You Don't Know Me!!

In fact, most of you do know me (considering you probably wouldn't be reading this otherwise.) Something popped into my head this week, something that I've talked about with others before. This will probably rub some people the wrong way, but who cares.

Those people who whine about how "You don't know me" are idiots.

You've heard these kind of people right? You make some judgement about them and they scream about how you don't know who they are, or how they live in their private life. I guess the stereotype of this is the angry drunk girls on T.V. or something, but you get who I'm talking about at this point. Anyway, the reason I'm so harsh is because that statement doesn't make any sense.

It is very true that we don't know everything about everyone we meet. We all have secrets and private things that don't come out in daily life. Makes sense. Now what this whole build up is getting to. We can't be angry because people judge us because of what they see. How we present ourselves is who we are. If I'm sarcastic in my speaking, then people think I'm a sarcastic person. How right they are isn't the point, the point is that I portrayed myself as sarcastic and that's how people see me.

So, on to those people I talked about before. Usually a claim like the one above comes when they think someone (the "You" in this case) misjudged them. If say, a girl at a restaurant was being loud and obnoxious, yelling at the waiters and generally causing an uproar, you might think she's a self-entitled witch. Now, if you told her so, she'd probably feed you that line. In reality, she might be a nice person who you could get along with easily. Yet, because of they way she presented herself in polite company has dampened your view of her.

What I am saying is that we have to be careful about how we show ourselves to the world. We can't act one way and expect people to give us the benefit of the doubt. No one is going to think, "You know, just because he throws rocks at the elderly and is currently beating a homeless child with a pool stick doesn't necessarily mean he's a bad person. I'll try and get to know him better." We don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Cliche I know, but it is true. Don't get angry at people for judging you wrongly in your mind, think about how you've been showing yourself to the world. Often, you're the only one to blame for your reputation.

Then again, some people are just delusional tools who couldn't grasp reality if it came up and tore their face off.

Just something to chew on.

Servicing Your Fans

Most video game enthusiasts know that E3 has just passed us by. There was the announcement for Halo 4, some Uncharted 3 coverage, more from Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Nintendo announced a new counsel. Big news with the recent release of Duke Nukem Finally, er, Forever!Movie goers have also been in for a treat this year. The new Pirates of the Caribbean (which I examined quite well I believe), Thor, Tron, as well as X-Men: First Class and the up coming Green Lantern and Captain America movies. With such a major media maelstrom, I've come to a solid conclusion.

Fans suck.

Harsh I know, but that's the truth. Fans of big time series are some seriously self-absorbed jerks when it comes to their area of fandom. There is something about nerd culture that refuses to let others into their world. They also seem to have a real hatred for any form of re-imagining of their favorite series. Fans are petty and protective.

The recent Tron movie is a good example of exclusivity in a fan base. I will set this out now, I have never seen either Tron movie. Neither of them looked all that great. What I'm going to talk about are the people. In a discussion among some friends I heard them criticize people who considered themselves Tron fans because they liked the new movie. My friends' argument was that since the new fans hadn't been fans of the old movie, than they had no right to say that they were Tron fans.

That kind of attitude bugs me. It makes something that is a way to pass time, a way to kill time, so kind of ivory tower. Come my fellow fans, the might fanatics chortle, let us look down on those trying to immerse themselves in our world. I get this sticky feeling that they think they're better because they've been fans longer. Here's the thing, however. Stripped down to its barest elements, this mentality has a reasonable foundation. Whether it is Tron, Superman, or Mario, fans are familiar with they're favorite series. They've grown up with it. The new fanbases can threaten to can seem to be threatening their childhood heroes and everything they knew about them. Pride in your favorite works is completely acceptable, but when you make yourself out to be superior because of your history, that is crossing the line.

The other point I wanted to make was about fans and re-imagining a series. This ties in a bit with the first idea. My example for this time around is the movie Thor. This is another movie on my "to see" list. However, the critics I have heard have said that this movie is too childish. It isn't gritty enough for the modern audience. This is such an stupidly odd idea to me. Let's take a quick walk down memory lane. The first Thor comic was published in 1962. This was the time when greasy hair and leather jackets were big, and The Twist was hitting dance floors across the nation. Not exactly a pop culture I would call gritty.

