Exclusive Insanity

Cody and I have officially graduated to the level of "ridiculous gaming nerds".

Why, you ask? We bought high-tech gaming headsets to play MMOs, so our in-game sounds wouldn't interfere with each other. Because the headsets are so good, we can't hear each other when we talk. So... our solution is to call each other on Skype.

Yup, that's right. Sitting a foot away from each other, talking on Skype.

Gotta love it.

In other news, I am going to try and write today! For the past year or two (maybe longer) I've had this idea in my head that I want to write. I haven't started it, but I've got a rough draft of how it'll go and I keep jotting down little details here and there, tweaking a few things, making it better. I feel I have a fairly firm grasp of who the characters are, even, and the things they struggle with.

However! I have made myself a rule. I am NOT writing this story yet. My #1 goal right now is to finish Game Over, and then Piece of a Legend. I know what is going to happen in both of these, and I want Shane's and Aaren's stories finished. I still have those in my head right now, pounding around and wanting out. I just haven't had the motivation to work on them.

Excuses, excuses. I am lazy. Game Over has a grand total of three more chapters after the one I'm about halfway through right now. Piece of a Legend has two and a half. And I adore my characters - I want proper resolution for them. I can do this. Not in one afternoon, obviously, but it's still doable.

After they're done, then they both still need re-writes and edits, but that part can probably wait a while.

Oh, and in dieting news, Cody has been MUCH healthier and happier, so the new plan helped! We're more or less adjusted and continuing to follow standards on our own after the 20 days, so both of us are feeling confident and (bonus) losing weight! I'm twelve pounds down after a month of this, and continuing to lose. I don't even really crave salty foods or candy that much any more. So, yay!

This is a post for two projects on Kickstarter that I just donated to, and which I thought I would pass along, in case more folks are interested and want to contribute.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1862188728/the-reward-tales-of-alethrion - I heard about this from maderr and would not have otherwise known, so I figure more exposure can only help! A really fun little animated short that they are trying to make into a series. I watched the short and thought it was great, so ended up donating.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1319761157/gtfo - A documentary on harassment of women in gaming. I've been interested in this topic for a while now, not because I've suffered any harassment myself (I've been lucky enough to game with some very awesome people), but because the problem is still very apparent (sites like 'Not in the Kitchen Anymore' and 'Fat, Ugly, or Slutty' provide proof of this) and yet there are so many people who are viciously adamant that it doesn't exist. Admitting there's a problem is the first step towards fixing it, right? More coverage really can't hurt.

I saw this on Facebook recent - a graphic with only the above question on it. 'Like' for yes, 'Comment' for no.

I'm too chickenshit to response directly to the friend who posted it (he's someone I work with who I do not know very well), so I will do so here.

Short answer: no. I cannot believe this question is even being asked any more. Not because I hate Christianity, or hate Christians. Religion is important to them, and I can respect that. However, this is a problematic request for a few reasons.

Canada is a multi-cultural country. This means that we have people of various races, with various beliefs, living as citizens here and raising their children. Many of them are not Christian, and will raise their children under a different religion (or under no religion). Having a Christian prayer in school will give those children the impression that 'this is the NORMAL religion and mine is weird or different'. Also, I am certain that the families in question consider their religion as important as Christians consider theirs. Privileging one over the other as if to say 'this one is BETTER' is not right (at the very least, we shouldn't put this attitude in the heads of impressionable children).

For the record, stating that 'well, it's OUR country, not theirs, they should adapt to our culture or GTFO' is so wrong that I don't even want to address it. However, even if it were true, the Christian religion is not a part of the Canadian culture.

I know that Christianity is the majority religion and that it's become sort of second nature for many Christians to normalize it as a part of (everyone's) every day life. But religion really isn't something that should be broadcast far and wide in everyone's faces as if we all were a part of it (or should be a part of it). The forced normalization of the Christian religion - it being in your face whether you like it or not, being pushed as something we all need to adopt - is the reason why there is why so many people have such a negative attitude towards the religion in general (well, that and the prejudices). It comes across as smugly self-righteous and rigidly controlling.

In reality, religion is a personal thing, and each person has the right to his/her own belief system. It's fine to be open about it, but to push it onto others as the 'normal' or 'right' thing is obnoxious.

So... yeah, no thanks. Keep it out of the public school system, okay?

http://unwinona.tumblr.com/post/30861660109/i-debated-whether-or-not-to-share-this-story

That is incredibly freaky. Holy shit.

So, Cody and I started watching Mirai Nikki, and basically put all other anime on hold while powering through that one.

Why? Same reason as the person who posted this video, pretty much.

Up until much later in the series, Yuno is by far the most interesting character in the whole thing. Not in a good way. In an omg-train-wreck-can't-stop-watching way.

Series contains many levels of psycho-ness and disturbing shit, including blood, gore, strongly implied rape, mass murder, and so much creepy stalker behaviour that it can't even be measured. Also, occasional moments of cutesy stuff? I... I don't understand, but this show does it. It's like "tee hee, they're on a date" and then "decaying bodies OMG!!!"

