The Great Ashley Madison Hack

Dear Ashley Madison account owner:

Are you THAT stupid? You want to do those awful things secretly, and your next step is ... you give your identity to a company you never know personally? For good measure, you also declare your intention in that company´s website? I am 100% sure you deserve your current misery. Not only because you are an immoral arse, but also because you are that stupid.

Dear Ashley Madison owner, administrator, etc.:

Isn't it wonderful when people can't trust you anymore? Do you want to strangle those hackers who ruin that trust? Ah, that means you know how your clients SO feels about you. That is what we call empathy. That is what differentiate us from sociopath. That's why I can't help but smiling whenever I remember how this hack ruin your business. 

Future Microsoft Game Console

Microsoft tried to shove b.s. to suck money from gamers. Their tool: their newest gaming console "Xbox One". What b.s you ask? You know, b.s like the console has to be connected to internet once every 24 hours. Why? Because they want to sell "blast processing" ... sorry, that was what Sega sold 2 decades ago. Now they used the name "Cloud computing." Okaay, I am still skeptical, but maybe MAYBE cloud computing is as awesome as they say ...

But that was not the only b.s. from Microsoft. Xbox One games can't be re-sold without big-brother permission. Their reason for this? The second-hand game market killing the developers ... yeah right. Just like second-hand car burying the car industries, second-hand clothing destroying textile industries, etc.

Oh, other than those 2 b.s., Microsoft also tried to shove its version of Orwell's 1984: Kinect 2.0.. In essence, it is a digital camera-microphone that is equipped with their own processor. It can see everything. EVERYTHING. Even your heartbeat. Oh, since the only way to turn on the Xbox One is via voice command, this baby is ALWAYS ON. They try to b.s that it can be paused. During this paused mode, it can only recognize "Xbox On" phrase. Err ... that means it is till functioning right? It is watching us all the time right? And they introduce this at the same time with the Prism scandal? No wonder Penny Arcade gave it a loaded name "Mandatory Evil Camera." A German official calls it "a twisted nighmare". Nah, either nickname is too blatant for my taste. I prefer to call it "Eye of Sauron" :) 

Of course gamers didn't take it lightly and basically boycotting "The One". The backlash was so severe that one of Microsoft direct competitor, Sony, exploited it to boost the sale of their machine, the PS4. The reaction from gamers is just ... overwhelming. For example, gamers gave Sony standing ovation when they say "WE ARE NOT MICROSOFT," we love status quo! Microsoft decided to cancel  all of their b.s. I think it is too little, too late. And it has to be noted, it is NOT a total reversal. For starters they keep the Eye of Sauron. This actually amplify the current main problem of Xbox One: the lack of trust. I use this "Xbox One" experience to guess future gaming console from Microsoft. I wonder if others think like this too ...

1) XXXbox!
Let's start with the name ... since they think that "Xbox One" is a good name for the successor of "Xbox 360," why don't go for broke? Use the name: XXXbox! It is so hardcore that one X is not enough! It will be ETERNAL, just like porn! Wicked! Bodacious! Cool! Funky! Epic! 

2) Green Pass!

Not only electricity and internet connection, XXXbox could only function if we put a special green sticker, evidence that we pay the company, I mean SUPPORTING THE ENVIRONMENT! Yay! It only cost 10 Bucks per month! What? You hate that? You don't want to save the trees? HEARTLESS BASTARDS! This is about the future of EARTH! How dare you protest this, are you intending to rip off your own planet?

3) Let's monetize EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!

Microsoft already tried to monetize the second-hand game market by ordering re-sellers to pay them. Why stop there? Using the EYE OF SAURON Microsoft can totally monitor how many people access your XXXbox! 

Two gamers playing the game console? ARE YOU TRYING TO BLEED US DRY? Second player has to pay, PAY PAY PAY! 

The whole family want to watch Netflix together with it? HEY, movie theater sold their ticket to EACH INDIVIDUAL! Are you trying to rip-off Microsoft with this so called "family gathering"? Not a chance! PAY, PAY, PAY! 

You stand in front of your TV? HA, that's mean you already intended to play, the machine will start warming up! What? You are not playin? PAY, PAY, PAY!

4) Big Brother Sucker Portal!

Why stop with the "Eye of Sauron"? In the future, you can only play your XXXbox after giving TOTAL CONTROL of your Facebook account, Twitter account, and Bank Account to Microsoft! This is for your own benefit, this way Microsoft will assist you in your social and financial live! No need to worry to buy the Green Pass, family member-pass, extra-gamer-pass or all other extra fee Microsoft will automatically charge you! Microsoft will also charge you for the latest accessories!

Oh, since Microsoft already take over your Twitter and Facebook accounts, they will also charge you everytime you mention their name in bad context! Hey, that "®" and "™" signs are there for a reason you know! How dare you smear that without paying!

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, that is the future of gaming! Hopefully you liked them. Don't worry, if you hate that ... just buy and play an Xbox 360!

What? You think they won't be THAT evil? C'mon, these guys INSIST on putting Eye of Sauron in your room! 

Prism, Privacy, Security

News flash for Americans: you don't have digital privacy. The government is watching YOU!! NSA and its PRISM program essentially recorded every single electronic activity of every single American.

