So, as the little subtitle there says, this is also a blog about games, comics, and movies. Today I'm going to go over the vidjamagames I'm playing.
WoW
yeah, been playing since January of 2006. I figured "Ya know, I'm overloading on credits, in my final semester of my senior year. This seems like the perfect opportunity to start up a massive time sink."
My main is a holy specced troll priest (For the Horde!) and have been running with the guild's main raid team since Febuary of 2009. Did some 10 man runs back in the TBC days, but joined the big boy raid team last year.
Currently, kind of on burn out before the new expansion drops in December, but still playing around on alts to get a feel for the new mechanics that came with the latest patch.
For those of you that don't speak WoW, I'm playing on a secondary character to understand the recent changes to how the game is played that were implemented in the latest update.
I've been a lore nut since the beginning and I remember getting the game for Christmas after playing it at my best friend's house. Many times did we tie up the phone lines to play games on the original battle.net and even more often did one of our parents pick up the phones to simply get MODEM NOISE to the ear.
Try the 10 day subscription at worldofwarcraft.com. if it's for you, awesome, it's worth trying out. If not, well, nothing spent, nothing lost.
Transformers: War For Cybertron
Me? Playing a decent Transformers video game? Shocking, I know. I had never really been a huge fan of the third person shooters. In fact, till this came out the only shooters I ever owned were Goldeneye and Link's Crossbow Training. But, as I've found, if you take any game and put the right skin on it, people will buy it, even if it's outside of their comfort zone.
The basis of the game is a prequel to Transformers canon material. This is how Megatron got his following, how Optimus became Optimus Prime, THIS is the start of The Great War that spilled into that beloved cartoon and movie (the one from the 80's, not the recent ones that make my bwains hurt).
The story is decent, and I've found that depending on the faction I'm on, my play styles are a little different. During the Decepticon campaign, I didn't care what I ran into or how much ammo I used until the thing was dead. In the Autobot one, I'm more careful with my driving and make sure each shot counts. Dunno if it's the mentality of the faction, or if I care more about the 'bots.
If you watched the cartoon and have a 360 or a PS3, it's definitely worth picking up.
Monday Night Combat
Transformers: WFC opened me up to third person shooters, and I remembered seeing this game during PAX East. When I saw it available for download on the XBL Marketplace, I gave it a shot.
I have been immensely happy with this purchase.
It's a class based team 3rd person shooter. There is no pretense in this game. There's no alien enemies like in Teh Haloz. There's no rival spies stealing informational briefcases from TF2. You are a clone, killing other clones, for one reason;
$$$$$
The entire premise is it's a sporting event. You kill your opponents and are awarded straight up cash to level your skills in game. Out of game, it lets you buy titles or open up customizable classes. You customize them by signing up for puntastic endorsements to increase health, clip size, skill recharge time etc.
If you've ever popped down and wanted to just shoot someone with no pretense or story, MNC is definitely worth the download.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Far Side in Real Life
This weekend, I was in NYC, and I experienced the work of Gary Larson, first hand.
My girlfriend and I were in the smallest Starbucks I had ever seen. It was one of those cut off corners of the building and it was just the place for the drinks, and the place for you to stand. No seats, no tables, no cups to buy, just get your coffee, pay, the get out.
As we waited for the drinks, a woman came up to the doors, which had handles and the sign that said "pull" on them. She then proceeded to push once, twice, and then give up.
Did she think "Oh no. they've finally figured out how to trap us in the Starbucks till we don't have the money to buy our tall, but in a venti cup, half caff, mocha, single vanillia, goat milk, soy whipped, latte?"
Apparently, my girlfriend was afraid I was going to pop a vessel because I didn't want to burst out laughing at this woman.
My girlfriend and I were in the smallest Starbucks I had ever seen. It was one of those cut off corners of the building and it was just the place for the drinks, and the place for you to stand. No seats, no tables, no cups to buy, just get your coffee, pay, the get out.
As we waited for the drinks, a woman came up to the doors, which had handles and the sign that said "pull" on them. She then proceeded to push once, twice, and then give up.
