Aside - Avada Kedavra

The internet really seems to enjoy insisting that Voldemort failed to kill Harry Potter because he's stupid and didn't use a gun (or something equally stupid). The reasoning behind this is that clearly a gun would have killed Harry more efficiently, and... Well, it kinda falls apart after that...

Avada Kedavra is a weapon with the capacity for endless, nearly unstoppable killing power based solely on the ability to pronounce it correctly and really want to kill your target. Basically, it's a weapon that has unlimited ammo, is usable by any wizard/witch with a wand (which is pretty much every wizard/witch) and the only way to survive it is not to get hit by it, or a total fluke which is only known for having happened once... Ever... Plus, to top it all off, it's tailor-made for villains. Any hesitance to kill the target leads to failure on the part of the spell.

Guns can jam and otherwise fail, require ammunition, are messy and loud, and still require aim (and in this case have the downside of recoil). Basically, in every conceivable situation, except the possibly entirely unique circumstance of Harry, guns are the inferior method of killing someone.

Of course, maybe this is just some big internet joke that has successfully trolled me. However, it's neither clever nor particularly funny, so that answer wouldn't be particularly satisfying either.

Chapter XXI: Honesty, Homosexuality, and Some Vulgarity

I think my stance on gay rights should be pretty clear if you've read my other posts. If it isn't, I'll make it clear here. I don't support gay rights, but only for the same reason I don't support feminism (though less vehemently). Gay people don't get a separate set of liberties and support, all people are equal until their actions are unethical.

I should also say that I don't support tolerance, because tolerance implies that someone is doing something negative, and you just have to put up with it. I support respecting people, and to the people who aren't worth mustering respect for, fuck them. I will not tolerate bigotry. I support your right to say what you think, but I do not support the idea that it's remotely okay for you to think gay people or black people or women are somehow less worthy of respect. So, in fact, you should absolutely say what you think, so I can know what sort of person you are, and do what I think is best with that information.

Anyway, all that said, I want to discuss my honest feelings about homosexuality. I am pansexual or polysexual, or whatever you want to call it. If I find a person attractive, then I find a person attractive. I will admit, male-male homosexuality makes me a little uncomfortable. (Here's were the vulgarity part starts to kick in. Just forewarning...) 'Uncomfortable' isn't exactly the right word, but, for the most part, it's a definite turn-off for me. I'm going to get a little personal here, and note that I offered for a gay friend to live with me for a few months in High School, and I have seen him have sex with his boyfriend on my bed. I've had sex while he was in the room masturbating. I'm very free and easy with my sexuality (I just posted a pretty notable personal anecdote to the whole world, I think that should make it pretty clear).

So my 'discomfort' with male-male homosexuality has more to do with the fact that I find femininity to be the peak of beauty and form. I think men, in general, are just not attractive, they hold no sexual appeal. I already noted in the post I linked above, that maleness is not the issue, it's masculinity. A beautiful girl who happens to have a penis doesn't bother me in the slightest (it's kind of hot, truthfully).

All that said, I admitted I've seen my gay friend have sex with his boyfriend. It didn't bother me, I didn't berate him or ask him to get out (I did warn him what might happen if my sleeping space was 'stickier' than I left it).

I am subjected to a lot of things I might rather not have seen. I'm far more offended at certain anti-smoking commercials and starving African children (that they are starving and I am subjected to images of it, not that they exist), than I ever would be at the sight of two men enjoying themselves.

So, what's my point? It's that the concept that it 'makes [you] uncomfortable' is not an acceptable reason to tell someone else they can't do something. If two people want to perform an act that makes them happy and doesn't hurt other living creatures, good for them. I don't have to like it, I just have to respect it, and I do.

~Til the next idea...

Chapter XX: The Long and Dusty Road

I am on the edge of the cliff, after 10 years... You see, 10 years ago, I was a kid in High School, writing a crappy novel about my sad little problems set to a fantasy background. It was awful, and I learned a lot from the experience, and whether it was bad or not, I wrote it all the way through.

In the past 6, maybe 7 years, since I graduated High School, I have been trying to capture the story I really wanted to tell. Little bits inspiration poked through here and there, and I took a little from each with me as I moved onto other ideas. Still, none of them ever really caught hold in my mind and wouldn't let go.

