ArkFullofSorrow.  Yes, ArkFullofSorrow

I suppose we can call this the FAQ portion of the site, but I've never really had any of these questions asked to me.

Q: ArkFullofSorrow? LOLOLOLO!!! What an awful name for a site! How'dja come up with that title?  That's almost as bad as Gameforms!
A: I know! It is just about the worst, least memorable title for a website of this or any sort.  One day I had awoken from a dream-laden sleep.  After taking a massive whizz, I recalled the only four words of the dream I remember: Ark, Full, Of and Sorrow.  I had written them down for some reason, and the phrase has stuck with me ever since.  I then did a Google search for this phrase, and much to my surprise, this exact phrase made its way online (I believe twice in a Taiwanese cache and once in an English forum), and saw this as destiny or some shit.  That, and owmyballs.com is already taken.

I don't really know how the phrase entered my memory. Like al other great things, its origin likely comes from the Internet, most probably from a message board, and further probably a Gamefaqs forum.  You how how those places are all populated by naught but Ivy League scholars.

Of course, now I have this feeling like I saw the phrase online, then had dreams I'd later grossly overinterpret. 

Q: So what's your name?
A: Afton O'Sullivan. Everybody in that real life place seems to call me Brian, my middle name.

Q: So what's the deal with your site?
A: It's a site about video games. It is the way it is because I'm trying to do things nobody else is doing. If they're out there doing these things, I don't know about it.  The stuff I attempt to do on video is (I hope) at least a little more than stuff a basic writing feature with a video backdrop.  The idea of incorporating video to the site came to me in another vision, this time coming from G4: moving pictures about games the entire Internet wouldn't be embarrassed to watch (which was months before I'd ever heard of Youtube, by the way).  I may or may not have failed in achieving that goal, so now I'm basically farting around with a camera.

As far as writing goes, I do some of that as well.  Once again, I try to write about things nobody else will.  Nothing against the standard fair (reviews and whatever a vague set of 'features'), I figure there are enough people doing this now and there's little I can contribute that hasn't already been contributed.  There are also topics that deserve to be covered or remembered that nobody else seems to do.  If I don't, who will?

Q: So are you serious or what?
A: In one of my features, I speak in an old woman's voice. In another, I play a guy who thinks Internet Celebrity is a legitimate calling. This is being done from a website called ArkFullofSorrow for cryin' out loud. This should automatically disqualify anything found here from being anything more than "stupid stuff you find on the Internet." Same thing goes for the vast majority of the web. I have this saying about the Internet: unless it comes from a source that you know is being 100% serious, don't take it 100% (or 50% or even 10%) seriously.

Q: Why do you like Gamefaqs so much?
A: I can understand hostility towards Gamefaqs. The reviews suck. The message boards suck. The writing found in many of the FAQs sucks. By all means, I should really hate Gamefaqs. The actual FAQs, though, are a godsend, and I turn to them more liberally than most people admit.  Saved me tons of trouble and time did they.  I believe for it to be the only gaming site I would dub as essential.  Those big game news sites that get all the hits can't hold a candle - never could.

Q: Hwa Hwa!  Cheater!
A: Look, one of my most hated casually-used phrases in life is "I don't have the time" because it is very rarely ever true. People almost always have the time to do whatever it is they're talking about, they just chose to spend it differently. With this in mind, simply put, I resort to FAQs because I don't have to time to play many of the games I do without doing so. Any time I can cut several hours of pure frustration and mind-numbing dullness out of an otherwise fine game, I'm gonna do it. If this makes me a cheater, so be it. Although I contest the accusers simply don't value their time like I value mine.

Q: Why do you put in so much effort for a little reward?
A: I'm not doing this to make big money if that's what you're asking, and I don't consider fame to be a worthwhile pursuit. Really, if you're one to ask such a question, you probably won't understand the answer much like peaceniks wouldn't understand why a soldier would enlist to serve another tour of duty in some far out war soon after completing a previous tour.

This is something I'm doing because I like doing it. While it can be a labor of love sometimes, I always remember that it's a hobby and not a job. Bottom line is that if you wish to enter a field such as this, think to yourself: Why am I doing this? Would I still be doing this if nobody visited or there is no money involved? If not, then I'd say your intentions are impure.

Of course, I can fully understand how a greater audience and that which comes with it provides incentive to direct more time and effort in that direction.

Q: I... don't get it....?
A: The stuff at this site is largely for the more, dare I say it, hardcore Western gamers. At least for the time being it is. Not exactly the biggest audience in the world, but that isn't why I'm doing this.

Q: Lemme guess, you never had any schoolin' for the things you do for this site?
A: That's right. I never took classes to hone my writing, web design, graphic design, film making or editing skills in case this wasn't already abundantly clear. Everything here, I pretty much pick up off the streets.

Although I did spend a good amount of time with two previous sites, one on Geocities and one on Fortunecity.  These experiments are largely repressed memories I'm trying to forget (even if I did get several ideas I've used and will continue to use here), so talking about them now is counterproductive to this goal and I shall stop now.  Oh, and no, you ain't gettin' their addresses.

Q: So, are you a racist or what?
A: Just took a look at this did you? I had some long-winded defense, but since I believe people who'd make such a claim don't have the attention span to make it through, I just decided to scratch that and whip out some Tim Wise followed by my own follow-up.  To bottom-line it: I have no problem with with any race, but I do with intellectual aggressors - those who see their position as infallible and those who wish to turn every pleasant conversation into a heated debate who expect long, detailed treatises to answer even the most trivial questions.  The first person to come to mind mind when I hear these words is the anti-racist.

"I have to admit that, on a personal level, the animal rights activists I've encountered almost never fail to come off as insufferable jerks. The smug moral certitude with which so many carry their agenda forth, has, for me at least, often overshadowed the righteousness of that agenda on face value."
- Noted anti-racist Tim Wise (for the full text click on this)

(You'll obviously want to change animal rights to anti-racist) I believe far too many members of the anti-racist movement see it as religious (in that it's not to be questioned, any dissent will be met with swiftly charges of bigotry, no questions asked), megalomaniac (their will must be strongly enforced by law), and quite hypocritical in that I believe they themselves are bigoted in one way or another (hence Niriz's liberal use of phrases like 'colored people') and paternalistic (anybody who sees things differently is just a cute, undereducated fool) not to mention insincere (far too many anti-racists seem more interested in power and prestige than fighting perceived injustices).  I have other qualms with intense anti-racists and other such activists as well, but in the interest of brevity, I'll just leave it at that. 

Oh, and also, any idiot should be able to deduce I'm poking fun at activists, not races.  Plus, you're letting a very fictional character get to you, so fuck you for being so soft.

Q: So... err, uhh, contact you?
A: email is arkfullofsorrow@arkfullofsorrow.com - really hard to figure out, I know.

Q: Ummm, Copyright?
A: 'Course. I don't think it's necessary to mention because I believe everything published on the Internet is already protected by international copyright law, but if not, this site is copyright 2005-2007. I reserve all rights possible and all that good stuff.

Back to Arkfullofsorrow.com