Just a quick list of movies I all want you to watch, top 10 of course. Mainly because: 
 
1) I haven't finished writing the follow-up. Stupid tests/essays to finish for this week. 
2) I'm still lazy, what can I say? 
3) These Ten Movies are really something 
 

• C.R.A.Z.Y.
• 12 Angry Men
• Les Triplettes De Belleville
• Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulin.
• The Big Lebowski
• Fargo
• Les Invasion Barbare
• One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
• A Clockwork Orange
• *I cannot stress this enough* 12 Angry Men

 
*NOTE* 
Left 4 Dead 2 comes out soon, get your copies.

...here is your moment of zen. 
 
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Now the reason the follow up is taking a bit of time is because: 
 
A) I'm lazy 
B) I've got work to do for next week 
C) Certain things I actually need to take into account for the actual topic, like facts 
 
Until next time folks, until then.

The following is an article posted on Destructoid by Anthony Burch, enjoy. 
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Last week, I recorded a rant in which I argued that gay characters have not been particularly well-represented in videogames. The subsequent discussion, while remarkably civil, included many variations of an argument I had not considered before: that explanations of sexual orientation of any kind should have no part in videogames to begin with.

"I don't know why a characters [sic] sexuality often even needs to be mentioned at all," commenterkefkaesque argued. "Sure everyone assumes Master Chief is straight because of how manly he is and because of the games he's in, but it's not like he ever goes around telling random characters HEY GUESS WHAT, I LIKE VAGINA."

While I can respect kefkaesque's point, I also completely disagree with it. Sexual orientation, especially in regard to narrative-driven games, is an important, honest, and useful aspect of characterization that can and should be explored whenever possible.

Firstly, I'm not arguing that every single video game character in existence needs to be clearly defined as either straight, gay, or bisexual. Some games simply do not focus on story or characterization, and thus don't really need to discuss human sexuality any more than they would the difficulties of getting a mortgage. I don't really need to know whom Pac-Man or Luigi or the pilot from Ikaruga sexually desire, because that's got absolutely nothing to do with my overall experience in those games (though it helps to know that Mario likes women because then I know why I'm trying to beat Bowser).

The sorts of characters I'm going to discuss here, and previously talked about in the Rev Rant, are those characters who exist in primarily narrative-driven games: games that, while providing entertaining, interactive situations, rely on a story of some sort to drive that gameplay forward. Games like Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, Halo, Half-Life 2 -- you name it. These games include characters that we, as the player-slash-audience, are meant to partially understand and, ideally, care about.

Any creative writing instructor will tell you that in order to figure out who a person is and why the audience should care about them, we need to know what they want. What they wish to be, what sort of life they'd like to live. By seeing their desires, and then watching them act on those desires, we gain a greater understanding of who they are and are thus in a better position to give a shit about them.

And more often than not, that means finding out exactly what type of person they want to have sex with.

Not as a sole means of characterization, of course -- that's how you get shallow or stereotypical supporting female characters who exist only to fawn over the male lead, or vice versa -- but as one of many methods of examining a person from as many angles as possible. Sex isn't the only thing that matters in characterization, but it's pretty important. Every single person on the planet wants sex and love, and the specific types of sex and love they desire can tell us a lot about them.

This is why we like Nathan Drake. This is why we like Solid Snake. We don't define these guys solely by what they want to put their penises into, but it certainly helps our understanding of them. Nathan's dealings with Elena Fisher, especially in Uncharted 2, contextualize most of his actions -- we see how much he relies on her and how far he's willing to go for her sake, and the conversations he has with both her and Chloe are a heck of a lot more entertaining thanks to the sexual, quasi-flirtatious undertones. Same thing with Snake and Meryl in MGS1, as abrupt and awkwardly-handled as their love story was (though it did thankfully lead to a much more bittersweet, adult treatment of their relationship in MGS4).

