Play what's FUN, not what you think is COOL.

I just wanted to rant a bit about some people that are pissing me off. See, I'm a gamer, a lot of people are. Games used to be somewhat limited in their type. Mostly hardcore, difficult to win, lots of sports and shooters and platformers. Move from left to right while random objects try to kill you, etc. These days, games come in an absolutely gigantic variety. Hardcore, casual, 2d, 3d, indie, far too many for me to list in a reasonable amount of time.

Even if you think you aren't a "gamer" you probably are and just don't realize it. If you've played anything that even remotely resembles a game on facebook, congratulations, you're a gamer. A lot of cable and satellite boxes have games or game channels, too. And if you play those? You're a gamer. Cell phone games? Even extremely simple ones? Yep, gamer. Games have evolved into such a rich medium that they encompass everything from the 100 million dollar epic down to something as simple as the most basic, one-man indie title.

My point is, there are a LOT of different types of games. What's getting on my nerves are these people who think that certain gamers are "cooler" or "more mature" than others. That some games are just for kids and shouldn't be played by anyone over a certain age, often for the most ridiculous reasons. I'm not talking about some kind of ABCs-123s teaching game, I mean anything that's colorful. Anything that looks like it could have been a Saturday morning cartoon. Something that wouldn't horrify grandma into a coma.

I'd like to say that it's only young, childhood gamers that do this, and it often is, but not exclusively. Plenty of people of all ages fall into the trap of not playing a game or even giving it a chance because it's cartoony and colorful. Everyone wants CALL OF MADDENFIELD BROWN WARS XTREEEEME because they think a game like Kirby or Mario is too colorful and therefor only for children. These type of people are one of the biggest things wrong with gaming today. Good games with incredible gameplay get overlooked for reasons like this, it's just not fair. It hurts the entire industry when good games sell like shit sandwiches because they aren't dark and about shooting.

Whenever I see a Youtube video of a game like Kirby or Kameo and the comments section is filled with "DIS GAME IS FOR CHILDREN CALL OF DUTY IS A REAL GAME" it makes me sad, and also makes me wish people like that would all get cancer, and die. You should be willing to give anything a try, whether it's ULTRA BROWN MILITARY SHOOTER 12 or a colorful game about a fairy who turns into a plant. You're only lessening your potential fun if you only play what you think is "cool" or "mature." If you're one of those people, do yourself a big favor and start trying some of those games. You might be surprised.

Democrats, save your party

I posted a list of suggestions to fix the Republican party before and I was going to post a list of ideas to fix the Democratic party, but I won't do that. Not that I don't have ideas, it's just that most of them boil down to one thing, the Democratic party needs to grow a spine.

I like the Democratic party, in theory. In practice, it's usually somewhere between "okay" and "deep depressing disappointment." Democrats have better ideas but don't stand up for them nearly as much as they should or for as long as they should. They often abandon their grand ideas and big proposals when met with the slightest opposition. They're too afraid of defeat or bad publicity. They think they can pander to ALL demographics, age groups and ideologies.

It just comes off as... bad. Disappointing. Terrible. Republicans can go as crazy, batshit, right wing nuts as they want and get votes from their base. Democrats? Not so much. Where are the mighty Liberals, TRUE Liberals, not this watered down ineffectual moderate bullshit we get now? I don't know. I wish we could get some, in office, preferably with some kind of majority.

I want to see Democrats that say "here's what I'm fighting for, here's why I'm fighting for it" in a clear and concise manner. Democrats who won't back down when the polls shift slightly or the attack ads start. Democrats who aren't afraid to lose an election because of doing so. What we have now, for the most part, are a bunch of spineless, watered down has-beens who should have given up a long time ago and let someone else who might actually put up a real fight give it a shot.

Republicans, save your party.

I was just thinking of what a funny/horrific idea it would be for Sarah Palin to be elected president, when I remembered that she actually has a somewhat sizable following in the Republican party. I'm not worried that she could actually become president, but it reminded me of just how batshit insane the GOP has become. If you or anyone you know is a Republican, you should probably be trying to save your party from this or tell them they should be. Here's a few of my ideas.

Social conservatism, drop it

This has been a scourge on politics for a long time. It's the kind of old, outdated thinking that's holding back not only your country, but a good section of the world. It makes your entire party look like a group of bigoted cavemen Get rid of it.

Religion, keep it out of politics

This is another major flaw of the party. Mixing your own personal religion with politics and policy is holding back progress and alienating the younger, increasingly non-religious segment of the population. This is one of the things that will eventually doom your party if you don't fix it. You know how you guys just HATE the idea of Islamic law in America? Yeah, that's the way I feel about you guys and Christian politics.

Cut the bullshit

Most politicians just love them some bullshit, but the Republicans are extra guilty of this. Hell, they have their own TV network (fox "news") devoted to 24/7 Republican themed bullshit. Of all the liars in politics, Republicans are #1. If you have to lie and distort reality to win elections, you should probably work on your policies instead of your double speak.

Stop trying to steal elections

Speaking of bullshit, the Republican party should really stop trying to steal elections through things like voter misdirection, gerrymandering and voter suppression. Trying to pass "Voter I.D." laws on the phony premise of preventing fraud in minority and Democratic-leaning areas is not even subtle. Everyone knows what you're up to, stop already. This includes schemes such as trying to split the electoral votes of states like California.

Stop being corporate puppets

Being "pro-business" shouldn't mean that you're a slave to it. Your first duty should always be to the American people, not corporations. Big Business exists to serve the public, not the other way around. Stop giving huge tax breaks to oil companies and the rich while raising taxes and cutting benefits to everyone else to pay for it.

That ends my little rant about the Republican party and what it should do to start fixing itself. I have some stuff to say about the Democrats as well, that's coming soon. Thoughts? Comments? Ideas?

WTF, Internet?

So apparently, in certain traditionally liberal leaning circles of the Internet, it's now "cool" to defend George W Bush and call him "misunderstood." What? When did this happen? Are peoples memories really that short?

Yes, I'm aware that his program to help with AIDS in Africa, PEPFAR, has helped people there, great. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and you wouldn't be defending a clock that sent this country hurdling toward depression, started two wars, one of which was completely unprovoked, and ruined the standing of America in the world for generations to come.

If you want to be "cool on the Internet" try using the word "hipster" or "neckbeard" like everyone else, George W Bush is a turd not worth defending.

The First Honest Cable Company.

Funny stuff.