There are
ads out there. It feels as if they are
always there. Always are, always were,
always. It's gotten to the point where I
feel as if I have seen them all. i know
I haven't, but the ads are so similar that if you've seen five or six of them,
you've seen them all.
I've
gotten to the point where I have started to ignore them. Sure a lot of effort is being put into them
and people's effort should be appreciated, but I don't care. The ads are as irrelevant to me. They make no impact, no impression,
nothing. They are just there.
The ads
have affect the decision I have made, in as much as I want so much to be rid of
them that I have chosen the one with the ads that have been least ubiquitous. Sure the ads for this have been increasing
lately, but I've made my decision now.
My decision can change in the future, but I have to choose something and
I have to choose now.
This
Tuesday, as I make my way through the dreary landscape that I have placed
myself in, I will choose something.
Something rather than nothing, but something which may yet have the
effect of nothing.
Heineken
2012.
By the
way, the reason that I have been posting this video, every week for the past
couple of weeks, is purely political. To
me, this is Mitt Romney. To me Mitt is
the kind of rich person who sees everyone who is not at their level as a burden
on themselves. I feel that this is a
mindset that holds not just about the poor, but all people who are not at the
social and economical level that he is that.
This is the kind of person that I do not want in charge of
anything. Not my politics, not my
financial affairs, not my public affairs, not my private affairs, nothing.
I have
one question to ask about this: Can I get a plate that reads "In Nothing I
Trust"?
Zynga V.
Taylorsville
Recently Kobojo settled a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by
Zynga over it's Pyramidville game.
Zynga claimed that Kobojo's use of the suffix "-ville"
infringed on their game Farmville. This
case was settled out of court with Kojobo changing the name of it's game Pyramidville to PyramidValley.
Outside
observers have said that this case was settled out of court because of Kojobo's small size compared to Zynga.
If the case had gone to trial, Kojobo would have had a tough time
mounting a competent legal defense due to it's limited resources. Such an observation may be put to the test
with the next lawsuit Zynga plans to pursue.
Zynga's new lawsuit also goes after a small entity with limited
financial resources, due in part to the downturn in the American economy. On Tuesday, Zynga filed a copyright
infringement lawsuit against Taylorsville, Utah.
You read
that right, Zynga is suing Taylorsville, Utah.
Taylorsville is not a company, a band, a blog, or any kind of privately
held entity. Taylorsville, Utah is a
city. Taylorsville is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, UtahMetropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 57,439 at the 2000 census. Taylorsville was incorporated from the Taylorsville-Bennion CDP and portions of the KearnsCDP on April 24, 1996.
When
reached for comment, President of Zynga Mark Pincus gave the following statement:
For
too long many city, town, municipalities, and other podunks have flaunted their
disregard for the copyright that we hold.
Zynga invented -ville. Before
Zynga came along, no one ever used the suffix -ville for anything. That is an established fact, established in a
court of law. If anyone dares to
disagree with us, Zynga dares them to face us in a court of law. We will emerge victorious for we are a
corporation, and, in the eyes of the law, we are right."
When
asked by this publication for a comment Russ Wall, the Mayor of Taylorsville refused,
stating:
All
you publications are a part of the lamestream biased liberal media. We do not tolerate your kind here.
The case
is expected to go to trial next August, unless it get settled out of court
beforehand.
C:T.O.L.G.E.
On
Thursday, stories started circulating about an upcoming movie project
involving Arnold Schwarzenegger. This
project was reported to feature the former California Governor reprising his
role as Conan the Barbarian. This movie
was reported to be a continuation of the franchise that Schwarzenegger starred in
during the 80's, not a continuation of the franchise starring that one guy from
the first season of Game Of Thrones who we never understood and died for some
reason.
On Friday
the story that was reported began to unravel.
Upon contact with the studio responsible for the project, Universal Studios,
the true details of the project began to be revealed. The Conan project that Arnold Schwarzenegger is
signed on to is not a continuation of the Conan The Barbarian franchise. Rather, the project is a biopic about Conan
O'Brien.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in Conan: The Only Likeable Ginger Ever. This movie follows O'Brien's time while host
of the Tonight Show, his departure from NBC, and the various nerd riots that occurred during that time. Other people
attached to the project are Will Arnett playing the role of Andy Richter,
Brandon Flowers playing the role of Max Weinberg, and Deon Cole to play The
Sexiest Black Man On TV, a role loosely based on himself.
Another
name attached to this project is making waves among the conservative
press. In the movie, former NBC
executive Jeff Zucker is portrayed as a devious, conniving, dumb man who is set
out to ruin Conan O'Brien's career, and also the prospects of any red haired
person having any sort of role in the entertainment industry. To fill this role, producers sought someone
who has experience with the role and can accurately portray a man who is
unapologetically and irremediably evil.