This is also why I find it so difficult to care about Master Chief on a purely human level. Yes, I can admire what he represents to the story of the Halo universe and how cool his abilities are, but he never feels like a real person to me; his priorities are limited almost solely to stopping the baddies and saving the day, and I'm never allowed to see him in any other real context.

Not that this is an inherently bad thing. The whole minimalist characterization thing avoids all the pitfalls of having a character who wants or feels something the player does not (Prototype, inFamous). But it doesn't really work for Master Chief, who speaks with a voice which is not mine and says things I would not say, and who often appears in cut scenes doing things I would not do. He is a character -- he is not me -- and as such should feel like a believable human being.*

The funny thing is, I literally never heard the argument that sexual orientation should not be approached in videogames before doing my Rev Rant. I've never spoken to anyone who, upon finishing God of War, complained that Kratos was written as a heterosexual. I've never heard of anyone arguing that Cloud should have never had any romantic feelings of any sort for either Aeris or Tifa. Sexuality in games only becomes an issue that shouldn't be fully discussed when the sexuality in question differs from the norm, and that's disingenuous.

The characters I really, really care about, in videogames or otherwise, do not exist in a vaccuum. They want safety, freedom, happiness, victory, and, at the end of the day, an orgasm. It's not outright impossible to craft an interesting character without approaching their sexuality (if I remember correctly, Jade from Beyond Good and Evil never shows an inclination in one direction or the other), but why ignore a simple, universal aspect of the human condition?

*The whole minimalist characterization things almost only works in first-person games like Half-Life, where the player effectively is the protagonist, or third-person games like Shadow of the Colossus, which has such a minimalist story that you may as well be making up Wander's character as you go along.

Though even as I say that, I realize that both of these non-characters still have potentially sexual dimensions; the way Alyx Vance relates to Gordon, it is very difficult not to see some sort of romantic chemistry between the two, just as it's hard to imagine that Wander wasn't so in love with Whatsherface that he's willing to kill 16 giants to resurrect her.

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First things first, I hate that damn beard of his. It simply looks filthy on him, but that's just an opinion. 
 
What I find interesting in games when dealing with sexuality, is that it mainly does so through the use of sex. Let's take The Ballad of Gay Tony as an example. The amount of sex in that game is simply incredibly absurd, it almost makes it look as if it is making up for the fact that it is called The Ballad of Gay Tony, but I digress. They make a point to show that the main character is straight through sex, and a ton of it. Another strange use of sexuality in gaming is Bioware's Mass Effect (And might as well include this, Dragon Age: Origins). In Mass Effect, the sexual tension steadily increases, and what do they give us? Well it's interesting, they throw it all away at one moment when you have to choose between characters you like. Which is fine... if it weren't for the fact that by the second playthrough I didn't give two shits about either Kaiden, Liara, or Ashley because I didn't make it my goal to sleep with either of them. In the first playthrough, I would have loved the opportunity had Garrus been added in the mix (As his character was the only one I enjoyed). But that isn't necessarily an option. 
 
Bioware did the whole romance thing like this. Man/Woman, Woman/Man, Woman/Woman. There is one more combination, so they gave it to us in Dragon Age (But why not Garrus, that guy is easily the best character in the game). You now have the choice to do it with a blondish elf character, who pretty much doesn't care if you sleep around. I get that Bioware is full of geeks and all, but even geeks know what romance is. This inclusion of a Man/Man sex scene is great, but for Christ sake, that isn't romance. Romance is devout attraction and admiration for another person, sex is irrelevant to romance (It is an added benefit though). Plus don't make the other guy a whore, cause that's really lame. 
 
I just think that developers could do a better job in the inclusion of sexuality (overall) in games. That's my opinion, and the end of it for now, any questions you can simply ask. Until next time, until then.

But enough about that, hurray for tele! Woo Yeah! 
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Could the bill have been a bit better? Hell yeah, and I won't even bother in simply saying "Single Payer", because that's too obvious. No, I would have liked it if they introduced a certain measure that would remove the whole state lines issue with insurance, as well as the removal of the "You Must Buy Insurance" clause. I would have also loved it had they not voted for an Anti-Abortion bill during this time, one that somehow got through the liberals... oh wait I keep forgetting there are no liberals. 
 
