Just kidding, it really doesn't. Mostly just my abs. I don't have a whole lot to blog about right now, so I figured I'd write about my latest and greatest achievement: personal fitness. Waaaay back in May, my friend Heather invited [read: forced] us all to join a gym and workout everyday. This was in preparation for the Beach life when we all vacationed in Vancouver in August. Needless to say her plans of daily workouts soon gave way to the less-impressive when-we-felt-like it workouts.

Regardless, I hunkered down and committed full force to diet and exercise. It hasn't been a drastic change, but I'm pretty proud of myself for shedding about twenty-five pounds since May. The sad part is the need for new pants. I lucked out in the shirt department as I can now wear all the shirts I accidentally shrunk in the dryer. Ima call that one foresight!

Today I opened DIGG to find an article at gamecritics.com titled: “Are Game Developers Ethically Responsible for Gender Roles in Videogames”, by Mike Doolittle, waiting for me. In it he critiques an article by Alex Raymond titled: “Beyond Gender: Mass Effect's Varied Inclusiveness”. Having read both the articles by feminist gamer Alex Raymond and her critic Mike Doolittle, I want to respond to Doolittle's claims as well as offer my own reflections on gender in videogames.

I'll try to keep my response to the articles brief (as in, 'not university paper length') and so encourage you to read them on your own as I won't be summarizing. Having played through Mass Effect (and loving it, despite meandering pacing and bumpy gameplay) I feel like I have to agree in part with Raymond. The females presented in the game do propagate the same tired and ignorant views of women and femininity that feminist thinkers and activists have been working for the last two centuries to eradicate. However I don't find this fact especially damning of Bioware. The reason for this is tied with a remark that Doolittle makes:

Games are, of course, artistic reflections of our cultural ideologies, and it's worthwhile to consider how our culture is reflected for better or worse in the arts. But when Alex starts suggesting that games ought to portray women this way or that, that having an insectoid queen bearing lots of children is patriarchal, that there should be more ugly females, that there should be more homosexual and transgendered characters, it's going too far.

First of all, Doolittle commits a logical fallacy. He writes that videogames, being art, mirror the cultures from which the game springs. However, he goes on to claim that Raymond “[goes] too far” in her ideas that a game should contain more varied depictions of females, more LGTBQ avatars, and so forth – as if to suggest that varied types of gender, females and queer persons need not be present in the artistic portrayals that supposedly represent human culture - a culture which unarguably is comprised of the types of individuals Raymond describes (and more besides). The implication, regardless of intent on the author's behalf, is such that individuals who do not dovetail with the traditional – that is, stereotypical - ideas of gender and sex either do not warrant representation or do not deserve it. A dangerous statement , indeed.

Secondly, Doolittle identifies videogames as art, on par with painting, sculpture or literature. This identification is problematic as videogames are first and foremost a commodity. They exist as consumable media, produced in large part by corporate entities for the purpose (though not exclusively) of generating income. Videogames, by their very nature will not any time soon become art in the same way drawing or painting are because they need to make money; developers and publishers must recoup all costs incurred during the creation process. This necessitates that videogames be marketable, which correctly presupposes a market, a market incorrectly assumed to be predominantly male. Thus, as with all marketing aimed at the 18-49 year old male demographic, developers and publishers appeal to male sexuality in order to push copies of videogames, and what more powerful way to do so than to both oversexualize females and to avoid controversial (to the imagined audience) statements about gender. In short, the sexy, beautiful Asari will be more palatable to the male audience (perceived to be the most significant audience) and are thus emphasized, while more subversive models of femininity are de-emphasized either because they would harm sales or because their inclusion would needlessly increase development times and costs.

So what does this mean for Alex Raymond's ideas, considering how I mentioned I only partially agreed with her? In essence I feel the commercial nature of videogames absolves Bioware in part. Perhaps, they needn't shoulder the bulk of the blame. After all, Bioware needs to make a profit in order to maintain producing its games. At the same time though, the sexist imagery and themes serve only to reinforce a dangerous idea of feminine inferiority. Videogames have ridden the coattails of patriarchy and male heterosexual fantasy to their present mainstream existence. It is sad that such things had to happen in this fashion, but dwelling on the sins of the past is a useless exercise. Now that videogames are present in a significant proportion of global households, they are adequately positioned to be useful tools in dismantling a system of belief and ideology that has lead to the subjugation of women and homosexual/queer individuals globally. Make no mistake, this is not a call for EA to make gay games or to depict all female characters from here on out as asexual feminist superwomen. But it is a call for developers and publishers to realize the significant power they hold over their captive audiences. Exposure to ideas of gender equality (which one must never confuse with sexual equality) over time may very well help to ease certain social issues as what was once different and, if you'll forgive the term, alien, becomes natural and a non-issue.