Did she think "Oh no. they've finally figured out how to trap us in the Starbucks till we don't have the money to buy our tall, but in a venti cup, half caff, mocha, single vanillia, goat milk, soy whipped, latte?"
Apparently, my girlfriend was afraid I was going to pop a vessel because I didn't want to burst out laughing at this woman.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
How Dare You Suggest I Be a Responsible Parent?
The news is old, but this is a post I've been kicking around in my head for a while, and well, 4 day weekends strangely motivate me to post.
Earlier this year, the folks out in Santa Clara California decided to ban "toys and other promotions... offered with high - calorie children's meals." How dare they make the decision on what kids can spend their hard earned money on after they've driven to the restaurant for their Kid's Meal at the local fast food place?!
Wait. Something's not right.
Oh, yeah. PARENTS are the ones that are letting their little butterballs scarf down a double cheeseburger in order to play with the vaguely Bakugaan shaped piece of plastic that accompanies it. But in today's world, the parent see's the kids meal as "Wait? I don't have to cook, clean up, OR entertain my kids myself? Sign me up!"
When I was a little nerdling in the great garden state, and there was a toy I wanted, my mom would either do one of two things. She would have the meal herself (back when she worked nights at the mall) and given the toy to me, or she would take me there on a nice Saturday. The reason it would be a nice Saturday is then she would take me to the park where I could run around and play for a few hours and burn off the calories I ingested.
But as I said, in today's day, a lot of parents don't have the time to do that, and they don't dare say no to their precious bypass babies. This is the same thing that happened to the Cookie Monster. Now cookies are only a sometimes food for him. That's just BS. He's not "The Cookie Positive Role Model," he's a freaking MONSTER. But whatever, I guess they'd rather have Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird be the bad guys than have to explain a balanced diet to their kids.
The other thing is a bit of a call back to my post about the BK Mimosa. Several Watch Dog Groups have issues with it because they feel it encourages drinking at a younger age. It's made with Sprite, not actual champagne. If it was made with actual champagne, no one would drink it. BK has a hard enough time deciding on a quality of "meat" let alone what vintage of champagne to mix with their watered down OJ.
But yes, Burger King's mimosa is going to encourage the kids to drink. Just like car commercials will encourage them to drive and Willy Wonka will encourage them to look like the cast of The Jersey Shore. I didn't know what the heck a mimosa was till I was 14. And by that point, I can't even begin to imagine how many beer commercials I had seen.
Parents need to step up and be the positive force in their kids' lives and not rely on the TV or internet to raise them. That's how you end up with your credit cards maxed out on Farmville crops.
Earlier this year, the folks out in Santa Clara California decided to ban "toys and other promotions... offered with high - calorie children's meals." How dare they make the decision on what kids can spend their hard earned money on after they've driven to the restaurant for their Kid's Meal at the local fast food place?!
Wait. Something's not right.
Oh, yeah. PARENTS are the ones that are letting their little butterballs scarf down a double cheeseburger in order to play with the vaguely Bakugaan shaped piece of plastic that accompanies it. But in today's world, the parent see's the kids meal as "Wait? I don't have to cook, clean up, OR entertain my kids myself? Sign me up!"
When I was a little nerdling in the great garden state, and there was a toy I wanted, my mom would either do one of two things. She would have the meal herself (back when she worked nights at the mall) and given the toy to me, or she would take me there on a nice Saturday. The reason it would be a nice Saturday is then she would take me to the park where I could run around and play for a few hours and burn off the calories I ingested.
But as I said, in today's day, a lot of parents don't have the time to do that, and they don't dare say no to their precious bypass babies. This is the same thing that happened to the Cookie Monster. Now cookies are only a sometimes food for him. That's just BS. He's not "The Cookie Positive Role Model," he's a freaking MONSTER. But whatever, I guess they'd rather have Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird be the bad guys than have to explain a balanced diet to their kids.
The other thing is a bit of a call back to my post about the BK Mimosa. Several Watch Dog Groups have issues with it because they feel it encourages drinking at a younger age. It's made with Sprite, not actual champagne. If it was made with actual champagne, no one would drink it. BK has a hard enough time deciding on a quality of "meat" let alone what vintage of champagne to mix with their watered down OJ.
