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You are here: Home / Popular Culture / Gamer Dork / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Once You’ve Lost Bioshock Designers…

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Once You’ve Lost Bioshock Designers…

by Anne Laurie|  April 3, 20138:53 pm| 119 Comments

This post is in: Gamer Dork, Open Threads, Nobody could have predicted

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Roy Edroso at Alicublog shares the latest wingnut outrage over the Creative Classes’ treachery:

How’s the left oppressing patriots today? With video games! Here’s an NPR story:

Back in 2007, in the first installment of BioShock, Levine created a world based on Ayn Rand’s individualist philosophy and let it play out. This time, Levine has turned a game into an Aristotelian tragedy and used the model of great tragic heroes.

I couldn’t give a shit about video games, but apparently at some point the Bad Guys in this one are revealed to be racists, which prompts this arrgh-blaargh from The Virginian:

NPR broadcast an article today about a developer of a violent video game in which the bad guys were Christians who revered the Constitution and were blatant racists. Of course with a theme like that it’s obviously comparable to one of the great tragedies of literature…

To NPR this is just like Hamlet or Oedipus. This is an NPR employee’s dream of all that’s wrong with America; America’s founders, the religious heritage, and,of course the racism of everyone who’s not part of the NPR family.

Like I said, I don’t care about gaming and the NPR story doesn’t mention it, but are the Founding Fathers really in BioShock Infinite? Because that would great to use in history classes. It speaks to the kids!…

Apart from mocking the clueless (“Same thing we do every day, Pinky!”), what’s on the agenda for the evening?

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Reader Interactions

119Comments

  1. 1.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    April 3, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    I am banging my head on my desk because I live in NC

  2. 2.

    scav

    April 3, 2013 at 9:02 pm

    Anticipating fallout (I’m dull). Identities of the rich who hide cash offshore

    The leak of 2m emails and other documents, mainly from the offshore haven of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), has the potential to cause a seismic shock worldwide to the booming offshore trade, with a former chief economist at McKinsey estimating that wealthy individuals may have as much as $32tn (£21tn) stashed in overseas havens.

  3. 3.

    Jackmac

    April 3, 2013 at 9:02 pm

    Wingnut comedy tonight. Priceless.

  4. 4.

    Anoniminous

    April 3, 2013 at 9:07 pm

    The horrible oppression of white Christian males is the continuing, untold, story of America.

  5. 5.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 3, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    @Anoniminous:

    The horrible oppression of white Christian males is the continuing, untold, story of America.

    It is so pervasive that I don’t even notice it.

  6. 6.

    askew

    April 3, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    So GLAAD is giving Bill Clinton an Advocate for Change award. This is the same guy who signed DOMA, implemented DADT and did zero to improve the lives of LGBT as president. Whereas Obama repealed DADT, submitted briefs to SC that DOMA is unconstitutional, along with tons of other legislation/executive orders/admin policies that support LGBT. Yet, Obama gets no recognition from GLAAD. GLAAD can go fuck themselves.

  7. 7.

    Craigo

    April 3, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    I finished the game yesterday – and while the American exceptionalism theme is present, it takes a definite backseat to another, more science fictiony aspect of the story.

  8. 8.

    Steeplejack

    April 3, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    (Belated) DVR Alert

    Spies of Warsaw just started on BBC America at 9:00 p.m. EDT. It’s a miniseries based on one of Alan Furst’s atmospheric spy novels, starring David Tennant (of Doctor Who fame). Should be pretty good. Running again at midnight EDT (9:00 p.m. PDT).

  9. 9.

    Yutsano

    April 3, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    @askew: Meh. GLAAD likes to jump the shark like this every now and again. I think there’s some internal policy about awarding seated politicans or something.

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    April 3, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Ha! Win.

  11. 11.

    JoyfulA

    April 3, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    @scav: Now there’s something to look forward to!

  12. 12.

    Schlemizel

    April 3, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    As a white guy who can pass for Christian and earns more than the average all I can think of is:
    HELP! HELP! I’M BEING REPRESSED!
    Come and see the violence inherent in the system!

  13. 13.

