The Clone Wars

Posted on by Osei

It’s no secret I’m a total nerd; how do you think I ended up doing this show?  One of the nerd things I do regularly is think about Star Wars.

Sometimes I think about Star Wars too much.  When that happens, it (very rarely) comes out as a video.  One of those rare moments has finally come; I’ve decided to take a look at the Clone Wars.  Not the cartoon series, but as a plot element and an event within the Star Wars universe.

So many aspects of the prequel trilogy went wrong and I think it’s helpful to explore these elements.  Not only does it help us to recognize the problems present in the prequels, it also to deepen one’s understanding of what we’ve ultimately been given and even come to terms with it.  After all, whether we like them or not, we’re stuck with the prequels, flaws and all.

At any rate, enjoy my look at the Clone Wars:

Breaking Cookie Cutters

Posted on by nerdrageshow

Contributing Guest Host Miss Ruth has some thoughts to share on modesty and a culture that accepts everything… except high standards.

 

Spend five minutes with me and you’ll figure out quickly I hold myself to a fairly high set of standards, at least compared to general culture and society. Shoot, glance at me from across a room and you can see I adhere to a level of modesty that prevents my breasts from busting out randomly in public and my clothes aren’t stretched across my body so tight it looks like the threads of the fabric are yawning into an abyss, about to break. I maintain standards for every aspect of my life just like the majority of humanity. I don’t expect everyone else to hold themselves to my specific standards, but – call me crazy – I do presume to expect those who claim to care/love/respect me to not ridicule or degrade me for having set a high bar by which I live my life. It is MY life after all. Every day I remind myself I have to be – I WANT to be – right in God’s eyes. Not because I fear a vengeful, angry, wrathful God, but because I seek to commune with a holy, righteous, just Savior who has my best interests before Him.

I’ve put up with a great deal of disparagement from others over how I dress (skirts, modest necklines, no makeup or jewelry) because it’s really not worth it to fight with someone over their preconceived ideas of how people who dress like me should act, think, speak, or what we should know. Apparently the next worse thing for a person to find out is I don’t drink. Cue the, “How do you even have fun??” and “Wow, you must be so boring,” and “You can have just one drink, right? You MUST have at least one drink with me.” And LAWD help us when the trifecta is completed and they realize I don’t use profanity.

I’m 33 years old and, at this stage in life, it’s no longer shocking (but still hurtful) when the negative criticism comes from those whom I love. For the most part, my response toward all this is: if someone pulls out a disparaging remark against my modesty or standards, they automatically lose their footing in the discussion, have lost my respect on the topic, and they chip away at the overall respect and trust between us. What the person is telling me when they call me a “prude” or “too picky” or “wound too tight” or “you need to get laid” or whatever-it-is, is that they don’t like an integral part of what makes me, me. Now, not everyone I’ve met or spent/spend time with has/does this, but it’s been enough of an issue to cause an internal struggle of who I am and if I’m “good enough”. And that’s a problem; a very big problem.

What these individuals are doing is drawing a deep line across who I am and telling me everything before the line is SUPER GREAT, but everything after it is bad and a flaw and makes me less than feminine or empowered or good enough. What they’re saying to me by their words and through their actions is, because I choose to live up to a higher or different standard, I’m less than they are. And frankly, I’m sick of being pushed down bit by bit, because someone else who claims to love/care about me wants to pick apart my chosen standards. If it’s such a problem, why stick around?

Yes, I’m a nerd. Yes, I own approximately 30 fandom shirts (and counting) and look forward to Fandom Friday every week. Yes, I appreciate and use correct grammar. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’m passionate. Yes, I own more pairs of flip flops than actual shoes. Heavens yes, I’m expressive. And a roaming spirit. And weird. And I dress modestly. No, I don’t use profanity. Yes, I think it’s cool to read my Bible every night before I go to sleep and I pray every day. No, I don’t have it all together. Yes, I love singing in the choir. Yes, I’m klutzy. No, I’m not perfect. Yes, I enjoy going to church. Yes, I really enjoy my coffee. No, I don’t sleep or date around. Yes, I believe God has the right man out there for me and I don’t need to lower myself to get him.

