Being Different

The social wave of this decade has bewildered me for quite some time. One moment everyone's fine with doing things alone, and the next you find that everyone has to do everything with everyone else. Otherwise, it seems that they feel bad about themselves or something. Food needs to be photographed so others know what you've been eating at every meal. Games need to be played with friends in order to be fun. Even your movements need to be reported on some social networking site. My first thought was that all of this was utterly irrational. It's not something that people grew up needing, and now it's become something of a way of life. However, on closer examination, it's become increasingly apparent to me that I am looking at what is more of a fad than a true evolution of peoples' needs. For example, I keep getting friends requesting to play games together, then find them doing their own thing and basically not making any serious effort to play together. And then there's the matter of people buying into trendy gadgetry like the iPhone, only to underutilize it. I've come to realize that ultimately this is just the high school popularity contest returned to haunt us in a slightly different guise. Most people want to fit in wherever possible, and following these odd social trends is a relatively easy way to prove that one fits in with the "in" group. They have little true personal dedication to the trend itself, but are instead doing it for the very public act of fitting in. Sadly, not many people seem to be inclined to accept the fact that they are different, and to simply say NO to a fad that does not appeal to them. I have been told that I accept and even embrace my difference, but as always I say I am different simply because that's the way I am. I make no effort to do so just to express some newfangled individuality or just for the act of being rebellious for its own sake. Then again...maybe not quite so, regarding the matter of rebelliousness.

Men In Black 3

A typical men in black show, now with some character background. For those who are familiar with the series, the show will not disappoint. The fan gen pop may well find the show amusing yet highly forgettable, unfortunately. The earth is in peril. Again. And the mib must save the earth. Again. This time its different, because it involves time travel. Overall despite some character origin narrative, the show proves to be quite the linear, predictable tale. The ending is a foregone conclusion, so everything else in between is just fluff. I would call this a mediocre delivery of a now ageing franchise, scoring 6/10

Diablo 3

For all you humans out there, you've probably heard about the craze over this strange game called Diablo 3. I have a copy with me, and played it for a couple days now. Overall I'd say that I'm fairly disappointed with the gameplay, in that it's been rather simplified to the extent that strategizing one's build is mostly out of the hands of the player. Previously, one could choose to min/max the attributes and pick from a range of skills, but in the interest of accessibility it seems that most of the skills are simplified to the extent that spamming seems to be the only realistic way to play the game. Take away the strategy bit and a whole lot of the game's longevity is lost. I've been exploring the auction house lately, and it struck me just how hard it was to find an item there. The search would not provide any meaningful hints of how many entries were found, how many are out there or any form of history. Simply put, it lacks the basic functions that make an auction useful, and that inhibits the move towards price equilibrium in an auction. So far, I've found that anchoring works really well with the people, in that the resale price of the item is actually influencing the auction base price. Overall, I've been having fun playing the market there, arguably more fun than the game itself. Perhaps I've become jaded after gaming for nearly 20 years now, but I seek challenges and perhaps a bit more depth to the gameplay than I previously did. D3 has not delivered that for me. That is not to knock the game for what it does, but that I've found myself becoming quite tired of it after playing for mere days, coming to realize that I am simply running the hamster wheel of rolling ever better items ad nauseam even while repeating the same story over and over. Perhaps this is fun for some players, but it has ceased to be fun for me unfortunately.

Commanding The Mind

I've come to realize that the mind is malleable and can be directly commanded. One example I can bring up is the matter of falling asleep. Most regard sleep as uncontrollable and one moment they're awake, the next bam they're asleep. For me, I've come to realize that before sleeping, there's a certain buzzing feeling and the body slowly becomes numb. At this critical juncture, it is actually possible to authorize or deny the sleep cycle. Should one choose to authorize it, it also becomes possible to call upon the sleep cycle at will as well, thus enabling sleep at just about any time one wants. From this, I could say that a lot of what people believe to be involuntary is actually quite consciously controllable given the right stimulus and training. Unfortunately, it seems that people are either unwilling or unable to dedicate the resources to investigating exactly what it is that they have control over. I find it sad because there likely a goodly bit of unrealized potential in the average person, and they are just not trying to maximize it at all.

Riding The Shadow

I am sure the Chinese have a saying for this, but I do not remember what it is. Regardless, of the office politics moves that I've seen, one of the more despicable ones would be riding the shadow. By that I mean a player chooses an authority figure (usually his manager and associated managers) and starts to become a yes-man. That is, he does and forwards precisely what they say. They say jump, he tells others how high it should be. Over time, he moves from being a follower to an apparent leader, borrowing the boss-man's shadow as his own. This creates the illusion that he's actually rather powerful when in reality he's just a crony. Now, this is despicable because it takes cronyism to a whole new level. A regular crony simply obeys the higher ups. A shadow rider usurps that authority and over time turns it into real authority, with most being none the wiser. It is an underhanded way to attain power, and while some may argue that it harms no one, I would say that it harms everyone because they now have a scheming player in a position of power in their organization. Unfortunately, people seem to be either unaware of these moves, somehow internally accept them as legitimate strategies or are rather accepting of power games. Allowing such moves in an organization is precisely what results in bad management, where the people in place aren't there because they wish to be there for the good of the organization, but for the advancement of their own personal power.

