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A Modest Construct

(the lesser of us suits the query heat like frothy knees — a hundred ants debating grass)

Nov 17 2004

The world is trying to piss me off

Tags: social, sociology, technology

1. A racy segment before Monday Night Football has more prudish Americans up in arms. Boo fucking hoo, everybody. A short advertising segment implies sexual activity and shows a woman’s *gasp* bare back? Someone had better get on the phone with Michael Powell: this may very rank up there with such flagrant moral violations as saying “bitch” on the news, or, dare I say it, a breast.

The NFL called the intro “inappropriate and unsuitable for our Monday Night Football audience.”

Inappropriate and unsuitable for mostly adults (mostly men) and teenagers? Are we really such Puritans that we feel the need to excise every instance of possible racy materials at any time? Sexuality is inappropriate, but beer commercials (often with the same effect: if you drink this, attractive women will sleep with you) and several hours of nonstop violence is ok.

2. Not to sound racist, but does this really surprise anyone? I understand that Vibe is a slick urban hip-hop magazine, and as such tried to give the awards a gloss of respectability, but is anyone taken aback that violence follows “gangsta rap” around? If you promote it, it will happen. It’s like a fucked up Field of Dreams, with Dr. Dre instead of Kevin Costner, and the ghost of Biggie Smalls as James Earl Jones. Except this time, all the rappers emerge out of the cornfield and have a knife fight.

3. Monday: Valve’s Steam service says “Your CD key [which I just scratched to reveal, lottery ticket style —ed.] is already in use. You cannot play Half Life 2 until you get an unregistered CD key.”

Tuesday: Valve’s Steam service says “We cannot process your request at this time. In the mean time, play Half Life 2.” I do, extensively.

Wednesday: Valve’s Steam service says “Your CD key is already in use. You cannot play Half Life 2 until you get an unregistered CD key.”

4 Responses to “The world is trying to piss me off”

  1. Andy on 17 Nov 2004 at 9:57 am

    The MNF segment also had me outraged. It was a deplorable act of indecency that they failed to include me.

  2. S4R on 17 Nov 2004 at 1:15 pm

    Half-Life_2_READ_NFO-EMPORiO + Half.Life.2.EMPORiO.FIX.REPACK-ape WORKS!

  3. heliologue on 17 Nov 2004 at 1:24 pm

    I thought the emporio release got nuked! What gives?

  4. ffanatic on 18 Nov 2004 at 12:57 pm

    I think I’m going to break down and buy Half Life 2 and Rome: Total War over break.

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