Why hello there! A little late, but this week, I have actual questions! From actual people! See if you can figure out which are real and which are fake! You can email me anonymously at frequentlyaskedcarls@gmail.com !
Dear Carls,
What is the meaning of thought? And why do people shop at Wal-mart?
Seeker of truth
Dear Seeker of Truth,
Thought is a component of consciousness. Thought is what allows connections to be made inside the brain and meaning to be achieved. To ask the meaning of thought requires circular reasoning for it is impossible to ponder without using thought. It would be like trying to explain gravity without using mass. Perhaps the “meaning” of thought is to question the meaning in the first place, which is to say, thought creates its own meaning through existence.
And people shop at Wal-mart because it is convenient and the employees are so apathetic that you can sometimes get some pretty good deals on their mistakes.
Dear Carls,
what is friend?
xoxo,
an adoring fan
There are actually two definitions.
The most popular definition is a person that you can rely on and enjoy being around. A friend is like family that is achieved through kindness and empathy instead of blood. I think important key to friendship is also being able to cherish them enough to be happy for them even when they are doing something that may not be completely beneficial for you, but also speak up to them when they are doing something you don’t approve of. A friend should be somebody that you don’t have to give a disposition of every aspect of your life to, but you would feel comfortable to say anything to them.
The second much less popular definition is the “end of a Friday.” The second definition is admittedly something I just made up.
Dear Carls,
I am secretly stalking you through your Xbox Live account, and I noticed you finished Max Payne 3. How was the game, and what are better ways of stalking other than monitoring your video game achievements? I honestly forgot why I thought that was a good idea in the first place.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Dear Acronym,
I enjoyed Max Payne 3. I think mostly because I enjoy Rockstar’s interpretation of the Max Payne character. Taking that comic-book noir character full of monologues constructed of ridiculous similes and turning him into a self-hating drunk is so much more interesting than 99% of video game protagonists. There was something about the way the game would glorify violence and action in the mechanics, but star a character that hates every fiber of his being. It creates a strong brew that I could completely empathize with. Not that I can relate to a man killing hundreds of people in self defense, but I can relate to Max Payne’s journey of hating things that have become habits for him. A lot of people criticized the game for this contradiction, saying that it was implausible for a man to hate himself and do the things he can do, but I think in a lot of ways they are missing the point. Max Payne doesn’t call himself a weak old man because he is actually a weak old man, but because his life has gone off the track for so long that the only thing perpetuating his existence is his deeply buried sense of guilt. He over criticizes his ability as a protector and a killer because it is something he never wanted to be in the first place.
This mix of skill and frailty is then communicated through the mechanics. The mechanics require the player to get into cover, or else be instantly killed by gunfire. Then the player has to chance to plan ahead, built up bullet time meter, and slow down time to execute that plan. It is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. The game loves to set up a lot of subtlety and nuance, but then ruin it by having the antagonists make it explicit, and the ending feels sort of light and unearned (though the ending level had one of the best sequences I have played in the third person shooter genre), but overall I am glad I invested my time in Max Payne 3.
And a good way to stalk me is by reading my blog every week! Gimme those page hits.
Well, that is it for this week! Once again that email is frequentlyaskedcarls@gmail.com ! Enjoy the week!
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