The support for this evil is BIPARTISAN! President Obama reaction to this leak can be summarized into one word: "TOUGH!" On the other side, the GOP also supports it wholeheartedly. Where is the Democratic Party that support civil liberty? Where is the GOP that fight against the overarching government? Where is the massive bipartisan movement against PRISM? Both sides defends this nasty encroachment and argues that such appalling intrusion to your life could increase security. Dick Cheney for example, said that such measure could prevent 9/11.

Wow, what a compelling logic! Hey, while you are at it, let me give some suggestions how to PREVENT 9/11. As far as I know, no one inside the big house can hijack an airplane, so you would DEFINITELY prevent 9/11 by putting every single American in jail.

What else ... AH, those terrorists are foreginers who abused their visa! How about this: interrogate and WATERBOARD every single visa-applicants to make sure they have good intention!

Heck, why we took any chance, just slaughter every single human being in USA. And Middle East for good measure! After those measures, I GUARANTEE 1000%, 9/11 couldn't happen!

In essence they said "If you crush your house with BIG BULLDOZER, you don't have to worry about the leaky roof!" They say they protect the house while actually they tear down the house, and sold every single part of the house to a shabby junk dealer.

That is just pure evil. The year is 2013, but I am totally for turning it back into 1984.

Joel Osteen: How He Hates Expertise

One of my Facebook friend posted a Joel Osteen's status on his wall. Here it is:

At first, I was amazed. Then, I was enraged.

This ... this .... ARGH, this is just ... here let me explained why I don't like that status at all.

1) Noah's flood story is not special.

There are HUNDREDS global flood stories from other religions. Is that an evidence that a great flood really happened once upon a time? Nope. There is a superior explanation. 

All civilizations were born nearby a river, since water is an essential thing for our existence. Those rivers definitely floods its surrounding several times, so it is normal for a poet, for a writer, of every civilization, of that time to write a "great flood" epic, even though no global flood ever happened.

Oh yeah, not only a flood from local river, a tsunami can also inspire ancient writers to write such epic. No global flood needed.

2) "What God has put in your heart"

Whatta heck is that? Seriously, what is that? Gut feeling? Intuition? Instinct? Desire? If you want to give an advice, please give a concrete, testable, and falsifiable one. If not, you are just a politician who give amorphous, non-definite promise to escape blame if anything goes wrong.


3) And don't forget about "God's experts" like Mr. Osteen here ...

Since #2 is NEVER clear, many people claimed to be "God's expert" to tell you what God really wants, what God really puts into your heart. Thanks to that we got the Spanish inquisition, witch-hunt, multiple crusades, and many more! 


4) The best expert has been wrong ...

Here is the irony, by Osteen's definition, GOD is the best expert for everything. Every single thing. Unfortunately, God made mistakes too!

What? You disagree? You thought that God is infallible? So tell me, how come God wiped out most living beings using the great flood? 

Oh, God also admit that He can forget His promise and plan evil, then ... surprise, surprise, he was corrected by a mere mortal named Moses! No wonder Osteen despises expert. His "best expert" is just ... not that trustworthy!

5) The Titanic once existed. The Ark never exists.

How I know it never happened? Simple, because if it happened, the  soil would record it! The permanent ice in Greenland, Siberia, etc would record it too! Since there are no record about such flood, it is safe to state that the flood never happens. 

Even if the flood really happened, there is another record that can show the existence of a population bottleneck, that shows that every single modern human being are the descendants of the 8 members of Noah's family. This can be done since our mitochondria gives accurate record about our mother, while our Y-chromosome gives accurate information about a male's father. So, using mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal analysis, we can know our common ancestors. The result is out. Nope, it is not Noah's family. The "Adam" and "Eve" are totally different. Definitely not Noah or any of his family.

That makes comparing Noah's Ark with Titanic like comparing Boeing 747 with Santa's sleigh. I bet Santa's sleigh has superior track record! 

Why Osteen spouted nonsense like this to his followers? Simple, because he wants them to hate all kind of experts that he disagree. Because he wants to monopolize truth. Yes, once again this is about power over "hearts and minds," especially "minds." What do you expect? We are talking about religion here!

Three Reasons to Hate Asterix

I read all kind of comics. My top 10 comics consists of Japanese Manga , American superheroes, and Franco-Belgian comics. As long as it is a good read, I'd give my thumbs up!

There is this one very famous Franco-Belgian comics; on par with Tintin, Spirou & Fantasio, and the Smurfs; the comic that no matter how hard I tried to love it, I still hate it until today: Asterix by Goscinny and Uderzo. At first, I couldn't pointed out why exactly I hate that comic. Fortunately, now I can. So, let's get started, these are 3 main reasons why I hate this comic ....

Oh yeah, one last thing, there are still many small details of this comic that annoys me. I only list these 3 because they are the primary reasons.

1) No danger, no suspense

For those who have no idea about Asterix, basically this is a comic about a Celtic village in ancient France during the late Roman Republic. After the Roman Republic crushed the last Celtic resistant in the battle of Alesia to be more precise. This village managed to defy Roman rule due to the magic potion created by their resident druid, Panoramix/Getafix. The magic potion basically makes its user temporarily super-strong, super-fast, and invulnerable. Asterix sidekick, Obelix, has no need to drink that potion, because he drank the whole cauldron when he was very small, so he permanently has those superpowers. And ... everything went downhill after that.

