Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween, everybody! I hope you're having a spooktacular Halloween. Amanda and I took Hannah on her first trick or treating excursion. She was dressed as a pumpkin (huge cliche, I know, but cute), and she seemed to love it! Here she is all decked out in her costume:

Robert The (Devil) Doll: A Case of Tourism Motivated Fabrication and Superstitious Irrationality

Robert The (Devil) Doll: A Case of Tourism Motivated Fabrication and Superstitious Irrationality

Robert the doll is a supposedly haunted/possessed doll that resides in Key West, Florida. If you want to read the whole spooky tale, you can do so HERE.

So, legend has it that this cursed doll is malevolent, and can speak, move around, and bring harm to people. Many people believe this, and the stories that have propagated about this doll over the years are of course varied and delightfully spooky.....and of course, untrue.

Here's some information from someone who has some experience with Robert the Devil Doll (written in her words, so any grammatical or spelling errors are hers, not mine, as is any credit given for discoveries or insights....I'm just reposting it):

God Goes to Marriage Counseling

God Goes to Marriage Counseling

“He's also a control freak.” Sarah looked over at God and sighed. She glanced over at Dr. Darby, and caught his eye. His eyes indicated his agreement, although he remained stoic, preserving his outward display of an apparent lack of bias, in accordance with the edicts of professionalism that were vital to the success of the field of psychology in which he was involved.

Inwardly appreciative but also outwardly stoic, save for the nail biting, which she resumed, Sarah continued. “He micromanages everything. Everything that you could imagine, including even thoughts, he needs to dictate what's acceptable and what's not. That goes for everyone down here, and also for all of us up in heaven, including myself.”

Dr. Darby looked over at God and gestured in his direction. “Is that true?” He cleared his throat, then continued. “Do you feel the need to control everything that goes on in your universe?”

Footsteps on the Stairs- A (Very) Short Story

I wrote this just now on a whim, and it represents a departure for me in that it mostly takes place in the reader's imagination, as opposed to taking place on the page as all of my other writing has. Not sure if this will work or not but it's worth a shot.   

     Ariana lay trembling, listening to the footsteps on the stairs marking her Aunt's slow ascent to her third story bedroom. Or, perhaps more precisely, her third story prison. It was just around sunset on a spring day. The date was April 15th, 1978. Ariana had last been outside of that particular room on September 24th, 1975.

My Gaming History Pt. 4

This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I recall my 20+ gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Part Four (Part One can be found HERE; Part Two can be found HERE; Part Three HERE)

A Question on Morality and Film

I'd like to throw this up for people to have the opportunity to take a second look, as I really wanted to get a discussion going on this one and it never materialized.

Here's the link:

http://magx01.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-does-our-proclivity-to-root-for.html

Later.

So, You Have a Relationship with the Creator of The Universe?

How fortuitous! There's this omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, eternal being which has the power to create entire universes and all of the life within them, and this being has decided to bestow upon you, one lowly human out of around 7 billion lowly humans, the very distinctive honor of having an ongoing relationship with him/her/it.

So, having made the decision, for seemingly no reason at all, to grant you this honour, this being enters your heart, hunkers down in one of your aortic valves, and remains there until the day you die, guiding you, helping you, being your spiritual guide, your confidante, your friend. And then, upon your death, this being grants you the even bigger honour of living with him/her/it for eternity in his/her/its eternal amusement park.

My Gaming History Pt. 3

This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I recall my 20+ gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Part Three (Part One can be found HERE; Part Two can be found HERE)

So, thus far we have thumb steroids, cumming, erratic ducks, and many, many hours spent playing in 8 bit glory. Time, however, has a way of marching on, and, as it did so, my brother and I found ourselves moving into the future: the 16 bit future (albeit a bit late). (Note: magx01 still thinks the 8 bit generation was better in a lot of ways.)

My Gaming History Pt. 2

This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I recall my 20+ gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Part Two (Part One can be found HERE)

And so, morning, as mornings inevitably do, came.

And so did I.

My Gaming History Pt. 1

Welcome to part one of a new several part long blog series on The Thoughtful Gamers. This blog series is going to be a look back through time as I, magx01, recall my 20+ year long gaming “career,” if you will. I'll take you through the ups and downs, the trials, tribulations and the triumphs. The sleepless nights, the gorging on pizza, the tournaments, the competition, the fights. The friends made over gaming, and the friends lost ov-no wait, I can honestly say that I have never lost a friend because of gaming. That would be rather pathetic, would it not?

Hey, Game Developers! Listen Up! Features that Need to be Included in ALL Games!

Hey game devs! There are two features that should have been included in every single game released in the last, well....ever, but I will forgive you your trespasses, AS LONG AS YOU START INCLUDING THESE GOING FORWARD:

• Temporary Quick Saves
• Fully Customizable Controls

Hey Anti-Vaccers'! Good Job Killing Babies!!

Here's a quote from an article I am reading regarding an epidemic of whooping cough in California, largely fueled by the incidence of adults refusing vaccines for both themselves and their children. Remember, the kids not being vaccinated is not the only hazard. The people around them not being vaccinated leads them to contracting diseases as well. If the people around you are all vaccinated, you won't be contracting anything. If, however, they listen to Jenny McDumbass and don't get vaccinated, they become potential carriers, and the most susceptible, infants (as well as immunocomprimised adults, such as myself, and the elderly) become potential recipients of this deadly gift borne of ignorance.

GET VACCINATED AND GET YOUR KIDS VACCINATED!

Anyways, here is the quote:

Pertussis once was widespread in California, reaching a peak of 21,344 cases in 1941. But a full-scale vaccination program reduced the incidence dramatically. Reported cases hit a low of 75 in 1976, but the disease has been creeping up since then. During the last outbreak year of 2005, there were 3,182 cases. So far this year there have been 1,496 cases.

From 21,344 to 75. SEVENTY FIVE!

And now?

Back to the thousands, and climbing. This isn't isolated, either. There have been many diseases making a comeback as of late, as herd immunity in various communities is being lost due to people opting out of vaccinations. Your 'personal choice' is KILLING PEOPLE.

What the hell can we do to combat the spread of all this ignorant misinformation that's permeating the culture as of late? Anti-Evolution, anti-vaccination, anti-global warming, 9/11, banking, nwo, moon, cancer cure etc conspiracies, etc. It's getting out of control thanks to the internet, the lapses in education, and movies like Zeitgesist. And it goes beyond mere idealogical differences. It threatens our actual futures. Yes, no hyperbole. It threatens our very future.

So, really, anyone....what the FUCK can we do? I have but a couple of ideas, and none of them alone are enough to combat this, but here they are, as they are at least a hypothetical start:

• Teach critical thinking in schools, stating in elementary/grade school. Teach kids HOW to think in addition to WHAT to think.
• Science needs like...PR people or something. Seriously, there needs to be someone between the science and the people who can clear things up for th emasses and defend the scientists and the science when it/they are attacked by morons with a camera. If celebrities and Coca Cola can have PR people, shouldn't one of the most important things in the fucking WORLD have them? (Yes, science numbnuts).