Time To Act Female
Why this header? Well, Pauline told me that getting all worked up about little details is typically female. Now it is my turn to act outrageously female as I'm going all crazy over something that's supposed to be insignificant.
My life is pretty shallow. This is not something I just made up, for over a year I've been constantly confronted with this fact. The thing is, it is a catch 22 situation, pretty much. First I'll tell you what I think it is that makes my life so shallow.
About a year back I entered the first year of my studies. The people I met there are interesting. We went on a short and fun introduction camp where we all got to meet each other for the first time. When people started telling about themselves and what they had done and been through I immediately found out that the story of my life was pretty boring...and short. There are students who have lived in Japan, France, were born on Aruba because the family runs the embassy, whose parents have 'doll theaters' (much like kabuki), who have worked in far away countries. And even people who have recovered from cancer or have lost an arm have at least more life experience than me.
I have lived in this rotten town all my life, pretty much. We never go out much as a family. My parents are divorced and my mom remarried, I'm living with her now. My biological father is pretty smart and has had numerous succesful adventures in the business world. He's your typical self-made man. He never really cared for his kids, though, so my parents got divorced. It was no big deal, really. I did not have a hard time coping with it as my dad was always on business trips. But during the first 6 years of my life I hadn't done all that much. We never went on vacation because my dad was always too busy. We never did cultural stuff because my dad was too busy and my mom had to look after us and the house. Well, at the age of 6 you don't really care.
My mom is quite intelligent herself. But when she grew up women didn't have the same opportunities they have nowadays, especially not in her family. So she hasn't done anything else since she finished highschool. It doesn't make you dumb, but it also doesn't allow you to develop your intelligence and interest a bit further than highschool level. My mom never had much interest in culture. I cannot blame her, really.
She remarried. My stepfather is the best stepfather any kid could wish for, treated me and my brother like his own kids. The thing is, he's not too smart either. Now I'm not the person to consider people's intelligence before liking them, I can get along with trailer trash just as well as with university graduates. But as for the cultural development of his children not being interested in a lot of things sure does not come in handy. My little brother (who is a product of my mom and stepfather) is also severely handicapped because he cannot spend a long time in a car, so we've always been confined to this little town I had spent my entire life in already.
Of course I made friends and I did some stuff that have been broadening my views on life quite a bit but compared to my fellow students...Nah.
You might say that only people who are more extravagant decide to study Japanese. That might well be true, but also when I look around in my group of friends I'm easily the one who's always been a little backwards. Sure, none of my friends have spent a considerable amount of time outside of this country. Well, except for Jack (the grand old man) but he's in his 50s now, and has spent a good 5-8 years of his youth in Denver, CO. But that was in the 1950's, so that does not really count, now does it? And I'm forgetting one who lived in Nicaragua, but that is not a real country :)
The rest are all from relatively regular families. But there's always something about them. Steven is the friend who went to Canada. He took a wonderful opportunity and I'm happy for him, but I do envy him. Not because he's in Canda and I'm not, but because he's been given this opportunity. Pauline's mom is quite the adventurous type so she's seen a lot of things, German (it's his nickname, as you might know) has been on vacation a lot, so he's seen a lot of stuff too. I'm not too sure about Frank, but he seems happy the way he is.
Over the past year I've been running into things a lot among my group of friends that makes me feel imprisoned in this town and my studies. Naturally studying a language brings along a lot of homework and a lot of hours spent at the university. I'm also living quite far away from the uni so I always have to get up early. Today was such a day when I had to get up at 5 AM, so I went to bed early yesterday. Just before hitting the sack Frank called me. He was in the pub with all the others and called to ask me something. One of his lines was: "We're in the pub. We're having fun, and you're not."
He didn't mean it the way it's written above. I know him too well and it's his way of making jokes. I think it was a good joke, but he didn't know he was quite right there. They had fun, I didn't. It's been like this for a long time now, thanks to the fact they live in the city and I in my backward town 45 minutes by bike away from them I cannot go into the pub just like that when I have to get up at 5 AM. I'm at least traveling for 90 minutes in order to get there and to get back home at the end of the evening. Doesn't leave me with much quality time, now does it?
I tried to keep Frank's call short, because those words really hit home with me and I didn't want to be 'tormented' much longer. It felt like the walls of my room were coming right towards me. I've been feeling like this a lot over the past year, realizing how little I have done, and how little I've been able to do so far. True, I explained earlier in this Journal that I'm not the person to live hastily in order to get done as much as possible in my life, but when I'm saying that I mean 'not taking opportunities the minute they arise'. Right now, and for over the past 20 years I have not gotten any, so I have not been able to do anything, even if I wanted to.
This town has imprisoned me. I have no friends here, no perspective and no future. I'm very, very happy with my parents. Let me tell you that they have done an outstanding job in raising me and surround me with love every single day. Still that does not change my town, and the influence it is having on the family. The thing is that the rest of the family doesn't care, while I do.
I really need to get out of here. Moving to the city to live together with Pauline is the right thing to do. I sure hope she doesn't get second thoughts and I also hope the waiting lists for renting apartments are not being as harsh on us in the future as they have been up until now. I really need it, my own place, close to my friends, away from this town that's making me feel like a prisoner. It'll open up the world a little bit more to me, I'm sure, however insignificant it may seem. It means a lot to me, even if I'm stil lgoing to bed at Wednesday nights at 10 PM, not going to the pub with my friends. The thing is that when I'm living in the city I have the opportunity to go and I could decline just like that. When I'm here I cannot go, I have no choice. It's a very small difference.
This might all seem very trivial to you, but there's constantly a new drop of annoyance being put in the bucket. I feel really backward and uninteresting. I know I'm not, to a certain extent, but I often see the surprised looks on the faces of my friends when I tell them things that are normal to them that I have never done before in my life. Bah.
End of rant. I hope some of you can relate.
Mystikvm Blog
Semi Intellectual
by Mystikvm on Comments
Books are overrated
One of my fellow students is like my double. Not in looks, but in humor and attitude. Just as me and my friends his sense of humor is totally absurd, he has the same views on life and studying and he's a nice guy too. Needless to say we get along very well. Today he asked me whether I read a lot of books or not. I told him I never read, unless it is mandatory for my studies. He said he was in the same boat. Then we started talking about how overrated books are.
We weren't talking about fictional books. Fiction is subjective matter and the same as movies or games, for that matter. Fiction is something that's adding little to your overall knowledge, it is a nice pasttime (even though I don't like it). We have a problem with non-fictional books.
It is good to read about stuff you don't know about. What is wrong, however, is that a lot of people seem to think that reading such books makes you smarter. Real intelligence die not lie within the realm of acquired knowledge, though. What you are doing when you are reading non-fictional books is that you consume viewpoints and then pretend you know more. That is absolutely wrong. You are only truly intelligent if you develop such viewpoints of your own, and later on read the book and be like: "Hey, this guy thinks the same way as I do."
A lot of people don't develop these viewpoints of their own. They read Nietzsche and think the guy has a valid point. From then on they quote Nietzsche in discussions about religion and social structures, instead of advertising their own views. This fellow student (his name is Michael) made the most brilliant analogy I've ever heard. He said that these people treat all those quotes they've read like Pokemon. They draw one out of their 'deck of quotes' and are like: 'I choose you, Machiavelli!!'. Then they quote the scholar and pretend to be highly intelligent. What they have done, however, is recycle other people's views. They have developed no viewpoint of their own whatsoever.
I believe Michael and I were right here. What do you think?
More trains, more thoughts
A few more snippets of total randomness. Enjoy.
