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Zen and the Art of Guitar Hero

Posted by Zonk on from the watching-a-master-at-work dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Julian Murdoch over at GamersWithJobs.com has what can only be described as a piece of liturgy, proclaiming a religious experience at his local Best Buy as he watches someone beat 'Through the Fire and the Flames' on Expert in Guitar Hero 3. 'At 6 minutes in, a small crowd has formed, perhaps 15 of us. His sravaka — his disciples — look nervously at us, absorbing the distractions, protecting him a bubble of calm. There is complete silence. Even my son is staring slackjawed, like he does in church during communion, not understanding the content of the ritual but understanding the tone and sacredness of the space.'"

21 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Cue in Southpark jokes... by kitzkar · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... in 3... 2... 1...

    1. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You....Are...Fags!

    2. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by StarvingSE · · Score: 4, Funny

      Afterward, the kid couldn't take all the fame that came after this huge best buy show. He went into his basement and played Heroin Hero for weeks straight in order to deal with it.

      --
      I got nothin'
    3. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by Psmylie · · Score: 4, Funny
      If a tree tells a joke in the forest and nobody hears it, is it still funny?

      Probably not, but it's still a talking tree, and that's worth something.

      --

      psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo

    4. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by Fierythrasher · · Score: 5, Funny

      So inside jokes have no value? I refer to Denis Miller's 5% joke guideline where the majority of his jokes have to hit the mass audience but several of his more esoteric references are aimed at only the 5% of the audience who knows what he's talking about. If you're in the 95% you're confused, but if you're in the 5% then it's funny as all hell.

    5. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by Rei · · Score: 2, Funny

      So inside jokes have no value?

      Well, the human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vaccuuming systems, so you ought be careful not to annoy your audience too much :) I don't think anyone smiles in hospitals. This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. They won't appreciate your humor. Thankfully, we, the Slashdot posters of Culture 19, know well the value of a good joke. Either you win and prove your superiority, or you lose and are vanquished. If the vanquished is lucky, they survive to learn an important lesson from its defeat. This is the way of Slashdot! We argue and learn and improve! All other cultural schemes are inferior. This is a proven fact.

      Part of the problem with telling inside jokes is that people will mistake it for trolling or madness or something. Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time. You usually have to spend your time defending your post -- "No, I have not been corrupted by the 'big city!' ...No, I am not on drugs. All right, I'll tell you! I'm trapped in a room where an alien and a robot with high explosives are trying to kill each other!.. No rehab! I am NOT on drugs!" You are getting earful. There is no way out of that.

      You are a fear prisoner. Yes, you are a product of fear. Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage. Still, I would defend my posts at all costs. How can you do that? I can do anything I want. Go on, prove me wrong. Destroy the fabric of the universe. See if I care. I kid, of course. Bringing about armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home.

      When's this gonna stop? You should already know that.

      --
      We should start dealing in those black-market beagles.
    6. Re:Cue in Southpark jokes... by kehren77 · · Score: 2, Funny

      So does that make Dennis Miller the Macintosh of comedians?

  2. Re:soooo by sayfawa · · Score: 2, Funny

    Stop being so mean to him. He's probably around here somewhere and he may have mod points. We should go to some less dorky forum and make fun of him there.

    --
    Free the Quark 3 from asymptotic confinement! Bring your charm! Don't get down! All colours and flavours welcome!
  3. Just have a guitar near you and get laid! by StCredZero · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh, yeah? According to this, some guys can get laid just by having a guitar near them and never taking it out of the case!

    http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/pdx/105596028.html

  4. Re:Not that exciting by my+$anity++0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Watching someone play DDR is definitely more fun.
    Especially if said someone is a cute girl (or guy, depending on how your attractions lie).

    But, then again, most games weren't meant to be watched, they were meant to be played.
    Prince of Persia is an exception.

  5. Cyanide and Happiness Webcomic by StCredZero · · Score: 3, Funny

    http://www.explosm.net/comics/897/

  6. Re:Not that exciting by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 4, Funny

    I get that it's fun, I get that it's challenging. What I don't get is why anybody would want to watch it be played. I think it would be fun to play. I don't think it's a fun game to watch. That's the way I feel about golf...
    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  7. Re:Not that exciting by damaki · · Score: 4, Funny

    Strangely, I do not feel the same about boxing...

    --
    Stupidity is the root of all evil.
  8. Wait! Ive seen this before? by Altus · · Score: 4, Funny


    was he deaf, dumb, and blind?

    --

    "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

  9. Re:Not that exciting by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Strangely, I do not feel the same about boxing... Yeah, boxing is probably the opposite of golf. Fun to watch, but not very fun to play...
    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  10. Re:Not that exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    >All the best games have simple objectives.

    Including the game that is woman. I know the objective but have yet to score.

    To tell you the truth, I don't even understand the rules.

  11. Re:Wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thanks for the translation, Captain Miserable.

  12. Cool! A Minnie Driver/Anne Hathaway love scene. by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1, Funny

    > Zen and the Art of Guitar Hero

    So, combining two colossal wastes of time, music burnouthood and video games, into one and labeling those who do it as "heroes" isn't enough? Now you're intertwining yet another reason to sit around doing nothing?

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  13. Re:Not that exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's sad that the person that made the joke didn't get the +5 funny, but instead it was the person who spelled-out (perhaps ruined?) the joke who did.

  14. Re:Wait... by zero_offset · · Score: 4, Funny

    If by "a little melodramatic" you mean "cloyingly fawning like some kind of loser who probably needs therapy," then yes, by all means, his interpretation was a little melodramatic.

    --

    Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

  15. Re:Not that exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Nah, golf is boring to play too.