by Digit
 
 
File #248,999 – Public Service Announcement: Escapist Scandal?
 
This week a series I know and love is leaving The Escapist.  Their name?  Extra Credits.  They're relatively new to the site and their popularity astounds me.  They always try to take life enriching parts of games, discuss problems in the industry, discuss controversy in the industry and take a strong stance on video games as a medium, and the responsibility that carries.  I'm honestly not surprised they didn't stay with the Escapist, James the writer for Extra Credits is an entrepreneur and I always pictured he'd move it to his own site one day.
 
Yet what I did find was not him just having creative differences with the Escapist, like I expected (odd thinking back on it now I'd imagine 'creative' differences on a site that holds the one and only Yahtzee, creator of Zero Punctuation.)  No, what  seems to have happened was a controversy over payments, and who owns the rights to the show, and money in a donation drive.
 
As I don't want to influence this article with my own personal feelings, I'm going to discuss both sides, and let you decide which side you believe or even which side is right.
 
The first part that both admit is that due to the economy paychecks for shows fell behind, and Extra Credits it seems worked for a very long time without payment at all.  Alexander Macris, CEO of The Escapist, has released a statement saying that from November 2010 to June 2011 James said not to worry about paying him, so he could afford to pay the others.  James refutes this fact and says while he was willing to take a bit of a pay break, he didn't take it as a right to not be paid.
 
In June, Allison broke her arm and James' brother had a rather messy divorce, and James just simply needed the funds period to keep Allison writing and help his brother.  When The Escapist couldn't manage the funds for both, James asked if he could use the show's IP to start a rockethub donation drive for Allison's arm, and that The Escapist back it and provide memberships and t-shirts that they would be compensated for.  This is also agreed by both.  According to James,  they said they were owed 75% of the Rockethub money.
 
A lot more conflicts happen, James tried to just get the rights to his show back, and that he'd just call the $20,000 even.  Some conflicts over what the Rockethub overflow is being used for, and in general conflict.
 
The important part of this article isn't so much the conflict, as the resounding issue that started the conflict, The Escapist doesn't really have the money to support itself at the current time.  As an avid reader of The Escapist news, and many Escapist articles being sent in to the Emperor's Court on a weekly basis, the great shows and series they have on there, and the strong gaming community that coalesces there, I hate to think of what would happen if they were to go under.  The fact shows may not be getting paid or are greatly behind, great creators and contributors of media that have influenced my life not getting compensated makes me very sad indeed.
 
IIn the end, make of the situation what you will, but next time you  watch Extra Credits, or go to a news article, or laugh at Zero Punctuation, maybe turn your ad-blocker off and help them get a few more cents of revenue?  Or if you don't like ads, pay to get the ad-free service.  It's not the man or the companies advertising you really hurt, it's the sites they support, and this one in my opinion, is worth it.
 
Remember you can always find more of this author at DigitalIncorrectness.net

On July First Netflix added almost all the Start Trek TV shows to it's instant streaming service (except DS9, which will be added in September) and it took through yesterday, August 9th to watch all 170i-sh episodes of Voyager. I say 170-ish because they counted some of the two part episodes as one, and some not, so the count is weird. Now I like Star Trek shows and I would say that Voyager is still my   favorite one, but watching that much of the show marathon style turned into a real chore at some point.
 
Here are list of observations I made and lessons I learned from the seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager.
 
-Tuvak is a pimp. The resident Vulcan and chief of security is the coolest person on the ship and the only person in the series that didn't annoy the shit out of me at some point or another. With his cold logic and ass kickery he avoided all the pitfalls the other characters had of trying to define their humanity/place in Starfleet, whining about wanting to be home, second guessing past decisions or worst of all, awkwardly exploring romantic relationships. After the show ended and (*SPOILERS*) they got home, Tuvak was the only one I wondered what happened to next.
 
-Neelix is theWORST. Who the hell decided that shaving a badger and letting it loose on a Starship was a good idea? Not a fan, and I was glad when they left him behind.
 
-The Delta Quadrant is HUGE...sort of. It seems for what was supposed to be a 70 year journey the writers knew that was way to long to keep viewers engaged, and also I am guessing way too depressing of a thing to watch the characters suffer through.  There was no shortage of wormholes or slipstream technology or some other gimmick to shave a few years off the journey. But is begs the question. If space is this big, what is with all the territorial quibbles going on back in the Alpha quadrant? C'mon people there is enough infinite expanse for everyone.
 
-Captain Janeway holds her own against the likes of Kirk, Picard and those other guys. Being completely cut off from the support structure of the Federation and yet still being able to maintain the ideals  and standards of a Star Fleet ship is an almost constant struggle in this series.. And it's Janeway's leadership that makes it possible. I don't even hold it against here that she seems to hate upholding the Temporal Prime directive because to be fair, that rule is not in place yet.
 
-The Holographic Doctor would make a great Doctor. That is to say that if they ever  (Science forbid) make an American version of Doctor Who the actor Robert Picardo would have my vote to play the Tardis flying Timelord. For extra Irony points they should get Jeri Ryan to pay his companion. Okay granted this has very little to do with Star Trek but they just kept calling him Doctor and it's all I could think of.
 
