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March 15, 2005
The Title Needs Work
I'm not sure what it is about actual, tangible evil that seems to so entrance the public. I thought I might be somehow separate from the herd in this area until I saw that this would soon be for sale. My immediate fascination with the book coupled with my penchant for History Channel documentaries was akin to a mirror being immediately thrust in front of my face, serving as a revealing reminder of my own bovine features.
Since Calvin & Hobbes went out of syndication 10 years ago my interest in cartoons/comics waned to the point of extinction. The choked medium of the daily newspaper cartoon nearly squelched all the creativity out of the craft, which is ultimately why Watterson moved on to different pursuits. Running up the hill of recognition opposite to print's ever hastening decline is the exciting medium of web comics, something that currently occupies a treasured position in my weekly internet rounds. At the top of my list of admiration sits Penny Arcade which many of you are probably already familiar with. Their success can be partially attributed to their niche demographic of the gaming community but they retain readership through a unique style, consistent quality and startlingly intelligent insight.
The preceding gushing was sparked by Tycho's write-up today about 'electronic calisthenics'; a term he coined to describe the repeated practice of a title until it is mastered. Though video games are certainly a staple subject of my posts you might be surprised at how few I actually play. My inability to handle more than one at a time is evidenced by my obsession in reaching the apex of absolute virtuosity to any game I find myself even nominally entertained by. The thought of even beginning the open-ended experiences like World of Warcraft, Star Wars: Galaxies and other MMORPGs leaves me with a feeling of panic that in the past caused me to forcibly remove Diablo II from my laptop.
I don't want to think when I play; my sole desire consists of following the developer's clearly defined path to victory, perfecting my intial reflex oriented twitches into purposed graceful manuevering. It is because of this that movies like these bring me such excitement and, I can’t believe how geeky this sounds, inspire me to train.
Perhaps it was my adolescent diet of shooters and platformers rife with predictable, pattern oriented enemies whose behavior I could infallibly count on or maybe it stems from my need to squeeze out every ounce of value for each dollar I spend. Either way this apparent badge of stewardship serves as an excellent diversion to my underlying controlling neuroses.
Oh and not one to easily forget, a very Happy Birthday to you.
Posted by Jon at March 15, 2005 04:41 AM