Even now, I wonder if I won't lose the inspiration in the world I'm creating currently. Still, I'm staring at the edge, the moment when I decide I'm ready to really put the words down and make something really happen. I hope to get caught in the momentum, much like when I worked on D&D and campaigns in the past. I hope the story will take me, and drag me along, and my characters will make me think and one day I'll be able to sit down and just look at what I've done.

I hope one day some of you will read what I've written here because you want to know how the world I created started. Just know, this world didn't start today, it didn't start months ago or a year ago when I first starting being inspired.

It started when I was a Freshman, and the first click-clack of my keyboard, writing that 'What-the-Hell-was-I-Thinking' story. It started when I graduated and had finished that story, and closed that little chapter. It started over and over as I saw new stories and tried to create worlds of my own. Today is just the day I stared over the edge of the cliff and took a leap of faith.

~Til the next idea...

Chapter XIX: The Philosophy of Being a Creator

It's time for me to do a post that is less cynical, as I promised I would. I mean, I tried to approach my previous couple of posts with a lighter, less-misanthropic view; but I was still broaching topics about serious sociopolitical issues an how I dislike the view of the majority.

So, now, let's talk about how I'm a murderer. That's light and breezy, right?

Okay, you're wondering what I'm talking about, probably with the phone in hand ready to dial 911 (or some equivalent action that makes more sense given the circumstances). I'm talking about being a writer (and a GM), and the philosophical implications of being a creator.

So, I hope we all know Descartes famous words: "Cogito ergo sum" (French: "Je pense donc je suis"; English: "I think, therefore I am"). I've talked about this a little before, and this plays into that post.

For those that don't know, the concept refers to existentialism, a philosophical school of thought that primarily deals in whether or not things exist. As I believe is the nature of philosophy, it's very simple, except it isn't. Descartes's philosophy is that he can think, therefore, he must exist. It's an oversimplified retort to the question of whether we exist or not, but it's hard to argue with it, particularly if you don't first answer the question: "What does it mean to exist?"

So, let's say Descartes is right at the most basic level, I am capable of thinking (or so I say, you can't really know that, but that's a whole different philosophical issue), so I must exist. Let's get a dictionary definition of existence here:

noun
1. the state or fact of existing; being.

Shit... That's a bad sign right from the get go... Remember kids, definitions 101: Do not define a word with that word (or any of its derivatives). So, we could delve further, but honestly, if that's the top of the definition list, I think we've learned something important. Existence is a really hard thing to define. That's what philosophy is all about.

Now, if you want to get all science-y on me, you can show your ass right out the door, because you probably missed the point of philosophy. In the end, we can prove nothing for sure, and I can give you as much proof as I can see anyone having about the subject. If you can think of the concept of a being that is capable of doing anything (such as the concept of God), and you can't conclusively disprove such a being, then you can't prove that things aren't only consistent until such being desires them not to be.

Right, so I'm meandering through philosophy here, because that's how I think and do things, and that's why I love philosophy. The question is, what does this all have to do with me being a murderer?

Well, if existence is nebulous, and we are all just 'butterflies dreaming we are men', who is to say that the things we create do not exist? Descartes never implied that thought is the sole determiner of existence, or rocks would not exist (or maybe they do think and we just can't begin to understand how). In fact, compared to a rock, I'd say my characters think a great deal more. In turn, I have been the bringer of the deaths of such characters many times.

So, I say again, I am a murderer. Not just that, but I'm a Game Master. This means I've created entities for the sole purpose of taking delight in driving my fellow players to murder them for me. Still yet, I've created far more characters than I've killed/had killed, and beyond that, I've created half-made characters. Then there's the question of what happens when you finish reading a book and close it. Look over at the nearest book and ask yourself, are you a monster too?

~Til the next idea...

Aside - Hipster Genie

I was considering a really obscure wish that I had, regarding my desire to have certain things just not be things that have happened. That is to say, I wished that a phrase that I had heard, that was about something that actually happened, was not a phrase that could be said about something that actually happened. Given my general acceptance for weird shit, the fact that I wish it had never been a thing should coincide with why I don't really want to explain what that thing is in my blog.

