Do the Sarkeesian Effect dudes — now in the midst of a painful and noisy breakup — not realize how ridiculous they look to the rest of us?
Ok, maybe that’s not the right question to ask. After all, we’re talking about Davis Aurini, a sort of low-budget Anton LaVey with a plastic-skull fetish who actually put this picture of himself on his website on purpose:
Meanwhile, Jordan Owen, his former partner in, er, “filmmaking” is a sort of human-bear hybrid who once recorded an hour-long pro-porn diatribe while sitting naked in his bathtub — and then, instead of taking a few minutes to ponder the choices he’s made in his life, he went and put that online.
At the moment, though, the human-bear hybrid is winning the public relations war, largely due to his strategy of not actually participating in it while his former partner spews out an assortment of accusations and insinuations and probably some other kinds of “ations” I don’t even know about.
Yesterday, Aurini — classy fellow that he is — posted an 8000 word log of two private Skype chats he’d had with Owen right before and right after Owen “fired” him from The Sarkeesian Effect. In the logs, Aurini vehemently defends the honor of his “colleague” Roosh V, whom Owen had criticized in a couple of charateristically loooong videos, and demands (among other things) that Owen retract his accusations that Roosh was unable to get laid in Denmark and Norway.
He also tries to convince Owen that he is having some sort of psychological meltdown and repeatedly accuses him of “hallucinating.” After posting the whole log, Aurini tells his readers that Owen is “a man deep in the grips of psychosis.”
Oh, and he tries to blackmail Owen into giving him half of the money left in the budget for the Sarkeesian Effect.
Aurini evidently thought that posting this log would make him look good.
I’ll let you be the judge of that. What follows are what I think are the Top 8 Most Cringeworthy Moments from the Aurini/Owen Chat Logs.
1) In a chat that happened a week before Owen “fired” Aurini, Aurini shows Owen the text of a message he sent to Roosh about Owen’s anti-Roosh video, urging Roosh to “have at” the man who was still at that point his “business partner.”
[2/22/2015 1:36:29 PM] Davis Aurini: I didn’t want you to post this video because I didn’t want you to have a panic attack as your idiocy was demonstrated by others; I need you semi-coherent to finish this documentary. But if you’re going to publicly shit the bed, then so be it. You deserve everything that’s coming to you. I sent the following email to Roosh:
My partner on this Sarkeesian venture decided to post an attack video on you, misconstruing an article of yours. I told him to take it down, mainly because he was making an ass of himself, but he decided that the highest value a man can subscribe to is calling out people on the Right and doing the Left’s work for them.
Link below. Please, have at ‘er. While I’m not going to publicly denounce my business partner, I look forward to seeing others point out the numerous flaws with his video.
2) Aurini, seemingly channeling the spirit of the Charles Boyer character in Gaslight, attempts to convince Owen that his negative impressions of Roosh are based on “hallucinations.”
[2/22/2015 2:09:32 PM] Davis Aurini: You stated that Roosh is spreading STDs; that is false and libelous.
[2/22/2015 2:09:55 PM] Davis Aurini: That is the hallucination; not your disgust, even though you’re making the most uncharitable interpretation possible.
[2/22/2015 2:10:24 PM] Jordan Owen: I’m being uncharitable when he defames all women everywhere and calls for limitations to be put on their freedom?
[2/22/2015 2:10:34 PM] Davis Aurini: You also seem to think that he couldn’t get laid in Denmark, and blamed the country for his own failings. I already explained to you why this is false, but you don’t remember it because you were hallucinating.
3) Aurini tries to convince Owen that he’s also “hallucinating” Roosh’s, let’s just say, extremely cavalier attitude toward STDs.
[2/22/2015 2:16:53 PM] Davis Aurini: You did hallucinate him spreading STDs.
[2/22/2015 2:17:06 PM] Davis Aurini: That’s outright false.
[2/22/2015 2:17:49 PM] Davis Aurini: It’s also actionable libel, though I doubt he’ll sue.