But the biggest story to this is the opposition. Yes the opposition to this bill. They demanded compromise, completely forgetting that scrapping the single payer notion is the compromise they whined for. They also demanded ridiculous shit that doesn't actually work that way in the house of representatives, then again I shouldn't be shocked that they completely forgot the rules. Yes, for the past few months, republicans and blue dogs have been literally dragging their feet (With exception of one republican who will be talked about soon) the whole way through, and who can blame them with the cash they made over the past few months. With contributions like that, you've got to be representing, even though it might make you look like a twat (Although I'm still wondering how Herb Kohl received -$50 in contributions, did he have dinner with lobbyists and was stuck with the bill?! Also note RON PAUL got a tidy sum himself, what a cast iron libertarian). 
 
What comes with this news of course? The news that one New Orleans representative voted for the bill. I'm quite glad he had the courage to do this, it isn't easy to stand up against party ideology especially when the party's unfortunate vocal presence is this group (Click, if you dare, seriously that stuff with make you as misanthropic as one can get). The question is, will he buckle? Yeah... I don't think so. But I would imagine if he is scared to fall asleep at night. 
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In other news, reports from the Fort Hood shooting are in, and when I say "are in" and "reports", I mean a bunch of bigoted idiots give their worthless opinions on the matter. 
 
Yeah it seems as if the name really pissed off certain people to no end. People are off claiming that this was a "terrorist act". By terrorist act, they mean al Qaeda, because all Muslims are part of al Qaeda despite the fact that it is a blatant bigoted statement, and people are horrible for even bothering with that thought. Was it a terrorist act? I don't know, in fact, I don't want to know until reports come in from the military. Why should I offer my opinion? My opinion is about as invalid as the JAG officer's was when he went on CNN to describe how this is an Islamic based attack and we should have no more Muslims in the military (On a lighter note, this is the same guy who discounted a woman for not knowing anything in the military or on PTSD despite having been a POW who was shot at, as well as someone who suffers from PTSD, so shut the fark up whomever you are, your opinion is even more invalid). The point is, I'll let the experts talk it out. I'm not an expert, so I can only talk about it without pretending I know much about it (despite doing that with just about everything I've ever talked about). 
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Finally Newsbusters are still going after an episode of Sesame Street for being liberal propaganda. Do I need to say anything else? Here's the link. 
 
Although I shouldn't be shocked from a website that tries to copy the Daily Show in its online show (Which sucks) and whose third top story is Ronald Reagan. Nevermind that the episode is from September, doesn't matter to Newsbusters. 
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That's all for today, Happy Birthday Carl Sagan, Rest In Peace. We salute you. Until next time, until then.

For the past few months, I've lacked the ability to sleep, I mean it. I could not sleep for more than 5 hours. Luckily, I'm back in action, with my sleeps backing me up, I'm ready to kick some ass again! Huzzah! 
 
Our agenda consists of three things. 
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1) I'm pursuing media studies then going off into journalism, thanks for the support you guys! 
 
I have been getting a portfolio ready for a while, but now I'm totally venturing towards that path. Get ready everyone, Snipzor is coming for you! If you want to blame someone, blame the support I got from the three responders. Only them, it isn't my fault. I was unsure of it anyways. 
 
2) A simple question gang. Why is it that sex and sexuality (in general) is so conversation worthy despite my own lack of experience of knowledge on the subject? I expect an answer from each of you, on my desk. 
 
3) Finally, for the last bit on the agenda. Monday will be a special day. Carl Sagan's birthday, he would be 75. Rest in Peace Mr Sagan, if it weren't for you, millions around the world would know nothing of how cool science is. 
     
That is all for today. I've got to finish my MacroEc. homework. Wish me luck.