Paid to Party?

Paid to Party

Well this is interesting (and yes, by interesting I mean absofuckinglutely refuckingtarded):

“According to documents from the "Pledge This!" lawsuit against her obtained by The Smoking Gun, between 2006 and 2007, Paris Hilton banked more than $22 million pushing perfume, Prosecco, clothing and other products. She also made $150,000 for appearing at a Las Vegas nightclub's '07 Halloween party.”

As is this:

My Dream Video Game Console

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....it would have the following features:

Is there free will in heaven?

Is there free will in heaven?

If yes:

Are there bad deeds done in heaven?

If no, why not? Is it that no one chooses to sin because heaven is so amazingly awesome that they have no need/desire to commit evil? If there is free will in heaven, but no one acts on it (to do sin/bad works) because heaven is so amazing, then that means god has the ability to create a perfect place devoid of evil, without violating our free will. If that's the case, why was Earth not created in such a way, or what's the point of Earth at all?

If yes, bad deeds are done in heaven, then doesn't that mean heaven is, well, no longer heavenly? Some might say that the difference would still be that in heaven, you're with god, but if god is omnipresent, he's with you on Earth anyways (usually in people's aortic valves, if the christians are correct) which means that heaven is no different than Earth (unless of course you do not attribute omnipresence to god). Also, what happens to those people who do sin in heaven? Do they get sent to hell?

If no, there is no free will in heaven, then that means god has no qualms with us being devoid of free will, which means the free will defense for the problem of evil goes bye bye, since god clearly has no problem violating our free will.

Thoughts? Am I missing something?

Drunken NES

Playing Ninja Gaiden on my NES. Got a nice buzz going. Currently on my 3rd drink.

Life is good.

Oh Father's Day

Yes, Father's Day. The day when sons and daughters are supposed to go up and greet dad with the obligatory ''Happy Father's Day.'' Or for those who live far away, call him up (or text for the laziest of bastards). Like Mother's Day, it's nothing but an excuse to buy more shit and to force people to go out of their way to show an artificial type of love. Society pressures you to go out to dinner or buy gifts, otherwise you are seen as an unloving chump. Commercials pop up, proclaiming ''YOUR DAD IS THE GREATEST, SO BUY THIS SHIT FOR HIM NOW!!!!!!''  Phone commercials are among the worst offenders of this.

1984 Becoming a Reality?

Okay, I freely admit that the title of this post was purposely sensationalistic, but in all seriousness, is America becoming more and more Orwellian as time goes on, or am I crazy? Let's examine a couple of news stories:

E3 Afterthoughts

So E3 ended in disappointment. I don't get why the hell I got my hopes up again, I'm such an idiot. Never the less, unlike last year, I was so over it, that I didn't bother watching any conferences besides the "Big 3." Oh, and parts of the EA, Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic beckoned me. Would have been wonderful if 2K held a press conference of their own. As a publisher, they have more franchises that I'm interested in than anyone else, including Bioshock Infinite, which has superseded ME3 as my most awaited game.

I cannot say it was all disappointment. In fact, when I think about it, it was actually pretty decent, good even. "Holy fuck, what a contradiction!" you proclaim. And well, yes it is, but that's because my initial response was just me being a whiny entitled fanboy, who expects all my every wants to be catered to. I was disappointed because I didn't see any announcements that made me go "bat shit, lose control of my bodily functions" crazy and immediately proclaimed E3 a huge frustrating failure. But, when I do get to thinking about the announcements, and sure maybe nothing really stood out and astonished me, but overall it was actually good. On the other hand, maybe the WII U was amazing, but I'm still trying to decide if in fact that's just more confusing and intriguing than actually impressive. Regardless, I have plenty of news and information to be happy about.

Ninja Gaiden 3 E3 2011 Debut Trailer

Well, that was ultimately disappointing. Hopefully we get some in depth gameplay footage this E3.

Can`t say what I`ve seen so far is all that revealing, save for the fact that Hayashi and co. still seem to think a gigantic, nearly stationary boss is an engaging boss fight....