I listened to some of the news CD by Arcturus, Sideshow Symphonies. Arcturus has squeezed out the best metal CD ever in 2002, IMO. The Sham Mirrors came out of nowhere. From a relatively mediocre and very conservative black metal band this group suddenly mixed in science-fiction themes and a lot of progressive influences, mad breaks, very atmospheric music with a singer whose voice is truly heartfelt. It blew me away the first time I heard it, and it hasn't stopped blowing me away ever since. This CD is about as good, I think. While it's even more crazy in terms of complexity (a bit too complex maybe), they've elevated their own science-fiction metal subgenre they created to a new level. It is good. For those who like heavier rock, check this out. This is the kind of metal you will like, unlike the run of the mill black and death metal bands. Make sure to look for either The Sham Mirros or Sideshow Symphonies.
A totally other brand of music is Yoji Biomehanika. I think he's one of the most innovative techno/hardstyle/house artists around. Today I listened to the orignal mix of B Raver and it is surprising. You wouldn't think heavy electronic music could be this original in content. Well, Yoji Biomehanika is. Check it out, even though I think those with a weak spot for this kind of music know him already.
I borrowed Kirby: Canvas Curse to a colleague of my brother. Today my brother returned with his colleague's copy of Super Mario 64 DS. I have not yet played this game, I'm eager to check it out. But not before tomorrow, though. It's late already.
Our darts team is on a winning streak. I just returned from the 3rd match this competition and we won again. Last week we won as well, only then I was a substitute. This time I had to play again, and I did so much better than the first match where I lost every game I played. This time I had wonderful socres and I was also able to finish the matches within a few darts. With three wins in a row I think our team is definately capable of jacking a top three spot at the end of the season. We are really good.
If there's some little stuff going on in your life, share it.
One of my fellow students is like my double. Not in looks, but in humor and attitude. Just as me and my friends his sense of humor is totally absurd, he has the same views on life and studying and he's a nice guy too. Needless to say we get along very well. Today he asked me whether I read a lot of books or not. I told him I never read, unless it is mandatory for my studies. He said he was in the same boat. Then we started talking about how overrated books are.
We weren't talking about fictional books. Fiction is subjective matter and the same as movies or games, for that matter. Fiction is something that's adding little to your overall knowledge, it is a nice pasttime (even though I don't like it). We have a problem with non-fictional books.
It is good to read about stuff you don't know about. What is wrong, however, is that a lot of people seem to think that reading such books makes you smarter. Real intelligence die not lie within the realm of acquired knowledge, though. What you are doing when you are reading non-fictional books is that you consume viewpoints and then pretend you know more. That is absolutely wrong. You are only truly intelligent if you develop such viewpoints of your own, and later on read the book and be like: "Hey, this guy thinks the same way as I do."
A lot of people don't develop these viewpoints of their own. They read Nietzsche and think the guy has a valid point. From then on they quote Nietzsche in discussions about religion and social structures, instead of advertising their own views. This fellow student (his name is Michael) made the most brilliant analogy I've ever heard. He said that these people treat all those quotes they've read like Pokemon. They draw one out of their 'deck of quotes' and are like: 'I choose you, Machiavelli!!'. Then they quote the scholar and pretend to be highly intelligent. What they have done, however, is recycle other people's views. They have developed no viewpoint of their own whatsoever.
I believe Michael and I were right here. What do you think?
More trains, more thoughts
A few more snippets of total randomness. Enjoy.
I listened to some of the news CD by Arcturus, Sideshow Symphonies. Arcturus has squeezed out the best metal CD ever in 2002, IMO. The Sham Mirrors came out of nowhere. From a relatively mediocre and very conservative black metal band this group suddenly mixed in science-fiction themes and a lot of progressive influences, mad breaks, very atmospheric music with a singer whose voice is truly heartfelt. It blew me away the first time I heard it, and it hasn't stopped blowing me away ever since. This CD is about as good, I think. While it's even more crazy in terms of complexity (a bit too complex maybe), they've elevated their own science-fiction metal subgenre they created to a new level. It is good. For those who like heavier rock, check this out. This is the kind of metal you will like, unlike the run of the mill black and death metal bands. Make sure to look for either The Sham Mirros or Sideshow Symphonies.
A totally other brand of music is Yoji Biomehanika. I think he's one of the most innovative techno/hardstyle/house artists around. Today I listened to the orignal mix of B Raver and it is surprising. You wouldn't think heavy electronic music could be this original in content. Well, Yoji Biomehanika is. Check it out, even though I think those with a weak spot for this kind of music know him already.
I borrowed Kirby: Canvas Curse to a colleague of my brother. Today my brother returned with his colleague's copy of Super Mario 64 DS. I have not yet played this game, I'm eager to check it out. But not before tomorrow, though. It's late already.
Our darts team is on a winning streak. I just returned from the 3rd match this competition and we won again. Last week we won as well, only then I was a substitute. This time I had to play again, and I did so much better than the first match where I lost every game I played. This time I had wonderful socres and I was also able to finish the matches within a few darts. With three wins in a row I think our team is definately capable of jacking a top three spot at the end of the season. We are really good.
If there's some little stuff going on in your life, share it.
Throwback
by Mystikvm on Comments
This site is about games, so I guess I'll post some impressions of the 2 DS games I picked up last week. Should you still doubt whether to get these ones or not, read on.
Meteos
I think most of you will have played this game by now. If you have not, I hope these impressions will gert you to play it. It's mighty fun.
At first this game reminded me a little bit of Puzznic. For those who are not acquainted with this game, it's a Taito game, originally released for arcades only but later featured on both NES and PlayStation where you had to move blocks around to make a pair. While Puzznic is more logic-oriented, Meteos is all about speed and a good ability to notice certain patterns. In Meteos you can move blocks either up or down and you have to get three in a row to make them ignite and have them float up in the sky. Depending on the level you are playing and the number of blocks involved the floating platform will come down after some time, meaning you have to give it another push with some more blocks. The blocks that reach the top of the screen are eliminated and you'll score points.
It's very simple, as with every puzzle game, but it can get quite frantic. The more blocks and the more floating platforms, the more impressed you'll be by the original way the game's tackling the old 'erase blocks' principle. It's accompanied by lush graphics and funky music that's really fitting the 'planet' you are playing on.
'Planets' are the levels in Meteos. You'll play a lot of different ones and get the chance to unlock them by completing more and more of the game. Every planet has a different them, different blocks and different music. They also have a different way in which the blocks go up and down. Some levels are slow and you can clear a lot of blocks, others are faster and you'll get more blocks at once. As a compensation the platforms float up very quickly. It's always giving you a change of pace as you'll never be playing the same game over and over again.
This game has a lot of replay value. I'm adoring it. This is a must-buy for everyone with a DS and a slight interest in puzzle games.
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
Upon walking into my local gaming specialty store I was surprised to find a copy of Castlevnia: Dawn Of Sorrow. Last time I checked the release date in Europe was still more than a week away. But well, they've been doing it before and it is not like this game is going to sell more than 10 copies anyway, so I grabbed one.
It's been a long time since I've last played a Castlevania game. I've stayed out of the 3D incarnations because I heard they were slightly above average at best. I also never got the chance to pick up one of the GBA released Castlvania titles, so this has been the first time since...Well, since a good 8 to 10 years maybe that I've booted up a Castlevania game. Expect impressions based upon the game itself, not upon the Castlevania legacy.
Well, a little bit on the legacy, maybe. The good news is that this game plays exactly like all the other 2D Castlevanias (the ones I played, at least). As you might know you run around in 2D fashion, clearing the sometimes confusing levels while slashing up enemies. The levels have been made a little confusing for a reason, though. The upper screen functions as a map, a very useful one at that, showing you where you've already been and the possible ways to go. The lower screen is where the action takes place. You control Soma (the game's protagonist) with the D-Pad and the action buttons. The whole button layout of the actions buttons is confusing sometimes, as you'll find yourself pressing the wrong button in the midst of the battle. You'll get over this soon enough, though.
Slashing up enemies grants you some of their abilities. You have to select a certain ability to use in the menu, and then press the buttons that accompany this ability in order to gain some extra features. Some of these abilites cost MP, others do not. Expect some mighty powerful abilities as you can also trade abilities with friends to cook up even better ones. I have not tried this yet, but I intend to find another person with this game.
