Thoughts within my insomnia

I enjoy stand comedy as much as the next guy, and I understand that it is not easy. It takes a lot of courage to go on stage to make people laugh, and to be successful at it can be very difficult. Since being in the capital city of my province, I’ve seen a lot of really good shows live. Some of my favorite sets have been by Johnny Perrotta, Brett Martin, Tommy Campbell and John Cullen, each of whom I would absolutely see again. That being said, there have been a few that I did not enjoy so much. Most I won’t mention out of respect to them, as I could tell that they were trying and struggling, I can’t blame them for that.  With that in mind, I am now going to discuss Adam Richmond. 

Before I begin ranting about him though, a few things: I have no problem with jokes about feminism, or safe spaces, or terrorists, or Islam, or Christianity, or anything else. It’s comedy, and while it’s often said that there are no rules, there is one. If you’re going to make jokes about “edgy” topics, you have to make them jokes, not just holler out random insults. 

I knew I wasn’t going to like Adam the second I showed up to the door of the club and heard him screaming so loud I could hear it from downstairs. He was annoying, made a bunch of noises throughout his set, made a bunch of comments about things that made him mad, and then actively insulted the audience when they didn’t respond exactly how they wanted him to. Adam had hecklers in his set, they were kicked out, but he handled the entire situation so poorly that any remaining momentum the show had was dead.

That’s all nice, but why didn’t I leave? Well, a few things. One, I’d never left a show before, and that seemed in bad character, even though the tickets were, themselves, free, and I lost no money whatsoever. The second reason was that I brought a friend. She clearly wasn’t enjoying herself either, but I couldn’t ask her to leave because Adam was so loud. I was ready to leave and text her that I was gone, and the only reason I stayed is that I was worried she wouldn’t feel her phone vibrate. So I sat through an hour of this man whining about women, whining about political correctness, and simulate being raped by a giraffe just to not ruin anyone else’s fun (though I was not the only person not laughing).

Oh Anita, why must you make me discuss you?

Given my fairly recent post on Gamergate, my stance on Anita Sarkeesian should be pretty obvious. I think she’s absolutely a victim of harassment who seems to care more about money than anything else. So when I saw her Ordinary Women crowdfunding campaign, linked here: https://www.seedandspark.com/studio/ordinary-women#story I was less than impressed. Especially considering this was immediately followed by a fundraiser by the Amazing Atheist, linked here: https://www.crowdrise.com/extraordinary-people-daring-to-actually-help-women-/fundraiser/thomaskirk1

Now I’m not here to discuss TJ’s personality much, but I see more good to come from giving money to the International Women’s Health Coalition than I do from giving money to someone who doesn’t seem to handle hers very well as it stands now. The charity is a good one, and I think everyone should donate it. Now, I would’ve given Anita brownie points for acknowledging the counter-fundraiser, as well as noting that the money was going to a good cause, while still irritating her for the purpose.

Instead she never mentioned the charity, and focused on how hateful the fundraiser was. 

Because of this I have a few questions. First of all, what’s a feminist? Because if Anita Sarkeesian is a feminist, you probably aren’t, because she doesn’t believe in the whole “Advancing women’s rights” thing. Secondly, what’s an anti-feminist? I’m not saying TJ is the best person to women in the world, but most people who are against the rights of women wouldn’t bother to hold a two hundred thousand dollar fundraiser for them. 

With those questions out of the way, I have another: To people specifically who believe in Anita, and love and support her in everything she does, I have one thing to ask. Is she the only feminist that matters to you? I’m almost positive that there have been more impactful people on this planet than her, many of them regarding the issue of human rights. So why does she have to be the one spearheading this? Is she qualified to talk about every female on the planet simply because she’s a feminist? Is that how this works? I’d vastly prefer it if she was just the behind the scenes narrator, so that actual historians and the like could do the real talking. But no, it HAS to be Anita, because if it wasn’t Anita, then the complaints and criticism that the campaign receives wouldn’t be just because of trolls, now would it?

Dear James and Robert Romine,

Before I go into anything on the matter of opinion, let’s get some things out of the way first. This was taken directly from the Digital Homicide website as what they have described as false accusations about themselves. Note, this is a long one:

-  Stealing artwork: In the event that you had full permission to use the artwork, it’s a dumb idea because A. People will accuse you of stealing it regardless, and B. It shows you as lazy. In the event that you didn’t, the best example I can give is that the original artwork for the Slaughtering Grounds was literally a black and red version of Forest Troll 2 by Pekka Veikkolainen, whom you’ve failed to mention once thus far. I’m aware you’ve changed it since, but if you don’t want it brought up, then don’t claim it’s a false accusation.