Attached to play the role of Jeffery Zucker is former conservative talk
show host Michael Savage.
Conan:
The Only Likeable Ginger Ever is set, like many other projects, for a summer
2014 release.
There is something that I find disturbing about the recent revelations involving Lance Armstrong. In their piece written for Sports Illustrated, Alexander Wolff and David Epstein pour over "164 pages punctuated by chilling detail, and more than 850 pages of addenda and documentary evidence". The piece details testimony obtained from many different witnesses from many different walks of life who filled many different roles in Lance Armstrong's life and his doping.
"A Massive Fraud Now More Fully Exposed" is based mostly on sworn testimony obtained by federal officials. A lot of investigative work went into getting to the truth behind Lance Armstrong's doping allegations, which lead to Armstrong feeling the consequences for his actions. Why is this kind of effort not being put into investigating the alleged crimes committed by the people responsible for the banking crisis in 2008? Why has no one responsible for the banking crisis been convicted, or even brought to trail?
In a September 3, 2012 piece written for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi detailed the disparity in the resources put into investigations made involving banking officials and athletes. Quoting from the piece:
The government assigned 93 agents to the Clemens case, who collectively interviewed 179 individuals in 68 locations and produced a total of 235 reports. The mortgage task force? It was stuck at “about 50 or 60″ attorneys for much of the year, according to insiders – and many of those first staffers were provided by smaller federal agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Did this story make much of a dent in the national narrative about these investigations? No. Did the Department Of Justice make any corrections to close this disparity? No.
On April 27, 2012, before Matt Taibbi's story was written, 60 Minutes did a piece where they detailed fraud perpetrated by the CEO of Lehman Brothers before it's collapse. 60 Minutes told of how Richard Fuld signed documents asserting that Lehman Brother was a financially sound organization, assertions which he knew to be false. This action by Richard Fuld was not only fraudulent, it was a crime, a violation of Securities and Exchange Commission policy. Did this story make much of a dent in the national narrative about Lehman Brothers? No. Did the Department Of Justice take action in response to this story? No.
On March 1, 2009, 60 Minutes did a story about Harry Markopolos. Harry Markopolos on several different occasions warned the SEC about investments made by Bernie Maddoff, warning that the SEC did nothing with. In fact, as this story details, the SEC didn't find out about Bernie Maddoff's ponzie scheme untill the scheme was on the verge of collapse and Bernie Maddoff told officials of his crime. Did this story make much of a dent in the national narrative about Bernie Maddoff? No. There are people who still think that the SEC busted Maddoff, when it was Bernie Maddoff who dropped the dime on himself.
Recently, the Curt Schilling headed 38 Studios collapsed in a way that directly affected the public. 38 Studios received loans from the state of Rhode Island, loans that it defaulted on. The studio collapsed, causing 309 people to lose their jobs. Not only that, several of the people who lost their jobs found out that they had more outstanding debt than they thought they did. As a part of hiring people to work on it's projects, 38 Studios offered help with moving expenses to perspective employees. This help included taking on the home loans of several employees. 38 Studios promised that they would sell the homes on behalf of the employee so that the employee could buy new homes near their new jobs. As it turns out, they didn't. Several of the people who had previously been employed with 38 Studios not only found themselves out of a job but also drowning in debt. On September 30, 2012, it was announced that no criminal charges would be filed in relation to the 38 Studios collapse. Did the collapse of 38 Studios, the unfulfilled promises they made to taxpayers and employees, and the regulators inability to find anything worthy of a criminal prosecution make a dent in the national narrative about corporate culture in this country? No. Did the Department Of Justice learn a lesson from the regulatory failures of the banking collapse? Clearly no.
There is something wrong with this situation. Corporations have and continue to commit fraud. Ordinary people continue to take it on the chin when corporations commit fraud, costing the ordinary consumer money and jobs. Regulators, politicians, and business leaders vow to make changes to prevent situations like this from happening. But they still happen. They keep on happening. The situation never seems to change. What's worse, people aren't demanding that it does change. They just put their hopes in the same people who have promised to make the changes they want, who then fail to do so. Why? Why aren't people up in arms about this? Why aren't people outraged about this? Why aren't people doing anything about this?
Sure, we had the Occupy protests, some of which continue on to this day, but those protests weren't organized around a single goal. All the Occupy protests amounted to was a bunch of people sitting in the park talking about how things sucked without actually doing anything to make it not suck.
