There are so many good charities that need donations, it’s hard to decide which one to give to. Or give at all in this economy. However, there’s one charity I’ve given to for the past couple of years, and this year was no different. Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play Charity.

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

This year, we have continued expanding across the country and the globe. With almost 70 partner hospitals and more arriving every month, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child’s Play hospitals everywhere. Any items purchased through Amazon will be shipped directly to your hospital of choice, so please be sure to select their shipping address rather than your own.

When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

I made my purchase through Amazon yesterday, and the DVDs will be sent directly to Children’s Hospital here in OKC. It’s tax deductible!

If you either can’t make a purchase due to your budget, or you don’t do Amazon, Child’s Play also takes cash donations through PayPal. Even just a couple of bucks can add up if many people contribute.

I only wish I lived closer to Seattle so I could attend the Child’s Play Charity Dinner. There are tons of cool gaming items in their silent auction, with lots of cool people in attendance. One day I’ll make it to either the dinner, or even better, to PAX!

I’ve gotten used to bad commercials for video games. Especially when it comes to representing women who game. But the latest commercial for Uncharted 2 goes a step farther.

*sigh*

When I Googled for this commercial, the hits I did find thought this was hilarious. Some days it sucks being a female gamer.

Probably everyone who reads this has heard They Might Be Giants. They’ve been around for over 20 years now (I saw them the first time on their Flood tour back in 90 or 91), and have had many great songs. Lately though they’ve been putting out albums geared towards kids. Our house has been playing both Here Comes the ABCs and Here Comes the 123s DVDs, much to Baby Grrl’s delight. Their latest one is Here Comes Science and I think it’s their best one yet. Just check out some of the lyrics to the opening song “Science is Real”.

Science is real
From the Big Bang to DNA
Science is real
From evolution to the Milky Way
I like the stories
About angels, unicorns and elves
Now I like the stories
As much as anybody else
But when I’m seeking knowledge
Either simple or abstract
The facts are with science

…

A scientific theory
Isn’t just a hunch or guess
It’s more like a question
That’s been put through a lot of tests
And when a theory emerges
Consistent with the facts
The proof is with science
The truth is with science

Rock on guys!!!!

There are many more songs like this one, and they all have that catchy and geeky element that all their songs have. That’s why this album is as much for adults as it is for kids. (It’s at all the usual places like iTunes and Amazon.) Included is their classic “Why Does the Sun Shine?” and the follow-up “Why Does the Sun Really Shine?”. Those two songs are the perfect example of science in practice. The first song’s theory was proven invalid, so they revised it. Awesome.

Just like always, the two Johns have lots of stuff available to listen to for free at their site. They’re posting the videos for each of the songs so you can decide if you want to splurge for the CD/DVD combo. (Pssst, it’s worth it!) Plus you can subscribe to their free podcast! My only complaint is that they don’t have a stop scheduled for Oklahoma on their current tour.

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, they might be giants

The last Friday in July is a day when IT folks finally get the appreciation they deserve! Today is the 10th annual SysAdmin Day!

A sysadmin unpacked the server for this website from its box, installed an operating system, patched it for security, made sure the power and air conditioning was working in the server room, monitored it for stability, set up the software, and kept backups in case anything went wrong. All to serve this webpage.

A sysadmin installed the routers, laid the cables, configured the networks, set up the firewalls, and watched and guided the traffic for each hop of the network that runs over copper, fiber optic glass, and even the air itself to bring the Internet to your computer. All to make sure the webpage found its way from the server to your computer.

A sysadmin makes sure your network connection is safe, secure, open, and working. A sysadmin makes sure your computer is working in a healthy way on a healthy network. A sysadmin takes backups to guard against disaster both human and otherwise, holds the gates against security threats and crackers, and keeps the printers going no matter how many copies of the tax code someone from Accounting prints out.

A sysadmin worries about spam, viruses, spyware, but also power outages, fires and floods.

When the email server goes down at 2 AM on a Sunday, your sysadmin is paged, wakes up, and goes to work.

