This also plays into a fifth scenario that I did not explore. John shows up and is present when the terrorists take over. Most likely, being a cop, John would not have tried to engage them at the onset as he would have most likely been outnumbered and killed immediately. Also, his service weapon would have been confiscated. In the event he would have come up with a plan while being held hostage, he would have had to rely on his brains or mistakes made by the terrorists so the carry and conceal argument would not even play into it. </li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /> <br /><br /> </div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-46123525154055065072015-01-02T17:30:00.000-05:002015-01-05T09:56:27.866-05:002014 D-Bag of the Year Awards Part 2 - Oh The Humanity<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Call it a cop out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Call it what you will, but my pick for the biggest, most vile, hipster hat and non prescription glasses wearing douchebag of the year is Humanity via Social Media.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is that you say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you just make up some weird nominee off the top of your head like some sub-sub-sub-genre of music like Mathcore or Lowercase…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d kind of know what lowercase is if you ever sat and watched the DVD menu of The Social Network.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s ambient music with a few notes scattered about with stuff like real life noise, people talking, traffic, clacking of keyboards, footsteps, etc.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yeah, I just coined it Humanity via Media is the biggest d-bag of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to just say Social Media specifically, but there’s more to it which I will get to in a bit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why Media?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b>Social Media has been as pervasive in our lives.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
We post, tag, comment, retweet, upvote, tumblr (sp?), Instagram, blog, film, and basically overshare everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is there is no governance in place to weed out the real, satirical, or fake information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the point about Bill Cosby, both Kirk Cameron and Raven-Symone were reported to have been raped or assaulted by Bill Cosby sometime in their career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These stories were both false, posted by Onion emulating sites like HipHopHangover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But regardless of their incredulous nature, they were shared across the Internet via twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Michael Brown and Eric Garner deaths promptly divided friends on Facebook, probably more so than the midterm elections because on one side you have the barrage of people tuned into the “Police State” conspiracy and abuse of police power theories, and on the other there is the contingent of people who stand behind the badge and say that if they were truly innocent victims they wouldn’t have been committing a crime and when an officer tells you stop, you stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem lies in the dissemination of information via Media and how Humanity shows its colors when it shares or promotes those stories, real, satirical, or fake as it were. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at the “fake” media accounts of Chris Rock and other Twitter celebs who were retweeted without any kind of verification of “Did they actually say it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s akin to everything on Facebook being attributed to George Carlin or Sarah Palin whether they said it or not.<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><b> </b> </span></span></span>The Media itself is wholly guilty because they sensationalize some things and no one site is truly objective in its portrayal of anything anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fox is all right wing, MSNBC is all left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert piss everyone off because they get hoisted onto the pedestal of news when they are basically satire and entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the media feeds into social media and then we go back down that rabbit hole all over again.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
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<b>We have no filter and we have social media muscle.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
It’s kind of like beer muscles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get drunk and think you are invulnerable to anything you try to punch, animate, inanimate, or otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of social media or even media, it’s the belief that we have no problem making a comment, vile as it may be, towards someone because we don’t have to say it to someone’s face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think back to that Artie Lange Twitter rant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go search over the ones tagged to the Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, or even Hollaback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you think Artie Lange would seriously say, in person, to Cari Champion the things he tweeted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever read the comments section on any news article concerning anything polarizing like politics or human rights?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I joke about hating on PewDiePie as a YouTube content producer because I am one, too and my opinions are just that, my opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he disabled the comments on his YouTube account, for good this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His belief is that the comment section on his videos is just rife with spam, self-advertising, and fights among fanboys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With about 19 million subscribers, I guess there is a ton of comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it may be best for humanity but it’s only one of millions of places to see vinegar and hate on the Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, myself, jumped into the ring early on, being online for certain things trying to drum up my social media profile after this little moment pushed me a small step towards Internet Fame Mediocrity by calling out John Travolta on Twitter during the Oscars. It was retweeted 1500 times and favorited by 1000 people. I admit it, I took a little pride in my humor and was continuing to try and make fetch happen throughout the rest of the year. Then again, I think John Travolta has dyslexia and I just laughed at someone with a disorder. But, he's famous and knows famous people, and he is musical and should have known that her name wasn't Adele Dazeem.</div>
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Everyone thinks that revolution will not be televised, it will be posted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had countless videos of people dumping buckets of ice water on themselves, all for… charity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it really charity or attention?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Ice Bucket challenge was probably the most videoed moment of the year and people challenged each other to donate to ALS and film themselves being hit with a bucket of ice water, supposedly how it feels to have symptoms of ALS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what started out as a way to donate to a worthy cause became a “look at me” moment as everyone posted videos of themselves but probably not everyone donated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in doing so, did they actually fix anything?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social Media Cause of the Week Awareness comes off more like Evil Political/Business Figure Karma Washing by building libraries or parks in areas to offset their horrible practices or platforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while the initial ALS Ice Bucket challenge started off with a good message, it was polluted by the fails videos and other “Staged” event videos and copycat challenge videos that followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it didn’t just hit the everyday Joe, celebrities got in on the challenge as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glorification of the self outshone the message in the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another case of fail was that Hollaback video where after it went viral, tons of parody videos including everything from someone dressed as Princess Leia to a Lamborghini became the subject of catcalls or lack thereof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Arab Spring was filmed on a cell phone and that lent a face to what was actually going on in the region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was social media for the win.<br />