Change needs to be made. The people who commit financial fraud don't need to be brought to justice, the customers who made committing fraud such an appealing proposition need to not do business with fraudsters and thieves. We need to look at the people we do business with and see if they are good honest people before we do business with them. We cannot count on those who commit financial fraud to be brought to justice We have seen through the regulators actions that the people who are tasked to enforce the rules are more interested in pursuing athletes, who's financial impact on out society is minuscule compared to people who commit financial fraud.
We have a power as customers in financial matters. Let's put that power to work.
This week
it was reported that the recently released Majesco title NBA Baller Beats sold
only three thousand copies in the first week of release. While this is am embarrassingly low number,
more embarrassment can be found if you dig down into the numbers.
According
to analysis done by WedbushSecurities, a small number of the titles
purchased were bought by independent video game bloggers. These bloggers were reviewers who could not
get review copies of the game from Majesco.
These purchases amounted to 132 of the 3000 copies of the game that were
purchased. The other two thousand, eight
hundred and sixty-eight copies of the game bought by one entity.
On
September 11, 2012, the day that NBA Baller Beats was released, 2686 copies of
the game were purchased from one store by one person. The person is Kevin Cashman. Kevin Cashman is the President of the Lambda
Lambda Lambda fraternity at Adams College.
This purchase was made with a Lambda Lambda Lambda credit card, which is
supposed to be used only for Lambda Lambda Lambda business.
When
pressed as to whether or not he had misused Lambda Lambda Lambda funds, Kevin
Cashman, pictured above, said the following:
"Purchasing
those video games was not done for the nonexistent entertainment value found in
those games. Rather, those video games
were purchased in order to maintain the aesthetic value of the Lambda Lambda
Lambda fraternity. Recently, we have run
out of AOL demo discs to use as coasters to prevent water rings showing up on
our wooden furniture. In order to refill
our supply of coasters, and maintain the general aesthetic started by the use
of CDROMs as coasters, I made the decision to purchase multiple copies of NBA
Baller Beats. We do not intend to play
any of the copies of NBA Baller Beats that were purchased, they will be used
only as coasters."
Majesco
spokesman Stan Gable said in response, "Our goal as a company is to
provide a product that many people can enjoy in many ways. Using our product as a platform for liquid
nourishment is one of the emerging markets that we hope to capitalize on."
This
statement seems to reflect a change in the philosophy at Majesco. Majesco appears to be making strives to make
video games that people use in other portions of their lives, not just playing
video games. Majesco's philosophy
appears to mirror ones held by the newspapers, magazine, and junk mail
industries.
There was
a discussion that was had on Episode 109 of the R9Cast that I'd like to give an
opinion on. The hosts of the show,
Bridgette and Esgee, were discussing the language that should be used on their
show. Esgee's opinion was that the
people on the show should be free to use any kind of language they want, even
if that language is considered unclean to some people. Bridgette's opinion was that they should try
to make a clean show that "everybody can enjoy." The discussion between the two hosts became
quite acrimonious and went on throughout the entire show.
My
viewpoint on language lies somewhere in the middle. Bridgette's viewpoint of using language that
"everyone can enjoy" is something that irks me. When I hear the phrase "something
everything can enjoy" I interpret that thing as being sanitized to the
point where it has lost all it's meaning.
Whenever I hear something is "family friendly"
"wholesome" or "clean", I interpret that as being boring.
There are
people who effort to produce content that is clean while also producing content
that is interesting. Such is the case
with me and my approach to The Black Robin Christmas Carol. The language used in that book is, unlike any
of my other work, devoid of any swear words.
In fact, the harshest word that is used in that book is
"bimbo", a word a hesitated to use.
My approach to the language used in this book was not influenced by
market forces, societal demands, or my religious beliefs. The language that was used, or not used, in
The Black Robin Christmas Carol was a decision I made. I made the decision because of how I felt
that a story of that nature should be handled and how that story should be
articulated.
When I
released The Black Robin Christmas Carol I did not make a big deal about there
not being any language that people may view as objectionable. If you look back at the statements, blog
posts, and annoying inferences I've made to that book, the subject of language
is not brought up. Talking about the
language that I used in The Black Robin Christmas Carol is something that never
really crossed my mind. This is due to
my viewpoint on how people should express their moral values. People should not shout to the world that
they are a good, upstanding, moral person.
Instead, people should just be good, upstanding moral people and let
other people recognize them for their actions.
Even if people do not recognize you for your actions, you should still
do them because you feel that they are good.
Shouting to the world that you are a good person is not something that a
good person should do.
