Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

"Foreshadow" by Lukas Peters aka lukasdp on deviantart.com

 

The other day I was having a hot chocolate, bundled up on my captain’s chair (an awesomely sexy black leather chair that I managed to squeeze into my bedroom, that looks like it belongs on the Enterprise), and I was reading through some old journal entries of mine.  I’ve been writing a journal since I was about eleven years old; I don’t write as much as I used to, mostly because I’m passed my teen angsty “no one cares” phase that everyone goes through, and also for the fact that my life is very, very boring.  I can only write “went out for coffee with Ryan” so many times.  Now, as I was saying, I came across a very old entry, and I had a mini-rant about my friend’s mother; she’s a kind lady, a bit crazy like the rest of us, but the rant in particular was about how she was getting all uppity about the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.  She had some valid points, mainly about it being a very violent, adult themed game.  “My son shouldn’t be exposed to this sort of thing, he’s only such-and-such old!”  She ranted and raved, and my young mind couldn’t help but think “Well, how’d he get his hands on that video game?”.  Turns out, she bought it for him. 

After reading my old rant, it got my thoughts flowing.  I have heard many people blame video games for making people violent.  It springs up in the media any time a young offender does some unthinkable crime.  It bothers me quite a bit – it bothers me when people blame the media for how children act, or the consequences of someone’s actions.  

Video games can be extremely violent, I fully agree with that statement.  However, do I believe video games make people violent?  Absolutely not.  I do not believe that video games, television, or films make people violent.  Video games just happen to receive the most attention for it, because a lot of the older generations haven’t been exposed to video games as much as younger generations.  I’m not saying that games like Grand Theft Auto are appropriate for an eight year old, but I am saying that parents shouldn’t be buying these kids games if they can’t teach their children to differentiate from things that are within the game, to what’s acceptable behaviour in reality.  And granted, children and teenagers can be completely idiotic from time to time, but that doesn’t mean they are completely incapable of understanding right from wrong.  If you parent your children at all, they’ll understand that they can’t go around pulling beating the crap out of other people without consequences.  

"Killer Game: Super Mario" by DesoxyribonuKlein on deviantart.com

The one that always makes me shake my head is Dungeons and Dragons.  Though people don’t seem to be as ignorant about this game anymore, it still is just so unbelievable when people think that this, of all the other games around the world, that this is the one that is evil.  Man, it almost leaves me speechless.  Not quite speechless though, I’m in the middle of a rant.  The film Mazes and Monsters starring Tom Hanks can kind of depict people’s strange paranoia about this game.  They believe those that play it are “practising witchcraft” or “worshipping the devil”.  No, just…no.  I have never played D&D ever, but as a nerd, it seems interesting.  I’ve just never played.  But I know tons of people who do.  And I can tell you, these people are far from dangerous.  Seriously.  They work, go to school, lead regular lives, just like everyone else.  Granted, they’re a bit on the nerdy side, and some of them still live at home when they probably shouldn’t, but they’re harmless.  Tyler Savage said he played Dungeons and Dragons Online after killing and raping a disabled girl to help him “forget” – fine, good for you, you fucking psycho.  I am very happy he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law, because he’s very obviously disturbed.  But I’ve read certain people’s comments around the internet, and have heard people talk about how it’s the games fault.  I have no idea where people get this idea.  I honestly don’t.  If he went home and watched his collection of Star Trek: The Next Generation, do you think the show would be blamed?  If he committed those terrible actions, and then came home and read all of his cereal boxes 100 times to help him forget, would it be Kellogg’s fault?  To me, all those scenarios are just plain silly.      

Now, I’ve been exposed to video games for most of my life.  And on that note, there are probably some films that I had seen when I was a child that probably wasn’t the most appropriate for me (one being “True Lies” when I was about 7 years old – which is still one of my favourite action movies).  I have friends who have been playing video games longer than I have, who play them much more than I have.  I can 100% assure you that I and my friends do not:         

• Hit blocks with our fist to see if money comes out
• Steal cars or shoot prostitutes
• Go to people’s houses, throw their pottery against the wall hoping to find jewels
• Engage in epic death battles to collect each other’s souls
• Kick ass whilst chewing bubble-gum
• Think that hiding in boxes whiles make us invisible

 

"Mario's On a Killing Spree" by Hanser Amaury aka kangouroupassympa on deviantart.com

 

People can tend to believe that because a person commits a crime, and they play video games, that the cause of the crime is the video game.  It’s the moronic mindset that A occurs, and then B occurs, and therefore A caused B.  So if you remove A from the equation, B will never occur. 

