The Murder of Jill Lynn Ulmer

When I was done reading this article, I decided it wasn’t weblog material. Basic summary: man murders woman after she dumps him. It’s tragic, but I tend to link to news that is more unusual. Sadly, this is far from unusual.

Then I scrolled down to read the comments, and we get these gems:

“This would not have happened to this poor girl if SHE was NOT this idiot.”

“I feel sorry for her parents…I don’t feel sorry for her. She got involved with someone like this…”

“You people AMAZE me!! She was trying to get out of the relationship with him! This is in no way, shape, or form her fault.”

“…not always do women realize they are dating an abuser she obviously was trying to get out of the relationship, she had a protective order, her decisions didn’t get her killed, the abuser killed her. This is not the womans fault.”

Perhaps these sort of opinions aren’t unusual, but they are very disturbing. Why the first two quotes are disturbing should go without saying. As for the last two quotes, it’s not that people are defending Ms. Ulmer that bothers me. I am glad that there are people smart enough to see that it is not ok to blame the victim. What I dislike is the reasoning behind it. Both place emphasis on the fact that Ms. Ulmer was making a visible effort to leave her abuser. This is irrelevant. If she had fully intended to stay involved with him for the rest of her life, she is still not to blame for the abuse, or her own murder.

May Ms. Ulmer receive peace and justice.

Because Women Who Enjoy Sex Are Crazy

A woman known as “Amy” allegedly had sex with 200 AFL footballers over the course of ten years.

“She said players kept in regular contact with her and she admitted to sometimes engaging in group sex with them.

“She said she was not abused, had always engaged in consensual acts and had not suffered as a result of her lifestyle.”

While AFL is giving a lot of lip service about respect for women, the only person the organization seems to think is in need of counseling is Amy. Because, you know, when men want lots and lots of sex, that’s normal. When a woman wants the same thing, she’s obviously suffering from some kind of mental disorder.

Senior Citizen Gamers

“They’ve put away the shuffle board and the bingo cards and picked up a Wii controller.”

With all the news stories about the negative effects of playing video games, and all the dumb little brats who drop dead from playing World of Warcrap for days at a time, this article is a nice change of pace: a nursing home full of gamers.

“My mom is a different lady ever since this started…She was really fighting it, she didn’t want to stay here. It was hard for her to accept that she was going to be in a nursing home. Ever since we started Wii Bowling, that broke her into the bingo. My mom is probably one of the most active women in the facility!”

Best wishes to her, and all of the other residents.

Because It’s Not Rape If He “Marries” Her

A man who raped 40 women, including his own wife, tells a reporter:

“I have asked the family’s forgiveness…I even paid the bride price: 12 goats, a scarf and a suit for her father…Three days before I was married, I went to church to confess. My wife knows what I used to be.”

Adding to the shock of the subject matter itself, is the way the reporter, Jonathan Pearlman, alters his language when he writes about the wife. Suddenly, rape becomes “somewhat reluctantly.” As I see it, this woman doesn’t even qualify as his wife. The way the article tells it, she did not consent to marrying him.

Who would?

The article goes on to paint a sympathetic picture of a man who admits to raping roughly 80 women:

“He says he remains haunted by his crimes.”

Excuse me for a moment. I seem to have misplaced my violin.

MMO for Girls

It’s a Korean game called Make a Friend. Characters create their own islands, and have cute little pets. The nature of it seems a bit stereotypical, but I think it’s great that someone out there is at least trying to make a game that doesn’t feel like a boy’s clubhouse where female players are only grudgingly tolerated because their characters have been forced to wear bikini-style plate armor. Moving away from the standard lets collect uber l33t gear and kill stuff model is to be commended as well.

When I Tell That Bitch Please…In Outer Space!

Buzz Aldrin is joining forces with professional woman-hater Snoop Dogg. Fear not! His goal behind this is perfectly noble.

“…these incredible rappers speak to the new generations and know how to reach them.”

I’m sure the new generations of hos and bitches will appreciate your efforts, Buzz.

A Woman’s Body is Not Her Identity

By now, most web users are probably aware of the latest anti-Muslim schtick happening in France by way of banning Burkas. I have plenty to say about Islamic attire, but I shall save that for a future post.

What I’m annoyed about at the moment is the constant claim, from both conservatives and liberals, that niqab “hides” a woman’s identity. Thoughts? Feelings? Golly gee, who cares about any of that crap? Everyone knows that a woman can only be defined by her face, her hair, her chest, her rear end, etc. Any woman who takes it upon herself to decide whether or not complete strangers can get a good idea about the size, shape, and “beauty” of her various physical attributes may as well just cease to exist.

This is what we call misogyny, folks.

The Evolution of Video Games

Ricardo over at GotGame has written an article about the way video game genres are changing. In it, he lumps The Elder Scrolls in the same category with the steaming pile of crap that is World of Warcraft.

This offends me.

We Couldn’t Care Less

“In the 2000 census, women and girls formed 51 percent of the U.S. population. And every single one of them older than about 13 – if honest with themselves – would admit they wonder what goes on in men’s public restrooms.”

I hate to break it to you Barry, but most women probably don’t. In fact, I’m pretty sure most of us would prefer never knowing.

“Since women want to know, and I believe they have a right to know…”

A “right” that I am quite happy to give up, thank you very much.

“…many urinals are equipped with aiming ‘points’ – targets at which men may aim both for fun and effectiveness.”

I could have died happy remaining ignorant of this tidbit of info. Another fun little quote from the article:

“…women, right or wrong, are still the primary bathroom cleaners in our society.”

Alas Barry, you have never been to my house. If you wee wee all over the bathroom floor, you can march yourself right back in there and mop it up yourself.

It’s hard to believe someone actually pays this guy to write.

More Than Just Hello

This weblog will have recommendations, rants, and links to things I’m interested in.

This weblog will not have much in the way of memes or those quiz thingies.

More to come.