What I'm seeing here is something typical of comics. If it isn't dark and morally ambiguous with people getting killed off every other page, then many people these days think it is childish and unrealistic. Thor is about a giant Norse god with a hammer smashing things and throwing lightning. This is every young boys fantasy, haven't we hit childish and unrealistic with the subject matter itself?

I've raged enough against movies for now, so I'm taking this point to another medium, video games. This is a medium that is almost the opposite in its views on re-imagining, but is just as extreme. Those of us who enjoy video games don't settle for the same things. We want our series re-imagined. Legends of Zelda: Skyward Sword was one of Nintendo's big displays at E3 this year. They had amazing looking videos featuring the game, its style, and its action. Yet I found countless people who whined about the game, saying they've seen it all before. I myself am a huge Zelda fan, and I understand them, but disagree. They want a new formula, but if Nintendo did change things up, these same people would be complaining that it isn't the Zelda games they know and love.

There really is no way to satisfy the fans. Fans are petty and whinny, never satisfied, always wanting. I think the reason so many people avoid trying to get into comics or video games or movies is because the fans of each are so smug about their preferred medium. This is true of all kinds of hobbies, from sports to Dungeons and Dragons. Everyone talks about being open-minded and tolerant, but when their hobbies aren't so exclusive, they can get fiery.

I am also a fan of series, I admitted that above. I've been getting into comics, have been a long time fan of video games, and am trying out D & D. The reason I can say all this is because A) I'm not one to keep my opinions to myself, no matter how insulting, but mostly B) I am not exclusive. I'm always trying to get people to play video games and to read the things that I like. If I enjoy something, I think others deserve to enjoy it as well. All of us who consider ourselves fans of some series or another need to not be so offended by those who enjoy what we love. We could be their guides to all that we enjoy. Think of the reward like this, the more people who are fans of a series, the more likely that a movie or game company will put real effort in and do a piece right.

Just avoid Anime, that stuff gets real weird real fast.

Just something to chew on.

Dr. Happy Teeth the Barbarian

Today I had to sit through one of the bloodiest procedures I'll probably ever be conscious for. At seven a.m, I had my to get my teeth and gums deep cleaned. It was an hour of sitting in a dentist chair as my teeth and gums scraped with hand held pickaxes. This whole debacle has brought about an interesting conclusion in my mind.

Dentistry is one of the most primitive forms of medical practice out there.

Medicine and techniques in hospitals grow by leaps and bounds as the years go on. All sorts of new methods and medicines, technologies and tonics, and practices and pills show up with new ways to heal. Disease are treated, and old ideas are thrown away. If there is so much innovation in the physical wellness area of medicine, why does my dentist still rake my teeth with a fancy set of toothpicks?

I'm don't like going to the dentist. That's not to say I don't like dentists as jobs, they provide valuable help to us, but going to the dentist is always the same. Lie about flossing regularly, deal with the same lectures, and have your chompers razed by some other worldly metallic artifacts. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little on that last part, but I'm right on the first two.

Dentists have been saying the same things for who knows how long. Their instructions seem simple, brush twice a day and floss daily. Simply enough right? Not when you factor in people. We're rushed in the morning, basically meaning we'll skip that brushing, and flossing is a beast. Nothing like running bladed rope through your teeth. At this point, couldn't we come up with some more advanced methods for dealing with teeth.

There are all those fancy automatic toothbrushes, I own one myself, and they have their benefits. Here's the thing though, they're still basically just a toilet brush that moves on its own. It's no use unless we put the time into using it. Somehow, I feel like there isn't enough incentive to brush. Dentists aren't helping the need to brush thing. What do you get when you're finished at the dentist's? A small roll of floss, and a pathetic manual toothbrush.

Flossing is also such an issue. It's time consuming, and pretty unpleasant, not to mention really hard to get into. Once you see that string covered in your blood, you can give it up pretty quick. They have those long handled ones that get the cross section of floss, and those are supposed to make it easier. But really, they're end up being just like the regular rolls.

