Aristes

I audited a film class where I saw JAWS for the first time. I was never interested in the film before, but I was quite pleasantly surprised. It was a good flick. Underscores my truism that the best way to enjoy something is to go in with low expectations.

I have three indoor cats and their lives are sooooo painful! I agree that it would be better to let them roam a little. We did have an outdoor cat, but he got run down in the street like a dog. Only he was a cat. I had to go get his dead body off of the road and it was an ugly experience so indoor it is.

I wanted a mage, damn it! I always want a mage. Even in Alpha Protocol, I'm going to play a spy who dresses as a mage.

Hypocrisy, another condition attendant with humanity. Except for me. of course.

I don't really have much of a stake in the larger argument about L4D2, but most full games and game expansions take up the same amount of shelf space. Since that's the case, the retailer would rather sell full games at regular price than expansions at a half price. We're not talking cookies. We're talking software. As long as the primary or even one of the primary sales venues is the retailer, that will have to be a consideration. Not that it trumps all else or that retailers don't love to sell popular expansions. Just that it's one factor.

Hey, congrats on renting the condo, Hurl. Did you get a good price? ...And, did you ever get anything more from the scammer or did they just drop off the radar?

Awesome. I'm jealous. Really. Rat bastard!

I'm going to get L4D2. I mean, I can see what DN and Calax are saying, but I really enjoyed L4D2. Bottom line is, I'm more willing to shell out the cash for L4D2 than the DLC for FO3. I guess, if they put out a special package for the DLC for FO3, I'll probably get that also.

As far as nudity goes, I bought mine off of STEAM and I don't see how the models could be more nude. Shaved from head to toe, maybe? I mean, sorry, it's a video game. If I'm looking to get my jollies, there has to be a more expediant method than playing until the first dryad/Niad/Lake Lady area so I can walk around staring at green breasts. I doubt if I get the patch because I probably won't play the game again. The movement tends to drive me crazy, but it has a lot of good ideas for an RPG. Ideas that should make their way into other games. Some aren't new, but altogether they're very good.

hahahaha That was funny. I wondered about Salt Lake City also. I've received the "I'm a high level member of <insert African government here> and I need help moving some money around... if you send me all your base, then we will belong to you" scam. You know, between the grocery and church, my wife and I have been approached by 4 pan handlers over the past week. Seriously, I'm starting to look around for the candid camera guy. I actually did give a few dollars to some old lady. The young white and middle aged black guys I told I didn't have money. My wife really did not have money, so I guess she didn't have a choice. We give a lot to charity, but I'm leery of giving to pan handlers. One of them, the middle aged guy, was clearly a practiced hand. Asked me what position I play in football. Yeah, I'm a big guy, but my days of looking like I could play football without the attendant grasping of chest and falling down dead part are pretty long gone. scams, I tells ya!

It doesn't seem worth it at any rate. There are safer bets for renting your condo, especially in nor Cal. I don't know exactly where the condo is located, and I can't assure you I'm not interested in renting it, but some of the areas have had pretty resilient markets.

You know, whenever I read your posts, I think of Rorschach. I don't mean that as an insult. Just funny that you make me think of the character.

You also can't say it's simply a decision someone makes and therefore it exculpate them from blame. I might take advantage of that and decide to murder some poor bastard. What I assume you mean is that it is a decision that someone makes about his own person and therefore it is perfectly legitimate. Nevertheless, the decisions you make about your own person impact folks around you. Why is it that we have laws regarding seat belts and motorcycle helmets? You might not agree with the laws, which is a legitimate point. Fine. ...But the idea behind the laws is that, even though the decision directly impacts the individual, the effects are often widespread throughout society. If we don't want folks being injured in car accidents and therefore mandate seatbelt use, why would we not look at suicide and, more importantly to this particular point, attempted suicide in the same way? Who ends up footing the bill when someone ends up putting himself under long term medical care by going through a windshield or screw up a suicide attempt? As to the bravery idea, you can't have it both ways. Suicide can't be a supreme act of will for folks who are afraid to discuss it. Possibly. Alternatively it discourages people from talking about it, and thus discourages people from asking for help. The problem is that when a person is suicidal, they're at their lowest point. Whatever their problems are, they no longer feel capable of dealing with them, and the emotions they are experiencing are so strong they no longer feel capable of living with them. When society labels those individuals who commit suicide as cowards then society is simply agreeing with the negative view such individuals have of themselves. "I can no longer cope, I am a coward." "Yes, you are a coward, a selfish coward." I agree with this whole heartedly. I think shame cuts both ways. It discourages people from the act, but it also makes it extremely difficult for people to discuss the problems that result in suicidal thoughts in the first place. Shame is a powerful force, but it's indiscriminate. It's good if when it makes suicide unthinkable to most folks, but it's bad when it stops folks from seeking help. It's not my place to judge suicides. There but for the grace of God... I don't judge them. However, there is a discussion going on and I thought I'd participate. Unlike the whole Prop 8 issue, the State of California didn't require me to vote on any issue. I'm just here giving my two cents. I just think it sucks that Carradine died. Calling him a coward after the fact doesn't make it suck any less. Might even make it suck more.

