At Work, "Working"

Meta-Meta-Meta-Blogging

 

I talk about blogging in my blog too much, I am now blogging about blogging about blogging... oh noes it's getting worse!  I also use "Anyways..." too much in my writing... Anyways... yeah... uhm... I think I say "uhm" too much... seeing as when I'm writing I could easily go back and just write what I want to instead of all the filler words and "oops I didn't mean to says thats" it's quite likely that I am affecting these literary manerisms in an attempt to convey, at least in some way, my personality.

 

... meh.

 

No Waffle Irons

 

I would like to point out to all those who qestioned the number of waffle irons on our wedding registry that we have been living together for over a year and a half since the wedding and still do not own a wafflemaker.  When I pointed out the fact to Trish, she said it was probably a good thing, seeing as we never eat waffles anyways.  I countered, saying that the reason we didn't eat waffles was because we don't have a wafflemaker.  She said if we really wanted waffles we could have gone out and gotten those eggo waffles, and that we don't eat pankakes very often in the first place.  The discussion ended before I was able to make clear the fact that waffles are a lot easier to make in a wafflemaker then a pancake is, that pankcakes and waffles, while similar, are completly different foods, or that we don't have eggos because we don't have any freezer space to spare most of the time. I would have lost in the end regardless.

 

The World of Grea'iren

 

I have started dabbling in the role-playing game genre. The idea of an interactive story-telling framework with elements of problem solving, acting, creativity, and competition in an inclusive social context. Many things I was strictly forbidden to do while growing up I completely agree with, but I never really got what was wrong with D&D in the first place, and the vague reasons that were provided to me lack stength now that I can think for myself.

 

Basically unless I'm going to stop playing video games with magic in the, stop watching movies with magic in them, and stop reading books with magic in them, then the magic in a board game is no more harmful. Now, granted, acctually putting yourself in the mind of a character that can do these things is a little different from other activities, and one of the problems that people had with D&D when it came out was that people took their characters too seriousely and people ended up killing themselves or other's over losses in game... but people have been murdered over movies, music and video games too... it's not the game that's the problem, it's just that there are some crazy people out there looking for an outlet for their craziness.

 

Now, the more informed arguments against the game point out that the game exists in a moral vacuum, encouraging un-ethical behavior as part of gameplay.  The problem I have with arguments like this is that this can be said of all fiction... in the context of any fiticiouse story the author is effectively playing the character of God... writing his lines, making his decisions... even in christian fiction there is no way for the author to know what God would decide in the story they are writing so they have to make guesses based on what they know about him, so really all fiction creates a false god in it's own context.  This isn't wrong, it's unavoidable, it almost makes more sense to completly ignore any higher powers in the context of fiction to avoid the possibility of miguessing the mind of god.  In the context of an pen and paper style game the part of the gods are controlled by the GM, basically this is no different then any other kind or creative writing.  I suppose a good example would be this; If you are a christian you belive that what God tells you to do is a command, therefore if god told you to do something that was against one of the commandments in the bible, would that christian do it?  For example, in the old testament god tells people that they should not murder, and then within a few books is advising them to kill people shortly after... even more specific the Abramham being told to kill his son for no apparent reason.  It is not possible to know the mind of God unless he reveals it to us so there is no way to make desisions based on this.

 

So, if the GM of a D&D campain rewards sensless murder, this is the the rule for that game... next time you may play a good character and be punished for this type of thing.  I think an even better counter-argument would be games like RISK and Monopoly... in these games you aren't representing very virtuouse behaviour, taking advantage of the poor, sending people to slaughter and kill innocent defenders, and think of how you act playing these games.  Sure you call "lying" "bluffing" and you call "deceiving" "negotiating" and when you take someones property because they can't afford to pay you you have no thoughts of mercy because "it's only a game".

 

Oh, and anyone who sais "Well if you feel what you are doing is okay then why did you just spend 3 paragraphs defending your posision" I would like to point out that I am indicating my thought process to demonstrate that I HAVE thought about it and decided it's okay.

 

Anyways, it's really nice to have a creative outlet, I've been playing a game online and it's an awful lot like writing a story... I think of it as practice towards improving my writing skill.

 

Heroes

 

So I've been watching this "Heroes" show every monday... I really like the whole "X-men" concept in the first place and this show is really good.  I'm always looking for more at the end of each episode, it's like a constant ever-renewing cliffhanger... almost like a soap opera in the way that you switch between all of the characters as they move in and out of eachothers lives.  I would recomend it to pretty much anyone... it's a bit violent sometimes so maybe not to impressionable children.

 

Work

 

Sucks... signifigantly less now that we're down to... 7.75 hour?... shorter shifts and I'm getting a regular schedule more often. More staff also means that we have fewer times when we have calls back to back.  I'm still annoyed by the fact that I come home with my mind burned out and can barely think for myself anymore, but I think I just need to find myself a creative outlet... hey... maybe I could start blogging again...

 

The Band

 

Well, Scotty's gone for a while now... so that means our basist is out of the picture... it's kinda sad.  The rest of us are starting to kinda pull together, trish has written a song and some lyrics to one of Matts riffs... I can't have her be the only songwriter so when I get really bored in a situation that isn't actively sucking out my brain I needs to sit down and write something... maybe able how stupid everyone is.

 

-- Benjie