I Want My PS3 - Part 2

Video games outsell DVD and movie box office sales combined. Think movies were a pain in the butt to monitor? The curve indicates strongly that video games are being consumed at a far greater rate by this generation than movies. And this isn't our 16 bit Nintendo games we're talking about. Video games now look more like elaborate, interactive movies, complete with multiple plot lines, complex characters, and of course, dream-like graphics.

The Economist has a quick opinion piece on video games, provocatively titled:

"Breeding Evil"

A few lines from the article:

"Scepticism of new media is a tradition with deep roots, going back at least as far as Socrates' objections to written texts, outlined in Plato's Phaedrus. Socrates worried that relying on written texts, rather than the oral tradition, would “create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.” (He also objected that a written version of a speech was no substitute for the ability to interrogate the speaker, since, when questioned, the text “always gives one unvarying answer”. His objection, in short, was that books were not interactive. Perhaps Socrates would have thought more highly of video games.)"

This is a difficult argument to refute. Those of us who believe movies and video games are inherently inferior to say, books, need to come to grips with the fact that at every point in history when a new medium or form is introduced, it is attacked. Somehow, the medium later migrates into an academic setting as is lauded as high art.

and...

"Novels were once considered too low-brow for university literature courses, but eventually the disapproving professors retired. Waltz music and dancing were condemned in the 19th century; all that twirling was thought to be “intoxicating” and “depraved”, and the music was outlawed in some places. Today it is hard to imagine what the fuss was about. And rock and roll was thought to encourage violence, promiscuity and satanism; but today even grannies buy Coldplay albums."

True. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, today considered far too high-brow for anyone outside of a university setting, was lampooned as pop smut in its day.

and finally...

So are games good, rather than bad, for people? Good ones probably are. Games are widely used as educational tools, not just for pilots, soldiers and surgeons, but also in schools and businesses (see article). Every game has its own interface and controls, so that anyone who has learned to play a handful of games can generally figure out how to operate almost any high-tech device. Games require players to construct hypotheses, solve problems, develop strategies, learn the rules of the in-game world through trial and error. Gamers must also be able to juggle several different tasks, evaluate risks and make quick decisions. One game, set in 1930s Europe, requires the player to prevent the outbreak of the second world war; other games teach everything from algebra to derivatives trading. Playing games is, thus, an ideal form of preparation for the workplace of the 21st century, as some forward-thinking firms are already starting to realise.

Oh I don't read, I just look at the pictures - Part 1

For those of us either with young children or expecting them soon, the problem of what to put into the little darlings' minds is a persistent concern.

Should we even have a TV in the house? Maybe TV but no cable? No TV before age 7? No video games...ever? Or maybe just "thinking games" or "strategy games"? Maybe we should have the kids transcribe ancient Latin liturgical texts as their sole form of entertainment and enrichment?

I don't know the answers to these questions yet. I do feel it is essential, especially these days, for parents to be up to speed on what their kids might encounter in the way of technology.

CNET is a great source for just such an overview of all things cutting edge. Today they posted an intriguing little feature article called "A New Crop of Kids: Generation We."

We Gen X'rs (pretty comfy with technology ourselves) have spawned what CNET describes as a generation that is utterly steeped in all things digital. From a strategist at Minneapolis-based Iconoculture, quoted in the article:

"Parents of Gen We's don't see technology as the enemy and don't need to moderate it as much: They see it (as a way to) help them with parenting. They see it as a bonding experience," Robinson said. "As a kind of media Sherpa, they're encouraging kids to not just absorb what media tells you, but to think about how you can change it."

and

"On the Net, geographic boundaries disappear--a teen can watch a scene in New York, and another teen in Nebraska can watch and comment on that same scene," and they can both create something new, she said. "The Net creates that community aspect."

This article is unabashedly optimistic about the future of what others are more cautiously calling "The Image Culture" (more on that later). I'd love to hear comments. Is modern technology (let's broadly define it as TV, Film, Video Games, Mobile Devices and the Internet) a part of your parenting in some way? Do you agree with this article's seemingly rosey conclusion, or is there something more subtle happening to the parent-child relationship, or even to children's brains themselves?

He's your President too

This is a test. Please select the best answer, and defend your choice in at least one sentence. You have one minute. Ready....Go.

The President's State of the Union speech was:

1) Inspiring and powerful

2) Painfully dull

3) Infuriating, and made my bood boil

4) Shocking, in that Nancy Pelosi and Dick Cheney didn't spontaneously combust by sitting next to each other.

5) Didn't see it, for x, y, z, reason

BC

"The Lives of English Majors"

Thanks to the Rapid City Journal today for pointing out that there are some uses for us (or is that "we"?) English majors in utilitarian America.

One of the best reasons to become an English major is that you are almost guaranteed to learn about people as they exist in the world. Psychology, sociology, business, economics -- none can rival the study of English literature in penetrating to the heart of why people are the way they are. History may be the only other discipline that comes close.

The ability to write quickly and clearly is increasingly rare.*

I heard from my boss just today: "You're good at writing press releases, and fast." (I resisted the urge to correct him: "...writing press releases quickly," I could have said).

Will this earn me a hefty six-figure salary? I'm not counting on it. But it's good to hear someone else affirm that studying and writing about Shakespeare, Conrad, Eliot and Faulkner wasn't a complete waste of time and energy. It certainly didn't feel like it at the time.

*Clear, concise writing is never guaranteed on this blog. Stream of consciousness writing is fair game, as are truncated sentences and misspellings.

