+++++++UPDATE:
To all the cynical asshats on the net who have been posting that the reason I am so positive about the movie is because I have a financial stake in the flick, let me make it clear: I don't get SHIT for this movie, money wise. I think Sony negotiated me an associate producer credit and I am grateful for that. But there is no money with that credit, and there is no back end. I was a Sony employee when I creatively lead a team of 100+ people to bring God of War to life and don't own .1% of the property in any way. Which means, no money EVER came to me- or will come to me- off the film, be it a massive hit or a massive flop. And no money has come to me from the game since I left Sony. You guys who think I've for some financial stake in this property are simply wrong.
I love the GOD OF WAR universe and have much faith in the folks Mosaic have assembled to turn the game into a movie...and I am a lover of all good movies, especially big popcorn action flicks, which the GOD OF WAR film is shaping up to be....but no, I ain't making diddly off the movie...but thanks for acting like you're an expert...must suck to not be knowledgeable about ANYTHING...
END UPDATE++++++++++++++++
...well not officially, but here ya go:
And here's my response:
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Am I a total dork if I wear these?
I know....God, I know. What a fucking idiot I would be...and what a sheep I am to care. But MAN, I think these are cool...and MAN I know the chances of me having sex if I own a pair of these drops to like .2%....and the .2% is only because during Comic Con there ARE really drunk geek girls....but they are so drunk they will prob. puke all over you during the act...so hell, that's out.......but man, they are cool!
CALL ME CLIFFY B!!!!...and some politics and game design thrown in :)
ps. IRON MAN B-RAY HITS TODAY! SWEET!
Friday, September 26, 2008
LOOKING IN A MIRROR
My oldest daughter- she's 5- is running around the house, screaming and kicking and wailing about not wanting to eat breakfast, not wanting to brush her teeth, not wanting to get dressed. In essence, she doesn't want to go to school.
She wants to stay home and groom her toy horses and then set up a pretend horse corral (animals are her passion right now... she wants to be an animal rescuer like Diego- from the kid's tv show-when she grows up).
And here I sit, listening to the ET soundtrack, working on an amazing creative project with an amazing creative team, and doing exactly what I love to do. There is nothing else I want to be doing other than what I am doing right now. This work is my passion.
And it occurs to me: When I was a kid, I was JUST like my daughter.
Sitting here typing this, I am having vivid recollections of my own childhood, of me reading a behind- the- scenes/making of magazine for INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM before school one morning. I so did not want to go to class. I can see the magazine in my mind so clearly, see myself, sitting at the kitchen table and looking at those pictures, the pictures of the people who got to wake up and - instead of going to school- got to go and MAKE the movies I loved. And I remember LONGING, FANTASIZING about getting to wake up and go do those sorts of amazing,creative jobs, instead of going to school, where I had to study stuff I had no interest in at all.
And now, my youngest- at only 5- is doing the exact same thing!
Granted, she likes school more than I ever did. She gets that from her mom, thank God. And hopefully- because she's she's a good mix of me and her mom- she'll be a lot more balanced than I ever was/am :)
And she'll also have parents like I had: parents who totally allowed me and supported me and encouraged me to follow my passions.
But man...right now? Right now I so feel her pain. I so know- to this day- exactly what she is feeling.
And at the same time, I am so lucky and so happy and so grateful to be doing what I do, doing what I love.
And if I could- and perhaps somehow in writing this, I am- I would love to reach back through the years and whisper in the ear of that kid pouring over the Indiana Jones magazine: 'hang in there kid...you'll get to where you want to be...I promise....'
She wants to stay home and groom her toy horses and then set up a pretend horse corral (animals are her passion right now... she wants to be an animal rescuer like Diego- from the kid's tv show-when she grows up).
And here I sit, listening to the ET soundtrack, working on an amazing creative project with an amazing creative team, and doing exactly what I love to do. There is nothing else I want to be doing other than what I am doing right now. This work is my passion.
And it occurs to me: When I was a kid, I was JUST like my daughter.
Sitting here typing this, I am having vivid recollections of my own childhood, of me reading a behind- the- scenes/making of magazine for INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM before school one morning. I so did not want to go to class. I can see the magazine in my mind so clearly, see myself, sitting at the kitchen table and looking at those pictures, the pictures of the people who got to wake up and - instead of going to school- got to go and MAKE the movies I loved. And I remember LONGING, FANTASIZING about getting to wake up and go do those sorts of amazing,creative jobs, instead of going to school, where I had to study stuff I had no interest in at all.
And now, my youngest- at only 5- is doing the exact same thing!
Granted, she likes school more than I ever did. She gets that from her mom, thank God. And hopefully- because she's she's a good mix of me and her mom- she'll be a lot more balanced than I ever was/am :)
And she'll also have parents like I had: parents who totally allowed me and supported me and encouraged me to follow my passions.
But man...right now? Right now I so feel her pain. I so know- to this day- exactly what she is feeling.
And at the same time, I am so lucky and so happy and so grateful to be doing what I do, doing what I love.
And if I could- and perhaps somehow in writing this, I am- I would love to reach back through the years and whisper in the ear of that kid pouring over the Indiana Jones magazine: 'hang in there kid...you'll get to where you want to be...I promise....'
Thursday, September 25, 2008
WORK IS NUTS!
Sorry for the lack of posts this week- will hit you guys up in the next day or two. Work is super busy right now, so just not a lot of time.
Quick hits:
LEGO BATMAN=More of the same? Only 1 level in but without the Lucas licenses, I'm kind of bored. Really well made; like some of the ideas so far (Batman bomb suit is fun, like some of the puzzles). But the formula may be wearing thin for me and plus: It IS a kid's game and the power of the license was enough to see me thru in the past. Not a rabid Batman fan, so that must play a part. Now Lego Spidey? Fuck it, Lego MARVEL! Hells yeah, I'm playing that day one!
FORCE UNLEASHED- Got it, installed it, have not pressed start cause no time to play right now. Loved the demo tho. Weekend play maybe?
WIPEOUT HD- Out today! Sweet! Saw on GAF it's crashing tho? Is that happening all over? Anyone played it? Good stuff?
MCCAIN BAILS OUT OF DEBATE- Come the fuck on people. The man- who has admitted he knows little about economics- has to rush off and 'play' hero and 'save the country'? He can't take 3 hours out of his 'saving the country' schedule (which no one has said they need him to do) to, you know, FUCKING DEBATE so the country- which he claims to want to put first- can hear the differences between him and his opponent for the most powerful job in the world? And now he wants to suspend the VP debates as well? Come on...I know some Republicans/McCain supporters read this blog...are you guys/gals really buying this? It's a DEBATE! It's not a tour of duty! It's 3 hours out of this time. The economy will COLLAPSE if he takes 3 hours off to give the country a conversation it needs and deserves??!? And fuck, why can't Palin debate as scheduled? What, SHE is needed now too to save the country? You guys CAN NOT be buying this. You don't have to like or vote for Obama....you can still vote for McCain and be passionate about that choice...but you can't really think this is not bullshit...can you?!?!
REVENGE OF THE SITH- Jake Campbell- Scott's Son (my biz partner/co-owner of Eat Sleep Play and supremo game maker in general)- is always telling me the Star Wars prequels are good, better than the originals,etc. I always chalked up that insane, "you must consume copious amounts of crack' statement to the fact that Jake was a kid when the new trilogy came out and Lucas always says the new movies (and the old ones?!?!) are made for kids,etc. BUT the other nite I popped in REVENGE OF THE SITH and somehow was able- for the first time since it hit DVD- to get past 2-3 of the gut wrenchingly bad scenes that in the past had always had me ripping the movie out of my player and tossing it back on the shelf (the 'Padme combing her hair and talking about love being blind' scene is particularly difficult to stomach). But somehow- not sure why- I chose to endure and get past those scenes. And once I made it thru those horrific moments (and they are all toward the start), I was surprised and happy to find that- for me- it's a really good Star Wars movie. Like, one of the best. Like it goes: EMPIRE, STAR WARS, SITH.
