Tuesday Mumbles: The Activision-Blizzard Mess

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: the following is based on my own opinion and experiences. Do not take any of this personally

Happy (or not-so happy) Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

I have never seen a hot mess like this since the Harvey Weinstein crap.

What crap am I talking about?

Well if you haven’t heard much of the news lately, here’s a link right here from Bloomberg talking about the situation.

Activision-Blizzard, the very same company that gave everyone Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo, literally promoted a toxic working behavior for everyone! Basically they did crap that made Riot look tame.

Where to start? Well we got what was amassed and summarized

They created a “frat boy” culture harassed women

denied them promotions because they could get “pregnant”

weird drunken “cube crawls” where they would harass and hit on women while on work.

kicking women out of a breastfeeding room just so they could us it for meetings (or even just stare.)

In short, really deplorable behavior that I’d never see the day happen to ya boy’s favorite company. Many people upon hearing news of this decided to burn their wow subscription (some going extremes in a total boycott.) Others, fearing this may lead to the death of WoW in general, remain playing the game regardless of the outcome even it if they get branded as “enablers” by some out there.

To say ya boy feels ill is an understatement. I feel like this mess has brought about so many problems.

So what will happen to Activision-Blizzard?

Sadly, Ya boy doesn’t know that answer and I have a feeling that things may get a bit ugly before things get better.

Though that means I may not be spending time in Azeroth for a while. Which is a shame as I was just return back to my game. Until then, I may be exploring other MMOs and hoping that somehow my favorite company and game doesn’t become a casualty due to this kind of behavior.

Until then, you all be safe this Tuesday

(Late) Tuesday Mumbles: Tuesday Mumbles: Commercialization of Civil Rights.

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following topic may contain some things that might upset people. These are based on my opinions and not intended to be offensive.

In memory of my dog, Razelle.

Rest well, old girl.

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

Pride Month is over, and now as we enter July, I’ve noticed one thing that I find disturbing. No, I’m not talking about the anti-LGBT+ comments that treat the community like something but something worse. I’m talking about those pushing a financial thing on the month.

Pride Month was an exciting month that let me learn more about the community and give those a voice when needed. However, one thing that gets me miffed is that you don’t need to tell me to buy rainbow socks to support them. Now I’m not arguing against Pride Month, I just don’t feel like slapping a dollar sign on it does any good.

I’m tired of when we have days where social-political movements end up becoming some kind of sick aspect of selling products. I can understand the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and even Christmas when it comes to sales day. Still, when some people use Black History Month or Pride Month, it kinda rubs me the wrong way when you try and push money onto it.

It also cheapens the ordeal when you turn something about people’s plights as an excuse to line your pocket. Since as you see right now, sales and promotion of Pride Month have already stopped and now behave like any other thing. Like just one moment and nothing, back to square one. It also gives a false sense of accomplishment by teaching people you’re helping the LGBT community by buying the said item and not doing anything. In short, it promotes slactivism and makes the whole thing as trivial as buying a cup of coffee to “save the whales.”

As I began to talk, another friend of mine reminded me that though it may feel wrong, there is some good in this. He explained that it can bring awareness, even if it means selling rainbow socks or a lot of understanding. Like my grandmother told me, some people need to be enticed with products and various items to be aware of the situation.

I still scratch my head about that, but…if results show..maybe they do have a point.

Though in my opinion, maybe educating people on what the month is while they purchase to make a more informed person. That way, you can make people fewer slacktivists and more activists. Explain to people what Pride Month is or what Black History Month really is.
Show them that it’s more than just buying something and saying you’re doing your part.

Environmentalists use this method so it doesn’t leave people buying kale, and that’s it.

Hopefully, next year in 2022, we may be better informed and not clueless. Otherwise, we may be getting used to seeing commercials advertising about “special deals” on Pride Month. Crap will trivialize LGBT+ issues all for a 50% off on furniture or special items on sale…..

But nothing about the awareness of LGBT+ issues or what the problems they have to deal with, all trivialized so someone can buy a pride flag and call it a day. That all the support they get being gone, like the one moment of token good faith you see in some during holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Do you feel that some months or days made to promote awareness of things be commercialized like other things? If so or no, why do you think that way?

