I've never been a gamer. Even as a kid, it felt like too much effort for little reward. Clicking all those buttons, making all those decisions, reacting quickly (never my strong suit) again and again. But I've always kinda enjoyed watching other people play them. Immersing yourself in a world and a story and letting it wash over you is relaxing. And letting it happen without all the aforementioned effort makes watching games unfold far more relaxing than actually playing them (and isn't the ultimate purpose of a computer game to relax and have fun, after all?). So, in my youth, I'd watch my friends play their PlayStation games. And I'd reluctantly join in briefly now and again before quickly getting frustrated or overwhelmed and handing the controller back to its rightful owner. And, in later years (my thirties, I guess), I'd sometimes zone out to a Twitch stream late at night until I was ready to sleep. But, on a whim, I recently bought a handheld retro gami...
I was up early this morning to take my son to nursery. After I'd cleaned our teeth and got us dressed and he had (almost) finished playing with a pair of plastic plates from his toy kitchen, we stepped outside to be greeted by a beautiful deep red glow hitting the underside of the clouds from the sun laying just below the horizon to the South-East. To the North-West, the almost full moon, now waning, glowed against the rich blue-grey sky. I pointed it out to him, and he returned a smile. I made the two-mile drive to his nursery in silence, looking at the leafless winter trees poking out from the frozen fields along the way. After returning home alone listening to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, I sat on the concrete ledge that runs along our driveway and watched the sun rise in a blaze of glory over the hill ridge, maybe a kilometre away. The stone was cold, but I didn't mind. I had a thick parka on, and I couldn't have felt any colder than the band of horses that were sl...
Made the mistake of reading the news this week. Depressing as all hell. War everywhere—in increasing quantities. And of course the media spin it up sensationally to get clicks. All superficial analysis, sound bites, and clickbait headlines about impending conscription and Total War. Still sickening to think about, regardless of how irrational it all is. It made for not a good week. Had a knot in my stomach and an impending sense of dread and unease. Bit my nails to the quick and struggled to get much work done. I look at my sweet, innocent boys and struggle to fathom how people can be so cruel as to inflict war on one another. To send others off to die on their behalf while they stay out of the way selling lies to get people onside . For what? Pathetic, small-minded, and sickening. Why can’t people work together for the benefit of everyone ? What’s all this zer...