Video Games Are Not Evil

I have a T-shirt that I like to wear from Jinx.com that says,

"Guns don't kill people. Kids who play video games kill people."

It's amazing how many people will laugh, but seriously believe that video games are responsible for an increase in violent crime by young people. I just ran across this article which is not the most professionally written but hits most of the high points. This is an issue that will not go away soon, and it bothers me because I happen to know a little something about video games. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. I've played video games ever since my parents got us an Atari 2600 when I was a kid and I used to play Frostbite on our small black and white TV set (A great game with a great premise -- you jump around on floating blocks of ice that change color when you touch them. Each ice block you change adds one brick to your igloo. Once complete, you need to avoid the bear and enter the igloo. I used to love it when the bear would bite my character on the butt and chase him off the screen. 100% logical, no?). But I digress...

Here's where I'm getting with this: Video games are an entertainment art form like a movie, and like a movie each one is tailored for a particular audience or range of audiences. There is no question that small children should not play violent or gory video games, and also that most high-grossing video games are not suitable for small children. Then again, exactly how many high-grossing movies would you take your six-year-old to? Twenty-five percent? If you see a six-year-old sitting in the audience of the latest slice-and-dice gore flick, do you think to yourself, "Damn Hollywood for making this gory slasher flick! Don't they care about the children?" Of course not. It's not a kids' movie, and unless they were advertising it during Saturday morning cartoons the only crime committed here is producing a tasteless movie.

That's why I grimace when I see politicians like Hillary Clinton speaking out against the dangers of video games in a knee-jerk reaction to the "Hot Coffee Mod" fiasco (for more information click here). I think most parents have come to accept that there are some movies (pictures, books, music, sculptures, finger puppets, etc.) that are inappropriate for their kids. Why is it that they will buy their kid a video game that says on the cover that it is inappropriate for children under 17?

Here is the most compelling evidence that the politicians that have decided to make violence in video gams an issue are full of juicy turds: youth violence, video game-induced or otherwise, is not on the rise, and the average consumer of these video games is a 33-year-old male.



Side Note: As I was researching this, I found this paragraph in a paper from the University of Chicago which didn't really fit into my posting but I found interesting nonetheless:

Measures of aggression

As noted before, very few of the studies even try to measure aggression, and many of the measures have almost nothing to do with aggression. The most distant are measures of thoughts or as they are sometimes called, aggressive cognitions. In some of the studies, if the people in the violent game condition have more thoughts of aggression than those playing the non-violent game, this is considered an indication that violent games cause aggression. This interpretation is not justified. After eating a huge meal, you probably are thinking about food - but you are less rather than more likely to want to eat. After watching a war movie, you probably have thoughts of war, but no one would suggest that you are more likely to wage war unless the movie promoted war. After Schindler’s List, I imagine that most people thought about war and torture and violence, but I hope that most people were less likely to be aggressive rather than more likely. Whatever stimulus you are exposed to, you are more likely to have thoughts related to that stimulus, but that does not mean that your behavior has been affected. Indeed, Graybill et al used aggressive thoughts as a manipulation check to see if the aggressive content of the game was salient, not as a measure of aggression.

Potato Bugs: Creepy Denizens of the Deep

Potato bugs are without a doubt the creepiest things on the planet. I hate them. I always have. They're almost translucent, they live in the ground, and worst of all, their name involves food, which somehow makes it even worse. If there is an opposite of food, it is the potato bug. I have goosebumps just typing this.

In any case, I think I finally found someone who hates potato bugs as much as I do.

Oh, and don't forget to check out the FAQ.

What the Hell Is Wrong With Sports Today?!?

Even the jockeys can't play nice.

Net Neutrality Problems...

...they're not as hypothetical as the carriers would like you to believe. Check out this article for a convincing argument that if we want to know what the future would be like without Net Neutrality mandated by law, we need look no further than our own cell phones.

http://business.newsforge.com/business/06/07/19/206209.shtml?tid=138&tid=3&netneutralityisgood

Desperate Measures

I'm typing this from my room at a Best Western about 10 miles from my house. I'm staying here for the night. Each day this week has been hotter than the last, and my house has become the Easy-Bake oven from hell. My cats have become blobs of furry pudding, and I've been reduced to lying on the couch on my side, groaning like some great wounded animal, my life oozing from every pore.

It's a pretty good deal, all in all. $50 bought me a comfortable, clean bed and air conditioning, but in reality it bought so much more. I've been able to relax for the first time all week. It's 104 degrees outside, and it's taken two hours for the temperature in my room to reach a decent level, but now that it has, it's all been worth it.

