The Untruth of the Whole Immigration Issue

So, people are upset about all the 'illegals' that 'flood' the US and bemoan 'liberal' attempts to give 'amnesty' to all of these interlopers.

So, that overly inflated sentence is meant to inflame.  It's hyperbole and indicative of the debate (if you want to call it that) in this country.

Why is there illegal immigration?

This is the question that isn't really explored.  People with a short attention span would say that people come to this country for our jobs.  Well, that's partially true, but what most people don't get is that the jobs that illegal immigrants usually get are the lowest paying type of service jobs that many in this country don't even want.  In addition to the low pay, employers are not really encouraged to hire 'real Americans' over illegals for those types of jobs, because they save money by ignoring the fact that those people are not American citizens.  The illegal worker doesn't demand health care or try and collectively bargain for a higher wage.  They are a class of people in indentured servitude, unable to complain.  They can only work and die.

The attack on illegal immigration is currently aimed at trying to find, round up, and deport illegal immigrants.  This is massively inefficient.  Why is there no real attempt to address the reason for illegal immigration at the root; the people who knowingly hire illegal immigrants?  The simple answer is that it is politically easy to hire officers and throw people who don't have a voice in this country out.  It's a political win/win.  Increased attention on tax paying employers who have political clout and produce items at a low cost to the consumer are a much harder sell.

Now, we sit here with no legal ability to bring people into this country, few resources to deal with what is here (due to a systematic reduction in funding for those agencies that deal with immigration) and a new crisis on our border due to the influx of children coming from war torn areas of Central America.

Congress turns a blind eye to the whole issue, but uses it as a cudgel against their opponents because it is an easy issue, without an easy solution.  The key points behind any comprehensive immigration reform is to have a valid path to citizenship for people who legitimately want to make a go of it in this country, but there also needs to be funding for interdiction and a crackdown on employers who hire illegals.  It totally ignores the fact that legal immigrants add to the national revenue.  This is a hard sell.

The American public would have to stomach higher prices for produce and other currently 'low cost' goods for a lasting immigration solution.  The political landscape is such that the Democrats want to try, but their efforts are seen as week (even though Obama has deported more people than any other President).  The Republicans want a stronger presence on the border and to focus on introduction, but are loath to pay for that increased presence and they don't even want to address the employer (the people that vote for them).  So we are stuck with no real solution and a permanent Catch 22 on how to deal with this.

There is no easy answer.  The hard answer costs money and pisses people off and causes higher consumer prices.  Therefore, it's okay to bitch and moan about illegal immigration, but if you do so and think that there's an easy answer and that one political diatribe is superior, then you are fooling yourself.  Nobody wants to address the people who employ illegal immigrants.  Nobody wants to tell Americans that they will have to pay more for food and other services.  That's the hard answer.

But the overall problem is one of a culture...

Okay, THIS was a long article, and I have  (as a life-long 'nerd') have a lot to say about it.

First and foremost we have to understand the culture that we live in.   What do we see?  What are we constantly barraged with?  Images of beautiful people living beautiful lives.  'Nerds' or intellectual and generally socially awkward people strive for that ideal that their favorite media bathes them in, but, in order to thrive, they need to grow and develop the skills to understand how the real and flawed world works.

I start with a basic disagreement on the author's look at the TV show Big Bang Theory.  Yes, the show started as a bad stereotype, but has evolved beyond that.  The main reason for that evolution (in my opinion) was the addition of the female characters of Bernadette and Amy.  Those two gave the Penny character more depth and allowed a more holistic view of interpersonal relationships, where everyone was quirky.  The addition of the equal and interesting female characters in addition to the 'pretty blond' helped show something more than a stereotype of how 'cool people' thought nerds were supposed to act.

The idea that the California shooter's psychosis was enhanced somehow by the way that 'Nerd Culture' perpetuates certain stereotypes or expectations is blatantly false.   True 'Nerd Culture' is not based on social awkwardness, but on intelligence, and the fascination of the world.  It is my contention that truly intelligent individuals understand that relationships are best based on a deep attraction of ideas and that the so-called social norms heaped upon us by society are there only to be mocked and parodied by those who see relationships as deeper than just the superficial and carnal.

