Living Science Fiction
…or the good, the bad, and the ugly of the advancing, technologically and politically charged world. I feel like I’m living in one of those science fiction dystopias right now. If you had told me that I would live to see a new civil rights movement as politically charged as the African American movement rise from the ashes of ignorance, I would have told you that you didn’t know what you were talking about. Yet here we are with millions of people across the country protesting the assault on homosexuals. I’m living in a time I never thought would exist; it never occurred to me that there could be such a vicious battle between religion and the other or such a divide between our peoples–a divide that has relegated one group of people into the position of “second class citizen” because a majority says it’s right.In some respects, I don’t know how to take all of this. I grew up making fun of homosexual men while sharing the common masculine mentality that allows homosexual women to be reduced to sexual objects. It was never really brought up that saying “that’s gay” or “you’re such an f*g” were actually derogatory phrases that shouldn’t be said. Yet here I am, looking into the face of hatred and finding myself almost unable to cope. How do you fight hate?Then only a week or so ago we saw violence spring up yet again between Israel and Hamas. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised and forgive me for being naive, but I don’t understand the necessity for violence from either end–I understand that hatred exists, but it seems utterly illogical and pointless to me (couldn’t they just spend the time ignoring one another?).But not all is bad, right? Sure, there are those dystopic moments where things really look down, but there are good moments too. We elected the first African American President, Barack Hussein Obama, in the United States, for one. And what about all those fantastic scientific discoveries/inventions in the last year or so? The Australians discovered a genetic link for transsexuality, the Large Hadron Collider went online (and then broke, for now), cell phone use has increased at a massive rate, eBook readers have started to take hold in the market, and Space X, a privately run space company, had a successful launch of its Falcon rocket (which, I imagine, helped earn it a launch contract with NASA). It seems like we’re inching closer and closer to that point where we can send non-astronaut folks into space–hopefully for pleasure.With our global society grasping so readily at technology, it’s no wonder why it feels like we’re living in a science fiction story. I said at the beginning of this post that it feels like a dystopia with all the darkness surrounding us. Maybe that’s because I’ve paid too much attention to the dark and not enough to the light.So, despite all the bad, at least things are looking up in some departments, right? The economy might have taken a dive, but other things are rising up from the ashes. Ten years ago I never would have thought that I would have the opportunity to see space with my own eyes; now it looks like it might actually happen within my lifetime. Should I be happy for our successes or concerned over our failures? Can you be both?
Blogging Collab Idea
It was brought to my attention that some of you out there were curious about my blogging collaboration idea. I’ve actually already started working on this idea with another blogger (Tycho Garen, in specific). Basically it would work something like this:Two or three individuals (or more, I suppose; for the sake of this discussion, though, I will use ) would agree on a topic of discussion, such as a question or a controversial idea or whatever. Someone would agree to start and would thus write his or her response to whatever the topic happens to be. That response would be handed to another person, who would then, in theory,post their response to the topic and then any rebuttals to the first person’s response. Then they would go back and forth in debate style (friendly, of course, because nobody wants to have any of that angry debating crap) until either nothing else can be said or both parties agree that nothing else needs to be said.Responses would be posted in pairs on alternating blogs. In the case of Tycho and I, the first response for our little dialogue is going to be up at on his blog (his response to the question, my response to the question, and a rebuttal). Then, we’ll alternate. In the event that we have nothing else to say after two rounds, then things still alternate and we simply choose another topic.There are plenty of other ways to do this, though. One suggestion was to have it where a topic was chosen and then one person would post on their blog, the next person would post a response on their blog with a link back to the initial response, and back and forth like that (a dialogue between blogs, if you will). I’m still interested in trying this version, which hopefully is clear from my description.And you’re free to suggest different ways to do this. So, if you have suggestions for different formats, then by all means suggest them! So, what do you all think? Any other sf/f bloggers interested in producing cross-blog dialogues? It’d be interesting and would offer a unique way to cross-pollinate readers and do some nifty things withing the blogging world. Let me know what you think.
