Blizzcon 2012 Cancelled

Blizzard apparently has decided to cancel Blizzcon this year, cutting us off from amazing stories about audience loremasters stumping the devs or costumes that are NOT street legal. I suppose we’ll be spared blog posts about people dressed as “kung-fu” pandas.

But why this year, Blizz? My theory…

ABC News, Gingrich’s Daughters Say ‘Open Marriage’ Charges ‘Not True’: Pretty Dumb Story

This is the headline from the ABC News website:

Gingrich Daughters: ‘Open Marriage’ Charge ‘Simply Not True’

Hey, they are his daughters. They obviously want to refute the allegations against him. Frankly, I don’t care to even talk about the veracity of Marianne Gingrich’s statements regarding the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Of course, these women would want to deflect such an accusation:

Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman, Gingrich’s daughters by his first wife, told ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross they had spoken with their father about Marianne Gingrich’s allegation and that he had assured them he never asked for an open marriage.

There, you see? The daughters are sure it’s not true because their dad told them it wasn’t. Out of curiosity, about how many specific details in Newt’s sex life are his girls privy to?

Of course his daughters would want to defend him from their stepmother. They want to protect their dad (Strangely, the guy who also cheated on his first wife, their mom). But that’s neither here nor there. Basically, this is a sordid story with super-high ick factor that I think just got weirder by having this type of “defense”. Thanks ladies for the unverifiable, self-serving hearsay from your father in refutation of the self-serving, conveniently-timed allegation from your former stepmom.

To recap:

• Of course Newt’s daughters would know what he gets up to in and out of the sack. That’s why they know Marianne Gingrich is lying … they have viewed the videotape? (please no…)
• Newt’s totally cool with letting his kids field questions about tawdry accusations regarding where he sticks his genitals:

  “Now, I’ll let my daughters speak for it… I’m not going to comment beyond that because I’m focused on the big issues that concern the American people…”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to consume less drama by watching a Real Housewives show.

 

Opposition to SOPA, PIPA, & Any Other Draconian Measures in the Pipeline

Personal hobbyist blogs are filled with links to █████, often commenting █████, perhaps for no other reason then to point out █████. Bills like those mentioned in the header could just as easily █████ freedom for a blogger to █████, to █████, to █████ perceived issues and █████ … or just mundane things. All in the name of █████ piracy.

I don’t believe in piracy either, but I don’t believe in burning down a house just to get at the █████.

Ouch! Awkward Ad vs. Headline for Sinking Cruise Ship

There’s a lot of sadness and bewilderment surrounding the story of a sinking cruise ship with an allegedly cowardly captain. And for a newspaper, it’s understandably a headline story. But, um, advertising sometimes doesn’t jibe with editorial.

/facepalm

The image is from the Belfast Telegraph via HoldtheFrontPage.co.uk.

I feel for the layout folks behind this, I really do.

Update: The Gaming Vault, Kyle Gaddo and Connor White Still Don’t Get It

I didn’t really want to look back, but I grew curious when looking at other video games outlets about what was going on at The Gaming Vault, a place where journalistic integrity goes to die, regarding the whole Paul Christoforo and Ocean Marketing debacle. Looking over their alleged last word on the subject, it’s clear these guys still don’t get how they traded their reputations just to feel smugly superior to those they believe were acting smugly superior:

In a recent interview with Paul Christoforo, I took a more sympathetic stance to the man’s instant notoriety. Perhaps too sympathetic, but I will stand by this—everyone involved in this situation is acting the fool, need to take a step back, and quit being such complete twits. Even myself, I’ll admit.

That’s a start. You, the Editor-In-Chief, Kyle Gaddo, was acting the twit for certain. But, it wasn’t “perhaps” too sympathetic. It was out and out campaigning on behalf of the subject. That’s not an opinion on his piece, it was a factual analysis based on multiple examples of clear pandering language in almost each and every paragraph from the writer himself.

Dreams Don’t Have Meanings … I Hope

Last night I found myself going back to college. But lots of my former classmates were there, despite the fact we are all in our mid-to-late-thirties nowadays. I move in, upsetthat my dorm room requires credit card access (even in my dreams I’m being nickeled and dimed), and at one point I’m hanging out with a floormate on HIS OWN balcony (whoa).

At one point, we’re laughing and drinking, and I slap him on the back sending him straight into the railing which snaps. He plummets to his death, and I spend the rest of the dream pretending to everyone that I wasn’t present at his death (like some suspect in Law & Order).

Where the heck did this dream come from?

Corn Porn

I tend to agree with the original tweet … this is a terrifying headline from the Iowa Caucus.

ROMNEY, PAUL AND SANTORUM IN 3-WAY

How Not to Interview and How Not to Manage a Website: More Fallout from Ocean Marketing and Paul Christoforo

The video games media space is incredibly crowded, the high profile closings of such publications as GamePro notwithstanding. Almost everyone with access to a server and an ad revenue generator can claim to be a “video game website” these days. And many of them generate content off the backs of unpaid “volunteers”, often with little to no experience. This isn’t always a bad thing, since it is good to have a space where one can hone a craft and create some basic clips to get started.

However, this doesn’t change the fact that such a thing compromises the quality and ethical rigor of journalism, even for such a light subject matter as video games.

Enter The Gaming Vault. Recently, the “Editor-In-Chief” of the site, one Kyle Gaddo, held an interview with the recently notorious and meme-worthy, Paul Christoforo.  It’s a long tale of bad behavior and Internet retribution that is better recounted elsewhere. However, while someone being so vilified as Paul does deserve an opportunity to relay his own side of the story, it is not the interviewing journalist’s responsibility to provide a public defense for his subject.

