Game Review: "Deus Ex- Human Revolution"

I recently finished "Deus Ex: Human Revolution". The concept & story was interesting enough to make it worthwhile for me, but in my opinion the actual game play could have been much better.

Deus Ex takes place in the near future, 2027, where humans are physically merging with machines to an unprecedented degree. People with cybernetic augmentations are called "Augs," and they have abilities that are unavailable to natural humans.

As a result of the inevitable socio-political tensions that arise from one group having an advantage over another, an anti-augmentation movement forms, called "Purity First".

Far from being a mindless waste of time, games like this can actually offer powerful commentary on ethical issues like human augmentation & the role of technology in our evolution. These are emerging problems that are already in the news, and we are going to have to deal with very soon.

NOVA:

Sensor-Laden Prosthetic Hand

Gives Wearer a Sense of Touch

Gizmodo:

World's First Fully Bionic, 

Mind-Controlled Leg Goes for a Walk

io9:

The First Person in the World 

to Become a Government-recognized Cyborg

New Scientist:

Cyborg tissue is half living cells, half electronics

Deus Ex is a 1st-person RPG shooter, so it has role-playing elements for the character interactions. Although I like the idea of influencing the story through the player's decisions, it was a little too much talking for my tastes. I've recently started the Mass Effect series, which also features alot of narrative and decision-making elements. It is much more seamless in that game experience, though. My main problem with that kind of interactivity is that I sit there trying to think of all the possible outcomes for any given choice of dialogue. Pondering these choices, combined with taking my time to look at all the visual elements, results in this kind of game taking me forever to play!

 
The setting of this game features futuristic locations such as Hengsha (Shanghai), where an upper metropolis level called "The Pangu" towers over the lower city. There is a predictable class division that results from this physical separation of the population.

Although the sci-fi look of the game is cool, the amber color that dominates most of the environments makes everything feel very bland & monotone overall. The city areas are much more open & engaging than the levels that are indoor corridors. The last level is an anti-climatic Arctic base that is mostly hallways. The enemies and firefights are pretty intense in those close quarters, though.

The main character is Adam Jensen, a security officer who got injured in a terrorist ambush. When he came out of his coma, he was augmented with military-grade cybernetic enhancements. He was given these implants & prosthetics by his employer, the biotech company Sarif Industries.

The character of Jensen is basically a clone of Neo from The Matrix- from his look to his voice. It's not too annoying, just not very original. He has all kinds of awesome powers to upgrade throughout the game resulting from his cyber-enhancements. He can increase his physical abilities, such as jumping over 9 ft. high, lifting heavy objects, and sprinting faster. There are also many sensory upgrades like being able to see through walls, targeting improvements, and stealth capabilities like cloaking.

My biggest criticism is one that applies to many games- even ones I really enjoy, like Assassin's Creed. By the time you have your character anywhere near to being fully leveled up... the game is over!!! Deus Ex has all these awesome augmented abilities for your character, but most of them aren't unlocked until the final chapters. Just as you are getting to enjoy these kick-ass superpowers, you realize there's not much game time left to use them.

Overall, it's a good game whose thought-provoking content & ideas about the future of humanity held my attention more than the mediocre game play or its spotty action.

• The Monkey Buddha's official rating: 7.5

Flying Dream

Last weekend, I took a nice afternoon nap, & had a dream where I was flying.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

"Dreams"

Luckily, I've trained myself to remember my dreams. I've experienced 'dream flight' several times before, & each time it's like riding a bike. It feels a little weird at first, as you get used to mentally propelling yourself off the ground. Then, you can go higher & faster until you're soaring into the atmosphere.. if you can handle it.

This dream took place at my parents' house. There was a BBQ in the backyard, with a lot of family & friends there. I suddenly realized that I was in a dream & able to fly. I was showing the kids how I was hovering by propelling invisible energy out of my hands, like Iron Man. Then,

I started flying up at the tops of the trees around the house. I was baffled, though, because nobody there seemed too impressed that I was doing this amazing feat! I decided to leave the party, so I started flying away really fast, straight through the trees in the woods... & that's the last thing I remember.


