Tuesday, February 28, 2017

My Life in Fandom: Uncle George on The Force (Why "Star Wars" Is Superversive)

I came upon this last night while digging around for other stuff on other topics. This is from a 2010 meeting during the production of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but somehow got thrown into the Blu-Ray for The Empire Strikes Back What you see below is, to my knowledge, the only time Lucas ever says "Light Side" on camera. It also confirms that the canonical view of the Force IS the Jedi view (and also that the Jedi routinely fuck this up). This meeting occurred in the production of the Mortis arc of the aforementioned series. (See it.)

Now, let's take what Uncle George said and apply it to what we see in the films.

Every character who gets possessive, and doesn't check that error, ends up consorting with evil sooner or later. It's an error grounded in a materialistic perspective on life, failing to appreciate what mortality is (Tolkien's "Gift of Death"), and failing to comprehend what immortality is (and where it lies). Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda all eventually comprehend this truth- and the truth does set them free.

In addition to Anakin being used as an example of this, go look at Kylo Ren. He's attached to his grandfather's memory, and thus to the trappings of it; this is why he wanted Luke's--Anakin's--lightsaber, and why he got right pissed when Rey took it. He sees that as theft of what is rightfully his. His sense of possession got violated, throwing him off his game, and eventually allowing the opening to his defeat by Rey Sue.

It didn't get into the films, but we do see this happen with young Boba Fett in The Clone Wars in the episodes he features in- to the point where, as an adolescent, he becomes a respected team leader in the bounty hunter community (and does not suck) as he tries to get back some measure of his father into his life. The pattern repeats with all of the anti-heroes and other lesser villainous figures; to some degree or another, they're all on this path.

Look at the heroes. They have a selflessness to them, even if they are compromised like Han Solo or Lando Calrissian to some degree, and when push comes to sholve that core comes through. Sure, that often gets used against them, but not always successfully so. The most effective heroes are those who have some awareness of that need to keep it balanced and do their best to do so; I'd argue that Mace Windu was one of those folks, even if he didn't take it to the level of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, or Yoda. The many Rebel pilots that died in battle, every Rebel that went down to Scarif's surface to fight on or over the ground, most of the clones and Jedi- all (to varying degrees) acted on that selflessness and thereby achieved great things in the process, even if it killed them, because death is not the worst fate, and comes to all in time.

Now, Lucas isn't the first to hit on this fact or to put it to good use in storytelling, but he does deserve credit--praise, even--for embracing it and making it the core to his entire creative work. This is what makes Star Wars truly superversive in addition to being the caretaker of the Pulp Tradition during this long dark age in popular culture

Monday, February 27, 2017

An Idle Note on Virtual Reality

There is something about the current push for Virtual Reality that I think is getting missed. Formerly, the big home-user thing for Virtual Reality was the ability to take virtual tours of places that one could otherwise not literal visit or would be unlikely to do so. This should not be dismissed, but I think reassessed.

Let's say that I'm making a Star Wars film, and I'm making use of a starship as more than an external model that gets damaged or destroyed in that film's story. In other words, I'm making internal sets. How about getting more usage out of those sets by making a virtual tour and using that as a value-added element? How about making those tours interactive, specifics varying on the ship's capabilities?

We've seen some full-on games, so that's already been considered and executed; adding a tour, as a way of using that immersion to teach the player how the ship's controls (or ship's station controls, for larger ships) work. Using ongoing productions, when that is possible, to piggy-back VR productions seems like good sense to me.

For me--and this is why I got into role-playing games over 35 years ago--what I want to do most is to dive into that setting, and there is only so much that wearing a costume or handling a prop (or re-reading or re-watching the source material) can take me- I cannot tour a Star Destroyer as none exist in reality and films (for obvious reasons) only construct what faces the camera. Games follow films in many respects, and this is one of them; the only parts of a large object that get seen are those relevant to play. I want more than what the extant offerings allow.

I would like all of the major franchise managers, and those aspiring to make new ones, to consider applying Virtual Reality as part of their transmedia strategy. Allowing people to inhabit and explore the fictional environments wherein they set their stories is desirable in and of itself; making this something that can also be the frame for a game is useful, but not strictly necessary.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

My Life in Fandom: More BattleTech Fodder - Armored Trooper VOTOMS

I'm avoiding the Oscars tonight in favor of catching Metro City Boys live, posting to this blog and to Empire (see the Blog Roll), and doing some more work on this Sword & Planet story I've been tinkering with lately.

While doing that tinkering, I came upon some additional 80s anime that you folks coming over from the Castalia House blog ought to checkout. To my knowledge, they didn't influence the early FASA BattleTech, but considering that similar elements exist and you can make an argument for a six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon level of influence.

The big change to BattleTech came with the 3050 Technical Manual and the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere. In addition to the far superior BattleMech technology that the Clans wielded, this was where the game introduced Battle Armor in the rules and the setting got heavy on the eugenics and messed about with genetic engineering. The latter two elements are key in a 1983 Japanese TV series by the name of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, where the mechs are powered armor and not giant stompy robots and the pilots are enhanced humans. (Now you see what I mean by that roundabout influence.)

This series has that '80s malaise I spoke of previously, so expect a certain degree of cynicism and bleakness. This is so for the series, the comics, and the OVAs made thereafter. While the specifics behind the enhancements that the soldiers get vary widely between this series and BattleTech, you will find it in the latter- especially later on in the latter's timeline when the Battle Armor technology gets into Inner Sphere hands, and news of Jade Falcon's sub-dermal enhancements on top of eugenic and genetic programs gets to Inner Sphere leaders.

In short, VOTOMS is a pre-existing series that shows you something that should exist--and, eventually, does--exist in an environment such as that positing by FASA's BattleTech. These powered armor aren't the sleet Iron Man armors, but instead car-sized units like the smaller Autobots of Transformers fame. (As the Infogalactic article shows, this series not only got a licensed tabletop RPG from the makers of Mekton Zeta, but greatly influenced Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear; having played the later a lot, the influence is very strong indeed.)

Unlike the posts I made on the anime origins, I put this up for you--the player--in considering how to approach things many put outside the core experience of BattleTech, to include or not at your discretion. (Me? Not that keen on it myself, but I do get why others like things such as the armors. I prefer to stick close to the core experience of Big Men using Big Machines to get Big Things done.) This is all For Your Consideration, and it bothers me not at all if you decline to use it for your fun.

