What to Think

News Which To The Best Of My Knowledge Is Now At A State That Can Best Be Described As Old

What to Think updated. Jiminy Christmas!

Good lord, two whole months without an update, but there was literally nothing I felt was worth posting about, and I couldn't even think of a funny rant to go on. I would guess that what little readership there was has already abandoned the site from regular viewing, but I will prattle on despite that. I'm actually at Webster now in the first time in months, mostly to avoid Blake, because we are once again not getting along, but it still remains the only place where I get something, albeit very little, done. Though it is hard to concentrate at times, because no matter what time of day it might be, two students, usually one whose first language is not English, will come into contact on the floor below and begin to speak to each other as if they are on opposite sides of the room in a hydro plant. I'm only catching snippets because I'm trying to drown them out with my headphones but apparently one of them has an exciting story about his dog and is expressing his plans of where he sees himself in the next ten years. I think there was some talk of basketball in the mix as well and I really wish I had paid more attention because now I'm very curious as to how the topics are related, but they've long since departed.

I think any sort of writing at this point would be extremely beneficial for me, because the more I ignore it and dedicate more of my time towards video games and other media it does begin to feel as if a part of my brain starts to atrophy, and I start to lose what little handle I think I might have on the language. My job, if there is one major positive to be found in it, does allow me to engage in verbal exercise at length because there is often little else to do during the day. I'm certain that, considering I often go days without any sort of real conversations, I actually gain some sort of nutrition out of it. True, most of these conversations are limited to fate the mall, the fate of the store, making fun of our customers, or, if my boss is present, video games, but I think they are vital to not forming some sort of psychosis. For all my gripes about my job, I am almost certain if things had continued the way they had at the warehouse I would probably be insane, my vocabulary dwindling to a series of grunts and nods.

Speaking of video games, in a move that is probably obvious to everyone except me, I'm almost positive that next fall I will be returning to Webster, having changed my focus to Journalism in the hopes that somewhere down the line I can wrangle a writing gig for a gaming rag or website. As much as I would love to get into the actual design these days it really requires some form of technical knowledge that I have no desire to gain. It really makes me jealous of people like Ken Levine, the mastermind behind Thief, System Shock 2, Freedom Force and now BioShock, because he started as a theater major and a screenwriter that just sort of fell into game design at the right time, when the industry was still relatively small and more of a band of mom-and-pop developers, and just applied for the design job with no technical background whatsoever. Fucker.
I'm all hyped up for BioShock, as well, it's probably my most anticipated title. I spent almost the whole of Tuesday playing through System Shock 2 yet again and for being almost eight years old now it holds up incredibly well. Just that it was essentially a shooter that managed to have several plot threads going on all through just audio logs alone and make them all compelling is an achievement, it's sort of a cheat not really having any sort of direct character interaction in the entire game, but it actually works in its favor, helping set the grim tone for a devastated environment where you are truly alone and you are never safe. I'm gushing, but it really is a fantastic game and you really ought to give it a shot if you've never played it, Pete and Tim.
I was curious to learn if there was any sort of literature in a similar vein, but apparently there is absolutely nothing in the genre of cyberpunk horror, which is surprising to me.

The church down the street from me changed their sign not too long ago, reflecting recent events which occurred in Kirkwood, specifically the rescue of two kidnapped boys. The sign read "You don't believe in miracles? Ask Ben or Shawn." Now, I understand where they're coming from, and their rescue was indeed a good and fortunate thing, but I think interpreting it as a miracle is a real stretch. Like someone who watches Fight Club and decides that the most remarkable thing they've gleaned is that they themselves should form a fight club or that Scarface is an ideal way of living your life, I don't think the capture, terrorizing and sodomizing of a child for four years and completely destroying their future of living anything resembling a normal life is a fantastic example of His grace.
Being on a sign of a church, we're talking about a proper miracle here, not "Oh, it's a miracle Burger King was open late today." We're talking divine intervention, safe passage through danger, a complete shielding from harm. I think either right before or during the process of the kidnapping would've been the appropriate time for the Lord to jump in the game, not after four years later, as if it was something on His To Do list that somehow got forgotten for far too long.
Honestly, they could have put anything else on the sign like "Best wishes to Ben and Shawn" or "Thank the Lord they're safe now" but to imply an act of God took place is almost insulting, and the "ask them" part gets to me as well. "Hey, so while you were held against your will, being raped, wondering every day if you would survive and fearing for the safety of your family let alone if you would ever see them again, I have to ask, do you think God was really looking out for you?"

Don't confuse this with me taking a jab at the religion, just the stupidity of some of the people running it. It's an example why I'm not affiliated; God gets all the credit for the good, but when the bad goes down, I guess he was off having a bagel or taking a phone call or something and just wasn't around to save the day that time.

-K.