I’ve kept quiet for so long because I didn’t want to hurt or upset those who criticize my choices, but something had to give at some point. If it’s okay for others to boast and brag about getting drunk and all their skeezy hook-ups or relationships, then it’s ok for me to be content not to do all that mess. It’s exhausting trying to fit myself into everyone else’s cookie cutters. Trying to fit into someone else’s cookie cutter is cutting up who I am and who God made me to be…and that simply doesn’t fit with me.

-Ruth

“Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.”

Your Logic is Flawed

Posted on by Shannon

All I see on Facebook lately is “Colorado was STOLEN!” “Cruz is an establishment sellout!” and the further I investigate these claims, the more I facepalm.

I know I’m not convincing anyone of anything here, so I’m merely going to point out why your logic is flawed if you believe these things. I understand you all have your preferred sites that deliver news in exactly the tone you wish to hear, so I’m under no illusions that my post will shake the foundations of your beliefs. This is simply cathartic for me.

First, let’s start with your news sources, shall we? I keep hearing how The Media is evil and in the tank for The Democrats or The Establishment Republicans (it changes depending on who is critical of The Angry Cheeto – which reminds me of the evil Cheese Curls in Veggie Tales, right down to the lips). I see a lot of Trump supporters claim that the big networks are too liberal to be taken seriously while at the same time stating that smaller publications aren’t established enough to be trusted. Basically, anyone who isn’t printing favorable articles about Trump is untrustworthy. It’s true that we don’t have a lot of unbiased news sources, but when you link to biased and fake news sources posting rumor, slander, and speculation, you have effectively lost your argument. You cannot merely silence opposition, accuse it of bias, and then post biased fake garbage that supports your claims. And if you cite The National Enquirer, people are well within their rights to laugh in your face. Having a real story once every decade does not a reputable source make, especially when they are in the business of sensationalism.

Next, I’d like to put to rest this hysteria over Colorado delegates being “stolen”. I had a gentleman earlier state that “you only think you live in a Republic” while bemoaning the fact that votes were not cast democratically. Now, if you’ve got at least 5 brain cells firing at full power, you know he might have a problem with defining either the word “republic” or “democratic”. The fact is, the way delegates were elected in Colorado was Constitutional and pre-dates (in practice) the more widespread democratic primaries we see in other states. The delegates were not hand picked by The Establishment, in fact you could not get more “grass-roots” than the delegate selection process. The only thing barring Joe Voter from becoming a delegate is making a commitment to the party (paying a small fee) and showing up to a meeting (being active in the process). Oh, and perhaps eloquence and charisma. The delegate process is representative in the same way that other offices are representative: you vote for the person that you think will protect your interests and then they cast votes and represent you. If you’re confused about this, take it from someone who participated in the Colorado Caucus. Trump had plenty of time to court delegates, but he was not prepared to do so, and any reference to “Lyin’ Ted” or The Establishment is a load of hogwash because the Colorado process began months before either Cruz or Trump were hopeful nominees.

That brings me to my next point, which is that for someone who will “get things done” and “make really great deals”, Trump has shown that he is ill-prepared even when he has months to strategize. Hell, he can’t even count on the votes of his children because they didn’t register as Republicans before the cut-off date. It’s almost as if he thinks his propaganda sites and angry tweets will carry him right into office, all the while whining that the process is unfair and promising that only he can get things done. I still don’t know what Things he will get done, but apparently winning delegates and securing the votes of his children is outside of his ability. Rage tweeting may keep him in the press, but it doesn’t bode well for foreign diplomacy or for his business, which he also failed to account for. I can’t fathom the people who whole-heartedly believe that Trump is the ultimate Doer and Deal-maker when he hasn’t exhibited any efficacy outside of being a giant orange Crybully.

