Samsara

I played New Game just before Christmas and quickly decided that it was one of the best games I had played in a very long time, if ever. The fights in the DLC was nothing short of spectacular. Going up with the Abysswalker for the first time and having what felt like a long, intense, duel... ending up with killing him on the first go... gave me more of a rush than I have ever felt. It was a game that was fair and just in every harsh way possible. I actually enjoyed Blighttown, because it made me be aware of everything. I hated Sen's more than that, but even that was easy with timing and patience. ...and thus I trod onwards through gorgeous levels and intense moments. Beautiful game in so many ways. Yeah there's something really special to this game. It nails the feeling of being a lone wanderer on a journey. It kind of feels like a grown-up version of RuneScape in the way that you get attached to your armor and weapons (who are really the only true companions you have) slashed with the original 2D Prince of Persia where you have to be a badass motherfudgeer to make any progress. Plus the characters, the lore, the way you learn through gameplay... ahh. It's a masterpiece of game design. I'm currently on Anor Londo. Super excited to round up the Lord Souls and then do the DLC area. And to fight Artorias. I've made a point not to watch any videos or do any walkthru-type reading for the DLC area so I'm going in as blind as possible. And I actually dreaded doing Blighttown again. That's how you know a game is effective. I'm dreading doing Tomb of the Giants again too. Those skele-dogs... :s

I've been on a huge Dark Souls fix lately. I played it once way back when but now I'm doing another playthrough to do the DLC which I've never done. Planning on taking it at least through NG+ this time around so I can do all the quests and collect some of the rarer weapons. Anyone else here play? It's probably one of my favorite games of all time.

It's becoming more acceptable now but five years ago or so they probably would have thought you're a pothead or at least very liberal socially. Then it probably has to do with me living in the Netherlands. It definitely does. :P I live in the suburbs of New Jersey and go to a relatively progressive high school and even here to say that you smoke pot is to stratify yourself socially.

I wonder how they will one-up DS with DS2. I'm really looking forward to increased difficulty. Increased difficulty for sure. The game shouldn't get easier on re-runs. I'm hoping that they revamp the covenant system to make it a little more accessible and worthwhile. The online netcode needs to be reworked too. It took way too long to connect to other players in DS1. Actually, if they find entirely new ways to work multiplayer into DS2 I'd be really happy. The online in DS1 was very barebones and I think it was a missed opportunity. So yeah, I hope they fix two of DS's biggest flaws: online and covenants. Beyond that, I have a lot of faith in From when it comes to story, worldbuilding, character and level design... I'm sure that DS2 will be fantastic.

I'm looking forward to buying a PS3 for cheap this year and catching up on a bunch of games I missed: The Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossus/Ico HD, Sly 4, Ratchet and Clank, etc. In terms of new releases this year, I'm excited for Titanfall because it's potentially a game-changer in the same way that Modern Warfare 1 was, and I'm excited for Destiny because Bungie gave me the original three Halos and I want to see them do well. Honestly though, I don't see myself spending a lot of time playing either once they come out because the multiplayer videogame scene in my town has died down a lot since the MW1-BlackOps era. There's a rumor that there will be a Halo 2 Anniversary coming out this year. If the multiplayer is the exact same as the original Halo 2, I will buy everyone in my town an Xbox so we can play it. I WILL KILL PEOPLE FOR THAT GAME. But nothing so far eclipses the excitement I have for Dark Souls 2. DS1 was my favorite gaming experience of all time. I have so much faith in From. I'm not watching a single video or reading any gameplay details--I can't wait to go in totally blind and immerse myself in that world again. EDIT: Also, I am really really really bored of the FPS deluge that gaming has gotten since Halo 3 onwards, so this year I'm going to be going out of my way to try games in other genres and games that experiment with conventions, mostly because I'm bloody tired of the FPS experience and partly because I wanna support those trends with my purchasing habits.

I regret not betting more on the Seahawks.

I told the kid that I learned it from YouTube.

In my journalism class, we've started our graphic design where we teach the newcomers to the program how to layout newspaper pages and all the skills that are required in the process. We use Adobe InDesign with a touch of Photoshop. I've always been proficient with the program and as editor-in-chief I spent most of my time in this unit helping the cubs with basic elements and tools. One day I was teaching the class about layers and how they work, when someone asked, "Where did you learn this?" I thought for a minute, and remembered that the first time I learned about transparency, layers, rendering, and such was back when I would make RuneScape signatures for this forum--for myself and (sometimes) for others. It's really odd to think that all that tinkering around with GIMP back as a 11 year old actually turned out to be a beginner's level proficiency in a valuable and marketable skill. Thanks Sals :P

Yeah, that Japanese comment isn't reflective of anything, really. It just made me think about the racial composition of the class and whether it plays a factor in anything. And I think if you guys saw the in class discussions, you'd see what I mean when I say that the class's ability to learn and discuss is limited by the strong majority of the people being white.

