Bullying and Casey the Hero

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing SEO pieces to get more hits LOL.


But I've got to say something about this Casey stuff.


I feel passionate about it because I was picked on in school. I found my diary from school not so long ago, and nearly every entry was about being picked on, about being hit, about being spat on.

When I found it I was shocked. I certainly remember that sometimes it occurred, but it didn't seem that big a deal, nor seemed to occur that often when I remember back to school.

I guess I bottled it up, as I certainly didn't bother to tell anyone about it, and I like to think I turned out pretty well adjusted.

And I'm sure I picked on other kids just as I was picked on. The way I remember it, that's just the way things were and you just had to put up with it.

But one thing I am sick of is all these do-fucking-gooders jumping up and down about the A Current Affair and Today Tonight interviews, and claiming all kinds of bullying will occur because of this, and so forth.

Because 25 years ago, I was Casey. Obviously, all the good intentions and pages of writing by the "anti-bullying experts" hasn't done shit.

And I have to point out I fucking HATE ACA and TT, and don't wish to defend them in any way, shape or form, because they're completely rubbish, gutter television.But by this going viral on youtube, and being picked up by these shows not only in Australia, but world wide, we're all talking about it. The whole world is talking about it.

Now, this isn't from a psychologist, just a mate on a forum, but he said:

Quote:

Interviewing these kids does nothing to solve the issue, does nothing to solve the underlying issues in general, and does nothing for these kids in particular.

I responded:

Really?

We're all talking about it.

10 pages and counting, when there's two earthquake ravaged cities still recovering, and open revolution backed by Western powers in Libya, open hostility in many other parts of the Middle East between "the people" and their Dictators.

People all over the world are talking about it, telling people how they were bullied when they were young. Sharing their stories. Talking about it with their kids, talking with each other.

I think it's done more than 25 years of bullshit popsych and "anti-bullying experts" put together could ever hoped to do.

Because for all their studies, for all the thousands of papers and millions of words, for calls to ban games like Bully because "they sent the wrong message" and calls to ban music and art they disagree with, they did nothing to stop this situation occurring to Casey.

Maybe the media reports won't [stop bullying] either, but at least we're talking about it.

Also, just because I love Penny Arcade, I need to post this:

All of the Above...

There's a pretty funny site called Fat, Ugly or Slutty, which reveals the darker side of gamers.

Gamers, mostly girls, post the rude, nasty, sexist and racist posts they get from the more moronic and inbred type of gamers that inhabit virtual space.

I must admit I've managed to pretty much avoid this type of shit through not only being male, but mostly through playing with people on my friends list on Xbox Live, and by joining The Older Gamers about 8 years or so ago.

I can't say enough good things about TOG, and although I've been completely pissed off with some of the more ignorant comments in The World Around Us (discussions of news and issues) forum, particularly in relation to immigrants, I realise some people are just uneducated or close minded, and there's not much I can do about it.

But moreover, those people are in the minority in TOG, and when it comes to accepting people for who they are, even the most pigheaded of those in TWAU are in fact great people.

But there was this one time about 2 or 3 years ago that some random sent me a picture of his junk on Xbox Live.

I have no idea why.

Obviously I reported him, but honestly, if you're going to send pictures of your junk to people, at least have something to show. I've never felt inadequate in that department, but if this guy was an "average" male, then I'm in porn star league.

So thank you, random Xbox penis dude! Your obvious inadequacy made me feel superior.

Bon Jovi is an idiot

Apparently Bon Jovi thinks Steve Jobs is killing the music business

Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it..

God, it was a magical, magical time...I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business. (link)

Thing is, I've never experienced music like this.

I've never gone into a record store, looked at the cover, and purchased it on a whim.

I've always been informed by radio, by magazines, by music video, by friends. Even if I was simply attracted to the record by the label design, I'd ask to listen to it in store.

I own 600 CDs and nearly as many records. I've seen over 200 bands live, and probably a similar number of DJs. I've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on music and music equipment.

I also have 150 gig of music - all of it as carefully chosen as those CDs and records.

Just because the way I find out about music has changed, because I can listen immediately, I can download immediately, I can click and see videos, I can read a review and then purchase right away, or a friend can send me a file, it doesn't mean my passion for finding music I like to listen to has diminished any.

And as long as there are people like me out there like me, there will be people making music for me.

So fuck you and your music business, Bon Jovi. You've done nothing for me. (Edit comment)

Clint Mansell to score Mass Effect 3

There is a rather long but very awesome interview with Clint Mansell – former member of Pop Will Eat Itself and composer of film scores Requiem for a Dream, Moon, and Black Swan, on The Quietus

Unspoilt by Progress: A Conversation with Clint Mansell

(thanks to Amy for the link!)

He mentions in it that he’s doing the music for Mass Effect 3.

Do you do much work for other outlets like computer games? Mike Patton, for example, has most recently voiced The Darkness.
CM: I'm doing a video game this year actually. Mass Effect 3. Funnily enough, talking about Mike, we've exchanged emails about the possibility of doing a show featuring the Quartet and people they've collaborated with. It'd be a Kronos show, with different rooms for other people to do their thing, then bringing it all together. It's pretty cool-sounding.
I'm definitely interested in different outlets – that's one of the reasons I get involved in short films. It's not so much that I can experiment as it is to be in a situation where nobody's looking over your shoulder. Short films are usually made by young people and they've got ideas I can bounce off. They can take me in a different direction.
So in a game, the character might arrive at a big boss and you have to have a piece that can quickly become dramatic.
CM: That's what I'm figuring. As I was saying about Public Enemy and re-working old hip-hop tunes for Requiem, and kind of re-working old ballet tunes for Black Swan, with something like Mass Effect you're more like a DJ, with all these elements. You've got the holding pattern, then the big explosion where you need the score to kick in. Then you need to take it off on a tangent. You've got all these different elements that change depending on what the player does. You have to figure out an overall symphony, but be able to break it down into component parts. You can bring the pain when required.

Considering the previous Mass Effects count in my top ever games, this purchase was a given, but this makes it a pre-purchase for sure, especially if the soundtrack comes as a bonus feature!