The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #8

Looking at the standings and the potential points left to earn, you could surmise that, while DoomPlague is in the lead, anyone in the top six places in the Unofficial AllGames Group could still win the group.  However, if you dig deeper the real situation emerges.

Of the people in the top six, five of them picked Florida to be in the Championship Match.  The only entry in the top six that didn't pick Florida to advance was joedigitech's entry.  This means that, of the people left, DoomPlague is in the lead while joedigitech is the only entry with a chance to accrue enough points to win.  For joedigitech to win, Florida would have to lose next Saturday and Wisconsin would have to win.  However, if Florida wins, DoomPlague will have cinched the victory in the Unofficial AllGames Group before the Championship Game takes place.

While the top place can still be changed, the bottom four places in the Unofficial AllGames Group cannot.  Eighth place in the Unofficial AllGames Group belongs to Hectzilla.  Ninth place in the Unofficial AllGames Group belongs to dcNate's Go Banana entry.  Tenth place in the Unofficial AllGames Group belongs to your humble narrator, Redertainment.  Finally, eleventh place in the Unofficial AllGames Group belongs to dcNate's HectNoYouDidnt entry.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #7

Today only two of the entries in the Unoffical AllGames Group didn't accrue any points.  Those entries were from Hectzilla and Redertainment.  Three entries, joedigitech and two from dcNate, correctly picked Wisconsin to win today.  Six of the entires, including all of the entries in the top three, picked Florida to win today.  None of the entries were perfect today.  As a result, DoomPlague is still in the lead, in a dominant position going forward, and the bottom three entries are still owned by dcNate and Redertainment.  Now, as a result of today's games, dcNate's Go Banana and HectNoYouDidnt entry, as well as Hectzilla's entry have no potential points left to earn.  This means these entries can go nowhere but down.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #6

In many basketball games, there comes a point where a team gains such a large lead that victory is seen as an inevitability, that victory is all but assured, that the only thing separating one team and their victory is the passage of time.  That point may have been achieved today in the Unofficial AllGames Group.  Now that all of the Sweet Sixteen matchups have been played, it can be said that five of the eleven entries scored 160 points or more in Third Round of play.  All five of those entries made very similar choices.  One entry of those five made a slightly different pick.  That pick gave that entry not only the lead, but also a dominant position going forward.  That one entry, the entry that accrued the most points in the Third Round belongs to DoomPlague.  DoomPlague's entry is the only entry of the top five that correctly picked Michigan State to advance to the Elite Eight.  In doing so, DoomPlague not only earned the most points of the entire group in this round, 200, but DoomPlague also has the most possible points left to earn, 960.  To put that in perspective, DoomPlague is now in the lead in this group by fifty points over second place Cgu11, and is in the lead in possible points, over mattober100, by 160 points.

Given that all entries in the top three picked Florida to win the tournament, and dcNate's fourth place entry picked Florida to advance to the championship game, time may be the only thing separating DoomPlague from victory in the Unofficial AllGames Group.  Only a loss by Florida on Saturday may prevent DoomPlague's inevitable victory.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #5

Today the 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament got ramped up again, and today we saw the advancement of only one of the lower seeds that played today.  Wins today by Florida, Arizona, and Wisconsin, were joined by a win by the Dayton Flyers.  No one in the Unoffical AllGames Group got all of these picks correct, but five of the eleven entries in the group got three of these picks correct.  This includes your leader DoomPlague, as well as Cgu11, mattober100, dcNate, and Hectzilla.  Cgu11 has a slight advantage when it comes to potential points to earn, but a loss by either Virginia or Iowa State tommorrow could put him on equal footing with DoomPlague.

As I eluded to earlier, no one picked all of today's games correctly, but no one did worse today than your humble narrator, Redertainment.  On this, the fifth day of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Redertainment accrued a grand total of zero points, making incorrect choices in all four of today's games.  In fact, dcNate's Go Banana entry surpassed Redertainment's entry, thanks to wins by Florida and Wisconsin, for ninth place in this group.  If the highly touted Louisville and Michigan State don't continue to perform well in the tournament, Redertaimnent may sink further into the cellar occupied by dcNate.

Mathematically this group is tight.  Realistically, given the amounts of potential points they could earn, Cgu11 and DoomPlague are in the dominant position in the Unoffical AllGames Group.  joedigitech could have a relalisitic shot if Virginia advances out of the East Region, and dcNate's Mathematically, of course entry could eek out a slim victory if Arizona wins out, but if Florida wins the 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament, the victor of the group will be DoomPlague.  All hail DoomPlague.