    Comrade Mary

    April 3, 2013 at 9:18 pm

    Video two-fer:

    American Psycho with Huey Lewis and Weird Al (Funny or Die)

    Jim Morrison: Fat is Beautiful (real JM audio from 1969, delightful hand-drawn animation)

  14. 14.

    MikeJ

    April 3, 2013 at 9:19 pm

    @askew:

    implemented DADT and did zero to improve the lives of LGBT as president.

    Those two things are contradictory. DADT was actually a huge step forward. Do you know what the policy was before that? We’ll ask whatever the fuck we want and you damn well better tell us.

    Clinton tried for more, and congress passed the “compromise” DADT that was still better than the status quo, and moved the discussion into the mainstream.

  15. 15.

    Keith G

    April 3, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    Wow, that dude hates totebaggers almost as much as Doug does.

  16. 16.

    TR

    April 3, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    Well, surely the invisible hand of the free market will correct all this. If th game is wrong headed, consumers will simply refuse to buy it, right?

  17. 17.

    askew

    April 3, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Nah, it has more to do with giving the Clintons credit for Obama’s accomplishments. Media and progressive groups have been doing it for awhile now. Pretty sick of the way Obama’s being treated on one hand and then told to suck it up and support Hillary 2016 on the other hand.

    If Bill Clinton had any shame, he’s turn down that award as he didn’t do anything to advance gay rights while in office. But, he’s white and that is what matters to many progressives.

  18. 18.

    Anoniminous

    April 3, 2013 at 9:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I don’t even notice it.

    That’s because it’s so pervasive. From the day Africans crowded aboard those ships, forcing the captain and crew to sail them to Virginia; then foisting themselves on white plantation owners; lazying around all day eating T-Bones and driving around in their 4 horsepower Cadillac coaches.

    WAKE UP SHEEPLE!

  19. 19.

    Keith G

    April 3, 2013 at 9:24 pm

    @askew:

    GLAAD can go fuck themselves

    Let me recommend a video for you.

  20. 20.

    Yutsano

    April 3, 2013 at 9:26 pm

    John Thune continues his long slow seduction of BoBo. I wonder how Harvard’s new perfesser of humility will take this.

  21. 21.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    April 3, 2013 at 9:29 pm

    @Yutsano: Can one jump the shark more than once?

  22. 22.

    Keith G

    April 3, 2013 at 9:29 pm

    @askew: Awards like these are usually tied to fund raising events where thousands pay $$$$ to smooze and get a pic.

    It could be that Obama could/would not do the meet-and-greet event so they went with the next name sure to make it rain.

  23. 23.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    My agenda tonight includes heaving a big sigh of relief – Lucy was sprung from the shelter today.

  24. 24.

    pharniel

    April 3, 2013 at 9:41 pm

    So I’m playing the Vidja game in the OP and the wife is just staring agape at some of the blatant racism in the audio logs and I’m just laughing….because they’re just so close to current wingnut talking points.

    I mean…the Prophet has a bit about “What did Lincoln free the slaves from? Wealthy patrons who gave them food, shelter and a purpose?” which is pretty much exactly what was said around CPAC.

    Then there’s the Gilded age 1%er and his “I’d like to let you work less but that would just be immoral!”

    It’s a fairly accurate skewering of Christian Right/Southern Rebel’s fetishism mixed with Gilded Age Robber Barron Calvinist moralizing.

    That it happens to be near enough to quotes from prominent GOP functionaries and religious right nutjobs of the day isn’t the game designers problem.

  25. 25.

    Mandalay

    April 3, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    A web site named Deserted Places has pictures of an abandoned Bible theme park in Connecticut. It’s a pretty awesome web site all round, if a little depressing, with pictures of abandoned places from all over the world.

    And if you’re still in a good mood after that, detroiturbex has a ton of pictures on what Detroit looks like.

    This series of photos of abandoned swimming pools is cool too, but also depressing.

  26. 26.

    replicnt6

    April 3, 2013 at 9:44 pm

    I’m sure Bioshock Infinite’s unpopular political ideology will be punished by the market. Much as the market rewarded the Atlas Shrugged movies. Ahem…

    Oh, the stupid, it burns like the Devil’s Kiss Vigor.

