[Maquisard]

1. Nope.
2. Absorb blood.
3. lol. Umm.. must've been that alien traitor guy from the new V show.
__

1. Who do you think you are?
2. Orbital skydiving - a fad, or here to stay?
3. What time is it?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. In your opinion, what does it mean for a game to be accessible? For instance, does it just need to be easy to learn to play, or does it also need to be easy to finish?
2. How different does someone have to be from you for you not to have empathy for them? (Please note that having empathy for a person is not the same as liking them.)
3. How similar does someone have to be to you for you to be able to feel like you can speak for them?

1) I differ in that what I think makes a game accessible isn't so much how it works as what it's about. If you tell the same three or four stories in endless repetitions, a genre gains a certain reputation, and keeps away people who are well and truly not interested in putting a clamp through an inflatable duck. I think an accessible game would be one that tells a story very much like the kinds of stories you see on television. Not merely emulate television. Just find a topic that has more universal appeal.
2) I'm INFP, which basically means I have a great deal of empathy with a lot of personality types. I only have trouble with people who are closed off.
3) I find that very different people still have certain traits that I readily identify with. That said, quirky artsy types that like flirtatious boys are my 'type'. As for speaking 'for' anyone... well, I'm given to slanderous over-generalisation, but I don't actually feel I can speak for anyone, unless I know them extremely well, and even then, only if we've recently discussed the topic at hand.

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

1. What was the highlight of your past week?
2. Do you like snow?
3. (Borrowing an earlier question of Lee's: ) What period of your home town's history do you think would be the most interesting to reenact in a virtual environment?

1) Finishing Deirdra's logo.
2) Love it. I feel a little guilty about that, since unshovelled snow is the bane of my wife's existence, and I have friends with SAD.
3) I'd actually like to see a game created in 1940s Hamilton, somehow tying together historical intrigues of the day with an original mystery plot, featuring my character Sterling Carcieri.

Originally Posted by tsa

1. Do you know people with chronic ailments?
2. Is health an important factor for you in choosing a partner?
3. How would you describe the quality of your whole life so far?

1) My wife is depressive, and I have a girlfriend who has serious problems with anxiety attacks. Oh, and I'm bipolar.
2) Yup. All of my loved ones have to be a little off their twig for me to fall for them.
3) Muddled.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Are you any good at comforting people when they're distressed?
2. Are your friends generally willing to trust you with their secrets?
3. What was the weirdest thing you did as a child?

1) Sometimes, if I'm being particularly attentive.
2) Some. I think some of them fear that I'm a little too morally ambiguous to be trusted to give the kinds of advice they're accustomed to. I'm a 'do what your heart tells you, and fuck all that' kind of guy.
3) I apparently got up in the middle of the night and proceeded to rub feces all over the shower walls, and didn't remember doing it even after my parents pointed out to me that I had quite a bit of crap all over my legs inside of my footie pyjamas. Oh, that's right, you asked for weirdest, not grossest. Weirdest thing I did as a child was refuse to go to my kindergarten class until someone could adequately explain to me why the telephone pole hummed. My mother actually had to come to school and settle the matter before I went to class.

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

1. If you knew you could make something great, and you also knew that you'd have to go through some depression to get there (because nothing great comes easy), would you go through with it?
2. Where is the line between a healthy amount of stubbornness and flat-out insanity?
3. If you knew that your friends wanted something of you, and you also knew that you wanted something different, would going with one or both of those two options make you feel guilty?

1) Terminal Monday.
2) I honestly couldn't say, as I fear I passed that point long ago.
3) I often experience angst over what my friends and loved ones expect of me versus what I want/need for myself. I try to maintain some kind of balance, but it's not easy, and leaves me tired much of the time.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. The Olympics are being held in your city; do you feel annoyed, excited, or indifferent?
2. What do you think of the iPad?
3. Who was the last fictional character you had a crush on?

1) The Olympics? In Hamilton? BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!
2) WANT!
3) Andy Adams.

Originally Posted by tsa

1. The Olympics are being held in your city. Will you go and try to take photographs of famous people?
2. What would you like the iPad to be able to do?
3. Who was the last fictional character you witnessed being killed?

