Murky Clarity

New Obsession: AION Online

 

I've been fawning over this particular game since more a year ago. Yes, I've been secretly cheating on WoW (World of Warcraft) even while actively raiding with my guildmates. Kept on going back to the site and read the updates, counting the days 'til it's release. It was supposed to be late last year, but was postponed until the release date became official: 22nd September 2009. I went, "September, September...COME!" When the game was finally released, I found out to my dismay that it was not sold in Malaysia. Not even via Amazon.com (this item is currently not available for your country). Sucks bad, right? So, anyway, I kept on complaining and Reza kept on asking if I really wanted the game.

 

Last Tuesday he came over my home after work bringing a steel-cover copy of AION! He asked his friend in Dallas to courier it for him. So, what's all this rave about? Remember how I said I'm obsessed with winged creatures? AION avatars (characters) have fully-functional wings, and there are even aerial battles! Granted, I can only fly at certain areas, and only for a minute at a time, but still. Wings! The character creation process is, on its own, amazing and a half. Imagine Sims 3, but with richer graphic and fantasy-base.

 

Atrocity

I checked my computer and saw Yahoo! homepage already opened. The headline grabbed my attention: Islamic Icon Spared in Disaster Flick. I read on. The short of it is that the director of 2012, the upcoming global disaster movie, Mr Ronald Emmerich, contemplated on destroying the Kaaba, but was talked out of it by his co-writer talked him out of it (for fear of a fatwa).

 

In his interview, he admitted wanting to destroy Kaaba. And when talked out of it, he said that it wasn't something important, anyway. OK, fine enough as it is. But wait. There's another link to his interview with Sci Fi Wire, and there are plenty of comments left by visitors. And the nonsense people sprout! I don't know how, but the blame for this debacle goes to Islam and Muslims, for being extremist, for being suicide bombers, for being stuck in the dark ages, for not wanting progress. The commentators keep on talking about the comic where the prophet Muhammad was portrayed, about Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses.

 

For those not sure about Salman Rushdie's work that put him into hiding, he came up with alleged Quranic verses that had never existed before. The content? The title of the novel says it all, but what's most important is that the Quran has never seen any change throughout its existence. The Holy Book is still pure, not tampered with. I seriously am one of the least religious Muslims around. But to read these hate-saying comments, to imagine the Kaabah destroyed for the sake of a movie, well, it's hard not to get angry. Have a read. Click on the links I posted. Then tell me if you don't get angry reading those comments. Some are just haters, provoking other, making their own country, their own religion (or lack thereof) look bad.