Saint of Sinners

Design and Brand

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:50:00 +0000

For the last quarter-century, I’ve fell in love with brands and designs…

The moment that I could differentiate toys- the authentic Transformers from the knockoffs, I fell in love with brands. The day that I knew that Star Wars action figures lived in a different world than my He-Man action figures. Yet, they all could coexist in a world called my imagination. A brand lives in the imagination. Intuitively, we all know what a brand is. It’s far more than a logo, a physical form, a permeated manifestation. And it’s beyond the creation of an object, product, service, idea, or institution. A brand is the connection of our souls to this world, which guides us to build and categorize understanding. It lives in the minds and hearts of individuals and travels along the brainwaves and higher frequencies of the soul. It is birthed from stories and experiences that, over time, create feelings that are the catalyst of understanding. When enough people share those feelings, the brand comes to life. It becomes an apparition of our collective consciousness that haunts are longings.

We long for better design. We need better design for the survival of our well-being. Design lives all around us. Design is present built from the memories of our past that project our unpredictable future. It is immediate. Generally speaking, a design is a very specific, broad-stroked plan and every plan is a design. Whether building a spaceship, planting a garden, launching a political campaign, or opening a business, we all start with a plan. People are falling in love with the enchanting song of design- by swimming in the genius of our technological advancements. We use the simplest of high technology to procreate with our art, sciences, beliefs, traditions, and whimsical emotions. Our encounters with design alter our daily routines, connect us with other cultures, and build the global economy.

Design wraps the brand in a relatable and desirable form. Design gives our brands a reality check to cash with our souls. Through design, we grasp what the brand is and how to interact with it. This truth is seen in signage at a farmer’s market or the an international relief organization’s strategy in the time of crisis. Design answers opportunity’s knock, which invites us to the room of understanding. It gives us VIP access to the biggest show in the Universe. And, when design is excellent, design does these things flawlessly with total immersion.

Through design, business meets immersion. This meeting is led by harmony and beauty. Within this meeting, beauty of design takes many forms in order to guide us to the highest level of understanding. It influences us to believe the only conclusion is that there is no conclusion. Our highest thoughts are orbited by even higher thoughts. It may be present in the streamlined, efficient functioning of a system. We might glance at it in the brainstorming sessions that may rescue us from financial drought. It is seen in the blooming of an innovative product. Immersion occurs in the underlying design integrity of the creators. It’s not skin deep. In turn, a design process that’s conducted with integrity will accomplish influential and beautiful immersion.

With this idea, I am able to conjure up both Designer Drug Games/Designer Drug Labs and JetSetter Fresh. Zthe Universe blesses the child that contributes to the Universe.

formspring.me

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:57:00 +0000

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/charlesbabb

What's Failure?

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:35:00 +0000

"Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." --- Thomas Edison, inventor

According to dictionary.com, failure is an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure. The campaign was a failure. (2) Failure is a nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: A failure to do what one has promised; a failure to appear.

Staring at a gorgeous sunset in the heartland of nowhere special, I reflected on my lives, Chuck and Charles. I chuckled as the Sun winked at me before it said goodnight. My life is a perfect tapestry of chaos and surprise. I'm a survivor of warlike personal evolution and transformation. The majestic beauty that swept in unannounced at my ugliest hours, the soaring cries of my personal fight song rescuing me from moments of anguish have fortified my spirit from the penetration of failure's attacks. I believe accepting failure is the last and worse decision anyone could make before facing death. Even in death, people should never accept failure. As the sun dies everyday to only birth a wonderful night, we should carry out our lives with such certainty that the sun will return to wake us up; draw us outside. I carry the same flask of fortune that every breathing individual carries. However, I decided to only take sips from my flask when I was depleted and dehydrated by the frustration of not having all my ducks walking straight. I don't know success is not left to chance. I know it is an artform of preparation and providence. There are no chance opportunities or coins being tossed in a well to make success happen. It is purely opportunity management and insightful fearlessness. We may all be destined for success, but we also are the ones causing the drought of doubt and fear, which makes success a mirage.

Crossing the barren straits of unsuccessful dreams, I've always managed to stay focused on reaching the oasis of success. Not the oasis painted by most rappers or random pop entertainers, but the oasis knowing that every breath is inspiration for someone else. With a monsoon like force, I will continue on my strides of remaining successful. My focus as of late has been a creative effort. My love for creative arts will be the death of me. This type of death doesn't lead to failure because death by creative success births only life and inspiration. I thank the gods and goddesses for my drive, and I thank the Universe for placing the force in my heart. I thank my loved ones for the weightless weight that drives me to do my best and remain a gentleman against restless, ruthless, and resourceful opposition. I thank my muses for creativity and the vivid color in my life's tapestry. One lesson that I've always learned is that dreams are to be lived. Goodbye Mr. Sun and hello Ms. Moon. We will see what tonight's dreams usher in for tomorrow's success.