23 Questions From Maxim

A couple of times in the past I have answered questions that I find in magazines, mainly from Cosmo and other magazines geared toward women, that tweek gender roles and sexual mores.  This time I have chosen to answer question from the April 2014 issue of Maxim magazine.  The issue is on newsstands now, and I will be providing the page number the question is on if you want to follow along at home.  I won't be answering questions that are specifically tailored for the person that is the subject of the article, but I will be answering questions no matter how uncomfortable that questions makes you.  The questions don't make me uncomfortable, but I enjoy making my audience squirm.

Get To Know... Lydia Hearst (pg.11)

Hometowns:  West Valley City and Kearns, Utah
Astrological Sign:  Leo
Job:  Alleged Writer
Pets:  None
I can whoop any guy's ass in:  Nothing
The last thing that made me LOL was:  Conan.  I'm watching it as I answer these questions.
The worst words in the universe are:  Politician, bossy, Zucker
The most embarassing song on my iPod is:  I am not embarassed by anything on my iPod.  Just don't ask about my collection of songs by Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, and the Spice Girls.
The worst pickup line I ever heard was:  Delivered by me
A guy is more likely to get lucky with me if he:  Is a woman and a brunette.
My spirit animal is:  Kerry Jackson

Amazing Grace  (pg. 53)

What advice would you give to guys who are nervous about buying lingerie for their girlfriends?
Gift cards.  Yes it's impersonal and may be a little too suggestive, depending on the girl, but that is better than buying a piece of clothing that in no way fits the person you are buying it for.  Besides, a gift card allows the person you're buying it for to be creative, and creativity is attractive.

Have you ever gotten lingerie as a gift?
No.

What asset do you like to show off the most?
My hair.  I wasn't really comfortable with my hair untill I started growing it out, and now I really like it.  Not only that, I'm getting positive remarks on my hair for the first time in my life.

What's your favorite style?
I prefer a minimalism approach.  Nothing too complicated, something simple, unencumbered, and not too flashy.

Is the fancy stuff just for special occasions, or would you pull it out during the week?
I don't have much of anything that is particularly fancy, so I do have to save it for special occasions.  The only way that I engage in constant indulgence is with Rubi, my big fucking SUV.

Were you ever in a situations where a guy couldn't get a complicated piece of lingerie off?
No, but I've never been presented with a situation that involves a complicated piece of lingerie.  Then again, if the lingerie in question is designed to be complicated, perhaps the lingerie is also designed to not be taken off.

Hot Sauce  (pg. 88)

Is it weird for men to post selfies?
It is my opinion that, after Ellen's selfie at the Oscars, selfies are starting to fall out of style.  So, take as many selfies as you can before they go the way of planking.

I'm in my 20s.  Is it ridiculous fo me to get braces?
No.  What is ridiculous is your use of the word "fo".  Fo real.

How can I make my mom stop posting dumb stuff on Facebook?
When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Are beepers still around?
Yes, although most people refer to it as texting.

What's one thing girls wish guys wouldn't wear?
Their underwear.  This isn't me saying it's wrong for men to wear underwear designed for women, this is me saying that people in general shouldn't wear underwear that isn't there's.

Where should you never take a girl on a first date?
McDonald's.  You're trying to make a first impression on the girl, and going out to McDonald's never leaves a good first impression.  Or second impression.  Or any impression.  Fo real.

Why I Want To Start Exercising

Starting at the beginning of the year, I started going to the doctor for the first time in a length of time I'd rather not admit to.  After a thorough medical exam, I was pronounced to be in excellent health, outside of a slightly elevated cholesterol level which can be attributed to my intake of pasta and Heineken.  This was a relief to me due to the length of time I had gone between seeing a doctor and a family's history filled with various serious medical ailments, a history that encompasses all sides of my family.  Now that I know I'm in good health, I can put off doing other things that would enhance my health, things such as eating better, lowing my alcohol intake, and beginning to exercise.

Gossard Sports Bra

Okay, where's the nearest gym?

Polethreat!