Seriously, if you were a member of a village of supermen, with enemies armed only with spears and swords, life is not hard at all. This is one tricky part of writing a superhero story. If the superpower is too powerful, you take out all the suspense from it! You don't care anymore, since the enemy pose ZERO threat to the hero!  Every single Asterix comic book, I must emphasize here: EVERY SINGLE ONE, full with Asterix and Obelix sending Roman soldiers flying with their fist, while Roman swords, arrows, and spears can't even scratch their skin. It get's old quite fast. After 2 books, I start to snore. It is like reading a story about an expert ninja, master of illusion , hand-to-hand combat, projectile throwing, magic, and all other ninja stuffs, veteran of fighting against anything from the most vicious warlords to demon hordes ... only to fight a gang of primary-school bullies who cries whenever they see blood. In the end, the ninja won, and beat every single bully of the story. Boo-hoo, what a surprise! And this happens THROUGHOUT the series! I don't know about you, but I just can't stand the boredom.

And boredom is not the only thing that those magic potion created.

2) They are just a group of bullies.

After sometime, I also realize that they had gone too far in describing the relationship between Asterix and the Romans. Just like the writers of "Tom & Jerry" and "Bugs Bunny," which I despise wholeheartedly, they turn the victim into bullies. They repeatedly BEAT UP ANY ROMAN ARMY THEY MET, often without provocation, often definitely not out of self-defense, but for petty excuses.

If that is not bullying, I don't know what is.

Once again "It is cute and funny if the bully is the underdog (People from small village fighting against the Roman Legions.)." 

No it is not. Bullying is bullying, and disgusting.as hell.

And as my #1 pointed out, they are NOT the underdogs. Their superpower took out that status since book #1. Underdog or not, they are plain and simple bullies.

3) Because their enemies are stupid
Both #1 & #2 are reinforced by the stupidity of the Romans. Seriously, if I were the Romans, I would poison the village with the most lethal poison available. Just poison their wine or food before the feast that routinely done. Once everyone is dead, the Romans can turn the village into anything they like.

Or just poison Obelix and Panoramix. Without them, no superpower. Without any superpower, wiping out the village with conventional means would be a cakewalk.

Or what about this, kidnap Falbala, the girl that Obelix (and Asterix to lesser degree) has crush on, so Asterix & Obelix rush to save her, while Panoramix is attending one of the druid meeting. Crush the village during the window time when those 3 are not in the village. If they kept spare magic potion, make sure they waste it using feign attack(s). After finishing the village, than eliminate the 3 survivors one by one. THAT is what we call "defeat in detail" ladies and gentlemen!

Bottom line: There are SOO MANY other methods to neutralize the village, but did the Roman tries? Nope, because they are all stupid. 


So, in essence, it is excruciatingly hard to LIKE a comic whose heroes are just mega-powerful bullies, and the antagonists are not that bright.

Liu Bei and Other Overrated Legendary Characters

I am often bothered by some of the details of legendary epics. Below are three legendary characters from those epics that practically pissed me off ...

Zhao Min/Tio Beng

From: Louis Cha's Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre

She is the "true love" of Zhang Wuji/Thio Bu Ki. I am pissed by her because she is the very definition of a traitor. Oh yeah, she betrayed her family, her nation, her culture for a man. My bullshit detector AUTOMATICALLY detected 2 double standards at the same time:

1) If a man do that, he would be reviled. You betray your own nation for a woman? LOW LIFE TRAITOR! His reputation won't be far from Judas Iscariot, Benedict Arnold, Quisling, or Wang Jingwei. Really. But since it is a woman who do that for a man ... "AAAAAH, so romantic!" Bullshit.

2) If a Chinese do that, she would be reviled too. How dare you betray the glorious middle Kingdom, center of the universe! But since she is a Mongol who actually betray her nation for the Chinese, suddenly it is all okay. Bullshit again!

A traitor is a traitor. He/she maybe useful, but I won't trust him/her. Let alone making her the main love interest. That's why I really can't enjoy this last part of the condor trilogy as much as the previous 2 parts. 

Lauw Pie. From US Public Domain.

Liu Bei/Lauw Pie

From: Luo Guanzhong/Lo Kuan Chong's Romances of the Three Kingdoms

This legendary novel tried REALLY HARD making Liu Bei the nicest politician in the story. Many pointed out that Lauw Pie is the best emperor among his peers of that time. There is only 2 problems though ...

1) That claim is basically based on an ancient notion that an emperor was chosen because his father is an emperor, or at least he has some family ties with previous emperors. Not because he is the most qualified man in the country. Even the genius Zhuge Liang/Cukat Liang used this argument. Whenever he debated on the topic of the best emperor candidate, he always returned to this argument: "He has the surname Lauw, the surname of the Emperors of the Han Dynasty! Oh yeah, the imperial historians already approved that he really descended from the Han Dynasty! Even Cao Cao/Co Coh can't deny that!" I know I has to put this in context, that this happens 2000 years ago, when "meritocracy" is still limited to cabinet level, but seriously, it become tiresome when they repeat this argument for the 1000th time.

2) He is a hypocrite. Really. After sooo many times spouted about "filial duties" "Confucian ideals" "put the people first" yadda yadda yadda, he finally met his end because he invaded Sun Kwan, to avenge his sworn brother, Guan Yu/Kwan Kong. Oh by the way, Sun Kwan realized his mistakes, and tried EVERYTHING to appease Lauw Pie. But no. That is not good enough. All his ministers, and generals, Cukat Liang included, tried EVERYTHING to change his mind. No. Revenge was his priority, not the people, not the country. After several months (or years?) of preparation, and ignoring Sun Kwan's and his minister's pleas, he finally invaded Sun Kwan. And all ended in fire ...

