Watch the video, then check out the page I created for them: http://superHarmony.com.

Short URL: http://is.gd/superHarmony

You will be missed Gillian. You should have done more for 10:10.

Let me set the stage up, earlier tonight four women calling themselves Team Unicorn released this video on break.com. Watch it if you haven’t seen it and make your own opinions about it.

Here are their names linked to their twitter feeds:

Team Unicorn: @TeamUnicornFTW
Michele Boyd: @MicheleBoyd
Clare Grant: @ClareGrant
Milynn Sarley: @TheGamerChick
Rileah Vanderbilt: @Rileah

After watching the music video, I want to quote the description provided by Break, I believe:

This music video parody proves Geek and Gamer Girls really do exist. Extra geek cred for appearances by a rapping Seth Green, Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff and Stan Lee.

Lyrics and mp3 available here: http://brk.to/gamergirlsong

Team Unicorn – http://www.facebook.com/TeamUnicornFTW

From what I can see, most people loved this parody. There were a few people that did not like the direction this video took. I wanted to address these issues, I will not name names, I just want to discuss some points I saw brought up and give my take on the video and why I believe it should not be dismissed the way some have. I will also say that I do not at all harbor any negative feelings towards anyone, everyone is entitled to their opinions and I respect that. Don’t hate me!

The main issue that was brought up was that the women in the video are all beautiful and do not represent gamer girls because they come in all shapes and sizes.

Someone brought up a good video that discusses sexualizing women in the gaming culture. Watch it here.

Admittedly, it’s a bit unfair to point fingers. A lot of these girls may be legit gamers who just enjoy flaunting what they got, and it would be really unfair for me to demand that they set a good example.

From the video linked right above. He goes on to say:

but at the same time we have so few other types of female presences in gaming and this can’t be helping either gender feel more comfortable with one another in the game space. And women feel alienated, men feel manipulated, I’m just saying…

Felicia Day recently posted a blog post on her well maintained website [self reference har har] titled Women in Tech. Within it she links several articles that are very good reads on the gender subject.

Team Unicorn is a group of women who are friends, geeks, gamers, actresses and all happen to be beautiful women. Also, they’re a group. Like a troupe.

Comments like “they’re all beautiful” and “they don’t represent all geek and gamer girls” would be factual statements. They’re not saying they represent all geek and gamer girls. They’re not even saying they’re beautiful. Sure, they’re showing it and practically saying it on their video, but the video itself is a parody. Parodies are done over the top. The song is basically California Gurls by Katy Parry feat Snoop, only with their own lyrics.

The thing that made me blog tonight were the comments that basically suggested adding “variety” because the girls are all beautiful. That really sounds to me like they’re saying “Add some ugly girls” which just sounds absurd. Team Unicorn has four members. They all appeared in this parody. If other people joined them, they’ll appear in future things they work on, I am sure. What is this need to say geek and gamer girls have to be frumpy? If they want to wear makeup or heels or whatever “girly” thing they want, it is their prerogative.

As part of the parody, they had what has normally been the “norm” of geekdom, the nerdy guys. You don’t see male models, like myself I might add, complaining that buff guys were not represented. Yes, this is a weak argument, I will move on, I just wanted to call myself a buff model type.

The origin of their troup/group name, Team Unicorn, is in their press release – “Geek girls are like unicorns: technically they don’t exist – except in this awesome musical parody by Team Unicorn!” again lampooning the fact that the “norm” is that girl geek/gamers are a myth.

Another issue that was brought up was using Seth Green, Katee Sackhoff, and Stan Lee. Seth is married to one of these women, but he himself is considered in the realm of the Geek due to his various projects and because he himself is a geek. Katee, of BSG fame, well, BSG. Stan, good old Stan represents the comics, a staple of Geekery. A parody tends to be much more parodier with celebs.

Something else that kinda grinds my gears is if it were a voluptuous woman or a “plainer” woman playing the sexy in a video, she would be cheered as a geek champion, but oh no, these four beautiful women can’t represent geeks or gamers because they… what? They’re too beautiful? This is what I see. This is my main gripe with the people that were complaining about this video. This is the same issue as me not being a male lead in a movie or an tv show because I am fat and wear glasses… well, also because I haven’t tried auditioning for one, but you know what I mean… why can’t they be what they claim they are?