-  Stealing assets: Most of the accusations about this haven’t been stealing assets, they’ve been flipping them. I personally have no proof that you did not buy the Unity assets you used, but you still used them and made them the game. Funny thing, if they were meant to be a game by themselves, they would not be Unity assets. They would be games. 

-  Flipping projects with no work put in: This is a criticism. Saying your product is shit isn’t a false accusation, it’s an acknowledgement that your product is shit. That alone is something that you’re able to ignore, and apparently do, given how you’re fully aware that Temper Tantrum! causes motion sickness. 

-  Doxing: Was it Emily Stanton you tried to accuse Sterling of being related to?

-  Had products misrepresented with intention to do damage: This was worded poorly, what damage?

-  Of illegally using another companies name: Well I’m certainly glad to know that you’ve legally acquired the name ECC Games. Has the actual ECC Games company ever contacted you? See that would be a legitimate case.

-  Conducting illegal business activities: I just named one directly above this. I’m not going into detail about others when all your points are the same.

-   Impersonating someone: Same shit.

-  Being incompetent and unable to perform my job: “Ahoy someone has accused me of being incompetent. For this I require more than ten million dollars, eh?”

I’ve looked up the video in which Jim has stated why Robert was suing in Arizona, and that it’s because of an article which has since been edited. First of all, if this is the only act of defamation you have to go on, something that literally nobody has ever criticized you for (because there is so much else), you have no case. And even if you did have a case, it would be one that would be worth less than your court fees. Second, because I know you view EVERYTHING as defamation, I’ve decided to look up what exactly slander and libel entailed, and found these listed as the defenses to defamation suits:

truth

the allegedly defamatory statement was merely a statement of opinion

consent to the publication of the allegedly defamatory statement

absolute privilege

qualified privilege

retraction of the allegedly defamatory statement.

Of them, Jim Sterling is qualified to use defenses one, two, and six. If edited articles still count in Arizona, then six would be iffy, but then you would have to provide the original article, which I bet you don’t have, because you don’t do any real work.

The fact that you even thought to go through with this lawsuit confirms to me that the two of you have never given a shit about making a quality product, or indeed given a shit about video games at all. You two want money for nothing, and you always have. I’d wish you luck, but you’re both wrong, you’re both liars, and you’re both disgusting, so fuck both of you.

I’m not talking about this because I feel compelled to defend or attack one side or the other. I’m not talking about this because it’s an issue I find even remotely sensible. No, I’m talking about this, because it’s 2016, and this shit is still being talked about. But, it’s dying down, so maybe there’s hope that it’s almost over. Anyway, I’ve put this off long enough.

I’ll be the first to admit that when I first heard of Gamergate, I thought that the cause was Anita. And while it’s true that she was harassed before the official movement started, the actual ignition of it was Zoe Quinn. Now, to the untrained reader, the name Zoe Quinn may enact a certain response. “Who’s that?” The only reason I knew anything about Zoe is because I checked Steam Greenlight constantly at the time, and Depression Quest was there. Apparently that was the issue, as, according to her ex, she had sex with a bunch of people in gaming journalism to help further her career and success in gaming. Depression Quest is, and to my knowledge always has been, free. You can pay if you want, yeah, but if you don’t, the game is free. So this leads to three possible conclusions.

1. Zoe Quinn did not actually have sex with gaming journalists.

2. Zoe Quinn did in fact have sex with game journalists, but not for any monetary benefits whatsoever.

Or 3. Zoe Quinn is a god damn idiot.

I’m not going to say that any of these are true, but they’re the only rational explanations for the situation. Somehow this, fucking THIS, led to accusations of corruption in video game media? If she didn’t actually do it (1 is true), then you look like a jackass. If she did for other reasons (2 is true), then you look like an uptight jackass. And if she did, for those reasons that you say (3 is true), then she’s a stupid woman who thinks that people actually care about, let alone pay for, free games that don’t involve murdering your adversary. This is not an insult to Depression Quest, the writing in that game is phenomenal, but the point certainly didn’t seem to be “I want money”. And, for a moment, let’s consider that it was. This whole time, she did everything she was accused of.

Who, gives, a fuck?

Depression Quest was still free, and was barely promoted adequately anywhere. Furthermore, no one gave a shit about Zoe Quinn’s sex life before this, hell, barely anyone gave a shit about her. Not because she wasn’t a valuable member of society, or even an independent game developer, but because... who the fuck was she? Am I supposed to believe that there’s been a two year plus bullshit brigade because some nobody may have went to bed with a few writers? Why?

