Horde. The cat is definitely horde.

My internet buddy, John in Illinois, has gone MIA. I've counted on him to supply opinions with which I don't necessarily agree (but enjoy reading), and pictures of kittehs and kitsch. I guess I'll sub for awhile. Caroline's kitty, Pharaoh, got up in the foosball pocket. Check out the World of Warcraft box on the floor beneath Pharaoh. For the uninitiated, World of Warcraft participants are in one of two gangs: alliance or horde. Check out the eyes. Yep. Pharaoh is definitely horde.

Why the Mahjong Face?

In case you were looking for yet another way to while away the hours, I present to you Mahjong Solitaire.

Rock Brand.

Tyler has had a couple of his buddies over at the house for about two weeks now. Every day and night except one. I may well try to claim a tax deduction for Trenton. I love 'em, but they are like locusts, eating everything in sight. World of Warcraft and the video game Rock Band keep them entertained for hours, HOURS, at a stretch. Rock Band is kinda cool. Karaoke and air-guitar (and air-drums) combined to lots of classic rock tunes. The game scores you on how well you keep the beat or hit the notes to Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" or Bad Company's "Shooting Star". What it does not do, is grade your ability to actually sing the words. You can get a perfect score grunting, mumbling and humming no words at all. Since the score is the thing, that is exactly what the boys (the "vocalists" anyway) do. Fortunately, other than the occasional "Weee!", they seldom raise their voices over Joan's or Paul Roger's prerecorded voices. Which is nice.

Welcome to Morning Star School. Now SIT DOWN.

How can you tell if you've played too many "sword and sorcery" videogames? Well, if the first image that comes to mind in seeing this school is kids with spiked clubs, perhaps you've played too many sword and sorcery videogames.

For the rest of you, this is a Morning Star:




Relax. Morning Star is more than a weapon. Perhaps the school is named after this Morning Star. Obviously, it would have to be a very progressive school...

Peggle.

Just say no to Peggle. The Lads were dealing some video addiction last week. They generally bogart the computer when they're not at school or football practice, so I sneak what time I can. Once in awhile I'll look over their shoulder to check out the various monsters they've killed on World of Warcraft, or just let them know I'm about to keep them from travelling too far out into cyberspace. "Here, Dad. Play this. It's fun", they tell me as they hand over the mouse to play a round of Peggle. They might have added, "The first hit's free". Hey, I can quit any time I want.

Swords, Sorcery: Get a Virtual Life

Why use crack, when you lose hours of useful time without leaving your living room? I'd reformed. Really, I had. Hadn't touched it in more than a year. Then that smarty-pants Quaker mentioned katanas. Katanas, yeah, those are a kind of sword that you can get in some of those Final Fantasy videogames. Maybe I'll just start a new file, you know, just for old times' sake. One minute of Final Fantasy is too many, a million isn't enough. Twelve step programs? Shoot, twelve steps won't even get you to the Aerodrome. If anyone needs me, I'll be on my couch until Saturday, when it's time to pick up the twins. If I remember.

Ah, Domestic Bliss

At left are my twins, Tyler and Taylor, and their friend, Zach, enjoying hot chocolate in The Manor. Nice, peaceful scene, huh? The videogame they were playing is "Backyard Wrestling", which is an absolutely brutal game. Bloody, and extremely violent, the kids dig it the most. It actually is a lot of fun, too. Everybody's got lines to draw, and I do impose limits. The Grand Theft Auto series is a no go. Drug dealing, prostitution and random acts of murder with a wide assortment of weapons is not- at least in my opinion- a good thing for the lads to be soaking up. Difficult to deal with this when "all the other kids" got Grand Theft Auto two years ago. So, why allow Backyard Wrestling? As long as I'm not just cutting them adrift, I can discuss it with them, and spend time with them doing this (which also gives me a little capital with them to go on walks, shoot hoops and read with them). So, it's like a trade-off. Also, like I said, it's fun.