[2/22/2015 2:20:20 PM] Jordan Owen: Everything I was going off of is directly sourced to things that he’s written. He had nine years of unprotected sex without getting tested and openly stated that he didn’t care.
[2/22/2015 2:20:42 PM] Davis Aurini: And you make a leap to “He is intentionally spreading STDs”
[2/22/2015 2:21:22 PM] Jordan Owen: If he’s having unprotected sex with the full knowledge that he’s carrying something (as evidenced by his symptoms) then yes, he’s doing it intentionally.
[2/22/2015 2:21:44 PM] Davis Aurini: Facetious logic.
[2/22/2015 2:21:50 PM] Jordan Owen: It’s kind of like saying “well, I was randomly firing my gun into a crowd but I wasn’t INTENTIONALLY trying to hit anybody.”
[2/22/2015 2:21:53 PM] Davis Aurini: Yellow journalism
[2/22/2015 2:22:14 PM] Davis Aurini: You also think he didn’t get laid in Norway, despite the fact that he got laid in Norway, and explained how to get laid in Norway.
4) Aurini continues the gaslighting, as he tries to convince Owen that his dislike of Roosh is “irrational.”
[2/22/2015 2:24:58 PM] Davis Aurini: You had a panic attack when we discussed Roosh; you wished his parents had aborted him. This is Elliot Rogers logic. And you suggest that the calm and collected person is being irrational?
[2/22/2015 2:25:56 PM] Jordan Owen: Yes, it gave me tremendous anxiety to discuss him. But the “why” for that is tremendously valid.
[2/22/2015 2:26:29 PM] Davis Aurini: If you’re experiencing tremendous anxiety, that suggests that you’re not being rational.
[2/22/2015 2:26:48 PM] Jordan Owen: Well, I’m not experiencing anxiety now and I feel the same way.
[2/22/2015 2:27:00 PM] Davis Aurini: Do you currently believe false statements?
[2/22/2015 2:27:07 PM] Jordan Owen: No.
[2/22/2015 2:27:43 PM] Davis Aurini: So you realize that Roosh did get laid in Norway? And that he did not intentionally spread STDs?
5) At the end of this chat, which mostly consists of Aurini attacking Owen for his dislike of Roosh, Aurini says he doesn’t really care what Owen thinks about Roosh:
[2/23/2015 10:14:03 PM] Davis Aurini: … Listen Jordan, I honestly don’t care about what you think about Roosh (or vice versa for that matter) I just felt it was very poor timing, and insulting to those supporters of ours who came through my channel.
6) And then there’s the blackmail. After Owen “fires” him, Aurini gives him a counteroffer of sorts:
[3/2/2015 11:09:14 PM] Davis Aurini: We can do this clean or we can do it messy. We can both produce separate films and be polite; admitting that we have different views. Or we can do this messy. …
[3/2/2015 11:10:19 PM] Davis Aurini: Give me 50% of the money that we both asked for together, and we will part ways politely.
[3/2/2015 11:11:06 PM] Davis Aurini: The only reason I’m making this offer is because the ‘messy’ option is unseemly; it’s ammunition for the SJWs.
7) After acknowledging that, yes, he used several thousand dollars of the Sarkeesian Effect budget to buy himself a car, and trying to convince Owen that the real reason he’s moving to Las Vegas is to be “closer to Hollywood,” Aurini makes another counteroffer:
[3/2/2015 11:41:11 PM] Davis Aurini: 1.5k – we go forward together. 4k – we part amicably. 0 – I go public with the facts.
[3/2/2015 11:41:30 PM] Davis Aurini: That’s how honest businessmen deal.
8) But it turns out that Aurini is willing to haggle:
[12:01:53 AM] Jordan Owen: If you won’t consider my terms for severing ties then I have no reason to consider yours.
[12:02:01 AM] Davis Aurini: What terms are those?
[12:03:01 AM] Jordan Owen: What I offered- that I pay you for this month at the usual rate and give you credit in the film.
[12:03:50 AM] Davis Aurini: Make it 2.5; and I will be making my own film with a different title. I will also write a glowing review of what you’re doing, and explain it as differences in artistic direction with no animosity – and I will let you review it before I hit publish.
