Mother 2 (Earthbound) figures by Banpresto

Here we have some toys that I've been after for a VERY long time. You might recognise this character from the Super Smash Bros. games. Nintendo made the odd decision to include Ness (the chap in the red cap) as a playable character among their line-up of top-tier Ninty characters. He was never a huge star, and even in Japan, didn't receive the attention I (and many others) believe he deserves. He's the hero of a game known as Mother 2 (Earthbound in the US) which was never released outside Japan and the States. Only through PC emulation have I come to know (and adore) this character's tale. He never speaks, he fights with a base-ball bat, and quite often you'll see him eating hamburgers out of trash cans. No, he's not a street-fighting hobo. He's a boy who gets home-sick if he doesn't call his mum. He hasn't seen his father in a long time (always away on business) and lives in a shiny, trippy parody of the US- full of Jazz singers, Mexican immigrants, blues bands, zombies, greedy businessmen and disturbing cults. He is Ness the Brave (as I call him).

And after Ness, we meet Paula. She's sweet, she loves her teddy bear, she is a child-care worker, and she has a habit of getting kidnapped. She is Paula the Sexist Stereotype. She is the healer, and the token female- a look at how women are presented in classic Western tales. She's the damsel in distress, and when she comes into her own, she saves the day in a "womanly" way- taking the necessary actions that elude the more manly characters. She's got tricks up her sleeve. And a super-cute bow.

Then we hear the distant call, concerning a clever boy, son of the famed inventor, Dr. Andonuts. Abandoned at boarding school by his absent-minded, genius father, he has fashioned himself after his dad, making bottle rockets and repairing items (seemingly in his sleep) at such a young age. He is Jeff the Inventor! Still the voice tells of one more to join the party...

In the misty mountains of Generic Asian Country, we see the embodiment of the US interpretation of all things Asian. He gets around in a judo outfit, he meditates on mountain tops, he lives in a palace decorated with gold elephants- and he will go outside the limits of the human mind to unlock his mystical psychic powers... He is... Prince Poo, the Asian!

Finally we come to the fat kid next door. We remember his crazy family; his abusive, thieving, self-entitled parents. He chases money, and power- he is a coward who won't stand up to anything unless he knows he's on the winning side. He shows us that greed and cowardice are the ultimate enemies of truth and courage. But at least he doesn't have his little brother's bowl-cut. Or Jeff's for that matter. He is Porky the Selfish!

Below you can see the whole gang hanging out on my shelf. The models are based on the original clay models that were used in the guide book and associated advertising. These folks are super-cute, and I truly believe that everyone would be better off if they played Earthbound. Or Mother 3.

Do it for the Mr. Saturns. And yourself.

I also used the arrival of these figures as an opportunity to do something I haven't done before. I've made great use of them in the past, and I've wished more of them were HD. That's right. You guessed it. I made an unboxing video! Or two... because they arrived over 2 days. Enjoy! Or don't. Whatever.

Beginnings

This is my first post about married life. Before I begin, I'll leave you with a snippet of a conversation I had the other day:

An IM discussion on adults playing with toys:

...

 Adam:  heh

where do you keep them all?

 me:  the spare parts?

Well these 2 guys come with an orange plastic container just for that purpose

But most of my other figures don't have special containers, so I just keep the spare parts rattling around in their original boxes, packed away in the cupboard

See, Mum and Dad?!

This is what happens when I'm not allowed videogames and action figures as a child!!

 Adam:  hahaha

http://xkcd.com/150/

me:  Amen 

Slightly pointless rant:

There are a few good rules which I find useful in governing human interaction, but none have been as effective as the "kindness" rule. It is simple: Whether it be to greet, inform, reprimand or console, ensure that in any interaction you show kindness. If there has been conflict it can usually be blamed on a lack of kindness. This is one such rule that helps give me security in my relationships. I don't always follow it, and it doesn't always work, but it's the most reliably effective governing attitude I've come across.

I can think of one such time where I didn't follow it recently. But we'll get into that in another post (Painted Nail Blues).

I have found such enormous security in my new wife, and our life together. Not financial security, or physical security, but security of good-will. When either of us is under the whether, the other has been going from strength to strength in developing their ability to come to the aid of the other, without being overbearing. Teeng finds just the right words, and is ever practical in her solutions to some difficulty I might be having. I've found resources to do more and more when she needs help.