As a directed film, it can't hold up to most film school festival entries...I mean, the prequels are really poorly directed movies. No drama to the visual storytelling AT all. That scene where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatene get caught by the force field/beam of light? You'd think that would shot in a dramatic way, using a number of tense, close shots edited together in some sort of emotionally evocative way. But nah: Lucas just sets the camera down and we get a long shot of some people running and then stopping because they are now surrounded by some light. The movie is filled with missed opportunities to tell the story in a visual way. And it hurts the film tremendously.
But as a STORY, it's pretty darn good I think. Need to go back and re-watch Ep 1 and Ep 2 and see if my mind has changed on those. But on Revenge, I'm like: 'hey, this is actually pretty good...Jake is right!' ...now I'm watching all the docs on the Revenge disc and really digging those.
Ok, back to work- later ya'll!
David
Quick hits:
LEGO BATMAN=More of the same? Only 1 level in but without the Lucas licenses, I'm kind of bored. Really well made; like some of the ideas so far (Batman bomb suit is fun, like some of the puzzles). But the formula may be wearing thin for me and plus: It IS a kid's game and the power of the license was enough to see me thru in the past. Not a rabid Batman fan, so that must play a part. Now Lego Spidey? Fuck it, Lego MARVEL! Hells yeah, I'm playing that day one!
FORCE UNLEASHED- Got it, installed it, have not pressed start cause no time to play right now. Loved the demo tho. Weekend play maybe?
WIPEOUT HD- Out today! Sweet! Saw on GAF it's crashing tho? Is that happening all over? Anyone played it? Good stuff?
MCCAIN BAILS OUT OF DEBATE- Come the fuck on people. The man- who has admitted he knows little about economics- has to rush off and 'play' hero and 'save the country'? He can't take 3 hours out of his 'saving the country' schedule (which no one has said they need him to do) to, you know, FUCKING DEBATE so the country- which he claims to want to put first- can hear the differences between him and his opponent for the most powerful job in the world? And now he wants to suspend the VP debates as well? Come on...I know some Republicans/McCain supporters read this blog...are you guys/gals really buying this? It's a DEBATE! It's not a tour of duty! It's 3 hours out of this time. The economy will COLLAPSE if he takes 3 hours off to give the country a conversation it needs and deserves??!? And fuck, why can't Palin debate as scheduled? What, SHE is needed now too to save the country? You guys CAN NOT be buying this. You don't have to like or vote for Obama....you can still vote for McCain and be passionate about that choice...but you can't really think this is not bullshit...can you?!?!
REVENGE OF THE SITH- Jake Campbell- Scott's Son (my biz partner/co-owner of Eat Sleep Play and supremo game maker in general)- is always telling me the Star Wars prequels are good, better than the originals,etc. I always chalked up that insane, "you must consume copious amounts of crack' statement to the fact that Jake was a kid when the new trilogy came out and Lucas always says the new movies (and the old ones?!?!) are made for kids,etc. BUT the other nite I popped in REVENGE OF THE SITH and somehow was able- for the first time since it hit DVD- to get past 2-3 of the gut wrenchingly bad scenes that in the past had always had me ripping the movie out of my player and tossing it back on the shelf (the 'Padme combing her hair and talking about love being blind' scene is particularly difficult to stomach). But somehow- not sure why- I chose to endure and get past those scenes. And once I made it thru those horrific moments (and they are all toward the start), I was surprised and happy to find that- for me- it's a really good Star Wars movie. Like, one of the best. Like it goes: EMPIRE, STAR WARS, SITH.
As a directed film, it can't hold up to most film school festival entries...I mean, the prequels are really poorly directed movies. No drama to the visual storytelling AT all. That scene where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatene get caught by the force field/beam of light? You'd think that would shot in a dramatic way, using a number of tense, close shots edited together in some sort of emotionally evocative way. But nah: Lucas just sets the camera down and we get a long shot of some people running and then stopping because they are now surrounded by some light. The movie is filled with missed opportunities to tell the story in a visual way. And it hurts the film tremendously.
But as a STORY, it's pretty darn good I think. Need to go back and re-watch Ep 1 and Ep 2 and see if my mind has changed on those. But on Revenge, I'm like: 'hey, this is actually pretty good...Jake is right!' ...now I'm watching all the docs on the Revenge disc and really digging those.
Ok, back to work- later ya'll!
David
Friday, September 19, 2008
EYE OF THE TIGER
Couldn't sleep last nite, so I browsed the PSN movie store. I really like the movie store on Playstation and have downloaded a surprisingly semi-decent amount of content from the service. I never thought I would use it, but there's something really nice about renting movies from the comfort of your couch.
There are two things that really bug me about the store, however.
- the rates are too high on television episodes. 2 bucks for an individual episode of a tv show? That's a bit nuts when you can get 3-6 episodes for 3.99 if you rent a disc containing 1/3 of a television season at Blockbuster or from Netflix.
-why are so many of the newest releases for purchase only? I've passed on the PSN movie store on at least 5 occasions- and updated my Netflix cue instead- because the PSN store only gave me a purchase option for a movie that I wanted to rent.
Just last week- geeky and lame as it is (and it IS)- I really wanted to watch the new Avengers animated movie that recently launched on the service. But my ONLY option via PSN was to pony up 15 bucks to OWN a digital copy of a movie that I will probably only watch for 30 minutes (cause I imagine it's not a very engaging movie if you are over the age of 10). So I just added the movie to my Netflix cue and the PSN store lost a sale.
To that point, does anyone want to own a digital copy of a movie, anyway? I suppose if you watch the flick a lot of times it makes sense. But given that digital movies take up valuable hard drive space, wouldn't those frequently watched films be the ones you choose to own on Blu Ray or DVD?
And on a tangent: I can understand, support, and actually enjoy downloading games (whatever the size of the title). And I'm not sure why, as you'd think I'd have the same reservations with downloading games as I do movies...but I don't. Why is that? Sure, some are ONLY downloadable titles, so you have no choice. But what about games like BURNOUT:PARADISE and WARHAWK that you can get on disc or digitally? Or what about the games I own on Steam? For some reason, I LIKE owning digital games but not digital movies. Is this just because I work in the business and see a financial value to selling games digitally and bypassing brick and mortar? Or is there another reason? Not too sure.
But anyway:
So why would the PSN movie store NOT offer the options to buy AND rent? Are they trying to get as much cash as possible by selling digital copies first and then opening up the rental channel once they've milked the sales channel? That seems kind of short sighted and a bad way to generate good faith among users (especially with a fledgling system). And ESPECIALLY since anyone can easily counter that tactic by running down the road to Blockbuster and/or updating their Netflix cue (and in doing so, saving 11 bucks by renting the movie and not buying it). So why are they doing it? They clearly have a rental service in place and working, so I don't imagine it's a technical issue. But whatever the reason, it sucks much ass and they need to stop.
I have not shopped on the Xbox Live video store in over a year so I'm not sure if it's the same 'over there'. Do you guys know if they have the same set up? I know about the Netflix subscription thing, but that aside, can you rent AND/OR buy ANY movie on that service or do they have a lot of the movies that are purchase only as well? And if they do, they need to knock that shit off as well.
So, there's that.
