Video games always try to tackle certain feelings, certain themes. There are well-explored themes like fear, fun or team-play. But there´s an array of totally untouched themes. One would be love. We´re seeing a rise of sex within popular games right now, but that´s only partly related to “love“. Games that actually attempted to show that feeling´s full scale are rare, one strong example being Final Fantasy 8 or, maybe even moreso, Final Fantasy 10. Unlike love, another big theme is even less explored. That is: Friendship.

Surely, video games are “just” games, but there can be no doubt that messing around with the player´s emotions is big part of modern gaming. And while love can, at least on the surface, be displayed by making use of sex, friendship doesn´t have such obvious features. You cannot have a NPC say “I´m your friend” and the player´s going to think “wow, what a great friend he is.” It´s not going to work. That is why I think that friendship is something that should be explored more in-depth in video games.

First of all, a definition of what friendship actually is should be worked out. To keep it simple, let´s just say: Friendship is something between people that like and honestly care about each other. There are definitely better definitions, but that one´ll work just fine.

It has to be made clear that this concept of friendship has to relate both to ingame-characters as well as to the player himself. There are many games that feature a duo that goes on an adventure together and gives funny comments all the time, but that´s hardly “exploring the theme of friendship”. It´s simple saturday-morning cartoon level of entertainment. To become friend with virtual characters, situations have to occur that make you feel for them. Going through hardships strengthens the bond between friends, so that´s a way. That´s not enough, though, when it comes to video games. Remember Starfox Adventures, a GameCube-action adventure that tried to mimic the Legend of Zelda-games and didn´t really succeed at that. What it did uniquly was the permanent second character, prince Tricky, the little Triceratops that followed you around. While attempting something like friendship, the chosen style of gameplay forbid to make players care for the two of them, Fox McCloud and Tricky. That was because Tricky was nothing but a mere tool to solve puzzles. He had no free will, he didn´t act like an independent character…because he wasn´t. He was there so that the player could proceed through the game. A friend may be many things, but not a tool.

A game did exceptionally well in creating feelings for another characters was ICO for Playstation 2. From the very beginning, you as a player wanted to help weak Yorda on their way out of the castle. It can be criticized, though, that Yorda wasn´t really a friend-character in the game, but rather someone you just had to rescue. So while the game made you care for the characters, it wasn´t the friendship between to equal characters, but rather the compassion for a very weak looking character.

The next example only works for parts, as the actual friendship isn´t really a focus of the game. I´m talking about Half Life 2 and its episodes. And no, I´m not going to talk about Gordon Freeman and Alyx, but rather, Freeman and Dog, the robot. Unlike Yorda in ICO, Dog wasn´t weak by any means. Throughout the game, Dog kept helping you in tough scenes. Not only did he help you, you/Alyx told him to stay back when things got to dangerous. His loyalty sometimes brought me to tears while playing, and even though he doesn´t have that many appearances throughout the game, Dog might be the best developed “friend” in any video games. He cares about you, you start caring about him. And that´s really what friendship should be about.

Friendship is such a strong emotion if done right. It often even surpasses love, which might be diluted by an unfitting sex drive. To give you the feeling of being able to depend on someone, to care about him and break loose should ever something happen to him…that is the potential of friendship in games. While tv-shows and movies have an easy time to portray such feelings, video games are far from that ability. Too often, so-called friends turn into tools or are only to be seen in cutscenes between gameplay-parts. To put a NPC into the game in way that makes him feel like he´s got his own mind, does things his way and doesn´t go the way of the tool, that is the challenge to video game developers. The few shining examples of games that show a glimpse of that are proof of the powerful impression a well-worked out friendship can leave to the player. But that´s also up to gamers themselves, if they want games like that. Or are you content with cinematic games on the one, and multiplayer-focused games on the other hand? I am not, and I could still cry whenever I think about Horror Kid´s story from Legend of Zelda: Majora´s Mask. It´s these emotions that decide between temporary blockbuster game, and timeless masterpiece.

I apologize in advance for how hard this dream may be to follow.

So basically, it starts off with a wedding proposal between a guy and a girl that both work at a car wash. The girl says yes and everything is all happy and such. The wedding was held near a waterfall in a desert oasis surrounded by cliffs.

Here’s where things start getting weird. The family of the groom had blue shirts that said “DISK” on the back. They were also decked out in archaeologist outfits. The bride’s family had “RISK” on theirs in a lighter blue. I was the best man, dressed in a yellow tuxedo. Yellow. Not even pink, f@#king YELLOW. So after the bride and groom kiss, there was some small conversation brewing about who put more effort into the kiss. Each side thought their own put more, and the arguing escalated until there was a big “NO!”

Ridiculous enough yet? A wedding fight breaks out. The bride and groom go missing, and I use my lucid-dream-gotten-herculean strength to hold my own, eventually making a human katamari out of everyone coming at me. ‘Twas quite GAR, if you ask me. At least as GAR as one can get while wearing a YELLOW tuxedo. From portals forming out of nowhere, pink tentacled alien monster things started flying around. Here is an artists’s renedition:

I'm 12 and what is this

One of the family members of the groom took off his shirt and revealed that he too, was an alien. Some sort of worm-man. He slithered off at the sight of the Pink Monster Things. Cops start to pull around, and everyone, including me rushes to their cars to drive off. Cue high-speed chase scene. With Pink Monster Things eating random people. Eventually everyone pulls up in front of the Car Wash where everything started and cram in. I’m not sure what happened to the cops. A huge rumble occurs and the next thing I know, the entrance to the carwash opens and we see nothing but space and the stars in it. And yet another alien. But this one’s more feminine-shaped, with dark skin speckled with random starry space scenery. Think of Utsuho Reiuji’s cape in the Tohou Series. She is floating before us, holding the groom’s unconscious body in her left hand. She only says “If it continues, we will ensure Earth’s destruction.” I have no clue what “it” is. She then dissappears in a puff of sparkles leaving us to drift back towards Earth. Or so I thought.

It turns out that the planets were jostled out of their regular orbits at one point. Earth was now in a Figure-8 orbit between Jupiter and Saturn, and Mars collided with Venus. A tractor beam surrounded our makeshift car wash-spacecraft and we found ourselves in a rather comfortable home-like setting occupied by a bunch of humanoid alien girls. They had a similar look to the groom-carrying alien before these space shenanigans, but despite the ominous-looking white eyes, they showed great hospitality towards their unintentional houseguests, if not sexy hospitality with how all of them were half-nude.

The only room I remember visiting in their “space house” was a kitchen in which everything was automated and synthesized. One of the alien babes pulled a fork out of a drawer and I woke up.

For our first full weekend in Thailand, we decided to get away. Most of our new acquaintances were heading northwest, to popular rural tourist town, Pai. We felt that joining them would be a blunder. Since we see them on a regular basis, we thought we should disembark, detox, and detour to some other remote Thai location. We wanted a place where we could experience the natural and fierce beauty of the north, a place we could be the only farang, a place away from the sound of traffic, we wanted Chiang Dao.

Now, I don’t want to give off the impression that this was a well thought out trip, an insightful choice. It was a) luck and b) just the product of being bad-asses (random success comes with the territory). We woke up Saturday morning to a knock on the door. It was Tom, our new amigo and fellow bad ass. “Get up, we are getting motorcycles” was all that was said, but it lit the fire. We packed a backpack, took a shower, and headed out. After securing motorcycles we headed to the nearest book store for inspiration and perhaps a map. Someone had a vague recollection of a particularly beautiful stretch of road that led to some picturesque villages that would be a perfect mission for our new biker gang. We hoped seeing some names on a map would help, it didn’t. So, Cengiz bought a map of the golden triangle, since it seemed to cover the immediate area north of Chiang Mai and we went to lunch, determined to figure out the itinerary while we fueled up for the day.

