<BREEDING A NEW CULTURE>

Shit Is Gonna Change, Yo

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-07-18 08:00:04

I don't think I could say it any better than Rogue already did in "Quicksilver": I'm taking back my love, taking back my pride, taking back my dreams and my life. This is the ground I will defend. A rage of angels bears the end. I'm taking back my hope, taking back my goals, taking back my memories and my soul. This brand is forged to my crusade -- Quicksilver, the future belongs to the brave. Things are going to get better. I'm going to make them better with nothing more than rage-filled determination, if that's what it takes. Life is too short. Life is too precious. I'm... (Read More)

Forget The Golden Boot

Posted by Karen
Published: 2010-07-11 13:20:02

It was Mae West who put it best, "I love two kinds of men: domestic and imported," and what better way to celebrate the finale of a month of football than with just that. Forget Shakira shaking it for Africa! The game is about the men who play it, so this is how I am celebrating their hard work. The following is a list of the best looking footballers in the 2010 FIFA World Cup (also known as the men approved to father my children). A (Not-So) Very Scientific Process With 32 teams and 23 players, that meant 736 photographs for review.... (Read More)

Gettin' Some nook™y

Posted by Karen
Published: 2010-06-29 14:55:09

I love books. I lose track of the universe upon clearing the thresholds of libraries or booksellers. Growing up, I aspired to have a reading corner like my Uncle Gaëtan, complete with a broken-in chair, reading light, and refreshment table. However, my nomadic tendencies and lack of private real estate have hindered my ability to amass a private library. In an effort to resume flexing my thinking muscle, I've embraced electronic reading. Paper or Plastic? My undergraduate degree is in English with scope covering several genres: creative writing, feminist theory, film and media studies, and fiction analysis. This resulted in a rather... (Read More)

Picking the Wrong Apple?

Posted by Karen
Published: 2010-06-22 10:49:52

In November 2007, I bought a Mac Mini while I was living in Japan. I had been pushing myself for years to switch from Windows to Mac, and at the time, the availability of an English OS computer in Japan was extremely convenient. Compact. Powerful. Inexpensive. This fall will mark the third anniversary of my conversion to The Orchard. However, I recently have had doubts about my selection of my Mac Mini. Allow me to clarify. Being a novice to Apple, I am uncertain if I selected the right device to meet my computing needs. At the time, I was extremely confident... (Read More)

Simple Pleasures In Life That Keep Me Going

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-04-26 14:58:12

Waking up Allyson every morning. The urgent dependency that my cat displays. Healing a group of people through an instance without losing anyone. Of Montreal or Cruxshadows randomly playing on my iPhone. Watching a beautiful goal arc past the keeper after a well-timed cross. Random hot pink Hello Kitty trinkets from the Sanrio store. ... (Read More)

Defender of Lowbies

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-04-23 08:23:45

Dear Ganking Wannabe Wankstas, While I'm working on my Loremaster achievement, the lowbie zones are under my protection. I will not stand by idly while you kill quest givers that my lower-level friends and I need. I understand that killing low-level NPCs and any lowbies who flag makes you feel like a big, bad PVP star, but I will make you feel like the sad wanker you truly are. I don't care about your stuns. I can outlast them. I don't care about your burst damage. I'm a PVE tank with enough health to laugh at you. Frankly, you're not even all... (Read More)

A Few Minor Points

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-03-08 09:12:25

My orc shaman Rokhar is now the troll Zulkhar. Yes, I know I change my characters a lot. No, it's really not a problem. For RP purposes, this is a different person, a troll that Rokhar rescued and served as a mentor for. This explains why their names are so similar. Mugwort is currently my main. ... (Read More)

Bargor "Mugwort" Corpsehammer

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-02-08 16:19:31

Yet another back story for one of my World of Warcraft characters. Bargor is the sort of character that would be really conducive to playing in a D&D group. He's team-oriented and has a lot of history without being disruptive. "Mugwort" is actually the nickname of Bargor Corpsehammer, a soldier of Orgrimmar and single-father. Bargor and his wife Chok'la joined with the orcish forces to help repel the Scourge after the orcs fled to Kalimdor (i.e. during the events of Warcraft 3). Chok'la was killed in the fighting, leaving their young son Guksal with only Mugwort to care for him. During the... (Read More)

The Phases of a Rusty Alt

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-01-23 19:48:59

Roll up an Alliance alt of a new character class that I haven't really tried before so that I can "see the Alliance quests". Play the character up to level 20-30 and really start enjoying the class. Think to myself, "I miss being with my guild. I wish I had an alt of this class on the Horde side." Wistfully roll an alt of said character class -- usually an orc -- on a dumping ground RP server. Play said alt up to level 5 or so. Wonder why I didn't start the alt as an orc in the first place. Delete a character to make... (Read More)

Random Thoughts On Gender and Transgender

Posted by Rusty Haskell
Published: 2010-01-20 17:36:26

To be "other" in our society is to be lesser. In nearly every binary pair, one side is viewed as positive while the other is weaker or negative. Man is stronger than woman. Light is better than dark. Genderqueer folks take the matter a step further, calling the very structure itself into question. Is a trans-woman male or female? How do I characterize this person? You don't even have to be transgender to cause this breakdown. Butch lesbians aren't "real women". When such ingrained structures are called into question, people turn to frustrated violence to try to enforce their orthodoxy. The problem... (Read More)