But yes, Burger King's mimosa is going to encourage the kids to drink. Just like car commercials will encourage them to drive and Willy Wonka will encourage them to look like the cast of The Jersey Shore. I didn't know what the heck a mimosa was till I was 14. And by that point, I can't even begin to imagine how many beer commercials I had seen.
Parents need to step up and be the positive force in their kids' lives and not rely on the TV or internet to raise them. That's how you end up with your credit cards maxed out on Farmville crops.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
When Does Tribute Become Ripoff?
I was working on my next D&D session and sent a half joke tweet to Scott Kurtz www.pvponline.com letting him know I'd be using the clan of dwarves his character from the podcast hails. One of the players I met during World Wide D&D Day, Tracy @sarahdarkmagic on the twitters, commented that we should start a group for those of us that build on the information provided by the Podcast. This got me thinking, where does that line blur?
People will always pull from what they know for inspiration. I've based characters off literary works, TV characters, Webcomics, and Comic Books. But that's what they've always been, inspired by. My sarcastic Cleric? Greg House. My Ranged based fighter? Green Arrow and Hawkeye. My competent battle ready bard? Elan from Order of The Stick (though it was a known fact he was modeled after him as much as possible). Tracy's twitter name? The sister of Jim DarkMagic (Of the New Ham-Shire Darkmagics). When you're just starting playing the game, it's easiest to go "Ok, I want a character like X." It's making them LIKE X that's the key and not just making them X.
Then there's the people that make them identical in game. In Wow, any night elf hunter named Legolas, Legoolas Legolaas, or some variety there in makes me nauseous. I camped a human named Aaragorn for half an hour on principle.
Without inspiration from something else, nothing would be improved. But if you're going to borrow, don't take. Make it your own, you'll enjoy it more.
People will always pull from what they know for inspiration. I've based characters off literary works, TV characters, Webcomics, and Comic Books. But that's what they've always been, inspired by. My sarcastic Cleric? Greg House. My Ranged based fighter? Green Arrow and Hawkeye. My competent battle ready bard? Elan from Order of The Stick (though it was a known fact he was modeled after him as much as possible). Tracy's twitter name? The sister of Jim DarkMagic (Of the New Ham-Shire Darkmagics). When you're just starting playing the game, it's easiest to go "Ok, I want a character like X." It's making them LIKE X that's the key and not just making them X.
Then there's the people that make them identical in game. In Wow, any night elf hunter named Legolas, Legoolas Legolaas, or some variety there in makes me nauseous. I camped a human named Aaragorn for half an hour on principle.
Without inspiration from something else, nothing would be improved. But if you're going to borrow, don't take. Make it your own, you'll enjoy it more.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
PAX East: A Sensory Overload Recap
In the first of many geeky weekends of Boston, I attended PAX East at the Hynnes Convention Center. Those unfamiliar with Penny Arcade (and if you're reading this, you probably have ready the comic, bought the merch, and may or may not have donated to Child's Play), it is a videogame/generic geekery/social phenomenon webcomic. Since 2004 they have been hosting the video game convention that has taken what made E3 awesome and brought it to the fans. Till 2010 this convention has been in Seattle and simply called Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Last week was the first east coast version: PAX East.
Friday:
This first day of the con, I took the day off and got there about 2 hours before the doors opened...and I wasn't even close to being in the first 2000 people there. The line was fairly epic and to keep us entertained they had various games on three giant screens. LOLcats, games, someone snarkily typing on a computer behind the scenes. They know their audience well. After that we could have gone for the exhibit halls or the Keynote speech. I opted for the keynote.
Wil "Shut Up Wesley" Wheaton provided an excellent keynote. Most people ( including Wil) felt it wasn't as good as his 2007 speech, but I enjoyed the entire thing. His near opening disparaging remark to Jack Thompson drew laughter from the Bostonian crowd. He pointed out the JT doesn't matter at all anymore; disbarred, discredited, and people don't rush to carry the "Video Games are the Devil" flag like the used to. His message was one of welcome as we were finally home.
