re-rating GTA

Well, now GTA San Andreas is officially Adults Only. Copies are being pulled from major retailers and the game is being reworked to get back to the M rating. Wow, a victory for American moms! Now kids will be safe! Now all our problems are solved! Yeah! Video games bad, see? Right? GTA is all about sex, sex, sex!!!!!
Well, no. This solves nothing. This just proves that the ESRB regulates the games industry just fine, so parents can fuck off and try to parent. Will kids still play GTA? Sure, but that's not my problem, nor the games industry. It is now the parents responsibility to watch what kids buy. The major retailers are good about this. They check ID, they enforce ratings. So if you're whining about your ten year old playing, then maybe you shouldn't have bought them the fucking game. But really, how much more dangerous is a game than the very real possibility of your kid being drafted in five years to die in Iraq?
But, damn if this doesn't put wood in the fire over video game violence. That's what will be remembered. And for that I blame those dicks at Rockstar for putting this shit in there and the modders for fucking with IP. In all reality this content was not a problem before third parties hacked the game. No way was the average gamer going to see this hot coffee shit. Not unless third party groups went ass over heels out of their way to let you.
What about them? Them and their shady activities. Well, I blame Rockstar for being cute. So what if it wasn't to be seen? They should never have put this shit in there in the first place. Or maybe this was planned. Anyway, it's way unprofessional and can hurt the industry in its fight over public perception. Which in itself is a bigger American fight between the right and the left. Although when senators jump on the anti-game bandwagon, how far to the left are they really?
Rockstar reminds me of those pot advocates. The ones who don't bathe and wear hemp all day. The worst possible poster children for a worthy cause. Come on Rockstar, get your shit together. You brought this on yourselves. Very likely if this had been cut or disclosed it would have kept the M rating. Now it's got the games equivelant of X and it is the retail kiss of death.

Potter insanity`

MaybeI'm a cynical bastard, but the buzz over Potter always kind of sickens me. I don't rejoice in the success of Harry Potter and how it lines Rowling's pockets with money. And maybe what stops me from enjoying the books as decent reads is my dislike for what they do to the publishing industry. and maybe there is some jealousy there too, but I see it as unhealthy for the industry to turn into the same machine as Hollywood, where it's all about the big blockbuster. The new book sold over 250,000 copies an hour, more than most in their lifetimes. That's what bothers me. Why these books? Why do they succeed when so many other great works don't get to. Why can't all my favorite authors get these paychecks? It's certainly not pay for talent. Nah, I'm clouded here. I write too, so I'm just envious. But I feel partly she's entitled to the success and partly that so much of this is marketing and it unevens the field. I find that it narrows publishing to let's do more like this. I just find the superstar book sad and Potter's success mysterious. But that's marketing and how you do it in the 21st century.
Now, it's also sad for readers. Oh, but wait, kids love reading now. No, they don't. People still don't read and these sales figures don't translate to other novels. So everyone picks this up, reads it and then waits for the next. They read nothing in between. That's what gets me most. As if nothing else is worth reading. Far, far from the truth. Don't tell me how this bumps reading levels. It can't possibly be doing that.

profanity on TV? fuck yeah!

Recently ABC aired Live 8, the concert to end poverty. Apparently someone said a bad word during a song. Oh no! Fuck or shit, some four letter word that kids never hear or say. And the parents never use it around them. Right? Well a parent's group with no time for real problems has whined and wants to ruin it for everyone. Don't you just hate the complainers who have so much time and energy, but choose to focus their ignorant minds on such inane issues?
Well this isn't the first time. We all remember Janet's big 'ol tittie and the uproar about that. Mostly cause about fifty million husbands immediately hoped on the net to see it and their fat old wives were jealous. That along with so many other issues over the last five years has helped remove certain civil liberties and pave the way for censorship. And it's not big brother type shit, but a few so called security moms that want to dictate what we see and hear. Our peer are deciding for us. And what gives them the right to censor me?
This even led to Saving Private Ryan being pulled from some stations for content that was found to be objectionable, even though the film had already been shown with no complaints. Ah, but the flood gates were open now.
And now we have this. Come on, give a rest already, people like to say fuck and they like to fuck. A lot. That's why we have these kids to protect. These kids whose parents don't want to do the jobs themselves.
Anyway I live in a country that in the past has been notorious for censorship. Watching Hannibal with a big blur over the open head with the brains spilling out was annoying. And those old videos with awkward cuts and missing sequences and crappy blurring were worse. But now it's not a problem. Movies channels of every kind. Nipples on basic cable. No censored words. And most importantly, Saving Private Ryan on during the middle of the day. Uncut. And no one complains.
When did America become the standard for censorship and repression?

