Category Archives: Uncategorized

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What a Bargain!

Ever submit your email address to receive one of those online store
back in stock notices? I usually receive notices fairly quickly, within
several weeks to a month. Yesterday, I received a notice that I'd
apparently put in over a year ago. I was considering sewing something
cute together at the time, and I liked this fabric for the project. I
totally forgot about it until the notice popped up in my inbox.

Although the project I'd been considering never got off the ground, I
decided to click the link anyway, since I'd forgotten exactly what the
item I'd requested notice for looked like. What I found was this:

Sprice
Sprice
This fabric is more expensive than a jet! Needless to say, this gave me a chuckle. When you add the item to the cart, the right price of $4.79 a yard on sale comes up.
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“Get Your Significant Other into Gaming”

Note: This is a repost from another of
my blogs, which is sort of on hiatus and may undergo a design change
and relaunch shortly. I've decided to talk about video games on this
blog too, but that one is completely game focused.

Since this is now my main blog, I thought it would make sense to put it here as well.

January 1, 2007

I did a Google search for an unrelated issue I'm having with my browser, and came upon this article
from 2005. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has already discussed it, but
it's new to me. I generally don't go to Microsoft.com for gaming
articles, so I had to stumble upon it.

The article is written in
a gender neutral voice, but it seems that this is merely for
politically correct purposes, as the suggestions and style seem to
indicate that this is geared toward men looking to get their non-gamer
girlfriends or dates into games.

Part of the advice reads: "Do start slow.
Rather than opting for a date starring aliens or zombies, try picking a
title grounded in the real world." Most gamers are happy to show off
their games. They just jump right in and speak enthusiastically. If
it's a passion of ours, we're not necessarily going to tread slowly and
try not to startle our friends or romantic interests. We're going to
say, "Hey, I just got this great game, take a look!" and then proceed
to demonstrate. I'm not advocating intimidation, but you don't have to
treat your non gamer friends and lovers as if they're complete
neophytes that can't handle a little bit of imagination or something
not based in reality. That's like saying reading picture books full of
talking animals and trips to the moon to little children isn't a good
idea. It's all about the concepts and the presentation, not the
delivery method.

If I see something that looks fun to play, I'll
jump right in. Now, while I do enjoy casual games like one of the
titles Mr. Steinberg mentions, Bookworm, that doesn't mean that it's
exciting. Part of the reason why I've been gaming for so long is
because it remains fun and exciting. Now, not all games have to deliver
an intense adrenaline rush ( and plenty have, especially after a truly
arduous boss fight), but if you show me something that looks insanely
fun, I'll want to try it that much more.

Obviously, if we're
referring to a novice gamer, or someone who doesn't game at all, then
it's worth it to find out his or her tastes first. Does this person
enjoy sci-fi novels or movies? Then break out Halo. Is an adventurous
drama or mystery more his or her cup of tea? Then maybe go for
something like Broken Sword or Myst. Political intrigue? Try Beyond
Good & Evil. It's just too hard to try introducing someone to
gaming without looking into the person's interests at all. There are so
many good games within all genres that it's easy enough to recommend
something once you have a sense of what the person might enjoy more.

I've
touched upon the PC qualities of this article earlier, but this is
where it irked me a little. If it was written as another "introduce
your wife/girlfriend/sister/mom to gaming" piece, and it is, then
Microsoft should have just let it be. It's obviously written with that
point of view and directed at a male audience. Look at the advice and
game suggestions:

  • "Don't show frustration or gloat over victories.
    As with any activity, beginners may lack confidence. Take the time to
    help them learn how to play and offer positive feedback. It also
    wouldn't hurt if you let your loved one win once in a while. And for
    heaven's sake, be gentle: poking fun at gaming newcomers is a great way
    to turn them off the hobby permanently."

In other
words, treat her like an incapable child who needs to be duped lest it
hurt her poor, fragile juvenile ego. I attempted to cheat at board
games and ask my mother if she'd let me win when I was around two. She
told me no, and that I had to play fairly and honestly or we couldn't
play at all. It was an important lesson. I knew if I won, that I'd
actually won. That does a hell of a lot more for someone's confidence
than letting them win.

  • Do choose colorful, non-threatening activities. Lean toward the type of title that evokes fond memories of childhood.

Oh
look! More advice to treat this new [female] gamer like a child.
Colorful and non-threatening? Give me a break. And while you're at it,
a BFG and a chain gun.

The last section is almost equally air headed, especially the blurb about the Frag Dolls:

  • Lonely
    hearts should check out the Frag Dolls, an all-female team of
    professional gamers. Members Brookelyn, Eekers, Jinx, Katscratch,
    Rhoulette, Seppuku, and Valkyrie update their pages frequently and
    offer news on personal appearances. Meet up with one at a LAN party,
    and you just may find love.

