It’s been quite a year, and like a lot of people, I’m looking forward to what next year could bring after Obama takes office on January 20th. But since it’s the last day of the year, I’m presenting a kind of “Best of Middle Raged Punk” post, inspired by Wil’s two part post he did yesterday. I won’t be revisiting every post I did; just highlighting the ones I like the most, with some quotes thrown in. Let’s get started!

The year started out with a “controversy” over the Mass Effect video game, where gamers fought back, and I remembered the horrible Mooninite terror attack in Massachusetts the previous year.

I bashed the new show Eli Stone for pushing faith over science with their false claim that immunizations cause autism, and I broke down two studies that pushed the THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!1!1!!! mentality.

You know, if I were a teenager looking for information on topics such as birth control, drugs, sex ed information…I’d surely find a way to try and hide that from my parents, too. That’s the problem with a statistic like that, is the wide age range. I see no problem with older teenagers having some privacy. Would I want my Baby Grrl to come to me for advice? Of course! But I’d also want her to get current, and correct, information about any of those topics online from places like Planned Parenthood if she felt she couldn’t come to me.

Then came the big disappointment of the passage of the surveillance bill, complete with protecting the Telcos who participated in illegal wiretapping, but then some good news fighting the RIAA right here in Oklahoma.

First, OSU didn’t just cough up the student’s names and made you get a subpeona, so good on them. Then, thanks to the stalling (whether intentional or not), you now are going to be up against an attorney who has beaten you in court before. I sure hope she wins for the students. The RIAA needs to die. They don’t represent the artist’s or the people’s best interests, only the record companies bottom line.

After some more talk about kids and computer security, I’d mentioned it in a previous post, but here I started what turned out to be a topic I’d visit a few times: The new revolution in music and new media.

Could it be that the artists who are rejecting the current model of record contracts and DRM fervor of the labels and RIAA be leading the way? There are several independent artists who are embracing current technology and getting their music out to a much wider audience thanks to the internet. Many others are using Creative Commons to shun the current model and get their music into fan’s hands

But then it started to get very political and busy around here. Sally Kern went and opened her hate speech filled mouth, prompting several posts, including reminding people that free speech doesn’t mean no consequences will come from what you say.

Sure, I’ll give you every right to say it, but as an elected politician, the people you supposedly represent also have the right to demand you resign. Or at the very least kick your ass out of the House next election. Which after hearing what you have to say, I surely hope they do.

There were protests against her (and against the Westboro people), but unfortunately, Kern was re-elected in November. Stupid Oklahoma voters.

There was also some introspection when I did some serious thinking about feminism and it’s impact on my writing.

As a woman, I want to put females in the stories I write, but I don’t want them seen as token. It’s amazing how much societal influence makes all my characters male by default, and that I have to create female characters to fit into the story. Why do I feel the need to do this? Why can’t I just make a character one or the other, regardless whether he or she will be seen as token, special, or just plain ordinary?

Then there was the issue of DRM on PC games, and the start of one of the most fun and popular categories here…Full of Fun Fridays!

I participated in Blog Like It’s The End Of The World, where you blog like a zombie apocalypse is actually happening. That was a LOT of fun.

In the elevator this morning, I overheard three nurses talking about an incident in the ER that happened about 4am. From what I gathered, the guy came in via an ambulance suffering heart attack symptoms. It all looked routine until he took a turn for the worst and died. At least they thought he did. Just a few minutes after they called the time of death, and while the doctor was out talking to the family, the guy sat up and grabbed the nurse disconnecting the IV and bit her! She’s now in ICU and not looking well at all.

Then came a couple of posts about women in science based fields, including The Nerd Girls. I also wrote an open letter to Henry Rollins.

The Dark Knight, while awesome, prompted a post on a complaint I have about the movie.

In the first Batman reboot Batman Begins, she was a tough Assistant District Attorney. She kicked ass in the courtroom, and was a great, strong female character. In The Dark Knight, her character changed. She became nothing more than another woman in a refrigerator. Gone is her powerful personality, instead left only to serve as girlfriend to Harvey and an object of sadness for Bruce in being “what could be”.

There were a couple of posts about kick ass librarians, while another time I discussed the EFF, iPhone, and AT&T.

After the election, while happy, I was also disappointed.

I went on again about women, stereotypes, math, and science, with another post on women working in the video game industry.

I also shared a personal story about sexual harassment. (To those wondering, I’ve just been doing what my initial reaction was…avoid him more.)

Finally, I gave people a time waster with what would happen if a nuclear bomb hit their city, and announced that it’s Okie Blog Awards time.