Cao Cao/Co Coh on the other hand ... is a ruthless bastard. But at least he didn't pretend to be "Just, filial, and above all ... nice"! Sun Kwan was something in the middle. Not as ruthless as Co Coh, but far less hypocritical than Lauw Pie. Either one of them was the far superior emperor's candidate.

So tell me again why Lauw Pie is our best candidate for the emperor position? 

The purity test. From US Public Domain.

Rama

From: Valmiki's Ramayana

Okay, no more Chinese character bashing. This time it is the Indian's turn. Let's talk about RAMA, the main hero of the epic "Ramayana." He was forced to leave his kingdom with his wife, Sinta, and his younger brother Lakhsmana. During that exile, Rahvana the demon king kidnapped Sinta. He lead an army of monkeys (I kid you not) to rescue his wife. Long story short, he defeated Rahvana and his demonic army. But, that is not the end of the epic. He suspected that Sinta was raped by Rahvana, so he tested Sinta by ordering her to walk into the fire of purity.

WHAAAAAT??

Are you fuckin kiddin me? He asked Sinta, a woman without magical or fighting or any other battle skill, to resist the Demon King rape? If the Demon King REALLY forcefully raped her, it would be her fault? As a decent human being I AM DISGUSTED! "A wife that is raped by another man can be killed" is a very despicable moral ... who am I kidding, many men are obsessed with virginity, obsessed with thinking that their woman is their PROPERTY, of course this kind of thinking is not unusual. Yeah, but it is still disgusting. Rama never loves Sinta. He only loves his ego. His ego was HURT when another man "steal his property."  His ego is the priority. His ego has to be satisfied, he couldn't "lose face" accepting back "used goods". What a misogynist jerk!

No wonder that Lakshmana, and EVERY SINGLE MONKEY there were horrified. Heck, even the remaining demons were all appalled! Oh yeah, by the way, if Sinta is really raped by Rahvana and FAIL at that test ... that means THOUSANDS of his monkeys army died for nothing. If I were them, I would be VERY PISSED. Same case with the remaining demons who just lost their king over this Indian version of Helen of Troy. 

Boy, I really wished Lakshmana snapped and provoked the whole monkey and demon armies to actually ganged up on Rama, and teach him a lesson to respect female! That would be awesome!

There Is Not Enough Women In ...

I am intrigued after reading a report from BBC who said that there is not enough woman in Hollywood. Same things happen when Obama announced his new cabinet. In other words, the writer assumes that women HAVE TO fulfill certain percentage of Hollywood's workforce. In other words, they are so pretentious, that they think they know the "correct" male-female ratio in Hollywood. 

Really?

But that is not surprising. This is not "strange" or "unique." Many people often complain when the parliament "has too many men" or "the new president doesn't appoint enough woman!" Politically correctness assume that "affirmative action" is morally correct. It also implies that anyone who oppose it as misogynist or racist. Actually, the opposite is true.

Discrimination

You see, previously we ban women from working in most professions. In other words, a penis is a sine qua non for most jobs. That is misogynist, unfair, and backward. We get that, so we get rid of that ban, and stop the discrimination against vagina. 

But that is not enough for the affirmative action supporter, hell no! They pointed out "there is more men in the cabinet, in the company, etc" to support the argument that women desperately need PRIORITIES. They created some laws that obligated  universities to receive certain numbers of female students, a company to employ certain numbers of women, etc. In other ways: they ordered all those institutions to reject anyone with penis. 

So ... let me get this straight, you want to fix misogyny by imposing misandry? So you want to say TO HELL with filling the position with the most capable human, we only want to satisfy our desire to see half of those positions are hold by women? 

EXCUSE ME, but 2 wrongs NEVER make a right! You can't fight discrimination with another discrimination!  I thought you want to end discrimination? Silly me, you only want to show how morally superior you are and CONTROL everyone else. 

It Hurts its "Beneficiaries"

Don't you realize this kind of b.s. actually DISRESPECT women? It is basically said "Hey, since you are so weak, we figure that you need a discriminatory law to cut the competition!" It also makes everyone DISREGARD any success made by a truly capable, hardworking woman. In the time of affirmative action that favor women, everyone will think that every "successful" women became successful ONLY because of that discrimination. In other words, it sends the reputation of ALL WOMEN to drain. Not because all of us suddenly become misogynist, but because of simple, irrefutable logic: most likely you got it from discrimination.

Oh, by the way, women is not the only group that "benefit" from this b.s. Some ethnics also keep asking the government to discriminate others. In case of Malaysia, it is THE MALAY MAJORITY who discriminate the Chinese and Indians. In the US, it is some ethnic minorities who discriminate the white majority, and the Asian minority. 

Last but not least, those "morally high" people never want equality of opportunity. Those people want EQUALITY OF END RESULT. There is one simpler term for this kind of preference. It is called COMMUNISM. For you who don't know any history, communism is a stupid political system who destroyed the life of so many people in Russia, China, and many other countries until some decades ago.

Hal² yang Ditakuti Para Extrimis

Al-Qaeda, Taliban, FPI, Westboro Baptist Church, Terry Jones, Jerry Falwell, dan para extrimis² agama lainnya sebetulnya adalah makhluk² menyedihkan. Mereka TAKUT akan banyak hal yang menggelikan. Jauh di dasar hati mereka, sebetulnya mereka cuma pengecut. Sebagai KOMPENSASI thd ketakutan mereka, mereka men-jerit² di televisi, berseru bahwa "Saya sedang menyuarakan pendapat Tuhan", "saya tak takut mati" dll. Mari kita lihat hal² apa saja sih yang mereka takuti?