In recent years we have seen many stories of people walking into a mall carrying an assault rifle.  These stories include one out of Beaumont, Texas, Riverdale, Utah, Montgomery, Maryland, and Portland, Maine.  Incidents like this have resulted in arrests, panic, and much controversy.  Typically questions are raised as to whether or not people should be able to openly carry guns of any kind.  There is also discussion as to whether or not the display of such weapons should be seen as a threat.  Advocates for open carry laws say that the sight of such a weapon in itself should not be seen as a threat, and that the typical person who owns a weapon of this kind will not use it in a urban setting.  People who are uncomfortable with the open carry of assault weapons point out that, in a normal urban setting, it is typically unnecessary to carry an assault rifle with you, and that people typically have a fright response when they see a person with an assault rifle.  At this point the debate usually devolves into what constitutes a weapon people should be frightened of, and that any object could potentially be frightening to any person at any time.

Marathon Bombing Suspect's Friend Threatened FBI Agent With Long Pole: Report

For example, if you are an FBI agent and you are questioning a suspect who has suspected terrorist ties, you could see that suspect brandishing a long pole as a potential threat, a threat that warrants the use of lethal force.  Sure, you are an FBI agent that has extensive training in how to deal with threats, and there are multiple FBI agents in the room with you, but this guy has a pole!  Isn't it reasonable to see a man with a pole as a potential lethal threat?  Okay, you say no now, but when you see a man with a large pole walking around a JC Penny how would you react?  Okay, you wouldn't think it significant, but someone might, like an FBI agent for example who is better adept at defending themselves but is human and can also feel threats.  Where am I going with this?  Hey look, a kittie!

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #4

Today, the fourth day of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, saw the loss of two top teams.  This was to be expected as we go further into the tournament, but today saw another day of upheaval in the Unofficial AllGames Group.  Seven of the eleven entries incorrectly picked Kansas to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, and ten of the eleven entries incorrectly picked Wichita State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  In fact, none of the entries in the Unofficial AllGames Group made both picks correctly.  Some made it out worse than others.

ShadowNextGen picked Wichita State to win the entire 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Thanks to today's developments, ShadowNextGen now has the third lowest potential points remaining.  The only entries with less potential points remaining is two entries submitted by dcNate.  If Florida doesn't advance to the Championship game. ShadowNextGen may join dcNate in the cellar.

The current leader of the Unofficial AllGames Group is DoomPlague.  DoomPlague correctly picked all four of the teams in the West Region that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and, considering the potential opponents of both of his choices for the Championship game, the possibility is there for DoomPlague to accrue a lot of points going forward.  The only entrant in this group with more potential points is Cgu11.  A showoff between Cgu11's picks and DoomPlague's picks may be what ultimately decides the winner of this group.

There are two entries that went with a pure chalk approach in this group.  Those entries are owned by dcNate and mattober100.  If Florida loses at any point during this year's NCAA Tournament, both of these entries may make quite a rise in the rankings.  They may tie for the lead, but tying for the lead is better than not having it at all.

Your humble narrator has little to no chance to win this entry.  As eluded to before, the winner may come down to either DoomPlague or Cgu11.  Both of these users's success may depend on how much success Florida has going forward in the tournament.  Between the two currently at the top, that which will decide the winner may be the performance of Michigan.  We will see how the wins and losses of much vaunted teams will further affect this group as it goes forward.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day #3

Another stunning loss affected everyone in the Unofficial AllGames Group.  Everyone in the group picked Syracuse to advance into the Sweet Sixteen, and three out of eleven entries had the Orangemen going into the Final Four.  Just like yesterday, the entrant that walked away from the loss the least scaved is Cgu11.  Now Cgu11 is in the lead and still has the most potential points to gain in the group.

The users who lost the most in this group with the Syracuse loss is your humble narrator, Redertainment, Hect, and joedigitech.  These are the three users that had Syracuse going into the Final Four.  Both Redertainment and Hect had their potential points plummet in the third day of the NCAA Tournament, but joedigitech still has a decent chance to raise in the standings.  However, should Florida or Michigan lose, joe's chances may soon evaporate.

dcNate sunk even lower into the cellar today.  With the loss of Pittsburgh, both of dcNate's HectohNoYouDidnt entry choices to be in the Championship game have lost.  Add in loses by Saint Louis and Villanova, and all of dcNate's entries have little to no chance of winning.  Poor dcNate.

mattober100 may have done well by going with a pure chalk with his mattober100 chalk entry.  While many may deride his lack of risk, his current number two place in this group proves his conservative approach is paying off.

