Goosebumps! GOOSEBUMPS!

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809791044/video/9048692

Short, but at least it's something.

And in case you missed it the first time, Dr. Horrible is back up on the web for free....

When PC Language Goes Too Far.

From the BBC:

"More than 90% of weapons used by the cartels originate in the US and there is evidence US citizens are joining the gangs to act as hitmen and women."

I like how they take special care to avoid discrimination against the female hit-persons. Score one for the feminist revolution! They have removed the glass ceiling from the previously man-dominated career path of professional assassin. You go girls!

Comic-Con 2008

I didn't take too many pictures. Here is an assortment of some of them.

There were some costumes I didn't get good pictures of, but wish I did, like the girl and guy dressed as Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer, or the Zaphod Beeblebrox, or Zap Brannigan. Some, like the Stormtrooper in the kilt, I'm glad I didn't get pictures of.



The only panel I got into was the BSG panel. I missed Joss Whedon's panel (on his new TV show "Dollhouse") and the Mythbuster's panel (although I have absolutely no idea what they have to do with comics), but not for lack of trying.

(Oh, btw: 600th post.)

i feel dumb.

Someone made a robot... out of Legos... that can solve a Rubik's cube.

And what have you done with your life?

It just keeps getting better.

First, Telltale Games brings Sam & Max back from the dead.

Then, they announce they're making a game based on Homestarrunner.com.

Now this?!?!?!

I swear, they couldn't be a cooler company if they were marinated in awesome sauce and baked at 1337°.

Next, they'll be announcing that they're making a Firefly game, to coincide with the release of a sequel.

*Crosses fingers*

Oh... my... word....

That is, um, yeah.... Wow. "Indescribable" may be the word I was looking for.

Well actually, it's not indescribable. It can be described quite simply as a supervillain musical comedy video blog.

Oh yeah, made by Joss Whedon, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day, blah blah blah.

(Better hurry. It's only available for free through Sunday.)

Blah Blah Google Overlords Blah Blah

I just found out that Google will host a webpage, with 100MB of space, for anyone with a Google account. I know, I'm behind the curve on everything, but check it out. My page has links to download the Gravity Simulator Joe was posting about, including a screensaver version. Warning: not responsible for lost productivity while watching planets crash into each other.

The drama continues....

My new pen-pal sent another response:

::We get signal::
::Main screen turn on::

ZAPHOD!

YOU LITTLE PUNK! What the hell are you doing posting my e-mails all over the internet. You don't think I know about it - but I do.... that is not cool.

Pissed off,
Slarti

::Launch all Zig!::
::For great justice!::

Ok, so he somehow found my blog? Since my entire readership is countable by only taking off one shoe, I find it highly unlikely that a random person on the intertubes who sent me an e-mail by accident just happened to stumble across my blog. Something else is going on here. Which of my readers is sending me fake e-mails? Don't think I won't find you out.

--Update 12:38--

The culprit has been found! The body of one "Tom Thimons" was positively identified by the elite squad of Death Troops maintained by F.U. News, and who were ordered to track down the author of the "Tom Dickson" e-mails sent to area man Joe Belland. According to witnesses, Thimons' last words, before being mercilessly gunned down were "Aahh! It was only a prank! I'm sorry! Ow, my spleen!"

Feminism vs. "Feminism".

So a little while ago, my cow-orker came into my office and told me the story of one of her friends, who had said something to the effect that she did not think of herself as a feminist. My cow-orker could not comprehend why a woman would not be a feminist. "Don't you believe in equality for women? Don't you think that we should be allowed in the work place? Don't you think that we should vote?"

It got me to thinking, though. Why wouldn't a woman consider herself a feminist? So I posed the question to the Murloc. "Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?" "Um, not to the full extent of the word," she replied. "Sure, I'm female, I do feel we should be treated equally and should have the same rights. I think that we can be just as effective in the working environment, but I'm not about to go commando or anything. O_o"

But if my cow-orker's friend didn't consider herself a feminist and the Murloc did only partially, what do these women have against feminism?

Well, firstly, let's define feminism. I asked the Murloc what she thought feminism was: "Well, I guess feminism is an innocent word in and of it's own. I take it to mean that I am female; I have goals and aspirations; I try to strive for those goals and aspirations without losing my female persona."

Good answer, good answer. Google defines feminism as:
1. Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
2. The movement organized around this belief.

Since Google never lies, I guess we can go with that definition. So why do some women not think of themselves as feminists?

Well no doubts when you saw the headline of this post, you thought of more than just the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Perhaps it brought to mind things such as bra burnings, The Vagina Monologues, and quotes of Barbara Boxer talking about Roe v. Wade as a great advancement for the Feminist movement. But what about women who don't associate with these things? Are they not feminists?

