A Terrified Mother

I don’t speak much with my mom. She is a wonderful and exceedingly brave woman who has done things on her own and without the support of anyone that would break most people. It is a total cliche to say this, but she is the strongest woman I know. That being said, we tend to disagree on a few things when it comes to life choices.

When my father died, she told those who doubted her to watch her success. Even though she didn’t even graduate High School she has managed to attain a job that many would be honored to have. And throughout it all, she has dealt with addiction after addiction, defeating each not simply because she had to, but because she knew it was the best thing to do. Never was she rich, quite the opposite actually. When I was a teenager and I asked for a cell phone, she told me to get a job and buy it myself. When I was young and refused to do something, she made me. And when I needed her help and she knew I could not do it on my own, she was there to support, not guide, me.

And with all of that said, she came to me Saturday crying. You see, for a while she was on Government aid when I was young. She knows first hand how so many people so eagerly rip the system off. And with that in her mind, she asked me to explain to her everything I can about the health care bill that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were trying to pass. So, I sat her down and I told her the truth that I knew. In fairness, I tried to sugarcoat it.

The people who honestly need help will finally get it with this. There will be higher taxes, but those taxes will not affect you. Etc, etc, etc…

Unfortunately, it didn’t help. She understands the basics of the bill: more money taken from the people who employ her. She’s got a decently nice job and not long ago they were all given a small raise. When someone at her work complained their boss came back and informed them that they were lucky they even had a job.

Oh, by the way, my mom works for one of those big, evil insurance companies.You know, the ones that give her amazing health care coverage, allow her to work overtime when they don’t have to, and have promoted her a half dozen times because they have faith in her ability.What bastards.

My mom put two and two together and realized that the first people who will be affected by this, with exception to the doctors perhaps, will be the insurance companies. They will begin to see their profits fall – its rare the Government lives up to its end of the bargain – and they’ll be forced to do one of two things: lay off hundreds and lower the paychecks of those who still work there (except the CEO’s, but that’s just business) or move their company to a third world nation and take advantage of the people there. Obviously, this will directly affect her.

The unemployment rate in Sacramento, where she lives, is 12.2 percent at this moment. Many outlining areas are not much better, some far worse. And who amongst those hiring would hire a fifty-four year old woman? Oh, and by the way, she has severe medical issues which sometimes forces her to see doctors all day – its not always planned either, sometimes she just can’t help it. Oddly enough, that happens to be another concern of hers. You see, she has several specialists and she likes having to take five tests instead of the one that Obama so proudly proclaimed she would need. She likes her doctors, but as Mr. Obama said: She can keep them.

Obama is right. She can keep them… unfortunately, with the higher taxes on business she’ll probably lose her job, which means she’ll have to find one on the spur of the moment – McDonald’s – and she’ll lose all of her health care coverage. Since she’ll be getting less and whatever job she’s at probably won’t give her any (it’s cheaper to pay the punishment than give health insurance to employees) she’ll be forced to take Obamacare.

It’s a lovely system.

-Irish

P.S.: This post has not been proofread or edited in any way or fashion. Enjoy my idiocy.

Transgressions

Smile

Run-Thru

I’ve always been a huge fan of video games – it’s in my blood. My first memories as a child was sneaking into the living room and playing Sonic the Hedgehog when I should have been sleeping. Anyone who reads this blog should be intently aware of the fact I am openly addicted to video games. And with that in mind I decided to start a new video series called Run-Thru. It’s still being processed and all, and in fairness the videos wont see the light of day for quite sometime. Nevertheless, until then, I have the intro for all to enjoy.

The music you hear is Long Line of Cars by Cake. And yes, that is me in the video.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – A Quick Perspective

Last Tuesday saw the birth of yet another game in the long  Battlefield series. Thankfully I bought the game about two weeks before it came out and since I did I managed to get some nice bonuses – the Tracer Dart Gun being my favorite. None of the items break the game, however. I don’t have a magical golden gun that one shots every poor fool who didn’t pre-order the game. Instead, I can get something before some other people do.