  27. 27.

    Del

    April 3, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    @pharniel: That it happens to be near enough to quotes from prominent GOP functionaries and religious right nutjobs of the day isn’t the game designers problem.

    Hell, I’d go so far as to say they were probably quote mining the hell of those guys for source material.

  28. 28.

    JPL

    April 3, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    @Jebediah: Oh that is great news and I hope that her new home works out okay.

  29. 29.

    Keith G

    April 3, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    @Mandalay: There is a site devoted to abandoned shopping malls. Creepy and sad.

  30. 30.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    @Steeplejack: Thanks Steeplejack!

    I’ve been ready to fall into total depression tonight from reading news (54 killed, 90 wounded in AFG) and watching Rachel (re: tar sand spills in the Kalamazoo) – sometimes it’s just all too much.

    I think I might have to disconnect from the news media. For my own mental health.

  31. 31.

    askew

    April 3, 2013 at 9:49 pm

    @Keith G:

    But, Bill has done zero in his career to advance LGBT rights. It’s offensive to see them shower him with praise while they have treated Obama like gum on the bottom of their shoe.

  32. 32.

    Frankensteinbeck

    April 3, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    @Del:
    They didn’t have to. There was no shortage to quote mine back in 1912.

  33. 33.

    raven

    April 3, 2013 at 9:51 pm

    Watched Crossfire Hurricane. Reminded me of when my brother went to see the Stones in the 80’s. He went because he wanted to see Guns and Roses. Called me later and said, “Jesus Christ, those guys made G&R look like little fucking kids”. Fuckin A.

  34. 34.

    PeakVT

    April 3, 2013 at 9:55 pm

    @scav: Bless that leaker.

  35. 35.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 3, 2013 at 10:01 pm

    @Jebediah: Great news!! Thanks.

  36. 36.

    RubberCrutch

    April 3, 2013 at 10:01 pm

    Wait, I heard that Bioshock Infinite story in NPR Monday afternoon and assumed that it was an April Fool’s story. I know nothing about gaming, but it couldn’t possibly have been a legitimate story. Too droll or too boring by a half, depending on whether the story was real or fake.

  37. 37.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    @Comrade Mary: Also, Comrade Mary, loved the Jim Morrison clip + animation.

    “I felt like a tank – a large beast – a mammal!”

    Put a smile on my face and I get happy :)

  38. 38.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 3, 2013 at 10:04 pm

    Saw Low last night at the Troubador in Hollywood. Great show. Was worth the drive.

    Also, we will have a new addition to the family in the fall–a daughter. We to the doc yesterday and mom and little sister are doing great.

  39. 39.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:05 pm

    @JPL:

    Oh that is great news and I hope that her new home works out okay.

    It is good news, but not the end of the story… she isn’t adopted. A foster has stepped up but he can’t afford her medical expenses. So she is out of the kill shelter, but will still need to depend on the kindness of strangers for a bit longer between now and finding a forever home.

  40. 40.

    danielx

    April 3, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    Contemplating whether the legislature in my fair state or North Carolina is worse. So far this legislative season our local Republican solons have proposed legislation…
    – requiring not one but two tranvaginal ultrasounds for women seeking abortions,
    – subjecting whistleblowers who shoot video at factory farms to criminal penalties,
    – increasing penalities for simple possession of da chronic.

    They haven’t yet proposed nullification of federal laws they don’t like, but hey, we’re only six weeks into the legislative session so the season is young. We too may yet achieve the blessings enjoyed by the enlightened voters of the Tarheel State.

  41. 41.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    @ranchandsyrup:
    congratulations!

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    April 3, 2013 at 10:13 pm

    @Jebediah: Great news! I sent an email to Patti, because her latest message wasn’t real clear — I guess Lucy is/will be going home with Hal, once she’s out of the hospital?

    Once I know she’s made it through surgery & is safe in her foster home, I’ll do an update post. By then, I’m hoping we’ll also have an idea if she’ll need more funds immediately (and that I’ll have a PayPal address to send those funds to)…

  43. 43.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 10:14 pm

    @ranchandsyrup: Congrats! – Little girls are fun.