*On a related note, I was reading a Reddit post about the idea that your mind is processing crazy scenarios all throughout your sleep, but the dreams that you remember are basically quickly compiled in the process of waking up.

Welcome to the Internet

If you are new to the The Internet, have no fear!

Your helpful guide to surfing the Virtual Universe has arrived...

Click to begin your journey

"Welcome to the Internet,

Please Follow Me."

'Evolution' Shadow Sculpture

On io9, I saw this video of a 3D sculpture that can be rotated to form different shadows.

The artist is J. V. Muntean & this particular shadow sculpture, Evolution 1, can be rotated three ways to show the development of man from an ape-like creature.

These ingenious constructions can be seen as a metaphor- for the idea that the changing forms we see in the world around us are only slices of higher-dimensional space. 

Like Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", our senses can't directly perceive these higher forms. We only experience the "shadows" they project into our awareness in 3D space.

Funny Monkey Photo Gallery

I can't resist a gallery of funny monkey pics, This one is from The Chive:

Funny Monkey Photo Gallery

Pleasing the Client

As a professional designer, I've learned that the most important thing is to give the client what they want. Luckily, most of the clients I've dealt with have enough experience & good taste to make decent design decisions.

Sometimes, the client's requests can clash with the artist's vision for a design. One of the challenges of graphic art is to incorporate everything requested, while making it all look good.

I've also learned NOT to show concepts that I really hate as an option- because that will inevitably be the one that is chosen!

I can definitely relate to this comic strip by Jesie Castro, showing the danger of trying to use reverse psychology in the design process. I saw it posted on the hilarious website Clients from Hell:

Also relevant:

The Oatmeal:

How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell

Hubble Image: Messier 15 Star Cluster

Recently, Hubble Telescope added another image to it's amazing collection. This is the Messier 15 star cluster, one of the densest areas of stellar bodies yet discovered.

Looking into this photo of millions of stars, that are billions of years old, is like gazing directly into infinity...

spacetelescope.org:

New Hubble Image 

of Star Cluster Messier 15

Obey: Consume

'Tis the Season!

 click to enlarge

"Pristine" by Paul Micarelli

I've added another image to my online gallery of 3D art: 

3D Art by Paul Micarelli

This scene shows a crystal-clear sky temple, containing a pristine gold relic in the shape of a star tetrahedron.  

This is a sacred geometric figure- a 3D version of the religious symbol known as the "Star of David" or the "Seal of Solomon".

From 3D Art by Paul Micarelli

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Ultimately ALL 'laws' & 'rights' are just figments of the collective imagination- fluid and subject to interpretation. 

They serve as abstract guides in the never-ending balance between individual freedom & social order.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was recognized by the United Nations in 1948. It is a set of ideals that most people would agree we should strive toward.

This excellent illustration of these moral guidelines was featured on Zen Pencils:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(click to enlarge)

The Unlikely Threat of Buddhist Terrorism

My friend posted this Onion article on Facebook & I thought it was pretty funny.

It demonstrates why there aren't many Buddhist extremist groups engaging in terrorism.

Being more of a philosophy of the mind than a religious ideology, Buddhism tends to involve giving up the the attachment to ideas & opinions which usually lead to a sense of of moral certitude.

Also, "unleashing peace & tranquility" would not be very effective at scaring people into accepting your political agenda.

The Onion:

Buddhist Extremist Cell 

Vows To Unleash Tranquility On West

Excerpt From Buddhist Extremist Video Threat

This is almost as absurd as the portrayal of The Mandarin as a fake terrorist in Iron Man 3...

The Oscar Paradox

When I was a kid, I watched Sesame Street all the time. My favorite character from the show is still the grumpy green monster that lives in a trash can- Oscar the Grouch.

On this isn't happiness, I saw these funny instructions from Oscar on learning to be miserable. It's like a Grouch version of a Zen koan, a paradox or unsolvable riddle.

They are from a kid's book & record set called "How to be a Grouch". It's an entertaining look into the life of a Grouch, like Oscar.

The Meaning of Life by Alan Watts

Alan Watts was one of the people responsible for bringing Eastern thought, such as Zen Buddhism, to Western culture.