Ok, but even with those issues, I really like the PSN movie store. Nice layout, good selection. Oh, and it rocks for the kids- they like browsing the family section with me and discovering movies they've never heard of but end up really liking.
So I was up late using it last night.
And I rented ROCKY III as it's my fave Rocky and I've been wanting to watch it for awhile. Love ALL the Rockys, save for number 5, but I've been wanting to see Rocky and Mr. 'T' go at it for the last few months. So I picked #3.
And so I rent it (yes!), and start watching. And what do I see in the first 20 minutes? Right as the 'Clubber is hungry and Rocky is getting lazy' montage? Well check it out:
How cool is that? Mr. 'T' kicked my ass! Sweet!
I saw this movie first as a kid with my mom during the summer of 82. It was playing at the Brookwood Mall theater and my brother was away at summer camp, my dad was at work. This was a magic theater, by the way. SAME theater where I saw Raiders, ET, Clash of the Titans, and Excalibur. But anyway, saw it with my mom and you would have thought she would have noticed our last name appearing in the flick. But she never said anything and for some reason it never caught my eye till last nite. Hey, maybe this is one of those living advertisement things, where they alter the movie and put the last name of the person who is paying for the account into the flick? Nah....
I guess I could have just posted that pic and not gone into my whole love/dislike thing with the PSN store but like I said- I was up late...and so I'm tired now. And my brain is not working so well on such little sleep. I think I got about 4 hours of sleep last nite (late to bed, up early as my youngest crawled into bed with me at 5am and I've been up since...but hell, I don't mind...would rather have Rocky III and my kids hanging in bed with me than 8 hours of sleep, anyday!)
Ok, time to eat some breakfast and hit some gameplay tuning!
Later ya'll! Good weekend!
David
There are two things that really bug me about the store, however.
- the rates are too high on television episodes. 2 bucks for an individual episode of a tv show? That's a bit nuts when you can get 3-6 episodes for 3.99 if you rent a disc containing 1/3 of a television season at Blockbuster or from Netflix.
-why are so many of the newest releases for purchase only? I've passed on the PSN movie store on at least 5 occasions- and updated my Netflix cue instead- because the PSN store only gave me a purchase option for a movie that I wanted to rent.
Just last week- geeky and lame as it is (and it IS)- I really wanted to watch the new Avengers animated movie that recently launched on the service. But my ONLY option via PSN was to pony up 15 bucks to OWN a digital copy of a movie that I will probably only watch for 30 minutes (cause I imagine it's not a very engaging movie if you are over the age of 10). So I just added the movie to my Netflix cue and the PSN store lost a sale.
To that point, does anyone want to own a digital copy of a movie, anyway? I suppose if you watch the flick a lot of times it makes sense. But given that digital movies take up valuable hard drive space, wouldn't those frequently watched films be the ones you choose to own on Blu Ray or DVD?
And on a tangent: I can understand, support, and actually enjoy downloading games (whatever the size of the title). And I'm not sure why, as you'd think I'd have the same reservations with downloading games as I do movies...but I don't. Why is that? Sure, some are ONLY downloadable titles, so you have no choice. But what about games like BURNOUT:PARADISE and WARHAWK that you can get on disc or digitally? Or what about the games I own on Steam? For some reason, I LIKE owning digital games but not digital movies. Is this just because I work in the business and see a financial value to selling games digitally and bypassing brick and mortar? Or is there another reason? Not too sure.
But anyway:
So why would the PSN movie store NOT offer the options to buy AND rent? Are they trying to get as much cash as possible by selling digital copies first and then opening up the rental channel once they've milked the sales channel? That seems kind of short sighted and a bad way to generate good faith among users (especially with a fledgling system). And ESPECIALLY since anyone can easily counter that tactic by running down the road to Blockbuster and/or updating their Netflix cue (and in doing so, saving 11 bucks by renting the movie and not buying it). So why are they doing it? They clearly have a rental service in place and working, so I don't imagine it's a technical issue. But whatever the reason, it sucks much ass and they need to stop.
I have not shopped on the Xbox Live video store in over a year so I'm not sure if it's the same 'over there'. Do you guys know if they have the same set up? I know about the Netflix subscription thing, but that aside, can you rent AND/OR buy ANY movie on that service or do they have a lot of the movies that are purchase only as well? And if they do, they need to knock that shit off as well.
So, there's that.
Ok, but even with those issues, I really like the PSN movie store. Nice layout, good selection. Oh, and it rocks for the kids- they like browsing the family section with me and discovering movies they've never heard of but end up really liking.
So I was up late using it last night.
And I rented ROCKY III as it's my fave Rocky and I've been wanting to watch it for awhile. Love ALL the Rockys, save for number 5, but I've been wanting to see Rocky and Mr. 'T' go at it for the last few months. So I picked #3.
And so I rent it (yes!), and start watching. And what do I see in the first 20 minutes? Right as the 'Clubber is hungry and Rocky is getting lazy' montage? Well check it out:
How cool is that? Mr. 'T' kicked my ass! Sweet!
I saw this movie first as a kid with my mom during the summer of 82. It was playing at the Brookwood Mall theater and my brother was away at summer camp, my dad was at work. This was a magic theater, by the way. SAME theater where I saw Raiders, ET, Clash of the Titans, and Excalibur. But anyway, saw it with my mom and you would have thought she would have noticed our last name appearing in the flick. But she never said anything and for some reason it never caught my eye till last nite. Hey, maybe this is one of those living advertisement things, where they alter the movie and put the last name of the person who is paying for the account into the flick? Nah....
I guess I could have just posted that pic and not gone into my whole love/dislike thing with the PSN store but like I said- I was up late...and so I'm tired now. And my brain is not working so well on such little sleep. I think I got about 4 hours of sleep last nite (late to bed, up early as my youngest crawled into bed with me at 5am and I've been up since...but hell, I don't mind...would rather have Rocky III and my kids hanging in bed with me than 8 hours of sleep, anyday!)
Ok, time to eat some breakfast and hit some gameplay tuning!
Later ya'll! Good weekend!
David
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
POLITICAL BAN? + MAP DESIGN + RACING GAMES + INDY + BEV HILLS 90210
+++++++++UPDATE:
Regarding the recently reported GOD OF WAR lawsuit:
I am not able to discuss any aspect of the lawsuit. Press can direct questions to Sony PR.
I'm sure you guys/gals understand.
David
END UPDATE
++++++++++++++
Kinda long and rambly...sorry bout that, mind is focused on map design right now :)
Regarding the recently reported GOD OF WAR lawsuit:
I am not able to discuss any aspect of the lawsuit. Press can direct questions to Sony PR.
I'm sure you guys/gals understand.
David
END UPDATE
++++++++++++++
Kinda long and rambly...sorry bout that, mind is focused on map design right now :)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
LIVE WEBCAST TEST- one more time :)
+++++SECOND UPDATE:
SWEET! Worked great!!!
All I gotta do now is figure out how to get another vid signal in from someone else's web cam so I can do chats with someone else and we're in biz....will post in the next few days about the first official webcast! Thanks for the help ya'll!
David
+++++++++++
++++UPDATE
Need to hook up a mic- gonna be 9pm pacific time, fyi
+++++++
Bear with me, this may be another clusterfuck but I think this time it's gonna work a hell of a lot better than last time :)
Will be on live in about 10 minutes to test (it's 8:15pm pacific time on Saturday nite right now):
Watch live video from davidjaffe's channel on Justin.tv
SWEET! Worked great!!!
All I gotta do now is figure out how to get another vid signal in from someone else's web cam so I can do chats with someone else and we're in biz....will post in the next few days about the first official webcast! Thanks for the help ya'll!
