The Sound of Your Voice
This weekend, someone told me that they hated the sound of their voice. I replied with a much too flippant “everyone hates the sound of their voice.”
Flippant or not, I think my response was kind of true. Our voices sound different to us than they do to everyone else. When we hear a recording of our voice, we are likely to have an Yzma moment. 
Yes, I’m sad to say. That is your voice. Nothing you can do about it except get used to it. Because you want to know who doesn’t think your voice sounds weird? Everyone else. Many of them have been listening to you for years and do you know why none of them have complained about how horrible you sound when you speak? Read More…
Shit That Pissed Me Off – 10/24
Felicia Day Speaks Up About GamerGate and is Almost Immediately Doxxed
For those unfamiliar with the term, doxxing is when people take personal information (like home address and private e-mail accounts) and share them with everyone on the internet. The intent is to encourage others to harass the individual in question either online or in person.
Because people are assholes.
Chris Kluwe wrote a profanity ridden rant against GamerGaters earlier in the week. Was his contact information splashed all over the internet? Of course not.
What is interesting about the Gamergate phenomenon is that they claim this issue is not about women in gaming and yet when women speak up, they suffer harassment almost immediately. I’m not saying Kluwe didn’t get called names. He probably did.
The difference, though, is Kluwe (and Wil Wheton) were called names. Day had her personal information tweeted out within an hour.
This is not Felicia Day’s house. Or Chris Kluwe’s. Because where they live is none of your damn business.
Now I’m fairly certain a brief internet search could have yielded her home address. That information may be private but it is hard to protect. Her personal e-mail would take a little more digging but probably isn’t too hard to get. Privacy is an illusion the internet is rapidly dispelling.
None of that changes the fact doxxing is an asshole move. The only purpose is to harass the victim rather than engage in civil discourse.
GamerGate is not about ethics. It is about being pissy because female gamers (and their allies) would like a few games for themselves. It also has an unoriginal and stupid name.
The Wicked Witch of the West – a Tragic Figure??
I took my son to see Oz the Great and Powerful this weekend. When asked if I liked the movie, I just shrugged. It was a mediocre effort that was just about what is to be expected from most big budget special effects films. It felt flat and heartless. It was sort of like a Transformers film in Oz.
Story continuity is something that seems an afterthought in most movies. The main plot may be fine but when you start really exploring the ramifications of a particular character’s story arc, often you discover the filmmakers didn’t really think things through.
Such is the case in Oz the Great and Powerful as it takes a character we think we know and it turns her fate into one of the most tragic stories imaginable. Then they assume we won’t notice.
Since I’m going into spoiler territory, I’m politely providing a cut tag. Feel free to move along if you don’t want to know what happens in the film.
Grail Diary 