... I can't believe I like this shit, but holy fuck, it's good somehow.

In other news, snow is horrible and should be abolished. I've cleared my driveway twice already today and it's still going. I'm also making cookies, and tomorrow I'll be baking the usual cake for dessert on Monday. I have a week and a half off of work, thank god. That place is evil.

Looking forward to Christmas with the family!

So, I support gay marriage, want a cure for cancer, believe that child/animal/domestic abuse needs to be wiped out, and I love my mother/grandmother/siblings/friends/*insert important type of person*.

However! I can do this without clicking 'like' on a picture someone posted on Facebook! Or reposting it! Or... whatever else is related to it!

I mean, it's cool that people want to post images supporting their favorite causes, or proclaiming how much they love the important people in their lives. I seriously don't mind this, sometimes I even smile when I see it and think 'aw, that's sweet' before browsing on. Because everyone's different, and just because I don't like to post that stuff doesn't mean that no one should.

What I find irritating is when the picture or the description of the picture says something along the lines of "Like & share this if you love your grandmother! Keep scrolling if you hate her and wish she dies and are a terrible person, blah blah blah, whatever".

This is obnoxious, because - well, duh, I love my grandmother! Most people freakin' do! I mean, there will be some who don't, but we're talking about something that is going to apply to a vast majority of people. The clumsy attention pandering and obvious mentality of "I want my picture to get spread across the internet so I'm going to try and make it so that people feel guilty for not sharing it" really get on my nerves.

Me scrolling past your picture doesn't mean I hate my grandmother, or don't want a cure for cancer, or think animal abuse is okay, or whatever else you want to put on there to try and force others to share. It means I don't like sharing every random ass thing that pops up in my notifications.

So... stop it. Seriously. Don't share this crap. Let it die out quietly, and hope that it helps to discourage at least one attention whore from this guilt-tripping BS.

Yesterday, my dog knocked me down the stairs and I now have a bruise on my ass.

... Yup.

Anyway, on Sunday, Cody and I went to see Wreck-It Ralph, which was cute and funny and overall a pretty decent feel-good movie with some fun video game references. I'd recommend it if you're looking for some fluffy entertainment. It definitely held my interest the whole way through.

Final Fantasy XIV had its official "final save" where all of our character data was copied from the existing servers and will be moved to the new servers for version 2.0 (or, A Realm Reborn, as it is now being called). The alpha for the new version has started, and the current version is still open, with a general apocalypse taking place in-game. Lots of cool stuff is happening: creepy music in the background, increasingly difficult waves of mobs attacking the cities, and relic weapons being available for the taking. Praying to the Twelve (the deities in the in-game world) also gets you some decent buffs.

I'm really going to miss this game when it shuts down this Sunday at midnight... I'm not counting on a chance to play the new version until open beta, although it's possible I'll get accepted into a closed beta phase. Guess we'll see.

I'm currently watching Mawaru Penguindrum during my workouts. It's... odd. I probably don't get all of what's going on in there (I'm not great with hidden meanings most of the time), but at least it's entertaining.

So, I finished watching Macross Frontier a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty good - decent enough plot, and lots of mecha fighting mixed with song and stage performance. Unfortunately, my set of subs would replace what characters were saying with the translation of the singing in the background in some places, which was kind of irritating. But it still really got you pumped when you were watching the combination of a huge battle with lots of explosions and the performance of a good song.

One of the things I'd heard about this series before watching it was that it had a love triangle (one guy, two girls) which never got any kind of resolution by the end, so I guess you were supposed to just imagine the ending with whichever pairing you preferred. I read into it a bit more, and found that there was supposed to be a resolution, but it was kiboshed at the last minute so that they could squeeze that much more money from viewers in the movie remakes by billing them as "resolving the love triangle". I haven't watched the movies, but I do know which girl "wins" based on triumphant shippers gloating over it, and... well. Let's just say I wasn't surprised, because the series might as well have had a resolution in my opinion. The other half of the triangle just felt completely one-sided.

( Spoilerific stuff under cut )

Anyway, the series is really good, and I think most people would probably enjoy it, because the music and the action are pretty awesome.

I'm now about 10 episodes into an anime series called Fantastic Children, which I originally thought was a fantasy-adventure story aimed at kids. Upon watching more than the first couple of episodes, I have come to the realization that this... is most definitely not a kids' show at all. It's pretty good so far, though.

I had to make a post just to say that I am pre-ordering this right now.

I have been waiting patiently for a FMA:B collection, because I knew it would come eventually. And now it's here! (at least, for the first half of the series)

Also debating on possibly buying this and this, despite never having seen them before - just because I am a collector and also because I will want to see them eventually anyway, since they are FMA. We'll see.

Does anyone by any chance know of a way to keep from closing your mouth while you sleep? Is there anything I can use to keep it propped open just a bit that I won't potentially choke on?

I have cold sores on my lower and upper lips. When I close my mouth, they start to fuse and scab together. When I wake up and have to separate my lips, the sores open. This is keeping them from healing properly. It's making me very frustrated.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.