Who Votes For These People?

November is looming like the Spectre of Fucking Death right now. Not that I go out of my way to watch a lot of "live" television, but it's already become quite obnoxious. The political ads are as scathing, underhanded and covered in muck and mire as ever. But as I age, and my views become more forward-thinking (I will avoid "liberal" and "conservative" here-- although I definitely lean left, it's only because the right is so far in their direction that to be in the middle would mean having a portrait of Reagan over my fireplace), I am baffled at the type of shit people in twenty-first century America can get away with saying. Take Todd Akin, for instance. If you haven't heard about his latest verbal abomination, I'll wait.

http://dailycurrant.com/2012/08/26/todd-akin-claims-breastmilk-cures-homosexuality/

Do these people listen to themselves speak? Or are they too busy trying not to choke on their own verbal diarrhea that they don't realize that there's stupid shit coming out of their mouths? It is absolutely unacceptable for a person in a first world country, in the twenty-first century, to feel okay to believe this shit and not be in need of psychiatric help, let alone hold a political office and be in the running for another! Why don't we just start stoning and burning people at the stake for being witches while we're at it?

It would be easy to attack Akin and his comments. But this raises a much larger question--

WHO VOTES FOR THESE PEOPLE?

It is a strong conviction of mine not to vote. I've heard all the arguments. "If you don't vote, you're part of the problem." "They win if you don't vote!" "It's your duty as an American to vote."

Bull. Fucking. Shit.

These politicians, no matter what their background, no matter what their platforms, their beliefs, their stances, their party affiliation-- are all figureheads and lickspittle for corporations. They are not looking after anyone's interests but the people who allow them to grow richer and keep fucking over everyone else. Your vote simply does not matter anymore, if it ever did. It makes a difference, sure, between Democrat and Republican-- but the shit that the rich fucks want to do will ultimately get through in some shape or form. It's like choosing a method of being raped (kind of funny to put it that way, given Akin's earlier idiocy)-- either the nice, kind of creepy guy who hangs out around the schoolyard and takes you out for Ice Cream and invites you over for video games a few times before it turns horrific, or the guy in the van who violently grabs the first kid to say yes, he would love some candy.

So what's the appeal, people? Do you feel that not voting would be wrong? I maintain that it is as much my right to abstain as it is for you to cast that empty ballot. And NOT voting, as a self-educated person in this age seems the least harmful action to me. Why encourage these fucks to continue doing what they do? The system is obviously and fundamentally broken. It simply cannot be fixed from within. It's no conspiracy. It's no left-wing propaganda. Look at what's transpired these past twenty or so years and see the murder these people are getting away with. Even if you ignore the money scandals, the banks destroying the housing market, Congress legalizing Insider Trading for themselves, the economy being stuck squarely at the bottom of some Chinese-made latrine-- you still have people running for public office who believe rape needs to be called anything other than rape, that a woman's uterus has anti-rape protection and her milk can "cure" homosexuality, evolution is a lie, and that magic underpants purchased from the church are a necessary expense, just to name a few.

And you may ask, "well what about you, then? What do you think would be a good solution?"

I wish I knew. But continuing to participate in a corrupt, exclusively two-party system (and don't get me started on voting for a third party, either. That's more of a waste than just staying home on election day) isn't going to solve anything. I don't have any great ideas that don't involve telling people how to live, and that is not the person I want to be. I don't know what's best for people. But voting for people who answer to corporate fucking twats and profess that they know what's best for me, for you, for America and the world-- that isn't for the best, is it? We can do better, as a culture, as a society, as a species, than this joke Democracy has turned into. These people don't want what's best for the individual. They want what they think is best. They want their agenda pushed, their religion taught, and anything other than their own way of thinking turned out and derided as nonsense, when they're the ones talking nonsense about invisible sky bullies who say how some people's way of life is a sin (ironically, on the news this evening ,they were talking about how Republicans spend far more money at strip clubs during their convention than Democrats) according to their ancient mythology. It's unconscionable, and truly, truly immoral. It's fucking nonsense, and as long as people keep voting, you're doing exactly what they want. They want their two-party system. They want everything black and white, clean cut, in nice little packages for us to consume in malnutritious bites, shallow rhetoric and empty promises.

Who profits? Because it sure as fuck isn't the people the politicians are supposedly sworn to represent. And as long as the broken system is in place, not a single person will be able to go inside without playing the same game and swallowing the same pills that the people currently in power already have. Politics leaves an indelible mark on anyone who enters the field. There's too much invested in the current system by far too many people for a few people or one person to make any fucking difference. Either you fall victim to playing the game and drinking the Kool-aid, or you find yourself entangled in a spider web of red tape that ties your hands from doing anything worthwhile.

