Disappointment

broken present
My excitement on getting a present from Ruth in the post this morning quickly turned to disappointment when I found the CD snapped in two. It was a copy of a Regina Spektor album…she appears at the Truck Festival this weekend (broadcast on BBC6). The other media thing that passed me by is that FilmFour is going free – that’s very good news – watch the countdown here! And I must say the playful anarchist in me likes the idea of real-world gaming based on water pistol fighting. That’s what Street Wars is all about, despite the hype. Now I’ve normally got a lot of respect for Mark Lawson, but his uptight reaction in today’s Guardian came as a big disappointment. He argues that: “the bizarre blurring of a child's toy with the world of adult life and work suggests that the video-game generation has got out of control. The traditional insult for gamers is that they should get out more, but perhaps this lot need to stay in more.” For a start the connection with video-gaming is tenuous, but also there is an important way in which play is politics. I for one would rather be squirted with water than anything more serious.