A sysadmin is a professional, who plans, worries, hacks, fixes, pushes, advocates, protects and creates good computer networks, to get you your data, to help you do work — to bring the potential of computing ever closer to reality.

So if you can read this, thank your sysadmin — and know he or she is only one of dozens or possibly hundreds whose work brings you the email from your aunt on the West Coast, the instant message from your son at college, the free phone call from the friend in Australia, and this webpage.

Show your appreciation

So for all of my fellow SysAdmins of varying occupations within the IT field, I present this certificate of appreciation. Especially to Corwin over at Last Exit to Babylon for all his help with server-webby stuff!

The test says:

Dear Wondrous SysAdmin,
I present to you this small printed token of appreciation in recognition of the fact that you could easily turn my e-mail address into a spam sewer if I didn’t. I pity the fool who doesn’t give you one of these today. I am not worthy. Please hurt someone else.

Go forth, Sysadmins! Treat yourself today! Or make someone else treat you!

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, sysadmin day

I’d like to ask EA what the fuck it was thinking with how they are promoting Dante’s Inferno. First they failed at a fake Christians-protesting-a-Hell-videogame at E3. Some Christian bloggers were upset that EA was exploiting Christianity and reinforcing stereotypes of the fanatical fundie religious nut for cheap publicity. It did garner publicity, but more because they faked the protest and how bad their judgment was. Personally I wasn’t impressed.

But for Comic-Con EA’s marketers sunk way low. The contest, called “Sin to Win” was supposed to represent the Second Circle of Hell, but instead comes off as horribly sexist.

In case you can’t see it, the rules are to “Commit acts of LUST. Take photos with us or any booth babe.” Then you send the photo to the Dante’s team and repeat! One winner will get “Dinner and a sinful night with TWO hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty”.

Gee, just what any straight girl (or gay guy) would want as a prize!

Leaving aside the encouragement to “commit acts of lust”, since that’s been covered at Ars rather well already… EA, why couldn’t you have just said the winner and two guests get a night on the town instead of offering up women (excuse me…TWO HOT GIRLS) as trophies?

EA issued a sort-of apology that clarifies their wording, but not for the contest itself:

We understand there’s a lot of debate right now around our “Sin to Win” promotion at Comic-Con and wanted to clarify a few things. We created this promotion as part of our marketing efforts around the circle of Lust (one of the nine sins/circles of Hell). Each month we will be focusing on a new Circle of Hell. This month is Lust. Costumed reps are a tradition at Comic-Con. In the spirit of both the Circle of Lust and Comic-Con, we are encouraging attendees to Tweet photos of themselves with any of the costumed reps at Comic-Con here, find us on Facebook or via e-mail. “Commit acts of lust” is simply a tongue-in-cheek way to say take pictures with costumed reps. Also, a “Night of Lust” means only that the winner will receive a chaperoned VIP night on the town with the Dante’s Inferno reps, all expenses paid, as well as other prizes.

We apologize for any confusion and offense that resulted from our choice of wording, and want to assure you that we take your concerns and sentiments seriously. We’ll continue to follow your comments and please let us know if you have any other thoughts or concerns. Keep watching as the event unfolds and we hope you’ll agree that it was all done in the spirit of the good natured fun of Comic-Con.

I understand the point that there is a theme to the contest. That part I find clever and interesting. But when you decide to encourage the objectification of women and carry out the contest in such a way in alienates gamers (just like when IGN had a Comic-Con contest for men only. After IGN was called on it at least they created one for women as well.) don’t be surprised when there is criticism.

For us feminist gamers, it’s really not surprising that the comments to the articles are saying we are overreacting, too sensitive, and that women aren’t going to play this game anyway, so why are we getting so upset.

*sigh*

And then the video game/comic/geek industry wonders why there aren’t as many women around.

(See also Girl’s Guide to Comic-Con)

Technorati tags: ea, sexism, misogyny, comic con, dante’s inferno

Oh, Marvel. First you don’t care about insulting and alienating readers by offering up “hot sexy fun”, but now you want to help us look stylish!

