Old Perspectives

It's pretty amazing to me just how much material I've written for the online world throughout my time as a citizen of this digital frontier. I had been writing a Livejournal for a majority of my high school career and a Xanga before that. I even spent some time blogging on my myspace page. It's amazing to me just how much "blogging" has entered the mainstream and is now largely profit driven (either by the author or the host site, which lovingly makes ad revenue from your writings).

Quite frankly, I miss the days when people openly shared their thoughts and ideas to an audience without thinking about the causality of posting those writings to unknown readers. So much emotion was injected into people's daily posts that it took the impersonal traits of the internet and knocked them aside.

To hark back to those days I thought it'd be interesting to share one of my myspace blog posts from last summer. It was just after I had seen Sicko in the theaters and I was deeply moved. Reading this over again and returning to those feelings, I can't help but be distressed that we haven't gone anywhere since then to resolve the explosive issues in our country the film brought up. I definitely will need to rewatch this movie soon.

(from http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=2721736&blogID=282676961)

Sunday July 1st, 2007
Power to the People

Note: this isn't light-hearted irrelevant banter about insignificant things. If your not the type to critically read or become inspired by written words I suggest you move on from this little post and continue with your average life. I hope you'll read this and be persuaded to see Sicko with an open and thoughtful mind. I hope you do this because it isn't just a propaganda film or a film filled with lies, but rather it's a film that will seriously make you think about the conditions we allow ourselves and our neighbors to live in in this country and (for me at least) provokes thoughts on how we must change this way of life.





So I just got back from seeing Sicko because I was bored out of my mind and didn't have plans and felt like seeing an engaging movie. I was not only engaged, but thoroughly devastated and impacted by the stories about our current American health system. I will not hide that I cried quite a lot throughout the movie. I cried when I heard the story of a little black girl with a 106 degree fever that didn't get the appropriate health care she needed and died due to her illness. I cried when the stories of 9/11 volunteer rescue workers were told. They weren't given insurance coverage because they weren't on the payroll of the NYFD or NYPD and were suffering with lung, heart, and emotional problems caused by that tragedy.
These people, who spent weeks of their lives searching through piles of broken concrete and twisted metal in hopes of finding a living survivor, have been ditched by our system because they don't comply to the misleading legal text and guidelines our health system lives by.
The movie also shows us life in other countries with socialized health care like Canada, France, and the UK. I'm sure it was a tad bit glamorized, but the truth is still there. Citizen's in these countries receive government-payed health care whenever they need it. They do not undergo a review to see if they are qualified under a certain coverage plan. They walk into a hospital, fill out paperwork, and see a doctor/specialist.
Why do we bicker and argue over socialized medical care? In these countries left and right, old and young, rich and poor, all (well an extremely large majority) are happy with their health care. They're not paying disabling taxes (of course they do pay taxes) or having the government tell them what doctor to see. They simply get free health care.

There's an obvious reason why our great country refuses to accept this ideal and that's simply put: money. These HMOs and health insurance companies are making massive profits (the film cited MSNBC reporting double and triple annual profits for 2 health insurance companies) by simply denying health care to people through ridiculous reasoning. That's their goal. They are a capitalist company that naturally seeks an increased profit. Why are we allowing ourselves to put our lives into the hands of companies that don't care about our health, but care about how much money they can make from us?
It seems completely contradictory to buy into a health care system that isn't caring for your health.

What I think is the strongest argument in this movie though, is the argument that in other countries the governments are scared of the people. They will loose their jobs if they don't show competence and the people demand things from their governments. In America this is a radical and far off concept. Very few people care, even less protest and allow their voices to be heard. We spend our time arguing with each other instead of thinking about what's best for everyone and demanding our government do it and do it quickly. We're consumed in, to be frank, conceded self-centered lives. This way of living and governing is un-patriotic, un-democratic, and slowly destroying our country. It's the kind of living and thinking that leave the poor to stitch their own stitches. The kind of living that throws the unhealthy out of hospitals if they are uninsured and poor. It's absolutely devastating to know that we the people have control over our lives and the lives of others. We have control over the government, over the laws that are governing us, over the people who sit in power in this country. And we take this power, we take this freedom, and we bicker about it. We toss it out of our minds as we seek material pleasures and plastic happiness. We give in to lives that are uninspiring and condemn our entire lives to a system that requires us to work till we're dead just to continue to pay to live.

Why?
This probably sounds like peace-loving hippie bullshit that will never and cannot ever be applied to the American way of living.
But why not?

