Jaded Times

It was bound to happen, the great Halloween backlash.

Some Europeans are speaking out against our October 31st ways. This hits me as off, this dissing of a holiday where Americans,who often keep themselves locked up in their own fortresses, actually journey out into their community, on foot.

the mayor of Rankweil, a town near the border with Switzerland, has launched a one-man campaign disparaging Halloween as a “bad American habit”

But in terms of American habits is this one really bad? Compared to our hyper-consumerism and responsibility for over 25% of the world’s total oil consumption.
I can see where they’re coming from with some of their arguments, such as with their desire to keep their country’s specific customs stronger than those that have jumped over because of the dominance of American pop culture.

Then some of their reasons just makes me think they’re trying to convince me to party:

Italy’s Papaboys, a group of pope devotees who include some of the young Catholics who cheer wildly at Vatican events, have urged Christians not to take part in what they consider “a party in honor of Satan and hell,” and plan to stage prayer vigils nationwide that night.

This fun American holiday can also lead to gruesome headlines such as “Suicide Mistaken for Halloween Decoration”. So come on out! and give something sweet or get something sour as they say in Germany.

Oh and here’ s pumpkin tip for European celebrants: White is the new Orange. Though, I’m more of a traditionalist in this regard. Save the white pumpkins for Princess balls and coming-out-parties or something.

Is your apartment too small for a real Jack O’Lantern? Then feel free to fly over here and carve your own virtual Jack.

. . . but be warned most of them just end up coming out odd looking, which scares me.

Jack Thompson, anti-gaming advocate and “lawyer” (I will continue using quotations as long as he continues using words he does not understand) has gone even further off the deep end than since our last story. Todd will be writing a longer piece about this later today, but here is a quick glimpse into the chaotic ramblings of a madman:

“Because of my prominence, for better or worse, on this public safety problem, a ‘gamer’ a few months ago decided to threaten to kill me via the Internet. I received thousands of e-mails from a kid who was able to blast e-mail me using a service in Ireland that made the death threats appear to come from the following e-mail address: georgewbush@whitehouse.gov. Because of the domain name, the Secret Service here in Miami got involved and shut that extortion down…Now there is new extortion, and it is coming from a Seattle company called Penny Arcade.

Mr Thompson, you are now (along with the White House) on our list of people who will be receiving free copies of the dictionary. But, as these things take time to arrive, here is a legal definition of “extortion”, courtesy of lectlaw.com:

EXTORTION – The use, or the express or implicit threat of the use, of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to person, reputation, or property as a means to obtain property from someone else with his consent. USC 18. The Hobbs Act defines “extortion” as “the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.” 18 U.S.C. S 1951(b)(2).

In the largest irony bid I’ve seen since Bush proposed conserving energy, activist Jack Thompson has offered $10,000 to charity if a game company will produce a game from his bizarrely hypocritical concept:

I have a modest proposal for the video game industry. I’ll write a check for $10,000 to the favorite charity of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc’s chairman, Paul Eibeler – a man Bernard Goldberg ranks as #43 in his book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America – if any video game company will create, manufacture, distribute, and sell a video game in 2006 like the following:

He goes on to describe a game plot consisting of the father of a child who was brutally beaten to death by gamers taking violent action against the gamin industry and fighting the FBI. Is it just me, or does this sort of discredit his punditry?

Another quick note: He cites Goldberg’s book as a source. I find it humorous that people are starting to take anything that comes into print as a reliable source; I mean, hell, anybody with enough money can self-publish, or anyone with an interesting idea can find a house willing to publish their work. It doesn’t make them a journalist (and I use the term loosely with Goldberg, who actually is a journalist, at least technically). I mean, he also listed Barbara Streisand and Harry Belafonte in the top 100. Not that I totally disagree on Streisand, but I can easily think of 100 more destructive members of our society than her. I do applaud him for including Springer, though (link to summation of list).

Click

You’re welcome!

How long do you think CNN has been waiting for a chance to use this headline?