ETHICS!
ETHICS!!
ETHICS!!!!
H/T — @somegreybloke
I just saw the “Sirrus and Achenar” comment. It’s perfect! How did I not see it before? LMFAO!
I love that one of their biggest gripes against Anita is how she disabled comments on her videos, which is “censorship” according to them, but Aurini is more than happy to demand that a person take down the opinion they publish on their own website.
@Katz:
How very dare you! Even hinting at the possibility of the notion that perhaps Brad Dourif, who gave this:
masterpiece of subtlety and drama, might be just a tad on the hammy side! You take that back, you fiend!
Agreed.
@Lea
People who are extremely angry at what they think Sarkeesian is saying(Death to video games! Too many men in games! More straw feminism!) and are so angry that they don’t want to “reward” her by actually seeing for themselves.
This part made me laugh, where Aurini responds to Owen’s claim that Roosh “couldn’t get laid in Denmark”:
Umm, yeah. Sarcastic and unpleasant. So, let’s see, Roosh goes up to a woman in Denmark with his usual game: “Hey baby. Wanna go back to your place and get raped? And before you answer that, keep in mind that if we’re in your home it’s not actually rape. Oh and also, girls love being raped, amirite?”
Yeah, I can see how that could make her seem sarcastic and unpleasant in her response. As for ugly – well, that’s what they always call women who reject them, isn’t it?
Who moves to Las Vegas to be closer to Hollywood? I’m guessing that Aruni really moved to LV to further his career as a “professional” PUA like Roosh and hopefully spin that off into some kind of money making scheme (“Bang Vegas?”). Las Vegas seems to be a mecca for those kind of douches.
This is why this site needs to exist. It’s absolutely bloody hilarious – thank you for bringing it to us through the frame of satire!
Hmm, may have misread your comment, Katz, thus making my lovely bit of hyperbolic fanboyism a tad non-sequitor-ish… Dang. I need to read better.
Maybe he can call her ‘Betty’ and dance with her.
(Yes, that was a Ranma 1/2 reference. Though admittedly Betty was at least a full skeleton.)
Easy. Look at him. He’s so personally invested in “game” working that Jordon suggesting Roosh is a a pile of crap and so is the “game” he pretends works puts him on the defensive. He then proceeds to try to “game” Jordon and fails. Now he’s trying the nut, slut and shut method of denial on a man. He’s crazy and has the wrong amount of sex for his gender so he should be disregarded and degraded. Classic misogynist tactics. That and looking like a douche are the only things wannabe LeVay knows.
I wonder how Jordon finds being on the receiving end this time? He laid down with dogs and it looks like he caught some fleas.
Spot on, Lea.
@kirbywarp, katz, and A Hermit: Yay Myst fandom! Not very big or widespread, yet so delightful and devoted <3
And yay Obduction! Very excited about that!
I liked the story of Myst IV all right, and even the Big Bad Retcon wasn't so bad– even if it sorta robs the emotional impact of Atrus' actions at the end of the first game. Really, the biggest issue I had with IV (and III too) was the creators not realizing that acting has never been Myst's strong point, and there's a reason the live-action cutscenes are sparse in the early games. The last thing you want to put in a Myst game is a magic necklace with the power of cutscenes.
That being said, Savvedro is the best. Nobody "no"s better than he does 🙂
No, I was indeed insinuating that the Myst franchise may contain a slice of ham.
You know, I’ll go to bat for big acting. I’m a big fan of silent films, and they gave us this guy.
All hail Rudolf Klein-Rogge’s eyebrow of power.
The thing is, no acting is actually like the way people really behave. (Everyone has perfect diction, for starters.) It’s always a representation. So once you accept the paradigm that the acting is going to be big, with those exaggerated gestures and facial expressions and tones of voice, it still hits the emotional beats the way it should. I think Saavedro is a great character and I think he’s very effectively conveyed.
After lurking for three years, I gotta say, it’s nice to see that there’s levels. Watching Owen be something like reasonable almost makes me sympathize with him.
Almost.