During lunch, we threw out the name of just about every city on the map and futilely debated over which to choose (since no one had any idea about any of them, I can’t believe this lasted as long as it did). Meanwhile, I shuffled through Gina’s Thailand guide (we were a foursome) and found mention of a “Pai without the party” (Pai is the popular “rural” get away, not too far from Chiang Mai, that now offers nightlife and any number of organized “adventures”) called Chiang Dao, directly north of Chiang Mai and situated under an impressive mountain. This sounded just as good as any other place we brainstormed and even had a recommendation to back it up, so the choice was easy, the bill was paid and we were off.

WAIT. Not quite. Cengiz just dumped the motorbike. OK, no blood or permanent damage? Now we’re off. It was tough getting out of the city. Thailand doesn’t do traffic lights very often, so there are lots of one way streets and turnarounds that make navigation difficult for a non-native. When you also add the adaptation of driving on the other side of the road and the lack of traffic laws in general, there is enough fear, adrenaline, and information thrown at a driver to freak out any first timer. So, being the overachiever that he is, Cengiz dumped it, AGAIN. This time there was blood, broken glass, and snapped metal, so we had to stop. After buying some really hilariously frivolous band aids, we were back on the road again (somehow the dangling break from the left handlebar was not a successful deterrent). To make sure the blood had as long as possible to ruin his socks and shorts, we were proceeding with extreme caution (and lack of speed), for the rest of the 3 hr. trip. To be honest, we were all a little rattled with the events (Cengiz was, after all, the only one of us to have been on a motorcycle) so the 45 km/hr cruising speed was widely accepted and actually turned out to be a great pace for cruising to the iPod speakers blaring UGK out of my cup holder.

The trip was going very well before our caravan was overcome by a true South East Asian rainstorm. As we were in the middle of nowhere when it hit, we have very few options and elected to brave the elements and press on. After about 20 minutes, the rain subsided, and we found ourselves cruising through a rain forest, rapidly drying in the wind. This is what we came for. The scenery was so beautiful that it was dangerous. It was difficult to keep your eyes on the road, which was also wet, and winding through a precipitous mountainside. Looking out over the trees, we saw mile upon mile of the lushest vegetation on the planet. At one point I found myself counting shades of greens as I scanned the canopy for monkeys. We slowed our pace to a crawl, the curves were intimidating and there was no reason to rush this stretch of road, especially once we found ourselves following a crooked river on our left.

Almost as soon as the picturesque stretch ended, we saw the signs we were looking for, so we followed with a right hand turn and enjoyed the 2 km to Chiang Dao. The city isn’t much. Which, I guess is the point. I ran into a Dutch Pirate (no joke) and he couldn’t recommend anywhere to stay or eat so we grabbed a beer at a local shop to rest our soar necks and hash out a plan for accommodations. I saw a sign for a home stay who’s name seemed familiar, so we scoured the Lonely Planet to confirm. They agreed, “Malee’s” was the place to go, 4 km back up the road we had come, situated right under the mountain.

The home stay was perfect. When we pulled in, we weren’t sure we had the right place, it seemed abandoned. Then, we were greeted by the hounds and a “receptionist.” After being showed some bungalow’s right out of a movie, we quickly payed the man for the night and got started on his refreshingly cold Chang beer collection. It was already pitch black, I could barely see Tom across the table, and after 3+ hrs en route, we were exhausted. Dinner was a distant thought, but one we thought should be heeded none the less. We hesitatingly asked if there would be dinner served that night, it was so dark we were sure it was going to be a difficult request. It was 6:00. Of course there would be dinner, if we could just wait for them to prepare the grill, it would be served within the hour.

The fresh local coals sparked like a pile of flint; the deep reds flying through the air against the pitch black were mesmorizing, like projectile magma from a personal volcano. Exhausted, the four of us faded into the dark silence, entranced by the visuals. We were broken from this moment of rest by a small creature scurrying round behind us in the dark. It jumped up and bit tom. It was a “Peter.” Now “Peters” are the rarest creature I have encountered. They resemble your standard 8 year old Germanic Thai, but they also speak French and English and are fluent in snake hissing, barking, and tiger growling. They climb with the agility of a chimp, can identify any vegetable in the garden, but particularly prefer bananas, and (as any cold blooded creature) enjoy curling up to warm bodies, specifically homestay guests. Peter was our entertainment for much of the night, biting bottles, bodies, and bananas and showing off his mastery of Muay Thai and genital crushing to anyone in his path, no matter the size. Peter’s mom, the unbelievable Malee, is unbelievably amazing. She not only speaks several languages, has a nack for decorating, runs the most efficient guest house I have ever been to, knows first aid, knows everything about the area, and makes friends with other people FOR you, she also has jokes. As she was brutally cleaning Cengiz’s wounds, she would remind him that there would be “no loving tonight, you have to stay off your knees” or that he should go to the hospital, not for medical care, but for “a sexy young nurse.”

After the wounds were cleaned up, we were served with heaping portions of pork cuts, chicken wings, fresh shrimp, squid, salad, pineapple, and a variety of magnificent, home made condiments. It was absolutely delicious. We spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, meeting some fellow visitors, and figuring out that we should hit the sack so that we could be up and chipper for the 5:45 sunrise from Thailand’s most sacred place, the Wat atop the overshadowing mountain next to (and above) us.

Cengiz and I made it up the 500 stairs to the mountain, in pitch black, which was not easy. Most of the climbing was just keeping a rhythm. We couldn’t see the steps but knew the pace and length of each stride so as not to miss the next. Once up the steps we came to a wat, dug into the side of the rocks, with a look out tower lined with and guarded by Thai basilisks. We patiently waited for the sun to show, but were let down. The overcast skies left us with a gradual glow rather than any kind of “breaking of dawn.” However, we were alerted to the exact moment of the sunrise as we were lucky enough to hear th monk alarm clock. At exactly 5:45, when the sun started its rise, a loud high pitch sound crashed out of the jungle. Unwaveringly, it held its note as a symphony of other jungle sounds -chirps, croaks, howls, clicks- joined the note, like an orchestra tuning to the oboe. The morning went from a deafening silence, to an even more astounding roar of sound.

After taking some video and pictures, we headed back down to base camp. Tom was still struggling with the local stomach bug he picked up the evening before and Gina was playing with Peter. We mounted the bikes, loaded up some emergency TP, and took off for home. Cengiz regained his confidence so we ripped through the country side at nearly twice our previous speed. The rush was incredible and the weather couldn’t be more perfect. Along the way we randomly came upon an elephant, grazing near the side of the road. The beast’s hunger and resounding sense of power was intimidating and though it was docile and obliging to our attention, my heart was pounding and my spider senses activated to a state of hyper-alertness. After taking off again at breakneck speed, we found ourselves making ridiculously good time, good enough to warrant a detour at Shri Lanna National Park. We didn’t get to boat out into the lake to the floating house or uncover the park’s waterfalls, but it was a beautiful backdrop for some lunch and a break for our bike sore backs.

