Extra Life 2010
Update: I've set up a permenant page here to stream from, as well as update with more information.
The other day I came across something pretty fantastic. It would appear that there's an annual fundraiser where gamers all around the world spend 24 straight hours doing their thing to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. I, for one, want to do my part.
Now I hope to do just a little bit more than play video games all day - I want to broadcast my efforts online as well. Whether or not anyone is interested in watching, I think it'll be a fun project to set up. From now on I'll be directing people to this post, where I will update the status of my donations, as well as information about what I'll be doing on the day itself.
I might also set up a voting/request system, if I get enough interest, so that anyone watching will be able to determine what game I'll play next. Later today I'm going to start compiling a list of games I have available, which I will also post here.
Link to my donation page
Link to the main Extra Life website
Could you spare some change?
A subject I've found interesting lately is panhandlers. I've recently started working downtown, so I've come across them a lot more than I really ever have before. I find two things interesting in particular: the reasons people decide to, or not to, give some change to the panhandlers, as well as the tactics used by the panhandlers themselves.
This got kinda long, and it is late, so I'll deal with the first topic now, and probably write something on the second later.
A lot of people are eager to help, but there's always the concern that your money will be put to ill use; or at least to a use you did not intend for it. The main tactic used by panhandlers is to ask for money so they can buy food. Nobody likes to be hungry, and most of us view food as a very basic need, so it's easy to see why this is so effective. However, there's the ever present stereotype that the second you turn your back, they'll take that money and head straight to the liquor store or a drug dealer. (It doesn't help when people panhandle outside of liquor stores). Often this can be avoided by simply buying food for them. This can at times even reveal the true colours of the panhandler, if they aren't satisfied with the food they claimed to have wanted.
Some people will also base their decision on the politeness, or etiquette of the panhandler. Did they say 'please'? Were they unassuming? Did they give the impression that if you did give them some change, they'd be genuinely grateful?
It seems like the bottom line is this: Do they deserve my money?
When thinking about this... I am reminded of an online game I used to play (Ragnarok Online).
This game had some characters that could heal, and others that couldn't. As these things would go, if you were a class with the ability to heal, you would often be asked by strangers if you could heal them. This being the internet, the politeness of such requests would vary greatly. When confronted with this, many people would only choose to heal polite players, regarding anything else as "begging". There was one player I knew (who is one of the kindest people I've ever known), however, who had the philosophy of "Will heal, even if they don't say please".
I think this illustrates two very different ways of thinking. One one hand, we can think of reasons why we shouldn't help someone. Or instead, why don't we think of reasons why we should help them?
I've been berated several times by several different people for helping out panhandlers. But, I don't feel bad for it. I don't doubt that every single person who asks me for change has an honest need for it. They may choose to spend it poorly, but that is ultimately their choice.
Don't get me wrong though; everyone absolutely has the choice to do what they want with their money. Even if someone had a strict "no panhandler" policy, I think that's totally fine. I just think that it's important, that when presented the opportunity to help someone out, to have an honest look at the motives for what we do.
I Wanna Be The Guy!
So I think that's all I feel like doing right now with the layout. Maybe I'll try and make something fun for the background some time.
I really want to get back in to playing music. Today I got to go for coffee and catch up with a friend from Kelowna who had moved down to Vancouver about a year before I did. He was the first person I ever drummed with outside of lessons, and is in general a very music oriented person, so I am feeling rather inspired. It sounds like his band is between drummers right now... I'm not sure if I'd be what they're looking for, but it'd be fun to jam with him again.
Been playing a game called "I Wanna Be The Guy". Stupid hard game... but it's so much fun. It's what's classified as a "platform hell" game, in the same ranks as Kaizo Mario. It's a throwback to the things that made 8 and 16-bit games difficult... and then amplified by about a hundred times. The whole game is very toung in cheek (The easiest difficulty is "Medium", and in you pick it, your character is given a pink bow and half of the save points are labeled "WUSS"), and is not in any way meant to even resemble being fair. Just about anything can, and will, kill you. I highly reccomend you check it out.
Tales from the Last Couple Weeks
So here's a bit of a recap.
Last week I hiked up a mountain with my sister. The photos are displayed backwards... so the first ones you'll see are from near the end of the hike, as we were trying to find our way down. The whole point of the hike was I wanted to get a picture of the sunset from the top of said mountain, and in order to make it to the top in time, we decided to leave the trail we were following (Photo of the route we took up), and cut through the brush. The last photo from the 'set' shows, from where we were standing on the path, the route we took up the side. When we got to the top, we realized we weren't going to be able to take the same way down... it would have just been too steep (Photo), so we took the one path we found at the very top, and it took us along the entire top of the mountain, and down the other side. So, quite literally, we hiked the entire mountain. It took us 3 hours, and wasn't in our original plan, but we both figured it was worth it.
I got to see Cirque de Soleil with Shauna. That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. One thing that bothers me a lot today is how little effort is put into most forms of entertainment these days. Especially in the music industry, where talent is pretty much irrelevant; you just need a good image and they can fudge the talent part after the fact. So, in seeing Cirque de Soleil, I was in love simply due to how much effort they put into the performance. Not even counting the main acts themselves, I would have been happy simply admiring the costumes, music, and 'bit parts' throughout the show. The attention to detail was incredible; absolutely every last tiny thing was perfect. If you ever have the chance to go, even if it's by yourself, I say this is one thing you cannot do without. And don't worry about seating (Unless you can spring for front-row on the floor), there isn't a bad seat in the house.
I got a DS (Black/Cobalt Blue), and Animal Crossing, and I have to admit it's pretty damn fun. Unfortunately the wireless in my house seems to be very finicky... so I'm going to have to try to fiddle with it to see if I can have both WiFi for my DS, and internet for my network.