Have you ever noticed how when the seasons are changing, the topic of weather becomes more than just small talk? I have. As spring approaches I don't think a day goes buy when the topic weather is not mentioned, often by people who have better things to talk about. For example, a guy comes up to me today while I am at work and says out of the blue, "So it's really storming out there."
I say, "What, like snow?"
He says, "No, more like rain and snow, sleet is more like it."
I say, "Yeah, it's supposed to do that all week."
Then he goes back to work and so do I.
Later on he pipes up again. "So, it actually feels nice out there."
I'm still trying to figure out where that one came from. I didn't even have time to respond.
I even find that it comes up in conversations with my fiancee. We are having a conversation and all of a sudden we are talking about the weather. And I'm not talking about a quick mention of it, sometimes we find ourselves on the topic for ten or fifteen minutes. She commented on this once. It was quite eyeopening, more than a little amusing, and a tad sad.
My prediction is that this trend will not stop, especially in this day and age when the weather is doing some really crazy things. I don't know who labeled the topic of weather as "small talk" but it is quickly breaking out if its appointed place and becoming "big talk".
P.S.
In case you haven't noticed, I added some more to the "Points of Interest" section the other day. If you have an idea for the "Points of Interest" section just let me know. Also let me know what you think of the stuff that is already there.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
New Addition
Hello readers, I have recently added a whole new section to my blog. If you take a gander to the right hand side of the page you will notice a new heading called "Points of Interest". In this section I will add links to stuff that I think is cool and think you might as well. The first addition is the film project I made in grade 12 called "The Son".
Keep an eye out for more Points of Interest in the future.
That is all. Carry on.
Keep an eye out for more Points of Interest in the future.
That is all. Carry on.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Paradox
It's a funny thing, love...
... it's a paradox. It makes no sense at all while at the same time it makes all the sense in the world.
If this doesn't make any sense to you then you haven't experienced true love. True love is the type of love that never stops growing. I grows and grows until you think that you can't contain any more and then somehow you do. You look back on the time that you felt that way and realize that it is nothing compared to the love that you feel now. And that just keeps happening over and over again until the first time you thought that thought it seems like a drop of water in an ocean, and eventually that ocean seems like a puddle etc.
God's love is like that, only better. His love is incomprehensible. Any type of love that we could ever experience on this earth pales in comparison the the love He has for us. We may sometimes feel like we are experiencing the full love of God but in reality it is just a taste of what He has in store for us. That is why shatters His heart to see the people in this world turning their backs on Him. He loves each and every person so much but we just snub him for some cheap thrills that only temporarily satisfy us when He is waiting to show us a love that never quits.
... it's a paradox. It makes no sense at all while at the same time it makes all the sense in the world.
If this doesn't make any sense to you then you haven't experienced true love. True love is the type of love that never stops growing. I grows and grows until you think that you can't contain any more and then somehow you do. You look back on the time that you felt that way and realize that it is nothing compared to the love that you feel now. And that just keeps happening over and over again until the first time you thought that thought it seems like a drop of water in an ocean, and eventually that ocean seems like a puddle etc.
God's love is like that, only better. His love is incomprehensible. Any type of love that we could ever experience on this earth pales in comparison the the love He has for us. We may sometimes feel like we are experiencing the full love of God but in reality it is just a taste of what He has in store for us. That is why shatters His heart to see the people in this world turning their backs on Him. He loves each and every person so much but we just snub him for some cheap thrills that only temporarily satisfy us when He is waiting to show us a love that never quits.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Old School
It has recently come to my attention that really advanced technology doesn't always cut it.
Today I am posting about video games...
