FUBAR'd - Latest Comments

Re: Balticon 45, Saturday

Grailwolf (Marc) — Sun, 29 May 2011 03:40:57 -0000

Sorry you had the headlight problem, and the problem connecting. And I had the same observation about the terrible, terrible checkout folks this evening at Wegmans (though the rest of the store is awesome).
Hope you sleep better tonight and FSM willing, we'll run into each other on Sunday.

Re: Down With the Sickness

Nora — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:54:30 -0000

Well to be a bit Mother Hen on you, make sure you take ALL the antibiotics! And treat yourself gently :-)

Re: Of Dickwolves

MadRobo — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:44:13 -0000

A flash mob (or flashmob) is a term coined in 2003 to denote a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment and/or satire.

Seems well within their rights to do so, especially if the convention has not expressly forbidden the act of flashmobbing.

Re: Of Dickwolves

"M" — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:27:59 -0000

"But again, it's either all okay or none of it is. "

Um, no.

I have a certain amount of trouble with folks who purport to be intellectuals (so many gamers) and have trouble thinking in nuance, or, to put it another way, out of binary. It's simplistic and unsophisticated.

Outrageous behavior is a matter of degree.

Dickwolf flashmobs?? You have *got* to be kidding me.
*Not* okay.

Re: Of Dickwolves

CK — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:39:44 -0000

You are painting an entire area of critical thinking with a the brush of the extremists that you feel "represent" feminism. I will be the first to agree with you that their are individuals and groups calling themselves feminists that IMO are not effecting positive change by their actions. Many claiming they have a feminist agenda, have vocal detractors who are also self-described feminists who disagree with them.

To use your example, you are attributing the goals of the Black Panthers to not only the black Panthers, but also to the Free Rights Movement.

Your last sentence is just troll bait. I don't see any useful comparison to be made there, its just hyperbole to fuel disagreement.

Re: Of Dickwolves

Mike Ping — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:31:30 -0000

Agree 100% very well written, the whole thing was blown out of proportion

Re: Of Dickwolves

MadRobo — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:11:37 -0000

Was that how I was coming off? My argument is that this stuff is everywhere. Can it be offensive? Yes. But again, it's either all okay or none of it is. You can't protest a passing rape joke and not scream at all the other things going on in a much more public venue that are equally extreme. You would have to censor entire genres within our culture to apply such things fairly.

And horrible is not horrible everywhere. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Was the Nazi face-melting graphically disturbing? On some level, yes. But I also think its a cool, iconic scene. If someone's face melted like that in real life? I'd probably vomit.

Re: Of Dickwolves

Orion — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:11:35 -0000

Great in-depth story. I believe, though, with regards to the whole Issac Hayes split from South Park that the decision was "made on his behalf". Also, your argument that because atrocities are glamorized in the media they can longer be protested against is a weak one. Yes, television and movies have loosened their restrictions on depictions of violence, sex, drugs and more through the years. I think to say these things are horrible only in "real life" conjures an image of someone reading or watching such a scene thinking how great that was.

Really?

Horrible is horrible everywhere. What's frightening is how much what is horrible has become commonplace in media.

Re: Of Dickwolves

THINK OF THE CHILDREN — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:26:08 -0000

Feminists claim NOW that they really didn't care about the comic but about penny arcade making a funny response, because how dare someone stand up for themselves in a manner they've done for years, right?

Feminism is just one of many movements that have completely wandered from their original purpose and became intolerant bullies, like the black panthers straying from black empowerment to simple hate mongering against every other culture and ethnicity (especially jews). In the feminist's case they went from womens rights to trying to force censorship onto every form of media and blanket ban porn involving women (male objectification is apparently ok because blahblahbias).

They claim that this comic would lessen the impact of the word rape and therefore encourage rape, while they throw the word rape apologist at anyone who questions them and create such a wide definition of rape that it covers things that don't even degrade women (a woman having consensual sex then regretting it at a later date for whatever reason is considered rape), trivializing the term more than any comedian could. Contemporary feminists don't improve or enrich anyone's lives anymore than the KKK and they are just as irrelevant.

Re: Remains of the Day

MadRobo — Sun, 30 May 2010 01:27:18 -0000

I vaguely recall seeing you, though as I write this, the fuzz of alcohol and general tiredness have made portions of my brain inaccessible.

Re: Remains of the Day

emily — Sat, 29 May 2010 20:51:54 -0000

Perhaps you saw me? I was zombie schoolgirl?

