Recession-Proof Industries and Why We Love Them

Something that has been on my mind lately (and surely has been on many minds) is the recession we are currently facing. While contemplating how I am going to pay for this month's bills (as well as other unforeseen costs like the 4 brand new tires I bought today (as well as saving for enormous costs like, well, that wedding I'm going to be in not too far from now)) I began wondering about the so-called "recession-proof" industries. My basic question is, "why, despite a recession reminiscent of the Great Depression (though economic analysts are pointing out that we are in much better shape than the impossible times of 1929) are some industries booming?"

So I thought I'd look at some of these recession-proof industries to figure out why the American public is willing to fuel some businesses and not others. Here's a brief look at some of these industries:

Pet and Supply Stores
These businesses boom despite economic hardship, and the reason seems simple: Those who already have pets are going to continue to take care of them; and those who don't are still willing to buy a loving friend who will make them feel better despite hard times in all other areas.

Hollywood
I would have named this one "movies," but that is a bit too narrow. "Hollywood" incorporates theater-released films, DVDs, etc. Why does entertainment continue to flourish? People need an escape. A family might be struggling to pay the bills and feed hungry mouths; but the best way to forget that things are hard is to head to the theater and delve into a fantasy world of fun and imagination. The price might be high (I remember paying $5.00 for a film); but it is apparently worth it to get away from harsh reality.

Video Games
So person X is eating top-ramen and only driving to necessary locations due to gas prices, yet X is willing to buy a $60 video game. Why? The "Hollywood" example fits the bill. Escaping into an alternate reality is the best way to ignore how bad things are. Plus, $60 doesn't seem like so much when it affords one so many hours of entertainment. $10 buys one a movie ticket which gives 1-3 hours of escape; but a good video game offers 10-100 hours of escape. Economically, this is a great way to still get away from the current economic situation and still save some dough.

Porn
It is well documented how well the pornographic industries do no matter how the world's economics are panning out. This one is a no brainer...even in times where money is lacking, people are willing to pay just about anything to get off. Making porn doesn't cost much at all, and buying it allows a sexual release. Yeah, the porn industry is asking for a bail out; but trust me, they don't need it.

Drugs
Ok, so this isn't really an "industry" in the normal sense of the word, but there are many, many people who make their income from it. Just like movies, video games, and porn...drugs are an escape. And apparently people are willing to pay for something to get away from the truth.

I could go on and on; but the trend is already clear. People are willing to pay for just about anything to forget their troubles. It's almost as if a recession is good for these industries.

Oh, wait...there's one more group that a recession is good for. But this one is tricky. It's good for the rich. If I have a lot of money and a recession hits, I have a great opportunity...buying property, businesses, etc, is easy if you have the money because people need to offload extra houses, failing business, and the like. If you have the money to buy these commodities off of the less fortunate, and have the time to wait til the economy rises again, the money that can be made from re-selling these commodities at a high price is absurd.

I'm not sure if I even have a point here. I guess my point is that understanding human psychology is key to surviving such a crisis. That, or being rich in the first place. It's funny...despite understanding these trends, I am still seeing movies, buying video games, and never even considering getting rid of my dog...even though each of said actions hurts my chances of making it through this time in a decent state.

And even though humans are predictable, and capital can be made from them (through possibly conniving methods), I don't find this to be a bad thing. Anything that gives hope (even "false hope") and allows people to fight through hardship has some merit to it.

In other words...I'm glad that I have movies and games and pets to help me ignore thoughts of crawling into bed and sleeping through deep states of depression. Even though people make money off of our misery, there actually is a silver-lining to the cloud. We, as humans, have figured out a way to ignore crippling defeat. If resilience is brought about only by means of entertainment and ignoring of the hard truth, then I am all for the recession-proof industries.

A Reason To Fight

There are many reasons to have faith. There are many reasons to believe in the improvable. There are many reasons to devote oneself to religion. And many of those reasons are ridiculous.