As for the series itself, it did get a commercial release, but ease of acquisition varies. Of course the fan-run resources can and will deliver, if you look long and hard enough. Below, subtitled, is the Shining Heresy OVA from 1994. You can search for the rest yourselves.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Narrative Warfare: The Gatekeepers Know Fear

The White House recently declared the Establishment media as an enemy of the American Nation. They announced that the God-Emperor will not attend the White House Correspondants' Dinner. The more hostile corporations are getting outright shunned from pressers now, in favor of smaller outlets with superior integrity (e.g. Breitbart). Since taking office, the God-Emperor cuts a weekly video to be posted to the official YouTube channel summarizing the big moves of the week and other plans of note in that moment.

In short, we're seeing that the God-Emperor is well-aware that the Internet exists and that it allows him to cut out the legacy media corporations, and instead communicate directly with the American Nation. He is not shy about exhibiting this fact either, and his advisors (especially his son, Donald Jr.) especially so. The Establishment media is furious about losing their gatekeeping power to shape narratives, and you can see this in the tells exhibited whenever one of them writes (formally or not) about the God-Emperor and his media decisions.

The idea is plain: they do not like, and will not tolerate, any loss of prestige (because, for them, prestige IS power) due to how they use it to mindfuck populations into thinking only in lanes that they control, and control over what is allowed to be heard translates reliably into what political policies are allowed to be implemented and enforced. Because the Internet doesn't forget, we are now able to see the effects of this control over time, and we are also able to contact people internationally to get independent confirmation of claims made by others. (e.g. The Partinsangirl regarding Syria)

It's hard to keep a herd moving where you want when they start breaking your containment, and that's just what's been going on with the Internet regarding the Establishment. Narrative warfare is their means of containment, and the Internet allows people to break it; if the shaming and shunning doesn't work, the next step will be to infiltrate and sabotage upstarts (i.e. the classic Social Justice Warrior campaign of corruption, subversion, and convergence), followed by lawfare and (deniable) warfare. (See John Perkins Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man; the pattern described to be used vs. third-world nations is SJW Convergence writ-large in a different context.)

The Fourth Estate is really the Fifth Column. We are wise to proceed accordingly, from the minor leagues that is the gaming press to the billionaire blogs (Washington Post and New York Times), the Establishment media is--as revealed by their deeds, nevermind their words--exactly as the God-Emperor said: the enemy of the American Nation. Shut them out, utterly. Then their fear will become terror, and in their terror they will frighten themselves to death.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Razorfist: "Milo, Meet The Media: A Rant"

Videos like this are why I follow Razorfist. Go on, watch for yourself. Let me embed this for you.

He gets it. There's not much more to add here, other than that this keeps happening because most American states don't make this sort of thing a criminal offense. (Minnesota does. It's why that doesn't go on much here.) If there is one significant reform to be done regarding the media, it is in making these hits a crime- and it should be a felony offense, akin to murder, because the severity of the damage is not much less than killing a man.

These hoaxes have to stop, and sticking a gun to the hoaxers' heads with sanction to execute for non-compliance will get it done. Societies and communities cannot function properly when lying, hoaxing, and fraud are widespread occurrences with little or no punishment. Eroding the public trust cannot be tolerated, for any reason, at any time, to any degree, by anyone- and when the media does this coordinated hit job that's exactly what they are doing.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

My Life in Fandom: BattleTech's Lost Inspiration, Crusher Joe

Since I'm still thinking of it, here's the last major component to the mix that made BattleTech: Crusher Joe.

In terms of BattleMechs, you really only get the Locust, so where the Crushers really come in is with the AeroTech and ground vehicle supplementary rules for the game. The primary Lance-scale Dropship is the Joe's starship. The two fighters it carries, and those fighters they engage in the movie, are all in AeroTech. Going through the early Technical Manuals for the game will reveal other Crusher Joe design, lifted entirely from the OVA and film.

The light novels and their film/OVA adaptations are not as hard as the BattleTech adaptations, but they're close enough that they do fit; lifting the entire "Crusher" concept would work for a Star League era game, before everything fell apart into the First Succession War, as Crushers are meant to be independent troubleshooter teams- and thus perfect premises for your common group of tabletop gamers to use for role-playing. For you MechWarrior/A Time of War people, this here is very much your huckleberry.

But again, all of this was likely unknown to the folks at FASA (or ill-known at best) because, like Fang of the Sun Dougram, this wasn't well-known in the West at the time and still isn't now. What Western releases we got were few, far between, and not that good. Finding legal sources is difficult, but possible, and (as with Dougram) worth watching so you can add to your imagination palette for Real Robot fiction or gaming. The fan-run resources are there, however:

Yes, the film's out there too. You know how to search, so have at it.

The original light novels, however, never got to the West. It's unlikely to get one anytime soon due to a new addition to the series, or a recreation, in the works or a rising Western fanbase ready to throw money at them. (The former is what drove those new English translations of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes light novels.) The other merchandise is likely hard to find, as that rarely made it across the Pacific Ocean. However, all you need to do is run an Image search to find official art work and stills from the media adaptations in bright, living color and compare them against their BattleTech incarnations to see the connection.

That about wraps up the anime origins of BattleTech. I may have missed an item or two of note (the sphereoid DropShips being the ones nagging me right now, and some other AeroSpace fighter designs), but between Fang of the Sun Dougram, Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross, and Crusher Joe that covers almost all of that conceptual ground. Enjoy, and remember: No Guts, No Galaxy!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Games Don't Need Stories (or "Why 'Horizon: Zero Dawn' Will Disappoint)

When I saw the reveal for Horizon: Zero Dawn, the idea of there being primitive people hunting robot animals to harvest for needed things was sufficient to capture my interest. I did not want, nor did I need, anything to explain that shit; games don't need stories to be compelling and complete- that's what competent scenario and mechanic design is for. Look cool, have solid gameplay, done.

So, when I got word of the horrible story--nevermind the details--explaining what did not need explaining, I lost all interest. (Once the details--more SocJus death cult bullshit--got to my attention, well, into the trash it went.) Nevermind the screed concealed within that story; the real fuckup here was inserting a story into a scenario that didn't need one.

This is far too common an occurrence, and it betrays a lack of confidence in the game itself being good enough. You don't need them; you need conditions: boundary conditions to define the space of play, victory conditions to define success, fail conditions to define when you fuck up too much to recover, and resources (including information) that the player manipulates to engage with and attempt to beat the scenario. If you have a competent tabletop wargame, cardgame, or boardgame then you have a game good enough to stand on its own. Story need not be applied.

