Texting (cuz it's 2014, it's what we do now) with a good friend recently about writing, gaming, finding time to do either, video-game addiction, and writers talking about writers, I was reminded of an idea for a blog post that I never got around to writing entitled "I am the Red Mage." The meaning of which I will get to, but suffice to say this is my experience with writing so far: 'that's a great idea' *write it down* 'I'll get that knocked out this weekend' *procrastinate* *forget* 'I need to post, I need to write, but what about?!' *play video games*
Had I wrote this post when I thought of it, there is ample anecdotal evidence it would have been the best blog in the world. Alas, I can't remember what it all was going to entail. So this is just a tribute, to the greatest blog in the world, I am the Red Mage:
For as long as I can remember I've liked books and I've liked video games. I remember going over to a neighbor's place to play Atari (Pitfall, Joust), begging my cousins to let me play their NES (they had all the sweet games like Duck Tales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. Kirby) or my uncles had P.O.W., Baoyou Billy, Tecmo Super Bowl. The day my very own NES system arrived, that was really the game changer. It came home with Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and Rad Racer II. I was pretty young at the time, and I remember bugging my mom to make the really hard jumps in Mario, and Rad Racer II was, like most NES games, borderline impossible.
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| I learned to swear because of these goats. Pain in the ass Himalayan level! |
I could go on name dropping NES games that I played through those first years of gaming. Castlevania I-III, Baseball Stars, CONTRA!!, etc. And I kept faithful to the 8-bit NES and was bitter when Nintendo Power started featuring mostly games from the 16-bit "Super" NES. Psh. I wasn't getting one of those any time soon, so wtf? I never did get one actually, jumped right to the Playstation from the NES with a brief interlude with Sega Genesis (Mortal Kombat?!). But I did rock out some sweet Super NES days with a couple good buddies later in life (Phalanx, Rock 'n Roll Racing, Super Mario World). Those were the days.. sigh.
However, there was one game that forever changed my perspective on gaming and established, really, my genre of choice when it comes to "wasting" time with video games. Final Fantasy. The cover of that game, the music, the storyline is forever embedded in my brain. If I lose my memory in old age, or if I ever suffer from amnesia, just mention this game and along with the plight of the Light Warriors defeating the fiends of earth, fire, water, and wind (Lich, Kary, Kraken, Tiamat, respectively), igniting the 4 elemental orbs allowing them to travel 2000 years into the past to defeat Garland/Chaos in the Temple of Fiends, closing the time loop and saving the world from non-existence, and the rest of my memory should return.
This was my first experience with a "Roleplaying" game set in a fantasy or "high" fantasy world (think Lord of the Rings), and I've played many since. Including other Final Fantasy games. But yes, yes the point of this, beyond the shameless recalling of my gaming history.
In Final Fantasy you had to select 4 characters that would be your "party" for the entirety of the game. You could select from Warrior, Thief, Black Belt, White Mage, Black Mage, and, wait for it, Red Mage. The Warrior specialized in heavy armor and weapons, the Thief in combat and the ability to get your party out of battles it couldn't handle, the Black Belt became a unarmed combat specialist, the White Mage in white magic (healing, enhancements, etc.), the Black Mage in offensive/black magic (FIRE 3 Bitches!!) and the Red Mage was a jack of all trades and master of none. He could use weapons, white magic, and black magic, just not the highest levels of any of them.
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| Sweet Swashbuckling Hat Wearing, Magic and Sword Wielding Red Mage! |
So if you haven't put it together yet, here is what I mean when I say I am the Red Mage: I weave both black and white magic and practice daily with a scimitar. Still looking for that sweet hat/cape combo but I stole the feather from a bald eagle I was drinking bourbon with a few years ago as we discussed existentialism. Pretty straight forward this time. No metaphors and such. That would make today's BD&LL a non-fiction piece.
Well, actually. My point is this. I've done a lot of random things, practice quite a few hobbies, held a lot of odd-jobs, and possess a pretty good smattering of related and unrelated skills. I won't rehash them here, but take a quick look at my bio to get an idea. But because I don't feel I've mastered any of these and seem to be floating in career-limbo while my peers are locking in theirs, I am left identifying with our red light warrior acquaintance.
Here's the thing, some days I really care and am bothered by this. It gets me down. I'm 30. I should be locking in my job, getting promotions, buying a house, getting a mini-van to put my 2.1 kids through grade school while complaining about my mortgage and worrying about my 401k. You know, Living the American Dream.
Otherdays, I'm grateful I don't have some of those things. That I have experienced a slightly wider range of what life offers than a majority of folks. It's not that I believe the American Dream is completely evil ;), but there are many things about it that I just can't get behind and I get exhausted feeling guilty about it.
The great philosophizing-pop-punk mega trio Green Day once asked "if you feel like a social tool without a use?" Sometimes, yes. Other days, I feel like a Swiss Army Knife.
Fin.
Epilogue: BD&LL Happy Days
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| This has become a normal Friday night at Bombshelter Rehearsal Studios. Set up to practice, write, create music. It's a great refuge from the 'real' world. |
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| I spent most of my Labor Day recovering from Sunday and reading the philosophy of Paolo Soleri. I understand about an 1/8th of this most of the time. An additional 1/16th with every fifth re-reading, but that is really enough to feel the brain explosions. |
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| Whiskey & the Wolves' first 'gig'. Open Mic night in Long Beach. It had been 8 years since the last time I had performed. Felt absolutely great to get back on the horse. |
My good friend, Tyler, posted a great piece on Bill Murray that gave me some honest LOLs. The deaths of Robin Williams and Phillip Seymour Hoffman remind me of the great exposure that celebrity passings usually bring and that we tend to celebrate them more when they are gone. With Bill Murray, we shouldn't wait until then. The stuff this guys does alive will far outshine any celebration we could put on after his death. Check out these reads, you won't be disappointed:
~Until we cross paths again, BD&LL faithful.
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