I have a Wii. One of the features that drew me to that particular console, apart fro the ingenious controller, was the Virtual Console. For those of you reading who don't know, the Virtual Console is a feature supported by the Wii that lets a person download classic video games to the console, classic games from systems like the NES, SNES, Turbo Grafix, Sega Genesis, and the N64. Now, these games don't always feature the greatest graphics and sound but most of them are still as fun and as challenging as they were when they were released, some upwards of twenty years ago. One series that has stood the test of time, that was created more than twenty years ago, and has not lost any of its charm is the Legend of Zelda series. The 200th issue of Nintendo Power Magazine featured the last fifty of the top 200 Nintendo games of all time. In the list, three of the top five, four of the top ten, and five of the top fifteen were Zelda games.
One of the goals I have with owning my Wii is to collect every console version of the Legend of Zelda series. So far I have five of the eight.
Anyway, as I was saying at the beginning, these games show that fancy technology doesn't always mean better games. Case and point being that my two all time favorite Zelda games are A Link to the Past (released in 1992 for the SNES) and the Ocarina of Time (released in 1998 for the N64). Both of these games, in my opinion, beat out the newest addition to the Zelda family Twilight Princess (released for the Wii in November of 2006 and for the Game Cube in December 2006). Even with it's fancy motion sensing technology it couldn't quite match the brilliance and mastery of the two titles I just mentioned (it does come close though). These games are as fun and as ever.
Enough of Zelda. The real inspiration for this posting came from one of the first games ever released for the original Nintendo. Duck Hunt. I recently had the opportunity to play duck Hunt again. Let me just say this: shooting digital ducks with a bright orange (or grey), plastic gun never loses its appeal. Sure the game isn't very deep, all you do is shoot things that fly across the screen, but its simplicity is what makes it so brilliant. All you do is point and shoot. If you miss, a dog laughs at you (stupid dog. I'd like to shoot that thing). Simple. Anyone can do it (being good at it is a different story). Simple controls and straightforward game play can make a really fun game. I'm just surprised it took so long for someone to catch on to this fact. I'm really glad to see Nintendo returning to this mentality with the Wii. I really hope they stick to it. If they do then we could see a really fantastic next generation of games and more importantly, a brand new influx of gamers.
That is all. I'm tired and I am going to bed.
Goodnight.
Today I am posting about video games...
I have a Wii. One of the features that drew me to that particular console, apart fro the ingenious controller, was the Virtual Console. For those of you reading who don't know, the Virtual Console is a feature supported by the Wii that lets a person download classic video games to the console, classic games from systems like the NES, SNES, Turbo Grafix, Sega Genesis, and the N64. Now, these games don't always feature the greatest graphics and sound but most of them are still as fun and as challenging as they were when they were released, some upwards of twenty years ago. One series that has stood the test of time, that was created more than twenty years ago, and has not lost any of its charm is the Legend of Zelda series. The 200th issue of Nintendo Power Magazine featured the last fifty of the top 200 Nintendo games of all time. In the list, three of the top five, four of the top ten, and five of the top fifteen were Zelda games.
One of the goals I have with owning my Wii is to collect every console version of the Legend of Zelda series. So far I have five of the eight.
Anyway, as I was saying at the beginning, these games show that fancy technology doesn't always mean better games. Case and point being that my two all time favorite Zelda games are A Link to the Past (released in 1992 for the SNES) and the Ocarina of Time (released in 1998 for the N64). Both of these games, in my opinion, beat out the newest addition to the Zelda family Twilight Princess (released for the Wii in November of 2006 and for the Game Cube in December 2006). Even with it's fancy motion sensing technology it couldn't quite match the brilliance and mastery of the two titles I just mentioned (it does come close though). These games are as fun and as ever.
Enough of Zelda. The real inspiration for this posting came from one of the first games ever released for the original Nintendo. Duck Hunt. I recently had the opportunity to play duck Hunt again. Let me just say this: shooting digital ducks with a bright orange (or grey), plastic gun never loses its appeal. Sure the game isn't very deep, all you do is shoot things that fly across the screen, but its simplicity is what makes it so brilliant. All you do is point and shoot. If you miss, a dog laughs at you (stupid dog. I'd like to shoot that thing). Simple. Anyone can do it (being good at it is a different story). Simple controls and straightforward game play can make a really fun game. I'm just surprised it took so long for someone to catch on to this fact. I'm really glad to see Nintendo returning to this mentality with the Wii. I really hope they stick to it. If they do then we could see a really fantastic next generation of games and more importantly, a brand new influx of gamers.
