When things aint going your way, Coke will save your day!

Waking up, I was already pissed off from the night before, having been overwhelmed with negativity towards today, by a certain someone, as well as losing all my contacts on my phone, plus there being a bad weather forecast for today. I didn't feel like doing anything. I just sat in my room, doing nothing, nothing at all, for about half an hour. Then I decided I wasn't going to let my day get ruined by somewhat of a social handicap and some rain. After all, I did have ways of contacting those I was going to be with in the not so distant future, and one can always put on a poncho to show the rain who's baws.

Friends should be one's antidote for everything blue in the world. For me, they damn near are, and when they are not, I look elsewhere. Today they were, most likely because I allowed them to and absolutely wanted them to. I walked out the door hoping for a fresh opinion of today, and found a refreshing attitude in my best friend as we met on the train. He and I both know that knowing how to cheer oneself up is the key to cheering other people up, as good mood is very contagious! And having a very good meal with the best of friends is definitely at the very top of my cheering-oneself-up-list. And so we ate. And so there was light. That's right, the sky cleared; the rain finally admitted defeat by the not so very awe-inspiring ponchos. Win.

Theoretical versus practical approach and execution.

There is often a wide gap between knowing what to do, and being able to do it. In general, I'd say we need both the understanding of the task, as well as enough relevant experience in order to execute it properly.

Throughout our childhood we explore the world around us, observe how it works, and then make up our understanding of it. When we try to walk, we learn that falling is both a hurtful and time consuming matter, so we figure out that by balancing, we can move about more efficiently. This basic example can also show how we differ in learning from past experiences. One could understand the reason one was falling, and thus use ones knowledge to figure out alternative ways to approach the matter, finding a solution one could practice and master, in order to stop the falling. The other way to approach this is to simply try and fail, as the muscles gain some experience each time, resulting in one learning what helps and what doesn't.

It's often to see people saying they simply can't. They can't hit the ball, they can't solve the puzzle, they can't jump the rope, they can't make a cake. They simply can't, and never will be able to. I don't believe this at all. I believe it's a cheap way of saying one is either afraid or bored of the task at hand, which leads me to the next factor that plays in. Attitude.

If you're positive towards learning how to climb a tree, you're gonna soak up information and experience like a sponge and be up there in no time. Needless to say, you're gonna be stuck down on the ground forever if you're certain you've no need for this ability to climb trees what so ever.

It does take some getting used to, but it seems to me that being positive to it, and learning new things, in general, turns out to be less energy consuming that being negative to it, and not learning. Not to mention a lot more fun.

What I hate, however, is being able to understand, but still fail to act properly. I've always been good at understanding what to do as well as explaining it to others, even without being able to do it myself. Not understanding is not as annoying, because it makes it easier to leave it be. But when you know how to do it, it tears at you that you still don't manage to.

I realized it's a line one must balance, with equal amount of understanding and experience in doing, to execute new actions correctly, but humans will forever differ in their ability to gain the one or the other. Some prove themselves as excellent thinkers, able to understand, further develop and explain to others the way things work, while some appear to be naturally good at everything they try, without being fully able to explain how they do it.

To me, it seems like choosing to teach rather than to act, is to give up, if one has never been able to master the act itself. It's the easy way out, but then again, it's the easy way out, and that will be forever tempting. I struggle with the thought however, and lean more and more towards giving it just one more try. And another. And another. I can't bear the thought of giving up on something I've already figured out.

I'll probably end up teaching one day anyway.

Why rush there?

Done knew it

http://www.ign.com/videogame-villains/7.html

Scary part is, I've always played as nr 7, in all sports, all my life.

Coincidence? I think not!

Turn the tide

Why go with the flow when doing so won't take you where you want to go?

Why give in to temptation when doing so will eventually lead to misfortune?

Why procrastinate just because everyone else choose to?

Why be less than you can be?

Why be like everyone else?

When you're not.