1) No.
2) Draw.
3) An alien assassin posing as a forest ranger in Robert A. Heinlein's 'The Number of the Beast'.

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. Who do you think you are?
2. Orbital skydiving - a fad, or here to stay?
3. What time is it?

1) A writer and graphic designer who used to be a pretty good songwriter and cartoonist. Also, I used to be a great Latin lover, but I got fat and old.
2) WTF??
3) 1:23 AM. (I'm waiting for my neighbour to get home and give me my parcel from UPS. Why else would I be up at this hour?).
____________________

1) Which 'alternative' sexual orientation/gender role would you genuinely like to play in an adventure game:
a) gay male;
b) lesbian female;
c) bisexual male;
d) bisexual female
(and I refuse to offer non-sexual choices, because too many of you would cop out and take that route, given half a chance! )

2) Which 'non-standard' (i.e. Honky) racial type would you genuinely like to play in an adventure game:
a) Negro;
b) Latino;
c) Asian;
d) (East) Indian;
e) Middle-Eastern;
f) Mediterranean;
g) Polynesian;
h) Caribbean;
i) Australian (What?!? They're practically a different species! )(and no, I'm not talking about Aborigines, though they should probably be on the list too);
j) Jewish (well, they've been done in indie games --heck, I'm pretty sure Deirdra and I wrote at least one into Stage!-- but I can't remember the last time I played a mainstream title that had a proper Jewish protagonist. It's not a wonder that video games never get made into Broadway musicals *runs and hides*);
k) Native North American
l) Inuit

3) What gaming genre do you think would be the best fit for a game made about a specific historical period of your home town?

Well, the Wii Fit has arrived, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight, all.

[Squinky]

1. A shy, fat butch dyke.
2. A Middle Eastern woman, particularly one who deals with the trials of immigrating to a Western country.
3. An interactive fiction game written in the style of a Doug Coupland novel.

To be honest, though, I'm happy with any player character who's well written and doesn't feel like a walking cliché. Really, all I want to is to see more diversity represented in general. Have me play a character I'd have never even thought I'd empathise with.

Anyway, passing on Lee's questions, 'cause I'm curious as to how other people would answer them.

EDIT: *blinkblink* "Negro"? Do people still say that these days? I'm not black myself, but last I heard, it's a word with pretty derogatory connotations, especially coming from a white person...

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

1) Which 'alternative' sexual orientation/gender role would you genuinely like to play in an adventure game:
a) gay male;
b) lesbian female;
c) bisexual male;
d) bisexual female
(and I refuse to offer non-sexual choices, because too many of you would cop out and take that route, given half a chance! )

2) Which 'non-standard' (i.e. Honky) racial type would you genuinely like to play in an adventure game:
a) Negro;
b) Latino;
c) Asian;
d) (East) Indian;
e) Middle-Eastern;
f) Mediterranean;
g) Polynesian;
h) Caribbean;
i) Australian (What?!? They're practically a different species! )(and no, I'm not talking about Aborigines, though they should probably be on the list too);
j) Jewish (well, they've been done in indie games --heck, I'm pretty sure Deirdra and I wrote at least one into Stage!-- but I can't remember the last time I played a mainstream title that had a proper Jewish protagonist. It's not a wonder that video games never get made into Broadway musicals *runs and hides*);
k) Native North American
l) Inuit

3) What gaming genre do you think would be the best fit for a game made about a specific historical period of your home town?

Nice questions Lee!

1. A gay male would be interesting. About 60% different from what I am I think .
2. I really don't care about racial type at all and don't understand why that is still such a big issue in the States, but if I have to choose I choose the Polynesian gay male.
3. First person AG.

Originally Posted by Lee

Well, the Wii Fit has arrived, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight, all.

Heheh, that reminds me of the day I had a Wii. I had borrowed it, connected it to the TV and decided I couldn't be bothered to switch it on.

I also pass the questions on because I am too lazy to come up with new ones.

[Squinky]

Tisk tisk.