It'll be interesting to see how losses will further affect the Unoffical AllGames Group as the NCAA Tournament goes forward.  A loss by Florida may be the only change for anyone who's not Cgu11 to win the group.  Well, not dcNate but most anyone else.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day 2

The shocking loss by Duke on the second day of the NCAA Tournament sent the entire Unoffical AllGames group into a tailspin.  Every entry had Duke winning and advancing into the Round of 32, with four of the eleven entries having Duke going into the Elite Eight.  The player that came out today the least hurt was YT4RD, revealed today to be Cgu11.  However, despite having the most potential points left of anyone in the group, Cgu11 is not the leader of this group.

ShadowNextGen and mattober100 are the leaders of the group, each earning 260 out of a possible 320 points in the first round, while both having the same amount of points they could possibly accrue.  Both of these users achieved their top status through different means.  ShadowNextGen is bolstered by wins from Wichita State, Florida, and still having a perfect West Region remaining.  Meanwhile mattober100 has a perfect East Region bracket going, as well as having correctly picked the advancement of all the number four seeds in the tournament.  Both ShadowNextGen and mattober100 picked unique winners of the tournament, Wichita State and Michigan respectively.  It will be interesting to see how these choices play out in the rounds ahead.

dcNate is probably regretting his choices right now.  Yesterday Nate owned the last place bracket in the group.  Now dcNate owns the two worst performing brackets in this group, and, with Duke's loss, dcNate's chances to win are minuscule at best.  Nate's best hope is that his Mathematically, of course bracket performs well going forward.  However, since upsets seem to define this year's tournaments, if any of the higher seeded teams wins their games, dcNate's chances will be kaput.

You humble narrator sits alone in ninth place in this group, and, with loses today by Oklahoma State and BYU, Redertainment's chances to win the group have all but dried up.  Redertainment can only hope to cheer on people like Hectzilla and DoomPlague, while also hoping he doesn't sink to the level of dcNate.

While it is still possible for anyone to win this group, the winner will, in all likelihood, come down to either ShadowNextGen, mattober100, or Cgu11.  Strong showings by Virginia and Wisconsin could propel joedigitch to the top, but, if any top seed loses, many other users may join dcNate in the cellar of this group.

The Unofficial AllGames Group Update: Day 1

The first day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is usually only interesting to people who have televisions or are near television.  It is with that in mind that I write this blog post.  Here are the standing of the Unofficial AllGames Group after the first day of the Big Dance.

After the first day, YT4RD, joedigitech, and mattober100 are in the lead as of this writing.  While none of these brackets were perfect, only mattober100 made a mistake that could cost him in the end.  mattober100 picked Oklahoma to win over North Dakota State, but, thankfully, he didn't have them advancing past the Round of 32.

Hectzilla, dcNate, Redertainment, ShadowNextGen, and another entry from mattober100 are all tied for fourth place, just twenty points out of first.  None among them have a clear edge going forward in the tournament, although ShadowNextGen might be hampered after having incorrectly picked Ohio State and NC State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  Both Hect and dcNate did choose Arizona as their champion, so it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats's success or failure in the tournament will affect the performance of their brackets.

In last place in this group are DoomPlague and two entries from dcNate.  dcNate is probably kicking himself right now.  Oklahoma and Arizona State, two of the teams dcNate picked to advance to the Elite Eight in his Go Banana entry, lost today.  Go Banana has the least amount of possible points left in this group, so it's probably a good thing that dcNate submitted three different entries into this group.

Still, the Unofficial AllGames Group is anyone's to win.  That is it's anyone's to win if that person is already in this particular group.  It'll be interesting to see how the standing change as the rest of the First Round is played out.  Who knows, perhaps your humble narrator might come out on top.  It's not likely, but it is possible.

Why We Need Good Stories

There was a point in the year 2011 where people were wondering why all this attention was being given to the wedding of Price William and Kate Middleton.  I'll admit, I was one of those people.  It wasn't untill later on that I grew an appreciation for just such a story.

In the months before the wedding the Libyan Civil War was going on, the Syrian Civil War had just started, the earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster started happening in Japan, the Egyptian Revolution was coming to a head, and there was a suicide bombing at a prominent airport in Moscow.  Given all the news that had happened, the world needed a break.  The world needed a news story that was purely good, and the Royal Wedding provided that good news story.  Yes the wedding itself was extravagant and, to some, overly garish, but that's part of what made this story good.  The Royal Wedding gave people a reason to sit and look at something beautiful for a couple of hours, as opposed to all the ugliness that was in the world.

