noPUNintendo

We don’t really think about it, unless you are just enthusiastic about your obsessions, but video games have come a long way. I never knew it until recently that video games began as a way that the government could play out how real life attacks could go down. Then somehow, video games grew into a subtle way to waste our time, get us focused on winning at some imaginary competition between you and the computer. Then, between you and other players.

Nintendo was a personal favorite of mine growing up. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. The best way to bond, outside of playing sports, hide-and-seek, or swinging on the tire swing in the backyard, was to play some good ole Nintendo. This included Mario Bros, Zelda, then on to Pokemon and it's many wonders.. oh so many others. But why are these games so amusing?

Well for one, representation. This includes visuals, music, effects, control devices,…etc) Two, responses. This means we get to control the avatar. It’s pretty cool when we can jump off a building and survive!! Or die and have two more lives to go. Brilliant. Then, there are the rules that structure our video gaming lives. All lives need structure that defines your possibilities, so you know just how high you can go. Lastly, what’s better than the randomness of video games? No games are exactly alike. It’s like rolling the dice and being able to go our own direction with the way we play it.

Video games have not only grown in popularity, they have grown in perplexity and complexity as well as become more like a life simulation. Video games, like Second Life, is so similar to life, that one can work, make money, buy a home, grab coffee, converse with people, shop, and so much more. A lot of players do more in their virtual lives than they do in their real ones.

Video games might entice video gamers to become more violent in the real world, or at least have more violent thoughts. I’m not sure if this is true, but often times we overlook the positives about a particular subject after a tragedy happens (like boy shoots friend after playing World of Warcraft- made up scenario), but there are things to look forward to in the newer games. They are interactive and becoming so general in appeal that families with members of all ages can enjoy the same game together. Although people fear that parts of the digital culture separate us, which it may in other ways, video games, like the Wii, bring families together as I see it. The family X whom I have mentioned before in previous posts, may not spend a lot of time together throughout the day, but if Wii Dance is hooked up, they are all in the same room shaking their hips and moving their feet, laughing together. For this reason alone, I think video games should not get the bad rep that they’ve been given.
If you'd like to play old school mario, click this link: I will take you there! Mario Game

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Nostalgia

Nostalgia brings you back to a time where things were different, and we usually feel they were better. Midnight in Paris, the new Woody Allen film, stars Owen Wilson’s character who, at first, believes that Paris in the 20s was a better time. He gains criticisms from his fiancé, her parents, and some friends of his. In the end, he concludes that we all look back at previous periods of time with optimism and disdain on our own present time. We are great at misconstruing the past to make it seem happier, brighter, where candy bars only cost a nickel.

In these days, we give the subject of nostalgia a slightly different meaning. In this case, nostalgia is directed to a time where technology was either not imperative or even completely nonexistent. We look back at the time where kids played outside, parents spoke to their children at the table, and eye contact was made throughout the day- without interruptions of phone calls, distractions from computers, and without wires hanging from ears to drown out the sound of everyday life. We look back and say, these times were better. But were they really better?

I’m not so sure reading a book at a playground is much different than texting on your blackberry at a playground- both cases are distracting you from watching your child!! But the direction this world is changing in, technology is growing in distraction. It’s becoming more interesting to lose yourself in than just a fascinating novel. Should we deem those who get sucked in the technological distraction as “bad parents”? Pretty sure it is a lot more complicated than that.

In one case, the X Family attends their son’s basketball games. Many times, during one of the kid’s basketball games, the little sister plays on her Kindle instead of watching the game. If it weren’t for her Kindle, she would still be equally distracted reading a book or playing with other friends, which she does as well. She’s seven, so that’s okay. The parents, much older than seven, always neglect phone calls to watch their son play games, but mostly because missing something, like a shot, would seem like missing out on an important priority, their son and his self esteem.

Their mother works a lot and is at the top of her particular company. She stays home to work, and the children are just starting to understand how important her job is. The mother’s motive, when she is home, is to get work done and that is all. She likes the luxury and convenience of staying at home, but it is clear in her mind that she has things to take care of. It is a bonus that in between conference calls, she can squeeze in a question of, “How was your day,” or “How did you do on your math test?” Also, being able to see her kids a little, rather than being completely alienated from them at the actual office, is a plus. She neglects her phone during dinner, and it doesn’t seem to really faze her.

It wasn’t until recently I noticed withdrawal symptoms when she was away from her technology. Her new computer crashed with some important documents on it. She not only had to get them recovered, she also had to send her computer away to get fixed. It was miserable for her. The computer wasn’t just a source for work, it was how she spent her leisure time. Instead of taking her kids to try on clothing or buy new shoes, she simply orders them online. The kids are always checking the doorstep for new packages. She really knows how to online shop. The kids get anxious when something is ordered and it doesn’t come in right away. They are so use to instant gratification these days.

Anyway, after her computer crashed, she talked about her computer with me, how she missed it, how she couldn’t do anything without it. We spoke of it at the table before I went home. (We never really talk for more than a few minutes- with eye contact anyway.) Because she didn’t have her computer, we could talk about places to travel to, her children and the funny things they say, as well as life stories from the past. These things almost never happen. It was nice. She even asked to borrow Macbook to browse through vacation rentals and destinations. In all, there was more human connection and great conversation. So maybe she wasn’t physically shaking without her pc, but you could definitely tell she was behaving differently. 

