Stop And Look Around

Either I've been blind or asleep. I was bored today, so I played my offline URU just to walk around and enjoy some of the environments. I knew of the Eder Gira day/night cycle, but never saw it for myself until today. I came upon deep dusk, and then nighttime. I NEVER knew Gira had two moons! Seeing the moons, the stars, the lone bird that flies around the distant towers...it was so beautiful!

Then I decided to finally try to see a Shroomie. I shut off the machinery. I had forgotten how many sounds of the Teledahn wildlife there are that the loud drone of the machines drown out. I went to the spore feeder at the open ocean, watching, waiting. I looked up and saw that the stars come out in this Age, but it's different than in Gira. Due to the sun's fast orbit and the constant cloud cover, the stars have a glittery effect, almost like stardust. Then I heard the loud keening--thar she blows! She came fairly close too!

It's amazing, all the little things I failed to observe the first time I played URU. It was probably because I was so excited, so focused on solving the puzzles and finding the Journeys, following the Path. For EoA, I am going to take my time. I will drink in every sight and sound until I can feel each Age in my bones.

This has made me realize that I should do the same for life. I'm sure that eveyone's been guilty of this at some point: you wake up, you eat breakfast and wash up, you go to work/school, you go home, you go to bed, and repeat for the next day, and the next, and the next. You have a pattern, a routine, and you get so used to it that it becomes second nature. Occasionally you break the pattern with a Friday/Saturday night outing with friends, but then even that turns into a cycle of dinner and a movie. You move through life without really paying attention.

I like having a pattern to my life in a way, but sooner or later I get into a rut. And then I get depressed. One needs a change of pace. It need not be so dramatic as quitting your job or changing your major. Sometimes all it takes is a look at the stars on your way to the parking lot, or walking a different route to your class. To just stop and look around you. You never know what you could learn just by stopping and smelling the roses.

What do you see? I should ask myself this question in life, as well as in games.

Leaves on a twigg and other unfinished business

We got a few more crumbs thrown our way, so now we have: numbers, ages, people, visited, talking. The latest attempt is to count the number of people we met in the games, and the number of ages. It's nice to have enough clues to be able to go in a direction, even if it ends up being the wrong direction. I think we'll have to wait for another morsel before we can get the answer.

I beat The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap a couple of days ago. It's not a Zelda masterpiece (probably because it was made by Capcom and not Nintendo), but it's a solid fun adventure. The evil sorcerer Vaati looks disconcertingly emo yet adorable in his sprite-like way. Now I'm finishing collecting the miniatures so I can unlock the sound test. I also have to find that one last Kinstone fusion. I'm still missing enough Heart Pieces to fill two hearts, and I completely missed the opportunity to get the Light Arrows. Perhaps I'll start a new game in a few months; I don't like leaving things undone in my Zelda games, but I don't want to replay the whole thing again just yet.

I'm looking forward to playing WarioWare Touched for the DS tomorrow (assuming it arrives at EB on time). Those minigames are insanely fun. It will be nice to play a new DS game period. I wish all the games I'm awaiting for the system were coming out a little closer together. I shouldn't complain though; I still haven't fully completed Feel The Magic. Or Sprung. Or Mario 64. Or the Metroid Hunters demo. And let's not even talk about my pile of unfinished GBA and Gamecube games. Blarg.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Waiting for a revelation

Since February 5th, the Myst community (with UO/MO at the forefront) has been working to figure out twigg's latest update (http://www.myst-tree.com). And we've been getting nowhere. All we got to work with is a clump of dirt and the words "sage" and "numbers". I was so excited when I checked the site on a whim and saw something new, and I played town crier with a gleeful grin on my face. But now a part of me wishes that I had waited until twigg himself had pointed us to his update; he might not have been ready to continue with the puzzle. I meant to get us all abuzz with excitement, but I fear that the only thing I have accomplished is getting people needlessly frustrated.

All I can do now is follow the patient path.

Random Thoughts

1. I now have over 50 stars in Mario 64 DS.
2. Fire drills are annoying.
3. Uncle Ben's Instant Dinner Bowls are impervious to heat.
4. Everyone involved with those STUPID Enzyte commercials deserves to be punched in the face.

Yet another "hot off the presses" moment for Yahoo

Today, Yahoo discovered the joys of manga, and how it's becoming more popular than American comic books. Way to be behind the entertainment 8-ball, guys.

Yahoo!News: On the cutting edge. Of a plastic butter knife.

EDIT: I took out the link because it broke the tables, which annoyed me.