Tuesday Mumbles: Vaccine Briberies

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my own opinion. So do not take it too personally if you dislike them.

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.
Everybody’s been getting shots so far some have both and some have their first. Though what gets ya boy curious is how some are still refusing to get these shots.
So what do states do to get these people to get their shots? Well..as I shown here, some of them are going the rout of essentially bribing folks.

How are states doing this? Well..you have your classical things like payments, even weird things like lottery ticket drawings for a million dollars to things like free beer once we reach to normalcy. Free donuts or even hotwings for those that get their vaccine.

Now, ya boy is someone who doesn’t mind a free beer or food for those who get their first/second shot, that’s something okay. Doctors give kids a lollipop or toy for being good. However, high monetary value?! Eeeh, that’s something that’s an extremely dangerous game that ya boy thinks is very sus.

If you have to bribe people with money to get a shot…that’s going to lead to people only doing it to get free handouts and some may try to scam stuff to get extra money. Folks can become real world Warios the moment they could grease their hands with money. What makes it worse is that some folks can get scammed as they chase this little pocket of gold.

Now for things like food, beer or something that isn’t cash or value can be something of a good incentive to help people out. I could maybe suggest things like discounts on groceries or even a big mac would be something that could be. However, even I suspect that could be abused. It almost feels like ya boy doesn’t know what he’s talking about or even know any true answer.

Though some folks, including ya boy’s grandmother, said that it may be a good incentive to get people to get the shot (even if it means paying people.)

I do respect her wish, but it just doesn’t feel right to pay someone just to get a shot. Feels a bit mercenary. As I said, I would rather stick to either free food or discounts for things like that or groceries could be something of a bit more of value that doesn’t feel wrong.

Though, in my honest opinion, having to use any incentive for something like a shot shouldn’t be be something to get a shot to begin with.

Does ya boy know what the right answer is? I don’t know, but as my grandmother told me, “If it gets folks their shot and gets us back to normal? Then Let them.”

Tuesday Mumbles: Lolicons

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my own opinions and not made to be offensive to anyone. So don’t take it personal if I take a jab at you.

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s Ya boy Choujin here.

Let’s be truthful, everyone likes anime and some people have tastes. However there’s something that gets ya boy going “WTF Bruv.”

and that, is something called Lolicon.

Some are looking at me and going, “What do you have against Lolicons” or some are going “What is Lolicon”

To summarize it (as you can go to Wikipedia here) it’s basically a genere of anime involving pre-pubescent girls (there’s a boy version called Shotacon). To be explanation, there’s no problem with anime involving children but ya boy draws the line when they start doing crap like sexualizing this crap. Ya you heard me, ya boy isn’t into that crap. I don’t mind certain animes that involve adults, but not children. I don’t give a bloody crap if she’s some 2000 year old dragon, some android, demon or some paranormal creature. If it looks like a kid or something, I’m going the other way and probably gonna be torching it!

By now, there may be someone who will go out of their way to play some apologist crap like “You just hate sex” or “But I play violent games and it doesn’t make me into a murderer, so why do you hate Lolicon or assume that I’m into kids” thing. There’s also my personal favorite defense “But they’re not real, so it’s okay for me to have a body pillow of that.”

Oh, so ya boy’s going to let you be normal and just let you be to your weird crap that would get Chris Hansen at your door?

I don’t play that crap, I don’t want to do with lolicon and in your own opinion, whoever thought it would be great to “lewd” them should be burned with a flamethrower like a Xenomorph nest!

Now again, I have no problem with children characters or cute things. However, ya boy draws the line when it comes to sexualizing that crap. And to those who play apologist to this through every defense you play? Well then…

Note: Youtube Clips used belong to their rightful owners and credit to the uploaders

In Living Color

Team Fortress 2

Tuesday Mumbles: Relationship Issues

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my own opinions, so do not take any offense to this if it hits a nerve.