Finally, the worst and most abused logic is that which contends only Trump is “anti-establishment”. Most recently Trump supporters point to Cruz securing the funding of a junior Bush brother (gasp!) as proof that “he’s been bought by The Establishment!”. This despite the fact that Cruz defied Bush 43 and defended Texas against the U.N. and the International Court, which may have led to a distinct coldness from the Bush family (this should also lay to rest the idiotic globalist charges). The charge also flies in the face of literally everything that Cruz has tried to accomplish as an attorney and a Senator. To claim that a man who has stalwartly defended conservative principle and policy throughout his career is somehow, in a single primary season, a shill for The Establishment is perhaps even more ridiculous than to claim that a man who has been a lifelong progressive waffler and backer of Establishment and Democrat politicians is, in a single primary, suddenly conservative! I mean, do you even listen to yourselves?! Even Ben Carson, who woke up long enough to endorse Trump, has implied that he believes Trump is a fraud and a bad person, but that he is supporting him anyway #ForTheChildren. THIS LITERALLY MAKES NO SENSE! As far as I can tell, the logic behind backing Trump is “he’s a horrible person but he pretends to be okay, so he’s gotta be better than that horrible person that pretends to be okay” – and all in the name of being Anti-Establishment, which Trump has  funded, Cruz has fought, but because Cruz is winning delegates and donors, suddenly everything is flipped upside down and The Dufus Dealmaker who can’t strategize his way out of a cereal box is being shut out by the Establishment Shill who just happens to be a lifelong principled Conservative.

GAH! You people. 

The cherry on top of this Illogical Sundae you Trump folks serve up on the regular, is the claim that even if Trump is not really Conservative, he’s still better than Cruz because he can “work with people and get things done”… because “no one likes Cruz.” So you say Cruz is Establishment and part of this massive conspiracy to unite the party against Trump, but he can’t unite the party against Trump’s ideological equals… because no one wants to work with him. And then you say that only Trump can work with the Establishment in D.C. to “get things done”.

cant even

I’m done. I am so done.

spock cries
You made Spock cry.

 

Choose Your Poison

Posted on by Shannon

Choice.

No matter what political camp you belong in, we all have one thing in common: we love our autonomy.

The problem with our choice presents when we seek to coerce or force others into the same choice we made for ourselves.

This is no more apparent than in the differences between liberal and conservative thinking: the liberal sees people as a collective, assumes that they need guidance, and wishes to make them operate as one, relying on the “wise” few to make choices for the whole; while the conservative sees the individual, and presents to them the ability to choose for themselves – inasmuch as their choices do not directly negatively impact another. We differ greatly on how involved we want the government to be in protecting our freedom to choose and in protecting us from the choices of others, and there is a lot of cognitive dissonance on the left arising from the desire to be autonomous while simultaneously forcing everyone into a collective, but inherent in the human spirit is the desire for individuality.

The one thing we all agree on is that we want to have power over our own lives. This is why we get so excitable about elections. Elections are the barometer of our willingness to allow others to affect our individual choices, and in which we decide who will make choices in our stead.

This is why many of us become engrossed in politics. We wish to thoroughly vet the people who will be making decisions for us. This is why we don’t take very kindly to being told we have no choice, or that our choice is a de facto concession to something we abhor.

Without even having a Republican nominee, I have already seen many people say that there is only one choice and they will throw in with the collective despite their deepest wish that things could go otherwise. The battle hasn’t even been decided, yet they have given up.

Forgive me if I question the moral fiber of people who are waving the white flag before the battle has even started. However, it is entirely their choice if they lack the tenacity and purpose to strive for something better than “the lesser evil.” I may not admire their choice, but it’s theirs to make. I don’t believe for a second that they are being stuck with something they don’t want, though. They may be acquiescing to the lowest bid they were willing to take for their vote, but they were willing to take it. That explains why they weren’t holding out for something better.

For those of us holding out for something better, we are likely being told there is no choice, or that a choice not to support one presumptive winner is a de facto support of the other presumptive winner. For this reason, I have diligently sought to answer the question of whether I can support the “lesser evil” if it comes to it. What is to be my choice??