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<b>We have no context or objectivity.</b><br />
Recently, Sarah Palin tweeted out a picture of her son Trig, standing on the family dog to reach something on the counter. As a proud grizzly mom, she said her son was a problem summer, the tweet went viral and the Internet did what it does. She pointed out in a fiery article that Ellen Degeneres posted a similar picture in July of the same year.<br />
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A: Sarah Palin touts the problem solving skills of her son, Ellen says "Well, that's one way to reach the sink." Both are bad examples of how treat animals. <br /><br />B: That's Sarah's kid and dog. The other is fan submitted to The Ellen show. Ellen can't stop someone else's bad behavior. Sarah could.<br /><br />The difference is, one is Sarah Palin, and the other is Ellen. Righties, including Palin, will say "No one cared when Ellen did it." Well, they did. If you go to the Facebook post and look at the comments,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ellentv/photos/pb.26012002239.-2207520000.1420240597./10152602026212240/?type=3&theater" target="_blank"> A LOT of people called it out</a>. <br />
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It's called context. They pulled that Ellen pic because she is a well known liberal and lesbian. It's a tactic of taking something that looks the same and then use it as a juxtaposition. The more visceral and equally non contextual comment would to be to say, "Obama ate a dog once." <br />
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We also look at things non contextually such as photos depicting a moment in time, free of whatever is going on before and after that moment. Someone's face say the Obama daughters looking disgusted. Then, media adds the context.<br />
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Or, as I did last month on Facebook to prove a point, "An armed white man killed three police officers in Pittsburgh, was in a long standoff with the law, and was taken into custody, alive." Immediately, my conservative friends accused me of trying to associate this event from a few years ago to the Michael Brown case. I did no such thing. I simply made a factual statement with no context. Everyone attached their own context based on their beliefs. It was a dick move but showed the nature of what I am speaking to.<br />
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<b>We have no long term memory. </b><br />
"Hey, did you hear the one about the price of gas when a certain President took office vs what they are now? Blame so and so!"<b> <br /></b>"Hey did you hear how so and so is giving all these illegals clemency?" <br /><br />Chances are, you have seen your friends share something on social media, touting their political leanings. Usually, it's bashing the person they didn't vote for. Chances are, they didn't do any research into the subject and just re-posted or re-tweeted something from a site or feed that uses these little subjective posts as click bait for traffic. What usually occurs in some of these situations is that people cling to the notion that this country is going to implode because of the people in charge and nothing like this has ever happened before in anyone's lifetime. Let's face it, nothing is new anymore. Policy and political strategy is about as fresh as Hollywood script ideas. The problem lies in that people tend to have short term memory when these things occur. They tend to forget that other administrations and other environmental influences recur, like the seasons. Gas prices fall in the winter, and rise in the summer, so when someone points out that the price of gas was lower in the January of an inaugural year vs. the Memorial Day of a midterm, everyone grabs torches and pitchforks. Moreover, Presidents have no direct influence on the price of gas. The market fluctuates based on fear and speculation and time of year. But social media, and by proxy, we tend to wear our hate right out on our sleeves and feed the trolls of viral mud slinging because why? See the next point.<br /></div>
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<b>We are despicable human beings.</b></div>
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Everyone wants to see the train wreck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are far more disasters and fires started on social media and media outlets than good feel, faith in humanity stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything is hashtagged for social media glorification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#NotAllMen<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#YesAllWomen #NotAllPolice #NotAllBlacks #AlexFromTarget #BlackLivesMatter #PoliceLivesMatter #GamerGate<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, you cannot change the world with a hashtag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s face it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not Gandhi, Maya Angelou, The Dalai Lama, or Whatevertheirnames are like Bukowski or Poindexter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slacktivism is not helping fix problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it were, we wouldn’t need a name attached to a social media account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be anonymously attached to a building or a billboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop the glorification of yourself in the name of some cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a more despicable note, GamerGate was a form of victim blaming in that someone posted something, maybe true, maybe not, about a female gamer who released a game and then she and her family received threats by misogynistic people on social media. People came to the defense of Person A and were threatened as well. Others criticized Person A and they were threatened. The funny thing is, I wonder if those same people who sent death threats would ever, ever follow up on them if they were face to face. It's the Social Media Muscle at work. "Yeah, I'll kick your ass from behind my firewall." But, in person, you're peeing your pants at actually following through. If it actually happened, it'd be like this... (NSFW - Language)</div>
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<b>Fear sells better than cheer.</b><br />
When Ebola entered the country, pundits went nuts saying "CLOSE THE BORDERS!" and "OBAMA IS TRYING TO KILL US!" First of all, Ebola was already in Atlanta at the CDC. The level of spreading of Ebola in the US vs. Africa is ridiculously disparate. We are a first world country with better than average healthcare. And quite frankly, how the hell do you close the borders to air traffic? Ebola isn't just walking over the Rio Grande. We had an outbreak of mumps in the NHL this past fall, did anyone, ANYONE start yelling to close the border to Canada? Ebola is a dangerous disease if you don't have the capacity to deal with it. But it's a lot easier to get people glued to their sets when you have that newscast with the scary music, biohazard graphics, and fear than it is to give out good news. We are a society that likes Schadenfreude.<br />
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<b>We are ALL the problem. </b><br />