That set-up for Horizon, by itself, was sufficient. You're a hunter for a primitive tribe. Animals provide resources for your tribe so it can survive, even thrive, in an otherwise dangerous--if not hostile--environment. What will you and your tribe do to survive?

That's a playable scenario. There's no need for any sort of narrative to explain a god-damned thing; it just gets in the way, as it has with Horizon, and it does not matter what form that story took- that it was there at all does all of the damage required to take what should have been one of the most intriguing videogames of 2017 and turned it into Shit You Thick Twice About Even When On Clearance.

I don't need a story for a game. If I want a story, that's what storytelling media--novels, comics, film/TV, etc.--are for. Gaming is a medium of problem-solving through engaging with scenarios, using limited resources to approach them, and seeing how well you do in that situation. You keep at it until you beat it, because even when it's a solved problem there is great value in executing it yourself due to direct experience with the situation at hand. Virtual life-experience is still experience. And experience, once understood, translates directly into wisdom you can apply elsewhere.

The game is sufficient as it is. Story need not apply- Get The Fuck Out.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

My Life in Fandom: BattleTech's Lost Inspiration, Fang of the Sun Dougram!

The Castalia House blog today had a post by Jeffro Johnson on how the Real Robot subset of mecha anime began its push to the West when "Robotech" was a model kit line with truly awesome dioramas, leading to FASA's fantastic BattleTech tabletop wargame and its associated RPG: MechWarrior.

What's notable about many of the 'mech designs that would go on to form the core of BattleTech is that while one source would go on to become well-known in the West (Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross) thanks to it being the first (and most loved) part of the Robotech television series the other major source would remain obscure in the West until recently: Fang of the Sun Dougram.

It is a happy accident that the people behind BattleTech put in all the hard SF that they did, from technologies to politics, because it turns out that Dougram itself is a nigh-seemless fit into the overall feel of BattleTech. You could set this story in the Free Worlds League and make only one change (Earth to Atreus, and associated references) to make it fit- it's that good a pre-existing fit. That's why I'm recommending the series, old as it is (early '80s), to those wanting something Japanese for their BattleTech/Real Robot fiction-or-gaming inspiration.

The series never got a Western release, so--like Legend of the Galactic Heroes--you're going to have to rely on fan-curated playlists and grey streaming sites to actually watch the damned thing. It's not in HD, the animation is akin to what you saw in the original Mobile Suit Gundam and other anime series of that era, and it's got that 80s malaise that's common to anime of the era, but the story is solid and worth your time.

Maybe, someday, they'll remaster it and give it a proper commercial release in the West. Until then, this will have to do.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Narrative Warfare: The Hit on Milo Yiannopolous

So, Milo's been accused of being a pedophila.

Since this came out, we've learned the following:

  • The original accusation comes from a NeverTrump org using Alinsky tactics.
  • The hit had coordinations in the media on a private email list to coordinate media coverage.
  • The "opposition research" used $250,000 to prepare this hit on Milo.
  • The accusation consists of deceptively-edited video and audio files, and articles consisting of barely enough weasel-words to avoid a solid defamation case.
  • The pattern of behavior exactly follows that of the Five Guys incident coverup leading to "Gamers Are Dead" hits and the start of #Gamergate.
  • This hit came immediately after Milo's appearance on Real Time with Bill Mahar, where he played the panel like a master and made Bill concede just enough to get him on the shitlib hitlist.

Over two years, going towards three, and the lying hoaxing media still hasn't learned that lying and hoaxing isn't working like it used to yet.

I'm not buying it. This is Narrative Warfare.

The timing is the warning sign. All of this comes just as Milo's starting to break into the awareness of normies throughout the United States. The immediate follow-ups expose that this is meant to be an attack to cut Milo's reach down, and take him out; his invitation to speak at CPAC got rescinded, his book deal at Simon & Schuster got canned (reverting the rights to him, and making an opening for another publisher to do so), and the rumors of his position at Breitbart now at risk reveal what one of the objectives of this hit is clear as day.

The accusation is the other big tell, as it shows who's behind the hit (and why). By accusing him of pedophilia, they blunt his ability to present evidence of the international pedophila networks and their cartel of corruption and criminality to an audience (a growing one, with growing power) rightly horrified by it and willing to act to put it down. Just as news of massive arrests rolling up pedophile rings in places vacated by the Clinton Foundation just days before start to break media blackout containment, this comes in- and the use of Milo's own words reflecting on his past experiences with this stuff against him proves that those same pedos view him as a threat.

This pedo network includes the big players in the Muslim world, most notably the House of Saud that rules Saudia Arabia (and has it in for Iran, such that they'll work with Israel to get them; Syria is their proxy war.) Remember Saudi ownership of Twitter? Now you see one reason for why: use of ownership rights to effect censorship worldwide. Saudi money in any tech outfit will be used to the same ends.

And, as with the hit on PewDiePie, it will ultimately backfire. Milo's reach on Facebook increased. His reach on YouTube? It will increase- count on it. Breitbart's a secondary target (due to Bannon being untouchable), which is why the Never Trump cucks got on board with the hit and did the dirty work (giving deniability to the pedos, until Salon and others previously open about normalizing pedophilia whitewashed their archives and gave away the game) of doing the pieces. Good job, fucktards; you just gave substance to #PizzaGate and #PedoGate. I eagerly await your perpwalks, convictions, and executions.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

My Life in Fandom: Making the Podcast Crossovers Happen Some More

Now that we've had Razorfist, Jeffro, and John C. Wright on Geek Gab talking Appendix N I want to see another miracle happen. Let's get Razorfist on Metro City Boys to talk Kojima with Oliver Campbell and the crew. Oliver's livestreams of the various Metal Gear games, and his commentary on what Kojima's doing and how dramatically contrasts to Razorfist's criticisms of Kojima as a game designer and storyteller. That would make for an excellent podcast, easily filling MCB's usual two hours, and would be both very educational and entertaining.

If you hadn't taken in yesterday's Geek Gab, scroll back a couple of posts and partake. You'll not notice the hour-and-forty minutes go by, it's that much fun. If you haven't seen Metro City Boys, let me link that for you, and Razorfist has all the gaming opinions at his YouTube channel.

See what I mean yet? Would Razorfist appearing on Metro City Boys not be the hottest gaming podcast episode? Of course it would, and maybe this could get returned favors down the road with Razorfist hosting Jeffro, Brian Niemeier, John C. Wright, Oliver Campbell, etc. on his show to talk about storytelling, narrative, and how to make that strike like lightning for the audience.

