BTW...

I thought that since I posted an essay, I might as well give an update on what's been happening around here lately. Well let's see...
Yes, its true, we got 14 inches of snow here, followed by another 3 a couple days later, so it was pretty crazy for West Lafayette... that final 3 was last Saturday, and it was followed up by 41 degree temperatures on Monday, so the snow has been consistantly melting since the beginning of the week, and we have been getting freezing temperatures at night, so when I venture out in the morning like a bear after a hard winter, I slip and slide all over the ice that covers our pathways. As I write there is a giant puddle just across stadium avenue from cary quad that completely covers a corner of the sidewalk.
I had the joy of walking to down to Borders in the melting mess on Tuesday to retrieve my just release of Anberlin's new CD, cities. I must say that every other Anberlin CD took me a while to get the groove, and it will be no different with this one, but I'm trying to conquer the curve as quickly as possible. There are a couple songs I really like already. It is definately a worthy follow-up to Never Take Friendship Personal.
My favorite class right now.... hmmm, it would be a close tie between English 108, advanced first year composition, and Engineering 117, Honors Engineering Computer Programming. Engineering is just programming, which is something I enjoy and don't mind, so its not terrible at all, and I'm getting great grades in there. The semester-long project, which once again deals with a robot that we must manipulate to perform certain tasks, is also tolerable: we will eventually begin programming it in C, so that will be great to stop working in the visual environment we have been working in. In english, we're studying fairy tales, and not just surface scopes of trite children's stories, but the REAL fairy tales, the ones that the American versions are descended from, with murder, sexual innuendo, violence, and a generally grimmer outlook on things. It is mainly a discussion course, with various reading assignments outside of class. I am currently working on a report called "Flight of Fancy or Final Fantasy?", comparing two versions of Beauty and the Beast by the same author, Beauty and Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. My main premise is arguing that the two books are entirely different genres (one a fairy tale and the other a fantasy), and why this is so important to the story.
Basketball band is getting ready to come to a close; in fact, I'm getting ready to go to my final game in a couple of minutes. It was a great experience, and really got me interested again in watching Basketball. I look forward to rooting for our women's team as they aim for the top in the NCAA Tournament.
On another, short, note... I've been feeling very pensive lately, as you can see by the essay written in the previous entry....
well, I need to go get ready for the game. Hope to post again soon.

Musings of an Earthbound human

* The game Earthbound and its fans have received a lot of criticism over the years. This bothers me, and I wrote this essay in response to that criticism.

Some say Final Fantasy VII is the greatest game of all time. For those of us who would rather play games we can relate to, there is still Earthbound. Yes, I know, I'm going to sound like one of the thounsands of rabid Earthbound fans that make fan art, visit Starman.net every day, and make a big fuss out of Mother 3 not coming to the states, but the reality is that Earthbound was an escape from reality for those of us not living in the middle ages. Okay, so I played Earthbound when I was about 10, and haven't looked back since. What attracts me to this game? Outside of the memories of hours of gameplay that it holds for me, it also serves as a getaway car to reality, a trip away from the troubles of the world, to a place where I can have the convenience of technology, the simplicity of linear topography, and still solve all my storage problems by calling a service called "Escargo Express", which ironically took less time to arrive then "Mach Pizza". Not only did it quench my desire to escape to a parallel universe, but it also fulfilled my need to feel that I could be a hero. At any time, I could quit playing my game, grab my baseball cap and hat, and be the embodiment of Ness. I could be filled by Sad Ness, Happi-Ness, Good-Ness... and Ness's objectives paralleled my own lofty ambitions. I really truly wanted to take out the leader of the gang, maybe stay in a fancy hotel in a paradise and eat fancy food, knock the enemy out of the park simply by praying. Most of all, I wanted to be able to have psychic powers, to control fire, ice, lightning with my hands or my thoughts, and to be able to act like such powers existed in a modern world tickled my fancy. The music was another important of the game to me, and always has been. You have to know that music is a very critical thing to me, and having good music is as critical to a good game as the graphics and the storyline. If a soundtrack to a football game was all Keane songs (which I love), it wouldn't matter whether the players were life-like or just four pixels arranged in a square, the game would be awesome. The moving melody created by the sound stone when all 8 sanctuaries had been collected, along with the counter melody played in Ness's memories, made the game for me... it inspired my imagination, my thoughts, made me think about what might happen next. Combined with the themes for the various locales, the soundtrack for this game is probably the greatest collection of synth pieces you can find outside of the soundtrack for Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Why does Earthbound hold lasting appeal for me as I grow up? Because it is so intricate and deep, and each time I play it I catch new things I never saw or never understood before. For instance, I now find myself wondering why Mr. T is wandering around several different cities in the game, and why they never specifically call him Mr. T. The game is quick-witted, and an often cynical social commentary. One only has to listen to the characters in the game to
realize that each and every one of them is a drastic charicature of some stereotype. It is this cynicism that appeals to me, because it comes in a package with great music, an awesome RPG engine, a clever and often tongue-in-cheek naming system, and a compelling and poignant storyline. I know, I hear all those non-fans out there telling me to get over it, but seriously, that's like telling any gamer to get over Ocarina of Time, Halo, or Half-life. Earthbound ranks among these classics, and deserves respect for the path it paved. If not for Earthbound, it is doubtful that the die-hard Pokemon fans out there would ever have gotten the game they so faithfully protect. Earthbound has earned its place in the ranks of the best games of all time.