A quick little refresher for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about: Minecraft is essentially a grown-up version of Lego. It's a game with no real set goals, objectives or motivations, other than creating something out of nothing. You mine elements from the ground, combine them into new elements, and with that you build whatever you can think of. And there are, like, zombies and skeletons and exploding monster things, too, because come on, what's a video game without exploding monster things?

Anyway, in a post on Minecraft creator's Markus "Notch" Persson's tumblr page, Notch explains how he consciously made a decision that every living thing in the game would be neither male or female, and that any living thing can reproduce with any other member of the same species, which technically makes everything in the game intersex and homosexual.

The human model is intended to represent a Human Being. Not a male Human Being or a female Human Being, but simply a Human Being. The blocky shape gives it a bit of a traditional masculine look, but adding a separate female mesh would just make it worse by having one specific model for female Human Beings and male ones. That would force players to make decisions about gender in a game where gender doesn’t even exist. 

All the other mobs in the game are genderless and usually exhibit the most prominent traits of both genders. Cows have horns and udders (even if I’ve later learned that there are some cows where the females do have horns), and the chicken/duck/whatevers have heads that look like roosters, but still lay eggs. For breeding, any animal can breed with any other animal of the same species. 

Obviously, I’m not saying this is a good way to deal with gender in all games, as the better your graphics are, and because of how quickly the human mind tries to identify the gender of other humans, you are going to have to make a decision as a developer about gender, but I felt we could get away with it in Minecraft. 

There’s no point to this post. I just wanted to clarify, so there’s an official word on it. Also, as a fun side fact, it means every character and animal in Minecraft is homosexual because there’s only one gender to choose from. Take THAT, homophobes! 

Personally, I think it's kind of nifty that he created the game with the intent of completely removing any and all labels from his characters. Your character is simply a cute little avatar who punches cubes of rock out of the ground and fights skeletons, and anything else is simply a matter of how you want to be seen. And if you haven't actually played Minecraft yet: seriously, it is like bonkers addictive, so only go for it if you happen to have a ton of free time handy. 

Meet Lana Wachowski.

Along with her brother, Andy Wachowski, she's responsible for movies like The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta and the upcoming Cloud Atlas. And now, after years of speculation, Lana has finally come out as a trans woman, making her the first major Hollywood director to do so.

Lana, formerly known as Larry, has been transitioning from a man to a woman for years now, the Post also reported. This new clip for "Cloud Atlas," starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, appears to be her first public appearance since transitioning. In the trailer, Lana introduces the film with her brother, Andy Wachowski, and director Tom Tykwer. (From HuffPo)

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Lana completed her reassignment surgery back in 2008 after finishing production on Speed Racer, which -- yes, Speed Racer; that movie existed -- which makes this the first time Lana has opened up about her transition. And honestly, good for her for officially coming out! It's nice to see some trans-folk visibility working in a creative field, especially when they have the kind of talent that makes The Matrix happen.

That being said, the pink dreadlocks . . . I'm not the biggest fan of dreadlocks, but if you're comfortable, run with it. 

 

 

Earning the moral high ground against Chris Brown isn't exactly all that hard, considering the guy is a fucking wife-beater, and -- actually, you know what? That wasn't fair. He was never married to Rihanna; I should have called him a "girlfriend-beater." I'm sorry. He was charged with felony assault is what I'm saying.

But in case you were worried his general awfulness as a human being is strictly limited to abusing women he's dating, no! There's so much more! He's also totally homophobic, as he demonstrated in his response to Frank Ocean's coming out. And in case you're wondering: why yes, Chris Brown does display all the tact and grace of an erection at a funeral home.

While leaving Gotha nightclub in Cannes, Chris Brown had some choice words for a paparazzi who asked him about R&B Crooner Frank Ocean. While entering his vehicle Chris was asked about Frank Ocean, to which Brown responded “Man, no homo!” The phrase “no homo” has been immortalized in hip hop culture meaning a rejection of anything that could be deemed as homosexual. Ocean recently informed his fans that he was gay which has since shook [sic] the Hip Hop community making Ocean and [sic] polarized figure. (via PRLog)

And from NewNowNext comes this video of Chris Brown's cousins being sent to chase down Frank Ocean. Yeah, I know, what a lovely little peach this Chris Brown fella must be. A rational and mature person like him must be extra super special talented and everything. 

 

 

Sometimes, people ask me why I go after Rob Ford as often as I do. Look, in another life, Rob Ford would probably be a tolerable idiot rather than a lightning rod of dick jokes, but simply put, he makes my job here way too easy. Like, if a fish jumped in some beer batter and threw itself into a vat of hot grease and with its dying words screeched, "I GO GREAT WITH SOME FRESH LEMON AND TARTAR SAUCE! TAAAAARRRRRTAAAAAAARRRRRR SAUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!!!" you'd be hard pressed not to take a bite.