What do you guys think?

Irony On The Internetz

Christians embarrassed about/ashamed of Satan? (Silence on the Satan(ic) front).

Christians embarrassed about/ashamed of Satan? (Silence on the Satan(ic) front).

I'm Canadian, and here in Canada there's not a whole lot of public god talk. Some, sure, but it's sparse and mostly negligible. Down south however, in the good ol' US of A, it's ubiquitous. It's just god god god. Politicians, athletes, celebrities, televangelists, news anchors, radio hosts, television personalities, basically everyone pimps their god in public. And of course, the majority of them are referring to Yahweh, the god of the Bible, when they speak about this god character.

Interestingly however, very few of them ever mention Satan.

Ever notice that? If so, ever wonder why?

Super Quick Note To Those Who Think Reading on an E-Reader

Constitutes the same thing as reading a book, and is not, in any way, a lacking, impoverished experience......

Fearful Teen Commits Suicide Due to Harold Camping's Judgment Day Forecast

http://www.christianpost.com/news/fearful-teen-commits-suicide-due-to-harold-campings-doomsday-50542/

A 14-year-old girl from Russia was so scared of the May 21 doomsday and rapture prediction made by Harold Camping that she committed suicide the same day, investigators said Wednesday. The teenager wanted to choose death rather than be among the ones suffering on earth after the rapture. Nastya Zachinova, who lived in the Republic of Mari El in Central Russia, believed that the world end on May 21, her family told LifeNews, a Russian tabloid. The girl's personal diary entries revealed how terrified she was of the suffering that was to take place. She believed that she was not one of the "righteous" people that would be taken up to heaven but someone who would remain on earth and suffer. “Whales are trying to beach themselves and birds are dying – it is just the beginning of the end,” Zachinova wrote in her last diary entry, as reported by RIA Novosti. “We are not righteous people, only they will go to heaven, the others will stay here on Earth to go through terrible sufferings,” she wrote. “I don’t want to die like the others. That’s why I’ll die now."

The girl hung herself.

Poor thing :(

Unfortunately, as much as I would like him to, Camping cannot be held responsible for this, at least not criminally. Should he be? Is his speech protected under free speech laws? Can one be held responsible if their firmly held religious belief causes someone else to kill themselves (or someone else)? What do you think?

Oh, and what if he's full of shit? What if he's literally making all of this up for publicity and money? What would you think then?

Priest Sex-Abuse Case Hits Church of Pope's Adviser

Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal Number 938346473893 Hit Closer To Home For Pope Ratzinger:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2072613,00.html?xid=rss-world

The latest sex-abuse case to rock the Catholic Church is unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian Cardinal who has been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to respond to prior scandals of pedophile priests.

Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. "I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues," he allegedly said. Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been working with Benedict to establish a tough new worldwide policy, released this week, on how bishops should handle accusations of priestly sex abuse.

New Ninja Gaiden 3 Scans (OXM)

Here are three new Ninja Gaiden 3 magazine scans. These ones are from OXM this time. (This is an update to this post, which contained the original 3 scans (from OPM) and a bit of info).

Scans:

Ninja Gaiden 3 Scans, and a Little Bit of Info....Including Multiplayer

Ninja Gaiden 3 Scans and Information Revealed in OXM and OPM. 


Here's a bit of info:


60 frames per second. 
Blood is back. 
Difficulty level won't be toned down for casual gamers. 
There will be both competitive and cooperative modes. One or both will support up to 8 players. 
The store is gone. Weapons will upgrade over time. 
Greater emphasis on Ryu's story. No other playable characters planned yet. 
May feature Move support."

Shinobi Announced for the 3DS 1st Footage!! And Info.

First Ninja Gaiden, and then Shinobi.....Nintendo really wants me to give in and get a 3DS, don't they?

Apart from the shitty art style and the fact that it's polygonal as opposed to hand drawn pixels, this looks promising.

