Among many geeks, it is a source of some tenderness that video
games are not recognized, and generally not considered a “legitimate” art
form. Of course, geeks themselves know this is complete crap. Most
sort of roll their eyes at the fact that a bunch of arrogant blowhards haven’t
gotten the fucking memo yet. Still, among prudish tweed-jacketed
Humanities professors and their slack jawed, drooling zombie followers,
there are those who deny that interactive media could ever be true art.
They say it in the same tone of voice that was used to say Rock and Roll
wasn’t art, that movies weren’t art, that TV wasn’t art, and even that
computer animation isn’t art—never realizing that their prejudice for
innovation makes them look like a bunch of elitist douchenozzles.
Plus seriously, I don’t really think too many have actually played video games since they were pumping quarters into Tempest and
Q-bert.
The Ace of
Geeks Podcast welcomes in the New Year with lots of guests! We're
joined by Cyril Mariano, Terry Kitagawa, John Ballas, and Rowan -
briefly. We finally get a chance to discuss the Hobbit: The Desolation
of Smaug! Plus, Mike and Mae Linh have just come back from Disney World
and Universal Studios, and we discuss the magic of theme parks,
including the awesomeness of Jurassic Park and the Wizarding World of
Harry Potter! All this and more!
Oh DayZ, where to begin? You made me fall in love with the idea of
survival games. You've made me meet some great friends and have some
fantastic times in an unforgiving and changing world, while keeping
things challenging in a great way. Yahtzee put it best in his video for
the game: "You don't lose because someone is 10 levels higher then you.
You lose because he has a gun and you don't." DayZ was made a fantastic
game due the random encounters which could play out in hundreds of
different ways. I've had plenty of times where I'd meet a bunch of
random players who would stop me and go "Hey dude, do you need some
food? Here. Have an assault rifle with a bunch of ammo and a
military-grade backpack." (The other half of the time, they shoot you and stuff rotten food in your mouth. -Ed) Without those random and awesome encounters,
the game would turn into another FPS that just so happened to have no
end goal and zombies constantly on the map. However, a large amount of
regularly playing DayZ gamers are also ruining DayZ for the rest of us. Here's why:
1) Shooting on Sight.
Part
of the thrill of DayZ is to run around with no clue on what's about to
happen. That one guy you see down in a fire
station could either become your new best friend and help you survive
the days to come...or he could blast your head off with a shotgun as soon
as you walk through the door. That's the thrill of the game. There's no
scripted events like in other modern first person shooter games. There's
no people who you can trust for sure besides a small group of
friends, if you're lucky. However, there is shooting on sight. LOTS of shooting on sight.
In the first couple of weeks of DayZ, friendly players were rare, but
not terribly hard to find. 3 out of 9 players would simply shout out "Hey dude,
I'm friendly" when they saw you. They probably wouldn't give you
anything, but they would usually leave you alone and go on their own way
or maybe even team up with you. Now? In my experience, 1 out of 12 players have been friendly.
This is a problem as it causes everyone to be FAR more aggressive
then they should be. There has to be some bad seeds who will shoot you
on sight no matter what, but there needs to be less chaos in order to
keep the intensity there. Shooting on sight only leads to shooting on
sight. I don't care how much you like to play the good guy in games. I
don't care how many times you've done a Paragon run on Mass Effect or
how much good Karma you have in Fallout. Anyone who plays DayZ will
eventually shoot a player on sight due to the fact that they've been
shot on sight far too many times and don't want to lose what they've
taken hours to collect. Think about it like this; if you were going
throughout a town and have taken hours to collect the required parts to
fix up a car (cars are incredibly rare in standard DayZ servers) and a
random person just ran behind a corner and into your face -- weapon in
hand and raised -- what would you do? Before, I would make the newbie
mistake of shouting out "Hey dude, it's okay. I'm friendly!" and have
been shot in the face almost every time because of it. The one reason
I've stated is because shooting on sight is so rampant, but the other
reason is also because there's no consequences to your actions. Lets
talk a bit more about that as well.
2) No consequences
So
you've killed your first couple of players. Congrats, your player model
has changed and... that's it. You don't lose anything. You have a great
skin that matches to most environments while looking cool (if you're on
a server that makes bandits outfits turn into ghillie suits, that's
even better) and there's no real way for any players to find out you killed them unless
you're on a very specific server. It's
almost as if playing a bandit is the only way to go. Think about it.
