A Short-As-Hell-And-Not-So-Review-y Review of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

I have yet to write about another of my obsessions. So here it is. Video games (particularly JRPGs).

Right now I am playing Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It’s a relatively new JRPG brought to us fanatics jointly by Level-5 and Studio Ghibli (yes, the Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Ponyo guys).

It is a bit childish due to the fact that it is probably marketed towards younger players (imagine that), but I am loving it all the same.

It’s a bit like the Tales series which I love with every bone in my body (not an innuendo) and every ounce of my soul (even though there probably is no soul… more on that another time). It is also a bit like Pokémon, which everybody loves, right? (you should). This is especially apparent in the combat system. It’s in real time (like in Tales) and you have the ability to recruit monsters called “familiars” to aid you in your hacking and slashing (like in Pokémon). In short, it’s incredible beyond measure. Fun, fun, and… fun.

So this game is what is taking up all of my non-working-normal-adult-people-stuff time. I recommend picking this one up if you are a fan of this genre. It will quickly become a staple, I’m sure. Good stuff.

In fact, I’m going to shut up now and go play some more.

Peace!

Update: My Comic Exploits

As I’ve previously mentioned, I am getting into comics/graphic novels.

Yeah guys, it’s bad. I’m REALLY getting into this.

I started by reading Superman: Birthright. It was phenomenal. So @#$%! good. I have a long list of Superman stuff to read now and I will do so and it will break me financially.

Then I read Green Lantern: Secret Origin. Liked it. I might read more. Green Lantern is pretty interesting.

Currently I am reading (actually I’m almost done) Watchmen. After this, I will read V for Vendetta. After that, I don’t know for sure yet.

Here is a short, crude, incomplete, and in-no-particular-order list of what I’m interested in reading at some point in the near future (do I sound like an addict yet?):

• Superman: Red Son
• All Star Superman
• Superman: For All Seasons
• Superman: What Ever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow?
• The Man of Steel (probably)
• The Death of Superman
• Batman: Year One
• Batman: The Killing Joke
• The Dark Knight Returns
• 300
• The Uncanny X-men
• Astonishing X-men

So yeah, I am thoroughly enjoying this new branch of nerd that I have now, well, branched into.

Give me suggestions!

You Are Agnostic (Whether You Like It Or Not)

Let’s start with some basic (and slightly crude) definitions…

Atheist: one who does not believe in god

Theist: one who does believe in god

Agnostic: one who does not know if there is a god or not

It is often thought, for reasons I don’t fully understand, that agnosticism is some sort of middle ground between atheism and theism. This is false.

The italicized words in the definitions above should give away what I’m going to talk about regarding this subject. Indeed, atheism/theism deals with belief whereas agnosticism deals with knowledge. They each answer completely different questions. Knowledge and belief are two separate things.

If I ask, “Do you believe in god?,” then you will either answer yes or no. If you say “yes,” then you are a theist. If you say “no,” then you are an atheist. Pretty simple (excluding getting into the questions “what is god?” or “which god?” I’ll touch on that later).

Furthermore, if I ask “Is there a god?,” then the only acceptable answer is “I don’t know.” Because of this, every theist and atheist alike are also agnostic (whether you want to admit it or not). Now if you are willing to accept that you don’t know (and probably cannot know) such a thing, then you are probably an atheist anyway. Most believers (I imagine, correct me if I’m wrong) are rooted in a faith of some sort and likely will believe that they know that god exists. This, of course, is not the case. They believe that they know (which is still just belief and not knowledge).

Phew. I read all that out loud as I was typing it (marathon style). Had to take a few deep breaths afterwards. I hope it is coherent… ahem.

So what about my own beliefs on this matter?

Do I believe in god? 

Which god? Zeus? Yahweh? Shiva?

I do not believe in any of those. It may seem tedious (and maybe impossible), but I think I’d have to answer this question on a case by case basis. Do I believe in the Christian god (Yahweh)? No, I do not. In that sense, I am an atheist (but also still an agnostic, remember). Do I believe in some sort of “higher power at work in the universe” (whatever the heck that means)? Yes, I do. Many would say that that constitutes a belief in god. I’m probably willing to agree on that. So with that possibility and belief still open, I have to still claim theism on that particular, specific subject (but again, still agnostic).

Putting it simply, I think that we need to ask “what is god?” before deciding if we believe in it or not. But, ask me if I believe in a specific conception of god (like that of the Christians), then I have an answer and that answer is no.