Sanpo- The Art of Walking

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Does anyone realize the beauty of walking around? Having the ability to just get up and go? The art of leisurely setting life to your pace and taking it all in? The Chinese once held leisurely walking aligning your chi with the world around you as an art. The Japanese inherited the art from their elder and made it a way of life. Sanpo is an art that I'm currently embracing. It is the practice of setting life to your pace and walking along your path. No two people will practice the art the same way, but the result is the same. A good day of Sanpo can lead to unbridled clarity of one's life.

Do yourself a favor and Sanpo. Walk with yourself. No phone, no watch, no iPod, just you and the world. I'm sure the time that it eats in your busy schedule would not be spent on anything more enlightening.

Imagination

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:59:00 +0000

I have finally come face-to-face with the killer of my imagination. It is the social construct of "acting like a responsible average adult." Even though I have always been a reliable citizen and devout follower of the statutes and laws of the land, I've felt forced to shed my imagination to pursue the stable American lifestyle. I never guessed that I would allow myself to be the nail that gets hammered down for sticking too far up. But, I'm here, and I somehow allowed myself to be hammered by the weight of the world.

My only bastion of freedom from the weight of the world is my formal occupation- entertainment production. In production work, I can actually grab back the beauty and freedom created by a strong imagination. I'm able to walk the more godlike path or walk the path the gods want me to walk. As a producer, I am worth my weight in gold. I'm able to plan, predict, and execute. My precision in project management is impeccable, yet I wear all my skills and good practices with modesty. I am always in the forefront, yet invisible. My secret pleasure is seeing a world birthed from the labor of the various teams. Nothing pleases me more than the art of creation- producing a world that towers this world. Working on a variety of entertainment production projects has not only diversified my skills, but freed me from a shackled existence and guided me into an evolving world, which doesn't have a beginning or an end. I'm able to participate and shape this evolution with my imagination. I've learned that accepting and being a catalyst in this imaginative world's evolution leads to the euphoric feelings of true freedom. I

I am able to live the life that I am supposed to live versus the life that everyone believes I should live. Some less fortunate people have the unforgiving tendencies to voice uninspiring opinions on what an ambitious, intelligent, and fearless person should do in life without first experiencing life for themselves. These unfortunate souls make more assumptions and voice more suggestions about good living than unknown news commentators spewing half-baked opinions on how a fallen celebrity can return back to the good graces of the public. I've never understood how individuals that have never lived in your life nor shared your experiences suddenly gained limitless amounts of wisdom to guide your life. For that single reason, I've always latched onto my beliefs and opinions for dear life and transform them once I find more elevated and enlightened beliefs and opinons. Notice that I did not say 'facts' or 'truths,' just beliefs and opinions. Facts and Truths are hard to truly understand and impossible to change. They exist even if you notice or don't notice them. They are difficult to comprehend because facts and truths are surrounded by many layers of proofs, hypotheses, theories, laws, beliefs, values, norms, and opinions. Most of which are correct for right now.

For example, we believe the truth about Life and Death is that all living things die. That fact is indisputable to most people, but some others may not hold that as a fact. Even our facts can be opinions. One day, I will face that fact, hopefully without any regrets about my life. I digress. I always held the fact that imaginative spirits exists in us for the duration of our lives. It is a spirit that we can not be killed, but only cloak. I was wrong in making that a fact. I've learned that imagination, like the other parts of our spirit, will die if left idle too long. As a result, adults lose their imagination, thus birthing children to live vicariously in their imaginations. It is a sad state of affairs that we denounce a part of us that is so powerful. The imagination is the best motivator for self-preservation, enlightenment, and self-determination. We rather rely on the cold hard truth that our social construct doesn't respect the wealth of the imagination like the wealth of Capitalism. As a video game producer and designer, I've resurrected the one part that I said would never die- my imagination. For the last decade, I've allowed the uninspired opinions of my peers stone me for loving and embracing my imagination like a good lover. I allowed myself to be hammered down for having a stand up and standout imagination. Now, I will pledge my imagination will guide the better parts of me because I've learned to live my dreams. Dreams are my imagination in an idle state. I'll stop dreaming and get my imagination moving. I ask myself a question every morning before I roll out of bed.

What is the point of waking up if I'm afraid to live my dreams?

