Intrigue in the Imperfections

As some of you may know, I participate in some nerdy pursuits like "Dungeons and Dragons". The game has the social misconception of being a game for social outcasts. But, would you believe, Stephen Colbert, fake news anchor; Ed Robertson, guitarist and singer of Barenaked Ladies; and Vin Diesel, actor from Fast and the Furious have picked up the dice and played "Dungeons and Dragons"? Many people don't understand what the game really is. “Dungeons and Dragons” is a structured, collaborative story-telling game.

The setting for the adventure takes place in a magical, medieval universe where wizards and warriors; elves and dwarves; and good and evil collide. One player controls the world, in which, the other players move in by using the elements of the game he finds interesting from the Player's Core Rulebook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide. This player weaves the story together and presents the conflict the characters must overcome. He decides when they will reach the next town, when they'll be attacked, and when the group is ready for the ultimate showdown withe evil. By having imagination, the players bring the world to life.

Now, each player has to create their own character, or protagonist, from scratch. They decide on the race, job class, what skills he knows, and the background information for the character. For the past week, I've been trying to dream up what it takes to be a good, memorable hero.

Through this process, I came to realize I have the problem of balancing my character too much. I don't want my players to have an Achille's heel. My hero's are flawless, and I design them to statistically destroy anything that comes in their way. This perfection makes them boring. Despite whatever backstory they may have, finding a lost family member, fulfilling some last request, or revenge against their rival, they are uninteresting. Only by struggling are real memorable heroes made.

I decided to take a look at literature. I discovered that the great heroes we remember like Hercules, Cerano, Don Quixote, etc. are flawed men, and it is their imperfections that we come to admire. The greatest challenge of the hero is overcoming his own personal shortcomings. Hercules lost himself in rages, and he quests to atone for his sins and overcome that rage. Cerano cannot confess to the love of his life and selflessly protects her. We cheer for him when we finally tells her how he feels. Don Quixote lives in an imaginary world of his creation. At first we believe he needs to be stopped, but Don Quixote fights on. Through his perseverance, he conquers the realist's dreary outlook within ourselves by bringing insight and adventure to our ordinary lives. There is beauty and intrigue in their imperfections.

So, I have taken away the godly stats for my characters. I've weakened my future protagonist further by removing one of his arms. My character will struggle with inner demons in trying to accept himself for who he is. I have made my character flawed, human. Should my character overcome the obstacles set before him, he shall be remembered for his characteristics that set him apart.

You may scoff at my playing of "Dungeons and Dragons" but I blame your imagination. I challenge you guys to come up with an original backstory for a character of your creation. What would be his defining characteristics? One eye missing? Part of his body deformed by a experiment gone wrong? What is his motivation for adventuring? Write your ideas in the comment section. It's a real challenge especially when it seems all of the ideas have already been taken. I challenge you guys to see giants where windmills stand.

21!!!

Yay!!!!!! Very happy! Not about to be a raging alchie or anything, but nice to know that I won't be limited in my options to go out and socialize with people. Also, this marks 14 years until I get to run for President. So ya'll better watch out... :D

Memories

I have a knack for remembering events, which happen to me. Regrettably, this memory does not work for studying else I would ace subjects like history with no problem. I remember the little moments that happen, which define friendships and how we interact. Depending on how much we hang out, I have moments where I bring up events which nobody else seems to be able to remember. I direct this to Andrew mostly because he claims I make up most of the stuff. To him, I say, "Nay, sir. I remember it as it happened... perhaps with a little bit more drama."

I remember being refused admittance to a certain science group in 6th grade, receiving brownies while cards at a picnic table, buying pie certificates for the price of $10, being asked my opinions on who I thought was 'hot' in our grade, trying to negotiate a deal of trading olive oil for steel, bowling with fellow EHAPers, and countless other experiences. Despite how insignificant some of the events were, I remembered them for a reason and they have shaped who I am today.

