A Gamer Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

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The Fight Against Star Wars Fan Toxicity

Star Wars Fan Toxicity

I absolutely cannot abide toxic fans. One of the things that really get my troll coals burning is people attacking other people because something didn’t play out the way they imagined it. I’ve been on these diatribes before that Star Wars fan toxicity is ruining Star Wars (and it’s definitely not Disney). Personally, I feel that unless Disney explicitly snubbed your fan fiction, your expressed opinions, and/or your recommendation letters then you have zero creative control over the plot of the movies. They are not your story to tell. If you disagree, that’s fine. However, resorting to toxic social media behavior doesn’t make it right. In fact, it makes you wrong and a disgusting tyrant. Actors and actresses are paid to play a role and a majority of them put a lot of work, and a bit of themselves, into their roles. Attacking a role they played is attacking the person and its asinine.

I Will Always Defend All The Movies

We need to fight against all this Star Wars fan toxicity. Nobody deserves to be lambasted for a role they are paid to play and it’s incredibly naive to think it doesn’t affect them. Daisey Ridley (Rey) and Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico) are no longer on social media. Apparently some so-called “fans” disagreed with the Rey and Rose characters so much they tormented both actresses on their respective Twitter or Instagram accounts. Now their accounts are gone; deleted because of the sexist and racist vitriol from alleged “fans”. If that isn’t egregious enough for you then let’s talk about Ahmed Best.

For Introverts, Gregariousness is Optional

Gregariousness is optional for most introvertsI’m a homebody. I think many of my friends, family and co-workers don’t understand what that means. The definition is as simple it sounds “a person who prefers staying at home.” When I was in college I did attend quite a few parties and football games; I even helped start a tailgating tradition that is still going to this day. College were my gregarious years, all that is different now. I am, undoubtedly, an introvert and for introverts, gregariousness is optional.

I don’t mind small social gatherings, as long as they are short. In large social gatherings I eventually feel uncomfortable, even among my peers. I hate cliché small talk. Why does small talk always involve the weather? A piece of my soul dies every time I say something about the weather because I’m uncomfortable or bored. My home is my sanctuary, a place where my thoughts can dwell without explanation or judgement. It is the biggest reason I am more productive working at home than sitting in a cubicle.

Bewilderment is Two Sided

A while back I wrote a post about how I do not like the beach. My desk chair or recliner is an environment I greatly prefer over sitting on a sandy beach. I know that is probably as bewildering to you as I am bewildered by your bewilderment. (Wait, what did I just say there?) In other words, you are confused that I don’t like the beach because everyone likes the beach. However, I’m confused because you find that confusing. Why is it so hard to believe that I would rather sit at home, in air conditioning, reading a book or playing video games than sitting on the beach? This kind of goes back to that feeling of discomfort or boredom.

Just sitting there is boring, not to mention that I burn very easily and I hate sweating (unless I’ve earned it, i.e. jogging). I cannot sit comfortably reading a book while baking in the sun and if I have to make “cliché small talk”, I’d prefer not to have to squint to do it. The more effort it takes to be comfortable the more uncomfortable I feel. I’m using the beach as an example because it best illustrates the dichotomy. While going to the bar or singing karaoke is a fun activity for most, sitting at home reading, working on projects around the house or tinkering on the computer is equally as entertaining. If I find those things comparable, why do I prefer the latter? By now that answer should be obvious … Home Sweet Home.

/cheers


When I was a kid, it was a huge insult to be a geek. Now it’s a point of pride in a weird way.” – J.J. Abrams

“Manbabies” is an Accurate Description

I am still fuming from the news that Kelly Marie Tran was driven off social media because of bullying. Whoever these “manbabies” are have no place among Star Wars fans (or human beings). It’s all right to like or dislike the prequels or the new movies, but it’s utterly despicable to use racist and sexist language to force someone from social media. Especially someone as charming and wonderful as Kelly Marie Tran.

“Manbabies” is an accurate description for these alleged “fans”, a label applied by Rian Johnson in a tweet. Actually there are a few tweets in which Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill shutdown all these awful haters. You can express your disagreement of the new movies without resorting to bigotry and racism.

“Give Us Legends” the Scapegoat

The group of cowards responsible for this atrocious behavior attempted to throw “Give Us Legends” under the bus. I appreciate what GUL wants to do and I am more inclined to believe they were not involved with this act of bullying. A few days after the story broke, the website “Making Star Wars” published an article that implicates “Give Us Legends” as the culprits behind the racist attacks. While I could not find any source to back up the article, I found several sources that exonerated GUL.

If you are unfamiliar with “Give Us Legends”, they are a group of avid Star Wars fans that are respectfully urging Disney to continue the Legends canon. When Disney “debunked” the Expanded Universe, they coined the debunked canon as “Legends”. The article from “Making Star Wars” is successful in skewing your perception of GUL, however, their Facebook page absolves them. I initially thought they were among the group of whiny “manbabies” wishing to stop Disney from rewriting EU canon. However, they are simply asking for Disney to continue expanding the “Legends” canon as well as their new post-Jedi canon. I support that notion!

Kelly Marie Tran is Amazing

In a more recent post I discuss how Star Wars is more gender neutral because of strong female characters. Now I’m not going to preach about gender equality. An actor or character’s gender, race, creed, color or sexual orientation are irrelevant to the story. I don’t know why any of those characteristics need to be singled out in any capacity.

Be that as it may, Kelly Marie Tran’s character is Rose Tico (if you didn’t know). Rose is a mechanic on the Raddus, the cruiser that becomes the flagship for General Leia during the evacuation of D’Qar. While a good mechanic, she stays below the radar until her sister is killed during the bombing of the dreadnaught. Rose rises up to become another strong female character in the Star Wars universe. She is a welcome addition to the likes of Daisy Ridley, Ashley Eckstein and Carrie Fisher.

