Is Lobbying Against Pornography a Good Thing(tm)?

I mean seriously, does lobbying against Pornography produce positive results? In my home city, porn consumption is really off the wall. Salt Lake City has more incidence of porn consumption than any other city. So what good would lobbying against Pornography do?

The Anti-porn lobby is all about Censorship. This is something the 1st Amendment actually does not sanction. The 1st Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Censorship is abriding the freedom of the press. Censors often determine what is appropriate or not for a larger group of people. This is morally wrong.

So, if these anti-porn societies actually get their way in a society that is even more sexually repressed than that of the rest of the nation; what would happen? Nothing good, I think. Shame is an awful thing, body shame is just an awful thing. Body shame is what pornography exploits to gain its power. So, what will actually treat pornography?

Nudism. Nudism seems to be the best answer. Nudism is the practice of nakedness for body acceptance and chaste purposes, not for sex. It combats pornography by presenting the opposite message about the body. Pornography depends on mystery, secret, shame. Nudism presents the body as open, true, and accepted. Unfortunately, our bodies are outlawed. Not a problem. If enough (say thousands in the Wasatch Front) civilly disobeyed the Law in being just naked, then the Pornography problem will just go away. At least that is what I think.

If you need more information about what Naturism/Nudism can do for you, feel free to check my other blog on Windows Live.

Design Diary 5: Ancient Greece

RESEARCH: CULTURE

To create an Authentic Atlantean Culture I needed to research Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Indian culture to some degree. Like I said before, Clio the Muse of History is a stern mistress. Art imitates life and often than not, life imitates art.

I figured to create an Atlantis Campaign Setting that is based on Greek Culture initially, but has some strong influence from Egyptian, Indian, and ancient Israeli culture as well. A hodg-podge? Not really. This is Atlantis 600 B.C. Set in North America, around the area of the Finger Lakes (I'll explain that one in a moment.)

In my research, Khan Amore's website on Hypatia (Hi-pasha, I believe is how it's pronounced) was the most illuminating next to the text found in the book Greek Society (Fifth Edition) by Frank J. Frost. To put it to a tee, creating an Ancient Civilization for Fantasy Roleplaying based on the Greeks needs to include their ancient wisdom and knowledge. Which was surprisingly quite vast compared to our knowledge base. In fact, with our advanced physical science breaking the barrier into Zero Point Energy theory -- and it's potential of uniting Relativity with Quantum Mechanics -- we have surpassed what the Greeks bequeathed to us through Hypatia.

Who was Hypatia?

Hypatia of Alexandria was perhaps one of the greatest women in history. Hypatia had a mission to preserve what was in the Museum (what was left of the Great Library of Alexandria) for future generations. Hypatia preserved what the generation of the Danse Macbre would discover and provoke the Rennaissance. She wasn't a mother, but a Natural Philosopher and Teacher who was killed by so called "Christians" in a most grusome way: she was stripped buck naked and dismembered on an Alexandrian church altar. The "Christians" responsible for her death were not true Christians at all as they wanted to suppress scientific and mathematical progress . . . something they managed to do for at least one thousand and one hundred years.

But her preservation of Greek Wisdom and Science were seeds that would blossom after the terrible Bubonic Plague and the mighty and not so godly Crusades as the Roman Catholic Church sought to reclaim the Levant for all of Christendom. However, it is interesting to note that Hypatia's seeds of knowledge would not bloom until after the Bible was translated into other languages; and Martin Luther noticed some inconsistencies with the teachings of the Bible and how the Catholic Church operated.

Since Atlantis is a product of Greek Wisdom, as it flowed from Plato, it's best to think of Atlantis' core cultural root as Greek. Although there will be strong influence from the other three, Greek Culture -- such as the Olympics, Philosophy, and Art will come to dominate my version of Atlantis.

Understanding Integrity

What is Integrity?

A very good wife of a friend of mine said that I was eloquent on the understanding of Obedience and Integrity. Integrity is an abstract way of describing that you are willing to be true to what you know is true or what you believe to be true. Integrity should be the impetus for obedience or your obedience is blind.

The Laws that Govern Integrity

Each one of us has the capacity to govern ourselves. We are fully capable of governing ourselves and take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. This is integrity, and integrity is a powerful tool of people who have strong testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Law states that Truth creates Freedom. Truth gives us the Freedom to do what we want, to create what we desire, and to enjoy what we have. Therefore, if Truth creates Freedom, a Lie creates bondage. Lies, no matter how expertly they have been conceived as truths, will always put you and other people in bondage.