The power within

To feel, believe and think vs to know.

Lately I've been made aware of a theory differentiating thinking and knowing, where thinking basically involves what you feel and believe, even without sufficient evidence to prove you right, and knowing being instances where discovered truths assure your beliefs. With this in mind, I was forced to ponder whether one could choose to think, instead of knowing. The answer might be an obvious yes to many, but I doubt they'd so easily manage to view the world as full of possibilities rather than facts. We all know that a punch to the face hurts, but the mind is a powerful tool, and with it one can alter this know reality. I have personally experienced a punch to the face, both as hurtful and as revitalizing. The latter one would be in a context where I expect a certain degree of physical contact, such as in sports, and I almost crave it, as I believe it proves my dedication and effort towards the sport at hand; not everyone can take a blow and continue, but I'm sure as hell gonna.

If I choose to know that the punch hurts, I will get hurt, but if I choose to believe it gives me an energy boost and invigorates me, it most likely will. The less you know it will hurt, the less it does. Just stop knowing it.

Approaching facts and knowledge as truths, possibilities or limitations of reality.

As with all other, there are several sides to this theory as well. One of the main arguments against choosing to think rather than to know is the decreased certainty and familiarity you surround yourself with. We all have our little bubble, one of which we are afraid to burst. We don't want to deal with all the possibilities that might exist outside our world's parameters, because we're quite content with our world just as it is. We chose to neglect the possibility of things being less grand than as we see them, and thus also the ability to see and thereafter strive for improvement beyond our boundaries.

Another side to it is to view the facts and knowledge as mere possibilities. That they may or may not be true, and so, you will be open to expanded truths as well as evidence to the contrary. One who possesses this view is in one way a far more flexible and versatile person than any other, as he or she neither denies the facts nor the possibilities. On the other hand, it's a very unsettled approach to the matter, as one would think a fact to be true, yet incomplete. It's hard to be at peace with defining something, and at the same time believing it to possess further feats or meaning.

"To define is to limit" - Oscar Wilde

The third angle is the most radical one, inspired by Oscar Wilde and borderline allergic to limitations of the truth, also known as definitions. Personally I see the potential this view holds towards exploring the world as it truly is, with all the different people out there with their unique experiences and views as well as n

ature's own diversity throughout the world.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." - Albert Einstein

"Until the 20th century, reality was everything humans could touch, smell, see and hear. Since the initial publication of the charged electromagnetic spectrum, humans learned that what they can touch, smell, see and hear is less than one millionth of reality" - Incubus

I agree with the quotes, but must object that reality for most people, still is, not only what they can touch, smell, see and hear, but what they want to touch, smell, see and hear. We do limit ourselves and our view of that around us, though mostly to protect our own interests.

That, however, does not mean that we limit our imagination to the same degree, but no matter how dignifying it is to view everything and everyone as bearers of unlimited meaning and potential, I personally prefer the second viewpoint, as I can't help but admit that some of today's well known facts are too well researched to be inaccurate, yet quite likely incompletely defined.

I do believe that to define is to limit. But sometimes limits are good for you. You can reach for the sky as long and hard as you'd like, but you won't be able to touch it.

Religion vs Science

One of the biggest conflicts in the history of man is between believers and knowers. A lot of what I've already argued can quite directly be transferred to religious beliefs and scientific truths.

I'm not a religious man, but I can see how it would be useful being one. Even with sufficient evidence to the contrary, millions, or even billions of people still believe in their religious teachings. They might not believe all of it, but they believe that which is of benefit to believe. One cannot prove there is no life after death, so why not believe there is? Why not believe that good deeds will be rewarded and bad punished, if not in life, then at least in the afterlife? A god-fearing man is one who respects other men as his holy book instructs him to, one who acts as it reads he should. It is as I've mentioned before, if you truly believe it, it will affect your perception of reality, and ultimately your actions.

