Just three weeks ago, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, David Arneson, died.  Although I am quite saddened by his passing, I cannot help but feel the lightness of air in which I walk.  I recently had a relationship that died.  So it was only fitting that David, the creator of D & D, has also died.  For those of you that don’t know… well, nevermind.  Maybe I’ll tell you about it when the creator of Magic the Gathering dies, too.

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ co-creator dies

(April 10, 2009)

(CNN) — David Lance Arneson, who helped trigger the global phenomenon of role-playing games as co-inventor of “Dungeons & Dragons,” has died at the age of 61.

A statement on the game’s official Web site, wizards.com, said Arneson died Tuesday evening “after waging one final battle against cancer.”

Arneson “developed many of the fundamental ideas of role playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures, and that personality is as important as combat prowess,” the statement said.

The game’s co-creator, Gary Gygax, died last year.

In 1974, Arneson and Gygax created “Dungeons & Dragons,” which allowed players to assume roles in a magical world. They could be fighters or wizards, elves or dwarfs.

“As characters journey through various lands, they search for hidden treasures while battling menacing monsters with their own brains and brawn,” a description on wizards.com says.

Some games would last days or weeks — or even longer. “Game campaigns are as limitless as the player’s imaginations,” wizards.com says.

What began as a hand-assembled print run of 1,000 games quickly sold out. Young people all over the world started buying up the game. By 1982, sales broke the $20 million mark.

Arneson filed a series of lawsuits against Gygax insisting he was not being given credit or proper royalties for his work creating the game. The suits were settled.

“Dungeons and Dragons” spawned video games, novels, a cartoon, and a movie. The franchise saw a surge this decade after “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” movies took off.

Dear Diary,
It’s probably strange hearing it from me, but I can’t wait for my high school reunion! Ever since I received the invitiation in the mail, I’ve been on pins and needles over what I’m going to wear, if I should change my hair style, or whether or not I should buy a new suit. I haven’t been back to Calpoly Technic since… well, since I graduated back in 1999. If you remember, I didn’t leave with the fondest of memories, but hey, ten years is a long time and I’m ready for a new beginning. The problem is, I’m not exactly sure what kind of new beginning I’m looking for. It feels I’ve been looking for the last decade and I promised myself way back when I wouldn’t go unless I had accomplished something radical. But that’s about to change. It’s only a month away and I have to think of something quick.

Well, to go to an extreme example of this, check out this trailer from Harold and Kumar 2 at about 1:30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONMoVMMnR_U
The Korean American dad speaks English fluently with no accent, but he’s still not understood. Okay, it’s true that this is a comedy, and the Korean dad comes off as sympathetic and Ed Helm comes off as a douche.

But it’s only funny because there’s some truth to it.

For example: http://www.ocanational.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=520&Itemid=104 Laotian American Lori Phanachone is a high school honors student in Iowa with scholarships universities. But she’s still not exempt from taking English proficiency tests every year because she speaks Laotian at home. When she refused to take the test, she was suspended for 3 days and threatened with losing her scholarships and participation in school activities.

Or how about Rep. Betty Brown of Texas, a lawmaker who suggested Asian Americans change their names so they’re more “accessible”?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6365320.html
Brown says that Chinese is a difficult language to learn. The irony is that grammatically Chinese is a much simpler language. There’s no real conjugation of verbs. Sentences are structured basically the same way as English: subject, verb, object.

Some would even argue that Chinglish, the mangling together of Chinese and English, is actually a more efficient form of English. http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-07/st_essay
Weird, yes, but the idea has popped up memorably in the brilliant but cancelled sci-fi TV show “Firefly,” where characters threw in Chinese phrases randomly as a result of the future influence of China on the universe at large.

Well, this is all benign culture clash you say…but sometimes there are deadly and dangerous consequences to being misunderstood. Earlier this month, Jiverly Wong, a delusional Vietnamese American, opened fire killing 13 people in Binghamton, NY. In a letter he wrote in mangled English, he claimed that US law enforcement officers told him to “Come Back Your Country” and that “Cop exploit unknown English…for harass and domineer.”

But before his reasons for shooting people, he says in a haunting apology, “The first I want to say sorry I know a little English.”

My friend Rebecca does not know how good she has it with Mitch. I mean I have mechanic envy but I won’t say it to her face. I could use a tune-up anytime. Poor Mitch won’t leave her; he’s stuck on that chick for better or worst.

My thouGHTS on RE:verse.

First of all, Nic is such a charming, clever writer. There always seems to be an undercurrent of the victorious underdog in his plays, aren’t there? I love it because, in essence, don’t we all want to see losers win?

Hey, I don’t use the term “loser” lightly. I was called a loser back in my youth. I was bullied ruthlessly. Every single day I was taunted, by boys and girls. But, hey, look at me now. I am a hot young thing. I have great hair and a magnetic smile and I bet you all those kids who bullied me are wondering why they’re not me. Who’s the loser now?

Alright, I’m kidding. Don’t give yourself a hernia. I actually hate the word “loser”, but back in junior high and high school, I truly felt like one. I was quite unattractive, and lots of people made sure to tell me…to my face—Dante, Anthony, Taylor, Michael, Keri, Disha, Trevor, Daniel, that kid who always took long dumps after lunch time. Well, why not? I can do whatever I want now because they can’t hurt me anymore. Nah-nah-nee-nah-nah.

I love RE:verse because, c’mon: who couldn’t relate to the mis-fit Emo kid back in High School who never quite fit in? If you’ve ever been an underdog, don’t tell me that at one point in your life, you never imagined showing up at your high school reunion a HUGE SPANKING SUCCESS, met with the adoration of your peers who never accepted you?

A man was being held captive on a tiny lifeboat in a vast area cluttered with many obstacles, getting ever closer to the edge.

He is a hero because he sacrificed himself to save others.

For the past week, I’ve had two scenarios playing through my mind which dwelled upon the concepts of sacrifice, captivity, and freedom.

The first surrounded a question:  “If placed in the position where I could save a stranger’s life by giving up my own, would I do so?”

When I was a younger man, the answer would have undoubtedly been, “Yes.”

But things are different, now.  I am in love and have been for the past ten years.  The thought of leaving her, of losing each other, of knowing that she’d be on her own in an ocean of clutter…that would be unbearable.  She is my life’s love.

The answer’s not even a question.

The other scenario involves my profession.  Psychotherapy is more of an art than it is a science.  So much of it is based on perception and the subjective observations of others who have come before, that it really depends on the therapist whether or not a shackled mind can be freed.

And it depends on you.

Are you being held captive by the clutter?  Are fear and self-doubt – rooted in those first, early explorative attempts which were being rebuffed unwittingly by those who did or did not love you – assailing you relentlessly and driving you to the edge?  Are you striving to be free?

If so, do not give up if thwarted.  Remember the captain.  His early attempts at freedom were shot down by his captors…and, yet, he did not give up, he kept striving for his release.

And he is free.

I sincerely hope that for you, it will not come down to the snipers.

This is my favorite joke. You know?

Why do elephants paint their toenails red?
So they can hide in strawberry patches.