America the prude

I find it interesting that America, one of the most violent nations on the planet, the one currently running two wars, the one with the highest rates of gun violence, has such a big problem with sex and foul language. O for fuck's sake! What's wrong with a little tittie? Lord knows it's not so dangerous to know about our bodies. Europeans love sex in their cinema and they don't seem to be committing ridiculous amounts of sex related crimes, nor do they have incredibly high teen pregnancy rates. But I forget, this is America where owning a gun and killing in self defense is more patriotic than practicing safe sex or being so unashamed of your body and your sexuality that saying the word penis in public is acceptable. Penis, penis, penis. Ah, vagina. See, get that out of your system.
Stop being such fucking prudes. And point my finger at the far right, the religious right. And at parents, bad ones, the majority of them who bemoan content and chastise schools, but never do any real parenting, never accurately inform children.
I could stray far, far away on a nice big rant, but I'll target my annoyance for the day at Grand Theft Auto. No, I love GTA. Correction, I fucking love GTA. I think it's a marvel of game design and storytelling and just plain fun. Now that's a nice word. But the game is all about doing real life things. Things like eating fast food (Americans love that shit), going to the gym (they hate that), and murdering large numbers of people. Hmmmm that really does happen a lot.
Now the usual complaints by the uninformed and those parents quick to blame violence on games (as if violence is this great new concept) is that "GTA bad! video games bad! bad! bad! bad! raise my children for me!" Well, fuck all that shit, I say. There's a ratings system. And GTA is rated M for a reason. That's M for mature, which a lot of people don't seem to be.
And it's not a kiddie game, much as some groups try to label gaming for kids. It's for adults. Those over 21 and therefore, content can be adult.
No kid can buy this game on their own. Try picking it up at Wal-Mart without ID. Not gonna happen.
Now also in America, as much as people secretly love porn (that's why the internet exists dumbass) people seem to have a problem with sex in movies. But we all know everyone is really obsessed with sex. Just admit it everyone and you'll get more of it. But films that are blatantly pornographic are barred from big release. Playboys and behind the counter. Even Glamour fashion mags are hidden so the kids don't see the titties.
For me, a bigger problem for kids eyes is looking at all the fat asses we have. But that's another problem.
No, seems that now we should burn GTA for having sex in the game! Oh shock, real life activities, car jacking, murders and now sex! You sir have gone too far!
This is what drives them right off that cliff? This is what has the family groups sending out warnings about? How about abstinence only sex ed programs that result in HIGHER rates of teen pregnancy? That's a serious threat to our fucking wallets. No, watching two video games characters fuck is over the line.
But we have to protect the children, cause you know they might be buying something only sold to adults. Nevermind exploring who buys it for a ten year old or who lets them play it. Oh, maybe mom and dad? Nah, fuck responsibility! Blame Rockstar games and the mod community for finding some hidden code to make this shit happen.
Ah, America, why the violence good, but the sex bad? Too many repressed homosexuals methinks. Let's just blame everyone else for everything bad. A violent adult rated game just got some sex in it and that's going to far. Glad these groups are there to let us know that. Maybe these morally responsible people can get their shit together, organize and focus on some real American problems, like obesity, lack of health care, criminals in the government, torture, loss of civil rights, poor education, poor parenting, illegal foreign wars.
Call me when one of these "family" groups issues a warning on something important. Until then I'll be fucking and killing hookers in GTA and letting some ten year olds watch. What? I'm not responsible.

Explodin!

First, I'd like to say the usual sorry feelings for the bombings in London. It's shitty, terrible stuff and these people don't deserve this tragedy. I want those sons of bitches who committed this act to pay. But I'd also like to say that this is nothing new. Over the last two years we hear about this stuff everyday. Only the country in reference is usually Iraq. Every day this happens down there and we shrug it off and go, "too bad." Well, no, not just too bad. This shouldn't happen there, or here or anywhere. But that's the big problem, this keeps happening. And it's been happening a whole lot more since this unjustified and unprovoked war began. This has happened because people lost focus, people in high places whose only duty was to simple protect us. They screwed up, they dropped the ball on this. They changed the target after a few short months of Afghanistan. They targeted Iraq and they created a terror playground. And it has done nothing to stem the flow of terror or put Al-Queda out of commission. They have increased hatred for the US and UK by their actions. They purport to be fighting terror there, yet they merely stoked the flames of hatred. This attack in London exposes, not that "we need to fight them over there," but that we have not done enough to fight them here. Terror has gone up, not done since 9/11. We have done everything wrong. We did not find Bin Laden. And the saddest thing of the London bombing is that Bush and company will use this to bolster their position in Iraq. To them this will only justify what they do, when in fact it underscored how royally they have failed. Bush, Blair, you have failed to protect your people. We wanted Bin Laden taken down. We were scared, we wanted hope. And you went after the wrong target. And you told us, over there will make us safe. Well, it clearly hasn't. Today we know that these last few years have definitely moved in the wrong direction.
Even if you don't believe in it, pray for those in London and curse the motherfuckers who brought this on. Maybe we need a war on terror, but maybe it's time to attack the right people.

long time - back in the ROK!

Yes, for now I am back in Korea. Back to teaching, back to drinking, back to eating Kimchi. And it's damn nice to be making money again. Ah, yes, money. So very nice.

Last night I was out with my new coworkers, drinking, eating and celebrating a birthday. We started at a local place here in Bundang called Indio. Big tables, lots of people and cheap anju. After a few pitchers of makju we left and headed over to a place called Rose Tattoo. Now this being Korea, there is a strong push for young people to get married. There's also plenty of prostitution and the stuff in between. Things like room salons. Bars where you pay for a woman's company all night long. Now there are also those places where they try and act as matchmakers. Upscale wannabe places where the help will drag the women over to you and set you up. Rose Tattoo is one of these. There were four of us, three white guys and one Korean. We ordered drinks, we danced and we paid the help to drag girls over to us. It didn't quite work. Waiters dragging scared thirty year old women over is weird. Then they come and sit and can't speak more than five words in English.
But the oddest thing that happened was in the bathroom. A first really. I walked into the bathroom. There was an attendent there. And while I tried to piss he massaged my shoulders. Now I was really drunk, so it seemed far more surreal than it was. So for this, I couldn't whiz and had to tip.
Hmm, maybe that wasn't something to admit to. But after five in the morning hit and the lights came up it all ended. The facade was broken and now there were simply thirty year old drunks, broke and tired.