Disgusting...Or Efficient?

  Hello, again! This will hopefully be the first of a series of debates on 'misunderstandings'. Allow me to introduce the second (my first was video game age ratings) of my many nemeses:
  Society.
  Society isn't exactly evil. Truthfully, it shouldn't even be considered a nemesis. But I can't help it. Society has done some great things, yes, but those great accomplishments cannot outweigh the dumb things society has done. One of those things would be the use of the term disgusting.
  Now, don't stop reading when you read this, but...do you think nose-picking is nasty? Be honest. You do, don't you? You can't help it. Why? Because society has you believing that. You no doubt grew up around everyday people and lived/are living an everyday life, and the fact that society is everyday life and people there's nothing society can't get you to do. For example: In general, guys don't hit girls. Society has it that way. It's embarrassing or 'weird' when a guy does girl stuff but not entirely when a girl does guy stuff. Society has influenced this as well. A cheeseburger meal comes with french fries. You think that's the 'way of the world'? No! It's just stinkin' society! If someone were to start serving goat toes with burgers and somehow convinced the world that this was okay, then all of a sudden EVERYBODY started doing, guess what? It would become normal. That's how society works. It isn't an object,  a he or a she, you can't fight it. 'It' gets individuals to do and eventually adapt to things that keep the world in order. Why not eat goat toes with your burger? Why not eat them at all? Ask society. Society is too big. One day someone will find a way to affect society with the click of a button, but until then, as long as MY generation goes, you can't affect society unless you're a song, a very powerful and influential speaker, a car,  or a cat. That's how it is, folks.
  Now, my main main point...nose-picking. Think in terms of society. It's disgusting. Sticking your FINGER in your NOSE?! Come on, dude! That's terrible!
  Now...think in terms of humanity. What are we good at, people? Adapting. We always have and always will adapt. Pollution? Trash cans and flame-throwers. Stupidity? Public schools (I guess). Hunger? Food (not everyone has it. May Allah help them). Fatness? Gyms. We got it all. All it takes is one of us to figure out a sensible, reliable, efficient solution to any...mind the irony...social problem we face. When we saw how bored we were, we made an efficient solution: books and TV. You can do either of those things for hours. Boredom conquered.
  So what's wrong with...picking your nose. Well, you and until now I know the answer to that. Yes, picking your nose in the presence of someone else is disgusting.
  Or is it?
  When you catch someone picking your nose, you say things like "eeeeeeeeeewwww" and "gross!". Well, if you're still a toddler anyway. What sensible people affected by society would say is:
  "Get a tissue!"
  Why?!
  We talked about this. We adapt in ways to make lifestyle more efficient. When you feel 'him' in your nose, your first impulse is and should always be to stick in your finger in your nostril. This was humanity's first attempt. The finger is a thin, prehensile appendage attached to the end of your hand, which in turn is attached to your wrist. There. Do I even have to spell out all the joints and points of movement you're working with here?! You've got your finger, thin enough to fit into your nostril, long enough to go deep inside, and flexible enough to hook around edges and unreachable surfaces found inside your nose. 'He' will be out in no time! And if the finger needs help, guess what? You've got your wrist available to jerk this way and that and into different positions and sharp movements. You've got an arsenal!
  Why should we listen to society? Society wants us to 'get a tissue' and hook it around our fingers, cutting off all of the flexibility at your disposal. Blowing your nose won't help. either, because 'he' is a little sticky. Don't be blind to the truth, ladies and gentlemen, you can wash your hand later. Instead of a tissue box, why not have that for blowing your nose and a smaller container or trashcan maybe to just...dispose of 'him' once you're finished?

You are the sniper, the rifle is your finger, and 'he' is your enemy. One shot one kill, eh?

  Be efficient. That's all I'm saying.

  That's it. Post in the comments whether YOU believe:

  

  A.Nose-picking is disgusting.

  B. Nose-picking is efficient.

  C. Nose-picking is both, of course, gross but also very effective.

  Until next we meet.

  

  P.S.: 'He' is the booger. But you all knew that.  

