"There are smart games" does not refute the fact that MOST video-games are dumb.

It usually comes across as a "This is just my opinion, take it or leave it" tone. Which is a lot more humble than "This is fact. DO IT!" and leaving the "it's just my perspective" implied.

'Insecurity' is probably the wrong term. It mostly just comes across as supplicatory, which may be because you're insecure or it may just be because your natural tendency is to be polite and considerate.

I think there was a paper published recently saying that more creative tend to be better liars. So it's probably a bit of both. Just remember to use your powers for good.

When my niece was born I did a little survey of the gaming landscape to see if there was anything rated E that I'd want her playing with good female main characters. There frankly weren't many. Thankfully she ended up being a voracious consumer of books and, given what's out there gaming-wise, it's no surprise.

Hey hey hey. Robot Unicorn Attack was great! But it's mostly because of Erasure.

No they don't, but it's also not as if women ONLY care about the male gaze when they set their standards. Approval among peers is just as (if not more) important than approval from dating prospects and girls.

The standards women hold themselves to are actually far less attainable than the ones men compare them to. This is borne out by any survey where they ask men and women to select the ideal female body type. Men are the ones who consistently pick the more realistically sized women on average.

Yeah I always figured in contexts like this "self-esteem" is a better term than "confidence." The idea is basically to recognize that you have value that is independent of how others see you.

It works the other way too. It's not as if men are just surrounded by women without any standards at all just waiting to be selected by the first fellow who comes along.

It's silly to blame that on Summers. For one, he was President of the University, not in charge of investing the endowment. For another, the entire stock market tanked from overinflated pricing. They probably knew the assets were overvalued and expected it to come down somewhat.

You don't dip into your endowment to cover your operating budget, which is what subscription fees are. That would be an incredibly stupid and short-sighted financial practice.

Or just properly seasoned cast iron. The only issue with that is when I have friends over for dinner they insist on washing dishes and I'm sometimes too deep into a bottle or wine to remember to tell them not to scrub the skillet.

Is that personal reason religious, substance abuse risk, or health/allergy? If it's the former two I don't think the trace amounts left over from a reduction, especially down to making a jelly, will matter. If you can have vanilla or almond extracts in your food you'll do fine. Those have a much higher alcohol content…

Damn that takes me back. That video was viral before we even had a word for it!

I didn't see a problem with women there. Then again I just started reading the series but going through it I pity all the female characters for being more or less trapped by their gender. I figure that's the whole point.

Ha. Mass Effect 3. I played it, thought the game was wonderful and the ending sort of meh. Then I moved on. But this is basically how I see Bioware's relationship with its hardcore fanbase right now: [4.bp.blogspot.com]

But. . . Wat about mah fweedumb of speach!?

Well as a guy I also find it kind of creepy. Not necessarily for the concept of what it is but for the fact that it apparently looks like a disembodied vagina in a can.

In almost the same words too!