The Old Hack's page

The Old Hack wrote:

(I was quite proud of its introduction, which went, "TREMBLE, O MORTAL, FOR I AM MAXIDOOMIUS, GREATEST AND MOST TERRIBLE OF DRAGONS. Would you like to see my wares?")

You didn't finish the anecdote about Maxidoomius!

Ah right. I then on IRC presented the suggestion about Maxidoomius, his thriving business and his intro line to my fellow server staff. My friend Athos responded,

* Athos screams in terror! ...then asks to see the sword behind the counter.

It's always good to start your relationship with your shopkeeper off on the right foot :)

The Old Hack wrote:

Maybe they were waiting for Arnie to get old enough and then got all messed up when he took the part of the Governator instead...

I had the unfortunate opportunity to see a tabloid picture of the Governator in a Speedo while waiting in line at the supermarket. Trust me, you don't want Arnie back in Conan's little leather and fur getup... *shudders*

I'm not saying that it was a good idea, only that maybe that was what they were intending to do. >_>

As a semi-threadjack, whom would you guys like to cast as King Conan if you had the pick of actors around today?

Clearly they are going for "sexy" over "action" with this one. I would rather they get over the 20-year-long stumbling blocks for King Conan.

Maybe they were waiting for Arnie to get old enough and then got all messed up when he took the part of the Governator instead...

In short, it's not gamer that are 'mouth-breathing-basement-dwelling-troglodytes,' it's men in general. And it sure hasn't hurt the financial juggernaut that is Superbowl Sunday that the cheerleaders wear skirts and show off,

The problem you describe isn't Paizo, or gamers, or even gamers-who--happen-to-also-be-troglodytes. It's the half the planet that are men, men who, for the most part, aren't patriarchal overlords, demanding that women behave or dress in a certain way (barring the middle east, where women are dressed up, hidden from sight, denied rights and, occasionally, beaten to death for dressing or acting in a way that the local menfolk don't approve of).

Actually it is also a pretty common cliché that football players and jocks are mouth breathing troglodytes. Then again, I remember my girlfriend quite enjoying herself with copies of Playgirl, maybe she is a mouth breathing troglodyte too? Fortunately for me she normally uses a stuffed animal when she clubs me...

Even though it is perhaps not done as blatantly as in the case of women, men are often set up as sex symbols, too. Witness the number of times William Shatner had his shirt ripped in Star Trek. Or David Boreanaz was shown shirtless in Buffy. Or how Leonardo diCapprio has been used in practically everything he has participated in since The Quick and the Dead. The media is not blind to what it has to gain from titillating women as well.

In my own biased, grumpy, antiquated and misanthropic opinion, the biggest problem isn't women or men being used as sex objects but 1) the imbalances between them and 2) that so much of what you see is tasteless and overly sleazy pap. It is possible to create attractive and sexy images even with fully dressed men and women, it is just a common copout to try to achieve a titillating effect with unrealistically proportioned monstrosities in thongs armed with supersized weaponry. I strongly dislike these last as I do not find them in the least attractive and in most cases actively insulting.

I try always to be careful with names to make them match with the setting, or at least avoid outright clashes. But while I prefer to make up my own, there are times where it is a good idea to consult outside sources. Most notably I remember being part of the staff of a Neverwinter Nights server where I had to create and name about a hundred merchants with a five-day deadline.

Being a stickler for such things, I refused to use standardised models and identical backgrounds. However, as time went on and the deadline loomed closer, I confess some of my creations turned... stranger. In one place there was a dark elven merchant whose background began, "Exiled from the Underdark for crimes she did commit..."; in an Oriental-like temple I had two merchants named Ni Hao and Konnichi Wa, and as my very last creation I inserted an ancient wyrm red dragon which sold magic devices looted from would-be dragonslayers to add gold to its hoard. (I was quite proud of its introduction, which went, "TREMBLE, O MORTAL, FOR I AM MAXIDOOMIUS, GREATEST AND MOST TERRIBLE OF DRAGONS. Would you like to see my wares?")

The two Orientals were forcibly renamed and for some reason the red dragon never entered the server environment...

I would like to first agree with every word Set has posted here.

I have some extra points, from the point of view of the children. When my parents had their divorce, it came completely out of the blue for me -- I was seven at the time. At the time in my home country it was more or less automatic for the mother to obtain custody in divorce cases. From my point of view, it looked as if Father had decided he didn't love us anymore and wanted to go away. It took a long, long time for me to understand.

My older brother was even worse off as my father made the bad mistake of telling him that he somehow had to be the man of the house and take charge. He tried, and of course he failed -- he was only twelve years old -- but his failure to make our now truncated family function hurt him badly.

Our situation was worsened by the fact that our mother refused to maintain any sort of contact with our father. You can of course not control how your wife will react -- but I urge you to attempt to maintain speaking terms with her if at all possible. It has been said of the children of divorces that they are hostages to the actions of their parents. This was certainly true in our case. If the two of you can maintain a civil relationship rather than have it turn into a bitter feud, it will mean a world of difference for your sons. No matter who ultimately receives custody.

The Old Hack wrote:

Set wrote:

Existential thought;

Can two solipsists be correct?

Presumably they can be if they each have their own universe. Precisely how large their universes might be is of course up to debate...

That makes sense.

Mine's bigger.

Probably. Mine would actually be of quite decent size only it has all these other annoying people running around and cluttering it up.

Yes, I know. I failed solipsism. In the last exam I got completely distracted by the thought that if I were all alone there'd be no-one around to realise how great I am...

Existential thought;

Can two solipsists be correct?

Presumably they can be if they each have their own universe. Precisely how large their universes might be is of course up to debate...