Got a new game for the Wii today.. First, I picked up Resident Evil 4. Never got to play it, the Mrs. decided it was too gory to have in the house, considering we have children and try to run a pretty "clean" home. Not sure why I got it, really. Never liked the first one.. I guess I was just in the mood for a mindless, violent shooter, and the price was right... $29.99.. I took it back to the store. I was unable to just return it for my money, since it was opened. Even though I never played it.. However, they were running a special.. "Trade in 2 Wii games, get 1 free." I had a copy of Elebits that no one plays anymore. Normally, this game only receives a $9.00 trade in credit.. So, I traded in Elebits and my $29.99 two hour old copy of Resident Evil 4 in exchange for a $49.99 Mario Party 8 that the whole family can enjoy!
So far, it is pretty enjoyable. At its most basic level, it is nothing more than a video board game with a few twists. On the down side, you will need a Wii remote for each player, unlike Wii Sports, where my entire family of five can play even though we only have two Wii remotes. No worries, though, we just choose a short 10 turn game, which lasts about 15-25 minutes or so, then shift the remotes on to the next players. Lots of characters to choose from and lots of mini-games will keep the excitement level up for a bit. The game has the potential to get boring kind of fast, but the real fun is in playing with other people. I guess the game just acts more or less as a centerpiece for conversation, laughs, and interaction.. Like I said, its a good, clean, family game that even the adults can enjoy.
This will go great along with some of our other board game favorites, like "Life", "Chutes & Ladders", and "Guess Who". I wish I had at least gotten to shoot one zombie, though.. Oh, well, there are more shooter titles coming out for the Wii that don't involve blood, guts, and the devil.
-myk
Man, he looks just like Peter Griffin from family guy! My wife and I saw Michael Moore's "Sicko" this past weekend.. Now, before the political types go for their shotguns, hear me out.. I'm not a bleeding heart liberal, nor am I a staunch conservative... I typically just go with the guy who seems to be the better candidate at the time, regardless of party affiliation.. But we'll save that discussion for another day.. This was my very first Michael Moore film, and we went into it not looking for a purely factual account, but merely as entertainment.. About the same way one goes to a wrestling event, not to watch any real fighting, but to see a soap opera for men, more or less.. Its only entertainment.. With that in mind, I really liked the film. It made some interesting points, although I cannot confirm the validity of any of it...
Looking at some of the things in the film made me wonder about our health care system. I have never had the privilege of visiting any other countries. But the film definitely made me wonder if we'd be better off moving to Canada! don't get me wrong, I enjoy living in the states. But, I work a full time job, and I run a part time computer repair business (which I hope to make full time within the next year) to take care of my family of five, self included.. Yet I cannot afford health insurance... My employer offers it, but the premiums for family coverage are higher than we can pay for and still keep electricity on in the house and food on the table.. At present, we have gone several years without health insurance and have done well.. But at the back of my mind, I often play "what if".. Sure we can afford to pay cash for an occasional office visit.. We very seldom visit the doctor.. But if something were to happen, I'm not sure what I'd do. We have lived on faith for quite a while.. Its quite a scary journey. I'm not perfect, sometimes its hard to trust God, to believe in what we have in our hearts versus what we see right in front of us. You know, though, even after we get insurance, we should STILL rely on God to keep us healthy. I mean, he has done a great job so far, and it hasn't cost us any monthly premiums! Maybe I can afford more than I think I can.. I mean, His plan is already paid for, Jesus took care of that for me already!
Something to think about.. Where is our trust really? Is it in insurance companies whose primary interest is making money? I mean, they are a business, after all. Is our trust in money? In the health care system? In people? Hopefully not, because each of these have proven to us time and time again that they will fail us at some point. Yet God is always there.. Things may not happen when we want and the way we want, but He is always on time. And he may not provide what we want all the time, but we get what we need.. Perhaps learning the difference between want and need is a good starter.... Sounds a bit like a previous post..
God bless,
-myk
It has been a while... but, it IS called 'occasional' ramblings..... Not a whole lot has been going on.. I am very grateful that God has kept everyone in my family in excellent health, we have a roof over our heads, and no one here goes to bed hungry.. Which is more than I can say for millions more in America. It is really something to sit for a moment and think about how much you really do have, instead of always worrying about what you don't have, or what someone else does have... A friend of mine was telling us a story of some very wise things his father said to him. One thing that really stuck with me was when his father asked him how much room does he need to sleep, how many clothes can he wear at one time, and ho much food can he eat.. He answered with some dimensions for sleep which were roughly equivalent to his body size plus another foot or so for sprawling space, enough clothes to cover his back, and enough food to fill his stomach. His father replied, "then that is all you need, and everything else is a luxury."
Those are some staggering words! Really makes one reconsider his prayer life.. We spend so much time asking God for stuff that we often forget how much He has truly blessed us with... For anyone who actually bothers to read this, assuming you are one who prays, take a few minutes to talk to God... not to ask Him for anything, but simply to thank Him for all He has done for you and your family. I believe that if we begin to do this daily, we will find that we soon stop asking God for much of anything.. That our prayer time will no longer be a shopping list, but instead will be a time of thanksgiving and praise for what has already been done, which is most likely what He meant it to be.. We will also begin to realize that things are already in place to provide the things that we actually need, and that everything else truly is a luxury...
Now, lest I end a post without being comical....
Two fish are swimming upstream and run into a huge concrete wall.. One fish looks to the other and says, DAM!
God bless,
-myk
Got a new game for the Wii today.. First, I picked up Resident Evil 4. Never got to play it, the Mrs. decided it was too gory to have in the house, considering we have children and try to run a pretty "clean" home. Not sure why I got it, really. Never liked the first one.. I guess I was just in the mood for a mindless, violent shooter, and the price was right... $29.99.. I took it back to the store. I was unable to just return it for my money, since it was opened. Even though I never played it.. However, they were running a special.. "Trade in 2 Wii games, get 1 free." I had a copy of Elebits that no one plays anymore. Normally, this game only receives a $9.00 trade in credit.. So, I traded in Elebits and my $29.99 two hour old copy of Resident Evil 4 in exchange for a $49.99 Mario Party 8 that the whole family can enjoy!