Rob Ford is that delicious metaphorical fish.

Don't believe me? Look at this photo:

That's Rob Ford with a neo-Nazi. A neo-Nazi in full uniform. This isn't a funny little flub or just an over-estimation of his own esteem; this is our mayor posing with a neo-Nazi. Here's the excuse:

The picture was posted under a Facebook profile with Latvis’ name with the caption, “Me meeting with Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford to get an endorsement for the Latvian Homeguard — at Toronto City Hall.” George Christopoulos, Ford’s press secretary, says the mayor met up to 750 people during the New Year’s Levee, some of whom posed for photographs and in no way endorsed anything. “At no time was the Mayor aware of allegations that this individual had made racist, hateful or otherwise offensive comments, nor were any such comments made during his meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Ford is a strong supporter of Toronto’s Jewish community and strongly deplores anti-Semitism in any form,” he said in a statement. (From the National Post) 

Democracy in action, folks. We're stuck with him. 

 

If there's one thing I will geek out about on this blog -- other than fried chicken and felt puppets -- it's RuPaul's Drag Race, or as I call it, Sweet Delicious Manna from the Invisible Bearded Giant in the Clouds. Anyway, the new All Stars season is starting soon, and the cast list has been revealed in a teaser trailer from Logo. Who are the returning queens? Well, after much careful analysis, I've more or less nailed down the cast based on the teaser. I've split my guesses up between "definitely," "probably" and "complete stab in the dark." First, the trailer:

Definitely

Pandora Boxx - She was actually the first queen officially announced for the show (she came in second in the fan vote and was sworn in after Sharon Needles volunteered to forgo the season out of fairness), so this one's kind of a gimme. Plus, she's kind of the best queen ever on the show, so YAY! 

Latrice Royale - Look, we all knew Latrice was coming back, and there's really no one else who can pull off this look. Plus, it's been forever since we've heard that infectious scream-laugh of hers, so it's about time we got more of her.

Alexis Mateo - Sadly, she's probably one of the lesser-known queens to ever make it to the top three, but despite her look being just a tad too regional, she's a fierce fucking lip-syncher, and she's actually a lot of fun. 

Raven - She's been a mainstay on Drag U, and people love her, even if she is a total bitch. Actually, that's the reason I love her to begin with. The lips are a dead giveaway, and the general look -- skin-tight bodysuits -- are just an added "D'uh" on top of that.

Shannel - In a perfect world, Shannel would have been in the top three back in Season 1. But fate is a cruel mistress, and Rebecca Glasscock is awful, so she didn't make the cut. But she's back and rightfully so! Honestly, this one's tough to see at first, but once you figure out it's Shannel, the blacklight look makes total sense.

Yara Sofia - Yara is one of those queens whose style of drag is so uniquely her own that it's impossible to miss her. The only reason she wasn't in the top three back in Season 3 was because she basically had a full-blown meltdown onstage, which was just . . . oy vey, that hurt to watch. But she's back for redemption! Wee!

Probably

Jujubee - This one is a testament to how perceptive Drag Race fans are: there's absolutely nothing about this hint that would suggest any of the queens on the show. But then someone noticed the tiny gap in her teeth and realized it was Jujubee. That's right: they figured out one of the clues using dental records. That's some CSI shit right there. Honestly, I don't really see it, but it's probably her.

Mimi Imfurst - Out of all the queens, Mimi was actually the one who lasted the shortest amount of time on the show, getting herself ousted after she picked up India Ferrah during a lip-sync and carried her onstage. That being said, she did surprisingly well in the fan vote, and considering she's the only queen to match the size of this blacklight hint, Mimi is most likely coming back for a second shot.

 

Morgan McMichaels - At first, I thought this one was Tammie Brown based on the lipstick. That being said, based on the aesthetic, the square jaw and the biceps, I'm wont to believe this is Morgan. I won't rule out Tammie, but those guns are Morgan all the way.

Nina Flowers - Or as I like to call her, "the queen who should have won Season 1 because Bebe was fucking boring as hell." To be honest, this one was hard to make out because the blacklight doesn't really show much in the way of makeup, but something about the punk-rock look suggests Nina.

Phi Phi O'Hara - I know, I know, I used to call her That Bitch Phi Phi, but apparently, she's eaten her slice of humble pie after seeing herself on the show. Anyway, I'm guessing this is Phi Phi (although some people are saying it's Chad Michaels), based on the facial structure, as well as the sort of mainstream drag vibe she's throwing off.

Complete Stab in the Dark

Manila Luzon - No, seriously, who the fuck is this? I honestly can't tell heads from tails on this one, but the internet is guessing Manila, soooooo . . . congrats, maybe Manila? You're back I think? Woo for you.