Thursday, November 25, 2004
American politics are totally insane.
And I seriously doubt that Canadians have it much better.
There's the insane speed with which things happen, preventing the actual comprehension by lawmakers of the issues that they are supposed to be deciding on:
The resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, for example, was debated just two days. The defense authorization bill, a complicated package that lays out the Pentagon's spending and program priorities for the following year, once commanded extended discussion in the House; in 1994, the last year Democrats held the majority, the measure was discussed for three weeks, and House members had several days to read the Rules Committee version before they began debating the measure. This year, the defense authorization bill was ushered through the House in two days, with members having just a few hours to examine the bill before the full House considered it.
There's the clubby in-house corruption:
Former members can go onto the House floor, though they are not allowed to lobby there, and they may use the House gym, a privilege that gives them the extraordinary opportunity to chat up a former colleague on the basketball court.
Clients and lobbyists say there is an obvious advantage to hiring a former member of Congress or staff member, since they know how Washington works and have extensive contacts. But lobbyists from less-connected groups say they can't compete with a former congressman who can approach a lawmaker on the treadmill at the House gym.
Lois Gibbs, who earned fame in the 1970s as the housewife-turned-activist who exposed the toxic contamination in Love Canal, N.Y., managed to speak directly with then-president Jimmy Carter about the environmental problems in her community. Now, the activist says, she can barely get in the door to speak to leaders of the GOP-controlled Congress or their staff members.
Anf then there's the just plain ludicrous:
On another occasion, Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat Charles Rangel of New York, furious that a pension bill was about to be propelled through the tax-writing panel without sufficient time for study, used a parliamentary rule to delay the vote, then escorted his fellow Democrats to a House library to discuss strategy. Republicans called the Capitol Police and had the Democrats ousted, claiming they had not reserved the room.
I can understand why politics are important. I really can. The activities of the government affect everybody and without constant attention, the whole thing can turn into a giant rogue tumor.
However, the whole thing is so incredibly inane, stupid, and artificially complicated that it makes the prospect of actually coming to grips with it seem, well, kinda silly.
Joel M. (via www.reason.com)
And I seriously doubt that Canadians have it much better.
There's the insane speed with which things happen, preventing the actual comprehension by lawmakers of the issues that they are supposed to be deciding on:
The resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, for example, was debated just two days. The defense authorization bill, a complicated package that lays out the Pentagon's spending and program priorities for the following year, once commanded extended discussion in the House; in 1994, the last year Democrats held the majority, the measure was discussed for three weeks, and House members had several days to read the Rules Committee version before they began debating the measure. This year, the defense authorization bill was ushered through the House in two days, with members having just a few hours to examine the bill before the full House considered it.
There's the clubby in-house corruption:
Former members can go onto the House floor, though they are not allowed to lobby there, and they may use the House gym, a privilege that gives them the extraordinary opportunity to chat up a former colleague on the basketball court.
Clients and lobbyists say there is an obvious advantage to hiring a former member of Congress or staff member, since they know how Washington works and have extensive contacts. But lobbyists from less-connected groups say they can't compete with a former congressman who can approach a lawmaker on the treadmill at the House gym.
Lois Gibbs, who earned fame in the 1970s as the housewife-turned-activist who exposed the toxic contamination in Love Canal, N.Y., managed to speak directly with then-president Jimmy Carter about the environmental problems in her community. Now, the activist says, she can barely get in the door to speak to leaders of the GOP-controlled Congress or their staff members.
Anf then there's the just plain ludicrous:
On another occasion, Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat Charles Rangel of New York, furious that a pension bill was about to be propelled through the tax-writing panel without sufficient time for study, used a parliamentary rule to delay the vote, then escorted his fellow Democrats to a House library to discuss strategy. Republicans called the Capitol Police and had the Democrats ousted, claiming they had not reserved the room.
I can understand why politics are important. I really can. The activities of the government affect everybody and without constant attention, the whole thing can turn into a giant rogue tumor.
However, the whole thing is so incredibly inane, stupid, and artificially complicated that it makes the prospect of actually coming to grips with it seem, well, kinda silly.
Joel M. (via www.reason.com)
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines?
Don't even talk to me about that pile of trash.
