Coming Together

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)

Just a random thought: video games have the benefit of potentially drawing people together. However, just being together is not enough; there has to be the intent to interact and cultivate friendship. In this way, certain video game sessions may be a great way to draw together fellow Jesus believers...

Every so often, a few Christian friends of mine and I get together for what we lamely call "man-dates." Ugh, what a terrible phrase to have in the American English lexicon... Anyway, we get together, play some Wii Sports or whatever, and then have some prayer time. Okay, maybe it's also "lame" that we play Wii and THEN pray, but at least these man gatherings draw guys together. If it results in some prayer, then I say that the time spent hanging out takes on deeper significance.

Video games can draw people together, especially men who stereotypically engage in profound conversation and emotive reflection only when coerced or bribed. Video games, like sports, provide a platform for exploring deeper issues man-to-man.

Okay, I'm belaboring the point. Time to stop.

Ciao!

To a Friend from Long Ago

This post is a little different from my other posts. On March 3rd, Mark Welsh passed away. The cause was a severe asthma attack.

Mark was a friend of mine from back in my high school days. We were both on swim team together, but we became friends during the two summers after high school when he, two other friends, and I would go bowling until late at night. When I think back, I wouldn't have imagined that I would have connected with Mark through bowling. After those two summers, though, I drifted away and lost contact with Mark.

I found out this news today and was shocked, not just because we had just reconnected only a few months ago through Facebook, but also because death by asthma really hits home with me. You see, my youngest son has asthma, and his condition can degrade rapidly if untreated. In that sense, Mark's death affected me today in ways I would not have imagined.

Why do I mention Mark's passing on this blog? Because it was on the basis of Genesis games that he and I reconnected a few months ago. I had posted on Facebook that I was looking for old Genesis games, and he let me know that he had some old ones. Then, we chatted online and reminisced about those times bowling and hanging out. My greatest regret is that I didn't just meet up with him in person once -- to hang out, bowl, or even shake hands.

My condolences to Mark's fiancee, family, and loved ones. You are indeed missed.

First-hand vs. Second-hand Nostalgia

Howdy!

I was pondering the concept of nostalgia vis-a-vis retrogaming, and I realized that there are two kinds of nostalgia: first-hand nostalgia and second-hand nostalgia. "First-hand nostalgia" (1HN) refers to that positive feeling that emerges when remembering something one directly encountered; for example, my remembrances of Super Mario Bros. and any positive feelings associated with it would comprise first-hand nostalgia. Conversely, in my estimation, "second-hand nostalgia" (2HN) refers to remembering what one experienced about something that was indirectly related to a first-hand nostalgia item; for instance, I never played Kid Icarus, but reading about that NES game and thinking about my experiences with that gaming system would comprise second-hand nostalgia.

From this point on, I will consistently refer to FHN and SHN when talking about games. Why? Because as I explore old games that I never got to play when those games were released (i.e. 15 years ago), I am finding that any positive memories that surface are mostly second-hand, or 2HN. An applicable example of this would be thinking about a movie from the 80s that I had heard about during the 80s, but never got a chance to see; yet, when I think about that movie (at least, any spurious information I have about that movie), I am reminded of the rad aspects of that decade.

Actually, I should then address third-hand nostalgia (3HN): positive feelings experienced with something with which one neither had direct nor indirect contact. A good example of this is that joyous feeling I get when I think about games like Super Metroid, Goof Troop, Mega Man, and other SNES games because I didn't own that system, and I never knew those games existed in the 90s, but when I look at those games now I am reminded of the decade during which I was in college and then in Japan.

Okay, so we have 1HN, 2HN, and 3HN. Confused yet? Here's the breakdown:

• 1HN: Nostalgia related to something directly experienced in the time period during which that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 2HN: Nostalgia related to something that was not directly experienced, but known about during the time period that thing was relevant or contemporaneous.
• 3HN: Nostalgia related to something that was neither directly experienced nor known about during its time of relevance, but has recently emerged because of current knowledge of that thing, which in turns stokes positive feelings about the time period or other items connected to that thing.

I hope that clears things up.

Ciao!