Finding the hot podcasts is one thing. Boosting them is another. Cross-boosting is the next step, helping shows discover yet wider audiences and making alliances across the shows and their crews. Making a better culture starts here, close to home, with those things we common people can do- and do easily. Come on, folks- let's make this happen, here and now.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Managing Expectations: A Lamentable Key To Power

Over at the writing blog, I wrote about managing expectations. While that's in the context of an author cultivating an audience, expectations and handling them is a key element to all walks of life.

I can observe this in action when watching any sport or game, especially one with opposing players, be the game one played by oneself or as part of a team. I can observe this when I watch boxers, wrestlers, fencers, or other martial artists face off. It is this observation that forms the basis of the OODA Loop coined and developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd.

It is this realization that forms the basis of successful predation, and defense against the same. It is the basis for Public Relations, Marketing, and Advertising- the basis for Psychological Operations of all kinds. Sun Tzu refers to this when he wrote that All warfare is based on deception.

Knowing what is expected, and how those expectations can be subverted, thwarted, fulfilled, etc. is a key to power. Some would say that it is the to power, as all else comes in acting or reacting to those expectations. Knowledge, therefore, really does translate directly and immediately into power if you can better manage expectations than your opposition.

If there is any tell that marks the loss of innocence, it is in realizing the full implications of this fact- starting with that this is a thing akin to nuclear weapons; once anyone starts wilfully managing and manipulating expectations for predatory ends, it is necessary and proper for everyone else to do similarly if only to defend themselves from that very predatory manipulation. This is a realizing that can, has, and does ruin those unready for such knowledge- a fact we've carried in our mythology since the dawn of known history.

I don't make that comparison lightly. There are multiple professional career paths predicated upon this fact, refining specific strategies and tactics for their own benefit and that of their clients. (I mentioned four above.) Mastering one opens up all of them, once you reckon how to apply them to differing circumstances. While some are (relatively) new, the classic careers are based out of military and intelligence needs that any nation or state must have fully developed to remain potent and relevant.

And I truly despise that this exists. I did not seek out formal education as a Historian because I love to bullshit. I sought out that education because I wanted true, faithful, and reliable answers to questions of the past (and relevant to the present) for which I'd been only given half-truths and lies. From that I learned that Historians, like Journalists, are applied users of narrative (and hence Narrative Warfare); it's not hard to see other applications of the same principles in other contexts.

Yet it does exist, and if I am to die at all satisfied then I must make peace with that fact. Our posterity must stand on pillars of fact and truth, verified (and verifiable) as such, if they are to achieve what they are in this life to do and leave it better than they found it. Civilization demands nothing less.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Geek Gab: Razorfist! Jeffro! John C. Wright! APPENDIX N! TOMORROW!

Look, you want to be there for this one if you can. Find a way to see or hear this live, folks. It is an event not to be missed.

Yes, this is me hyping up tomorrow's Geek Gab episode. Daddy Warpig, Dorrinal, and Brian Niemeier deserve all this hype for making this happen- especially adding John C. Wright after this initially being only Razorfist and Jeffro talking Appendix N and related matters. If you're not already subscribed to the Gab on YouTube, let me link that for you. You used have to throw money at a convention or a public radio station to get this sort of event together, and it would still not be as awesome as you hoped. Now? You can enjoy this from the comfort of your home, free of charge (but really, throw them some spare change to the Gab if you can and buy the books put out by John, Brian, and Jeffro).

Be there, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can count on the chat being as active and thrilling as the main show, which makes being there live even more of a benefit. Break out the special reserve, folks, because this one's going to be EPIC!

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Narrative Warfare: It's Not Working So Well Anymore

The reaction to the Scahill cowardice is heartening for me. While Bill Maher telling Scahill he's a two-faced shit was expected, the dogpiling by others who usually would've kept quiet or backed him is a tell that we've hit a preference cascade and soon it's to become an avalanche. We're seeing this far more clearly with the reaction to the hoaxing media hit on Pewdiepie, with other notables circling the wagons around him and his own defiance in the face of adversity. His followers kept his back, and he's thankful for that.

This is good. This means that the power that the Establishment wielded via its media isn't so effective as it was even just a year or so ago, and that's fueling the freakouts. The God Emperor's press conference today once more turned into a brow-beatdown upon said media crooks and liars and man the composure of many formerly used to accomodation and deference keeps popping like the zits they are:

And that was me being kind and restrained.

This sort of butthurt bullshit blather is all over the MSM and their social media accounts after today's presser, and virtue-signalling celebrities are getting in on it. The quantity of celebrity virtue-signalling, amplified by said sheckle-shilling shysters shucking and jiving like crackwhores jonesing for a fix, is so obnoxious that Paul Joseph Watson skipped a coffee break to cut this video.

One of my favorite folks on Twitter, Sargon of Akkad, hosted a livestream talking about all of this stuff and it went on over five hours so this is one of those "put it on and then do something else" sort of videos, but the conclusion reached (more or less) is in the title- and as for that thumbnail, well...

Indeed, Sargon. Helicopter rides for all the liars, cheats, thieves, crooks, and frauds that make up the MSM. Free ones.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Jeremy Scahill is a Coward

That fabulous Dangerous Faggot, Milo Yiannopoulos, got an appearance on Real Time with Bill Mahar. Long-time activist and journalist Jeremy Scahill, who broke out while associated with Democracy Now! when he covered the '90s war in what formerly was Yugoslavia, a move that would get him into the position to write THE book on Eric Prince's mercenary corporation (Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army) (and introduce him to his wife), bitched out like a punk coward as this Tweet shows.


Archive is here in case Scahill doubles-down on being a punk bitch and deletes that Tweet.

Virtue-signal harder. Maybe your fellow travelers won't turn on you if you do.

You'd think this sort of thing was unusual for him, according to his letter, but a review of his career clearly shows that Scahill is far more about the activism than the journalism, which--as we know too well now--is very much the norm for those of his prostitution. Shaming and similar bitch behaviors are normal for him, and he's used to getting results through this behavior and its associated language (which proves conclusively that Leftist "alternative media" really is just the JV squad for the Establishment- and now, Scahill is part of that wretched body as he's in the prime of his career).

