Heroes

The word hero has been thrown around an awful lot. Not just lately, for as long as I can remember. I think I really started to take notice on September 11th, 2001. Since that day I can't think of a day that has gone through a 24 hour cycle which has not included some reference to a new hero.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hero, rather loosely in my opinion, as: 1d: one that shows great courage. This causes me to sit back and think a little about what a hero means to me. Perhaps it'll help to illustrate where my mind was going by using examples of heroism I've read:

• A soldier who throws himself on a grenade in order to save the lives of those around him with obvious disregard for his own personal welfare
• A stranger who helps to dislodge a person's foot from a railroad track while a train barrels down. The train struck, and killed, all involved. The stranger made no attempt to save his own life, instead surrendering it in the hopes of freeing the trapped person
  
• A person who hears the screams for help from a woman being recklessly beaten and comes to the rescue, foregoing his own personal safety to prevent further bodily injury to the stranger
• A person, witnessing a car crashing into a body of water, dives into the frigid lake to rescue the passengers paying no mind to the risks involved

And, as a general rule, often-referred heroes and to whom I do not believe the tag applies:

• Soldiers
• Police officers
• Firefighters
• Animals

You may notice a slight recurring theme in my examples of heroism: they are humans who have made the decision to disregard their own safety, or in some cases knowingly surrender their own lives, for the lives of others. I tend to find the stories inspirational and often I'm left with goosebumps after considering what an amazing person it takes to do such a thing.

While I'm not a religious man by any means, I find this quote to be spot-on when describing a hero: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" - John 15:13. Although I give a broader meaning to friends and apply it universally to all people.

Why exclude who I have, you ask? Well, as a general rule, if you have put yourself into a position to daily risk your life for others, you've made the choice to take on a dangerous profession. Good for you. So it'll take a bit more than stopping a drunk driver or shooting the bad guy to make me label you a hero. It'll pretty much take a sacrifice to qualify...or at least something where they had accepted that this meant death to them and they did it anyway, just to save someone else.

But why exclude animals? Well, by my thinking, you have to be aware of your own mortality before you can willingly put it on the table. Oh, I've read stories of heroism by dogs that have given me goosebumps and damn near had me weeping like a babe. But it's not like the dog was thinking it could die...more like "who the hell is going to feed me steak if I don't get my family out". Although I may need to revise my definition for this.

Boy scouts who, after a tornado, applied first aid to other injured boy scouts? Quick thinking and nice job applying the skills you just learned. Heroes? Not likely. Marine gunner who kills 104 Iraqi insurgents in combat? Good shooting, Tex. Hero? Doubtful. Man who acts as insulation during a blizzard on Mt. Rainier, taking the worst of the cold so his best friend and wife could survive? He died so 2 others could live. Yeah, he's a hero.

Something I haven't thought much about with this hero label is where inspirational folks fall it. People like Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Ghandi, and others. I'm not sure I'd have to revise my line of thinking, they probably all knowingly risked, or surrendered, their own safety and security for the lives of others.

Hero: A person who knowingly, and willingly, places his or her life or safety at exceptional risk to preserve the life or safety of another.

Day 3: NYC

Started out the day by stepping out of the hotel and heading directly into Central Park. Our hotel was 2 blocks from the park, making it quite easy. The weather was a bit overcast with a 40% chance of rain, so we carried along our rainproof jackets and our umbrella. Once we came out the other side of the park (Upper West Side) it started to rain on us. Our aim this morning was a little cafe called Sarabeth's West, reported to have a good brunch. Upon finding the cafe, we were told the wait was 30-45 minutes. This area of town has a phenomenal number of wonderful brunch spots so we headed south a couple minutes to another cafe called Nice-Matin. Very tasty and very open for seating ;).

After getting our morning grub on, we headed to a little bakery we saw on Food Network called Levain Bakery and picked up a couple cookies (unbelievable...like a half-pound each!). From there we headed back into the park to meet up with a dentist friend, and her family, of Melissa's who had just moved out here to Brooklyn from Tri-Cities. The rain continued as we perused the small zoo in Central Park. Their little 2 year old son was so excited to see all the animals, especially the monkeys. Probably because that kid was definitely a monkey!

After we bid them good day, we walked up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What an amazing place. There is no way to cover even half the content in that place if you were given a whole day to look. We spent around 3 hours wandering around the exhibits we wanted to see and we didn't even come close to covering them all, nor all the content within those. Very cool.

After our adventures in the Met, we headed back to our hotel to prepare for dinner that evening. We grabbed a cab down to the meatpacking district of Manhattan and was promptly seated at our dinner destination STK. We ate a multitude of cuisines for the evening, including foie gras, seafood sampler - with oysters, raw tuna, crab, and shrimp, and fried potatoes with parmesan and truffle oil, and asparagus. Individually Melissa had the loin strip with an herb mixture dipping sauce and I had a bone-in rib eye covered with black truffles and the STK house dipping sauce. For dessert? Watermelon cotton candy with homemade marshmallows. To wash it all down we had a bottle of pinot noir and a meritage blend.