It started off so promisingly. Well, at least they promised all sorts of good stuff. Good system. Good setting. Lots of interesting dialogue. Even the first area was pretty good, despite the cheesy plot twists. Good fights against oponents worth remembering. Quality sneaking action. Lots of freedom.
So where did they go wrong?
I figure it was when they decided to stretch out the game time by making half of the fucking thing out of padding:
Fighting! Lots of fighting! Of course, the combat engine makes me want to laugh and the fights are insanely easy but then suddenly massive, challenging, yet somehow boring, encounters with a limitless supply of bizarrely tough ninjas. Nothing like snapping on Potence 3, Celerity 5, delivering a cool dozen samurai sword slashes to a guy's abdomen and head areas, and then watching him shake them off and come back with a devastating combo. I mean, I'm all in favour of challenging fights, but just adding a bunch of hitpoints to cannon fodder kind of goes against the World of Darkness grain.
Or sneaking if you like. Nothing like being able to crouch directly in front of a vampire hunter and rub up against his legs while he quickly rattles off a selection of "Heys," "Who's there's," and "I hear you's."
And how about those rooms full of whirling blade puzzles? Or sliding block puzzles? Or weird switch puzzles? Nothing immerses me in a fictional world like figuring out which bits of floor need to have statues placed on top in order to open a fat Buddha trap door. What is this, Zelda?
And don't forget the indestructible werewolf! I wasn't sure if he was a fighting complaint or a puzzle complaint, so I decided to have him separate. Really, I would have rather done about a zillion more step and fetch missions than this.
Not that I dislike fighting games, mind you, or puzzle games. I liked Myst and Die by the Sword as much as anybody. It's just when the game isn't optimized for them that it irks me. If you're going to put me up against a million ninjas, at least give me more than three moves so that I don't get a headache from the boredom. If I've got to figure out puzzles, at least make them believable and challenging instead of just a tedious exercise in time wasting. And, if you can't do any of this, remember: "less is more." Cut out the stupid puzzles, the mandatory fighting, think about the sneaking and dialogue, and ship a game that is half as long but actually fun.
As it stands, I don't think I'll be finishing this one, much less playing it again just for a taste of slightly different dialogue, and I certainly won't be purchasing it. Maybe I'll mail Troika the $20 it's worth. Or maybe I'll give it to somebody who did buy the game to mitigate their loss.
Oh, yeah. I forgot about the crowning achievement! The thing that made me shut the game off in disgust and write this post in the first place! Instant death trap!
That's right. There's a spot on the level where I last was where, with no warning that I could see other than having been there and been killed before, giant blades shoot out of the walls and kill you. Yes, I'm sure there is a way around them. But that isn't the point. The point is that it basically forces you to rely on the save button on order to pass a level. No matter how tough and how smart you are, you will fall into this trap. That's a huge no-no in my book.
Joel M. (via Vampire: the Masquerade, Skidmarks)
Don't even talk to me about that pile of trash.
It started off so promisingly. Well, at least they promised all sorts of good stuff. Good system. Good setting. Lots of interesting dialogue. Even the first area was pretty good, despite the cheesy plot twists. Good fights against oponents worth remembering. Quality sneaking action. Lots of freedom.
So where did they go wrong?
I figure it was when they decided to stretch out the game time by making half of the fucking thing out of padding:
Fighting! Lots of fighting! Of course, the combat engine makes me want to laugh and the fights are insanely easy but then suddenly massive, challenging, yet somehow boring, encounters with a limitless supply of bizarrely tough ninjas. Nothing like snapping on Potence 3, Celerity 5, delivering a cool dozen samurai sword slashes to a guy's abdomen and head areas, and then watching him shake them off and come back with a devastating combo. I mean, I'm all in favour of challenging fights, but just adding a bunch of hitpoints to cannon fodder kind of goes against the World of Darkness grain.
Or sneaking if you like. Nothing like being able to crouch directly in front of a vampire hunter and rub up against his legs while he quickly rattles off a selection of "Heys," "Who's there's," and "I hear you's."
And how about those rooms full of whirling blade puzzles? Or sliding block puzzles? Or weird switch puzzles? Nothing immerses me in a fictional world like figuring out which bits of floor need to have statues placed on top in order to open a fat Buddha trap door. What is this, Zelda?