What I see here is the exposure of a long-established "journalist"--and his roots in "alternative media"--as nothing more than a SJW-converged man, building out of SJW-converged organizations and institutions, running a career whose sole purpose is to further the Social Justice death cult front of the Left, as being what he really is: a Mouth of Sauron, a Grima Wormtongue, long accostumed to being unopposed now being opposed and he's reverting to type because he doesn't know what else to do. There is no other way to put it, and Adam Baldwin did it well:

And now that we're increasingly aware of just how fake the news really is, this punk bitch cowardice from a man who's claimed to have braved warzones to get a story prompts those with minds to think to reconsider if there's any other fundamental contradictions in this man to uncover; far more famous and formerly-regarded presstitutes (e.g. NBC's Brian Williams) flat-out defrauded the American Nation by bold-faced lying about deeds seen and done. Maybe Jeremy's resume is as false as his manhood.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

My Life in Fandom: How Campbell Became The Dark Lord of Narrative

Thanks to Brian Niemeier and Daddy Warpig, I'd been reading posts on Robert E. Howard, Conan, and how the two Conan films sucked balls compared to Howard's stories. I'll address this wearing my writer hat at the Study later this week, but for now it's about this as a gamer and reader. First, some links:

You want to know why so many films, series, books, and comics are shit now? In addition to SocJus dogma, they all glommed on to Joseph Campbell's Monomyth theory and turned it into the One Plot. Like the One Ring, it yearns to bring all narrative into its dominion and bind all to is will. Entertainment media is a business, and like any other it seeks to minimize risk; if they can find a way to reduce costs and risk, they'll take it and that's what happened starting with Campbell's adoption by George Lucas (and his peers) in that decade.

And yes, this shit is all over gaming now. It has been for years, as both vidya and tabletop took their cues from the very popular media whose narrative structure devolved into the One Plot and replaced the exciting and stimulating virtual experience driving by "You're in this situation. What do you do?" with incompetent adaptations of The One Plot.

It also makes, in time, for boring reads. The One Plot reduces literature to grey goo, a memetic gruel that barely qualifies as readable, but not truly satifying or nourishing. It rewards lazy writing by mediocre writers and equally incompetent editors and publishers, making such easy for predatory parties to target and overtake for their own ends. Meanwhile, the audience diminishes with the deliverance of satisfaction.

The same is true in gaming, which is why we've seen one franchise after the next degenerate until it shits itself to death like Elvis did. Yet, because the industry as a whole hasn't collapse yet from the hollowing process that the dominance of The One Plot inflicts (in part due to picking pre-existing properties that properly employ it for adaptation), the inertia in the institution has become an avalanche that cannot be ignored. It is not surprising, therefore, to see the smaller players and independent actors be the vanguard of things like the Old School Renaissance in tabletop RPGs and the Pulp Revolution in SF/F.

If Campbell's shadow is to be put down, this is how it has to start: by properly putting the Monomyth back into its rightful context, and then using the liberated liminal space to return other narrative forms back to popular prominence. Quarantine what cannot be saved, let that burn out, and then come in to cleanse and rebuild.

Monday, February 13, 2017

My Life in Fandom: Gundamofficial's Free Streaming of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt"

I love Mobile Suit Gundam, and have for years. I like most of the franchise, especially the core of it: the Universal Century timeline. So, when I got a chance to watch Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt last year I took it. I had to resort to much the same sort of thing I do to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes, so eventually I knew fan-hosted sources would get nuked for legal reasons. Then I saw that the official Gundam channel on YouTube began putting up playlists for various Gundam series and movies (seasons 1 and 2 of Iron-Blooded Orphans are there), and eventually Thunderbolt would get there.

That day has come.

The catch is that this is available for a limited time.

This isn't the first time they've done this. The original series compilation movies got this treatment, and they are not available on the channel now. I expect this thing with Thunderbolt to go the same way. That said, this is a good installment to the franchise and is worth seeing. It's not a deviation from the brand's general identity--heroes and bastards on both sides, leadership on both sides are utter shits, lots of tragedy, victory and survival are not synonymous, etc.--but it does change up the formula enough to refresh it. This side-story stands alone; the tie-in to the main sequence at the end is an epilogue that you can skip without losing anything.

Knock yourselves out, folks.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Narrative Warfare: Geek Gab, Riverdale, and SocJus Ruins Everything

The terrific trio at Geek Gab did their weekly episode today. Here, have the embedded video archive, for your convenience:

Now, about that clusterfuck that is Riverdale, and its willful misrepresentation of Archie comics. What this shit show reveals is that nothing will remain untouched by the SocJus death cult, as it cannot abide the presence of anything wholesome and innocent because that puts the lie to its claims of being grounded in reality. It has to normalize its inherent corrupt character by defiling everything contrary to it, and that's what Riverdale does.

You got it, this is Narrative Warfare.

The whole idea behind programs like this is to create the illusion that not only is this corruption normal, but that it is inevitable and cannot be resisted. It's mass-media black-pilling, intended to induce despair and apathy so as to reduce (and eventually eliminate) resistance. They do it because it works, and they've known this since the late 19th century when mass media as we recognize it emerged; they formalized it with World War 1 and commercialized it immediately thereafter. (Go read Propaganda, by Edward Bernays.) Manipulating public opinion has been a fucking career path ever since.

There's more of this social engineering going on, some of which is getting too blatant to unsee now, and if you can stand watching ads on TV or online you'll not fail to notice them. The same applies to the programs themselves. Long before we shit-posted Trump into the White House, those now opposing him unleashed industrial-scale weapons-grade memetic weaponology upon us to meme their will into reality.

So that's what Riverdale: memetic brainfucking, by someone already rotted by those same memes, intended to spread the disease into the population at-large by targeting those too young (and therefore unsavvy) to properly detect and block these attacks. This, by the way, is where parental oversight is meant to step in: to stop predators from preying upon your children. (Now you know why the Establishment wants to alienate parents from children, and otherwise break up the lawful natural family: to make it easier to corrupt and mutate children into more vile zombie drones for their will.)

Don't make it easy for them. Don't give them your money. Don't give them your time. Don't give them your attention. Don't let them get to your children. Literal walls are not the only good ones; erect yours today, and keep safe what you love so that they may thrive tomorrow.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Razorfist, Elric, & How You Can Start Making Things Happen

You want something to happen? Your best best is to make it happen by doing it yourself. The first part means figuring out just what you want to do, and compare that to what you're capable of doing yourself. Swiftly on the heels of that comes figuring out who can help you make it happen, and how they can do so. That means figuring how you're going to pitch it to others, especially those who aren't already inclined to help you.

