JohnnyBGamer

War, Projects, and Escape

Saturday

A gang of birds nested underneath my patio, uninvited. They pooped on anything they could poop on. Tabitha and I declared war this weekend. Sealing up any space that provided refuge to these tiny feathered terrors.

Job complete, we claimed victory. But we soon found that our invaders have no plans to leave. They have roosted themselves on the support beams. Beady-eyed hatred in their perched gaze. The rain of fecal matter has returned with gusto.

I know that we’ll win in the end. The big guns are about to come out… whatever “big guns” are.

Spent the rest of Saturday working on a smaller project that morphed into a larger project. One could say that I made things brighter in our front bathroom; one could also say that I installed a light.

Sunday AM

Taught Ecclesiastes 8 in small group. Camped out on verses 12-13:

12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

The keywords of “fear God” and “reverence” led us to Psalm 128:1

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.

We then applied fear with obedience and looked at 1 Kings 11:1-13. At this point in the story, Solomon has intermarried to the tune of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. He has gone against what God has told him. Showing neither fear, reverence, nor obedience to Him. We talked about how God is a God of justice. How Solomon’s disobedience carried consequences. This discussion paralleled the last half of Ecclesiastes 8, where Solomon comments on justice. We noted that justice does not always occur in our time frame, but God will exact justice in His time.

Sunday PM

Fired up the Honda and cruised to The Caldwell Zoo.

Enjoyed the cool breeze, walking around the zoo, and just chilling out.

Great weekend.

My Name is Mahtob by Mahtob Mahmoody

My Name is Mahtob is written from the perspective of the daughter from the book and motion picture, Not Without My Daughter; Mahtob Mahmoody. She shares her memories of how her mother and her escaped Iran and made it back to the United States. Only to live the rest of their lives in fear that her father would come and take Mahtob back to Iran. Her story also included how she forgave her father for what he did and continued to do in her life. She tells of how her mother, family friends, teachers, and the Lord helped her reach a place where she did not hate her father for the wake of destruction he caused.

mynameismahtob

The recurring theme throughout this book is forgiveness. Her mother, realizing that Mathob was growing bitter, sought out ways to help her remember her father as a person, not the monster he had become. And also showed her that her heritage was not a bad thing, but something to be celebrated. Another recurring theme in this book is the fact that neither Mahtob nor her mother would say anything ill of the man who kidnapped them.

My Name is Mahtob was a page turner from the very beginning. My heart ached for the five/six year old girl who ran away with her mother from her father. I wanted to protect Mahtob, as a young adult, when her world was shattered once again by her father. My favorite part was in the last few chapters. Mahtob is still affected by the abuse her father caused but time and distance has made her realize a few things:

She has sorrow for a father that let his “dysfunction rule his life”.
That her own adaptability was due to her father’s absence in her life.
Her memories of her father were not “distorted” by others.

I thoroughly enjoyed my journey into Mahtob’s life.

I was given a copy of this book by BookLook Bloggers. All opinions are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

I built a backyard gauntlet of doom

Wyatt celebrated his 7th birthday with a superhero themed party. His party guests designed their own capes and were fitted for masks. All in preparation for the backyard gauntlet of doom.

First, they had to cross a balance beam over a pit of lava… or was it sharks? Who knows! The imagination runs wild.
Second, they tossed a basketball and hit Spider-Man in the face. Because, why not? Also, did I mention this was a Spider-Man themed party?
Third, a quick duck and roll under a camouflage netting. Netting is cool. Rolling, better.
Fourth, the boys fired Nerf Guns at a shooting gallery setup at Wyatt’s clubhouse. Pew, pew, pew!
Fifth, up and down the awesome slide Wyatt’s Grandpa made him.
Sixth, this is where things got sticky. I wove a spider web around the swing set with duct tape. The boys had to navigate their way through the harrowing trap.
Seventh, silly string. We loaded the boys up with silly string and had a shootout with Spider-Man villains we tacked up on the wall. Total fun and games until one of the heroes revealed himself to be a villain by spraying one of the other party goers. Good times.

With the obstacle course complete, Wyatt and his friends chased me around the backyard with Nerf Guns. Dad always makes a good bad guy. Muhahaha!

Tabitha made an amazing cake that was soon defeated by forks. The frosting so good, you wanted to scrape it ALL off your plate. Mmmm. Trick candles were vanquished with a lot of blowing and spit.

Sugared up, we opened presents. Parents came soon after.

Total whirlwind of a Saturday. Nothing like being a dad.

From Across the Net: “‘SUPERHOT is a Game About Porn”

I can’t tell if C.T. Casberg’s piece titled “‘SUPERHOT’ is a Game About Porn” is brilliant or a massive stretch. At what point, in criticism, do we move beyond the objective to the subjective and project our own meaning/worldview on the art?

I disagree with SUPERHOT‘s logic that video games equal pornography. The article feels written to be controversial. Dragging the thirteenth apostle, C.S. Lewis, into the mix. Definitely a misfire.

It also informs the player what is the inevitable result of an addiction to pleasure: the destruction of the self and enslavement to those who provide that pleasure.

From Across the Net: “Time well wasted”

Justin, aka “Syp”, reflects on time in his piece titled “Time well wasted“.

I don’t want to hobble my personal and professional life with an overabundance of gaming. I hope that I always keep up the good fight of balancing that properly and not letting a hobby become a thing that becomes a master. I also desire to play games with purpose and not out of obligation and routine.