Blind faith is a way to reject the obviously true (e.g. "I don't care that science has shown the earth to be billions of years old, I have faith that evolution is false and the earth is less than 5,000 years old). Following a holy text to the ends of the earth, even when taken horribly out of context, is a way to justify atrocious actions. And all religious experiences are an easy catch-all (due to their improvability).

But even with all the ignorance and stupidity, there is reason to follow what modern man has termed religion.

There's an amazing song by the band Air called "Biological" which gives credence to one of the many reasons I am a Christian. The basic premise of the song is a man declaring his "love" for another. Following a purely physicalist worldview, the best (read: only) reason he can come up with for his attraction is this:

Biological
I don't know why I feel that way with you
Biological
I need your DNA

You can find the rest of the lyrics here (and I definitely recommend checking the band out if you don't already know of them).

So, a man loves a woman. He can't live without her. His very breath depends on her existence. Why? His DNA necessitates his attraction to her. Take Darwinism to the extreme and you have the meaning of this song. A male has a biological need to propagate his line. A female has a biological desire to have offspring. And in some cases, the DNA of the two fits in such a way that the firing of synapses and physiological responses form a stronger bond than is common. This is what we call "love."

But wait, (you might say) I love my girlfriend...and it's way more than electricity running through a warm body! Well, there is where I would agree with you. And there is where the common physicalist has little else to say.

If you deny the supernatural/metaphysical/spiritual, then you deny the existence of love. Let's take this a step further. If you deny the existence of a creative God, then love is merely a physiological response and is, in all respects, nothing special. For the purely scientific and purely scientific-method-provable types out there, love is a means to and end (i.e. propagation).

Let's take it even further. If you believe in spirituality (but not religion), love is some vague force that binds individuals together for some unknown reason. No, you "spiritual but not religious" people out there cannot say that it is 1) to make us happy, or 2) to give us a reason to exist, or even 3) simply because. Why? Well, 1) has firm roots in eudaimonism which feeds directly into Christianity (or Judaism or Islamic culture if you are being picky); 2) is incomprehensible because a reason for existence requires forethought and planning (something that the "let's tap into the spiritual but never admit to God" crew cannot accept). If there is a reason we are on this celestial orb, there had to be someone (or something) behind said reason; and 3) (the "brute fact" approach) is as lazy and undefendible [made-up word of the day] as the right-wing Christians who say, "It just is! Ok?!?".

I happen to follow the Christian worldview. This worldview is not the modern day understanding of Christianity. If that confuses you, ask me, I'll explain it in depth. I also happen to want to believe that love is more than some chemicals in my brain. Following Occam's Razor, the easiest solution to my desire to find love to be something substantial, Christianity fits the bill. If a omnibenevolent being created this earth (and us with it), it is not far fetched to believe that this being wants us humans to feel what it feels. Since this being is (or so argues Christianity) omnibenevolent, omnipotent, omniscient, and all other ultimate-good traits, it can choose to create if it so wishes (by the way, I'm using "it" so as not to offend the feminists, race advocates, etc). If this being creates, the creatures it creates will not be as perfect as it is (argument being [simplified]: a god could not create a perfectly analoguous god). Being all good, all loving (etc), this being would obviously want to create said creatures with the ability to communicate, love, desire, (fill in this blank with any good thing...the list is almost endless) just like it does.

Now here comes the specifically Christian part. Since God is triune (you know, the trinity), there is communion and love be†ween the triune godhead. If God (sorry, I switched from "being" to "God," trust me, it will all make sense...hopefully) is perfect in every way, the love and communion between the three parts of the trinity is perfect. Since we (God's creation) are created as inferior beings (out of logical necessity), the best we can hope for is to strive to gain as close an analog to God's traits as possible. If this is the case, our feelings of love, gratitude, hopefulness, etc (once more, the list goes on and on) are directly related to a perfect example that we can only hope to live up to.