I have been contemplating what it would be like to share these memories with other people. Instead of a simple retelling through words, what if we could take the memories inside our heads and play them for others? This reminds me of Harry Potter's use of the Pensieve. Dumbledore is able to take his memories and physically put them into a bowl, so Harry can tangibly put himself in them. Through these experiences, Harry learns to understand who Voldemort really is. What if we had this ability in real life? What if loved ones exchanged their memories instead of vows to get married? How could you get much more intimate than that? Would this change the way negotiations happened? If we saw the suffering others endured, perhaps we could come to truces to problems like the Middle East?

The idea of memory transference seems simple enough, but I feel this could go so much deeper. I don't know where I am going with this, but I'll continue to mull over the idea. This is what I've been thinking about for my creative writings. My idea of memory transference is a little grimmer than the Pensieve. Through cannibalism, my characters obtain the memories of their dead friend. Because memories make up who we are, I feel as if they are woven into our very flesh. By eating the flesh, the consumer tastes and sees the life that was lived.

Now, you have seen some of the inner workings of my brain. Yeah, I'm kinda screwed up. If any other ideas come to mind, I'll let you guys know.

I talked to a certain co-blogist and she (if that wasn't a hint enough to who it was) said we should keep the blog running together. She is more than able to keep up two blogs. She even promised to give us the good posts. *wink* I'll hold you to your word, mystery co-blogist.

I'm glad to see Daniel posting considering it's been forever since we've heard from him. When did you become so obsessed with computers? I feel most of your writings have been about technology advancements in that field.

Finally, a very happy 21st birthday to Andrew! Next time we meet, we shall share a beer together. It will be a beer of epic proportions.

Expect to hear more of me since someone said I never write on the blog. I shall prove that person wrong, and that Alexander can indeed write well and often.

interfaces

hello hello! it has been a while since i have blogged. unfortunately (because i know you're all dying to see more of my fantastic writing :P) this will not be a particularly long post. but i hope it is of some interest.

i think media technology is fascinating. and i'm not talking about media as in the news (tv, newspaper, etc), i'm talking about user interfaces and visualizations that allow us to interact with information in new and innovative ways. one easy example of this is the gestural interface used in the move Minority Report; this interface allowed tom cruise to interact with data streaming from the minds of the prescient in a new and very tangible way.

and this idea, of interacting with information and data, is fascinating. because what this really means is that we are using the computer as an extension of our minds. after all, the computer is simply a tool. and when we start thinking about new visualizations and data representations, we are simply trying to make the computer a better tool by improving the way it interfaces with the human brain.

and when you start thinking about the computer as simply an additional aid to the human brain and human computation, things become very interesting. because then, not only is it important to improve the performance of the computer (processing speed, hard drive, cache size, etc), but it is also important to improve the user interface so that the human user can utilize those resources to the fullest.

therein lies the fascination of media and user interfaces. when you improve an interface or create a new way of visualizing and manipulating data, you have created a closer link between the computer and the human. you have removed more "noise" from the interaction between the computer's brain and the human's brain, allowing them to understand each other better and allowing the human a greater grasp of the computers tools. (now this is of course arguable; there are many in computer science who, being very literate in computer function, would much rather do things very close to the computer's way, ie through command lines and UNIX thinking, instead of adding extra implementation to make the computer meet him/her halfway)

now i have either fascinated you as well or bored you, but i'll leave you with this. imagine a point in the future where the user interface has developed to a point at which the user can intuitively harness the computation powers of a computer without any learning curve whatsoever. what do we do with such "limitless" power? and what does that mean for us as humans?

Separate Blogs?

Since it's rare for any of us to post on this blog, I find it irksome that two of our co-blogists have branched off on personal blogs. We already don't hear very much from you guys, and I can only assume we will hear even less of you on this blog. I understand you guys want creative freedom to do what you want, but I think we should reevaluate the need for this blog then. We can each have our own separate blog, and keep track of each other that way.

Depending on how you feel, we should think about that. I would be lying if I said I kept up on this blog often. I'm too busy with school work and creative writings of my own to pay this blog the attention it deserves. If this blog were to be inherited by someone, I vote Andrew. He dedicated the most time to this site anyway, and from what I can tell, his friends follow us the most.

Let me know what you guys think.

FYI: I finished editing an earlier post I had and posted it. It's before Stephanie's last post.

Rat Race

I've noticed that there are two major marathons across college campuses: the rat race of pre-meds and the rat race of business.