Blind obedience to anything is a lie. When we obey out of fear, or obey just because everyone else is doing it, we are lying to ourselves. Blind obedience is always transfering your personal responsibility to someone else. It doesn't matter who it is, you are making someone else responsible for your actions. Integrity, however, is something different. When we have integrity, we are empowering ourselves to take personal responsibility for our actions.

When we have integrity, we have power to choose for ourselves. We, in fact, practice true Free Agency. Because with integrity, we have the self confidence and the power to make our own destinies as we see fit. We don't give up are personal responsibility for our actions. We live truly free.

In other words, Obedience is blind without our integrity.  We must be honest with ourselves as to why we are obeying the 10 Commandments in the first place.  If we are obeying the 10 Commandments out of fear or because of the Bandwagon, our obedience is blind.  If we can honestly say that "I love Heavenly Father, and I desire to be with Him, be a part of Him, and become a God" and we obey according to that righteous desire; we are obeying out of Love.  And we will gain more freedom for doing that.

If we cannot answer that question honestly, then we are living a lie.  Obedience out of blindness, or blind Obedience, takes away our freedom and our personal responsibility and gives it to somebody else.  Integrity is not Obedience, it is the power and ability to be honest with yourself and to be confident with yourself.

At least that is how I understand Integrity.

New York Doll

I have seen a most wonderful documentary about Arthur "Killer" Kane. Arthur "Killer" Kane was one of the New York Dolls. I don't have a picture to show for it, but the New York Dolls was one of those bands that influenced rock music. They were the original, Heavy Metal Rock Band; and Arthur "Killer" Kane was a part of that.

The movie, titled New York Doll, is this documentary about this influential rock star. It tells about his quick rise to stardom as part of a glamour rock band, and then it's meteoric fall. And when Arthur Kane hit rock bottom, he slapped his wife and jumped out of his kitchen window. And while he was recovering from the fall, he came across the Book of Mormon ad in the T.V. Guide and asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon. Two sister missionaries working the Los Angeles Mission showed up and gave him a copy and proceeded to tell him about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And just some time after that, Arthur Kane was in the Family History Library working as a Temple Worker. But he always wanted to reunite the New York Dolls. It was his desire for a long time, and it was granted. They had a wonderful time in London. Arthur Kane dressed up and had a wonderful time with his band. However, he soon died of Leukemia after this. And this film, New York Doll, is a wonderful tribute to his life. If you are a New York Doll fan and you haven't seen this film, I would ask that you get a copy so you can follow the life of an old favorite. I wasn't a New York Doll fan, though. I was born in 1974; way too young to appreciate Arthur Kane's work.

Outside Links: Craven Lovelace, Punk Magazine

Design Diary 4: A muse can be a harsh mistress

It is better to tell a rated R truth than to tell a G-rated lie.

-- Richard Dutcher

Since I first encountered Atlantis in the media (I think I was 6), I was gripped by the imagination of Atlantis. When I started playing Dungeons and Dragons when I was twelve, I learned about Atlantean Archaeology. "Atlantaeology" I believe it is called, is the study of Atlantis to see if it actually existed. Learning that Atlantis could actually exist fired up my imagination. That was when I started doing research for the Atlantis campaign setting.

However Clio, the Muse of Epic History, can be a harsh mistress. In my efforts, I learned many different points of view of the history and culture of four different ancient civilizations: Egypt, Greece, India, and Israel. The number one thing I learned was this: you can not assume that an ancient culture has the exact same attitude about modesty as the present day culture. This is especially true if you define modesty by how much square feet of the body has to be covered with cloth.

My research shows that neither of them carried the same sort of regard for modesty as our own. In fact, if anything, their definition of Modesty does not depend on how much cloth that needs to cover the body; but rather more on Webster's definition of Modesty which is this:

MOD'ESTY, n. [L. modestia.] That lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance. This temper when natural, springs in some measure from timidity, and in young and inexperienced persons, is allied to bashfulness and diffidence. In persons who have seen the world, and lost their natural timidity, modesty springs no less from principle than from feeling, and is manifested by retiring, unobtrusive manners, assuming less to itself than others are willing to yield, and conceding to others all due honor and respect, or even more than they expect or require.