This fits in directly with Aristotle's idea of perfection. He argued that the only reason we humans have any conception of perfection in the first place is due to God's perfection. For example: if humans never had eyes (as in, ocular senses never exited), we would never wonder what it would be like to see. In the same sense, the only reason we strive for perfection is because we have an innate sense of perfection (due to the God that created us). In other words, if there is no such thing as a perfect being, how could we even conceive of perfection?

Wow, um, that was a lot more than I intended to say. So what's the bottom line? When I tell Megan that I love her, I want to believe that my words are not simply references to biological (and thusly meaningless (at least in a grand perspective)) imperatives. I want my words to convey what I actually mean: that I reflect the perfection of the God that created me, that God's love, when I say, "I love you." If I give up my faith, my beliefs, my love loses all meaning.

And that is one of the myriad reasons I follow a religion.

But of course...

Right on the tail of my last post I ran across an article examining a recent study by BYU that says playing video games (any kind, not just the violent kind) is bad for you. Here's a quote:

The impact of videogames on relationships is described as statistically "modest," but according to BYU Professor Laura Walker, the lead author on the report, "Everything we found associated with videogames came out negative." Women who play videogames "a lot" have lower self-esteem (presumably than women who don't play) while gamers who play daily smoke marijuana twice as much as "other players" and three times as much as people who don't play games at all.

Now take a second and think about that approach. Does something seem a little funny to you? A little...off?

I believe that those doing the study began with a bias against gaming and therefore (possibly subconsciously) skewed the results.

Isn't it possible that girls who have a low self-esteem tend to play more video games and not the other way around? Isn't it possible that people who smoke a lot of marijuana gravitate towards video games (something regarded as fun to many while high)? This team took two pieces of information and came up with a result; but they had to figure out which piece of information was the catalyst for the other.

For example: I notice that there are periods during the 24-hour cycle where the sun is not visible; and I also notice that there are periods during the cycle that it is significantly cooler than other times. I now have three choices for a conclusion. Either 1) The temperature often cools due to the lack of the sun, or 2) The sun is not visible due to the cold temperature, or 3) These two observations are not actually related and it is coincidence (or some other factor) that they happen at the same time.

Now you and I know that at night, when there is no sun, it is often cooler than when the sun is blazing. We would never think to say that a cold weather front moves in and forces the sun to slip below the horizon. But the BYU team found that there were girls who have low self-esteem, and that often times these girls played video games, and concluded that games lead to low self-esteem (not the other way around (which is totally feasible) or deciding that many, many other factors come into play).

This is simply a perfect example of how society at large views video games and those who play them.

::
::

p.s. What if those girls have a low self-esteem because they very much enjoy themselves when playing video games but people like the BYU team keep telling them they are rejects for doing so?

A Valid Complaint

Yeah yeah, I already posted tonight...but I want to post again. You have a problem with that? Too bad anonymous imaginary friend I am arguing with, I defy your wishes!

Anyway, on to the topic at hand:

I play video games. Yeah, you heard me...I'm admitting to playing video games. There is some kind of strange mark of the reject applied to anyone in today's age who plays video games (at least those over the age of 15 or so) that I don't understand. We're fine with alcoholics (at least functioning alcoholics), street racers, weightlifting fiends, and a myriad of other bizarre (or harmful) activities; but the moment you say you play video games people get this look in their eye that says, "oh, you're one of those."

Well, video games not only relieve stress and supply entertainment; but they do so in a way that is (in all non-extreme cases) harmless.

Video game playing is, in my opinion, on par with the audiophile's hunt for perfect sound and the best albums or even the film student who can't get enough of new techniques and methods for making movies.

Enough of that...that wasn't even the point I was going to make. But I felt I should preface my point with that in case you began reading my rant about video games and tuned out due to a predisposed objection to gamers.

The point at hand: The Drive for Realism in Video Games and it's Impact on Games

There are two major trends in video games right now, those who want to make/play games as realistic and close to our non-gaming world as possible, and those who want the fantastical and out-of-this-worldness.