His book, self-referentially titled, "The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are," was one that profoundly expanded my worldview when I read it in college.

Since then, I have listened to many of his lectures & talks online.

I recently found this excellent quote that really does cut to the reality of our situation.

There is NO inherent or external "meaning" or "purpose" to Life. Any significance we give to our existence comes from the judgement of our own mind. This is not a nihilistic view. It's simply a recognition of the fact that we inhabit infinity.

"The meaning of Life is just to be alive.

It is so plain and obvious and so simple.

And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic

as if it were necessary to achieve something 

beyond themselves."

3 Media Monkeys

This version of 'The 3 Wise Monkeys' has been updated for our modern media environment, including monkey bloggers-  

"Hear All Evil, See All Evil, Post All Evil".

I like this version better because I prefer the freedom to experience & observe ALL things, regardless of their perceived moral value.

Minimalist Movie Posters

On BoingBoing, I saw this really cool set of minimalist movie posters. They all shared a common template below, which was used to convey the themes of various films.

Classic Movie Posters 

by Michal Krasnopolski

 

Of course, I love the Star Wars ones, but there are other great solutions to this self-imposed design problem.

 

 Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Superman

Alien

"Psychedelic Symbiosis"

I've added another image to my gallery of 3D art that I've been posting online:

3D Art by Paul Micarelli

This is an observation of the similarity between the mycelia of fungi and the physical connection of brain cells.

This branching connectivity is a feature that is inherent at all scales of reality.

From 3D Art by Paul Micarelli

"Psychedelic Symbiosis"

Eastern Aristocratic Monkeys

I saw these paintings on BoingBoing & thought they were pretty cool.

They are paintings of dignified monkeys, dressed as aristocrats in oriental styles.

 I love the gallery description: "Lindsey Carr’s exquisite watercolor and gouache paintings evoke the specter of Audubon if he had spent time in a Chinese opium den."

Here is the website for the artist's show:

Lindsey Carr 

 “ La Petite Singerie”

("The Small Monkey"), at Roq La Rue Gallery

 

"Who Am I?"  

(detail)

"Foreign Medicine"

Left-Handed "Silver Surfer Syndrome"

I saw this pic on The Chive & immediately had flashbacks to my grade school art classes.

As a left-hander, the unavoidable smearing from pencils & erasable ink pens drove me nuts. I eventually began placing another piece of paper under my left hand while writing.

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I had seen it as a transformation into one of my favorite characters, The Silver Surfer.

Tesla and the Secrets of the Universe

Nikola Tesla was one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, and perhaps in all of human history.

He invented A/C electricity, wireless communications, beam weapons, and countless other ideas that have still not been realized.

Tesla was far ahead of his time, but luckily his work & wisdom live on. His insights still inform the human race of the infinite possibilities within our reality, waiting to be discovered.

This is a great quote about the nature of the Universe:

"If you want to find 
the secrets of the Universe, 

think in terms of 
energy, frequency, and vibration."

- Nikola Tesla

Game Review: "Assassin's Creed: Revelations"

 This weekend I finished "Assassin's Creed: Revelations," the fourth title in the series.

I usually prefer to play open-world games, where you are free to roam around and engage missions whenever you choose. Since I only play casually, the vast amount of content & area to explore in these games means it takes me months to finish a title. (Recently, my Playstation has been mostly a Batman & Assassin's Creed machine...)

The rich, vivid re-creations of historical cities in all the Assassin's Creed games make the virtual time-traveling well worth it. "Assassin's Creed II", & "Brotherhood", both took place in Renaissance Rome, following the adventures of the Italian assassin Ezio Auditore. "Revelations" takes Ezio to Constantinople, the city in modern-day Turkey that was the center of the Byzantine empire. It was also a Roman & Ottoman capital at different times- a cosmopolitan city where Eastern & Western culture intermingled.