    Oooh, I hope that didn’t sound creepy. My only kid was a girl, and being a girl myself I kinda understand them. Currently have 3 (grand)boys and all the pe.nis’s and butts and fart jokes leave me a bit confuzzled at times.

  44. 44.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 10:16 pm

    @Jebediah: gads, watch out for the clayton troll.

  45. 45.

    jenn

    April 3, 2013 at 10:19 pm

    @Jebediah: Yahooooooooo! I’m so glad to hear it! Here’s to a happily ever after.

  46. 46.

    Yutsano

    April 3, 2013 at 10:19 pm

    @Jebediah: YAY!! LUCKY PUPPEH!! :D

  47. 47.

    lurker dean

    April 3, 2013 at 10:20 pm

    @Jebediah: Great news!

  48. 48.

    Mike E

    April 3, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I understand the expanded Medicaid covers that…oh, wait. Sorry.

  49. 49.

    jenn

    April 3, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    @Anne Laurie: Thanks!

  50. 50.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    I think that is the deal – quarantine and surgery first, then she will go home with Hal. I have the impression that we will know much more about her general condition, and thus what her medical needs/expenses will be, after her surgery. I think Hal is a bit nervous about medical expenses because he isn’t in a position to cover them, but I am optimistic that enough can be raised.
    Of course, I am also hoping to be submitting some pics ASAP!

  51. 51.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    @dance around in your bones:
    Yeah, I saw that cat thread…

  52. 52.

    Yutsano

    April 3, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    @Jebediah: That cat thread got absurd. But I would be a liar if I said I didn’t laugh at the absurdity of clayton. Oi that one needs some kind of help.

  53. 53.

    dexwood

    April 3, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: You have my sympathy. Yet, one of the absolute best 9 days of my life was spent in NC. Everyone I met could tell a story or show you something special -a rooster, a diner, or a compound of 1950s turquoise and blue mobile homes filled with antiques.

  54. 54.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    @Jebediah: We are all going to pledge to not reply to that *person* tonight. eta: all of us in the clique, that is ;)

    Well, at least I will. Feel kinda guilty for piling on last night.

  55. 55.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 3, 2013 at 10:29 pm

    @Yutsano: I don’t know about you, but I am still deeply concerned about the 2013 Balloon Juice embezzle —-
    sorry, HA HA HA HA HA! I can’t finish that.

  56. 56.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    @Yutsano:
    It’s weird sometimes to see someone’s issues play out in the medium of comment-thread.

  57. 57.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    @dance around in your bones:
    I think that sounds like a good plan!

  58. 58.

    Yutsano

    April 3, 2013 at 10:32 pm

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: I hope he wrote an e-mail to JC. In all caps with a very stern subject line so he’d be certain to open it. You know how much he LOVES those! Of course he thought JC was in on the whole grift. Some people’s children I swear.

    @Jebediah: For some people on this blog that happens just about every time they comment. I shan’t name names for fear of the Betelgeuse effect, but I’m certain you can put two and two together.

    Oh and the jobs I applied for close Friday. So I should be hearing some news about them next week.

  59. 59.

    David Koch

    April 3, 2013 at 10:34 pm

    BREAKING NEWS: Leno fired after 24 years at Tonight Show

  60. 60.

    Bubblegum Tate

    April 3, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Did the wingnuts freak out about the original BioShock? Because, you know…Randian dystopia and all that.

    And as soon as I read about BioShock Infinite (I used to work in the gaming industry and still have some friends in the biz, so I keep up on it a bit), I knew it would piss the wingnuts off. Obvious allusions to the teabaggers and OWS? Use of historical figures with something other than absolute unthinking reverence? Oh yeah, they’re gonna be pissed.

    And now they’re pissing themselves. I love it.

  61. 61.

    Suffern ACE

    April 3, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    @David Koch: Ugh. It feels like just yesterday that Johnny Carson signed off for good. I hope that 24 years include the time he was the regular guest host, or I’m going to go walker shopping tomorrow.

  62. 62.