1. If someone is saying or doing something you think is harmful to other people, under what circumstances will you attempt to educate them, and under what circumstances will you leave them to their own devices?
2. If someone proposed to you on Valentine's Day in the most elaborate, clichéd way possible, how would you react?
3. Under what circumstances would you join the military?

[MoriartyL]

1. It's always good to tell them what you think. Leaving them to figure it out for themselves? Never a good plan.
2. After a marriage proposal, the only part of the reaction which matters is yes or no. I very much doubt that the way the person proposed would have any effect on my decision. But I can say that my decision would be nearly instantaneous one way or the other, regardless of the shock of the unexpected cliché. If I haven't already decided I'd like to marry the woman, then the answer is an immediate no. If I have, then an immediate yes. How the proposal took place is irrelevant except for a bit of entertainment. But I'm thinking about this way too much, given that no one would ever propose to me.
3. I got out of being drafted to the Israeli army because I told them three truths:
   • I have Asperger's Syndrome.
   • I would not fit in to a military structure, given that I am comfortable neither with taking orders nor with being in groups.
   • I would be very depressed in the army.
   If I had said I wanted to be in the army, I'd be in the army now. Under what conditions would I reconsider? First off, I'd need to think that war was imminent, and that we needed every single advantage we could get. Secondly, if I was certain that I'd be contributing in a non-physical way. Intelligence, or something like that. Third, if I underwent some severe traumas that changed my personality into the sort of person who'd seek out ways to follow others. But if I'm being honest, I think even with all that I might still be too much of a coward to join.

==============================================

1. How long do you need to know someone to really know them?
2. How much time would someone need to spend with you to really know you?
3. Are there any people you know well who have yet to ever surprise you greatly?

[Giligan]

Originally Posted by Squinky

Tisk tisk.

1. If someone is saying or doing something you think is harmful to other people, under what circumstances will you attempt to educate them, and under what circumstances will you leave them to their own devices?
2. If someone proposed to you on Valentine's Day in the most elaborate, clichéd way possible, how would you react?
3. Under what circumstances would you join the military?

1. If I thought they'd listen, and I had a good way of letting them know, I'd just talk to them about it. Or ask them why they do it.
2. I'd probably like it, for being cheesy and sentimental.
3. I'm actually strongly considering service in the US Marine Corps right now, and have talked to a recruiter, so my current circumstances, basically.

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

1. How long do you need to know someone to really know them?
2. How much time would someone need to spend with you to really know you?
3. Are there any people you know well who have yet to ever surprise you greatly?