I'm not asking you to believe every single fact that is presented in this film, or to become a die-hard supporter of socialism. Nor am I asking you to support a leftist agenda or vote for a certain candidate. All I ask is that you look at America critically and look at the poorest of poor, the helpless and dying and ask yourself, "is this the country I want?" Because if you're not completely happy, why not get up and change it? As much as we've been programmed to think we have no power in the inner-workings of America, in reality we have complete and utter dictatorship over it. All we have to do is stop hating and fighting with each other and come together as a "people" and make change happen. Does it hurt to try?

Please comment this post if you agree or disagree, if you hate my philosophy on American politics or if you are in love with it. If you have suggestions or criticisms.
Because caring and thinking about problems usually results in some form of a solution.




**PS- if you've seen the movie and feel the facts are bloated or false, or maybe you won't see it in fear of this being the situation, please read this analysis by CNN on what the movie brings up.

And PLEASE remember this is a movie meant to move masses into action. Of course it is going to cite the worst stories of our health system and show you the best of other countries. But it is undeniable that our health care system is fundamentally flawed and other countries have developed much better systems. The World Health Organization really did put the US at number 37 in health care in it's world health care ranking And France does have the #1 ranking. Although this IS a year 2000 report it's still relevant. You should be critical, but don't disagree simply because it's a Micheal Moore film. That would be ridiculous and unintelligent and would fuel the corruption that continues to seep into our government and way of life.




***PSS- I want to point out a quote from a blog I posted over a year ago about the conditions in Africa.

"I seriously cannot see how we can close our eyes to the destruction that's taking place on that continent.

History will remember our ignorance."

What's ironic is that a year ago I was opening my eyes to the problems in Africa, and today I am just beginning to open my eyes to the problems that lie at home in our country. I'm not saying we should divert our full attention on our own, but we must start devoting ourselves to fixing these problems both at home and abroad.

If you are religious, this is what Jesus and other prophets and gods have preached and what you should be commiting yourself to.
If you're not you should have equal commitment for the health and well-being of your fellow people because what else in this world has more meaning or significance?
History continues to watch with judging eyes.

Slowmandates

Ever found yourself ordering Dominos pizza online within the last few months?
If you haven’t you’re in for one of the most interactive pizza ordering experiences of your lifetime. Full of digital coupons, cool flash buttons, and the ability to customize your pie with almost limitless possibilities. When you’re all done methodically preparing your meal and adding on all the extra goodies and after typing in all the pesky payment info you’re brought to a page that tracks in real-time the process of your pizza. From when “Rebecca” (our local and obviously overworked Dominos employee) reads your pizza demands to the finished product as it waits patiently for you to take home.

This entire process is built around Domino’s new trademarked motto “You’ve Got 30 Minutes.” Now I’m all for speedy service, and this is pure gold for the munched out college student, but it brings attention to a larger issue I’m beginning to have with the way our society functions. First, according to the site’s “legal stuff” section, “because safety is a priority "You Got 30 Minutes™" is not a guarantee but an estimate. You may get more.” Obviously a pizza company that had retail sales exceeding $5.4 billion worldwide in 2007 is going to have to shield itself from the thousands of potential lawsuits claiming false advertisement, but it seems to read into so much more about how we really view the value of time and quickness. We want the things we desire immediately, with little to no waiting period from the time our demands are made to when they're finally satisfied. This is the principle that governs the fast food industry and big box stores. No longer do you have to spend the time waiting for your food to be prepared and cooked, nor do you have to travel around town visiting this store and that store for a single item.

However much I enjoy a speedy stop at Starbucks or the pizza company that gives me exactly a half an hour to waste before my pie is done I feel as though we’re loosing something necessary to keep ourselves sane in such saturated lifestyles: patience. We’ve become obsessed with infusing quickness in every aspect of our lives, from doing laundry to taking the dog on a walk. Loosing unwanted pounds is now a product of weeks of intense workouts and dieting, rather than a year-long program that ultimately produces more healthy results that last well into years ahead. We don’t have time to read, to write, to even THINK anymore because we’re so caught up in deadlines and due dates, driving ourselves mad with every hour that quickly passes by. Looking upon clocks with envious eyes as if begging it to reverse its hands.

And so I request a recall of this overtly quickened pace of life. Let us appreciate a good book and take an amazing hour-long nap. Let us take walks, not for the egotistical demands of a diet, but rather for the enjoyment of nature and one’s bare surroundings. We need to revitalize the urge to and understand once more the importance of spending 15 minutes with a freshly brewed cup of tea watching trees and thinking.