That is all. I'm tired and I am going to bed.
Goodnight.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Explanation
I can almost guarantee that most of you right now are scratching your heads as to why my blog is called what it is called. Well, here is the explanation.
The title is actually a fusion of two nicknames (where did the term "nickname" come from anyway? Was the first guy to ever shorten his name named Nicholas or something?). Anyway, as I was saying, the title is a fusion of two nicknames. The first name, Biff, is my camp name (I do realize that most of you do, in fact, know this but this is mostly for those who do not know). I received this name my first year working at summer camp. At the camp real names are not used for safety reasons. If the campers do not know your real names, then neither they, nor their parents, can pursue/hassle you after the summer without going through camp administration, who in turn, usually "head them off at the pass" so to speak. I receive the name from my older brother who was also working at the camp that summer. I originally wanted to have the nickname that is the second part of the title, Jib, but it didn't seem to catch on.
Jib is the nickname I received in grade six from one of my friends. I really can't tell you where he got that from but that is what he called me. Anyway, I kind of liked it so I decided to use it as a three letter gaming name in those old school games where they only allow you to enter your initials for high scores and stuff. Eventually I began using it in all my games, even those that allowed you to input more than three letters at a time. So, in essence, I am the gamer, Jib; Biff, the gamer, Jib.
And there you have it, an explanation.
The title is actually a fusion of two nicknames (where did the term "nickname" come from anyway? Was the first guy to ever shorten his name named Nicholas or something?). Anyway, as I was saying, the title is a fusion of two nicknames. The first name, Biff, is my camp name (I do realize that most of you do, in fact, know this but this is mostly for those who do not know). I received this name my first year working at summer camp. At the camp real names are not used for safety reasons. If the campers do not know your real names, then neither they, nor their parents, can pursue/hassle you after the summer without going through camp administration, who in turn, usually "head them off at the pass" so to speak. I receive the name from my older brother who was also working at the camp that summer. I originally wanted to have the nickname that is the second part of the title, Jib, but it didn't seem to catch on.
Jib is the nickname I received in grade six from one of my friends. I really can't tell you where he got that from but that is what he called me. Anyway, I kind of liked it so I decided to use it as a three letter gaming name in those old school games where they only allow you to enter your initials for high scores and stuff. Eventually I began using it in all my games, even those that allowed you to input more than three letters at a time. So, in essence, I am the gamer, Jib; Biff, the gamer, Jib.
And there you have it, an explanation.
Welcome to Biff the Gamer Jib's
Welcome to my blog.
I have been thinking about starting one for quite a while now and I'm not sure why I didn't. Having one of these will probably be a good thing. It'll help keep me brushed up on the writing skills which have pretty much been rotting away scince I finished high school.
In this blog I will be discussing exactly what the header says: "Life, Love, Faith and Video Games" as well as anything else that pops into my head. Should be a good time, for me anyway. It'll give me a chance to rant to someone other than my fiancee. Perhaps you will find it as amusing as she does some times.
Anyway, I have no Idea who is going to read this but if you do and you like it then feel free to tell others about it. I will always welcome an audience.
I have been thinking about starting one for quite a while now and I'm not sure why I didn't. Having one of these will probably be a good thing. It'll help keep me brushed up on the writing skills which have pretty much been rotting away scince I finished high school.
In this blog I will be discussing exactly what the header says: "Life, Love, Faith and Video Games" as well as anything else that pops into my head. Should be a good time, for me anyway. It'll give me a chance to rant to someone other than my fiancee. Perhaps you will find it as amusing as she does some times.
Anyway, I have no Idea who is going to read this but if you do and you like it then feel free to tell others about it. I will always welcome an audience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)