So what does the touch screen do? Not much, really. The first info on this game was about how you had to draw figures around enemies to eliminate them. Well, the in-game use of the touch screen is limited. The slashing up is done by the regular buttons. They only have added a so-called 'Magic Seal' for which you need to use the touch screen. A Magic Seal can be used for all sorts of things. In the beginning you'll find yourself eleminating a boss with it (after you have pummeled it into oblivion anyway). What you have to do is draw a figure to complete the seal. The further you progress in the game, the more complicated these seals get. The thought behind it is that these seals seal away the evil that has been unleashed in that area of the game. It is a funny drawing excercise, but it feels a little forced, however.
For the rest you have the menu to use the touch screen in. While you might think this is another forced feature, it is more convenient than you think. Sure, it's nothing the D-Pad could not do, but the menu, keeping track of all your abilities, equipment and items works much faster with a stylus, greatly improving the speed of the game. The game feels fast and plays fast. It's not an easy game, either. Well, most of you 2D veterans will have little trouble beating the first parts of the game, but for those who haven't been gaming in 2D for some time it can be a little hard in the beginning, as the game leaves little room for error, the health bar is tight. Also the fact that there are fixed save points (a great plus) adds to the challenge.
The whole look of the game is very reminiscent of the SNES era, and while it is intended to be dark, the backgrounds are relatively colorful and the enemies are very detailed and have nice animations. The music is also reliant on 16bit themes, which is a good thing. It's fast, during the story parts it is appropriate and atmospheric and the stero sound is very nicely worked out. You'll immediately recognize a few nice touches to the 'stero image', even though the DS's speakers are so close together.
There are only a few minor downsides, like the sometimes cluttered screen when you're fighting a bunch of enemies at once, the rapidly decreasing MP bar and the fact they force you to use the map feature at times, which is on the upper screen and distracts you from the action.
Still, when you're first playing this game you immediately feel this is a good game. It is rock solid, I have noticed no annoying flaws yet. The way it looks and sounds shows there's been going a great deal of care into this game. This is classic 2D gameplay, you want to play this game, believe me. If you have been digging Castlevania ever since it first came out you cannot go wrong with this one. I, who is not so very much into 2D gaming have been playing this non-stop since I first got it. Go figure.
Meteos
I think most of you will have played this game by now. If you have not, I hope these impressions will gert you to play it. It's mighty fun.
At first this game reminded me a little bit of Puzznic. For those who are not acquainted with this game, it's a Taito game, originally released for arcades only but later featured on both NES and PlayStation where you had to move blocks around to make a pair. While Puzznic is more logic-oriented, Meteos is all about speed and a good ability to notice certain patterns. In Meteos you can move blocks either up or down and you have to get three in a row to make them ignite and have them float up in the sky. Depending on the level you are playing and the number of blocks involved the floating platform will come down after some time, meaning you have to give it another push with some more blocks. The blocks that reach the top of the screen are eliminated and you'll score points.
It's very simple, as with every puzzle game, but it can get quite frantic. The more blocks and the more floating platforms, the more impressed you'll be by the original way the game's tackling the old 'erase blocks' principle. It's accompanied by lush graphics and funky music that's really fitting the 'planet' you are playing on.
'Planets' are the levels in Meteos. You'll play a lot of different ones and get the chance to unlock them by completing more and more of the game. Every planet has a different them, different blocks and different music. They also have a different way in which the blocks go up and down. Some levels are slow and you can clear a lot of blocks, others are faster and you'll get more blocks at once. As a compensation the platforms float up very quickly. It's always giving you a change of pace as you'll never be playing the same game over and over again.
This game has a lot of replay value. I'm adoring it. This is a must-buy for everyone with a DS and a slight interest in puzzle games.
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
Upon walking into my local gaming specialty store I was surprised to find a copy of Castlevnia: Dawn Of Sorrow. Last time I checked the release date in Europe was still more than a week away. But well, they've been doing it before and it is not like this game is going to sell more than 10 copies anyway, so I grabbed one.
It's been a long time since I've last played a Castlevania game. I've stayed out of the 3D incarnations because I heard they were slightly above average at best. I also never got the chance to pick up one of the GBA released Castlvania titles, so this has been the first time since...Well, since a good 8 to 10 years maybe that I've booted up a Castlevania game. Expect impressions based upon the game itself, not upon the Castlevania legacy.
Well, a little bit on the legacy, maybe. The good news is that this game plays exactly like all the other 2D Castlevanias (the ones I played, at least). As you might know you run around in 2D fashion, clearing the sometimes confusing levels while slashing up enemies. The levels have been made a little confusing for a reason, though. The upper screen functions as a map, a very useful one at that, showing you where you've already been and the possible ways to go. The lower screen is where the action takes place. You control Soma (the game's protagonist) with the D-Pad and the action buttons. The whole button layout of the actions buttons is confusing sometimes, as you'll find yourself pressing the wrong button in the midst of the battle. You'll get over this soon enough, though.
Slashing up enemies grants you some of their abilities. You have to select a certain ability to use in the menu, and then press the buttons that accompany this ability in order to gain some extra features. Some of these abilites cost MP, others do not. Expect some mighty powerful abilities as you can also trade abilities with friends to cook up even better ones. I have not tried this yet, but I intend to find another person with this game.
So what does the touch screen do? Not much, really. The first info on this game was about how you had to draw figures around enemies to eliminate them. Well, the in-game use of the touch screen is limited. The slashing up is done by the regular buttons. They only have added a so-called 'Magic Seal' for which you need to use the touch screen. A Magic Seal can be used for all sorts of things. In the beginning you'll find yourself eleminating a boss with it (after you have pummeled it into oblivion anyway). What you have to do is draw a figure to complete the seal. The further you progress in the game, the more complicated these seals get. The thought behind it is that these seals seal away the evil that has been unleashed in that area of the game. It is a funny drawing excercise, but it feels a little forced, however.
For the rest you have the menu to use the touch screen in. While you might think this is another forced feature, it is more convenient than you think. Sure, it's nothing the D-Pad could not do, but the menu, keeping track of all your abilities, equipment and items works much faster with a stylus, greatly improving the speed of the game. The game feels fast and plays fast. It's not an easy game, either. Well, most of you 2D veterans will have little trouble beating the first parts of the game, but for those who haven't been gaming in 2D for some time it can be a little hard in the beginning, as the game leaves little room for error, the health bar is tight. Also the fact that there are fixed save points (a great plus) adds to the challenge.
The whole look of the game is very reminiscent of the SNES era, and while it is intended to be dark, the backgrounds are relatively colorful and the enemies are very detailed and have nice animations. The music is also reliant on 16bit themes, which is a good thing. It's fast, during the story parts it is appropriate and atmospheric and the stero sound is very nicely worked out. You'll immediately recognize a few nice touches to the 'stero image', even though the DS's speakers are so close together.
There are only a few minor downsides, like the sometimes cluttered screen when you're fighting a bunch of enemies at once, the rapidly decreasing MP bar and the fact they force you to use the map feature at times, which is on the upper screen and distracts you from the action.
Still, when you're first playing this game you immediately feel this is a good game. It is rock solid, I have noticed no annoying flaws yet. The way it looks and sounds shows there's been going a great deal of care into this game. This is classic 2D gameplay, you want to play this game, believe me. If you have been digging Castlevania ever since it first came out you cannot go wrong with this one. I, who is not so very much into 2D gaming have been playing this non-stop since I first got it. Go figure.
State Of Mind
by Mystikvm on Comments
I got a lot of little things to talk about. It would be a waste to write a lot about little things, though, as it is barely interesting enough to keep you hooked for more than 3 lines. So I cut them up in little snippets.
Let's see if you can follow my
Train of Thought
Lately I've dusted off my copy of Deftones' White Pony. This CD is great, probably even the best of recent times, even though it's about 5 years old now. Still, it's got emotion without the emo, it's got balls without sounding cheesy, and it takes me back to the times when I was younger and went to the pub for the first time in my life.
