A Virtuous Morning

I write at night.

Over the years reading often inane posts about writing practice on the lovely Internet, I've noticed fewer people extol the virtues of writing at night. I know lots of people do it simply from talking to other writers face to face (something we ought to do more of), but the column inches are devoted to the idyllic, quiet, writerly morning.

"The Dead Walk!" + Top 10!

I do not anoint a worst-ever movie lightly. It always seems hyperbolic. I have a new champion, at least until I see something worse.

I had been avoiding watching Resident Evil since it's massive swing in popularity when I was in grade four. But one thing leads to another grad school assignment and I've ended up seeing it.

They do say you need to know what not to do.

Warning: May Cause Drowsiness and Irritability

I've followed Toronto FC since 2007 when Danny Dichio banged in the team's first goal. It was the first game of pro soccer I'd ever watched voluntarily on TV. I was hooked.

The losing, like the goal, has been curiously addictive. Nothing made sense about the team now and it sure doesn't today, after another hopeless draw, at the end of a hopeless season, sans most of the management and playing staff that started said season. (Remember Hogan Ephraim? Hallucinogenic, I tell you.)

Toronto FC has developed into a very strong sedative, and it really is unique amongst drugs because it used to be a stimulant--I'd sit on the edge of my seat waiting for Collin Samuel (who?) to score a goal, and fall back off the high when he missed from six yards out.

Farewell To Nova Scotia

When I was in my early years of high school I was, sadly, already a nostalgic sop. I thought to myself, probably on some sort of emotional high, that I would be very sad to ever leave beautiful Nova Scotia.

How times change.

Why I Don't Shop at Wal-Mart: A Story About God-Game Economic Narrative

I've always wanted to do a post on god-game narrative because it's such a fascinatingly depressing kind of realism. Sure, god-games are all about creating your own imaginary civilization or country. They do present a fun way to experiment with, in some cases, quasi-realistic economies.

I'm not an economics major--I'm an English and journalism grad. If I knew more about economics maybe I would believe economists like Kevin O'Leary when they say "greed is good." But probably not, because greed is not good. It doesn't take an economist to follow the consumerist line of thinking through to where it should lead. God-games have simply accelerated and simplified the process.

It has been said that greed drives everything in society (I wouldn't argue that) and in so doing, all the wealth the greedy people make trickles down to the average working person. Consumerism keeps North America going.

But I don't shop at Wal-Mart.

Realism and Red Baron

The first videogame I ever really played was Red Baron. I had the Windows95 version and it was one of the only real games we had at the time.

Being quite young, I didn't fully understand the concepts, much less the design, but it was fun to fly around and the aerial battles were, for a game of its time, pretty thrilling. I always loved flying tri-planes.

My father taught me just enough about the menu to get me into a game, and I picked up a little bit more on my own over time. The campaigns were great, but there was one part of the game I could never get the hang of.

Oh, the dreaded "Realism" menu.