    JPL

    April 3, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    @David Koch: Yup and sometime in the spring of 2014, you won’t have Jay Leno to kick around anymore

  63. 63.

    Scamp Dog

    April 3, 2013 at 10:42 pm

    @Jebediah: As I recall, people had pledged $450, in what turned out to be a short thread. Be sure to post the info, and I’ll kick in a bit myself.

  64. 64.

    Mike in NC

    April 3, 2013 at 10:46 pm

    @danielx: Nullification is definitely on the menu for these scumbags.

  65. 65.

    Jebediah

    April 3, 2013 at 10:49 pm

    @Scamp Dog:
    Thank you!

  66. 66.

    Mike in NC

    April 3, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    @David Koch: Leno and Letterman are both rich Republican assholes, unless you’ve been asleep for the past 20 years.

  67. 67.

    David Koch

    April 3, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    Feel bad for Jay. You’re number one in a heavily competitive niche and you still get canned because of you’re not young.

  68. 68.

    dopealope

    April 3, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    I just finished Bioshock Infinite on Sunday, and I can certainly see all the wingers getting in a twist over it. On the other hand, it is not exactly complementary about the working class (“the vox populi”) either, but I don’t expect we’ll hear the same faux outrage from the more liberal elements. I wonder why …

  69. 69.

    joel hanes

    April 3, 2013 at 10:55 pm

    @ranchandsyrup:

    Maximum congratulations.

    May she bring you every joy.

  70. 70.

    David Koch

    April 3, 2013 at 10:56 pm

    @Mike in NC: you must have been asleep. Letterman hates the GOP. Leno publicly supported the auto rescue, ACA, and endorsed Obummer.

  71. 71.

    joel hanes

    April 3, 2013 at 10:59 pm

    @David Koch:

    I never found any reason to watch Leno.

    Carson was almost always worth watching.

  72. 72.

    Citizen Alan

    April 3, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    @Bubblegum Tate:

    Use of historical figures with something other than absolute unthinking reverence?

    That’s what’s so awesome. They DO treat historical figures with absolute unthinking reverence. The people of Columbia basically live in an idolatrous cult that thinks Washington, Jefferson and Franklin were divinely inspired agents of Providence and they are literally worshiped as such. (Lincoln, naturally, is “The Apostate” who destroyed America and turned it into Sodom.) Some of the most dangerous recurring antagonists are giant animatronic Washington statues that initially just spout propaganda but later start walking around with chain guns and giant wing-like flags sticking out of their backs. The whole game is a fairly vicious satire of jingoistic Tea Party ideals set against the Robber Baron era that so many of them want to go back to. I loved it.

  73. 73.

    Citizen Alan

    April 3, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    @dopealope:

    On the other hand, it is not exactly complementary about the working class (“the vox populi”) either,

    Not really the working class so much as the slave class, it seemed to me. Revolting slaves rarely acquit themselves well, not that they should be expected to.

  74. 74.

    Redshift

    April 3, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    @danielx: I heard they also are working to make it so that if you’re a college student who registers to vote at college, your parents can’t claim you as a dependent on your state taxes.

  75. 75.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 3, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    @joel hanes: There’s an American Masters episode from PBS about Carson that is definitely worth watching.

  76. 76.

    PsiFighter37

    April 3, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    Just got home from a Hapa concert. They are a Hawaiian music group that specializes in slack key guitar…the lead guitarist (Barry Flanagan) is phenomenally talented.

    They also have Miss Hawaii 2006 as their touring hula dancer. I’ve always thought Hawaii had the prettiest women…and she is no exception. Wow oh wow.

  77. 77.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 3, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    Thanks everyone!

  78. 78.

    Hill Dweller

    April 3, 2013 at 11:24 pm

    Jon Stewart just implied Jindal’s approval rating is sinking because he is too moderate for the GOP.

    In the real world, Jindal’s approval rating has dropped because of the school voucher debacle, his attempt to replace state income tax with a massive sales tax increase, and his attempt to end hospice care for medicaid patients. But don’t let facts get in the way of a shitty bit.

  79. 79.

    MikeJ

    April 3, 2013 at 11:26 pm

    @Hill Dweller: Jon Stewart thinks having people die in pain on the streets is a moderate position.