Before my musical taste became as ecclectic as it is now I was hugely into hard rock and metal. I still am, by the way, among other things. Still, there was a small pub devoted to this kind of music back in the day and I religiously went there at least twice a week. Whenever I hear a song from White Pony it takes me back to that pub. They played that CD a lot.
Funny thing Pauline told me, while being on the subject of that pub: When she first saw me there (she hung around that place too) she thought I was hot. At the same moment she thought I was way out of her league. I still laugh at the thought, because I know myself better than she did at that time, and I was by no means 'out of her league'. As you might've read in past entries, I used to be quite the nerd and I was just recovering from that period in my life back then.
But apparently I appear(ed) arrogant. While on one hand I don't really care about that, on the other hand I do think it scares people away from me, and I don't want that. I want to be liked. I'm a nice guy, but a lot of people are telling me that I have the 'Dontcha dare **** with me!' attitude. I sincerely believe this is not an image, but that it is really me, because this happens without me practising on my arrogant look. I'm just like that. Meh.
Just like that? Oh yes, cowbells. Jonathan, I do believe the original recording of Don't Fear The Reaper has cowbells in it. Well, maybe those are not cowbells, but it's a woodblock of some sort at least. Or was there an original recording before my original recording? I might have to check out the record store to make sure mine is indeed an original recording.
I also have to check out the gamestore, maybe tomorrow or else coming Saturday. Meteos will be coming out, and it'll be the first game I'm buying since a month or three. I also have an eye out for Castlevania and of course Advance Wars when it is hitting store shelves in a few weeks. A good month for my DS, my consoles are collecting dust, however.
So I play my DS in the train a lot. Today in the train a woman was sitting right across where I was, and she was constantly looking at me with this artificial smile. I was playing my DS so I didn't really pay attention, but every time I looked up I got the impression she was somehow digging me, it was THAT kind of smile. Now her age certainly had to be 50+ so you can guess I wasn't really interested. When more people entered out compartment she started to look at them as well with that stupid smile. It creeped me out and I was glad I could leave the train and leave her behind.
Also today: I was walking towards the university when a Chinese woman passed me by. She walked very fast, so I guess she was in a hurry. However, upon looking down at the water (we were on a bridge) she noticed a couple of ducks. Well, they were not ducks really, they were a little bit bigger than that, and somewhat smaller than geese. She immediately stopped walking and started to look at the ducks. She was completely captivated by their beauty, because they were beautiful, and the whole scene was somewhat peaceful. I walked on, and a few minutes later she caming running past me, in even more of a hurry than she initially was...
Then it occured to me that I'm not always enjoying the small things around me like I'm always pretending to be doing. I did notice the ducks and how peaceful the scene was and had plenty of time to just relax for a minute. Still, I decided to walk on. The little Chinese woman did not, she went out of her way to take a moment for herself. Surely it resulted in even more stress than before she had seen the ducks, but at least she's seen and enjoyed something simple and good. Strange how we often tend to overlook these kinds of things, and other people don't.
Well, that's about it. Hope you could follow it all. Share some tidbits of your life with the others while you're at it.
Let's see if you can follow my
Train of Thought
Lately I've dusted off my copy of Deftones' White Pony. This CD is great, probably even the best of recent times, even though it's about 5 years old now. Still, it's got emotion without the emo, it's got balls without sounding cheesy, and it takes me back to the times when I was younger and went to the pub for the first time in my life.
Before my musical taste became as ecclectic as it is now I was hugely into hard rock and metal. I still am, by the way, among other things. Still, there was a small pub devoted to this kind of music back in the day and I religiously went there at least twice a week. Whenever I hear a song from White Pony it takes me back to that pub. They played that CD a lot.
Funny thing Pauline told me, while being on the subject of that pub: When she first saw me there (she hung around that place too) she thought I was hot. At the same moment she thought I was way out of her league. I still laugh at the thought, because I know myself better than she did at that time, and I was by no means 'out of her league'. As you might've read in past entries, I used to be quite the nerd and I was just recovering from that period in my life back then.
But apparently I appear(ed) arrogant. While on one hand I don't really care about that, on the other hand I do think it scares people away from me, and I don't want that. I want to be liked. I'm a nice guy, but a lot of people are telling me that I have the 'Dontcha dare **** with me!' attitude. I sincerely believe this is not an image, but that it is really me, because this happens without me practising on my arrogant look. I'm just like that. Meh.
Just like that? Oh yes, cowbells. Jonathan, I do believe the original recording of Don't Fear The Reaper has cowbells in it. Well, maybe those are not cowbells, but it's a woodblock of some sort at least. Or was there an original recording before my original recording? I might have to check out the record store to make sure mine is indeed an original recording.
I also have to check out the gamestore, maybe tomorrow or else coming Saturday. Meteos will be coming out, and it'll be the first game I'm buying since a month or three. I also have an eye out for Castlevania and of course Advance Wars when it is hitting store shelves in a few weeks. A good month for my DS, my consoles are collecting dust, however.
So I play my DS in the train a lot. Today in the train a woman was sitting right across where I was, and she was constantly looking at me with this artificial smile. I was playing my DS so I didn't really pay attention, but every time I looked up I got the impression she was somehow digging me, it was THAT kind of smile. Now her age certainly had to be 50+ so you can guess I wasn't really interested. When more people entered out compartment she started to look at them as well with that stupid smile. It creeped me out and I was glad I could leave the train and leave her behind.
Also today: I was walking towards the university when a Chinese woman passed me by. She walked very fast, so I guess she was in a hurry. However, upon looking down at the water (we were on a bridge) she noticed a couple of ducks. Well, they were not ducks really, they were a little bit bigger than that, and somewhat smaller than geese. She immediately stopped walking and started to look at the ducks. She was completely captivated by their beauty, because they were beautiful, and the whole scene was somewhat peaceful. I walked on, and a few minutes later she caming running past me, in even more of a hurry than she initially was...
Then it occured to me that I'm not always enjoying the small things around me like I'm always pretending to be doing. I did notice the ducks and how peaceful the scene was and had plenty of time to just relax for a minute. Still, I decided to walk on. The little Chinese woman did not, she went out of her way to take a moment for herself. Surely it resulted in even more stress than before she had seen the ducks, but at least she's seen and enjoyed something simple and good. Strange how we often tend to overlook these kinds of things, and other people don't.
Well, that's about it. Hope you could follow it all. Share some tidbits of your life with the others while you're at it.
Psychological Revolution
by Mystikvm on Comments
For a change this entry will be strictly about videogames. And yes, it is about the Revolution controller. But it is about the stuff you did not hear. Ever knew that the Tokyo Game Show is in reality a place where people discuss our state of mind? No? Look at the leaked keynote the Nintendo hotshots had ready for this secret and covert seminar.
The truth about Revolution (and mankind)
Tokyo: September 16th, 2005
Nintendo director Mr. Iwata comes up on the stage, the attendees applaud him
Thank you. Thank you. We from Nintendo are pleased to be here, as we have made a breakthrough in psychological research. I'll cut the chase and get right to the point.
Today I want to tell you more about 'Controllerphobia', also known as the extreme fear of more than 6 buttons presented on a videogame controller that is supposed to be held in both hands. We at Nintendo have been making videogame consoles for over 20 years and have witnessed a decline in sales. This is not at all due to our offerings in the software department as the public first suspected. No, the problem lies much deeper.
Back in the 1980's our Nintendo Entertainment System was hugely popular. Of course we had Mario and Zelda to capitalize on this popularity, but we also had a controller that consisted out of four buttons and a directional pad. On top of that it was rectangular. However, after that it seemed the devil had invaded our R&D department as we began to produce much more complicated controllers. At first we did not suspect what kind of reaction this would provoke with the users of our systems, but recent research has revealed the shocking truth. People fear our controllers.