The article starts out innocently enough by plugging the costumes for sale in their online store. Since they only stick to four of their big named heroes that are tied into movies lately, it’s understandable that there aren’t any female costumes featured. But fear not ladies! They have some products just for us!

The consumer products team at Marvel is thinking big when it comes to females.

The entertainment company, best known for its library of comic book superheroes ranging from Spider-Man to Iron Man, is starting 2009 with a major push into the women’s apparel, cosmetics and accessories markets.

Thanks, Marvel. You really just see us as either entertainment for men or as a dollar sign, don’t you? In case you’re curious, like I was, what the hell were they thinking:

[W]hat is the messaging behind a Marvel branded line of make-up and how does it relate to the Marvel characters and stories?

“With a branded line of make-up from Marvel, girls will be able to feel as if they are going from ordinary to extraordinary just like the super hero characters in the stories, ” he explained. “There is also such a nostalgic undertone that either young or older girls are drawn towards because of the long history and brand behind the name Marvel.”

The lip glosses come in an assortment of yummy flavors and give the lips a shiny tint; just the right amount of color for summer. For less sheen, the lip balms are a great way to keep your lips perfectly pouty.

Can someone please tell me what super heroine used lip gloss to gain superpowers?

Between the condescending Girl’s Guide to Comic-Con and this latest fiasco out of Marvel, it’s no wonder females aren’t flocking to read comics. And those of us who are geeks are becoming more pissed off and vocal about the sexism and misogyny everywhere in geek culture.

To top it all off, I took a look at the online store plugged in the article. One could find costumes for plenty of male Marvel characters, but only one lone costume representing female characters. Spider-Girl. And she’s “Sassy”, with a short skirt and everything. Come on, they couldn’t even include Invisible Woman for fuck sake? They have the other three of the Fantastic Four costumes, but not her! Guess she wouldn’t be sexy enough.

Some days it sucks being a female geek.

Technorati tags: marvel, comics, sexism

Via io9, I found a photo gallery article about Comic Con. The title? “The Girls’ Guide to Comic Con 2009“. Yeah. It just get’s worse from there. And even though this article claims “we’ve got a pretty good idea of what eager girls can expect”, I really don’t think they do. Especially when they start off by saying:

Women will be rushing the stage, offering to do star Jake Gyllenhaal’s laundry on those washboard abs that he acquired for the film [Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time], since he spends much of it fighting, shirtless or both.

Wow, seriously? How very sexist and condescending to say. Because obviously all I’d want to do is offer to wash his clothes. That’s what chicks do when they see a hot guy, right? Their domestic instincts just take over! Harumph.

From there it just goes on describing different movie projects and the male stars attached to them. I guess the writers didn’t think “eager girls” would want to attend a comic convention for, oh I don’t know, COMICS. Here and there they would compare a movie to one that had a large female audience, like saying Time Traveler’s Wife has the “wonderful sappiness of The Notebook, but for the most part they don’t go into much detail about the movies themselves, except to say how “hot” the male actors are. Apparently I don’t go to see movies for the plot or story; I only go to see the hot guy. Unless of course it’s a movie with a lot of women, then it falls into The Notebook or soap opera territory.

Their comments on The Wolfman put me over the edge:

Vampire-lovers have it all wrong. Werewolves can keep you warm, sympathize with your monthly curse, sniff out where you lost your keys and not thirst for your sweet, sweet blood.

Monthly curse? Oh ha ha, let’s make a joke about menstruation! You see, women get all moody and turn crazy once a month, so it’s totally like turning into a wolf. AmIright or amIright? Harumph indeed.

I really can’t pick out even one summary that was good. Even when talking about the ABC series version of The Witches of Eastwick it goes from saying “female empowerment” to talking about how their wardrobes will give the Desperate Housewives a run for their money. Or when they talk about Dollhouse, it’s “girls who kick butt”, even though Echo is “sometimes a bit airheady”.

