Digg, you're doing great, but don't kid yourself: Lying is an American pastime

I'm a Digger. And day after day I'm proud to watch exposition after exposition revealing how Palin misrepresents her record on the Bridge to Nowhere, how McCain owns Foreign-made automobiles, or how the Republican Campaign is consistently de-Americanizing Obama with fabrications of his support of Kindergarten sexual education or increased taxes for the middle-class.

And reading today, I thought of the one young Digger out there who might get swept up in this rally cry for truth, and may think that this aggressive demonstration of truth will plant a three-inch heel directly into the heart of the Republican fan base. "How couldn't it", this person would think. McCain and Palin are clearly proven liars.

I want to say to this young gumshoe, don't kid yourself. There's a strange preconception in the young that 'revealing the indisputable truth' commands a rethinking of the former believers' thinking.

The problem is, that when the believer's way of being, by nature, involves lying, the content of the message takes a backseat to the more important element, the medium.

In short, the believer knows that any sentiment or fact can be stretched and spun. Numbers, facts and figures are all skews, and since that is as far as the liar has ever taken interest, the more important element of power and confidence becomes the medium. The person, the appearance, the context. And once that connection has been made, for whatever arbitrary message besides the content, it is unshakable unless by a force of incentive so strong as to clearly change their worldview.

Exposing McCain's lies aren't enough, because the position he's in and the lies he spouts are in fact amplifying the resonance with his GOP base. He lies the same way they do, and that makes him ideal and understanding of the way of life.

What lies do the extremists of his base perpetrate in? Pretending to believe in equality, compassion for others and the constitution. Pretending and acting as if the days are simply passing when deep in their hearts believing we are in the 'endtimes', where the Antichrist will soon reveal himself.

When Palin says to Charlie Gibson that her speech about Iraq being "God's War" was a quote of Abraham Lincoln, her listeners don't shudder when they hear it's a lie. They are proud of her long term strategy of hiding her true religion until she has the power to spread it.

So when we on Digg expose these lies, and join together to comment and rejoice about how they're losing momentum or how they've "lost a lot of credibility", I hope the young ones don't let this get to their head.

Half of this country still prefers the liar. And I'd wager 10-20% despite knowing fully well that's what he is.

Ace Ventura 3!

http://movies.ign.com/articles/805/805623p1.html

What a disaster.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_reversal_on_Iran_intel_reflects__12072007.html

Readin this makes me happy.

"But their willingness to set aside all previous assumptions flowed from a determination not to repeat the errors made in 2002, when bogus intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction set the United States on a course to war, they said.

And unlike 2002, when US intelligence officials complained of administration pressure to "cherry-pick" intelligence that supported going to war, the intelligence community this time has asserted its independence.

"This is ours," a senior intelligence official said this week, telling reporters that policymakers had no input in the conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate, as the assessment is called."

--

Inefficiency and groupthink occur when people are afraid to question things. Religion, government... pretty much any organization will eventually fail or be overcome by the voice of one. And since the voice of one inevitably is corrupted, it's a negative consequence for all.

"He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice. " - Einstein

If MGS4 goes multiplatform

If MGS4 goes multi-platform..

Metal Gear 4 must sell 1 Million in first day to justify cost

Then...

1)
it's over for PS3. Completely, utterly finished. They'll have nothing left to look forward to. They will literally start pitching the PS4 and swallow a multi-billion dollar loss.

If you know me, you know I am pretty optimistic about things that can be learned from mistakes, about creativity in general. That said, you probably don't know JUST how angry I get when I see colossal failure as a result of miscommunications and LACK OF LISTENING. I hate the idea of this juggernaut corporation of Kaz Hirai and his yesmen sitting in isolation saying YES, everyone will want a $600 console, YES all the publishers will come to us EVEN if our system costs too much for the mainstream consumer and is impossible to program for. I hate the idea that Kaz Hirai who is for all intents and purposes a dimwitted fellow has the power to try (and fail) to control the gaming experience of an entire generation.

