This goes in the interesting file…

Okay, so preface here:

Whilst chillin’ here in Red Neck Vacation Land, I am still poking around on blogs obviously  (it does rain here in RNVL), and I noted today that BerryBlade commented over here.  She doesn’t read here much, and I can understand why- I check out her blog occasionally (best blog logo image ever) and well, she and I sorta dig the same kind of movies, so I jump over there sometimes to see if she has reviewed something I’ve not seen so I can add it to my Net Flix list…and I think (can’t swear to it) but think she likes video games and once, over at the old joint, commented on some COH screen shot I’d taken or something….er- lemmie check…yep. 

Anyway, she has a post up about stripping/porn, and I read it.  And I am gonna discuss it now.  And this is one of those times when I do not particularly care who I piss off or who gets angsty with me, friend or foe.  I was pondering commenting over there, but one- not sure how that would go over, and two, my response is likely to be long.

And I will start with this- not a feminist.  So I am not looking at this all feminist-wise.  I think it is pretty common knowledge that 1) if a woman chooses to do sex work, she does, and I don’t give a fuck what anyone says about it.  2) not all women in sex work have chosen to do it, or would choose something else if they had other options, and that shit blows. 3) -nihilist.  4) when it comes to making money and all that shit- well, I’m a total mercenary and I tend to think that ALL carbon based life forms in some way or another are commodities.  Yeah, I am real uplifting and shit…

Anyway….

She has this post up.  Read it.  After reading it, I thought of something I’d written some time back.  Yeah, it was written for totally different reasons- with totally different intent, from a totally different point of view…but I thought of it nonetheless.  And yep, it was one of those things that some folk took as “oh, Ren is saying (any woman who was hot enough would strip, people would feel better if they just were skinny, blah blah blah)” in short, a bunch of shit Ren was NOT saying, but anyway…I wrote it.  And re-read it after reading BerryBlade’s post.  And I thought…hummm….

Because Berry brings up some things that people, on the Pro-Side, Forget.  Things like, why yes, there are clubs and contractors who do not care about hiring underaged girls or women who have been trafficked (Eastern European women are quite popular these days).  Just as she mentions for Australia, well same here in the US- a lot of clubs dancers work solely for tips, have to pay stage fees, have to hustle drinks, and why yes, even have to turn a cut of their tips over to other club staff like waiters, bartenders, so on. Why yes, wearing heels for long periods of  time is painful, and can be bad for you.  Age and scars?  Yep, those things will fuck with your shelf life in the sex industry- sure, I am 38 and have the Coolest Scar in the World and still work (and I will qualify that- I do porn and porn alone these days- I got real tired of the other shit), but I am an exception and have, now, a distinctive look that works for me but puts me in a niche market.  It’s a niche I like, but niche nonetheless.   And she does mention something that I have harped on endlessly- being in the sex industry- especially if you are a woman- can absolutely limit your career opportunities.  It is not something one can generally put on their resume depending on the type of job they are going for.  If you want to be a bartender, or mechanic, or electrician, or many things that count as “trades”, you’re probably just fine.  Retail, you’re fine.  If you want to go all white collar, or apply for something that has a background check or security clearance, or be a teacher, or things of that nature?  Guess what- a career in the sex industry- even just stripping- can fuck that shit straight to hell. 

These are things people forget, or gloss over sometimes, and yep, that torques even me off sometimes.  I mean, I know I personally have never worked with someone who was underaged, or trafficked, or things of that nature- because I bother to look into that shit.  Other people wouldn’t.  I’ve known and worked with some people who loved it, and some people who did not like it at all and only did it because they pretty much had  to.  I’ve seen and met folk from all spectrums and whatnot of the sex industry- and they are all different- but pretty much all of them would say while it ain’t all blood loss and trauma, it ain’t all roses and mad cash either.  There is a ton of bullshit, from all sides, pretty much all the time.

So yeah, Berry and I do not see things eye to eye.  We look at this sort of thing from a very different perspective, but be that as it may- a lot of the things she’s said there- feminist lense/nihilst mercenary/gal/dude/ typical citizen jane or whatever…well, it is….true.

Add this one to the moron files…

This just in:  “Fun Feminist” = Stupid Slut, apparently.

I mean, am I the only one who finds it grimly amusing that this squid assumes any gal who might fall into the “fun Femme” role is, oh, promiscuous, into open relationships,okay with her man sleeping with other people, and unaware of the potential health risks of such things???  For real?  Like that is a given and requirement and whatnot…or that all so-called fun femmes are even…straight?

Hahahhaahha.  Man is this woman stupid.  And I even say this shit as a gal who has had,er, a fair amount of partners and you know, I have been lucky (and cautious-thank you) enough to remain disease free and all.