An argument can be made that we need such a news story now.  With the Crimean Conflict, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and the recently revealed human rights abuses in North Korea, we need a break.  We need a story that speaks to the good of humanity.  We need a story of a person overcoming a great personal tragedy.  We need a beautiful story we can look for a couple of hours, as opposed to all the ugliness in the world.

Adrianne Haslet-Davis, Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor, Dances Again (PHOTOS)

STOP THE RIDE I WANNA GET OFF!!!

Like many other sites on the intertubes, Deadspin has a NCAA Tournament Challenge that people can join and get the opportunity to win prizes and get one over on that one guy in the office who thinks they're a basketball junkie.  Being a dutiful lemming, I joined this challenge in the hopes that I won't suck at this year's NCAA bracket nearly as much as I did last year.  On Tuesday, an email was sent by someone in the Deadspin NCAA Tournament group to everyone else in the Deadspin NCAA Tournament group.  This one email was only the beginning.  Just before leaving for work, I cleared my email of all the messages that had come in during the morning.  I have about a twenty minute commute to work.  The picture displayed below shows just how many emails came in during that twenty minutes.

67.  I received 67 emails during my twenty commute to work.  Then I got to my job, set my phone to silent, and got to work.  Four hours later I took my lunch break.  Here is how many emails I received during the four hours between when I started work and my lunch break.

181.  No, really, I received 181 emails from people in the Deadspin NCAA Tournament group.  Another four hours went by and my work was done for the day.  Here is how many emails I received during those four hours.

59.  So the rate of emails being sent went down, but still I received 59 emails in four hours.  I usually don't get that much in a week.  Many of these messages were spam.  Many of these messages were people bitching about Deadspin.  Many of these messages were people bitching about receiving multiple emails.  Many of these messages were porn.  What I can say about all of these messages were that they were unwanted and I don't know how to stop receiving them.  In fact, in the twenty minutes since I started crafting this blog post, I have received 22 emails from people in the Deadspin NCAA Tournament group.  And, just after writing that sentence I received two more.  I'm not kidding.  And there's another.  Please, STOP THE RIDE I WANNA GET OFF!!!

A Digital Watch That Looks Interesting

Recently a number of smartwatches have hit the market, the most prominent of these are the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Pebble Steel.  Both of these phone boast integration with your cellphone and loads of options to customize the face of the watches.  As someone who watches tech trends, I am somewhat interested in the smartwatches that are coming out.  As I watch them, there is one distinct impression that I have from them.

These smartwatches look like the old digital watches that came out in the 80's and were a clear sign that you were an unapologetic nerd.  Sure, I wanted one as a kid, but I was a kid and kids are stupid.  Now that I'm an adult I want something more sophisticated.  What I want is something with a hint of visual flair while still not having a jumble of dials on the front, like you see with many watches on the market.  I want something that is simple, elegant, but also cutting edge.



Now this looks interesting to me.

The Imminent Death Of A Much Maligned Figure

On Sunday rumors started circulating.  Primarily driven by social media, news of this imminent event spread quickly.  Many of those spreading these rumors expressed delight in the news.  However, I would like to remind people of something.  No matter what you think of this man, remember this: This man has a family.  Death can cause a wide range of emotions and reactions, but when death hits a figure like this it can be especially rough.  What can make this event tougher is knowing that there is an internet filled with people delighting in it.  So, let's not delight in the imminent death of a much maligned figure, and instead move on with our lives much as they were before.

Pandasuit!

By now many of us have seen this post on Reddit.  It is a post by a user named CactusHam detailing how his mother, a muralist, painted a wrestling themed mural for his room.  The mural features such well known WWF stars as The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley, and The Hurricane.  Many of the comments made about this story noted how wonderful it was for a mother to do this for her son, as well as the loving detail shown throughout this work.  That is what many people thought of this post.  However, some people, in this cynical world that we find ourselves, choose to look at such things in a negative context.  Some of those cynical people are lawyers.

Today, the World Wildlife Fund filed suit against the Reddit user known as CactusHam, and furthermore filed suit against Reddit seeking to find out more information about this CactusHam so they can further their civil lawsuit against him.  When reached for comment, Irwin R. Schyster, general council for the World Wildlife Fund, gave the following reasoning for filing this lawsuit.