The Hunting Tiger

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Today marks the beginning of a New Year. It is the year of the tiger. The tiger is a majestic creature feared by most in the wild, but not feared enough to be the king of beasts. Many opinionated Darwin novices would assert that the Lion, although very docile in the wild, is the king of beast. I would interject that humans are the king of beast. While most animals, including the lion kill due to an innate urge to feed on weaker animals. Humans will kill just for pleasure and game. Ah yes, we are the king of beasts. With our new fangled technology, we still find ways to use it in vicious, barbaric, and beastlike manners. We kill for asinine and unprovable flawed philosophies. We allow these philosophies and beliefs to go unquestioned and unanswerable even though they seem transparently incorrect, illogical, and ignorant while stating "God said so."

We are the king of beasts. Evil and vile creatures that arrogantly state being "humane" is a noble attribute, instead of being an innate behavioral trait. As "humans," we should innately be humane. We should be the caregivers for all animate and inanimate objects on the planet. We should be their guardians and keep the balance in the ecosystem. Instead, we are disruptive creatures that foolishly believe that the destruction of the planet rest in our hands. I would say the only thing that we will destroy is our existence. Earth will evolve and continue to live with or without us after all our destruction is final. New animals and species will emerge from the ashes of our savage actions. We will be lost memories imprinted in the lands that we will soon fertilize. Not to paint a gloomy picture of our savage ways, we are the animal that feels compelled to use reasoning skills for more than survival. We are blessed with such intuition and instinct to experiment. We should feel honored that the gods and goddesses have bestowed us with some level of trust. Yet, we still haven't risen above beast-hood,

In the year of the tiger, we should use this trust to protect all living species. Let's move away from our demonic ways and do what we were naturally put here to do. Unlike many of my religious friends, I do not follow that we were born with a sinful and evil nature. We are righteous creatures that unfortunately have created a society, where the unrighteous prosper greater. We, as a global society, should reexamine our ways and unlearn the detrimental practices that impede our progress. In an imperfect world, we can only dream and try to live up to the perfection sought after in dreams. Let's strive beyond the characteristics given to the noble tiger and develop characteristics of the humane human. We should be more than the king of beasts, we should become the humans striving for a dreamlike godliness. I just want to know, why do you wake up if you aren't going to live your dreams?

Vengeance Is Mine Said The Lord

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Pat Robertson has made some of the most unforgivable statements over the past few years. His latest being that the Haitians had made a pact with the devil in order to receive liberation from French tyranny. I'm angered that this man is a well-known and loved figure in American society. I'm disgusted by what he is and what he represents. He is worse than the ignorant terrorist willing to shed innocent blood for a jaded and wicked belief system. When I first heard that this demon of a man made such harsh statements in a time of crisis, I didn't want to believe it. Why would a so-called 'godly' man make such a harsh and unprovable statement? Why didn't he say, we send our service and love to the survivors? I read and read hoping to find evidence that states him apologizing or denying even saying "a pact with a devil exists." But, to no avail, there is nothing online, except hard fact that he unapologetically made the comments and stands behind them. Over time, Pat Robertson has attributed every disaster that adversely affects people of non-European descent as God unleashing punishment and every disaster that involves European descendants as the Devil trying to harm God's greatest creation. But, I will not bring race into this post. Ethnicity disputes are true distractions to real problems that plague our society.

I have two points to make. 1. Where did Pat Robertson find evidence to support such an asinine claim? 2. Why does he believe poor blacks in Haiti were only able to defeat the French tyranny on Haiti with the help of the Devil? Does he really believe people seeking freedom are unwilling to win no matter the cost? I'm too bothered by this man's statement to continue with the post... I'll be back to finish later...

Closing Time

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:57:00 +0000

As I write with five minutes left to close out the year, I would like to make one resolution for the new year. That resolution is to stay connected. I will allow my conscious to openly flow through the metaverse. I will open up more, express more, converse more, and continue to deliver the best in written entertainment.

Moreover, I will stay connected to my loved ones and liked ones.

Love you all.... This is the end of 2009. 2010 is here

God Is Going To Cut Them Down

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:51:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I've made my thoughts public. For about three months, I felt that my words were falling onto blind minds. As I stare at this screen listening to rhythm of the rain falling outside, I realized that the gods and godesses have blessed me with the gift of spoken word. Words exposing my emotions, baring my soul, and leaving my thoughts naked for your criticism. I just want to know are my thoughts sexy enough to make you crush on my thoughts. Do you want to put a poster of my mind on my wall? And, do you want to daydream about frolicking with my opinions on life? Well, I have come across something completely sadistically sexy. Johnny Cash. As an adult, I feel the torment that Johnny Cash was trying to express to a world that is wicked. This says it all. Again, I am a saint for sinners and a sinner for saints. Praised by few and hated by others. Life will go on with or without me, but my words are forever. Love to all those that watch this. Johnny has inspired me. I'm going after those that have been running for a long time.