For a miniature case study, I will look at two games: Grand Theft Auto 4, and Saint's Row 2. Here we go!

GTA 4

GTA 4 cost around $100,000,000 to make (yes, you read that right, one-hundred-million). It is, without a doubt, one of the most realistic representations of a living breathing world in a video game ever created. As you walk around you will witness gunfights, street vendors, car accidents, and regular pedestrian life (and it will be happening whether you are there to witness it or not). The city is dirty and grey-brown and eroding like you would expect if you were walking the streets of NY city. Cars handle like their real-world counterparts and cops flank and call for backup like they would do if being attacked. Everything is as perfect as possible with today's technology.

But is that a good thing?

The colors (other than the sky and occasional park vista) are non-attention-grabbing and the physics system leaves one unable to partake in the supernatural feats usually associated with video games. The main character is an anti-hero who both demands pity and garners hatred. Many of the side-quests are as mundane as delivering pedestrians to their desired locations in a taxi (hopefully without killing them in the process with Evil Knievel style stunt-driving) or taking your friends out bowling or eating in order to keep their friendship.

The bottom line: The realism is amazing. From dust particles in the air to voice acting, everything is awe-inspiring to some extent. Yet something about the game reeks of everyday life in such a way that the game almost feels like a job. Whether it's "Oh, I need to take Michelle out on a date or she'll dump me," or the first 8 hours of the game that are steeped in tutorials (due to complexity), the amount of fun can easily be lost.

Saints Row 2

I'll admit, I ignored this game for months because it sounded so pedantic, so immature that I couldn't see it being any good. I rented it solely because the Blockbuster near my house sucks and never stocks the games desired by the masses. I fired it up, expecting nothing more than a few hours of mindless gunplay; but I was given much, much more.

The graphics are cartoony (compared to GTA 4), the voice acting isn't quite Hollywood worthy, the physics are a little bit wonky, and the goal of the game leads you to the absurd and back.

But is that a bad thing?

With bright colors, more character customization than GTA 4, an easy learning curve (which ramps up appropriately for those desiring controller-throwing hardness), and general insanity coursing through the game's veins, it doesn't take long to revert the player to a place where fun is once more the goal.

When Mario jumped 5-times his own height and swam underwater with no breathing apparatus people didn't jump on the forums and scream, "Wut?!? This game iz totaly stoopid! Mario couldnt do all that sh**!!!1" In the same way, the anti-hero of Saint's Row can spray fecal matter onto high-end housing to lower pricing, smoke a joint anywhere in public, partake in massive gun battles in old churches, and do most anything he or she wants with nearly no repercussions.

The bottom line: The realism is lacking (people don't fall off motorcycles when you hit them at 80mph in your car) which, in turn, lessens the amount of drama raised by the cut-scenes (and the overall story); but who cares? The game lets you revel in base tendencies or be a nearly perfect citizen (e.g. you only get points for killing gang members, and you get extra points for avoiding other cars). In other words, the game is actually fun.

The Actual Bottom Line

There is a place for realism and there is a place for fantasy. Case in point: a film called The Brown Bunny came out in 2003 at the Cannes Film Festival. This film was only 93 minutes long; but (from what I am told) the first 80 or so minutes are a man on a motorcycle traveling cross-country (with brief interruptions for flashbacks, etc) in order to meet the only woman who can satisfy his loneliness (read: the woman who will fellate him (yes, actually doing the act) at the end of the film). The film was realistic in that his travel time was supposedly close to accurate and the audience has to (or gets to) live every minute with him on the way to his destination. But is that great film making, or experimental crap?