I hear some of you mentioning Anita now, and I’m getting to that, but I’m getting Zoe out of the way now because, straight up, I am NOT against that woman. I think she may have gotten a bit too hurt, but given the number of attacks sent to her by people on the internet.... ehhh I suppose sensitive people can be forgiven for that. Besides that though, I have no opinion of Zoe whatsoever, except for that I think she’s a good story writer.

Anita’s a different story.

I’ve defended Anita on occasions relating solely to harassment. The point being, yes, she gets harassed, and yes, it does look pretty ridiculous sometimes. Especially considering the fact that all Anita did to set the charge for this was decide to talk about women’s role in video games (albeit with a kickstarter, but that’s fine), and people went off the handle. I think anyone should be able to talk about anything safely, and had Anita done all here videos on the topics, I may not have agreed, but I would’ve accepted that she had the opinion nonetheless.

Up to this point I sound like I’m on Anita Sarkeesian’s side. And for a while, I was leaning towards it, because the backlash clearly outweighed anything bad she may have done. But that was then, when she proposed the videos, and this is now. Where are they?

At this point everyone and their mother knows how far behind in the series Anita currently is. Defenders may relate this to attacks or the fact that the video making process is a very long time, but with the money Anita has made in the past few years (AND THAT GIRL MAKES BANK), you’d think that she would say “You know, I should really hire some others to help me make this series, so episodes don’t take as long as Sherlock”. The fact that she hasn’t, along with her consistent ignorance to valid complaints regarding things she has said in the past, makes me think “Hey, she wants this to continue”. And why wouldn’t she? She doesn’t need to care that people are laughing at her, before this, I certainly didn’t know who she was, so she’s clearly getting something out of this. 

Gamergate for a while seemed like a self fueling machine that just made everyone who crossed it’s path miserable. I’ve been around debate clubs and skeptics  societies in which everyone there erupted in screaming when the word was brought up. I’m not saying stop caring about Gamergate. I’m saying stop paying attention to Gamergate, or any of the key people for or opposed to the movement who continue to breed hatred among social media.

I missed the days where the biggest issue in games were that Half Life 3 wasn’t out yet. 

You know how everyone who sees this show tells everyone to see it in an attempt to save it from getting cancelled? Yeah I’m one of them, but not quite for the same reason. Yes, the songs are very catchy, the writing is outstanding, the acting is great and the show is general is wonderful. But, it’s in a certain level of danger that is almost unsaveable. I absolutely love the show, and you should totally watch it, but that’s not the main point I’m trying to make.  My main point is that everyone should go subscribe to Rachel Bloom, follow her on Twitter, and then say really really nice things about her and everyone else in the cast, but mostly her.

I’ve followed Rachel for around a year and a half, ever since she appeared on Luigi’s Ballad with Starbomb, and she is a phenomenal comedian. A phenomenal comedian, however, who isn’t getting nearly as much recognition as she deserves. She has a lot of talent, that’s very evident from the fact that she is one of the head writers for the show as well, and I think that this is talent that needs to be used. And even if the show doesn’t make it to season two, I would love it if Rachel stayed on the silver screen, because she deserves it.

Dear Prolly

Well done. Your team may not have made it to quarters, but they got stuck with the two best teams in the world right now, and came out looking pretty okay. As a coach, I imagine there’s a feeling of disappointment, but there really shouldn’t be. Nobody expected anything of H2k this year at all, and under your leadership,they’ve shown that they are a legitimate force to be reckoned with, albeit one that still needs to realize its potential. If you do stop coaching after this year, and if you do go back to being a player, I don’t want you to feel like you have failed in anyway. H2k wouldn’t have had a chance without you, and the bottom line is that you kick ass as a coach, and I sincerely hope you remain with the team

I’ll explain

I hate both the Bachelor and the Bachelorette as shows, just because I find them fake and boring. If you’re in to them, fine, watch them. I don’t have a vendetta against the shows, I just don’t like watching them, so I don’t. I’m a guy, it isn’t my thing.

Kaitlyn however is fucking awesome.

I’ve spent the past few weeks happily ignoring the controversy around Kaitlyn because, fuck it, I don’t care. But then I found out that the controversy only existed because she had sex with one of the finalists... Really? This is a big issue?

1. Literally every Bachelor and Bachelorette who’s starred on the show slept with one of the contestants at least once during the competition. Hell, Bob Guiney had sex with five. This isn’t new, why the hell do people choose to care NOW?

2. Nick is in the final 2. I don’t know if he wins, but he’s in the final two, so obviously the sex wasn’t meaningless. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d had sex with Shawn as well, because that’s what people do on this show, and it’s not a bad thing. She feels connections to multiple people, she’s a sexual person, let her be.

3. Why is having sex with a guy before marriage worthy of your death threats? For fucks sake, this is the Bachelorette, not the Bible.