Going into the exhibit halls with that message made the overwhelming rooms oddly welcoming. I wandered around with neon stars in my eyes trying to take it all in. First booth I went to was Geek Chic HQ . Here I was able to check out their high end gaming tables, such as the Emissary, recently featured in Scott Kurtz's PVPOnline. These tables were absolutely beautiful and I'm trying to convince my Darling Girlfriend that one can be our dinner table in our eventual house.
The next booth I spent significant time at was Wizards of The Coast. I had plenty of experience playing D&D 4th edition but stepped into the live action 4th ed demo. you go in parties of 6 after randomly taking a character. I ended up playing a Goliath Barbarian. We had two turns to try and kill a dragon. yeah, not so much, my d20 rolls were low so, our tank got eaten.
Nintendo was hocking the rerelease of Pokemon gold and silver and that was about it at their booth. Dante's Inferno had a booth...even though the game is already out. Turbine was presenting Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings online.
Both panels I wanted to check out were full so I spawn camped bandland. Got to meet Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Scott Kurtz. All of them couldn't have been nicer. Had a nice little chit chat with Storm about their most recent podcast and got pictures with them and JoCo. Scott was kind enough to sign my DMG and sketch his character Binwin Bronzebottom on the title page.
Went and drummed a round of Rock Band for Re: Your Brains and then went out drinking with guildies. Good times.
Saturday
I hated the world. A morning after drinking and only 4 hours of sleep I was in line at 8 AM. Thankfully this ensured my access to the concert that night. I took a quick look at Rockstar games, Behemoth (bought a green Knight, but more on that later), and nVidia's booth. I got into the line ride for The Wheaton and waited. Got to meet a representative from Think Geek and got a free Annoyatron. While in line Wil blessed a fan's dice and the enforcers kept pointing out there was no line for Scott Kurtz or Kris Straub. Wil signed my DM screen and got a picture of him in his recursive Wil Wheaton shirt. I felt a little bad because the only place for someone to sign on the screen ws next to the sections entitled "Healing a dying character" and "Death and Dying." If you aren't sure why that's funny, go listen to the PA, PVP, and Wil Wheaton D&D podcasts. He got a chuckle out of it and signed.
I made it to the musician's panel. JoCo, Paul and Storm, Metroid Metal, MC Frontalot, The Protomen, Anamanguchi, and Video Games Orchestra answered the questions posed to them. Well, the VGO guy didn't say anything. Paul and Storm tended to provide humorous commentary to everyone else's questions.
I popped home to drop off my messenger bag since I wouldn't need it for the concert and checked out the Knight I bought from The Behemoth games, the makers of Castle Crashers. I asked for a green knight, the box had a green knight label on it, the little box inside had a green dot, and the shield was green....the Knight was blue. Tune into Sunday to see the resolution.
I grabbed dinner with some friends and then made my way into the line for the concert. Again, the screen games kept us entertained and then they let us in. I made it into the pit for most of VGO's set, but then had to sit after my legs couldna hold me anymore.
The concert opened with the 3rd round of The Omegathon: Rock Band. The two teams performed The Gambler...it wasn't exactly pretty but highly entertaining.
VGO opened with Mario, busted out some Chrono Trigger, FF, and a metal inspired remix of Castlevania. Definitely an amazing performance and recommend checking them out if available.
Paul and Storm opened up their show by lip syncing to the recently popularized Trololo meme. Wil Wheaton joined them during that. It was kind of epic. They still performed Opening Band despite being the middle act, but as they said they "are rebels like that." There was a bit on an incident during the song though. Typically the fans will throw (hopefully) clean panties onto the stage. This time, however, Paul was struck with a Hostess Fruit Pie. Paul promptly smashed it on stage in a fit of mock anger and a laugh was had by all. They did their favorites Nun Fight and The Captain's Wife's Lament. Probably the best moment came during Lament:
Storm: "Give us...a ZOMBIE Arrr"
Audience (Groaning): "arrrrrrrrrrr"
Storm: "I think they be ready for Jonathan Coulton"
Paul: " 'Ready for Jonathan Coulton' is my Paul and Storm tribute band"
Coulton came out for his usual acoustic goodness and then brought out some special guests. Paul and Storm typically join him in his performances but this time he brought out the rhythm section of Metroid Metal for several songs. He referred to this combination as "Coultron" and it was awesome.
