I heard from a good friend that the song “My Way,” the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, is illegal to sing in Singapore. The rumor is that song came under such contention that no one could agree on how it should be sung and fights broke out. It became such a problem that the government had to step in. I am not sure if it is true, but to me it is believable because “My Way” does seem to have an effect on people. For me, I always fixate on the line “Regrets, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention.” Though Frank Sinatra didn’t write the song, I always wondered if the song writer (who was Paul Anka) had some sort of insight into what Frank Sinatra could have regretted.
Or maybe it was just a cop-out. The writer could have had no idea what regrets Mr. Sinatra had, but one key in making a person relatable is by implying that they had flaws. Regrets are funny things though. What could be regretted one year, could be a blessing in disguise the next. Regret in a lot of ways is a unique in humans. The forethought, memory, and emotion tied with rationality is something other animals would be too taxing to accomplish. Even in humans, feeling remorse for what could have been can be exhausting and perhaps not even worth it in the end.
Humans can maybe take solace in the fact that genetics and the environment that the person grew up in can determine the loin’s share of who they become. Somebody regretting that they couldn’t be rich and successful might be able to pacify themselves by rationalizing that their inability may be due to their genes and environment when they were younger. Though, that could lead to regret that they couldn’t have a different situation in life, and is akin to believing in fate. Maybe regret is programmed into people as the check and balance between the things one can not change, and the plasticity that people possess. Regret triggers a “flight or fight” response to either encourage action or accept their situation.
If that is the case, Frank Sinatra having regrets is part of what makes him human (though a great human since they are supposedly so few). Whenever anyone asks me whether or not I have regrets, I find myself asking whether my memory is accurate. Memory works in a way that whenever someone remembers something, that memory becomes rewritten little by little. A vivid memory an adult may have of their childhood could actually be an entirely invented and a rewritten account of what really happened. Even with a sort of photographic memory, the narrative can only be one sided for it only reflects one point of view. So when I ask myself if I have regrets, I end up questioning whether or not I had any control over my situation, and I usually end up saying no. I say I have no regrets, perhaps only to answer the question in a time that is socially acceptable.
If there is one thing I always try and remember is that I should focus on the things that I can change and not worry about the things I can’t. Regret doesn’t have too much room in that philosophy. I can’t help but think probability is against me, and as I get older, there will be something that I sincerely wish I could change. I hope I have the perspective then to be able to let go and lose the attachment towards the past enough to be able to move on. At a certain point, worrying about regret becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, especially if nothing regrettable happens, because I wasted so much time worrying about nothing. I guess the only thing anyone can do is live their life responsibly so if something goes wrong, at least they can own up to it.
Or, in other words, do things so you can say you did it “My Way.”
To be honest, the secret best Frank Sinatra song is “Lonely at the Top,” which is “secret” mostly because Frank Sinatra never sang it. Nothing is perfect, I suppose.
GET BONUS! For the lack of blog last week, here is a extra VG blog! ENJOY!
Talking about regrets, I’m sure Microsoft has a few, AMMI RIGHT???
Seriously though, the roller-coaster of seeing Microsoft try to promote the Xbox One DRM strategy as a benefit in and of itself without any sort of benefit to the consumer felt like a sort of out-of-touch-ness that seemed impossible in this era of social networking. Microsoft abandoning the most objectionable parts of the DRM and then Don Mattrick leaving right before the Xbox One launches was unbelievable. All the journalists and pundits trying to throw themselves under the metaphorical bus trying to defend what Microsoft was trying to do found themselves with egg on their face, but with a new opportunity to martyr the DRM as if it was going to be the best thing that happened to video games. The whole mess just felt like the type of situation that arises when a bunch of egos clash together and disagree. I am not even sure exactly what people were clashing about inside Microsoft, and who knows who really won.
I think the saddest part for me is that Japan for XB1 has been declared a “Tier 2” country and won’t release until next year. It bothers me because the Japanese support on the Xbox 360 was a great indicator of how much easier is was to get games on the 360. While the Playstation 3 shut out developers because of how hard it was to develop for, the 360 had open arms to some unique Japanese games. Despite not doing well in Japan, the 360 having Japanese games like Bayonetta, Deadly Premonition, and the Cave danmaku shooters made the 360 feel like it was open to anyone. That openness is what made owning a 360 exciting for me. As I hear more and more about the XB1, it seems like Microsoft is putting effort into closing the console so much that only certain games will get through. Maybe this makes sense as the technology gets more complex and the costs get higher, and maybe it will pay off to have a more exclusive system, but it signifies a troubling movement in the video games industry. As games get more expensive, and openness isn’t discouraged, who will want to take risks and be innovative? It is perhaps impossible to tell now, but unless something proves me wrong, I will find myself being pessimistic about whether this new generation of consoles will truly offer anything original and interesting.
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