  80. 80.

    The Moar You Know

    April 3, 2013 at 11:31 pm

    @David Koch: 23 years overdue.

    Jay Leno has always sucked.

  81. 81.

    socraticsilence

    April 3, 2013 at 11:32 pm

    Considering the first game had a Randian community becoming a dystopian hellscape complete with human experimentation I’m not sure why they didn’t figure this out sooner.

  82. 82.

    SatanicPanic

    April 3, 2013 at 11:33 pm

    @ranchandsyrup: Rad!

  83. 83.

    Bubba Dave

    April 3, 2013 at 11:36 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    Does it make sense to have First National Bank of Balloon Grift Juice collect the funds in advance so they can be dispersed quickly when needed? I pledged $100 to the puppeh, and I for one would not weep if it turned out Lucy did not need all the funds raised but kitteh-to-be-named-later did.

    Basically, I’m proposing you create a slush fund where those of us with the means and inclination could chip in money and you could disperse it in case of pet emergencies when time is of the essence, or to help with named-pet blegs when the BJ community came up a touch short in directed donations.

  84. 84.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 3, 2013 at 11:37 pm

    In other video game news, Disney are are shutting down LucasArts as a game studio.

  85. 85.

    amk

    April 3, 2013 at 11:38 pm

    @Hill Dweller: jindal is too moderate ? of course, stewart would think that just because “bobby” called repubs stupid once.

  86. 86.

    Hill Dweller

    April 3, 2013 at 11:40 pm

    Colbert just destroyed the Morning Joke crew for slobbering all over Mark Sanford this morning.

  87. 87.

    Hill Dweller

    April 3, 2013 at 11:41 pm

    @amk:

    jindal is too moderate ? of course, stewart would think that just because “bobby” called repubs stupid once.

    That is the exact clip Stewart used to imply it was the reason for the drop in Jindal’s approval ratings.

  88. 88.

    clayton

    April 3, 2013 at 11:43 pm

    @Jebediah: Perhaps the not so needy family from last night’s thread could step up and give back.

  89. 89.

    Citizen Alan

    April 3, 2013 at 11:46 pm

    @socraticsilence:

    Considering the first game had a Randian community becoming a dystopian hellscape complete with human experimentation I’m not sure why they didn’t figure this out sooner.

    Yes, many people praised it for its realism.:)

  90. 90.

    dance around in your bones

    April 3, 2013 at 11:50 pm

    @Hill Dweller: I have no idea why anybody watches Morning Blow.

    I only get exposed to it through Colbert and sometimes this blog. Smug smarmy Scar – no esta interesante para mi. And his sidekick Brzezinski? Pathetic. I’d be embarrassed to be her. I hope her father is embarrassed, too.

  91. 91.

    Redshirt

    April 3, 2013 at 11:50 pm

    Yay, Clayton’s back!

  92. 92.

    PsiFighter37

    April 3, 2013 at 11:51 pm

    @Hill Dweller: I wonder how much he’s going to focus on the race now that it’s Sanford going against his sister.

    It would be sweet if we pick this one off, although I can’t say I’m terribly confident of holding it at regular election time come November 2014.

  93. 93.

    Hill Dweller

    April 4, 2013 at 12:00 am

    @PsiFighter37:

    I wonder how much he’s going to focus on the race now that it’s Sanford going against his sister.

    In tonight’s segment, Colbert said he hadn’t planned on talking about race, but after showing a clip of the Morning Joke crew embarrassingly slobbering over Sanford, he start hammering them. He accused Barnacle of blowing Sanford.

    As an aside, Piers Morgan criticized Obama for his vacations, despite the fact he took less vacation days in his first term than Bush, Clinton, Bush and Reagan. He abysmal show is circling the drain, and no amount of wingnut talking points will save it.

  94. 94.

    jenn

    April 4, 2013 at 12:01 am

    @Bubba Dave: I like this idea!

  95. 95.

    amk

    April 4, 2013 at 12:04 am

    @Hill Dweller: There you go. Got tired of his schtick long time ago.

  96. 96.