American culture breeds misogyny.  Misogyny is present in all corners of our society and does need to be exposed and battled.  It shouldn't be belittled by only highlighting the extreme.  Intelligent people with a love of pop culture are not misogynistic as a matter of course.  They are a complex product of society and the pressures that their cohort put upon them.  Some people are unstable and break due to those pressures.  The majority exist in harmony with the world.

Many nerds are socially awkward and don't have good interpersonal skills.  The article asks:

So, a question, to my fellow male nerds:
What the fuck is wrong with us?

The short answer is that you are a product of a culture that perpetuates a misogynistic attitude and that you haven't studied enough to realize that if you thrive by NOT being in the mainstream.  You hate the mainstream.  An enlightened nerd realizes that it takes time to find like minded individuals who you also might want to partner with in a more physical way.  The killer from California was sick, paranoid, and probably arose out of a place where his isolation would be buffered (because fellow nerds can understand and protect isolation).

Perpetuating that misogyny is somehow a bigger problem in this sector of society and not in ALL sectors of society is a classic bait and switch.  We can't just throw the nerds under the bus and let the rest of the world go on.  We have to realize that misogyny is not to be tolerated in all segments of society and not in just those segments that 'normal' people can ignore.

Also, in such a culture, there exists multiple individuals who resent the fact that they haven't found the right person to partner with.  However, the fault lies in the more popular culture for the skewed expectations (watch a James Bond movie if you don't believe me).  I believe that so-called 'Nerd Culture' is, or at least can be, more enlightened where ideas are more sexy than anything else

Movies A --> Z

So, a friend of mine posted on Facebook a challenge to list the top 10 movies for a particular letter in the alphabet.  Being a big movie nerd, I took that a step further and looked at the top 5 for each letter.  This was very hard for some of the big letters like B, D, R. S, and T and some letters like Q only had a few.  At any rate, without further ado...

Numbers:
3:10 To Yuma
The 6th Day
The 13th Warrior
300
2010

A:
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
Aliens
American History X
Army Of Darkness
The Avengers

B:
The Big Lebowski
Big Trouble In Little China
Blade Runner
Blue Velvet
Brazil

C:
Casablanca
Catch-22
Clerks
A Clockwork Orange
The Commitments

D:
The Dark Knight
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dogma
Donnie Darko
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

E:
Easy Rider
Edward Scissorhands
Elysium
Escape From New York
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

F:
Fargo
The Fifth Element
Fight Club
The Fisher King
Full Metal Jacket

G:
Galaxy Quest
Garden State
Ghost World
Gladiator
The Graduate

H:
A Hard Day's Night
Heathers
Hellboy
High Fidelity
Hot Fuzz

I:
Idiocracy
Inception
The Incredibles
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Iron Man

J:
Jackie Brown
Johnny Mnemonic
Jumanji
Juno
Jurassic Park

K:
Kelly's Heroes
Kiki's Delivery Service
The King's Speech
A Knight's Tale
Kung Fu Hustle

L:
L.A. Story
Ladyhawke
Lawrence Of Arabia
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Life Of Brian

M:
MASH
The Matrix
Memento
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Mystery Men

N:
Natural Born Killers
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
The Nightmare Before Christmas
North By Northwest
Notorious

O:
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
October Sky
Office Space
Old School
Once Upon A Time In Mexico

P:
Pitch Black
The Princess Bride
Princess Mononoke
The Producers
Pulp Fiction

Q:
The Queen
The Quiet American
Quills

R:
Raising Arizona
Rear Window
Repo Man
A Room With A View
Rushmore

S:
Serenity
Seven
Shaun Of The Dead
Slaughterhouse-Five
Spirited Away

T:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Top Gun
Trading Places
True Lies
Twelve Monkeys

U:
U-571
Unbreakable
Uncle Buck
Unforgiven
Unstoppable

V:
V For Vendetta
Valkyrie
Van Helsing
Vanilla Sky
Virgin Suicides, The

W:
Waiting For Guffman
Where The Buffalo Roam
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willow
The World's End