So this guy is
encouraging other guys to read their site, their profiles, and hit on
the women there? As if the FragDolls don't get enough flak and
adulation from lonely gamer guys for being attractive women.

I'm
familiar with gaming press and blogs, and articles like this don't
surprise me at all. I'm also quite familiar with both gamers and
non-gamers, male and female. You don't have to baby new gamers, just
get them excited and curious to learn and enjoy themselves. Learn who
they are and what interests them. Treat them like intelligent, fun
loving people, and you'll both enjoy gaming a lot more.

Edit, October 2007: The article linked above is no longer accessible at the original location. It is available here.

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“Strangers in a Strange Land”

"A woman paying $130 for a pair of shoes is one thing, but one paying $130 for the Legendary Edition of Halo 3 is something else altogether."

This is one of the best lines in Susan Arendt's recent piece in The Escapist. It's a perfect summary of how many non-gamer women see those of us who love to spend chunks of our leisure time blasting away zombies, solving puzzles, saving the day, and grinding out XP. Most of the women I know don't play video games, and such things aren't even on their radar. It can be difficult when I'm excited for a new MMO or a console release and can't really discuss it with them.

I've been gaming for most of my life. Our family got out first console when I was about two or three years old. I cut my gaming teeth on the classics on Atari and NES and haven't looked back since. I've had female friends that played games, but I was often the only one that was pretty hardcore about it. These days, I'm part of online communities aimed at women that play games, but in real life, outside of our niche, sometimes we get what Arendt deftly describes as "[being] constantly asked to explain and justify our hobby, a requirement
rarely placed on those who choose trips to the movies or pickup games
of basketball as their pastimes of choice".

Another point she touches on is the reaction of family to a woman that plays games. We're more apt to receive comments about "growing out" of games, where the males aren't expected nearly as often to somehow give up this particular hobby. When it comes to my family, they don't quite understand either, though they haven't been as harsh as to ask when I'd grow out of it. However, when all of my younger cousins received Nintendo DS systems one Christmas, and I got slippers and pajamas, as cute as they were, I was disappointed. Last year, my family talked about trying to buy Wii systems for my younger cousins. 'What about me?' I thought. But they don't consider buying me games or systems because I'm an adult.

Arendt's piece, which is highly recommended, goes into many other situations applicable to us female gamers,  and includes testimonials from several women. When I read it, I kept thinking "yes, that's exactly how it is". No one would bat an eye at a woman spending $130 on shoes, and yet that's something I probably wouldn't do. New Silent Hill release on the way? Sure.

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A Few Thoughts

I caught part of American Idol last night, and saw Jennifer Lopez perform. In a way, it was a proud moment, seeing one of the biggest shows on television feature a huge star singing in Spanish on national television. Regardless of anyone's personal opinion of Lopez' musical career, the fact that this milestone was achieved is pretty important. It's a good demonstration of how Latinos are ever more out there, and how pieces of our culture are shown to be completely at home among all the other diversity America has to offer. At the same time, nobody made a big deal out of it being a sort of milestone. It was just a seamless blend with the rest of the show. That's important, because it normalizes such a performance and the occasional Spanglish and Spanish-language advertising I see on a regular basis.

 I bet most of the audience didn't understand the song and yet they seemed to get into it anyway, simply enjoying the music and the performance for all it was worth. That's where the pride comes in, knowing that enjoyment and music are things that cross cultural and language barriers.

On a related note, I saw this headline via E! News the other day: "Salma's Spicy Studio Deal" which was referring to the recent production deal signed between Salma Hayek and MGM,  to form Ventanazul, a company to develop and distrubute Latino themed film projects. "Spicy"? Way to stereotype. Now, I know most of us are very proud of being a passionate people, but these terms only serve to marginalize and give people a certain impression of us, especially of us Latinas. We're "spicy", "spitfires", "feisty", "hot tamales", etc. But wait – I'm geeky, nerdy, calm, passionate, yes, but whatever happened to celebrating the whole of a person instead of attempting to water them down to an adjective or two? Ventanazul is actually trying to do just that, says Salma, saying that the projects will be involved in "telling uniquely Latin stories like that of Frida Kahlo, to creating unforgettable characters—who just happen to be Latin—like Ugly Betty." Then why such a ridiculously stereotypical headline from the E! writer?

Not that I necessarily disagree that "spicy" may truly describe some people, but it's a tired adjective when attached to stories involving Latinos, and it's about time someone gave these writers a new thesaurus. In the end, I'm happy to hear of the Ventanazul production company and look forward to what kinds of projects will come out of it.

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Vox Hunt: This One Goes Out To…

Audio: It's dedication time.  What song are you sending out, and who is it dedicated to?