The scientific reply to this is naturally that the will you find, and the actions you perform, all have roots in your own mind. You as a person have the power to change your own beliefs and actions, and thus you are in no need of some god to instruct you. You simply chose to believe an imaginary figure to know better than you, and so you submit to his will and let yourself be guided, unaware that you're truly guiding yourself.

The problem might lie in most people not understanding that they themselves have this power. Or that they in their belief of not being able to do this on their own, actually construct a mental barrier, hindering them, until they get external guidance. My point, however, is that you never truly are guided by anything or anyone external; you let them influence you, but in the end it's you yourself who makes the decision and does the guiding.

This is why I respect people for having their religious beliefs and views, but I do wish they'd all understand that they are able to guide themselves.

Impulsive and challenging vs Organized and awaiting

I have, for most of my life, been a bit awaiting, delaying and somewhat skeptical to new ideas and suggestions, but I've been pushing myself in the opposite direction, towards the less conservative me, a me who is impulsive and challenging.

I find this new me to be intertwined with the view I now hold of the world. It would be mean to categorize, but I'm gonna do it anyway, suggesting that most conservatives are both organized, awaiting, possibly religious and certainly confident in our world's facts and knowledge.

Refusal to accept definitions of any kind and to view everything as an unending fountain of opportunity and possibility would thus be the contradiction, resulting in a person being both very impulsive and challenging as well as inventive and curious.

I would rather be the latter than the former, but I will most likely, to my best interest as well, land somewhere in the middle. Where would you place yourself?

Number one

The complexity of the world is smothering me. I find myself trying to focus on everything, all at once, thus failing to focus on anything at all. Everything I do, everywhere I go, all I produce is but a fraction of what I'd normally aim at, what my abilities should allow for. I'm born and raised a true winner, never second, undefeated. However, lately I've been treading on new grounds everywhere I go, all I embrace seems to be new to me, and suddenly I'm playing on someone else's turf. I'm no longer number one, and even though I know that's ok, it's killing me.

I've wondered long and dug deep to figure out exactly why it's so, but I never really manage to control this urge I get whenever I feel inferior to someone. It feels like I could explode, like I could wind up hurting someone close, both mentally and physically. It's a horrible feeling, and it's one I've avoided all my life, and now fail to both understand and control.

I'm ashamed of being such a poor loser, but I'm glad I at least understand the given circumstances and situations, so that I do contain myself to only explode within.

It's not like I've never lost at anything in my life, but it hasn't ever changed the way I feel or view myself. The feeling of invulnerability and superiority never faded, not even a bit. Whatever the results, I would still feel like the best, and act like the best, and often, in the end, be the best. To lose that feeling is like losing a piece of myself. It's a piece, which without, I cannot be whole, and thus one I must reacquire in order to function as I should.

Maybe it's a piece everyone needs in order to reach their potential. I certainly think one has a greater chance at being the best, if they believe they're the best. If anyone has already, or ever figures out, how to work their way around it, I'd really love a hint, because I'm growing tired of needing to be number one.

In real life

To start off this post, I state that I love being myself, and I love living in the real world, just so that we're clear on that.

I do however enjoy being able to imagine myself being someone else, or living in another world. I cherish my own ability to lose myself in what I do, especially when it involves fighting supernatural beings, exploring awe-inspiring worlds and socializing with a bunch of others doing what I'm doing; having fun in whole other universe.

I don't really get those who like living in their own imaginary world, as I myself find it kind of lonely and boring, but once others take part in the same world as I do, the fun begins.

Nerd on.

This picture is from a South Park episode, where they discovered Imagination land, where everything we have ever imagined lives. There are of course two separate parts of the land, one where the good ones live and one where the horrible and evil imaginations live. Since this is a South Park episode, naturally everything goes to hell and it's a total chaos, but I still like their idea of all our ideas and everything we imagine ending up in a place. Lucky me some genius guys manage to put their own ideas into a world of their own, open for everyone to enter. I am of course referring to fantasy games, and boy are there loads of them.

