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Line 1: − + − + − In many species, [[female]]s will only mate with [[male]]s who come to them bearing gifts. Males who don't deliver the goods are rejected, and males bearing small gifts may only be given a short time in which to [[copulate]]. + − + − In the case of balloon flies, the male offers the female a large white balloon. Original research was carried out on this by Kessel in 1955<ref>Kessel, E. L. 1955. The Mating Habits of Balloon Flies. (Diptera: Empididae). Syst. Zool. 4: 97-104.</ref>+ − + − Like many [[evolution]]ary sequences, this ritual seems to have become more complex over evolutionary time. Other species of the same family of dance flies, the ''Empiidae'', to which the balloon family belongs, display mating behaviours that seem to point in the direction of the behaviour shown by the balloon fly. + − + − Some [[species]] mate in a haphazard manner – males approach females, who sometimes mistake them for [[prey]] rather than potential mates and eat them – the ‘pick her up in the pub and risk getting your face slapped’ approach.+ − + − Other species avoid this hazard by distracting the female by offering her a prey item and then mating with her while she is consuming her meal – the ‘take a bottle of wine to her house while she cooks you dinner’ approach.+ − + − Some members of the species ''Hilara'' wrap the prey item in [[silk]]en threads in order to subdue it before presenting it to the female – the ‘take her out for a slap-up meal’ approach.+ − + − More advanced members of the species ''Hilara'' create a complex silken balloon that is either empty or contains a piece of vegetation - the balloon itself becoming more important as a signal of courtship – the ‘give her expensive gifts’ approach (because the creation of the silken balloons takes it out of the male balloon fly, reproductively speaking, as it consumes a lot of energy). + − + − Males can lose a lot of their mass in producing these gifts. Thus the presentation of the silk balloon is the reproductive equivalent of the ‘max out your credit card on her’ approach.+ − + − The balloon fly species ''Hilara sartor'' feeds on nectar, so the actual presentation of prey would be no use to the female. However, as a culmination of this sequence of evolutionary events, the presentation of the carefully woven (but empty) balloon is a species recognition cue. <ref> http://www.holycross.edu/departments/biology/whealy/notes_text/c.text</ref> <ref>http://galliform.bhs.mq.edu.au/PSY_324/week_10/outline.html</ref>+ − + − The University of Winnipeg's website makes a very good analogy:+ − + − <blockquote>+ − The ritual has evolved into bringing something that was once associated with food. It is as if, over evolutionary time, a suitor wooed a lady with diamonds, then with a box containing diamonds and finally with an empty box.+ − </blockquote> + − + − + − <references/>+ − + − [[Category:Insects]]+
no edit summary
'''Balloon flies''' are members of the species ''Hilara'', who have evolved a complex [[mating ritual]] involving the giving of a large white balloon as a [[gift]].
'''Final Fantasy VII''' is a best selling RPG for the Sony Playstation. Despite being a best seller the game is filled with highly offensive material. For one it features a hockey team named the AVALANCHE who are also a terrorist group. They blow up a coal power plant but justify it by saying they are helping the environment. The game is also filled with profanity especially from Cid and Barrett (who bears a strong resemblence to Mr. T). The game was also critcized harshly because of the sexual liasons of the main character Cloud Strife. He has relations with three girls in the course of the game including a 16 year old Japenese girl named Yuffie.
==Characters==
===Cloud===
The main protagonist of the game. Once a member of the US marines, now heads an eco-terrorist group called Avalanche
===Barrett (aka Mr. T)===
An African-American man who is second in command in Avalanche to Cloud. Has an adopted white daughter named Marlene. Shows love and affection to her, one of the few redeeming qualities of this highly offensive game.
===Tifa===
Cloud's gf from his childhood. Flashbacks show Tifa and Cloud engaging in sexual acts as early as age 12. This part of the game as been highly criticized
===Aeris===
Another one of Cloud's love interests. Cloud steals Aeris' virginity. To be fair though, Cloud does show genuine affection towards her and becomes extremely upset when she is brutally murdered by Sephiroth.
===Cid Jefferson===
Owner of the Jefferson Airplane, an aircraft you can use to fly all over the world. Joins your group after he is offered a night with Yuffie and a 12 pack of Blue.
===Vince the Pince===
A mysterious man who has been locked in the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim for 30 years. He has been crygenically frozen so he still resembes a 27 year old man. Shoots people with his Colt 45.
===Cait Sith===
A puppett controlled by a 40 year old virgin who works in an office in Midgar. Turns out to be a mole for Shinra but later joins the cause of AVALANCHE
===Yuffie Kisagari===
An attractive Japenese teenager. She has a passionate affair with Cloud Strife and also has relations with Cid (she only slept with Cid so the crew would get access to the Jefferson Airplane). She was kidnapped and molested by Don Corleone in Tokyo but was rescued before Corleone could have intercourse with her.]
===Red CXIX===
Cloud's pet dog. A loyal companion with a gentle temperment, Red is probably the most moral individual in the game (sad to say because he is not even human). He shows affection to all he meets especially children.
===Sephiroth===
A highly dangerous psychopath with superhuman strength. He is also a leader of a dangerous cult known as Jenova's Witnesses. He is the main antagonist of the game and brutally murders Aeris in the Canadian Rockies.
==Criticisms==
Although from a commercial standpoint Final Fantasy VII was highly successful, it has been criticized by a variety of both liberal and conservative groups including Christian groups, women's groups, and minority groups.
===Christian Criticisms===
Although the game does not mock Christianity or make any references to God or Jesus, the game does violate Christian values. On one hand, Cloud does show genuine affection to his friends and lovers and Barrett is shown to have a good relationship to his daughter but the game is fraught with moral relativism. The protagonists of the game are eco-terrorists who although their cause may be noble, their methods are brutal and repugnant and their actions kill innocent civilians. Although their renounce terror later in the game, this does not excuse their actions. Also sex is trivalized in the game. Instead of being the ultimate act of intimacy between a man and his wife; Cloud has relations with three unmarried young women, one of whom is still a teenager. Although the acts were depicted as consensual, this does not send a good message to young impressionable children and teens.
==References==
===Women's Rights Group Criticisms===
Ironically, many women's rights groups share some of the same complaints as Christian groups. Despite often being at odds with each other, feminists and Christians find some common ground in their opposition to this game. Women's groups find the way sex is trivalized to be highly offensive as well as the fact that the girls in the game are sometimes treated as sex objects by the other characters. The fact that a 16 year old is depicted in sexual acts with an older man (Cloud is 21 years old) has also been harshly criticized.
===Minority Rights Group Criticisms===
Both Japanese and African-American groups have been highly outraged by the stereotypical portrayal of Japenase and African American characters. Barrett is depicted as loud, hot-headed and prone to violence, reinforcing the stereotype of black gang members. Yuffie is portrayed as a nymphomaniac which perpetuates the stereotype that Japanese women are merely the playthings of Western men.