Lucky, I find myself not alone in promoting the ideals of a slower lifestyle. Bruno Contigiani, an Italian swimming trainer, professor of applied mathematics, science journalist and head of the press agency Telecom Italia, began the The Art of Slow Living (L'Arte del Vivere con Lentezza) that has grown into an organization crusading for a Global Day of Slowness since it’s first conception back in February 2007. To progress such slow-moving principles, Bruno and friends at L’Arte have put together a list of Slowmandments to help guide people towards a life of less speed.

Here are some of my favorite Slowmandments:

1. While queuing at the supermarket or in traffic relax, don’t get angry and try to use your time for planning your day or talking to your neighbor in line.

2. When you enter a café, make a habit of saying hello to the waiter before ordering and after enjoying your coffee remember to say goodbye (this rule works for all stores, offices and in the elevator!)

3. Write your text messages on your cell phone with no symbols or abbreviations.

4. Avoid being so busy and full of work that you don’t have time for yourself and the delight of thinking about nothing.

5. In the evening turn off the television and read the newspaper (or blog).

So next time you find your mind overloaded with too much thoughts and worries, dates and times, consider Bruno’s L'Arte del Vivere con Lentezza and follow the group’s guiding principle: “To stay for all your life a free thinker: this is the meaning of Slow living; to have the courage to stop, ponder and make your own choices before external events and trends sweep you away.”


References:
1) The Art of Slow Living (http://www.fmprodeveloper.it/siti/vivereconlentezza/)
2) Dominos ® (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=135383&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1120100&highlight=)

The WOW Effect

I play World of Warcraft.

Yes, I confess to being an arcane fire spec1 mage, lvl 42, who loves his DPS2 spells and long walks on the always sunny beaches of Stranglethorn Vale. I can sheep spell you like Dick Tracy and I’ve twinked3 my armor enough to pwn4 even the toughest beastmaster hunter5.

It’s hard living the life of a WOWer. The constant smirks that appear across listener's faces as I describe the intensity of the large-scale MMOG (massively multi-user online game). Your audience becoming uneasy as they think back to the local news station’s report they watched on YouTube investigating the insanely addicted teenager who just couldn’t log off. His obsession causing his family emotional damage and destroying all hope for the salvation of his public image. They ask how it’s changed my life, as if this game guarantees some amount of loss to your sanity.

I’d like to think I still retain sanity while playing this game, and I’ll offer an insider’s perspective on why I think it’s one of the best developed and entertaining games available today.

Meet Deorex, my badass lvl 42 mage.

It all started nearly a year ago, when I first began to really pay attention to the growing talk of an elitist online PC game that was gaining popularity by the minute. I figured it another boring spawn of the EverQuest franchise that was trying too hard to be the next Lord of the Rings and I would ridicule those that subscribed to the absurd $15 monthly payment just to play. Why would I want to continue to pay for a game after I bought it in-store? In fact I was already more than satisfied with my Sims 2 game and all its glorious expansion packs that brought me virtual reality happiness by allowing me to build the house of my dreams and live a carefree life in it (with the help of a few money-making cheats). And occasionally when I felt the need to let out more aggression, I could command huge armies in RTS (real-time strategy) games like Empire Earth or Civilization and wage tactical warfare against rather smart computer players. My gaming choices were simple, but they offered me just the right amount of distraction and fun to get through the lameness of junior high and high school.

Towards the end of my junior year in high school though, I had several friends get free 14-day trial subscriptions of a new online game which they picked up at my local EB Games store. They spoke of an expansive world filled with tons of other people from around the world playing side-by-side. I was still skeptical of this new Warcraft game, but my parents had just invested in a new desktop PC and I was eager to test its gaming potentials. Plus the game’s developer, Blizzard Entertainment, a company based in Irvine, California, decided not to require a credit card number for the 14-day trail so I had no reason to not try it out. So I snatched a trial copy, waited for my computer to download and install the rather large amount of files, and soon was logged on as a lvl 1 Night Elf Druid (the class that can change into animals). I became a tall, attractive purple elf and within minutes I was learning the basics of the first-person game play and quickly leveling up in experience. Within days I was hooked on the game and absolutely loved chatting with new friends and questing throughout the world of Azeroth as a member of the Alliance fraction. As the joyous second free week ended I decided it was well within my budget to cough up the $30-something dollars it’d cost to legitimately by a copy of the game, and after the first free month I would make ends meet to bring more WOW to the table in the months following.