Yikes, this is getting rant-y.

Bye! *runs away in a nerdy shame*

Photo-shoot!

This is my hamster, Bruce. He is named after Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne for those who may be ridiculous enough to not know that little piece of info. (though I find that very hard to believe that such people exist).

Yes, showcasing my awesome hamster is the sole reason for today’s post. Why? Because I can. Who cares? I do!

In other news: Working a third-shift seems to cut me off from the rest of the world for the four days/nights out of the week that I work. This, in turn, has made it difficult for me to remain consistent with my posts here. When I started, I wanted to do at least three posts a week. Given that I have three days off of work a week, I can do a post on each of those days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and have my three-a-week. Good deal.

Four-Twenty: Intro

Today is 4/20 and the time is almost 4:20 PM (though this will be posted shortly thereafter). This number has significance to marijuana smokers everywhere. What better day time to begin explaining my rather strong opinions surrounding this interesting plant? I’ll keep it short-ish… for now.

Indeed. Marijuana (Cannabis) is a psychoactive plant producing a high in those individuals that choose to smoke the flower (or bud) of it. It is HIGHLY illegal in almost every country, I believe. Here in the United States is no exception.

Should this be the case? Should it be illegal?  Well no, of course not. A week or so ago I did a post highlighting the importance of preserving the peaceful personal choice of the individual. Smoking marijuana qualifies as a peaceful personal choice. In short: Let the people do what they want to do.

This is what I consider to be the master argument on this issue, but I have several others that I could bring in and make this post painfully long to read. I won’t do this (and a big sigh of relief for me and you).

I will post in the future about this though. This is one issue that I have complete and confidence in arguing. This is because I believe that there exists no good argument for keeping marijuana illegal (non that I have seen so far). If you believe that you have one, then please let me hear it! I love talking about this stuff.

So let this post serve as an introduction to a series of arguments for marijuana legalization. This’ll be fun!

More Superman (I Need More!)

In order to prepare for Man of Steel this summer, I am immersing myself in all things Superman. Okay, maybe not ALL things, but a lot of things.

For example, right now as I’m typing this (on my Android no less) I am also watching Smallville. I watched a few episodes a several years ago, but now I want to watch it front to back. Sure it’s a bit “teenish” and full of drama, but its not too bad really.

Additionally, I’m wanting to start actually reading some Superman comics. Now I’ve never really been a comic reader (other than The Walking Dead that I am now reading), but I want to start and I want to start with Superman, my favorite super hero. So, I ordered Superman: Birthright from trusty Amazon. It’ll be here in a few days so I can nerd out even more. Wee!

I am an ever-expanding nerd.

It’s Not An ‘S’

On June 14th of this year, a reboot of Superman entitled Man of Steel will be released. Nerds and laymen alike are probably already aware of this of course, but there it is.

I am SO @#$%! EXCITED for this movie!

Seriously, I cannot think of a time when I have been this excited for a single film. This is partially because of my undying fanaticism of Superman (within reason, that is) that I have had since childhood (nevermind that I am still very much a child).

I’m certainly going to be pre-ordering tickets for this one (something I never do) and attending a local midnight premier (something I rarely do except on the occasional whim).

You’ll find the first real trailer (technically trailer #2) here for rock-dwellers that have not seen it yet. Watch it and get as excited as me and then watch the recently released new trailer here.

Anywho, this movie has all the right things surrounding it to make it phenomenal, such as:

• Good director: Zack Snyder (responsible for the epic 300 and the legendary Watchmen films)
• Good producer: Chris Nolan (you should know who this is by now… The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Memento, etc.)
• Good casting decisions: Hooray for a GOOD Lois Lane (Amy Adams) this time around!
• Good looking: just watch the trailers that I linked to above

It’s going to be great. Legendary? Perhaps, but achieving my legendary rating is incredibly difficult to do. In fact, I can’t even think of a film that I deem to be legendary at this time (but I’m sure a few exist).

Again… SO @#$%! EXCITED!

Personal Life Update: Potential for Anarchy

This is my twentieth blog post ever! Woo!

Having finished Arthur C. Clarke’s brilliant work, 2001: A Space Odyssey, I have began reading two new books.

The first is Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy. I started it last night and read almost half of it in one sitting. It is a very fast read (though I’m not entirely sure what that term means). It’s hilarious! Highly recommended if you are like me and are new to science-fiction. Read it.