1. Well, generally a while. It depends on how much alike we are and how freely we can talk, of course.
2. Probably a while.
3. A few.

~~~

1. Do you prescribe to any particular political theories?
2. Is a government better than the state of nature?
3. Do you think the military is worthwhile for you, in terms of what it would teach you?

[Trumgottist]

Originally Posted by Giligan

1. Do you prescribe to any particular political theories?
2. Is a government better than the state of nature?
3. Do you think the military is worthwhile for you, in terms of what it would teach you?

1. No. Most of them sound good in theory, but in practice… I can rule out the extremes, but then it's not so easy. This is an election year in Sweden, and I don't know who to vote for.
2. Well, I do think civilisation has brought much good, and not just bad things, so I'll say government.
3. No.

--

1. How do you decide your opinion on someone?
2. Would you rather go to a concert or listen to a CD?
3. What's the fruit you eat the most?

[Squinky]

1. Usually, it's a factor of how comfortable I feel around them. The people I like most are the people I can be myself around without fearing that they'll judge me.
2. CDs, to me, are souvenirs you buy after you've been to the concert. So yeah, I'd rather go to a concert.
3. Oranges and grapefruits, these days. In the summer months, it'll be peaches and nectarines.

***

1. Which catchy tune should be the next great internet meme?
2. How warm does it generally need to be for you to want to eat ice cream?
3. Whatever happened to Google Wave?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Squinky

EDIT: *blinkblink* "Negro"? Do people still say that these days? I'm not black myself, but last I heard, it's a word with pretty derogatory connotations, especially coming from a white person...

Not all people of African decent are African Americans, and not all are born in Africa, either. I grew up in an age when the term Negro was THE politically correct term for 'black' people, and while I know it is no longer in fashion, I still feel it is the most correct, despite some of the negative connotations attached to it (though I never understood that), as it is derived from the scientific term for those of negroid genealogy and physical appearance. While I understand that there are huge swathes of the populace who fear the word is too close to a certain pejorative term I'll be nice and not use here, I don't think we've gained anything from mincing words and awarding multi-syllabic appellations that really only work for a fraction of the population we're attempting to protect. I don't belittle those that feel the need to jump through those hoops, but I myself don't think we've achieved what we set out to do, as those most likely to resort to racial slurs are least likely to adopt terms like 'African American', at least without resentment. I don't think that means we should stop trying. I just think we have to think a little more about what we're trying to achieve, and whom we're trying to win over: the aggrieved, or the aggressor.

I myself prefer being called 'white' to being called Caucasian, despite the fact that the former has a boatload of negative connotation to it, but I definitely prefer it to being called White Anglo-Saxon North American. That said, I'll settle for Irish Canadian in a pinch. But I won't get upset if someone of a marginalized minority feels the need to call me 'honky'. I don't feel like I'm part of that group that oppresses them, but we all feel these things differently, and I'm sure some would interpret my lack of strong political activity on racial issues to be a tacit acceptance of the status quo. You can't please everybody.

Oh, and I really liked your answers. Particularly the first one. Perhaps event he second one. Makes me want to concoct something along those lines.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. If someone is saying or doing something you think is harmful to other people, under what circumstances will you attempt to educate them, and under what circumstances will you leave them to their own devices?
2. If someone proposed to you on Valentine's Day in the most elaborate, clichéd way possible, how would you react?
3. Under what circumstances would you join the military?

1. I'm not nearly as comfortable lecturing people who are content to remain ignorant, unless they say something that genuinely bothers me. Racial slurs tend to get one of my withering stares, but I save the lectures for those who say or do things that aren't merely insensitive but genuinely and boldly offensive. We get into the shades and degrees of Hell in this situation, but I tend to take each on a case by case basis and decide whether a warning shot or a full salvo are called for.
2. I'm not anti-Valentines, having drawn a number of Valentines cards myself. If someone made a very clichéd stab at marriage proposal to me on Valentines Day, I'd probably be slightly flattered and bemused, but a bit disappointed that they hadn't personalised their efforts somehow... unless they really were a very conventional person by nature. However, if they were so, I'd probably turn them down, as I'm far from conventional myself.
3. I would join the military if there were mandatory service requirements in our country. Otherwise, I would not, simply because I am non-violent and I do not excel at physically demanding or athletic activities. I do actually believe in the importance of military service (although I don't think it's as essential as it was in previous centuries, despite our problems in the Third world). However, in all likelihood, if we were to go to war and start conscripting for soldiers, I would very seriously consider going to jail as a conscientious objector (might not actually do it, but I'd consider it. I'm not Heinlein). Also, at my age, I am no longer eligible for entry into military service.