My favorite kinds are the roleplaying games (RPG), either it's a mass-multiplayer-online roleplaying game (MMORPG), or a single-player one doesn't matter, as long as I get to make my own character and have a say as to how this character develops and how the story plays out.

The first RPG I ever played was Final Fantasy VII, which was a groundbreaking game with revolutionizing new gameplay and truly awe-inspiring graphics (as of the current standard at the given time), which I of course was utterly and completely oblivious about as I was merely 10 years old and had no games to compare it to whatsoever. I enjoyed the game nonetheless and was forever made a Final Fantasy fan/freak. I say freak because I've been addicted to the following games in the franchise, the VIII through XII, even acquiring and completing the older original ones. When I say addicted, I mean it in a good way, but I was slaving in front of the TV, Playstation remote in hand, for several hundred hours (it's true) per game, completely maxing them out. A feat I'm proud of still, as of this day.

My all time favorite game will for ever be Final Fantasy IX, which is portrayed bellow, a game I have maxed out over and over again, literally wearing out and ruining the CDs. Ashamed of not having the single most loved game in my collection anymore I was eventually forced to yet again acquire this game. It was two gaming-console generations after, so I had to buy it from a foreign internet-dealer, specializing in selling really old games for a harsh price. But it was totally worth it.

If you manage to guess which is my hero, I'll give you a special gift. (The name of the character and correct reason why he's my hero is required)

My second big time-consuming RPG was World of Warcraft, which I started playing at the age of 15, with several friends. This was the first MMORPG I tried and thus fell in love with, as it was, quite simply, so freakin' huge and overwhelming. It lets you create your own character, both looking and fighting the way you want, and once you're in the game you're free to be any kind of person you'd like, as nobody really knows who you are. I guess this is what some find so fascinating, that they're seen in a whole new light, maybe even worshipped for their feats in-game.

World of Warcraft a kind of game one can't complete nor max, and as this was what I was used to doing, I ended up spending a whole lot of time and effort, never to reach any specific goal. I wouldn't say it's a time-waster though, as it was one of the most social games I ever played, teaming up with a lot of friends online, with headsets and everything, laughing and joking our way thought the night, in our separate universe.

I know most people think of these games as a problem as so many kids sit alone in their house, playing all day, but the fact is that most of those kids have fun doing what they're doing, and they are being social, only in a different way, and in another world one might say. Just because you might not understand it doesn't mean it's wrong. Most kids sit inside doing nothing all day anyways, so why not do nothing with some friends online?

To continue, it was never a perfect game in any way, but it opened the door to more roleplaying, in different ways than I'd experienced before.

Some of Azeroth's heroes, ready to kick some ass in Scarlet Monastery.

As WoW is an MMORPG, it's continuously updated and expanded, offering new challenges and goals, so it's not unlikely that I take another peek at it once every now and then to see what's new, but I have at least, the last couple of years been able to let go of it and discovered new games, focusing on how the creators have shaped their world and how the different aspects of the games play out. It's to me an art-form which I find myself spending hours and hours to truly understand and experience, and once I'm either fed up or sufficiently pleased, I move on to the next game.

The most beautiful and well-designed game I've tried recently is the MMORPG Aion, which is portrayed bellow, with one of it's marvelous characters, wings spread and pure awesomeness overflowing. Man I love being a geek.

The average guy on the street wouldn't share my passion for these things, but I know most people like to play around and use their imagination in one way or another.

A new way to do just that was presented to me some while ago, and it's a card game named Munchkin. I would frown you to death if you honestly didn't liking this game. It's hilarious and probably the most social game I've ever played. The humor of the game was above my expectations, and I still laugh out loud every now and then when I discover new cards.

My conclusion on the matter of roleplaying and other worlds and all that is that it's good for all of us to step out of our own shoes once in a while, and just play. Play with your friends, with your family or even on your own. Just have some fun.

Bad stuff: You are dead.