After fighting a mass of fellow nerds for a cab, I made my way home and passed out.
Sunday
Not having any panels or concerts to get into or the such, I was able to sleep in and not be there when the doors opened, I slept in. I made my way down to the con with the Knight figure. Sadly, when I got to the Behemoth booth, they informed me that they were sold out of knights, but offered me the display one. Now the display one was slightly discolored (not a lot though) so they said I could keep both knights and they called the game designer over and he signed the display case for me. Big props to The Behemoth games. If you own an Xbox 360 and haven't downloaded Castle Crashers...you're doin' it wrong.
All in all, PAX East was an amazing experience. Experience is the only way to describe it. People said it was cramped, but I had no issues moving around, and I'm not exactly of the tiniest of frames. The panel halls could have been larger, but there wasn't much they could do about that and let the gamers have their space to play. And at PAX, the gamer always comes first.
Can't wait till PAX East 2011.
Friday:
This first day of the con, I took the day off and got there about 2 hours before the doors opened...and I wasn't even close to being in the first 2000 people there. The line was fairly epic and to keep us entertained they had various games on three giant screens. LOLcats, games, someone snarkily typing on a computer behind the scenes. They know their audience well. After that we could have gone for the exhibit halls or the Keynote speech. I opted for the keynote.
Wil "Shut Up Wesley" Wheaton provided an excellent keynote. Most people ( including Wil) felt it wasn't as good as his 2007 speech, but I enjoyed the entire thing. His near opening disparaging remark to Jack Thompson drew laughter from the Bostonian crowd. He pointed out the JT doesn't matter at all anymore; disbarred, discredited, and people don't rush to carry the "Video Games are the Devil" flag like the used to. His message was one of welcome as we were finally home.
Going into the exhibit halls with that message made the overwhelming rooms oddly welcoming. I wandered around with neon stars in my eyes trying to take it all in. First booth I went to was Geek Chic HQ . Here I was able to check out their high end gaming tables, such as the Emissary, recently featured in Scott Kurtz's PVPOnline. These tables were absolutely beautiful and I'm trying to convince my Darling Girlfriend that one can be our dinner table in our eventual house.
The next booth I spent significant time at was Wizards of The Coast. I had plenty of experience playing D&D 4th edition but stepped into the live action 4th ed demo. you go in parties of 6 after randomly taking a character. I ended up playing a Goliath Barbarian. We had two turns to try and kill a dragon. yeah, not so much, my d20 rolls were low so, our tank got eaten.
Nintendo was hocking the rerelease of Pokemon gold and silver and that was about it at their booth. Dante's Inferno had a booth...even though the game is already out. Turbine was presenting Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings online.
Both panels I wanted to check out were full so I spawn camped bandland. Got to meet Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Scott Kurtz. All of them couldn't have been nicer. Had a nice little chit chat with Storm about their most recent podcast and got pictures with them and JoCo. Scott was kind enough to sign my DMG and sketch his character Binwin Bronzebottom on the title page.
Went and drummed a round of Rock Band for Re: Your Brains and then went out drinking with guildies. Good times.
Saturday
I hated the world. A morning after drinking and only 4 hours of sleep I was in line at 8 AM. Thankfully this ensured my access to the concert that night. I took a quick look at Rockstar games, Behemoth (bought a green Knight, but more on that later), and nVidia's booth. I got into the line ride for The Wheaton and waited. Got to meet a representative from Think Geek and got a free Annoyatron. While in line Wil blessed a fan's dice and the enforcers kept pointing out there was no line for Scott Kurtz or Kris Straub. Wil signed my DM screen and got a picture of him in his recursive Wil Wheaton shirt. I felt a little bad because the only place for someone to sign on the screen ws next to the sections entitled "Healing a dying character" and "Death and Dying." If you aren't sure why that's funny, go listen to the PA, PVP, and Wil Wheaton D&D podcasts. He got a chuckle out of it and signed.
I made it to the musician's panel. JoCo, Paul and Storm, Metroid Metal, MC Frontalot, The Protomen, Anamanguchi, and Video Games Orchestra answered the questions posed to them. Well, the VGO guy didn't say anything. Paul and Storm tended to provide humorous commentary to everyone else's questions.
