The Art of Sports

Did you *see* the hockey game last night? Or rather, the last 10 seconds? When Teemu Selanne scored the game tying goal? He was literally jumping for joy on his skates. I mean, the guy is 40 years old, at the tail end of a long season, and here he was acting like a rookie scoring his first NHL goal. It was freaking beautiful! This is yet another example of why he's possibly my all-time favorite athlete. Even at this stage of his career he still finds moments of absolute joy in the game.

Some might argue that sport is wasteful, that it doesn't contribute to society in a meaningful way, and that it consumes resources tremendously disporportional to what value it may actually have. I'm not entirely unsympathetic to portions of these arguements, but the essence of "sport" is fundamentally human. It's a medium that distills the variety of human "virtues" (skill, effort, focus, determination, dedication, honor, intelligence, loyalty, spirit, etc.) into a cathartic blend. It's art on an ephemeral canvas, forever changing because it's the ultimate collaborative performance piece with the artists working to maximize their interference (both constructive and destructive) with one another.

That's the thing about sports in general. You're hard-pressed to find another endeavor that concentrates so much human emotion/passion into such a pure, simple, and free expression. And like any other type of art, at its best it serves to draw you in, engages you, inspires you, and challenges you to share in that experience and use it to create your own.

Major Life Events

This past holiday season, I watched Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) with my son for the first time. He loved it. Life is good.

I also excavated my old Star Wars figures from a bin in the garage and “shared” them with the lad. We built starcruisers for them made out of Legos.

Kellen, finding himself behind our poor overweight and undergroomed Sheltie, used his first quote, in context, from any movie that I can recall:

“Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?”

Not sure I could have been more proud if he’d just devised a working cold-fusion reactor.

Over the next few weeks we completed the Trilogy, Ewoks and all.

It was awesome seeing his eyes get all big in shock and surprise when Vader told Luke he was his father…

Then, just this past weekend, I was addressed with:
“Your powers are weak, old man.”

Ouch. The Circle, it seems, is now complete.

40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Rant

Rant?!? What fault do I find in this historic achievement?

Well… I’ll tell you.

My age cohort and I represent what should be amongst the last humans able to say, with codgerly inflection: “Why, I was born BEFORE Mankind ever set foot on another world.”

Yeah, we can still say it. But it doesn’t really have the punch it should have now, does it?

Why?

It took humanity only 66 years to go from the Wright Brothers Flyer to the Eagle landing at Mare Tranquillitatas. Even if we decide to go ahead and return to the Moon in 2020, it will have been FIFTY years to merely repeat what has been done before. I was in pre-school when Eugene Cernan of Apollo 17 became the last person to walk on the Moon. My children are now out of pre-school and nobody has dared to even leave Low Earth Orbit in all that time. More than a full generation of humanity hasn’t been able to touch the achievements of their forebears in terms of Human Space Exploration.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for robotic exploration and I feel a great affinity for fellow-cohort-member Steve’s mechanical siblings. I felt the thrill at being in the auditorium waiting for the signals to return from Mars indicating a successful landing. Aside from being mighty achievements in their own right, these machines are the essential bricks that pave the way for Humans to come. But they aren’t there. The humans, that is. We’ve been stuck mucking about in Low Earth Orbit.

Once upon a time, Neil Armstrong was the biggest damn Hero on the planet. People looked up at the Moon and universally marveled. They were *inspired*. They wanted to go to the places nobody had yet been, or build the fantastic machines that took them there. Nowadays, though… That sort of attention and admiration is reserved almost exclusively for athletes and performers who pretend to be heroes.

So yeah, I’m ranting. Hopefully the *next* generation will smarten up and empower leaders with Spirit who will seize the Opportunity to launch us on an Endeavor of their own that might actually be memorable 40 years down the road.

Movie R(ant)eview: Star Trek.

Evaluation: Pretty Good.

But why bother posting if there’s nothing to rant about? And yes, Beware! Thar be Spoilers Aplenty up ahead.

The Best: The Characters (some of). As has probably been gushed all over the interwebs, Zachary Quinto’s Spock and Karl “Eomer” Urban’s McCoy were fantastic. From the initial press you knew Sylar had the look…but could he deliver “Spockness”? Yes. And then some. Urban’s McCoy was probably the closest thing to an actual impersonation of the original character. I think he, more than anything else, was the tether that connected the “old” to the “new” in his familiar cantankerous portrayal. I think this link was the key “buy in” point past which further deviations (for the most part) were granted more tolerance.

