Buttsweat and Tears

Greetings Readers

So my counter part finally started to enter into the blogesphere. I will point out before you read that we have very different styles of writing. This works in everything that we combine in so pay attention. I get all of my ideas out into the world and mess with them, So i end up with 1000 words, 500 topics and about a billion spelling mistakes. I have always been a bad speller, from around the time they tried to teach us these things, all though my education, right up to this moment. You may also notice i like to trip you up with bad grammar, curse words and punctuation either missing or sitting someplace it has no business sitting. Lucky for you all there is a spell check.

So i heard about this idea we have in western culture called a "career". I first heard about it when i was very very young and i decided right then and there i would be a fire fighter. Then in grade 3, 4 or 5 (i dont really remember) i put my hand on a stove. Once the shock (and the imprint of my stove top) had worn off i decided that maybe the fire fighting thing would not work out.

So then came David Beckham and his might Manchester United. I proudly dawned my Manchester United Shirt and took to the Ringwood Indoor Football Pitch. I never scored a goal. I played goalie a lot, made my fair share of game winning saves and game loosing errors. Needless to say i certainly could not bend it like Beckham.
Then this whole Australia Rules Football thing caught my attention. I could occasionally kick straight, well enough to be a full forward. However after being thrown to the ground, jumped on/over, and bullied up and down the oval i decided i did not have the build or strength to play a game that is about nothing more than brutal strength. Sure you have to kick an egg, which is hard, that why they give you a point for missing.

No i dont hate Australian Rules. I have lived in Melbounrne all my life, i just got bored of it and the fans/players that surround the game.

So then came along Vince McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation. I had my costume, gimmick and signature maneuver all picked out. This was one of my most short lived ambitions. A certain mushroom man decided his signature maneuver would be to put his knee in my face. Defiantly a career ending move.

In 1977 a tiny little band called The Sex Pistols stared a musical revolution. Then came the Ramones who continued the trend in the USA. Followed up with Epitaph discovering the offspring. This is when Punk Rock hit the mainstream. Fast forward to 2002(ish) and i buy my first guitar. A Yamaha Acoustic which i still use today. Then i got my Electric 'aslin dane' Stratacaster knock off which sits in my study. After i got my Ibanez i started my first band (www.myspace.com/deionized). This band and all the bands i listen to (http://www.last.fm/user/toaster_oven [not sure that link will work]) inspired me to explore the music industry. It does not take much prodding to realise that to succeed in the music industry you need a bright bubbly personality, a stunning appearance or your father needs to work for sony bmg. How any small time punk band got off the ground in this countries pathetic industry i will never know. Maybe that is why no punk band ever came from Australia. I know i will never find a career as a musician but will never stop playing, listening or creating.

After meeting up with career 'councilors' at my high school i got an idea in my head about becoming an audio engineer. This is the person behind the scene who either makes the whole show or the whole record sound good. He plugs everything in, he twists all the knobs, he switches the mics and adds effects to Mrs Spears voice so she doesn't sound like shit. Then he edits everything, makes sure that the speed metal is speedy enough, the hardcore is hard enough, the rap is phat enough and the jazz is smooth enough etc. Sounds great right? Correct thats why there are classes in every university and every tafe, every year with 40+ students a class learning how to do it. Now take the figure and put it up against how many jobs there are in this country. You will find that the only way you can get a job is to be exceptionally fantastic at what you do, or you hit up your dad at song bmg for some work experiance.

Somewhere in between there i got a job as a check out chick. No long story here. Its shit and there is no chance in hell i want a career sucking up to the snooty residence of Chirnside Park.

Whilst being the next Hulk Hogan, David Beckham, Fat Mike or Fireman Sam may not have workied out. I am sure if i keep looking i will eventually find something that puts food on the table without making me want to hang myself.

Sometimes i like to end of a positive note.

Toaster_oven

Mushroom_Man's Big Picture - All I'm Saying, is Give Games a Chance

Hello, and welcome to episode 1 of Mushroom_Man's Big Picture.

In order to get myself back into writing, I'll be posting bi-weekly in two segments - Thursdays are for Mushroom_Man's Big Picture, in which I'll discuss issues that affect me in a more global sense, and on Mondays there will be Close to Home, in which I'll discuss issues that affect me on a more personal level.

So! Here is the Big Picture for October 15th, 2009

All I'm Saying, is Give Games a Chance

As I travel on the train from Ringwood to Melbourne, I pass through Richmond Station. As we leave the platform, Melbourne’s new ‘Rectangular Sports Stadium’ (or whatever equally-generic name it has been given) comes in to view. It looks to be quite an impressive ground, and as a fan of the A-League – more specifically, the Melbourne Victory – I look forward to watching games there. But, with the release of FIFA 10 earlier this month, my thoughts have changed from ‘I want to go to there’ to ‘I hope that EA include it in FIFA 11’. This struck me as a little odd. My hopes to actually visit the place have been replaced with a desire to make my new ‘virtual pro’ play for the mighty Victory in this new stadium. ^†

This made me think a little more about how games, and gaming in general, fit into my life. I have an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo 64. Those are the main two consoles I’ve had in my life, so I can’t really claim to; a) have been around in the early days (something to do with being too young) or b) be a hardcore console nut that has owned everything from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo Virtual Boy. Yet I still consider myself to be a gamer. When I first got my Gamertag, I chose an area to belong to – the ’recreational’ users (other options include ‘underground’ and ‘professional’ – a little too serious for me). So I guess that’s what I am – more than a casual gamer (as ‘casual’ in this industry implies someone who owns a Wii^††) but not crazy enough to be a hardcore gamer (someone who’d quit their job if the boss didn’t give them time off to wait in line for Halo 4 (Not that Halo players have jobs, but I digress)). ^†††

But my love for the culture goes a little further than being a recreational user. I read a lot of articles related to games, gamers, game developers, and pretty much anything in the related fields. It’s not like it’s hard to find (check out The Escapist, Edge Online, Joystiq... hell, even Wikipedia). Also, one of my favourite websites is loadingreadyrun.com, and, while their videos are not often focused entirely on gaming, they do seem to be like-minded individuals.

