B===D--- A new love story by Shakespeare

My own particular bullshit

A friend recently posted a note that he is dissatisfied with the current political state, and (perhaps jokingly) suggested he would run for president when he is eligible. I know and like this guy (to prerequisites for being friends) and I've thought along similar lines. Why, if America is in such dire straits that we can't get a budget passed without a political showdown, should I not throw my hat in the ring and magically make it all better?

I think this is like the idea people get in their heads when they can make their buddies laugh - "I should go into comedy". "I can talk about politics - maybe I should run for office." And with as much shit as I'll talk about both parties, maybe I should insert money where I've previously only put my mouth.

Hmmm. I guess that homoerotic innuendo fits. Anyone who talks such has tasted at least the tip of the glorious, glittery cock of corporate media politics. And that's the problem. If I went in, as I am now, putting aside the ludicrously low chance of winning (and complete lack of knowledge of how to win) I'd be like a liberal Tea Party. And that's not helpful (the motto of this podcast is, of course, "Fuck it and fuck you").

And if I could put aside my anger and recalcitrance, I'd at best end up like any other politician. I don't like the anti-gay-marriage laws in place, but they're coming down, albeit slowly. That, apparently, is how things work in a democracy. The people support the bad laws their representatives create, until they don't, and then the laws are overturned. As tempting as it would be to try and "fix" everything, even if it were possible (and it's not) it wouldn't be the will of the people. You can't make people be good or kind. At best, you can try to keep them from getting worse.

And that's assuming I didn't become corrupt. I know myself moderately well, and I, like many others, see myself as the hero, never the villain. It's usually not until after the fuck up that I realize I was a real douchetard. And even that level of introspection doesn't fly in politics. You've got to be right, someone else has to be wrong, or you won't stand a chance. And if you can't get elected, not only will your brilliant vision not come to pass, but some bastard's horrible plan will be implemented. So tell a little lie. Exaggerate a bit. It's all for the greater good (and hey, you can make a few bucks off of it).

This, then, is my own particular brand of bullshit; Famous Anus, of course. For all your baking needs.

Update:

Of course, I do think some of my friends are suited for helping run the country well. Here's a prototype campaign poster I thunk up:

He keeps his campaign promises.

Sometimes I get uppity

There are probably a few ME3 spoilers in the podcast. I try to keep it to a minimum.




This guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4) does a good job explaining some of the common gripes with the ME ending. I don't agree with all of them, and as I mentioned I was relatively satisfied with my ending, though I made up another that made more sense to me.

And this guy: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/14/mass-effect-3-the-end-of-an-epic/

I forgot to mention Silent Hill in the podcast. Silent Hill is an excellent example of games that reward exploration. By exploring the town (which is necessary to progress) you get more story, some of it obvious (the cult) some not so (the executioners and pyramid head). And your story is formed by how you play; though most of the story is the same throughout, the ending is dependent on how you've played. No obvious choices are presented (dialogue is not chosen) but if you are aggressive and rush through, you get a negative ending. Take your time and avoid unnecessary fights, and you get a positive ending. This also depends on how you view the character: I saw James (Silent Hill 2) as a man who very badly wanted to do the right thing. Others saw him as a monster, others as a victim, or in-between. My story reflected my character and gameplay, and the same is true for others. In Heavy Rain, I saw Ethan, the main character, as desperate but weak. Because of this, he was not able to save his son. Others saw him as strong and determined. This is the power of games as stories; they are not just "choose your own adventure" books, they are complete, powerful stories that differ from one player to the next.

I'll Devito Your Schwarzenegger

So when I said, last week, that we are overconcerned with image, this is what I meant: that we won't go into Syria, that we won't try to do anything with Syria, because there's no reason for us to. What we will do is feign concern because that is the image we want to project, the story we want told; we are big daddy democracy and we want what's best for everyone. When someone like Manning or the pissing troops disrupt that, people get upset. And situations like the marine being demoted for killing innocents require very special image manipulation.



If you enjoy this podcast you should do several things. The first is listen to Writing Excuses available on Itunes. It's interesting and funny and talks about fiction in the same sort of way I do, only those podcast-ers are much smarter. The most interesting episode I've listened to is "The Hollywood Formula" (it's fairly recent) and it has a cool discussion of protagonists and antagonists in relation to the Dark Knight. I don't agree with their conclusion, but it's interesting as hell nonetheless.
Also, you should follow this blog, and recommend it to folks you think might like it.