Game On

Oh, I love games. Very much so, yes. Speaking of games: THE GAME. Hah.



CURRENT MUSIC:
Yoko Shimomura - "Mechanical Kingdom"
Radiant Historia Original Soundtrack

It only seems fitting that I'd be listening to Radiant Historia's soundtrack right now.
Truly it is a great game - I think I've logged in 10 hours so far and I'm wondering how the story will end up.

Anyway, to the music. Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series and Super Mario RPG probably recognize Shimomura's name, and the music sounds just as superb as the other games she's worked prior to this one.

This particular track is prominently heard in the country of Alistel, the home province of the game's main characters. Despite the name, it doesn't sound mechanical at all.



"egotism - n.: doing the New York Times crossword with a pen"
- author unknown

Before anyone attempts to correct me by saying that Ambrose Bierce said this, let me say that he did NOT. Bierce disappeared in 1913, nearly 30 years before the New York Times began its legendary crosswords back in 1942.

Anyway, it's an interesting quote for me to share, because let's face it - we all let our egos go out of check at times. (Admitting it is a different story.) Sometimes our egos are very well noticeable when playing some kind of game or getting wrapped up in some kind of competition.

As I'm announcing a future one today, this seemed fitting.





Every once in a while a person gets the craziest idea they want to try out to see if it could work. More often than not, said crazy idea has no actual benefit other than bragging rights and a stroked ego, but nonetheless it's an entertaining experience to see unfold.

While Operation: DREAM EATER would count as a crazy idea of its own, it's not what I'm talking about right now. Besides, it's had... what, three posts' worth of commentary and focus now? Enough on that, really.

I've been debating about one of my (other) latest-hatched ideas with some of my friends, and they thought it to be quite interesting. So, I figured that my (nonexistent) fan base would want to hear, too. (Heh, like you even had a choice.)

*clears throat*



I present to you...

JOSH BLANCO vs. THE WORLD



No, I'm not going to fight seven evil ex-boyfriends of some cute girl I want to go out with. Rather, I'll actually be challenging the world (or at least the world around me) to... a children's card game* CHESS.

Yeah, you read that right. Chess - one of the world's oldest and most well-known board games. I challenge y'all to it.

Now before you start telling me how ludicrous and insane I am and just walk away without even thinking about trying this out, listen.

Back in 1999 during the advent of the Internet (read: "when it DIDN'T suck"), chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov challenged the world to a chess match. The grandmaster opened as White while the entire world that participated played as Black. Each side was given 24 hours to debate upon a move, with the world picking their move by plurality vote (whichever had the most votes).

After four months sixty-two moves later, Kasparov ended up defeating the world. Its legacy is so grand that Kasparov himself calls it "the greatest game in the history of chess."



And now... I want to do the same thing. Granted, I'm no chess master, but I thought experimenting in something like this would be pretty fun.



* = It could be worse... I could've said "card games on motorcycles."





I'm planning on starting this up... say, around Monday, June 13. I'll come up with ways for us to monitor this and show it on here without all of us having to sign up on some website or download and pick up some old Internet Relay Chat program.

Of course, I'll have more details pertaining to this come in over this weekend. For now, I must work. Until the 'morrow!