when playing video games there are a few constants in my life. I love going back and popping in an oldie but goodie, sometimes I just need to blow stuff up, and other times, I prefer hacking and whacking like Butcher Pete and his long sharp pen-errrrr knife.
rarely ever though do I want to get immersed in some mystical far off land of prissy elves, racist humans, and isolationist dwarfs, and idiot orks. The Era of steel blades and chainmail just flat do not do it for me. I did not enjoy playing Final Fantasy 1 at all, and Dragon Warrior... forget it.
Later in life I went back to these oldies because I forced my way through more modern RPGs, but there is still a huge problem with them.
Magic. call it what you will, but every role playing video game has Magic of some sort. Some kind of ability that turns ordinary people into gods among men. even in Sci Fi oriented games like Parasite Eve there was magic (mitohondial Powers). and it is a crutch that you can not ignore in order to complete the game.
Fallout 2 was the first RPG game I came across that had no magic per say in it, and it was a wonderful experience. Only equipment and training mattered. the post apocolyptic science fiction setting was welcome as well. I would love to see more such games with a set up. level building to invovle "getting better" at stuff, great equipment, an immersive story, but no Magic system. that includes the Force for you KOTOR fans, and Parasite energy for the PE club.
I want to keep my RPGs real.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
David Souter
Oh, damn, holy crap, Barack Obama is not even a year into his term and he gets to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court. And Legions of so called conservatives are shaking in their boots because “he will pick a liberal justice.” OF COURSE HE WILL YOU FUCK-TARDS. Liberal politician, liberal appointees. This is what happens when a party sweeps an election cycle, and the Conservative party in my country has had that free ride for eight gods damned years and squandered it like a kid in a baseball card store.
I am sick and tired of hearing this fear with David Souter’s retirement. First David Souter, while appointed by a republican president, was not exactly a strictly conservative judge. Souter was a champion for personal liberty and responsibility. If a case had to do with Government vs. people, he generally sided with the people. This in my mind made him a very conservative judge, as he was a check on federal power. I would like to see his successor in a similar vein.
Case in point is the infamous Planned Parenthood v. Casey trial, which was a challenge to the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act in 1992. The States argument was poor, and part of it was a direct request to overturn Roe V Wade. Souter wrote that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned because it would be surrender to political pressure... So to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the Court's legitimacy beyond any serious question.”
Long Story short, he was not going to vote to overturn a ruling based on the sole argument of being asked nicely.
The most distressing part about this appointment coming up is the expectations of the people. Again, it was not until about a quarter of a century ago that nobody even cared about Supreme Court nominations. The average vote by the senate for approval was in the nineties, and in pre vote hearings, often times nominees did not even show up. It was not until Ronald Regan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Conner that such a practice became commonplace, and damned the nomination of Robert Bork in 1987.
I wander around my workplace and I am surprised to see how many people think that the High Court in this country actually has to answer to some other federal agency. Buzz Words and talking points like Judicial Activism arise, as though to accuse the Courts of trying to legislate from their seats.
The Supreme Court was set up as a third equal and separate branch of federal power, not as a division of the Department of Justice. They are an island, and through the constitution act as the final, almighty and ever present arbiter of what is and is not law in this land. The Marbury v Madison case opinion perfectly outlines this.
“It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each.
So, if a law be in opposition to the Constitution, if both the law and the Constitution apply to a particular case, so that the Court must either decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the Constitution, or conformably to the Constitution, disregarding the law, the Court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. If, then, the Courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the Legislature, the Constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply.
Those, then, who controvert the principle that the Constitution is to be considered in court as a paramount law, are reduced to the necessity of maintaining that courts must close their eyes on the Constitution, and see only the law.
This doctrine would subvert the very foundation of all written constitutions.”
I think that the best nominee would be one who would hold to that ideal very closely, criticisms of activism be damned.
I am sick and tired of hearing this fear with David Souter’s retirement. First David Souter, while appointed by a republican president, was not exactly a strictly conservative judge. Souter was a champion for personal liberty and responsibility. If a case had to do with Government vs. people, he generally sided with the people. This in my mind made him a very conservative judge, as he was a check on federal power. I would like to see his successor in a similar vein.
Case in point is the infamous Planned Parenthood v. Casey trial, which was a challenge to the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act in 1992. The States argument was poor, and part of it was a direct request to overturn Roe V Wade. Souter wrote that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned because it would be surrender to political pressure... So to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to re-examine a watershed decision would subvert the Court's legitimacy beyond any serious question.”
Long Story short, he was not going to vote to overturn a ruling based on the sole argument of being asked nicely.
The most distressing part about this appointment coming up is the expectations of the people. Again, it was not until about a quarter of a century ago that nobody even cared about Supreme Court nominations. The average vote by the senate for approval was in the nineties, and in pre vote hearings, often times nominees did not even show up. It was not until Ronald Regan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Conner that such a practice became commonplace, and damned the nomination of Robert Bork in 1987.
I wander around my workplace and I am surprised to see how many people think that the High Court in this country actually has to answer to some other federal agency. Buzz Words and talking points like Judicial Activism arise, as though to accuse the Courts of trying to legislate from their seats.
The Supreme Court was set up as a third equal and separate branch of federal power, not as a division of the Department of Justice. They are an island, and through the constitution act as the final, almighty and ever present arbiter of what is and is not law in this land. The Marbury v Madison case opinion perfectly outlines this.