The Eastern influences in the Byzantine architecture, clothing, & decoration in the city are an interesting change from the styles seen in the Italian cities in "AC II" & "Brotherhood". The amazing level of detail in the cities are probably the thing I enjoy the most about these games. They are the closest thing we currently have to experiencing what the world was like back then. The talent & vision of the teams who create these virtual environments is truly impressive. As I've said in other game reviews, I spend alot of time just roaming around & observing the many details in different
parts of the map.

The game play is not much different from the other AC titles. Most of the missions involve stalking targets using stealth tactics, tailing people without being seen, or battling large groups of enemies. It is not repetitive enough to be boring, but there is nothing really novel in the mission objectives. Still, the story & side missions are fun overall.

There's a fair amount of platforming & environmental challenges, but not as many as previous games. The one that stands out was climbing the inside of the famous landmark the Hagia Sophia. I have a slight aversion to heights & platforming segments that simulate high areas always makes my hands sweat a little! By the time I had reached the top of the Hagia Sophia's interior, climbing across ropes & precarious ledges, my heart rate had definitely gone up.

In "Revelations", the story of Ezio is masterfully intertwined with Altaïr, the assassin from the Middle Ages who was featured in the original "Assassin's Creed". The story follows the historical struggle between two secret groups, the Assassins & the Templars. These two factions are trying to control powerful technology, in the form of relics from The First Civilization. This is a race of highly-advanced humanoid beings who existed before mankind. In fact, they originally created humans as a type of slave labor, similar to the myths of the Sumerian Annunaki.

Thousands of years ago, the genetically-engineered humans rebelled against their masters. The resulting war distracted everyone from a cosmic cataclysm, that almost wiped out both races. Afterward, they tried to come together & rebuild, but for various reasons the First Civilization ended up becoming extinct. They left behind remnants of their advanced tech & holographic avatars to guide the hybrid descendants of humans & "Ones Who Came Before". The hope is that, with enough warning, precautions can be taken to prevent another catastrophe from wiping out the planet's inhabitants yet again.

With this story as a backdrop, you are actually playing as Desmond Miles, the modern day descendant of the assassins. He has been accessing his ancestors' "genetic memories," via a virtual reality machine called The Animus. So, when you play as Ezio or Altaïr, you are really playing as Desmond virtually experiencing the lives of his ancestors. He was held captive by the Templar front company Abstergo, but is now back with his fellow Assassins as everyone is searching for technology called "Pieces of Eden".

In this game, Desmond's mind has begun to fragment, from the strain of all his virtual trips into The Animus. To prevent his mind from completely falling apart, his consciousness is stored in some deep part of the computer. It manifests in an area called "Animus Island," where he must go through several 1st-person environmental mazes. These sequences take place in minimalistic, but surrealistic dream-like architecture. Desmond's missions on Animus Island are a side aspect of the game that can be accessed from the menu at any time.

Of course, most of the action follows Ezio as he carries out missions & searches for keys that will allow him to unlock Altaïr's library, where a Piece of Eden has been hidden.

This was a very satisfying conclusion to Ezio's storyline, even if you have to wait until the end to really get some "Wow!" moments. He was a well-developed character, who was alot of fun to play. Following the many events in the lives of both Ezio & Altaïr give you a deep sense of identifying with the historical struggle of these characters to keep their secret order alive, while they were also trying to grow personally.


If you are willing to invest the time, the Assassin's Creed series is a quality production of the highest order. The visuals are stunning, gameplay is engaging, and the storyline makes you think about ideas like virtual reality, the mysteries of genetic information, and the interconnected history & future of humanity.

• Official Monkey Buddha Rating: 8.5

Monkeys in Creepy Masks

For Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to post this photo series I saw recently.

In southeast Asia, monkeys are used as street performers & often have strange costumes or unsettling doll masks, like the ones in these pictures.

TIME:

The Monkey and the Mask: 

Terrifying Portraits of Indonesia’s 

Street-Performing Macaques

They are are like little creatures out of a strange, horrifying nightmare!

Thankfully, it seems like some action is taken to prevent the abuse of these animals.

"A Kind of You"

by Finnish photographer Perttu Saksa

Roundhand Lettering Demo

I'm a professional designer, so I consider myself to be very creative. However, when I see people with this kind of skill & talent, it also makes me realize the limits of my abilities.

