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Sunday, February 27, 2005
I spent my entire weekend helping my former roommates move, so I'm tired and a little sore. The extraordinary thing about those two days is that it actually made me look forward to coming back to work and relaxing. Maybe I should help people move every weekend, and that'll just be excellent exercise as well!
Nah.
I had no problem helping out though. They've done a lot for me in the past, including helping me move, so there wasn't even a question if I would help them or not. Not that I didn't get out a joking, "Gee, what have you ever done for me?"
It has helped to reinforce my resolve however when it comes to future moves of my own. Providing I have the funds I will always hire movers from now on.
posted
by Tabby at 2/27/2005 01:34:00 p.m.
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005
I've been playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II since I bought it on February 10, and have finished the game once and have started again. It's full of bugs, but I haven't had that as bad as other people apparently have. My biggest complaint is that it was like watching a movie with Steven Spielberg directing but replacing him as a director with Ed Wood for the last 15 minutes. The story loses all sense of coesion and, well, sense. The whole thing just completely fell apart at the end, with stuff happening that wasn't explained or didn't go anywhere, but hey, I still enjoyed the game and the game was rushed out too soon.
This isn't a review though. It's more a pondering on why (oh, as I write this I'm experiencing MAJOR deja vu) I love RPG games so much, or at least the ones I've played and been addicted to. I played video games VERY casually most of my life, but other than Tetris and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, I've never really completely fallen in love with one the way I've fallen in love with Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) and Baldur's Gate II (BG2).
I've tried playing Dungeons and Dragons, the grandpappy of all Role Playing Games, but wow, did it every bore me to tears. I've tried those old text-based adventure games, but I always found those extremely frustrating because you really had to know what to type to get them to work. But graphic computer RPGs? I love them, or at least the ones I've played.
Maybe it's the feeling of being submerged in a whole other world, though some are better than others in that regard. It's fun going on quests and wanting to get just one more done before going to bed, to try and collect all the best stuff in the game, to use my brain more than my lack of ability to aim or having to know which sequence to press buttons in (I'm worried about Oblivion, the next came in the Elder Scrolls series after Morrowind, because that sort of thing is going to depend more on the player's skill, including blocking which will no longer be automatic).
I have a long weekend after word today, my first since August, and I'm hoping to catch up on all my television viewing. Desperate Housewives and Days of Our Lives are calling out to me. I'm hoping I can put KOTOR2 aside long enough to do this. And urk, it just occurred to me that there is a new season of Survivor starting tomorrow! Oy vey.
posted
by Tabby at 2/16/2005 07:22:00 p.m.
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Sunday, February 06, 2005
I tried e-mailing the following post five days ago, but as you can see it never arrived. So here it is, copied and pasted unabridged...
***
My country is teetering on the edge of history. A bill legalizing same-sex marriage is going through the House of Commons right now, and if it passes it will make Canada only the third country in the world to do so, after Belgium and the Netherlands. There are many forces at work trying to keep us firmly entrenched in the past, but this is the 21st Century and we need marriage laws that reflect that. The last time I was extremely proud of my nation was when we refused to go to Iraq. If this law passes, I'll be feeling that kind of pride again.
I am getting somewhat tired of hearing that this needs to be put up for a referendum, let the people decide! Screw the people. This isn't an absolute democracy. There is no such thing. As it's been said before, a democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for lunch. Minority rights aren't subject to the whims and prejudices of the majority. Any country that has it any other way isn't worth living in.
Many conservative religious groups are fighting tooth and nail to ensure this law doesn't happen. And except for the Conservative Party itself, it's only religious groups fighting this, and the Tories appear to be doing it themselves out of either religious principles or to appease their religious constituents. Anyone who values a secular society and the separation of church and state should find this utterly appalling. Of course anyone who values minority rights should find this appalling as well. The thing is, many of the religions joining in on this are minorities themselves, and should be careful. Are you Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu? Sorry, the head of the household is Jesus, so if you don't have Christ in your marriage it's not a real marriage so it too shouldn't be legal! An exaggeration? Maybe. But there is a very good reason religion needs to stay out of government and the ONLY reasons to ban same-sex marriages are religious.
I know, there is the "argument" that same-sex unions somehow "threaten" marriage as an institution, but it's never been explained exactly how. I'm not married, but if I was I don't see how anyone else's wedded bliss is a threat to mine. Are Christians suddenly going to start fornicating like there's no tomorrow because those damned gays and lesbians have ruined marriage for them? I think not. They just keep spewing the same bullshit over and over and people keep repeating it without thinking about exactly what it is they're saying.
The only possible threat I can think of is that if same-sex marriage leads to increased tolerance and, oh heaven forbid, acceptance of homosexuals, then few closeted gays and lesbians will feel pressured into heterosexual shams of marriages as a way of hiding who they really are. The shame in not pressuring closeted homosexuals into marrying unsuspecting spouses they don't feel the level of affection one should have for one's spouse!
The bigger threat homosexuals have isn't towards The Family (I need to capitalize it, the way conservatives have co-opted the term and made "pro-family" mean "pro-hate"). No, the bigger threat they have is to religion itself. That's why despite all evidence to the contrary and to simple logic itself, they keep insisting that sexual orientation is a choice. They need it to be a choice. Their religious texts tell them that anything other than a man/woman coupling is horribly wrong, and so if homosexuals are born gay and not just sick people who choose their perversion, then God is a real friggin' asshole.
This is something we need to understand when we're dealing with homophobes, and yes, "homophobe" is the correct term because there is a lot of fear involved and most of the arguments I've ever heard have been fear-based. Homosexuality being natural wouldn't just overturn one little bit of science but entire world views. Heck, it's the same problem with evolution, but Leviticus doesn't call evolutionists "abominations". What kind of loving God would make people gay then condemn then for it? I don't blame them for being terrified of homosexuality being natural.
Evolution has been proven to the point that no reasonable, decently educated person can refute it (the only thing really in question is how it happens), and I know I've used it when arguing in favour of atheism. If Genesis isn't literal, how can anything else in the Bible be taken literally? See? That's why fundamentalists hate evolution, and that's why so much emphasis is put on homosexuality. If gays are born gay, what kind of loving deity would condemn them for it? No loving god would, and so if gays are born gay, and the Bible says that they are an abomination, either the Bible is false or God is, as I've already stated, an asshole. That would mean that people have wasted entire lives and destroyed entire cultures spreading the word of an asshole.
So there you go. Remember all of this when dealing with conservative Christians, or conservatives of other religions. Sure it's frustrating presenting evidence and logic and have it ignored or called into question, but accepting it would be too much for many people's sense of self and of the world. I'll keep my fingers crossed that my government won't cave to these people but do what any secular government has to do, protect the rights of minorities. If they don't, one of us may be next.
posted
by Tabby at 2/06/2005 08:09:00 a.m.
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The
critics are calling
I
Was an Atomic Robot Jungle Vixen...
"Very
cool!" "Awesome!" "Good times!"
"Inspires
me..." A Critic - I
respect
"Cool.
And miles more exciting..." Someone Else -
You
might not know
"I
totally love it!" Whoo hoo! -
Posted
somewhere
"All
I have to say is... Cool!" Another Critic
"I
like the look..." An Opinion - YACCS
Comments
"You
think I have time to give you a quote? You're out of your
mind!" Wil Wheaton -WWfreakin'DN!
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