    Redshirt

    April 4, 2013 at 12:05 am

    @Hill Dweller: Piers Morgan is in danger of getting rung up in the UK. I think he’s hoping CNN/USA will save his ass.

  97. 97.

    David Koch

    April 4, 2013 at 12:10 am

    @Hill Dweller:

    Colbert just destroyed the Morning Joke crew for slobbering all over Mark Sanford this morning.

    saw the video of Mark Sanford’s young mistress — she’s hot– no wonder he left his wife.

  98. 98.

    LeftCoastTom

    April 4, 2013 at 12:10 am

    @askew: I think its fair to evaluate politicians based on what they do while they’re in a position to act, which means Clinton is the person who signed DOMA and enacted “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. If he wants to advocate cleaning that up then fine, but its not clear to me how the actual actions would be award-worthy. Of course, I have the same reaction to libertopians going on about Bob Barr (Kook-GA) opposing DOMA – who cares, he was one of the main sponsors when it mattered.

  99. 99.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 4, 2013 at 12:11 am

    @Redshirt: Since he’s a British citizen, the US will have no problem with shipping his ass back to London. Perhaps he should see if Rumpole of the Bailey is still active.

  100. 100.

    Redshirt

    April 4, 2013 at 12:13 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: Wolf Blitzer won’t allow it.

  101. 101.

    Jebediah

    April 4, 2013 at 12:14 am

    @jenn:
    I do, too.

  102. 102.

    Anya

    April 4, 2013 at 12:16 am

    @Hill Dweller: There is no one wingnutier than Jindal. Isn’t he the guy who’s approved a voucher program where parents can enrol their kids into crazy Christian schools that teach creationism in the science classes? I think Jon Steward relies on cable news for the definition of who’s “moderate.” Basically it means anyone who doesn’t say openly racist shit, and doesn’t call for all the muslims, gays and mexicans to be electrocuted.

  103. 103.

    Anne Laurie

    April 4, 2013 at 12:18 am

    Lucy update post upstairs!

  104. 104.

    dance around in your bones

    April 4, 2013 at 12:20 am

    Watching Spies of Warsaw now. Thanks Steep!

  105. 105.

    Redshirt

    April 4, 2013 at 12:23 am

    Wolf Blitzer is also a stone cold moran. Did anyone see his Jeopardy performance?

    In the form of a question, Wolf, what’s your last name?

    BLITZER!

  106. 106.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 4, 2013 at 12:25 am

    @Anya: every time he tries to talk about how the GOP should not be “stupid”, a clip of his comments about volcano monitoring should be run.

    @Redshirt: Yeah, that was pretty funny.

  107. 107.

    askew

    April 4, 2013 at 12:26 am

    @LeftCoastTom:

    Yep, Bill had 8 years to forward gay rights and passed. Who cares what he thinks now?

  108. 108.

    Chris

    April 4, 2013 at 12:28 am

    @socraticsilence:

    I think attacking Ayn Rand isn’t the same thing as attacking the founding fathers. They like her and all, but “Objectivist” isn’t central to their sense of identity (too abstract and intellectual) like “American,” “Christian” and “white” are. This latest Bioshock game pushes a button in a way the previous one didn’t.

  109. 109.

    Chris

    April 4, 2013 at 12:51 am

    @Bubblegum Tate:

    I love it simply for the signal it gives that wingnuts are fair game. Pop culture both shapes and reflects the way society feels even (maybe especially) if it’s not very deep stuff. If video game users feel safe using libertarians and American Exceptionalists as objects of mockery and deconstruction, it says something about the ideologies’ standing in popular imagination.

  110. 110.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2013 at 1:12 am

    @Redshirt:

    Meh. The sequel is never as fun as the original.

  111. 111.

    Misterpuff

    April 4, 2013 at 3:30 am

    The Barbershop Quartet version of God Only Knows was worth the price of admission,

    and I heard the brass band play Girls Just Wanna Have Fun at Battleship Falls.

    I especially enjoyed how the blackbirds encrusted the Racist’s club with birdshit. The Robed Ones had no use for the Negro or the Irish…America at the turn of the century, but which century?

  112. 112.