In this video, master pinstriper Glen Weisgerber shows his technique for roundhand lettering. It always amazes me to see artists do freehand work like this.

How to Confuse an Idiot

How do you confuse an idiot???
It's easy, & hilarious.

Click this link to see...

Contract with the Universe

I saw this on Dedroidify & thought it was pretty awesome.

It is a "contract" between The Universe & the 'Life Form' reading it:

click for larger size:

It was originally posted on the Facebook page for Symphony of Science.

Seeing the terms of our existence spelled out like this makes you realize how lucky we are to have such a rare chance at Life.

The whole idea is great - humorous & profound at the same time. I especially like how The Universe's signature is a brushstroke containing a vista of space.

So, are you living up to your end of the agreement?...

"White Lotus Flower" & "Under the Big Green Leaf"

I added a couple new items to the Photography section of my Cafepress shop.

The Monkey Buddha Bazaar:

Photography

They are both pictures I took at Longwood Gardens, which is full of amazing sights. 

The first is a radiant white lotus flower against the dark water of a pond. 

The lotus is a symbol of spiritual growth & enlightenment, emerging from the murky depths of our mundane physical existence.

White Lotus Flower

From Longwood Gardens, PA

The second photo is an abstract close-up, underneath a large leaf.

I really like the veins & the flowing texture inside the bright green areas.

Under the Big Green Leaf

Movie Review: "Gravity"

This weekend, I went to see the movie "Gravity" in 3D.

I saw the trailer for the movie & read the rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. I love anything related to outer space, so I definitely wanted to see it. I'm glad that I did, because it was an awesome movie that's as close as most of us will ever get to the experience of being an astronaut. Basically, the story follows Bullock's character, as she is separated from the space shuttle and must keep finding her way to temporary safety while in space.

From the very beginning, the cinematography is amazing. The movie opens with a beautiful vista of our home planet, Earth, that fills the movie screen. A white speck comes into view orbiting the planet, that slowly pans into the space shuttle on which the astronauts, played by Sandra Bullock & George Clooney, are working. This beautifully gradual zoom is the first scene in a movie full of awesome camera work, effects, & editing, The scenes alternately go between the wide, empty vacuousness of outer space, & the up-close, personal situations of the astronauts. There are points where you even get a 1st person view from Sandra Bullock's perspective, such as looking out from inside her helmet as she's taking it off. However, all these viewpoints flow together seamlessly into a very suspenseful virtual ride in Earth's orbit.

The movie does an excellent job at making the viewer feel the crushing isolation that one must feel in the vast emptiness of space. It also shows how physically vulnerable we human beings are out there, without the help of our technology and intelligence.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has famously criticized some of the scientific inaccuracies in Gravity. However, he also said there was a lot that was right with the movie & that he enjoyed it. I'm pretty well-informed about science, so there were a few pretty big errors that I saw during the movie. For instance, the distance between the different country's space stations are probably much farther apart then they are portrayed. Also, there's simply no way any human being could endure the craziness & physical punishment that Sandra Bullock's character had to go through. Despite my inevitable criticisms, these pale in comparison to the experience of being in space that "Gravity" simulates.

I've posted here before about mankind's destiny to travel among the stars. This movie reveals how pathetically little we've truly adapted to life in space. We have barely transitioned to surviving just outside our atmosphere. We literally have light-years to go before we are ready for extensive space travel, even within our own galaxy.

There are also deep themes of rebirth & transformation throughout the film, such as scenes of Bullock in a fetal position inside a womb-like space capsule. She also emerges from water in a baptismal scene where she can be said to be re-born. Like the classic "2001: A Space Odyssey," these scenes could also allude to the transformation of humanity, into a new being that exists beyond the confines of our current world.

"Gravity" was an awe-inspiring movie that helps put our feeble, yet miraculous, lives into a much wider perspective. I recommend it for anyone who loves science, astronauts, or just a great thrill ride through the deadly darkness of outer space.

Official Monkey Buddha Rating: 8.0

Monkey Computer Publishing

Since I'm posting monkey gifs, here's one that shows a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how The Monkey Buddha blog is published.