After you've killed a player, you probably have a fresh gun with ammo to
boot, a decent amount of food and a couple of bandages while the person
you just killed has to start from scratch and forget about all the gear
he took hours to find. And even if you are murdered in cold blood and
know who did it, very few players will give a shit. By the time you
scream out "BANDIT IN ELEKTRO!!!" in the global chat, a player will
either be running to the gunshots with his M4 at the ready (usually to
kill that player and steal both your shit) OR they'll just note it for
later use and move on.
Having no consequences doesn't kill the thrill of the game, but it
hurts it a lot thanks to players who just kill whoever they see. Adding
some sort of consequence would add more excitement to the game and would
make people react with a bit more hesitation when it comes to just
killing a player. That hesitation helps the game a lot as it requires
you to make a fast choice without the assistance of reloading an old
save like in most games. That thrill makes you a better player in the
long run and helps keep the games intensity going strong. Without having
some sort of consequence for killing another player for no reason, most
players will attempt to take down a threat because there's no reason to
think things through. Me and my friends have had discussions about what
to do when it comes to having no consequences between making trader
cities in which bandits are always shot on sight or making trader cities
give out rewards for when someone kills a bandit, but currently there
is no official way to combat against bandits minus hunting these players
down as a team.
More complex interactions with the environment and crafting options
Streamlined user actions and interface
Control and animations expanded and improved for fluidity
Upgraded graphics and physics engine (including ragdoll, etc.)
Support of user mods and more flexibility for user hosted servers and game types
These
are all good things and will help support the community for the months
to come. Adding hunting to the game will allow a new way to survive for
those who don't wanna go city hopping for food, while still giving
players stressful situations to deal with because DayZ isn't about the
zombies. It's about the human and natural threats. If you don't drink
water, you'll start to dehydrate yourself and your ability to sprint
will soon be lost. If you don't eat food, you'll start to starve and it
can effect your overall health. Keep up a bad diet and it'll effect you
in more ways then one (note: diet hasn't been added to the game yet, but
it's something the developers have talked about A LOT). Adding hunting,
cooking, player made constructions and more interaction with the
overall environment is a VERY good thing. I'm a bit worried about
customizable vehicles, but as long as they're careful about what they
allow players to add to their car, it should be okay.
The article gives me hope that DayZ can become a much better game
with less shooting on sight and consequences for those who continue to
do so in the long run, but I'm hoping that day comes sooner rather then
later. Until that day comes I'll continue to set up hunting parties in
order to take those bastards down.
Much has been made recently of a recent twitter conversation between fans and Leland Chee, one half of Lucasfilm's new Story Group. Leland, along with Pablo Hidalgo and probably many others, are now in charge of the central story of Star Wars. So what has this changed, and what does it mean for the future of the beloved-by-some-loathed-by-others Expanded Universe of Star Wars lore? Hit the jump to find out more.
One thing you'll hear me talking about a lot on this blog is how geek culture builds community. It's something that gets a lot of eye rolls from our readers (and some of our staff). Geek culture is a culture about stuff, they'll say. It's not about morality, or community, but just about people who like some of the same things. Mostly, they'll tell you, geek culture is about spending money. And yet, even a money grabbing scheme by the most "evil" of corporations can turn into an experience that brings people together.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is a free - you heard me, free - collectible card game that you can access in the most popular of Disney World's theme parks, the Magic Kingdom. It's easy to miss - you have to take a sharp turn immediately upon entering the park and head into a brick firehouse, away from the beaten path. There, a helpful attendant will hand you a pack of random cards for everyone in your party, a key card, and a map of Disney World with strange symbols marked across it. You place the key card on a lock in the firehouse, and Merlin from the Sword and the Stone appears in a swirling portal.
He explains that some sort of magic crystal ball maguffin has been broken into many pieces, and that various Disney villains are out to get it back. Since you are a Sorcerer, would you mind battling the forces of evil and saving the Magic Kingdom?
You had me at Sorcerer.
My dreams realized at last.
Each of the cards has a different Disney character with a different special attack on it. You journey to different parts of the Magic Kingdom (only Tommorowland has no portals right now), hunt down the keys, and battle villains like Scar, Maleficent, Yzma, and the Shadowman. (And yes, Keith David does the voice.) Each villain has a "story" that follows you through three to four different locations in the park. Each location is hidden in some part of the backdrop - above, you can see how a fireplace used to hide one. Another is hidden in a wanted poster in Frontierland. Each one is revealed when you place the key card on the keyhole, and the battle begins. Each card you hold up, and there are at least 60 so far, creates a different animation depending on the character depicted. Lumiere lights the villain on fire with his candle. Prince Charming swings a sword around. Eve fires a directed laser blast. Your first round through, the nine villains you must face are easy to defeat, although it may take you more than one day to get through it all. On a second playthrough you can engage medium or hard mode, which will force you to use multiple spells at once. (You can play up to three at once, apparently that number used to be nine. Imagine all those animations flying at one time.)