Was the iCloud hacks a sexual crime? Maybe. I am not a lawyer. I am not a woman, either. But, those involved did steal private images and videos. They did re-post them and that, in itself, is probably worthy of some investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> If anything, digital theft or invasion of privacy, breaking and entering if that applies to digital environments. And not as if I am downplaying the severity of what Jennifer Lawrence went through, but to say that anyone who viewed the images are also committing a sex crime, that is a stretch. OK, I admit it. I saw the images. I wanted to know. And I'm not claiming Pete Townsend "research" as reasoning, but really, is it a crime. The sites that host the images, yeah, probably guilty of something, but best you can do is say, "Take it down or face litigation" over copyright. What happened to the people who had their cloud accounts invaded is awful and this victim shaming/blaming mentality is horrible, but quite honestly, if you're using your digital accounts to store naked images and videos of yourself then you shouldn't be surprised that this is going to happen. Not to say it's apples to apples but if I walk down the street in a bad neighborhood with $100 bills hanging out of my pockets, I don't deserve to be mugged, but it's probably going to happen eventually and I can be pissed off about it and say it's wrong and it is, but it's still something that can be prevented. Flame me all you want, but the same goes for the cloud. And yes, the hackers are the worst in humanity, but the victims calling it something it probably isn't doesn't help. It is what it is, wrong and unfortunate.
So, there it is. As cliched as a wrap as that is, and pretty much ever word I say, "That's That" We have a lot of cleansing to do in 2015. To quote Neal Sampat from <i><b>The Newsroom</b></i>, you embarrass me. </div>
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I embarrass me, too. I am just as bad.<br />
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Since 2008, I've pretty much dedicated 98% of this blog to pointing out what's wrong with the world through the pop culture lens. The last two years have been particularly crass or depressing depending on the day. And while I am probably going to continue to uphold the "Angry" moniker since it is my brand. I want to be different. I got old real quick in my late 20s and 30s and I will be starting a new decade of my life. I gave up a lot of what made me... me. I still haven't given up all of my snark as a resolution but I do plan on making substantial changes in my life starting now. So, let's see if I can get back to being a little more like who I used to be before Mongo took over. Hopefully, I can bring some of you along with me. <br />
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Happy New Year, d-bags. <br />
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Sorry, I couldn't resist. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-70657889879143155772015-01-02T16:30:00.000-05:002015-01-05T08:37:08.631-05:002014 Annual D-Bag Awards Part 1 - What Am I Doing?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Should I just give it up? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should I quit this?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What the hell, Internet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did I become lazy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I get a
life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I actually do work?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20 blog posts last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>TWENTY!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s abysmal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did
123 in 2008 and averaged close to 95-100 a year, until I hit a creative or
ambitious wall with 2014.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, 2013
and 2014 were pretty much bad years as my content will attest to. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In any case, I couldn’t close the book on 2014 without doing
my annual D-Bag of the Year Award.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you’ve been keeping score, I kind of mailed
it in the last two years as it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In years past, I would go through this tournament consisting
of several rounds matching like nominees such as The Grim Reaper vs. Mother
Nature. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2014 has had its fair share of celebrity deaths like Mike
Nichols, Richard Attenborough, Joan Rivers, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Mickey
Rooney, James Garner, Ruby Dee, Bob Hoskins, Sid Caesar, Casey Kasem, Shirley
Temple, and Eli Wallach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was some
of the Hollywood Old Guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The notable
names connected to a younger generation of entertainment consumers included David
Brenner, Bob Hoskins, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meshach Taylor, Harold Ramis,
Jan Hooks, Maya Angelou, Christine Cavanaugh, Edward Herrmann, and Robin
Williams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s nothing compared to the
lives lost through tragedies like what happened with airplanes overseas disappearing
or crashing, deaths in Ukraine and the Middle East from war and strife, and
deaths of police officers and/or alleged criminals like Ferguson, New York, Cleveland,
or even my own backyard Pennsylvania with Eric Frein going all Rambo in the backwoods of PA after killing police officers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Mother Nature gave as good as she got plunging us into
stretches of subzero temperatures with Polar Vortices, a late fall snowstorm in
the Pacific Northwest and New England, cyclones, earthquakes, mudslides,
landslides, and eruptions as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve also recounted in past years how various businesses promoted
themselves with such great audaciousness, like Apple infuriating some of its
consumer base with an automatic download and install of U2’s new album via
iTunes, whether they wanted it or not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was also Hobby Lobby and the
controversial Christian values trumps the ACA for contraception case before the
Supreme Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably the biggest and
most forgotten story was the NFL’s domestic abuse problem and how it quickly
faded once the season got into full swing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then the business of politics always took a lot of the focus
as nominees in the category would include people like Congress for constantly
being a blight on the Democratic process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Republicans for the ridiculous amount of time and energy wasted on
trying to overturn the ACA, and immigration, and women’s rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Democrats could not escape themselves as
they completely dismantled themselves from doing anything during the midterm
elections because they just didn’t care and it showed at the polls when they
got walloped by the GOP.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, I always found it easy to pick apart the individuals in
my round up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris Brown was an easy
target as he was constantly finding himself being a royal d-bag, but this year
he seemed to take a backseat to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>2014 probably would have had me compare nominees like James Franco for
being a creepy bastard with that underage girl over texting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shia
LeBeouf would have been up there with his Joaquin Phoenix level meltdown, had
that been real, declaring he was not famous, became the unknown comic, cut his
own face for <i><b>Fury</b></i>, claimed he was raped during the filming of a movie, plagiarized
a graphic novelist, and tried to mug a homeless man of Mickey D’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could all be a stunt or he’s just drunk
and off the reservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NFL and the NBA all have players, owners, and commissioners
who love to be douches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The NBA had LeBron
James, who went back to Cleveland, which made Cleveland look like such a whipped
city because they welcomed him back with open arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donald Sterling made the list this year
after his much publicized remarks caught on tape by his “female friend” V
Stiviano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The NBA gave him a lifetime
ban and forced him to sell the team which he fought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, justice kind of prevailed but the
means to the end involved Ms. Stiviano being pretty much a d-bag in her own right.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The NFL produced great d-bags this year like Adrian Peterson
and Ray Rice, who were suspended for domestic violence, and supposedly Roger
Goodell has “top” men investigating it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Saying Roger Goodell is handling the situation when it comes to bad
behavior in the NFL is like saying Wyle E Coyote is this close to catching the