X:
X-Men
X-Men - X2
X-Men: First Class
XXX

Y:
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Yellow Submarine
Young Frankenstein

Z:
Zathura
Zero Dark Thirty
Zodiac
Zombieland
Zoolander

Eldritch Horror: My Game Review

So, we got a chance to play the new game based on the Cthulhu mythos, Eldritch Horror.  This game is like the younger sister of Arkham Horror, the cooperative game based on H.P. Lovecraft’s world.  I love Arkham Horror.  I have all of the expansions and very much enjoy that game.  As a cooperative game, Arkham Horror is much like a table top role playing game, where your characters develop through the game and the game is programed to kick the snot out of you.  I say all of this because Eldritch Horror has a lot to live up to.  I’ll cut to the chase for those who are ADD.  This game rocks.  It gives a much better story development through the game than Arkham Horror.

Components:

As it is with most Fantasy Flight games, the components are top notch. 

The game board is big enough, but there’s enough room for easy game play.  I really like this board and don’t believe that future expansions should expand the board at all.  Where the components fall down is in the number of encounter cards in the base game.  Fantasy Flight needs to come out with a card expansion sooner than later.  The limited number of encounter cards at each location decreases the replay value of the game considerably (until the card expansion hits… I hope).

Game Play:

Arkham Horror has become a very fiddly game.  There are a lot of rules and with about 6 expansions, Arkham Horror is a bit long in the tooth.  However, even the base game of Arkham Horror has a rather complex rule set.  Eldritch Horror has streamlined the rules quite a bit.  The game is still complex and story driven, but Eldritch Horror flows much better than Arkham Horror.

Rather than running around town closing and sealing gates, Eldritch Horror revolves around solving 3 mysteries associated with the Great Old One that the investigators must face.  Also, to gain a clue, you need to have a clue encounter that is associated with your great old one.  These mechanics are much more thematic in Eldritch Horror than in Arkham Horror.

Rules and Complexity:

The game is still sufficiently complex for those who are used to playing Arkham Horror, however, the rules are much more streamlined.  The rule book is short at 12 pages.  They also include a reference book that accompanies the rules.  I am of two minds about this approach.  I am glad that they are including a reference book, but the book doesn’t cover every question that you might have, so you end up flipping between both books.  All in all, if you play Arkham Horror, this game will be easy to pick up.  If you are new to gaming, and want to challenge yourself with a cooperative game with role playing overtones, than I believe that the rules are clear enough for anyone who wants to get into this type of game.  I would definitely recommend this over Arkham Horror for that segment of the population.

Closing Thoughts:

Eldritch Horror is the hot younger sister of Arkham Horror.  I really enjoy this game and find it superior in game play to Arkham.  However, the relatively small population of encounter cards makes me hope that the card expansion to this game comes sooner than later.

I'm a public servant

I've been a proud employee of the Federal Government for 25 years.  I work to protect the health of animal populations and think that I have an important job.  I must live by a higher set of ethical guidelines and am held to a standard that is greater than a lay person.  That is why I am so upset why our congress is shirking their constitutional responsibility and using procedural parlor tricks to try and repeal a law that was passed by congress and found valid by the Supreme Court.

Congress has a responsibility to fund a budget for the government.  It's a relatively easy prospect and when you look at the business side of the government, the 17% of the total budget that funds programs and people (other than the military) you see a fairly simple picture.

1. You understand that the way to balance the Federal budget isn't to continually cut the 17% and ignore the 83%.

2. The budget process is a constitutional necessity.

I resent the fact that my job is being held hostage by a small group of congressmen that are using procedural processes to try and re-litigate an existing law.

They are shirking their responsibility.  Congress has a duty to pass a budget by October 1 to fund operations.  It shouldn't be a political cudgel.

This whole shutdown is bizarre.   The Affordable Care Act is a law, certified by the Supreme Court.  It is not related to the budget.  If a member of congress has a problem with that law, they should change it via the normal process and not hold my job hostage like a group of spoiled children who can't get their way.

Help me Team Unicorn, You’re my only hope…

I got into a discussion about ‘Male Privilege’ in comics and nerd/geek culture in general.  I mostly agreed with this article, but would contend that the world is changing and geeks and gamer girls are gaining their own voice and earning respect… in some circles … by guys who aren’t dicks.