Pondering this, I thought of the Christian martyrs. When they were faced with the choice to die or renounce their beliefs and their God, they chose… neither. Seriously, what kind of choice is that? No one who believes their purpose is to evangelize chooses death, else they would commit suicide. They chose neither, rather they chose to praise God despite the circumstances and the threat.

When our founders were faced with ‘liberty or death’ they may have paid with their lives, but it was in pursuit of liberty. They chose liberty. Liberty wasn’t an option given to them (subjugation was), it was an option they gave themselves, based on values they held dearer than life itself.

Do our values matter?? Do they really matter? If I would abandon Constitutional and Christian principles in order to throw in with a man who has praised socialized medicine and that awful butchery Planned Parenthood, why would anyone believe that I actually held those principles of Life and Liberty sacred? Could I even respect myself if I chose to support someone with such antithetical values to my own?

The choice of the lesser evil is still a choice for evil.

When I see or hear someone say that to withhold a vote from Trump is to cast a vote for Hillary, I can’t help but feel there is really no choice at all. To deny God is to die in sin, so the martyrs were told to choose between death and death. They chose life abundantly, often witnessing even as they were executed. They did that because they valued something so greatly that it was worth the loss of life. The founders were told to choose between death and servitude, and they chose Liberty. We aren’t even fighting for our lives (yet, granted), we’re talking about losing an election. One election. And maybe it’s a big one, but is this really the biggest loss to us? Is it worth losing our moral clarity? Our self-respect?? Our freedom?

People want to strap these stones to my feet and tell me if I’m not a liberal I’ll swim, and then they scoff at me as I drown. That’s what this ‘choice’ between Trump and Hillary looks like to me.

That’s why I’m not waving a white flag and calling it a victory flag. That’s why I will cling to hope until this election is over, and even then despite all I will cling to the Hope that will never be taken from me.

I’ve made my choice. I choose Life.

Because some things are more important than winning, and there are millions who were never given the option to fight.

Extra Life Update from Osei!

Posted on by Shannon

It’s 2016 and that means it’s time for Extra Life! As the resident gamer of Nerd Rage, it’s only natural that I attach myself to a charity by gamers for the kids.

For the past two years, I followed Tim (the real one, not the fake one in the chat every week) as he captained teams to raise funds. This year, he’s decided to join another team and I have taken it upon myself to start a team of my own.

I will admit to some hesitation in doing this. For both of the years I’ve done Extra Life, I’ve ultimately failed to reach the goal I’ve set. However, I want to help a good cause and my own personal hesitation and hangups are insufficient reason for me to drop my charity fundraising efforts.

So this year sees the creation of Team Dawnfire. My hope is to draw in other YouTubers, as well as anyone else who is interested in trying to raise funds for Extra Life. Each year, Extra Life grows larger and larger, and I want to do my part to make that possible.

So thanks for reading, and donate today!

My fundraising page: http://www.extra-life.org/participant/oseronphaer

Team Dawnfire: http://www.extra-life.org/team/dawnfire

Shifting Focus

Posted on by Shannon

This is a story I’ve been meaning to tell for months now, and it seems appropriate to share it with you since we’ve only just started a new year.

Back during the summer of 2015, I was taking my 3 kids on a quick get-a-way to the Alabama coast for some sand and surf. We’d been looking forward to a big vacation with the family (grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncle), but those plans fell through and so we set out, just us 4 ladies.

We had made it about halfway to our destination when my van began to overheat. I stopped in at a gas station to let it cool and refill the radiator. My kids didn’t mind, because there was a Subway there and they were hungry. We were wearing swimsuits under our clothes, ready to hit the beach and have fun as soon as possible! It was worrisome to be having trouble with my van, but it’s an old van and so isn’t a stranger to trouble.

Within minutes of stopping, a man had approached me to ask what the problem was. He was on his way to Florida with his wife and little girl, and said he couldn’t in good conscience just walk away from a woman and kids who needed help, so he began to look for the source of the problem.