Roadrunner with whatever ACME gadget Amazon Prime just delivered him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also
with bad behavior, Pittsburgh’s LaGarrette Blount and Le'veon Bell kicked off
the season with a rollicking ride in Pittsburgh, while high, missing the team
flight and getting pulled over by the police. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems a moot point when Bell has been one
of the biggest play makers for the Black and Gold, and Blount, after getting less
than an acceptable amount of touches, walked off the field and into the locker room, finally
being cut by the team and resigned with his former employer, The New England
Patriots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was happy to be home and
Pittsburgh was happy he was, too, I guess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Still, it’s a move that could be interesting IF and ONLY IF the Steelers
are forced to face down their only playoff demon left in the Patriots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, Blount was a d-bag for being a whiny
bitch and pretty much a problem child that needed spanked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Blount rolls over Pittsburgh in a playoff
rout, it isn’t enough to call for the heads of Haley and Tomlin in
Pittsburgh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ, people have been
calling for them in week 1 and now the own the AFC North. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the season, another famous
d-bag, Ndamukong Suh, finished out his year by stomping on Aaron Rodgers,
leading to a suspension, which was appealed and turned over in another great
moment by Roger Goodell’s mantra of cleaning up the league.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then again, I have watched all of five
minutes of NFL football this year, taking a much needed breather from all the
hypocrisy and thuggish behavior that product has included.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it’s really a tossup in sports, but
there are no losers in that division.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much has been made about women’s rights and the treatment of
women this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The constant
politicizing of women’s right to use contraception took center stage with the
Hobby Lobby debate and springing off the Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice stories
was the catcalling video “10 Hours of Walking In NYC as a Woman”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It showed the “reality” of what a woman goes
through walking around and being accosted by men of color in “various” NYC
neighborhoods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I use quotes because the
10 hours of footage was not presented in full for viewing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When taken to task by Slate, the producer
said (paraphrased), “White Men catcalled her too, but they were too far off
camera or the sound was ruined by a siren.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That footage was somehow not included. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I include the producer of this, not for
pointing out the reality of what women go through, but because he did it
piecemeal, contextualizing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
speaking of being a d-bag towards women, how about Artie Lange and his tweets
about Cari Champion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, better yet, the
allegations and retraction (apology) by Rolling Stone over the story about
campus rape at UVA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how about this,
as innocuous as this is against women, Justin Bieber managed to piss all over
women and the holocaust by writing “Anne Frank Was A Great Girl, Hopefully She
Would Have Been A Belieber” in the guest book at the Anne Frank House in
Amsterdam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is far worse than those
two cancer kids snogging and GETTING APPLAUSE for it in the same house from <i><b>The
Fault In Our Stars</b></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I jest because I
loved the book and the film and thought it was a bit of a WTF moment which made
me laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, the invasion of
privacy, and sexual crimes against female celebrities due to iCloud hacks calls
out a more philosophical question of what constitutes a sex crime?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But no individual’s d-bag story could have topped the one
that pretty much crushed a lot of us 70s and 80s kids’ childhood memories when
it was reported… A LOT, that Bill Cosby has had a long history of drugging and
sexually assaulting women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since there
have only been allegations and no actual charges filed (I Think) against Cosby and
I wish it not true because I have adored the career of Cosby from his stand up to
<i><b>Fat Albert,</b></i> from <i><b>Picture Pages</b></i> to the <i><b>Cosby Show</b></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
there is a hell of a lot of smoke to not think that maybe we should call the
fire department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the last segment I usually throw a giant generalization
towards something like Me or the Media or Humanity to truly level the playing
field in who I think is the biggest d-bag of the year. But one d-bag seems to
challenge the faceless nameless category and this year it’s Hackers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hackers have been all over the place this
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First off we need to realize that
none of our information is safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hackers
hit every category this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
business with all of our credit card and banking information hacked from Home
Depot and Target, and NYC Taxi and Limo company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cloud was hacked and tons of pictures
and videos were stolen from famous and non-famous account holders in what was called
The Fappening and The Snappening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sony
was hacked and emails detailing everything from pay inequality to what people
really think of Angelina Jolie was shared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Online gaming sites like XBOX Live and SONY’s PSN were hacked and
kiddies opening up their new PS4s and XBOX Ones on Christmas morning couldn’t
go online and shoot each other in the face, leaving them to face the brave new
world of actually interacting with people face to face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there is the supposed Sony hack by
Kim Jong Un and his legion of TRS-80 hackers a la <i><b>WarGames</b></i> who threatened
terrorism if The Interview was released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Frankly, that movie should get its own award this year because I think
this was an inside job by somebody looking to boost the hype over watching this
film, not actually North Korea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, where does that leave us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve talked about sports and politics and
business and celebs and technology in regards to who is the biggest d-bag of
the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what could possibly trump
all those nominees?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://angrymongo.blogspot.com/2015/01/2014-d-bag-of-year-awards-part-2-oh.html" target="_blank">See Part 2</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-72370219827048433932014-10-31T12:34:00.002-04:002014-10-31T12:34:56.651-04:00This Parent's Perspective: Response to Nerdist On Retailers Selling M-Rated Games<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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Right off the bat, I am going to say this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your Mileage May Vary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not your kid’s parent, and you are not
my kid’s parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am about to say
is going to totally misalign with your views and that’s OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is merely the perspective, and really an
opinion, on how I am raising my child who happens to love playing video games.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Last week, <a href="http://www.nerdist.com/vepisode/nerdist-play-should-retailers-be-more-strict-about-selling-m-rated-games/" target="_blank">Nerdist: Play</a> published a story about