The attendees look genuinely shocked and start to talk.
Please be quiet, I will explain. We have read reports about people leaving the room whenever a GameCube controller was brought into the room. In fact, the best way to get rid of unwanted guests in several Japanese families is to launch a GameCube game and offer your guest a controller. They will leave instantly in utter fear and desperation. This habit is very widespread now and it is concerning.
On top of that the people who have overcome their fears do not know what to do with the controller. Explaining the control scheme of a certain game more often than not resulted in strokes, brain damage and sometimes even people who enter a complete inanimate state of being. Some of our subjects are still being fed with a special probe, others haven't talked for years.
We at Nintendo care for our customers and we care for mankind. We cannot risk the health of our consumers and that is why we have been trying to fix this problem, to cure the people of their fear of controllers and a lot of buttons, and to make sure they do not become braindead after trying out a game where you have to press more than 2 buttons subsequently. Let me introduce you to Prof. Dr. Miyamoto who will show you the solution!
Miyamoto enters the stage, the attendees are very enthusiastic
Hello. As Mr. Iwata said we have been researching a lot and we have tried to fix the results of the reports. To fix the problem we reduced the number of buttons. Yes, there are still a lot of buttons on our controller, but only one matters. The rest does nothing. We have made it big so you cannot overlook it. We also looked at what people use a lot.
1 - Toilet
2 - Alcohol
3 - Homeshopping services
4 - Remote control
We wanted to incorporate all four into one device but quickly found out that flushing the toilet was a bit hard as the same button also orders you an Ab-Trainer with a free knife set, opens you a beer and also changes the channel to the Playboy Channel and immediately orders the Playmate video.
In the end we decided to make it look like a remote control and drop the other extra features. We think people will want to use the remote control. Yes, whenever they will see Mario on the TV screen they will reach for the remote to try to change the channel, but quickly find out it actually controls Mario. Then they will be naturally inclined to play this game. We have no evidence to back this up, but it is logical to assume. Back in the 1980's everybody loved Mario, right?
Complexity is optional with our new concept. It is impossible to properly move around in 3D space without analog control. This is an addition $30, batteries not included which can easily be connected to the remote control. It will contain buttons on illogical places and characters will still be as hard to move around in 3D as they were before, but we already determined that remote controls will get people to play games, right? In short, this is our solution.
Iwata comes back on stage, the crowd goes wild
This is our Revolution. Remote controls are the future. Forget two handed controllers, forget cables, forget clumsy button layouts. Welcome to the world where you will be needing at least 7 additions to your remote to play games, where you will always be out of batteries to put in it, where everybody is fighting for the damned thing and where you always seem to have lost it when you last cleaned your room. This is the future!
The two leave the stage, leaving the people in awe
You have seen the demonstrations. You know how it works, but now you know the philosophy behind it. People are afraid of things you hold with two hands. Nintendo fixed it.
The truth about Revolution (and mankind)
Tokyo: September 16th, 2005
Nintendo director Mr. Iwata comes up on the stage, the attendees applaud him
Thank you. Thank you. We from Nintendo are pleased to be here, as we have made a breakthrough in psychological research. I'll cut the chase and get right to the point.
Today I want to tell you more about 'Controllerphobia', also known as the extreme fear of more than 6 buttons presented on a videogame controller that is supposed to be held in both hands. We at Nintendo have been making videogame consoles for over 20 years and have witnessed a decline in sales. This is not at all due to our offerings in the software department as the public first suspected. No, the problem lies much deeper.
Back in the 1980's our Nintendo Entertainment System was hugely popular. Of course we had Mario and Zelda to capitalize on this popularity, but we also had a controller that consisted out of four buttons and a directional pad. On top of that it was rectangular. However, after that it seemed the devil had invaded our R&D department as we began to produce much more complicated controllers. At first we did not suspect what kind of reaction this would provoke with the users of our systems, but recent research has revealed the shocking truth. People fear our controllers.
The attendees look genuinely shocked and start to talk.
Please be quiet, I will explain. We have read reports about people leaving the room whenever a GameCube controller was brought into the room. In fact, the best way to get rid of unwanted guests in several Japanese families is to launch a GameCube game and offer your guest a controller. They will leave instantly in utter fear and desperation. This habit is very widespread now and it is concerning.
On top of that the people who have overcome their fears do not know what to do with the controller. Explaining the control scheme of a certain game more often than not resulted in strokes, brain damage and sometimes even people who enter a complete inanimate state of being. Some of our subjects are still being fed with a special probe, others haven't talked for years.
We at Nintendo care for our customers and we care for mankind. We cannot risk the health of our consumers and that is why we have been trying to fix this problem, to cure the people of their fear of controllers and a lot of buttons, and to make sure they do not become braindead after trying out a game where you have to press more than 2 buttons subsequently. Let me introduce you to Prof. Dr. Miyamoto who will show you the solution!
Miyamoto enters the stage, the attendees are very enthusiastic
Hello. As Mr. Iwata said we have been researching a lot and we have tried to fix the results of the reports. To fix the problem we reduced the number of buttons. Yes, there are still a lot of buttons on our controller, but only one matters. The rest does nothing. We have made it big so you cannot overlook it. We also looked at what people use a lot.
1 - Toilet
2 - Alcohol
3 - Homeshopping services
4 - Remote control
We wanted to incorporate all four into one device but quickly found out that flushing the toilet was a bit hard as the same button also orders you an Ab-Trainer with a free knife set, opens you a beer and also changes the channel to the Playboy Channel and immediately orders the Playmate video.
In the end we decided to make it look like a remote control and drop the other extra features. We think people will want to use the remote control. Yes, whenever they will see Mario on the TV screen they will reach for the remote to try to change the channel, but quickly find out it actually controls Mario. Then they will be naturally inclined to play this game. We have no evidence to back this up, but it is logical to assume. Back in the 1980's everybody loved Mario, right?
Complexity is optional with our new concept. It is impossible to properly move around in 3D space without analog control. This is an addition $30, batteries not included which can easily be connected to the remote control. It will contain buttons on illogical places and characters will still be as hard to move around in 3D as they were before, but we already determined that remote controls will get people to play games, right? In short, this is our solution.
Iwata comes back on stage, the crowd goes wild
This is our Revolution. Remote controls are the future. Forget two handed controllers, forget cables, forget clumsy button layouts. Welcome to the world where you will be needing at least 7 additions to your remote to play games, where you will always be out of batteries to put in it, where everybody is fighting for the damned thing and where you always seem to have lost it when you last cleaned your room. This is the future!
The two leave the stage, leaving the people in awe
You have seen the demonstrations. You know how it works, but now you know the philosophy behind it. People are afraid of things you hold with two hands. Nintendo fixed it.
One Year
by Mystikvm on Comments
Yet Another One
About a year ago (those last few days don't really matter) I started up this Journal. At first it was lacking focus, but as I used the community more and more my Journal became also more and more focused. First it contained a lot of gaming stuff, but later on I also began to use it for my personal ramblings. To my surprise a lot of people seemed to like it.
A few of those people have become my 'Journal buddies'. I read their entries, and they read some of mine. It's a good way to exchange thoughts, and a good way to get some advice on certain things. Heck, I know zero of you people very well, it's good to put some of my problems on your plate and have you give me some advice. In a lot of ways it has helped me out on a lot of things.
Updating my Journal has become a part of my daily routine. I think that's a good thing, looking back at some of my past entries I can see the personal development I've been going through over the past year. I'm looking forward to recording some more of those developments in the future.
Thanks for reading. Just know that I'm reading your ramblings as well, and I'm liking it.
Shift Priorities
Man, how much I want the Xbox 360. But first things first, since Pauline asked me to move in with her I know that I cannot get the machine. Well, I could still get it, but it is kind of harsh on her to be spending my money on entertainment while we need some more important stuff to get the household going. The money I've been saving up for a new console is now going towards all sorts of equipment we're needing instead of that new machine.