She's not the kind of girl who just wants an ear to listen, in the manner all the marriage books seem to suggest- she wants a hand. If she's frustrated but knows the solution she'll tell you where she's at with the proceedings, but if she's having difficulty with something, she'd much prefer I do something about it.

We've noticed that many of the suggestions on how men work, and how women work in the context of marriage - as found in various marriage guidance books - are wrong, or inappropriate. One in particular talks about women needing to groom a man's ego if you'd like him to participate in some "women's" activities. And I think I know why she's different from everything I've been told: She's a person, not a gender.


Many women (let's be honest) are used to being overburdened with menial tasks, but have many important decision-based responsibilities taken from them, so when they want to talk about a problem they're having, they are sick of someone stomping over their ground-work. They're the one having the concerns, and they know the most about it- so who better to solve the problem?

Our relationship looks a little different (which has made many people used to traditional roles in marriage very nervous). Teeng's very resourceful. She's got more knowledge of finances than I have. She's been working longer. She's run her own house for some time now, whereas I'm very new to this business. If there's an obvious solution, she'll have made a decision, tried it and then worked from that point. And she knows she has my trust. And if something goes wrong, there's no-one to blame, we both know she tried. And vice versa. She's empowered. She doesn't need enabling. She's strong and knowledgable, and for that (and so many other reason) I love her. She has so many resources at her finger-tips, and I'm just one of them.

Various people in our lives have seen something unusual in the way we act. Some people are intimidated by the fact that we're such a powerhouse, and feel that perhaps either she's too strong (how does that even make sense?) or I'm not keeping her in line. When you say it out loud, it's as ludicrous as it sounds, but you'd be surprised. If I disagree with something and suggest an alternative, nobody bats an eye-lid, but when she does it'll often raise eye-brows.

We are equals, with varied talents- a blessing and resource to each other. But I am not her keeper. And for that I praise God.

From the start, she often lead the way- in romance and in discovery. I've never been attracted to women who take a back seat, whether by nature or training. Every girlfriend I've ever had has been self-sufficient and vibrant, a pillar for others to look to, a smile that lifts people up. A leader.

The way I'd hope everyone to be. If you can't take charge sometimes, then it's time you reclaimed your life.

I strongly disagree with those who'd suggest that a man should lead the way. We're each given gifts, and Teeng and I are both masters of our own destinies (only in a sense, God is the true master). And we chose to join our lives together. And if either one of us can see a clear path, why should physical appearance override our ability to offer a way forward?

Here's were I started writing again, after that little rant. And a few days' wait. All I really wanted to talk about is the beginning of our life together. And it's been such a great start. Up until the wedding itself, I thought that all of this preparation might just be a way to test our relationship under pressure- but her words made me realise this couldn't be the case; "What's there to worry about? I'm going to be there, the groom's going to be there- Peta's going to marry us. And our friends will have fun."

And she was right. The only stress we had to worry about was the most pointless variety: Anxiety about whether we'd be anxious or not. The mental equivalent of screaming; "DON'T ANYBODY PANIC, OR YOU'LL RUIN EVERYTHING!"

The day was easily the happiest of my life. I hope she had fun, too. The ceremony was perfectly pitched: It highlighted a fantastic balance between the joy and gravity of this commitment- and in all ways acknowledged God as the buoyancy that will keep our marriage sailing along, past sun-drenched beaches and through terrible storms. Using the same analogy, I'm reminded of the story of Jesus calming the storm, beginning at Mark 4:35. It not only serves to show God's power through Jesus, but also has a message concerning a life following Jesus. It doesn't mean we'll be free from storms, but when we face any turbulence in our relationship, we'll come out the other side.

Our three weeks away, beginning with 3 or 4 days by ourselves, was a lovely way to step into married life. We stayed in a ridiculous hotel (The Marina Bay Sands- I suggest you have a quick Google) courtesy of Uncle Lee, and we swam in the Infinity Pool on the roof.

Before any of that could happen, we had to wait for our luggage to arrive. Thanks, Jetstar, for losing our clothes for a few days. It really showed us that despite the hiccough, we were able to celebrate the beginning of our life together and be at ease no matter what happened.

After meeting up with many friends, and sitting through several "wedding dinners", and travelling around Malaysia and Singapore, as depicted below, we returned home to finish unwrapping wedding gifts, and to enjoy each other's company in our new home:



We've had lots of fun setting up our new house with all the wedding gifts we've recieved- like our new piano,  light-up numbers for our house, books and board games and art works and so many fantastic gifts. We're so thankful for the amazing start we've been given.

