I wanted to link one of those “men can’t help acting on impulse” ads from the 80’s here but the only one on YouTube isn’t very good.
Oh what the hell.
I’ve always wanted to present that as a legal defense.
“Yes, my client squeezed her ass and went HONK HONK, but your Honor, men just can’t help acting on impulse!”
See how that works out for ya.
I bring up the subject because I just bought a game on impulse. Based on the review in this here video which made it sound like something I would really enjoy, and the fact that when I looked it up on Steam, it was only $5.56.
Sold! Because what the hell. Live a little.
Only after buying it and starting to download it did it occur to me that I already have a Diablo-type game on the go, one called Shadows Awakening.
Alert fans will recognize it as one of the games I got in a bundle about a month ago.
And it’s pretty good. Interesting system, decent world, fun combat. But I am not all that attached to it, really.
So if the New Hotness displaces it, whatever. Fine.
But it does shed light on my difficulties when it comes to acting on impulse.
Traditional Western thinking would say, “Good! People should always think before they act and consider the potential consequences and rewards. The world would be a better place if people did this more!”.
And while that is true enough in principle, there is no principle, no matter how seemingly sound, that cannot turn into toxic madness if taken too far.
Some decisions have to be impulsive. The human mind is not built to make every single decision, no matter how trivial, based on deep consideration of all the options.
Take it from one who knows. It’s exhausting. You can run yourself ragged trying to do that shit all the time.
And I know this. And yet, I am struggling with feelings of self-doubt and regret because of my impulse purchase despite how little it cost.
My legacy rationalist software insists that I should have thought it through more and maybe reconsidered getting it because I already have enough games on the go and one of them is in the exact same subgenre and I am a fool for doing something so recklessly impulsive and I should never, ever do that again.
Again…. we are talking a $5.56 purchase here. But apparently, that doesn’t matter to my overbeating superego. It could have cost a nickel and the consequences would be the same. Acting on impulse is just plain wrong!
Well fuck that shit. Acting on impulse can be perfectly fine. Not only that, on a deeper level, acting on impulses strengths your ability to act in all situations, and suppressing all impulses drains the life out of your will and your soul.
So fuck you, irrational rationalism. You don’t know shit about shit.
No matter how high we build our ivory towers of logic and reason, they are still built on a foundation of id, and the whole damn thing is worse than useless if the id don’t work.
So all of rationalism’s id-suppressing bullshit is violently counterproductive and hence darkly humorous in its futility.
So to hell with that. I am going to do what it takes to make my id base stronger and healthier and more potent so that the rest of me has more to go on.
There comes a time when the most rational and sane option is to let the id club the ego and superego over the head so you can finally have some goddamned fun.
More after the break.
Xmas and NIMH
So I made the Xmas dinner and it turned out great. Yay me!
Had the usual amount of stress and crisis management that comes with doing anything more complicated than scratching your nuts.
But none of that matters now. It all went fine and that’s all that matters. Whatever worry or stress I have left in my bloodstream can just fuck right off, and howdy.
Watched one of my all time favorite movies, the Secret of NIMH, while we ate our sumptuous Xmas feast.
That movie never fails to fill my heart with joy. Saw it when I was still young enough to have its full impact on me. And it is so full of pure Seventies wholesome love and kindness and compassion (as well as scary danger and a seriously evil rat) that it speaks to something deep inside my heart.
It comes from where I come from. We share the same soil.
Drank some of my expensive champagne with dinner. So I am slightly drunk now.
It was pretty good. Dry, but with a solid fruity layer underneath to keep it from being too pucker face inducing. Right amount of bubbles. Goes down nice and smooth.
And of course, I drank it nice and slow. Never gulp champagne. It will have its revenge almost immediately. Learn that the hard way.
In my defense, it was a champagne cocktail and it was delicious and I was thirsty.
Got somewhat overheated doing the cooking, so I had to sit down in front of this a-here compubox of mine for half an hour so I could cool off before I ate.
Cue 50’s housewife complaining about slaving over a hot stove.
Sucks to be this prone to heat stroke. Wish I could turn that shit off. If it wasn’t for this frailty, I would love the hell out of summer. What’s not to love?
Instead, I spend the summer in a confused state between loving the sunshine and blue skies and all that primary color stuff and hating the heat that is making my head throb and leaving me nauseous and dizzy and hearing a faint sort of sizzling sound.
Got my usual $75 virtual gift certificate from Anne. Thinking of getting this with it.
Its review scores are pretty high, and it has this gem in the product description :
“Imagine a BMW motor knocking the hell out of your stiff knotty muscles.”
Damn, these people are speaking my language. I picture that line being delivered by a big fat salesman type in a cowboy hat smoking a cigar.
Hopefully it can kick the shit out of my back muscles and give a royal reaming to the cramps I get there sometimes.
Take that, you sons of bitches!
I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.