Misconceptions About Star Wars
One of the things that I find interesting about the criticisms of Star Wars is when people tend to misunderstand or misrepresent what the series is about or what happens within the series. Sometimes this has to do with people over analyzing or simply people being idiots.Mulluane of Dragons, Heroes, and Wizards recently brought to my attention this post by Richard Risch that somewhat irritated me with the ways in which Risch criticized Star Wars for its failures to succeed as a piece of science fiction–he argues that Star Wars is more of a science fantasy than anything else.Now, to be fair, I have little argument against Risch’s points. He is correct in placing Star Wars in the science fantasy category. Lucas’s series is not at all a true science fiction story and is a prime example of why the “just because it has spaceships doesn’t mean it’s science fiction” rule is a good one to follow. What I take issue with are the examples Risch uses and the fallacies in logic that come with them. I suppose the best way to go about this would be to go one piece at a time.First this: Sadly though and even more important, authentic fighter tactics were lacking, and at times, … purely ignored. This was made quite evident by the attack on the exhaust port via the death trench. Using your fighter to block an enemy fighter (on your six o’clock), is suicidal in real warfare. That is in reality how most fighters get shot-down. A logical tactic would have been to keep a circling flight of fighters above, waiting to engage any bandits making a run for your dive-bombers. But then, that would have not lent well to the story, would it? My initial contention with this part of his argument is his reference to the suicidal tactic of blocking an enemy fighter with your own fighter. If you’ve seen the movie it’s pretty darn obvious that the folks doing the blocking are, in fact, being suicidal. They’re there to basically be annoying. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, sure, but I don’t think Risch really addresses the reality of the setting. Perhaps this all isn’t much of a contention, but from the start I already had issues with the assumption that the rebels in Star Wars were doing anything other than being suicidal decoys…I think a far more accurate criticism, one which Risch only touches on briefly here, would be to point out the idiocy behind the whole idea of having to travel down a long trench. The film never mentions any rational behind this tactic and really, as Risch says, it’s there for the pretty-fying of the story.Then there’s this: Added to this, was the attack on the exhaust port (which was purportedly ray-shielded) with photon torpedoes (borrowed from Star Trek). Funny thing, a mass of photons is considered ray. (Photon energy is produced by an electron dropping from a higher orbit to a lower orbit as it travels around in an atom.) Therefore, how could photon torpedoes be realistically considered the weapon of choice for this attack? Well, as was mentioned in the comments of his post, the Star Wars folks used proton torpedoes, not photon torpedoes, meaning that no actual “stealing” was involved (in theory). But regardless of the name, Risch’s point is one worth taking up. Why must we assume that the names for all things within a fictional universe have to be related to the things they represent? For example, if I have a fish torpedo, does that mean the torpedo has to be made out of fish? Or shaped like a fish? Does it have to smell like a fish or make a fish sound when it’s shot? No, it doesn’t. It could be called a fish torpedo for a lot of reasons. Maybe it’s called that because when the fighter pilots who shot them saw them moving through deep space they came up with a new slang term in which space became the ocean and torpedoes became fish. Who knows. Just because something is a photon or proton torpedo doesn’t mean that the torpedo has to be made out of photons or protons or anything, or even resemble those things, or be made of photons or protons as we know them in our reality. It doesn’t really matter what they are called. Star Wars also has ion cannons, by the way, and I imagine there are all sorts of scientifically incorrect things about those too. Let’s face it, Star Wars isn’t exactly the most realistic universe out there as far as science is concerned. But do any of us expect it to be? No. It’s Star Wars. There are lightsabers and people who have magic powers and aliens that drool and evil guys that breathe funny. Then: All well and to the good except for one minor problem, it took the samurais and ninjas many years to develop their bodies and skills through training, discipline, and actual combat. I ought to know, I trained at and taught Karate for over twenty-five years. For Luke Skywalker to become an accomplished Jedi Knight (under several weeks of Yoda’s tutelage and training) is laughable and cannot possibly happen even with most gifted human beings. Again, you are expected to accept this with blind faith. Let’s take this one apart piece by piece. TimeIt’s never indicated with any certainty how much time passes between the separation of Luke Skywalker/R2-D2 (traveling to Dagobah) and Han Solo/Chewie/Leia/C-3PO (running from the Empire). The most we can assume is that it didn’t take more than a few years lest we might have seen some drastic changes in the physical appearances of the characters (as in someone getting old all of a sudden). It’s likely, however, that the second film spanned only a few months. Remember, Han Solo gets tortured during this period. I can think of a lot of real world examples where tortures took place for