After the dinner we moved on to Larry Flynt's Hustler Club for some adult entertainment. Nothing to see here. ;)

We made it back to the hotel around 4:30 in the AM...

Day 1-2: NYC

We arrived in Newark Airport right on time (11:30PM local time). We gathered up our single checked bag and took a taxi ($76) to our hotel in the Upper East Side. We got in around 12:30AM so decided to go ahead and unpack and call it a night.

We woke up the next morning (7/4, USA! USA!) at around 10AM. Performed the 3 S's, packed lightly for our day and headed out to the 59th street (and Lexington) train stop. Hopped on the 4 train to Yankee Stadium. Apparently the rest of New York was also going to the game because it was shoulder-to-shoulder standing room only. Very exciting.

We wandered around the stadium, took some nice photos and got a feel for the land. Trying to go into the game we were stopped by the 'security' because our camera bag had a shoulder strap qualifying it as a 'backpack'. Fuck. So we had to go check our bag at a nearby bowling alley for $5. better than losing our $100 bag I guess. So we carried in the D40 and extra 200mm lens in a clear plastic bag (gayness). The weather was quite pleasant if overcast. Probably about 83F and slightly humid (65%).

Our seats for the game were slightly to the 3rd base side of right behind home plate, way up in the cheap seats. We actually had a really excellent view of the game and had a really great time...until the skies opened up. We had very steady rain fall right at the end of the 7th inning. The attendees that were not under an overhang scattered like cockroaches when the light comes on, seeking some shelter. Many of us pulled out waterproof jackets/parkas and umbrellas. The game continued during the drizzle and the grounds crew came out after the 7th inning and dropped probably 20 bags of quick-dry. The 8th inning started, but was quickly delayed once Alex Rodriguez made a throwing error from 3rd. CONSPIRACY. The game was on delay so we sorta hung out for a little while. The rain was not letting up so around 5:30PM we finally bailed on the game (it started at 1:05!).

We took the train back to the hotel and freshened up, then headed immediately back out to meet up with our friends in Brooklyn. We met up with them at Brighton Beach on the boardwalk, and grabbed ourselves a table at Tatiana's (Russian restaurant) overlooking the water. Good company and good food followed. From what I can recall, we ate: A house salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce), a Rockefeller salad (spinach, mozzarella, blue cheese, tomatoes), escargot, smoked herring (quite salty) with boiled potatoes, borscht, mozzarella mushrooms, chicken Kiev (with a handle!), baked sole, and Russian crepes. Unbelievable. I'll attach some photos as soon as I have enough time (not now, bitches).

Afterward we went to our friend's place right across from Astroland on Coney Island and hung out for a bit (in the ghetto ;)). Afterward we took a car service the long way back from Brooklyn to the hotel, got in around 1:30AM and in bed shortly thereafter.

Today the plan is to go grab some lovely brunch, go to a museum or two, take a stroll through Central Park and then come back to prepare for our 9PM dinner reservation at STK. Peace.

People, Meat and Weight

For some reason over the last couple of days several of the blogs I frequent have been discussing obesity and meat vs vegitarianism. I don't really want to get left out, so why not?

I think it's pretty funny that anyone who's on the fringe, minority or who thinks they might be wrong finds it so necessary to stand up on the top of a mountain and shout down for all to hear how their lifestyle choices are so much better than everyone else's. Like they suddenly have found the equation for eternal life, happiness and sunshine. One of these groups of people are vegetarians.

I have several vegetarians in my family and none of them are preachers when it comes to their lifestyle choice. However, I can't stop reading about how celebrities and organizations are so deliberately pushing people to give up meat and eat only vegetables, fruits and grains. Oh, and scarf down the supplements that are required in order to live this way.

I honestly believe it's because people don't bother to research or even understand a single issue. If one report comes out and says 'meat causes obesity', extremists throw away their meat and decry its consumption. The great thing about science is it never lets shit like this sit for long. Pretty soon there'll be another report that shows a more moderate viewpoint. Eventually everything settles and we all learn the truth. However, this usually takes years and years with medical trials, interviews, double blind testing, etc. I mean, look at how long people have been saying cellular phones cause cancer, only to be rebuffed by dozens of scientific reports that were 20 years in the making.

I think it boils down to using common sense, a gift which is apparently in short offering because so few seem to possess it. Let me simplify everything to do with weight gain/loss as simply as I can: Weight gain is when your calories in is greater than your calories burned. Weight loss is when your calories in is less than your calories burned. Simple, yes? I don't care how predisposed a person is to gaining weight, the formula is static.

What about general wellness, you ask? How does being a vegetarian vs omnivore play into all this? Well, your body is a remarkable entity. It tends to tell you everything you need to know about what you're putting inside it. When you're eating the wrong things you tend to feel less well, gain weight, exhaust quickly. Newsflash: That's your body telling you to eat different stuff. It's no secret that fatty foods and refined sugars are not healthy. It's well documented that carbohydrates make you tired after eating. Drinking water helps flush toxins from your body. It's pretty easy to take those handful of documented science and formulate a meal plan that keeps you healthy.

