[sort of off-topic] Summer time

Well I can't speak for the general world and its weird time and weather differences, but its certainly summer here. Temperature is around 80 degrees on average, finally going out of that wild time of constant cool dips, and unfortunately the AC at my house doesn't work. I've been chilled out by time spent at the apartment, but here I'm feeling the heat and needing 4 fans for my room alone. To simply play a video game, I need to blast my volume up to triple the usual sound just to hear over the constant buzz of fans. However that's not what summer is completely about, and I'm listening to a Atlas light synth electronic album in another tab (here, listen with me while you read), thinking of enjoying a fruit sorbet later, and still can't keep away from the coffee despite my better judgement telling me its hot enough as it already is. I'm still going to attempt to enjoy myself, and I decided why not talk about the usual things that come to mind during summer. At first I was going to do this based on video games, but screw it, its far more interesting to just chill and talk about the general summer condition (though I am personally more of a fall person).

So unlike most people, the first things to come to mind aren't necessarily beaches and mixed drinks. I mean don't get me wrong, that's genuine and true summer fun and I'm totally for that sort of thing, but I think the common thing I associate with summer is child hood, nostalgia, cheap fun, and... well then of course maybe some of the more broad stuff like tropical islands, fruit & smoothies, and just chilling. Of course the weirdest bit is nostalgia and cheap fun. Its a weird thing, and I'm not entirely sure why summer just brings it out for me. I think I can place a good guess though. You think childhood because its the time kids are let out of school for summer break. Its a relaxing time before they face the next big chronicle in their life of education. However during that time, its all about having fun and enjoying yourself. Meanwhile cheap fun comes from the way marketing now is done. Artificial sodas, dollar store floats and beach balls, and catchy bubble gum pop or dance music fills the air of most speakers, and you can get up and treat every day like it was Saturday with free access to TV. Then there's just the simple fact that my own view of early childhood cartoons had a decent number of cheap stuff that still somehow remains fun even if it might not be "good" on a technical level. Like the Donkey Kong Country show, which is practically a poster child of my idea of summer content.

Tropical setting, and terrible Saturday morning show. Just grab a smoothie, and its a perfect summer combo

For some reason, gaming has a similar fate even though I actually grew up with some decent taste depending on what games you're looking at. Spyro, Banjo & Kazooie, Timesplitters, and Medal of Honor aren't exactly bad games. Still for some silly reason, summer puts me in that mood of not only reliving a few nostalgic classics, but actually to seek out sillier or more badly made stuff. Things like Alpha Prime, and Jurassic the hunted feel like great examples. I swear I want the game vivisector for much of the same reason. Its a silly campy FPS with a warm setting, and there's just something about it that resonates as "summer" in my mind. ...and on the other hand I also enjoy seeking out AA grade arcadey stuff. Plenty of it litters the PSN ground unheard of. Again don't know why, it doesn't add up with much true nostalgia in gaming, but it feels so right and "summer".

However I also feel just the mood creeping in to just enjoy animation, and cartoons in general. As an art form, it never feels more at home than in summer... and that's saying a lot considering you can never go wrong with cartoons, animation, and art at any point in the season. However summer just brings out more of that attitude to appreciate what's around in it even more. Admire the art on the web, admire the light-hearted animations waiting to be discovered, and chill out with a nice graphic novel in the end and take in the art and world built in it. Then with that in mind, gaming also starts to include a few more 2D things than I'd normally like. Among one of the best being Awesomenauts which is a perfect summer game, but then there's stuff like battleblock theater, or even just flat out retro games like... well the DKC video game on SNES or GBA. So basically my gaming habbits for summer are a weird spready across retro-ish, arcadey, cheap, and nostalgic games.... but of course I wont put down something like Doom. I'll still play new releases and games that I just want to (likewise I get summer-ish moods for this stuff outside of summer at times), but when it comes to summer I think of all the others I stated before, and I find myself just turning on the PS2 or searching PSN's obscure junk a bit more often than normal.

Hunt a dino? Why not, sounds perfectly summer to me.

So take a quick stop at Tropical Smoothie Cafe (no really, they're amazing even outside of summer), then go home and take out those season 1 Beast War DVDs, reflect back on which PS2 cult-hit game you're going to play next, and enjoy the warm air while you dream of that beach trip that's coming up soon. Summer is here, and its time to enjoy things. ...and maybe think about how you're going to put an ice pack in front of that fan to help out the room temperature. I dunno, but don't let that stand in the way of your summer fun. Its palm tree season, so make the most of it.