Dissection: Kanye vs. MTV

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Kanye does dickish things. Kanye is a poor sportsman, better said musicman. He does whine about not winning awards, which he thinks he deserves. He does rebuttal journalists, who express their unsatisfactory thoughts about his musical works. I will never ever support his classless actions or condone such actions, especially from a fellow African-American. He should know that is exactly how “they” expect us to act. It adds fuel to the “That’s Why We Don’t Give N!&&@$ anything” debate. The last thing minority groups need to do is supply ethnicists** with fuel to denounce all their social progress in this country. Sure, Kanye was drunk at MTV VMAs, but that is no excuse for a statesman of the African-American community to be uncivil. I will never condone his actions of leaping onstage and spouting his opinion during an individual’s celebratory acceptance speech. I do not say it was okay under any pretense. I acknowledge award shows are the opinions of faceless judging committees. Holding no one accountable for voting or admitting they correctly or incorrectly voted, Kanye should not take any award show’s nominations and awarding as concrete law based on accuracy, fairness, or unbiased truth.

Kanye’s overreactions to opinions and inability to recognize awards shows, MTV’s award shows in particular, as meaningless television time filler and mindless entertainment makes him appear as an overzealous primadonna. However, his actions in theory are admirable. Why shouldn’t we demand that awards go to the most deserving artists, instead of allowing behemoth companies to play political charades dictating the voting results? Did you listen to his drunken rant? He understands artistic genius. He viewed Mrs. Knowles-Carter's work as pure genius. He seriously believes acknowledgment of an artist’s work should always be thoroughly examined and profoundly judged. Kanye is seriously mad about art and the thoughts and work that goes into its' creation. He is trapped in a world, where good art always trumps the power of money. Is that such a bad thing? In a music culture dominated with Beatles faux-fanaticism and Michael Jackson bandwagon grieving, Kanye’s M.O. has become to acknowledge the greatness in our contemporary artists. Isn’t that a worthy cause?

Caption: Beyoncé actually did make one of the greatest music videos of ALL TIME. She was completely successful at making a video that draws the viewer in and make them want to watch and listen. I don’t even like contemporary R&B or Pop R&B, but I was drawn into that video singing the lyrics in my head.

Now, the method Kanye used made Taylor a casualty in his ongoing war against MTV. Kanye is like an artistic David and MTV is part of the corporate Goliath. Kanye believes MTV cheats artists out of what they deserve for the love of gain (money and favors). He is correct in his assessment of MTV, but don’t just stop there. All award shows rely on sponsor dollars, so they all use favors to pay their “sponsorship debt.” No award show is holistically unbiased in awarding a nominated artist. I digress, back to Kanye. Not thumbing up Kanye’s idiotic actions and disagreeing with his hilarious, tasteless interruption of an acceptance speech, I do appreciate Kanye’s idealism for correctly acknowledging great art and perpetuating great art into the forefront of our larger culture context. What is there not to like about the man’s heart that wants everything to be accurately understood and appropriately appreicated?

With the incident being totally overblown and the backlash overhyped, Taylor wins a new single with a great producer, Kanye can cut an album about being hated and his road to redemption (always platinum seller), Beyoncé being the selfless good girl (always a good celebrity move, especially after unleashing your sex-kitten) wins back favor from conservative parents, who believe she is oversexed, and MTV’s award shows ratings skyrocketed in an era where award shows are dying. It seems the only true casualties in this incident are Real News, who wants to deliver us from global ignorance, and Americans for not engaging into more important social discourse and commentary outside our celebrities.

We need to wake-up. As long as Kanye continues to make good music, I will continue to buy his work. Him hopping on-stage spewing his idealistic opinions about genius art is not damaging enough for me to stop buying his albums. I personally believed Taylor earned the award, and Kanye should understand her struggle to stardom. He also needs to reexamine what makes a good female pop video- purity, naively flirtatious, innocent, friendly, and feminine. Beyoncé’s video was feminine, but I don’t want my five-year-old niece to view it.

Lastly, if we allow our morals to dictate our product purchases, we would all own as much as Jesus did when he died.

**Racism was a term used by Europeans when viewing other ethnicities as subhuman or chattel. Racism is a term that perpetuates itself on the basis of people’s ignorance far beyond its’ actual definition. After the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans and other minority groups ostracized by the European control structure earned a seat at the human race table. "Human" is a race. Americans continue to use the archaic term when in fact racism no longer exists. All people are, for better or worse, considered to be a part of the human race. African-American is a label used to identify your ethnicity and nationality. The same is said for Asian-American, which usually breaks down into Chinese-American, Japanese-American, etc. African-Americans unfortunately suffered the complete wiping of their ties to Africa during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and African-American Holocaust, which is best defined as the great destruction of African civilization from an extensive loss of life. Ethnicism is the correct term when someone’s ethnicity is ostracized and utilized as a flag to hinder their self-determination.