retailers’ selling M-Rated games to underage kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It talked about how the author watched a kid
buy The Evil Within and how to deal with that occurrence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question asked was “Was there anybody in
the wrong for what happened?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The response? </div>
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<br /></div>
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No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because parenting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I agree in the hypocrisy of saying a kid, today,
shouldn’t be sold a game for which I clearly would have bought and played at a
young age as well (circa 1987), I also have to say with complete awareness of
how clichéd it sounds, “It was different in my day.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s flashback to the 80s when Atari and NES were the big
names in video game consoles and look at this further.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a young kid, I had a vivid imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew there were no such things as monster
under the bed or vampires or zombies, but my mind could certainly conjure up
something more viscerally disturbing than anything Stephen King, Clive Barker,
or even David Lynch could put on paper or screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite frankly, what you couldn’t see scared
me more than what was actually shown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
saw Poltergeist and Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, and Evil Dead 2 at a
young age and those films scared the piss out of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, the scenes in E.T. where the
government scientists descend upon Elliot’s house were the stuff of mindmares
when I returned home from the theater to a darkened house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I survived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched Die Hard in the theater and I was
only 14 at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, while my
imagination was overactive when it came to coming up with scare worthy
thoughts, it didn’t spill out into the real world with me stringing up and
torturing neighborhood animals or other children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not become Ed Gein or Buffalo
Bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because my parents still had a grasp of what
I was out doing and even though I did watch those scary movies… and *<b>blush</b>*
I did sneak a Playboy or Hustler from another friend as well as rent low budget
R Rated movies like Galactic Gigolo from my local video store when I couldn’t
find something salacious on HBO at 2 in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I turned out fairly normal as an
adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, I have a 7 year old
daughter who clearly shows signs of evil genius which means my parents failed
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was most likely going to follow
their lead raising her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the thing, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The amount of material available to me in the 80s is a far cry from what
there is now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, I did see my fair
share of nudity, violence, and drug use on film and television and other media,
but the level of “depravity”, as some would call it, were ridiculously tame
compared to stuff today like The Human Centipede and The Evil Within.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, that’s not to say that the same genre
of movies or video games were available in the 80s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, I Spit Upon Your Grave was made
in 1978.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Custer’s Revenge, an adult
themed Atari 2600 game, was made in 1982.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The difference was that there was no real easy way for a child like me
to get ahold of those items when I was a kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Furthermore, Custer’s Revenge, while a depiction of nudity and sex
between a man and a woman was still rendered in all the glory of Atari
graphics, so it’s laughable if not even recognizable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
It was just a different time when we were preteens in the 80s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a time when Married With Children,
The Simpsons, and Beavis and Butthead were deemed too hot for TV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of jaw dropping luridness seen in
those shows was about as shocking as an exposed ankle would be to someone in
the 1970s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was only 30 years ago,
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now have Game of Thrones and
The Walking Dead on television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today’s level of realized creativity has exponentially multiplied as has
the manner in which to depict it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
would be no different than reading H.P. Lovecraft in the 60s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I ask, which is worse, the imagined
horror that had to be filled in with your brain reading Lovecraft, or seeing a
depiction of his work on screen today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The availability of that work is also mainstreamed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Internet has a wildfire mentality that
has yet to be controlled and parents are still catching up to and combatting
the circumnavigation of such restrictions over what their kids shouldn’t
see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My own daughter has accidentally
rented movies OnDemand, albeit nothing bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, I give a decent amount of leeway like my parents did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When she was two years old, she faced the mortality of
humankind when we lost her grandmother to a brain hemorrhage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was such a close bond and we didn’t
sugarcoat the information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw her
in the hospital, hooked up to life support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She watched her go through chemotherapy the past year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was well aware of the world of doctors
and illness and what can and may very well happen to others she loves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly after that ordeal she became very
interested in fact that her grandfather and I would play video games to pass
the time (Keep him busy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, because
it was such an easy controller, we played the Wii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Titles ranged from Call of Duty to Big Game
Hunter to, yes, House of the Dead 2 and 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And my own kid sat there and watched us play it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was fascinated by it, not scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day, I had flipped to Comedy Central and
Ghostbusters came on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She immediately
latched onto it and enjoyed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
became a huge fan and I decided to use it as a teaching moment about the
difference between reality and fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I grabbed my DVDs and we watched the behind the scenes stuff as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She watched how they made the
ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simultaneously demystified
the movie magic I so adored as a child in the hopes that she could understand
that these things were entertainment and not scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enjoyed a lot of my movies from
childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loved dinosaurs, so we
watched Jurassic Park and The Lost World.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clearly the child could differentiate between movies and real life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had an understanding of what was going on