An Oldie But a Goodie

This video is older than my access to the Internet, but it's still one of my favorites.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present:

Pinky the Cat

Posted From My Boring PC

I don't have anything against Macs myself, I just don't think they're worth the money since I could buy a PC and still have about a grand left for software and upgrades, and I think those that believe they're "unhackable" or think that the lack of viruses on Macs has to do with their design is seriously ignorant, and I suggest they take a close look at Firefox if they want to see what can happen to a product once it gets some modicum of popularity. The reason why there are fewer viruses for the Mac is the same reason why there are fewer games for the Mac.

In any case, my personal philosophy is if you're happy with a Mac, good for you. In my limited experience they're solid, reliable machines that have gained some serious credibility now that they're BSD-based (I'm speaking of OSX forward). And the interface is nice (although I don't understand why they resist the second mouse button).

Why am I bringing this up? I'm getting sick of those annoying new Mac ads. Not only do they border on intentionally misleading in some cases (what advertisement isn't?), but it just demeans the whole debate with the whole "Windows is boring, Mac is hip" schtick. I happen to like Microsoft Paint. So sue me.

That's why I had a good belly laugh when I saw this and this.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the picture, check out this link about Apple's infamous legal battle with the Church of Satan (FYI -- They don't actually believe in Satan, it's more of a hedonism thing. Is that better? You be the judge.).

One of the Most Painful Things...

...I've ever watched. I suppose the description at the link on Crooks & Liars should have been enough, but I watched it anyway. I had to stop about 30 seconds from the end because I was having violent fantasies about jumping through my computer screen and throttling the interviewer.

You can download or view the video here.

Feast Your Eyes On This...

...because there's no way in hell you would ever want to eat it.

A Look Back

Looking behind me at the swath of disarray I've left behind, at the fallen friends, spoiled summers, and broken promises, I stand triumphantly over my handiwork and shout at the top of my lungs, "I am a bull, and the world...is...my...china shop!"

Yoda Shakes His Hump

I haven't been putting as much time into this lately, so let me offer you this token of appeasement:

Tag Along on a Rocket Ride.

The good ladies and gentlemen of NASA saw fit to stick a video camera on the side of the shuttle as it was launching. The result is spectacular...then it makes me want to hurl...I pretty much skip past that part to the splashdown.

I found the video at the Bad Astronomy Blog. I'll have to check out that site some more later. The clip is at the link called "This is the coolest footage of anything I have ever seen."

Click here for the clip.

NOTE: The launch takes place about 50 seconds in.

When I was a kid...

...it wasn't nearly this much fun.

One Of My Favorite Music Videos

I came across this on the Internets. It's still a great video. In some ways it reminds me of the original Aeon Flux shorts from Liquid Television. It hints at a story, but only gives you just enough to get your mind racing trying to connect all of the pieces. Even though it doesn't define the story, however, a distinct emotional message comes through.

The Wave

I have a lot of strange dreams, and by strange I mean disturbing. I suppose everybody does. Most people don't seem to want to talk about them, and almost seem bothered that anyone would tell them about theirs, so I just want to clear something up. I'm not telling this dream because I think it means something, or because I want people to comment on it. I just think they're interesting, these little vignettes with no beginning and no end. So, without further ado, The Wave.

I'm at the beach, but I'm not on the sand. There are two long, narrow buildings raised above the beach with wooden walkways in front of them facing each other. I'm standing barefoot on the wet, rounded wooden planks facing the other building and the ocean is to my left. It's overcast, but I don't feel cold. There are many people here, and we're all here for some kind of group outing.

Something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. It's a giant wave coming in from the ocean. I keep expecting it to get smaller as it gets closer, but it doesn't, and I start to realize that the people on the beach are in danger. I try to call out, but as the wave gets closer the roar overpowers my cries. The wave collapses on the beach, smothering everything in its path, and when it finally receeds the beach has been wiped clean. There is no sign of the people who had been there a minute ago.

Running down to the beach, I look frantically for any sign that someone had survived, but there is nothing but smooth sand. One other man had followed me down. I start to ask him if they could have been buried, but he didn't think so. In desperation I start digging anyway, and I hit something almost immediately. It is a wrist, but it feels rubbery and cold. Calling out to the others for help I start to unearth the rest of the body, sure that it must be dead. When I get to the face I realize that the man is alive. His eyes flutter open, but nothing else moves. It is then that I realize that I have been scratching his skin horribly with the sand as I was digging him out. Some of the others pull him the rest of the way out of the sand and start to take him up to one of the walkways.

In the impression left behind by the body I can see part of another body exposed. I start digging again, but then with a sudden wave of panic I realize that I haven't been paying attention to the ocean. Glancing furtively at the horizon, I satisfy myself that I am not about to become the next victim and continue extracting a young woman from the sand. Looking for her head, I become cognizant of the fact that there is no way I will be able to find them all, even assuming I can find them. Under the sand are dozens of people holding their breath, waiting, hoping I will find them, and most of them will not be found in time. I set to digging once again with renewed vigor. More people are helping now, but most are just standing on the walkways, gawking.