Here's the gameplay trailer:



Here's what Russ Frushtick from MTV (I didn't know they had anything to do with game coverage, but w/e) had to say:

Ripoff Report: Volume 1

Ripoff Report: Volume 1

This is a new blog series in which I illuminate total and utter ripoffs in the world of downloadable content, aka DLC. The focus is on the bullshit that is DLC, on a game by game basis.

This week's game is:

Dante's Inferno

Are Outspoken Atheists Fundamentalist? What about Militant?

“Atheists are as fundamentalist as those they rally against!” “Militant atheism on the rise.” Sentiments like these are heard on a daily basis now, in response to the “rise of the new atheism,” a concept I have some issue with, but will let fall by the wayside for the purpose of this particular post. So what do these words mean, and does their usage as applied to atheists constitute a fair charge, or are they charges falsely levied?

Let's find out, shall we? We'll start with fundamentalist atheism.

Cognitive Dissonance and You

Feeling as Gleeful as I want to be? Think that we're looking at a whole new era? 

Think again.

The sad thing is, rather than realize their errors, owning up to them and moving forward, many of Camping's followers will, due to the dissonance they will experience (cognitively), actually strengthen their resolve and adherence to their ideology.

Especially those who made public proclamations, as it has been shown that a public statement of belief lessens the willingness to retract said belief/heightens the threshold for evidenciary based retraction. 

So, as much as we may be laughing and in our heart of hearts hoping that this will finally be the catalyst to a more rational future....it's not going to happen :(

Irrationality Takes a Hit AND Three Big (at least to me) Scientific Discoveries Reported On Reality Day

Irrationality Takes a Hit AND Three Big (at least to me) Scientific Discoveries Reported On Reality Day

May 22^nd, 2011 is a special date. Anyone reading this likely knows why, so I'll spare you the elongated diatribe and say yay for Reality Day and down with paranoid ignorance, irrationality, fear mongering and pseudoscience. See, not only were the christians wrong (again) (and yes, it was specific sects, not all of them, I know) about the rapture, end of the world, yadayada, but on this awesome day known as Reality Day (as in, you're still here, welcome to reality, pal) science offers three MORE blows to specific assertions put forth by specific subsets of the religious community. Specifically, I am referring to assertions regarding mammalian brain size, contrarian positions regarding the expansion of the universe and dark energy, and lastly, contrarian positions regarding the idea of complexity arising out of simplicity without the guidance of some sentient intelligence.

So, what were these three reported findings?

RANT: Religion and Masturbation

I recently watched a movie entitled 'Teeth.' The movie (which wasn't very good but I digress), an indie horror with some comedic elements (it mostly failed on both fronts....some of it was amusing, none of it was scary, but again, digressing...), is about a very religious teenage girl who has taken a vow of 'purity' (aka abstinence) and goes around to other schools prattling on to younger kids and other teens about the 'evils' of sex and how it's only right to save your 'gift' until marriage, and blah blah.

The Thoughtful Gamers Interview Xona Games!!

This is an interview with Xona Games, the development studio, manned by two man fraternal team Matthew and Jason Doucette, that brought us games like Decimation X2 and the totally phenomenal Score Rush, which I reviewed here on the thoughtful gamers. Most of the questions were submitted by myself, but my fellow TTG's and GT friends also threw in a few of their own, making this a combined effort. Thanks a lot to all of you, and Matthew from Xona who was nice enough to participate. 

Be sure to keep an eye on Xona Games in the coming months, as they set to take the world by storm with their awesome looking Duality ZF, which strikes me as being the culmination of two brothers' dreams and hard work. 

Let's begin!

Gaming Conventions That Need to Go! Pt. 2

1) Ammo pickups.........who's leaving all this ammo behind? Hell, Robocop for xbox (HORRIBLE GAME) had ammo pickups....yet his gun is the only one of its kind in existence!