Several years ago, when Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head came out, I gradually started listening to it a lot. What strikes me as funny now was that on the album, as with most, there were two or three songs that I liked least and would remove from the rotation much of the time. After I met my boyfriend, before we were together and were first getting to know one another, I realized that I started listening to one of these least-liked tracks more and more often. It became a sort of shy little secret, since it reminded me of him in certain ways (before I even knew what he looked like aside from black hair and green eyes). At the time he had not yet quite come to embody the lyrics in the song, he most certainly does now.

So Michael, this is for you:

07 - Coldplay - Green Eyes
07 – Coldplay – Green Eyes
Coldplay

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Vox Hunt: Go Team!

Show us your team! 
Submitted by Juniebird.

It's baseball season again. That means one thing –

Yankees
Yankees

The roster changes are shaping up to make this an interesting season. It's very sad that Bernie Williams isn't wearing his 51 out on the field anymore, even if only subbing in or DHing. Of course, there are new faces as well.

And who knew Carl Pavano would not only actually be with the team this year, healthy, and the opening day starter? Honestly, if someone had made that prediction a year ago, I guarantee most baseball fans would have laughed in the person's face. Last, but not least of this week's baseball-related tidbits, Alex Rodriguez and his very sweet clutch grand slam has to be one really important step in regaining the support from a lot of fans during the chilly and rumor-filled offseason. I never booed the guy or stopped supporting him as a member of this team, but he did get some really harsh treatment from a number of Yankees fans last year, and of course, plenty of ridicule and bile from those that love to hate the team.

It's been chilly here in NY the last several days, feeling more like November than April. But the fact that baseball is back always makes me excited.

Hopefully, all the way through October for these guys.

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A Few Critter-related Bits

I saw a few of these links recently and thought I'd share.

Easter is coming up, and some people are going to be giving their kids real chicks and bunnies for the holiday. When I was a kid, one of our neighbors gave her daughter a chick for Easter. Of course it was an adorable ball of yellow fluff, but the girl was about five or six at the time and most definitely could not care for a chicken in an apartment. I have no idea what happened to the chick, but it probably wasn't anything good.

So, in comes the Make Mine Chocolate campaign. It's only in its second year, but this messages deserves to be heard far and wide. Helping animals like cute bunnies and chicks avoid situations in which they're unwanted or people who are unsuited to care for them are put in charge is a lesson more people need to learn.

April 10th is Go Orange for Animals Day!

The ASPCA is celebrating its anniversary on 4/10, and has declared it Go Orange for Animals day. Sporting something orange is the way to go next Tuesday. There's merchandise to support the event available, but anything orange that sparks conversation about its significance works. The ASPCA is a great organization that has been around for 140 years, and any bit of support helps.

And finally, last, but not least:

Cookies
Cookies

image credit

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Drawing the line

On Friday, some kids here pulled an early April Fools' prank on their classmates, lacing some donuts with laxatives, just like on an MTV show they'd watched. Now, while I think it was an awful thing to do, considering the potential effects on anyone who may have eaten one, it was still a childish act. The children are now facing criminal charges.

Of course, there's a difference between right and wrong, and these 13 and 14 year old boys were known as jokers. However, the severity of the action is just one example of how adults are rushing children to grow up so fast these days. I'm not ignoring that the prank was shown, apparently with instructions, on TV, merely analyzing the reaction by officials.

We're living in a world that makes thongs for pre-teens and overreacts by sending in the bomb squad over a harmless ad campaign. What, years ago, would have simply been written off as a harmless teenage prank punishable by perhaps a week or two in detention is now being handled by the police. Think about that.

I wouldn't have wanted to be one of those people who ate the tainted donuts, but the effects of a laxative last a day at best. There would almost certainly be no permanent damage. When it comes to more severe incidents, such as when kids deliberately attempt to poison their teachers, then perhaps police involvement might be more suitable. However, perhaps they should try to give kids a warning first instead of arresting them. Work with their parents. Heck, even scare them a little bit. When I was in kindergarten, we took a field trip to the local police station, where they locked us up in a holding cell for a few minutes. Even when you're five, that can have an impact.

There are just so many aspects of today's society that are making childhood shorter and shorter. Arresting children can leave them with a very negative self-image, and it can make them feel hopeless. If it happens more than once, and I've met some people who'd been through the juvenile system, it really does damage their sense of hope.

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A Call for Free Artistic Expression

One artist's chocolate Jesus sculpture won't be going on display here as planned. It still amazes me how closed people are in today's society. How organizations would rather call for a boycott or a cancellation of an art exhibit rather than simply having an open dialogue and a respectful disagreement with the work as is. Sure, they may not like the artist's representation, but that doesn't mean they should seek to censor it.

I felt the same way in regards to that controversy over the Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Mohammed. The American press mostly shied away from reprinting the images, while many outlets in the world ran them uncensored. And we're the "land of the free"?