David
+++++++++++
++++UPDATE
Need to hook up a mic- gonna be 9pm pacific time, fyi
+++++++
Bear with me, this may be another clusterfuck but I think this time it's gonna work a hell of a lot better than last time :)
Will be on live in about 10 minutes to test (it's 8:15pm pacific time on Saturday nite right now):
Watch live video from davidjaffe's channel on Justin.tv
Friday, September 12, 2008
HEY 19!
One of my buddies from college- hey Susan!- just uploaded this pic from 1993/94 to facebook!
Oh MAN! Look at those glasses! That hair!!! Wow! Please, when you are guys are done with the time machine please let me take it for a spin. I need to go back to that night and beat some sense into that clueless motherfucker! :)
One thing that has not changed however is my never ending love for The Olive Garden- that is where we were when that pic was taken. You can tell by the very classy mural displaying an Itallian country side that has been painted on the wall. :)
Yep, there we are, at the Olive Garden in Westwood (all the SC' kids took the tram to Westwood on weekends...what were we gonna do, hang out in South Central?!?!). So that's us, hanging on the stairs leading up to the 'main dining room' of that fine institution of Italian cuisine! Oh man, I can taste the breadsticks now!
Ok, swamped with work (documents and maps)...gotta run!
Shit, are there any movies to see this weekend?
Later!
David
Thursday, September 11, 2008
SEPT 11 + SLEAZY POLITICS + NEW GAMES!+ DOORKNOB+ SHIT, I'M GETTING FAT!!!!
and ps: even the educational quotes BEFORE the smear are taken out of context and newer quotes from the SAME sources say Obama has done more for education in the last year while McCain has done nothing! Amazing...
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
BEHIND THE SCENES...
++++UPDATE:
Here she is, as requested!
+++++END UPDATE:
Took the family to Disneyland last week for my youngest's 3 year old bday! What a total blast- I love that place; love taking my kids. We did the whole shebang: stayed over, did the character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen (Oh my GOD the woman playing Princess Jasmine is so hot!), rode EVERYTHING at least once at Dland, stayed for the parade, and got to California Adventure for the first time! Heck, even bought a couple of season passes as I plan on going back at least a couple of times this year with my kids.
Two quick things about it:
1- We went in the off season in the middle of the week and let me just tell you- if you can swing it- THAT is the way to go to Disneyland. On Wednesday there NO lines! And I mean NO lines. The amount of time it took to get on space mountain was LITERALLY the amount of time it took to walk the distance from the entrance of the ride (outside in tomorrow land) to the place where you actually sit your ass down on the coaster. I rode that thing three times in the span of an hour! So great! But I will say the experience of WAITING and ANTICIPATING to get on a ride DOES add a lot to the experience. Without it, the ride actually feels a bit less special. But it was still great. And I don't know if anyone out there knows but on Wednesday Space Mountain felt so damn fast that I think it was the fastest coaster I've ever been on. Road it again Thursday and it felt slower, more normal. Do they change the speeds on any given day?!?!
2- California Adventure was even less crowded and I really dug it. Tower of Terror?!? Oh my GOD! Talk about AMAZING presentation! SUCH a wonderful experience. I took my 5 year old without realizing how scary it was gonna be (me being an idiot, I guess I ignored the word TERROR in the fucking title of the ride)! But still, it is so fun! Anyway, caught this pic:
I just thought this was pretty funny as Disney does such a great job at keeping a lot of the behind the scenes stuff hidden. But me and my oldest are on the ferris wheel type thing that really is quite scary if you are afraid of heights and as we are about to start the ride, they send this woman out to clean the puke from the car in front of us. See that trash bag she's holding? Full of paper towels that have sopped up quite a bit of vomit.
Not sure why, but I enjoyed that/found it interesting.
Magic Kingdom huh??! How about the Kingdom Where You Puke and Vomit and Stuff and Get Reall Sick And.......errr....ahem...yeah...anyway....
And man, I was really, really scared being way up there. I never understood how people got scared going to theme parks because I'm always aware that- for the most part- everything is ultra safe. But being up so high really pressed some primal buttons in me. And being aware we were/are in earthquake country pushed even more buttons. And I really had to force myself to joke and chat with my kid just so she could see her dad was not afriad...but dude, I totally was. It was kinda fun to be scared like that...rides NEVER scare me.
Ok, back to it. Just saying hi- chat later!
David
Here she is, as requested!
+++++END UPDATE:
Took the family to Disneyland last week for my youngest's 3 year old bday! What a total blast- I love that place; love taking my kids. We did the whole shebang: stayed over, did the character breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen (Oh my GOD the woman playing Princess Jasmine is so hot!), rode EVERYTHING at least once at Dland, stayed for the parade, and got to California Adventure for the first time! Heck, even bought a couple of season passes as I plan on going back at least a couple of times this year with my kids.
Two quick things about it:
1- We went in the off season in the middle of the week and let me just tell you- if you can swing it- THAT is the way to go to Disneyland. On Wednesday there NO lines! And I mean NO lines. The amount of time it took to get on space mountain was LITERALLY the amount of time it took to walk the distance from the entrance of the ride (outside in tomorrow land) to the place where you actually sit your ass down on the coaster. I rode that thing three times in the span of an hour! So great! But I will say the experience of WAITING and ANTICIPATING to get on a ride DOES add a lot to the experience. Without it, the ride actually feels a bit less special. But it was still great. And I don't know if anyone out there knows but on Wednesday Space Mountain felt so damn fast that I think it was the fastest coaster I've ever been on. Road it again Thursday and it felt slower, more normal. Do they change the speeds on any given day?!?!
2- California Adventure was even less crowded and I really dug it. Tower of Terror?!? Oh my GOD! Talk about AMAZING presentation! SUCH a wonderful experience. I took my 5 year old without realizing how scary it was gonna be (me being an idiot, I guess I ignored the word TERROR in the fucking title of the ride)! But still, it is so fun! Anyway, caught this pic:
I just thought this was pretty funny as Disney does such a great job at keeping a lot of the behind the scenes stuff hidden. But me and my oldest are on the ferris wheel type thing that really is quite scary if you are afraid of heights and as we are about to start the ride, they send this woman out to clean the puke from the car in front of us. See that trash bag she's holding? Full of paper towels that have sopped up quite a bit of vomit.
Not sure why, but I enjoyed that/found it interesting.
Magic Kingdom huh??! How about the Kingdom Where You Puke and Vomit and Stuff and Get Reall Sick And.......errr....ahem...yeah...anyway....
And man, I was really, really scared being way up there. I never understood how people got scared going to theme parks because I'm always aware that- for the most part- everything is ultra safe. But being up so high really pressed some primal buttons in me. And being aware we were/are in earthquake country pushed even more buttons. And I really had to force myself to joke and chat with my kid just so she could see her dad was not afriad...but dude, I totally was. It was kinda fun to be scared like that...rides NEVER scare me.
Ok, back to it. Just saying hi- chat later!
David
Monday, September 08, 2008
BATH TIME FUN!!!
I used to bring my super hero action figures into the tub with me when I was a kid. I have fond memories of massive battles between Superman, Spidey, The Penguin, and the rest of the legion of doom, battling it out amid giant fortresses constructed out of Mr. Bubble.
Here's a a pic from our tub tonite, right after my two girls got out...my how times have changed:
Have they no respect for their dad's work?!?!
Ah well, at least they ain't playing with action figures from some damn Xbox game :)
David
Here's a a pic from our tub tonite, right after my two girls got out...my how times have changed:
Have they no respect for their dad's work?!?!