2) Nonsensical Puzzles: Hey, I'm a diabolical bad guy, and I'm being chased by the hero......what to do, what to do.....OH, I KNOW!!!! I'll hide this key to the door in a magical box that can only be opened when you put this picture that's been broken into 9 pieces back together. That'll slow him down! Of course, I could just hide/destroy the key...

Mass Effect 3 Dumbed Down and Delayed to 2012.

"One of the things that Ray Muzyuka and the team up in Edmonton have done is essentially step-by-step adjust the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 to put this in a genre equivalent to shooter-meets-RPG," he said, "and essentially address a much larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 began to approach.

"We're huge believers in the IP and are purposefully shifting it to address a larger market opportunity."

As revealed earlier today, the much-anticipated sequel to last year's acclaimed sci-fi epic will now ship out in early 2012, rather than later this year as originally promised."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-04-mass-effect-3-tweaked-for-larger-market

Nice going, Bioware. 

Oh, and btw, Sykoshadow.....I fucking told you so. Suck it, bitch.

Achievements: Earned or Entitled?

Often you'll come across the following type of comments in a discussion about a particular game's achievements/trophies (I'm primarily a 360 gamer, so forgive me if/when I fail to mention trophies when I mention achievements):

Gamer A: “WHAT?!? Beat the game on the hardest difficulty without dying (or any other difficult feat)? What kind of stupid achievement is THAT? How do they expect me to earn that? That's fucking STUPID! Most people won't get that! Why would they make an achievement that's so hard to unlock?"

Gamer B: “Well, shouldn't the people who do that get rewarded for it? I mean, if someone develops the skills/takes the time to do it, why shouldn't they be rewarded? They did something awesome! They actually achieved something.”

Gaming Conventions That Need to Go! Pt. 1

This is the first of a series I will be doing in which I look at gaming trends/conventions/just little things in games that either don't make sense, are annoying, outdated, need to be done away with, or all of the above. Not all are big deals, some are very minor, so don't take this too seriously.

1) Dying in games. I was playing Dead Space, and what should have been a terrible moment (literally being ripped apart by a very fierce enemy) didn't really matter because I knew I'd be back 10 seconds later as though it didn't happen. I'm not sure what could take the place of deaths in games, but they just don't make any sense. You die dozens of times during the course of some games.....and it never really matters. Except in one game I can think of: Steel Battalion. In this game, if you die, your SAVE GAME GETS ERASED.

2) Pressing start at the title screen. Um, why? Flash the title then go to the menu or have the title imposed on the menu screen. Not a big deal just makes me chuckle.Especially when some games literally force you to press the START button. The A button won't even work.

3) QTE's. Hey, you just worked hard to get to this awesome looking boss. You could use the skills you have learned to take it out in some epic fashion......OOORRRR you could play Simon Says and see you kick it's ass out of the corner of your eye while you pay attention to the button prompts.

4) Exploding barrels everywhere. Hey guys, we're hding out here where the good guys are coming with guns and grenades. We should stock this place with explosive barrels, and stand near them!

DUR, OKAY!

And finally:

5) Locked doors. Let's see, I have a chainsaw, grenades, a rocket launcher, and an assault rifle....but I think I'll find the long way around........WHY NOT BLOW THE DAMN DOOR DOWN!

Alright, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more to come.

The Softer Side: My Daughter and My Doggies

The Ask an Atheist Project Website!!!

askanatheistproject.com

The project will be slowly migrated over to the site, and any and all new entries will be uploaded there going forward.

Tell your friends, atheists and theists alike!

Thanks a ton to PaladinSkye for getting the thing off the ground. Without his initiative, this would never have happened.

Christopher Hitchens Letter to the AAI

Dear fellow-unbelievers,

Nothing would have kept me from joining you except the loss of my voice (at least my speaking voice) which in turn is due to a long argument I am currently having with the specter of death. Nobody ever wins this argument, though there are some solid points to be made while the discussion goes on. I have found, as the enemy becomes more familiar, that all the special pleading for salvation, redemption and supernatural deliverance appears even more hollow and artificial to me than it did before. I hope to help defend and pass on the lessons of this for many years to come, but for now I have found my trust better placed in two things: the skill and principle of advanced medical science, and the comradeship of innumerable friends and family, all of them immune to the false consolations of religion. It is these forces among others which will speed the day when humanity emancipates itself from the mind-forged manacles of servility and superstition. It is our innate solidarity, and not some despotism of the sky, which is the source of our morality and our sense of decency.