How to User Twitter: 10 Things For All Beginners
…or how to not be annoying on Twitter! Twitter isn’t only a quick-blogging utility, but a social network that connects people all across the net, and even connects bloggers to their readers. That last bit is important, because for some reason folks are much more willing to communicate with you on Twitter than they are on your blog. Perhaps it’s because Twitter is easy to use, or perhaps it’s because when you’re on Twitter you’re talking about other stuff and it’s an opportunity for readers to get to know you a little better. Whatever the reason, whether your followers or the people you want to follow you are readers, bloggers, random Interwebs people, family, or friends, you need to understand how to use Twitter properly so you don’t become one of those folks that just about everyone ignores. The following are some good pointers you should follow when starting your Twitter account: Don’t pick a name that is impossible to remember.Sdooiuv2407asdlj is not a good choice for a Twitter name. Seriously. It might have some sort of ridiculous significance to you (or not, if you’re a bot), but to the rest of it is says “hey, I don’t care that my Twitter makes me look like a poorly coded piece of computer software.” Pick a name that allows people to identify with you. Mine is my actual name and others I know use their online aliases or even silly names that are at least readable. Post before you do anything else.Unless you were asked specifically to join Twitter from someone you know, and thus want to follow the person who referred you, do not go around following people on Twitter if you haven’t posted. Most people with some sort of common sense will ignore you. You may very well be someone really interesting and worthy of their attention, but think of it like a job interview. If you show up to the interview wearing cheap cologne, a wife-beater, and moldy Dockers, do you really have to wonder why you didn’t get the job? You’ve called and called for two weeks, but nobody has called you back. Why you?First order of the day is to post a bit. Post useful stuff.This is a difficult concept, I know, but important nonetheless. While you might read #2 and think, “Well, if I just post ten posts about how I don’t understand Twitter, that will count,” most people will take that to mean that you either don’t care or have nothing interesting to say. The vast majority of us, including myself, started using Twitter without any idea what we were doing. It’s okay. But don’t expect people to follow you if all you post is annoying “I’m confused” stuff.Additionally, when you do start posting more, shall we say, thoughtfully, you should try to make those posts interesting somehow. If you’re a funny person, maybe tell a quick joke. If not, talk about something that might be interesting to fellow Twitter users. Connect your Twitter to your blog.This is built into Twitter, which is quite awesome. Do it if you have a blog. It’s a great way to get a boost in traffic and to start short conversations through the Twitter network! But make sure to post other things as mentioned in #3. Do not post loads and loads of links.Don’t. Period. It’s okay to connect your Twitter to your blog (as in #4), but if all you do is post links to things, particularly the same thing, then expect people to avoid you like the plague. It’s annoying and probably should be illegal. If you want to spam, fine, but leave all of us alone with it. Do not repeat yourself over and over and over.Yes, you can say things a few times, but if all you do is repeat yourself like a parrot repeats a dying man’s final words, then expect people to become annoyed with you as quickly as America gets fed up with its B-list celebrities. Offering the same content repeatedly does not work in the same way as brainwashing. If we didn’t like it the first dozen times, we’re probably not going to like it the next ten thousand times you try shoving it down our throats. Follow people with similar interests or people you know first.It’s best to follow folks you know first (even if it’s an Internet acquaintance) and then start looking for folks within your niche. You don’t have to follow this one, but I find that following folks you know first proves beneficial for increasing your follower count.Additionally, following folks within your niche (whatever that niche may be) produces a lot of dialogue and introduces you to new faces. You don’t have to follow a lot of them, which will be discussed shortly, but getting to know folks within your field of interest is a great way of finding people who aren’t necessarily interested in the same thing, but share other interests. Such folks can also have nothing to do with your niche, but prove interesting anyway. Don’t blanket-follow on Twitter or anything similar.By “blanket-follow” I mean following mass quantities of people all across the Twitter-verse. While it’s great to go around finding new friends, it isn’t necessarily a good thing. Think of Twitter as being a new form of instant messaging. If you randomly start messaging people, they’re not very likely to listen to you and probably will block you, right? Well, same basic concept. Take it easy. Add a few people here or there, but don’t add dozens and dozens of them every day. This doesn’t apply to people who follow you first. Learn the lingo.Each individual post is a “tweet” and, depending on who you’re talking to, Twitter users are known as “Twits.” That last one is not an insult, so don’t be afraid to use it. There are bound to be all sorts of slang terms I don’t even know, and likely new ones will arise in the future. The big
Violent Video Games = Violent Kids = B.S.
