So the first 2 weeks of the school year are through and thanks to the Labor Day Weekend, I've been granted a reprieve. It's brief but its a reprieve nonetheless. As I'm typing this, I'm at my parents' house visiting them for the holiday. I always visit my parents during this holiday because 1) its an extended weekend, 2) it's the last chance I usually get to visit them due to the high frequency of football game nights between now and mid-November, 3) I get to celebrate my birthday a little early (the actual day is almost 2 weeks from now, and I'll be working on that day anyway).
So I got to get away from the big, bustling town of Fayetteville and into the safe, distant loving arms of Batesville. Really the only thing that sucks is that I don't have my PS4 with me. I didn't bring it with me because I didn't want to be an asshole and just be glued to that thing all weekend. As I said, time is precious so I'd rather spend time with family. I did however bring my Vita and am still chomping away at Rogue Legacy. I'm rather slow in progress but I suppose that's just my style of play. I do think I'm getting my money's worth.
Time up here has consisted of good meals, lounging around, playing with Lilly (the fat but lovable border collie) and Tinkerbell (lovely cat whose breed I'm unclear on, also fat), shooting arrows with my father and his hunting bow (I'm no Hawkeye but who is?) and reading. My mom, sister and I also watched [b]About Time[/b], the recent entry from tasteful rom-com master Richard Curtis (Love, Actually, Pirate Radio, scripts for Notting Hill and Four Weddings & A Funeral). And it's damn good. Seriously. Plenty of laughs and some good tear-jerker moments; both my mom and sister cried, I successfully fought them off but it was tough. :)
We dug into the Dairy Queen ice cream cake last night (it was glorious). We'll grill Monday evening so I'm looking forward to that.
I suppose I'll briefly throw in my two cents regarding the #GamerGate bullshit. I've made some comments on other blogs and we've seen this behavior sprout up time and time again in the past but it really blew up recently, especially on twitter, which is the worst fucking place to conduct arguments or reason with people that are as manic and outraged as you are. I consider myself fortunate to communicate with (and on rare occasions, play with) decent, intelligent, compassionate people here on Pixlbit and on The Playstation free forum. But not everyone in the world is so lucky or like-minded.
It was probably only a matter of time before some sections of the gaming press decided to fight back the way that they did and I think they have plenty of reasons to. I don't believe they're making generalizations but gamers who have been respectful don't need to be caught in the crossfire. I was an asshole when I was a teenager too but I didn't have the Internet at my disposal. These #GamerGate goofs are monsters at worst and immature kids at best, willfully ignorant of the points that people like Anita Sarkeesian is trying to make on her opinion videos. If you disagree with her, do so, preferably in a humane, civic manner. But don't tell her to shut up. But some decided to lose their fucking minds anyway.
These journalists that have been branded with the SJW moniker...I read and respect most of them. I could care less about Polygon and Kotaku but in their case, I simply don't read their content or pay them any attention. They may be leftist or liberally minded, but so fucking what? All they are doing is stating an opinion or making their point and they know that they have to deal with the opposition. And they go on the defensive, sometimes they fight back and it can get nasty. I don't envy their position.
I'll freely admit that I'm overlooking something here. I'll admit that the problem is more complex. I don't know how to solve the problem, especially with rude people with internet access. I know what its like to be young and impulsive and that mistakes can be made in your youth. I can even recall the days of prank phone calls before the call-back feature was implemented; there's a certain thrill in bad behavior. Consider those Lizard Squad dipshits.
But we grow up. Adolescence eventually dies. It isn't meant to survive, not in the world we're thrust into. We should all be held accountable for the things we choose to share with the outside world. Some poor twisted souls out there never think before acting. If they never learn that lesson they take their poisonous attitudes into adulthood and as a result their progression as adults stagnates because they still have some growing up to do. My favorite high school teacher once told me that the key in succeeding in this world is to get along with other people. I believe in that and live by that. If I didn't, I wouldn't have made it this far.
Again, you guys are awesome. No problems with any of you, ever. I just hope that cooler heads will eventually prevail and that this mess doesn't continue on for so long so we can continue enjoying this hobby. And if game development needs to change or certain gamers need to change, then it'll/they'll change accordingly. It'll adapt and we'll move on.
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! Don't work too hard, don't stay in the heat for too long and continue to be the great people that you are!
Comments