Who won E3 2006?

This is the million dollar question. To judge this objectively is a hard thing to do, that is why I decided to go the old fashioned way and pull in some numbers.

This graph is generated by the blog-trendsearch http://www.blogpulse.com. As you can see around April, 25th there is a huge spike on the Wii. Obviously this is when the name was announced by Nintendo. Note that it even generated a little bit more buzz than their showing at E3.

Nintendo Wii: generated the most buzz with their new innovative controller that was unveiled to the public for the first time.

Xbox 360: Considerable buzz mainly for it's huge line-up of AAA titles and a few peripherals.

Playstation 3: comes in last in the graph. They showed some promising titles and had the trailer of the show with MGS4 which was simply sublime. I'm guessing their huge price announcement also made quite a few blog ;) Sony what are you doing? :(

So after E3 buzz goes to normal and the 360 is on top again. The reason being that the product is out, games are released, etc. There is a small Wii spike at the date the < $250 price point rumour surfaced. My hopes are at $200 as I stated earlier on my blog.

Personally I was most excited about all the great games Microsoft announced. The games the Wii showed off unfortunately did not really catch my attention, then again I'm really interested in what games devs will come up with for the controller. For Playstation 3 I'm excited about Heavenly Sword, F1 and the Naughty Dog studios game. They really let me down on the controller, and their enormous price. I personally can't miss rumble, simply because this feature is really an added value when playing racing games and some sports games. And I'm really a racing fan. Too bad.

Quote of the day

"Love, hate & tears come in one single package"
- Me

Life is... being dependant

It just struck me in a moment of enlightenment that our earthly life here is nothing more then being dependant on just about anything. Love, food, water, emotions and, ofcourse, chocolate :p Imagine anything, I bet you're reality depends on it. Spiritual writings tell us that this is not the meaning of life, it is the experiences we have and share that causes the evolution of our soul. That sounds very exciting in theory, despite the fact that reality is only what we make of it. And sophisticated monkeys as we are, that reality seemingly is a far cry from the theory.

Come to think of it, I truly admire and even envy the independant life style of a master Monk. If I would have to describe the meaning of freedom, I would only need one word. Monk. Only those true masters of life, and love, are strong enough to endure a life without any dependency. Stories of Monks sitting under a tree, months on end, meditating their minds into esoteric paradise, having merely enough nutrition to keep their physical bodies alive, are not unheard of.

Spiritual aficionado's would like us to believe a "Shift" in conciousness is looming. There is a lot of buzz in that community around the year 2012. As far as I know, that number arose from the Mayan calendar. I'm not sure about the specifics, but as I recall, certain planets would align on a date set somewhere in 2012, which would mark the end of life as we know it, and begin a new era. This doesn't mean the world will end, but we would awaken, and see the Light! ;) The problem to me is there are as many theories as there are articles you can read about it. Consistency isn't something you will find in the countless esoteric books.

I'm willing to believe, but I'm the kind of person which is naive on the one hand, but also very hard to convince on the other. Although at this point I've seen that much material that I conclude that probably, the physical body / life isn't everything there's to it. Then again when reading the articles and books I try to imagine the psychological reason for expressing or even having those thoughts. If you are someone who's fed up with how this world works (count me in) it is an easy way out to believe there's more to "life" then this. What if there isn't?

A looming shift in conciousness is a posibility, but the world staying the shitty place it is now, unfortunately is one too. Here's hoping for the former, guess I'll better start lighting candles and pray as if my life depends on it.

As such the truth remains to be uncovered, and as a wise man repeatedly said, "The truth is out there".

PS: If you are interested in any of this, I highly recommend:
* Anything by David Icke (http://www.davidicke.com). His lectures are phenomenal and you won't be bored for even a second, he's a magnificent speaker (also available on DVD).
* The trilogy "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsch.
* "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot. (my favorite book by far)
* Books by Brian Weiss. He's an MD with alot of interesting anecdotes and experience around hypnotism, reincarnation, past life regression, and the likes from a professional point of view.