(Penyebaran) Agama lain

Begitu takutnya pada agama lain, sampai² mereka mengancam setiap tempat ibadahnya.

Begitu takutnya pada agama lain, sampai² menyiarkan pembakaran kitab sucinya.

Begitu takutnya pada agama lain, semua yang pindah agama, mengglindinglah kepalanya.

Kalau mereka punya nyali, kenapa harus menggunakan ancaman kekerasan ala mafia?

Wanita ...

Begitu takutnya pada wanita, sampai² banyak wanita mereka labeli "Feminazi."

Begitu takutnya pada wanita, sampai² pakaian wanita saja mereka urusi.

Begitu takutnya pada wanita, sampai² cara wanita duduk di motor saja mereka pusingi.

Kalau mereka manusia dewasa yang bisa mengendalikan diri,

kenapa mereka takut setengah mati pada napsu birahi?

Homosexual

Begitu takutnya pada para gay, sampai² mengancam para gay.

Begitu takutnya pada para gay, sampai² melarang pernikahan gay.

Begitu takutnya pada para gay, sampai² melarang adopsi pasangan gay.

Bisa jadi, mereka benar² ketakutan bahwa mereka sendiri gay ... 

Tak puas mengucilkan, memenjarakan, dan membunuh orang² di dunia fana ...

mereka masih memberikan ancaman neraka dan siksaan selamanya!

Semuanya demi menuruti "Yang maha kuasa"??

Tuan², dan nyonya² semuanya ...

ITULAH kekuatan fanatisme agama!

5 Overrated Hacks

The universe is far from fair. Some people are vastly overrated, while others are under-appreciated. Here are some people who actually are not as brilliant as most people think. Before I start the list, I'll give you an "honorable mention":

Psy
Reason for his fame: Gangnam Style!
We know he is overrated thanks to: Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Simon & Garfunkel, do I need to continue?
YES, he is overrated! For me, he is just the Korean version of William Hung: a big joke. But he didn't make it into the list, because he is still INFINITELY better than Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Chris Brown, and so many other who are not only "ugly" but "heaven forbids-erect Satan pubic bush-horrifying UGLY". Seeing Gangnam Style, I just shake my head in disbelieve and thinking "how come so many people love it?" Seeing Bieber et. al ... I smashed my head to the nearest wall while muttering "Why they happened to be the same species with me? Humanity is really doomed, DOOMED!"


So, let's start this list.

5) Thomas Alva Edison

Reasons for his fame: "inventing electricity"

We know he is overrated thanks to: Nikola Tesla

Now, no need for me to explain this since the Oatmeal has done it. Superbly.

4) Jose Mourinho

Reasons for his fame: Won many trophies for Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, & Real Madrid

We know he is overrated thanks to:  Robert Sutton's book "The No Asshole Rule" 

I already put quotes from "No Asshole Rule." Mourinho is a certified asshole and proud of it. He may got talents in formulating the tactics, but seriously, he is an asshole. If you doubt it, just consider this fact: after handled by Mourinho, whenever Real Madrid meets Barcelona, everyone think "Hmm, what kind of fights will occur?"

Oh yeah, in one of the match, he even had the nerve to poke Barcelona's assistant coach FROM BEHIND, then he just walk-off and gave his trademarked smug smile. So, he is not only an asshole, but a coward too.

And he has tons of fans. Of course many like him. Many love assholes, as long as it is THEIR assholes. 

If you really still want to argue that Mourinho is a good coach only on the base that he produces trophies, CONGRATULATIONS, that means you are one of the people who believe that "the end ALWAYS justify the means!" By that logic I can also argue that Joseph Stalin was also a good statesman since he made Soviet Union superpower. What? Stalin butchered millions? Naaah, most important he gave superpower status to the USSR! The prestige baby, the PRESTIGE!

3) Steve Jobs

Reasons for his fame: Apple, Pixar, Apple again

In contrast with: Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and other tech-company founders

What's the main different between  Steve Jobs and other tech- founders? 

Answer: Gates, Dell, etc. started a tech-company while Steve Jobs founded a cult. Once you got cult organization and its members instead of a company and its customers, you can expect to get tons of cash from each of them, even when you provide them overpriced-lousy product. No need to work hard, the "reality distortion field" do most of the hard work for you!

If you want to appreciate him for being a brilliant cult founder, I have no problem. If you say that he is a genius, that is only half-truth as best.

Oh yeah, Steve Jobs is also an asshole. That means, many criticisms for Mourinho are also valid for him. And Apple maps still sucks. 

2) Mark Zuckerberg

Reason for his fame: Facebook baby!

We know he is overrated thanks to: Sergey Brin

Okay, this one is very² big. Quick quiz: can you figure it out how Facebook can make money? No? Of course it is hard. Everytime Facebook tries to monetize their customers, the users screams. Some of them even sued. Face it, there is no chance Facebook can create money. The best way is actually to make it into a FOUNDATION, like wikipedia, and used donations as its main source of income.  

John T. Reed said that:
Amazon, Facebook, and Groupon are not businesses, they are buzzinesses.