This is how all my thoughts are carefully transferred into the virtual world of the Internets...

seen on FFFFOUND!

Homer Simpson's Monkey Mind

In Buddhism & other spiritual practices, the purpose of meditation is to tame the "monkey mind".

It is a term to describe the normal state of consciousness- in which an endless stream of thoughts & internal mental chatter interfere with the direct awareness of reality.

This state of mind is illustrated by the monkey in this animated gif, persistently banging cymbals inside Homer Simpson's head.

Wikihow:
How to Meditate

Omni Reboot

 Omni Magazine- November 1978
This is an issue from the year I was born,

featuring cover art by H.R. Giger.

When I was growing up, my Mom would take me & my siblings to the local library to check out books. My thirst for knowledge was as great back then as it is now, so I would check out a wide array of books each time I went.

I've posted before about the importance of my early reading habits to my intellectual development. Specifically, I mentioned the many interesting Usborne books I used to love as a kid- about UFO's, Monsters, Ghosts, and the Future.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

 Home Library = Smart Kids

Usborne Books of the Future & the Unknown 

Even at a young age, these books reflected my interest in the many mysteries of the world.

Omni magazine was another publication that inspired my interest in both science & the strangeness in the Universe that science attempted to explain. I would take out 2 or 3 Omni magazines from the library at a time to read. My young, curious mind couldn't get enough of the far-out ideas in their pages.

 As a credit to the many other people the magazine inspired, Omni has finally been "rebooted" online:

Omni Reboot

There is no better medium for an intellectual forum which has been such a rich source of vision regarding technology, futurism, & Fortean phenomena.

Thanks to the wonder of the Internet, it is now also possible to go back and read old issues of the magazine, in digital format:

Internet Archive:

Omni Magazine Collection

Size Comparison of Sci-Fi Spaceships

Several years ago, I posted a chart showing the sizes of various spacecraft from science fiction:

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

Ultra-cool Sci-fi Info-graphics

I recently came across an even more expansive chart, comparing the sizes of a large number of sci-fi spaceships, from such stories as Star Wars, Star Trek, and even games like Halo & Deadspace.

It is an awesome reference guide to the endless possible ways that we can travel among the stars!

The chart was made by DeviantART user, DirkLoechel:

Click for a hi-res view:

Colbert Report: "Not a Game" Government Shutdown Game

The Colbert Report is one of the few shows on TV that I consider required viewing. I've been watching since the 1st episode, & Stephen delivers consistently brilliant satire on the current state of affairs.

As can be expected, he's had a field day with all the absurdity surrounding the 2013 Government Shutdown.

The other night, he had this awesome segment that combined some of my favorite topics- politics, humor, and games!

He introduces some 'Government Shutdown' board games, such as
• "Operation: Denied Due to Pre-Existing Condition"
• "Not Sorry!"

Then, he plays the patently ridiculous, yet depressingly accurate, "Not a Game: The Government Shutdown Home Game" - based on the shenanigans surrounding the standoff around 'Obamacare' & the government shutdown.

Colbert Report: 

"Not a Game" game

 

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive

"A Night at Sea" by Paul Micarelli

I've added another image to my gallery of 3D art that I've been posting online:

3D Art by Paul Micarelli

A team of glowing ships silently hover over the deep ocean toward their base- a bioluminescent colony, floating on the waters of an unknown world...

From 3D Art by Paul Micarelli

"A Night at Sea"

by Paul Micarelli

Cell Phone & Toy Phone Evolution

I had posted about these nesting dolls that were modeled after different stages in the development of the cell phone:

Evolving Cell Phone Nesting Dolls

On The Chive I saw this picture showing the stages of various cell phone brands, along with the corresponding changes to the designs of toy phones!

It's a great example of how children's toys naturally reflect their culture, with its tools & technology.

After all, toys can be aids for helping kids role-play, to figure out how to be adults & use grown-up things.

Politics of the 2013 U.S. Shutdown

I still follow national politics very closely, but nowadays I don't write about it as much as I did during the Bush Dark Ages.

However, the ridiculous clown show surrounding the government shutdown, led by the Tea Party mutiny within the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, has literally forced my hand into typing a reaction.