A friend asked a very good question, something like “What if it were a bunch of male models representing geeks, would you be ok with it?” Yes. Yes I would. Are they geeks? Because, Michele, Milynn, Clare, and Rileah are. If four six-packed male model-types had their own little parody music video, I would be ok with it. Mainstream has had a fun time of telling us that real life is about mostly good looking people while the rest are delegated to the side-kick or comedic relief, but does that mean that we should quickly attack people because they aren’t “ugly” enough?

The last point I will focus on is a comment that basically said, “I admire people who don’t feel they have to sexualize themselves to get fans”. To the person that actually said it, I am not trying to single you out here, it is just that you made a very good point and I felt it was worth exploring here. We’re dealing with four rather intelligent women, in this Team Unicorn. Personally, I know Michele has a Science degree in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. I am sure they knew there was a pot and it would be stirred. They are actresses. They live off fans. Fact of life. More people will know of them now. Yes, other people either don’t or keep “the sexy” to a minimum. Someone was mentioned in this comment specifically who has done what the commenter suggested she hadn’t. It was argued by others privately that one instance was a character, and the other was purely a parody and also used a variety of “types” of people, but the fact remains that sometimes sexy is a device used in comedy. I am sorry for the vagueness but I want to keep the focus here and not really make comparisons even though I kinda am.

Controversy is a good thing sometimes, especially to garner a base of fans. Sure, it could be viewed as a negative thing, but again, I personally think their video was expertly done, their lyrics were on par, and they definitely flaunted their beauty, and their geekness. In this parody music video, they were representing themselves. Ladies, maybe you want to make your own parody video in which you’ll represent your own self. I promise I won’t complain about there not being “beautiful girls” in it. Odds are, you are beautiful and you just don’t know it.

Yes, Michele is my friend, and I do support her, and her friends, in everything they do. I may be biased because of this, or because I myself am a male and may not understand what it really means to be a geek girl or a gamer girl or both. I am a geek. I am a gamer. I have scoffed in the past because of similar attempts of getting my attention with the beautiful women doing the geek things, but when I know they are the real deal, and they are doing a parody music video to boot, what’s the harm in that? They are proud of being healthy. They are proud of being girls. They are proud of being geeks. They are proud of being gamers.

And I am proud of them.

The end.

Based on a meme where someone used a site to play two youtube videos together. Usher’s Papers and a goat. I wrote a back-story for Billy, the goat.

*Apologies for my international friends that cannot view the videos, try finding Usher’s Papers on youtube and replace the one that doesn’t work.

****

Part 2 (remix)

It was his birthday party. Eleven years old. Almost not a kid anymore, his beard had started to grow early in the year. Best of all, Billy had just come home from winning the school talent show at West Side Elementary in Marietta. Seventh grade was going very well, and now Maria, the most beautiful twelve-year-old in school was at his party.

“Maaah!” Exclaimed Billy, seeing Maria entering the Showbiz Pizza on Roswell Road in East Lake Plaza. She had on a turquoise tank top and a black leather tube skirt.

“Billy!” Maria returned, loving the nickname Billy gave her the first day of school.

“Maaah, maaah… maaah?”

“Yes, Billy, I saw you win the talent show, great choice by the way. Love Shack.” in between the love shows at this place, the box set television was on Star Search. A show that showcases young talent, a competition. Two enter the stage, one goes home.

“Everyone get ready for the show.” said some random low-wage employee. Fake electronic animals started dancing around the stage and singing some banjo song. Billy, Maria, and the rest of the party watched. When it was over, the television turned back to the Star Search.

On television a new young boy came on. Ed McMahon said “and now, I present to you, young thirteen year old Usher Raymond, everybody, here to sing ‘End of the Road’ by Boys II Men.” young Billy the goat had never heard someone sing like that before. Neither had Maria, for her eyes stayed glued to the television set and no matter what Billy tried, she would not respond. Then, she fainted.

In the kitchen, which is kept tidy most of the time, for the manager at this particular Showbiz pizza was very strict except when Star Search was on, things were being left out on the counters instead of put away properly. It was their favorite show and everyone watched. Their recent shipping of tomato sauce was a strange one. The container used with this shipment was different. The cans were thicker. Stronger. While refilling their tomato container from the metal cans, Billy’s parents entered the kitchen, for as frugal parents go, they know they can get away with having their dinner from the kitchen garbage.