and it neither scared her nor scarred her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She saw me playing Minecraft and loved the creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She just started playing Fallout 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She keeps bugging me to get Skyrim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has joined me in creating videos on
YouTube and solo played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a knack
for entertainment and humor that I never had at her age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s hilarious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I said, my parents ruined me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I do monitor what she does, to a point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t let her watch me play Grand Theft
Auto, at least with the sound up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
again, the subtitles don’t help so I am careful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t play Last of Us in front of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t let her watch The Walking Dead or
play other games that I feel may be too close to realistic depictions of
violence or gore because I know she has that same level of imagination that I
had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently played Gone Home, which
I realize has no scary imagery in it, but it does unsettle me every time I hear
a noise in the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I pick and
choose which level of stimulation she is exposed to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, like the video from Nerdist says, even
if Target doesn’t sell the kid the game, they can go watch a walk through of The
Evil Within on YouTube with full gore and burning children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is it any different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Should the retailers care about selling M-Rated titles to
underage kids?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, they should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s the parents’ responsibility to police their child’s actions
concerning such items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, should a
bartender serve a child alcohol simply because it’s not their responsibility to
police the child?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should a 7-11 sell
them a Playboy or a pack of cigarettes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m not cool with
retailers selling my kid M-Rated games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While it’s not their job to police my child, it is their responsibility
to not contribute to the delinquency of a minor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I so deem it acceptable for my kid to
play a game that is M-Rated, then I will buy it for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while I don’t necessarily agree with the
rating system for movies and video games, I will make the final call for the
time being, because I am the parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Evil Within may be 13+, at best, I don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kids today can handle a different amount of that kind of stimulation
than in the 80s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I be pissed if
Target sold my kid an M-Rated game?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes,
in theory, but probably not, depending on the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would make sure I found out why it was
M-Rate before my kid got deep into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a parent, I am the first and last line of defense when it
comes to my kid’s wellbeing and I am doing what I can to educate and prepare
her in that sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have far too many
more things out there that can harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are more widespread and more easily attainable than when I was a
kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This level technology that has
exploded in the past 20 years is simply moving faster than we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did not prepare ourselves when it dropped
into our laps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I think we
opened a Pandora’s Box of issues when the Internet became available but there’s
no way to stop it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there does
need to be a buffer in place to handle the little things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every little bit helps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be overly sensitive about it helps no
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a douchebag about censorship
is just as bad as being one about freedoms and civil liberties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, you are the one that has to
deal with the Fallout.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-15574079264277723332014-10-02T17:00:00.000-04:002014-10-02T17:00:00.584-04:00Ouija, Tetris, and other So Bad Let's Make Them Movies About Games<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
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mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Battleship</b></i> was merely the tip of the bad idea iceberg set to
run aground and destroy us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a
<i><b>Tetris</b></i> movie in the works and this Fall, <i><b>Ouija</b></i> slides its way into theaters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not
beat the machine to the punch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is
my list of the SO BAD LET’S MAKE THEM MOVIES BASED ON GAMES</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christopher Nolan’s <b><i>Reversi</i></b><br />
<b><i>Hungry Hungry Hippos 2: The Purging</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Martin Scorcese’s <b><i>Monopoly</i></b> with Daniel Day Lewis playing
Rich Uncle Pennybags</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joaquin Phoenix stars in <i><b>UNO</b></i>, a film by Spike Jonze</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Judd Apatow’s <b><i>Ants in the Pants</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Russell Crowe squares off against Christoph Waltz in
Terrence Malick’s <i><b>RISK</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Quentin Tarrantino’s Grindhouse double feature <i><b>Trivial Pursuit/Scrabble</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob Zombie’s <b><i>Candy Land</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Liam Nesson in <i><b>Sorry!</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Michael Bay’s <i><b>Perfection</b></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-72549039631453025852014-09-16T11:59:00.002-04:002014-09-16T12:01:36.856-04:00How To Remove Unwanted U2 Downloads From iTunes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><br />
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
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UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style> <![endif]--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://linuxrants.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iphone_trash_verizon-300x299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://linuxrants.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/iphone_trash_verizon-300x299.jpg" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</style> <![endif]--><b><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There, I fixed that for you.</span> </i></b></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, there was this thing where Apple automatically downloaded an entire album onto your iTunes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be fair, during the Apple event they stated, “We’re giving every user a free album.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, what they didn’t say was that they were going to go ahead and just push it into your iTunes account.</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38IqQpwPe7s" target="_blank">The much longer, full event is here.</a></div>