I also gotta say, when I read shit like this, my reaction is varied.  I find it amusing, really, because she’s so damn preachy and presumptive.  And stupid.  I also find the stupidity annoying and enraging. Then, usually after I have stopped snickering and read through the comments, I sorta feel sad for women like this- women who fail to see people beyond their biology, changes in that biology, “man”/”woman” status, women who are convinced MEN  (all of ‘em) are the enemy, so on so forth….and I rather wonder how it is that they are, well, so different from me.  I mean, if “born biology” and “life experiences as a born woman” and all that crap were really such great bonding agents, you’d think there would be some commonality there, some thing or feeling or whatever that would be a link for all of us to see, grasp, and base shit off of…but you know, that shit just ain’t there.  These gals would all rather sing the praises of Dworkin and talk about the evil and violence of men ( and stupidity of fun femmes and transwomen) and I would, oh, rather drink beer, play video games, stockpile weapons, and er…hang out  and party with people who look like that dude up there.   There is no common anything here, folks, aside from some organs and such.  Otherwise, I am pretty sure we are from different planets.   It kind of freaks me out sometimes.  Their fear…it’s funky.  I can’t imagine living with that shit, really.

Greetings from FL

  So yeah, I am the proud owner of, IMHO, the coolest scar EVER.  And it is promised it will probably actually get even COOLER.  I don’t mind scars, which is probably a really good thing…heck, I kinda like them.  Road map of the life and all…

Florida (aka, a Sunny Place for Shady People, aka, “America’s Wang”) is the same as it ever was.  The winter kill freezes have taken a bit of a toll and it is colder here than it usually is this time of year, but still the same old strange, weird, awesome, mellow and crazy state it has always been.  I never really learned to appreciate the place until I moved away.    I think the plan is to hit Sea World (again) tomorrow.  I generally shy away from the tourist stuff, but so long as it isn’t Disney, I can choke it down I guess.

Right now,  I think I am gonna have myself some Jack and watch Smokin’ Aces II: Assassins Ball-  it’s that kind of night 

The Renegade is

…alive and well, apparently also in Red Neck Heaven…

Or perhaps  the state of Florida…

FTW!!!

a…HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!

PERFECT!

Amusing Realization…

A lot of the debates I get in involving sex work?  I think people would argue with my point of view a whole lot less if they knew I was a nihilist….

Quite a Character…

 So, yeah, here I am, a week + a little since my surgery.  What, with the goggles (thanks Vlad!), hair that hasn’t been washed since…er…the surgery (stitches gotta stay dry and all), smirk, and scars that literally now have…er…scars, I figure I gotta be a real eye sore unless you’re, ahem, into that whole Tremor Brother thing…hell, I feel a bit like I escaped from one of my own stories, actually….though I might require more ink to pull that shit off…heh.

But you know, for a gal with disturbingly greasy hair and a seven inch gash in her neck, I feel pretty good.  Shit, I’ve been attempting to be civil and make reasonable with some folk I would generally just go ballistic on.  Despite the fact that I am itchy as hell, glaring down the Moon Hut of the She-Wolf sister, and dealing with other various pressure causing crap, I am, in general, in a pretty decent mood.  Normally I would say it’s the pain killers, but I really have not been taking a ton of those- certainly not enough to make me I drank the kool-aid happy anyway. 

So I am kind of wondering what it is.  I mean, not that I’m complaining, but its… weird.  It’s a very different state from normal for me.  I mean yeah, sure, I still get angry and ranty and snide and ponder doing horrible things to people with automatic weapons…but it’s not been my default setting here lately.   I’ve been surprisingly…serene.  Yeah, that’s a good word: serene.   Hell, I don’t expect it to last, I rarely expect anything good to, but yeah, I’m kinda enjoying it.

And of course, with the mellow comes the pondering and all…

Blog title post…how many of you have heard that expression?  “S/He’s quite a character?”  You ever note that it’s usually not a compliment?  I mean, there can be a good spin to it; that person is funny, or entertaining, or what have ya, but usually there is also the implication that said person is also an asshole, or not real in some way, or is, well, off?    Heh, well, I’ve heard that expression a lot in my day.  It was one of those things teachers would write in my year books and shit…usually number two right behind what “an interesting” person I was.   And well, I am an asshole, but still…  you know, I actually spent parts of my life trying to tone shit down and be like other people-  talk about a depressing and soul killing experience.  It honestly irks me that we as a society encourage that shit.   I mean, at least when I go out with my gross hair and goggles and scars upon scars and shit, I know who the fuck I am.   I can look in a mirror at all that shit and grin.  I can not care that I don’t have the perfect this season hair cut or perfect skirt and sweater combination and the perfect make up and nice skin and straight teeth and all that shit.  I mean, in a world of that?  Hell yes, fuck it is better to be a character…and I look way cooler with a chainsaw! 