To train for the former, one must prove why they want to be doctors. This can be done by 1) volunteering at clincs 2) conducting lab research 3) studying for MCATS or 4) a combination of the aforementioned three. Option 4 generally yields the most favorable results. Yet overtraining has its dangers as well. Aside from the invariable complaining about bio labs, improper training may lead to feeling burnt out and coping out to become a consultant. Which brings me to the second major competition.

The business route is a little less defined, as conditions are unpredictable and underdogs are more likely to sprint ahead. Yet there remain tested methods: 1) Joining the pre-business/pre-consulting/pre-finance/etc club on campus (at least one) 2) jumping abroad a startup 3) preparing for case interviews or 4) a combination of the aforementioned three. Again, option 4 is preferable. And of course, this trail is not without pitfalls. Common dangers include inadvertently writing "$" instead of "s" on papers (exhibit A: Ke$ha. jk, she claims it is for the irony) and believing that 80 hour workweeks "aren't too bad."

Of course, other races exist. For example, I am not denying the validity or treachery of the political science race. Yet I have not had as much experience with those sorts of competitors--perhaps by choice, perhaps not. And as frustrated as I may get at the seemingly never-ending cycle of rat races (we've always been stuck in competition...from cutting the straightest to writing the best cursive to solving arithmetic the fastest, etcetc) part of me questions how motivated I would actually be if people around me weren't striving for the next milestone as well. Though I wish I had an innate drive to learn and/or succeed, I must admit that a lot of it comes from my surroundings, and my self-applied pressure to keep up/stay on top. So as much as I may hate the rate-race nature, I also hate the idea of fat rats lying around waiting to be fed.

Don't get me wrong--there certainly are entities more satisfying and important than getting the best grade, the best job, the best car, the best house, the best retirement home (sorry). God, family, friends, sig others all come into play here. But from a strictly career-oriented standpoint, I can think of scenarios far worse than one inundated with runners in one (well, two) massive rat races.

Some shameless publicizing

Haven't written on this site in a while. Just letting you know that all my random thoughts can be found on my own blog that I recently started since the New Year called brandnewday9.blogspot.com. Yes, I am shamelessly (and temporarily) publicizing my new blog. But don't worry, I will still write on this blog, and I still want to know what you guys are up to! The perk to my new blog: my pre-med rantings will no longer be found on this blog! hooray! Hope you guys are all doing well, and help those in Haiti by texting "Haiti" to 90999. It will send $10 to the Red Cross! ok that is all :)

The Hunt

For the past couple of months, a cat has been known to be outside my house and cry out in heat. The cat is not getting warmer with a heater or anything. I'm talking about it's getting it on with another cat.

The sound is terrifying. It sounds like a little child being beaten to death. A cat in heat is not a sound I'm acquainted with (thankfully) so the first time it happened at 5 in the morning I tried to tune it out. I'm the guy who can fall asleep on a plane before take off and wake up after the plane has landed. I sleep on the hardest of beddings when I go camping. I am a pro at sleeping, but the unnatural sound of this cat kept waking me up. All I could wonder was "Why has this god-forsaken child chosen my window to die under? Couldn't he leave me in peace?". I am very unsympathetic when someone wakes me up.

Being disrupted in my sleep cycle, I decided I would finish off whatever was making the sound. I grabbed my baseball bat and ran outside to beat the public menace. I couldn't find anything. Instead, I only found a very worried newspaper delivery guy watching a half dressed young adult storming around his yard with a baseball bat staring down anything that moved on a soggy Tuesday morning.

I was so out of it that I actually thought it was a dream sequence. When my mom asked me that morning why I got up, I knew it had happened. I thought I was crazy, there is nothing on God's green Earth that can replicate the sound I had heard. I tried my best to describe it. I asked about the unearthly sound that can only be described as the cries of a dying child. Being the wise woman she is, my mom instantly knew it must be a cat.

So, for the past couple of months, this cat has had an on-off relationship. It appears at random, but it's always a nuisance making it's hellish screams at unmentionable hours of the morning. However, this night was different.