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Yup, they did it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t sugarcoat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t say, “Available for download.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just gave it to you whether you had the space or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They pushed it to you whether you were roaming or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i>AT&T has a $19.95 per megabyte download charge if you’re roaming and download it.</i>) </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, is it your fault?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes and no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you have your settings set to allow this to happen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But does that matter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the way, if you want to remove that album… <a href="http://itunes.com/soi-remove" target="_blank">here you go</a>.</div>
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.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8360344150029695218.post-49864265356410932562014-09-09T17:00:00.000-04:002014-09-09T17:00:00.598-04:00Sitting In Judgment Over Domestic Violence and The Media<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I admit it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
played that card before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in 2009
and 2011, I put Chris Brown on my D-Bag of the year awards list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I judged him in the whole Rhianna thing
because I was a spectator to a TMZ/CNN/E/Social Media deluge of opinion and
edited content to garner ratings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
now, even though my posting has become lax and two months gone, I am not going
to bring up the current issue except to say this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need to stop sitting in judgment of the celebrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to stop sitting in judgment of the victims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to address the issue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The issue is this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Domestic Violence is a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Abuse is a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And instead of
going after the perpetrators and victims we need to tackle the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking to Twitter, Facebook, and yes… blogs,
to call out someone for hitting another person or for someone staying with
someone who hit them does not help the matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All it does is create a cycle of pressure and tension for those involved
leading to more stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I say that
in a PC way because I am trying to be objective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short… So and so does not need you
defending or bashing them on Social Media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You aren’t taking away the act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are creating a perpetual cycle of Ground Hog Day in that person’s
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not to say the abuser doesn’t
deserve the criticism or constant reminder of their crime, but the victim doesn’t
either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is a short list of points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of course, I make a generalized
disclaimer because I am not an expert or in law enforcement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><b>STOP calling attention to the people involved.</b><br />Whether it is Ray Rice or Janay Palmer or Rhianna or
Chris Brown, using their names to push your social media agenda is not a call
to attention to end domestic abuse or a shaming tactic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just creates more sensation and publicity
and keeps the wrong people in the spot light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you must… hashtag the crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or, better yet, don’t hashtag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don’t Tweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t Retweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I posted to Facebook about how the “availability”
of a certain tape becoming known led to the suspension and that had it not, the
release of the player would not have happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was more about calling out the NFL’s “too little, too late actions”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, it was probably wrong to do so.<br /> </li>
<li><b>STOP assuming.</b><br />We saw an incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ONE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have no idea what was said in that argument.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am neither condoning nor judging the
persons involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That one single event
should be enough to have charges and an investigation brought about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And both were arrested at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also up to authorities and those with
the knowledge and training to conduct it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not bloggers, talking heads, or Monday morning experts to decide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, her response clearly comes from
someone who has a history of being abused.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We don’t know that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There could
be extenuating circumstances that led to that incident and she could be just as
capable for provoking or causing an incident as much as being in an abusive
relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just don’t know. <br /><br />What we do know is that from the tape, an altercation happened outside of the
elevator where the victim attempted to strike the accused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, once inside the elevator, we saw it
escalate and that he knocked her out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know what was said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know what happened before they came
into view of the security cam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
doesn’t mean it isn’t the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything on that tape, that the 24 hour news media looped endlessly
and unrelenting in search of ratings, is pretty much how it was described by
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all knew what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just don’t know why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ABC’s “What Would You Do” ran a segment where
they showed a couple in an argument that was framed to look like abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They filmed it from two perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One was a man clearly strong arming and
demeaning a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other was from
the point of the woman being the aggressor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most people look at men as the bigger, stronger person and it was almost
humorous to see him getting chewed out by a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Aww, look at the pussy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s just an opinion of what some onlooker
might have thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we don’t know what
happens in a relationship because we aren’t privy to the stuff that happens off
camera, out of frame, or behind closed doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After all, people reacted to what they thought was an altercation
between a couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In reality, it was two
actors playing out a scene for reaction.<br /><br />The media often clips, edits, and crafts a story to scintillate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make the accuser look worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make the victim look less blameless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make the police… ALL THE POLICE IN ALL THE
COUNTRY look like power abusive trigger happy assholes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at the recent case in Ferguson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only the act was shown, not the before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were quick to judge based on what they
assumed happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Large African
American man suspected of robbing a store.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When it wasn’t the store owner that called the police, it was a