"While we at the World Wildlife Fund know that we took a public image hit when we filed a copyright lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation, we felt that was important to vigorously defend out rightly held copyrights.  We take the same stance today.  It is clear in the pictures posted online that this so called "CactusHam"'s so called "Mother" used the older version of the World Wrestling Federation logo, the very logo that we, the World Wildlife Fund, successfully contested in civil court.  While we do not think that the artist responsible for this work had malicious intent in their use of the contested logo, it is still a priority to us to defend the use of that contested logo no matter the context of the use."

Both Reddit and CactusHam could not be reached for comment in this matter.  When asked for their opinion, World Wrestling Entertainment sent us a form letter informing us of the current availability of the WWE Network.

More Human Rights Abuses Detailed

Recent days have seen reports of disturbing human rights abuses ongoing in many parts of the world.  This includes the recent UN report about the long term and systemic abuses perpetrated by the North Korean government, abuses that were also reported on by CBS's 60 Minutes.  There are also reports of human rights abuses going on in the Central African Republic and in Venezuela.  However, a report printed by Rolling Stone magazine sheds light on some of the most horrific and unchecked human rights abuses of all.

This is Skrillex.  Skrillex, real name Sonny John Moore, is an alleged electronic musician and singer-songwriter.  Working out of his home in Los Angeles, Skrillex has collaborated with several well meaning artists and musicians to produce something that those that have knowledge of find disturbing.  It is called "dubstep", an so-called artform that has already been labeled as a crime against humanity.  Skrillex is accused of committing his crimes in 2004, 2006, 2009, twice in 2010, twice again in 2011, 2012, twice again in 2013, and yet again in the early months of 2014.  Rather than being called out for his crimes, this sick individual has been lauded my many media organizations, although arguments have been made that such media coverage is meant to curry favor with many influential persons inside the Hollywood music establishment.

While the severity of Sonny Moore's crimes are still in dispute, what is known is that "Skrillex" frequently makes appearances in front of crowds of people, many of whom are reported to be on substances of an illegal nature.  These performances, or "concerts" as insiders are calling them, are choreographed and coordinated rituals meant to derive feeling of euphoria and joy among the gathered throngs.  Such gatherings often leave the attendants with a higher sense of connection with the person, or persons, they came to see.

It is not the indoctrinated that need to be reached about the crimes committed by Skrillex, it is the others.  The many many others who stand by, see reports of this man's crimes, and think nothing of what they are hearing that need to be motivated.  People cannot stand aside and do nothing.  People must act.  And by act, I mean really acting, not just bitching about things on Twitter.  A stand must be made.  So I urge you, do not purchase any of Mr. Moore's albums and do not go see him in concert.  Instead, go see Beck.

The Treatment Of Money

As long as we have had recorded speech, we have been aware of the affect that words can have on people.  There are countless examples of leaders, popular people, and even ordinary citizens crafting arguments that sway people to their way of thinking.  Where would we, as a society, be without the words of such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr., William Shakespeare, and the many religious figures that have come and gone throughout history?  In our digital age, where the words that people say are often carried more in text form than in auditory form, the things that people say can have an impact, both to a wide ranging audience and to a small personal audience.

The recent ruling by the US Supreme Court in the Citizens United decision has had a wide ranging affect on out political process.  In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that money was a form of speech, and, because of our First Amendment protected freedoms on speech and the legal precedent that corporations are people, no limits can be put on that amount of money that can be spent in the political arena, nor can there be a limit on what that money is spent on.  People have criticized the Supreme Court on this decision, specifically noting the kind of undue influence that the wealthy among us can now have on the political process.  This criticism has not stopped many of America's most wealthy persons from using their wealth to increase their participation in the American political process.

The recent released critically acclaimed movie American Hustle focuses on the ABSCAM scandal.  This scandal involved Middle Eastern sheiks bribing several politicians in exchange for political favors.  The ABSCAM scandal is not the only time politicians have been caught up in a bribery scandal.  Recently the high rising political careers of Republican politicians Bob McDonnell and John Swallow were each cut short after both politicians were accused of taking money from wealthy and influential political donors.  It is not just politicians that can be influenced by money.  If we look deeply into the way the we approach our lives, the influence of money, and the way that we and others spend money, is evident and, in some cases, shocking.