When we finally were getting into the city area, we reduces speed with the increased danger of the traffic and things stayed well… for a while. Rain once again started pounding the troupe as we were just entering the city’s center. It was uncomfortable, but we had ridden in it before so we pressed on. The city’s moat, which is now the center of the city’s main avenue, is easily the most difficult traffic for a first time rider. We cautiously entered the avenue and I made the turn to enter our final stretch before dropping the biks off. When I looked in my mirror, no one was following. I pulled over and waited for 5 minutes, hoping my comrades would be following shortly. Nothing. I assumed they took a different route, we had said “if all else fails, meet at the shop.” So, I headed there to drop my bike off and meet them. I was waiting long enough to get a table next door and order a beer. My stomach was beset with a pit the size of a watermelon- Cengiz dumped it on the wet turn and was in the hospital, I knew it. I waited for a solid 20 minutes until they finally rolled up. As Tom and Cengiz went to go settle up, Gina explained to me that Tom T-Boned a Tuk Tuk and flipped it. He was ok, and the tuk tuk driver survived with minor scrapes. A quick 1,000 baht bribe was sufficient to keep the police out of things. The damages to the two bikes cost a total of 600 baht, so financially it was no big deal. And, with everyone safe, we walked back to the hotel, laughing at the absurdity of our 50% casualty rate and enjoying the sheer sensation of relief that we made it back. Nostalgic musings about the paradise we enjoyed at “Malee’s” didn’t hinder the cloud 9 high either.

Konami’s DS game, Love Plus, is making waves in Japan, the only place you’ll find it for now. Love Plus is not your typical dating sim. As you know, the DS has a touch screen and a microphone. This makes for some weird gameplay mechanics, involving you to kiss the girls (yeah, you need to touch the screen, although you can use other things  than your lips hehehe) and whisper things in their ear (you need to say stuff into the microphone, like the girl’s name 100 times).  The game also has the girls calling the player by his first name, a not so common thing in Japan, as it carries some degree of intimacy. There were some reports of Japanese wives feeling like they were being cheated by their husbands with the game, however that’s nothing compared to what this guy did.

Sal9000 married in-game character Nene Anegasaki, holding a small ceremony for family, friends and the press. There were no invites on the bride’s side, though. Boingboing  has footage of the ceremony and also a very interesting  inteview regarding the game.

I just wonder what the creators of this human-species-ending-program at Konami are thinking right now (apart from “free advertising”).

Así es, como lo dije en otro post estuve trabajando casi dos meses en ese antro guapachoso (?) de hamburguesas Burger King. Desde que me vi en la necesidad de comprar un amplificador estuve buscando trabajo en varios lugares (mixup, gameplanet, cinépolis) y el que jaló al final fué BK. Pasaron casi dos meses de puro negreo y cosas random como inundaciones y la vez que a eso de las ocho de la noche en un viernes 13 (en serio) llegó una pareja de recién casados, recién salidos de la iglesia con vestido de novia y tuxedo a comer unas Whopper’s y unos malditos Chicken Fries (mierda, me sé de memoria cada producto). Estaban acompañados por un señor que seguro era el padrino de anillos y una piba de buen ver con vestido de fiesta, parecía una recepción nupcial y la gente que llegaba no sabía si en verdad habían entrado a la tienda con caras de “wat”, etc. El propósito fué comprar mi amplificador, pero ya que estaba ahí pensé en comprar también un iPod Touch 3g de 32GB y el Guitar Hero: World Tour. Aún no compro nada, pero pronto tendré ese ampli y ese ipod, y seguiré ahorrando para mi GH:WT -n-. Pero bueno, si, ya renuncié y me espera otro trabajo. Esta vez en un cybercafé.

It is hard to start writing about this topic; that is because of several reasons, though one dominates the others: The current video game industry has faded away from imaginative games that much that it is hard no to lose any direction about how to go on. So let me start by simply introducing what said imagination is.

To me, 3D is where everyone´s imagination ran wild. Be it developers, that created these games, or consumers, that gladly bought them. Imagination in terms of video games is not about using a lot of colors or quirky gameplay-features. It is true that my biggest complain about modern, popular video games is that they´re all dark, “cool” shooters or otherwise violent games, with a lot of nice-to-watch cutscenes. These games are missing any kind of imagination, but adding colors isn´t a solution.

Imaginative game design is about creating games that succeed to feature gameplay, level-design, characters and stories that can hold up by themselves. Games that don´t need, or rather, don´t care about popular existing concepts. Other media, like movies or anime, are much better at being imaginative. I´d recommend for you to look into Dennou Coil, Haibane Renmei or Fantastic Children. These anime-shows are that rich of unique, fresh imagination that it´s painful once it´s over. One really great example of such a game was and is the Pokemon-series. Surely, it´s become beyond popular, but when it was released in 1998 (European release), it didn´t care about any other media. There were no movies, books, or games that featured the same spirit as the Pokemon-games. Catch uniquely designed monsters that you have to train to become the best trainer in that peaceful world. Another example would be ICO, that didn´t give a damn about popular design choices. Explore a forsaken castle, help a mysterious girl and fight creepy shadow-monsters. Without a HUD or inventory or mission goals. And then we have my personal pinnacle of imagination that is the Zelda-series. No other popular series continues to shrug off popular design choices like the Zelda-games. These games don´t try to be cool or angsty, they´re not about hardcore-challenge and they´re featuring the weirdest atmosphere in any video games. Exception is Twilight Princess, which unfortunately took design choices of the Lord of the Rings, which may be one reason for why many felt that entry lacked…something.

There are many, many other imaginative games, be it Spyro, Gex: Enter the Gecko or Banjo-Kazooie, but the bottom line is: There was a time in gaming when games dared to be imaginative. Be different. Be themselves. Now, you can hardly find such games, and most of them are smallish download-games that don´t feature the high quality of a big budget game. There are a lot of reasons about why the gaming industry is the way it is today, but at the end it is us, the gamers, that lost something precious. And I have a hard time thinking of something games-related that´s more important than imagination. This industry is headed towards a Hollywood 2.0, and it is both the fault of developers that want to be directors, and gamers that only buy into these huge, massively hyped cinematic games, that things are the way they are. When this years Game of the Year-awards are over, you´ll see them filled with Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2 and other titles along these lines. It is the masses that want such a world, but I can but shed an invisible tear about what has become of the world of video games.

What can I say? I was bored ;o_o

and thus it begins.

Unlike most of enthusiast Wii-gamers I only got WiiSports Resorts a week ago. I´ve got to admit that I have no idea why I waited for so long. The game is great and might become my Game of the Year. Personal favorites are the sword fighting, the bow shooting and the peaceful flying in a plane. Other than definitely demanding those gameplay mechanics in the next Zelda-game, I really wonder: Where are other MotionPlus-games?

One popular MotionPlus-title got delayed, that is Red Steel 2. I´m not excited for that game, though, as from all the E³-demo walkthroughs it is clear that Ubisoft didn´t take into account that special controls like those using MotionPlus need to have level design that fits the new input mechanics. They didn´t look into that, unfortunately, which is why you have to fight several enemies in every new area of the game. Having to make rather big movements that´s bound to get tiring soon. And personally, I cannot see the fun in slashing the same enemies over and over again. And they even have you use special attacks that break away from the direct battle whenever you face a stronger, boss-like enemy. One enemy every now and then, that is really skillful and puts up a good fight instead of a bunch of cannon fodder would be what´s needed for a MotionPlus-game.

Then there´s Zangeki no Reginleiv, a slasher in the vein of Earth Defense Force by developer Sandlot. Besides not caring about hack’ n slays, the fact that this game also supports the classic controller doesn´t sound promising in terms of their MotionPlus-support.

