Captain America's super fortress (revisited)

The internet. Full of obscure gestures and even more obscure characters. The ones that didn't make themselves visible until the mid-nineties. Prior to the advent of electronic media, i.e. message boards and friends, these people were holed up in their own dark, dank worlds, driven only to succeed by songs like Subdivisions and Middletown Dreams (Search for the lyrics if you don't believe me. Also ask BORT). Many went on to become programming experts or hackers, others stuck around and remained in isolation, while still others plowed minor outward paths and ended up in cell phone sales. As an example, here's one that's older now, but still fairly content (looking) in his ways.



So, here I exist on a Sunday night, no cooler, ambitious, better looking, or generally better off than the aforementioned, looking for different "speed run" on youtube. I should certainly be sleeping. Recent studies have shown that a lack of sleep leads to increased lack of attention at work. Numbers consistently show that amount of sleep and lack of work performance are directly related. I do have a job I guess, and I will have low attention span. My boss, being German and all, will prescribe the usual high doses of amphetamine, which is culturally acceptable, so no need to worry about me.


As I was prowling, I came upon:

1) an amazing 3d World Runner Speed run - amazing because the game, like others of the era, seems to have been created by an alien tribe, and makes no sense at all. Also it's impossible to succeed, if memory serves me.
2) Zelda speed run - as I remember when I was younger and without the internet, it was not able to be determined whether or not anybody had ever beaten this game besides. Well, one guy can do it real fast.
3) What possessed me to write this particular entry -

This guy

Does anybody know him? Probably. He probably will also become aware that I've linked to his page, which could be good or bad based on his ultra extensive dream database which features a complex organization scheme made to work efficiently. On youtube he plays Ultima and has tips for success. Most of all though, he's working on programming his own 2d RPG, complete with complex number schemes, the ability to reach level 3000, and (likely) the ability to become invisible. Please, please, read some of his blog. It's another complex organization scheme made to be simple, and has lots of content.

Most of all, I can't cut through the lot of it, mainly because I have better things to do I figure. Interestingly though, the man resides in Minot, which brings me to a world of cold, dark basements, extended winters and extreme isolation. It's a throwback to the old way of life, although I can't entirely describe it. Maybe I saw others live it. Maybe I lived it. Maybe people who lived it play Ultima.

As one person said,

"The cold, steel-blue, mid-winter sunset. The static, overcast sky seems to give the snow cover a particular, pervasive power. Nobody enjoying the outdoors now, just people in their homes peering out the windows occasionally; allowing them to appreciate the provided warmth. People are bored, but tranquil; a rare feeling void of anxiety. As the night approaches, the flat orange lights create the expanding aura in the sky and the various exhaust mechanisms from homes and facilities submissively push a wide plume into the air; some are noxious. The expansive sky is indiscriminate and devours everything. Between the serene residences and the dark, steadfast brick warehouses lies a distinct border that separates romantic individuality and the frigid, harsh reality of human endeavor. The humming, distant lights and the unforgiving skies illuminate the border. Not one entity knows which side it comes from, but each enters the border in search of answers. Most find little consolation. Most exert too much effort to ever come to useful conclusions, resulting in horrific cosmic darkness. Only the mysterious mid-winter ethereal projections hold the truth. The feeling returns again and again. Some find this nostalgic, others struggle in vain to solve the mysteries it puts forth.

The air there, still or not, is shouting its supremacy. It crosses the border without consequence. Man’s avarice, left to its own devices, continually clarifies the boundary. The cobalt horizon casts no shadows, and tells no lies therein. People fail to recognize its solidarity. People fail to recognize its true meaning. Instead they seek to overcome its strength; an approach that has left the hands empty."