The Dream in Shades

I woke up in a land of Dreams,

No, not the one with a fairytale theme.

T'was a dark desolate place, where the devil doth roam,

Where on profanity, lust and greed doth men clomb.

There was no one but me shadow as a friend,

As I roamed about this emptiness - hungry, tried à wits end.

Suddenly the air chilled, sky darkened and my shadow flew,

A fiend appeared with crimson eyes and skin a deadly shade of blue.

As the monster looked me in the eyes,

I knew it was Fate in disguise.

The life I had lived flashed moments apart,

Quanta of emotions exploded in my heart.

I said - "If this be the end i don’t want thee,

The ferryman will have to leave without his fee".

I struck the beast hard never realizing His plan,

It was me that died as It was slain.

Everything was blurry as I opened my eyes,

I didn't have glasses on, I realized

I put them on to see a familiar scene,

A ransacked room and a bright LED screen.

I had dozed off playing the Game,

Stuck on some level - what a shame!

Realizing - such similar is the strife,

Call it a game, Call it Life.

                                                          ~suggest a title...

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LAN Games

Rat- Tat- Tat, Fire in the Hole!, Cover Me Team, Man Down... Kaboom!

Counter Strike

No this isn't World War II or a movie depicting a war or Chuck Norris. It’s the warfare "played' by young guns over LAN in many a forms like Counter Strike, Halo, call of duty, etc.

Except for teaching hardcore violence, profanity and all the blood n gore, these games have some pros too.

Empathy: Which path will those scumbags take next? Which path should i chose to fry them?

These are the few questions that i find myself pondering over while playing FPS games.

One of the big things about many games is you’re interacting with other people in such a way that you have to actively think about what the other people are doing or thinking in order to either play against them or play them cooperatively. Either way you've got to be engaged in trying to think of how is this person learning and what’s this person going to be doing next.

Better cognitive health: Playing video games have shown to have positive effects on cognitive health. It is no wonder why, because the majority of games require players to follow rules, one has to juggle an arsenal of guns and grenades, strategically use them, think tactically, make fast decisions and fulfill numerous objectives to win. So leaving the game room with a truck load of bodies and a higher IQ... not bad!

Teamwork: one of the great points about these LAN games is team work . We have to strategize (and often sacrifice) in order to take the other team down. Sometimes one has to take the fall for the team (that being me though).

Stress busters: well i don't think i need to elaborate this one. Putting a few animated bullets through ones digital skull can be fun.

There are also media reports about hospitals using video games to help patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Dexterity: A study of 303 laparoscopic surgeons (82 percent men; 18 percent women)  showed that surgeons who played video games requiring spatial skills and hand dexterity and then performed a drill testing these skills were significantly faster at their first attempt and across all 10 trials than the surgeons who did not the play video games first. It’s hard to believe, but not playing games could even lead to someone’s death!

Sharper imaging: Avid action video game players are found to localize a peripheral target in a field of distracting objects more accurately than non-action video game players, as well as to process a visual stream of briefly presented objects more efficiently and to track more objects at once than [non-action video game players] (provided you have corrective glasses).

Lastly, it is great for 'killing' time and bonding with friends and I never feel low if my death count is lower than kills. All I do is change my user name to "got castrated" and everybody goes ROFL when the little notification displays _____ got castrated (i.e. when  my death toll rises). 
Where is the fun with bots anyways? They can't bunny hop or crouch walk (or add fun commentary to every kill). Besides I fire some lucky shots too but the end of the day feels less stressed and definitely more fun.

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The Day

so guys, here is a weak attempt at poetry...

I met Her one "fine" day;

she said "I'm fine", but her eyes doth betray.

The blue dam held behind an ocean of tears;

Sensing her pain i asked -" What's the matter, Dear?".

But She said what seemed to be white lies;

Finally, she could not hold back...she cried.

I took her in my arms;

Promised, i'll protect her from all harms.

But she said we were not meant to be....

" it isin't you....its me".

Hence, the classic hand had been played,

I felt speechless and betrayed.

the Sun was shining down on us, oh so bright;

She began to retrace her steps, fading into the light.

As our years together flashed by.

i took a deep breath, forced a smile and said.."Goodbye".

~dedicated to all the crazy lovers and career options out there ;-) 

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Emotions

Listen or download PERSSON Good news for free on Prostopleer                          
                               
                                 "  There are as many nights as days,
            and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. 
             Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of  darkness, 
     and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” 


                                                                                                                                      - Carl Jung


What are Emotions?



A Scientist would define it as: feeling states with physiological, cognitive, and behavioral components.

An Artist calls it the essence of life.

While a Stoic says blah!

This begs the question whose definition do we adhere to?

The main two emotions affecting us are pain and pleasure.

If we go by a stoic's view - who treats both with the same impassiveness - we loose our humane, we become robots - "What is there to feel than Feel itself".

Or we descend into Hedonism- maximize pleasure and enjoy life - but this makes us vulnerable, weak. In today's world, pain is an integral factor. We have to face it at every turn..so why run away from it?

Sure nobody likes to stub their foot against the chair or be at the receiving end of insults but these are real life situations.

We face them everyday so rather than running away from them we should face them.

What we need is balance, grief and happiness are both equally need. We need the sting sometimes too. It prepares us for life, its challenges and its meanders. What we need is rationality and a clear thought process. Don't let emotions take control but don't run away from them.

But our rather human self is too weak for balance and it swings like a pendulum. Equilibrium is not achieved. Science is the proof!

What to do then?

Most people respond negatively to grief - they take it out in form of alcoholism, drugs and violence- which is not only harmful for the individual but also society.

What we should do is not brood over grief or get too drunk with happiness rather remain neutral in an unfavorable situation and assesses good ones rationally with a slice of life. It a question of discipline - mind over body. As how unreal it may seem both pass away.

Sure, there are random occurrences that strongly stimulate our emotions. Then again entropy is the spice of life.

So one must be logical, be rational, be real and take it as it comes, one day at a time.




A wonderful piece by Khalil Gibran:http://www.katsandogz.com/onjoy.html

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