And then there´s the MotionPlus-launch games, two tennis games and a golf-game. Well, let´s just say that I´m not so keen to spend my time on games that focus on a single sports. In other words: Boring.

Did i miss any announcements? I don´t think so, and even if so, it´s nothing great. That leaves us with Zelda Wii. Which is confirmed to make use of MotionPlus. Even if that stays true until we see the game at E³ 2010, that´s…no a whole lot of titles to show off the great tech that is MotionPlus. I REALLY think every gamer should go out and buy/play WiiSports Resorts. Often, when I´m reading on some boards, I see people writing as if they´ve never played WiiSports Resort, because then they´d understand how great Nintendo´s new hardware actually is. 1:1-controls are there, you just have to go out there and buy the game. And after playing the game a lot for a week, I never had to re-calibrate the controller, never got the controls messed up. What´s extra weird in terms of lack of announcements is that there´s already a big base of MotionPlus-attachements out there. Enough for any developer to make use of it. But it seems we´ll have to wait yet again for Nintendo to actually do something. And while we wait for Nintendo, third-parties will continue to put out mini-game collection one after another. Or send games to die by releasing them two days after christmas day…

Nie wiem co robić. Nie, że jestem bezradna, ale nie wiem. Głowa mnie już boli od czytania o studiach, kierunkach, poprawianiu matury, wymaganiach i egzaminach wstępnych. Już mi się nie chce, chcę wiedzieć kim chcę być i co robić. Chcę mieć jakieś zainteresowania i pasje, chcę chcieć koniecznie coś robić. A nie nie chcieć nic. :/

Jeszcze mnie nie wyrzucili.. Chyba by mi akademik powiedział, że mam się wynosić. Do dziekanatu się boję iść, w razie czego powinni mi przysłać list do domu i obiegówkę. W razie czego mama zadzwoni z wontami, że pismo przyszło o usunięciu z uczelni, a ja powiem “jak to?”, wielce zaskoczona. Potem przyjadą po mnie, może trochę polatam po WATcie, kiedy oni będą sobie “gdzieś” siedzieć, na przykład kawę pić, i pozbieram podpisy na tę kartkę i pozałatwiam wszelkie (niektóre) sprawy. Może wtedy uda mi się namówić mamę i pana Stasia, żeby odwiedzili Marcina, a ściślej to jego rodziców. Jedna jazda przynajmniej będzie.

Ano, i myślę nad poprawą matury. Bez dodawania nowych przedmiotów, tylko podwyższeniem wyniku z matmy i angielskiego. Jeśli by się w ogóle udało. Tylko na co z tym iść, no na co..?

Created by Matthew.

The complaining about a lack of new franchises can be heard especially when it comes to Nintendo´s Wii-system. But no matter what system manufacturer, I´m thinking of the opposite. It cannot be that I´m the only person that has ever thought, right after finishing a great game, or movie, or book, or whatever: “Man, what a pitty that it´s over already“.  From the old days to this very moment, that was and is an unfortunate, but inevitable fact. But here I ask: Why not make this bad feeling stop from happening?

Video games are trying to counter this effect already by doing two things. First, there´s a big focus on multiplayer across all games and all genres. There´s even people that complain about developers tacking on multiplayer to each and every game. Second, there is Download Content. The first one obviously is a very specific kind of prolonging a game´s life, as multiplayer does neither enrich a game´s story nor offer the same gameplay-experience. While the second one would be the ideal way to prolong a game, its actual implementation just doesn´t work. Remember when Valve announced the Half Life 2-episodes to be released with only little time in between? Or Bioware and their Mass Effect-DLC, which we got two, so far. Even larger DLC-expansions are released to rarely to make an older game stay “alive” for longer. It´s a short afterglow and that´s it then. So what is the solution to keeping a game experience you came to like active?

The convergence of franchises is. Right now, we have dozens, if not hundreds of all different franchises. Each one is telling its own story within its own universe and its own rules. There is one advantage to that concept: Every game is guaranteed to find something he likes. But the downside is obvious: Those games that grew to love one franchises are in for disappointment, as even IF there´s going to be a sequel it´ll take two to three years minimum until you can play it. And even then that´s maybe two weeks of more content until it´s over again. Therefore, a convergence, a reduction of active franchises, could be one way to enrich a game´s world.

To give a few examples: The Mass Effect-universe is great. The first game really fleshed out the game-world. It was a nice WRPG, but it was over way too soon. But why wait for Mass Effect 2, when you could simply play a Mass Effect-fps in the meantime. Why does Halo need its own franchise, when it´s a Call of Duty in space, anyway? So, tack the Mass Effect-franchise onto the Halo-gameplay, and there you have it: A game that enriches the Mass Effect-universe, yet is still the great, accessible shooter so many Xbox360-fans love. Or, take Dead Rising. Instead of parodying the movie Dawn of the Dead, why not actually using the movie-universe and letting the player experience more of that great movie?

The one company that excels at this kind of concept is Nintendo. Unfortunately, the Mario-universe doesn´t feature any detailed story-pieces or all important settings, so while we have hundreds of Mario-games with a different gameplay-approach, each and every Mario-game could exist without any other Mario-titles. Still, you have a Mario-platformer, a Mario-RPG, a Mario-racing game, a party-game, a tennis-game, a puzzle-game, and so on. Imagine this kind of concept used with a franchise that actually offers explicit and important story-information, and you´d be able to experience one great franchise´s universe for a long time, from many different angles.

There´s bound to be many people that don´t like the thought of less franchises, but instead of having to restart all the time, I´d love to see a franchise stay there. And there´s so many franchises that are not needed for presenting the offered gameplay. Uncharted 2 could just as well play within the Tomb Raider-universe. Killzone 2 could be part of the Half Life-universe. And Assasin´s Creed could have just connected to the Matrix-franchise. Flesh out existing franchises instead of starting all over again and again. It´d make the wait for sequels so much less tiring while even enriching you loved old franchise.

I like this argument far too much.

1. An omnipotent being (let us call it “god”) can do anything; this includes violating logic and possibility.
2. Even if it was impossible for a god to exist, that would not matter to it (if it would, it would not be omnipotent).
3. No need to worry about causality, it’s omnipotent.
4. No need to worry about existing or not, it’s omnipotent.
5. No need to worry about being omnipotent or not; it can retroactively make itself so.
6. Therefore, a god could create itself.
7. Conclusion: There is a god, or several gods, possibly an uncountably infinite number of them.
8. Bonus: We can turn ourselves into gods.

(So, what is wrong about this one?)

New image in the aircraft spotting photography contest

…
Sightseeing at Ankor Wat, photography picture

‘Work and Travel’ programları kapsamında yurtdışına giden Türk öğrencilerin karşılaştıkları zorluklara karşı uzmanlar uyardı.

Büyük bir umutla hem çalışıp hem eğitim görmek için yurtdışına giden öğrencilerin çoğu hüsrana uğruyor. Studyplus Yurtdışı Eğitim Danışmanlığı Genel Müdürü Gökhan Erdoğan, son dönemde yayınlanan ‘Work and Travel’ (Çalış ve Gez) programı hakkındaki olumsuzlukları değerlendirdi.