Some people will argue that video games expose people to violence more.  That’s absolute bullshit.  Films and television have been around longer than video games, and are just as equally, if not more, violent than video games.  And people were blaming them for society’s problems before video games came out.  If people are so worried about video game violence, why don’t they take a minute to think about how stupid the MPAA (or my fellow Ontarian friends, the OFRB).  PG films can show violence, they just can’t show gore – so it’s ok to take a child to see a film that could have a bunch of violence, just no blood.  So there could be gun fights, people beating the crap out of each other, but no excessive gore – so therefore it’s ok.  

No, let’s not even get into the films – let’s dwell into the centre of the beast.  Look back at Looney Tunes; think back to when you were a kid – and every kid up until a few years ago had the good Looney Tunes, none of this censored crap.  How violent were those cartoons?  Pretty damn violent – and they were damn good too.  Some one comes along and decides that kids will become violent if they see the actual violence in the show – so instead of seeing Bugs Bunny hitting Daffy Duck with a mallet, they show Bugs Bunny pulling the mallet back, and then it cuts to Daffy Duck wobbling around in pain.  That solves the problem – the kids are too stupid to figure out what really happened right? 

Now, maybe I’m crazy, but I never thought it was ok to go around dropping anvils on people’s heads because the Looney Tunes did it.  Anyone out there remember thinking that when they were kids?  Because if anyone out there honestly believed that was ok when they were kids, then I just need to say: I’m sorry, but you were a slow and very gullible child. 

I guess in a very round about rant way to say this, don’t think video games lead to violence.  If you are really that worried about it making you or someone around you violent, don’t expose yourself or the people around you to it.  Discretion is the biggest factor in deciding what is the most appropriate for you or your children.  If you’re not sure, do some fucking research – we live in an age where the information is at our fingertips.  Don’t plead ignorance because you couldn’t be bothered to invest any interest in what your child is doing.  If you plan on purchasing a game for your child, watch a youtube video of some game play, read reviews, ask the sales person for goodness sakes.  Read the rating on the box – and get to know your child, decide what you feel is appropriate for them as a person, and for what you feel comfortable with.  When it all comes down to it, Super Mario is just as inappropriate as Halo is as far as violence goes, it just depends on your point of view.  Don’t blame the video games for your child acting out, blame yourself for not being a parent.  Don’t blame video games for your own violence.  Once you let go of your discretion, and allow any media to teach your children or yourself for that matter any morals, you lose any credibility to bitch about it later.  

Click to see full sized image by virtualshackles.com

If I Had a Dick I’d Tell Twilightians to Suck It

I’m having my morning afternoon coffee, and I’m going through my normal routine – which is going through all my internet websites.  I’m on IMDB looking up the new Harry Potter movie coming out this year, and I come across this one post on the forum full of Twilightians trying to convince people that not only is Twilight and its series better than Harry Potter, but it’s the best series ever written.

Now before I commence my rant, I want to clarify the difference between a Twilight fan and a Twilightian.  A Twilight fan is one who enjoys the books, and probably not the movies.  They enjoy the story, but can still be critical of it, as well as admit that they enjoy many other books outside of this series.  I have many friends who are Twilight fans, and they are intelligent awesome people and though they like the books, they still point out the flaws of it just as much as the non-fans do.  Plus, they you know…have lives outside of this half-assed universe that Stephanie Meyer created.

Twilightians are a different case altogether.  They do not merely just enjoy this series – it is their fucking God.  They plague our stores, our streets, and most importantly – the internet with their mindless Twilight love.  Twilight and the series are the only books these people enjoy, and are hellbent on destroying every book that is not Twilight.  They become convinced that when one criticizes Twilight, that we are in fact criticizing their God, and their sane switch flips off.