I know most of you reading this will disagree that abstaining isn't a viable course of action, but do me a favor, come November: just think about not going that day. Do something else. Do something for yourself, for your friends and your family, instead of wasting your time in a High School gymnasium being waited on by idiot poll workers. Just think about it, for me, before casting that vote. And maybe, just maybe, try to come up with a better idea than I have.

-Swift

REVIEW: Square Enix Play Arts Kai Batman (Armored) and Harley Quinn

I'm back with another Play Arts review! This time, it's Batman (Armored) and Harley Quinn, the second set of figures from Square's Arkham Asylum figures. When I got the first two, Batman and the Joker, I was rather floored by the quality and poseability of both figures, but not so much the value ($60 apiece), moreso in the Joker's case. How do these two stack up? Well, let's see...

First off, a short "import horror story": I ordered these MONTHS ago. MONTHS. I had my regular Batman and the Joker. I wasn't going to get the armored Bats, but Harley was a sure thing. Then came pictures of the armored Batman and I bit the bullet on him, too, because the first two figures impressed me that much. So I finally get tired of waiting for BBTS to get their stock decide to order straight from Square's website. I received a shipping notice, and the day these were supposed to be on my doorstep, the tracking info said the FDA had to check out my package. Apparently the good ol' feds inspect packages from time to time for insects (especially packages from China), which had me waiting another week for my stuff. Frustrating, but I finally have them. I won't be ordering direct from them again, no matter how impatient I grow.

On to the figures!

I thought it only appropriate to do the "Iron Man" pose, since he's in armor. Looks pretty good, I think.

The Good: These figures look fantastic. Just fantastic! The sculpting, paint (for the most part) and detail are top-notch. The articulation, as always with Play Arts, is in fine working form here. All the clothing on Harley is fairly flexible and doesn't inhibit her movement at all, if you just have patience and fiddle around with it enough. Solid joint construction and the ratchets in the joints are all intact, and if you have the mind and patience, you can get them into almost any pose imaginable. The accessories this time, at least in Harley's case, are a little more significant than the Joker: She has a cane (Warden Sharp's cane from the game), an extra hand, and the gem of the accessories in the line thus far: Scarface painted up like the Joker. His arms and legs are articulated, and his head is on a ball joint, giving the lil fella a ton of personality. One of Harley's hands is sculpted into his back so she can "hold" him, but here's the best part: the same wrist joints on Harley are the ones on Joker, so Joker can use Scarface, too!

Batman is chock full of detailing on his armor, right down to the rivets and mesh detailing around the top of his legs (ya know, so it doesn't hinder his movement too much). There's a very harsh-edged looked to the design of his armor, and as you can see, it screams badass. As far as I can tell, there's very little, if any, re-use of parts from the first edition of Batman other than his cape and maybe his boots. It's an entirely different figure from the first release, making it worth owning if you're a hardcore Batman dork like me. He really is a fantastic figure, but there's a few things holding him back, which we'll get into after more pics...

 The Bad: Again, your mileage may vary on how good a value these two are. Even though Harley has a very cool accessory (Scarface), she still feels a tad light in that department. Batman, too, seems light on accessories: he comes with the single-claw Batclaw and a rehash of the batarang from the first release. He has an extra set of hands, but the left one in particular isn't that great:

 Either mine is messed up or the mold is, because the peg hole for the open left hand seems off-center, making his hand look wonky no matter how you pose it. The fist is fine, but for $60, I shouldn't have a bum hand that looks goofy and shows off that ball joint on his wrist horrifically.

The second issue I have with Batman is definitely a quality control one: his left pec joint (?) that allows forward movement at the shoulders, is stuck in place. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but the fucking thing should move, and I've no idea how to unstick it. Worse, when I popped the arm out to investigate, a second piece came out along with the ball joint, which I had to glue back in place. I shouldn't have to un-stick or glue anything at this price point, Square. Get your shit together.

The other thing that keeps these down a bit are paint apps. For the most part, they are completely spot-on, with no slop or fuzz. But there's some issues with Harley's left boot and the dreaded paint rub has already struck again on her cane-holding hand. But these are minor issues, and it might just be my bad luck.

 I can without hesitation give a wholehearted recommendation for Harley. Her and the Joker look great together, and even though I'm not the greatest fan of her being tarted up in the games, the articulation and execution here make it a great (if whored-up) figure. Batman let me down, but it's mostly because of the stuck shoulder joint and the funky way his extra hand looks. You might have better luck.

Overall: While these look amazing, the price point and the quality control keep plaguing me from saying "BUY THESE NOW!" But having said that, there's a ton of product coming out of the Arkham Asylum/City franchise, and the Play Arts Kai figures are the best of the bunch. If you already have the first Batman, and aren't a gigantic Batman dork, you might be able to pass on Armored Bats. Harley, though, is a great figure and extremely fun to pose, especially with her cohort Mr. J. I'd give these a B+.

Check out a few more pics, and thanks for reading!

-Swift