This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on June 25, 2010). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Sometime between June 24th and June 25th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Female Characters in Toy Story Don’t Get Much Play: "Toy Story 3 opens on a woman-empowerment high, with Mrs. Potato-Head displaying mad train-robbing skills and cowgirl Jessie skillfully steering her faithful horse Bullseye in the ensuing chase. And that's the end of that. From there on, the film displays the same careless sexism as its predecessors. (Note: some spoilers ahead.)"
- Not Safe for Work: "Moral arguments aside, the most common argument for the prohibition of sex work is that such work is a danger to the individuals involved, but research on sex work confirms what anecdotal evidence has long-time suggested, that neither traffickers nor pimps nor drugs nor disease but the stigmatized and criminalized nature of sex work is the greatest contributing factor making the industry dangerous."
- Doom, Duke3D and More: A Guide to Some Early FPS and Source Ports: "Are you an aging gamer, like me, and do you find yourself pining for the days of gaming yore occasionally, when the sound and fury of the latest warporn deathsim Medal of Duty and Honour: America's Bullet Pride game, fun as it might be, has left your head ringing? Yearn for some simple sprites and some chiptuney soundtracks? Is your computer a bit crap and does 11,000 frames per second† sound like something you might enjoy?<br />
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Well, read on, friends." - About 100 Words: "THE IDEA IS SIMPLE: WRITE 100 WORDS A DAY, EVERY DAY, FOR ONE MONTH You can write about anything you want. Anything. Some people open tiny windows into their lives; others write surrealist poetry. Some writers post finely tuned, perfectly crafted vignettes; others show up at the end of the night and spew drunken nonsense onto the screen. You bring the content. We set the format. This is an exercise in disciplined creativity. Writing exactly 100 words at a time — not a single word more, not a single word less — isn't as easy as it sounds. The word count may be arbitrary, but the motive is not. To borrow from Proust, the tyranny of rhyme often brings out the poet's best work."
- "To the Straight Guy at the Party Last Night": "A mutual friend of ours threw a big party for her 30th birthday, tons of people were there and it was a lot of fun. Somewhere along the line you and I ended up on the balcony for some fresh air at the same time. We started chatting…. We talked about hanging out sometime, and you wanted to meet my girlfriend. I understand how upsetting it was for you when I blinked mildly in surprise and said I was here with my husband. I know it was a shock to your system, if your face had turned any paler I might have called 911. […] I can't blame you — I forgot how delicate you straight boys are. So I wanted to give you a few helpful hints about where you went wrong last night."