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

1. How long do you need to know someone to really know them?
2. How much time would someone need to spend with you to really know you?
3. Are there any people you know well who have yet to ever surprise you greatly?

1. Some people I click with instantly. Others take a bit of time to warm up to, or to warm up on their end. I've known people whom I practically fell in love with on first meeting them, and others that took years to become casual friends with. It's probably down to personality types and social backgrounds for me.
2. Some people can figure me so quickly, it almost frightens me. However, most folks take years to get to know me with any degree of competency. I'm not unknowable, but I am somewhat unconventional, and I'm not nearly as outgoing as some of my posts here probably make me sound.
3. Most folks surprise me from time to time, starting with if they decide that they like me. I always find people liking (or loving) me to be remarkable.

Originally Posted by Giligan

1. Do you prescribe to any particular political theories?
2. Is a government better than the state of nature?
3. Do you think the military is worthwhile for you, in terms of what it would teach you?

1. Not particularly, though I am a solid voter for the New Democratic Party in Canada. I'm actually a Utopian idealist, which basically means I don't agree with any political structure or philosophy. In practice, I prefer democratic socialism to the alternatives I've been shown.
2. Government is necessary in a world where most people do not know how to self-govern conscientiously. This bothers me.
3. I think I could learn a great many things in the military. However, they are not things I feel any pressing need to learn while enduring military service. I appreciate those that chose to do so, but I'm well aware that I am not one of their number.

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

1. How do you decide your opinion on someone?
2. Would you rather go to a concert or listen to a CD?
3. What's the fruit you eat the most?

1. I talk to them, and listen to them. If they say or do things that bother me, I don't talk to them as often. If they say and do things in public that irritate me, I avoid them. This is not as impossible as people make it sound. It's really down to what you're willing to put up with versus what you feel you are duty-bound to endure. Personally, I endure things for the people I love, but I have limits, and I let people know when my limits have been reached before I walk away.
2. I actually like live performance a great deal... and I like owning the CD of the performance, as well. But I am more of a collector of music than I am a concert-goer, as concerts by the bands I like the most are terribly expensive these days. That said, I've seen the Barenaked Ladies twice, the Police once, Genesis once, Yes about four or five times, and Dream Theater once. There are only a few other bands or musicians I would feel genuinely bad about not being able to add to that list before they or I pass on.
3. I like strawberries and oranges.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Which catchy tune should be the next great internet meme?
2. How warm does it generally need to be for you to want to eat ice cream?
3. Whatever happened to Google Wave?

1. Shiny Dark Bar by The James Rocket.
2. I've been known to eat ice cream in the dead of winter. I love ice cream. However, I don't eat it in winter as much as I used to, simply because I am married and live with a woman who doesn't get it.
3. I joined. That pretty much killed that. It was pretty much as I feared.
____________________

1. Have you ever drifted away from playing your favourite genre of video games, and why?
2. What did you do in the meantime?
3. What, if anything, brought you back?

[Squinky]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I grew up in an age when the term Negro was THE politically correct term for 'black' people, and while I know it is no longer in fashion, I still feel it is the most correct, despite some of the negative connotations attached to it (though I never understood that), as it is derived from the scientific term for those of negroid genealogy and physical appearance. (etc.)

Understandably so, and I know you don't mean any harm. I'm personally uncomfortable with the term because of its association with the now-mostly-discredited "scientific" theory of three races, and its relation to eugenics and other associated movements that make me sick to my stomach to think about. Personally, I don't think it's so much about saying what's "politically correct" or in vogue at the moment, but about calling people what they want to be called. I've never met anyone who referred to her/himself as "Negro", but I've met plenty who call themselves "black", so that's what I use. (Indeed, according to Wikipedia, "black" is the word chosen by the civil rights movement.) If, however, I were to meet someone who objected to my use of the term, I wouldn't hesitate to change it.

Of course, as discussed in the peeve thread, we've also got those (mostly) young folks who use the N word in more of a reclaimed sense, which I myself feel uncomfortable using, not because of any abstract notion of OMG that's a bad word, but because I'm not a part of its history. I know all too well that the meanings of words change and evolve over time, but when it comes to words that have been used to marginalise other people, I firmly believe it's up to those people to decide who gets to use it.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

