DominionCast 5

[Hunin]

Podcast! Oowah! Oowah! Get some, son! (How? Um, click that lil' box under music on the home page. Or, you can click this link, I guess.) Whachutink?

[Marcel Hillie]

I really enjoyed this podcast, as I was able to relate to the content more than the Role-Playing casts - it's been easily five years since I was in a game of any kind...

I read a lot when I had more free time. I do still try to read when I can, though. I agree that the younger generation does need to read more. There's a lot more that I think the younger generation can be doing, but that's neither here nor there.

A lot of lessons I learned early in life were from reading. That never stopped - in College, I was reading the textbooks on the first day. Towards the end of the semesters, folks were getting the vapors trying to get my help to study.

It is what it is. I know how I'll raise my kids, if and when I ever have them.

Book Recommendation - Ralph Ellison, "The Invisible Man," for those of you that weren't in our AP English class. Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World," for those of you that were. And go read Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" while you're at it.

[Hunin]

I just bought Invisible Man for my sis (no The, lest people get confused when the story they thought was set in Harlem turns out to be Victorian England ...) to read, along with a Toni Morrison book and a J. California Cooper book, neither of which I name because I cannot personally recommend them. Invisible Man I can, and do, recommend. Truly one of the greatest works in the English language. Click on that link and buy it, making you smart and us rich. Booyah.

And "The Lottery", The Shmottery; give me "The Cask of Amontillado" anytime. I recently mentioned it as one of my favorite Poe stories, but I also think it's one of the best short stories of any kind. It's the kind of story that made The Twilight Zone, horror comics, and Stephen King (and many others) possible. If you ever get a chance, check out Poe's "Hop Frog" - preferably in an anthology of some kind in case you don't like it. It may be a bit predictable for some, but I love a good revenge tale.

[Dominus Digg]

Thanks to Madame Tobin i've got Invisible Man under my belt.

I'm half way through When will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops, but it's like a series of stand up bits by Carlin as narrator - not a bad thing. When I read true books I internally narrate the writer, so there's no adjustment to be made for me.

"I am America ( and So can You)" by Steven Colbert is really funny and written like a self help book.

[NobleBear]

One of the themes I perceived in this episode was the joy and value of storytelling, which is what gaming is all about. Unlike reading, in gaming you do the story rather than passively observing it; that is, play a more active role in the forming of the narrative. This isn't to take anything away from reading but often reading alone doesn't reinforce the lesson or themes of the storytelling on its own, it takes discussion and application as well in many cases to flesh it out or to make it more real. What do you want someone to learn? have them roll up a character and place them in that situation, let them talk to the NPCs around them let them discover what can and can't be accomplished in the environment with the available resources.

I will concede one thing that reading does better and that is to create a more common and repeated experience. When one games the experience is unique to the individual and transitive. When one or more read a book the interpretations may vary but all concerned have followed the same arrangement of words and plot and characters in a similar fashion, also, one may reread a book again after which they will derive a more similar experience than if they went through the same campaign again.

[Dominus Digg]

This is a point I should've brought up as a gamer. The customized immersion of good games may have spoiled me a bit. Then again, good books are far more common than good games - where I can ham up the acting and interact.

[Nicole]

People actually use the word "academia" in real life. I thought it was just my auntie.

I want to say that the presence of other entertainment does not nudge a child from reading. If you want your kid to read, read. Read for fun, let them see you reading, read to them.

I had access to video games, unlimited television, and the numerous outdoor means of entertainment, but still read at LEAST two hours a day since before I was five. Unenforced. So much reading, in fact, that I did not do homework and barely passed school until the importance of homework shrank sometime in intermediate school.

I've heard people complain about their kids not reading, but I know for a fact that they haven't read a book of an adult reading level since they were last in school, and only reluctantly read to their children, and I want to smack them.

My brain turned off somewhere in the place where religious references came every fourth or fifth word. It turned on again a little later. I guess the only time I zero in on religious discussion is when it's an atheist's podcast.

And then I tuned in...and there was world history. And my brain broke again. Social Studies was always my worst subject in school.

I like listening to Omari talk. He talks like a book. It's awesome. Just the vocabulary and phrasing he chooses. Awesome.

[Dominus Digg]

Yeah, parental modeling is the best answer to many a behavioral issue.

I struggled to not take the whole chunk of black history out, cause it's off topic and this isnt February. I did cut that section down alot. I blame myself for not stressing the humorous feel of the Cast to two hosts that had obviously never heard a Cast before. The uncut first half hour was like a lecture.

[NobleBear]

I completely agree. What do you want from your girlfriend, spouse, child and neighbors? Be that person.

I'll be honest and admit that I felt my attention meander when the discussion got off topic but I would also add (A.D.D.?) that while designated "months" and "days" are good kick off points for approaching certain topics, they should by no means restrict when you can discuss them. I shouldn't have to wait for arbor day to talk about the dynamic beauty inherent in deciduous trees or valentines to speak of love. Its your podcast, talk about what you want.

[Dominus Digg]

True, and I didn't want to talk about that and should've directed back to the topic at hand.

A Dominus must dominate, though need not be harsh or disrespectful in doing so.

[NobleBear]

How's this for a provocative statement:

I am ambivalent toward reading. I like a compelling narrative but sometimes I grow weary having to wade through hundreds of pages before I can properly discern what an authors point is and if I agree or not. All books, including those I like, can be distilled to one or two concise sentences; everything else is nuance.

Frankenstien:
Man should not play God.

Lord of the Flies:
Humanity as a whole is evil by nature.

Cask of Amontillado:
A sober mind is not easily confined.
(ok, that last one I pulled out of my ass, but it sounds better than "revenge is poetic and awesome". Although if you liked that one better, pretend I said that instead. ;) )

I apologize if I seem unduly harsh or jaded. I guess sometimes I feel like a work (book, movie, etc.) should be entertaining before I am told by academia that I should fall in love with a work instantly because others, who's motives and tastes I cannot discern, have all harrumphed in agreement that it is "important".

If you feel differently, argue it to me. I'm open to having my mind changed on this topic. Really.

[Dominus Digg]

I'd disagree, if I didn't agree.

My favorite books carry complex messages, like Dune: "That which you hate most is a part of you, who is the bridge between the past and future in every moment, and that which oppresses you must become your ultimate strength but what empowers you also holds your destruction ...

and beware kids smarter than they should be!"