The Next to the Best: Two more characters: Kirk and Uhura. Chris Pine is not Shatner. This is a good thing. I think he did a commendable job of harnessing the most important attributes of Kirk: the arrogantly supreme self-confidence and impulsive fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants command style. Kirk is a successful leader because he Leads; he’s the antithesis of a REMF. Pine doesn’t get bogged down trying to mimic mannerisms of the original. Zoe Saldana’s Uhura was, to me, perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the bunch. I feel she really elevated Uhura beyond the role of a mere subordinate and made her not only more than window dressing, but also *interesting*. She’s a StarFleet Officer, Jim, not a glorified Receptionist!

For all the high points mentioned above, I must give credit to the Writers who provided the dialog and settings to allow the actors to bring these characters to life. And that, after all, is the heart of the matter. Sure, they sucked in a number of other areas so let’s get those Kudos in while we can…

The Not Too Bad: I like John Cho. I liked his performance. Really tough job, though. Sulu is one of the most beloved characters…for really doing relatively little throughout the series and movies. But that’s kinda the point. Adoration for the original Sulu’ was born of maximizing his presence through a series of small scenes and reaction shots coupled with George Takei’s one-of-a-kind voice. I’m not complaining…just waiting…

The Mixed But Not Quite Favorable: Engineer Montgomery…..Pippin??? While I was amused by the humor, and I understand that the traditional tech-babble delivered too seriously is now a caricature…this was just too much. Scotty’s role in the original cast was often comic relief, but usually delivered as a straight man, not a clown. Sure, it’ll likely grow on me…but it’s gonna take some time (ie. more good franchise installments).

Ugh: And speaking of too much. Anton Yelchin as Checkov was bloody awful. Yes, he’s got a heavy Russian accent. Pure comedy...tin. And he’s also gifted in a number of technical specialties. Whatever. He’s annoying. Wesley, get off the bridge!

More Ugh: Eric Bana’s Blue-Collar-Future-Romulan Villain. I get that they were intentionally avoiding the classical literature spewing Trek villains of yore…but really. His overly colloquial uber-familiarity was…dumb. Not particularly menacing or tension inducing, just random and vapid. Writers – Kudos for the characterizations at the top of this post, but it’s really time to take your lumps here. The supposed motivation was painted crudely. His plan for vengeance was beyond stupid. Let’s face it; this “character” is the basis for main conflict upon which body of this film purports to rest. While I understand that the typical Trek movie-goer will be about as focused on critiquing the movie’s plot as the average prOn viewer, that still cuts them no slack in my view.

Now let’s get the Geek on and engage the Nerd-Drive: (Not an exhaustive list, by any means.)

Federation Engineers have found a way to employ multi-dimensional space inside a ship’s hull. How else to explain the vast open areas seen throughout the ship? You know, if they want to make the entirety of the secondary hull a hangar deck – as it appeared, I’ll give them that. I don’t think it follows that the ship carries 40+ shuttles (I think the original had 4 or 6). I mean it’s a Cruiser, not a frakking Battlestar. And will someone explain the interior shot of the…um…brewery? Rows of giant liquid storage tanks. Were they THAT over-budget that they couldn’t hire a few graphic artists to whip up some CGI interior mattes? /boggle

Let’s talk Romulan technology. A mining ship lays waste to…most of StarFleet? That seems…wrong. Granted, it’s a big mother of a future mining ship, armed with Green Spikey Balls of Doom, but still…

Let’s talk Federation technology. So Vulcan is (err…was) just a few hours away from Earth using old Warp Technology? Commuter flight? And there are 6 Billion Vulcans, but nobody on the habitable ice-ball that is apparently about as far away from Vulcan as is Luna from Earth based on the view....

Let’s talk Future-Vulcan technology. Red Matter? Really? That’s what you came up with? And you sent Spock out alone to deliver it? And it was supposed to save Romulus by preventing the Star’s Supernova by turning it into…a Black Hole. Uh huh. And this “Red Matter” /snicker that can penetrate into the heart of a burning star needs a hole drilled through a planet’s crust before it can do its thing, but works fine against a ship? How drunk did you have to be to come up with and/or approve of this idea?

Let’s talk Starship design. Or let’s not and just present the nominations for the worst starship interior design. Ever. Will we get to see the Chompers in the deleted scenes?

Why?
Why is there a huge canyon in Iowa?
Why is there a massive shipyard in Iowa?
Why is the Mos Eisley Cantina in Iowa?
Why was “flagship” of StarFleet primarily crewed by Cadets?
Why was the bulk of StarFleet unable to avoid destruction at the hands of an immobile starship holding a geosynchonous orbit above Vulcan while it drilled?

Let’s Play the Derivative Game! I’ll supply the description, you supply the movie:
Icky critter that likes brainstems and makes victim compliant.
Uber Romulan Ship Captained by Vengeance Driven Psycho.
Monster chasing our Protagonist(s) devoured by bigger monster.
Human hunting Snow Beast on Ice Planet.
Introduce a bit of magic tech into a system that completely transforms a planetary body.
Kirk marooned/imprisoned on an Ice Planet.
Enterprise at the mercy of overpowering opponent.