Hey everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin. With this pandemic situation going away and attempting to go back to normal, but something got ya boy hit hard. Apparently one of his real life friends got himself in one hell of a situation of a relationship problem. Ya boy’s not gonna be that person who will babble on his friend’s problem. Ya Boy understands the wise words of a certain person. However, ya boy’s seen this stuff from time to time and gets me a bit annoyed.

The first thing I have to admit is why the heck do some people always seem to argue so negatively over the basis of their break-ups? Some i’ve seen always bitch about their partner’s flaws or problems while at the same time they don’t see their own problems in the mirror. I mean, sure, ya boyfriend can be a drunken asshole but maybe try to intervene or keep an eye out on that situation but do nothing on it? To me, that makes it like you don’t care about your partner and let it get this bad. That’s like ignoring the fire in the room as the northern lights. Seriously….

Another thing I have to admit is that some people also seem to hold onto some bad relationships in either two unhealthy ways: They either hold onto the relationship in some hope that things will go back or they become vindictive of their former partner and somehow need some validation that they don’t need them. Now, the reason why ya boy is saying those things are unhealthy is that if you’re intending to move on from said bad relationship, you don’t need to take your frustration out on them let alone pining for them like a sad dog. If there’s a chance that they’ll come back to you, then you’d need to know without needing to validate it. It’s a pretty toxic thing that makes you look bad. Sometimes the best and healthy thing to do is to move on, regardless of the situation. After all, you can rebuild relationships if done right.

Lastly, the one thing that gets me annoyed with how some relationships can be broken is due to how one stupid little thing can be a catalyst to the whole situation. I mean seriously, you have so many problems that you all could have worked out and you let it fester and fester until one little incident ends up becoming the string that snaps the entire relationship? What the heck and why did you let it get that way? Also, what made you not think when you decided to do something. Whether it be one dumb action or poor choice of words, what made you do that shit?

Now, ya boy’s not someone who’s an expert on relationships (sadly, ya boy’s never been in one so I can’t comment on that.) However, my suggestion is that if you’re in tension and not in a break-up, I would suggest you get some couple’s therapy right away so you can figure out the problem and try to salvage the situation. If you love your partner, you would ensure that they remain happy. If the event happens and you’re broken up, all ya boy can tell you is that it takes time. Focus on improving yourself and ensuring it may never repeat again. Though this journey is something that requires time and something you have to deal on your own.

And that’s ya boy’s gripe bout the negative relationship issues. I’m not a man who’s in any relationships or been in one so I can’t really comment on experience, but I don’t like to see people suffer through these issues.

Tuesday Mumbles: Vaccination

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: the following is based on my own opinions, so don’t take them personal if you feel offended by them.

Hello, It’s ya boy Choujin here, and today’s another Tuesday.

However, today ya boy’s got his second vaccine for Covid-19, which means that I’m fully immunized. However, i’m sure some of are on their first shot for the week while others like myself are on their second and final shot. Though one thing I heard this morning was that there was something wrong with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (Ya boy here got the Pfizer vaccine, so that’s not a problem.) What was the cause this time? Yup..you heard it, it was blood clotting.

One thing has ya boy scratching his head: how come these things are surfacing up? I understand that complications happen, but people aren’t really the kind who might do their research. To quote Agent K from Men in Black:

“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.”

Folks get scared of this shit and might end up avoiding the vaccine because they’re afraid of getting sick or dying from the vaccine due to some side effect. With the fear of a fourth wave of Covid-19 showing up and the fears of variant strains that could put a hamper on this virus.

What does ya boy think should happen? Well, first, maybe some further testing on future Covid vaccines in order to ensure that some of these problems do not slip through the cracks and get ourselves hurt. There are some people outside that will prey on that kind of crap and can become something they can use to push the idea that these vaccines are poison (when they’re not.)

Another, that i’ve noticed and glad they do, is reassure that the shots won’t cause those symptoms or problems. One version of the vaccine that causes it doesn’t mean that the rest of them will do the same thing as the others. Besides, the worst I’ve gotten was headaches and pains and fevers. Other than that, it’s not a big deal.