BİRAZ DİL BİLMEK ŞART

Türkiye’den her sene 12 bine yakın öğrencinin yurtdışına eğitim görmek için gittiğini belirten Ertaş, ‘Piyasada bu işi yapan 300-400′e yakın firma var ve öğrenciyi etkilemek için çok hayali tablo çiziyorlar’ diye konuştu. Yurtdışına gitmeden önce öğrencilerin bazı şartları yerine getirmesi gerektiğine vurgu yapan Erdoğan şu önerilerde bulundu: ‘Aynı programla daha önce giden öğrencilerle mutlaka görüşmeli, fikir alınmalı. Ayrıca Türkiye’deyken onlara sunulan alternatifleri karşı taraftan onaylatmalı ve iş detaylarından başlayarak kalacağı yere kadar birçok konuda araştırma yapılmalı. En önemlisi de dil konusunda mutlaka alt yapı olması şart.’ Erdoğan ayrıca her bir detayı karşı taraftan onaylatmadan hiçbir yere imza atmayıp para ödememesi gerektiğinin altını çizdi.

Kaynak: bugün

I spent my Saturday meeting families of the high school students in my village. Although I am not teaching at the high school, I was invited by the principal to accompany Steph. I was more than happy to attend, since meeting people in the community and practicing my Thai are both good options on a free Saturday. About 45 minutes into the first meeting, however, I began to think otherwise. I’ve realized that I quickly get distracted and/or daydream in situations where speakers present in all Thai, for the obvious reasons. By this point I had taken out my camera to document the large gathering of families, the assortment of sandals discarded at the edge of the tile floor, and the beautiful skirts the elder women were wearing. As I was fooling around with camera angles to take “artistic” pictures of my feet, I realized a hush had fallen over the crowd and as I looked up, I saw the principal staring right at me and Steph! Apparently he had just called us up to the front to introduce ourselves and here I am perched over my feet with a camera. Whoops. I quickly recovered by correctly introducing myself in the only full sentences I know how to say, the ones I have been repeating since arriving about a month ago. I did mess up on my nickname but I now know how to say it with the correct tones and vowel sounds. I also found out today what I was actually saying: instead of “Rice Leaf” I was calling myself “White Leaf.” Not an entirely inaccurate description of myself, I admit, but generally a nonsensical one for the people of Thailand.

Despite the rocky start, the day was actually very insightful and I am happy for the experience. All of the meetings (there were four total) were held at various local Buddhist temples, or wats, in the village. I saw one of my students at a meeting and it was nice to meet her mom. I saw her mother by herself before the meeting and thought she looked just like this student, so I was pleased to find out later she actually was her daughter. It was also fun chatting with the high school students at the meetings because several have very good English. They were curious about my parents’ names, how old my siblings were, and what I studied at the university. The highlight of the day was random, though. Towards the end of the last meeting Steph and I were sitting with two high school teachers who saw one of our tampons and asked what it was. Women in Thailand, or at least in the northeast, don’t seem to use them. We actually have not found tampons sold anywhere, which is really peculiar to us. Anyways, they were curious, so Steph gave them one to look at. So here we are in the middle of a temple having a hands-on feminine hygiene discussion! In the end they seemed pretty resistant to the idea of it all….

Well tomorrow is Sunday, which means sleeping in (at least until 7:00am, if the rooster permits it), laundry, and lots of lesson planning. Oh yes, and checking the Badgers vs. Wolverines score when I wake up. On Wisconsin!

That is going to be a rather specific blog entry, but today I want to go into detail about three manga-series that would make great video games. Before going any further I´d like to explain that manga and anime come hand in hand with video games, that is what I believe. That is, if you´r fond of Japanese video games. Sure, typical western games don´t feature any resemblance of Japanese comics and cartoons. Maybe, though, that is also why I prefer Japanese video games, as they generally feature more stylized visuals, maybe thanks to the country´s heavy art industry. Not to stray further away, I´ll be talking about Gantz, Blame! and Berserk.

If you watched the Gantz-anime that unfortunately didn´t get a third season and afterwards decided to read the manga for more, you know: This series went from the weird to the epic. The series´ concept would be rather easy to make into a video game (tbh there even might already be a game, but it definitely wasn´t released in Europe). Simply throw the player into a new mission each time and have him face all kinds of new, bizarre aliens. There´s not that much about specific gameplay details, as it´d be a simple third-person-shooter, maybe with some climb-mechanics and Crysis-like super powers. It´s the multiplayer part that counts. I´d imagine there to be two kinds of multiplayer: First one would let other players join your game on-the-fly, taking on missions together. The other mode would be even more reminiscent of the series: You gather a group of friends that you start the game with. Then the game puts you into super-weird and hard missions. Whoever survives the longest wins, it´s that simple. There´s really no other franchise I could see work that well as a online-heavy video game. The mixture of cool art style, super powers, weird aliens, team-play and mission-based gameplay could make for hundreds of hours. Maybe think of the Monster Hunter-franchise, but with a lot more fun, involving combat-system, a mixture of Zelda, Crysis and Devil May Cry. Yeah, that´d be fun.

Just as fun as the next manga-franchise could be when turned into a video game. Whoever doesn´t already know Blame!, let me explain: The main character is called Killy and he´s traveling around within this thing called Mega Structure. It´s some scifi-series where the whole world is covered by, well, buildings, if you want to call that structures that. Killy´s mission is to find network genes from before the mutation. I forgot why he searched those but it doesn´t matter for the moment. This manga doesn´t feature a lot of words, and even that´s quite an understatement. The Blame!-manga´s strength is its incredible atmosphere. You´re there in such a strange, bizarre environment, not knowing what´ll happen next. There are those dangerous silicon creatures, the “bad guys” of the series. Weird, artificial looking…robots? that will kill you or any human being. Speaking of human beings, time has gone by that long that there are different kinds of human beings. So it happens that Killy, who´s just a normal human (well, not totally normal), meets other human-like beings that look just like him…but are double his size. Mentioned Mega Structure consists of almost uncountable layers, each of which is like its own whole world. So, what would a video game about this look like? See, there´s this gun Killy is using, the Graviton Beam Emitter. Let me just say that this is the coolest weapon I´ve ever seen in any manga, anime or video game. That gun doesn´t need ammunition, it draws its energy from its user. More importantly, though, it´s capable of destroying almost anything. It shoots a rather slim, unspectacular energy beam, but that beam breaks through anything that comes across its way. It can deflect enemy weapon´s beams and it can destroy walls and layers that nothing else in the world of Blame! could even scratch. It needs to be that powerful, though, because it´s the only effective weapon against these silicon creatures. So how I´d imagine a Blame!-video game is that you wander around in quiet, weird, bizarre environments for most of the time, a lot like ICO. Whenever an enemy appears, it´d be a boss battle. No meaningless minions that serve no purpose but to lengthen the game. Gameplay-wise it´d be about evading the enemy´s attack to concentrate your characters focus, and then, at a crucial point, fire the gun to one-hit whatever enemy. What gameplay would be like? That is easy: Like Devil May Cry, but not as flashy, more down-to-earth movements and a lot more dirty.

The last of the three, Berserk, would be my personal favorite game ever. This is a franchise that needs WiiMotionPlus. Just give me direct control over Gut´s gigantic sword, throw me into the depths of hell and let me slay the most bizarre, creepiest monsters there´ve ever been. One problem of MotionPlus is that it cannot simulate the weight of a sword, so whenever you swing the wiimote in WiiSports Resort it is breaking the immersion of swinging a real sword. A Berserk-game wouldn´t have that problem because Guts…is awesome. Thing is, he can swing is giant sword super fast and with the highest durability of any manga-character ever. That´s why it totally fits into the game´s context to be able to swing a sword that effortlessly. There have been Berserk-games in the past, but I´d really love to see one featuring MotionPlus, and also one that goes more after the experience of the moment instead of just retelling the known story. Throw me into the world of the Eclipse and let´s see how long I can survive. That´s the Berserk-game I´d love to play. Gameplay-wise? If there´ll be a Zelda Wii-game released I think that will be a great example of how a Berserk-game should play like (with a sword 3 or 4 times as long as Link´s, haha).

