I've seen some pagan groups that are so anti-male that it made my flesh creep.

Gosh, yes. "Uh, balance of nature here, folks, Mother Nature approves of the male-female thing. Your Dianic thing is a just a tad off balance."

When I was a teenager, my mother (probably talking about TV, but maybe something else, I disremember) once said to me, "If something is becoming more important than people, the something is likely a problem, and you have to re-prioritize." I don't think that's wrong, even if I try to put all my religious ideas aside in some box, while I consider it.

This is excellent advice. My mother never put it into words as yours did, but I still learned it from her life. And from my dad I learned that I can think in principles, patterns and abstractions, and still live that lesson.

And then there are the pagan groups that take the male-female balance issue so far they fall as deep into homophobia as any far-right Christians you can name.

In conclusion: sometimes people who suck back up their suckiness with misguided religious fervor, which makes them suck even more.

Pity my old-school ways, my first thought was "What's wrong with Dungeons & Dragons? Get some buddies around the table and have at it." It took two reads to figure out that computer games were what was wanted.

Yeah, ditto. I'm afraid I don't do much computer-based RPG. For me D&D is first and foremost a social activity, otherwise known as an Opportunity to Snark; and I go for doing that in person.

When I was a teenager, my mother (probably talking about TV, but maybe something else, I disremember) once said to me, "If something is becoming more important than people, the something is likely a problem, and you have to re-prioritize."

This seems like a good litmus test for a lot of things, from religion, to political agendas, to urban planning.

Anyone know of a decent turn-based RPG that I could get? I'm stuck playing games that are knocking on for 10 years old, and I don't really like the real-time format, because I can't watch telly and play at the same time without pausing the whole game. All I can really find through google are articles about how the format is dying, and that's not really much help.

There are the various Black Isle games. Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Icewind Dale II, and Planescape Torment. Baldur's Gate II is probably the best of the bunch IMO. All are technically real-time, but can be configured to play sufficently like turn based. Plus they are all cheap nowadays.

I think the original article took far too simplistic a view of human sexuality and human emotions w/r/t relationships/sex. After I see a chick flick, I *don't* go home to my cats and ice cream and feel more lonely than ever. And it's simplistic to imply that women do that.

t nods That article none-too-subtly implied that traditionally male escapist fantasies like action and horror are OK, but female fantasies are dangerous, with all that emphasis on love and romance. While it's possible that I'm reading it too much through the lens of my collegiate experience, I do think they're condemning all romance, chick lit, chick flicks, etc. And IIRC that website is an affiliate of Focus on the Family, which I certainly wish I could call a fringe group, but given their influence and reach, I really can't.

I don't think their views have reached the everyday people in the pews yet--there you still have a wide range of views, with probably more people like Cindy or like the other altos in my choir who think it's cool that I'm writing a romance novel. But it still scares and infuriates me that they're trying.

For me D&D is first and foremost a social activity, otherwise known as an Opportunity to Snark; and I go for doing that in person.

The social aspect was definitely the best part. I tended to modify the rules to make things less tactical.

I don't blame you. Bleah. Maybe you get everlasting life that way. Maybe it just *feels* like forever.

good luck giving away your blood maidengurl -- and nice to see you around.

I thik the tone from the article that article was very much if you do A than B will happen ( like Steph said, but boht ways- if you see female porn bad things happen - if you don't, good thing happen) . Cindy's discussion was much more interesting. But I thought the whole thing was odd more because it sounded like it was adressing people that weren't really interested in such things anayway. If you watch such thing , and have a real view of things - it won't have anyeffect. If you have a problem , there's nothing to help you face the problem . and there didn't seem to be any indication of how to help your teenage daughter with unrealistic expectations . In otherwords, it didn't really have much more than a scolding point.

and I am typeing this before I am coherent.