Sunday, August 30, 2009

this blog is not a journal

It is unbelievably tempting to use this blog as a journal sometimes. I have things to process and scream into the void that no one else wants to hear but I still need to say. And I have difficulty not using this blog for that purpose. For instance I just spent 5 minutes with my fingers twitching about to pour out my current fuck-ups . . . but it's not a good idea. Neither is dumping this on my friends I guess. Perhaps it's time for a proper paper and pen journal?

Thursday, August 27, 2009

a Minotaur too far?

Sometimes it really does seem like this is the debate we're having. The degree to which this society seems to embrace torturing and revenge killing these days really does startle me from time to time. With that in mind, this onion video is hilarious.


Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?

the cocaine of the games world

Having experienced what this guy is talking about, this article about psychiatrists venturing into world of warcraft to try and help pull addicted gamers back into the real world is interesting (as linked to me by my friend D in Aus). Basically a team of guys going in to try and help people realize that there is a larger perspective that they're missing. I'm not sure if these guys are going in proselytizing or only going in with patients who are paying them to help them, but I overall really support any effort by grown ups who know better to reach a hand in to people (usually young men) lost in digital worlds or unhealthy hobbies with the goal of simply helping them realize there is a larger world and perspective that they're missing out on. Although it would be fairly amusing if these therapists, in the process of trying to reach out to people, end up addicted to the game themselves.

I especially like the language he used of how they just want to point out that when you spend 400+ days (of TOTAL playing time) out of the last 4 years in the game, it means you aren't spending that time making friends, learning skills, or otherwise interacting with the world in ways that, whether you know it or not, are ultimately going to be more fulfilling. I'm sure it's going to raise some hackles, as young and not-so-young men seem oddly resistant to the notion that an escapist lifestyle filled only with play and with little to no responsibility is not healthy for anyone involved. But the fact is, while it's certainly okay to escape some times, ultimately you're only going to be happy when you are being true to yourself and not running from your problems, which means forming a social group and contributing to it and making challenges for yourself and meeting them, in the real world. Learning a new language (computer or otherwise) is ultimately way more fulfilling than any video game goal, and until the people filling their lives almost solely with meeting video game goals admit this to themselves, they're going to hop from video game to video game completing goals . . . and wondering why they still feel unhappy.

I'm still struggling with this a little myself so don't think I'm on too high of a horse. I believe everything I just wrote, but I still end up gaming to self soothe when I bollux up my personal life in new and exciting ways, but while the temptation is still there to lose myself in it, it's really hard to when I know beyond all doubt that it doesn't make me happy, even if I'm not sure what DOES make me happy in a given moment.

So anyway, I support this whole endeavor of drawing people out of the recreation they try to turn into lifestyle, be it games, or drugs, or anything else. Because spending your life running away from it is sad.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

God this is a good video

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.



Edit:

By request, a you tube version. The you tube version is actually the official video. Good, but not as artistic as the vimeo one above. Anyway, the song is the same and it is still good. And the official video isn't bad either.

Friday, August 07, 2009

The perils of standing out

Normally when I go swimming at the community center, I get a pretty good reaction from the kids to my blue hair. Boys tend to comment on it loudly, with awe, followed by questioning their parents why someone would do that, and if they could do that, and one time followed by a parent saying "teenagers do crazy things". Today, as I'm walking in, I got the "wow, that guy has blue hair!" from a little girl, walking in with her brother and her mom to the community center. I look over to see her brother gazing at my hair with that lopsided, boyish grin that says blue hair is the best thing ever, his sister who is analyzing my hair with her head cocked, and his mom who seems mostly disinterested, before running down the stairs ahead of them. The disinterest of their mom quickly turned to embarrassment as I hear behind me, loudly, the same little girl saying "Mom, I HATE blue hair!" which made me laugh out loud. To each their own I suppose.