The first stage is usually a brainstorm, throwing things out there to see what hits and what sticks. You're likely used to thinking of people sitting around a table, alone or with others, shooting ideas back and forth until they get tired or they hit on something that they think will work. Well, that's one way to do it; another is to talk while doing something else you're sufficiently used to that it doesn't require your full attention.

Yes, playing a game (videogame or otherwise) is fine so long as you're doing that brainstorming thing. Now, Razorfist already has a pretty good idea of what he wants here, but he's no game maker and he's not in a position to pitch it to one properly. This, for him is an exercise; if he's able to actually get a game maker's attention and then make it happen, that's gravy.

You, reading this post, should take away from this the idea that it's okay to be vague as fuck right away. You've got a clump of clay, and you're just spinning up your potter's wheel. Brainstorming is when you start to put shape to that clay and begin turning that thought into a finished work, whatever that is. Having parts where you discuss with others of like mind, like what you see above, is fine; you're going to want to close the doors and shut the windows eventually so you can focus on making it happen (i.e. doing the work), but early on this is not a bad idea.

The trick, therefore, is knowing when to do it (and thus went to stop).

From here, go look up other videos, articles, etc. on how to pitch; you're going to run into gaps in your skillset sooner or later, so help is necessary- like it or not.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Narrative Warfare: "Ghost Gun" Garbage

Last night, on NBC Nightly News, the network ran a segment about "ghost guns". These are firearms without a serial number, and the majority of these are AR-15s. It is implied that this is somehow a violation of the law, but the segment did report that these are legal under Federal law; the implication is that criminals flock to these because they otherwise could not pass a background check. They then pushed this as a means for (you guessed it) more Federal gun control. Fake. Fucking. News.

This is Narrative Warfare. Law Enforcement knows what firearms criminals use routinely: stolen handguns, some shotguns, and rarely rifles. The effort required to put together a "ghost gun" is well beyond common criminal competencey (nevermind their temperment). The primary emphasis is on stolen, often from people the thieves know (e.g. family), but they'll pick clean a gun store if they can break into it. They are not the sort to do the following:

  • Get an unfinished lower receiver for the rifle (AR-15 being most common) or handgun (1911 being most common) desired. They are nothing more than pricy paperweights, so they are not classified as firearms under Federal statute or regulation; you can buy online and ship straight to your door. Congratulations on your new block of metal or polymer; it's useless until you finish machining it into a complete receiver (at which time is IS a firearm under the law).
  • Locate, purchase, and receive all of the other parts necessary to complete building out that receiver. Good luck there. Sure, you can buy them online and ship to your door; they're just parts, as useless as car parts without an engine or a chassis, so there's no reason to interdict them. Once you have the parts, you have to put it together yourself; that's "manufacturing", and doing so for personal use is explicitly allowed.
  • Have somewhere between $500 (on a good fucking day) and $1000 (more likely) to throw about, including all shipping and handling charges, for all these parts and the tools needed to put them together. (You can find instructions online for free, text and video alike.)
  • Get the ammo. Again, you can buy online and in bulk, but that's yet more time and money you need to afford to do this.

That's a lot of patience and money to get this hypothetical criminal his untraceable rifle. But it makes for a scary story to sell to easily-scared rabbits in cities and suburbs who don't know shit about firearms, their regulations, or their economics. These same targeted audiences also don't know shit about criminal use of firearms, acquisition, or other relevant facts. In short, it's Rhetoric, and with the God-Emperor in power (and the National Rifle Association backing him), it's not going to go anywhere legislatively or politically. But it is likely to gin up some state or city-level bullshit, so it's worth watching for impacts.

But make no mistake, folks. That NBC News segment is basic bitch Narrative Warfare, and they do it because it does work. Once you see it, you won't unsee it, and then noticing the more subtle variations becomes far more likely.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Narrative Warfare: "Virtue of the West" & Making Your Own Media

I said earlier this week that it's important to find podcasts relevant to your interests and spread the work about them to others of like mind. Well, here I am doing just that. Two of the women I've found and took a liking to--Brittany Pettibone and Tara McCarthy--decided to collaborate on a new podcast: Virtue of the West. Their first episode is live, and embedded below.

In terms of Narrative Warfare, more podcasts like this are necessary and proper things to launch. You can't rely on the handful of established Alt-Right media (Red Ice Radio/Radio 3Fourteen, Fash The Nation, etc.) to do the heavy lifting, so if you have the means and the motive then now is your opportunity to act. You sure as Hell can't rely on the hoaxing media to do you any favors. (I'm with Vox Day: no media contact at all.) You've got to take your own side here, and that means doing what these fine women have done.

Which, by the way, is why I made this post: to spread the word of their effort to make their own media and thereby draw and keep an audience. I've already noticed one other woman in this sphere--Bre Faucheux--immediate notice and take a liking to it (and looks to be on the show in the near future), and with the current cultural zeitgeist shift going on I think that they picked the right time to launch this podcast. Hopefully the established folks, some of whom already had one or both hostesses on as guests, welcome this podcast and do likewise to promote it.

We need to make our own media again. Vox Day's talked about this repeatedly at his blog, and he's participating in creating Alt-Tech replacements for SocJus-controlled stuff like Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia so he's not blowing smoke. That Red Ice exists, and has for years, shows that you can succeed as wholly independent media. While Google (as it controls YouTube) is SJW-converged, for now it's worthwhile to post podcasts there (and use Google Hangouts for live shows) while backing up at other places.

Narrative Warfare cannot be thwarted by being passive. You have to counter-signal, and that means getting into the media game yourselves. If these women can do it, you can too- and, goddamn, it's a lot of fun!

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

The God-Emperor Gets His Grand Inquisator

The God-Emperor wins again. Jess Sessions is now the Attorney General of the United States. The Fraud Fauxcahauntas got her lying mouth shut, and that was fantastic to see. (But I'd rather see her punished for fraud; she's as Indian as I am a Martian.) This on top of DeVos confirmed as the Secretary of Education. I love all this winning. I am energized by all this winning. I cannot, do not, and will never get tired of winning; I feed off winning, so I want MORE! Harder, Faster, Stronger.

Now I want action. I want to see Antifa rounded up by the F.B.I., denounced as terrorists, convicted for sedition (and, where applicable, treason), and punished accordingly. I want the illegal invaders rounded up, denounced as invaders and spies, and punished accordingly. I want those giving aid and comfort to these predators arrested, condemned, and punished likewise. If not executed, then chained and compelled to Build The Wall. (Yes, this is totally legal.)