  

  

Wrong Age Ratings on Video Games

  This will be my first post, and I hope it turns out okay.
  One main problem I have in my life, besides all of the other important problems, would be video games and their age ratings. I'm still at the age in life where your parents won't allow you to have a game that has too much 'adult content', and i completely respect that. I don't think they'd approve of my ten-year-old brother trying out Mortal Kombat Fatalities at school. I can also respect the need for video games with adult level age ratings. Everybody's gotta play video games, right? Imagine how mad  people would be if the excitement in a game never exceeded Mario Kart or Fruit Ninja. You need to have games for everybody, and that's what the great men and women of the video game industry are trying to accomplish. If you want to play video games, you need a video game that you can and will play.
  So why on earth do they let the wrong people give out the age ratings?!
  Okay, I'm exaggerating, they're not the wrong people. They are actually fair with their age ratings. But someone unlike me, someone who can play any game he/she wants, would never notice that some age ratings are just...wow.
  My main focus will be the companies ESRB and PEGI. When it comes to the age rating of a game, you look to the back of the case, and there you'll find the fat stamps of those either one of those two (depending on where you live) displaying how freakin' old you should be to be allowed to play this game. Maybe they are trying to protect our young generation and shield them from adult content. Or maybe they're just trying to make you throw the game at the wall of the store as hard as you can when you realize you're SIXTEEN and ya just have to be SEVENTEEN to buy it. Who knows?
  Let's start with ESRB, since they deserve that much. I owe it to them. I knew them before I knew PEGI.   
  One beautiful morning nine-year-old me skips into Game Stop praying that Lego Batman will be 'age appropriate'. Heart thumping and hands sweating, I slowly pick up the game, smile wide at Batman and Robin on the cover, and flip it over.
  Guess what?
  It's rated Everyone...TEN AND UP!!!!
  What the butt does that even mean?!?! Does that signify that everyone can play the game...but you must be ten years or older? Why?
  Now, the specification in the rating might be for an important reason. What have we here on a Lego game? Cartoon Violence (Cartoon Violence?). Okay, cool. You have to be 10 to see Batman punch somebody. Understandable.

  How do you get that wrong? Is there a social or biological problem with a nine-year-old punching bad guys...made of plastic? This is a child's game. It was meant for children to play. Any person sick enough to deprive a nine-year-old (with strict parents) the RIGHT to enjoy Lego Batman: The Video Game just because he's not TEN should not be allowed to call himself/herself human. That is very evil. What, are you trying to make preteens world-wide cry?

Guess who the nine-year-old is?

  

  Thanks, ESRB. You did a fantastic job. I almost don't want to mention the obvious fact that everyone knows about game rating companies:

  Did any of you play the game? Let me repeat that for you: Did any of you, the people who are meant to give people information about the game, play the game?

  Huh?!

  And are there any levels of 'violence'? When ESRB puts 'violence' in the category of a game's features, they do specify it, right? Okay, my guess is 'Cartoon Violence' means nothing major: There's no blood, there's no bone cracking or jaw breaking. Heck, a normal punch will make funny sounds instead of the usual thump. A nine-year-old can be exposed to this, I'm sure. Even an eight or a seven year old. Nobody shuts off a TV set when they find their seven year old son/daughter watching Tom & Jerry beat the crap out of each other. My point here is, if you're gonna give a game a specific age rating in which everyone above that age rating can play, give a reason that makes sense. Here's an example: A seven-year-old might have trouble understanding certain concepts in the game, like puzzle solving or the game story in general. How about putting 'Mediocre Puzzle Solving' on the back of the game instead? There, your child might not have fun playing it because he/she won't be able to solve the not-hard-for-a-ten-year-old puzzles. Fair enough?

  There are not only downsides to these mistakes in age ratings. Let's head over to PEGI and see how they rate games. PEGI rates games much like ESRB: a system of symbols or words that illustrate what the game will contain and the overall age appropriateness in terms of that content. Now, Batman: Arkham City was (still is) a huge hit, and ESRB got it right: Some drug and alcohol reference, mild language, suggestive themes, and our good ol' pal violence. That about sums it up (they forgot o add 'awesome'. I loved this game!) Okay, cool, so how about the other 'respected' age-rating company? What did PEGI 'peg' on the back of Batman: Arkham City? 

  Violence.

  

  What?! Violence ONLY?! PEGI has a LOT of symbols that show content. They got stuff like 'fear', 'drugs', 'gambling', 'language'. So imagine my surprise when I compare the game's content, after finishing it of course, to what our friends PEGI said about the content. Know what I found? A lot of stuff freakin' PEGI didn't mention besides violence! How can you say there's no language in the game? Even if you didn't play (Which we know you didn't), the game takes place in a freakin' PRISON! Think for a minute.

  Anyway, overall, here's what I think would be an amazing idea. You know those little events where you choose someone to test a game? Let THAT guy rate it. 'Cause guess what, PEGI and ESRB? He played it.

  Until next we meet.