Ah well, at least they ain't playing with action figures from some damn Xbox game :)
David
Politics...ONE MORE TIME!!!! :)
While this blog will always deal with my passions (games, movies, comics, kids, politics, spirituality, religion,etc) I have to admit, it’s been a bit lopsided last week with all the political talk. It’s tough cause there are only 50something more days till a pretty important election and if you are a political junkie like me, it tends to stay on your brain.
BUT I’m gonna get some other posts going this week- one on game saves inspired by the great gamasutra article that ran the other day. Also gonna post a cool pic- I think- of some Disneyland employee cleaning puke out of a ferris wheel car. I took it when me and my oldest kid were at the park last week...never actually seen that before at a theme park :)
So we’ll get back to some more fun and game making stuff in a day or two, promise! ☺
BUT I did want to post a few last words about the political stuff, at least for now, just to get some stuff off my chest. Here we go:
#1- THANK YOU guys, haters and supporters alike, who posted well thought out, well researched comments on the previous posts. I have always said I am open to changing my mind on all kinds of things (from God to politics to Dc Vs. Marvel…although truth be told- much as I love DC- you got a much better chance of getting me to vote for Bush again before I take DC over Marvel…)…but you guys really made me think and made me do some more research and really open my mind more to both sides. Heck, BECAUSE of some of you more conservative folks, I even went out to get the TIME issue with McCain on the cover so I could learn more about the man. Check it:
And yes, I dig Mercs 2 alot....graphics need some love and there are bugs galore...but a 5/10?!? Come on Gamespot...what the hell?!?
But back to McCain:
So to the conservatives and/or pro-McCainers, thanks for that. I hope at least a few other readers got as much out of it as I did.
#2- What have I learned? Well, the reality is, you NEVER know the whole truth. Even when the damn candidate HIMSELF stands in front of 40 plus million people and tells you something, it don’t mean it’s true. And this goes for Obama as well as McCain. Here’s just two examples of things I found totally depressing and disheartening on both sides:
OBAMA SAID THIS A FEW WEEKS AGO:
"The fact is that although we have had a president who is opposed to abortion over the last eight years, abortions have not gone down.''
Turns out- best as I can tell- that is not true. Click on this...
So that sucks right? Lying sack of shit, yes?
But
McCAIN SAID THIS A FEW DAYS AGO:
"Obama says Iran is a 'tiny' country, 'doesn't pose a serious threat.'"
Turns out- again, best as I can figure- not true. Click me!
And it goes on and on and on. The whole Palin opposed the BRIDGE TO NOWHERE bit? Sort of true but not really…turns out she was for it for long enough for a lot of the financial and political damage to be done. But you’d never know that from listening to Sean Hannity or reading much of the news. As for Biden saying that McCain has changed his position on invading Iraq, well from what I’ve found, it turns out he really has not.
And so while I know it's obvious and should come as no surprise that politicians lie, I guess for some reason, it’s just so damn easy to get caught up in the my team/your team bullshit because they are telling you SO MUCH of what you want to hear. And some of them are so damn good at pitching and spinning that you just get caught up in it. At least I do/did. Cause look, when Obama hits the stage and talks about a better life for ALL of us and making the country respectable in the eyes of the world again and he does it so well, you just WANT to believe him. Or at least I do. When Palin talks about fuck the media, she is here for the people, well for folks who feel they are not represented in the media they see every night on tv, well hell, I can see how you would WANT to believe her as well.
And so all these lies, just to get my vote....well, it just sickens me.
But I won’t become apathetic. I’m just going to work harder to find out what is true and what is not before I make up my mind. And while I am pretty sure I will vote for Obama, it’s the first time I’ve considered McCain in a serious light. He probably won’t get my vote if some of the more extreme stuff I’ve heard about Palin turns out to be true, but thanks to a lot of you readers, I’ve opened my mind to the possibility of at least considering him. And so for that, I say thank you.
By the way, here’s a great site I found that does not seem to swing left or right that has journalists go thru speeches and interviews with the candidates and determine what is true, half true, or a fat out lie.
Politifact.com
Ain't the net grand?!?!
#3- SHE’S A MILF, DEAL WITH IT- I don’t and won’t take this back. There are PRO Palin supporters saying the same damn thing. Perhaps you live somewhere where calling someone a MILF is the equivalent of calling someone a bitch or a ho’ or a prick or something. Where I am from- and I live in the burbs and am surrounded by moms all day, many of them very hot- being thought of as a MILF is a compliment. Is it crass? Sure, but come on, look at the address in your address bar. You know where YOU chose to come visit, yes? So sure, it’s crass. But it’s not some big deal to me. She’s a total MILF and I’d be happy to fuck the shit out her, even if she loses the election. ☺
#4-FOR THE RECORD- People have attacked me for saying, "I am a liberal so that makes me intelligent". The video in question is a few inches down, so please watch it again if you are so inclined. Anyone WATCHING it and listening to what I was rambling about would clearly take from it what I intended...which was: 'being a liberal, of COURSE I think the ideas I am spouting are intelligent and if you are a conservative, you will think my ideas are stupid.' I think I was pretty clear on that but some of you reading this blog- no offense- are stupid fucking idiots who have little to no reading comprehension skills and clearly you don't have any video watching skills either.
#5- THE PROMISE- Here is my promise to you, in writing. In interviews with me about our games and on our website and when promoting the game, you will ONLY get Jaffe the game designer. I respect the fact that if you click on an interview with me that is suppose to be about T-...err, the GAME we are making- or a game we HAVE made- you don't want or need to hear my ramblings about politics or movies or being a dad. I appreciate that and respect that. If you come HERE you're gonna get all of that stuff and more- and for FREE no less!!! :)- but I will not force it on folks who simply want to enjoy our games. There are SO MANY people who make the games I work on and many of them do not share my views, not by a longshot. But the games we make are as much theirs as they are mine and as they- ultimately- are yours. It is not fair to ANY of us for my views to taint the games we make. So that is my promise to you. Come here for the personal; Jaffe stuff. But I won't talk personal stuff anymore with the press...only games...unless it's a specific interview that is supposed to be about JUST ME and I am not promoting a specific game.
What I CAN NOT control is if a game site picks something up that is not game related from my blog and posts it. But please- if you see that- know that that is not my doing.
Ok, sick today but trying to do a map for the guys in Utah thru this foggy head…real slow going. Gotta run- chat soon and more game posts on the way!
David
BUT I’m gonna get some other posts going this week- one on game saves inspired by the great gamasutra article that ran the other day. Also gonna post a cool pic- I think- of some Disneyland employee cleaning puke out of a ferris wheel car. I took it when me and my oldest kid were at the park last week...never actually seen that before at a theme park :)
So we’ll get back to some more fun and game making stuff in a day or two, promise! ☺
BUT I did want to post a few last words about the political stuff, at least for now, just to get some stuff off my chest. Here we go:
#1- THANK YOU guys, haters and supporters alike, who posted well thought out, well researched comments on the previous posts. I have always said I am open to changing my mind on all kinds of things (from God to politics to Dc Vs. Marvel…although truth be told- much as I love DC- you got a much better chance of getting me to vote for Bush again before I take DC over Marvel…)…but you guys really made me think and made me do some more research and really open my mind more to both sides. Heck, BECAUSE of some of you more conservative folks, I even went out to get the TIME issue with McCain on the cover so I could learn more about the man. Check it:
And yes, I dig Mercs 2 alot....graphics need some love and there are bugs galore...but a 5/10?!? Come on Gamespot...what the hell?!?
But back to McCain:
So to the conservatives and/or pro-McCainers, thanks for that. I hope at least a few other readers got as much out of it as I did.