Whew, that’s a lot of stuff to read! But it gives me incentive to be even better about writing and blogging next year. Hope everyone has a good New Years, and please…keep reading Middle Raged Punk!

My fellow Oklahoma bloggers, it’s time to go through your favorite Oklahoma blogs and nominate them for Okiedoke’s 4th Annual Okie Blog Awards.

Qualifications

Only Okie bloggers with active Okie blogs are eligible to nominate and vote. “Active” is defined as having at least one blog post during the last 60 days of 2008. An “Okie blog” is defined as having at least one blog author residing within the state of Oklahoma.

Categories
Best Overall Blog ——
Best Political Blog ——
Best Family Blog ——
Best Humor Blog ——
Best Audio Blog ——
Best Looking Blog ——
Best Writing ——
Best Commentary ——
Best Culture Blog ——
Best Unusual Blog ——
Best Inspirational Blog ——
Best Commercial Blog (company sponsored) ——

For a full explanation of the rules and a list of past winners, please visit the official website. And don’t waste much time, nominations are only being accepted from January 1, to January 20, 2009. Voting will be from January 21 to February 7.

Oh and bloggers can’t nominate their own blogs…um…*cough*Middle Raged Punk*cough*

Stressed with the holidays? Over the horrible weather? Well, take out your frustrations and nuke a location of your choosing with Ground Zero:

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a nuclear bomb goes off in your city? With Google’s Maps framework and a bit of Javascript, you can see the outcome. And it does not look good.

I just nuked Oklahoma City with a Mark 28; the one Slim Pickens rode in the famous scene from Dr. Strangelove. It felt soooooo good.

Not that I’d really wish a nuclear bomb to go off, of course. I’ve just always had a morbid fascination about this type of thing, being a kid of the Cold War era and all. Now it’s time to see what other size nukes would do to OKC, like Tsar Bomba…

It will be a light posting week here, but I wanted to wish everyone who celebrates getting presents a Merry Xmas! Or a Happy Festivus, since that’s today. If anyone has some tales of the Airing of Grievances or the Feats of Strength, please share! Oh, and to bring teh cute, here’s Baby Grrl getting really excited over presents and sitting on Santa’s lap.

Seems like anyone can set up and blog nowadays. In fact, even inanimate objects can, too. My Xbox has a blog! It just started yesterday:

The Lady Athena’s Xbox - Dec 18 2008

I love to game, you love to game, The Lady Athena loves to game, we all love to game! 2,515 points FTW!!! She opened up Left 4 Dead, and then… yeah… that was awesome…

I signed up after seeing Corwin’s post about it. I’ll let him explain the details:

The guys over at 360Voice have coded up a site that grabs the public information from your Xbox Live gamer card and uses it to generate a daily blog written by your console. It chronicles what games you play and whether you earn achievements and increase your gamer score. Apparently, if you go for a certain period without playing anything, it will start talking smack about you, too.

The amusement will come when my Xbox will start talking smack. I don’t get to play every day, sometimes only getting in a couple of hours in during the weekend, so I’m sure by next week there will be lots of bad things said about me. I wonder if I go a reeeeeealy long time without turning it on, will it get depressed and turn emo? That would be even funnier.

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, xbox, blog

Tons of people are feeling the crunch of the down turned economy, so it’s understandable that you can’t donate much, if any, cash to worthy charities. But if you’ve got a couple of hours or more time to spare, why not help out with a web project?

Reddit launched a pretty cool drive called FeedANeed, asking if you’re a “programmer, designer, artist, lawyer, geology professor, bacon cooker, or anyone else with a few hours to spend for a good cause” to register here.

And just knowing you helped will be good enough, but not all! Reddit has some cool sponsors who have donated schwag to give away:

[V]olunteers who do two or more volunteer hours by February 14, 2009. As of the publication of this article they are:

* reddit: Shirts, bobbleheads, and signed postcards
* Wired: Schwag!
* Ars Technica: Schwag!
* xkcd: Assorted xkcd gear—with autographs!
* Destructoid: Xbox 360, two of the latest games, Dtoid stickers, buttons, & new shirts
* EFF: Schwag!
* BaconFreak: Bacon goodness [perhaps the best prize of all]
* 236: Ad inventory on the site and possibly more…
* Foundry Communications: DVD Box sets

There is a list of nonprofits already signed up with needs, but if you have one in mind, there is a form to suggest one, also. Right now the list has many higher profile organizations, but I’ll bet there are some smaller or local ones who could benefit from someone volunteering their skills. If you know of any, send it their way!