To complicate matters further, virginity was unheard of in Egypt, they didn't even have a word for virgin in Ancient Egyptian. Young girls as young as six would have sexual intercourse with a mate in Ancient Egypt. By the time that Moses was thirteen and raised as an Egyptian, he would have sown his wild oats with a girl about his age or younger. Meaning that he may have gotten an Egyptian noblewoman pregnant while she was 12, 13, or 14. An uncountable number of Egyptians may claim Moses as an ancestor.

In ancient Israel, a girl was considered to enter the age of Marriageability at the age of twelve, while a boy could be considered to enter the age of Marriageability at the age of 13. The Bar'Mitzvah and the Bat'Mitzvah; traditions where a young jew was considered to be of age stemms from this fact.

To complicate matters further, social nudity was regarded in these four ancient civilizations a lot differently than social nudity is now. To the Ancients, social nudity was regarded as a Gift of the Gods (or in Israel's case --- a sign of the Prophets) while in our day and age social nudity is regarded as destructive. In order to create an authentic Ancient Culture like that of Atlantis, social nudity has to be addressed.

Design Diary 3: Rating Present Atlantis Campaign Settings

Since I missed Nude Blogging Day, I thought I'd play catch up and blog today in the nude. Today, I'm going to rate two Atlantis campaign settings that I own (GURPS Atlantis and Avalanche's Twilight of Atlantis). The third, Atlantis the Second Age is not a game that I own.

But first, a discussion of Nude Blogging Day. As you can see from the picture on the left, my friend on the left is taking some time out of her busy schedule to blog nude on Nude Blogging Day (picture is from Canstock Photo). Basically, the movement is to show that nudity in and of itself is not sinful. To quote Cafe Philos:

Sadly, not everyone agrees that nude blogging is moral. There are people -- even influential people -- who think the good lady to the left of us is spinning society into dark moral decline simply by blogging naked amongst the foxtails. Those folks are morally confused. For reasons perhaps known only to themselves and their psychiatrists, they firmly believe great evil comes of simple nudity. Most of them were shocked to the bone when Janet Jackson's naked nipple appeared for two seconds on international television during the superbowl. At the time, the FCC was deluged with angry letters and emails from folks outraged that even a single nipple was seen by themselves and their children -- as if their children would inevitably grow up to be perverts and sex criminals now. Politicians demanded an investigation. The FCC responded by fining the broadcaster, then toughening its standards. Jackson's "nipple of doom" launched a national crisis. Is that what so many people think morality is all about? Naked nipples? Apparently so. At some point, all morally sane people should be asking themselves, "Do we really want a society that's crazy enough to take a nosedive into sheer hysteria over nudity?"

So, yeah, I do blog in the nude. When I feel like it, that is usually in the mornings or at night when I'm not disturbed. I really don't feel that it is sinful to be nude, in fact, it's quite a feeling of freedom. So, on with those reviews.

GURPS ATLANTIS
The first thing about creating a Campaign Setting about a piece of mythology that you are really passionate about is to do research and to learn what others have done. In the case of Atlantis, three products have been produced on the subject so far. They are GURPS Atlantis, Twilight of Atlantis, and Morrigan's Press' Atlantis: The Second Age. The first two are out of print, the last is still in print and supported by it's publisher.

GURPS Atlantis is the tour-de-force of the three Atlantis campaign settings. This is quite simply because GURPS Atlantis goes into more than a simple Campaign Setting, the book explains how the myth of Atlantis actually got started. Written by Phil Masters for Steve Jackson Games, GURPS Atlantis deals with the mythology of Atlantis by quoting directly from the source material: i.e. Plato's Critias and Timaeus. And then discusses whether or not the myth is true and it actually happened. It also goes into the literary and arcane legacies of the myth of Atlantis and how it has grown over time from a simple science fiction tale to a mystery of epic proportions.

The Atlantis myth has been used by science fiction, fantasy, and horror; three traditions of fantastic fiction. And the book delves deeply in the origins of the Atlantis myth and how it changed over the years in the first chapter.

The second chapter deals with the lands that we have lost. Tales such as Noah's Flood and Sodom and Gommorah are discussed along with Davey Jones' Locker and phantom islands and lands. And consequently, Ys, Mu, and Lemuria are also discussed.

