Not knowing how to properly coil a cable != contributing to the moral dissolution of future generations.

Also, I'm getting tired of this entire ridiculous fascination society in general seems to have with people "getting their hands dirty." I grew up surrounded by intellectuals, and though they might've been able to handle simple problems around the house, there were other things they spent their time learning how to do.

These were mathematicians, programmers, psychologists and physicists, and for all the usefulness of plumbers, mechanics and others of their ilk, these intellectuals provided other services to society which were quite honestly no less vital to its success. What they taught me was how to use my brain rather than my hands, and frankly, the world as I see it is filled to the brim with people are perfectly willing to get their hands dirty but who are astoundingly unwilling to ever use their heads.

I spent about a week this summer building a fence, and for all the shallow gratification of "honest labour," I would honestly really prefer it if I could just pay someone else to do it while I stayed inside, learning about the world and everything that goes on in it, instead of working outside like some sort of beast of burden.

If you happen to be one of those people who for some reason feel that digging holes and putting large sticks in them is a meaningful pastime, I will neither stop you from doing it nor judge you for your choice. So please, would you kindly shut the fuck up about how wonderful it is to "get your hands dirty" and just leave me to my Goddamn books?

Unless you happen to be a psychopath, there is a HUGE difference between killing a man and smoking a cigarette.

I could see it coming from a mile away, and I... I wanted to move my hand away. But I couldn't.

The rules, after all, must be observed.

I feel so violated.

This was great.

Like, really fucking fantastic.

And he's right, of course. What sort of person goes into politics? And, even more importantly, what sort of person goes on to succeed in politics?

Well, in my experience, they are either psychopaths, religious or ideological zealots, or a volatile mixture of all of the above.

These people don't want others to have a choice, because in their world, you are either the the one who has all the power, or you are one of pathetic bastards who've got nothing to show but the imprint of your master's boot on your neck.

And what they've managed to do, by baiting the masses with paranoic fear, mindless hatred, and the shared delusion of their country's intrinsic greatness, is to create a sort of political cartel - a playground for the exceedingly rich, the utterly ruthless, and the ceaselessly greedy - that will insure their power and their authority and their capital even if the people they've spent the last 70 years stepping on should learn to see past their lies and finally try to pry the boots of their masters off their necks.

It's going to be interesting to see how it all pans out.

*promote

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That...

That sounds AWESOME.

And you are of course, completely right. I have played MANY violent games, and I have read MANY violent books, and I have listened to MANY violent songs.

And I'm still not a violent person. In fact, the last time I did anything that could even be considered close to violent was when some preppy douchebag was standing in the very middle of the aisle in a tram and ignoring all the other passengers, even little old ladies, who awkwardly had to squeeze past this greedy asshole when he could easily have moved out the way. I walked past him to step off the tram, and as I did so, I bumped him out of the way with my shoulder.

OMG SO VIOLENT RIGHT!?!? I have clearly been ruined forever.

And really, despite all the violent imagery I've taken in through all these different mediums, I haven't killed even a single person. In fact, I haven't even hit anybody since I was something like eleven years old, despite the fact that I have killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people and assorted animals and mythical beasts during that time.

"The sexiest thing... is being really smart"

*MINDLESS SCREAMS*

That audience was just freaking horrible. Oh, and to all those absolute morons who kept screaming how much they loved him at the very top of their lungs - you say you love him, so why can't you just shut the fucking fuck up when the guy's talking?

HARRUMPH!

Exactly right. I like to play multiplayer FPS games, and in the one I am currently playing (Blacklight: Retribution, for those who are curious), it is possible to make your enemies heads' explode with all the charm of Gallagher smashing a watermelon.

It is, simply put, abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous.

But it's never more than a bonus. I do enjoy it for the sheer brutality of it (and that sound - like a popping balloon), but it's never the focus of the game for me. In fact, most of the time, despite the fact that the game is based on killing, I am mostly concerned with the basic mechanics of the game, and the constant competition I am in with myself.

Another series that constantly crops in these engineered controversies (and which was mentioned in this video), is GTA. People cannot seem to get this idea that teenagers are single-mindedly finding more and more ways to murder random prostitutes out of their heads, when the truth is that that's just one of MANY things you can do in GTA's sprawling cityscapes. I, for example, would sometimes enjoy simply driving fast cars around at night while listening to jazz. Same game, no prostitutes, or the wanton murder thereof, involved.

But then, I suppose "driving fast cars at night while listening to jazz on the radio" nets "news" outlets fewer views than "EVIL VIDEO GAME IS TEACHING THE YOUTH OF AMERICA TO MURDER PROSTITUTES."

I certainly am becoming addicted to VideoSift! It has both a fantastic community and a very fun concept. Then again, the utterly agonizing, rusty-nail-in-left-hemisphere, cradling-head-in-hands-and-trying-not-to-vomit headache also helped me stay awake though.

Also, now there are four of 'em in the top 15, and frankly, that wouldn't have happened without the power points you gave me! Thanks again for the warm welcome, and thanks for all the help.

(Let's hope this one isn't blocked.)

That, or he said "FARC guerillas." Y'know, either or. I'm sure the jungles of Colombia see (and smell) their fair share of flatulent hominids, though.

That's an interesting point. In a way, it could be argued that the skill needed in order to make any given instrument produce whatever it is that you've got in your head could represent a sort of ideational friction. Beardyman has obviously spent most his life practicing with his voice, and as such, his voice has become his instrument of choice. However, as he pointed out, he eventually realized that his voicebox simply wouldn't be able to do all the things he wanted it to do, and because this was an issue of biology, there was no linear path through this particular obstacle.

So he had to get a bit lateral instead.

And really, the same goes for guitars. They started out accoustic, but then somebody decided that he wanted to do more with them; and thus the electric guitar was born.

Creative people of all stripes tend to spend their lives looking for a high-fidelity method of getting the stuff inside their heads into everybody else's heads, and Beardyman is no different in that regard.