Natural Masculinity (Blog 7)

 

Okay...that deserves some explanation.

I made that video as a reference to a running gag commonly used by comic book review Linkara when I turned 18. The point was to punch a wall offscreen, pull something back in the fist that punched, and anything can happen from there.

The origin of this joke comes in two parts. First off, Linkara was reviewing the horrible comic Superman at Earth's End, wherein Superman fights a robot stating that while the robot is a mere machine, "I am a man!"

But the other part of the origin definitely lies in not the difference between robot and living being, but being a masculine man an anything else.

Masculinity is being rough, tough, getting away with what you did without a care, and being the all-around superior being among hundreds of other things. But how much of it comes naturally? Sure, the male physiology contains more androgen, which in itself is a hormone that can contribute to aggressiveness. But females can contain aggressiveness as well, even savagery, just as easily.

I personally think that men have always been given a way in society to be superior to women, and that without any of those ways we males would be considered weak and pathetic compared to the female half of the species.

While I find this viewpoint to be complete bullsh*t, there has always been some way men are superior to women, and the ways in particular change over time. Women being the ones staying at home cooking and cleaning and keeping house while the men are out at work or whatever they might be doing, women not being allowed simple rights such as voting or contract-making, women being forced into prostitution, a noblewoman being the prize for whichever nobleman earns her etc.

Now, it's less sociopolitical and more societal. Men are overall taller and stronger than women, on average, so their prowess is assumed to be greater. Men take the leading roles in films and shows more often than women. Men are almost always shown to keep their sensitive emotions from pouring out, and when they do pour it out it's usually assumed that there is a mental disorder or disease involved that makes it happen.

I think that it's unfortunate there wasn't a longer period of time between equal rights between genders coming in, and the depictions of women in media beginning to arise. If the transition between political and social equality were given a longer time to properly evolve before things such as radio shows and television became the norm, I believe this would be less of an issue.

Nintendo continues to amaze and confuse me

Header: I'm only in for two classes this week while suffering from an injury, so I can't really say I got a takeaway from the class material. So I'll talk about something else that's been on my mind.

I'm a big player of Nintendo games, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've got a 3DS in one pocket and a case of 3DS games in my computer case. I've got a Wii U at home and am currently carrying a Sonic the Hedgehog amiibo in my jacket. Bottom line, viva Nintendo. #MewtwohundredCC (If you get that, kudos. I came up with the hashtag last week and it's spreading in real life, though not so much online.)
But one thing Nintendo really made me love it for was its DLC. For once, I can finally say that I've purchased from a DLC producer that's actually...get this...absolutely fair. The prices are relatively low, the content is relatively extensive. The discounted prices per unit in package deals are absolutely wonderful, and worth far more than you actually pay for. Even if we lower the cost of the game by, say, $10, this still holds true.
You could easily call this a successful advance by Nintendo to become more like other gaming companies...but the next one might be risky. Nintendo's next move is going to be a bit risky. They're now moving onto the mobile market within two years from now, and it does not look so promising. The lower costs and quality of games, the micro transactions they're forcing on everyone, it could siphon funding and effort that makes their console releases as of late as perfect as they are. It could imbalance, at worst even crash the industry if they keep up.
So why are they doing it? Because it'll sell? Yes, it will. Enough people emulate older Nintendo games illegally on their smartphones to prove that people want these games available to them on the go and not on a specific handheld like the 3DS. (Which, by the way, I prefer using over a smartphone...considering my first smart device is still on its way in shipping right now.) But it won't be enough to balance out what they'd need to sacrifice.
Nintendo's still trying to find more ways to get more money, and it's working so far, but they'll end up losing too much in the process if they go the mobile route.

Does effort really mean as much as it should online?

No.
That's easy, "no".
Sorry to be so abrupt, but the answer to my title is a flat-out "no".
I'm serious, there's not even a way to say "yes" anymore.
No, definitely no, absolutely no, big fat no, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76ia5P9Shc.
...Okay, maybe I was exaggerating slightly in terms of it, but that doesn't change that effort is turning more and more worthless towards gaining one's own popularity.
Let me create an example situation. Let's pretend that we have two YouTube channels with the exact same video coming out, the only difference being what creator is producing it and possibly being seen in it. Heck, make the product the exact same result for both channels, both of excellent work put into it and quality. The only difference so far is that Channel A has about 40 subscribers, whereas Channel B has around 300.
What will happen when the videos are posted? Channel A might get lucky and gain about 10 more subscribers after about a month, but Channel B will get a whole lot more right off the bat. Repeat the experiment, the same thing will happen over and over and over again. Channel A will be stuck with a small amount and flatline, whereas Channel B will gain tons and tons more subscribers.
See how little the effort of Channel A contributed to its own popularity? No? Then let's try this again. This time, insert a complete lack of effort into Channel B's video, the quality showing that, and start from the same point as before. The results will be the same. Heck, some people might watch Channel B's video and hate it, but it will still be noticed and the subscriber count will still grow exponentially.
What am I getting to, you ask? If you're popular, you're gonna get more popular, for better or worse. Even infamy counts as popularity. If you're not, and you don't have someone else helping you become popular, tough luck. Someone else is gonna have to pull the strings to put you in the spotlight in the first place. Once that happens, effort might actually matter to see how fast your popularity will rise.