“It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must, of necessity, expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the Courts must decide on the operation of each.
So, if a law be in opposition to the Constitution, if both the law and the Constitution apply to a particular case, so that the Court must either decide that case conformably to the law, disregarding the Constitution, or conformably to the Constitution, disregarding the law, the Court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. If, then, the Courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the Legislature, the Constitution, and not such ordinary act, must govern the case to which they both apply.
Those, then, who controvert the principle that the Constitution is to be considered in court as a paramount law, are reduced to the necessity of maintaining that courts must close their eyes on the Constitution, and see only the law.
This doctrine would subvert the very foundation of all written constitutions.”
I think that the best nominee would be one who would hold to that ideal very closely, criticisms of activism be damned.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Trailer Recap....
so it starts out "Bumblebee, you are to dumb for college! And then here mom proves SHE is to dumb for College, and Dad is to CHEAP for college, so only the annoying kid from the first movie goes.
And then you ask yourself “is Meghan Fox wearing Panties ion that shot? I don’t think she is. Can not quite see….. NONONONONONO DON’T GET UP!”
And then it is the annoying kid again and he drops the last chunk of that rubiks cube. And then it becomes a discovery channel special on Egypt, or Cyberton I do not know. HOLY CRAP IS THAT A FACE!
And then same starts writing on the chalk board, and stabbing the ground and then you hear Optimus Prime?
HOLY CRAP IT IS OPTIMUS PIRME! HOW DID THEY GET HIM BACK? His contract after the first movie had to be outrageous!
And he goes “I have not been honest with you Sam” is that the kids name? I never really cared. And He Goes “it is not my war” which makes me think he is going to die! Wait a second, wasn’t stuff blowing up by now?
BOOM BAM BANG thumpthumpthumpthump
Ah there we go, all better now.
Stuff is always better with explosions. WAIT WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? It looks like a Decepticon on a unicycle. EXTREME UNICYLING IS AWESOME! Yes it is a real sport. Or it should be.
And now we see bumblebee has two friends, I hope they die. I miss Jazz. And then that guy from the usual suspects ask that kid “does this look familiar?” and plot tries to get in the way of a good trailer.
And then we are underwater, and four big Decepticons surround Megatron. And one of them is HUGE, like just as big as Megatron. And on the third year MEGATRON SHALL RISE FROM THE ABYSS! And he looks like he has taken steroids! He was huge as it was but now…. Holy crap he is huge! And he has a really big gun and every thing and he sneaks up on this girl.
HOW CAN YOU MISS A 30 FOOT TALL ROBOT!? ARE YOU BLIND?
But now it is back to the trailer. BANBG, BOOM, ZAAAAAAP, KECEWL, ZOOM, VROOM!
Crying and ownage, and that stupid kid is in a flying audi. I think it was thrown. Please die kid. Or get arrested at Walgreens again.
And opttimus gets in the fray, dueling up on blades like Samuel L Jackson. But he gets pwned. And then “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”
And a bunch of scenes flash and then……
WHAT THE HOLY JESUS BLUE FUCKING MONKEY CHRIST IS THAT????
And then you ask yourself “is Meghan Fox wearing Panties ion that shot? I don’t think she is. Can not quite see….. NONONONONONO DON’T GET UP!”
And then it is the annoying kid again and he drops the last chunk of that rubiks cube. And then it becomes a discovery channel special on Egypt, or Cyberton I do not know. HOLY CRAP IS THAT A FACE!
And then same starts writing on the chalk board, and stabbing the ground and then you hear Optimus Prime?
HOLY CRAP IT IS OPTIMUS PIRME! HOW DID THEY GET HIM BACK? His contract after the first movie had to be outrageous!
And he goes “I have not been honest with you Sam” is that the kids name? I never really cared. And He Goes “it is not my war” which makes me think he is going to die! Wait a second, wasn’t stuff blowing up by now?
BOOM BAM BANG thumpthumpthumpthump
Ah there we go, all better now.
Stuff is always better with explosions. WAIT WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? It looks like a Decepticon on a unicycle. EXTREME UNICYLING IS AWESOME! Yes it is a real sport. Or it should be.
And now we see bumblebee has two friends, I hope they die. I miss Jazz. And then that guy from the usual suspects ask that kid “does this look familiar?” and plot tries to get in the way of a good trailer.
And then we are underwater, and four big Decepticons surround Megatron. And one of them is HUGE, like just as big as Megatron. And on the third year MEGATRON SHALL RISE FROM THE ABYSS! And he looks like he has taken steroids! He was huge as it was but now…. Holy crap he is huge! And he has a really big gun and every thing and he sneaks up on this girl.
HOW CAN YOU MISS A 30 FOOT TALL ROBOT!? ARE YOU BLIND?
But now it is back to the trailer. BANBG, BOOM, ZAAAAAAP, KECEWL, ZOOM, VROOM!
Crying and ownage, and that stupid kid is in a flying audi. I think it was thrown. Please die kid. Or get arrested at Walgreens again.
And opttimus gets in the fray, dueling up on blades like Samuel L Jackson. But he gets pwned. And then “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”
And a bunch of scenes flash and then……
WHAT THE HOLY JESUS BLUE FUCKING MONKEY CHRIST IS THAT????
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