NYT:

 Government Shuts Down in Budget Impasse

My news & perspective comes from a wide variety of sources: the Google News & Pulse News aggregators, TPM, Democracy Now!, CNN, Bartcop, Politico, BBC, Fox News, MSNBC, PBS, etc.
One of the problems with today's political climate is that many people only get their news & opinion from limited sources, usually just those that affirm their existing worldview.

As brain-dead as their commentary often is, I often visit FoxNation or other ultra-conservative media outlets, to get a handle on how people (whom I usually don't agree with) see things. Conversely, it's also easy to tell when someone starts sputtering talking points & bizarro facts straight from Fox News, when it's clear they don't understand the reality of the situation.

I've always been an Independent voter, but generally I think the Republican party is wrong on most policy positions. They're ideas are often short-sighted, usually benefiting a narrow set of interest groups. Through endless obstruction & political stunts like this shutdown, they've also shown they simply can't run the federal government effectively. Despite the myth of their superiority on fiscal matters, the modern GOP have a pretty poor record of racking up public debt & governing in a way that does not advance positive solutions for the country.

The staggering incompetence of the Bush administration screwed the country and the global economy over 8 years. Their "Shoot first, ask questions later" cowboy approach to foreign policy left our country mired in *un-funded* trillion-dollar military occupations, which we are still trying to fully extract ourselves from. On the domestic front, they tried their best to give away everything in the public domain to Wall Street - by further deregulating the markets, so people lost their savings to the Great Casino, & by attempting to privatize Social Security.

Since Barack Obama was elected, the stated goal of the political opposition has been to make this President fail, at any cost. (I'm old enough to remember when criticizing President Bush was akin to anti-Americanism & treason, in the eyes of his supporters.) The Republican leaders have been quite open about the fact that their main objective is to oppose ANY progress the President, Democrats, & the reasonable Republicans seek to make.

Anti-Government politicians are the ultimate hypocrites, & they're also the masters of self-fulfilling prophecy... Their constituents are convinced that government does more harm than good, so they vote in these buffoons to prove them right, by causing chaos once in office - eliminating public programs & making the political process dysfunctional.

In fact, many Republicans actually ran on the promise of shutting down the government, as if this was a badge of honor!

Because I'm interested in this political theater for some reason, I was flipping through the cable news channels late last night as the shutdown loomed. Rachel Maddow had a good piece on the overt nature of this destructive political goal, leading to it's culmination last night:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

For the 2 years when the Dems had control of Congress, after Obama was elected in '08, there was actually a fair amount of meaningful legislation passed.

Since John Boehner & the GOP have been running the House of Representatives, though, little of note has been advanced by them- except for 40+ failed attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act, ACA, or "Obamacare".

Affordable Care Act:

About the Law

Thanks to the partisan gerrymandering of Congressional districts, Republican candidates in deep red areas have been forced to lurch farther & farther to the right... and, in many cases, lower & lower on the IQ scale. This has given rise to the completely anti-government "Tea Party" faction of Congress, which is responsible for the current state of affairs.

I have no love, or even trust, for the government by any means. However, I do understand that there are hundreds of thousands of public workers providing vital services every day. One of the benefits of being part of an organized society is a working government to keep things running smoothly.

The fringe element of the GOP has wildly miscalculated their strategy by willfully neglecting their basic duty to keep the government running, so the country can function. These ideological Reps. have no sense of responsibility or history, and they have completely ignored what happened last time their party, led by Newt Gingrich, tried to fold their arms & stomp their feet, at the expense of the nation:

Attempts to blame Obama or the Democrats for refusing to go to conference, or negotiate on terms, for a continuing resolution is bullshit. The Republicans in the House could agree to fund the government right now, by advancing the clean CR bill waiting for them. The merits & flaws of the Obamacare law can then be debated through normal procedure. It is a separate issue- one that should have no bearing, whatsoever, on whether government continues to function in a regular manner.

