The newest update for Sims 4 included a free feature for everyone that creates new scenarios for the population of Sims you're not playing with. They can now retire, adopt pets/children, have new babies, move out of their houses, move into other neighborhoods, change jobs, and die of various accidents. I'm probably forgetting a couple of them.
Anyway, this is SO good. Instead of the usual static stuff, now the head vampire in my game owns a cat. A friend told me that in someone else's game, said head vampire is now working as a nanny.
The meanest sim who used to be the head of the mafia retired and then got a job in customer service. Several people have adopted kids. Several have died from working on appliances. One woman died from anger.
I've got it set on the shortest life span right now just to see how many new kids will be born and adopted. This is so much fun.
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
A Day of Defeats
Today just felt like losing. I was ill. I screwed up a game. I felt uncomfortable. I had bad dreams. I had to redo some work several times. It was a lot.
The world feels so off-kilter. Wars are happening that should never have happened. Covid is about to serge again. How many more people have to die before things are taken seriously?
I feel defeated and overwhelmed.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Some Comments on Empathy and Female Leads
I saw this discussion on Facebook about how people tend to end up hating any female lead of a show after the third or so season. Reasons varied, though most of it was just frustration over them not getting their shit together by then. Or not heading in the direction they should have logically gone. Or not hooking up with the person the audience liked.
Have I felt this way in the past? Yes, but I'm honestly trying not to these days. I think people are way too hard on female leads or honestly, just female characters in general. We don't want them to have problems because we tend not to have empathy for women when they have problems.
I mean, unless the woman is being abused. We can usually handle her being abused SO LONG AS she is trying really hard to get away from her abuser.
Think, Daenerys Targaryen the first season of Game of Thrones. People rooted for her when she was trying to stand up to her abusive brother. When she started wanting to reclaim her throne and slept with whatever man she wanted (but not the man some people wanted her to be with) and made some decisions that were violent but within reason of the world she was on, people started to hate her. By the time the creators ruined her character and made her go insane for handwave reasons, people were happy to see her die. Not me, but other people.
It seems that we don't really want complexity from our female characters. They can have problems, but those need to be solved and handled so the show can go in other directions. We don't want them to have breakdowns and setbacks they created on their own. We certainly don't want them to be flawed. Though, at the same time, we don't want them to be perfect because that would just be unrealistic.
Diane Nguyen is a good example of this. On Bojack, she's set up as a foil/eventual love interest. Had the show gone the way shows like this typically go, by the end of the series, Bojack and Diane would be together.
But that doesn't happen. Diane not only marries someone else early into the show, but by the time the show ends, she is with someone else completely. She and Bojack never really happen.
A lot of people hated Diane. There really is no GOOD reason for it. She can be hypocritical and judgy at times, though when she is, the show usually walked into the issues, showing how complicated they really were. She can be selfish and frustrating. However, she's arguably less immoral and destructive to others than Bojack is. Sure she hurts some people she's involved with but said people are usually equally guilty in the matter.
To me, Diane is a very realistic person. She's talented but has a lot of mental and emotional damage. Despite that, she mostly holds a job and works on things throughout the whole show. She has a time when she doesn't really accomplish a lot, but it's when she's the most broken. Even then, she still manages to salvage herself and write another book.
But the thing is, Diane is given a lot of room for the audience to see her faltering. There is a lot of time for the audience to have empathy for her. The problem is, some people just didn't. They are so unused to having to spend time dealing with a woman's headspace and personal struggle that they just decided it was a waste of time for the show and resented her for it.
I think it's a big step in the right direction that we're adding depth to the characters we see in our media. I know some people maybe aren't ready to handle those characters, but trust me, as someone who spent their childhood mostly seeing male characters and reading about male characters (with a smattering of love interests and secretaries, and villainous women tossed in for flavor), you can learn to relate to the human element in us all.
Have I felt this way in the past? Yes, but I'm honestly trying not to these days. I think people are way too hard on female leads or honestly, just female characters in general. We don't want them to have problems because we tend not to have empathy for women when they have problems.
