Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[SalmonGod]

Doom was huge for me.  I used to play it with my dad.  I still love it for the balanced gameplay and amazing art style.  Being one of the most important works in gaming history, I just can't imagine how it could be considered hipster now.

And I played Quake daily for like 3 years.  It marked the golden age of pc gaming for me.

And yeah... I wasn't a fan of Doom 3.  Not that it was a bad game, but it just... wasn't... Doom.  It had almost nothing in common with its origins.  Very disappointing.  I loved the revolutionary lighting system, though.

[Bdthemag]

I don't know what to call this except uncanny and unrelated to our Doom conversation.

I just hopped into Draft Queue for League of Legends, Dominion mode. I was gonna pick Ryze, except the other team was playing champions that would shut him down right away.

The worst part?

I dreamed I'd face that team last night. Same champions. I got creamed in the dream, so I dodged out of the match and quit instead.

Call this what you will, but that's really frigging weird to me. Here's to hoping I didn't just screw fate over or something.

Holy shit, I think you have the power to see a day in advance which matches you will lose in video games.

[Loud Whispers]

I don't know what to call this except uncanny and unrelated to our Doom conversation.

I just hopped into Draft Queue for League of Legends, Dominion mode. I was gonna pick Ryze, except the other team was playing champions that would shut him down right away.

The worst part?

I dreamed I'd face that team last night. Same champions. I got creamed in the dream, so I dodged out of the match and quit instead.

Call this what you will, but that's really frigging weird to me. Here's to hoping I didn't just screw fate over or something.

Holy shit, I think you have the power to see a day in advance which matches you will lose in video games.

Epic power ftw.

I. AM RAGEQUIT MAN!

[justinlee999]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/claus_your_mouth_xR6bAGyfXrJQOuuFceLfkN

How dare the teachers teach the truth!

How dare they! 

[Loud Whispers]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/claus_your_mouth_xR6bAGyfXrJQOuuFceLfkN

How dare the teachers teach the truth!

How dare they! 

WUT THE HELL AMERICA? Y CAN I NO FIX YOU?

[Sirus]

Teacher tells kids that God and Jesus are real: Parents up in arms.

Teacher tells kids that Santa isn't real: Parents up in arms.

Can't please everybody.

[kaijyuu]

I don't know why lying to children is seen in a good light. Innocence = ignorance and deceit, I guess?

If anything I think Santa's an excellent way to teach a kid how to use their imagination. One of the best things in life is getting lost in a good story, fictional or not. Santa fits that bill perfectly.

The stuff on TV isn't real either (veiled jab at mainstream journalism ho!), yet anyone, kid or adult, and still suspend their disbelief and enjoy it. Why not Santa Claus too?



PS: All this talk about hipsters made me pick a new avatar.

[Loud Whispers]

Reading a book, is one thing. Enjoying it, another. Projecting it into real life, starts getting weird. Basing segments of the lives of children around it suddenly becomes cult like.

Problem?

[Lord Shonus]

Besides being a revered icon of the holidays, a cherished memory of childhood for most people, and a critical part of modern cultural mythology on many places, Santa serves as an archetypical Big Good. Santa Claus is a way for people to instill the concept of unflinching generosity and compassion in their children, giving them a symbol, free of the debate attached to religious figures, that even secular and non-religious households can accept. In addition, because no adults think that Santa is real, he provides a valuable coming-of-age moment when the child either figures it out or is told the truth. In any case, Santa is a symbol so ingrained in the American cultural landscape that telling second-graders that Santa is just a story is, at the least, extremely disrespectful.

[Greiger]

Yea, this is a tough question.  The teacher is supposed to teach the children the truth, but sometimes the truth is not actually appropriate.

It would probably be best if schools had official stances on this sort of thing that parents could know about beforehand, but even then that would hardly matter because as often as not parents have no control over what school their children go to without either shelling out large sums of money for private school, or packing up everything and relocating their lives. 

If somebody could figure out a solution to that problem that pleased everybody (or hell, even a majority of folks) they would be billionaires.

[Loud Whispers]

but sometimes the truth is not actually appropriate.

Wtf?

[kaijyuu]

Projecting it into real life, starts getting weird.

You got something against live action roleplay?


Anywho, certainly "basing a segment of a child's life" around something is less weird if they know they're playing make-believe instead of being told it's all real.

Besides being a revered icon of the holidays, a cherished memory of childhood for most people, and a critical part of modern cultural mythology on many places, Santa serves as an archetypical Big Good. Santa Claus is a way for people to instill the concept of unflinching generosity and compassion in their children, giving them a symbol, free of the debate attached to religious figures, that even secular and non-religious households can accept. In addition, because no adults think that Santa is real, he provides a valuable coming-of-age moment when the child either figures it out or is told the truth. In any case, Santa is a symbol so ingrained in the American cultural landscape that telling second-graders that Santa is just a story is, at the least, extremely disrespectful.

I personally see zero value in it being a "coming of age" thing. What, indeed, does it teach of value? That parents lie to their kids? That not everything is as you're told? Trust between parent and child is an important thing, and if anything, I think lying to them (even white lies like this) only damages that.

As for disrespect to the culture surrounding it, I think you underestimate the value of fiction. Who cares if it's real or not? The story and experiences lose zero value if you know it's just a story. I do not think Santa Claus would lose any value as a cultural icon, positive role model, etc etc if he is not based around delusion.

[nogoodnames]

Sounds like the teacher just blurted it out in the heat of the moment because she was tired of getting interrupted. Certainly not deserving of all this attention. I kind of feel sorry for her, but it's funny to see the media overreacting to such a simple thing.

My favorite quote from the article:

“It’s outrageous that a teacher would strip a child of their innocence and try and demystify something,”

[Greiger]

I tried to stay neutral in that, but it seems my personal feelings snuck in a bit there.  Yes I think it was wrong for the teacher to tell the children that.  Though I don't feel the teacher should have a severe punishment.

Children are children, let them have their fun.  If you tell them every single thing that is happening in the world, they could become just as unhealthily stressed as adults are, except at a much younger age. 

I'm sure somebody allowed to enjoy their childhood with a bit of ignorance, to learn about things only when necessary, and somebody allowed to know of all the horrible things that go on in the world, yet unable to contribute in any way, would grow up to be completely different people.

[Loud Whispers]

to learn about things only when necessary

...

I don't even....

somebody allowed to know of all the horrible things that go on in the world

Why should they not?

would grow up to be completely different people

Lets see, one rooted in reality, one rooted in ignorance and mistrust in people...
HERP DERP DERP.

If you tell them every single thing that is happening in the world, they could become just as unhealthily stressed as adults are, except at a much younger age.

Or they would become mentally prepared for life, and actually be informed with the reality of the world's situation.

enjoy their childhood with a bit of ignorance

/Lol youth of today how much has that helped/

I tried to stay neutral in that, but it seems my personal feelings snuck in a bit there

Bah, don't worry, no one is going to hold a grudge against you just because they disagree with you ;P
(If they do, they jelly cos they troll)