Silent nation

This quiz (taken from the Crunchy Conservative link to your right), is supposed to reveal your true American accent.

My results said that I'm a native of the midland which is another way of saying "I don't have an accent." This is supposed to be good for TV and radio.

But the first page also tells me: "the only way to not have an accent is to not speak."

Uh oh.

All of middle America is mute!

(muted?)

What's your US accent?

EC

Frodo to the Extreme

It's an epic battle against good and evil... It's a foe that sees all and hears all... It's a tiny band of unknowing, guileless little flip-flopping people walking out of Bag-End....

It's the hobbits!

Apparently it's us.

"You are," my dad's colleague said about our plans to move with our baby to D.C., "Frodo to the Extreme."

Excuse me? Whether Mr. D was referring to D.C. as Mordor or to me as a hobbit-looking Little Person is debatable. The fact is that we look rather small wandering out of the mid-mountain-west with earnest naivety.
The fact is, Mr. D. told us, we're heading into an adventure.

An adventure?

According to Don Everts, a campus pastor at CU, "An adventure happens when during at least one point you wish you were not in the middle of it."

Not reassuring words, but truthful nonetheless.
Frodo and Sam had many moments of deep longing for the Shire.

But it takes a first step to see what comes next, and as Gandalf told Frodo about Bilbo's journey: "I merely nudged him out the front door."

For Mr. D., our path to (Mordor?) this summer to navigate (D.C.'s roaming trolls and orcs?) will be one of epic proportions.

I'm sure it will.

But still, I'm not sure how I feel about being likened to a hobbit.

Couldn't I be Galadriel?

EC

Manitoba, anyone?

Hypothetical 2008 Presidential election scenario:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton squares off against darkhorse Republican Tom Tancredo.

And EC and BC start looking at property in Canada.

Discuss.

In Light of Dr. King's Day

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. day. In his honor, a quote from Dr. King:

"I have the encouraging news that there has ben some recent dialogue between Roman Catholics and Protestants. I am told that several Protestant churchmen from your nation accepted Pope John's invitation to be observers at a recent ecumenical council in Rome. This is both a significant and healthy sign. I hope it is the beginning of a development that will bring all Christians closer together."

-"Paul's Letter to American Christians." 1956.

High-Quality Christmas

Before the Christmas season gets too far behind me, I have to comment on some high-quality items I received. Now, I received many other high-quality items beyond the following list-- but it really is more difficult to blog about cool ties and coats than books and DVDs. Without further ado, the top-notch list includes:

1) The Road, by Cormac McCarthy: The author of Blood Meridian drops another 500-pound bomb of a novel. He's the best American fiction writer alive today. Most of his work reads like a potent mix of the Old Testament, Homer, Dante, and William Faulkner.

2) In the Bedroom: If there's one thing I hate about some movies, it's when a director tries to get too philosophical at the expense of telling a good story. In the Bedroom starts with telling a good story, which proceeds naturally into big picture questions of Justice, Law, Forgiveness and Revenge, without getting pretentious. (Spoiler alert: do not expect a happy ending to this one).

3) The Great Omission, by Dallas Willard: Willard is a professor of philosophy at USC, who happens to be a powerful Christian teacher as well. Nothing but simple, straightforward explication of the words of Jesus himself. This book (in addition to his earlier Divine Conspiracy) will challenge recently entrenched notions about what it means to be a "Christian". Willard is the like the scribe Jesus mentions who receives the Holy Spirit, drawing out what is old and new.

4) The Histories, by Herodotus: For those of us who believe in the maxim, "Multiculturalism begins at home." Or, to paraphrase Chaim Potok, you have to learn your own history and culture before you can learn someone else's (this may seem an odd conclusion for many who know my lifelong interest in other cultures). Herodotus is next in line in a reading series we're in the middle of on the Great Books of Western Civilization, following the historical line of literature produced by Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and now the sovereign citizens of the United States of America. And yes, given the pace of life these days, it will take years to complete this list. Year one is already in the bag.

BC

Preferred Sites Added

Please note the addition of "Preferred Sites" on the right side. These are sites I return to on a regular basis.

BC (and presumabley at some point, EC)

Confucious Says...

A wise, experienced political professional (who will remain anonymous) said to me today at the State Capitol:

"There are some ultra-liberals in the General Assembly. There are also some ultra-conservatives in the General Assembly. Do not drink the kool-aid of either."

Ah, yes...the wisdom of the wise is wise indeed....

BC

Beef Rendering Made Hip

For many cities, the prospect of a beef processing plant coming to town would cause nothing but a collective shrug (except in Boulder, where unkempt college students wearing "COWS ARE PEOPLE TOO" t-shirts would chain themselves to the backs of cattle trailers).

A friend of mine (also a native Northeast South Dakotan) and I were recently talking about a large beef processing plant that's coming to Aberdeen, South Dakota. Aberdeen's population has hovered in the neighborhood of 25,000 for about the last 50 years. This is all about to change however, as new workers (read: immigrant families with last names you can't pronounce) will fill newly vacant jobs. (Other upcoming new jobs in Aberdeen include a few hundred openings in banking and finance - though that doesn't garner quite the same headlines).

Check out these unbelievable t-shirts created by local magazine A-List, to promote the beef plant. (Caution -- these guys brew their irony and sarcasm strong). This has been framed as an economic development issue - possibly a trend-setting one. If beef processing is symbolic for broader economic growth in Aberdeen, I'm all for it. Onward!

BC