That essential sense of decency is outraged every day. Our theocratic enemy is in plain view. Protean in form, it extends from the overt menace of nuclear-armed mullahs to the insidious campaigns to have stultifying pseudo-science taught in American schools. But in the past few years, there have been heartening signs of a genuine and spontaneous resistance to this sinister nonsense: a resistance which repudiates the right of bullies and tyrants to make the absurd claim that they have god on their side. To have had a small part in this resistance has been the greatest honor of my lifetime: the pattern and original of all dictatorship is the surrender of reason to absolutism and the abandonment of critical, objective inquiry. The cheap name for this lethal delusion is religion, and we must learn new ways of combating it in the public sphere, just as we have learned to free ourselves of it in private.

Our weapons are the ironic mind against the literal: the open mind against the credulous; the courageous pursuit of truth against the fearful and abject forces who would set limits to investigation (and who stupidly claim that we already have all the truth we need). Perhaps above all, we affirm life over the cults of death and human sacrifice and are afraid, not of inevitable death, but rather of a human life that is cramped and distorted by the pathetic need to offer mindless adulation, or the dismal belief that the laws of nature respond to wailings and incantations.

As the heirs of a secular revolution, American atheists have a special responsibility to defend and uphold the Constitution that patrols the boundary between Church and State. This, too, is an honor and a privilege. Believe me when I say that I am present with you, even if not corporeally (and only metaphorically in spirit...) Resolve to build up Mr Jefferson's wall of separation. And don't keep the faith.

Sincerely,

Christopher Hitchens

Japan’s government, threatened with more haarp attacks, pays 60 trillion yen to feds. HAARP Causes Earthquakes? Oh, Really?!

Japan’s government, threatened with more haarp attacks, pays 60 trillion yen to feds.

HAARP Causes Earthquakes?

Oh, Really? 

Benjamin Fulford, a 'journalist' and huge proponent of conspiracy theories (Illuminati, bankers, world domination, starvation and mass killings, HAARP, 9/11, etc) has stated that the Japanese government has paid 60 trillion yen (around 680 Billion Cdn.) (lol!) to the American Federal reserve Board 'crime syndicate' (lol!) in response to threats that if they did not pay, they would be again attacked.

Yes, attacked, because the Japanese natural disaster...was actually, according to him (and others) coordinated and perpetrated by HAARP. Yes, the Japanese natural disaster of 2011 was, according to Mr. Fulford, a terrorist attack! Here's the link:

http://eclinik.wordpress.com/vital-issues/ben-fulford/japan%E2%80%99s-government-threatened-with-more-haarp-attacks-pays-60-trillion-yen-to-feds/

(Yes, that's a wordpress blog, and yes, that ad at the top by the author, Mr. Fulford, does say that you can 'Defeat AIDS and cancer in 90 Days.' Kind of sets this blog up nicely, doesn't it?)

Now, before we get into this, let’s have a look at some of the other claims this gentleman has made.

Ask an Atheist Project: PseudoEsteem (Pseudo on This Blog)

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "PseudoEsteem" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to PseudoEsteem`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs;  Psuedo is also an author here on The Thoughtful Gamers).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to PseudoEsteem  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Ask an Atheist Project: Crescent

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Crescent" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Crescent`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs, which are usually either rants, animé reviews, or rants about animé :)

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Crescent  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Ask an Atheist Project: Rick

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Rick" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Rick`s Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs.

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Rick  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

Charlie Sheen Show/Tour Is Shit. DUH! You Morons.