So, if nobody can figure out what Facebook can sell, why the hell did Zuckerberg become so famous? Simple, because everyone uses facebook. Many assume popularity is equal with success. Not really. You can argue the opposite: popularity invite lawsuit and wackos everywhere, making life & success more difficult ... 

And, the most overrated hack in my opinion is ...

1) Douglas MacArthur

Reasons for his fame: "I shall return" promise, New Guinea campaign, Korean War

We know he is overrated thanks to:  Chester W. Nimitz, Ernest King, Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall

Seriously, anyone who think that MacArthur is a genius doesn't have any clue about the history of the 2nd world war.  

First, are you aware that shortly after the Pearl Harbor disaster, a similar tragedy happened in the Philippines? At that time, US Army and Air Force in that area were already informed about Pearl Harbor. What happened after that? They screwed-up, badly. Many of the US commanders there hated each other, hindering cooperation and effective (re)actions. They were caught with their pants down by the Japanese planes which strafed and bombed their airfields with impunity. Who is the commander of the US forces in that area? The great Douglas MacArthur who thought that his name alone is ENOUGH to intimidate the Japanese from attacking! Our hero ladies and gentlemen!

Quick comparison: the commanders of Pearl Harbor, Stark & Kimmel, were dismissed, reprimanded, and vilified, while MacArthur was basically promoted, and hailed as hero only shortly after the screwed-up.

Second, in case you don't notice it, let me remind you he promise "I SHALL RETURN!" not "We shall return!" It was not about the Army. It was not about military logic. Heck, it was not even about America, it was about DOUGLAS MACARTHUR! He really thought that he deserved a pedestal!

Third, the Philippines debacle is not MacArthur's only fault. You have to know, there is an adage in military: "one bad supreme commander is FAR BETTER than two excellent supreme commanders." The "unity of command" is essential, since parallel chain of command decreased efficiency, increasing redundancy, etc. MacArthur actually INSISTED to be the supreme commander of Pacific war, DESPITE THE FACT that "Pacific" is the name of an ocean, NOT a continent. He felt that he was ABOVE any admiral in the navy, except admiral Leahy, who can't accept the supreme-commander post due to his health. The navy was appalled by this, they gave their finger to the bombastic MacArthur. President Roosevelt solution was: dividing the Pacific "theatre" into 2 regions. MacArthur lead the thrust from New Guinea to Philippines, while admiral Nimitz lead the navy to concquer Gilbert, Marshall, and Mariana Islands. Until the end of war, MacArthur and Nimitz was in constant quarrel about logistics, strategy, timetable, in essence: EVERYTHING! The US still won the war DESPITE this military travesty NOT because of it.

But MacArthur WAS NOT done yet. During the Korean war, he actually wanted to bomb China with nuclear warheads. President Truman refused to start World War 3, and MacArthur start whining, and whining, and whining, and whining to the public. Fed up with this, Truman sacked the egomaniac general, despite knowing the fact that the public LOVE this celebrity general. Truman's popularity plummeted, and he didn't participate in the next election, therefore depriving USA from one of its finest leader.

Now, just like the previous hacks, MacArthur achieved many things too. His leadership worked in New Guinea, and many times he could give excellent strategic inputs and decisions. But my point is, most people OVERLOOK those screwed-ups. He is far from incompetent, but he is also far from a genius. He is a mediocre strategist, but his b.s. over-hyped him so much that so many people until today thought that he was worthy a pedestal, while the main architect of Japanese defeat, Ernest King and Chester W. Nimitz, were known only to history buff like me. Appalling ...  

You may notice the similarity between those 5 hacks. They are EVERYTHING about "marketing" or should I say ... "Bullshitting the public." Predictable. The masses LOVE b.s., comforting lies is always preferable to harsh truths. So, that is one "success principle" that may work: create a personality cult with YOU as its center! So many suckers will buy it and give you money and power.

Prank Calls: Australian Style?

I don't pay any attention to the so called "Royal family." What's so important about them? Nothing! Nada! Zilch! If Kate Middleton suddenly gave birth to 10 children at once, it won't affect my life or your life at all!

But when suddenly a pair of DJs from 2DayFM from Australia prank-called Kate Middleton's hospital, somehow my blood started to boil. When the nurse who receive the call hanged herself, I was enraged, but I couldn't pointed out WHY.

Then I read this article from Yahoo news and the comments below it. Then I got it. When I got it, I am enraged beyond comprehension. This is not about the royal family anymore. This is about treating other person decently.

First, nobody with BRAINS OR CONSCIENCE will prank-call a hospital! Hey idiots, do you know that hospital-jobs are one of the most stressful type of jobs? The nurses there have to handle diverse situation, many of them are very risky. They also have to do menial but undesirable jobs like ... cleaning the urine and feces of the patients. Oh yeah, they also have to give BAD NEWS to the relatives of their patient, can you imagine that? You can start helping them by NOT GIVING THEM ANY BULLSHIT!

Second, this incident is actually only the tip of the iceberg. Previously, the station already forced a 14-years old teenager to confess that she was raped. They also forced a poor mother with 4 disable kids TO ARGUE on-air! They even had the nerve to threaten to separate a woman from her niece, whom she never met FOR YEARS, even though at that they time was separated only by a door! Conclusion: you can argue that the DJs are just ignorant, but, the station on the other hand ... are run by sociopaths who don't have any conscience. They just LOVE to abuse people mentally on-air and receive all the ratings. They are a bunch of sadists, who humiliate people to get money. They are the lowest of the low.