Songs of the Week

My turn to do this. Hope you like music that's out of the norm, because I've got tons of that. All right, let's get started.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GRz4FY0ZcwI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 Five for Fighting - Superman (It's Not Easy)

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z4ZxxHbJGbY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jim Henson - It's Not Easy Bein' Green

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QGJuMBdaqIw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Katy Perry - Firework

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pUBKcOZjX6g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Fort Minor - Kenji

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nyc-KvAgmh0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Producers - I Wanna Be A Producer

Earth to Advances in Technology! Get Us Off Of Earth!

Call me crazy, call me kooky, call me a monkey's uncle, but I think people need to rethink where they're focusing technology advances. We've disabled our space program due to budget cuts, and yet things like the sequel to the Google Glass are already in production. Why do we need glasses that double as smartphones in the first place? All that would accomplish is distracting us from what we see in front of us unavoidably as opposed to forcing us to look at a phone. Are we really that lazy? UGH.

Seriously, I've seen so many sci-fi and drama shows where the tech we have on Earth is incredibly more advanced than it is now, but we STILL haven't left the planet. Even in superhero mediums, a satellite can be easily set up in space but no one bothers to leave the planet to live on the moon and whatnot. We're grounded, quite literally, in the belief that where we are is the best place to be. No if's, and's, or but's.

I personally think that we should take a break from making the best phone, making the best car, or making the best weight loss program. Some of the money from each of that to getting us back in space. I'm not saying we should achieve warp 1 speed by 2063, like what happened in Star Trek: First Contact, but at least we should have something other than the ISS out there. We need to stop looking down to the ground and start looking up to the sky again. (And hopefully not say "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!" since that would be too cliché'd for even me.)

Writing a post about multitasking while doing my homework. Talk about irony.

Multitasking (MULL-tee-tas-keeng) n. The handling of more than one task at the same time by a single person.

Ever wondered whether multitasking was beneficial or harmful to us overall? Well, I haven't. At least not until recently when it became evident that I was getting far too much to do at once out of the blue. It had worked fine for me up until a point, I was getting nowhere fast doing only one task and I had little to no change of quality with doing multiple at once, so long as one of them was actively involving my hands and one of them was done by reflex. I could answer trivia while playing Mario Kart, watch a primetime drama while reading a Skype conversation, et cetera. But when it comes to things that are not leisurely, I feel that more people should learn to multi-task. I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time when I've been trying to answer a time-sensitive quiz for homework and also had an urgent phone call or e-mail come in plus every time I was trying to do my laundry while writing an essay. It's ridiculous how much I'm being forced to multitask. I don't see much of a difference in quality when I multi-task, just how much I get done when. If I never multitasked, things would not be done in time for neither academics nor religion. Plus, I don't have a job yet, but if I ever did have one I'd need to multi-task even more.

Media fast? Don't make me laugh.

...Seriously? A blog post about the experiences from taking a media fast? I have one word for that. REDUNDANT.
You might be wondering why I call it redundant as opposed to pointless, aggravating or overall a waste of time. And the answer to that is simple. I take a 25-hour fast from technology every single week. And not just things like computers, phones, gaming devices, television, or even a digital watch. I'm talking lights, matches, and even pencil and paper. Sundown to sundown, every week.
It's called the Jewish Sabbath.
Many Jews don't avoid all that during the Sabbath, but I do since I'm Orthodox. I survive not having my computer, my phone, etc. for some time every week at minimum.
How do I do it? Well, sometimes I end up doing the things I should be doing according to my religion. Attending synagogue, having meals with the family, etc. But when I can't manage to do that, I read. A lot. Comic books, novels, newspapers, whatever catches my eye. I also spend some time sleeping, playing with cards, talking with the family. Simple things.
If people cannot manage to go 24 hours without a phone or videogame every so often, I find them rather spoiled. That's not to say I'm not eager to get back to the technology once the Sabbath ends. I enjoy it as much as the next person. But that doesn't mean people can't manage every so often.
That's all I really have to say about the issue. The reason I won't be taking the media fast is because I already take a far more extreme version on a regular basis.