Now many people who know me know that I do not like Twilight.  That’s really an understatement – I hate Twilight.  I LOATHE Twilight.  But after unintentionally  running into Twilight every where I go, I’ve had a dawning realization.  And it all has to do with comments like these found easily all around the internet:

Twilight is so much better because it’s real, at least it could be real. Harry Potter is just about some teenage kids who desperately need to grow up. Also there is no love in HP, Twilight is like the modern romeo & juliet, because if anyone has read romeo & juliet you would see how similar the mindless obsession is.

…or..

Because its just common sence to like twilight!!! Haha. Romance means everything. Bella and Edward are like, MENT 4 each other, and everything is just…. PERFENT!! In Harry potter, u would that that harry and harmonie would like… fall in love or something…. and then u watch people die in freaky ways, and then there creepy things….GAHH!!! but yea. (: I mean, its not like twilight is all about an idiot falling in love to get away from her problems.

I realized that it is not Stephanie Meyer that has made me turn into a ravenous Twilight-hater, or the books themselves even (of course, they do add to it…) – but it’s the God damn Twilightians!!

Everything that has a fan base has a few crazies in them – but I swear, I have never seen anything produce such vile imbecile mindless zombie followers before and it kind of freaks me out.  It’s great that people have found something to be excited about, and I really hope those who are fans of Twilight keep reading and move onto some really great books in their future.  It’s not that Twilight is popular that pisses me off.  It’s how the hardcore fans act that pisses me off.

Newsflash to Twiligtians: you can still like something and be critical of it.  It’s not a bad thing to point out the flaws in something you like, it doesn’t mean you dislike it or anything, it means you still appreciate it because of its flaws.  But what these hardcore zombie fans do instead of admitting to flaws or plot holes of their God is they attack everything else that isn’t Twilight.  And their arguments aren’t even sound.  What?  Harry Potter’s main focus isn’t romance?  Well shit!  I had NO FUCKING IDEA DURRRR.  Yeah, Harry Potter isn’t about romance, it has a good story arc that J.K. Rowling follows through until the end of the series, and it is well thought out.  There are parts in the series that kind of don’t 100% fit, but it’s still really enjoyable to a lot of people.  But if that is the main argument between Twiligtians and Harry Potter – then it really sets the bar on the maturity level of these hardcore fans.

And its these idiots that have made me become the ravenous psychotic Twilight hater that I am – and that’s really no better.  It’s a lose/lose situation.  Both hardcore haters and lovers are blinded.  The Twilightians are too blinded to admit any fault to their beloved book, and the anti-Twilighters like myself are too blinded to see past the stupid fans and the faults of the book to ever enjoy it.

If people weren’t so fucking crazy about Twilight, and they didn’t make Gawdawful movies based on them, I might have actually read them.  In second year of college, both of my roommates really enjoyed them.  And I hadn’t really heard too much about them beforehand to be honest.  And before these books and movies became too popular for me to keep up, I was somewhat interested in reading them.  Just to see what my roommates were talking about.  But then the nutcases came in, and ruined any interest I had in the novels.   I found myself finding reasons to hate the books just to spite these idiots.  And now I’m completely sour towards all that is Twilight and basically anything Stephanie Meyer.   Fuck, just writing this little rant has left a disgusting taste in my mouth.

So there you have it – hardcore Twilightians, if you ever wondered why some of us anti-Twilighters despise your beloved God – it’s because of you.  Go write in your fucking diary about how mean and stupid we are and then write about how no one in the world is as “perfect” as Edward.

Oh – and for the record.  Edward was a cool fucking name before fucking Twilight came out – and now you’ve tarnished my father’s and both my grandfather’s names.

Fuck you Twilight.  God I hate you.

For your view pleasure, I strongly recommend you watch Buffy meets Edward by rebelliouspixels:

Why I Don’t Miss You and Setting the Record Straight

I’m sitting around, having a cup of coffee in an attempt to calm myself down from the irritating experience I just had at No Frills here in London.  Honestly – what kind of a grocery store only takes ONE kind of credit card?  That’s just fucking moronic.  

