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parlay.debrief:grosser propulsions?extensible cinematic …

Why, of course. Perfect time of the year for it too ;-).

You are one with the car.
No no, I hear you. So what can we make of that?

Maybe bonnie's just the only escapist writer who gets laid?
That’s the best answer I’ve heard yet :-).

It's hard not to think of the implicit phallic imagery, is it? If only for the cheap giggles.
It’s not a matter of cheap giggles, really. Ooh, penis, haha. I mean, not that’s it’s a super-serious matter either, but it’s important to note these things that we often overlook. Besides, the phallic imagery is just one meaning we could pull from the whole “gun as self” idea.

I get the impression a certain segment of the female population would be deliriously happy to discover straight men capable of talking frankly and thoughtfully about sex.
I mean, I would be, but that’s just me. Also, keep in mind the type of guy I find attractive is “effeminate” and debatably “gay.” So what does that say about the whole issue?

On one level, we’re just making fun of an absurd convention of the FPS genre. In real life, of course, you would never fire a gun from low and in the center of your torso - or, yes, groin. [Especially if you’re a guy. Trust me: recoil is not your friend down there.] And I have seen an increasing number of videogames where they attempt to represent your weapons - and you - more realistically (i.e., held high and against the shoulder), to be more immersive.

And in most FPSs, you can’t see your own body, not even when you look down (though you can see yourself in a mirror, like some kinda reverse vampire). It’s like you’re a disembodied pair of hands and one eye - no depth perception, after all - carrying a whole buncha guns around! :-) So fixating on the gun kinda overlooks the absurdity of it all.

Sometimes a gun graphic is just a gun graphic. :-)

OTOH…well, it’s hard not to think of the implicit phallic imagery, is it? If only for the cheap giggles. And more than a few games and gamers have dwelt upon it. For my part, I never identified with the gun. I’ve always implicitly understood it was supposed to be something my avatar was carrying, that it was a crude facsimile of the real thing. I.e., it was a tool I was using, not an extension of my body. [Well, not unless I was a cyborg with built-in weapons or something. Then that’s different. :-]

Leave it to a woman to presume we’re all so obsessed with our penises, though. ;-D

“…because we're in the minority, because we're not in power (so to speak)…”

I presume you don’t mean to suggest that being in the minority equals being out of power - your sentence construction is ambiguous - because if you did, I think there are a lot of South Africans who would dispute the matter with you… :-)

If anything, history is about the powerful few subjugating the weak masses…but there are better places for history than here.

As to the more general question: the stereotype, at least in America, is that “real” men don’t talk about sex - outside of locker-room boasting, that is - because we have nothing to say on the matter. All that touchy-feely crap is for girls, right? So if you’re a guy and you wanna talk about relationships and sex (outside the realm of the purely physical rumpy-pumpy)?

You better look faaabulous in your leotard, know what I’m sayin’? ;-)

Which is funny, really, because I get the impression a certain segment of the female population would be deliriously happy to discover straight men capable of talking frankly and thoughtfully about sex. And yet apparently straight men are more concerned about the disapprobation of other men than we are about earning the approval of women…

Or we really are that shallow. Hard to tell.

I had a hunch you would. :) Pretty depressing, yet fascinating place.

No, I meant the Tulip Gardens. Sheesh, you and your dirty mind"¦

Loads of incredible churches worth seeing too.

Good you enjoyed the trip.

Anyways, in every racing game I have ever played, I have been "~one' with the car.
I get that you're joking, but you kind of have a point. Everything has meaning, in it's own right, you know?

It may hold more truth than you seem to concede (or there may be a joke my tonal-deaf english cannot grasp). When you drive a car, you actualy merge with car to become one entity. When you play, you do the same with your avatar. You are your avatar, remember ? You are one with the car.

Anyways, are you asking if I hired a prostitute?

No, I meant the Tulip Gardens. Sheesh, you and your dirty mind…

I, unlike you, Patrick, try to stay on the DL about such things ;-). Let’s just say my experiences in confusion were limited, and Amsterdam was far more fun when I could see straight (although I did have an absolutely hilarious incident with a giant serving of cotton candy).

2) Someone wrote into The Escapist this week asking why most of the writers were men, except for the sexuality themed articles predominantly written by women. She asked "what gives?", and I reiterate this question to you, as a women who writes about sexuality in games for the magazine.
First of all, what other women write sexually-themed articles for The Escapist? Am I missing something? As for, why women on sex, men on everything else, what can I say? I’m one person, and this one person happens to be female and also happens to be interested in sex in games. That most other Escapist writers are men is, in some ways, unsurprising giving the general trends in the industry. On a more meaningful level, there are reasons why women have a more vested interest in understanding sex/gender issues - because we’re in the minority, because we’re not in power (so to speak), it’s in our best interest to understand and reevaluate the world of sex that surrounds us. Also, I think sex is still a largely hushed up subject, but since women are in some sense outsiders anyway, they feel more willing to speak. Just some thoughts…

Anyways, in every racing game I have ever played, I have been "~one' with the car.
I get that you’re joking, but you kind of have a point. Everything has meaning, in it’s own right, you know?

And the post-Amsterdam question for the Bonster is not "did you do drugs," but if she did that OTHER thing Amsterdam is famous for.
It is still weird whenever one of you guys calls me that… Anyways, are you asking if I hired a prostitute? I mean, I certainly strolled around and looked at them, and I must say, to their credit, they’re a lot hotter than I expected. But, as for getting one of my own, 1) I’m engaged, 2)I don’t know if they do girls, and 3) if I were to be looking for some girl-on-girl action, I go to a liberal arts school - the payment-free possibilities already abound.

The historical museum of torture ?
That I did do, at like 11:00 at night. That giant triangular block that punctured you straight in the anus… jeezie-creezie that thing was intense!

what really stands out as an avatar more than these disconnected parts is the guns themselves. They sit smack-dab in the middle of things, turning as you turn, called to attention when you are.

Have you ever played, or at least seen designs of Zone of The Enders 2’s very personal take on cockpits ?
If not youshould go have a look. You might find it interesting.

And the post-Amsterdam question for the Bonster is not "did you do drugs," but if she did that OTHER thing Amsterdam is famous for.

The historical museum of torture ?