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Before I finish this post, however, I do want to make one large criticism of Mike Doolittle's piece though, one which highlights the ignorance and chauvinism of the author. He writes:

Even if I fully agreed with Alex's opinions on the allegedly sexist representation of women in games, the greater issue is whether game developers have any ethical responsibility to portray these issues to Alex's (or anyone else's) liking in their works of fiction. Homosexuality, for example, represents roughly 5% of the population (exact statistics vary, but this will suffice as a ballpark). Does that mean that in any game where there is sexual choice, that 5% of the characters should be gay?

This idiotic and, sadly typical, abuse of statistics to rationalize the marginalization of homosexuals. No, of course it's absolutely ludicrous to think that developers ought to include statistically accurate representations of diversity. This highlights the sensationalistic and unintelligent rhetoric Doolittle uses. The implications of the author's statements are thus:

1. There is a proportion within a population after which they become statistically and thus representationally 'important'.

2. Because 'gays', represent a mere 5% of the population, they do not deserve due representation.

Frankly, I'm sick of uneducated and ignorant people leveraging the obvious minority status of the LGBTQ community as justification for their marginalization. The non-majority status of any individual is not grounds for intentional non-representation. And consider this: that tiny 5% fraction Doolittle appeals to represents well over 335 million people world wide. 2009 estimates put the population of the USA at just over 307 million. In all fairness, what right, then, do English speaking Americans have to be showing up on television and on my XBOX?

So, obviously, I never finished blogging about Sasquatch, even after I went to the trouble to make that fancy banner. Eventually I will finish off a recap. I haven't even uploaded my photos to facebook...which in retrospect is a sad benchmark.

So this is what I've been up to for the last little while:

Still going to the gym between 3-5 times a week. I've dropped 15 lbs so far, which is exciting considering my lazy adherence to my goal. My pants are no longer fitting and this is a good thing, aside from the fact I'm broke-ass and cannot afford new pants with our big Vancouver trip looming at the end of the month. Maybe I'll buy pants out there? Who am I kidding, I won't need pants where I'm going...

I've finished off the bulk of what I needed to accomplish this summer. One monster event planned and executed without a hitch to rave reviews. Go us. Now I can just work and save money. Except I am also in the process of redecorating our house. Is a damask feature wall too much?

Despite a tonne of books purchased and stories started I haven't completed any reading or writing yet. :( In my defense, however, I have been ridiculously busy.

I'm trying not to load my schedule up as much as the last couple months. I need time to actually relax this summer. The weekend before Vancouver there is a monster party going down in Edmonton. I'd really like to go, like, REALLY REALLY, but unless business picks up I won't be able to afford it, which breaks my tiny rockstar heart. Oh well, there's always September Long.

Not a whole lot else has been going on. Still loving my new roomie. It's a treat to have a sane and respectful person in my house.

Yeah, thats about all I got right now. A storm is going on outside and I am required by my own arbitrary edicts to listen to the soundtrack for Garden State everytime it rains. So I must go do that.

The idea of marriage as a romantic ideal is very recent in human evolution. As late as the 19th and 20th century (essentially the post-romantic age) marriage was a patriarchal economic contract that had, at its heart, only the interests of the fathers in mind. It served to secure dowry, land and property ownership and to protect the lineage of the groom's family line. Arranged marriages were once the norm. In many countries today they are still commonplace.

But, somewhere between the 1700's and 1900's the concept of marriage began to morph, becoming cemented as our present family-centric idealization post-WWII, with the rise of Golden-Age Americana. After the end of the second World War, restructuring efforts hinged upon families and from this the primacy of the mother-father-children bond was birthed. No one can argue the usefulness of such an organization. It did what it was intended to: boost the economy, replace dead soldiers and grow the populace, and gloss over the tragedies of 1939-1945 with a rose-coloured sheen.