However much I enjoyed playing the game, I still felt the pressure to keep my online “second life” secret from most of my real-life friends. I became a chameleon, blending in with my peers at school and becoming a mythical hero in the silence of a dark computer room whenever I had the chance at home. But I soon desired to bring my friends into this brave new world of sorcery and lore. So I began to publicly reference WOW to my closest of friends in hopes of persuading them to take home with them one of the two 14-day trial CD-ROMs that came with my purchased version. I found myself again morphed into another character, only this time it was that of a Blizzard salesman detailing the awesomeness of a game to potential players and reaping the hefty prize of one month free for anyone who says I referred them. It was a business plan that should be revered, as I eagerly lobbied my friends to install the game and join me.
It wasn’t very long before I convinced a girl friend of mine, Sara, to take up arms and join the revolution of WOW. We decided to both create Human Warlocks and quest together to the great lengths of leveling and achieve level 60, the highest possible and most powerful at the time. She was quickly swooned by the relatively good looking graphics and addictive game play and for an early birthday present I bestowed upon her a purchased copy of the game. Within two months we were playing WOW as much as we possibly could and happily shoving $30 collectively down Blizzard’s expansive pockets every month.

So what makes this game so damn compelling? The ability to engage mass amounts of people of all different sizes and shapes, ages and ethnicities, and to keep them wanting to play more is something game developer’s consider a sort of golden standard. This game is far more than what first-glance may show. It is a game filled to the brim with its very own vocabulary (as seen in the first paragraph of this entry) and a difficulty level that slowly grows with the experience of the player. The more you play, the more rewards your character receives. Your basic stats that control everything from your health to your mana (the stuff used to cast spells) can be increased by buying updated armor or collecting them off NPCs (Non-Player Characters). It requires the ability to network with other players and form powerful groups to run through the many different instances, which mimic levels of an RPG game, with easier enemies towards the entrance and one or more elite bosses at the end. And as you progress in the game’s character levels, it becomes more necessary to join a guild, which is large group of players who hold ranks and plan instance runs with fellow guildies.

This was all elevated to a new level of sophistication when the much anticipated expansion, The Burning Crusade, came out on January 16, 2006, raising the level cap to 70 and adding two new races to the world, the Blood Elf for the Horde fraction, and the Dranei for the Alliance. The BE characters were an extremely attractive light-skinned race which gave a more pleasing aesthetic option to those who wanted to side with the Horde, which previously consisted of bull-like Tauren, skeleton Undeads, hunched over Trolls, and bulking Orcs. The Dranei gave the Alliance a tailed alien-like option to the ranks of Humans, Night Elfs, Gnomes, and Dwarfs (LOTR anyone?). This expansion opened the skies of Azeroth and brought high leveled players to the new Outlands. A far more difficult land outside planetary boundaries that offered even more wicked adventures.

Sara and I both soon agreed we simply NEEDED this $30 expansion to the game we now loved so much. So we bought ourselves two copies, expanded our game and then decided it was time to join arms with the Horde as sexy little blood elves. Since I’ve been through just two characters while Sara has stuck with her now level 70 warlock character, Kiity, and is in a rather professional guild which plans monthly raids on instances which require a good 4 hours of the 30 or more player’s time, gearing up her character with the highest possible armor one can get, and creating a wardrobe worthy of Azeroth catwalks. I had been leveling a priest BE, which specializes in the healing of other players, but my desire for more power finally took over and I decided to start a BE mage character, Deorex, and I'm currently in the process of leveling him to 70.

Is this all coming in clear? I’m sure it’s not the easiest thing to wrap your mind around for those who haven’t familiarized themselves with the concepts of WOW, but it’s fundamentally quite simple. Blizzard created a game with a global environment. One in which the more you do, the more you get rewarded, and players start out on a completely equal playing field and are allowed to grow as strong as they’d like, so long as they continue to pay the monthly fee. You are allowed to roam free and do as you so please, and make friends with people from all over the physical world. I believe this is where the game derives its successes, for no other game comes close to the social abilities that WOW offers.

Within it’s first year of hitting the shelves in November 2005, the smash hit game signed up around 4 million players worldwide, with nearly one million coming from the United States. Within the first three months of debuting in China, nearly 1.5 million players signed up. These numbers gave Blizzard roughly a $700 million annual revenue in that time frame. These numbers are absolutely staggering when compared to it’s closest rival at the time, EverQuest II, which had between 450,000 and 500,000 active users worldwide. Millions of people spending money every month (and in some countries by the hour) FTW6! What once was a gaming genre that game executives saw with narrow pessimistic eyes, believing that only a handful of gamers would continue to pay for a game they already paid for at the store, seems to have found the kind of continued demand to rival that of console games. MMOGChart.com shows an absolutely exponential trend in total active subscriptions of all current MMO games (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart4). Although, to say the entire genre has been as successful as WOW would be a big overstatement. Another chart, (http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart7) shows that in the most recent month of February, Warcraft had a 62% market share. It’s closest rival is the free online fantasy MMOG Runescape, which holds a 7% market share. The remaining is split between a handful of other titles.