But I digress.  Anyways, I’m sitting around, having a cup of coffee while I go through my phone to delete some inbox messages.  I come across this text I got from a familiar idiot last night – bothering me like he usually does (because apparently “fuck off” doesn’t seem to click in his tiny brain).  When I got it, I started thinking about him, and a few other people I have basically told to “fuck off” in the past few years of my life.  

There’s two sides to every story, and I’m sure with the three people in particular I’m thinking about – their side is that they’re the victim and that I’m the heinous bitch.  Not that I’m not a heinous bitch, but there’s more to it than just that.  

The idiot I referred to earlier I’ve already talked about.  And I admitted that I got angry with him – it wasn’t all his fault.  The other two are two former friends.  

Now that I think about it, they were both very similar in some ways, which may be why I decided to never talk to them again.  They’re not bad people, and I don’t hate them.  They are just very self involved at times, and could never put themselves in other people’s shoes.  

Both friendships ended very similarly as well.  One was a case of I talked to one’s ex, when I suppose I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to.  And the other was a case of a massive confusion and trying to put problems between me and my former roommates.  

I know this is kind of a rant post, but this picture makes me giggle

 

Both times I acted pretty much the same – I got angry.  I’m not gonna lie, I flipped out.  It happens.  And I know, absolutely am sure of, from their stories, that I got angry for no reason, and it was totally uncalled for.  

Well, to set the record straight – the first girl I mentioned was so self involved and petty that she stopped talking to me after I politely said to her that I didn’t appreciate something she had said.  I felt offended, and I told her that.  I mean, with friends, if they do something that upsets you, fucking tell them.  People aren’t mind readers.  Well – she didn’t like me telling her that I didn’t like something.  It was like a flashback to fucking high school.  I asked her what was wrong and she flipped on me, acting like I killed her dog or something.  So we didn’t talk – I tried, she wouldn’t have any of it.  I invited her out for my birthday, she ignored me.  Time comes around for her birthday.  She invites me and my good friend Andrew out.  I don’t have money at the time, and decide I’m not going to go.  I find out that Andrew didn’t go – and I ask him why.  He said he didn’t like how she had treated me.  Somehow, she blames this on me.  She insinuated that I had asked him not go, which never happened.  I actually got irritated  at him at first.  

And I’m not saying that she was all in the wrong and I’m a fucking saint.  No that’s not it at all.  I mean, I got annoyed at her ignoring me, and I started to become so passive with her that it was in some ways cruel.  We pushed each other apart, and when it came down to it, it got unpleasant.  I know for a fact she’s telling people a different story, because I’ve heard those people telling me it.  It’s quite funny actually.  It’s like a fairy tale where she’s the innocent princess and I’m the fire breathing dragon.  Hmm fire breathing dragon eh?  Kind of fucking cool.  

The other friend, well she’s a character.  For all the years that I’ve known her, we’ve always had a problem here and there.  And she’s always had problems with someone in her life.  And I don’t really understand it, I’m not sure if she wants to be the center of attention and needs that drama in her life, or if she really doesn’t realize how many of her former friends she’s alienated.  Or maybe she doesn’t care.  Knowing her, in her mind she didn’t do anything wrong.  

She was supposed to come visit me and my roommates last year while we were in Residence together.  For some reason, she was mad at my one roommate.  She didn’t have a reason to tell me, and I thought they were having a fight.  She said she didn’t want to come down when that one roommate was there.  I was confused, so I asked my roommate what was going on, and she was just as confused as I was.  My roommate asked her why our friend was mad at her, and this girl…I swear, I should have seen this coming.  She starts getting so angry.  She starts bitching at me for “telling” my roommate that she was mad at her.  She starts acting like I was attacking her or that we were “out to get her”.  I honestly didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to “tell” the other roommate they were in a fight…serves me right for using the logic that if two people are in a fight both would realize it.  

This is really what the situation seemed to be to the three of us: she was trying to start a fight.  She was trying to start shit between me and my one roommate.  Why?  I don’t know why.  And when we were all confused, she was acting like we shot her whole family or something.  