Oh, and I really liked your answers. Particularly the first one. Perhaps event he second one. Makes me want to concoct something along those lines.

*grins* Let me know if you do, and maybe we can come up with a concept together, just for fun. Given our track record, we don't have to write a whole 'nother game, but I still love bouncing ideas around with you.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

Most folks surprise me from time to time, starting with if they decide that they like me. I always find people liking (or loving) me to be remarkable.

I find it more remarkable that not enough people do like (or love) you. You're an amazing person. [/blatant sappiness]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

Not particularly, though I am a solid voter for the New Democratic Party in Canada. I'm actually a Utopian idealist, which basically means I don't agree with any political structure or philosophy. In practice, I prefer democratic socialism to the alternatives I've been shown.

Funny, I've always pictured you as more of a Marxist-Lennonist. Of the Groucho and John variety, that is.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

1. Have you ever drifted away from playing your favourite genre of video games, and why?
2. What did you do in the meantime?
3. What, if anything, brought you back?

1. I don't play many "traditional" adventure games anymore, mainly because I feel like I've grown out of the whole nostalgia mindset that many of them seem to be trying to invoke.
2. I discovered puzzleless interactive fiction and put some of its ideas to use in my own work, while at the same time levelling up in the MMORPG of life.
3. I still play some of the stuff Telltale puts out, which I enjoy, but don't see as the be-all and end-all of what adventure games ought to be.

---

1. When was the last time you came back to something (a place, a group of friends, an internet community, a work of fiction, etc.) and saw that it had changed so much since the last time you were there?
2. How much of that change was due to external forces, and how much was due to your own growth and associated changes in perception?
3. Did you find a new way to appreciate the thing in question, or did you find yourself turning away and moving on?

[Trumgottist]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

That said, I've seen the Barenaked Ladies twice

Are they as good live as I think they are? I have three of their CDs, which I love. The latest one (?) in particular.

Edit: Wow, I didn't know there were so many videos available from Snacktime! You have to love this song.

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Trumgottist

Are they as good live as I think they are?

Better. Live is where they come from (though I haven't seen them without Page yet, so I'm not sure what the dynamic is like now). If you ever get a chance, see them.

[Maquisard]

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. When was the last time you came back to something (a place, a group of friends, an internet community, a work of fiction, etc.) and saw that it had changed so much since the last time you were there?
2. How much of that change was due to external forces, and how much was due to your own growth and associated changes in perception?
3. Did you find a new way to appreciate the thing in question, or did you find yourself turning away and moving on?

1. The most radical change in a place I'd ever experienced was in 2002, when I spent my first summer back in Serbia after being away in the States for 3 years. The colors, the smells, they had somehow shifted.
2. I think a lot of it was global warming. Summers became unbearable in Serbia starting with that year. Or, I was away for so long, and had forgotten the hue of everything, or my brain matured and interpreted things differently...
3. I loved every minute of it. It wasn't until my second visit that my vision of the old country took a turn for the more realistic. I've been bouncing back and forth since.
______

1. If you could overthrow any government in the world, which would it be & why?
2. If the world could follow the example of any one country (in terms of liberty, social security, work ethic, tolerance etc), which would you pick & why?
3. Which language are your google ads displayed in?

[Jelena]

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. If you could overthrow any government in the world, which would it be & why?
2. If the world could follow the example of any one country (in terms of liberty, social security, work ethic, tolerance etc), which would you pick & why?
3. Which language are your google ads displayed in?

1. The North Korean government because it's one of the world's most repressive regimes with no freedom of speech at all, leaders who keep their people starving and totally isolated from the rest of the world.
2. I'd say the Scandinavian countries are good in all those aspects.
3. Google ads.....gee, I haven't noticed.

----------------------------
1. How much snow is too much snow?
2. How much money is too much money?
3. Hos much heat is too much heat?

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Jelena

1. How much snow is too much snow?
2. How much money is too much money?
3. Hos much heat is too much heat?

1. For our train companies, 5 cm is already far too much. We had the whole train system in a big mess for weeks because due to the snow a lot of their equipment broke down. They, and our government, who devided the governmental train system in a separate rails- and trains company about ten years ago, should be utterly ashamed. But next year it will happen again, oh yes .
For me, 25 cm or more.