So for those who got the J&J vaccine, make sure to keep yourselves checked up for any bad reactions. Those that are fearful of the vaccine, do not freak out as you won’t get anything lethal from this. Those that want to push some conspiracy well then…

Tuesday Mumbles: The New Normal

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: the following is based on my own opinion. Do not take any offense of anything.

Happy Spring break everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

Ya boy got himself his first Covid shot and now waiting on the second shot. Though as I’ve been watching the good news that we’re beating back this virus. I have to admit that I feel that everything may never be the same after the vaccinations and such.

“What do you mean,” you might ask? Well, there are three things i’ve noticed on our path to a post-covid world.

The first thing that is the most obvious is the political side of the world. Sure, Trump is out of office and we got Biden. The path was shattered during the events of January 6th and the GOP’s somewhat defiance between those that still want to push this fight. It’s not just limited to the right; the left is dangerously going into in-fighting as well (Remember, it was this kind of in-fighting that also got us Trump to begin with.) We need less knives and fighting and more unifying. After all, our democracy was threatened and yet we still argue over political crap and even anti-sjw petty nonsense. Not only that but the pragmatic reality that the US may not be the superpower that seems to get everyone a bit worried and scared. However, all this paranoia and such over a shifted power. Doesn’t help when you have people bitching about the aspect.

The second one is more or less a change in the economy. Covid hasn’t been so nice to everyone and a lot of people have lost their jobs, homes, businesses or everything. Some people have managed to get their jobs back or found new work in this era, but others seem to be struggling for the time being. Though from what i’ve seen that some folks have turned to alternatives to start their own businesses out of things like Etsy or other platforms. I’ve also heard that some computer and I.T. departments have even broadened the idea of allowing people to work at home. Why is that good? Well think of it as broadening your workforce without having to do accommodations and various other things that becomes a win-win for both the business and future employers. This can be helpful for ya boy on his career choice. This can also be helpful for future college students that need to learn but work at the same time. You might say this is not a bad thing after all.

The final one is that after all these changes and accommodations, even getting the vaccine will still lead to one possibility: Covid never going away. You heard me, there may be a chance that Covid may never go away and that we may have to get used to having this virus out there. We already have reports of new variants and a 4th wave of Covid in the news. These things could be something that can flare up, monkey wrench everything if another super-spreader event happens. Ya boy here doesn’t want to have some of his stuff sabotaged due to something bad. Heck, I had to endure the whole widespread incident and how it caused problems with my NCCT testing. It also got me thinking that this virus may be with us for a very long time and that it won’t be killed. Like a viral specter that haunts the world and serving as a reminder at just how easily we can be brought to our knees due to a virus. Gets ya boy thinking and scared at the same time.

We’re all pondering about the post-Covid world and what we should do. It’s a scary future but it’s something we need to get used to. However, we don’t have to be scared of it, for we’re all in this together.

Tuesday Mumbles: Autism in Media/Hollywood Autism

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my own opinion. If you feel offended or triggered by my articles, do not take them personal.

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

When I posted my poem from college “Ode to Asperger’s“, I got some comments from people who managed to say they empathized with the poem. I have to say to those people thank you on that. This time, we’ll talk about something that I’ve been hearing about from time to time: The portrayal of Autism in media.
Folks are a bit curious in what ya boy’s talking about? Well I’ll tell you I’m not ragging on autistic people in media, but more how media portray autistic people better known as “Hollywood Autism”. Whether they’re good or bad, they can become annoying when folks use those as the typical examples. This is something personal for me because ya boy here, is a high-functioning autistic (also known as Asperger’s Syndrome) and I’ve seen media portray autism as those types of stereotypes.

First, I’m sure you’re wondering “What’s wrong with portraying autistic people in a positive light?” Nobody has a problem with that, unless it’s a positive stereotype is favorable beliefs held about a specific group (eg. Asians being skilled in math). For Autism, that’s the “savant stereotype” that portrays autistic folks as some super genius. Such examples of that trope can be found in movies like Rain Man, where Dustin Hoffman’s character Raymond is autistic and able to be a master mathematician. Another example that really is stretching it is portrayed in the movie The Predator in which the character Rory McKenna not only is able to decipher the Predator’s tech and alphabet, but its hinted that it’s an evolutionary benefit. Seriously?! What kind of crap is that?! They think that because people are autistic that they are all super geniuses? Not every autistic person’s a savant and I can bet not every autistic person can master a language that fast. Though there is another trope and stereotype that exists and boy does it it get ya boy angry.