Technorati tags: feedaneed, volunteer

I’ve blogged a few times about women in science fields, but another area where we are underrepresented is in the huge video game industry. I’m a video game geek, and have been for many, many years. To give an idea, my current games are Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, and Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode Two. However, as much as I love games, programming one just doesn’t appeal to me. And after reading this article, I’m kind of glad I don’t work in the industry:

They comprise fewer than 1 in 5 workers in the business, according to a 2007 survey by Game Developer Magazine. Among game programmers, the number is a paltry 3%.

Those who do land game-related jobs make less money on average than their male counterparts. Women at all levels of the field earned an average of $64,643 last year, while men earned $74,459, according to the survey.

That’s pretty sad, especially when you think that the Fair Pay act wasn’t passed this year, so the women can’t sue to get equal pay. Hopefully though, with the Democratic lead Congress and Obama in the White House, that can be changed in 2009. Ok, enough side track, let’s get back to the article…

Where the commonality between women in science and video game industries comes into play could stem from the same thing. Education when they are girls:

“It goes back to school, during those early years when you had that teacher who either encouraged you in math and science or didn’t,” said Gabrielle Toledano, executive vice president of human resources at EA. “It’s the same reason why the statistics on women enrolling in [college] computer science programs have been way down. So, by the time we go out and hire, the pool of candidates is already skewed.”

It makes sense. If you don’t have a huge number of women to choose from, then you won’t get a large number working there, either. But I think a large part of the problem is the number of hours the people put in. It’s way more than your normal 40 hour a week job, especially when the game is getting close to launch. And a game takes two or three years to develop, so you’re really pushing out women who want to have kids. It’s not like you can have the baby during lunch and head back into work, we need that time off, if nothing else just to let our body heal. To say nothing of the time needed to raise young kids, which women still seem to be the ones to do more than men.

But it’s not just feminists who are rallying the cry to get more women into the field. The companies themselves see women as helping their bottom line. For those who watched the keynote speeches at E3, most, if not all, of the heads of the large companies, like Nintendo and Sony, mentioned trying to expand their customer base:

Some executives believe that having more women developers increases the likelihood that more women will buy their products. A 2005 Michigan State University study found that girls rated games designed by all-female teams higher than those designed by all-male teams, although the respondents were unaware of the gender of the designers.

Which is pretty interesting. Want an example? Here’s Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA’s Maxis Studio to give you one:

“Some of the human qualities of The Sims didn’t come out until women started working on it,” Bradshaw said. “It wasn’t until we added kids and relationships that things changed. It became more about these little human beings, these ‘Sims,’ rather than just the objects in their lives.”

What video game publisher wouldn’t want to have a success like The Sims?

It’s not all gloom and doom though. Game designer Brenda Brathwaite has worked in the video game industry for more than 25 years, and now she’s a professor at Savannah College of Art and Design. She encourages her female students to get into game design, and says the industry is welcoming of women. However I think Patricia Vance, president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Erin Hoffman, and independent game designer, have the right ideas:

“The reality is that there are tremendous opportunities for women in the game industry today,” says Vance. “I think it’s just a matter of time until young women in college interested in pursuing careers in media and entertainment consider the games industry to be as exciting and attractive as TV, film, and music.”

To lure more women to its ranks, the gaming industry doesn’t need to bend over backward, says Hoffman. “For one thing, when they do that, they usually get it wrong,” she says. “But diversity is always an issue — not just in gender but in ethnicity, age, and creed. When we limit diversity, we limit the potential of our ideas.”

Which is very true. We need not only women, but a cut section of different people from all over. As much as I love playing the games I do, it would be awesome to see more variety out there. Something new and different than your next cookie cutter platformer or FPS. Like Katamari Damacy, as an example!

Technorati tags: women in video games, feminism

In 1941, FDR declared every December 15th to be Bill of Rights Day. We’ve had 8 years of slowly eroding our rights, like the 4th Amendment thanks to the warrentless wiretapping and the PATRIOT Act. (And was I the only one who cringed when I read the announcement from Bush about it? I mean…seriously, it’s like the Emperor in Star Wars declaring today to be Rebel Celebration Day.) We need to get our freedoms back!

So start it out by re-familiarizing yourself with all 10 Amendments so when you see yours or someone else’s rights being violated you can speak up!

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Technorati tags: bill of rights

All of us have, at one point, been trapped in a car or at a party where a song, artist, or genre is played that we can’t stand. Often it’s at a volume that we’re uncomfortable with, and as a result we get restless, a headache, or at the very least, very annoyed. Now imagine you are being held prisoner in a foreign land, handcuffed with a bag over your head, and the music is being played 24 hours a day, for more than two weeks, to keep you awake and make you break mentally. It may not be the most publicized form of torture, but it is a common practice, and has been for decades.