#2- What have I learned? Well, the reality is, you NEVER know the whole truth. Even when the damn candidate HIMSELF stands in front of 40 plus million people and tells you something, it don’t mean it’s true. And this goes for Obama as well as McCain. Here’s just two examples of things I found totally depressing and disheartening on both sides:
OBAMA SAID THIS A FEW WEEKS AGO:
"The fact is that although we have had a president who is opposed to abortion over the last eight years, abortions have not gone down.''
Turns out- best as I can tell- that is not true. Click on this...
So that sucks right? Lying sack of shit, yes?
But
McCAIN SAID THIS A FEW DAYS AGO:
"Obama says Iran is a 'tiny' country, 'doesn't pose a serious threat.'"
Turns out- again, best as I can figure- not true. Click me!
And it goes on and on and on. The whole Palin opposed the BRIDGE TO NOWHERE bit? Sort of true but not really…turns out she was for it for long enough for a lot of the financial and political damage to be done. But you’d never know that from listening to Sean Hannity or reading much of the news. As for Biden saying that McCain has changed his position on invading Iraq, well from what I’ve found, it turns out he really has not.
And so while I know it's obvious and should come as no surprise that politicians lie, I guess for some reason, it’s just so damn easy to get caught up in the my team/your team bullshit because they are telling you SO MUCH of what you want to hear. And some of them are so damn good at pitching and spinning that you just get caught up in it. At least I do/did. Cause look, when Obama hits the stage and talks about a better life for ALL of us and making the country respectable in the eyes of the world again and he does it so well, you just WANT to believe him. Or at least I do. When Palin talks about fuck the media, she is here for the people, well for folks who feel they are not represented in the media they see every night on tv, well hell, I can see how you would WANT to believe her as well.
And so all these lies, just to get my vote....well, it just sickens me.
But I won’t become apathetic. I’m just going to work harder to find out what is true and what is not before I make up my mind. And while I am pretty sure I will vote for Obama, it’s the first time I’ve considered McCain in a serious light. He probably won’t get my vote if some of the more extreme stuff I’ve heard about Palin turns out to be true, but thanks to a lot of you readers, I’ve opened my mind to the possibility of at least considering him. And so for that, I say thank you.
By the way, here’s a great site I found that does not seem to swing left or right that has journalists go thru speeches and interviews with the candidates and determine what is true, half true, or a fat out lie.
Politifact.com
Ain't the net grand?!?!
#3- SHE’S A MILF, DEAL WITH IT- I don’t and won’t take this back. There are PRO Palin supporters saying the same damn thing. Perhaps you live somewhere where calling someone a MILF is the equivalent of calling someone a bitch or a ho’ or a prick or something. Where I am from- and I live in the burbs and am surrounded by moms all day, many of them very hot- being thought of as a MILF is a compliment. Is it crass? Sure, but come on, look at the address in your address bar. You know where YOU chose to come visit, yes? So sure, it’s crass. But it’s not some big deal to me. She’s a total MILF and I’d be happy to fuck the shit out her, even if she loses the election. ☺
#4-FOR THE RECORD- People have attacked me for saying, "I am a liberal so that makes me intelligent". The video in question is a few inches down, so please watch it again if you are so inclined. Anyone WATCHING it and listening to what I was rambling about would clearly take from it what I intended...which was: 'being a liberal, of COURSE I think the ideas I am spouting are intelligent and if you are a conservative, you will think my ideas are stupid.' I think I was pretty clear on that but some of you reading this blog- no offense- are stupid fucking idiots who have little to no reading comprehension skills and clearly you don't have any video watching skills either.
#5- THE PROMISE- Here is my promise to you, in writing. In interviews with me about our games and on our website and when promoting the game, you will ONLY get Jaffe the game designer. I respect the fact that if you click on an interview with me that is suppose to be about T-...err, the GAME we are making- or a game we HAVE made- you don't want or need to hear my ramblings about politics or movies or being a dad. I appreciate that and respect that. If you come HERE you're gonna get all of that stuff and more- and for FREE no less!!! :)- but I will not force it on folks who simply want to enjoy our games. There are SO MANY people who make the games I work on and many of them do not share my views, not by a longshot. But the games we make are as much theirs as they are mine and as they- ultimately- are yours. It is not fair to ANY of us for my views to taint the games we make. So that is my promise to you. Come here for the personal; Jaffe stuff. But I won't talk personal stuff anymore with the press...only games...unless it's a specific interview that is supposed to be about JUST ME and I am not promoting a specific game.
What I CAN NOT control is if a game site picks something up that is not game related from my blog and posts it. But please- if you see that- know that that is not my doing.
Ok, sick today but trying to do a map for the guys in Utah thru this foggy head…real slow going. Gotta run- chat soon and more game posts on the way!
David
Friday, September 05, 2008
DO I EVEN WANT TO VOTE ANY MORE?!?
SECOND UPDATE:
Real fast:
a- I've seen some comments where people assumed I was stoned when I made these videos. Just to be clear. I do think weed is fine FOR ADULTS to use SOMETIMES. I have used it in my adult life a small number of times, but not many. But I have nothing against it. BUT I never show up to work- or in this case, when I'm about to start work in the morning- stoned or having had a drink (which I also rarely do). I was really, really tired yesterday cause I had spent 2 days walking 2 little around Disneyland and I was wiped. That is why I seem so fried.
b- I never said that I was intelligent because I was liberal. I said that the views I had just expressed in that part of the video to me- because I am liberal- were intelligent TO ME. And then said, if you are a conservative, you would think the views I had just expressed in the video were STUPID. Some of you people need to learn to read and watch shit better, but hey, what's new.
END SECOND UPDATE:
UPDATE:
Note to Kotaku: Come on guys, you really think this is worth putting on your blog? I LOVE Kotaku but this is nuts...when we talk about our games- which yes, you smarmy Kotaku journalist asshole, we ARE making a new one :) - we would LOVE for you to cover it and hell, if you gotta cover this in order to cover that, then go ahead. But please, the people who give a shit what I say know to come here....no reason to put this totally non game related rant on your site, is there?
And this is not me saying: JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!! If you think your readers care, put it up. I'm cool with that. It's just odd that you would think they actually care. By reading the comments, they sure don't seem to.
And yes, calling you an ass is a joke- I love your site!
END UPDATE
+++++++++++++++
Sorry about the double videos- accidentily hit the stop button when recording the first one.
Have a great weekend ya'll!
David
ps. I think it's cool how it looks like Jeanne D'arc is looking up at me over there on a bit to the bottom right...
Real fast:
a- I've seen some comments where people assumed I was stoned when I made these videos. Just to be clear. I do think weed is fine FOR ADULTS to use SOMETIMES. I have used it in my adult life a small number of times, but not many. But I have nothing against it. BUT I never show up to work- or in this case, when I'm about to start work in the morning- stoned or having had a drink (which I also rarely do). I was really, really tired yesterday cause I had spent 2 days walking 2 little around Disneyland and I was wiped. That is why I seem so fried.
b- I never said that I was intelligent because I was liberal. I said that the views I had just expressed in that part of the video to me- because I am liberal- were intelligent TO ME. And then said, if you are a conservative, you would think the views I had just expressed in the video were STUPID. Some of you people need to learn to read and watch shit better, but hey, what's new.
END SECOND UPDATE:
UPDATE:
Note to Kotaku: Come on guys, you really think this is worth putting on your blog? I LOVE Kotaku but this is nuts...when we talk about our games- which yes, you smarmy Kotaku journalist asshole, we ARE making a new one :) - we would LOVE for you to cover it and hell, if you gotta cover this in order to cover that, then go ahead. But please, the people who give a shit what I say know to come here....no reason to put this totally non game related rant on your site, is there?