2. That's a very hard question to answer. How much money is enough money? Just enough to have a roof above your head and enough food? Or are you allowed to be able to have fun that costs money, for instance vacations or extravagant cars like mine? If so, how much much?
3. Inside: 23 ºC.
Outside: 26ºC

---
I liked Jelena's questions, so I will ask similar ones.

1. How many hours of work in one day is enough?
2. How much pain is too much pain?
3. How many hours of light in a day is too little?

[Squinky]

1. Eight. Yes, even at video game companies. Studies have actually been done regarding this.
2. The amount of pain that ceases to make you stronger and actually ends up making you weaker.
3. Anything under about 12 or so, but YMMV and all that.

---

1. Why do so many people get so emotionally attached to sports games/teams?
2. Have you ever had a "rockstar moment" in recent memory? If so, please describe. If not... well, why the heck not?
3. Have you ever loved your job?

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Squinky

I've never met anyone who referred to her/himself as "Negro", but I've met plenty who call themselves "black", so that's what I use.

Me neither, but I did grow up in a time when coloured people weren't fond of being called black, either, and that has kind of stuck for me. My problem is, I'm a product of my era. I don't believe in genetic superiority or any of that crap, but I did grow up being aware that different races have certain definable physical features (though not absolutely nor without variation). So I use terms like 'negroid' or 'mongoloid' or 'caucasoid' (I also use Mediterranean and Polynesian and Caribbean and Latino and such for those who don't quite fit the old 'three races' schtick either), even though the terms have been dropped into the waste bin of history, simply because we didn't have any more accurate, less derogatory terms to use back then.

As for calling people what they want to be called, that's certainly the nicest thing to do, but the older you get, the more you realize that this doesn't really work, because the popular names change over time, making official titles and terminology useless. It's okay if you're the sort who always keeps abreast of the latest political trends, but if you're a hard-bitten dinosaur like me, it means something you learned as fact ten or twenty years ago has been disputed and disproved since then, leaving you sounding like an idiot if you refer back to those terms or theories. And Pluto IS a planet, dammit! *sulk*

I'm willing to accept a black eye now and then, but I don't think it's an effective way to promote communication and understanding if they keep changing the rules and titles because the new generation are a little more sensitive to one term than another. *shrug* I guess what I mean is, I'm the sort who looks for the middle ground, and these days, it's getting harder to find. I accept that I'm wrong. I'm not proud. I don't revel in it. It just seems inevitable that I should be so. When they finally get the terminology sorted out to a satisfactory degree, I'll give it another try. But it's going to be hard to start using 'black' after all of these years, especially when it's not scientifically accurate (either) and has a lot of negative connotation as well, Wikipedia or no.

Of course, as discussed in the peeve thread, we've also got those (mostly) young folks who use the N word in more of a reclaimed sense, which I myself feel uncomfortable using, not because of any abstract notion of OMG that's a bad word, but because I'm not a part of its history. I know all too well that the meanings of words change and evolve over time, but when it comes to words that have been used to marginalise other people, I firmly believe it's up to those people to decide who gets to use it.

Agreed. However, it's 'funny' what one generation considers derogatory and the next considers politically correct.

*grins* Let me know if you do, and maybe we can come up with a concept together, just for fun. Given our track record, we don't have to write a whole 'nother game, but I still love bouncing ideas around with you.

I won't make you any more promises and keep you waiting like I have with the last couple of projects.

Funny, I've always pictured you as more of a Marxist-Lennonist. Of the Groucho and John variety, that is.

Good one.

1. When was the last time you came back to something (a place, a group of friends, an internet community, a work of fiction, etc.) and saw that it had changed so much since the last time you were there?
2. How much of that change was due to external forces, and how much was due to your own growth and associated changes in perception?
3. Did you find a new way to appreciate the thing in question, or did you find yourself turning away and moving on?

1. this one, every year or so. a few familiar faces, but lots of new ones, and some of the same conversations, but with new twists. I used to frequent CBR. but I stayed away too long and lost touch.
2. Probably an even split.
3. I'm still here, but I haven't visited CBR or the Longest Journey forums in ages. Nothing's forever.

Originally Posted by Maquisard

1. If you could overthrow any government in the world, which would it be & why?
2. If the world could follow the example of any one country (in terms of liberty, social security, work ethic, tolerance etc), which would you pick & why?
3. Which language are your google ads displayed in?

1. My own, because the Government of Limbo needs new management and new direction.
2. Probably Canada, though we're far from perfect.
3. English.

Originally Posted by Jelena

1. How much snow is too much snow?
2. How much money is too much money?
3. How much heat is too much heat?