There will be many more joyful posts of marital bliss (I apologise in advance) and others about silly trinkets or nail polish patterns. I hope you'll stick around. I want to thank you all for your company, your friendship and you kind wishes from across the ocean.

Much love to you all,

Evan

Blessings

For all those that couldn't be there- here's the main event: The vows and the kiss.

Thanks to everyone who made it amazing. Over the next few weeks I'll have stories to tell of the Beginnings of our life together, and I must tell you about our wonderful Last-Minute Maid of Honour, as well as The Best Man Who Really Was, and the best Toilet Tour of my life. I really must tell you all about Monkeys, Monkeys and More Monkeys, as well as Family Ties. But right now I'm going to leave you with that video, and this picture:

Oh, fine. And this one, too:

I hope you have an amazing year, and I hope you managed to take some time to dwell on the gift of Jesus Christ this Christmas.

Much love, everyone!

Praise God for where we've come from, where we're going and all those who walk with us.

Thanks again!

Love,

Evan

P.S. Oh, here's a few more... Enjoy!

On Love and "Dating"

Note: I've addressed this to heterosexual males in my wording, but that's only because the people who have been asking me the questions are male. This is my way of saying, no I'm not palming your questions off, and no, these answers I'm giving you aren't that ludicrous. This is me explaining myself.

It's always difficult watching someone bang their head against a brick wall. We all do it, and I feel sorry for everyone who suffered through watching my mistakes. I am apprehensive about giving advice to people, but rather I try and explain my own thoughts as they apply to me.

Lately many people have come to me for dating advice. And dating advice isn't something I know how to give- because I don't know if I've had more than one or two "real dates". As soon as someone mentions dating, I get nervous. My own thoughts on the matter are extensive. I think everyone's are. But there are a few things I need to put out there before we begin this conversation:

1. I'm getting married in 8 days. This hasn't affected my outlook on dating, but it might affect your perception of my outlook. I wouldn't want to hide anything from you. Apart from my bank details.

2. If you want assistance to get into someone's pants, then I can't help you. Not because of my own thoughts on the issue, but because you'd have more of an idea than I would.

3. Through my understanding, if you're good at making friends (of both genders) then we have something to work with.


That last one is key, for one very important reason: I've been on as many dates with girls as I have with guys. Does that bother you? Then we might have different ideas about dating.

I watched a video recently about a man's struggle with depression and his thoughts on the topic. He presented some disconcerting ideas about love and friendship. He mentioned soldiers loving their comrades more than they love their wives. I personally believe that sentiment would likely be derived more from the purpose for which they selected their wives (and most likely vice versa) more than his idea concerning shared experience.

This is a tricky conversation for me to have with the person off the street because of definitions. What does love mean? I believe it is an active thing- not a presence, but a desire resulting in action. I am not talking about desire to be with a person, or to be physically intimate with a person, but actually a desire to perform this action called love. That might sound like a syntax error or a recursive definition, but it's the only way I can explain it. Love comes from a will to love. Will is choice. And love is a choice, and is not something a person can therefore "fall out of". Lust is a whole other issue.

Let's return to the topic of the video. I engaged this man in a discussion about "women". He felt that all the "women" in his vicinity were cruel and uncouth, a product of the society they've grown up in. The unfortunate thing is that he too has fallen prey to social conventions and thoughts on the subject that don't let him see past the way women in his life present themselves to the far more destructive issue of his own self-perception and his perception of women at large. Here we arrive at the first pillar of TSC's Guide to Dating:

i. If you don't have any female friends, things will be very difficult. If you do, then you can probably skip this point. If you don't, why? Is it external, or internal? I find it very difficult to believe that no woman would befriend you, all things considered, no matter where you live. So let's find out what you've done to set yourself apart from women.

Have you chosen to not make women your "friend" (as is the case with the man in the video)? Why is this? Is it because you believe in the inherent differences between men and women that make communication at the level of "friendship" difficult? There's a reason it's called "more than friends" (although I feel this detracts from the importance of friendship). It's not "more than friends" in the way that sponge cake is more than a cupcake. It's "more than friends" in the way that Doc's DeLorean is "more than a car". If you can't make it up to 88 mph, nothing's going to happen. It's got to be a car before you can go further.