The second, and more common that irks me is what I would call the “Mongoloid” trope. In some media, it portrays them as someone with the mental capacity of a child but with the body of an adult (even as strong or stronger) which usually ends up making them more pitied and makes the belief that autistic people cannot live a functional life regardless of the situation. One such example of this is the character Lennie from Of Mice and Men. The portrayal of the character ends up having his own unknown strength that harms animals and people. The next example I found was from a movie called The Black Balloon, a film made in 2018. Charlie Mollison is portrayed as very autistic as he does things commonly portrayed such as inappropriate behavior in situations and meltdowns. Though not really trying to portray this bad, it ends up making the character pitied than treated as anyone. Though this trope can be a bit disturbing and can end up viewing those on the spectrum as helpless and unable to be productive in society.

By now, you’re asking me “so is there any good portrayals or should we just give up?”
I would say that maybe it’s not as easy to portray autism. I mean, you do have some portrayals in media that show autistic people that’s not the Hollywood variant. It’s varies from person to person and isnt’ something that is typical between people. After All, that’s why it’s called the autism “spectrum” for a reason. However, there are some good examples that show autistic characters that are not the Hollywood variant. Such examples varies between media, but Julia from Sesame Street to Billy from the 2017 Power Rangers movie I and many others out there found to be good examples. It may take some time (and a fine comb) to find that good medium that portrays autism neither as some next step in human evolution or some curse that makes us unproductive in society. Also, as a person on the spectrum as well, I would love to see media portray autistic people as no different than anyone else out there. I can guarantee ya boy’s not some next step in human evolution or a drain on society. Ya boy’s still gonna be ya boy.

Tuesday Mumble: Insurrection

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my opinion, so do not get touchy about it. Also, this is a VERY touchy subject for ya boy here, so again..don’t take things personal

Why Happy Thursday, everyone, today, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

Everyone’s been hearing about the situation that happened on the 6^th of January. I know this happened as it all went down on my birthday. To explain to you what’s been going on, some people who were pissed off from the results of the election decided the best option was to stage a coup on the US capitol building. The development of it has led to the mess we’re seeing and all the other stuff that makes me sick to my stomach (and I’m not joking.) It’s really sickening to watch this shit in real-time and having the audacity to call themselves patriots. It’s really sickening…

The first thing you see is that there was little to no security (in fact, there was some talk that law enforcement allowed them to walk in, and some were sympathetic to the causes). This is the kind of crap that shouldn’t have been allowed (that and it should have been screened and the place more prepared.) Another thing was that certain people within OUR government began to fan and prod their attack dogs into some kind of frenzy. All for the belief that their president will get a second term. However, the same dogs also were planning to hang you for “Selling out.” So not really a smart move right there and a really dumb move when you want to defend someone who will sell you down the river for his own personal beliefs.

The next thing is the double standards seen by the “patriots.”. In one moment, you see the protestors call for “hanging Mike Pence,” then after the whole thing, they begin to scream peace and unity after this entire thing. I’m sorry but what the what?! I’m supposed to give mercy to you because your stupidity got battered? To quote Optimus Prime:

” You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!”

Not only that, but they commonly resort to lying in hopes of defending themselves from this blunder. These things like “It was ANTIFA/BLM That stormed the basis,” “it was a heat of the moment,” or my personal favorite excuse “I was only doing with Trump told me.” All of that being pure cowardice that they do because they came off as a childish temper tantrum. Though I have to admit, I’ve seen more excuses during the Nuremberg Trials.

So what do ya boy want to bring up? Well, let’s say ya boy here isn’t someone who supports open treason against the government through this. Sure he may hate the orange lard-butt, but I wouldn’t encourage violent overthrowing of the government for that stuff. As for those who openly say this..let me just say this as my final word…

Thanks for listening, and keep yourself safe out there.