spectator, assuming that’s what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assumptions truly do harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unless you have all the facts, you can only work with the conditions
present and the current act as it happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Speculating on whether or not someone standing beside their abuser is in
denial or just stupid doesn’t help the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It perpetuates the cycle of gossip and sensationalism that gets people
hurt further. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b><br /> </b></li>
<li><b>STOP blaming.</b><br />“She’s stupid for marrying him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“How could she stay with him?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of that does nothing but show how
ignorant you are of what it is truly like to be in an abusive relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, in reference to Chris Brown and
Rhianna , I did it, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People… and I say people because
both men AND women are perpetrators of abuse as well as victims are capable of
abusing another and should not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it
doesn’t always have to be physical abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Someone can verbally or emotionally abuse you and it’s just as
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may abuse you into thinking
that you leaving them is a horrible idea, because “you will never do better” or
“you are not good enough to be with someone else”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No one, but me, would have you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You’re just a drama queen and want
attention.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People in abusive relationships don’t always
have an exit strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some,
religion plays a role in their trying to divorce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Church elders may say that the good Christian
thing to do is to work it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
blaming the church or religion, but there is still a long way to go in this
world before we understand the nature of people vs. the infallibility of
faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, you just need to
leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best thing the church, a
family member, or an administrative group could do is get you the proper help
instead of offering hollow advice from a place of ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><br />Point is the victim isn’t stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
victim is most likely scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
a million things going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“If I leave,
they will find me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of one punch,
it’ll be five.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worse yet, there may be
a child involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who abuse aren’t
just strong or physical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can be
smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can paranoid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They may go to great lengths to make sure you
don’t have an exit strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes,
because of the level of abuse, they may isolate you from the tools and
knowledge that can allow you to understand how to fight back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not being stupid, it’s being
controlled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s being brainwashed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s being forced to live a life of
submission where you don’t always understand that it is wrong to be treated
like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can make you think you
deserve it.<br /><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><b>STOP talking about the wrong people</b>.<br />Am I disgusted with the NFL for getting caught with their pants down?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Am I going to stop watching football because of it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because even though there is
probably a statistical correlation between violence in sports, pressure to
perform, abuse of mood altering performance enhancing drugs, concussions, brain
injury, and violence outside of the workplace due to trauma and behavioral
issues from all the above, one incident does not make the sport all bad.<br /><br />Do I want Roger Goodell gone? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, for
my own reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, he has most
likely made the NFL more profitable than any other commissioner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is very good at his job, first and
foremost, as a generator of profit and revenue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does he display poor judgment in character issues and dealing with
problems? Maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he isn’t going anywhere.<br /><br />Do the Ravens suck?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What do you think?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am from
Pittsburgh<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>:)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /><br />Again, we talk about the wrong people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We shouldn’t be talking about people or corporations at all, let alone
one that generated some $6 billion+ in revenue, but they are non-profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br /> </li>
<li><b>START talking with your loved ones, children,
etc. about what’s right and wrong.</b><br />We should be talking about abuse and domestic
violence and violence against women AND MEN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How woman and men can perpetuate violence against each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How it is never right to hit anyone for any
reason unless you are in danger, yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Defense, never offense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also,
teaching our children the value of their own life as well as others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How they aren’t to blame for abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How they are special and worthy and how they
should be treated AND HOW THEY SHOULD TREAT OTHERS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way you can stop the cycle is to
keep it from happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let it bred out
in future generations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For every policy
or rule that the NFL puts into place to weed out the bad element, there are how
many bad elements just going someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their zero tolerance just means zero problems they have to deal
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not them, it’ll be the arena
league or CFL or whatever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saying, “Not
in our house”, doesn’t stop the abuse, it just shifts it somewhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be the ones to not tolerate it in
our own lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not the job of the
NFL to keep abuse from happening, it’s ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a parent, as a teacher, as a mentor, as a parent, and even a child,
it is up to us to decide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No more.
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">National Domestic Violence Hotline<br />
</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7223)<br />
TTY: (800) 787-3244</span><br />
<a href="http://www.thehotline.org/">http://www.thehotline.org/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<br />
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Links from The Administration for Children and Families <br />at The Dept of Health
and Human Services</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/category/domestic-violence">http://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/category/domestic-violence</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Angry Mongo's blog is published 3 times a week unless his boss catches him. Join him in his delusions of adequacy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1