And it does not bother me all that much. My desire to have that console has not lessened, my desire to move out is merely overshadowing it (in a positive way) and I'm putting all my financial resources into making it happen.
By the way, we got a washing machine. Pauline's mom found one at a local second-hand market for only 60 Euros. It looked mighty fine so we decided to take the bet and pick it up. No clue if it works, we have to set it up first to make sure. If it doesn't, well, that doesn't really matter. Sixty Euros is a bargain anyways. If it does work, we have one of the more important things were needing.
Speaking of which, we still need something to cook on. I think I'll suggest looking for that thing next. I'd like to have my stuff sorted out before we move in there, as we might get ourselves a nice little place any day now.
About a year ago (those last few days don't really matter) I started up this Journal. At first it was lacking focus, but as I used the community more and more my Journal became also more and more focused. First it contained a lot of gaming stuff, but later on I also began to use it for my personal ramblings. To my surprise a lot of people seemed to like it.
A few of those people have become my 'Journal buddies'. I read their entries, and they read some of mine. It's a good way to exchange thoughts, and a good way to get some advice on certain things. Heck, I know zero of you people very well, it's good to put some of my problems on your plate and have you give me some advice. In a lot of ways it has helped me out on a lot of things.
Updating my Journal has become a part of my daily routine. I think that's a good thing, looking back at some of my past entries I can see the personal development I've been going through over the past year. I'm looking forward to recording some more of those developments in the future.
Thanks for reading. Just know that I'm reading your ramblings as well, and I'm liking it.
Shift Priorities
Man, how much I want the Xbox 360. But first things first, since Pauline asked me to move in with her I know that I cannot get the machine. Well, I could still get it, but it is kind of harsh on her to be spending my money on entertainment while we need some more important stuff to get the household going. The money I've been saving up for a new console is now going towards all sorts of equipment we're needing instead of that new machine.
And it does not bother me all that much. My desire to have that console has not lessened, my desire to move out is merely overshadowing it (in a positive way) and I'm putting all my financial resources into making it happen.
By the way, we got a washing machine. Pauline's mom found one at a local second-hand market for only 60 Euros. It looked mighty fine so we decided to take the bet and pick it up. No clue if it works, we have to set it up first to make sure. If it doesn't, well, that doesn't really matter. Sixty Euros is a bargain anyways. If it does work, we have one of the more important things were needing.
Speaking of which, we still need something to cook on. I think I'll suggest looking for that thing next. I'd like to have my stuff sorted out before we move in there, as we might get ourselves a nice little place any day now.
Get Into My Taste
by Mystikvm on Comments
AudioScrobbler
Some of you might have heard of this service, some of you haven't. For those who haven't, I'll explain it since it is a very, very nifty thing in case you have a keen interest in music.
Some 4 months ago someone passed me a link to a site which kept track of what you were listening. Figuring it would be yet another one of those endless 'Now Playing' services I checked it out with caution. Once inside I found out it is much deeper. AudioScrobbler, as it was called at that time proved to be the #1 stop if you want to get acquainted with new music, bands and songs. It does keep track of what you are playing, but it throws your taste into the huge bin of all the other users' tastes. Based upon that info it gives you recommendations of other bands and songs that are roughly in the same style as what you've just listened to. It also 'matches' you with other users who are into the same kinds of music. Checking out their profile and tastes provides you with yet another source of new artists to discover.
Due some plugin issues I haven't been able to use the service for a while, but this week I got it working again and yet again I have added another load of artists to my personal wishlist, names that I surely want to check out in the future. In the meantime the website itself has changed quite a bit, making the service more streamlined and easier on the eyes.
It is now called Last.fm, but it is still the same thing in a new coat. For those of you who are interested in my tastes, check out my profile. I'm also very curious to get to know your tastes a little better. In case you already have a profile, would you mind sharing it with me (and others) so I can take a look?
In any case, music lovers have to check this out. It's very fun to play around with.
Darts
The mindless game with the little darts, yes. It's a British sport and over the past decade the Dutch have gotten really good at it too. I am a player myself, for about 10 years now. It doesn't go much further than the occasional game at home or in the pub, but I'm not that bad at all. My brother isn't either, and he asked me to join his team.
My brother has been playing darts for a long time now and he's pretty fanatic at it. Needless to say all this practice has made him fairly good at the game, and his soccer team fortunately also has a few guys who can play a good game. They decided upon founding their own 'team' which would join the local darts competition. This is more of a 'Battle of the Pubs' than it really is a fierce competition, though. Things are very, very easy-going and laid back. Back to my point: They had six people in their team. You need at least four to play a game, but it is always good to bring a substitute along. And very often one of the teammtes might be unable to participate due to other appointments, so you need at least six players to make sure you can get four people ready to play every week. My brother's team had six.
However, one of the players dropped out just before the competition was starting and decided to join another team. My brother and his friends were quite devastated by this, they had looked forward to getting this thing going as they all love to play the game. I was the only person left that could help them out as I'm capable of playing a nice game myself. I know how much this means to them, so I decided to be the good guy for once and join in so they could get the team going.
Yesterday was our first match and boy it was fun. I had never expected the atmosphere to be this great. On top of that my brother's friends are superb. They are not the brightest and their sense of humor is quite, to use a Dutch expression for once, 'flat-floored' (a lot of dirty jokes) but they are so nice, helpful and enthusiastic that I'm really liking them. The best thing even was that we won the game. It was a close call, but we won. A very good start for the team, and seeing the happy looks on the faces of my teammates made me happy too. As I've said they had been looking forward to this a lot, I'm glad I could help them out.
I'm sure we'll be doing fine. And to me the fun matters more than the result. And I surely did have fun yesterday.
Some of you might have heard of this service, some of you haven't. For those who haven't, I'll explain it since it is a very, very nifty thing in case you have a keen interest in music.
Some 4 months ago someone passed me a link to a site which kept track of what you were listening. Figuring it would be yet another one of those endless 'Now Playing' services I checked it out with caution. Once inside I found out it is much deeper. AudioScrobbler, as it was called at that time proved to be the #1 stop if you want to get acquainted with new music, bands and songs. It does keep track of what you are playing, but it throws your taste into the huge bin of all the other users' tastes. Based upon that info it gives you recommendations of other bands and songs that are roughly in the same style as what you've just listened to. It also 'matches' you with other users who are into the same kinds of music. Checking out their profile and tastes provides you with yet another source of new artists to discover.
Due some plugin issues I haven't been able to use the service for a while, but this week I got it working again and yet again I have added another load of artists to my personal wishlist, names that I surely want to check out in the future. In the meantime the website itself has changed quite a bit, making the service more streamlined and easier on the eyes.
It is now called Last.fm, but it is still the same thing in a new coat. For those of you who are interested in my tastes, check out my profile. I'm also very curious to get to know your tastes a little better. In case you already have a profile, would you mind sharing it with me (and others) so I can take a look?
In any case, music lovers have to check this out. It's very fun to play around with.
Darts
The mindless game with the little darts, yes. It's a British sport and over the past decade the Dutch have gotten really good at it too. I am a player myself, for about 10 years now. It doesn't go much further than the occasional game at home or in the pub, but I'm not that bad at all. My brother isn't either, and he asked me to join his team.
My brother has been playing darts for a long time now and he's pretty fanatic at it. Needless to say all this practice has made him fairly good at the game, and his soccer team fortunately also has a few guys who can play a good game. They decided upon founding their own 'team' which would join the local darts competition. This is more of a 'Battle of the Pubs' than it really is a fierce competition, though. Things are very, very easy-going and laid back. Back to my point: They had six people in their team. You need at least four to play a game, but it is always good to bring a substitute along. And very often one of the teammtes might be unable to participate due to other appointments, so you need at least six players to make sure you can get four people ready to play every week. My brother's team had six.