I want all Federal gun control ripped out of the U.S. Code, used as toliet paper, and then tossed into the incinerator. Let's start with the repeal of the National Firearms Act; nevermind the re-legalizing of suppressors alone. We've got the opportunity to undue one of the biggest remaining mistakes of the 20th Century in U.S. legal work (after Prohibition), so you're damn right I want to strike while the iron is hot and make that happen- and given that the National Rifle Association just used their influence to get the God-Emperor his Grand Inquisator, this repeal is just and fair compensation for their aid. The Military Arms Channel has a nice rant video about this repeal opportunity:

And I fully support the purging of Leftists, whatever their stripe, for they are the immediate source of chaos and predation of our nation in this country. I am no naive idealist; I know good and well (from bitter, life-long experience) that power is what matters- use it or lose it. The bureaucracy needs to be purged of the traitors in its ranks. Why? Because all of them are Social Justice Warriors, and Social Justice Warriors ALWAYS LIE!

Godspeed, Grand Inquisator. Go forth, and Make America Great Again!

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

My Life in Fandom: Razorfist's Back - Enter ELRIC of Melniboné - Razör vs. Comics

I see that Razorfist has a new video. Hmmm, it's about Elric of Melnibone. This has to be good.

This is why Razorfist got on the Hugo final ballot last year. This is why he deserves to be nominated for a Dragon if a suitable category can be found. He does better literary criticism and review than people who wasted years of their lives and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get useless degrees as credentials for this sort of thing, and he does so with a flare and feel for audience engagement that his more credentialed counterparts routinely fail to accomplish.

If you haven't gotten acquainted with him, now's the time. After you watch this video (and the one below), go watch his two videos going over The Shadow (which is what got him his Hugo nomination). Then subscribe to his channel and follow him on the socials so you don't miss his output going forward. I've enjoyed his videos and livestreams for some time now, so I am happy to spread the word when he does stuff like this; if you don't care for comics, try his stuff on games, movies, or music. (The "Mythos" series is fantastic, and often better journalism than folks who get paid to do it.)

As for his shots at The Witcher, this video should fill any gaps left by the video above on why Razorfist says what he says.

And I can't wait for his review of Hairbraned Schemes upcoming BattleTech.

Monday, February 6, 2017

My Life as a Gamer: What Have You Done, World of Warcraft?

Since World of Warcraft launched, there's been a problem with third parties offering services without Blizzard's approval. One of them is providing in-game currency (henceforth "gold") to paying players. These parties do so by abusing the game's Terms of Service, and even by compromising and usurping paying customers' accounts to acquire that gold. As it became clear that suckering people into compromising accounts is easier than working it up, that became the go-to means to get that gold. No matter how hard Blizzard tried, they couldn't put a stop to it.

So they decided to fuck them all over by doing it themselves, using existing technology and infrastructure to make it safe and secure. They called this "The WOW Token", and it started simple enough: if you have more real-world money than gold, you could spend $20 to (a) buy a token good for 30 days of game time and (b) pay a service charge to make it into a tradeable token.

Put the Token up for sale on the Auction House, and get a fat sack of gold; at this end, the quantity of gold is guaranteed to the post at the time the token is put up for sale. For the rest of us, we're able to use gold to buy gametime and essentially monetize our playtime; those skilled in playing the virtual economy are more than able to play for free indefinitely.

It's been rumored since this began that the Token would expand in functionality to allow for other things wanted by players. This finally occurred, and they did it in a most efficient manner: you can now redeem a Token for either game time or credit to your Battletnet account, allowing you to use gold to buy character transfers (or other such services), virtual goods (pets or mounts), or even other Blizzard games. Go on, look for yourself:

Does the term "perverse incentive" mean anything to you? It should, because that's what just went live.

The gold price of a Token varies by region (North America/Oceanic, Europe, Asia), with North America being about half of Europe and sometimes a fifth of Asia. Before it went live, the gold price in North America was stable at about 60K gold. When I logged off at 10:30 p.m. Central Time tonight, it had already spiked to 80K. Holy shit.

This won't hurt me right away; my game time is paid through January of next year. But it does mean that I now cannot avoid thinking of gold as anything other than a way to pay for game time, and consider all alternative uses of gold compared to that primary purpose. I'm hardly the only player recognizing this fact, and I think that the very reason the Token got created--to eliminate third parties exploiting the virtual economy is undermined by this change.

But that's not the real issue. The real one is that someone at Blizzard thought it was a good idea to turn gold into virtual company scrip, which might as well be real money (because--within the Blizzard virtual store--it is). It doesn't matter if it's restricted as stated in the video and clarified in the F.A.Q.- you are taking a fake virtual currency and making it into a real one, and that means the IRS (and its counterparts in other countries) are going to have a say about this soon, one that won't be nice for anyone but the taxmen.

You dun goofed, Blizzard. You undermined your own anti-goldseller scheme, and opened yourself to tax liability. Fucking brilliant.

My Life in Fandom: Metro City Boys Podcast #17: Danielle's Pain Train

The gang at Metro City Boys continue to score the timely guest appearances, with this week featuring actress Danielle McRae. Episode 17, as one would expect, features yet more talk on the importance of voice acting in videogames and how the ongoing strike relates to her and her work. Yes, the other stuff is present--news, goof, commentary, more goof, the Bitching Corner, and prime goof--and you really ought to be there live to catch the extra fun going on in the chat.

It's important to follow the quality podcasts as soon as you find them, and support them as best you can so that they can grow and continue to make more of that good stuff you're wanting out of them. So follow the show on YouTube, follow the show's Twitter account, etc. and enjoy gamers being gamers and not anything else. I'm following this one, Geek Gab, and (for World of Warcraft) Final Boss. If there's any others you want to spread the love for, comment below and link to it.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Narrative Warfare: Polls Are Tools.

About polls:

That.

The ascent of the God-Emperor did such damage to the hoaxing media that the damage spread beyond that institution and hit the tools it uses to wage narrative warfare. One of them is the use of polls. We're told that these are the quantitative results of a random sample of the population who answered one or more questions put to them, and then that these results are representative of the population as a whole. They lied. Therefore, they use the tools to lie also, which means that the polls cannot be trusted; we don't know who they queried, what they asked, if the responses were genuine, if the responses got recorded properly, or if they didn't just make shit up.

Up to the election, the polls consistently spread claims of data intended to demoralize opposition to Clinton. Now they're being used to incite and sustain opposition to Trump. This cannot be unseen, and these polls are being used as fuel for the antifa riots now organized and executed with a speed and alacrity that cannot be emergent or organic (and it's not).