It only took me about twenty minutes to download the game. It would be nice to give credit to Comcast, though it seems as though it has more to do with people who are unaware of how to download games from Steam. It was quite enjoyable browsing the Steam forums and watching as people violently cried out against the big bad Steam. Granted, I’m certain they’ll still use Steam, even if they were so arrogantly proclaiming how their refusal to buy anything else from them would certainly carry on to others as well.

And now onto the review…

First and foremost let me begin by saying Modern Warfare 2 is terrible in comparison to the graphics of Bad Company 2. I know that all of the CoD fanboys are frothing at the mouth, their hands typing hate mail as quickly as they can, their brains having tiny little seizures as they describe how awesome Ghost is, but the truth is often hard to deal with. There is something fantastic about how well the game looks, and even though it’s nowhere near perfect, it shines with the art direction. Each character feels like a person, like somebody you know and the fact they look fairly realistic helps with that.

As for the actual single player gameplay in Bad Company 2… it’s… good? It’s certainly not bad or negative in any way, but it’s not the greatest game ever. The best part of the game is the dialogue between the characters, especially when it comes to Flynn, the half-baked pacifist pilot. If the dev’s would have played it safe and made it just another military shooter than this would be easily forgotten, but since they chose to make it absolutely hilarious it’s something I doubt I will be forgetting anytime soon. Often times they take cheap shots at Modern Warfare 2, which you probably won’t notice unless you’ve played it. Perhaps the best line comes in the form of Hags saying only wussies drive snowmobiles, a direct reference to MW2.

With all of that said, however, I must admit the game quickly fades from memory when you slip into the nice, comfortable little hug that is Multiplayer. Let me put this in a way that best describes this feat of engineering:

Multiplayers! O Multiplayers!

Come my pale faced nerds,

Follow well in order,

Get your weapons ready,

Have you your pistols?

have you your sharp edged knives?

Multiplayers! O Multiplayers!

Alright, alright, I’ll stop reciting the dork version of an old Whitman poem. The multiplayer in Bad Company 2 is a work of art, however. Each of the classes are fun, though being sniped is a little annoying. That being said, after finishing up all of the Engineering unlockables and putting the automatic shotgun on my medic I must say that I feel like I’m cheating. Unlike many other multiplayer games, CoD comes to mind, you are incapable of being Rambo. You have to stick together and act like a proper squad if you want to win. Though there are certainly some points that make you feel like God in B.D.U.s. I cannot tell you how many times my Medic has thrown down his med packs and defended an entire section.

I will admit, however, that once I captured that point I was very quickly overwhelmed by the enemy. One man cannot take out a squad, unless he ambushes them or is incredibly lucky. Still, it’s not common to see one person bunny hopping and taking out ten people with a supped up pistol.

The only problem with multiplayer is the wonky EA system. At times the game will crash for no apparent reason, which I’ve come to expect since I love Russian games. Unfortunately, this is NOT a Russian game.  And yet, despite it’s non-Ruskie heritage, this game has crashed more on me than my copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. Sometimes you’ll try to log into the EA servers and they’ll be down, sometimes you’re kicked from games for no apparent reason, at times you’ll find yourself simply unable to join servers, oh and it’s pretty much impossible to find an EA server to play on. Instead, you’re forced to play on public servers with the unwashed masses.

Nevertheless, when you are able to log on and play, Bad Company 2′s multiplayer is absolutely astounding. Not only is it good fun, but it honestly feels like no one has an upper hand simply because they have a different group make up. It’s the people who work together who win the games, though admittedly it can be frustrating when you’re going against an entire clan and stand no chance. That being said, giving a squad of engineers an APC or a squad of snipers a hill makes you feel invincible and unless there are those who are working together you truly are unstoppable, at least for a while.

If you have the money to spend, I would certainly recommend that you, whoever you are, go out and buy this game. I’ve got it for the PC, but I hear the 360 and PS3 versions are just as good.