Kyle Gaddo goes out of his way with leading phrases, providing the excuse of “having a bad day” more than once. He provides lengthy analogies to extend the interviewee’s explanation beyond the need for clarification, and he repeatedly lacks any followup to the interviewee’s assertions of fact that were openings for clarification (showing a lack of research prior to the interview). The dissection isn’t important since the owner of the site responded to some of my criticisms with:

I’ve been talking to Kyle personally since the interview, and he completely agrees with my own personal observation that he was editorialising way too much for an interview. That should definitely be saved for an article.

Fine, it’s an admission that the interview was beyond one-sided, and really, it was an editorial hit piece on behalf of the subject. It would have ended there, but this same owner and “Senior Editor” named Michael O’Connor, had been sprinkling derisive comments throughout the thread in reference to those who disagreed with both the handling of the interview and Christoforo’s side of the story. He even went so far as to call out some of the readers with:

I have been in this industry long enough to know just how short lived gamers’ petty vendettas are.

And this is just one more of them. A petty, basement dwelling lynch mob with nothing better to do with their time.

He pretty much lashes out like Paul Christoforo himself. Hilariously, like Paul, he attempts to puff out his chest with imaginary gravitas by implying he’s an “industry” veteran. Something his LinkedIn profile belies.

This immediately led to a number of responses pointing out the irony. I also commented since prior to that quote (I was unable to save it) he stated that he stood by his web site’s credibility. I basically asked him about his revenue stream via Google AdSense and why his site, around for several years now, did not employ any paid professionals, and why his Editor-In-Chief (the interviewer) was some inexperienced kid (who had compromised the integrity of the publication). I also didn’t think it was appropriate for him to go ad hominem on his core audience.

Lo and behold, his comment and the responses vanished. A number of his other derisive comments also vanished. When a reader called him out on it, that response vanished.

And my own response:

I’m glad to read that Kyle realizes that he made a mistake. However, I am concerned as to the removal of certain incendiary comments made by yourself from this thread. If you regret your words, fine. You can apologize, clarify, or even double-down. But changing history like that is on your own website also does not speak favorably towards your credibility.

Also, you seemed to have deleted a reply to you on this same thread that references other deletions. This really does not speak well for you and your site.

It vanished as well. I imagine this is what it must be like to have an Internet ‘access’ in a somewhat totalitarian dystopia … your words being shot down as they are set free.

In any case, a saved a couple of screenshots before the responses could be deleted.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Enjoy your Google advertising revenue, Mr. O’Connor, but a media outlet run in such a shoddy manner will pretty much remain what it is: a hobby site for amateurs.

ESPN Radio Creepily Stalking Tim Tebow

Is it me, or does it seem like media outlets like ESPN have become gushing, obsessive stalkers of Tim Tebow. They make absurd, colorful pronouncements about Tebow (and by default, the Denver Broncos) regarding his winning ways. In fact, this morning on Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio, Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, and Cris Carter might have been mistaken for teenage Justin Bieber fans, except they were fluttering over a different super-non-threatening, handsome, young, Christian male.

Instead of tween girls, Tebows fans are middle-aged, armchair quarterbacks.

The first egregious bit of pandering: Greenberg made a point of bringing up a statistic stating the chances of the Broncos coming back to win 5 of their comeback victories this season were approximately 380,000 to 1.  ZOMG! It’s something they’ve never seen before! To this he added descriptions such as “magical” and something that just can’t be explained.

How about statistical noise? In a sport that is played consistently, year-in, year-out, and a league that has been operating professionally since the 1920’s and in its current format since 1971, with over a 100 games played each season, these weird blips are bound to crop up in time. It’s 380,000 to 1 … but hey, someone wins the lottery eventually given enough time.

The second egregious bit of pandering: Cris Carter carrying the banner of the whining, privileged Christian. Carter, an overtly faithful man, has the temerity to say that “we in the media” are not “allowed” to talk about things like “race” or “faith”. That somehow, according to Carter, this is being left out of the discussion about Tebow.

Wow, really?

Tim Tebow – faith, luck or just winning football? | masslive.com

Tim Tebow responds to Jake Plummer’s comments on his faith

Tim Tebow’s Denver Miracle | Video – ABC News
Tim Tebow’s Denver Miracle. Is faith behind the Broncos’ “miraculous” victory and winning streak.

Marlo Thomas: Tim Tebow: Keeping the Faith

Why Are Anti-Christian Bigots So Eager To Prey On Tim Tebow …Tim Tebow‘s success as the quarterback of the Denver Broncos has done little to silence his critics who believe that his faith in Jesus Christ has …

Tim Tebow’s pastor says God is saving the Denver Broncos | Mail …

This is just from the first page of Google results when typing in “Tim Tebow” and “faith”.  It’s not unusual for a heart-on-sleeve, evangelical celebrity/talking-head to proclaim that there is some muzzling of the talk of faith, but it’s still ignorant and incorrect.

Look, I have nothing against Tim Tebow (yet) or the Denver Broncos. It’s great for the Denver fans, and after all, a win is a win is a win. But, frankly, before people start making hyperbolic statements attributing Tebow’s success to faith, magic, or just giving up and calling it a mystery, I’ll point to one Derek Anderson, former starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, whose first full season was remarkable … and that was also his last remarkable season. Statistically speaking, amazing things happen all the time. Let’s not get carried away.

Cave Johnson Sells Insurance

Is the Valve game, Portal 2, having an influence over the Farmers Insurance commercials starring J.K. Simmons (voice of Cave Johnson in the game)?

“When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!”

Or make giant flaming lint balls. Cave Johnson is still alive!