What about exercise? Yeah, that's always a hot button. You get some folks who tell you exercise is the key and blah blah blah. Look, here's that common sense thing again. Being active will benefit your overall health significantly. This doesn't mean you have to jog 4 miles a day and dedicate your free time to stomach crunches. Just be more active, huh? Park a little further away from your shopping center or work. Take a walk around at lunch, even if it's just for 5 minutes. Think about the things you do every day to make your life slightly more convenient and turn it into an opportunity to walk. Don't ever let someone poo-poo that idea because every single little bit helps.

Lean meat? Yummy and healthy! Carrots and broccoli? Yum-a-dum-dum! Snickers? Fuck that noise. Exercise? Do what you can. Like where all that takes you? Do more when you can. That simple.

Craziness

So I just put down my local paper this morning after reading a continuing story. The story is about a local defense lawyer who, in cahoots with a city prosecuting attorney, bilked a city out of anywhere between $50k and $140k; they're not sure exactly how much. The scam was executed upon a city's 'Home Base' program (a youth program) that allowed simple offenders to pay money to the city to avoid prosecution. Sounds sketchy already.

At any rate, this defense attorney thieved this coin purportedly to support his painkiller habit. He's been cooperative and has supposedly disclosed all information on the subject, but that's not really what I'm writing about. In this article it mentions how many people were there in federal district court supporting him; it was a lot. Members of his church congregation showed up in full support, minus the pastor who had a medical emergency, and were "[holding] hands and pray, asking God to intervene."

I'll assume, for a moment, that they aren't asking their God to strike this man down and hold him in immediate judgment. I find it amazing that this piece of shit lawyer will call upon his church congregation to support him in court while facing multiple counts of stealing from children for his own personal narcotic habit. What's even more amazing is that they are supporting him. Shouldn't he, perhaps, have leaned upon his support group back when he was, I dunno, addicted to fucking painkillers? You know, back before he pillaged resources earmarked for kids? Apparently not. And these Christian do-gooders are following him around like a lap dog oblivious to the notion that he is simply using them to win favor in the court. Especially around here where everything is so right-wing Christian conservative.

While I dig the whole 2nd chance, turn the cheek, support in time of need shit, marching his church through the courtroom is pretty fucked up. Here's a not to the church supporters: knock it off. This turd deserves some nice prison time and all you should be doing is asking your God to forgive him later. Might also wanna check to see if there's blood on your hands from the tithing basket while you're at it.

Welcome

I figured I'd quickly tap out a welcome message.

Anyway, like every other 'blog' on the intarweb, I'm just here to put ideas to words. Some stuff will have humor, much of it won't. I like to save my humor for people who's faces I get to see. I hate these templates so I'll be updating it soon enough with something that doesn't completely resemble ass. Actually, it probably will still resemble ass, it just won't be someone else's car accident; it'll be mine.

MMORPGs

Is anyone else getting tired of the same-old same-old when it comes to MMORPGs? It seems that every game on the market now panders itself toward the 12-21 year old crowd. The boring, nonsensical questing...the long, arduous and nearly pointless grinding...the cookie-cutter lack of options that current class archetypes provide. It's like everything is designed so a monkey could play....and even compete!

Games seem to be making player-made (read: crafted) goods useless by providing far superior goods off quests and MOBs. In fact I'm not sure why crafting still exists in games like World of Warcraft, other than to provide another time sink when the gamer isn't raiding Molten Core for the umpteenth time.

Ownership and investment is virtual non-existent anymore. Where are the games that allow player-built cities, land defense, player-built housing and more? Shoot, there doesn't even seem to be customization for individual players, either. We all pretty much look the same as we walk the capital city street. The virtual definition of self is reflected as the same pair of shoulders everyone in your class wears as a symbol of the 60 hours it took to win a roll. Talk about boring.

So, like most folks I know who play extensively in the MMORPG genre of games, I have a view of what I would like in a game. Rarely do I find two people who agree on the specifics, but a lot of the general tends to be worked out nicely in peace. One of the specifics that seems to generate the most conflict is the old PvP versus PvE argument. By old school definition, PvP is unrestricted player versus player conflict; looting of corpses and ganking. Current definition puts it more like: consensual player versus player combat where the playing field is leveled; dueling and instanced combat against players just like you. PvE is, of course, just player versus environment; combat against the computer.

A second argument tends to have less to do with exact game play as much as your character. This is generally an argument hashed out between developers more than gamers, but it's still relevant. This is the old class archetype vs pure skill based character development. The arguments for each are substantial and based in logic, but it really boils down to this: class archetypes are easy to balance, skill based characters are not. The latter is a gross understatement as the balancing issue can be gigantic even with the best staff money can buy.

For my own tastes, I prefer a completely player-driven environment. Full player versus player combat with looting and conflict. A full player-driven economy with meaningful crafting, brokers, merchants, orders...supply and demand. Player-built cities that can be attacked and razed. The mechanics of which I have been pondering for years during my drives home from work. I'll begin formulating my thoughts into words over the next couple weeks because I figure it's finally time to have something I can refer to later.