Some of the artists whose songs have been used in this psychological torture, along with the legal charity Reprieve who represents some of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners, launched the Zero dB project.

Zero dB aims to stop torture music by encouraging widespread condemnation of the practice and by calling on governments and the UN to uphold and enforce the Convention Against Torture and other relevant treaties.

…

The UN and the European Court of Human Rights have banned the use of loud music in interrogations, but it is still being widely used. Prisoners describe the experience as harder to bear even than physical torture.

Not surprisingly, Rage Against The Machine, whose song “Killing In The Name Of” has been used in torture, have come out strongly against the practice:

“I suggest they level Guantanamo Bay,” began RATM’s guitarist Tom Morello during a concert in San Francisco earlier this year, “but they keep one small cell and they put Bush in there … and they blast some Rage Against the Machine.” It’s not the first time Morello and his group have acknowledged their distaste for the Bush administration and the war on terror. Since Rage Against the Machine’s reunion in 2007, the band have taken to the stage dressed in the infamous bright orange jumpsuits and black hoods associated with Guantanamo bay prisoners.

My hope is that now Obama has said he plans to close Guantanamo, this will become an issue that will also get some attention. Torture isn’t OK. Ever. No matter if it’s physical or psychological. But also getting the UN to outright ban using music as torture could be a start.

Technorati tags: music as torture, zero db

Jean Warner, chair of the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, has a pretty awesome blog over at Oklahoma Women’s Network Blog. So awesome she won Peace Arena’s Netroots Award! Specifically, The Buffalo Stampede Award - for best blog with a cause. She posts about many different issues that affect women and girls in Oklahoma, focusing on how celebrate, inform, and empower them. From the OWC website:

Our goal is to advance bills benefiting women and girls that can win support from members of the Oklahoma Legislature on both sides of the isle. We are currently focusing on issues that impact women and girls in Oklahoma in the areas of aging, education, health, incarceration, and violence against women.

Which is really great, since Oklahoma does rank pretty low in the nation with regards to many of those issues. It’s great to see people working to better the women and girls in this state. You do that, and it will benefit everyone. That’s what feminism is all about.

I do disagree with her though. Specifically with regards to their stance on what she explains here:

I am getting lots of questions on this topic so let’s just get this on the record.

The Oklahoma Women’s Coalition - by design - is a bipartisan coalition. We strive for a board of directors that is 50% Republican and 50% Democrat. Our goal is to support bills that benefit women and girls and that can win support from members of the Oklahoma Legislature on both sides of the isle.

Therefore, it is not our plan to take a position on “wedge” or “third rail” issues that divide such as sex education and abortion. At present we intend to address issues that impact women and girls in Oklahoma in the areas of aging, education, health, incarceration, and violence. These issues - as they affect women and girls - are not getting sufficient attention in Oklahoma which helps to explain why Oklahoma ranks near the bottom on many “women’s status” social and economic indicators. We hope to change that.

I understand why they take that position, even if I don’t agree. You don’t want to either alienate or have people dismiss your whole cause because they disagree with you on one issue; even if everything else is a no brainer, like domestic violence. I think everyone can agree that’s bad and needs to be stopped.

But here’s my thoughts.

Sex education, abortion, and other “wedge” issues are all intertwined with the other issues like violence, poverty, and incarceration. By educating young girls on contraception and risky behaviors like anal sex, we protect their health, and give them power to control when, or if, they become pregnant. That can keep them out of poverty, or even out from under the control of an abusive partner. Many women don’t leave from an abusive environment because of those two factors. Granted it’s not as simple as that, but each little bit of information helps.

Even groups who have been vocal opponents of abortion are starting to work to bring programs and change that pro-choice groups have been trying to do for years.

Some of the activists are actually working with abortion rights advocates to push for legislation in Congress that would provide pregnant women with health care, child care and money for education — services that could encourage them to continue their pregnancies.

The quote that I think everyone should take to heart comes from a pastor. I don’t agree with his anti-abortion views, but he makes a good point about working together:

“There’s got to be a way we can take some of these hot-button issues and cooperate, rather than simply keep fighting and becoming gridlocked in this hostility of the culture wars.”

I think that if the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition could use this approach and have a common goal that both sides could agree on is worthy, like reducing the number of teen pregnancies, then working on some of those wedge issues could be possible. Not to the extent that it becomes their primary focus, but to avoid the issues because they can be divisive isn’t the ideal solution either.

In any case, I hope they can help bring Oklahoma up from the bottom rankings with regards to women. We can do better, Oklahoma.

Technorati tags: oklahoma, women, feminism