And this is not me saying: JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!! If you think your readers care, put it up. I'm cool with that. It's just odd that you would think they actually care. By reading the comments, they sure don't seem to.
And yes, calling you an ass is a joke- I love your site!
END UPDATE
+++++++++++++++
Sorry about the double videos- accidentily hit the stop button when recording the first one.
Have a great weekend ya'll!
David
ps. I think it's cool how it looks like Jeanne D'arc is looking up at me over there on a bit to the bottom right...
Monday, September 01, 2008
Bugging the Fuck Out...
**********FINAL UPDATE:
Well folks- thanks for the lively debate today. I really enjoy debating, discussing, and learning about politics and ya'll sure did not disappoint, on any side of the argument :)
I am out for the next 2 days- we're taking our kids to Disneyland to celebrate my youngest daughter's 3rd birthday! So I'll chat with ya'll- about something NON political- when I return.
But in closing, I gotta point this out, cause it's something I learned/realized today during chatting with some of ya'll.
So I posted this in the comments early tonite:
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all step back - myself included0 and see we are ALL little fucking drones, spewing the bullshit talking points of our respective parties? We are doing what they want us to do to keep making them money. They don't care about us, they care about getting elected and making more cash.
And then some anon commenter posted this in response:
Spoken like someone who truly knows they have lost the debate.
You can't just pull out the everyone does it arguement. It doesn't wash.
Not totally sure about what his last sentence means but I get the gist I think.
But I was serious because I think it was this anon poster- hard to keep them all straight- that was countering all of my issues with Palin with rebuttals.
And that is why I started thinking: well wait a second, who DOES have the monopoly on the truth. Here, check out where I got my news/research on some Palin's dealings:
HUFFINGTON POST PALIN
Now I'm not fool. I know Huff Post is left leaning. But I still read it. Just like I read Drudge- which tends to lean to the right. And CNN that I feel is balanced mostly but leans a bit left. I stay away from FOX as I do think it's a joke.
But this got me thinking: with all of the spin doctors out there, why do ANY of us think we have the right to say we KNOW what the truth is. It seems like for every fact, there is someone out there who would benefit from that fact being incorrect that is allowed to tell you- under the guise of authority- that their counter fact is the true statement.
I mean, somebody wrote in telling me how wrong I was about the GORE/BUSH electoral recount but you know, I've seen a number of reports that say Bush and his team were the ones trying to manipulate the system so they came out the winners. And I've seen reports that say the press did recounts and by those recounts- that if the court would have allowed them to occur- Gore would have won.
So newsflash anon: I'm not walking away from the debate because I feel I lost.
I'm walking away from it because:
a- I've changed my mind a bit about MY news sources. I mean, they are preaching to my liberal mindset and so I think it's smart for me to always be wary about that, even tho I get all warm and fuzzy reading what I want to hear because it's what I already believe so it feels nice to have something line up- true or not- with the beliefs I already have. And it's my responsibility to be smart and not get suckered into that and call that the truth, just because it makes me feel better. But doesn't the same go for the right wingers? Unless some of you get your news sources from some ultra pure place that is not corrupt and influenced by business and spin doctors, what makes you think your info is more reliable? And so I just kind of say: well, I'm not going to read 20 news stories on the same issue and then filter out the 'truth'. I just don't have that much time or that much interest. And I guess that makes me feel it's kind of a stalemate and it makes me feel that we all do miss out as citizens because we are just pawns being pushed around the board by the powers that be. And if you think that is me walking away because I lost a debate, you are wrong. It's me walking away because I don't have the tools to debate anymore since I don't know where to go to get the truth.
b- Some issues- as one of you said- are moral issues where facts are irrelevant. I guess those are the only things you can vote on and know for sure. And in that case, I am pro-second amendment assuming MANY restrictions are put on that amendment (i.e. why the FUCK it's legal to buy assault rifles, I have no clue) and McCain is not....I am pro-choice and McCain is not...and the idea of teaching anything other than science in the science classroom makes me ill...and it makes McCain and Palin happy. So for me, those are the only issues I can really know about so that is why McCain does not have my vote.
Ok, well I'm off to try to get Darth Vader thru hard mode of Soul Caliber before I hit the hay and get up early to drive to Wally World. Chat you all a bit later in the week- and thanks again for the cool discussion!
David
++++END FINAL UPDATE:
****UPDATE:
Looking at some of the comments on this post, I want to clear a few things up here, in the post itself, so it doesn't get lost:
a- if you come here looking for JUST game news- and not news about my passions (movies, comics, AND politics) or my family/personal life- you've come to the wrong blog. I like writing and reading blogs from folks who make stuff I dig that are more personal and give me not just insight but even- to an extent- a real connection with the person whose blog I am visiting. This is not a PR site. It's my personal blog. When we launch the EAT SLEEP PLAY blog soon, you can expect a more professional, game only writing style from me on that blog. But here, it's just me, the real me without the need for a professional front. If that's not working for you, I understand and respect that totally. But it's not going to change. And it's about to get worse so if you don't like this sort of stuff, come back in a few days and I'll have some gamey stuff up, I promise! :)
b- this election is more heated than most and especially amongst a lot of Democrats and liberals like myself (I am a liberal, but an independent). You folks have to understand that alot of us were told to 'get over it' when Gore 'lost' the election in 2000. it's not so much that he lost. It's that a lot of us feel the vote counting should have continued to allow at least the illusion of democracy to continue. The fact that it did not- and that who we got as president because of the Supreme Court's decision- still stings and will for a long time. It's the political equivalent of telling the country to get over Pearl Harbor or even 9/11. A massive injustice, a massive attack was perpetrated on our very democracy when the Supreme Court put an end to the recount and it will take a long time to heal. The fact that the last 8 years had George Bush and company rubbing more salt in the wound by pretty much pissing all over our constitution doesn't help the pain go away faster. The fact that us folks who yelled about it then and yell about it now are/were told to shut up and just deal with it created alot of anger and desire to put an end to the current administration's way of doing things. For a long time, McCain seemed like a man who didn't drink from the same well as the current administration. That in the last few years- since he's wanted to be president again- has changed. And so many of us see McCain as another 4 years of Bush. And that's something that is not going to go down easily.
c- After 9/11 when folks were united over going after Bin Laden and the Taliban and then Bush pulled Iraq out of his ass and those of us who called him on it were told we were unpatriotic and should leave the country, well that sucked. And now- after many of us who opposed the war have been proven right (i.e. 9/11 and Iraq had nothing to do with each other, we've been stuck in Iraq way longer than plan/promised, there seems to be no exit strategy, this war is creating more terrorists not protecting us), we're now told, 'Well, get over it, we're there now, gotta finish the job'. No one seems to be holding Bush and company accountable and us in the opposition party are once again being told to just roll over and take it. And that's something that is not going down all that easily.
d- Bush should be impeached and you can't even bring that up, even tho he prob. deserves it more than any other president in our history. So when you've got McCain hugging and kissing the guy and voting with him the majority of the time, it makes you question if you really want that guy in the office for the next four years.
So there is much anger among left thinkers in this country. And you know what alot of us see in Obama? We see a guy who- experienced in key realms or no- is actually punching back and saying, "No more'. And we like that. We deserve that. And we want to see him elected in many ways BECAUSE of that.
And ALL THAT SAID, I still respect the Republicans and right wing,conservative thinking. They have some darn good points and I am glad we can all debate them and discuss them.
