Land of the Puritans

I just read this article on some politician in California criticizing the ESRB for failing to give the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas a more strict rating. Seems like all the fuss was that there's a mini sex game in GTA that had been blocked off by the game programmers but intrepid gamers have discovered a way to unlock that content.

So obviously it must be the fault of the ESRB that they failed to find out about that. They should have given GTA a more strict rating. After all, the game ONLY got a M for Mature (Not for those below 17).

It must be really tough working at ESRB. How are they supposed to rate game content which has been blocked and disabled by the programmers. Are they supposed to go hunt down all the Easter eggs in a game? And there's no indication that the programmers expected this. It was not even Easter egg content. In short, the mini game was scrapped (not surprising, considering the fuss everyone is making now) and that should be it. The ESRB cannot be expected to rate something that would not be easily available to the average user. Not everyone will even know about the mini game but after making such a big deal, it is guaranteed that everyone will want to try it out now.

Besides, the game is rated Mature and cannot be sold to those below 17 years anyway. With the internet widely available, can anyone imagine that those who can find a way to unlock the silly game cannot find the Paris Hilton sex video if they wanted to?

Which leads us to the whole sex and violence issue in the media, especially the US media. Where you are more likely to get away with bashing a guy's brains out with a sledgehammer than flashing a tit. Nudity = Sex. And we all know sex is taboo (What will the kids think!). Never mind the context. Never mind if the nudity is that of a dead cadaver during an autopsy. (Argh, you'll go blind if you see a breast!)

Just goes to remind us all that at least some Americans are descendants of the original Puritans. And with the rise of the religious, conservative right, the Land of the Free may soon be the Land of the Puritans, among other things.

"Happiness is a moment like today."

Those were the words Sir Bobby Charlton said yesterday when London won the bid for the 2012 Olympics. Indeed, it turned out to be a short-lived moment as elated Londoners were brought crashing down to reality and chaos this morning.

At first, it just seemed like normal disruptions to the London Tube. Even the authorities were puzzled over the initial cause. Then the truth started to filter to the masses. The underground train network was down. The sight of a eviscerated London double-decker bus filled with the injured and dying will probably be all over the papers tomorrow. So far, scattered reports have the death toll at ten dead and hundreds injured but I doubt that would be the end of it. Explosions in a crowded subway at peak hour. Hit the subways, so that people will evacuate by bus then hit the buses. Do the math. This is sheer diabolical evil.

Terrorists? All the signs seem to indicate so; the coordinated attacks point to the handiwork of the Al-Qaeda. The timing of the attack, with the G8 meeting and PM Blair out of the country was coldly calculated. Security was also probably more concentrated at the G8 venue in Scotland, leading to less security personnel in London. I guess that London winning the Olympics bid was more like a bonus for these ruthless masterminds. With the city celebrating, there was bound to be some security lapses. And the bad guys have certainly seized their opportunities.

It goes to show that all the planning and security will never be foolproof. Reports do seem to indicate that the contingency plans were working and that there was no widespread panic. So I think that's the best they could have done. Eternal vigilance may be a good idea but all the terrorists need is one chance. Then the innocent suffer. The faceless, uncertain spectre of terrorism hangs over us all, waiting to remind us. Can we win this war? Not with guns and not with arms. We will probably have to live with it because terrorism is like a hydra with too many heads and I can imagine other groups with other causes emerging like maggots from a corpse.

There's no end in sight; greater minds and hearts have tried.

On the Dreaming

Neil Gaiman in Singapore!

Yes, the Dream King himself is in town for three days. Eager for a glimpse of the 'rock star' of the literary world, I took the day off for his book signing at Kinokuniya. Alas, I had seriously underestimated his local fanbase as despite arriving almost an hour before the actual event, I was already two hundred fans too late. Still, without a clear look at the queue, there was hope. 2 hrs later, I knew I would never get my turn. Gaiman was painstakingly signing off everything for his fans, including this lucky guy who got a drawing of Morpheus on his Mac. He was literally jumping up and down with joy and swearing not to use the laptop forever.

Sadly, I could only look. And take pictures with my friend's camera. And console myself that at least I got a place at his talk later. Which turned out to be great. Starting with some stuff that had been in his blog, how Singapore is ranked 5 in terms of visitors to his blog despite our small population, how that intrigued him enough to want to stop by and how the fans here seem to be wild mostly about his Sandman comics.

Then, we all got a reading of his latest book, The Anasi Boys, due in Sept. He was quite good at it, lively and animated. Everyone just loved the jokes and there were lots of laughs. Finally, came the much awaited Q&A.

Ranging from a question on tips for publishing (Keep it short. Preferably 100k words. Also quoted Heinlein's 5 Rules to Publishing Success.) to his ideal actress for Death in his upcoming movie (He couldn't really answer that due to the sensitivity of this, as the casting has not been confirmed. However, the young Audrey Hepburn was his choice if nothing is impossible. ;)) to whether he believed in evil (Yes, but his idea is the evil is banal, not romantic, e.g. Holocaust evil perpetrated by normal people vs the Hannibal Lector kind of evil.) to whether there will be a sequel to 1602 (There will be a project for Marvel but not a sequel.) to the experience of working with Terry Prachett on Good Omens ("We live in the same world mostly, but in my part of it, the street lights are not working.")

In short, Gaiman is damn funny and witty. Even the answers were peppered with interesting ancedotes that rarely failed to draw laughter from an appreciative crowd. All too soon, it was time's up and with thunderous applause, he left to continue signing books for his fans....poor fellow.

Anyway, I didnt managed to get my books signed, though hopefully I will get that done in tomorrow's session at Borders. Stay tuned. Pictures to follow... once I get them.