Now, what all three of these manga-series and my “turning-them-into-video games“-wishes share is that they offer the greatest, deepest atmosphere possible. Throw away crappy stories, throw away cut-scenes, throw away annoying gameplay-limiting stuff. Just…get me into this game, let me explore on my own and let me do it how I want to do it. And that´s really what it´s all about. All those games that are hyped right now, Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2 or New Super Mario Bros. Wii are, in the end, nothing but brainless time killers. Do some tasks for 6-7 hours, then the game´s over and you haven´t seen anything you didn´t see before. Not even talking about “having experienced anything new”. Video gamers always try to paint their hobby as a form of art, expressing how it´s matured, but the whole medium is still very young, still very unexplored. Nearly all modern video games follow a pattern that games from ten, fifteen or twenty years ago created. As long as there´s not try to break free from that pattern there cannot be any kind of “maturing”, and the whole art-argument will stay a difficult topic. There are exceptions, like ICO, Endless Ocean or “The Path-game” (google that one, it´s great), but those are infinitely outnumbered by hyped blockbuster-games that keep doing the same and the same again. And from the look at even the most hardcore-internet boards, gamers don´t want that to change. Which I find saddening. Maybe it just needs more time to get games into this direction of a more direct experience. But at the moment we´re rather heading towards video games that I have a hard time calling them “games” at all. “Cinematic” is the big hyped thing of the time and it´s been only going stronger with the years. I remember when I bought the first Tomb Raider on DVD (yeah, shame on me) there was this interactive game where you could move Lara with the buttons of your DVD-player´s remote and she would go and say stuff and whatever. Maybe that´s the future all those self-proclaiming hardcore-gamers want. All I know is: I do not want such a gaming future. I wanna play and interact as directly with the ingame-world as possible. And damn, would those three manga-series be great as video games.

I know not the author of the following words nor claim them as my own.

Subject: The Employee Meeting

I would like to start by thanking you for attending this   meeting, though it’s not like you had much of a choice. After all, attendance was mandatory. I’m also glad many of you accepted my invitation to your family members to be here as well. I have a few remarks to make to all of you, and then we’ll retire to the ballroom for a great lunch and some employee awards.

I felt that this meeting was important enough to close all 12 of our tire and automotive shops today so that you could be here. To reassure you, everybody is being paid for the day — except me. Since our stores are closed we’re making no money. That economic loss is mine to sustain. Carrington Automotive has 157 full time employees and around 30 additional part-timers. All of you are here. I thank you for that.

When you walked into this auditorium you were handed a rather thick 78-page document. Many of you have already taken a peek. You were probably surprised to see that it’s my personal tax return for 2008. Those of you who are adept at reading these tax returns will see that last year my taxable income was $534,000.00. Now I’m sure this seems rather high to many of you. So … let’s talk about this tax return.

Carrington Automotive Enterprises is what we call a Sub-S – a Subchapter S corporation. The name comes from a particular part of our tax code. Sub-S status means that the income from all 12 of our stores is reported on my personal tax return. Businesses that report their income on the owner’s personal tax return are referred to as “small businesses.” So, you see now that this $534,000 is really the total taxable income – the total combined profit from all 12 of our stores. That works out to an average of a bit over $44,000 per store.

Why did I feel it important for you to see my actual 2008 tax return? Well, there’s a lot of rhetoric being thrown around today about taxes, small businesses and rich people. To the people in charge in Washington right now I’m a wealthy American making over a half-million dollars a year. Most Americans would agree: I’m just another rich guy; after all … I had over a half-million in income last year, right? In this room we know that the reality is that I’m a small business owner who runs 12 retail establishments and employs 187 people. Now here’s something that shouldn’t surprise you, but it will: Just under 100 percent … make that 99.7 percent of all employers in this country are small businesses, just like ours.

Every one of these businesses reports their income on a personal income tax return. You need to understand that small businesses like ours are responsible for about 80 percent of all private sector jobs in this country, and about 70 percent of all jobs that have been created over the past year. You also need to know that when you hear some politician talking about rich people who earn over $200,000 or $500,000 a year, they’re talking about the people who create the jobs.

The people who are now running the show in Washington have been talking for months about raising taxes on wealthy Americans. I already know that in two years my federal income taxes are going to go up by about 4.5 percent. That happens when Obama and the Democrats allow the Bush tax cuts to expire. When my taxes climb by 4.5 percent the Democrats will be on television saying that this really isn’t a tax increase. They’ll explain that the Bush tax cuts have expired .. nothing more. Here at Carrington we’ll know that almost 5% has been taken right off of our bottom line. And that means it will be coming off your bottom line.

Numbers are boring, I know … but let’s talk a bit more about that $534,000. That’s the money that was left last year from company revenues after I paid all of the salaries and expenses of running this business. Now I could have kept every penny of that for myself, but that would have left us with nothing to grow our business, to attract new customers and to hire new employees. You’re aware that we’ve been talking about opening new stores in Virginia Beach and Newport News . To do that I will have to buy or lease property, construct a building and purchase inventory. I also have to hire additional people to work in those stores. These people wouldn’t immediately be earning their pay. So, where do you think the money for all of this comes from? Right out of our profits .. right out of that $534,000. I need to advertise to bring customers in, especially in these tough times. Where do you think that money comes from? Oh sure, I can count it as an expense when I file my next income tax return .. but for right now that comes from either current revenues or last year’s profits. Revenues right now aren’t all that hot … so do the math. A good effective advertising campaign might cost us more than $300,000.

Is this all starting to come together for you now?

Right now the Democrats are pushing a nationalized health care plan that, depending on who’s doing the talking, will add anywhere from another two percent to an additional 4.6 percent to my taxes. If I add a few more stores, which I would like to do, and if the economy improves, my taxable income … our business income … could go over one million dollars! If that happens the Democrats have yet another tax waiting, another five percent plus! I’ve really lost track of all of the new government programs the Democrats and President Obama are proposing that they claim they will be able to finance with new taxes on what they call “wealthy Americans.”

And while we’re talking about health care, let me explain something else to you. I understand that possibly your biggest complaint with our company is that we don’t provide you with health insurance. That is because as your employer I believe that it is my responsibility to provide you with a safe workplace and a fair wage and to do all that I can to preserve and grow this company that provides us all with income. I no more have a responsibility to provide you with health insurance than I do with life, auto or homeowner’s insurance. As you know, I have periodically invited agents for health insurance companies here to provide you with information on private health insurance plans.

The Democrats are proposing to levy yet another tax against Carrington in the amount of 8 percent of my payroll as a penalty for not providing you with health insurance. You should know that if they do this I will be reducing every person’s salary or hourly wage by that same 8 percent. This will not be done to put any more money in my pocket. It will be done to make sure that I don’t suffer financially from the Democrat’s efforts to place our healthcare under the control of the federal government. It is your health, not mine. It is your healthcare, not mine. These are your expenses, not mine. If you think I’m wrong about all this, I would sure love to hear your reasoning.