This is where it gets really impressive…

That man stayed with me for an hour, getting his hands dirty and busting his knuckles while he checked and rechecked everything under the hood and in the fuse panel so that I wouldn’t be stranded later on with my 3 girls. And he did so despite the fact that he and his family were also ready to begin their vacation, and despite the fact that his friends were meeting him at their destination. He helped me despite the fact that rain was moving in, and he had gear packed in the bed of his truck, and was towing a fishing boat. Even his little girl ran over to help, because she very obviously had a good example in her dad.

That man’s name is Raymond, from New Orleans.

Raymond discovered that my radiator, fans, and fuses were all good, but the switch that turns on the fans was bad. He then wired the fans to the battery so that I would be able to make it whether I could replace the part soon or not (I drove directly to a local garage, and it was not something they could do since my van is old; I’m still driving with Raymond’s very practical and easily adapted wiring under the hood).

We weren’t quite making the time we thought we would when we set out, but then neither was Raymond. He left us with smiles, and my girls were still happy to be able to have a little vacation before school. I hope Ray caught all the big ones on his vacation! That man deserved some good times and good stories.

But then we actually made it to the beach…

We’d encountered a little rain, and got a little worried in traffic that we might overheat again and ended up finishing the trip with no A/C and the windows rolled down, but we made it to the white sands of the Alabama coast and we still had some daylight in which to enjoy a swim and maybe to play in the sand before heading to our hotel. It wasn’t the hours we’d planned on, but it was good. It was enough. We were happy.

So there we were, behind The Hangout, looking for a place to park, and the SUV ahead of us stops. Okay… no problem. The kids are fine, the gauge looks good, they’re probably just waiting for someone to back out, right? We’re good. We’ve encountered worse already today, so this is minor. We’re joking about a parking spot to the left of me that’s covered in sand and closed in a bit by the trucks on either side. They must not know where the lines are…the kids giggle…

The guy ahead of me backs up.

Did the car they’re waiting on need more room? Am I supposed to back up, too? But there’s another truck rounding the building and approaching behind me… surely the space isn’t that important. I mean, do we need to direct traffic to reverse in a one way only lane?

Then the guy ahead of me backs up and angles his SUV toward the sand-covered space no one saw until they’d passed it, which is to my left. And the guy behind me is now a part of this craziness, because I can’t back up even if I wanted to. That’s when the guy ahead of me gets out of his vehicle so that he can yell at me for not letting him have this parking spot. Right there, in front of my kids, his wife and kid, all the kids playing in the sand by The Hangout, everyone buying ice cream at the little stand there, and everyone eating on the deck. He yells at me, asks me what the hell I’m doing that I won’t back up, and I tell him I can’t because there’s another car behind me. He then yells that it wasn’t there to begin with and ends with “I HOPE YOU SLEEP WELL TONIGHT!” to which I calmly replied, “I will,” and then he gets in his vehicle, slams his door, and drives away.

And my 13 year old, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, said, “He’s the human grumpy cat!”

And we all lost it. We completely cracked up. Everyone outside The Hangout heard us laughing our butts off, because honestly…. that man was a comedy of the absurd. Especially after having experienced the likes of Raymond!

I hope you sleep well tonight?? Over a PARKING SPOT?? Dude, I didn’t punch your granny. I had no idea the spot meant so much to you.

I hope he makes it without needing counseling. I mean, the loss of a parking spot cuts deep. Those wounds just don’t heal…

I laughed so hard I cried, and then drove forward all of fifteen yards and parked right by the beach boardwalk, in front of the showers, by the pavilion on the beach. It was not the last spot, either. There were plenty. And they all cost the same amount per day.

So my girls and I enjoyed our day at the beach, undeterred, and as we jumped into the waves, I began to sing a parody of a song from The Little Mermaid…“I wanna be…where the people aren’t…” and I dedicated it to Human Grumpy Cat, which my ten year old said she thought looked like Anger from Inside Out, because he was irate and was wearing a red shirt and had a crew cut. She had a point… so we tried to spot ‘Anger’ on the beach, and wondered whether his wife was Disgust or Fear (we couldn’t imagine anyone in that family being Joy). Our fun, rather than being diminished by such a small man, had actually increased.