Remain Amazing

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:26:00 +0000

Life is guaranteed to be filled with two things– bullshit and your shit. Overcoming them leads to insurmountable levels of happiness and joy. Even while living the good life, I am in constant warfare against the onslaught bullshit and my shit. My graceful navigation through them looks effortlessly simple. The simplicity is only in the high amounts of discipline I evoke in every action to overcome the obstacles in between me and success. The effortlessness is in pouring passion into every action and every thought. You must have an undying passion for life, I have enough to quench the thirst of all the world's ills. However, without endless amounts of time to sort out the world's problems, I manage to have time to conjure solutions for my own and few loved ones' problems. I sometimes feel like Earl (My Name is Earl) when assisting those that don't carry the same amount of discipline or passion in their lives.

I wish people could look at how wonderful life is... For one moment, look through the bullshit that plagues their forgettable existence. If they can look through all the wasteful moments, maybe they could see a world, where creating everlasting memories is easier than breathing. The breath of life is in the most passionate things we do. My closest cousin asked me if I've ever been awed by something that I can't do? I responded, "I'm awed by death." Death will not be something that I'll experience like everyone else. No, I won't be crafting a bucketlist. That list would be endless. No, I won't be going through a late life crisis and curl myself up into a ball and die in a corner. I'm going to die always doing what I love to do and consistently try to leave my impression on the world.

Since my memory is faulty and limited, I will live in the memories as others. Let the folklore begin. Let the myths and legends crafted by others about my existence live forever. Let them grow into ginormous stories about a young man that tried to outlive the bullshit and his own shit. The man with less of a reputation than action. I hope the story of Charles Babb remains amazing.

Invigoration

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:28:00 +0000

It feels good to wake-up to your dreams, to see a reality created from your ambitions. I am a proud survivor of the Universe's strategically placed obstacles to detour me on my path. I am surviving the learning, the lessons, the teachers, and the other students competing for control of my visions. As I stare into the eve of greatness, I try to calculate the length of this journey. I wonder if my present course the best one that I can chart. In reflection of my experiences, I have greatly evolved from the young and dumb Kentucky country boy of my wonder years. I'm happy with the course that I have charted thus far, yet uncertain about if it is the best course. Even though, I don't walk alone on my path, I somehow feel alone. I'm lucky and privileged to have a social network constructed from wondrous adventures into the unknown. It is a beautiful thing to have people willing to trek with me in this labyrinth of self-determination. Together, we celebrate growth without tearing the universal threads that bind us together. We celebrate being lost while finding ourselves. In memorial of the pieces of myself lost in the adventure, I enthusiastically celebrate the newness of who I wish to become. I celebrate that I do not have to walk through the valley of death alone or walk through it in fear of any evil or good. At times, good things happening can be more detrimental to an individual's elevation than evil things. I'm thankful for the lovely people that keep me level in an uneven world. They make life quite invigorating...

Weaving Now

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:12:00 +0000

While staring at various lifelines woven together by the Universal loom of music last night during the Getty event, I began wondering how I could crochet my life into a masterpiece worthy to place on walls. I began looking into my life's colorful palette for turbulence, drama, romance, suspense, and opportunity, wondering would it be enough to fill the void pages of a book. As I recollected my collaged memories of yesteryear, my eureka moment struck me like a drunk driver. My past is an interesting one, but my present is my past's birthplace. I also realized that people intrigued and interested in my past would be willing to scan their eyes across my current events. I have decided to open a door to my present and not give my readers a vision of my past, especially if that past has been weathered with sensationalism and excitement over the years. We all know stories become more extravagant as they age in the minds of storytellers. Storytellers also must be interested in the stories woven to the listener. I hope that my current thread of life is enough to keep your interest and keep my own.

The colors are vivid, and the patterns will be elegant.

What said about...

