Is It Wrong?

As kids, and even adolescents, we are told to be grateful for what we have, because there is always someone worse off that us.

This phrase comes up a lot when we seem to be absorbed by our own problems in life, and we are told to, in simple terms, get over it and realise there are people worse off.

Is the saying used in context though?

When we have problems, are we automatically ungrateful? Are we automatically disregarding all the things one has done for us if they have one trait that annoys us? I wouldn’t think so. When we have problems, we are still grateful to be able to sleep after a long day, or have a good meal, though we may not vocalise it as much as the provider would like.

What appears to be the problem is the way in which we deal with our problems. We all have our different ways, with some becoming extremely overt, and some very closed and silent. Those who take the latter approach and similar to their issues often find themselves on the end of the ‘grateful’ talk as minors, and as adults, well, if only you could read the minds of your colleagues. It isn’t the fact that they are ungrateful, or that they believe they are the ‘be all and end all of the universe’ and disregard other people’s problems at all.

It is just that way they deal with theirs.

This is Alex, typing on the train at 8:10, giving you thoughts straight from the head (sorry if they’re a bit disorganized).

My Thoughts On: Natural Disasters, Taxes, and a New User Interfaces!

You know, my heart goes out to the victims of the recent natural disaster in Oklahoma, America. It really does. I’ve never been in a disaster myself (and hope not to be), but it must be hard, not only losing part of your lives in material substance, but also losing family members and loved ones in the same circumstance, with nothing and no-one to blame but the weather.

This section of the post, however, is more to do with how we see natural disaster and their effects these days. In my mind, we’ve become ‘desensitized’ by the frequent disasters, natural and man-made, that we’re bombarded with every day. I mean, with all the disasters and death that we see on TV, in Newspapers, and all around us, it’s not hard to see why we are less inclined to feel emotion at the sight of another disaster when we’re constantly surrounded by them all the time. I just hope that we can find it in ourselves to be heartfelt in our condolences and feel genuine sympathy when something goes wrong with someone, as we would like people feel if it was us in that situation.

For the second part of my post, in all seriousness, why can’t these companies be truthful and pay taxes where taxes are due? We complain that the economy is collapsing, and that our countries are in debt, but when you think about it, would all this have happened if these companies had been truthful with their earnings and paid that they owe the state, and stopped avoiding the inevitable? Now, I’m no expert in finance and stock, and I’ll happily admit that. I just think that, even though we may not be totally out of debt if they had have been truthful, perhaps we wouldn’t be in so much. Opinions on this recent Google UK crisis, and the fact that the NHS and all Schools could be funded by what it owes us anyone?

Thirdly, and probably the most insignificant of all three (though I find it exciting nonetheless), has anyone discovered Flickr’s new layout? I personally love it, though it seems that these days the ‘header’ or ‘banner’ that I first saw on Facebook has become all its age as of late. Nearly all social networking sites I use have one now. I know it’s used to ‘express yourself’ and all that, but don’t you think it’s become a bit global? Isn’t there another alternative?

Well, that’s all I can churn out of my head for today.

I have a date with destiny (which, in my speech, is translated as finishing off collecting all the useless and unimportant bits of junk in Tomb Raider)!

Until next time!

Tomb Raider

It’s not often that I can lose myself in a game entirely, and spend hours just ‘bashing’ a game till I’ve finished it entirely. The most recent ones are The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, BioShock Infinite, FEZ, and Tomb Raider.

The last three are actually fairly recent, with BioShock Infinite being purchased about two weeks ago, and FEZ along with Tomb Raider only yesterday.

However, this post isn’t about losing myself in the aforementioned games. It’s more about the other rarity, which is when a reboot of the gaming franchise actually succeeds in being better than all other previous titles.

Tomb Raider, I conclude, has done this and more.

Everything about this game screams ‘NEW’, and indeed in gameplay it does feel that way. The most important thins though, is that not only has Tomb Raider brought in new gameplay elements (survival skills, XP, skill mastery, base camps, etc.) but it has also combined these with what would be considered truly original Tomb Raider elements such as ‘reaction time’ and other things. Also, a major change in the game is the almost ‘free roam’ style. Sure, there’s a main quest line, but you can deviate, explore, raid, and do other independent things regardless of where you’re at. I think that the other thing to note is that the chronological order has been completely blown away with this release, with it being set before all the original Tomb Raider games.

This brings to light a lot of things about Lara‘s past, but also helps the gamer connect to the character. In the original games, we played as Lara trying to get into tombs, kill whatever the hell was in there, and get out. No remorse, no mercy. Quick, clean, efficient.

In this game, however, we start doing the exact opposite. Trying to get out of a ‘tomb’, and simply seeking to get away from the cursed island filled with bat-crazy natives and a infinite forecast of rain. The cut-scenes that randomly dot Lara’s journey to becoming a ‘Tomb Raider’ add infinite depth to the feel of the game also, with Lara being scared out of her wits when first alone, having literally zero confidence in getting anywhere at first, and almost being sick when having to shoot a man through the head in self defence. It paints her in a totally different light than what I’m used to, and what many experienced players are, but I would say it’s been a positive overhaul, rather than a negative.

Honestly, I think that the line on Steam that I saw just about sums it up:

There’s a survivor in all of us.

Friends

It’s good to have friends, y’know? Of course, there are different types of friends, which I shan’t go into today, but it’s good to have them none the less.

Today was the first day back at college after the past two Easter break weeks, and to be fair, I was looking forward to it when I got up. I wasn’t disappointed either. It was great to talk and just generally be there, which I know may sound odd, but I get myself, I think.

It may just be the people (who are all awesome, if any of you guys are reading this), but to be fair, I felt more ‘at home’ there than I have done in a while…

That’s all I have to say for now, so I’m afraid it’ll be rather short.

Here’s to friends!

The Sentimental Type

In all honesty, not many of us label ourselves as ‘the sentimental type’ at first, and maybe only figure out later on in life. The thing is though, that even those who adamantly refuse to be pigeon-holed as sentimental, can be the worst. We all have those things that we find it hard to let go of in life, that remind us of the past, and especially those who have left us behind.

For example, you’re…say…42, okay? You’re visiting your parents house, which may, or may not be, the house that you grew up in as a child, but only your mother is alive at the time, due to unfortunate circumstances. Whether you grew up in that house or not can have great effect, but even the objects and scenes that remind you of earlier days can trigger memories and emotions that you never even thought to bring up. In the scenario that it is indeed the house that you grew up in, it would probably be the hardest. Each room would hold significant memories, good or bad, and every object you saw would probably hold a great deal of sentimental value also. You would encounter objects reminding you of all the various stages of your life, and your father, which can bring an onslaught of emotions.

Now, it’s important to note that there are two types of sentimental people. The first look back on their pictures, objects, and memories with fondness, remembering the good times they’ve had, and even making them feel happy about their past, before moving on.

The second type are very much different, but not quite the exact opposite. They look back remembering the times, but want to bring them back, and can often spiral into depression when they dwell on the subject too long, because as we all know, time travel isn’t possible.

At this point, some may say ‘Well I’m not sentimental, so I don’t know what you’re going on about.’, and in their own mind, they may be right. Maybe they haven’t found anything that holds that much value to them yet, or maybe they’ve learned to move on and let go of the things that do.

Either way, we’re all the sentimental type. It’s just a matter of admitting it to ourselves.