1. Blasphemy. That sentence is utter gibberish
2. You have too much money when you no longer appreciate how much effort goes into giving you the things you use every day, or the people who work to give it to you.
3. Hamiltonian summer is not the hottest summer on Earth, but I don't enjoy it. I'd be miserable in a tropical zone.

Originally Posted by tsa

1. How many hours of work in one day is enough?
2. How much pain is too much pain?
3. How many hours of light in a day is too little?

1. Depends on whose work I'm doing. If it's my own, then I can happily work way past eight hours and not blink. Working for someone else... not so much.
2. When I can't sleep or do my work properly, that's too much pain (and as I have chronic back pain, there's a pretty constant low level of pain for me to deal with).
3. To tell the truth, there are certain types of work I like doing by daylight, and some I prefer doing late at night. I miss having the option of staying up late to do other kinds of creative work, so my preference is for less daylight. Sadly, it doesn't seem to work out anyway.

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Why do so many people get so emotionally attached to sports games/teams?
2. Have you ever had a "rockstar moment" in recent memory? If so, please describe. If not... well, why the heck not?
3. Have you ever loved your job?

1. Some people are patriotic, and some people are just very physically oriented, and have a great appreciation for competitive sports. Personally, I'd like to see Canada beat the US today, but really just to restore some national pride. I couldn't care two figs for hockey as a sport. Haven't since Guy LaFleur retired.
2. Not recently, no. I'm just not the rockstar I once was. *shrug*
3. I've loved my creative pursuits, but so far, none of them has paid off, and I don't consider graphic design to be one of my creative pursuits, though it is my preferred professional field thus far.
____________________

1. Do you have a favourite winter activity that you think is underrated?
2. Do you ever do something so cool, you just have to stop and pat yourself on the back, even if nobody else saw what happened?
3. Have you ever loved doing something so much, you wished it were your job, even though you know that doing it professionally would take some of the joy out of it?

[Squinky]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

But it's going to be hard to start using 'black' after all of these years, especially when it's not scientifically accurate (either) and has a lot of negative connotation as well, Wikipedia or no.

It's like I keep saying, if you think that's hard, try, you know, actually being part of a minority race. I'm really sorry to say it, but when it comes to the supposed "struggles" of confused old white men, I have nothing to offer but tiny violins. Not after all I've seen and experienced, and all the horrific, violent stories I've heard. Sorry, love.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

1. Do you have a favourite winter activity that you think is underrated?
2. Do you ever do something so cool, you just have to stop and pat yourself on the back, even if nobody else saw what happened?
3. Have you ever loved doing something so much, you wished it were your job, even though you know that doing it professionally would take some of the joy out of it?

1. Reading a good book on a comfy couch by the fireplace FTW.
2. Lots of my recent work on my game has been like that. I rest assured in the thought that people will see it later.
3. I made it my job, and it did take some of the joy out of it, but not enough to give up.

---

1. Is patriotism necessary in this day and age?
2. When someone you care about says something you personally find insensitive, even if you know for a fact that they don't intend on offending you personally, is it better to call them out on it or keep your mouth shut?
3. What would you prefer your friends did if you said something unintentionally offensive to them?

[Giligan]

Originally Posted by Squinky

1. Is patriotism necessary in this day and age?
2. When someone you care about says something you personally find insensitive, even if you know for a fact that they don't intend on offending you personally, is it better to call them out on it or keep your mouth shut?
3. What would you prefer your friends did if you said something unintentionally offensive to them?

1. To an extent, yes. I'm from a specific country; so is my whole family and my friends. This country has provided for me and nurtured me, and I lead a fairly good life because of the opportunities I've found here. I don't think it's unreasonable that one should be loyal to the society they live in and have been provided for by, and protect and improve it. If there are threats to that society, then I think patriotism is necessary.
2. It depends on if they actually meant what they said, or if they casually crossed the line. And of course, it depends on the context and what it was about. I'm more likely to call them out, though.
3. I'd want them to not be offended and say something.

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

1. Do you have a favourite winter activity that you think is underrated?
2. Do you ever do something so cool, you just have to stop and pat yourself on the back, even if nobody else saw what happened?
3. Have you ever loved doing something so much, you wished it were your job, even though you know that doing it professionally would take some of the joy out of it?

1. Considering how popular winter sports are, I'd say no.
2. Not really pat myself on the back, but appreciate the moment.
3. Sure. Video game design for sure, especially since it won't be my job.

Pass!