My wife-to-be and I went on "dates" in the same way as getting to know any new friend. I could not deny her physical attractiveness, but there are many beautiful people out there, and we didn't bond over her appearance; we bonded over bush-walking and choral music, we shared experience to build friendship, valuing the discussions, not knowing whether we'd be remotely compatible as partners. And without needing us to be. The same story has been told many times in my life, but the girl isn't always physically attractive, nor even female. I've developed friendships with many people (as we all have) and through that, I've been able to reach a place where I know about a certain person enough to open up and have them open up, and that's miles before we've discussed any romantic interest between us.

For a worthwhile relationship, for a lasting relationship, you don't need to see the same way in every aspect of your life, but to be open enough to engage with difficulties when opinions differ. And you definitely need to be friends. To people who say: "I don't date friends," I must say I don't understand your view point. I understand it if the purpose of dating is sex. Because, really, who wants the awkwardness of sharing something so intimate then having to face that person on a regular basis. What if they fell for you?! Ewww...

ii. You already know what a good date is like. You've been on many. How many times have you shared an activity with someone because you're both interested in something? Seeing a movie? Going to a floral display exhibition? Playing video games? A great date came out of spending time with a person (same or opposite sex) and it wasn't because the film was amazing, was it? Or the flowers blew you away, right? It wasn't because of anything you'd planned. It was because you both grew closer during the experience, and it was because of the compatibility of your personalities.

She might be beautiful- so beautiful you'd write volumes and volumes about her beauty, but what does that matter if you can't relate to her or communicate with her.

iii. Maybe it's her. Maybe it's you. I'm reminded of this video in so many different areas of my life. It essentially asks the hard question for budding game designers: do you have what it takes? To cut a long story short: Are you even ready?

In the video it suggests a well-rounded person is a big requirement of the job. What do you know about art, history, philosophy? All that helps you contribute something to the world of video games.

Now, I like video games, but if video games are all I know, then I don't have the tool set to be a good game designer, or partner. If you're struggling to find someone compatible with your claustrophobic corner of the world, then maybe you need to broaden your horizons. There are plenty of ways to both broaden your friend base and your interests by joining various communities. Lack of potential partners is a real problem. Over the last few years, a friend of mine has gone from being surrounded by blokes in his programming course, to enjoying the friendship of many more people. It can be difficult if you're working full time, or in a remote area, but the majority of us live near thousands of people, many of which engage in social activities that we can become a part of.

If you don't get out, you'll have trouble finding someone else who would happily share in your reclusive behaviour. They're out there. But probably not worth it. Classes, church groups, sports groups, board game clubs- there are many groups are looking for members, so if you have any interest it can only do you good.

iv. Do you REALLY want a girlfriend? More than anything? Then that'll definitely be an issue. If you see my first point, you'll remember that building great friendships is the best way to expose yourself to potential partners. And I don't mean "leading someone on" (that's an important issue, too). Don't do that. Be honest.

I refer to the guy we all know. We can't help but notice he's single, because he hangs off every new girl he meets at every party we go to. He keeps asking us why he can't get a girlfriend. He wants one so badly. He's "doing everything right". He's got books about it.

He scares off potential partners (victims) more than a serial killer. He remembers every girl who he has fallen for, and resents past "relationships" which the girl in question possibly never even knew about. It's to this person (and we all know one, or twenty if we study computer science) that I give this very important advice: Try not looking at every endeavour of friendship as a potential mate-for-life. But know that each friend you make time for, and each new friend you get to know improves your chances of one day being the right person at the right time.

And to each of the guys (and couple of girls) who have approached me about this issue, know that I love you. I want to make time for you, go out with you, to walk and talk with you. But also know that advice on this issue is very difficult to give, and the hardest answer to hear is: Maybe you're not ready, and your mind isn't in the right space. If you haven't seen me for a while, say hi, call me up, I want to see you again, just to watch a movie- or see a flower show, or walk through an art gallery. Maybe we'll have a life-changing conversation. Maybe I'll learn secrets from you. We can really have a conversation now that you know where I'm coming from.

Just wait until after I get back from my Honeymoon. Married life, here I come!

Love,
Evan

P.S. Thanks, Kim, for reminding me I'm not (completely) crazy. And thanks to My Love, for being the best friend I could ask for.

P.P.S. This piece wasn't meant to be a fail-safe guide, just an insight into my own thoughts on the matter, for those who have asked. And for everyone else it's me opening up a little. I've posted enough cat pictures lately.

P.P.P.S. Nearly.

"I go first?" asks Lilly