Chapter three presents rules for underwater adventuring. This part was well researched, as the rules work in the GURPS game and can be adapted for other games. This chapter presents rules for venturing underwater and how the problems of great depths in the Sea presents for Engineering and Exploration. The chapter also goes into the history of Submarining and how technology has improved for deep sea diving.

Chapter four, five, and six presents three different campaign settings: The Orichalcum Age, which presents a campaign setting directly based on Plato's Timaeus and Critias; an Illuminati type campaign called The Secrets of Minos; and a Superheroic or Victorian Steampunk campaign. All three campaign settings are very good and provide a great way to game in Atlantis. GURPS Atlantis is available from eWarehouse-23, as it is out of print and only available in PDF form.

TWILIGHT OF ATLANTIS
Twilight of Atlantis is the second Atlantis Campaign Setting I own. Instead of created for the GURPS game, Twilight of Atlantis is created for the estimable d20 System. Twilight of Atlantis is also based on the Critias and the Timaeus. It's another high fantasy work that takes the work of Plato and adapts it in a different direction than GURPS Atlantis does.

The book opens with a cover by Lorenzo Sperlonga, the fourth to sit on an Avalanche cover. The cover is a cheesecake cover to be sure, but can be interpreted as pornography by certain readers.

Part 1 of Twilight of Atlantis deals with the Ancient World that Atlantis exists in. This part is extrapolated from the Critias and builds upon the tale in a direction different than that taken by GURPS Atlantis. Basically, the meeting between Clieto and Poseidon is discussed, and how the five sets of male twins learned and explored their world. Then the five sets of twins would use their skills to build a mighty empire of epic proportions. This part also deals with Atlantean culture.

Part 2 deals with the rules section of Atlantis and is Open Game Content. Three new races are provided along with new monsters, equipment, and magic spells. The last part deals with Atlantean campaigns. Unfortunately, Twilight of Atlantis is so scant in its information that you need the resources of other gaming books to make up for what is lost. GURPS Atlantis, GURPS Greece, GURPS Mars and GURPS Egypt would be invaluable resources for the d20 System GM when using Twilight of Atlantis.

Next: I'll go into other areas of Research and how that may affect a campaign setting. I will also review Morrigan Press' Atlantis: The Second Age if I can get a review copy.

Design Diary 2: Daggerfall

Daggerfall

I've been playing Daggerfall again, lately. Daggerfall is the Computer Roleplaying Game by Bethesda Softworks. It's one game that takes its place first among the CRPGs in the fact that it is a good game for Game Masters to play and learn from. This is simply because of all the little side quests that take place in Daggerfall.

Daggerfall is a game that is necessarily bigger than Morrowind or Oblivion put together. This is simply because where Morrowind and Oblivion sacrifice Size for Graphics; Daggerfall sacrifices graphics for size. Daggerfall is huge! There are a bewildering number of places to go see in Daggerfall. A bewildering number of quests to do, and that is just the side quests.

Besides that, you can dress your characters. Or undress them and go naked. Your character's state of dress really doesn't matter in Daggerfall. The picture on the right is one of my Daggerfall characters: Laurana -- a wood elf mage. Finally, Daggerfall is open. The players can do anything they please, including the main quest.

Daggerfall is second in the Design Diary simply because of this fact. This is more about technique. When adventures are written for Atlantis, Daggerfall and BethSoft's other Elder Scrolls games (Morrowind and Oblivion) are those models that will be strived for. Daggerfall, because of nudity and sexual situations, is rated "M" by the ESRB rating system. However, there is no sexual situations to speak of in Daggerfall. They were planned, but cut out of the game. The game is still rated "M." This means that Nudity is the deciding factor if a game is rated "M" for Mature or not. Bummer.

Setting Diary 1: Atlantis has Taken Shape

Atlantis is a campaign setting that has been taking shape for a while. Rather than focus on 10,000 B.C., I thought to shift it to 600 B.C. Atlantis 600 B.C. is a serious campaign setting with serious implications. As Atlantis 10,000 B.C. is a campaign setting set far in the past that is covered by other Roleplaying Game supplements, such as GURPS Atlantis. Atlantis 600 B.C. is set 2,000 years ago.

So a serious campaign setting needs a serious Roleplaying Game system to back it up. Rolemaster is my system of choice. The game system is deadly and serious enough to provide a more realistic character generation and combat in the game.

I'll have more as this develops.