Tuesday Mumbles: Hyper-Competitive

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: the following are based on my own opinions, so don’t take offense to these views if you feel they conflict with yours.

Happy Thursday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.
Welcome to 2021. New years and new mumbles to argue about. With Covid-19 still around, ya boy’s been playing games and such. One day, a friend of mine on World of Warcraft brought up a discussion that gets ya boy: Hyper-competitiveness.
Now, what is hyper-competitive? To summarize it and not get into something of a dictionary definition, hyper-competitiveness is more or less when people obsess over getting the top score or anything, all while taking the fun out of things due to that obession.
Before we continue with this, I want to remind people that I’m not chastising anything related to competitions or those striving for it. I’m against the hypercompetitive nature that can kill the fun in general, whether competitive or casual. For those who strive for the best, do not take this article as ya boy attacking you. This is the unfortunate side effect that it may bring out in some people

The first thing that I’ve seen in this problem is hypercompetitiveness is the overuse of “cookie cutters,” and meta builds. Basically, folks who copy either a top winning deck, team loadout, or composition just to get wins, which is annoying as sin. The thing is, these people don’t do this to get to the top but rather use this as a way to get easy wins in a lower tier. Now, ya boy has used cookie cutters to better understand how things work (Pokemon, etc.) So you can know how the deck works and maybe get a feel of it. However, when some folks go out of their way just so they can win in casual based things, it becomes a buzzkill. Nobody wants to deal with that in a non-competitive format and just want to play for fun. Just because you saw some guy at a Yugioh tournament use a top meta deck. You want to use it, that’s fine by you, but that’s going to cost you a ton of respect, and don’t be surprised when you don’t have others to play with you. Some folks like to play with a gimmicked deck that may be fun with people. Not everyone using a cookie-cutter may be doing this for an easy win: some may be trying to get a feel of the deck, and maybe they could like how it feels. It’s a bit confusing, but some folks want to have fun and not copycat the winning decks.

Another example that sometimes happens is when this becomes the “Only way to play a game,” which can agitate those who feel that a casual bout becomes vital. To return back to my old mumbling about Gatekeeping, this can become annoying. Especially when there are multiple ways to beat the game. Now, I’m not saying that an optimal choice is the only choice, but more when THIS way is the ONLY way to play a game. For example, when I was playing World of Warcraft, which began this conversation, I recalled how some people who play Mythic+ Dungeons (which are dungeons with a timer to beat). Those things have been known to make you have a group that requires specific professions, classes, or both. That is if you’re one of those groups trying to break world records. The thing is that most of it is used for lower levels (e.g., Mythic+5) when it’s more useful for those gunning in the 20s. It creates an annoying gatekeep that makes joining harder and forces people to roll that or be forced not to be that way. Shadowlands does have that with covenant choices, but that’s another story for another time.

Though I’ve seen other ways to this, it becomes a bit toxic when people will berate others who don’t play this way. Again, we return to Warcraft and how it’s tough to join groups (or even form groups) if you’re not at a specific parameter or just doing a chill run. Things get really..really dicey and pretty annoying. Especially with random groups. Though this isn’t limited to this as well, as sometimes it extends beyond WoW and in things like Pokemon where some folks will get really competitive when it comes to specific rulesets and metas that they’ll follow with a passion. Not knocking on that, but some folks wouldn’t mind having some plain fun but don’t throw a fit if people don’t play Smogon rulesets or VCGs and just want to have some fun.

So what do ya boy suggest in this situation? All I can do is simply don’t become hyper-competitive when it comes to some casual aspects. It’s okay to chase that challenge if you want and how you do it but don’t berate people if they don’t want to do it that way. Remember that folks are different and have their own ways. Lastly, one big thing folks need to know whether it’s a card game, video game, or just any sports in general…

IT’S JUST A GAME!

If you don’t think about this..then…as I always say…

So with that, that’s ya boy’s issue with this hyper-competitive nature. Folks should be free to play the game they want to (within the rules, of course) but not berating those who seek casual fun or pure competition. Let people have their fun and enjoy things how it is.