More importantly  I am now starting a self-study of sorts on the topic of Voluntarism (the view that all human action should be completely voluntary). Hooray for freedom! I am starting out by reading John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty. So far, so good. From there I hope to read more of the historical works surrounding this idea of personal liberty. Additionally I plan on reading and/or listening and/or watching to various contemporary thinkers (I suppose that word is accurate here–‘activists’ would work too). I am doing this to grow and expand in my already Libertarian-leaning views.

By the end of this extended study… I might be a voluntarist/anarchist. Wouldn’t that be interesting!

In other news, I’m trying to keep a regular pace of posting here. I truly want to. I’ll try harder, I promise.

The Argument for Personal Choice

The following is, I suppose, mostly geared towards the United States citizens and their government (mostly because I am an American, go figure). However, this is also a philosophical topic that applies to the general notion of government (or the state) and freedom.

With that being said, I have one question to start with.

Do you believe that the government has authority over the personal choices of peaceful individuals?

To me, the only acceptable answer to this question is, of course, NO.

Now… Many individuals might agree with me on this. Unfortunately, I believe that a large portion of these individuals might not really understand what they are saying when they say yes to this question. There is much hypocrisy to be had here, on both sides of the political spectrum (left and right).

An example: democrats/liberals traditionally are quite adamant when it comes to notions of personal freedom. That’s great, me too. They advocate for equal marriage rights and the legalization of drugs, for example. I call for these things too. I believe that an individual (male, female, gay, straight, old, young, black, white, or pink) should be free to do as s/he pleases in all facets of his/her life (as long as s/he doesn’t infringe upon another’s liberty, of course). I think that personal choice (even if I don’t agree with said choice) should be free from any and all interference from other individuals and especially from the government.

So, a person who says yes to my question should advocate for (just to name some examples):

1. Gay marriage, which is a personal choice
2. Drug legalization, also a personal choice
3. Gun ownership, you guessed it… personal choice

But wait a second… it’s the democrats/liberals that tend to call for tighter interference from the government regarding guns, with some more radical individuals even calling for the complete prohibition of guns or perhaps a certain type of gun (this seems to be the most recent focus).

Buying a gun and owning a gun is a personal choice of an individual just as two homosexuals getting married is a personal choice. All the other fluff that is thrown around in this debate is of little relevance, I’m afraid. It’s not complicated, guys. Marriage, drugs, gambling, prostitution, and gun ownership are all examples of personal choices that do not negatively affect other individuals and, as I’ve said, the government has zero authority over the peaceful personal choices of individuals.

The hypocrisy extends to the right as well. Republicans/conservatives are big on gun rights, yet they are so afraid, it seems, of allowing gays to marry or to legalize drugs.

You either believe that people should be free or you do not. I don’t think you can really pick and choose what other people should be free to do and what they should not be free to do. To do this would imply that you (or the government) has a higher claim over an individual’s life than that person does. No. Just no.

Reiterating, in addition to the general question above, I ask a second, more specific question:

Do you believe that the government should prohibit x from the people? (where x is a personal choice that does not infringe upon another individual’s rights)

The answers to these questions must line up. They either should both be answered with a YES or both be answered with a NO. If you believe that the government should prohibit the people from engaging in a particular peaceful action then you must own up to the fact that you also believe that the government has authority over personal choice.

Please don’t be a hypocrite. 🙂

Four Cats and a Duck

I have been keeping a dream journal for a few years now. I’m terrible at it, inconsistent and whatnot. These days, I really only write down the dreams that seriously stick out in my mind upon waking. I started with a standard leather-bound journal (which I still have), then moved to voice-recordings (more efficient given that the last thing one wants to do upon waking from sleep is physically write). Nowadays I use the Dream Diary app on my Android (highly recommended if you are interested–it’s on the Google Play store on Android for free). I’m not fond of the name (‘journal’ sounds much more… manlier), but no matter. The app is awesome for what it is.

Anywho, below are two screenshots from one of my dreams (which occurred last night) as recorded in my handy-dandy app.

Uhh… I should probably put a tiny spoiler alert here if you are a Walking Dead fanatic (like me) and are not caught-up (unlike me). Good lord, this is one random place for a spoiler alert. Regardless…

Even now I seriously wonder what the hell that duck was doing in my dream basement… but I’ll just never know.