However, one of the players dropped out just before the competition was starting and decided to join another team. My brother and his friends were quite devastated by this, they had looked forward to getting this thing going as they all love to play the game. I was the only person left that could help them out as I'm capable of playing a nice game myself. I know how much this means to them, so I decided to be the good guy for once and join in so they could get the team going.
Yesterday was our first match and boy it was fun. I had never expected the atmosphere to be this great. On top of that my brother's friends are superb. They are not the brightest and their sense of humor is quite, to use a Dutch expression for once, 'flat-floored' (a lot of dirty jokes) but they are so nice, helpful and enthusiastic that I'm really liking them. The best thing even was that we won the game. It was a close call, but we won. A very good start for the team, and seeing the happy looks on the faces of my teammates made me happy too. As I've said they had been looking forward to this a lot, I'm glad I could help them out.
I'm sure we'll be doing fine. And to me the fun matters more than the result. And I surely did have fun yesterday.
Funny resemblance
by Mystikvm on Comments
My teacher looks like Greg Kasavin
Today I had a class on Japan's modern empire. The teacher looks like Gamespot's Greg Kasavin, so much it's scary even. Imagine Greg being 10/15 years older and you have my teacher. He even talks in the same, somewhat hesitant manner, picking his words carefully. Very, very funny.
Speaking of classes
In our second year we have to pick an additional course outside of the department of Japanese. While I was at first considering Chinese I decided to not take that one, looking at the huge amount of work that would pile up on my desk, taking two intensive language courses at once. Instead I settled for 'Second Language Acquisition', as it is called and I had my first class today.
It is very informative. You learn about the problems people generally experience when they are trying to tackle certain languages. You also learn how to teach those people certain languages, and in what order you have to present certain aspects of language in order to get the best results out of your students. It's heavily relying on Chomsky's 'Universal Grammar'. In this theory Chomsky is basically saying that every new born person has the ability to learn a language, no matter which one. After a year of 6 this ability fades and the person has become reliant on this gathered knowledge of that one language instead of having the innate ability to learn a language without problems.
It does not mean all the aspects of the 'Universal Grammar' have disappeared, however. People are still able to recognize certain elemants as 'natural' and are able to distinguish right sentences from wrong sentences even with little knowledge of the language they are learning, no matter how old these people are. The trick is to get people to use what's left of this 'innate ability' to master a language fairly quickly.
Also on a personal level this is interesting, as you're becoming aware of how exactly you can learn a language effectively. It is funny how in most language departments of my university the most ideal path is left unwalked. People can learn foreign languages much more effectively than the way they are doing it now, or so it seems.
I'm eager to find out how it's done. This is definately a good addition to my set of courses.
Today I had a class on Japan's modern empire. The teacher looks like Gamespot's Greg Kasavin, so much it's scary even. Imagine Greg being 10/15 years older and you have my teacher. He even talks in the same, somewhat hesitant manner, picking his words carefully. Very, very funny.
Speaking of classes
In our second year we have to pick an additional course outside of the department of Japanese. While I was at first considering Chinese I decided to not take that one, looking at the huge amount of work that would pile up on my desk, taking two intensive language courses at once. Instead I settled for 'Second Language Acquisition', as it is called and I had my first class today.
It is very informative. You learn about the problems people generally experience when they are trying to tackle certain languages. You also learn how to teach those people certain languages, and in what order you have to present certain aspects of language in order to get the best results out of your students. It's heavily relying on Chomsky's 'Universal Grammar'. In this theory Chomsky is basically saying that every new born person has the ability to learn a language, no matter which one. After a year of 6 this ability fades and the person has become reliant on this gathered knowledge of that one language instead of having the innate ability to learn a language without problems.
It does not mean all the aspects of the 'Universal Grammar' have disappeared, however. People are still able to recognize certain elemants as 'natural' and are able to distinguish right sentences from wrong sentences even with little knowledge of the language they are learning, no matter how old these people are. The trick is to get people to use what's left of this 'innate ability' to master a language fairly quickly.
Also on a personal level this is interesting, as you're becoming aware of how exactly you can learn a language effectively. It is funny how in most language departments of my university the most ideal path is left unwalked. People can learn foreign languages much more effectively than the way they are doing it now, or so it seems.
I'm eager to find out how it's done. This is definately a good addition to my set of courses.
Boom?
by Mystikvm on Comments
I know this is just what they want, to get me to think about the risks I'm taking every day. Fear is what they try to spread. I have to give them that, they are doing it very effectively. Who are 'they'? I'll tell you.
Terrorists
Pauline and I were in Leiden (my university town) yesterday. On our way back we had to wait for the train that would take us home somewhere halfway Apeldoorn (our hometown) and Leiden. While waiting there the announcer told us with his beautifully computerized voice that we should never leave luggage unattended. At first I thought pickpockets were roaming the station halls and trains again, but it wasn't until I had arrived home when I found out there is a 'faint terrorism threat' goin on at our stations now.
Normally I'd say this is a way for the government to keep people aware of what might happen to them if they become careless. Always keep the minions on alert, that's what works best. I also know that my reaction is precisely what terrorists want. I started calculating what the chance is that I'm a direct victim of a terrorist attack on our train system.
We have a funny way of running trains. You guys might think of trains as luxureous ways of getting from point A to B, with bars, plenty of room to relax and a nice atmosphere. Our trains are not. Our country is so small that our trains are run like metros, with the exception that they go every 15 minutes or so instead of every two. Needless to say these things are packed with people during rush hours. Believe me when I say that our trains are a more attractive target for terrorists than the London metro.
The distance between my house and Leiden is huge. I'm on one end of the country, Leiden is on the other end. It takes me a little less than two hours to get there, and the way to get there is by using the train. It's free for students here. I'm spending 4 hours a day in the train. Seeing how Leiden is in the west of the country, and how all our major cities are located there I cross at least two major stations on the way to Leiden, and on the way back I cross another two. I'm almost always in the train during the rush hour, either in the morning or in the evening. Fat chance indeed. A very fat chance. The terrorists have me where they want them. I know how big the chance is that I'm going to be killed in a terrorist attack. It's pretty big.
I'm not avoiding public transport. Our country is meaningless. Still we are at a huge risk, according to our intelligence agency and the CIA. I'll believe them for now. Seeing how we are still supporting the USA with all we have got we are an easy target, especially we've got so many muslims living here (almost 2 million, total population 16 million) and a lot of natives who think the USA is a total pile of crap. Bombing our trains would be a good way to bring down our government and have people vote for the leftists who oppose the USA. So yes, in reality we might be at a bigger risk than I've always wanted to believe.
My fear is not very prevalent. I'm not stepping into the train with shaking legs. In fact, I almost never think about it. But the slight fear is there. I'm always in the front or the back of the train. Not only because I can make it to the exit of the station quicker so I'm arriving in time at the univeristy, it also decreases the chance of me getting blown to pieces, should a terrorist have hopped on board. Their only goal is to kill as many people as they can, so most likely they'll be squeezing themselves into the masses in the middle wagons of the train, significantly raising their chances of killing a lot of people at once. He would make less casualties if he'd be in the front or the back of the train.
I rather not think about it. I'll just have to live with the thought that I might get hit and might not get home one day. I'm also pretty sure that we will get hit one day, maybe in the very near future. I'm hoping I'm not there when it happens, after that we will probably have had 'our share' and I can use public transport more safely. Strange how terrorism affects us all.
Terrorists
Pauline and I were in Leiden (my university town) yesterday. On our way back we had to wait for the train that would take us home somewhere halfway Apeldoorn (our hometown) and Leiden. While waiting there the announcer told us with his beautifully computerized voice that we should never leave luggage unattended. At first I thought pickpockets were roaming the station halls and trains again, but it wasn't until I had arrived home when I found out there is a 'faint terrorism threat' goin on at our stations now.
Normally I'd say this is a way for the government to keep people aware of what might happen to them if they become careless. Always keep the minions on alert, that's what works best. I also know that my reaction is precisely what terrorists want. I started calculating what the chance is that I'm a direct victim of a terrorist attack on our train system.