(Last one is obviously a trick question – the Enterprise is ALWAYS at the mercy of the villain du jour.)

Well, I’m running out of steam, and I didn’t even get to fit in my Augustus Gloop reference….
/sigh

Lord of the Rings Online

Ding! Level 60! I win! (3/29/09)

And as with every MMORPG, the Level Cap having been reached, it is time to reflect on the journey and ponder what comes next now that the biggest of all carrots has been removed and leveling treadmill grinds to a halt.

Having played EverQuest, it is impossible not to compare any other game’s post-level-cap mechanics to the gold standard that was EQ’s Alternative Advancement system. There was, for all intents and purposes, never an end to the value of additional xp, just (very slowly) diminishing returns.

So when I take stock of Dirkalas (Hobbit Hunter – err, just to be clear he is a Hobbit who *is* a Hunter, not a Hunter of Hobbits) I find quite a bit still to accomplish:

1) Epic Storyline – I’ll gladly carry water for the Fellowship if they let me play an Extra in the Movie.
It’s one of LotRO’s more unique elements and greatest strengths. Yet I’m woefully unadvanced. I am currently stuck in two different Books of Volume I (Shadow of Angmar). Both were tried and failed as recently as two levels ago with Blackberri (Sheila’s Minstrel). I think we need one more person to get us through both quests. That’s only Chapter 8 of 14, I think. Even though we’ve witnessed the Fellowship leaving Rivendell, there is much work (questing) yet to be done before we can meet up with them again in Lothlorien.

2) Faction – They will *learn* to love me!
Speaking of Lothlorien, those Elves are a trifle prickly about who they let into their Forest. Unless you’ve gotten on good terms with them from questing outside of the Golden Wood, you’re liable to become be-feathered, as in transfixed by arrows…as in 1-rounded, if you try to cross their borders. Other factions, such as the Miners and Guards of Moria are still far from maxed, though the Dwarves are far less Hobbicidal about it.

3) Traits – Bravely Bold Sir Robin Rode Forth From Camelot…
I’m a baaad Hunter. My Trait levels are embarrassingly low. Because I was pretty much always “behind” others in levels, I never focused on the Deeds required to raise the various Traits, choosing to work instead on leveling mostly through quest completion. Now I am faced with the task of spending time going to older zones and (for the most part) slaughtering trivial mobs to acquire the requisite “slayer” titles. This is probably the most “grindy” bit of business in my list.

4) Finding and Leveling Legendary Weapons – Why did those Second Age Smiths Even Bother?
The Moria expansion added the mechanic of Legendary Weapons which accumulate experience in a way similar to characters. They increase fairly dramatically in power as they level. Legendary Weapons are not exactly scarce, but the “good” ones are. So finding a Hunter weapon with the right “Legacies” is an ongoing and perhaps never ending mission.

5) Class Quests – It’s a Moral Imperative (Chris Knight, circa 1985)
Gotta do them. ‘Nuff said. They will take some hacking away in a full group through some of the Angmar instances…

6) Angmar-Era End Game Content – A Bal-what? Here?!? Now where did that Gandalf get to???
Because I came rather late to the LotRO bandwagon, I pretty much missed out on the end-game Raids and Instances from Angmar. Having experienced my first Angmar Raid (partial), I can only imagine how brutal they must have been when the level cap was 50.They say there’s a Balrog in the Rift. Self-preservation instincts aside, I must see this for myself.

7) Group Instances in Moria – A Note on Gear and its Acquisition. (Yes, I’m Gimp. And your point is?)
Just getting started here. Been in a couple runs but so far successes are still outnumbered by Defeats. But it’s back to the mines (quite literally) where more Defeats await, I’m sure. But that’s where you need to go to get the Shinies. And that’s what you need to exchange for Radiance armor – a requirement for Raids. Why? Well, if you don’t want to spend your time cowering in a little ball of frightened Dread, it’s what ya gotta do.

8) Raiding in Moria – But Gandalf Already Solo’d Moria’s Balrog…
It’s True, the Balrog is gone from Moria, but there are still *other* “older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world.” And well…you just don’t get much deeper than Moria. The Watcher still waits…and others.

So… Yep. Still tons to do here in Middle Earth.

BSG Series Finale Rant

(Spoilers? I could hardly rant without them, could I?)

Unfortunately, my single overriding thought at the conclusion of the BSG Series Finale was: I don’t frakkin’ buy it.