Try to understand what I’m telling you here. Those people that Obama and the Democrats call “wealthy Americans” are, in very large part, America ’s small business owners. I’m one of them. You have the evidence, and surely you don’t think that the owner of a bunch of tire stores is anything special. That $534,000 figure on my income tax return puts me squarely in Democrat crosshairs when it comes to tax increases.

Let’s be clear about this … crystal clear. Any federal tax increase on me is going to cost you money, not me. Any new taxes on Carrington Automotive will be new taxes that you, or the people I don’t hire to staff the new stores I won’t be building, will be paying. Do you understand what I’m telling you? You’ve heard about things rolling downhill, right? Fine … then you need to know that taxes, like that other stuff, roll downhill. Now you and I may understand that you are not among those that the Democrats call “wealthy Americans,” but when this “tax the rich” thing comes down you are going to be standing at the bottom of the mud slide, if you get my drift. That’s life in the big city, my friends … where elections have consequences.

You know our economy is very weak right now. I’ve pledged to get us through this without layoffs or cuts in your wages and benefits. It’s too bad the politicians can’t get us through this without attacking our profits. To insure our survival I have to take a substantial portion of that $534,000 and set it aside for unexpected expenses and a worsening economy. Trouble is, the government is eyeing that money too … and they have the guns. If they want it, they can take it.

I don’t want to make this too long. There’s a great lunch waiting for us all. But you need to understand what’s happening here. I’ve worked hard for 23 years to create this business. There were many years where I couldn’t take a penny in income because every dollar was being dedicated to expanding the business. There were tough times when it took every dollar of revenues to replenish our inventory and cover your paychecks. During those times I earned nothing. If you want to see those tax returns, just let me know.

OK … I know I’m repeating myself here. I don’t hire stupid people, and you are probably getting it now. So let me just ramble for a few more minutes.Most Americans don’t realize that when the Democrats talk about raising taxes on people making more than $250 thousand a year, they’re talking about raising taxes on small businesses. The U.S. Treasury Department says that six out of every ten individuals in this country with incomes of more than $280,000 are actually small business owners. About one-half of the income in this country that would be subject to these increased taxes is from small businesses like ours. Depending on how many of these wonderful new taxes the Democrats manage to pass, this company could see its tax burden increase by as much as $60,000. Perhaps more.

I know a lot of you voted for President Obama. A lot of you voted for Democrats across the board. Whether you voted out of support for some specific policies, or because you liked his slogans, you need to learn one very valuable lesson from this election. Elections have consequences. You might have thought it would be cool to have a president who looks like you; or a president who is young, has a buff body, and speaks eloquently when there’s a teleprompter in the neighborhood. Maybe you liked his promises to tax the rich. Maybe you believed his promise not to raise taxes on people earning less than a certain amount. Maybe you actually bought into his promise to cut taxes on millions of Americans who actually don’t pay income taxes in the first place. Whatever the reason .. your vote had consequences; and here they are.

Bottom line? I’m not taking this hit alone. As soon as the Democrats manage to get their tax increases on the books, I’m going to take steps to make sure that my family isn’t affected. When you own the business, that is what you’re allowed to do. I built this business over a period of 23 years, and I’m not going to see my family suffer because we have a president and a congress who think that wealth is distributed rather than earned. Any additional taxes, of whatever description, that President Obama and the Democrats inflict on this business will come straight out of any funds I have set aside for expansion or pay and benefit increases. Any plans I might have had to hire additional employees for new stores will be put aside. Any plans for raises for the people I now have working for me will be shelved. Year-end bonuses might well be eliminated. That may sound rough, but that’s the reality.

You’re going to continue to hear a lot of anti-wealth rhetoric out there from the media and from the left. You can chose to believe what you wish .. .but when it comes to Carrington Automotive you will know the truth. The books are open to any of you at any time. I have nothing to hide. I would hope that other small business owners out there would hold meetings like this one, but I know it won’t happen that often. One of the lessons to be learned here is that taxes … all taxes … and all regulatory costs that are placed on businesses anywhere in this country, will eventually be passed right on down to individuals; individuals such as yourself. This hasn’t been about admonishing anyone and it hasn’t been about issuing threats. This is part of the education you should have received in the government schools, but didn’t. Class is now dismissed.

Etiopere elsker etipoisk mat. Med god grunn. De lager fantastisk Injera og Wat, Injera er en sur lefse og wat er en slags gryte eller saus man spiser til og kan vaere med kjoett eller vegetar. Helenes favoritt er shiro wat, som er en tykk boenne-stuing med hvitloek og pepper.

Man spiser sjelden lunch hjemme. De som jobber har med seg maten i en ildfast form, og spiser paa jobben, bak en busk, paa en ledig parkeringsplass eller hvor de naa skulle befinne seg naar solen staar hoeyt paa himmelen. Paa internettcafeen i Sikela i Arba Minch spises det lunch i det hjoernet som fungerer som kontor i to-tiden hver dag. Da inviterer man like gjerne ferenjien
(den eneste hvite stamkunden) som proever aa skrive en mail, til aa spise sammen med dem. Og man sier da ja, selv om man nettopp har spist shiro wat og mixed juice paa tourist hotel. Antibak finnes ikke, men man faar vaske hendene i en boette som hentes fra gaten.

Livet er fint.

Immer wieder verblüfft mich von Neuem, wieviel Welt es gibt außerhalb der mir vertrauten, wieviel “wechselnde Unermesslichkeit des Lebens” (Joseph Conrad) Abgeschnitten vom Verständnis einer fremden Umwelt, für deren Codes mir die Schlüssel fehlen, bin ich mir am nächsten.

Ohne auch nur das Geringste mir an Vorwissen über Thailand, seiner Geografie, Geschichte, Sprache und Kultur im Vorfeld der Reise angeeignet zu haben, lasse ich den Schock, mit dem mich das von Smog, Lärm und Beton eingemantelte Bangkok mit seinem exotischen Chaos empfängt, auf mich einwirken und wünschte mir, diese aus allen Nähten platzende Stadt noch zu einer Zeit besucht zu haben, in welcher sie  als “Venedig des Ostens” die Reisenden angelockt hatte.

Im Anflug auf die asiatische Metropole mit ihren 10 Millionen Einwohnern, kann man aus der Vogelperspektive erahnen, wie es einmal gewesen sein muss, als die Klongs, wie die Flüsse heißen, die sich mäandernd im südchinsischen Meer entwässern, noch Verkehrswege zwischen dem saftigen Grün von Reisanbauflächen und nicht zugeschüttet und betoniert waren, um den stetig wachsenden Verkehr aufzunehmen.

Im Flughafen selbst und auf dem Weg in die Stadt erinnern riesige Werbeflächen daran, dass ich im LOS (land of smile) gelandet bin. Auch der König “Rama IX”, um dessen Gesundheitszustand sich die “Bangkok Post” auf der Titelseite besorgt zeigt, lächelt hoheitsvoll von meterhohen Plakatwänden. Er genießt – wie sein verstorbener Vorgänger Chulalongkon hohes Ansehen. Auch die Landeswährung “Baht”, die ich in grünen, blauen und roten Bündeln am Flughafen eingestauscht habe,  zeigt ihn kurz nach der Inthronisierung. Ich werde sehr aufpassen, nicht auf einen solchen Schein zu treten, da dies als Majestätsbeleidigung aufgefasst und hart geahndet wird.