This bears many striking similarities to the existence of polygamy in the early LDS church. As a system of organization, polygyny (plural wives) served the Church well for its brief existence. Due to persecution, numbers were dwindling in general, and men were more severely targeted; to say nothing of losses of men sustained during brave service in the military of a country that had openly enacted legislation encouraging the violent purging of the Saints. A family involving multiple women allowed families (and thus Church members) to multiply at a blinding pace.

In time, however, the institution of plural marriage was, according to official documents, rescinded as a command from Heavenly Father. A second, tacit, reason was the rising pressure and violence against LDS families motivated by a fear and misunderstanding of polygamy. Opponents of polygamy saw it as unnatural, unamerican and essentially profane. This view failed to make concession to LDS members who truly believed, loved, and followed their prophets; and who honestly felt that participating in polygyny was a command of a loving God.

The use of the term 'traditional marriage' in prop-8 rhetoric is entirely uninformed. To appeal to traditional marriage, one must encourage legislation that removes the agency of the woman, requires dowry payments and emphasizes the economic impact to both families, NOT the romantic or family-centric artifices many politicians and protesters cling so desperately to. In effect, the 'traditional marriage' as it is being used in American courts does not, and has not ever, existed.

As a society, as a global human culture, our norms and institutions are in constant flux. Holding to something because 'it has always been done this way', is an ignorant and dangerous view. Opposition to marriage equality is a constitutionally protected right, (and justly so); organizations may behave and protest and lobby as they wish. However, at the risk of double-standards, it behooves them to understand their own history and to avoid perpetuating the violence of their once-oppressors.

There is no glory in the bullied who grows up to be the bully.

Hollywood makes some pretty big reaches in their attempt to suspend our disbelief. They ask us to believe that Camaro's transform into intelligent death-machines, that super-powered mutants walk among us, that the Caribbean used to be full of magical pirate, or that Ben Stiller actually isn't just awful. And you know, I was okay with all that.

But when I went to see 'Angels and Demons' this weekend, they pushed me too far.

I'm okay with the overly elaborate (some would say retardedly complex) plan to destroy the Vatican. I can handle believing that for once the Catholic church isn't the insane evil mastermind busy tenting its fingers and muttering under its breath. I'm even down with Prof. Langdon's trip from the US to Rome taking a couple hours.

No, what they tried to pull on me was far worse than this.

They actually want me to believe that Dr. Langdon, an ivy-league professor with tenure (presumably) at a prestigious University did NOT bring grad-students to do all his dirty work.

If Dan Brown and the producers of 'A&D' wanted us to believe them, the movie would have consisted of Langdon sitting in the papal offices chomping on a cigar, reading the New Yorker and indulging in what really amounts to the biggest 'old-boys club' of them all, while four or five pale, over worked, sweaty palmed grad students with bad beards and worse social skills scoured the Vatican archives, caught the killers and still managed to squeek out a thesis.

Thumbs down, Mr. Brown. Thumbs down.

I've been playing around with different types of dips, food and sauces I can make an package and give away as gifts. I've looked into pesto's and curry sauces and other stuff, but the other day I decided to go with something a bit simpler in composition but more flexible in terms of uniqueness. So I settled on salsa. Salsa is ridiculously easy to make, and it`s pretty versatile as far as taking a basic recipe and tweaking it to make it your own. I started from a basic recipe and came up with this:

Tomato-Orange Salsa!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tomatoes
• 2-3 Large oranges
  
• 3 Jalapeno peppers
• 1 Red peppers
  
• 1 Yellow pepper
• 1 Red onion
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 1 Lime
• Cilantro - or - Parsley
• Red wine vinegar
• Olive oil
• Ground coriander, cumin, ginger, paprika
  
• Chili powder
• Salt & pepper

What you`ll need!