But for you guys who come here for just game news, I love politics man. It's important stuff AND entertaining stuff and it's not gonna go away from this blog. It's not a political blog, but it IS part of my life. So I hope even if it's not your cup of tea, you stick around for the kinds of posts I put up that you DO like.
Thanks for reading and visiting the blog- gotta go take my kid to school! L8!
David
++++END UPDATE
Couldn't have said it better myself :)
Go Diddy!
Well folks- thanks for the lively debate today. I really enjoy debating, discussing, and learning about politics and ya'll sure did not disappoint, on any side of the argument :)
I am out for the next 2 days- we're taking our kids to Disneyland to celebrate my youngest daughter's 3rd birthday! So I'll chat with ya'll- about something NON political- when I return.
But in closing, I gotta point this out, cause it's something I learned/realized today during chatting with some of ya'll.
So I posted this in the comments early tonite:
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all step back - myself included0 and see we are ALL little fucking drones, spewing the bullshit talking points of our respective parties? We are doing what they want us to do to keep making them money. They don't care about us, they care about getting elected and making more cash.
And then some anon commenter posted this in response:
Spoken like someone who truly knows they have lost the debate.
You can't just pull out the everyone does it arguement. It doesn't wash.
Not totally sure about what his last sentence means but I get the gist I think.
But I was serious because I think it was this anon poster- hard to keep them all straight- that was countering all of my issues with Palin with rebuttals.
And that is why I started thinking: well wait a second, who DOES have the monopoly on the truth. Here, check out where I got my news/research on some Palin's dealings:
HUFFINGTON POST PALIN
Now I'm not fool. I know Huff Post is left leaning. But I still read it. Just like I read Drudge- which tends to lean to the right. And CNN that I feel is balanced mostly but leans a bit left. I stay away from FOX as I do think it's a joke.
But this got me thinking: with all of the spin doctors out there, why do ANY of us think we have the right to say we KNOW what the truth is. It seems like for every fact, there is someone out there who would benefit from that fact being incorrect that is allowed to tell you- under the guise of authority- that their counter fact is the true statement.
I mean, somebody wrote in telling me how wrong I was about the GORE/BUSH electoral recount but you know, I've seen a number of reports that say Bush and his team were the ones trying to manipulate the system so they came out the winners. And I've seen reports that say the press did recounts and by those recounts- that if the court would have allowed them to occur- Gore would have won.
So newsflash anon: I'm not walking away from the debate because I feel I lost.
I'm walking away from it because:
a- I've changed my mind a bit about MY news sources. I mean, they are preaching to my liberal mindset and so I think it's smart for me to always be wary about that, even tho I get all warm and fuzzy reading what I want to hear because it's what I already believe so it feels nice to have something line up- true or not- with the beliefs I already have. And it's my responsibility to be smart and not get suckered into that and call that the truth, just because it makes me feel better. But doesn't the same go for the right wingers? Unless some of you get your news sources from some ultra pure place that is not corrupt and influenced by business and spin doctors, what makes you think your info is more reliable? And so I just kind of say: well, I'm not going to read 20 news stories on the same issue and then filter out the 'truth'. I just don't have that much time or that much interest. And I guess that makes me feel it's kind of a stalemate and it makes me feel that we all do miss out as citizens because we are just pawns being pushed around the board by the powers that be. And if you think that is me walking away because I lost a debate, you are wrong. It's me walking away because I don't have the tools to debate anymore since I don't know where to go to get the truth.
b- Some issues- as one of you said- are moral issues where facts are irrelevant. I guess those are the only things you can vote on and know for sure. And in that case, I am pro-second amendment assuming MANY restrictions are put on that amendment (i.e. why the FUCK it's legal to buy assault rifles, I have no clue) and McCain is not....I am pro-choice and McCain is not...and the idea of teaching anything other than science in the science classroom makes me ill...and it makes McCain and Palin happy. So for me, those are the only issues I can really know about so that is why McCain does not have my vote.
Ok, well I'm off to try to get Darth Vader thru hard mode of Soul Caliber before I hit the hay and get up early to drive to Wally World. Chat you all a bit later in the week- and thanks again for the cool discussion!
David
++++END FINAL UPDATE:
****UPDATE:
Looking at some of the comments on this post, I want to clear a few things up here, in the post itself, so it doesn't get lost:
a- if you come here looking for JUST game news- and not news about my passions (movies, comics, AND politics) or my family/personal life- you've come to the wrong blog. I like writing and reading blogs from folks who make stuff I dig that are more personal and give me not just insight but even- to an extent- a real connection with the person whose blog I am visiting. This is not a PR site. It's my personal blog. When we launch the EAT SLEEP PLAY blog soon, you can expect a more professional, game only writing style from me on that blog. But here, it's just me, the real me without the need for a professional front. If that's not working for you, I understand and respect that totally. But it's not going to change. And it's about to get worse so if you don't like this sort of stuff, come back in a few days and I'll have some gamey stuff up, I promise! :)
b- this election is more heated than most and especially amongst a lot of Democrats and liberals like myself (I am a liberal, but an independent). You folks have to understand that alot of us were told to 'get over it' when Gore 'lost' the election in 2000. it's not so much that he lost. It's that a lot of us feel the vote counting should have continued to allow at least the illusion of democracy to continue. The fact that it did not- and that who we got as president because of the Supreme Court's decision- still stings and will for a long time. It's the political equivalent of telling the country to get over Pearl Harbor or even 9/11. A massive injustice, a massive attack was perpetrated on our very democracy when the Supreme Court put an end to the recount and it will take a long time to heal. The fact that the last 8 years had George Bush and company rubbing more salt in the wound by pretty much pissing all over our constitution doesn't help the pain go away faster. The fact that us folks who yelled about it then and yell about it now are/were told to shut up and just deal with it created alot of anger and desire to put an end to the current administration's way of doing things. For a long time, McCain seemed like a man who didn't drink from the same well as the current administration. That in the last few years- since he's wanted to be president again- has changed. And so many of us see McCain as another 4 years of Bush. And that's something that is not going to go down easily.
c- After 9/11 when folks were united over going after Bin Laden and the Taliban and then Bush pulled Iraq out of his ass and those of us who called him on it were told we were unpatriotic and should leave the country, well that sucked. And now- after many of us who opposed the war have been proven right (i.e. 9/11 and Iraq had nothing to do with each other, we've been stuck in Iraq way longer than plan/promised, there seems to be no exit strategy, this war is creating more terrorists not protecting us), we're now told, 'Well, get over it, we're there now, gotta finish the job'. No one seems to be holding Bush and company accountable and us in the opposition party are once again being told to just roll over and take it. And that's something that is not going down all that easily.
d- Bush should be impeached and you can't even bring that up, even tho he prob. deserves it more than any other president in our history. So when you've got McCain hugging and kissing the guy and voting with him the majority of the time, it makes you question if you really want that guy in the office for the next four years.
So there is much anger among left thinkers in this country. And you know what alot of us see in Obama? We see a guy who- experienced in key realms or no- is actually punching back and saying, "No more'. And we like that. We deserve that. And we want to see him elected in many ways BECAUSE of that.
And ALL THAT SAID, I still respect the Republicans and right wing,conservative thinking. They have some darn good points and I am glad we can all debate them and discuss them.
But for you guys who come here for just game news, I love politics man. It's important stuff AND entertaining stuff and it's not gonna go away from this blog. It's not a political blog, but it IS part of my life. So I hope even if it's not your cup of tea, you stick around for the kinds of posts I put up that you DO like.
Thanks for reading and visiting the blog- gotta go take my kid to school! L8!
David
++++END UPDATE
Couldn't have said it better myself :)
Go Diddy!