You know…I’ll give them the mysticism and prophecies. I’ll give them individual cases of psychosis and even suicide. I’ll even (grudgingly) give them the corporeal Deus Ex Machina that Starbuck represented and the non-corporeal versions of Six and Baltar.

But the big Shark Jump for me was at the end when Apollo declares that, seemingly by fiat and without objection, no we’re not going to build a city. Instead, we’re going to scrap our entire technological civilization and voluntarily enter a more primitive state, ie. Cultural suicide.

Huh? And his rationale that they would try to avoid the perils of technology run amok by providing the “wisdom” of their experience rings obnoxiously hollow.

First, there’s the glaringly obvious issue that returning to a primitive state would necessarily condemn them, their children and so forth to lives that were “nasty, brutish, and short.” Yes, please save us from the ravages of antibiotics and the prospect of actually surviving appendicitis.

But I’ve also got a problem with the idea that practical wisdom can be preserved without the tangible context from which it was earned/learned. Perhaps my view is far too shallow, but how exactly do you expect a pre-industrialized peasant to take to heart warnings about the dangers of technology and Artificial Intelligence (other than by irrational religious dogma)? And how are you going to afford to share this “wisdom” when you’re busy toiling in the ground, or hunting/gathering from sun-up to sun-down. Ah the restful joys of pre-industrial agrarian society!

To my mind, the great irony here is that they *had* finally broken the cycle by actually having a hybrid civilization that incorporated both artificial and natural intelligence co-existing peacefully (at last!) and then turned their backs on it – guaranteeing those lessons would need to be relearned, and thus INVITING a repetition of the cycle.

Over the course of the series there were very few instances that rang false. Alas, this was one of those and more importantly, the loudest. It is doubly unfortunate that its counterpoint now underscores (for me, at least) the entirety of the epic journey. Bah!

"It's Only a Game!"

or
On the Philosophy of Morally Ambiguous Quest Design in Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games
(re-edited version of a Vanguard: Saga of Heroes forum post from August, 2007)

Background: Once upon a time there was an online fantasy role-playing game in which the designers saw fit to include a controversial quest line. This series of quests from an in-game organization with a purportedly noble goal, had players undertake a series of tasks which became progressively darker in nature, until the players were required to eliminate witnesses, and eventually hide the evidence of their “mistakes” in particularly grisly fashion. The players were incentivized to continue by the excellent gear upgrades with which they were rewarded as well as by the absolute lack of consequences for their (eventually obviously immoral) actions.

Issue: I, too, have a problem with this quest line. It’s not because it’s dark – there’s plenty of room for darkness, even outright Eeevil™ in a fantasy role-playing game. The problem here is that it puts you, as the player, in a dark place and gives you no way out (no matter what your “class” is) other than to abandon the quest; or in effect, pretending that the situation never existed. What I mean is that you don’t have any way within the actual game to express a choice in the matter other than by stopping progress in this area of content altogether – not a very valid game mechanic. Opting to quit the quest is clearly not a “designed” option and it’s particularly unsatisfying in that it doesn’t provide an interactive decision point.

So what? It’s just a game. Well….yes. And no.

Look. When confronted with extremes, we’re all able to easily compartmentalize them. Clear “Good vs. Evil” dichotomies aren’t particularly instructive. You’re not learning there, you’re taking other elements (entertainment) out of the experience. It’s in the morally ambiguous situations where the more difficult decision making has a chance to make an impact. These *are* potentially teaching situations…but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Here, though, trouble comes when morally questionable orders are stealthed behind a cloak of authority; in this case the quest givers themselves and their apparently “good” cause; with no visible alternatives. Recall, if you will, the results of the Milgram Experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

It’s not “just a game”. Of course it is, but it’s also potentially more. It’s a simulation; it’s an exercise; it’s a role-playing medium and role-playing has long been a powerful tool used by both teachers and psychologists alike. Quests like this do a good job in setting up a relatively strong learning situation and then…deliver a really bad lesson.

Recap: Most people have the tools to see this quest line for what it is and take it according to their tastes: either as a delightfully subversive bit of wickedness; or with the sense that they’ve been duped (uh huh) into doing the wrong thing. Neither group is likely to be affected by the experience. Those at “risk” (to use too strong a word) are the small minority who find themselves somewhat troubled but, having no discernable options, carry on with the uncomfortable tasks, subconsciously storing the memory of suppressing morality under the “virtue” of authority…and being rewarded for it.

Straw Man Alert! This is not a call for the censorship or removal of the quest! The quest is creative, interesting, and provocative. It’s just not, in my opinion, “complete”.

Solution: Actually it’s quite easy. Give the player the opportunity to make an informed choice rather than just following along in silent compliance. Offer one or more decision points along the way to register an alternative response. These are purportedly role-playing games, after all. Allow players the opportunity to show a bit more “character” in their characters.