Dentistry as a profession seems pretty technologically stagnate as well. Again, it's always metal picks and that weird rubber brush. Sometimes, added to the fun is a little device that sprays needles of pressurized water, oh joy. These tools are effective, sure, but that doesn't mean they're right for our day and age. A heavy rock was an effective hunting tool back when, but now we've got big shiny guns that can drop a deer at a thousand yards. Where is all the innovation and futuristic methods for dentistry? I think people will take their dental health more seriously if the dentist's office doesn't vaguely remind them of a medieval torture chamber.

Here's what I think we need: an all purpose mouthwash. Rinsing for thirty seconds is easy. If we could develop a mouth wash that killed all bacteria, penetrated the gums, and strengthened teeth, there would be some many more healthy toothed people. Medicine gets easier to use, a few pills takes away a headache for the day. Why isn't there some kind of remedy for tooth decay that works like that? Scientists are smart (usually) and I feel like this kind of product would be easy and profitable to develop.

People are lazy, and most other businesses realize that. They make things easy for the consumer to use so that they can sell more. Dentists need to pander to humanity's lack of motivation and develop a simple, easy to use dental health formula.

On a related note, no matter what innovations there are, I don't think the British will ever have good teeth.

Just something to chew on.

Pirates and Preachers

(Heads up, we're looking at some parts of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so spoiler warning.)

I'm really tired of seeing Christians in movies as some kind of raving lunatic. So often it is the devout Christian who is the crazy serial killer, or the bumbling idiot. Somehow, a killer is more believable when they have some kind of religious basis. If you think I'm joking, check out the trailer for the movie The Ledge. Or watch some episodes of ABC's Secret Life, that one Christian chick needs some help.

As much as this is the case, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has a character that is a breath of fresh air. One main sub-character is a dedicated missionary. This character, I feel, is a good example of what a Christian character can be in movies.

I really like Philip Swift.

Philip Swift is a missionary who is taken onto Captain Blackbeard's ship and kept alive by his daughter. He fully believes that any soul can be saved, no matter how cruel and diseased. Swift strongly stands against Blackbeard on a number of occasions, despite the risk to his health. With the mermaid Syrena, he is kind and compassionate, going out of his way to help her. Even while dying, he tried to both gain her freedom, and forgiveness.

What he shows a Christian to be contrasts with the Spanish  sailors. The Spanish show up toward the end to wreck the Fountain of Youth. The apparent Captain makes a note how God is the only one who can provide eternal life. They add the religious zealot aspect, but I didn't take them as the crazy types. You might not have like what they did (or thought it was a poor plot point) but I can't condemn them as crazy or stupid.

It's surprising that a movie like Pirates of the Caribbean could offer a decent view of Christians. Everyone can take their own moral views on Philip Swift, but I see him as a strong step for public medias like movies. Christians that are real people, not bible thumping lunatics, have a place in modern media, and characters like Philip Swift show just how realistic they can be.

The fact that the director keeps him shirtless for about half the movie probably adds to his popularity.

Just something to chew on.

We Know Some Awesome People

Right now, I am sitting on my couch with a bowl of soup. Now, this shouldn't come as a surprise, given the name of this journal. What is different about this, is that this soup came from some friends of my family who are looking after us since my dad had surgery.

Today has been an amazing example of just how good God is to us.

Most of you probably know that we are moving to Illinois this summer, (and to those of you who don't know, you haven't been paying attention have you?) In our moving process, we've needed the help of a lot of people. While Kyle and I are away at school, mom is at home, trying to do it all. That's just not healthy. I don't think anyone could expect her to pack an entire house by herself.

 There have been so many people willing to step up and lend a hand. I know that the men's ministry from our church came by one day to help do a lot of heavy lifting and moving, things that my mom probably couldn't do. We have had somewhere around three meals dropped at our house, just a few days after dad's surgery. We're allowed to store a bunch of our household junk in a friends storage garage while we try and pack up. Today, a friend came over to fix our broken attic door.

I take this entire time as an example of how God helps out those who need him. I can't count the number of times mom has come home and said that something was a God moment. It's all these little that add up to help. I know that we still ave some big needs, like selling our house soon. God will work in those moments when we need Him, and He'll work big, that's no surprise. But it's finding Him in these little moments, always helping, that really encourages me.

