We’ve successfully (more or less) moved to a new server. So far I’m pretty happy with the move, although apparently our host’s mainframe got hacked just a couple days after we registered, and even the backups were erased. I hope they are taking steps to make the backups more secure (keeping backups completely separate from main files is Webhosting 101).

Anyway, the blog still looks like shit in IE. I still haven’t been able to figure out why. Just switch to Firefox already. =P

Iraq is not Vietnam. There are fundamental differences between the two, and I’m sick of hearing the comparisons. There is a way, however, in which it could turn into the “quagmire.” If it becomes clear that there’s an unstoppable stream of terrorists from places we can’t attack (i.e. Syria, Iran), and the Iraqis can’t handle it on their own, then we come closer to that. Vietnam happened because we couldn’t invade the North without ruffling too many feathers among China and the Soviet Union.

Let’s be honest here: there is no other superpower that can match the U.S., especially not in the Middle East. If the insurgency does something stupid and uses WMD in Iraq, for example, we go stomp wherever it came from. Plain and simple.

There was a thread on a board I frequent which asked what your top 5 video games were and and why. Since I think it would be interesting for future reference to see what I thought today, here’s what I wrote:

• SpellForce: The Order of Dawn - I’m almost positive no one else here has played this, and it’s a shame no one has. For me, this will probably live down as the greatest game no one played. It took the idea that Blizzard originally started with in WarCraft III (the whole Role-Playing Strategy thing) and paired it with an absolutely fantastic storyline. It doesn’t have the biggest budget–though some very solid artwork–and some of its elements could have used some refinement, but it’s solidly in my top five.
• FreeSpace 2 - Volition’s masterpiece before they were exiled to the realm of console FPS, and another series that fell victim to the Interplay beast. It was challenging but generally not frustrating, had a great sci-fi storyline worthy of a smash hit TV series, visceral gameplay and graphics that were mind-blowing for the time (oh my god, those beams). A small cult of this dying genre pray every day for a FreeSpace 3. I fear our prayers will never be answered.
• Suikoden II - The little train that could. Konami took a risk by releasing the second Suikoden in the North American market, as the first one only had a small showing due to the Final Fantasy VII juggernaut. It quickly turned into one of those neo-classic rare RPGs. Its fast-paced combat and gameplay as well as mutiple playable characters made it very accessible. The player that delved into the plot was eventually rewarded with some masterful plot twists and one of the best RPG villains around. Fantastic and engrossing from beginning to end.
• Chrono Cross - A worthy completion to a masterful story arc spanning three games. I know not everyone liked it, but I think you had to be a fan of Chrono and understand Masato Kato to really do. It is arguably the most replayable RPG to date due to some brilliant gameplay mechanics, and has quite possibly the best video game soundtrack ever crafted. This game really did come close to being a perfect 10.
• Xenogears - Look up the word “epic” in the dictionary and you’ll see the cover art for Xenogears next to it. An unbelievable bargain for $40, assuming you were actually able to follow the 60+ hours of story. Although this and Chrono Cross didn’t have the best battle systems I’ve played with, the rest of it more than makes up for it. Considering just how much research went into the sociological, religious, political, and technological aspects of the game, one would be surprised it survived localization as well as it did. This game was way ahead of its time, and broke ground that the rest of the genre has only begun to experiment with.

Honorable mentions (just a few off the top of my head, there’s so many more solid titles): StarCraft (with Brood War), Diablo and Diablo II, Half-Life (with Counter-Strike), Civilization II, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy IV (Chronicles version).

From IMDb:

Lohan Has Digital Breast Reduction

Teen actress Lindsay Lohan’s breasts have been digitally reduced for forthcoming Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded, to avoid offending family audiences. Test screenings for the new movie, the fourth sequel to the 1968 film The Love Bug about a Volkswagen Beetle car with a mind of its own, indicated that some parents felt Lohan’s character Maggie Peyton was too raunchy for a children’s film. Disney technicians were forced to plough through numerous scenes - especially those showing the busty actress jumping up and down at a motor racing track, reducing her breasts by two cup sizes and raising revealing necklines on her T-shirts. Amused at her digital bosom reduction, Lohan says, “I don’t know how Renee Zellweger kept swelling and shrinking for Bridget Jones. It’s no fun. Bring on the computer guys.”

Think about this for a minute. There’s no artistic merit or truth in vision associated with this. It’s catering to the moral watchdogs that have ushered in this post-wardrobe malfunction era. I understand that the next Herbie film isn’t exactly the cinematic epic worth discussing, but it’s still an issue. You can’t tell me that Disney didn’t hand-select the director or always have someone on the set to make sure everything is “acceptable.” So much thought goes into a film production such as costuming and the like that any sort of cleavage-baring top Ms. Lohan might have worn that would be considered offensive would not have made it into post-production. Furthermore, you can’t tell me that no male decision maker during the filming didn’t notice Lohan’s breasts bouncing up and down while she was jumping (her present condition notwithstanding, keep in mind this was filmed some time ago).

So we’re talking about the digital alteration of numerous scenes here, just to prevent the conservatives from jumping all over Disney for covered breasts bouncing up and down in a film (the horror!). What concerns me is the waste of time and money spent here - we’re probably talking about tens of thousands of dollars and many hours just because we’re all so goddamn prudish. How many children could we save from famine with that expenditure? How much of it could go towards cancer research? You realize just how bloated this industry is when they can afford to spend on something so ridiculous just to avoid ruffling a few feathers. A little jiggling or cleavage wouldn’t have earned a PG-13 (or even a PG) rating.

I could really take this an entire step further and analyze the deliberate, intense excision of anything remotely sexual involved in many, many of Disney’s products. It’s actually somewhat disturbing; as if a sex-free world represents someone’s twisted version of Utopia. I’m not talking about overt sexuality–I’m not saying that there should be no less than 40 nipples visible in Disney World or something of the sort–I’m talking about a holistic view of escapist worlds where violence is still very much alive and sex is virtually muted. It blows my mind that life-destructive attributes take precedence over life-affirming attributes in such worlds. It’s as if we’ve successfully associated sex with something far more sinister than combat or even homicide. In today’s world where the negative aspects of sex are publicized such as sexual offenses, prostitution, and the negative connotations that pornography and socio-sexual concepts such as strip clubs or swingers’ groups have, it’s no wonder we can’t talk to our children constructively about sex.

The days of the birds and the bees are gone; I haven’t researched this, but I’ll bet that a lot of parents don’t even talk to their children about sex anymore. If anything, we need it more than ever. Girls are reaching menarche at an increasingly earlier rate, and it’s safe to assume that boys are reaching puberty sooner as well. The counter-culture that has arisen from the sexual revolution in years past (and the quick suppresion thereof) is influencing our children in ways we may not be aware of. Because sex is not talked about freely, there are influences upon our children in subtle ways by Britney Spears’ image, the discussions on sexual orientation, or the growing sexually-transmitted disease epidemic. All three of these are influences that have to be discussed with our children: “no, most people don’t dress like Britney or Christina,” “some people have homosexual feelings (or insert your religious beliefs here),” and “you have to protect yourself if you’re going to do this.”

Otherwise, we send our children into a scary world where there are people who will prey upon them, hurt them emotionally, or get them sick. Sheltering them from a pair of breasts is not the answer.

Update (6/8/05): Apparently the word from someone who’s seen the film is that this is not true. Perhaps it was merely a publicity stunt for the film.