Despite claims by both sides, that it's their opponents who will not come to the negotiating table, it's now pretty obvious that the GOP have wanted to use this lack of a settled budget as leverage to hold the country hostage- in exchange for their demands for blocking the ACA from being implemented. The GOP is trying to twist the normal order of business, so they can hijack the legislative process.

The crazy thing is that the shut down doesn't even affect Obamacare, which is still funded! Also, the fact that millions of people are visiting the Healthcare.gov website, even causing system crashes, shows just how much people need health insurance.

The shut down is frankly a stupid strategy, & it's going to have serious consequences for the Republican party. Conservatives stuck in the Fox News/Right-Wing Radio alternate reality bubble seem to think they're doing the will of the people by shutting down the government. They are going to find out that not everyone is living in their distorted fantasy world, & the scrutiny of the real world is going to judge them harshly.

The often-used description of these conservative hard-liners as "tea-hadists" is completely justified. The Republican Tea party caucus is a small group of fanatics inflicting widespread, real damage on the general population, to force their ideological agenda.

To be clear, I don't think Obamacare, nor the President himself, are without their flaws. He has said himself that there's always room for improvement in the laws.

However, Pres. Obama consistently been the adult in the room, pushing to get important things done, in spite of an obstinate minority party. The petulant right-wingers would rather let the country fail, than allow Obama any perceived victories. He has still been able to advance certain policy goals- by outmaneuvering the Congressional Republicans, who cannot let their base see them doing anything but obstruct the evil Kenyan Socialist.

John Boehner has been pathetically ineffective as a House Speaker. Now he has been totally undermined by the self-serving weasels in his caucus, like Ted Cruz & Eric Cantor. You may not like Nancy Pelosi, but she would not have allowed this kind of subversion when she was Speaker.

Despite the right-wing rebellion in the House, thankfully there are still Republicans who haven't gone way off the deep end.

I don't often agree with the governor from my state, but Chris Christie (R-NJ) correctly calls the GOP shutdown strategy simply "irresponsible":

It's even more rare for me to agree with Rep. Pete King (R-NY), but even his crazy-ass recognized this is going to have a negative effect on his party & the country:

So, it's been almost 24hrs & the standoff is still going on. At some point, the House Republicans are going to have to realize this is a suicide mission & agree to stop this madness.

The irony of the whole situation is that the ACA is actually a relatively conservative health insurance system! It's a product of the Heritage Foundation & "Romneycare" the system implemented by the cyborg former gov. of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. The insurance is still provided from private companies, & now there will be competitive markets for businesses to compete. These are originally conservative ideas.

The people who don't see the necessity of individual mandates, apparently don't understand the concept of "insurance". The purpose is to get the maximum number of people enrolled to create as large a funding pool as possible. It's not that hard to figure out. The idea that people should be left to fully pay their own health care costs is idiotic & selfish.

If dirty, hippy, socialist liberals (like me!) had our way, there would be a single-payer, or Medicare-for-all, system of nationalized health care. The private insurers would be outlawed entirely. Conservatives may gasp or grimace at that idea, but people's health care should not be administered by for-profit private corporations. Those profits are unnecessarily adding to the already exorbitant  health care costs in this country.

I'm always baffled by the argument that the government has no business being involved in health care. 

It's not specifically used as a basis for legal interpretations, but I'd say look no further than the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution. It clearly states the people's government is meant to "...promote the general Welfare". What could be more crucial to the general welfare of the citizens of a country than their health?!?!

One could also look to Article I, Section 8, Clause 1,  the Tax & Spending Clause:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

If people could look past their ingrained aversion to all things government, they'd see that having & funding essential public services, including health care, are essential to improving the standards of living for everyone in society.

Sure there's always potential for abuse & corruption in the various gov't agencies & services, but that doesn't mean we should abandon the idea of a representative government that can work for its citizens. We need people in office who believe that the power of government can be effective, not people who think that government needs to be "drown in a bathtub".

We cannot even have these debates about social policy, until the Congress gets its act together & starts to operate in a normal way. This means the Congresspeople have to stop drinking whatever's making them lose their minds & move forward with the business of the nation.

The onus is on the House Republicans to simply agree to keeping the government running & it's employees working, with no legislative strings attached.