Lockwood Brings the Romance
And love is just our way of looking out for ourselves
When we don’t want to live alone.
–Keane
“Define the human condition in one word,” my sociology professor asked the class.
After the usual pause, various suggestions started coming forth. And we discussed them as a group.
“Challenge,” said one student. The type-A overachiever. The Silicon Valley capitalist tycoon in the making. You know the type: too much hair gel, Oakley sunglasses, barking commands through a Bluetooth earpiece at lowly subordinates, making broadly confident proclamations about everything, and almost certainly driving a BMW. The sort of person who would break Top Gear’s cockometer.
But, nonetheless, we discussed it as a class. The idea that life was one challenge after another. That humanity defined itself by what it overcame. It had merit, in a Nietszchean sort of way.
“Horniness,” came a voice from the back, and everyone laughed. Ah yes, the jock. The winning smile. The chin whiskers. The laissez-faire attitude that nothing was so important as being young and carefree and proving oneself on the sports field, as though winning that big game would somehow prevent the inevitable arthritis and male pattern baldness and irrelevancy–
Obscurity–
“Loneliness,” I said.
The classroom stopped.
My professor had an odd knack for studying you when you said something interesting. He believed that how you responded to an open-ended question said far more about you than the subject at hand, and I had the distinctly unusual sense that while he’d asked this question of his various classes over the years, he was still surprised when someone gave him an answer that he not only wasn’t expecting, but seemed like it had something behind it.
“Go on,” he encouraged simply.
God, I hated being in this position. There’s a brooding anti-intellectualism in this country — growing deeper with each passing year — which stifles intelligent discourse. The events I’m describing took place many, many years ago; I can’t even imagine what it’s like today.
“Well,” I began, not entirely sure what I was going to say, “it seems that loneliness really is the human condition. We enter this world alone, and we leave this world alone. We’re trapped inside our own heads, listening to ourselves. And no matter what we do — no matter what we achieve — I don’t think we can ever really fully distract ourselves from the cold loneliness of life.”
“That’s a rather bleak view of our existence,” my professor suggested with a somewhat avuncular smile.
“Yes, but as Mark Twain would say, it has the added benefit of being true.” I felt more confident now. More importantly, I felt like it had to be said. “It is loneliness that created existentialism. It is loneliness that makes us seek God or invent Him, whichever you prefer. It is loneliness which drives us to distract ourselves — with business, with sports, with entertainment, with sex, with rituals, with drugs. It is loneliness that creates mass movements, and loneliness which makes us join them — because we want to be connected to something, anything else. So that we won’t feel alone. Whether we die on the veldt as the scavengers wait to pick the meat from our bones, or we die swaddled in wealth and surrounded by loved ones, we are ultimately alone. Loneliness is the human condition, and I challenge anyone to dispute this.”
For a few moments, there was silence. Have you noticed that silence is a hard thing for people to deal with? Because it’s lonely.
“F–kin’ emo,” the jock grumbled from the back.
“No, god damn it, don’t try to dismiss this,” I snapped before the professor could step in. “Kill the message by categorizing the messenger, is that it? Ask yourself this: what happens when you’ve won the championship games and had the parade down Main Street and married the prom queen? What happens when you stare at trophies from sixty years ago and you’re barely able to walk and you spend all your time reminiscing about the past because you want to ignore the fact that the world is moving on without you? Then what?”
I hadn’t even realized I was on my feet.
Funny thing about jocks. Sure, they might give you that “imma kill u” glare, but if you look carefully you can see, beneath the bravado, the fear of what might happen when the geek gets pushed too far.
So what happens next? The inevitable need to save face. And with exaggerated calm, he leans back in his chair. “Hey, I’m gonna get some tonight. You go be lonely all you want.”
“Enough,” the professor commanded. After I sat down again, he asked the class, “Let’s talk about the one emotion that arguably overrides all others: love.”
I won’t bore you with the rest of the events that day. But it does illustrate a point: love is probably the most important emotion we have. Whether it’s simply the best method of distracting from loneliness, or it’s the strongest method of making some sort of connection with something outside of ourselves, love is probably the only thing that truly makes life worth living. Life is nasty, loud, brutish and short; it’s filled with misery, disappointment, regret and resentment. Entropy ultimately wins in the end. Yet love is the one thing worth going through it all.
This is one of the reasons why Home is so fascinating to study. Because, if we’re honest, it’s filled with a lot of loneliness. A lot of damaged souls. Mine included. And it’s what fuels so much of the behavior you see in Home — in particular, the lonely souls looking for genuine emotional connections. And even love.
No, Home’s not a dating site. Yes, there’s far too much sexual harassment in Home. And sure, there are some damn creepy people out there. Let’s get all that out of the way. But there are genuine love stories which emerged because of Home — something which this publication has covered more than once, and something I can personally attest to. Christ, the HSM Periselene video is basically a giant love letter. And this is one of the reasons why I can’t really take people to task for trying to find love in virtual reality. Not when we live in a culture where one out of five relationships started online.
When it comes to capitalizing on love in Home, and helping to foster it, Lockwood has done a remarkable job. For instance, if you by now don’t own a Lockwood Gift Machine, shame on you. Stop being a grinch. Buy a gift for a friend. It’s much more satisfying to give someone else something that they’ll enjoy.
And as we approach Valentine’s Day, Lockwood is bringing out some treats for 2012. Hence the following announcement from Megan Egglesden:
Lockwood Valentines Update coming to PlayStation®Home on 8th February
Look forward to the Lockwood Valentines Update throughout February! Win prizes in the ShowOff Competition. This time it’s a romantic theme, get ready for your First Date and let Lockwood know about it – more details coming soon! The Showcase has a Spring time facelift with 6 new hidden rewards and 5 new Valentines themed gifts cropping up in the Gift Machine along with some old favourites.