Defeat of all nine villains rewards you with - wait for it - another pack of cards and the chance to go again on the harder difficulties. In other words, Disney has turned their entire park into one giant, Magic-the-Gathering-meets-Skylanders video game. But wait, there's more, and here's the part where you'll start rolling your eyes.
There are t-shirts you can buy that make your spells more powerful if you wear them. There's a tabletop card game (which is sadly way to easy) you can buy to play with your collected cards. And of course, there are super-rare, powerful cards you can only obtain by buying the full game. Not to mention the card folders, the holiday cards that are only available once and never again, and this starts to seem like less of a gift and more of a simple, corporate greed machine money grab.
So what made it different?
While you're wandering the park, battling evil, eventually you end up in a line. It's inevitable. There's a theme park, there's tons of people, you're just not going to be the only one to find a portal at any given time. So while you wait, hoping to not have your next battle spoiled by the kid in front of you, you start to chat with the newbies (those of us fumbling with our cards) and the veterans (the kids and grown adults with organized, color coded notebooks of cards). And what should be an arduous, boring line-wait turns into a gathering of like-minded individuals. The kind of people who would spend their time in a theme park pretending to be sorcerers rather than going on Space Mountain sixty times.
You know, geeks.
And as all of us newbies are pulling out our duplicate cards and trading, and all of the veterans are just giving their stacks of spare cards away, the most magical place on earth gets just a little bit better. You could look at this game as just a way to steal all of our money, and to some people in the Disney hierarchy, it probably is. But to us, it's a way to find other people just like us. And that truly is magical.
Hello there! Stephanie here to bring you the first of two blogs about health and wellness. In this post I'll mainly be teaching the difference between viruses and bacteria. I'll also do my best to debunk some myths and leave you with sources so you can do your own follow-up if you're curious. Expect the second blog post to be about what to do (and what not to do) if you're already sick. Let's go!
First and foremost, I want to break down the differences between viruses and bacteria - the things that make us sick in the first place! The media likes to group viruses and bacteria together as "germs" a lot and this leaves the majority of the public with the idea that they are bad things, and that they can be treated the same way. This is not the case.
As a collective, often viruses and bacteria are called "germs". If you want a word that encompasses both and doesn't make you sound like you're talking to three-year-olds, the term "microbes" is probably what you're looking for.
Viruses come in many different shapes and sizes, but there are a few things that are constant across all viruses: they all have an outer capsid made of protein and a nucleic acid core comprised of either DNA or RNA. Viruses, despite having DNA, are not technically living organisms. Some popular viruses include: influenza (the flu), the common cold, HPV, and HIV.
Bacteria, unlike viruses, are living organisms and fully functional cells complete with organelles, although they do not have a membrane-bound nucleus so their organelles are just floating around inside the cell membrane. Some popular bacteria include: e. coli, salmonella, tuberculosis and tetanus.
Now that you know there's a difference between the two, we can talk about treating them. Because bacteria and viruses are not the same thing, you can't cure them the same way either.
In the event that you have a bacterial infection, your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics. However, there is a little danger that comes with taking antibiotics. If you decide not to take all of your antibiotics when they're prescribed then you run the risk of killing off all of the weaker bacteria, leaving only the strongest of the bacteria to reproduce. It's very important that you finish your antibiotics - don't just take them until you feel better.
Viruses on the other hand can't actually be "cured". It's really just best to let your immune system run its course and have your white blood cells kill the viruses off. You can treat the symptoms to make yourself more comfortable though. For example, say you can't sleep because your body aches, and you have a runny nose and cough from a cold. You may decide to take NyQuil which has acetaminophen (a pain killer and weak anti-inflammatory), dextromenthorphan (a cough suppressant) and doxylamine succinate (an antihistamine). NyQuil will cover the symptoms, but once the dosage wears out you'll feel just about as sick as you did before.
Like the video had mentioned, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between a bacterial and viral infection. It's best to consult a doctor - they're able to take samples and test to see which is which so you can be treated properly.
What can we do to prevent getting sick?
