I keep coming up with, one after another, cool reasons to be in Toronto.

Did you know we have film festivals here? There are film festivals in Ottawa
too, of course. But they’re not -new- movies, on the film festival circuit.
They aren’t -new- films, being presented by the director. They have those
here. That’s really cool.

Been reading about game companies. Some interesting projects in development.
A whole lot more violence and vengance style games coming out, which don’t
interest me much. Do you -really- think that violence is such an inherent
thing in the human instinct? Or is it just fostered by our entertainment and
value systems?

I’m not a complete ivory-tower case, I’ve had fun playing Quake and Doom and
Wolfenstein, and I won’t say they’ve turned me into a bloody killer. But I
don’t understand the preoccupation with war simulation and ever-more
realistic slaughter titles. Why has no-one written a Jeffrey Dahmer
simulator? Why is World-War II okay to recreate ad infinitum, but the
Columbine flash spoof got yanked from the web due to overwhelming public
outrage? Didn’t everyone see Saving Private Ryan? Was World War II -FUN-
looking?!?!?

It’s here that I have to congratulate Nintendo. The new system they have
coming out has a whole pile of those titles they’re so good at making that
focus on abstract concepts and (!!!) fun gameplay rather than repetitive
murder training. (Unless you consider hopping on turtles exceedingly violent)

I’m really getting into Go, the ancient Chineese board game. Kit keeps
whupping my ass, but he’s been at it much longer than I have (20-some years)
so I don’t mind so much. Learned quite a few things in just the first few
games. I’ll catch up with him and surprise him soon. Meanwhile I’ll have
to set up a board at home and practice. I should take him on at chess.

Ohmigod I sound like a geek.