I've been spending a fair amount of time on what I will call "girly" websites lately, in research of this issue. No, no, not that kind of website, perv. I mean, websites for girls, like FeministsForLife.org and ModestyZone.net. You know, the ones Mrs. Pickles links in her sidebar. Sheesh. Anyways, it seems that there are many women who call themselves feminists, who openly reject many things that we associate with the feminist movement. In fact, many of these women insist that they are the true feminists, the ones standing up for the values put forth by the early feminists, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Anyways, it seems that there is a dichotomy between what many women believe and the ideas associated with the word "Feminism". As the great John C. Wright once wrote (and I cannot find the quote, for the life of me; an imaginary bag of marshmallows to whoever can; all I know was it was in one of his comments on what another commenter said on his blog), "most errors in philosophy come from the association of two completely different ideas with each other." This has lead me to conclude that there really are two kinds of feminism. There is what I can only think of as pseudo-"feminism", which is what we tend to think of when we hear the word. The extreme "feminism" that, in actuallity hurts women and drives them away from the word. And then there is True Feminism. The kind that not only seeks the social, political, and economic equality of women, but also strives to preserve the dignity of femininity, whereas "feminism" seems to seek equality of women by turning them into men.

Anyways, I've catalogued my observations about some of the differences between these two contradictory, but unfortunately identically-named, ideoligies on key issues.

Marriage:
--------------------
"Feminism"
Marriage is optional, at best, an encumbrance at worst. A woman doesn't need a man to achieve her goals of raising children and a commitment to one will only tie her down.

Result: There is a corresponding rise in single motherhood; without the support of a husband, women find themselves struggling to maintain a career and family; children grow up without fathers; boys grow up untaught how to behave towards women; mistreatment of women increases, ranging from sexual mistreatment to physical violence; divorce becomes more common, and similarly hurts women and children. Also, children become a commodity, a "right" of parents to have, simply because they want them; this leads to practices such as IVF, selective implantation, sex selection abortions, and other forms of child abuse.

Feminism
Marriage is intended for the protection of women and children. A husband is necessary to provide a woman with the best possible conditions to raise children. A father is necessary to provide children with the best possible environment for development.


Children:
--------------------
"Feminism"
Children are a burden that get in the way of a woman's goals of career and financial independence. A woman should achieve these things first before enslaving herself to children.

Results: Many women miss out on the opportunities of motherhood. An increased reliance on artificial birth control methods leads to increased infertility rates; this leads to "forced" fertility such as IVF, and eventually to the commercializing of children, as listed above.

Feminism
Children are a blessing. Motherhood is one of the greatest experiences any person can have.


Sex:
--------------------
"Feminism"
"Free" sex is empowering to women. A sexually active woman is "in control" of her body. It is not harmful, and perhaps beneficial, for a woman to be promiscuous.

Result: Women are devalued; they become sexual objects; men are much more easily able to misuse women; a man can sleep with, then discard, a woman at will, with no need for commitment; try as we might, the results of sex can never be truly disassociated from it, and women are the ones who have the burden; with no commitments, the man can walk away, leaving the woman on her own, or pressure her into having an abortion; this leads to an increase in single mother hood and the problems listed above. Unable to ever completely disassociate emotions from sex, women become emotionally repressed and suffer from loneliness and low self-esteem.

Feminism
Men value least that which they obtain most easily. The marriage covenant exists to protect women. A woman should not sell herself cheaply, but demand a life-long commitment of love.


Pornography:
--------------------
"Feminism"
Pornography can be liberating for a woman. Rules of modesty place an unfair burden on women and teach them that they should be ashamed of their bodies.

Result: Women are trivialized as sexual objects; men are taught to view women as objects and become incapable of showing them respect; there is a corresponding rise in sexual harassment; men develop an unhealthy view of sexuality, which no reality can satisfy; they become incapable of loving a woman or maintaining a faithful relationship; marriages are destroyed and lives are ruined.

Feminism
A woman's body should be treated with dignity and respect; modesty protects this. The body and the soul cannot be separated; any devaluation of one will affect the other; as such, it is impossible to objectify a woman's body without objectifying her.


Abortion:
--------------------
"Feminism"
Abortion is a woman's choice. It concerns only her health and reproductive freedom.

Result: Life is devalued; it becomes a commodity; the dismissal of the termination of a human life as a mere "choice" leads to an increased ambivalence towards violence at other stages of life. Women are hurt; as an act of violence against women, abortion takes a toll on them; this leads to very high instances of depression and other psychological and emotional problems in post-abortive women, including post-traumatic stress and attempted suicides. As an act of physical violence, women pay a physical price, including increases in infertility, and an increased risk of breast cancer and ectopic pregnancies. Since the majority of women who obtain abortions are morally opposed to it, this indicates that abortion is not a choice, but something women do when they feel they have no choice; woman primarily obtain abortions under outside pressure, which only increases the psychological problems caused by it.

Feminism
Women deserve better than abortion. It is a tremendous act of violence against a mother and her child that leaves emotional and physical scars for years to come. Abortion violates the basic feminist principles of equality, justice, dignity, and non-violence for all. True Feminists refuse to choose between mothers and their children, instead seeking liberty and justice for all woman, born and pre-born.