First and by far the most important - wash your hands often with soap and warm water, paying extra attention to your fingertips. This sounds like a no-brainer, but not enough people wash their hands and even fewer wash them correctly. Think about all of the stuff you touch every day without washing your hands; when was the last time you cleaned your television remote? Your computer keyboard? Your cell phone? When you don't disinfect these items and you don't wash your hands, you're potentially spreading illness.
Anti-bacterial gel is fine in a pinch, but soap and water is still the best. Just like antibiotics, anti-bacterial gel won't kill viruses (unless it contains a lot of alcohol in the solution - hospitals usually pack a solution that's between 75-90%). Also, because you're killing off all of the weaker bacteria and leaving the remaining strong bacteria on your hands, you're doing your part in creating super bacteria...which isn't so super.
Additionally, the "Kills 99.9% of bacteria" claim has been falsely advertised to the public. In a report by the Wall Street Journal, it was found that "Human subjects, or countertops, in labs are cleaned first, then covered on the surface with a target bug. That is a far cry from a typical kitchen or a pair of grimy hands...Three popular sanitizers killed between 46% and 60% of microbes on the students' hands, far short of 99.99%." The companies can claim 99.9% effectiveness by counting how many microbes have died, rather than how many different kinds of microbes have died. It could kill off 6 million units of one kind of harmless bacteria, but it couldn't kill off 1 potentially deadly virus.
The Second thing you can do to prevent illness - you can get vaccinated. There has been a ton of slander in the tabloids about vaccinations causing autism or poisoning people and it's, for me personally, really something horrible to watch happen. Science has come so far and now we have people that are refusing medicine because they don't know enough about it.
Let's kick off this section with where the rumor that "vaccinations cause autism" started.
Andrew Wakefield published a study in 1998 that popularized the idea that autism is linked to vaccines. His entire study was proven false, and he was paid by a law firm to publish the fake study so they could sue the vaccine manufacturers. His research was discredited and he was forced to resign from medical practice. If you want more information about this, you can check out the case studies that debunked his studies here, here and here.
If you're one of the few that don't get sick even when you don't take vaccines, then great, you're the shining example of what scientists like to call "herd immunity". According to wikipedia:
Herd immunity (or community immunity) describes a form of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a significant portion of a population (or herd) provides a measure of protection for individuals who have not developed immunity.[1] Herd immunity theory proposes that, in contagious diseases that are transmitted from individual to individual, chains of infection are likely to be disrupted when large numbers of a population are immune or less susceptible to the disease. The greater the proportion of individuals who are resistant, the smaller the probability that a susceptible individual will come into contact with an infectious individual.[2]
If wikipedia isn't good enough for you, feel free to follow the links that they have sited on their webpage.
If herd immunity isn't a bad thing, then why all the fuss?
The problem arises when more and more people don't get vaccinated. More people are hiding behind the facade of health and wellness, but in doing so you also weaken the overall health of the herd community. There are some people that have problems with their immune system that render them unable to take vaccines, which means that they're already more susceptible to illness. If you get sick and you run into someone who already has a weakened immune system, they're likely going to get sick. People who are vaccinated are the barrier for those who cannot take vaccines.
Herd immunity is a cool thing because it helps to eradicate diseases. Bacteria and viruses are on a timer - they have to reproduce very quickly before they die. When someone who is sick spreads their pathogens to another person who is immunized, the pathogen has to take time to mutate so it can successfully reproduce. Sometimes, when we're lucky, the pathogen dies off before it actually gets a chance to make us ill. But, enough people need to be immunized to make this happen.
"Okay, so fine, vaccines don't cause autism, but they're still going to poison my child!"
Please, please, stop. PLEASE.
To be fair, a post on tumblr from a supposed immunologist isn't necessarily a credible source. However, shoutout to canuckfanatic on imgur who compiled a wonderful post about vaccines that helped a lot with my research for this portion of the article, which also help to back up the blogger on tumblr. Canuckfanatic has also listed over a dozen helpful links with a wealth of credible information about viruses and vaccines.
In short, please please please please PLEASE get vaccinated.
But, I'm already sick! What can I do to get better quicker?
For those of you like me that have already been bitten with a bug this season, I'll be posting another blog soon with some tips to get you back on your feet as soon as possible. While you wait: continue to wash your hands, drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep! Thanks for reading, and I'll be back soon (:
[Obligatory Disclaimer] I'm am not a medical practitioner! I have taken college-level biology courses and I work at a science museum, but that's about where my science credentials end. Because I'm a student (albeit a pretty good one), that basically just means that when I don't know something I'm pretty good at researching the subject and learning about it. However, if you have a medical emergency or if you have an illness you want diagnosed, please go see your doctor! Don't leave me a comment waiting for a solution - go get it checked out.