“What a bag of shitty half-melted plastic dildos.” -@ParadoxicalIntention
I present you with a Golden Interweb Award for Most Evocative Metaphorical Description of a Troll. It comes with a WoW gold stipend!
Back when I was a member of a touring choir, our director used to be fairly specific on diction. We had one practice song that was nothing but a silly diction test.
But what I specifically remember was the director talking about particular consonants that you had to slightly emphasize or de-emphasize when singing. An ‘r’ at the end of a word, specifically, was something you had to play down when singing in a choir, because otherwise it would sound like you were actively playing it up. Short, sharp consonants like ‘t’ tend to be diffused in a choir because the people singing don’t hit it at exactly the same moment, while longer consonants like ‘r’ can get stronger from the overlap (especially at the end of a word on a held note).
You get similar rules for acting, especially on stage: you have to slightly tweak your diction away from ‘normal’ to handle speaking out to the back of the theatre.
Jordan Owen: I’m being uncharitable when he defames all women everywhere and calls for limitations to be put on their freedom?
Whoa. Empathy for women? It’s like he’s so close to being a normal rational human but is just too dedicated to being a douchebag to back away now.
@Swales:
Makes me wonder why he was never part of those “no” compilation youtube videos. He’d be great!
I can’t even remember if I’ve actually said this too many times or if I just remember almost typing it and then removing it, but I loved Savvedro so much. He hit practically every scene perfectly in my opinion, and even in the final moments where one could argue the dialogue got a little odd, he still managed to pull it off. <3
IV was the one where I really noticed what I assume was the effect of the publisher on the series. Ubisoft is a big company, and the game noticeably shied towards things that would have more mass appeal; cut scenes, clearer villains, etc.
Or maybe they thought they could recreate Savvedro's magic? I dunno…
Luckily it was the last game in the series.
…
Yes, it was in fact the last game of the series, despite what you may have heard of or played to the contrary.
It was the early 2000s, the era of the gratuitous cutscene. I’m looking at you, Neverwinter Nights.
I am also very close to leaving a comment along the lines off “You are better off without Aurini. He’s a slimeball” underneath one of Owen’s videos. And I wouldn’t feel guilty about it, because I would be denouncing Aurini (Yay!) and giving Owen some positive reinforcement for a smart opinion (concerning Aurine and Roosh, anyway.)
But then I’d have to sift through his videos so that I didn’t inadvertently support one of his crap opinions. One of the ones denouncing Roosh should work, but I’d still have to watch it. And if anyone clicked on my name they would see that I also follow Feminist Frequency, something Owen himself would resent me for.
Huh. Why do misogynists have to make supporting even their good decisions so hard?
Myst fans! Yay! Okay, I’ve only played the first three, and only finished the first and third. But I liked the first enough that I play it with my preschooler on a regular basis. I tried to recreate the island in a Skyrim mod, but the lack of rocketship models in a game about Viking analogs was a bit of a setback. And so was my inability to get a decent teleport script to work.
Wow, that is incredibly gross and gaslighty. Dude, just stop. I’m not a big fan of Owen, but nobody should get treated like that.
RE: katz
We played Myst and Riven all the way through! We actually only needed assistance from walkthroughs once for each game too, which I feel inordinately proud of. That said, we decided to quit after Riven; it was head-bangy enough that we lost patience.
For anyone aching for more Mysty goodness, I recommend Zork: Nemesis. Very similar feel, lots of fun, and there were fewer, “Oh COME ON” moments.
LMAO! So many ethics, so little time…
This is fantastic. The mockumentary that makes itself.
And isn’t it just deliciously ironic that Owen sounds calm and reasonable in this exchange (go figure), while Aurini, who seems completely off his rocker, keeps accusing him of being delusional and such, and releases this convo in order to prove it.
You can’t make this stuff up.
“Roosh couldn’t get laid in Denmark, that’s why he wrote Don’t Bang Denmark (in reality he just found the women to be ugly, sarcastic, and unpleasant).” or AKA he couldn’t get laid in Denmark. Lol! So much comedy gold in these lines!!
Are grapes especially sour in Denmark?