Fortunately, many were extremely pissed by these douchebags. Fortunately, the free market kick these arse by wiping 46 million Dollar from their stock price. Nice. That means not only the Djs, the station themselves actually received some backlash. Too bad it is still far from proportional. The DJs received death threats after their stunt. C'mon folks, don't sink to their low. Forced them to work as a nurse in a busy hospital for a year, that will teach them EMPATHY. Especially the male DJ. The female DJ, Mel Greig, AT LEAST looks like a mess, and crying. That is a sign of empathy. While the male DJ, Michael Christian, still looks smug and pissed. But I could be mistaken. Maybe he just don't have any clue how to show remorse. Let both of them worked as nurses to repent for their mistake. As for the radio station ... they should pay Saldanha's family several millions. 

4 Overrated Characters and Franchises

I already stated that I have allergic reaction some tropes. And add another 4. Then I notice I dislike some characters and franchises that everybody likes. Yup, this time it is far more specific than "tropes" or "genres". So, let's see what are 4 characters and franchises that I consider overrated, that I hate but sooo many people love ...

I bet after the appearance of the Super Saiyans, you
forget that this anime/manga is about a race to collect
7 Dragonballs

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball anime & manga is stupid. No, it is not just stupid but SEVERELY stupid. Especially after the Freeza arc. There are MILLIONS of ways to utilize Shenlong and Dragonballs they never consider. To defeat their enemies, Goku and his friends could ask some things from Shenlong like ...

1) To be invincible!
No fight was needed, you got victory without breaking any sweat! Why nobody do this? Oh yeah, because if they do that, there will be no more menace. Huh? isn't that actually the point to ensure the security of earth?

2) To be 100x times stronger than their enemy!
If they are uncomfortable to be "invincible", they could at least wish to be 100 times stronger than their enemy! Oh, Boo menaces the earth? Tough luck you pink bastard, let's summon Shen-Long, and make Goku 100x times stronger than Boo, BOOM, no more Boo, problem solved!

3) to send Cell/Buu/ANY ENEMY to another unreachable dimension!
Again, no fight was needed, the threat will be contained, and the universe will be saved, HURRA! Why this wish escaped Goku and his pals?

4) to create unbreachable barrier around earth/solar system/whatever!
This way Raditz, Vegeta, Freeza, and many other menaces from outside earth won't be able to touch earth. Again, why they never asked this?

And so on, you got the point right?

And don't say that the story can't be exciting if they are THAT intelligent in utilizing it! The story should be structured like the early arcs, A RACE TO COLLECT THE DRAGONBALLS! That's why my favorite arcs are the first ones like the Piccolo arc and the Freeza arc, because those they involved the utilization of the Dragonballs, with races to collect 7 Dragonballs, not a mere "Powerful monster vs powerful protagonist"! Unfortunately, the Freeza Arc is the last time they did this, after that the Dragonballs was reduced to Deus ex Machina to revive all humans who were killed by "monster of the week", and to modify people's memory. LAME!

Wolverine
I really don't get it. Yeah he is a badass, and? What else? Let's see ... he is always angry, unkillable, undestructable ... huh? That's it? Oh yeah, he has sideburns too! As hairy and as thick as possible! Huh? Anything else?

Of course not. Roger Ebert noted that Wolverine has no charisma, never say anything witty or intelligent, and all  of "noises" spitted by his mouth "are limited to the vocalization of primitive forces: anger, hurt, vengeance, love, hate, determination." In other words: he is a stupid-savage-beast. Give any caveman or Neanderthal "healing-factor" and adamantium, and you got the same thing. Snore ...

Face it: Wolverine is the Justin Bieber of the X-Men: hugely popular for stupid reasons. That makes him a far cry from a good character. Like Bieber too, he makes far more interesting and cooler characters like Gambit, Beast, or anyone else get less attention they deserve. That's why I despised not only X-Men 3, but also X-Men 2. Both of those abominations should be named "Wolverine and pals." 

From wikipedia

Rei Ayanami
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a masterpiece for many. I enjoy many episodes of it, but other episodes just too ... wacky for me. But that's fine, I could understand why people love the series.

One thing that I don't understand is, WHY EVERYONE IS OBSESSED WITH REI AYANAMI?  Everytime I heard any discussion about Evangelion, Ayanami ALWAYS become the hot topic, "Wow, Ayanami is so hot!" or "Ah, I wish I can be Ayanami's boyfriend!" or "Ayanami is too beautiful!"  Really? Why why why WHY?

Look, don't get me wrong, I am FAR from hating her character, but still, she is an emotionless-blank slate! Maddox made a good argument why the Android David in Prometheus is NOT a good character. You could praise Michael Fassbender in playing him, but the fact is, he has no emotion, no motive, NOTHING, just like a toaster! Same thing could be said about Ayanami, SHE IS SO BLANK!! If you really want Rei Ayanami as your girlfriend, better put some wig and tight suit to your toaster, that's basically the same deal.


Harry Potter
I already said in my "Top 10 most hated characters" list, I hate anyone who keep saying about "The chosen one" or "Destiny." Since everyone in Hogwarts keep reminding us that Harry here is "the chosen child," I give my middle finger to this franchise.

What else ... ah, now I remember how the Nostalgia Critic explained why the whole franchise is screwed up. Growing up while EVERYONE reminds you that you are "the chosen one" put a mega-ton emotional burden to that poor kid! They are lucky Harry managed to pass his puberty without any mental scar. Oh yeah, other than all the fuss about "the chosen one,"  Hogwarts also drowned some of their students for a-water polo game. Nice education you have there! As muggles, we are spared from that hazardous underwater competition! Ah yeah, speaking about Hogwarts, education, and the muggles ...

