Met with my accountability partner this afternoon. We walked 6 miles and got to catch up from last week. Discovered that the City of Longview has both a park for big and small dogs. Size discrimination is okay in the dog world, I guess.
This past week, my wife and I started a new devotional book, Moments with You by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. We had been looking for a quick devotional book to go over in the morning and this looks to fit the ticket. The devotionals consist of a short story/ lesson, questions to ponder, and a suggested focus for your prayer time afterwards. I’ll have to let you all know how this book works out. Consider a review incoming.
.: Life :
Spent my Saturday evening gaming it up with a good friend of mine. He taught me how to play Dungeon Defenders. The game is a mix of a hack’n’slash and a tower defense game. Had a really good time until my computer overheated. Had been downloading stuff all day and for some reason this pushed the laptop to its breaking point. BAM! Black screen of nothingness.
.: Gaming :
Started to play the Mass Effect 3 demo the other night. I stopped when I realized that the quickly made up Shepherd character I was playing with was not “my Shepherd”. Also didn’t want to ruin the ME3 storyline. Consider the demo deleted and the game hopefully pre-ordered soon.
That’s it for this weeks Surf Report. Make sure to comment below and have a good week!
I am a sucker for a good beat. Any song with a catchy rhythm and rhyme is guaranteed to get stuck in my head for days on end. At times I take pleasure in being able to hit this mental repeat button, savoring the melodies over and over; other times I just shudder and wish that the song would go away. Music can be poison to the soul.
Over the past few weeks, I have been listening to Foster the People’s debut album Torches. The album paints a melodic landscape of smooth summer sounds tinged with a subversive darkness. The band’s career launching song, “Pumped Up Kicks”, best displays the bands musical groove/dance with the devil. Below is a sample of the song’s “happy” chorus:
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,You better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.
“Pumped Up Kicks” tells the dark story of a kid taking his dad’s gun and going on a shooting spree. At first listen, you’d never be able to tell that that is what lead singer Mark Foster is singing about. By the time you’ve looked up the lyrics, it is too late. The satisfying whistling of the chorus has already embedded itself. Whether the song is about raising awareness or celebrating teen gun violence doesn’t matter. What matters is what is now worming its way into your soul.
Imagine your nation being plundered/ destroyed and you are taken captive. All that you have ever known is now gone, quite literally. You soon find yourself immersed in a new culture. A culture that is foreign and very unlike what you are accustomed to. At this point you can chose to blend in with the new culture, adopt some of it’s customs; or you can chose remain an island, a remnant of your own culture.
Many years pass, the king of this foreign land allows you to return home. He gives you a green light to rebuild the temple that had been a central part of your life, your existence. Some around you chose to stay immersed in their new lives; others around you chose to return home. The table scraps, what is left of your nation/cities/ and towns, is the new reality that awaits you. The comforts of “home” have long disappeared.
Charged with the task of rebuilding the temple, you quickly become discouraged. Opposition from outlying neighbors and the overall futility of restoring the temple to its former glory is overwhelming. So you give up. You focus on yourself. Soon you have a roof over your head and crops planted. Everything you do though somehow doesn’t seem blessed. You are constantly in want. You are distracted by your own needs and ignoring what God has called you to do. This goes on for years.
After some time, the prophet Haggai speaks. He tells you that the reason your endeavors don’t succeed is due to the fact that you are ignoring God. In denying God by not building the temple, you are denying God worship and thus his blessings. You, and the remnant of people around you, quickly put two and two together. The reason for the failed crops and hail. God. He has been trying to get your attention. So you decide to obey. To do what God has called you to do. To complete his temple. God assures you that he is with you. You know that everything is going to be okay because God is sovereign.
As Christians, it is very easy to get distracted by the things around us. We often lose focus of what God is calling us to do and instead focus on ourselves. In doing so, we are not allowing God to fully bless us. I know that I want that blessing. Do you?
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepherd is tasked with recruiting the ultimate team in an effort to battle the Collectors. Most of the game is spent:
Exploring the galaxies/ collecting resources
Completing the individual story lines for each team member acquired
Shooting lots and lots of bullets
Listening to Grunt repeat his battle cry, “I AM KROGAN!”
Throughout the game, Shepherd must make choices that impact both immediate and future situations. Your actions, his actions, can often mean the difference between life and death.
I had a total love/hate relationship with Miranda. Ultimately, my choices doomed her to die.
Ideology/ Worldview:
As I mentioned above, Mass Effect 2 is all about choices. The two types of choices you are allowed to make are Paragon (good) and Renegade (evil, sly, Han Solo-ish). Depending on which route/mixture you end up choosing, the worldview of the game plays out in that manner.
Relationships, however, are a completely different matter in Mass Effect 2. Throughout the game, in-between missions, you walk the decks of your ship chatting it up with the crew. The more you pay attention to a specific crew member the more dialogue options open up during your conversations. Eventually, with enough flirting, this will lead to a romantic rendezvous in Commander Shepherd’s quarters. Relationships are cheap in Mass Effect 2. If you don’t like the current person you are sleeping with, you can go off and pursue another. I would like to note that I did not, as much as I wanted to, bring a relationship to fruition in the game. There are places, as a Christian, I just don’t need to tread. Plus, you don’t need to pursue romantic relationships in the game in order to complete it (though there is an achievement for bedding someone down).
As a side note, Mass Effect 2 portrays women in an interesting light. The only times, that I can remember, the f-word being used in the game was by a female. I’m not sure what grand statement the game was trying to make in this regard, if any. I came away from it with the knowledge that the more wild women in this universe have potty mouths.
This is Mordin. Mordin talks like the coroner on the new Hawaii Five-O. Love this guy!
Interaction/ Gameplay:
Watch a cinema. Talk to the crew. Shoot a ton of people. Repeat.
In the End:
I played Mass Effect 2 for over 28 hours. I haven’t done this with a game in quite sometime. There was something about the storyline, role playing, and shooter elements that just seemed to gel with me. Would I recommend this series to someone else? Yes. Yes, with the caveat that the player in question is old enough to play a game that is rated M for mature. For all the games cons (minor language, romantic sidequests), there are endless galaxies to explore. I rarely wish that a game would just go on, but Mass Effect 2 is certainly one of those experiences.
An amazing experience!
– Level of Impact Rating –
Medium: Mission structure allows you to complete a mission in a short amount of time.
Saturday, I met with my accountability partner for the first time. We walked 2 miles, discussed the pre-determined scripture we were supposed to read (1 & 2 Peter), and went through the following list of questions:
Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?
Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
Have you secretly wished for another’s misfortune so that you might excel?
Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?
Have you been completely honest with me?
I have to say that some of these questions are pretty intense! I know that this week I’m going to be living in light that I am going to be asked some tough questions related to my actions. This should be good.
.: Life :
I‘ve had a cold for the past two weeks now. This hasn’t made me feel too active or wanting to do too much (like writing). I have, however, slowly continued reading through Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The book has made me hate Steve Jobs for how terrible he could be to those around him while at the same time admire his drive and ambition; the book has also made me want to buy a Mac.
.: Gaming :
I beat Mass Effect 2 this past week. A total of 28 hours (including DLC) of traveling with Commander Shepherd and the crew of the Normandy. The game surprised me by how much it sucked me in with it’s storyline and voice acting. Not sure what I think of its abrupt ending or whether I’ll be suiting up again for Mass Effect 3. Rest in peace Miranda.
That’s it for this weeks Surf Report. Make sure to comment below and have a good week!
JohnnyBGamer 