08-22-2004, 10:36 AM
Thanks MEAT, for your thoughtful post. Your reply opened up some lines of thought, and pointed to where I gave unfocused treatment to the topic.
The theme I am trying to weave into that tired topic is that of escape, and I wandered down into escape in kind, leaving at the door the originial thought that the song evoked of an alienated, suburban white teenager finding no "fit" in a society increasingly hostile to him, and embarking on any number of journeys or travels to find a more satisfying fit, even if temporarily. Hence, the odd reference to the "they don't like us here, let's go somehwere else." In the process of writing, I lost that thread and went elsewhere. Hmm, re focus.
You touch on the matter of "why the need to escape" and I will only say that much has been written of the industrial age man whose avocation and vocation do not match. It appears that a great number of people do not love their jobs, or their work, so they get their "I feel good" points in hobbies or other past times, which include drugs, alcohol, and any number of other releases from a confining or disappointing daily environment.
What do you equip kids with as they grow up? I'd suggest they be exposed to any number of hobbies, sports, and avocations, as well as to the joy of hard work done well. That way, they can gain some measure of satisfaction in any job, and will have the habit of trying other human activities as broadening influences on their lives. Another thing to do is teach them that life is not fair, that they can find happiness in small doses and be fine, and how to differentiate between a need and a want. We all of us can use advice on prioritization from time to time. "Don't pet the sweaty things." Right? :D
I don't doubt that some of our comrades here on the Lounge got benefit from more than just in game topics. I have had all sorts of enlightenment presented to me, by dozens of contributors here, on topics and ideas that I might not otherwise have been exposed to. Let's hear it for the Lurkers!!! Huzzah!!!
*sings* "Beep Beep little sattelite, tell him I"ll be home tonight!"
How do you prevent addictive behavior? If I knew that, I'd be a millionaire, and a Saint, for I'd be teaching everyone I could reach, including me. Hmmmm, Santa Occhi. Sounds nice, but I doubt it fits with a Rogue's darker side.
It's a thorny question that sociologists, psychologists, phsychiatrists, counsellors, clergymen, spouses and parents continually seek solutions to and answers for, not to mention the concern management has over certain manifestations the phenomenon. I accept a desire to escape as a given, accept a predilection for addictive behavior in some folks as a given (I still smoke, my cousing is a recovering alcoholic, my grandpa was an alcoholic, or a least a heavy drinker) and try to address how addiction to a video game is any worse, if it even is worse, than addictions to substances.
What arrived in the first draft is pointing me in a different direction than I started in. The creative process at work. Escaping from the ennui of what has been a slow day. The brain has been cooking off with all sorts of random synapse firings!
"It's not where you are, it's who you are with that makes the difference."
Occhi
The theme I am trying to weave into that tired topic is that of escape, and I wandered down into escape in kind, leaving at the door the originial thought that the song evoked of an alienated, suburban white teenager finding no "fit" in a society increasingly hostile to him, and embarking on any number of journeys or travels to find a more satisfying fit, even if temporarily. Hence, the odd reference to the "they don't like us here, let's go somehwere else." In the process of writing, I lost that thread and went elsewhere. Hmm, re focus.
You touch on the matter of "why the need to escape" and I will only say that much has been written of the industrial age man whose avocation and vocation do not match. It appears that a great number of people do not love their jobs, or their work, so they get their "I feel good" points in hobbies or other past times, which include drugs, alcohol, and any number of other releases from a confining or disappointing daily environment.
What do you equip kids with as they grow up? I'd suggest they be exposed to any number of hobbies, sports, and avocations, as well as to the joy of hard work done well. That way, they can gain some measure of satisfaction in any job, and will have the habit of trying other human activities as broadening influences on their lives. Another thing to do is teach them that life is not fair, that they can find happiness in small doses and be fine, and how to differentiate between a need and a want. We all of us can use advice on prioritization from time to time. "Don't pet the sweaty things." Right? :D
I don't doubt that some of our comrades here on the Lounge got benefit from more than just in game topics. I have had all sorts of enlightenment presented to me, by dozens of contributors here, on topics and ideas that I might not otherwise have been exposed to. Let's hear it for the Lurkers!!! Huzzah!!!
*sings* "Beep Beep little sattelite, tell him I"ll be home tonight!"
How do you prevent addictive behavior? If I knew that, I'd be a millionaire, and a Saint, for I'd be teaching everyone I could reach, including me. Hmmmm, Santa Occhi. Sounds nice, but I doubt it fits with a Rogue's darker side.
It's a thorny question that sociologists, psychologists, phsychiatrists, counsellors, clergymen, spouses and parents continually seek solutions to and answers for, not to mention the concern management has over certain manifestations the phenomenon. I accept a desire to escape as a given, accept a predilection for addictive behavior in some folks as a given (I still smoke, my cousing is a recovering alcoholic, my grandpa was an alcoholic, or a least a heavy drinker) and try to address how addiction to a video game is any worse, if it even is worse, than addictions to substances.
What arrived in the first draft is pointing me in a different direction than I started in. The creative process at work. Escaping from the ennui of what has been a slow day. The brain has been cooking off with all sorts of random synapse firings!
"It's not where you are, it's who you are with that makes the difference."
Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete