Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sometimes It's the Simple Things

We live in a fast food, video game society. We want what we want, and we want it they way we want it, and we want it right now. I, too, have succumbed to the world of Massively Multi-player Online games, only recently overcoming that addiction. As I get older, though, I find myself wanting to do nothing more than relax in my favorite chair and either read or watch TV. In fact, now that I've overcome my overwhelming need to play World of Warcraft (or should I say “Warcrack”), I'm rediscovering the joy of reading and actual role-playing games (let's be honest, WoW and the like call themselves RPG's, but they really aren't).

At the end of November my friends and I figured out a way to play Dungeons & Dragons despite being hundreds of miles apart from each other. Last night, we expanded that experience to include the game RIFTS. We also have plans to begin delving into the World of Darkness eventually as well. Now, it may seem strange to most that at the age of thirty-eight I still find enjoyment in this kind of entertainment, but as they say, sometimes it's the simple things in life that give us the most pleasure. Just like I enjoy losing myself in a good book, role-playing games are a way to lose myself in a living novel that I get to help write on the fly.

Anyway, all I'm saying is, don't get caught up in the fast paced bullshit that plagues us in the 21st century. Slow down, enjoy some simple pleasures. Yep, the life long geek is telling you to back off the technology for a bit – go figure.

~ JC

Friday, January 01, 2010

A Note of Thanks

I started this blog in September of 2006. Alas, I didn't discover Google Analytics with which to track visits to the site until almost exactly two years later, in September 2008. However, from September 27, 2008 to December 31, 2009, Carlisle's Chaotic Commentary has had 964 visits from 885 people in 56 countries and territories. Sure, based on the bounce rate, a lot of those visits were very brief and probably accidental, but still, I never in my wildest dreams thought that my little blog would attract that many readers (or potential readers). I only started a blog to have a creative outlet to vent frustrations or to write about ideas. In fact, it wasn't until March 2008 that I attempted to write a blog at least once a week (a feat that lasted almost a year before I took a break for a few months as I was running out of ideas). Recently, I've tried to start writing more often, hopefully moving back into the weekly format of posting every Sunday (but I make no guarantees – I'm not going to write for writing's sake if I know I don't really have anything to say).

I would like to take a moment, now, however to thank everyone who has ever read Carlisle's Chaotic Commentary, and to especially thank those who have actually taken the time to leave their own comments. I suppose that's why writers write; so that someone will read it. Even though I never set out to have a blog that anyone other than myself and few friends might occasionally glance at, I've somehow manged to attract almost 1,000 readers from all around the world. So, I'll keep writing (when the mood hits or the topic really grinds my gears), you keep reading (if it's interesting enough) and we'll all be able to enjoy our Sunday morning coffee together.

~ JC