With Lockwood’s many collections and ranges, it’s easy to forget that sometimes they make items that are simply LKWD. These two latest outfits are just that – simple wearable separates that can be worn in a variety of ways and with plenty of items from the LKWD catalogue to create the perfect stylish ensemble.
For a dreamy, exotic look, there’s the Fairytale outfit, combining a dreamy long silk dress with a sultry long plaited hairstyle. If you want to standout from the crowd, opt for the Unique clothing pack, a distinctive corset dress teamed with a choice of long or short boots and a tousled up do.
If you haven’t been following Lockwood’s newsletter, by the way, I’d encourage you to sign up for it and check out more info on this announcement — http://www.lockwoodpublishing.com/2012/01/valentines-update/ — as soon as possible.
(One thing about that announcement which particularly caught my eye: “wearable separates.” Hallelujah for that. Mix-and-match outfits are more or less the norm for Home’s citizenry — I’ve put those white Sailor Saintly naval slacks with a whole bunch of different outfits, including the Fool Throttle frock coat — and it’s good to see separates continuing.)
Although we’re still two weeks away from Valentine’s Day (at the time of this writing), it never hurts to get a jumpstart on romance. Love is in the air, and it should be embraced.
Oh, as an epilogue to the opening anecdote:
One of my classmates was a very attractive woman who spent considerable time swatting away clumsy advances from other students. Perhaps because I treated her as a human being (instead of a piece of meat) and got to know her as a friend, she and I genuinely got along extremely well. After that particular class, we were chatting in my car at the campus parking lot. I had a convertible back then, and the top was down, letting us enjoy the warm California sun.
The parking lot was also in full view of the baseball field, where the jocks were practicing.
I don’t think any of those knuckle-draggers will ever forgive me for receiving the public kiss she gave me. Or the massive grins we both had as we drove off, while they shouted and puffed out their manly chests in indignation.
Loneliness might be the human condition, but love is the human experience.
January 31st, 2012 by NorseGamer | 6 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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While I completely disagree with your outlook on the human condition and I’m going to overlook the entire claim being made about the supposed “knuckle-draggers”, I enjoyed the recollection of a memory which seems to be one of those defining moments of your life. Thanks for sharing Norse. I have always found it interesting how some people like to use their experiences to fuel their writing and others simply use it as unspoken inspiration.
Great to see a solid offering for Valentines day from Lockwood. I’m totally for more holidays being brought to life through Home. The activities we have been given recently really have been a step above for Home. Looking forward to this.
Great article!! I agree with what you have to say. As I read the part about your experience in the classroom, I almost felt if I was there witnessing it for real. The end about sitting with the girl in the convertible was awesome.
Regarding lonliness/love on Home, I have witnessed alot of this. Random guys come up to me and ask me to go out with them, tell me I am pretty and tell me they love me? Why would they say that if they dont really know who I am? How do they know I am really a girl? LOL. I guess they are lonely and looking for real love! I just say hi, make small talk and walk away.
As for the new Lockwood stuff, cant wait to see whats for sale and see the new showcase!! Sounds exciting. Also looking forward to seeing the stuff in the gift machine.
Great article and interesting read!
As on that found love in Home once,
http://community.us.playstation.com/thread/1822250
Things in the end just didn’t work out, But I have gained a friend for life. Who knows we may get back together some day.
OCR
I met meanbrd94 on home and we hit it off about a year ago and now I am flying out to see him in Seattle in April! I am very excited..He is a very funny guy makes jokes and it seems he always catches someones eye lol..But, I am lucky to have him He is one person I can trust on playstation home and he has been there through good times and bad! He is like my knight and shining armor all though he may say “Naw” LOL..I love him very much and I hope he knows this because I am risking my life to get on an airplane to see him HA HA…I hate flying and I am doing this for a man LOL Whom I care about very much. See Meanbrd and I met through a a mutual friend I thought he was dating her home lol I asked him and he was like no were just friends, and since he told me that we hit it off…It wasn’t his sexy avitar lol that I was attracted to it was his openness and how he could act so goofy and be lovable and a great freind/boyfriend…I am hoping and praying when i get to Seattle everything works out for us and that we just fall even more head over heels for one another…And no one wants to be alone..We all get lonely from time to time. And I am praying he is the one!
socialize
As for jocks, someone has to catch the ball in the game. Games can be an important way for people to socialize. I don’t know about solitaire though. While fun, I never heard anyone talk about their solitaire scores. Then again, in video games, I’m guessing most people play against the game’s AI. But for some of those games, peeps brag or complain about their scores which is a form of socialization.
Sony’s Home is not considered by many to not be a game a (with some exceptions perhaps) but it can be a form of socialization. My scores in the Yeti-Hunter game are nothing to brag about but I do participate in the Yeti’s quest to rid the winterized Central Plaza of the alien attackers disguised as humans.
So there you go. I just talked about my score and gave an opinion on Yetis and Hunters. Thus I socialized. (And lets not forget the jock’s comment.)
Though this may run counter to the traditional geek image, I was actually very physically active at the time. Tennis, martial arts, ballroom dance and so forth. It kept me in great shape, and athleticism is something I prize.
It just so happened that there were some *really* abrasive jocks in the class I referenced in this article, and the story in question fit perfectly with what I wanted to talk about in the article, so I went with it. One thing I didn’t bring up in the article was that as it got to the end of the semester, I formed a study group for anyone who wanted assistance, and those same people ended up being involved in it. To this day, it makes me feel good that I helped them not only get better grades, but actually enjoy what they were learning about.