I made a post about death threats recently, with the topic being Anita Sarkeesian. I standby that neither of them should receive them, but of the two, I actually think that Kaitlyn’s handling the situation a HELL of a lot better, because she doesn’t continuously bring them up to others, and she’s trying to move on. Not trying to insult Anita here, but that to me IS the action to take with death threats. Unless they appear to be serious, then the police would probably be better.

I saw an article calling Kaitlyn the Bachelorette’s Katniss... that’s pushing it. However, I do find her to be a very real person, which is NOT COMMON TO THE SERIES. This should be a good thing. Stop complaining about good things and the show may not suck in the future. 

Bottom line, this was blown waaay out of preportion, but I’m glad she’s dealing with it well. She deserves some peace and quiet after this nonsense.

Dear Team Solomid,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jordan, and I have been a fan of yours since I started playing League of Legends, which was last December, but I digress. Recently, I’ve noticed some issues you’ve been having with the NA LCS, and the fact that you dropped from first to third in one or two weeks. This is unfortunate, however, I believe I have the solution. 

Stop copying what other teams do.

I get it, this is an organization, everyone expects you to follow the current trend of popularity for the game, and play the champions accordingly in the LCS, but come on. Giants Gaming started the smite Ezreal trend, and they didn’t even win the first time they did it. Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Bjergsen and Pepiinero are nothing alike. For one, Bjergsen’s hair is much shorter.

Also, what’s with Lustboy doing Shen now? That’s Bunny Fufuu’s thing, are you telling me that because you lost to Gravity, you’ve given up on making your own strategies and are just following them? Gravity, while they are a very good team, and I like them, is full of fucking nutjobs, and anything they do should not be taken particularly seriously. After all, Keane decided that Urgot mid was a good idea. It was, but who the fuck would think that?

Also, I’d like to address this. My girlfriend keeps mentioning how you almost picked Heimerdinger into your team today. I have a question: Why the fuck didn’t you? Clearly being different has worked out for Gravity, maybe you should do the same. Plus, people cheer for Heimerdinger, so you’d make the people happy. Hell, Heimer support is a thing that not many people consider, and I find that it works well (mostly because it’s like having a mid laner in the bottom lane, and therefore you ruin the bottom lane, repeatedly, until the jungler gets there. But you have Santorin, so tell him to get on that shit, homeboy). If that’s too risky, then get Bjergsen on that shit, he would be a great yordle. Imagine the mustache!

Anyway, just a few notes that I’ve taken. You don’t need to take Heimer, but at least take some champions that other teams would not necessarily prepare for, because of Gravity or teams in Europe. I feel like this would be beneficial. 

Yours sincerely, Jordan.

The people who run this system are fucking stupid.

Ink Master 6 has been on for 2 episodes so far. In the first episode’s voting, instead of voting between all 18 of the first tattoos, you could only vote between the 9 that were done by the bottom half in the second round. I thought this was an accident.

http://www.spike.com/shows/ink-master/skin-in-the-game/p0ajwk/fight-or-flight

John Oliver used a clip of Anita Sarkeesian in his last episode when he was speaking about online harassment. As expected, it’s his most disliked video on youtube. Why? Because no matter how Anita Sarkeesian may be brought up in social media or entertainment, there will be a crowd of people crying fowl. For example: If I were to say “Anita Sarkeesian is a human being” in a social setting, there is a great deal of likelihood that someone with more volume than sense will reply “Fuck you! She is a giraffe!”

The video was not about Gamergate, or sexism in video games, or any of the other stupid bullshit that hate been talked about for the past couple of years, it was about online harassment. If you ignore any distaste you may have for Sarkeesian, approximately everyone on the fucking planet would agree that yeah, she’s had it pretty rough on the internet. Are there reasons for people to be angry with her? That remains up for a debate that I have no interest in taking part in, nor do I have any interest in talking about sexism in video games at all, or that may taint my view of Castlevania, somehow. What I do have interest in bringing up is that, while people may have their reasons for disliking Anita, the extreme amount of harassment that she has received is still astounding, in all consideration. And the fact that all John Oliver did was say that, to me, doesn’t affect anything about the video at all. 

I’ve been dealing with growing depression since 2012, when my grandmother passed away. It’s gotten so much worse lately since in September, I moved to a new city, and it’s been extremely hard for me to find anybody that I can really hang out with. I don’t know why I can’t make friends like I used to anymore, but it’s really breaking me

Before anyone asks, yes I’ve thought about suicide, lots of people do. Really my main issue with that is the constant struggle of whether I’d prefer to be bored for eternity, or sad until I have to be bored for eternity. And of course, since I’m sitting here typing this right now, I obviously feel like the latter is better at this point, but I’m slowly losing that.