The biggest reason for making suicide shameful is that shame discourages the act. It seems perfectly natural to equate suicide with a crime if you believe that the act itself is harmful to more people than the practitioner. Of course, it seems like there's little point in making something a crime when you can only punish folks who fail. In a logical sense, I can see why someone would characterize the act as cowardly in addition to using shame as a powerful prohibition. Suicide used as a means to escape punishment for wrongdoing, for example, probably seems cowardly to some folks. Same for escaping other problems. According to others, especially in certain circumstances, suicide is the honorable course to take. From the Romans to the Japanese and even to this century, suicide has been the honorable means to die like a gentleman. For example, Field Marshal Keitel allowed Erwin Rommel to commit suicide. In an attempt to deter suicides, society will probably associate the act with shame. Some folks will see the act as shameful regardless. I know I generally view suicide as "cowardly" in a sense, although I also see it as extremely unfortunate and usually a sign of some sort of psychiatric problem. I mean, unless you're a general who lost the battle and would be subject to humiliation by being dragged through the streets of Rome or some similar situation. I'm really actually kind of bummed about Carradine. It's always too bad to hear news like this. I guess that's just life. *shrug*

I bought the EE in the first place and probably wouldn't have bought the game otherwise. I think the EE served to keep it on my radar long after I'd decided not to buy the game. The fact that they released something new gave new life to the product and I ended up buying it. I bought it off of STEAM, so no DVD anyhow. I think the point for the company is that this is really their only viable product at the moment. One of the threads around here talks about how the publisher cancelled the Witcher port to consoles. It looks like they don't have the funds to develop a sequel. This might be their last hurrah. If it is, then I don't begrudge them either trying to save their financial situation or to provide one last bit of support. I'm sure it's not an altruistic gesture, but it can still work out well for the fans, especially if they provide it free for folks who currently own a copy of the game.

I've been thinking of buying that one since it shipped, bro. Let us know what you think. I haven't had a lot of time to play anything lately. I guess I've played Witcher more than anything since I finished Alice. Even that not much. I'll get through Chapter 4 pretty soon, I reckon.

Bottom of the Atlantic?

Yeah, this one. I laughed out loud. Your wrong about Warcraft/Warhammer by the way, but I'm too lazy to make a long response in that thread, so I'll answer you here. You're wrong! Nyah!

Well, if you opposed prop 8 and you didn't see any more than a couple of ads put out by the prop 8 opposition, I'd wonder what they did with all that money. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-money...98220.htmlstory

Yeah, some were pretty stupid on both sides. A lot of money went into the campaign on both sides also, and out of state money at that.

Oh yeah, the school curriculum. That's another one. I think both sides poured a lot of money into the campaign and some of the ads were questionable on both sides. For example, I actually saw the commercial where Mormon missionaries forcibly enter a home to accost a same sex couple and deny them their rights. At the end, the Mormon missionaries say something to the effect of "what rights can we deny them next?" You might think the pro prop 8 ads are evil. You might think that the anti prop 8 ads are perfectly legit. ...But that scare tactic cuts both ways. It scares some folks to think that religious zealots will steal your rights. News Flash! Zealots of every stripe want to steal someone's rights. However, to look at it from a different perspective, if you're, say, Catholic, and you see the prop 8 opponents depicting Mormons in this manner, you probably ask yourself when you'll be receiving the same treatment. Probably the most effective ads for Prop 8 weren't based on the line about education. They were ads containing the tape of Newsome's speech in which he said it didn't matter what the people of California wanted, the Courts had overturned their will. Yeah, it made some folks angry, but it made even more people scared.

I'm almost certainly going to buy this. If you like bleak, you really have no business comparing Warhammer to Warcraft. Even when it tries to be over the top despairing, Warcraft doesn't even come minutely close to Warhammer. Even fantasy battle is grim as hell. 40K, in my opinion, is worse. I actually have a lot of the table top game books, but I just can't dedicate the time to it these days. Too bad, 'cause getting an army together is really cool. I also liked Mordheim. That was a bit easier because of the smaller scale.

I want to see both Taken and Grand Torino

Well, to be fair, I think you and DN agree on the essential issue. I'm putting words in his mouth, but he's always been willing to correct me in the past, so I expect he will this time if I'm wrong. I also got what you were saying. Folks say that gay marriage is the equivalent of this other stupid crap. You're making fun of them. I get it and I agree. Especially the ham sandwich thing. If you're going to marry a sandwich, make it roast beef at least.