For there ever to be honest discourse with regard to controversial topics, the first step is to be able to have free, open expression. Do I agree with all work done in the name of art? Of course not. The man who set up blenders with live goldfish inside certainly earned my disdain. However, expression shouldn't be stifled.

I understand how some people might find these things personally offensive, but those of us on the outside of such things should still be able to make our own choices as to what we see or not, not have them made for us. This reminds me of the absolutely ridiculous overreaction by Rudolph Giuliani where he attempted to withdraw public funding for the Brooklyn Museum over a reverent painting by artist Chris Ofili, a Christian. The painting in question featured a black Virgin Mary with one breast crafted from elephant dung (which is a material he uses often), and vaginas cut from porn magazines around the painting.

People claim Ofili's painting was "splattered" with dung and thus somehow irreverent. This rumor persists today, and I just saw the term "splattered" used in an article about this chocolate Jesus incident. However, the Ofili painting was not splattered with anything. The breast was a round lump attached to the painting. The lesson I'm trying to get at was Giuliani attempted to shut down a local institution, one that has been serving Brooklyn and the city for a century, over one painting. A painting that he was ignorant about and hated based on misinformation.

Giuliani is an extremely stubborn politician, but perhaps, just perhaps, if instead of a big buzz of controversy there was discussion. Open discussion instead of attempts at censoring others' expression. Maybe peopple would have learned something.

A chocolate Jesus–a naked chocolate Jesus– isn't going to make or break Catholicism. There's no real reason to be personally offended by this sculpture. The main reason the Church seems to be upset is because this nudity humanizes the Jesus figure.

In any case, I hope another institution steps up and agrees to host this sculpture. Our freedom of expression does not  halt for religious groups, and indeed, it shouldn't. No pun intended, but they're not sacred cows, and they shouldn't be treated as off limits.

On a different, yet still religious and sweet note: boy these look good, and I'm not even Jewish.

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Tidbits

I haven't written anything here in a while, and that's basically due to life happening. At the time of my last entry, I was amidst the graduate school application process and saw the opportunity to wax nostalgic about my favorite movie as a method of release. I'm disappointed that the application process did not go as planned, due to one of the professors whose recommendation I required being on sabbatical this year. I tried to contact professors back at the end of November, hoping to get their letters by the February 1st deadline. One of them was out of the country and didn't get to my email until the third week in January. By that time, I'd sent an email, written and delivered a note, and set up an appointment immediately at the start of the spring semester.

However, the other professor never responded. In spite of her autoresponse claiming that she will check in and respond eventually, months (and a second email later), she hasn't. I sent the second email due to one program having a due date for application of April 1st and the hope that if two months wasn't enough time to respond, perhaps four months would be. Unfortunately, she hasn't written back, and I won't be able to get anything submitted. I'm trying to take it positively, though the graduate school process took up a big chunk of time starting last fall, and drove me absolutely nuts with stress. I'm disappointed, but all I can do is just take the next year to strengthen my candidacy and hopefully I will have more success.

Last month, my grandfather passed away after almost five years fighting lung cancer. It's still really weird not having him downstairs, not joking with my mom about the television he left blaring so loudly we could hear it up here because his hearing aid had slipped behind his bed, not seeing him smile and crack a joke. It was pretty obvious that my grandfather felt that he wouldn't make it long, and he was in a lot of pain. He gathered everyone in his room one by one last Christmas. Over the last year, he told all sorts of stories, especially when I'd come see him. And we got to have dinner together one night, just the two of us – something that I can't even remember if ever happened before. We've eaten lunch together before, but this was dinner and a good conversation. There is a project I may be taking on soon that involves electronics
and soldering –and he would have been able to advise me,
having done electrician work for a time, and later around the house.

I miss him.

Yesterday, I colored my hair. I only used a temporary color, so my hair isn't dramatic or lighter, it's just slightly redder, which softens the darkness of my deep brown hair and makes my natural red highlights stand out more. I don't like using anything too harsh on my hair, but experimenting is fun sometimes.

I've also been doing a lot of work on my website. It's nowhere near done, and the template restrictions are a bit annoying, but I'm going to work with OfficeLive for now, until I can host and design it myself. I'll post more about my site when it's more than a mere framework. I'm just hoping that building this online profile and homebase for myself will help me in my career pursuits. Getting a publishing job in NY is so competitive. Many internships are unpaid and I need money. The other internships are generally only for students. As if someone can't decide to change career goals at some point after school! I keep applying to various positions and attempting freelance in the meantime.

I just hope someone will bite soon. I don't have any contacts in publishing, and was never a big networker in school, so it's really difficult. Still, I'll persevere. The website is merely one link in how I'm attempting to establish myself.