Halo 4: Cortana the Naked

I know I'm late to this party, but I just finished the campaign story for Halo 4.

I loved almost everything about it. But one thing threw me. Every time the A.I. Cortana materialized as an anatomically correct woman wearing no clothing, I lost the thread of the scene as I goggled.

I find it curious that 343 studios would decide to sexualize Cortana by ripping off her modesty. Previous versions of Cortana were unclothed, but weren't naked, AND managed to portray a "real" character with just voice acting and good writing. Why the switch to soft porn? 

Were they trying to make her more vulnerable? Maybe. Cortana was a central character of the story, and one who is failing as her A.I. brilliance burns 10 times as bright, but 10 times as short . . . But it sort of comes across as exploitation. Yes, even though she's not a real person. 

Honestly, I'm not sure where I come down on this. But it was something that threw me out of the story each time she appeared. 

What do you think?

XBOX Stream of Consciousness

My XBOX 360 displayed the three blinking red lights of doom on Dec 25th. Hardware failure.

The silver lining to this sad story of failed holiday bliss is that Microsoft has extended a 3 year warranty for all devices that exhibit this particular failure. So I'm covered. This is the second time a 360 has failed me.

I guess I'll have to do something constructive with the time I had set aside to practice my battle rifle skills in Halo 3. Like, work on a 2nd draft and exercise, maybe. I've been eating too many molasses chips and pieces of peppermint bark. I've fallen off the fitness/good-eating wagon, and now I need to climb back on. The sugar really nails me, but when I get a bite, I can't stop. I know, as soon as I finish off all the goodies in the house, I won't have anything left to tempt me . . .

Yeah, that's good thinking, Bruce! It's when I wrestle with food that I become particularly convinced that consciousness is a synthesis of personality fragments. To ourselves, it feels like we're whole people with a unified mind, but nope. We're a collection of competing ideas and needs, and getting a handle on those rooted in the deepest part of the brain is a battle that is never won.