Here's an excerpt from a news article detailing some of the happenings at the opening of Charlie Sheen's show....uh.....thing. (Whatever the fuck it is supposed to be)

Ask an Atheist Project: Venomous

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "Venomous" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Venomous' Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs and his fantastic game reviews (he's a professional (magazine) game reviewer).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Venomous  for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks. (For now, though, you can have a link to my (magx01's) entry (hey, I started the damn thing!)

The Grand Design Book Review

Note: I don't normally do book reviews, and I am consequently not well versed in the art of producing them. Nor do I desire to be. This is as much an overview and discussion about my experience with the book as it is a review.

Ask an Atheist Project: PaladinSkyeGodEatr

And here we have the latest entry into the illustrious Ask an Atheist Project, an ongoing project of mine which is kept going by the contributions of fellow atheists who submit their responses to a series of questions. This latest entry is by a friend of mine who goes by the moniker "PaladinSkyeGodEatr" here in the crazy online world of the internet. (HERE is a link to Paladin's Gamepad on Gametrailers, where you can find his blogs, such as his blog about Homeopathy, or his examination of Pantheism (a blog on which I believe you still owe me a comment, buddy ol' pal!) both of which i enjoyed).

So, here is his submission. Read, enjoy, laugh, cry, recoil in horror, whatever and then feel free to comment, and let him know what you think, where you agree/disagree, etc. And thanks very much to Paladin for taking the time to do this. Btw, if anyone reading this wants to see the other entries, and/or enter their own submission, please click the link above. Thanks.

Crysis 2 Review

Note: Don't consider this an 'official' review from me; just an approximation of one. My true reviews are more involved than this, and I don't do them until I have at least completed the game. While I am quite close to the end, I have not actually completed the campaign in its entirety.  (I have since completed the campaign). I also only focus on the campaign here; the multiplayer doesn't interest me and is not discussed to any detail.

IGN's Top 25 Xbox 360 Games is BULLSHIT

IGN's Top 25 Xbox 360 GamesList : http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/104/1045042p2.html

Back in April, IGN listed their top 25 Xbox 360 games. I missed this article, which is not surprising since I hardly ever visit IGN anymore, but happened to catch it today, and I would like to rant about it but before I do so, here are the games they selected, followed by the review score (in brackets) given them by IGN:\

The Gaming Community Is an Embarrassment.

The Gaming Community Is an Embarrassment.

The gaming community, of which I self identify, is quite often an embarrassment to me. The fact that the word “troll” exists is one piece of evidence I have to support this. Another is the fact that several major gaming boards have had to ban versus (vs.) threads/topics.

Think about that for a second....

A user on a message board/forum of which the subject is video games and video game systems cannot post a topic about one game, or one console, being superior to another. In a community that is primarily made up of people between the ages of 15 and 35. What. The. Fuck. Is. That. Shit? People are so sensitive, so defensive, so emotive, so reactionary, so immature, so.....fucking retarded, that the playground monitors needed to outright ban topics like “Saint's Row is better than GTA...Agree or Disagree?” because for some reason, such a topic causes some people to go into a spasmodic, blind rage.

Awesome Letter Pertaining to Homosexuality and Biblical Morality (Comments Added by Yours Truly)

This is a widely circulated letter addressed to Laura Schlessinger, a conservative radio host and outspoken bigot (from what I gather. I'm not familiar with her but the few comments attributed to her that I have read were rather bigoted and idiotic).

Note: It is not at all clear whether or not this was actually written to Laura Schlessinger (the purported Dr. Laura in question) nor is it widely known who the original author was. Still, it's great stuff, so read on (assuming of course you have not come across this at one point or another).

Note 2: I have added a few italicized comments in brackets throughout.

Dear Dr. Laura:

RESIDENT EVIL 4 and CODE VERONICA REMASTERED FOR 360/PS3!!!!

Resident Evil Revival Selection Announced

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/03/22/resident-evil-revival-selection-brings-re4-code-veronica-to-ps3-xbox-360/

HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK!!!!!!


Capcom, I hate you for being so insidious with your monetary practises, but this is fucking RE4 we're talking about, remastered....in HD....achievements....Alright, you win, Capcom, you win.

