Linkstorm: Lightning Round!

So a boy known as "Kunkun" has been ostracized by his rural, Chinese community. China is a big, diverse country and it's really mind-boggling to try to take all of it in. Anyway, the Chinese government did that thing that communist governments should do and stepped in to take care of the kid.

Hopefully, it'll end up like the story of Quian Hongyan, also known as "The Basketball Girl." After losing her legs in a car accident, her impoverished family couldn't afford to buy her prosthetics. Instead, they used basketballs to act as a contact patch for her lower torso. In 2005, her story was covered by the press and she was contacted by a Beijing clinic dedicated to helping disabled, low-income individuals.

It's nine years later, she's a minor celebrity and intends to represent China as a paralympic swimmer. She hopes the publicity she's gotten will help change attitudes in China towards the disabled.

Minecraft Linkstorm 8 & 1/2

I haven't finished Minecraft Linkstorm #8 proper yet. I have not really been in a writing mood lately. 

I'm probably leaving San Antonio soon. Things haven't really worked out for me here. It's frustrating; apparently Texas is doing well and SA itself is facing some rock-bottom unemployment rates. Over the past two years, it feels like I've tried everything to find a career. All I've gotten are a few interviews, some motherfuckers trying to shake me down for free labor, some motherfuckers trying to shake me down to pay for more school, and a few jobs that ask me to rip other people off in exchange for not enough money to live on. Or worst of all, a resounding silence.

I'm just really tired and I'm really angry and I'd like to set everything I own on fire because it seems like it'd be a real time-saver.

Luckily, I'm selling lots of it on eBay, starting with my comics. 

My Battletech books and Magic cards are up next.

Minecraft Linkstorm 07: Crimean Ocean

Pretty tired and this is getting up pretty late. I'll upload the links later.

Minecraft Linkstorm 06: superbrighthappyfuntime

Minecraft Linkstorm 04: Thankfully Short

Wow, this one really got away from me guys. Please watch the video first before you read on, because this only makes the video worse after you read it. 

I did this one the way I always wanted to. I ran though the play while recording and talking and saying things wrong. Then, I recorded deliberate, clear news articles. Then, I recorded the general Minecraft bitching stuff for an even audio quality. Then I recorded the interstitial bits where I fall in a hole and say something about it. 

Then I spliced all of that together over the video, thinking breaks in the news reports would feel the same whether they were a natural break or an audio cut in. I also assumed that because I recorded all of the audio on the same laptop with the same hardware and the same software that my audio levels and background noise would sound the same. It did not. I think you can hear the seams. 

Or maybe it's all in my head because I put the seams there. Anyway, I'm sorry that this thing does not sound good (These things never look good and I assume that if you're still watching I've apologized to you all that I can about it.). 

I'm working on another method for the next one that will hopefully save time and improve the audio quality and involve recording in fullscreen so there's that.

THE LINKS!
The NSA's Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program:https://firstlook.org/theintercept/ar...

U.S. Suspect Probably Targeted for Drone Attack:http://nation.time.com/2014/02/10/u-s...

What We Can Actually Learn from the UK's First Weed Overdose:http://io9.com/what-can-we-actually-l...

End the Ban on Psychoactive Drug Research:http://www.scientificamerican.com/art...

Finally, a Bachelor Contestant Exposes the Show's Weird Sex Issues: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2...

Taliban criticizes peace talks delay:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-...

Violence Could Force Out CAR's Muslim Population:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-afric...

Michael Jackson Fans Win One Euro for Emotional Damage:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europ...

Game of Thrones Actor gets Stabbed in Bar Fight, Orders Another Drink: http://gawker.com/5811865/game-of-thr...

BBC Bans All-Male Panels on Comedy Shows:http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bb...

Dan Harmon Walks AV Club Through Season 2 of Community:http://www.avclub.com/article/dan-har...

Big Fat Quiz is so great you guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pedWSC...

What Would Earth Be Like if It Was Shaped Like a Doughnut:http://io9.com/what-would-the-earth-b...

Swiss to Vote on Incomes for All:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25...

Minecraft Linkstorm Part 02

We couldn't get together for a Houma Movie Club this week. I am so eager to talk with my friends about Zombie Hunter. So eager you guys. We're going to try to reschedule, but Josh is buried in work right now and I'm going to be buried in work well into Friday.

Another one of these while I work on my city extension. The aspect ratio is screwed up and there are these little moments of silence where I had to edit out a lot of...mouth noises. It's a work in progress.

Links below the cut:

Minecraft News: Very Adult

You guys know I love talking about the news.

You guys know I love playing Minecraft.

Here's a video with predictable contents.

Linkstorm: Catching Up Is Hard To Do

Links below the cut

Linkstorm: Fanmail

Linkstorm: Some Expectations

Justice Department Seizure of AP phone records
IRS investigations into conservative organizations
An extra bit about voter ID laws
Mayan pyramid bulldozed by construction crew
So Long, Commander Hadfield
NASA's GROVER

Linkstorm-A Valiant Attempt at Delivering Good News

Linkstorm: Fucking April

Linkstorm: Authority

Linkstorm: Faith in Humanity

Linkstorm-Is this thing on?

It was not on.

Linkstorm: Carrots

Linkstorm: Good Pie

I'm very sorry Derek. I know we just talked about this.

Linkstorm: Gays and Science

Gay Stuff
God bless South Korea. If you have a hard time remembering which Korea is the "good Korea," South Korea has the bars where you can platonically rent attractive young men.

It's no surprise that in its waning days, the regime of Husni Mubarak used sexual harassment and rape in an attempt to silence female protestors. What's exceptionally shameful is the way that Egyptian citizens have continued this practice after his removal. Say some of the offenders, "It's the way girls dress that makes guys come on to them. The girls came wanting it - even women in niqab" before continuing to explain that a tight niqab indicates a woman wants their attention.

Linkstorm: Hacks

Writer and comedian Robert Newman applies arguments against providing a welfare state for hypothetically amoral, self-interested recipients to demonstrably amoral and self-interested corporations. (Link)

Stacey Campfield, state senator from Tennessee says some things that all-but-require the "This is what many conservatives actually believe" subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

Bradley Manning is a quarter of the way into his third year of incarceration for allegedly leaking sensitive cables from the US government. His treatment is way, way below board and certainly uncalled for, considering he's being held by the self-proclaimed world leader of democracy, fair trials, individual initiative, and compassionate, Christian attitudes. Considering that his guilt is taken as common knowledge (Aside: He did it.), it's astounding that our government isn't even competent enough to put together a decent case and take him to trial.

Linkstorm: How Far We've Come

Eddie Izzard-Loves Britain, plus Olympics.

io9 does a piece on a piece about distinguishing conservative denialism from reasonable, scientific debate.

More riots are going on in France, as the fundamental inequalities that fueled the riots years ago still haven't been addressed. More notable is that President Hollande isn't interested in addressing the underlying causes of this violence, just directing more funding to suppress it when it happens again. Truly, The West has much to teach the rest of the globe about the merits of civilized democracies.