So as you guys probably know by now, I'm Pakistani. I'm really comfortable with my identity as a Pakistani-born that grew up in America. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), I visit Pakistan often enough that my perspective is tempered by visions of life in both America and Pakistan. America--where I have lots of opportunities and life has a definite structure, and Pakistan--where everything is miserable and hope is scarce (exaggerating, but not by a lot). I identify myself as both an American and a Pakistani. I'm really fluid with it, so sometimes I'll present myself as one or as the other or as both. My goal in life has always been to give back to both of my countries and improve the statuses of living in both of them. I'm currently a senior in high school, and as seniors we have the option to take a class called "Humanities," the curriculum of which is fascinating. Throughout the year, we analyze history, the way it is changed and modified by nations with an agenda, the different ways a nation can control its citizens, why history is significant, etc. It's basically an advanced world studies class. The teachers are brilliant, they put their heart and soul into designing the class, and it shows. Even more impressive is that they manage to remain non-biased and encourage us to study with an open mind rather than to buy into certain beliefs. The class's purpose is to have its students ready to analyze the world in a more critical and informed manner. It's a dual English/History class too, so it's a double-wallop. fudgeing amazing class. I can't stress how much I appreciate that this class exists. And I can't stress how much it feels like no one else in my class does. Seriously. Half of my class doesn't pay attention, doesn't take notes, and when we discuss, they never inform their opinion with what we learn in the class. We had a month-long unit on war, while reading War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. But when we discussed, most of the students talked about war as if it was any other current issues class; like we hadn't spent a month analyzing the cogs behind war, the rush of war, why people wage war, all that. We have an online discussion forum where we can post articles relevant to class and talk about them. Someone posted an article re: a possible "handsome tax" being put into Japanese law. One of my classmates responded: "Well, not to be racist, but all Japanese people look the same anyways so it's easier to tell who's handsome." I was fudgeing appalled. To my classmates' credit, someone immediately called her out on her racism (one student). No one else commented on the thread after that. It really bothered me. Why would someone think it's acceptable to post something like this? Curious, I checked the roster of the three different sections of Humanities and made a list. In all of Humanities, in which there are about sixty kids, there are less than five people who aren't white. This might not be a big deal to you guys, but my high school is extremely diverse. I've never had a class so homogeneous. Obviously, this is a big problem for the curriculum of the class. How can we effectively discuss world issues when practically the only perspective we have to offer is that of a white middle-class teenager? Maybe I'm being a little rash, a little jump-the-gun-y. I don't want to be all holier-than-thou, but I'm not wrong in thinking that there's something that can be wrong here, right? That girl would never have posted that Japanese comment had there been an Asian kid in our class. Having a group of 17-year olds who all share major identity traits is a problem. They become an echo chamber, and they think that it's okay to think a certain way. For example, we had a discussion regarding whether one should relinquish their rights at an airport. Every single person in my class was totally comfortable with it. I was not. I asked any of them if they had ever been detained at an airport. None. And here I am, the only non-white person in my class, who has been detained at an airport every time I've been to one past the age of 13. Or perhaps it has nothing to do with being white. Perhaps it's just that not everyone in the class has had the same experiences that I've had. A significant part of why I take that class so seriously is because I know what it's like to be in a country that you'd be unlucky to be born in. I know that the lessons I learn in that class are valuable to me as a world citizen. Maybe these kids will have experiences like this when they go off to college or grow older. I'm not blaming these kids for being white. But can I blame them for refusing to look outside of themselves?

You say here that the word's definition refers to a black person. How do you respond to people saying that the wide usage of the n-word is a reappropriation of the word, of which the goal is to take away the racist impact the word once had by using it as a stop-gap word in everyday conversations? To elaborate upon that statement of mine, I'd call the offensiveness a connotation of the word, as silly as that sounds -.-. I don't think reappropriating the word is a good idea. There are much easier and simpler alternatives. That would be like if you went to get some muffins, and the store had two, one being slightly moldy and the other being in perfect muffinizing condition. To revive the N-word with a different meaning would be like getting the moldy muffin and cutting off all the moldy bits to give it life. Screw that moldy muffin, get the new one. Better yet, go back home and get your existing muffins, son. For that matter, I think "swell person" would be an awesome alternative to the word. ? I don't understand your analogy. Let's say the n-word is a poisonous muffin. You can't throw it away, and you can't stop people from eating it, but you can pump it with enough water and superfluous fluids to slowly reduce the percentage of poison in the muffin. That's how advocates of reappropriation of the n-word see it, as far as I understand.

Haha, yeah, I totally forgot about the censors. I fixed the OP. Do you really think the Paula Deen situation is applicable? Here's a Chicago Tribune article which details the situation. I pulled out the full context of what Deen was being put under fire for here: Her usage of the word seems way more racist than conversational. You say here that the word's definition refers to a black person. How do you respond to people saying that the wide usage of the n-word is a reappropriation of the word, of which the goal is to take away the racist impact the word once had by using it as a stop-gap word in everyday conversations?