The
approach that I would advise people to take to language is to approach the
language you use in the way that you feel is most appropriate without making a
big deal about it. If people around you
use language that you find objectionable, to not berate them about using inappropriate
language. Instead serve as a great
example to those around you, and possibly the people who use language you
object to, and use language to articulate yourself in the way you feel is most
appropriate. All berating others about
the language that they use accomplishes is to make you look like the
unreasonable one. Instead of saying you
want to use language that "everybody can enjoy", just do it.
BioWare
has hinted at a new game in the Complain Effect franchise, plus provided a name
for Complain Effect 3’s next single player
downloadable content. The news comes in the wake of the announcement that
BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck have retired from the company.
In a blog post from BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn,
Complain Effect is mentioned as part of the company’s plans looking forward.
“Executive Producer Casey
Hudson and his team are coming off an amazing eight-year run with the Complain
Effect trilogy. But they’re not done yet,” Flynn wrote. “We are releasing more
multiplayer content and we have more single-player stories coming throughout
the next six months, including New Thing To Bitch About, which is coming in the
Fall. But the Complain Effect universe is vast, and Casey and our teams have
plans for another full game. ‘Where to go next?’ with such a project has been a question a lot of us have
been asking, and we’d all love to hear your ideas.”
In
talking about the future, Flynn also hinted at a new fictional universe in
development at BioWare, mentioning alongside it that “Casey continues to oversee the development of our
new Complain Effect project.”
BioWare
has said in the past that the Complain Effect franchise could continue but that
it won’t revolve around Shepard. The
company also hinted that Complain Effect 3 players should keep their save
files. As for New Thing To Bitch About, this marks the first time that BioWare
has released a name for the content, which it teased during Montreal Comic-Con
last weekend.
For now,
no additional information about a new Complain Effect project has been
revealed, but check out five ideas for a new Complain Effect game for where we
think the series should go next, and why no more Shepard could be a good thing.
I swear, this song does not contain audio captured during a Mitt Romney fundraiser. Scout's honor.
Patents
Livestrong
On
Wednesday, GamesRadar reported on a patent filed by Microsoft
for what is believed to be a new kind of controller device. Microsoft has been very mute about this
patent, as they are with most of the patents that they file. However, this muteness may be due to plans
for the product that, in the light of recent development, have become
disadvantageous.
In the
patent filing, the product appears to be an armband with sensors that track the
movements of the wearer. This product
also appears to be similar to the popular Livestrong bracelets.
The
Livestrong bracelets are a very popular wrist-based accessory that serves as a
fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
To this point these Livestrong bracelets have raised over eighty million
dollars for cancer research. The face of
the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Livestrong wrist-based accessory is
Lance Armstrong.
Controversy
has swirled around Lance Armstrong since he won his first Tour de France
race. Last month, Mr. Armstrong gave up
his fight against the USADA. As a
result, Lance's Tour de France victories have been stripped away from him. This action is what has caused Microsoft to
be so mute about their armband controller.
This Microsoft
armband controller was set to be a Microsoft Livestrong branded armband
controller. The Microsoft Livestrong
armband controller was supposed to serve as a way to raise money for cancer
research, as well as show Microsoft and the video gaming public in a more
positive light. However, with Lance
Armstrong's recent admission, these plans are not seen in the same way anymore
by the head brass at Microsoft.
Microsoft no longer sees associating itself or it's product with Mr.
Armstrong as, quoting a Microsoft source, "as an advantageous thing for
our company's image."
Currently
there are no plans to bring Microsoft's armband controller to the market. According to my exclusive source,
"(Microsoft) is waiting either untill Lance Armstrong's public image is
rehabilitated, or untill there comes another celebrity that they can
exploit."
Virtual
Hockey Tonight!
With the
recent lockout of the players by the owners of the National Hockey League,
people with business interests in the sport have been making plans for a future
without hockey. One these entities
making plans has, not only to deal with lost revenue, but what to do with the
airtime vacated by the sport. This week,
unique plans were made to fill that airtime.
This week
the NBC Sports Network, the cable outlet formerly known as Versus which has
served as the TV home of the NHL since the last lockout, finalized plans to
continue to air NHL games. However,
these games will not be the traditional hockey games they have run in the
past. NBC Sports Network is going
forward with plans to air virtual games simulated with Electronic Art's latest
hockey game, NHL '13.
Plans are
to air simulated games on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights, as well as
provide highlights of games that are not being televised on a new NBC Sports
Network show, to be titled "Virtual Hockey Tonight". NBC Sports Channel President Jon D. Litner
said, in a statement:
"We
are as disappointed with anyone with the current NHL labor situation. While we wish the owners and players would
resolve their dispute in an expeditious manner, we at NBC Sports need to put
contingencies in place in case this dispute causes the cancellation of the
2012-2013 NHL season. The partnership
that we have entered into with Electronic Arts is a first step in making those
contingencies."