I am also turned-off by the smugness of everyone in Hogwarts who consider muggles/non-magic users as fools. Tips to all Harry-Potter reader: "Consider everyone who don't know your talent as stupid-ignorant-fools." Gee, I wonder why I felt that this generation is far more smug than anything before ...

Hey jackass, I wonder how your magic could invent the first television? Or the first computer? No wonder everyone consider math & science "hard" and "boring," the magic users of Hogwarts always reminds their audiences how superior "magic" and "superstitious" is, how some "prophecy" is more trustworthy than critical thinking or rationalism ...

I Am Allergic to These Tropes 2

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I Am Allergic to These Tropes

Like everybody else, I love some tropes, themes and genres in any kind of art. Diesel-punk? AWESOME! Big ships with big guns? Kick ass! Black humor? Hilarious! Satire? Hell yeah! Sci-fi complete with mad scientists? Bad ass! Musical-comedy? Cool!

On the other hand, I also got allergic reactions to some other tropes/genres. Here is some of them, in no particular order.

Horror!

From this blog

Really, I just don't get it. I am already afraid of global warming, biological or nuclear terrorist attack, and so many other real menaces, why I need to be frightened during my spare time? Why I have to pay to feel fear? Oh, don't forget about one more thing! Not only fear, many horror movies also used "shock" to excite its audiences. 

What? I still don't get it. 

In action movies and adventure literatures, fear is used to magnify the satisfaction you got when the protagonist finally overcome their challenge. In comedy, shock is used to amplify the funniness. In other words: they are means for delightful ends: satisfaction and laughter, while in horror, fears and shocks are the end itself.

Sorry, not for me. I prefer to enjoy other emotions during my leisure time. Though I may enjoy a "horror" movie/literature if the "horror" is downplayed. That's why I intentionally watched 13th Ghost, fully aware that it is a horror movie. And I love it too! I was fascinated by the house, by the story of each ghosts, not "horrified" by the "horror" caused by those ghosts, especially in the second half of the movies. I think that's also the reason why horror aficionado doesn't like it.

Pirates!

Folks, pirates are NOT romantic. Pirates are NOT cool. Unless "cool" means "plundering any village whenever and wherever I like!" I already wrote that Pirates are evil, nasty, despicable people by definition. Hoping for a kind pirate is like hoping for "A Nazi with a heart of Gold." They simply don't exist.

I have no interest in identifying myself with greedy, barbarous, mass-rapist, mass-murderers like them. I wish EVERY pirate die slowly and horribly as a nobody in an unknown island, screaming when receiving their karma, not glorified as ANY kind of hero in any media. NEXT!

From this blog

Zombies!
I hate Twilight series, but at least it is NOT about Bella Swan falling in love with a zombie! C'mon, zombie is not only rotten, ugly, and smelly, they are also slow, clumsy, and above all STUPID AS HELL! Where's the fun in watching any kind of interaction with such creature?

Ah, you may say that the fun is actually when you see the protagonist fighting a zombie horde, the thrill and fear of being overwhelmed by THOUSANDS of zombies? NAAAH, it is far more interesting seeing people fighting a horde of NORMAL PEOPLE. That's why I love to watch Black Hawk Down, and Commando. Or any Bruce Lee movie when he kicked a horde of goon's ass! A horde of normal humans provide more challenge and thrill then a zombie horde anytime.

So, any reason why a zombie horde can be more interesting than a living one? Let me guess, you want to argue that zombies know no fear, no pain! Err ... sorry, if that's the case, that means A ROBOT HORDE is far more menacing! Heck, a VACUUM CLEANER HORDE is far cooler than a zombie horde! Oh yeah, no fear and no pain also means they are even more STUPID than the most stupid man, increasing the problem that I mentioned earlier.

Hey ... wait a minute ... I've got an idea! Why use zombies? Replace all zombies with "idiot cannibals"! Here is the story: a virus reduces the IQ of its host by 90%, and skyrocketed their appetite for human flesh, making them feral, but change nothing else!  Same stupidity, without the ugliness, with more speed! That means all those movie makers can save money since they have no need to do any special makeup in their future zombie movie project!  Damn, I am a genius!

From this forum

ANYTHING with Vin Diesel!
Honestly, after mid 2000s, every time I saw any movie with Vin Diesel, I pass. Really. as far as I know, he always plays the VERY SAME CHARACTER. You know, the cool-wannabe-douchebag, complete with speech impediment.

ARGH, it is so painful! Everytime he opens his mouth, I felt a hammer hit a nail that already halfway in my ears! Everytime he moves, it is like a pneumatic drill hits my eyeballs!  The fact that his breakout role is the movie about some felons who think endangering lives and misusing public property is cool is not helping either!  Great job there Vin! So sorry for giving you my middle-finger instead of my thumb. 

I think I even prefer the zombies compare to this douche. At least the zombies become so repelling NOT because of their own choice! At least the zombies is not so pretentious ...

So that's it for now. Other than those 4, I also despise most movies with Santa Claus, Bugs Bunny, and many other things that I stated in "top 10 most hated characters" article. Maybe I'll add other things later ...

Addendum:
Based on some input from my brother, I add 4 more lame tropes.