-Irish

P.S.: None of this has been proofread or edited in any possible way. I’m too tired damn it.

BAH!

Things happening…. can’t write…. be back next week.

-Irish

Haiti

There is nothing more perverted than the guilty minded man. We act irrationally and refuse to listen to logic, instead we do what our heart tells us. Unfortunately, our heart doesn’t heed the warning of thought or know the basic understanding of consequences. It acts in fervor, it refuses to acknowledge danger, and, like a blind man on a roof, it’s bound to slip eventually.

The tragic earthquake in Haiti is a reminder to us all to stay vigilant. Instead of acting foolishly we should stay calm and educate ourselves about what happened and what has to be done. We need to look at history and see what has happened in the past when it comes to aid for Haiti. Much to my dismay, however, it seems we have ignored hindsight and we refuse to acknowledge the logic sitting in front of us. Instead, we’re heading into the jungle in haste without so much as a pair of boots on.

President Obama has already announced one hundred million dollars, a seemingly arbitrary number pulled out of his pocket, in aid for Haiti. Normally that number would sound a bit low and there are plenty of people, even now, who think that it is. Certainly by the time this whole debacle is over we’ll have spent far more in man-hours, fuel, food, housing, supplies, and everything else that you can think of. Nevertheless, it is the $100 Million which has caught the attention of a few news-addicts. In truth, we haven’t that money to give…

It sounds heartless, I know. Unfortunately, while it is heartless, it’s also logical. The American People are so heavily in debt to China that many honestly think that this is the first generation in decades to have children who, once they grow up, will lead poorer lives than them. This is remarkable when you consider the nineties were our golden age.

Now we sit upon that damned precipice that most intelligent societies try to avoid.

The unfortunate truth is that we do not have one hundred million dollars to give to Haiti, though our President will do so anyhow. In fact, much to my chagrin, I am certain he will give more. Mind you, it is your money he is donating, not his. And before I am emailed about it, NO, this is not an attack on taxes or Obama. It is an attack on haste and logic born from the heart, which is to say none at all.

What happens when we flood our schools with money for new textbooks and better teaching material? Nothing. Look at California – we have some of the lowest test scores in the nation and we shovel money into the system. Instead of using that idea for Haiti, our President should stand before us all and ask us to stand up and give every penny we can, every second we have free, and every prayer we can afford to say. There is nothing greater than the American Mind and the American Heart when used in unison. Money does not solve this problem, it is the effort of man, the willingness of we Americans to bleed for the safety of our fellow-men, that will win the day.

As a Capitalist I am a fond believer in the power of money, but above all else comes a strong sense of morals to dictate how that money is used.  As with all things in life we need a balance, not erratic fear and forced guilt.

-Irish

P.S.: This has not been edited or proofread. Oh yeah… Fuck you, Pat Robertson!

Steam, oh you mighty, mighty motherfu…

Like a heroin junkie without anymore heroin to shoot or d*cks to suck to get some more, I’m floundering. The sale on Steam will be ending shortly and I feel a strange bit of sorrow for it. In truth, the sale has gotten me a very large amount of games, including some amazing ones and some not so amazing ones. For hours I’ve sat and pondered what my next buy would be, knowing full well I could never exceed a certain amount.

With the death of this holiday’s Steam sale comes the birth of some new videos I’ll be putting up. I’ve got plenty of games to profile. The only problem is, of course, that I’m not getting a ton of people to watch them. My inability to advertise is quite sad. Nevertheless, as always, I’m doing these videos for friends of mine. BUY RIDDICK, Eric!

With all of that said, enjoy my newest video for the GotC series…

Kindle, my best new firend EVAR

You’ll have to excuse my writing, I may or may not be a bit tipsy.

I wrote a book last summer after being dared by a friend to write a science fiction story that “avoids the cliche”. Now since it was a dare I didn’t much care about publishing it, but recently I looked it over again and realized that it is pretty damn well written, not to mention it over a hundred thousand words long. Yeah, I know, that’s stupid long.