Last night (a few weeks ago by the time I'm publishing this), a personal hero of mine was ridiculed by a late night host and I'm not even mad. I don't care at all, in fact, I enjoyed seeing this person I looked up to taken down and poked out. It was good times and a lot of that had to do with the sense of pleasant good humor the subject of my respect held. He had a good time, we all had a good time. Do we all like to have our heroes torn down, or do I just really like to see someone take punches on the chin, smile and all?
Perhaps I should back up and bring some clarity to the situation. Though I get disbelieving looks and dismissive protests about this, the truth is that I hold the actor Keanu Reeves in high regard. No wait, don't leave! I won't try to convince you, but I hope I can open my chest and at least make my good opinion seem reasonable. If not reasonable, than sympathetic. It may help that I agree with the general assessment that Reeves is not some acting prodigy, that is not why I like him. But I argue he may have been, if the grapevine of the internet can be believed.
Better than his critics would think, apparently
The first aspect of Reeves that won me over is that his life was horrifically interrupted. He had been acting on stage since he was at least in his early teens, and at the time he was highly lauded. I read a review written by a stage critic who found Reeves' professional attempt at the role of Hamlet to be the third best he had ever seen (not the movie version from which the above picture is taken). Other articles I duh up suggested that the kid impressed people. Reeves tried to get into Hollywood and found a role on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (which was thoroughly sweet dude). But was it this airhead role of Wyld Stallion's Theodore Logan that set Reeves on the path toward people summarizing his acting by murmuring the word "Whoa" instead of pondering "words words words?"
I won't go into much detail, because it is his story, not mine, but multiple sources have affirmed that Reeves experienced a string of horrible tragedies soon after entering Hollywood. Reading about these misfortunes, knowing that Reeves would only keep going afterwards is the context for my admiration of him. After reading about this, I dropped all expectation for Reeves blow me away with his acting depth, emotional range, or variety, all skills for which he is criticized for lacking. I cannot say he does not have these skills, Hollywood had a way of typecasting those who succeed in particular types of roles (has anyone saved the world or humanity in the last twenty years as Reeves?). He does seem to have suffer a sort of emotional rigidness in interviews, but interviews are not the most emotionally welcoming settings. I basically gave this actor a pass in my consideration, if he wasn't a harlequin of energy and smiles I understood why. Dude had seen some shit.
Which may have lead to this....or maybe that's one intense sandwich
But experiencing the unthinkable is not enough to make me a fan of a person, I do not get dopamine from that kind of drama. Instead, it is Reeves' personality that won me over. Reeves is reported to donate the majority of the millions he makes in his movies to the stunt people and crew of those movies. I found numerous tales of his kindness and friendliness. He eschews a millionaire lifestyle. Reeves is said to be mature, happy, supportive, and amicable. And after all that has happened in his life, this get my respect in a major way. He perseveres in kindness and that model gives me something to mull over when watching his (often horribly written) movies. Most of his movies I can enjoy in a popcorn chewing sense, and some of them, like the Matrix Trilogy and the movie rendition of Constantine I love and thought he did a more than efficient and quite enjoyable job in his portrayals.
I have said it before, only a Keanu can make a stare down with a cat look this interesting
I quite understand his critics. When my friends speak of him like he's the derpiest derp who ever derped in Derpopolis I don't argue. I don't repeat theories that he is high functioning Autistic or emotionally stunted. Such excuses insult people on the spectrum by tying them to perceived incompetence. Keanu Reeves doesn't seem to lose sleep over his image and why should I? I enjoy him without having to validate that enjoyment.
Seen here being mocked, and loving it.
When Keanu Reeves came on the Colbert Report recently, to promote his new film, "47 Ronin", he was both soft and simple spoken. When promoted, he would not say much, but was cheery throughout. Such a demeanor does not make for a good interview and Colbert called him out for this through teasing and mimicry. Eventually the host flat out challenged Keanu Reeves to show his acting chops by showing various emotions. Reeves went along with it all with a smile and a twinkle. Ge may have known his behavior was unusual, he may have known he was being made the butt of the joke. He seemed to enjoy himself, took it all without protest, and I was similarly entertained.