All the awesome people God has brought into our life is amazing. And they definitely balance out all the troublemakers that we've had to deal with.

Just something to chew on.

Humans Bad, Blarg, Blarg, Blarg!

Recently I picked up a copy of Mass Effect from Bioware. It's a "space epic" that lets you play as Commander Shepherd and pick how you save the galaxy. So far it's been a good game. It's got its flaws, but I might get into that at a later time. There is one thing that I've noticed, and it intrigues me.

Aliens are really xenophobic jerks aren't they?

A big idea so far in Mass Effect, is that many of the aliens don't think that humans are worth anything. They think that, for some reason or another, humans are lowly, under-evolved wastes of space. Of course, the whole thing about your character being human is to work with all your little alien buddies to save the galaxy and prove how worthwhile your species is.

Hooray for noble quests and the heroes journey and all that. I take a bit of an issue with all the racial hate flying around like jumping beans in a tumble dryer. There really seems to be no bounds for any of the accusations flying from either side. All the races seem pretty similar in most respects. Your party has one member from about four races, and despite some different focus areas, they all seem pretty much alike. Given, they all have different back stories and such, but in combat, they all get the job done. If Bioware was going to focus so much on the differences of race, they should have done some drastic things among the characters that you deal with.

As far as conflicts go, I prefer the one in Bioware's other epic, Dragon Age. There, despite all the internal conflicts, racism, and all that, there is still an overarching enemy threat that everyone has to deal with. I like the dark spawn because their motives aren't based on some poor excuse for superiority. They're evil, they want everyone dead, not too hard to understand. The antagonist of Mass Effect has that kind of ego problem, viewing the humans as so slowly. To me, it is hard to really want him dead based on his motives. Dragon Age has a demon that wants to wipe out humanity for its own evil reasons, cool, I can deal with that. But Mass Effect's villian is just kind of a tosser.

In a lot of the science fiction I've seen, this seems to be a real problem. There's always some kind of race superiority going on, whether it is by the humans, or the aliens. Either way, I feel that this is a really flimsy conflict to try and resolve. I like the idea of some kind of evil that is easy to identify, an evil overlord, demonic dragon, mutant broccoli, something. To just say that all members of race X are weak and deserve death isn't really a strong plot. All in all, I guess you could take this as a overarching complaint against all racism.

Interesting end note, the main cannon fodder for the game are robots. They're fine with all the hate speech, but they won't let you shoot the aliens? Odd.

Just something to chew on.

Annoyances: "Mischief Makers"

For those of you who were hoping for an old N64 reference, you'll be sadly disappointed (that'll come another day.) This is the start of a pointless look at people types that annoy me. I'm sure my faithful readers are just dying to know about these little snippets, so why not oblige them. If anything, this is just a chance to clear my head a bit.

Don't try to be mischievous, especially if there is no believable way anyone think you could.

I've run into a few people like this is my few years. Some kids think that they're crafty or mischievous, and they try and tell everyone just how clever they are. They think they're pranksters, the kind of kids who are the class clowns and can pull off the tricks reminiscent of an episode of Recess.

Here's the thing. Every kid I've made that has made this claim, has been completely wrong. The most mischievous thing they have ever done was getting away with wearing two different colored socks. To them, there a diabolical mastermind, to the rest of us, they're just sad nuisances.

I know that this doesn't sound like it's a big deal, I'm just easily annoyed right? Wrong (shut up, it's true). With these kind of people, we have kids trying to be what they aren't and believing it. I suppose you could say that this is a general problem with most people. The reason I can make this category for people is because of how much they talk about it. Interestingly enough, I've never heard any one of them actually talk about their pranks, they just like to say things like, "I have to do [insert inane task] so I don't cause any mischief." Phrases like that make me think that they even realize that what they're saying is worthless, but they're still trying to pass it off as who they are.

So, on a whole, I people who aren't real bother me, but I can go into far greater detail on that another time (and I probably will.)

On a side note, I'm a fan of pranks, just like anyone else, just don't do one to me. Seriously, I will end you....

Just something to chew on.