There is an ongoing debate as to how much World of Warcraft actually helps the MMO genre, as it continues to hold a monopoly over subscriber-based gamers. Current up-to-date statistics of players are hard to come by when factoring in the worldwide audience and the ability to create as many characters as one would like, but a reliable WOW census site, WarcraftRealms.com, has recorded 6.7 million active users in the past 30 days from the US and Europe alone, 3.9 million from the US and 2.8 from the EU. These vast numbers of users are divided into hundreds of different realms where on average 10,000 to 30,000 can be found interacting on each. What this information shows above anything else is that players are willing to play this game month after month, year after year. But they don’t seem to want to experiment with other titles outside World of Warcraft. This is great for Blizzard, but other companies have almost entirely given up efforts to try to steal away some WOW players.

Having a truly massive scale online community that stays active and logged on allows players to have a legitimate second life online. It seems as though whenever I log on I can be sure to get a friendly hello and maybe even an invite to quest. I have friends who I know in the real world, and friends from across the country who I’ve only had the chance to interact with in game. I am a member of a guild that is always chatty and helpful, and I make new friends and interact with new people on a daily basis. So why does this game seem to have such a negative stigma surrounding it when someone brings up its social effects?

I think the best way to understand the point of view that WOW somehow disrupts and impairs “normal” social behavior is to look at my friend Sara, aka Kiity, lvl 70 warlock, during an epic raid. With her headphone/microphone combo headset armed and her stat buffs set, she leaves the room in every form but the physical to partake in a 2 hour long journey that is rivaled only by the likes of Indiana Jones and Empire Strikes Back. She speaks, but not to those near her. Instead she communicates simultaneously with 30 to 40 other members of her guild as they go from room to room slaying gigantic monsters and powerful villains. Being a fellow WOWer I understand how intense the action is and I don’t bother to keep up a legitimate conversation, as such an attempt would prove futile anyways. But if I was a worried mother of a younger player with high level responsibilities, you bet I’d be a little concerned to have my child be so consumed with a video game that they don’t hear what you say to them only a few steps away. To ease the fears, consider this: many “normal” people spend hours on the internet browsing various different pages and viral videos. Even more people spend several hours sitting in front of their TVs watching reruns of Oprah and Dr. Phil. And a majority of people around the world take some time every so often to sit down for a good 2 hours to watch a good movie. I find all of these activities to be in the same league with playing WOW. Obviously moderation is a beautiful thing, and too much of any of these things and many other entertainment stimulants can be sure to cause some problems in a user's life. But when you compare the entertainment value of those outlets listed, Warcraft offers a unique form of fun. It seamlessly merges social networking, gameplay, friendly competition and decent short stories and plots together to be a truly evolved gaming experience. And it does it with impressive graphics and landscapes.

So the next time you or someone else happen to bring up WOW in a conversation, or you walk by the boxes stacked up in your local Wal-Mart, I hope you'll second guess jumping on the hater bandwagon too quickly. Instead, realize that WOW is the future of gaming. As we can see with the successes of the Halo franchise and Call for Duty 4 on consoles, social gaming is practically a necessity both for profits and for public interest. Soon, if not already, social interaction will become a mandate for deciding whether or not a new title sinks or swims in the ever changing gaming market. So buff yourself, armor up and wield your weapon for an epic journey into the world of Azeroth, and into expanding world of social gaming.

player's livin' the good life in Azeroth.

Arcane Fire Spec1 - spec, short for specialization, refers to the area of expertise you can choose to train your character in. There are three options available for each class and you can mix and match your spec by spending your talent points, gained from leveling, however you’d like.

DPS2 - Damage Per Second, a form of fighting that puts damage given in a short amount of time over damage taken over a longer amount of time. This usually results in less health for the player.

Twinked3 - a term used to describe a lower level player who has the ability, either through a past higher level character or a generous friend, to spend a lot of money buying up the best possible armor, giving them an advantage over their level peers.

Pwn4 - A term originated in a grammatical mess up in the game Warcraft II, when a game developer misspelled owned in “you got owned!” Since it has grown into a widely used gaming term to take place of the word “own.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pwn)

Beastmaster Hunter5 - A specialization in the hunter class that has a very good advantage over the mage class and usually easily pwns them.

FTW6 - For The Win, a term used to show excitement for or importance of anything in WOW. (“mage damage FTW!”)

References:
1. Conqueror in a War of Virtual Worlds by SETH SCHIESEL. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/arts/design/06worl.html) Sept 6th, 2005.
2. http://www.warcraftrealms.com/index.php
3. http://www.mmogchart.com/