All you annoying anti-fun harpies who are clambering with joy about the supposed “victory” against violent video games need to sit down and shut your traps long enough to actually consider the reality of the situation.MSN recently reported on a study by U.S. and Japanese researchers who say they have figured out whether or not violent video games actually create violent children. The study resulted in the following: In general, Anderson’s team found that kids who habitually played violent video games were more likely than their peers to become increasingly involved in physical fights — even when their behavior in the months leading up to the study was taken into account. Now, hold on. I know what you’re thinking. It’s proven once and for all, right? Actually, not really. Here’s the problem with what is being reported:First, the article mentions nothing whatsoever about percentages. Were all the kids who habitually played more aggressive? How many of their nearly 2,000-subject study turned out to be more violent? Were there six, or sixty, or half of one?Second, it “proves” that only habitual players of violent video games between the ages of nine and eighteen become more violent. What exactly constitutes habitual game playing for a nine-year-old, or a twelve-year-old, or an eighteen-year-old? Six hours a day? Four hours? Nine? Thirteen? What? These kids are in school, so they’re not playing all day, obviously. What about all the kids who didn’t fit into that group? Were they completely the opposite? A kid who played an hour a night was perfectly fine, but a kid who played seven hours a night had a higher tendency for violence?Third, nothing is mentioned about their home environments. How many of these kids were in abusive environments? How many were in good homes? How many had parents who do this little thing called parenting and didn’t let them play games all night? How many had parents who were active in their lives and made it a habit to be involved and explanatory? There’s nothing mentioned about this. Is there a connection between violent video games and bad/abusive parenting? That’s something that I think is really important to studies like this, because those are factors that must be accounted for.Fourth, and lastly, the article says: The Japanese teens reported on their own violent behavior using questionnaires,while teachers’ and peers’ reports were used to estimate the U.S. group’saggressive behavior. Okay, so there were no standardized methods in how the data was collected in this test. That’s important to pay attention to. Instead of having one method that was universal for the whole study, they used two, which will produce different results and have different variations within the data that must be accounted for. Teachers and peers may skew data differently than a questionnaire given to a teen will, and that means you have to account for different variables and statistical anomalies.If you think about this real hard you’ll realize that nothing has been proven at all. This is the same as people telling you that literacy is dying. It’s not dying; in fact, far from it (and this has a lot to do with asking the wrong questions, because asking whether someone read a book doesn’t prove that someone who says “no” doesn’t read). The problem, however, is that people won’t think about it. They’ll see what is being said, ignore the language, and automatically think the worst. That’s what people do and unfortunately it will mean ruining the whole thing for everyone. Think about this in terms of dog-banning laws. One or two dogs act up that happen to be of a particular breed and all of a sudden an entire city puts a ban on that breed. Well, a couple moron teenagers with screwed up parents went off and shot some other teenagers or teachers or their parents or whatever and happened to play violent video games and all of a sudden the country is making laws that ban such games.So calm down, video games don’t make your kids psychotic killers.
More Prop 8 (Sorry, I have to get this off my chest)
Foul language ahead. Consider yourself warned. In this Yahoo article, the following was said: Andrew Pugno, attorney for the coalition of religious and social conservative groups that sponsored the amendment, called the lawsuits “frivolous and regrettable.” “It is time that the opponents of traditional marriage respect the voters’ decision,” he said. You’re right, Mr. Pugno. Goodness, all them black people should have just laid down and took it up the ass when religious conservatives and white, redneck assholes like you told them they couldn’t go to school with white people, or marry white people, or hell, even be considered human by white people. You’re right, all minorities, especially the Native Americans, who we raped of all their land and dignity, should have just taken it up the ass with a smile. How could any of us have ever thought differently? We should just accept this because you say so. Well, fuck you, Mr. Pugno. Fuck you very much. No individual or people who is being oppressed should lay down and take it. Ever. And for you to even suggest that people who do not agree with Prop 8, which rapes a specific segment of the population of their rights and makes them less than human in your eyes, should just accept this is possibly one of the most hateful things one could say. I guess in your eyes we should have Jim Crow laws again, but for gay people now. Hell, why don’t we just take away all gay rights, hmm? What the hell, right? They’re just supposed to take it up the ass anyway, so let’s all just vote on Prop 8a: All gays are officially banned. Because that’s where you’re going with this. There, I’ve vented.