Observations
Here are a few things that I've noticed recently:
※arifyn may remember that when I was going to work for him, I saw at the airport that some bodybuilding magazine was censored by putting a plastic sheet in front of it. Well, at the Borders at Wabash Landing, all the Playboys, Penthouses, and so on are put in the back and plastic-wrapped so you can't read them without buying them. I don't know if the latter, as most of the video-game mags are wrapped, too, and Maxim is, but FHM isn't. But it's probably not proper that Heavy Metal was in the front row and unwrapped, as, upon cursory examination, it seems to have plenty of full-frontal nudity, sexual intercourse, and graphic violence (although all illustrated rather than photographed).
※The comment cards for Pizza Hut in Indiana are addressed to someone named "MR RICK OLIPHANT."
※I haven't mentioned before that I've been thinking: I'd like to see exceptions to the convention that in major fantasy franchises (Star Wars, D&D settings, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, etc.), "hew-mons" (or "Men" in the original fantasy setting) are the chief sentient species of established civilizations (although not always dominant, as seen in Dark Sun). The exceptions I'd noticed are children's media (the Tales from Redwall) and furry fandom (Ironclaw) and a few where humans are tied for the most powerful faction (Warcraft). However, while I was eating lunch today, it occured to me that this was not true for a lot of video games (Zelda no Densetsu, SUPER MARIO BROS., etc.). Of course, I haven't done very well fighting this pointless* phenomenon, as only one of my projects doesn't follow the same pattern. On the other hand, I have one that addresses other races' views of the infestation, and one that questions a version of normal human society from the viewpoint of an outsider. In fact, none of the main protagonists of my projects are the H. sapiens we know today, with the exceptions of the ones set on modern Earth.
*I have long ago observed that, other than childrens' media, series wherein the protagonists are not very human-looking (Hobbits/androids/vampires, perhaps, but not Orcs) just aren't counted in the mainstream. Part of it is undoubtedly the difficulty of relating to someone who has an alien appearance, but there's also the lack of broader sex appeal. That's why I discarded my old story about rats, for instance, and even the animal-descended races of Project Umbra are more like the beastfolk in ESCAFLOWNE than actual furries as in Slayers. Also, I've avoided the stereotypes-again, hearkening back to Tolkien-that inhuman or dark-skinned races are the "bad guys." (Even Sauron lost the ability to take a "fair" form after he was somewhat killed in the destruction of Númenor.) A lot of the stereotypes of usual fantasy settings are present for the dark elves, lizardmen, orcs, and so on in Project Artificer, but, once you get to know them, you see that human morality just doesn't explain them so conveniently.