Anyway, this lead me to think, 'obviously, if I had a genie, I would wish for something more substantial'. However, then, I considered the concept, what if I had a genie that would only grant obscure wishes. A 'hipster genie'... You know, like: 'Then I granted his wish.' 'What'd he wish for?' 'Oh, it's really obscure, you've probably never heard of it before.'

It's dumb, but it's so dumb it's hilarious, and I felt like the idea needing to be floating in the ether that is the internet. So here it is, and I swear, if someone finds this and wants to do something with it, post a comment and let me know. You have my permission, so long as it's hilarious and I get to see it.

EDIT: Of course, internet... Of course... Though that video is more about hipster culture than the genie thing, which is to be expected I suppose. Still props to the creator of that video for thinking of it.

Chapter XVIII: What is Normal?

What is 'Normal'? Normal, as best defined here, is 'conforming to the standard or the common type', pretty simple as far as I'm concerned. Now, scour the entire page I linked, and I'm sure you'll find things there that support counter remarks to what I have to say in the rest of this entry, but I'll try to address those when I get there, and if I don't, fuck it. I'm primarily using the first and clearest definition on the page.

Now, scour the page again and fine the world 'better' or 'best' or 'superior'. I know you didn't find those words, I checked, but more than that, you probably didn't find any words that imply that 'being normal' is anything more than being similar to a bunch of other stuff that is more common than yet more stuff.

What about 'Weird'? For the most part, weird is just 'not normal', maybe even 'fatastically not normal'. That sounds pretty awesome to me.

So, for those of you who are 'normal', who 'conform to the standard or common type', good for you. That makes you, normal, and pretty much nothing else. It definitely doesn't make you better and most certainly does nothing to make you interesting. If you're happy being normal, good for you, as long as you don't wield it like a net or a try to push it on me.

For those of you who aren't normal, stop trying to equate your actions to 'normalcy'. Don't insist that it's not 'abnormal' to be gay or transgendered or whatever... It is, last I checked, it puts you in the minority. Stop giving 'normalcy' power, because there's nothing wrong with not being normal. Stop letting people who are normal, tell you that you have to be normal, too. Stop pandering to the oppression of the majority, and start fighting for your right to be 'weird', 'abnormal' or whatever else.

I'm weird, and I'm proud of it. If you're normal, I probably think you're boring, which is a perfectly fine thing to be. I just don't want to be boring, too. Maybe I'm wrong for thinking you must be, but I honestly don't care, I'm not going to shun you or hurt you over it. So how about you pay me the same respect.

The main point is, normal is just normal. It's not better, it's not more right, and it has no power to control who I am or who I should be.

~Til the next idea...

Chapter XVII: Naming

Stream of consciousness, ho! Maybe I should do a blog on my method of blogging, that'd be kinda meta, but also pretty short and simple. I mostly just write what comes to mind, because this is a place to get out my thoughts more than anything. That's not the purpose of this chapter though, so maybe I will actually write a blog about why I write this blog eventually...

Anyway... Oh, side note, 'anyways' isn't a word. I used to say it, now it bugs the hell out of me. Please, if you read this and take away nothing else, just stop using 'anyways'. Anyway, the point of this chapter is that I really hate names. If an author wishes to use meaningful, poignant names for people, places, and things within their world, as I try to, it can be one of the most frustrating processes in the world. I probably spend more time trying to find a name I like than it would ever take me to write a good character.

As an avid tabletop gamer since I was in Middle School, I've built hundreds of characters. I've built characters I never used, and characters that were killed by the PCs in five minutes after I spent an hour on them. There are so many great inspirations for characters out there, and I find them the most invigorating and natural part of writing.

However, all that said, I could build a character in an hour, with an reasonably interesting background and personality (which I will likely flesh out as I play/write). Yet, if no name immediately comes to mind, it's likely that wholly half of that hour will be spent scouring whatever sources I can think of for inspiration for a name and settling on something in frustration. The more important and meaningful I feel the name needs to be, the more I beat my brain trying to figure it out.

I hate not knowing what to call something, because it creates a damaging interrupt in my thought process. I start thinking: 'So, elves in my world live in the country of...' Then I hit where the name should be and I stop. I can't finish the thought until I can finish that sentence.

Right now, I am trying to get some real work on my book done, so I can finally write with confidence, but names are the bane of my planning process.

~Til the next idea...