This is when I got angry.  I flipped on her, and I let every angry feeling I had ever had for come out.  It was wrong and immature, but when someone starts shit with me, they better fucking finish it.  And I mean, to try and get someone else upset at someone else for some sick reason, is just fucking immature.  

Why don’t I miss these drama filled self-involved girls?  Because to miss someone you have to feel something for them.  I’m not really angry at them.  I know with that above rant it’s hard to tell that I’m anything but angry – but really, I’m pretty calm.  They don’t invade my thoughts randomly, and I don’t get angry if they get brought up in a conversation.  I don’t feel uncomfortable if they are in the same place I am.  Hell, back at home we were planning a little party, and one of my other friends invited the one girl, and I didn’t really care if she was invited or not.  She was too petty to even come see everyone else if I was going to be there though.  

My friend Andrew always says why bother being angry at someone?  Why waste the energy?  Isn’t it much crueller to not care about them at all?  And it’s so true.  To be angry at someone shows you still care about them on some level.  Or that you’re still affected by them.  If lets say Andrew and I got in a fight, every part of me would be affected; I would be lethargic, depressed, and feel like I’m slowly wasting away.  And that goes for any good friend too.  I care about them, so when something happens, I’m really affected by it.  

These three people don’t affect me.  I feel nothing for them.  Which I guess means they were never much to me when they were around.  

A Fuck You to University Students – Repost From Facebook

I put this on my Facebook Notes, and decided to post it here too.  Why?  Cause I can thats why.  I guess when I drink coffee sometimes I get a bit riled up…:

 

With the possibility of the Ontario Colleges going on strike, I’ve been hearing a lot of debates between taxpayers, college students, university students, teachers, you name it.

One thing I keep hearing that is just pissing me the hell off is people saying that those who go to college “couldn’t get into university”. I usually hear this from a)current university students or b)university grads, and surprisingly c)older parents who DIDN’T GO TO COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.

I want to make myself clear – I don’t think university students are better than college students, or vice versa. I have a number of dear friends that go to university who I think are very intelligent and hard working students. So my rant ahead will not be directed at them.

However, I want to make another thing clear: just because I go to college that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I was accepted at 4 other universities with scholarships, and despite that I decided to go to college. Why? Because I frankly didn’t want to waste 4-5 years of my life sitting in a classroom while getting no actual hands on work experience (or work skills for that matter), and not being guaranteed a job when I graduated. There’s nothing wrong with going to university, but just because I didn’t go doesn’t make me stupid – what about the university students who go through 4 years of school and STILL don’t know what they want to do? Oh yes, but “they went to university, so they must be smart”. Bullshit. Fuck you, seriously. I KNOW what I want to do, and not only has my schooling given me the skills I will need to use in my future career, my school wants me to get a job when I’m done here, and will physically put me in one. I know some university programs have internships as well, but the focus is more academic rather being focused on tangible skills.

And just because I go to college doesn’t mean I party all the fucking time and get wasted and spend all my money on booze and drugs. To be quite fucking honest, when classes are going, most of my free time goes to getting my homework done, studying and working. Not that I never have fun, but unlike some students from BOTH university and colleges, I don’t waste my schooling by partying. I’m tired of that stereotype being placed just on college students. I know enough university students who do it just as much as not more as some of the college students. And honestly, a lot of university students I see don’t even pay for their own schooling, so they dont give a shit if their own money goes towards being a fucking moron. Just a bunch of spoiled brats (not all, just some).

And another thing, just because I go to college that doesn’t mean my grades are shitty. For your information, I got a 4.1 gpa this semester (Fanshawe’s gpa goes to 4.2). And I’ll be the first to say grades are definitely not everything, but I worked my ass off this semester, as did a number of my classmates who are all intelligent hardworking people. And I know people from both colleges and universities who are just as hardworking and intelligent. And I know just as many people from colleges and universities who are lazy morons.

So yeah, thats my rant. I have nothing against university students, except the inflated egotistical heads that some of them seem to get. Well to those of you who are like that: when you’re done your 4 years of university and you can’t get a job, yeah try going to teachers college LIKE THE REST OF YOU IDIOTS, or maybe you’ll rethink your snooty college stance altogether. 

 

My final thoughts: FUCK YOU!