When
reached for comment about this development, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said,
"Wait, people can go to other places to get hockey? FUCK!"
Virtual
Hockey Tonight is tentatively scheduled to debut on October 13th, the day that
the NHL 2012-2013 season was set to debut.
If the NHL labor dispute is resolved by that date, plans involving
virtually simulated content will be put on hold untill the next NHL lockout,
which is expected to take place in 2014.
So, I've
been trying to get into a new crib for about eight months now. I want to get into a new place so that I can
craft the ultimate bachelor pad that will attract the honies like a homing
beacon. I've been getting my credit in
order, putting money away, and selling my books so that I could start stacking
that paper. Once I do get that sweet
sweet crib, I need to know how to put it together so that vagina panties will
be hitting the floor. That is why I am
thankful for instructional videos like the one provided by MrChiCity3. MrChiCity3, you da man, fo real.
Red
Apologizes
I want to
send my apologies to DerrickH and Loserly for calling into DPL700 then bailing,
then calling in again only to bail again. Unlike most occasions where I
am taken away from the show, this was not due to my DSFUCKINGL being an
impotent piece of shit. Let me explain...
The first
time I left was because a bounty hunter came pounding on my door. He's looking for my sister's boyfriend which he thinks is
me based on my sister and I sharing the same last name and looking nothing
alike. He came pounding on my door, I
hung up to deal with his ass. Again. Hopefully, he'll get the message this time.
I had
scheduled an appointment to meet with a life insurance agent to set up a
policy. This was the second person to
come knocking on my door. It's not that I had forgotten
about the appointment, it's that I lost track of time. I would have told the agent to come back another time, but
the agent, Sharlene, was a woman who looked approximately like the person
pictured above. I thoroughly enjoyed talking
to this woman.
A funny
thing happened during the presentation the agent gave to me. During a video she played about death expenses and how life
insurance can pay for them, the announcer said something about grief. He said, "Grief is hard."I had to stifle my laughter
when I heard that.
So,
there's my reasons for my actions during DPL700. These
are not excuses, these are reasons. Again, apologies to DerrickH
and Loserly. Hopefully the next time I call
in my DSFUCKINGL will not fail and I will not fail. Hopefully.
With the
nomination of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to be the Republican nominee for
President and Vice President this week, a lot of questions have come up about
this duo's background. One of the most
frequently asked questions is where did those two get those chiseled good looks
and obvious poise. These attributes are
not inborn, they have to be taught to you.
So, where did Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan gain the expertise that made
them such an attractive tandem? The
answer is that they went to the Handsome Boy Modeling School.
Founded
by Prince Paul and Dan the Automator in 1999, Handsome Boy Modeling School is
the only school in North America dedicated to the crafting of exquisite young
male models. For only $60, payable by
check, you can learn the skills necessary to become the kind of man that is
actively sought by the leading Balkan region fashion designers.
Take your normal superhero origin story. Guy gets powers, guy realizes he has powers, guy goes out to save the world. Now factor this in: the guy has a score to settle.
Everybody wonders what it is that makes them who they are. The Hawk thought that question was securely answered. However a meeting with a boy in a hospital causes him to question everything. Why he is, who he is, what he is, and even if he is.
Eleven years after the events of Consequences Of Mayorust, The Hawk finds himself dealing with many of the same issues that many of us deal with: A less than satisfying job, co-workers of variant annoyance, and a romantic life is unhealthy at best. Thrust into all this is Madison Medina, a well meaning woman who's adversarial relationship with The Hawk morphs into a kind of friendship. Madison, in addition to learning more about herself and her abilities, help to reveal deeper problems inside the organization both she and The Hawk work for.
In every workplace there is a person. A person who doesn't talk to anyone, has walled themselves socially, and seems openly hostile to everyone. Every workplace has this person, even if you don't know of such a person, they're there. The Black Robin Christmas Carol is the story of one of these people. It delves into who this person is, why this person is, and how this person can change for the better.
There is a story. A story of pain, a story of loss, a story of unspeakable horrors, a story that has not been given it's proper attention. Some are ignoring this story. Some are unaware of this story. Some know of this story but are complicit in it's darkness. This is a story that must be told. Told so that the good can stop it and the bad can feel shame for it.
When I thought up thig blog, the name I first thought up was "Random Bullshit". Quickly I recognized that this name would put some people off. Then I thought of the name "Random Bull****". That seemed to be to much clutter. Then I was inspired with the name that dons this blog today.
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