Take my money.

Oh, ya, plus Code Veronica remastered....in HD...achievements....but whatever, fucking RESIDENT EVIL 4!!!!

The excitement I feel is ridiculous. I feel like a kid at christmas.

WOW.

(A Critique Of) Arguments for God and the Universe

There are some seemingly well constructed arguments for the existence of god utilized by apologists in their quest to rationalize their religious beliefs. The three classic apologist arguments are the:

1) Teleological Argument (Argument from Design)

-Basically, there exists order and complexity within nature, and order and complexity, ie, design, is contingent upon a mind. This mind is god.

2) Cosmological Argument

-Basically, finite entities must have a cause. You cannot have an infinite causal loop/chain, in which something created something created something ad infinitum. There must be a first cause. This first cause, by definition, is not contingent and is not an effect.

3) Ontological Argument

-Basically, and laughably, it asserts, a priori, that if you can conceive of the greatest possible entity, then said entity must exist, since existence is superior to nonexistence.

Why I Love Horror Movies, and What's Wrong with So Many of them Today

Note: If you read my Nightmare on Elm Street Blog you will recognize some of this, as a portion of this is a copy paste job from that one. The reason I did so is because I had been thinking about what I'd said, and I wanted to expand on it, so I needed to repost it in order to do that. If you're one of my three readers (lol) and you're astute enough to catch this, rest assured that less than halfway in, it stitches to all new material, and even the copy paste job isn't just that as I have edited some things.

So, if you do recognize some stuff, keep reading, the last 60% or more is totally new.

Thanks.

Moving on with the blog....

It all began with three little words. 

Offical Xbox Magazine (OXM) Interview with Yosuke Hayashi SCANS

OXM Interview with Yosuke Hayashi

SCANS: (CLICK TO ENLARGE!)

Credit goes to mohsin117 over at GameTrailers.com

Well.... 



There were a few things said in that interview that went a small, small way towards perhaps a 1% decrease in my discomfort with Hayashi being in charge.

Other than that, I'm skeptical. I really, really hope they blow me away. I'll be watching the reveal gameplay during E3 and commenting on ever little detail I see. Hopefullythose comments are tinged with glee, and not disappointment.

9 Reasons Why We Don't Believe in Religion

Here are a collection of 9 reasons to help the religious understand why we don't buy into their belief systems. This is neither all encompassing nor to be taken as some finalized mission statement. I wouldn't consider this the most compelling list I could write, but it hits a fair number of things and does a few of them decently.

Atheism: Revelation!

Note: This is an old forum post that I made many months ago as a follow up to the previous blog detailing my 'story' in terms of my atheism.

I....had an experience this morning. I have been wrong my whole life............

Atheism: My Story

In this blog I will share with you my story. Why I am an atheist (although the answer is rather simple), how those around me handle(d) it, and the beliefs of those I associate with. I will frame it as an interview (why....I dunno). So, let's begin, shall we?

Feeding Frenzy Review

Chomp Chomp Chomp

Feeding Frenzy, developed by PopCap games, is a casual styled 2D arcade game that has the player controlling a variety of marine life forms who are intent on eating as many other marine life forms as possible. The more you eat, the more you grow, and the more you grow, the bigger they variety of fish and other marine life you can eat. You start out as a small angel fish named Andy, and by the time you reach level 40 in the game's Normal mode, you end up playing as a very large Orca whale, who preys on sharks, as well as other whales. Essentially, this game can be summed up as a simplistic, lighthearted, marine centric circle of life simulator.

The Religious Antagonist: God vs. $20 Debate

An interesting discussion is taking place over at the Atheist Experience blog. The discussion centers around the following video, entitled God vs. $20, in which this guy named Mike, who brands himself "The Religious Antagonist," offers $20 to a destitute family (who is panhandling in a Wal Mart parking lot) to cross the word 'god' off of their sign (it read 'God Bless You' at the bottom of it):