I was having a late night snack, preparing a s'more, when I hear it, the demonic cries. The sound crescendos disrupting the peaceful night that was putting me in a sleepy mood. My eyes widen, and I no longer hunger for my s'more. I hunger for the destruction of this awful creature that destroys peace for its own pleasure. I run outside looking for the closest weapon to arm myself. I see a mini pumpkin decoration by the door. Picking up the missile, I run out to the street to hunt.

The night air is crisp, awakening my dull senses. Under the streetlight I stare into the shadows for the eloping fiends. I spot one cat creeping near the bush of our house and the other cat on the corner. I launch my missile from my position, and the little pumpkin is intercepted by a tree. It explodes with the crack of a gun shot. The pumpkin shrapnel scatters across the sidewalk. The cats take off down different streets. I pursue with the desire to silence at least one of them, permanently.

My adrenaline is pumping at the excitement of chasing something in the dark. I could hear the beating of my heart in my ears. It feels like a true hunt, with me in pursuit. My legs feel amazing as if they could run forever. The wind cuts into my face as if I'm traveling at high speeds. My eyes adjust to the light, and everything seems so vivid now. The 'thumping' of my feet against the pavement create a tempo that echoes the excitement in my heart. I start cutting across yards, and beat back overgrown bushes with my ape-like limbs. The bushes have become my jungle. I track the cat I, reasoning what path it would consider the safest. I laughed as life pulsed through my veins ready to plunge into the underbrush after my prey. Except, civilization called me back.

My mother heard me exit the house and wanted me back inside before the neighbors saw the lunatic running up and down their street. I went back inside to eat my s'more, but I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to hunt in pre-historic times.

Happy New Year!!!

In the past few years, I neglected to compose New Years Resolutions because, let's face it, I'm astoundingly close to perfect. And the only reason that I'm not completely flawless is because my sole resolution last year was to become less perfect and allow others to feel better about themselves. Of course, I succeeded.

This year, however, is different. The standards of perfection have shifted, with different values being in vogue and new abilities to be learned. It's as if the maximum possible level has been heightened, a la World of Warcraft (which, being perfect, I have certainly never played).

To this end, I will now indite several resolutions for 2010. More may be added as I see fit in the coming days and weeks.

1. Get outside my comfort zone! Do things I know I'm bad at! Don't be afraid of failure! While I had mastered all positive possible activities as of 2008, new entities appeared in 2009, which I resolve to master. Examples include: perfect renditions of Glee songs (choreography included), ability to type 200 words per minute on every mobile phone regardless of how poorly constructed the keyboard is, and of course, the new qualifications for winning the Nobel Peace Prize so that I may win it if I ever so desire.

2. Stop complaining so much. This has been a work in progress, but I suppose inking it down with pixels will enhance this endeavor. It's quite difficult to refrain from complaining when the world is so disappointing. I once proclaimed that I would stop complaining when there stopped existing things worth complaining about. Yet I suppose it's inevitable that not everyone can be as perfect as me, so it might be worth it to accept that sad fact and not incessantly complain about it.

3. Sleep earlier, wake up earlier. This past quarter, I crashed before 9:30 on a few occasions and woke up early to do work before class. I realized that I was much more productive this way, since I become more motivated and diligent as I think to myself: "ugh, I better do work since I'm up this early, otherwise waking up early is a huge waste." This greatly increases my productivity, as opposed to being distracted during the day/night when I usually do my work. Going to bed before 12:30 would be fantastic, since I have 9 am class Monday through Friday. Also, this would be better for the environment, since I would use less electricity by using the natural daylight of the morning. Being so great has its burdens--heroically saving the environment is just one of them.

4. Meet people/make at least one good friend. The view from the top can be a bit lonely. But that doesn't mean the space is totally vacant. While my refined and exquisite standards in judging character inherently puts me at a disadvantage when socializing, I believe that there are lucky beings out there that are worthy of my company. Being around my perfection may also inspire others to achieve, giving more reason to avoid shutting myself out.

5. Develop better spiritual discipline. Work on my foundation in Christ. Relationship with the Creator is a tricky one, but it's certainly worthwhile. After all, He is the original Perfect One, working his perfection at least a few days before I started working mine.

6. Avoid God smiting me due to my hubris :)