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:03:00 +0000

ego. On the eve of her born day, What Said buried many grains of wisdom in my hollow mental chasm hoping fruit would sprout from her seeds. The banter went for hours as she volleyed with each of my rebuttals about the influence of ego. As she continually served large portions of soul food, I began digesting her knowledge about shedding the the desires of self in order to gain a true sense of self. Her critique about my desire to constantly make impressions on the world is my ego. Furthermore, my unyielding desire to define myself is driven by my ego bound by influences of others. I do agree with portions of her analysis. However, I do not credit my ego for my uninhibited ambition to leave an impression on the world. Personally, I don't care be iconic with my contribution. I don't have to be associated with my contribution in any form or fashion. Honestly, my ego won't allow me to be proud of my contribution because I'm better than prideful masturbation. I just don't want to be one of the 5.99 billion people that doesn't make a difference and doesn't really count unless it is for a census. Less than 1% of the world's population contribute to the collective of life. I want to contribute to that collective. I don't have to become renowned for my creative work, I just want to creatively contribute. I know my work is bigger than me. It is Universal Forces working on the world. For example, Charles Drew's discovery saves billions of people each year, yet people do not know of him (DISCOVER CHARLES DREW). What said is correct, my ego does play an important role in my journey to discovery. My ego won't allow me to care about the criticisms and praise that could be bestowed upon me by my fellow humans or my pride. I don't do things for the sake of recognition from others. I actually believe I'm better than them, so their recognition is expected and means absolutely nothing to me. I do it because I want to do it. In a world filled with constraints and confinement, the ability to do good while being creative without injuring life is the closest that I will ever get to freedom. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate a world that constrains the savages with rules, orders, laws, etc. I'm quite pleased to live in a world with repercussions for negativity. For those that live righteously, I want freedom to explore the wonders of the world. Unfortunately, the laws that are used to control the savages are used to control the righteous. We, as Americans, have to develop strong egos to survive the poundings from savage laws and silence opinions that may derail us from achieving our greater selves and freedom. My entire life, I've been the outcast that always fitted in. As an outcast, I've practiced many years of ego strengthening and the ability to ignore to value what people think. These factors are the catalyst that freed my creative mind. Now, I'm at a point that I want to express this creativity in a manner that contributes to the living collective.

What Said believes that my ego is seeking attention, thus making it seem that I'm putting on aires. In my mind, my putting on aires has more to do with my expression of freedom, hard work, creativity, and desire than making superficial and feeble attempts to get my ego stroked by the masses. Again, my ego doesn't allow me to value what people think of my personal being. I don't care if people love or hate me. However, I do want people to admire and appreciate my work, even if they don't know it is my work like Charles Drew. Paul Robeson is the prototype of what I strive to become. He is the personification of meaningful creative freedom. A man that did as he loved for the betterment of who he loved. It was not his ego that made him want to do everything, to be a part of the 1% that contributes to the world. It was his hunger for excellence, and his thirst to be creative in a world that is proud to be mundane. So, yes, my ego does play a part in who I am while protecting me from others and myself. It is the disciplinarian that waves a finger at me while drilling me, "You aren't doing this for the praise. You are doing this to be free. Besides, those people don't matter; they don't really care about you; the only thing that matters is your work and contribution to the soul collective." If I lose my ego, then I may give into the pressure of becoming another droid in a mundane world and lose while losing the little bit of freedom that I have in my possession. Once I completely earn my freedom and the human collective understands true freedom isn't forcing artificial conformity on people, then I will proudly shed my ego and become one with the collective. Until then, my ego is a protection measure for me to repel those that rather kill the loves of my life in order to conform to a bromidic status quo.

Home Coming

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:41:00 +0000

Clicking through the images in my mental view-master, I felt the warming sensation of family love. I'm a wanderer that usually doesn't tread the same path twice, so going home for good isn't an option. I always think of progress, always think of change. So, my mother's dream of a prodigal son return will forever remain a dream. I love the people in Kentucky, I love the scenery; however, the neo-conservative and silently confederate ideologies lower repel me from those that I cherish with all my heart. I have a fortunate obligation from the gods to capitalize on the diversely adventurous hand that they dealt me. If I retreat to the insulated confines of Kentucky conservatism, I would be throwing in my hand of privileged and forfeiting my opportunity to ruse death in earning immortality through my legend. I don't think of life as experiences. I think of life as legend building. For example, many people believe in Jesus, but that belief is solidified when they see his footprints left in Jerusalem on his walk through the city. It is also felt by African muslims that walk the path of Mansa Musa to Mecca. I want to be Mansa Musa and tread the path for others looking for salvation and peace.

I'm at peace with never living in the same place that nurtured my understanding and enlightened my soul. I'm at peace with not living in proximity with my most cherished loved ones. The collective aura of Kentucky keeps me from wanting to live there, but my obligation to succeed definitely keeps me away. I'm at home with my preoccupation to be successful and remain interesting. I'm at home with righteous people, cultured people, and people on successes' path. I wake up to my homecoming. What do you wake up to?

