RIP Leonard Nimoy. Gutted. Boldy gone.
Live Long And Prosper.
Monthly Archives: February 2015
Twelve Angry Philosophers – Existential Comics
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Click through for full version. 
continued at Twelve Angry Philosophers – Existential Comics.
I think the final panels in the full version represent the end result of most philosophical debates. Not that we shouldn’t have those debates, but we should be conscious of the fact that many philosophical problems have no authoritative answer. Some, and this may include the most interesting questions, may never have one. Indeed, once it’s possible to have an authoritative answer, it’s usually then in the purview of science rather than philosophy.
Romance myths and other grey areas
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There is a myth that what women want is a guy who is forceful and dominant. He shows up in films and romance fiction as the ‘alpha male’ – suffering from entitlement issues, a lack of sensitivity and an ego the size of a house. From such archetypes, a subset of young men, and perhaps older ones (I don’t see them so much on twitter) assume that being aggressive, pushy and demanding is what women want, and that the closer you get to raping women, the more they will want you. Mr Grey takes this unfortunate archetype to whole new depths, by all accounts. I haven’t seen or read 50 Shades and mean to keep it that way because rape described as romance makes me very angry.
What’s attractive about the alpha male romance? Often it’s the takedown. It’s the woman who has the sexual power, self confidence, virtue and…
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The War for the Soul of Geek Culture
0Steampunk Hands Around The World- Steamed puddings
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Steam Pudding Punk
The steamed pudding is a Victorian icon. Whether blazing in burning brandy, steeped in custard or covered in jam, a period pudding is a thing to reckon with. The truly authentic pudding would feature the shredded fat taken from around the kidneys of cows (that’s suet!). There would be flour in it. After that, all bets are off, depending on what you can afford. Eggs? Sugar? Booze? Fruit? Spices? If you boil it in a shirt sleeve, you might call it dead man’s arm. If it’s very plain, it might be ‘old lady’s leg’. Put fruit in it, and for reasons best not explored, you could end up with a spotted dick.
Of course a modern enthusiast for Victoriana need not limit themselves to traditional recipes. You want cranberry and rum, you can have cranberry and rum! (I’m not offering to buy them for you, just to…
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Sharing Steampunk: some thoughts about popularity
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Steampunk is a subgenre of Science Fiction. In the past three decades, Steampunk has managed to generate several subgenres of its own, like Gaslamp Fantasy and Dieselpunk. These are growing large enough to count as genres in their own right, with their own aesthetics and genre markers, and with their own authors, illustrators, artists, and cosplayers. Some people think Steampunk is getting too popular, and this popularity is ruining the playfield for the ‘real’ enthusiasts, because the genre can be interpreted in too many ways.
Let me be the first to disagree with that attitude.
Some people see Steampunk devolving into an uchronic mythology based on the Industrial age in Victorian England. These are purists who want to see all the historical details remain accurate, forgetting that Steampunk shares many of characteristics of the Alternative History genre. The important word in the previous sentence is ‘alternative’, which means creative changes…
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Feminist Friday: The Problem With The Manic Pixie Dream Girl
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Roll the opening credits. Enter Average Troubled Male.
Average Troubled Male has a mediocre, meaningless life. He feels trapped in his job and either hates his friends or has none. He can’t see the fun in anything, and he’s on the road to depression.
What does he need?
A) To get out of his cubicle and give back to his community.
B) To move to a foreign country.
C) A prescription for antidepressants.
D) A woman.
If you answered D, you’ve bought into the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
According to tvtropes.org, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is “stunningly attractive, high on life, full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasics (generally including childlike playfulness and a tendency towards petty crime)…she will focus her kuh-razy antics [on Average Troubled Male] until he learns to live freely and love madly.”
Nathan Rabin created the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” in response…
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What’s On The Table?
0The Zinge Industries and Curious Constructs models from the Steampunk Infantry Support Weapons Kickstarter are fantastic casts and fit together very quickly.
Six weapons and four platforms, so I think the V1 Vergeltungswaffe Kirschkern Maikäfer Terror Weapon will be mounted on a custom base. The anti-aircraft guns and the Nebelwerfer Rocket Mortar suit the platforms much better. My only criticism of the models is that the ammo feeds for the anti-aircraft guns do not fit correctly between the dual cannon on each side, there is a small gap. Don’t think it will be very noticeable. But other than that, these are nice models for the Prussian Scrunts.
Confessions of a Geek Queen 