So thanks, I guess? We had many laughs thanks to you, Indignant Grumpy Stranger.

And many thanks to Raymond from New Orleans, who made it possible for us to get to our destination and back home, and make many great memories.

So now that you have the backstory, time for the lesson…

Everyone in this tale had a choice to make about what they chose to focus on.

  • I could have focused on the troubles with my van and become dejected.
  • Raymond could have focused on his vacation and left me to sort things out on my own.
  • Indignant Stranger could have focused ahead of him at what was available rather than behind him at what he’d missed.
  • My kids could have focused on the setbacks and the rudeness and allowed it to ruin their fun.

Which brings me to the point of this post…

What we focus on determines where we go and the attitude which carries us there.

If you are so caught up in looking back at what you’ve missed, what’s gone wrong, or where you messed up, you will be incapable of seeing the opportunities and the adventure before you. If you are so caught up in looking ahead at the place you want to be, or the challenges you have to face, or stress about the unknown, you will be incapable of living in the moment and enjoying it fully. You’ll be incapable of detouring to help someone in need. You’ll miss the chance to live fully right here, right now, right where you’re at in life at this moment. 

We can be aware of what’s behind, and we can prepare as well as possible for what’s ahead, but we will drain all the joy from this moment if we fail to focus on what’s right in front of us and the people we’re surrounded by.

You can’t be fully alive in the moment if you’re obsessed with what’s behind you or what’s ahead of you.

So this year, whatever your goal is, whatever your plan is, whatever course you have charted for your life – just remember: sometimes what’s ahead is better than what’s behind, so don’t fret over missed opportunities, and don’t be so caught up in where you’re headed that you fail to be blessed and be a blessing where you are right now.

Safe travels on the road before you!

 

 

Extra Life Update From Osei!

Posted on by Shannon

Hey everyone!  Osei here, just to talk about Extra Life a little, like I did on the show…and Twitter…and Facebook…and anywhere I have some influence.

If you weren’t already aware, this is the week leading up to the Extra Life Marathon on the 7th!  This is, of course, the big day that many gamers choose to do marathon gaming sessions in order to raise funds.  I’m no different.  However, this year I have decided to do a stream daily (over on my channel at Twitch) in an attempt to raise a little more awareness of this year’s charity event.

After all, I’m only halfway to my my goal of $500, so every bit of effort counts!

However, I need your help.  In order to increase the number of potential donations I receive, that requires that people actually watch my livestreams.  It’s much harder to be noticed when you have zero viewers.   Even if you yourself don’t want to watch me be okay at video games, perhaps you know someone who does.  Sharing goes a long way to getting the word out!

Besides the coming livestream today, I will also be doing a twelve hour stream on Saturday.  I hope you’ll drop by for that as well as I play some Dungeons and Dragons and Left 4 Dead 2 (among others)!

As always, thank you for your support and I hope to see you around on Twitch!

We’re Baaaaack!!!

Posted on by Shannon

Dust off your trumpets and break out your tambourines, because FULL FRONTAL NERDERY is back in action, baby, and it’s time to parade through the streets and spread the good news! Or sit at home and share the good news on Facebook and Twitter. Whichever works for you. #NotJudging

To celebrate, I’m posting the first of many YouTube videos for all of you lovely people who donated to my Extra Life page. Thank you and you rock!!! Art, your video will be next. You have permission to force choke me if it takes more than 3 days from today (#eyelashes #BeGentle).

This video is for Tim, who got me involved in Extra Life and has encouraged me. I think he’ll enjoy the thought that went into it after his incentive video from last year. My video is nothing compared to his, but I’m working up to epic. Tim was just born that way.

This is pretty much what you can expect from Full Frontal Nerdery. It’s the new home of the Nerd Rage podcast, so you will see some of the same content that you see on the show, but with 50% more whiskey (YASS!). Don’t forget to tune in tonight (and every Wednesday night at 8:30c). We’ll be discussing Morganpalooza on The Walking Dead and how crappy my internet connection is. Good times! Join the live chat and maybe we’ll give you a cookie. Don’t worry, Carol didn’t make them.