I popped home to drop off my messenger bag since I wouldn't need it for the concert and checked out the Knight I bought from The Behemoth games, the makers of Castle Crashers. I asked for a green knight, the box had a green knight label on it, the little box inside had a green dot, and the shield was green....the Knight was blue. Tune into Sunday to see the resolution.
I grabbed dinner with some friends and then made my way into the line for the concert. Again, the screen games kept us entertained and then they let us in. I made it into the pit for most of VGO's set, but then had to sit after my legs couldna hold me anymore.
The concert opened with the 3rd round of The Omegathon: Rock Band. The two teams performed The Gambler...it wasn't exactly pretty but highly entertaining.
VGO opened with Mario, busted out some Chrono Trigger, FF, and a metal inspired remix of Castlevania. Definitely an amazing performance and recommend checking them out if available.
Paul and Storm opened up their show by lip syncing to the recently popularized Trololo meme. Wil Wheaton joined them during that. It was kind of epic. They still performed Opening Band despite being the middle act, but as they said they "are rebels like that." There was a bit on an incident during the song though. Typically the fans will throw (hopefully) clean panties onto the stage. This time, however, Paul was struck with a Hostess Fruit Pie. Paul promptly smashed it on stage in a fit of mock anger and a laugh was had by all. They did their favorites Nun Fight and The Captain's Wife's Lament. Probably the best moment came during Lament:
Storm: "Give us...a ZOMBIE Arrr"
Audience (Groaning): "arrrrrrrrrrr"
Storm: "I think they be ready for Jonathan Coulton"
Paul: " 'Ready for Jonathan Coulton' is my Paul and Storm tribute band"
Coulton came out for his usual acoustic goodness and then brought out some special guests. Paul and Storm typically join him in his performances but this time he brought out the rhythm section of Metroid Metal for several songs. He referred to this combination as "Coultron" and it was awesome.
After fighting a mass of fellow nerds for a cab, I made my way home and passed out.
Sunday
Not having any panels or concerts to get into or the such, I was able to sleep in and not be there when the doors opened, I slept in. I made my way down to the con with the Knight figure. Sadly, when I got to the Behemoth booth, they informed me that they were sold out of knights, but offered me the display one. Now the display one was slightly discolored (not a lot though) so they said I could keep both knights and they called the game designer over and he signed the display case for me. Big props to The Behemoth games. If you own an Xbox 360 and haven't downloaded Castle Crashers...you're doin' it wrong.
All in all, PAX East was an amazing experience. Experience is the only way to describe it. People said it was cramped, but I had no issues moving around, and I'm not exactly of the tiniest of frames. The panel halls could have been larger, but there wasn't much they could do about that and let the gamers have their space to play. And at PAX, the gamer always comes first.
Can't wait till PAX East 2011.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
McClassy
I apologize that the title is a bit of a misnomer as the inspiration for this post came from Burger King, but "BK Class" doesn't have the same ring. I also apologize if this is old news as I don't watch nearly as much TV as I used to.
As I walk the the valley of the tragically hip, I saw that Burger King now offers a brunch menu. WHY? The french toast sticks not fancy enough for some patrons? This is just delusions of grandeur for a fast food restaurant. If I wanted a sandwich on baked ciabatta, I'm not going to go to BK, they have issues getting burgers right, let alone fancy things like a ham sandwich. Then there's the BK Mimosa. I'm going to let that one sit for a moment with you, dear readers. Good? Yeah, I'm willing to wager that it's just OJ with club soda for the carbonation, cause there's no way there's actual champagne, let alone sparkling cider, in there.
And this is just going to lead to escalation. I've seen it before. McDonalds had a double cheeseburger, BK started to offer one. Wendy's let you put Bacon on burgers, now BK does. Burger King has their "Steakhouse" burgers, so now McDonalds has their angus burgers. It's just going to be a matter of time before we get the McMignon and Wendy's new Caviarinator.