1. Chop your tomatoes. I like big chunky salsa so I kept my tomato pieces relatively large.
   
2. Cut the oranges. I started by quartering them with a chef`s knife then using my ridiculously sharp paring knife (Thanks Jenny and Denise!) to cut orange segments out of the peel. You`ll have to leave some orange on the peel to make sure no rind gets into the salsa. Also cut off the inner...I don`t know...seam? The white part at the opposite end where the seeds sometimes are. The membrane between individual segments is so thin I didn't worry about it, plus it helps keep the orange together, rather than letting it end up as a vaguely citrusy mush.
3. Chop up the rest of your produce. Dice it, julienne it, whatever, it's your game.
4. I used a garlic press for the garlic. It's tidier and the smaller bits let its mix with the rest of the salsa better.
5. Finely chop the parsley or cilantro. Side note, apparently it is impossible to find cilantro on my side of town. As if...
   
6. Add in your spices. About a tablespoon or less of each. Add more chili powder if you want a spicier salsa.
7. Add in the juice from the lime.
8. Add a splash of the oil, and then twice as much vinegar.
   
9. Mix well
10. Let it sit so all the flavours mix together and make a big bowl of awesome. Overnight is best!

Tada!

Close up: Hungry yet?

Chicken wrap with the Salsa

The salsa is pretty tasty and goes great with chips and wraps and chicken and what-have-you. Next time I want to up the orange level and use orange juice, one less tomato and one more orange. I'd also consider adding sesame seeds and sesame oil, as well as cashews, to give the salsa a more Asian-inspired flare.

Mea culpa, I thought when school finished I'd be blogging more often, apparently this is not the case.

So what's been going on in my life?

Work has been good. A while back the topic around shift meeting was that the servers needed to step up their games and work harder, and that hard work is rewarded with the better shifts. Well, now I have some good shifts heading my way so I'm taking that to mean I'm doing a good job at work. I know I'm not the strongest server we have on the floor. I start to crumble around 7-8 simultaneous tables and can't handle more than a triple-seat (three tables being sent to my section at once). Compare this to other servers who can run 15 tables and quad-seats, and well, I'm very appreciative of the faith the management puts in me. Like I said, I'm not strong, but I try to make up for that in always keeping busy and taking pride in our restaurant. It's honestly the best job I've ever had and I love it.

Not that I want to serve for my entire life, I just want to kick ass at it while I'm doing it.

I've also started going to the gym again. It's going really well! My friend is running a bootcamp for our group of friends. She's kind of a fitness nazi, but dammit, I love her. I typically go with her and her girlfriend and by the end of it the GF and I are shakey, numb and whiney, Fitness Nazi then proceeds to do more abs. It's good though, we're going to be fit for Vancouver this summer. I hurt all over, but it's a satisfying kind of pain.

I've also got a new roomate. One of my friends from work moved in and it's going really well so far! We did a major overhaul on our house to undo the property damage from past roomates. I never realized how well behaved my cat was untill I had others here. We had to shampoo the hell out of our carpets to get all the fur and gross out. I can 100% say that none of the pet mess was mine since the other two cats of previous roomate were so ill-tempered and violent towards my tiny cat that she had to live in my bedroom for four months. This meant all her food and litterbox stuff was in there too. That was super special...but it's over now, thank god.

We also get to redecorate, which I am obviously stoked for. We've got similar taste, in that our taste is good. So we're working together to make our little pad in the ghetto a sweet trendy hangout. It's well on its way and I'll be sure to update as the rooms come together. My big problem right now is our living room. It's such a stupid shape. It's a decent size, except that the entrance cuts it directly in half, and a balcony opens up directly across from the entrance, so the room is so awkward to arrange furniture in.

Floorplan

Spring is nearly upon us here in dreary ol' Alberta, and that means one thing: Our pilgrimage to the holy altar of kick-ass music is about to begin. This will be my first time going to the Sasquatch Music Fest, and I cannot wait. For the uninformed, Sasquatch is a three-day camping/concert experience, located just north of the not-so-cleverly-named George, WA.

The trip scratches a lot of itches for me:

• I get to see some of my favourite bands play
• I get a huge road trip out of it
• I get to camp
• I get to travel through mountain towns
• I get to live in what I imagine amounts to a modern day commune/tent city for a couple days and experience the ridiculous parties therein
• I get to spend loads of time with friends I never see

I have to miss out on the big trip to Burning Man this year as well (Thanks school :( ), so I'm hoping I get a tiny tiny sliver of a taste of that style of thing with Sasquatch. My only issue now is getting enough money together to pay for everything.