Really, LA Times, could you have avoided the misogyny? It’s bad enough you’re marginalizing female Comic Con attendees who don’t go just to ogle hot guys (to say nothing about those of them who aren’t heterosexual), but you’re also playing on the same old geek stereotypes. FAIL LA Times.

Technorati tags: la times, sexism, misogyny, comic con, geeks

I don’t know of any of my geek friends, or many geeks for that matter, who don’t think steampunk is cool. I’m a huge fan of steampunk mods, like the keyboard mod or anything on The Steampunk Workshop really, even though I don’t have that much creativity or ability to create something like that.

But even though my hands can’t craft or draw how my mind pictures how it should look, I’ve often thought about writing in a steampunk world. Or a science fiction world, but with some steampunk elements, like a spaceship with brass gears and gas lighting. Since I’ve had just a bit more time at work the past month or so, my mind has begun to form different worlds and possible plots. Even pondering inserting some steampunk elements into my H.P. Lovecraft inspired horror story I wrote during the 2005 NaNoWriMo. Although that would make it pretty specific in genre and probably have only a small number of people who would enjoy something that focused, but I digress…

What brought me to post was about how common steampunk is starting to become, like the steampunk angel shirt (which I own!) from Think Geek. Even io9 ran an article not too long ago about how steampunk is becoming big in the young adult book world, with a new anthology due out soon. And a small blurb in an article about some clothing and interactive props coming to the Avatar Marketplace on Xbox said that “Microsoft is…working with real clothing labels to design avatar outfits that fit fashion trends, such as steampunk…” I can’t wait to be able to put my avatar into some goggles, or sport a clockwork laser gun!

But while I think it’s cool that more people are getting into steampunk, I wasn’t too serious with my title after all, I can’t help but be a bit leery of what will come of it. Mark my words…it will only be a matter of time before we see kids wearing steampunk clothing and jewelry. That they bought at Hot Topic. *shudder*

Technorati tags: steampunk

I’ve posted before about great podiobook novelists like Mur Lafferty and Scott Sigler, and in doing so I’ve mentioned J.C. before, but I realized this morning that I never gave J.C. his own post! He’ll fit in perfectly with Full of Fun Fridays! So for the people who read my blog and don’t know about J.C., you’re missing out. All two of you.

I first became a fan of his back when the 7th Son trilogy was just wrapping up. It’s a great story that caught my interest with the opening line “The President of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy…” The plot combines science fiction, action, mystery…several different genres intertwined well to create a great character driven story; told through podcasts by J.C. himself.

7th Son chronicles the story of seven strangers who are assembled after the assassination of the U.S. president. They quickly discover they all appear to be the same man … with identical childhood memories.

Unwitting participants in a human cloning experiment, these “John Michael Smiths” have been gathered to catch the man who murdered the president. Their target? The man they were cloned from; the original John Michael Smith, code-named John Alpha.

The first book, Descent will be coming out in print later this year!

But before 7th Son comes out, there will be a very cool book released on June 9th.

Personal Effects: Dark Arts follows the extensive notes of art therapist Zach Taylor’s investigation into the life and madness of Martin Grace, an accused serial killer who claims to have foreseen, but not caused, his victims’ deaths.

Zach’s investigations start with interviews and art sessions, but then take him far from the hospital grounds — and often very far from the reality that we know. The items among Grace’s personal effects are the keys to understanding his haunted past, and finding the terrifying truth Grace hoped to keep buried…

* Call the phone numbers: You’ll get a character’s voicemail.
* Google the characters and institutions in the text: You’ll find real websites.
* Examine the art and other printed artifacts included inside the cover: If you pay attention, you’ll find more information than the characters themselves discover.

Personal Effects: Dark Art is the ultimate in voyeuristic storytelling, representing a revolutionary step forward in changing the way people interact with novels.

This will be very cool, and fits very well with J.C. He is very interactive with his fans; inviting them to submit fan art, stories, voicemail…which many people do! For PE, fans can become “patients” of the art therapist in the book by committing themselves to The Brink. He always comes up with some cool ways for fans to become involved.