Recently I received a Kindle for Christmas and after doing a bit of browsing I found a fantastic little feature which allows writers to self publish their work through Amazon. So, with a few shots of vodka in me, I decided to say screw it and self publish my science fiction novel. It’s not up yet, but it should be shortly – hopefully by tomorrow.

Alright, update is over… I’m gonna go blackout.

-Irish

A Christmas Story (and how it will never happen again)

I was born in 1987 and each and every Christmas I have been blessed with a viewing, if not several dozen, of A Christmas Story. Growing up in a household which was the exact opposite of Ralphie, I was immediately attracted to the idea of family. And while I never became that close to my family, especially now, I have to admit that this one movie reminds me each and every year why I want to eventually have one of my own.

I understand that may sound slightly absurd, that a movie would make you feel such a way. And hell, why wouldn’t I want a family in the first place? In truth, I have become far too cynical and with it I have lost a lot of faith in our society. Before you ask, this has nothing to do with Obama. Obama is a side effect of our society, he is only caused by the way we act and the way we dictate others to act. And with all of this in mind, especially this year, I watched A Christmas Story in a new light. With that said, I still found myself smiling uncontrollably and in a state of perpetual joy.

I figured that while my turkey cooked I would write a brief list of the things that happened in A Christmas Story which would be changed, altered, or otherwise censored nowadays:

1. Red Ryder BB Gun: Remember, guns are evil and they kill people. It is not the person who pulls the trigger who is to blame, rather we should point our finger at society AND, more importantly, the evil gun. With this ideology that we have adopted there is no way a movie would be allowed to show a child wanting a BB gun for Christmas. If he did, mind you, they would immediately have that child murdered in order to show how dangerous guns can be.

2. Cursing: Instead of letting us imagine all of the dirty words Ralphie is shouting while beating the hell out of the bully, Farkus, we will hear each and every curse in HD super-duper audio. While it is always great to hear a kid cursing, I must admit that the changing of the words into a mumbled rant is far more hilarious.

3. Farkus, the bully: Remember, bully’s are evil. Granted, we shouldn’t blame bully’s, rather we should blame the parents and have them arrested when some loser kid is bullied into depressed and off’s himself. There is absolutely no way that a movie nowadays will show a boy dealing with a bully not through therapy and discussion but rather brute violence.

4. A Father: I know this must sound odd, but the men showcased in movies nowadays are the exact opposite of what most are. The father in A Christmas Story is a brilliant portrayal of an apathetic father who, while still caring dearly for his family, is hopelessly honest. Sure, he acts like a moron every now and again, but he still shows himself as intelligent and, most importantly, human.

5. The Child Abuse: Nowadays it is considered abusive to wash your child’s mouth out with soap.  Even though I grew up in the nineties I vividly remember having this punishment pushed upon me. Guess what… it worked. Nevertheless, if you do this to your child now it is put in the same category as burning your child with cigarette’s.

6. Being a Kid: The simple act of being a child and being perpetually happy. No longer are we given examples of happy lives, but rather we are forced to swallow the bitter reality of life: it sucks sometimes.

7. Racism: Perhaps the greatest part of the movie is at the very end when the Chinese singers are mispronouncing “Fa-la-la-la-la” as “Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra”. This, however, would never be allowed in new movies. Instead, the Chinese people will speak perfect English and show us all the true meaning of being a foreigner in America.

Of course there are more, but it’s Christmas and I haven’t anymore time. I know that I sound old when I use words like nowadays, but I cannot help but miss the pseudo-world of A Christmas Story. It is so absurd and yet heartwarming, even if that world is impossible. The only thing that I can do is hope people still watch this movie and show it to their kids. I know if I ever have children that from the very day they are born they will watch A Christmas Story each and every Christmas… mostly because that’s what I’ll be doing.

-Irish

A Tequila Drinking Contest in Germany

Honestly, I have nothing to bitch about today. Sorry, I’m tired – this week has been a pain in the ass.

-Irish