My repro copy of "Double Dragon II" for PC Engine came in. Just like other Famicom-to-PC Engine ports I've played, not only does this game have a hundred times more appealing aesthetic than the Famicom original, but it plays so much crisper too, what with the large sprites and perfectly stable framerate. I wouldn't say this version is quite as tight as, let's say, "Streets of Rage"-- but it's close. It feels like a 16-bit brawler, versus 8-bit brawlers which always play kind of sloppy.


Rhetoric Escalation

This saddened me. The establishment media should probably stop telling people with mental illnesses that they should arm themselves and attack people.

For the subset of "trans" people who are gender dysphoric due to out-of-whack Testosterone levels in the womb causing mal-developed brains, I can understand why they feel threatened by the mainstream media's misrepresentation of the Christian perspective on "trans" people. These ill individuals can't do much to eliminate the neurologically-errant sensations, so how are they supposed to be happy if they feel hemmed in?

Of course, what the Christians are upset by is not generally what grown adults do to their own bodies; they view it as immoral, but aren't going to send storm troopers to houses to round people up either.

What Christians actually don't want are books graphically teaching eight year-olds how to have anal sex, in school libraries; they don't want "drag queens", many of whom are pedophiles, exposing their genitals to children in libraries, or confusing children's development; and they don't think that children are mature enough to make the decision to cut off their penis or otherwise castrate themselves for the rest of their lives.

These are completely unobjectionable opinions to anyone with half a brain. And every Christian I know, including myself, wants nothing but the best for "trans" people, and everyone else for that matter. We pray for the troubled all of the time to turn to Jesus as their savior, to find relief and salvation.

I saw a clip yesterday of the despicable Liz Cheney attacking Republicans for "wanting to ban books"-- meaning, for objecting to pornography in elementary school libraries. She obviously knows the truth, but is lying for political gain as she and her ilk always do, about everything. This is how the establishment misrepresents Christian views to sow discontentment in society.


Clot Shot Fallout

As a segue on that very note, remember what the Liz Cheney-types of the world all over were saying about the clot shots, purely for political gain-- that the shots were "safe and effective"? Here is the latest data regarding the issue. As I suspected, the number of people injured by the clot shots is in the tens-of-millions. I personally know at least one person in that situation. I also had a co-worker in her twenties drop dead suddenly not too long ago.

In the sporting world, there isn't a day which goes by where I don't see a fresh video of an athlete simply falling over dead. Close to home via his Lazio ties, Lucas Leiva had to retire due to a sudden onset of heart issues. He's thirty six, and at world class fitness levels. I guarantee you it was the shots.

I thank God all of the time for giving me the wisdom to see for myself and my family the truth about these noxious injections. None of us had them, and we are fit-as-fiddles.


Profound

This is one of the most fascinating things I've read in a long time. This could be a material part of the explanation for why not just videos games, but culture at large, has become so dull: people who play videos games complain about the lack of creativity, but then go weak-knee'd by remakes of old games such as "Resident Evil 4", clamoring for more and more of the familiar.

Take the examples listed in the article, and add a few more: third-person 3D action game with dodge rolling, skill trees, and a minimap in the corner; or "metroidvania" rogue-like with pretentious pixel art and Famitracker music. Those two sentences describe probably eighty percent of games made today across the "triple A" and "indie" spaces, or maybe even more.

Remember this 2014 blog post of mine? I was observing the phenomenon even back then, without being able to quite put my finger on it.