What I like is that while the extra stuff you can do to enhance the story is very awesome, it’s not required to enjoy the book. Personally, I may not have time to spend looking online or calling a number to listen to a voicemail, so being able to read the book, but not miss any core story, is a plus for me. Although I probably will try to do the extras if I can!

Before the book launches, take a listen to the prequel, Personal Effects: Sword of Blood. I just finished the third podcast this morning, and I’m waiting to hear more. ORDER NOW!!!

There is much, much more to J.C. and his work, so please visit his site to find out more. Or listen to Elmocast 102 for an interview! Definitely follow him on Twitter, or any other social media like Facebook. He’s a cool guy, and a geek! You won’t be disappointed.

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, jc hutchins, 7th son, personal effects

Just in time for bikini season, Marvel is releasing TWO comic titles which feature an all woman heroine cast! But because we can’t have a female hero, super or otherwise, be something other than an object for teenage boy’s and men’s entertainment or a woman in a refrigerator, both titles are sexified up!

Via SeeBelow*, first up is Models, Inc.. Let’s let Marvel themselves tell us about it:

Fashion Week is always a hectic time for models, and this year is no exception. Between escaped wolves, robbery attempts, and overly friendly police officers, Mary Jane Watson, Patsy Walker, Jill Jerold, Chili Storm and Millicent (Millie the Model) Collins are testing the limits of their endurance. But when a brilliant young set designer is found murdered with three bullet holes in his back, and Millie proves to be the prime suspect, the models are forced to play detective in order to save one of their own!

Yeah. Just what I was looking for when I wanted a strong female character driven comic. Models who fight crime. Think the description is bad, just take a look at the cover, complete with the typical crap that goes with “women’s” magazines, like how to lose fat or articles about makeup.

As a female comic fan, those covers would not make me want to read them. And while I find them insulting, it’s the second comic that makes me stabby. Meet the Marvel Divas! Because nothing says superhero like “hot sexy fun”!

“The idea behind the series was to have some sudsy fun and lift the curtain a bit and take a peep at some of our most fabulous super heroines,” says Marvel’s Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, “In the series, they’re an unlikely foursome of friends–Black Cat, Hell Cat, Firestar, and Photon–with TWO things in common: They’re all leading double-lives and they’re all having romantic trouble. The pitch started as “Sex and the City” in the Marvel Universe, and there’s definitely that “naughty” element to it, but I also think the series is doing to a deeper place, asking question about what it means…truly means…to be a woman in an industry dominated by testosterone and guns. (And I mean both the super hero industry and the comic book industry.) But mostly it’s just a lot of hot fun.”

Who, exactly, is this for again? There’s the implication that we get to see them naked in the shower. The “naughty element” and “hot fun”. It doesn’t sound like a comic that is geared toward a largely female readership to me. Besides, I can’t imagine that if you wanted to get into what it truly means to be a woman in a male dominated industry you’d hear them talking about their romantic lives instead of talking about the sexism, discrimination, and frustrations actual women who do work in a male dominated industry deal with every day.

As if that alone wasn’t enough, Marvel’s editor in chief Joe Quesada had this to say about the criticisms:

If you’re [a] Marvel reader and truly feel we’re sexist, then why are you reading our books? Now, perhaps you’re not a Marvel reader, then if that’s the case, I’m not quite sure what you’re criticizing if you don’t read our books?

You get that? He doesn’t think they are sexist, otherwise why is he addressing the reader as thinking that way, and even if they are, he doesn’t care. Especially if you don’t read their books, then he doesn’t want to hear your opinion. He’ll do whatever it takes to make money, even if it means insulting and alienating readers. His idea of a strong woman and feminism is someone who can kick ass while looking sexy. Because it’s all about how a woman makes herself look for the pleasure of others, not what she accomplishes or even just what she wants for herself.

It’s crap like this that drives me to read good comics that can take issues, tell good stories, and often have beautiful artwork.

Technorati tags: marvel, comics, sexism