“Maaah?” asked Bill Lee, Billy’s father.

“Yes, Bill, I see the cans of tomato on the counter, should I get them for us?” replied Martha, Billy’s mom. Bill nodded, and they ensconced with two tomato cans.

The next morning the manager at Showbiz Pizza received a phone call. “Listen, we have a problem. With that little girl fainting, and the freak metal can-eating accident, we will not be able to support the lawsuits.”

“What is the update on them anyway?” asked the concerned manager.

“The girl is fine, but we could still be sued for stress, people sue for less. The other two, we should worry about. They survived, but will be ailing and in need of medical attention. We can’t sustain that. If this Bill Lee Goat and his wife sue. The lawyers came up with a plan. They can’t sue if we change our name. We need to rebrand. From this point on, we will be called Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza.”

****

“What did you say your name was?” asked Usher.

“Maaah.” responded Billy. They stepped out of the restaurant and towards the limo that was waiting.

As they neared the long black vehicle, Usher turned to Billy and mentioned, “Billy, I want you to meet my lady, she’s waiting inside.” but before they could get close enough to the door, it opened.

“Oh my lawd, Billy!” it was Maria.

“Maaah?” was all Billy could say. He was shocked. He hadn’t seen her since College. There she was, with her arms around him. He forgot himself for a second and breathed her in. Realizing Usher was right next to them, he remembered where he was, and what he needed to do.

Kill Usher.

To be continued…

****

Billy the goat worked as a fry cook at Aunt B’s Restaurant on Canton Highway in Marietta, Georgia. Late summer last year, Usher stopped in for lunch one Monday. It wasn’t busy and as he sat on one of the stools instead of taking a table, he got to talking with his server. Billy was in the kitchen doing his thing and listening to the radio.

Opting for some breakfast for lunch, the server took her ticket and hung it in the ticket wheel by the window to the kitchen. Billy the goat took the order and noticed Usher, recognizing him right away. Deciding right then and there, he would bring out the food and try to audition for him.

See, ever since Billy was a kid, he knew he wanted to be a star. He even won several awards in school talent shows. Billy ultimately was forced to take a job to support his ailing parents. They were involved in a freak metal can-eating accident.

As the pancakes were finished, along with a side of sausage and grits, Billy prepared himself, ensured his beard was straight and took the food out to the counter.

“Maaah” said Billy trying not to sound too eager. “Maaah.”

Usher looked at him. Stared. Then, he said “What the hell?”

“Maaah.” Billy could not believe what he was saying, “Maaah, maaah!” He was going for it, this was the point of no return. Might as well do it. Might as well ask. “Maaah?”

Usher’s mouth was open, he looked stunned. He sat there on the stool next to the counter, right by the blueberry pie in glass. He blinked. Took a breath and let it out. “Very well, show me what you got, goat.”

“Maaah!” Billy for the second time in five minutes could not believe. He was auditioning for THE Usher! “Maaah, maaah, maaah. Maaah.” He hoped he was in tune.

“Stop, goat. I’ve heard enough.” said Usher, bobbing his head slightly. “Lemme eat my food, I have a song I’d like you to collaborate on with me.” He shoved a spoonful of grits in his mouth. “What did you say your name was?”

“Maaah.”

To be continued…

“Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Hurin cried ‘Aure entuluva!’” – J. R. R. Tolkien

Internet Rule #1: Don’t feed the trolls.

Funny thing about that, sometimes you’re stuck in between thinking something was just so sad and funny, you wanted to share it, but you did not want to feed into it. I debated on this for almost an hour. Today, I was retweeted by my pal Felicia Day, and as per usual, a bunch of her followers retweeted it. One such follower decided to send me a reply instead of retweeting or leaving it alone.

Thus, this is where we stand right now. I wanted to share what this individual had to say, but I did not want to feed their illness. I did what anyone in this situation would do. I photoshop’d a picture of the tweet to remove the person’s name and handle. I also blurred some of the naughty words. This is clearly what this person wants, to be validated and to feel important, and I should just leave it be, but how could I not? You see my predicament? Anyway, I trust that no one will try to find out who did it. Trust me its not worth it, they’re nobody.