And sure, people look at me funny…but you know, I could be dressed in LL Bean and as soon as I opened my mouth people would look at me funny anyway.  I look around at people I know- people my age- and part of me thinks “When did you all die?  When did you become every single thing you hated?  When did you give up each and every one of your dreams just to fit in and be normal and accepted…when did the fucking Body Snatchers come for you?”   If that shit makes me a character, then damn, I’ll see you in cartoons, you know?

I realize as one gets older, life changes, people change, things have to be done differently.  It happens to all of us in one way or another- what I do not get is trashing everything to be…just like everyone else.

That scares the hell out of me.    I’ll take the greasy hair, goggles and scars, please…even if it does keep me out of all the nice parties.

Dude, there is no way you’d pull that shit with my character…

AH yes, once again, dude bullshit in the world of gaming…

This eve, after much planning and setting up and getting shit together…done by me…I, because some people had asked nice…got a good sized team of lowbie villains together to do some missions on CoV…because well, bigger teams often equal more xp and more fun.   And for the most part, it was a good group.  One of the gals playing is a brand new player, two of the folk are returning players who have not been around in a while, one of them was a long time player who actually solos most of the time and has some trouble on teams, but wanted to try it anyway, and a few of us are sorta old hat at the game and all, but hey, all good with playing with new folk or those who are brushing up on their skills again.

So we get things going, get the team together and off we go.  I’m team leader, which is, well, I pick the missions and all, and in theory (and it would make sense because well, I have done a lot more villain stuff than the other folks), I am calling the shots on plans, tactics, things of that nature…which you know, I am not bad at really.  In fact, I do it pretty dang well.   And most of the folk playing with me realize that and are cool with it- I mean hell, the XP is flowin’, people are levelling, I even can teleport them around and stuff….you note I said most, right?

Because there is this one dude on the team who well, just cannot handle anyone other than him being in charge…ever- at least not female anyones…and when a female anyone is in charge, he will- either consciously or unconsciously fuck shit up and sabotage the team.   And its like he does it at every available opportunity….majority of team is going one way, he aggros a whole different group of enemies.  I say “Do Not Go Into …..”  (mission, room, around the corner, whatever) he does it anyway.  I say wait, he goes, I say go, he stands there with a finger up his ass.  Pulling is suggested and I designate someone to do so…well, fuck that, he’s gonna do it himself then bitch about how everyone else is doing it wrong even if we’re all still standing and he is dead.     He really is just as annoying as fuck and cannot, at all, seem to follow simple direction…especially if that simple direction is coming from a woman gamer  (even if she, oh, has 9 level 50 characters compared, oh, to his…one…which I helped him get). 

And as this is going on, and people other than myself are noticing, I found myself thinking….  “dude, there is no way you’d pull this shit with my character…”

And why do I say such things?  Well, because that is the character I was playing this evening: Jethro…a big scary lookin’ dude.  Who ended up being last man standing several times due to this guys fuck ups…who was busy complimenting teammates on stuff they did well -new or experienced because you know, it is nice to do that- and while I am doing so he is bitching that we are not moving fast enough for his liking.  And it’s not like the guy was playing some badass who could take out rooms full of bad guys by himself or solo Elite Heroes or whatever…He was playin’ a level 11 corruptor. 

At one point (thank god I do not use Vent) I was screaming “if he pulls that fuckin’ shit again I am kickin’ his ass off my goddamn team!”  Hell, the only reason…ONLY reason…I team up with this dude is I like playing CoX with his wife (she is solid as hell) and she generally will not play without him.

It also amuses the fuck out of me that he always plays female characters…I guess it is okay to play them in a video game, but god fuckin’ forbid you should actually listen to a real one running a team…even if she is playing a dude!

Grumble.

Truth & Reality in Media…

  Right then…for the last few days whilst sitting around recovering I have been watching a whole lot of…

South Park.

And in between shaking my head in semi-disbelief and laughing my ass off, I realized a few things-

One:  The show is so much damn funnier if you are from Colorado, and Two:  OMG, if  you are from Colorado, it is scary how funny and accurate the damn show is.  Between the weather jokes, the Denver Bronco football reverence, the hunter, hick, stupid fuckin’ airport oh god damn everything else that is so Colorado about the damn thing (including Blame Canada, “Shakey’s Pizza”  and massive beer consumption)…well…it’s spooky.  Very, very spooky.  Spooky in a way that will have a person from Colorado laughing their ass off (shunt and stitches or no shunt and stitches) while people in the same room who are not from Colorado are looking at them very strangely.  I mean, they might be laughing, but not in the same way at all…

I’ve watched several seasons in the last few days, and I suspect I will continue the pattern…one of those things you know, where it is only so funny because its…true….

Except most people from Colorado would never actually say they liked the food at Casa Bonita…

A Time for Great Celebration!

The Shunt is Gone!!!!

Life without an annoying tube in one’s neck is so much nicer!

Woohoo!!!!

Stitches and such will remain until next monday or so, but who cares? The shunt is gone!