I mean, unless the woman is being abused. We can usually handle her being abused SO LONG AS she is trying really hard to get away from her abuser.
Think, Daenerys Targaryen the first season of Game of Thrones. People rooted for her when she was trying to stand up to her abusive brother. When she started wanting to reclaim her throne and slept with whatever man she wanted (but not the man some people wanted her to be with) and made some decisions that were violent but within reason of the world she was on, people started to hate her. By the time the creators ruined her character and made her go insane for handwave reasons, people were happy to see her die. Not me, but other people.
It seems that we don't really want complexity from our female characters. They can have problems, but those need to be solved and handled so the show can go in other directions. We don't want them to have breakdowns and setbacks they created on their own. We certainly don't want them to be flawed. Though, at the same time, we don't want them to be perfect because that would just be unrealistic.
Diane Nguyen is a good example of this. On Bojack, she's set up as a foil/eventual love interest. Had the show gone the way shows like this typically go, by the end of the series, Bojack and Diane would be together.
But that doesn't happen. Diane not only marries someone else early into the show, but by the time the show ends, she is with someone else completely. She and Bojack never really happen.
A lot of people hated Diane. There really is no GOOD reason for it. She can be hypocritical and judgy at times, though when she is, the show usually walked into the issues, showing how complicated they really were. She can be selfish and frustrating. However, she's arguably less immoral and destructive to others than Bojack is. Sure she hurts some people she's involved with but said people are usually equally guilty in the matter.
To me, Diane is a very realistic person. She's talented but has a lot of mental and emotional damage. Despite that, she mostly holds a job and works on things throughout the whole show. She has a time when she doesn't really accomplish a lot, but it's when she's the most broken. Even then, she still manages to salvage herself and write another book.
But the thing is, Diane is given a lot of room for the audience to see her faltering. There is a lot of time for the audience to have empathy for her. The problem is, some people just didn't. They are so unused to having to spend time dealing with a woman's headspace and personal struggle that they just decided it was a waste of time for the show and resented her for it.
I think it's a big step in the right direction that we're adding depth to the characters we see in our media. I know some people maybe aren't ready to handle those characters, but trust me, as someone who spent their childhood mostly seeing male characters and reading about male characters (with a smattering of love interests and secretaries, and villainous women tossed in for flavor), you can learn to relate to the human element in us all.
Monday, March 14, 2022
I Survived, I Guess
It's the second day of Spring Forward and the first where I had to go somewhere. I guess I survived, though my body is protesting and unhappy about it.
Posts may be kinda sketchy until I get used to this.
Posts may be kinda sketchy until I get used to this.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Time Change
I mean, just assume this is the stuff I usually say about Spring Forward. I loathe this timechange. It sucks. My back hurts. I'm grumpy.
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Until I Find More
After years of having orange yarn in my stash, I think I'm finally through it. Unless I have another ball of it lurking somewhere (which is possible) all of the orange yarn gifted to me years ago is now part of a blanket. I thanked it for its participation in my life as I was knitting the last of it into the work.
Now things are dark blue and light yellow. I don't like it, but as my roommate pointed out, I've not really liked any of the yarn in this thing at first. It takes some time for it to really become PART of the blanket before I accept it.
Now things are dark blue and light yellow. I don't like it, but as my roommate pointed out, I've not really liked any of the yarn in this thing at first. It takes some time for it to really become PART of the blanket before I accept it.
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
And Speaking of Gas
Even though this current gas crunch is in its early days, I've noticed an interesting side effect. Several small communities in my area have opened, or in some cases, reopened, cafes. Said cafes are thriving.
It makes sense. In easier times, it's nothing to go to the city, have lunch, shop, etc, and come back home. But right now, a lot of people are carpooling their trips to the city and not wasting time on side quests. People have to be frugal, especially those who live an hour or so away.
Folks still need distraction though. Having a little community cafe provides that. You add in good food and the occasional open mic night and things are even better.
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