Now my biggest decision is whether I watch Enterprise or Mad Men to bide the time until they add Deep Space Nine in September. If you have a suggestion or want to share some of your own insights wit me up on Twitter www.twitter.com/BarryVonAwesome .

Norway Overreacts
 
We discussed this on this show briefly, but I wanted to expand on the topic here where I have more time. Most everyone by now has heard of the tragic shootings and bomb attack in Norway a few weeks ago. They were carried out by a man who believes himself to be the savior of the European way of life, a staunch opponent to the ever increasing spread of Islam in Europe and across most of the 1st World. That is a legitimate debate of sorts, but not one that will go on here. Rather than articulating his points with words and with activism, instead he turned to (as is so often the case with radicals of the very people he is demonizing) to guns and bombs. I won’t bother pointing out the hypocrisy of this, or the clearly unhinged mental state of this terrorist. Those are without question.
 
Instead, I want to address a more preventable crime. Not near on the scale as what the terrorist did, but one that shouldn’t be an issue in a developed country with an educated populace, one where coolers heads should prevail. I mean of course the decision by those in Norway to ban toys, video games, movies, anything that seems even remotely violent. Much like the overreaction (and misinformed/knee jerk reaction of a very liberal media) here in the US that claimed the man who shot Congresswoman Gifford in the head was doing it because of the heated political rhetoric in the nation. MSNBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS all went out of their way to claim that he was expressing his hatred for policies enacted in the government through use of a gun. This was blatantly false, and they knew it when they claimed it. He shot her because he had an obsession with her specifically. It had nothing to do with her politics or her position.
Norway is doing the same thing. They are confusing the argument and issue here with something unrelated. This man didn’t become unhinged because he played World of Warcraft, or watched a violent movie. He was a nut job pure and simple who has a beef with a religion of people becoming increasingly more common in his nation. By the same logic, we should ban history books since clearly he could have been influenced by the acts of people like Hitler and Mao who didn’t care for people who were different from them either.  
 
Its natural in times like these for people to want to place blame on someone or something. Video game and violence in media forms like movies and tv are always easy and favorite targets. I don’t think any rational person who is willing to give all angles a consideration would truly believe having playing WOW or Modern Warfare sent this guy on his quest to kill eighty some people, almost if not all were anything but Muslim. Going after gaming is the wrong argument, and is simply misplaced anger at best.  Until there is some definitive evidence that links gaming to this tragedy, the dialogue should be about what he was trying to accomplish, not how he did it.

by Nunleft (nunleftrep@gmail.com)

Every week I shall be taking a look at one boss or enemy from a video game. Looking at its history, strengths and weaknesses and finally how awesome it is. After looking at all this, I shall rate one to ten on the "Australian Danger Index"(from Koala to Taipan.)

Enemy: The Executioner
Game: Alice: Madness Returns (2011)

History: The Executioner is a patchwork horror made by the Queen of Hearts, he is the terror of Queensland (not the one in North-Eastern Australia.) Standing (presumably) fifteen feet tall and wielding a giant scythe which slices friend and foe alike. His broad-sweeping strike devastates everything with-in its reach. This monstrosity is finally taken down once Alice eats some cake and steps on him.

Strengths:
• Immune to most damage
• Enormous
• Hard to dodge his attacks
Weaknesses:
• Catches allies in his swings
• Can be stepped on.
Where does he rank?: I would love to see a Panzer Tank scratch this guy. Australian Danger Index: 8/10 (Blue bottle.)

The real story behind He-Man is filled with Intrigue, Backstabbing and just a touch of Satanism.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9USEtUDgydw&feature=player_embedded
 
Here is a link to a preview that debuted at Comiccon for the new documentary “ToyMaster” that looks at the  history behind He-man. The toy line, the cartoon and ongoing fight nearly thirty years later over who actually created it. For any of us that grew up in the 80's the Masters of the Universe toys and cartoon were beyond popular, and this documentary adds a whole new look back at both.  Who knew that there was so much in fighting not only over who came up with the original idea but also over which side was more important. The show thought they were the main product and the toys  were there to support them, but Mattel thought the show was just a commercial for new vehicles and characters.
 
The Doc looks pretty awesome and interesting. It reminds me of  “A Fist Full of Quarters: The King of Kong” and not just because of the 80's nostalgia. It is also a very similar conflict and features some real people that  so whacked out and passionate  about He-man that the preview makes it seem like a compelling story. As they say the truth is stranger then fiction and I personally like that the guy who wrote the mini comics that came bundled with  the toys thought the whole premise was convoluted and ridiculous. It's also pretty awesome the they got the accused of advancing the popularity of the occult.
 
I personally can't wait until this film is available to be seen. Maybe it will finally explain what the hell Orko had going on under that big floppy hat. If you have some theories about that and you want to share them, hit me up on Twitter www.titter.com/BarryVonAwesome.