The main tenant of that article is that geeks/gamers will : 

“insist that they treat women exactly the same as they treat guys – all the while ignoring the fact that their behavior is what’s making the women uncomfortable and feeling unwelcome in the first place.”

I believe that this isn’t a black and white issue.  I would counter that everyone is responsible for their behavior and the tenants for sexism and prejudice don’t arise because of geek culture, those attributes arise elsewhere and are magnified by the insular nature of a predominately introverted fandom.

I’m an adult and have made no illusion that my past has prejudiced my outlook on life, but I also do my best to treat everyone as an equal and listen to other opinions before I talk.  When I read an article like the one mentioned above, I see another kind of prejudice, that of the overly sympathetic male:

What?  How can you say that?  That article seemed very sympathetic to woman’s issues.  Yeah, I thought so too, until I read the last sentence.

“And when you check back on Friday, I’ll provide you with some concrete applications on how being cognizant of male privilege will improve your relations with women.”

Am I wrong, or is this entire article a blueprint on a subterfuge?  If you’re worried about improving your relations with women (i.e., how do I better get laid), then you’re doing it wrong.  What you should be worried about is how your interpersonal skills allow you to function in an ever changing world.  That last sentence turned that whole article on its ear for me.  This was nothing more than a blueprint for how the jerk gamer/geek can satisfy his lady friend and continue to be a self-righteous douchebag. 

The truth is that there are plenty of inroads that women have made in geek/gamer culture. During the middle ages, zealots desecrated art by chopping off exposed genitalia or covering it up with a fig leaf.  At the turn of the century, I was playing Everquest and one of my guildmates was a woman who played a male avatar in order to avoid the sexist bullshit.  Fast forward to today, where I play Guild Wars with my wife and 2-3 other strong women who comprise our core group.  Now, that’s not to say that women have it easy.  Sexism still exists everywhere… 

The article on male privilege seems to relate the objectification of females in comics and games as proof that women are treated as second class, but it also either ignores or brushes aside cases of male objectification in the same art form:

Yes, fantasy and science fiction literature has a long history of placing women in unrealistic manners of dress, but I would contend that all art places women and men alike in unrealistic manners of dress.  If you are looking for a realistic woman warrior in a fantasy series, look to Game of Thrones:

This scene says a lot about the whole topic.  However, this topic isn’t black and white.  In fantasy and science fiction you can have both Brienne of Tarth and Catwoman. The medium is there to explore social issues.  Star Trek wasn't a great science fiction story because of the short skirts and special effects.  It was a study of the human condition set through a science fiction lens that helps one see that condition through a unique perspective.

The core issue here revolves around women in geek and gamer culture.  While it’s true that women are an oddity, an unicorn if you will.  However, women also have a role in this society just as they do in every other aspect of the world around us.  Team Unicorn, a group of beautiful actresses who also love video games, comics, and Star Wars exists as a message to other women out there.  You don’t have to wear sack cloth and hide behind an asexual persona in order to thrive in a world of fandom:

Yes, fantasy and science fiction can objectify men, women, and just about anything in an effort to create an art form that many hold near and dear to their hearts.  As citizens of this planet, we need to move to a place where we cherish everyone’s opinion.  We need to find that scrap of something to adore and not be afraid of showing people that child-like glee.  Don’t worry how to be politically correct in order to ‘improve your relations with women’.  That won’t work.  Strive to be open minded, or as Will Wheaton would say; ‘Be awesome’.

Summer Playlist (2013)

It's that time of year when I want to drive with the windows open and listen to music just a little louder than I should.  In the past I would make a mixed tape.  In later years I would burn a CD.  Today, I just link to a series of YouTube videos (see below), although the ads get annoying, or I create a playlist for my iPod.

The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.

-- from High Fidelity (2000)

So, without further ado.. 

MY 2013 SUMMER PLAYLIST

I tried to include music from this decade, although I had to insert some songs that just are ingrained in my summer listening mythos (i.e., J. Giles and The Rolling Stones and Roxy Music).

Enjoy