Dean(ish)

A 13-year-old boy in China committed suicide about a year and a half ago by jumping from his 24th floor apartment. According to this article from AP via Yahoo! News:

The parents of a 13-year-old Chinese boy who they say jumped to his death from a tall building after playing one of the popular “Warcraft” online games for 36 hours straight are suing its Chinese distributor, a news report said Friday.

Zhang Xiaoyi died on Dec. 27, 2004, leaving behind a suicide note saying he wanted “to join the heroes of the game he worshipped,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It said Zhang’s parents, who live in Tianjin, just east of Beijing, are seeking 100,000 yuan ($12,500) from Aomeisoft, the Chinese distributor of “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.”

The suit says Aomeisoft failed to include a warning that the game’s U.S. maker rates it as suitable only for players above age 13, according to Xinhua.

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André and I carpool every Monday and Wednesday. The routine is simple - I leave my house; I go to his house; I call him to tell him I’m there; we leave and go to work. I actually left my house early (aka, “on time”) this morning so I was feeling extra good. I made good time up Hwy 26 so I got to André’s in about 20 minutes.

When I pulled up in front of his apartment, I gave him a ring. No answer. ‘Strange,’ I thought. I called again, but still no answer. I parked the car and headed for the front door.

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Sometimes we meet people who change our lives forever. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but we always end up learning something from that person and taking away good life values. On the other hand, sometimes we meet people who make absolutely no sense and, as such, our lives are only richer because we make fun of them. We might question their existence, their purpose, their goals, and/or their parents.

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I’ve been a fan of Pearl Jam since their debut album, Ten, hit the street 15 years ago. I remember going to a Pearl Jam concert when I was about 12; my mom had to sneak my brother in because we couldn’t afford the extra ticket (no thanks to TicketMaster, but praise Pearl Jam for fighting them) and the show was awesome. I even saw Eddie Vedder perform a solo set at the Ralph Nader rally at the Rose Garden before the 2000 elections.

Indeed, I have been a fan for many years. I haven’t been the most loyal fan, however; aside from their singles, I’ve not listened to much of Pearl Jam since 1994’s Vitalogy. Still, I was very excited to hear “World Wide Suicide,” the first single off of the new self-titled Pearl Jam album, as it brought with it a lot of energy like classics “Even Flow” and “Once.”

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I went through one of the most traumatic experiences of my life on Friday. André, Laura, Byron, and Brynn came over on Friday to hang out and watch Narnia. After eating some pizza we (minus Christina) went to the playground to let the kids run around and enjoy the nice weather before starting the movie. You can probably see where this is going so I’ll skip right to it. I was pushing Byron too hard on a shitty swing. Byron slipped out from between the seat and the chain that stretched across his stomach, flipped 540° in the air, and landed on his forehead. I thought his neck had snapped. I thought he’d end up paralyzed. I thought I’d killed him.

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