Defining Oneself

I am sure I've written of this some time back, but the question of how one defines oneself has been nagging at me ever since. How does one define oneself in a vacuum? While the more socially oriented or "realistic" folk would say that one cannot be defined in isolation, I would think that it's both sad and lazy to think of it that way. When one strips away one's career, friends, deeds and such, does one truly cease to exist? In my opinion, that is impossible. True, one may cease to exist in all the contexts mentioned, but one does still have a core of one's being that is independent of all the above. What's important is to constantly be aware of this core, and to constantly improve upon it. I know of people who commit suicide once they are stripped of their career and such, saying that everything that's ever meant anything to them has been taken away and that they have no further reason to live. For these people at least, they have no core to their being and are thus shattered by the move. They find themselves unable to pick themselves up. I define myself by my interests and my beliefs. Strip away the usual, and I have that core at the very least. Everything else about me is largely mutable. Should I be taken down to basics, I would find a new me to build at some point. Perhaps that simply means that I am not anchored at any single point, but it also means that I am slightly better at rolling with the punches.

Melancholia

It's interesting how certain stimuli can trigger a bout of melancholia. For me, the recently remembered trigger was wet weather at night. Typically, rain in the daytime makes me feel really good, not least because going out on a clear and sunny day is my idea of a very very bad day. However, at night, it reminds me of something I've lost but can't remember. To be precise, it feels a lot like a lost sense of discovery. I guess part of the feeling comes from no longer seeing the mysteries of the night. I've been out on too many rain nights already, and clear ones besides. Ultimately, I suppose it is the desire for a change of scene, such that I may regain my curiosity. Truly, it is not a good feeling, becoming jaded in this manner. Sometimes I think there is something to be found out there, something I seek. Unfortunately, I still do not know what that is, only that it is not here. I can only trust that I'd know it when I find it.

Arkham City

I finally got down to playing Arkham City, and this time I opted to go with the gamepad as my primary input. Seeing as how the game was originally developed for console, I figured it'd be more fun on the pad. Surprisingly, the pad on default settings proved to be a less enjoyable option than my doing the same with mouse and keyboard back in Arkham Asylum. I've not played very far so I shall not make generalizations of the gameplay, but my impression so far is that the combat just isn't quite as sophisticated as I thought it would be given that the game is the second in the series. For starters, Batman still blends the attack across what looks like 20 meters, which is a pretty absurd distance even for the caped crusader. Moreover, it seems so far that it's very possible to counter a strike using a regular attack, which is unusual enough considering that the proper way to deal with it is the counter move itself. Of course, I am not judging it as such, just stating the facts as they are. I'm sure the gameplay was done the way it is to keep the game fun for everyone, but it just seems improbable in a real fight scene. I did really enjoy the new freedom in gliding and the open world approach, however. It feels good, to be able to explore the city and basically work the criminals the way Batman would've in the comics. Perhaps I shall write again, or not. There is Diablo 3 on the horizon after all, and I imagine it shall take up a little of my time for a while after.

The Avengers

If you haven't already watched it, and love the Marvel comics, why are you reading this? Get out there and watch the film already. Joss Whedon managed to get the common theme of protecting the world from imminent destruction with tried and tired Marvel characters together to create what I'd regard as a masterpiece as far as the Marvel movies are concerned. I came to the movie expecting little more than the usual Marvel action flick, but got much more than I anticipated. The film manages to pull the Avengers characters (excepting Spidey) into action highlighting the tensions and vulnerabilities between them, and forging it into a narrative that is humorous in all the right places while preserving the intensity and seriousness that accompanies a world saving struggle. While there are the usual minor authenticity issues and plot holes, Avengers manages to mostly hold together as a rather engaging and memorable action flick while solidly preserving each characters' unique personalities. Overall I can say that I am very pleased with the movie, and that it deserves a solid 8.5/10.

The Night Shift

I was talking with a few of my more nocturnal friends, and it seems that we are in agreement that it would be very nice indeed were it possible for companies to run proper night shifts. By that I do mean professional shift work across the board, rather than the usual select few professions. Realistically, there is no reason for modern cities to stick to the traditional agrarian schedule. True, the pragmatists would argue that the agrarian 9-5 is the current de facto standard and that we should adapt to it. However, I think the time is also ripe for societies and economies to consider viable alternatives. With modern technologies, work is no longer bound to the cycle of the sun, and it is every bit a realistic option to have work done in the dead of night. Now, consider the cost of running a city approximately half of its potential 24 productive hours. For starters, the largely monolithic clock creates peak hours that cause major congestion. Moreover, it makes for deserted times where crime becomes a fairly viable option. Not to mention the economic cost of having stuff shut down for about half a day either way. Running a proper night city will mitigate that, along with the silliness whereby retail stores close at precisely the same time that offices are open. And in a city, that's precisely when everyone's just not free to do any shopping. If anyone is willing to think about it, that really doesn't make sense. Of course, in order to pull off the vision of a night city, it needs to be run as a complete system. I've seen how the cities creep towards the night concept, with 24 hour supermarkets and cinemas running past 12 midnight, but all in all it remains a fringe activity at best. Without childcare, schools, offices and such running the night shift as well, it becomes extremely difficult to get things moving properly. Given the right stimulus, however, I foresee the 24 hour city can be a rather enriching approach for any city that implements it.