Born Day

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:02:00 +0000

It feels good to be one year away from the Jesus year. I enjoyed the company of family and friends as sauntered through my born day. On a cold and crisp night in September or October of 1977, my parents conceived a life that eventually grew into a man. A man with dreams of grandeur. I'm tired of dreaming. My goal for this year is to live my dreams and eliminate sleep forever. So, I was born awake and die that way.

Disappearing Act

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:14:00 +0000

I've been away from the digital Universe of words. I cannot point to any particular explanation that led me to give up the typed word. However, I can explain why I'm back to writing. This passed weekend I spoke what a heavenly being. Yes, I said it. I spoke with a heavenly being. Not to sound righteous or spiritually disturbed, I had a talk with someone with very godlike qualities. This person's aura sliced through the air of darkness like a laser beam racing across the ceiling of a planetarium. As our word stumbles evolved into graceful striding banters, I realized that this magnificent creature was like no one that I've encountered. As my advocate, the heavenly creature poked and prodded at my thoughts, pressed me to push my own correlations between life's experiences and the memories, which I deeply hold. See, we don't realize is that what we experience is always slightly different than our memorized recollection of the experience. The angel had me dig deep into my mental cavity to pull out hidden jewels. I was digging deeper than a DJ that uncovered a vault of music at J Dilla's house. As the devil's advocate, my rebuttals and debate skills become stronger with every blow. I was forced to sharpen my wit and unsheathe my cleverness. It was definitely a conversation between an artist and a muse. With that said, I'm back on my writing adventure like Baron Münchhausen.

This heavenly being, my muse, had me ask "What" of everything that I said. It was pure inspiration for me to craft words together into a collage for her ears. Now, I want to paint surreal abstracts for the metaverse birthed from words and grammatical glue. I'm not just a verbal artist or artisan; I'm a designer. I design high fashion life. I cut and sew my own life line into different parts of the world. I sow a garden of ideas and reap them into a bouquet of lessons. I am the free I am. When I was younger, I wanted to be the greatest man alive. But, being great, doesn't mean you are interesting and noteworthy. It only means your societal contributions were admired and remembered. Now, I want to be the most interesting man alive. I want to be my contribution to society. I am living to make sure my obituary is a booklet on how to live life versus a piece of paper outlining a horribly boring existence. I'm a human that is thirsty for the good life. This muse made me realize that the good life awaits us all. It is us that needs to make the journey to it. With that said, I would like to thank this muse for waking me up to the wondrous world of words. I thank you for forcing me to become more eloquent in my expressions and communicating my ideas. Ideally, I wish that you would be my coach, my partner, and my savior when I dive into writer's hell.

The false precepts that blocked my writing, you crushed for me. I thank you for awaking the beast in the face of your beauty. Again, thank you for the conversation. It meant more to me than to you.

Cheers,

Night at the Mansion (The Teaser)

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Just a taste of the Playboy Mansion .

ROYKSOPP'S NEW SINGLE "HAPPY UP THERE"

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Cool video gamesque music vidoe. I like the effects.

Happy Up Here from Röyksopp on Vimeo.

World Builder

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Great game designers understand the social sciences and know the physical sciences that govern a world's existence. Great game designers are not just people with strong programming and artistsic backgrounds, but people with great cultural backgrounds. They are true observers and absorbers of the world around them. They find the game in everyday life. Everything is a great level design in their minds. In reality, the world is one big game.

It is a game that no one can afford to lose. A game that we all truly want to explore. Unlike most video games, there is no cinematics, no bottomless backpacks, no multiple lives, and no continues. Great game designers take the minimalistic truth of our existence and widen the boundaries of our imaginations. Great game designers create worlds that grab our souls and hold them tight until the very end. Great game designers build worlds that draw out the empathetic emotions that we feel during movie viewing while providing the immersive sense of accomplishment like playing a sport or acing a test.

Game designers are not only technological scientists, they are artistic social scientists. They do not work in a vacuum to construct worlds that rival our realities. They work in our reality to construct worlds that rival our imaginations.

I am loving game design and world design. My collegiate career was built on social sciences. I was headed down the path of public policy. I was destined to create programs to uplift the human conditions. Now, I've dedicated my life to create entertainment not for escape, but to uplift the human spirit. I'm a dreamer that wants to not only profit by selling his dreams, but cause others to profit from living in my dreams.

The following short film by artist filmaker Bruce Branit explains the essence of a good game designer aka world builder.

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Atmosphere and Emotion

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:06:00 +0000

I just happened to stumble across Yankee Gal. I watched it without knowing what to expect. Initially, I felt a sense of fear and urgency. As I continued to watch, I was calmed by the pilot's ability to take control of the situation. I empathized with the pilot to fight through this challenge. I wanted to jump in and do something. That is where movies end and video games begin. In gaming, you do jump in and do something. That something must take the player from empathizing to sympathizing with the character.

