Are Video Games Really All That Bad?

We all like our video games… or at least I do. But after playing my fair share recently while recovering from a small operation (nothing serious, only dentistry), I pondered if I had wasted my hours on shameful fun while I could have been doing something useful with my time such as writing a novel or… writing angry letters to Japan about the current whaling problem. I asked myself the question, are video games really all that bad for you, or do angry parents all over the world simply overreact when they find their kids passed out on the couch with a Playstation controller cradled in their hands? Of course, asking myself was pointless since I clearly didn’t know the answer, so I decided I would consult with the all-knowing internet.

What would you rather do: walk two miles every hour, or stay home and play Call Of Duty? Well, I’m here to tell you that you have the option. The calories you burn through your increased heart rate and respiratory activity are actually equivalent to an average man walking two miles. Not only that, but don’t feel so guilty when playing those games, about your brain “turning to mush”. The right kind of game enhances puzzle solving skills and quick reflexes, not to mention hand-eye co-ordination.

If that’s not enough for you how about trying your hand at a realistic flight simulator. Very handy for whenever both the pilot and co-pilot of your commercial flight astoundingly have a heart attack at the same time, and a flight attendant asks if anyone knows how to fly a plane. You can proudly stand up and say, I beat Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004! (Hey, it happens in the movies). Oh, and for all you squares there’s always Wii Fit.

Enjoy.

PS. Here’s an article that details how the increasing complexity of entertainment can really be seen as an indicator of our big, big brains. Keep on playing.

The Fight to Save the Rubber Testicles

You may have seen them before, toy rubber testicles which are attached to the rear tow bar of a truck. If you haven’t, Virginia resident Lionel Spruill is hoping you’ll stay that way. He is trying to pass a bill that will ban the toys from ever appearing on the road again in the American state, however one can’t help but think his relentless ambition is slightly misguided: after all, we do live in a world plagued by war, starvation, lack of education and terrorism, and this man seems adamant to dedicate his life to solving problems that no one really needs solved. Much like daytime informercial classics such as “magnetic pen holders” and “5-in-one cutting knives”, Spruill is apparently inventing problems just so he can solve them.

In 2005 Lionel Spruill launched a prior (and equally illogical) campaign aiming to change the face of Virginian lawmaking forever: banning baggy pants. The bill, forbidding pants that revealed copious amounts of underwear, unsurprisingly, was not passed. The bill banning rubber testicles on the backs of trucks, unsurprisingly, is not expected to pass either. And so the question remains: what exactly compels this man, and many people like him, to solve problems that do not yet exist?

In his own words, Spruill was told about the testicles by a constituent he met, who detailed the trauma of hearing his daughter ask what the rubber balls were while they were driving behind one of the trucks. The man asked if Spruill would run a campaign, and he heroically replied, “sir, I am going to be a laughing stock, but I’ll do it.” But I think Spruill is more likely solving these problems not because he thinks it in the public interest, but rather because he is just plain bored.

Much like inventors who can’t think of any problems to solve, and much like reporters with nothing to report on (see Today Tonight), Spruill has been forced to just plain make it up. But this lack of ambition to really make a difference is what’s truly wrong with politics today. Instead of following true issues, people like Spruill are simply doing what they think will make a good impression on the people, and taking the easy way out. Ultra-conservative closed-minded people like this want simple freedoms such as having a pair of rubber testicles on the back of a truck, to be gone forever! It’s not my sort of thing, but if someone wants balls on their truck, let there be balls. If you want to wear baggy pants, go for your life.

But be warned: they chafe.

What’s Wrong With The Music Industry.

The major record labels are nostalgic.
They have every right to be.

Back in the day, music used to be solely available through wholly physical medium, a plastic disc you could hold in your hands. A copy would cost money, sending a song would require an envelope and a stamp, and everyone knew that credit was going where credit was due. Today, however, I can instantly create a million copies of my favourite songs and send them to my friends all over the world for free, and all I need is a computer and an internet connection. It is this transition from physical to digital that, as you probably know, is making the music industry sweat.

Unfortunately, the men upstairs have decided to tackle this the old fashioned way (it’s what they do best). Instead of adapting and progressing towards new ways of distributing and making revenue off their music, they have decided to pursue an un-winnable battle against the general music-loving public. Last year on February 6, a man was sued for downloading just five songs from the internet, at a minimum of US$750 per song. The RIAA has been seemingly clutching desperately at random people like some kind of wounded wild animal, and suing whoever they can bust – but there is one fatal flaw to this. They are suing their own customers.

It’s the equivalent to walking into your local supermarket, being punched in the face, and then told the special offers on for the day. The music industry is facing a power shift. The focus is being diverted from major record labels, suits, and multi-million dollar recording budgets, and instead we see businesses taking over such as Last.FM and various P2P services that don’t care about profits, are almost completely run over the internet, and are completely user controlled. In other words, we are seeing a fundamental shift from a feudal capitalist system to a socialist one. We are looking at a future in media where there is no executive hierarchy, but instead a collaboration of the public, which for some reason manages not to be a chaotic anarchistic mess, but a breeding ground for good content.

So where does business and the current record labels fit in in this?
Well record labels essentially have to redefine themselves, and start over. Profit can be easily made from the internet and social networking businesses (as we have certainly seen from things like MySpace and Facebook), but the perspective has to be changed from the “big bosses” defining payment, to the music consumers themselves defining payment. This can be seen with Radiohead’s groundbreaking sales methods in their In Rainbows album (where the user chose their own price tag for the digital files), which led them to a revenue of over US$3 million. Even though the album was sold as a much lower price than usual for CDs (an average of US$6 for the digital files), the public embraced a system where they could legally download tracks for free, and thus they sold in high numbers.

There still isn’t a solid business model for distribution of digital media online, but surely it would be more productive for the major labels to stop suing the shit out of everyone, and instead find new ways to generate the money that is rightfully theirs. As we have seen with In Rainbows people want to be able to download free music legally, but unfortunately this is not possible yet — largely because no one understands how to generate income from it, or are reluctant to change. With luck Radiohead’s bold move will help shift the industry back on track, and let the traditionalist money-makers realize that there ARE ways to make money in this scary new world of digital media…

Without suing anyone.