Check it out, I thought it was hilarious and was not insulted in the least. Don’t get me wrong, the person is a lowlife scum, but it did get a chuckle out of me. Made my belly rumble. You know, ’cause it’s fat.

Feel free to comment below!

Well, really I was being silly and I just wanted to make a fool of myself by singing stuff…

I wanted to make up a song and the first thing that came to mind was a parody of Puttin on the Ritz called Puttin up with Fitz. Unfortunately, it came off as an insult, which I quickly fixed (I hope I did) because it wasn’t so at all. It goes with the parody.

At the time @leahjones was featured on a news story in the Chicago Tribune, and we were in the midst of tweetups and lunches with twitter pals (@1god). @BleuCaldwell was setting up some meetups or something through twitter at the time too, I think.

@gar_cia and @ceelos would also complain about a stinky coworker (not @Fitz) that would poop and not properly flush, along with other even more gross things he would do.

My sister had just joined twitter and I joked that her handle @yeseningles was one word but I really knew it was Yes en ingles (Yes in English). I think that properly tells all the inside jokes…

Oh no… Prima Nalgotas… @gar_cia‘s cousin was dubbed Prima Nalgotas and we would, from time to time, ask where she is on twitter “Donde estas Prima Nalgotas?”

For your enjoyment:

Ahhh, the good old days…

Tara and Yuri, you two are so endearing!

Does anyone else have any other cures for the hiccups?

Its soo weird to be able to do this and if I had the time, I’d totally write up a whole story with these guys and see how it went… Please let me know if you own this game and decide to do this too… I will be extra impressed if you make a sim of me

There’s me:

I aspire to be a top police enforcement officer… not much to choose from. My traits are family, hopeless romantic, lucky, and other things that describe me well. I already got him a job in the law enforcement track. Figured someone has to work. I’ll find jobs for the others soon.

There’s Felicia Day (Codex):

I made her a bit like Codex but a bit like Felicia too… she aspires to be a guitarist and master speaker… I did not see an actor option. Her traits include neurotic, charismatic, and others. I already noticed that she HAS to check the stove to see if its off sometimes…

Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo):

I made him way more like Zaboo because its hilarious… he gets scared easily, a hopeless romantic, can be annoying and his Simian (whatever the language is) sounds JUST LIKE HIM! That was eerie. I swear he said Sandeep once too. Anyway, it will be interesting how he turns out in the game.

Finally, saved the best for last, Jeff Lewis (Vork):

He is a mooch, very frugal, and already seems very anal. His casual clothing is suit and tie and sneakers. Funny that when I went to make him, the dude already had the bald hair style. Weird. Anyway, in this Sims, you cant’ choose height, but I set him as lanky, since it will distinguish him as tall then. I figure I will send this guy off to other houses to eat from their food. lol (squab!) When he views thing, the thought bubble shows the golden dollar sign, like he’s thinking of selling it for the simoleans.

Now, I haven’t done anything with them, just had them freely do anything. I noticed that everyone seemed willing to sleep with Felicia (big surprise there) but then two of the guys were sleeping and I found out it was just that they have to consider each other friends is all. I plan on adding more cast to other homes and have them all interact and see what happens… I will also make up significant others specifically for each char and see if I can get them to fall for each other. So if Felicia, Sandeep, or Jeff have specific desires as to their significant other should look like, let me know before I move on to that part of this game lol.

I will leave you with some more screen shots I took:

Back in the day, a certain writer, producer, comedian, actress buddy of mine of whom I webmaster for on the side was having issues staying on her hosting sites. We would move on to a newer better place though money issues kept us from really doing anything permanent. She basically was Slash-dotted. Its a common term where a link becomes popular enough that way too many people click on it at the same time. Ultimately, Joyent came to the rescue and we’ve haven’t had any issues since.

Felicia would link obscure sites and proceed to down them. I figured I should be funny and so this conversation transpired:

What NOT to say...

Here is her twitter msgs:

Consequences!

Here’s how many people she basically mentioned mischief to.

That's a lotta peoples!

Needless to say, I had a night of trying to survive this. I did get a bunch of hits before I got downed so those were nice. But at what cost lol. Thing is, I linked it to my newer site, Year of the Edgar not realizing that I had not set it up with caching. Bad move. Its all set up now so hopefully I don’t get Felicia’d again. Or at least too badly.

Me thinks Felicia Day is drunk with power.