We've reached a point where nothing attached to the Establishment can be trusted anymore. This is dangerous, because without reliable intelligence the population cannot properly govern themselves and instead become susceptible to gaslighting by criminals seeking to manipulate the population into doing their bidding deniably. We need, and we're slowly getting, alternatives to these converged polls; until then, don't heed any poll used in the MSM. They're not informing you; they're gaslighting you and therefore not to be trusted.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Geek Gab 85: Space Talk with Author Jon Del Arroz!

Geek Gab's been on a roll as of late. This week the little podcast that could has author Jon Del Arroz (author of Star Realms: Rescue Run) on to talk Space Opera, the pulps, and how to take Star Wars's preservation of the pulps out of its hands and back once more into the fullness of popular culture. Asides for recent zombie-themed stuff comes from Daddy Warpig, and there's plenty of side-commentary from the chat that catches their notice- fun you miss out on if you're not there for the livestream.

Don't forget to follow the Gab on Twitter, or hit up the feed at iTunes, and of course you can follow the Gab on YouTube (and ensure that you get notifications).

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: You Can Watch It Here

Okay, this is a follow-up post from yesterday. I don't usually post multiple times on a blog in a day, but this is an exception. If you're looking for a video playlist for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, then you're not going to find intact ones on YouTube right now. Most of those got nuked, and those remaining are damaged. Some of the streaming sites (animeplus, gogoanime, kissanime, etc.) may not work either. For now, an account on Dailymotion has the full series and most of the key sidestories.

One caveat: one of the movies, Overture to a New War, is a flat-out replacement for Episodes 1 & 2 of the series. Should you get the chance to watch both and compare, you'll see why Galactic Hero (the linked account) opted to use that movie instead of those episodes for the start of the series playlist.

Going forward, I'll just put in other intact playlists as footnotes to other posts as I see fit. In addition, there are fan-run wikis for the series, some of which have added value in the form of scanned-in notes showing how rank & insignia look and work and incorporating background information that the series uses but doesn't always put before the viewer's attention. If you want to get started, watch the embedded prequel movie below (a better introduction than the series proper provides), then Overture, and go on to Episode 3 from there.


Legend of Galactic Heroes - My Conquest is the... by galactichero

Friday, February 3, 2017

Narrative Warfare: "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" Is Right Again

One of the problems with being a fan of a foreign TV or film series that isn't released in the West is that you have to deal with periodic purges of the playlists or streaming sites you frequent for when you want to watch. For me, that's Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and today my YouTube playlists (and everyone else's) got nuked. Oh well.

I'm mentioning this because one episode in particular got the notice of Minnesota's best shitposter and troll: Mister Metoker.

(Let's face it: no one outside of Minnesota cares about Minnesota. That's how I know he's one of us.)

Episode 40 is all backstory, so you can watch it in isolation and not lose anything.

Mind you, this was made in Japan over 20 years ago- and that's adapted from a "light novel" made and published a few years before that. That's why we fans love this series: it's brilliant, superversive, and not at all compliant with the Leftist SocJus fraud that we had then or have now. Go watch it; Metoker's right about what he said- this IS a known historical pattern, and it could end with The God-Emperor literally becoming so by popular acclaim (though I suspect that would be done by a successor).

As I said previously, Legend of the Galactic Heroes throws out red pills on the regular throughout its 110 episodes and several miniseries and movies. The light novels are available in English at Amazon for damn cheap prices, so try those first if you aren't keen on streaming it subtitled into English. (That's right, no dub exists; read faster.) You'll be well-entertained.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Conventions Are Worthless. Stop Attending Them.

I'm find it hard to justify the expense of attending conventions anymore. Both the big, professional con such as the various Comic-Cons and the smaller fan cons that dominate here in Minneapolis fail to explain what I gain from attending over using my Internet access in the comfort of my home, because what they're offering I can do on my own easier and with superior convenience. In addition, more fan conventions (and increasingly so for the pro cons) are pozzed by SocJus death cultists converging the cons into vectors for spreading their memetic disease. That explains both why they keep pushing these things, and why more sensible people are staying away from them.

So, I'm done. I'm not going to any local conventions this year. I'm not going to any conventions anywhere this year, pro or not. What I want I can get online, and often with superior value given for a better price (i.e. free). Furthermore, I will not attend any convention going forward unless (a) I am specifically invited to attend with all expenses paid, (b) I am contractually obligated to do so, or (c) that convention proves to my satisfaction that it gives value superior to what I can get at home with Internet access. Any convention that is SJW-converged will never meet (a) or (c), so I need only worry about (b) for them.

If there is something to be gained from the convention as anything more than a hands-on marketing event, which is the current format that alone justifies their being such gatherings at all (e.g. SHOT Show, E3), then people who give a damn had better figure it out. As it is, there is not a damn thing in terms of value that conventions provide that Internet streaming, commerce, and direct communications don't do better for cheaper. Why bother with lesser means to the same ends?

And that's my convention policy: prove your value, or get left behind.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The Antifa Riot at UC Berkeley: 2nd US Civil War Looms

That's an understatement worthy of a Minnesotan.

The riot--and it is a riot--has already turned into a mob. Of course, it's Antifa behind this riot. Inciters with megaphones ride heard on the mob, guiding them as best they can. Property's already damaged and at least one man has been beaten. The police have issues three dispersal orders, but have not acted, so the rioters carry on and taunt the police.

Sooner or later, the police will put down this riot with force. Then the lying, hoaxing media will spew sob stories about rioters getting injured by the police. I am all out of fucks for them, and I think it's time to stop pussy-footing with rioters, but this is in California and they are going have inside help.

The idea behind putting that out there was to get the police to do their jobs, and it seems to have worked.

Which brings me to the point: Civil war looms. This pattern of violence, rioting against targets believed (correctly or not) to be favorable to Trump, is not going to stop without the God-Emperor's intervention and direction of the F.B.I. (and other agencies) to collect and arrest these rioters and their backers. In addition to the obvious charges, conspiracy charges should be applied and sedition charges (as this is a clear pattern intended to undermine the government) should be attempted.

Because if this does not stop now, then the time of the cold civil war going hot comes sooner and the odds of it not going hot diminish rapidly to zero. This is not desirable by any sensible man, and if I cannot get this across then maybe Stefan Molyneux can:

If this goes on, civil war--hot, shooting, killing, massacring--becomes inevitable. The rabbits will lose once the wolves get loose.