Meine Mutter hat mir noch vor der Abreise ein Merianheft über Thailand aus den 70iger Jahren zugeschickt, das ich im Flugzeug zu lesen begonnen habe.  Dort wird schon damals beklagt, dass man das alte, ursprüngliche Bangkok mit den Kanälen, schwimmenden Märkten und roten, alle Häuser überragenden Tempeldächern nicht mehr finden wird, es sei denn, man wage es,  – meint der Merianführer – , sich abseits der touristischen Trampelpfade nach Thonburi, ans andere Ufer des sandbraunen Maenam zu begeben, wo die Könige der Ramadynastie 1782 nach der Zerstörung der alten Hauptstadt Ayuthaya durch die siegreichen Heere Burmas, das amphibische “Krung Thep”, die Stadt der Engel: Bangkok begründet haben.  

40 Jahre später aber habe ich stromauf stromab keine schwimmenden Märkte mehr gefunden, und die 300 Wats (Tempelanlagen) scheinen von der urbanen Globalisierung verschluckt worden zu sein. Bangkok, das den Neuankömmling mit Wahrnehmungsreizen bis zur Schmerzgrenze überflutet und beinahe vergewaltigt, erschließt sich ihm aber erst, wenn er bereit ist, all die Widersprüche und Ungleichzeitigkeiten hinzunehmen, und es als einen heiteren Ort der Melancholie zu begreifen, der ohne Zentrum auskommt, weil alles hier, wo immer dich der auf Betonstelzen gebaute Skytrain ausspuckt, von dem aus die Stadt geisterbahnartig erfahren werden kann, eine Mitte so voller brodelnden Lebens hat, dass  dir die Mariahilferstraße  in Wien aus deiner Erinnerung daneben wie eine nachtschlafene Straße in tiefster Provinz und versiegelter Zeit vorkommt.  

Und doch: Man findet sie, fast unbeabsichtigt, die Tempelanlagen, kleine und große und so kunstvoll angelegte, grüne Oasen der Ruhe, dass sich das Auge nicht satt sehen kann und will. Hier – mitten im Schatten himmelstürmender Glas- und Stahlkonstruktionen oder weitflächig umgeben von lastenschwingenden Baukränen, die auch diese letzten Refugien zu zerstören drohen,  gibt es Orte der Besinnung und Ruhe, die dich zur Zeitflucht einladen. Eine Einladung, die du gerne annimmst, weil du müde bist vom Schauen und Gehen und dich Zurechtfindenwollen, aber auch, weil es zu regnen begonnen hat.

Ich will zum Königspalast,  um von dort aus mit einer Fähre den Maenam entlang zu fahren, von dessen Uferrändern aus sich mir die Stadt so zeigen soll, wie es die Postkarten tun. Längst habe ich es aufgegeben Taxifahrer nach dem Weg zu fragen. Selbst das Lesen eines  Stadtplans scheint sie zu überfordern. Sie drehen die Karte im Uhrzeigersinn solange, bis mir schwindlig wird und der Königspalast wie in einem Tunnelfilter verschwindet. Dann behaupten sie den Weg zu kennen und stürzen sich mit Atemschutzmasken in den alptraumhaften Verkehr. Ein Rauchverbot bei dieser Feinstaubbelastung kann nur als Schikane interpretiert werden. 

Wo er mich aber aussteigen lässt, ist kein Königspalast weit und breit nicht. Ich wecke einen TukTukfahrer. Das sind dreirädrige motorbetriebene Rikschas. Er schüttet sich einen Eimer Wasser übers Gesicht, schaut kurz auf den Plan und fährt los. Wir fahren und fahren, bis er mich am Ufer des Maenam aussetzt, wo ich mich plötzlich unter Obdachlosen befinde, die in Embryohaltung auf  dem Beton schlafen. Einer von ihnen schnorrt mich um Zigaretten an. Ich schenke ihm eine ganze Packung von Zigaretten, deren Schachtel einen vom Speiseröhrenkrebs befallenen Schlund mit nikotingelben Zahnstümpfen zeigt. Er kann sein Glück kaum fassen und weckt seine Gefährten, die sich alle bei mir bedanken wollen, bis es mir zuviel wird und ich reißaus nehme, fast einem Soldaten in Khakiuniform in die Arme fallend, den ich – die Gelegenheit nützend – frage, ob er mir auf dem Stadtplan zeigen könne, wo ich mich gerade befinde. Auch er läßt ihn wieder um 360 Grad kreisen und gibt mir so ohne Verlegenheit zu verstehen, dass es überall sein kann, wo ich gerade bin oder vielleicht sogar schon außerhalb des Bereiches, den der Plan widergibt.  Ich mache einen Wai, wie ich ihn von den Kofferträgern und RezeptionistInnen im Hotel gesehen habe; diese hoheitsvolle Geste des Respekts und des Dankes, indem ich die Hände falte und den Kopf senke: Khob khun khrap. (Danke) Er mit dem gleichen Wai: Ma pen rai (Never mind) Endlich finde ich eine Dame, die ein ausgezeichnetes Englisch spricht und mich sicher bis ins weit entfernte Hotel begleitet hätte, wenn sie nicht – wie sie fast schmerzvoll betonte – krank wäre, aber nun schon auf dem Weg der Genesung sei. Nun weiß ich ungefähr, wo ich bin. Den Königspalast mache ich morgen, wenn ich dazu komme, denn ich will auch noch in die Chinatown. Jetzt aber stürze ich mich ins Nachtleben.

Den Hunger stillt man hier en passant. Überall dampfen die Garküchen. Hier ein heißer Tee, dort ein spicy Spießchen vom Lamm, Schwein oder Huhn. Oder gar eíne Ente in Rotweinsauce beim Chinesen? Die unzähligen Möglichkeiten sich mit einem Häppchen hier und einem heißen Tee dort zu stärken, lassen einem die Dreigeteiltheit eines Tages durch Frühstück, Mittag- und Abendessen schnell vergessen. Dazu kommt, dass es das Wort “Sperrstunde” in der Thaisprache nicht zu geben scheint. In den bis zu 10 stöckigen Shoppingmalls gibt es nichts, was es nicht gibt. Sogar ein Aufladegerät für meine Kamera finde ich. Wer sich mit Raubkopien jeder erdenklichen Software eindecken will, bitte. Musik in Terrabyte von Klassik bis Hiphop zu Spottpreisen. Der in den 80igern geprägte Begriff von den asiatischen Tigerstaaten, die sich in einem Jahrzehnt vom frühen Mittelalter und den feudalen Strukturen von Agrarländern in Hochtechnologie katapultiert haben, wird hier anschaulich, aber auch die mit ihr einhergehende industrielle Zerstörung der heimischen Arbeitswelten.

Wer hier für einen über 12 stündigen Arbeitstag mit mehr als 150 € am Monatsende nach Hause geht, wenn die grauen Betonklötze der Slums, in denen es oft weder Wasserleitungen noch funktionstüchtige Toiletten, weder Straßenbeleuchtung noch eine Müllabfuhr gibt, den Namen eines Zuhause verdienen, schätzt sich glücklich.

In mancher Hinsicht steht das “S” vom so bemühten und sicherlich devisenbringenden Klischee vom LOS – land of smile - für Abertausende eher für sadness, da die ökonomische Situation vor allem einen großen Teil der weiblichen Bevölkerung auf den Strich zwingt, um ihre eigenen Kinder und auch noch ihre auf dem Land lebenden Familien zu ernähren.

Woraus sich die viel gepriesene “Sanuk” (Lebensfreude) speist und wie es den Menschen gelingt, sich trotz Armut dieses Smile zu bewahren, bleibt mir ein Rätsel.

Übrigens lassen sich Thais gerne fotografieren.