Straight guys are difficult to replace after you leave the Winnipeg ghetto

January 27, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment 

Five days are left before this year’s Super Bowl matchup between Arizona and Pittsburgh. It’s usually at this time of year that I miss my straight guy friends the most. Now, I love my gay friends lots, but there are just times in my life where it’s not the same without the straight boys. I used to host an annual Super Bowl party at my parents’ house in Winnipeg that I haven’t been able to host since moving.

Since leaving Winnipeg, I’ve been able to fill in the gaps as far as school friends and gay friends and girl friends, but it’s been extremely difficult to find a new group of straight guy friends who love to watch sports. You see, in Winnipeg I was surrounded by straight guys and am quite comfortable around the sporty jock testosterone-heavy scene. I’m not really sure how I will be able to really find a new group of friends now.

Don’t get me wrong, I do have some straight guy friends, though most of those friendships are superficial and come by way of my dayjob as well as fellow stand-up comedians. I could also get back into the competitive videogame scene, though that group of straight guys aren’t exactly sports-friendly.

I’m kind of lost as to how I’ll find a new “crew,” but I am open to suggestions.

Filed under: Living
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Learning through videogames can be effective if done right

December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment 

I’ve been playing Rock Band 2 a lot recently, and it’s really helped my rhythm and has basically taught me how to play drums much more quickly than any other method I can of. This experience got me thinking about learning through videogames in general.

I’ve spent most of my life playing videogames. I think videogames are a great way to learn and can help children use parts of their mind that they normally wouldn’t use. It’s unfortunate that there’s a group out there who feel videogames can only rot minds. Quite the opposite is true; it all depends on the games you play.

My first big game was Tetris. I was absolutely addicted and played multiple versions on my NES and then my Gameboy (and eventually every other system known to man including my DS and Wii). Tetris is a great way to teach kids about spacial relations.

I was a huge role-playing game fan ever since playing Final Fantasy II on the SNES. RPGs are a great way to get kids to read. I’ve never read so much in my life than I’ve read while playing RPGs. On my way to becoming the Winnipeg Typing Champion, I learned to type mainly through typing videogames that my friend coded for MS-DOS and later perfected my style playing Typing of the Dead for Dreamcast.

I could bring out many more great examples of how videogames are a great way to learn, but the latest and greatest examples are music games. Sure, some of the instruments such as in Guitar Hero don’t really teach you much other than finger dexterity and rhythm, though those are important, but some games are so close to reality that they can really help you learn before taking professional lessons.

Playing drums is so close to reality that it’s a good jump start. Nothing takes the place of professional lessons, but now at least when you are at a point to take lessons, you are already fairly up to speed with the basics. I’ve also recently purchased Keyboardmania II for PlayStation 2. I’ve always wanted to learn piano, and now I can learn a few things before moving on to real lessons.

Maybe videogames aren’t the best way for everyone to learn, but it meshes quite well with my learning style. You see, I always avoid getting lessons or being trained when I start something new. I like to have the chance to figure things out for myself and develop my own style before later taking lessons and polishing up my act.

Two clear examples of this philosophy are my typing and my comedy. When becoming Winnipeg Typing Champion, I developed my own style of typing that would not have happened if I followed the standard conventions. I use different fingers for keys than are recommended, and I think it’s because my hands are different than anyone else’s hands, which is true of everyone. There is no one correct way to type, depending on the size of your fingers and the strength of your hands, it can vary from person to person.

The same is true of my comedy act. I took great care in carving out my own style before seeking out feedback from other comedians. I think it’s really helped me shape my own style.

Filed under: Performing
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