Another (even better) example is a game called Desert Bus which simulates a drive from Tucson Arizona to Reno Nevada in a bus that tops out at 45mph. This trip takes about 8 hours and no pretty scenery is added for the players benefit. Also, the bus veers slightly to the right which means the player has no way of rigging the controls and stepping away for a break. Once the player makes it to Vegas, the bus turns around and starts heading back. There is no end. Penny Arcade even made a fundraiser out of the game (apparently the inanity of the game has drawn much attention as well as people determined to conquer the boredom.

The point of the last two examples? Realism isn't always a good thing. Do we, as consumers, want to come home from our extraordinarily real lives just to partake in faux realism (whether movies, TV, or games)? Probably not. So a game like GTA 4 has a serious mark against it. Then again, when a game offers character creation or naming of a character, why do most people make a digital duplicate of him or herself? If we can put ourselves in a hyper-realistic (yet simultaneously fake) environment, we can act in ways totally opposite to our morals, ethics, and values, but with no repercussions. So Saint's Row 2 has a mark against it (due to the lack of believability).

In my humble (read: non-programmer, non-gaming company executive, non-gaming investor) opinion, game makers need to make up their minds. Too much realism breeds boredom and repetition (yet offers possible escape from our normal realistic lives) and too much fantasy leads to goofiness and fluff. The answer to the problem? Stop walking the fine line. Make a crazily-realistic game and give up trying to make it realistic plus being funny, surreal, and touching. Those who want to escape into a very realistic alternate reality will play it and love it. Or, make a fantastical game that doesn't also try to be uber-dramatic, impactful, and semi-realistic. Those who don't want to deal with which camouflage to pick or whether leaving a dead guard on the ground will alert the other guards will flock to it.

In other words: pick a genre, make a kick-ass game, and give up trying to be everything at once (how many dramatic-romantic-comedic-documentaries have you seen?). Oh, and make it fun...please.

Heh

So, a quick thought on blinds. I have always thought that, if I want privacy in my room (e.g. I'm getting dressed after a shower) I should turn the blinds facing down. You know, so the only way to see in your window would be by getting at an extreme angle below the window...and even then, all you would be able to see is the ceiling.

Tonight, I have realized a flaw in my theory.

I live in a condo complex that is 2 stories. I live on the first floor. From my backyard (or should I say "back strip of concrete and a little dirt") I can see the windows of some of my second story neighbors. Most of which, I noticed, have the blinds pointed in the position that I just described.

Maybe this is a bad idea when the downward position means I can (as just happened to me) see into your room, the wall the TV is on, and you're watching porn.

Just a thought. Maybe turn those things facing up if you're on the second story.

Oh no!

I've been TAGGED!

I know that it's incredibly unlikely that you are reading this post and still have no idea what this whole "tagging" thing is about; but I'll recap anyway. The farthest back I can go is Aro who tagged a group including Megan; and then somehow Ed was tagged (Megan ignored the "tag other people" rule) who then tagged me. I must admit, I was secretly coveting all those tagged and was holding my breath hoping it would be my turn soon. Now that it's my turn, I'm worried that I have nothing to say. But here goes!

No...wait, I'm going to interject a mini-post I've been meaning to write before I write my 7 things. Sorry, you'll have to endure my ramblings if you want to read my oh-so-exciting "stuff about me."

New year's eve was a truly amazing event and I wanted to say a few words about it. Megan and I met a group of friends and went to Together as One which, if you don't know, is an organization who puts on massive events. This one was at the LA Coliseum which can fit about 115,000 people (including the field area). Add to that outside tents and the number jumps to something quite absurd. We all got in around 11:40pm, made our way to the very top row of seats, and looked out at a view indescribable by words.

Thousands of people rang in the new year with us and then proceeded to partake in Armin Van Buuren spinning everything from well known hits to remixes of Obama speeches. Hours passed with amazing lights, fantastic music, and great friends. It was, in a word, perfect. There was no better way to begin a year that I'm sure will be full of major (and wonderful) changes.
Anyway, on to the reason for this post...I've been tagged!

