It is what it is, brother — who pays $300,000 for a car? Who pays $100 for a video game? Who pays $200 for a pair of basketball shoes?

Dude, you know nothing about finance and corporate governance in Japan. You're just ignorant; the opposite of what you're saying is the truth of it. Their economy has been in shambles for over a decade because of an unwillingness to let market forces have their way with failing firms. Sorry to be blunt about it, but…

Strongvpn does a great job for me — [www.netflixoutsidetheusa.com] has some details. It's a bit wonky trying to get things to work on the console, (requires a little bit of futzing) but it's tooooo easy to get things rolling on a PC or tablet or phone.

I don't think Texas is awesome, but thanks for staying classy all these months later. Cool story, bro!

I enjoy candles, but I've come to rely on electricity.

You know, I wish that news and commentary was actually written by knowledgeable people rather than journalists. I think I'm going to head over to the Economist and avoid looking at blogs for a few days. You know, just to give my blood pressure a chance to come back down.

Thank you for taking the time to explain — you just saved me five minutes.

Context — you need some. Do you think that president Truman decided to drop a-bombs because he thought it would be fun? If the Japanese government was really so reasonable and prepared to effect good and efficacious policy in the face of their inevitable defeat, why didnt they surrender after the first city was…

Very articulate. You've given us a lot to think about. I'm going to read up on the primary source assessments starting with the one you quoted.

Would you feel differently if you had been selected to serve in a marine landing party that otherwise would have had to take Japan back on foot — block by block? It was tragic and wasteful, but America didn't start that war. And I'm glad that my grandfather didn't die on some beach in the pacific. Did he want to…

get a VPN from strongvpn or the like. And then the internet will think you're in California — so you can rock Netflix and Hulu and everying else that's good back in the real world. It makes living in Australia bearable for me, brother.

That's why we've got professionals. Mediators are actually pretty sweet dudes that do a great job. And depending on where you live, many courts have been doing a great job of this sort of thing for hundreds of years.

"Nope nothing to do with that. Was TOTALLY to maintain their working relationship with EA. You know, DESPITE the fact this flies COMPLETELY in the face of their actions to this date. Where they've REGULARLY trashed the games of many many companies who they've had a business relationship with."

Uh, then they would make an action at that time? These were donations from gamer-fans to a gamer specific charity, that benefits sick kids who want to play video games. If a skinhead group tries to misuse your brand, you nip that in the bud IF and when that happens. You have to see the difference, right? It's not…

Thanks for pointing out that you're too cool to ever have to slum it in Texas (on purpose)! Cool story, bro!

Well, I know where I'd rather find the need to apply for a building permit. I'm sure you're fine until a party member's kid rapes your daughter.

I don't think that they're "bought off" or anything as cut-and-dried as that. The thing is, when people become close to you, and they come to your convention and let you play their games early, and drink with you up in their suite and make you feel special, it's hard to be a dick back to them. You're not "bought," but…

Dude. There's no conspiracy here. I'm no bizarre-o-world conspiracy theorist here. I'm just telling you how the tax code is supposed to operate. The Penny Arcade guys do work for BioWare products. They drew Dragon Age comic art, for example. BioWare were featured guests at their big convention. They published a lot of…

Didn't they just buckle in the face of Australian political pressure before any shots were fired?

When they cut off donations from the retake mass effect folks, they lost my support. That was clearly a move born from loyalty and personal affection for EA — a company they do paid promotional art for — rather than from any interest in the charity itself.