In short, a lot of my life centres on gaming. While I enjoy reading, playing music and going outside when it’s not cold, my true pastime paradise is turning on the Xbox. Unfortunately, there is still a problem with this in the eyes of many.

While I enjoy roaming the 15-or-so kilometres squared apocalyptic wastelands of Fallout, my family (and girlfriend… I tried to keep her sane, I really did) is somewhat devoted to their 24x24 square farms (I fully expect to be corrected on this figure within minutes of this being posted) I believe, in this instance, my family would fall into the ‘casual’ category. The point that confuses me about the dividing of different groups like this is the social stigma that seems to come with admitting you’re a part of one. To a hardcore gamer, a casual gamer is like a leper to a rich man 2000 years ago. Yet it is often the case that it is the complete reverse when seen from a game-free bystander’s point of view, and almost for the same inane reasons.

I’ll put it in its most basic, stereotypical way. To the hardcore community, casual gamers are the scourge of the Earth, poisoning their domain with Wii Sports and Farmville. But to the outsider, the hardcore gamers are polluting society with their murderous bloodbath games that promote violence and intolerance. The irony almost hurts its so painfully obvious. However, this relationship is yet to change. Since the beginning, games have been blamed for the downfall of society, corrupting our children, inspiring murderers and eroding family values. (Perhaps games are the devil’s work – at the end of that paragraph I had exactly 666 characters…)

To prove that this is pretty silly, numerous studies have been undertaken, and they are yet to show a link between gaming and violent impulses. This does not stop the crusaders such as South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson^†††† however. They are still adamant that games will destroy the planet and will turn you into a violent, emotionless monster intent on killing everything.

When a Buddhist leader plays violent video games as “emotional therapy”^[1] it doesn’t suggest that violence in games is a completely terrible thing.

This is a huge topic, and a lot has already been said, but it’s worth thinking about. In a society that tries to promote tolerance between all races, religions and creeds, why is it that some people still see games, and gamers, as evil? I acknowledge that this point of view is not shared by all non-gamers, but to those that do feel this way, why?

And so, while I continue to hope that a renamed Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is included in FIFA 11, my family (and girlfriend… sigh…) harvest their grapes and make their pigs find truffles (I mean, come on, truffles? Why not bacon?) and my sister reconnects to her childhood by playing Pokémon Blue, Crystal and Silver (at the same time), I realise that a lot of us have been influenced, inspired or simply entertained by playing computer games. And that’s not such a bad thing.

The fine print

^† ‘Virtual Pro’ is a new addition to FIFA 10, for those of you that are less FIFA-inclined

^††Nothing personal, friends that are Wii-owners

^†††See above, replace ‘Wii-owners’ with ‘Halo players’. These are both jokes.

^††††More on this wonderful fellow next week…

^[1] http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/09/buddhist-spiritual-leader-plays-videogames-as-emotional-therapy/

Thank you for reading, feel free to throw comments, ask questions, or tell me I'm wrong in the comments section at the bottom of the post.

Signing off for today,

Mushroom_Man

F*** You Very Very Much

Hello

This is my first post on Mushroom Oven. We have a lovely logo don't you think? I think so. There is a spell check, that will come in handy, however i have been known to slip one past the guard if you know what i mean...

So what the hell do you write about in a blog. Well i don't know, i used to have my own blog but i gave it up, now i just write them occasionally for my band. (www.myspace.com/deionized.) Since i do not yet know our most successful demographics, i think ill just stick to what i used to know and continue in the style of my old blog. I used to write about life, complain about school, recommend music to anybody and everybody and desperately seek approval. I gave up because people stopped commenting. Seriously whats the point of this whole blogesphere if nobody reads your blog. Its an outlet.

So yesterday i travelled all the way to Sunshine. No offence if you live in the western suburbs but lets just say when you get there you lock your doors. I spent the night outside in the crisp foggy air. Why would i do this you may ask. Well i was watching a football game. Something to note when you read my entrys is i dont like AFL, i call Soccer football. It will catch on in Australia, you'll see. Ill refer to it as A-league assuming its an A-league game. This game was not. It was the Victorian Premier league All Stars VS Melbourne Victory. I am a Victory member so forgive me if my bias shines through here. It was a good game, played at the Melbourne Knights home ground. The VPL XI played great and actually won the game. Obviously its a practice/charity match so their hearts were not in it like when they smash any other A League team but it was still a good game. I think they actually swapped half the team at half time. Good to see some new players though, hopefully the guys in the VPL move up into the Victory Youth team and/or other Professional teams. Its all good for the sport.

I think i am done writing today. Ill just start off slow for today. I think my blog record is something like 1,500+ words. I got real deep man. The titles of my blogs are either song titles or lines from songs. You have to guess what they are.

Good Luck and Goodnight

T-Oven

Welcome to the MushroomOven

Hello and welcome to The MushroomOven.

This blog will serve as a place to vent, review music, movies & games and generally ramble for 2 friends - Mushroom_Man and Toaster_Oven.

If you enjoy our perspectives, follow and comment, if not, no-one is forcing you to continue to read...


Thanks,
Mushroom_Man