7 Strange or Weird Things About Me!
(Wow, it's much harder to think of things than I expected...)

1 - The first instrument I learned was the trumpet (I'm not counting the recorder. Hot Crossed Buns in a shrill squeal does not count in my opinion). Our group was designated to play the typical graduation song for the 8th graders and this seemed like a vastly important task to me. While cleaning the spit valve of my trumpet next to the sink (where my mom was washing dishes), I accidentally knocked my mouthpiece into the running garbage disposal. A horrible metal-on-metal clanking ensued and my mouthpiece was dinged and semi-mutilated. Lacking a replacement mouthpiece, and the graduation being only days away, I continued to practice diligently. As you might know, brass instruments take vibration of the lips against the mouthpiece. By the time we performed for graduation my lips were cut and bleeding due to metal protrusions caused by the garbage disposal. And so began dedication to any given craft, even to the point of personal pain.

2 - I have lied (possibly read: exaggerated) on every resume I have ever submitted. E.g. The boss of my first serving job thought I had worked at least 2 restaurants prior to applying to his restaurant.

3 - I didn't have my first full alcoholic beverage until the age of 20. By "full" I mean a drink all to myself...I had partaken in sips of wine before said age.

4 - I played the role of Bill Sykes in the musical Oliver when I was in Jr. High despite the fact that I cannot sing. The first night of the play I walked on stage for my big song (My Name) and froze. I went a full two stanzas into the song and all I could do was utter a couple of "err"s and "uhh"s. It was, at that point, the most embarrassing moment of my life.

5 - [Disclaimer: this one is kinda graphic, skip if you are easily offended] Before I was ever given the big sex talk, my friends and I (in elementary school, not sure what grade) had a huge argument about sex (which none of us knew anything about). The argument was between my best friend and I and the subject was whether typical sexual intercourse was in the "front hole" or the "back hole" (we didn't even know the terminology).

6 - A girl who I thought was a friend (I later realized the truth) in high school convinced all my other friends that I tried to commit suicide. I, to this day, do not know what made her think that was true (or if she had some other agenda).

7 - I once packed 6 people into my 2-seater convertible in order to get all of us to a location to shoot a scene for a student film that never saw the light of day.

Alright, there's a few tidbits for ya. I don't know anyone whose site I regularly visit who had not already been tagged, so I'll accept that I'm the end of the line. If you have a blog and have not done this, consider yourself tagged. It's fun to try and think of things that your close friends don't know of.

Hope everyone is having a great beginning to the new year!

Ed posted this quote recently and it really struck a cord with me, so I'm going to share it with you in case you don't frequent both sites:

Why do I make room in my mind for such filth and nonsense? Do I hope that if feeling disguises itself as thought I shall feel less? Aren't all these notes the senseless writhings of a man who won't accept the fact that there is nothing we can do with suffering except to suffer it? Who still thinks there is some device (if only he could find it) which will make pain not to be pain. It doesn't really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist's chair or let your hands lie in you lap. The drill drills on.
- C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, p 33.

So this is the new year...

I had this trend of making new year's resolutions and then checking up on how I did once January of the next year hit. The internet's death-grip on me has loosened over time and I have slipped into complacency in areas that once seemed indescribably important to me. My compatriot Aro recently posted his new year's resolutions much in the same vein of my past posts and inspired (read: guilted) me to resurrect ancient traditions.

New Year's Resolutions - 2009

1 - Find a new job (something in the film world)

2 - Find a new place to live (dependent on resolution #1)

3 - Make a positive major life change (something other than #1 or #2)

4 - Finish Brother's Karamozov and read at least 10 more chapters in Ulysses

5 - Go to the gym more

6 - Grow (whether personally or professionally) in both writing and art

Ok, so there we go. That seems ambitious enough for my taste. In other news, I'll tell ya'll about my new year's eve in a later post. It's late enough that I feel as if I'm indulging in my minor insomnia by writing in the first place, let alone writing about detailed events.

Happy new year to you all and I sincerely hope this is the best year of your life.