    NonyNony

    April 4, 2013 at 8:47 am

    @Chris:

    If video game users feel safe using libertarians and American Exceptionalists as objects of mockery and deconstruction, it says something about the ideologies’ standing in popular imagination.

    Computer geeks seem to be far more susceptible to the libertarian virus than non computer geeks, for reasons that are actually pretty obvious when you think about it for a while (speaking as a computer geek who was infected with it at one point). And that means that the guys who developed Bioshock probably either dabbled with libertarianism at some point and outgrew it OR knew/know plenty of hard core libertarian types.

    I strongly suspect that the original Bioshock grew out of that culture organically, and is a response to the libertarian elements in the tech culture.

  113. 113.

    Cassidy

    April 4, 2013 at 8:55 am

    I haven’t played it, yet, but the reviews are convincing me to grab it. I’m always worried about getting sucked into a game. I played ME 3 times, but haven’t finished ME2 at all and am not even close to starting ME3. Same with the AC series. I haven’t played it since the first one and don’t want to pick it up. I tried to get into AkA, and have AkC, but I just don’t seem to have the time to devote to them. The best I get is some TD games on Black Ops. I’d like to get Bioshock Inifinite, even though I dind’t play the other two, but I don’t want to spend money on something I won’t finish.

  114. 114.

    lojasmo

    April 4, 2013 at 10:06 am

    @Bubba Dave:

    Basically, I’m proposing you create a slush fund where those of us with the means and inclination could chip in money and you could disperse it in case of pet emergencies when time is of the essence, or to help with named-pet blegs when the BJ community came up a touch short in directed donations.

    I think there kindasorta is one, based on the April 1 $19.99 yearly subscription prank. I have taken to donating $19.99 whenever a pet blg shows up, with a comment in the paypal comment field “for future pet bleg needs” or something like.

  115. 115.

    Li

    April 4, 2013 at 10:12 am

    I wrote a long and insightful reply about Bioshock, and BJ ate it. Sad.

  116. 116.

    Crza

    April 4, 2013 at 10:20 am

    @Cassidy: Bioshock Infinite is noticably shorter than the ME or AC games.

    I want to say it’s too ham-fisted with its “jingo-ism and racism is bad! :(” message, but then again I never got the impression that 1910s-era jingo-ism and racism was very subtle, so maybe that’s the only appropriate approach. All i know is that, so far, I’ve really enjoyed the game.

  117. 117.

    Sentient Puddle

    April 4, 2013 at 12:05 pm

    Glenn Beck’s site had an article critiquing the game. It was…surprisingly not terrible. Yeah, it could have gone down the same route as noted above, but it didn’t due to a combination of the writer actually having played past the first hour and a bit of cognitive dissonance (paraphrased: “The citizens of Columbia worship the founding fathers as deities, a mistake the Tea Party never made”).

    On the other hand, the writer somehow got it into his head that the first Bioshock was sympathetic toward Andrew Ryan. Which is a bit strange.

  118. 118.

    JustRuss

    April 4, 2013 at 3:44 pm

    @Sentient Puddle: I found Bioshock to be somewhat sympathetic to Ryan. Rapture’s demise was mostly due to Ryan’s rival, Fontaine, who controlled the plasmids. Ryan recognized ability over status, as he promoted a lowly but highly competent plumber to be his head engineer.

    But he could be an ass, as he charged for admission to Rapture’s park, and I believe he burned the forest he owned when the government tried to make it a preserve.

    I guess you could say he’s depicted as alittle sympathetic but highly flawed.

  119. 119.

    Objective Scrutator

    April 4, 2013 at 9:11 pm

    @ JustRuss: He also murdered Jasmine Jolene, approved of the Little Sister program, and kept the corpses of those who rebeled against him mounted outside of his office. I felt that the game was somewhat sympathetic towards him in regards to what happened to his son, but explicitly emphasized that he was an awful leader.

    I always thought that the game’s critique of Ryan was a critique of a libertarian utopia, but in a way that pointed out that a “libertarian utopia” is impossible. It did directly critique libertarian ideas, though, namely in the existence of plasmids and the drive to harvest ADAM.

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