House-sitting, Star Wars, Writing, and Teenage Violence (controversy!)

So this week I'm house-sitting for a family I know. That'll be fun. They have a couple of little dogs that are nice and cuddly. If anyone wants to come by and keep me company, that'd be great. I'll probably be bored rather quickly.


This past Saturday I was at an all-day Star Wars marathon. All six, all day. It was pretty awesome. That might be a fun annual thing to do. Now that I've had the chance to see all the Star Wars films again, I think I'm going to actually do some reviews for them. Hopefully I can get them all done over the week.

Speaking of writing, I've been extremely lacking in time-to-write as of late. I want to do more movie reviews and sci-fi storywriting (yes, Diana, I'm working on it), but I've also got school papers and other stuff to do. :P


On a totally different note, however, I've been thinking about how the media has been lashing out against video games for their violent content, and talking about how today's youth is "desensitized" to violence. I wonder, though: is that a bad thing?
We talk about desensitization as if it's this horrible thing that will turn children into apathetic serial killers. But really, does the fact that you're not grossed out by violent movies and games make you apathetic towards REAL people who are in REAL peril? I don't think so.
Heck, I think that a little desensitization can be good. It can help you learn to cope with some of the tougher things in life, so that when they happen, you're not shocked into helplessness.
People need to realize that there's a difference between physical harm and the act of cruelty. People get hurt and even killed in everyday life, but seeing the often-disgusting results of violence does not make you into a detached psycho-killer. If it did, then ER doctors and surgeons would be among the world's most dangerous people.

It's time that the greater minds of the world stopped believing that people are incapable of not mimicking every action they see. Unless your entire definition of reality has been changed, you're not going to shift your entire view on life, death, and murder based on a fictional medium.