Since the disgusting display of human indecency, there has been a huge outpouring of support by the actual Star Wars fans. It’s unfortunate that Kelly Marie Tran has left social media because I think she would appreciate it. I hope she sees it eventually, because I look forward to seeing more Rose in the next movie.

/MTFBWY

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.

 

Soapbox: Facebook is a Harbor of Hatred

Facebook is a Harbor of HatredI have taken a break from Facebook. If you notice posts from me they auto-post as part of WordPress plug-ins which automatically sends a tweet for new blog posts. Anytime I submit a tweet to Twitter, it auto-posts to Facebook. While I will also avoid my Twitter feed, I can post to Twitter without actually having to see the latest nonsense. I have also disabled all notifications. Facebook is a harbor of hatred and I just can’t take any more of it right now. Warning: the following might be wrought with disdain and unpleasant suggestions (i.e. nothing will be politically correct).

When Mark Zuckerberg first created Facebook I’m sure his intentions were a means to unite friends across borders. It’s a way to keep in touch with people who have touched your lives in a positive way. Obviously you wouldn’t friend that dirty uncle who molested you at night. Over the past 13 years it has evolved into a harbinger of hatred. Keyboard jockeys share memes and posts to garner support for whatever cause/belief/nonsense they feel is impeding human evolution. However their “activism” ends there; it’s as I’ve said before, trolling. They just want to see how many people they can butt-hurt instead of actually caring about whatever they are bitching about.

Social Media is Not Activism

Activism requires more than sharing memes. I assure you no member of Congress, no judge, no presidential aid is going to change their mind because of a Facebook post! Don’t even get me started on those dumbass Facebook profile filters! All you will accomplish by sharing hateful remarks is alienating your friends and family. There are relationships that are being destroyed because people are not afraid to type what they are too afraid to say to someone’s face. Words are permanent whether spoken or written. While you might be able to repair what you say, the Internet never forgets what you wrote. Once its out on the Internet, you can no longer control its existence.

I really don’t think Facebook or Twitter has ever been successful in rallying people for any cause. Everyone posts shit because they know they can hide behind a monitor. I see people posting “I don’t want to start a fight but …”; don’t do that! It’s going to start a fight, regardless because people feel invulnerable when they are sitting at their keyboards or on the couch with their phones.

Nuclear weapons, WMDs, bio-terrorism, Donald Trump, Barrack Obama, none of those will cause the destruction of man. Social Media will be our destruction. The very tool that was created to bring us together will be exactly what tears us apart; it has already begun. So I’m going to avoid Facebook until I no longer feel the need to always check it. I have heard on numerous occasions that people feel happier when they spend time away from Facebook.

/endsoapbox

Soapbox: USB on Mobile Devices is Frivolous

minion_daveI still see articles posted criticizing Apple because they still haven’t added a USB port to their phones or tablets. I don’t understand why there are still people clinging to this pagan belief that mobile devices need to have a USB port. Folks, we are living in a world where our data is stored in the elusive but ultra convenient Cloud. The very concept of a mobile device should be the epitome that embraces Cloud based technology.

I have been using an iPhone since the 3GS and an iPad since version 2 and I have never pined for a USB port to use a thumb drive. Once a tablet has a USB port, it’s no longer a tablet; it’s now a laptop (albeit it thin and lacking peripherals). The fact that Samsung and Microsoft still throws that in Apple’s face is both absurd and ludicrous.

What is easier?

A) insert thumb drive. open folder on thumb drive. copy file to thumb drive. eject thumb drive. plug thumb drive into other device/computer. open folder on thumb drive. Edit file.

or

B) open remote cloud folder. Edit file.

It is far easier and more convenient to use Cloud based storage so you would greatly benefit from learning that methodology. If you prefer that I say it in trite gaming vernacular “learn2Dropbox”

/cheers

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Thomas, Thomas, Thomas!

brady-sketchYou know Tom Brady’s last name is apt because he’s the cherished primadonna of the Patriots just as Marsha Brady was to Tom and Carol. The man is guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was, at least, knowledgeable of the under-inflated footballs. He won’t admit to it because he’s Tom Brady, the man that can do nothing wrong. The only other people completely diluted other than himself are the New England fans, while the rest of us, living in the real world, know the man is guilty. Despite his royal status the NFL did uphold the four game suspension, which surprised the heck out of me, I thought for sure they would cave and reduce it to two games. Of course that could all still change.

Now, it seems, Brady has succeeded yet again, in deflating balls in the NFL. Originally the NFL said he would not be playing in the pre-season opener but that was overturned rather quickly. I did not watch the game but I heard he did terrible, probably because he had a hard time gripping a properly inflated ball. Meanwhile the deflated balls are the testicles of the NFL that decided to let him play after all. This will be the first step toward the NFL backing down, yet again, to the big, scary Patriots and they will get away with, yet another, cheating scandal.

Why are the Patriots such a pampered team?? At least the Cowboys have an excuse! Jerry Jones has more money than God so he can spoil that team, and the fans, with all kinds of high-tech stadiums and equipment; but at least he hasn’t cheated his way to a Super Bowl championship. I have no problem with the Red Sox (in fact they are probably my favorite AL team) and I don’t have a problem with the Bruins, but why does Boston have to claim the Patriots as their NFL team?? If you don’t want to be a Giants fan or [for whatever reason] a Jets fan, then switch allegiances to that other footie sport.

Tom Brady should just retire already, he’s nothing but a sniveling, talent-less cheater!

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

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