Bribery has long been seen as a corrupting influence on politics, most acutely American politics.  However, the recent Citizens United decision forces us to look at bribery in a new light.  If money is speech, and people can be influenced by great speeches as well as by how and what amounts of money is spent on certain things, as has been well established in history and by personal experience, how can bribery be seen as illegal? If money is speech, and we have freedom of speech, how can we place limits on how money is spent in any context?  Yes, the treatment of money in this manner can lead to the wealthy having more of an influence over all governmental decisions, but, in the context I have presented, this treatment of money would be the same as the difference in the influence that well read, articulate people have over people that do not have such gifts.  In light of the Citizens United decision, what is the difference, in a legal context, between a well crafted speech and a pile of money?

Workin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Working on something again.  May be able to talk about it soon.

Workin'

Working on something.  Can't say what it is, but here, enjoy this:

Beck- Morning Phase

A Man's Problem That Only Men Can Solve

I've had a problem with the ad shown above for some time.  It's an ad for Marilyn: Intimate Exposures, a new book about Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.  In the ad, passersby are encourages to lift up a skirt in order to view a QR code to learn more about the book.  According to reports, this is actually an interactive poster campaign that was put up in various locations around London.  While this is a poster campaign and no real woman was actually intimately exposed, the behavior elicited by this poster campaign is something that should not be encouraged.

I bring this up because of a recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  In a decision handed down on Wednesday, a man's convicted of voyeurism on a city train was overturned.  In the decision, the Justices on Massachusetts's highest judicial authority state:

"A female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress, or the like covering these parts of her body is not a person who is "partially nude," no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing. ...

[B]ecause the MBTA is a public transit system operating in a public place and uses cameras, the two alleged victims here were not in a place and circumstance where they reasonably would or could have had an expectation of privacy."

I have a problem with this case.  Not because the case was overturned, but because of the incident.  Why do some men think that it's allright to invade a woman's privacy to fuel their sexual desires?  While the problem of women secretly having upskirt photos taken of them is rare, it is something that women do often think about when they are in public, whether it's on a bus, in a park, or in the workplace.  There are women who look at men suspecting that any man around them is about to engage in perverted behavior, and that is a problem, a problem that only men can solve.

Some will argue that women need to be less suspicious of men, but the suspicion is not the problem in this situation, it is the behavior.  The behavior by men is what needs to be corrected and only men can correct that behavior.  Men need to stop exhibiting perverted behavior when they are in public and call out correct other men when they are exhibiting perverted behavior.  This is not something that can be corrected overnight, but the process of correcting men's perverted behavior and the suspicion that women have about men needs to start, and the decision handed down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court can serve as a spark for that change.

Project Build An Awesome Model

During my long and arduous pursuit of Project Buy A House, I have often thought about what I would do with the increased amount of space that my potential new home will undoubtedly have.  One of the ideas that I keep on coming back to is constructing my own general media library.

The concept of having a room set aside for the many geeky thing I have accumulated is an idea I stole from Orange Lounge Radio host Dark Sakura.  However, unlike Jamie's much vaunted vault, I want to throw all of the various kind of geek related stuff into one room.  This includes my music, movies, manga, books, magazines, tech, and other things parents usually tell you to get rid of.  My dream is to have various shelves with various kind of media all meticulously organized by name, media type, and whether or not I have actually read/listened to/defeated that particular piece of media.  I'd also like to have a giant sofa, or perhaps a Lovesac, that I can lounge on for hours on end as I consume the media I have accumulated.  This idea of construction a general media library is so entrenched in my mind that I don't think that there's anything that can get me away from it.

OMFG!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!  ME WANT!

#TeamCocoMTVMovieAwards

After the 2014 Grammy Awards broadcast, I swore off all awards shows.  As I stated in a blog post, I wasn't that interested in any awards shows to begin with, and, after Nine Inch Nails got cut off, was against seeing any of them.  I have gone on to state on various social media platforms that I don't give a flying fuck about award shows, and would rather spend my Sunday nights listening to Orange Lounge Radio.  I am so opposed to watching award shows that I can't realistically think of anything that might motivate me to watch an award show.

Conan O'Brien Will Host The 2014 MTV Movie Awards

Great, now I have to watch the MTV Movie Awards for the first time in over a decade.  How am I going to survive this?

That's a good start.

IHOP Wi-Fi?

I'd love to blog today.  Unfortunately the IHOP near me doesn't have free wi-fi.  I mean, I can pay to use their wi-fi, but I ain't paying to use the internet while I fill my face with tasty bread.

http://ihoppancakeday.com/