And don't forget the indestructible werewolf! I wasn't sure if he was a fighting complaint or a puzzle complaint, so I decided to have him separate. Really, I would have rather done about a zillion more step and fetch missions than this.
Not that I dislike fighting games, mind you, or puzzle games. I liked Myst and Die by the Sword as much as anybody. It's just when the game isn't optimized for them that it irks me. If you're going to put me up against a million ninjas, at least give me more than three moves so that I don't get a headache from the boredom. If I've got to figure out puzzles, at least make them believable and challenging instead of just a tedious exercise in time wasting. And, if you can't do any of this, remember: "less is more." Cut out the stupid puzzles, the mandatory fighting, think about the sneaking and dialogue, and ship a game that is half as long but actually fun.
As it stands, I don't think I'll be finishing this one, much less playing it again just for a taste of slightly different dialogue, and I certainly won't be purchasing it. Maybe I'll mail Troika the $20 it's worth. Or maybe I'll give it to somebody who did buy the game to mitigate their loss.
Oh, yeah. I forgot about the crowning achievement! The thing that made me shut the game off in disgust and write this post in the first place! Instant death trap!
That's right. There's a spot on the level where I last was where, with no warning that I could see other than having been there and been killed before, giant blades shoot out of the walls and kill you. Yes, I'm sure there is a way around them. But that isn't the point. The point is that it basically forces you to rely on the save button on order to pass a level. No matter how tough and how smart you are, you will fall into this trap. That's a huge no-no in my book.
Joel M. (via Vampire: the Masquerade, Skidmarks)
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Fuck. Fuck. Eh. Fuck.
Actually, I'm not that surprised. I've been calling a Bush victory for months, on the basis that human beings, taken en masse, are inherently masochistic retards. I was just sort of hoping for a little nudge in the other direction.
At least they had a solid turnout. Not like us.
Seriously, though, I'm happy and sad. Firstly, Kerry sucked ass and his policies sounded like Bush all over again. All they were looking at was 'dance closed to the brink' versus 'dance right about where we are on the brink.' I personally think that things are going to fall apart in some for or another in the next little while, and I would rather have the Dems untainted and able to pick up the pieces. There are signs of a stock market collapse, there are signs of environmental collapse. And then there's the freaking $50 oil! Pretty soon drivers are going to be running each other off the road for the gas in their tanks. Or buying hybrids. I don't know which is worse.
However, it would have been nice to think that things weren't going to hell at the hands of a demented troop of chimps and the freakish nation of retards who decided that a doctrine of pre-emptive attacks wouldn't be a bad idea.
Democrats: next time, don't pull out a Kerry to run the race. This guy was the reason you lost. You've gotten used to pushing to the right to shave votes off of the Republicans, but this time they failed. I really hope you learn and put a Dean or a Clark up front next time. Someone who seems to care about something and not like the next in a line of presidential clones would be sort of nice.
Joel M. (via the reason why I really try to ignore current events)
Actually, I'm not that surprised. I've been calling a Bush victory for months, on the basis that human beings, taken en masse, are inherently masochistic retards. I was just sort of hoping for a little nudge in the other direction.
At least they had a solid turnout. Not like us.
Seriously, though, I'm happy and sad. Firstly, Kerry sucked ass and his policies sounded like Bush all over again. All they were looking at was 'dance closed to the brink' versus 'dance right about where we are on the brink.' I personally think that things are going to fall apart in some for or another in the next little while, and I would rather have the Dems untainted and able to pick up the pieces. There are signs of a stock market collapse, there are signs of environmental collapse. And then there's the freaking $50 oil! Pretty soon drivers are going to be running each other off the road for the gas in their tanks. Or buying hybrids. I don't know which is worse.
However, it would have been nice to think that things weren't going to hell at the hands of a demented troop of chimps and the freakish nation of retards who decided that a doctrine of pre-emptive attacks wouldn't be a bad idea.
Democrats: next time, don't pull out a Kerry to run the race. This guy was the reason you lost. You've gotten used to pushing to the right to shave votes off of the Republicans, but this time they failed. I really hope you learn and put a Dean or a Clark up front next time. Someone who seems to care about something and not like the next in a line of presidential clones would be sort of nice.
Joel M. (via the reason why I really try to ignore current events)