We have a funny way of running trains. You guys might think of trains as luxureous ways of getting from point A to B, with bars, plenty of room to relax and a nice atmosphere. Our trains are not. Our country is so small that our trains are run like metros, with the exception that they go every 15 minutes or so instead of every two. Needless to say these things are packed with people during rush hours. Believe me when I say that our trains are a more attractive target for terrorists than the London metro.
The distance between my house and Leiden is huge. I'm on one end of the country, Leiden is on the other end. It takes me a little less than two hours to get there, and the way to get there is by using the train. It's free for students here. I'm spending 4 hours a day in the train. Seeing how Leiden is in the west of the country, and how all our major cities are located there I cross at least two major stations on the way to Leiden, and on the way back I cross another two. I'm almost always in the train during the rush hour, either in the morning or in the evening. Fat chance indeed. A very fat chance. The terrorists have me where they want them. I know how big the chance is that I'm going to be killed in a terrorist attack. It's pretty big.
I'm not avoiding public transport. Our country is meaningless. Still we are at a huge risk, according to our intelligence agency and the CIA. I'll believe them for now. Seeing how we are still supporting the USA with all we have got we are an easy target, especially we've got so many muslims living here (almost 2 million, total population 16 million) and a lot of natives who think the USA is a total pile of crap. Bombing our trains would be a good way to bring down our government and have people vote for the leftists who oppose the USA. So yes, in reality we might be at a bigger risk than I've always wanted to believe.
My fear is not very prevalent. I'm not stepping into the train with shaking legs. In fact, I almost never think about it. But the slight fear is there. I'm always in the front or the back of the train. Not only because I can make it to the exit of the station quicker so I'm arriving in time at the univeristy, it also decreases the chance of me getting blown to pieces, should a terrorist have hopped on board. Their only goal is to kill as many people as they can, so most likely they'll be squeezing themselves into the masses in the middle wagons of the train, significantly raising their chances of killing a lot of people at once. He would make less casualties if he'd be in the front or the back of the train.
I rather not think about it. I'll just have to live with the thought that I might get hit and might not get home one day. I'm also pretty sure that we will get hit one day, maybe in the very near future. I'm hoping I'm not there when it happens, after that we will probably have had 'our share' and I can use public transport more safely. Strange how terrorism affects us all.
Great Giveaway
by Mystikvm on Comments
Temptation
When I'm moving away from here we probably won't have a telephone in our house. It's impractical and expensive, seeing how we both have our own cell phone. The thing is, Pauline pays a monthly fee, and mine is pre-paid. Basically this means I have fewer minutes to spend calling, but I don't use my phone all that much as I'm using the one at home fairly often.
Still, a monthly fee for a mobile phone might be the way to go once I've moved out. While thumbing through the free newspapers we get at stations when I was in the train today I came across several offers. The local providers and stores are doing virtually anything to get you to subscribe for 2 years. You get a phone for free, but that is not all. You get flooded with all kinds of other expensive stuff for free.
I'm looking into these things a little bit more. Right now the PSP is totally hot over here. Every newspaper mentions it in their 'Technology' sections, it's in every TV program and the commercials are everywhere on national TV. Of course they are also giving away PSP's when you subscribe for two years at one provider. Free phone, free PSP, 25 Euros a month. You can call about 200 minutes a month with that bundle. Tempting indeed.
Well, probably I won't be needing a subscription in the coming few months as it doesn't look like we will be having a house very soon. Still, in the future they'll probably have more of these offers. I've seen then give away LCD TV's worth 1000 Euros. It's indeed total madness as the TV alone is more expensive than 2 years worth of monthly fees. I don't see why they are doing this, but it makes shopping for a phone a lot more interesting this way.
So, how about the US? Are you guys getting the most ridiculously priced equipment for free too when buying a new phone?
TV is like the zoo
TV is a funny medium. You choose what you want to watch. Normally I watch a lot of stuff on the public and state-sponsored channels as they have quite a few programs about art, or backgrounds of hot news stories. Still, I'm pretending to be human so I'm needing some cheap entertainment too. The problem is that today's entertainment is too cheap. And it's all the same too.
Reality TV is hot. In fact, most of our commercial TV channels are filling entirte evenings with spin-offs on the concept. Watch fat people lose weight, watch people with deformed breasts get a pair of new ones, watch Big Brother, watch Survivor, watch anti-social families in their natural habitat, watch people deliver a baby and to finish the evening in style you can watch people who are not raising their kids properly. Later at night you can also watch people improve their sex life. Over here we call it 'monkey watching'.
Because that's what it is. It's like watching monkeys in the zoo, only every half hour or so the type of monkey changes. My parents really like these programs. Well, they've never been really interested in more serious programs, so I'm not blaming them for liking this stuff. The thing is that for people who want to watch entertainment on TV that's not too shallow...Well, for them there is nothing. Even quizzes are rapidly disappearing off the screen in favor of yet another reality show.
I used to like watching TV for mindless yet fun entertainment. But nowadays they have replaced the fun for more mindlessness. Bah, I've seen enough monkeys already. Give me back my Wheel of Fortune!
When I'm moving away from here we probably won't have a telephone in our house. It's impractical and expensive, seeing how we both have our own cell phone. The thing is, Pauline pays a monthly fee, and mine is pre-paid. Basically this means I have fewer minutes to spend calling, but I don't use my phone all that much as I'm using the one at home fairly often.
Still, a monthly fee for a mobile phone might be the way to go once I've moved out. While thumbing through the free newspapers we get at stations when I was in the train today I came across several offers. The local providers and stores are doing virtually anything to get you to subscribe for 2 years. You get a phone for free, but that is not all. You get flooded with all kinds of other expensive stuff for free.
I'm looking into these things a little bit more. Right now the PSP is totally hot over here. Every newspaper mentions it in their 'Technology' sections, it's in every TV program and the commercials are everywhere on national TV. Of course they are also giving away PSP's when you subscribe for two years at one provider. Free phone, free PSP, 25 Euros a month. You can call about 200 minutes a month with that bundle. Tempting indeed.
Well, probably I won't be needing a subscription in the coming few months as it doesn't look like we will be having a house very soon. Still, in the future they'll probably have more of these offers. I've seen then give away LCD TV's worth 1000 Euros. It's indeed total madness as the TV alone is more expensive than 2 years worth of monthly fees. I don't see why they are doing this, but it makes shopping for a phone a lot more interesting this way.
So, how about the US? Are you guys getting the most ridiculously priced equipment for free too when buying a new phone?
TV is like the zoo
TV is a funny medium. You choose what you want to watch. Normally I watch a lot of stuff on the public and state-sponsored channels as they have quite a few programs about art, or backgrounds of hot news stories. Still, I'm pretending to be human so I'm needing some cheap entertainment too. The problem is that today's entertainment is too cheap. And it's all the same too.
Reality TV is hot. In fact, most of our commercial TV channels are filling entirte evenings with spin-offs on the concept. Watch fat people lose weight, watch people with deformed breasts get a pair of new ones, watch Big Brother, watch Survivor, watch anti-social families in their natural habitat, watch people deliver a baby and to finish the evening in style you can watch people who are not raising their kids properly. Later at night you can also watch people improve their sex life. Over here we call it 'monkey watching'.
Because that's what it is. It's like watching monkeys in the zoo, only every half hour or so the type of monkey changes. My parents really like these programs. Well, they've never been really interested in more serious programs, so I'm not blaming them for liking this stuff. The thing is that for people who want to watch entertainment on TV that's not too shallow...Well, for them there is nothing. Even quizzes are rapidly disappearing off the screen in favor of yet another reality show.
I used to like watching TV for mindless yet fun entertainment. But nowadays they have replaced the fun for more mindlessness. Bah, I've seen enough monkeys already. Give me back my Wheel of Fortune!
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