Life goes in different directions sometimes. Two years ago, I really thought I was going to be making video games for a living. Three years ago, I was with someone who's in many ways the utter opposite of who I'm with now, and my father was still my father. Our paths change and diverge as we walk through life. We meet people, and lose people, and discover all kinds of different perspectives that are different from ours. Sometimes people come out of our lives because of circumstances beyond our control, or because we learn something uncomfortable about each other and drift apart for awhile. The trick, I think, (and I'll hopefully have a lifetime to prove this out) is to cherish the time you have with the people who come into your life. And be open and accepting of each other if, and when, your paths ever cross again. 

That was exceptionally long-winded. There are many people in my life who have different opinions and points of view from me, or who believe that we do not share the same set of values. They're right, of course. No one person can value the same things in the same way as any other person. But sometimes, they are wrong about the ways in which our values differ. To any friends, lovers, or partners I have ever offended, mea culpa. I am sorry. 

I'm rambling again, aren't I?

Philip Reviews Video Games: My friends tried to get me into Magic: The Gathering when I was in college. I spent a little bit of money, and enjoyed my time playing with friends. Blizzard's Hearthstone takes the main idea behind Magic, strips out all the unnecessary bits and adds all of the outstanding visuals Blizzard is known for. I got into the beta last week, and have been playing pretty regularly since then. I am impressed how well-balanced the game is so far, as well as how obvious the reward of the learning curve is. Obvious here is not a bad thing; Hearthstone makes it pretty immediately apparent that if you put time into the game, your skill will be rewarded. Other games have this as a hidden tenet (Dota 2, League of Legends, and Starcraft 2 come to mind), but Hearthstone is one of the first games where I feel like mastery isn't about grinding, its about actually learning the game, and all its contents. I plan to make it a regular game in my rotation, and hope to see you at the table.

Thanks,

Philip