As I walk the the valley of the tragically hip, I saw that Burger King now offers a brunch menu. WHY? The french toast sticks not fancy enough for some patrons? This is just delusions of grandeur for a fast food restaurant. If I wanted a sandwich on baked ciabatta, I'm not going to go to BK, they have issues getting burgers right, let alone fancy things like a ham sandwich. Then there's the BK Mimosa. I'm going to let that one sit for a moment with you, dear readers. Good? Yeah, I'm willing to wager that it's just OJ with club soda for the carbonation, cause there's no way there's actual champagne, let alone sparkling cider, in there.
And this is just going to lead to escalation. I've seen it before. McDonalds had a double cheeseburger, BK started to offer one. Wendy's let you put Bacon on burgers, now BK does. Burger King has their "Steakhouse" burgers, so now McDonalds has their angus burgers. It's just going to be a matter of time before we get the McMignon and Wendy's new Caviarinator.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Slacktivism: When You Care Enough to Not Do Anything
So, I figured I'd blow the dust of ye olde bloge with a post about something that's bothered me for a long time. This issue has been finally given a name: Slacktivism. As stated in the title, it's when you think you're doing something for a cause...but not actually doing anything.
The first incidence of slacktivism I ever encountered was the 2008 Presidential Election. I logged onto Facebook and found that my friends had all pledged their status to Obama or McCain. In my opinion, this was a waste of their time and my live feed space. No presidential election has been, nor will one ever be, decided by Facebook statuses. If you don't go out and ACTUALLY vote, well, your status and 4 bucks will get you a cup of Starbucks. Now, there were some instances where my friends used their pages and links to share candidates other than the big two, and that I understand. But, just pledging your status without urging people to go out in vote is a waste.
The next one is the big "Post this in your status if..." and there's some spiel about people needing health care, or showing support for the troops, or something of the like. Again, all for people supporting our troops over seas, but seeing a hashtag of #weloveourtroops or a bunch of their friends with that status might raise morale a little, but donating money for care packages or freakin' silly string will go a lot further towards keeping the men and women stationed there safe. US Senators aren't going to look at their kids' Facebook page and say "Hmm, a lot of her friends are for/against this bill, maybe I should reconsider....Ooh! James found a chicken in Farmville!" The wall of text people told you to copy and paste didn't provide a link to how to write to your local Senators or Congressmen to voice your opinion, just a block of text that someone freaked out when I pasted the Star Wars parody.
If you're going to try and raise awareness about something...make it clear. The bra color/breast cancer awareness was, to me, the biggest flop. I honestly didn't have a clue what was going on till there was an NBC article the next day. People really didn't think that one through, all I know is it's just another reason I'm glad I'm not friends with my mom on Facebook.
The first incidence of slacktivism I ever encountered was the 2008 Presidential Election. I logged onto Facebook and found that my friends had all pledged their status to Obama or McCain. In my opinion, this was a waste of their time and my live feed space. No presidential election has been, nor will one ever be, decided by Facebook statuses. If you don't go out and ACTUALLY vote, well, your status and 4 bucks will get you a cup of Starbucks. Now, there were some instances where my friends used their pages and links to share candidates other than the big two, and that I understand. But, just pledging your status without urging people to go out in vote is a waste.
The next one is the big "Post this in your status if..." and there's some spiel about people needing health care, or showing support for the troops, or something of the like. Again, all for people supporting our troops over seas, but seeing a hashtag of #weloveourtroops or a bunch of their friends with that status might raise morale a little, but donating money for care packages or freakin' silly string will go a lot further towards keeping the men and women stationed there safe. US Senators aren't going to look at their kids' Facebook page and say "Hmm, a lot of her friends are for/against this bill, maybe I should reconsider....Ooh! James found a chicken in Farmville!" The wall of text people told you to copy and paste didn't provide a link to how to write to your local Senators or Congressmen to voice your opinion, just a block of text that someone freaked out when I pasted the Star Wars parody.
If you're going to try and raise awareness about something...make it clear. The bra color/breast cancer awareness was, to me, the biggest flop. I honestly didn't have a clue what was going on till there was an NBC article the next day. People really didn't think that one through, all I know is it's just another reason I'm glad I'm not friends with my mom on Facebook.
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