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To Tell the Truth

Diaries, journals, notes in a box. Sometimes for some people, these aren’t good enough ways to say how they feel. Sometimes for some people, the feeling they have is so powerful that diaries cannot do it justice, journals cannot give them the response they need, lonely notes in a box are just a reminder that you’re alone in knowing something personal. Sometimes for some people, they just need to vent anonymously and get some kind of response, some kind of feedback, from anyone anywhere who’s listening in the slightest hope that in someway someone can make them feel…

                                                                                                                                                       less alone. 

PostSecret.com is a popular site that collects anonymous creative and artsy postcards revealing secrets. These secrets range in topic, from ambiguous to in-detail descriptions of something coming from covert creators. These cards are displayed publicly for all to see. Creating and sending these postcards isn’t everything though. So what’s is?

PostSecrets are thought provoking, tug at heartstrings, while others make you laugh. Laughing together, crying together, and generally being affected together, through separate viewing screens, may be the key to bringing us together, alone. I guess that changes things.

The PostSecret site wouldn’t be so popular if people didn’t decide these postcards are worth reading. A lot of times, we like to listen to people’s problems when they are similar to ours. It may make us feel a little less weird and kind of relieved of that alone. It may seem wrong but sometimes knowing someone has it worse than you makes you feel somehow… better. And in all, this is a great emotional time killer.

PostSecret isn’t the only site that lets us be a little ballsy. Even leaving comments on Youtube or updating a status gives us room, though not anonymous room, to be a little more emotionally revealing or a little more opinionated. It’s like our emotions are amplified and put on display and we don’t even get to appreciate the transition of our real selves into our virtual selves because we’re too caught up. For some reason, it’s not quite clear why it’s easier to write them down and post it rather than speak it out loud. My guess is we want to say some things out loud, but we become vulnerable, we have no real filter or editing system in the real world. So virtually, we can hide a little and as a result, let a little more out.

So, in accordance with this topic, I figured I would reveal a secret of my own that I’ve never shared with anyone. Keep in mind, this is not my deepest, darkest secret. It is rather pathetic, but even if you judge, I won’t be able to see your reaction. (Thus, the purpose of this blog)

And here it is:

I keep white Christmas lights on in my closet at night and convince my friends that they look chic. It’s really because I am slightly afraid at night some disfigured creature –who may conspire to eat me- will be standing where my room meets my closet. I wake up at odd hours of the night, and my eyes lead straight to the closet, heart pumping every time. After writing this down, I’m realizing it sounds ridiculously like I’m scared that there’s a monster in my closet. The thing is, I know how impractical or illogical this scenario is because I always lock my doors, disfigured things are pretty rare in the area I live, and I try to convince myself against the idea time and time again, but the fear remains.

perfectly normal.

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Phone-e Bologna

Is it that yapping interferes with your Playstation time or that the awkwardness of saying goodbye that text messaging seems to pass in usage over the phone call these days. In Alone Together, writer Sherry Turkle describes this phenomenon in ways that make it seem that maybe we fear phone use, saying goodbye seems like rejection, or maybe we are just a little tired of talking and listening to the nitty-gritty details that otherwise disappear on a text, so that all that remains are the facts, the importance, the black and white version of what we were wanting to say. So what exactly do we lose in that?

Human connection. That stuff that makes us feel like we are all together, that we are closer than we think. When we speak on the phone, we can hear emotion in our voices, instant worries, initial thoughts, and immediate ideas that can grow upon each other and can leave room for profound connection with the someone you are speaking with rather than filtered, edited perfected texts. We feel closer to individuals when we hear about their day and are able to talk about yours no matter how mundane that day might have been. The fact that someone is able to do more than just read what you have to say then stick you back in their pocket, maybe make us feel deep down that we aren’t so alone.

Maybe I’m partial in my position to defend the phone. Don’t get me wrong. I’m practically a textaholic- like the next person, but those who call me are the ones who really get my attention. Those are the ones that stand out, the people who I look forward to seeing in person. Phones call conversations seem less artificial and factual. And now that texting is becoming more common than phone calls, we resort to making important notes to people over texting, e-mail, or on social networking sites. The medium in which we use to get our messages out can shift a delicate message to something rather impersonal.

Breaking up a once serious and connected relationship via text message seems less than heartless, but it happens all the time. Let’s face it, it’s easy, quick, and you don’t have to see or hear their reaction or emotion. You don’t have to deal with the awkward goodbye hug or kiss and more importantly, it seems like a clean check off a list rather than a human disappointment. But using text or e-mail to take away the awkwardness of a real life encounter with your old partner, we leave the reciprocating party feeling like less, like they weren’t good enough to even be told to their faces, that maybe all that time they were together was a waste. This says a lot about how little we value a text.

So maybe I’d rather hear my father’s voice than read his text. It’s nice to hear from him every once in while tell me about his day or be able to tell him about mine ear to phone. But everyday conversation with him can become dry and make me resent answering a phone call about the same old stuff. Sometimes, there is something so special about a text from Dad popping up that reads either one two dialogues, “I love you, Buttons! (personal nickname)” or “I’m proud of you pumpkin.” So for that, I can say, I don’t mind the texting phenomenon. It would just be nice to compromise, like invent a program on a medium that allows people to see and hear each other talk, something free, no matter where they are on the planet… eh, maybe that’s asking too much... (note logo below)

:)