JohnnyBGamer

For the Love of Nook

Reviled by many gamers due to his slumlord-ish ways, Animal Crossing’s Tom Nook is a character I will forever be thankful for. Tom Nook, you see, is single-handedly responsible for easing my wife into the world of video games.

Back in 2004, I met my now wife at a Halloween event hosted at the college we both attended. We literally bumped into each other in the darkness of night. From that moment on, we dated and got to know one another as all couples do. As things began to grow more serious, I knew that I needed to share my love of video games with her. So, I went out and bought her a Nintendo DS and two copies of Animal Crossing. Two copies? One copy for her; one copy for me.

Soon we were enveloped in the chatty world of talking animals and weed pulling. Random bouts of letter writing, fishing, and strange conversations consumed our gaming time. Every once in awhile, we would visit the other’s town and exchange items—it is because of these visits that I was able to obtain a wide variety of fruit trees—. We were both enjoying the time spent playing the game and hanging out with each other.

Our love of Animal Crossing lasted almost a year. I don’t think that I have ever played a game for such a duration of time. One of our final gaming sessions in the game revolved around checking out the New Years celebration. Fireworks exploded in the sky with great bursts of volume and intensity. A sign, situated in the town square, proudly proclaimed, “Happy New Year”. We were surrounded by virtual buddies we had spend countless hours with. It was a happy new year indeed.

Looking back, we both fondly talk about our New Year’s Eve spent in Animal Crossing. If it wasn’t for Tom Nook and his gateway drug game, I’m not sure that my wife would still be playing games like she does today. A big thank you Tom. Your evil squirrel ways will not be forgotten.

Population Control

Articles like this drive me nuts! The population growth scare/myth as been around since the late 1960’s. Interestingly enough, people have continued producing children, the population has continued to grow, and we have yet to experience a catastrophic food shortage. So what gives?

As a Christian, I know that the Bible mandates that we as humans go forth and multiply (Genesis 1:27-28). So it makes sense that the Devil, the ruler of the Earth, would try and stir up something that goes against God’s Word.

The article concludes:

“We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning,” said Casterline.

The Checkpoint – 2/16

A good Wednesday morning to everyone out there. All two of you. Yeah, I see you in the back sir, thanks for stopping by once more.

As I’m cruising around the web this morning, I thought I’d share a few links worthy of your time. Enjoy!

– Over on 1up.com, Jeremy Parish has been running a series entitled Departing Salute, The Best of the DS. Feel the Magic: XY/XX not withstanding, Parish’s farewell game list for the DS highlights some of the best games on the system. I highly recommend this informative read, especially if you have somehow managed to miss the gaming goodness of the Nintendo DS.

– Steam has been having a random sale this week. Every day a new game is offered (Monday – Batman: Arkham Asylum; Tuesday – Just Cause 2). Both games featured so far have only cost $7.50. Makes me wish I had saved my allowance money!

– In a news piece that didn’t surprise me at all, Gamespot reports that the movie based on the game BioShock was unable to find funding. That was one trip I wouldn’t have taken anyways.

– Is anyone out there still playing Final Fantasy 11? I’ve been thinking about checking this game out again and was wondering if it was worth it.

– Nice Guy Gamer has a great post on video games and battling anxiety. Check it out!

I think that’s about it for today. Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to leave a comment if you do as it keeps me writing.

Weekly Proverb – 2/13-2/19

Not really a proverb this week…but more of a quote. 🙂

Came across this in my daily study:

Priest and author Henri Nouwen wrote, “Make the conscious choice to move in the attention of your anxious heart away from the waves and direct it to the One who walks on them and says, ‘It’s me, Don’t be afraid.’

Standing Their Ground: Chick-fil-A

Being a California native, I had never heard of the fast food chain Chick-fil-A until I moved to the South. It was then that I was quickly won over by their great tasting chicken sandwiches and excellent dipping sauces (Chick-fil-A sauce is the best!). Defying my So-Cal logic, I soon learned that Chick-fil-A was closed on Sundays in order to let their employees have a day of rest. What a great idea! Although I can’t imagine a place like In-In-Out being closed on a Sunday. The money loss alone, for Sunday sales, would/ must be huge. Over the course of time, I also learned that Chick-fil-A is a company run on the Christian values of its founder, Truett Cathy.

Recently a dispute between the gay rights community and Chick-fil-A has formed over what some might view a simple donation. CNN’s Belief Blog had a post on this back on February 4th.

The current controversy erupted when some college campus and gay rights groups blasted the restaurant chain for donating free food to a Pennsylvania organization opposed to gay marriage.

The Human Rights Campaign, a major gay rights group, launched a letter writing campaign to the company, while the Indiana University South Bend went so far as to temporarily suspend Chick-fil-A service in its campus dining facilities.

The fallout provoked Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy to defend his company in a Facebook video and in a written statement.

“In recent weeks, we have been accused of being anti-gay,” Cathy said in a written statement last Saturday. “We have no agenda against anyone.”

“While my family and I believe in the Biblical definition of marriage,” the statement continued, “we love and respect anyone who disagrees.”

The blog post on CNN continues on to talk about how Chick-fil-A may have to change their Christian core values as they expand out of the American South.

I absolutely love it when a minority group goes up in arms over a very simple action. But it’s discrimination I tell you! Guess what people, sometimes other people are going to have differing views than you. As a Christian, I am hardly ever surprised when a nonbeliever believes in something different than me. That is just life. All I ask is that the same “tolerance” be extended both ways. I hate that word…

So what if we flipped this story on its side, and gave the gay rights activists some free food, do you think that those against gay rights would be protesting? Maybe. I happen to not buy into all of this “green movement” stuff. I’ve seen Wall-E, I know how it all ends, and I am quite happy living on lounger in space. (Note: Wall-E is not a movie about the “green agenda” but a love story. I used this example as a joke) Due to my unpopular environmental beliefs, do I boycott companies that push what I see as a radical agenda?? No.

The gay community needs to learn when and how to pick its battles. Just because an opposing group got some free food is no reason to get up in arms. Heck, we don’t know what would have happened had the gay rights group asked for food first in the first place.

Quite whining people. You have a hard enough sell to the general public that the gay rights movement is just like the civil rights movement. A lifestyle choice is the same as a racial choice. Awesome logic.

I congratulate Chick-fil-A for standing behind their core values. It certainly doesn’t look like being close on Sunday has hurt their company in the least. In an age of wishy-washy politicians and Internet opinion, I applaud Chick-fil-A for standing in the gap.