They were so fucking retarded with the PS3. Let me just say first: it takes a genius to make something out of nothing, and they did with the Playstation 1. They beat N64 to the punch, made the system accessible and easy, and used the Sony name wisely. Then, with great wisdom, they marketed the hell out of PS2 to consumers and publishers, and timed the release well.

Now let me say: to MAINTAIN the type of juggernaut success experienced by the previous Playstations, it takes only one key component: ears. You have to listen to the world that is so different than it was when gaming stepped into 3d. You have to see what people want. Do they want more polygons? Do they really Kaz? What a moron. Blindsided by yesmen. That's my completely accurate and not up for discussion analysis of this situation.

Why did they insist on Blu-Ray? Why the fuck did they price it at fucking $600? Why is the online functionality terrible? Why is it tough to program? Kaz Hirai is RETARDED. Dead.


2)
It's GREAT for me. I've always wanted a Wii and X360.

Wii because there's no doubt that Mario Galaxy is a one of a kind experience on the Earth. Plain and simple, you're going to live inside the insane dreams of Miyamoto, the Japanese GODFATHER of games. There would be nothing without this guy, and he pretty much invented the controller to match his dreams. Talk about the dream life for a creative guy.

X360 because you just know nobody (except Google) would ever beat these guys at online integrated play. It's smooth, and easy to program for, so all kinds of developers will try new things. I would just have to pray that FF would jump over too, but Konami and Square have always sort of been buddies.

I'm not even going to talk about how two great Japanese companies will begrudgingly have to head over to America to sign up for the next big thing.

That Kaz Hirai guy could honestly, I"m not fuckin joking, be sniped, or forced to seppuku. This is THAT collosal of a failure. One of the biggest I"ve seen in my life.

Ahh that felt nice to write.
peace

Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs

http://www.entrepreneur.com/women50/index.html

Advice for getting into Gaming

I got an email the other day asking about how to get into gaming, and I wanted to post up the reply. Might as well do it here :)

--

I think a lot of people love to wax on how dificult it is to get into gaming, because the guys with the jobs want to add prestige to their position.

The truth is, it's quite simple. Make games now. Take a day, make a game just as you would dream of making it. A small text based game? A small fun physics engine? A card game? Talk about it on your cover letter.

Secondly, examine job postings. People want DirectX experience for Graphics Engine jobs, so write a paper on it for a work report this term, and tell them you did next term.

That's the plain and simple of it.

As for GDC, you just have to really dig into yourself to pull out something innovative to say. I talked about the reasons I found games to be on the verge of becoming interactive art, then cited examples like Half Life and Metal Gear.

Good luck, and keep me informed :)

p.s. Everybody wants to be heard, as evidenced by my long email. Write an article for the school paper, call EA, and say you're writing for a school paper and would like a 10 min interview with the head developer. Talk about ins :)

The Number One Issue This Election

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

The Force Bii Wiith you

Wow, the quality of posts (and thought) has plunged to sub-tmac levels.

Wii Lightsaber Next Week

Les Choses Interessant

Coming back to this graveyard of a blog darkens even the remnants of my broken asparagus-based blood pumping organ. Since I last posted here, I was actually - believe it or not - shot by a bullet. A magic bullet. In the heart, by Lauren (the co-author of CD).





What the hell is going on in these videos? Do they live in some sort of commune? "Good morning Berman!", some woman exclaims as Berman apparently wakes up off the couch. Who makes these? And that woman with the cigarette? She's just smoking indoors while they make fruit smoothies? This is the best stuff ever.

Also, here is a link to a bunch of the best moments from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

http://dailywtf.net/2007/09/25/best-whose-line-is-it-anyway-moments/

Peace,
Neil

Ill music videos

Kanye West: Can't tell me nothin'



TV on the Radio: I was a lover



Bob Dylan: (clip from No Direction Home)