Game designers working alongside artists struggling to capture that raw emotion that only the situation, environment, and atmosphere project to the viewer and force them to do something in the environment. The colors, the particle effects, the actions of every element in the environment must be choreographed to convince our psyche that the situation is real, but we are safe as the viewer/player. They must master the art of delayed gratification and emotional fear. Game designers must construct a world that forces the player to maintain a sense of urgency, proactivity, and challenge for the duration of the gameplay experience.

Game designers and producers alike know that the production value goes beyond pretty graphics and a killer soundtrack. They know high quality production value is an artform of creating immersion and experience. We must immerse the player in the world and make them experience life as they choose to play it.

Unlike movies, video games do not have the luxury of railing the audience on a roller coaster. We place our audience in a vehicle and drop them in a labyrinth. We have to provide continuity in the story, connection in actions, and make the illogical and irrational feel rational and logical in the constructed world. We evoke emotion by forcing the player to be proactive and be apart of the world around him. It goes beyond passive spectating. Game designers dive into an ocean of activity and action fishing for ways to make the player feel like they are linked to the organized confusion in the game world and must complete the task at hand.

Creating an atmosphere and environment that causes the player to be proactive to the very end is the result of good game design.

Yankee Gal from Yankee Team on Vimeo.

Game Balancing

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Game designers usually prove their worth by balancing a game design. Many game designers can create very good and strong mechanics, yet are unable to balance their game design. There is a tendency for them to fall in love with the mechanic and not execute it in the best scenarios. The additional power-ups to the mechanic usually are too weak or too strong for a level. Or, the mechanic becomes convoluted when ancillary mechanics, features, or an incomprehensible story overshadow a good mechanic. Game designers should constantly be thinking about balance, flow, and progression when designer their games. These elements are more important when a game is both a single player and multiplayer experience. PvP should always feel balanced unless their is justification why a face-off isn't balance such as experience points or other point systems that create an unbalance. If a beginner in a MMORPG faces another player with epic armor, then the beginner will have no chance to win in a battle. However, there are other ways to make that confrontation non-beneficial for the more experienced and stronger player. We can penalize them for agitating the fight with the beginning player. The game designer must think of ways to curb the tendency for an experienced player from killing very weak players. For aspiring game designers, you should always think of balancing your game (levels, PvP interaction, inventory items, etc.).

Core Skill of Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Innovation is beautiful. Those that have the eye to look at an existing idea and not just clone it, but make it better are very unique in spirit and character. We could all learn more about our lives if we innovate our livelihood.

Review: The Legend of Coraline in Wonderland

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Coraline was an excellent stop animation feature film. I truly enjoyed the pacing, story, and style. All the elements sewed together in a seamless escape in Coraline's world at the Pink Palace. My biggest issue was the walk cycles that the animators' used to thumb in your face that it was stop motion animation. They would purposely animate choppy scenes to reinforce this is not a CG film. The fluidity of some scenes versus others was the only distracting scene in the movie.

Coraline is an intelligent and lonely tween, who only desires the attention of her family. Her mother and father are bad parents. They are completely self-absorbed and unloving. Coraline happens to find the rabbit hole that whisks her to another more loving world. As the Wonderland story unfolds, Coraline finds out that this world isn't as wonderful and loving. The story continues to become more grim as Coraline is faced with question of eternal happiness or life with her parents. All she has to do is give up something she cherishes. ***Spoiler Free***

Coraline departs from the Alice and Wonderland elements and leaps into the Legend of Zelda. Coraline armed with a magical weapon must revisit and raid three dungeons to recover a jewel in each that unlocks the final boss. Coraline must defeat the final boss' various forms before being free from the quest. She must enlist the help of Wyborn, her uber-intelligent, talkative, and nosy neighbor, to defeat the boss once and for all. But, are any final bosses truly dead? I guess we will see during the sequel.

Kid Cudi - Day N Nite

noreply@blogger.com (Charles Babb) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Kid Cudi’s story is proof that there’s just no denying a good song. “Day N Nite” was written years ago, but the instantly likable stoners anthem with it’s hypnotizing melody and lyrics of escapism caught the ears of the likes of DJ A-trak and Kanye West and landed him a spot on the GOOD Records roster. In no time Cudi went from an employee at the Bape store to an artist on the cusp of super stardom. Fast forward almost three years later, after several remixes and constant radio rotation, the “Day N Nite” track finally gets the visual treatment it deserves by Ed Banger representative and video director So_Me. The half animated video continues with the surreal hazy drugged out feel of the track.