Re: Thoughts on Arizona Immigration Law

MadRobo — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:10:04 -0000

If that happens (I am not holding my breath), then -all- businesses will be forced to become legit. All of them will increase prices and pass the 'savings' onto the consumer. No one's going to shout, "I can't compete cause now that I hafta hire real 'mericans!"

And this operates on the idea that the law is successful. Again, it's strategically designed to not directly attack business owners. They hope to gain more votes than they lose with this law.

Re: Thoughts on Arizona Immigration Law

Nora — Mon, 17 May 2010 08:47:44 -0000

What do you suppose would happen to those small businesses if this law were to be 100% successful in rounding up and deporting (or whatever) all the illegals?

Re: Thoughts on Arizona Immigration Law

MadRobo — Sun, 16 May 2010 11:55:21 -0000

This is just conjecture, but this law is carefully crafted for the conservative mindset. If you go after the businesses using illegal immigrants as labor, then you have to attack the small businesses and punish them accordingly. Conservatives espouse their love of small business (which in my mind is used to blanket ALL business and cover their corporate benefactors). Crafting laws designed to limit them would go against them.

And also, even if a business went legit, it would cost them more money because now they are dealing with individuals who know their rights under the law. Minimum wage, working conditions, benefits, hours per week... All the things that illegals help circumvent and save money, driving down cost.

This law was crafted by conservatives and championed by them (and I'm sure a few leftists were involved). No, the law targets individuals because an individual is less likely to cause them problems. If they're illegal, the law works! If they aren't illegal, then you should be a proud American and happy that your borders are being secure! It sickens me that this is the mindset of the conservatives.

Re: Big Goverment: A By-Product of Evil

MadRobo — Sun, 16 May 2010 10:59:04 -0000

I find that "evil" might be a valid in this case. You have people engaging in behavior that knowingly violates the rights of and irreparably harms other people. Whether that was their intent or just a just a stop along the way to their ultimate goal is irrelevant. They knew what the outcome could be and they went ahead anyway. I believe that to be evil.

If someone were to drive through a busy playground at 50 mph because it was a short cut, saving him time and fuel, would you consider this merely selfish and short-sighted? Anyone with half a brain knows that his chances of running over a child are very good, but he does it anyway. How is that type of negligence not evil?

I apologize for using hyperbole, but that is how I see it.

Re: Big Goverment: A By-Product of Evil

Orion — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:27:53 -0000

I wouldn't go so far as to say 'evil'. Selfish and short sighted is more fitting. I once had a conversation with a Fortune 500 exec who spoke of the challenges in gaining new business and acting morally at the same time. The question was do you as a company bid on an account *knowing* you (and many others competing) can't deliver on all the requirements of the clients but also know that even with the schedule of penalties to be imposed can still turn a profit?

It's a good question and he earned my initial respect by saying no, the bid shouldn't be made.

The last thing a bank wants is to own your home. There's zero money in it for them. Oil/coal companies, don't want to be on the hook for billions in cleanup expenses and/or lawsuits. They just want to cut as many corners as they can get away with when it comes to safety and hence lower their costs in getting the oil out of the ground. The day someone presents proof that those companies had a policy where they factored a quantity of human lives lost as part of the price of doing business then I'll join the "they're evil" camp.

To the best of my knowledge the only organization that factors in loss of life into their overall goal objectives is the military.

Companies are no better then individuals. Personally, I'm always amazed to see signs on public transportation indicating no pets, no music without personal headsets, no eating/drinking, and (my favorite) no spitting. Really? People need to be told not to spit? The fact the sign exists means yes, there are people out there (I've seen them) that will spit right in front of everyone on the bus/train.

Laws are created because there are those among us who cannot act cooperatively. They'll choose the convenience of parking in the street because it's easier than shuffling their cars around even when the forecast calls for 2ft of snow without caring if it makes it harder for crews to clear the road. They'll walk in the middle of the street and get upset at the driver that barely missed hitting them even when there's a perfectly good sidewalk available.

Gone, for the most part, is the understanding that everyone needs to do their part for the better of group.

Still, I don't think this makes people evil. Just extremely selfish, and short sighted.

Re: Thoughts on Arizona Immigration Law

Nora — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:57:47 -0000

i find it interesting that almost no one has spoken out to penalize the businesses that provide the employment opportunities that draw illegals to this country. Everyone is so focused on calling illegal immigrants criminals, yet no one is holding the businesses responsible for their part in this. Why not make it a state crime to employ illegal immigrants? And enforce it?