If I Ever Feel Better

A month or so ago, I made a contribution to the fundraising campaign of the Burnside Writers’ Collective, to help out with their website redesign.  I was partly lured by the promise of free Don Miller merchandise, but also by an affection for the site and its irreverent, social-justicy approach to things.  If you don’t know the site, you should check it out - especially if you’re a lover of any of (a) Portland, Oregon (b) sarcasm (c) Jesus or (d) indie rock.  For me, it’s like a jackpot.

Anyway, it was nice today to receive a thankyou from the editor, which made me chuckle:

I wasn’t surprised to see an Australian address…I’ve long said Australians are like cooler version of American West-Coasters.

Word.  Good luck, guys.  You’re just lucky I donated before the Australian dollar crashed and burned.  I think you would have been doing well if I had covered the PayPal fee.

What with the discovery of Guitar Praise last week and the released of Rock Band in Australia, I’ve been thinking far more about video games than any guy without a video game console of any kind should.  But it’s an interesting topic, so humour me.

When we were at the pub the other week, I was chatting to a guy about Guitar Hero and he made the interesting comment that he plays a lot less actual guitar ever since getting the game. I guess he’s getting all his guitar-playing kicks these days from pressing those little buttons in the right order.

What will this do for the future of rock and roll?  Where will our next generation of guitar-slingers come from if teenage boys don’t need to pick up a real six-string to feel like a rock god?  Why would you bother working out some big guitar solo on steel strings that hurt your fingers and take way too much effort when there’s a game that does it for you?  Won’t somebody think of the children?

I really wrestled with this question yesterday, because clearly I have nothing better to think about.  But then I realised…of course teenage boys will still learn to play guitar.  At least at this point in time, no one has ever formed a band and scored chicks using Guitar Hero.

I thought I was being clever the other week with my post about a Christian version of Rock Band.  Little did I know, it actually exists - and it’s called Guitar Praise.  I guess no one ever went broke underestimating the need for crap Christian versions of mainstream products.

According to the testimonials, the best thing about it is that your kids won’t go singing those pesky secular song lyrics.  All that careful homeschooling won’t go to waste!

They also have a Christian version of Dance Dance Revolution.  I am not going to link to it to protect you.

Today in a Maroubra living room, we decided that it would be a good idea if we gave the Bay Hotel a wide berth for the next while - at least those of us who were directly involved in last Wednesday’s incident.

I’m torn about this.  Obviously the place cannot guarantee our safety and it’s possible that I’ll be remembered and possibly targeted, but it makes me feel so weak and powerless.  I’m filled with frustration that not only have I been prevented from going somewhere I enjoy - I’m staying away to avoid physical violence.

Obviously, no smart person deliberately walks into unsafe situations, but I feel the need to prove my own worth as a person - as someone who isn’t cowed or bullied.  I feel like I’ve been tested and I’ve failed.