All at the Same Time

For almost the whole year in quarantine, I think, I’ve been seeing reminders from well-intentioned people that this is a pandemic and we are all operating at the bottom of the pyramid. [Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a pyramid and a dynamic model appear in the desktop version. They are not picture files that the mobile app can translate from the pdf.] It’s supposed to be a reminder to forgive yourself for not being as productive as Shakespeare or Isaac Newton were during their respective pandemics, but it also kind of dumbs down the fact that you can need to figure out how to get groceries and also need to write the next great American novel at the same time.

Abraham Maslow proposed the idea of a hierarchy of needs but did not actually portray them in the shape of a pyramid. His idea is that individuals’ most basic needs must be met before they become motivated to achieve higher-level needs, but that’s why I like the dynamic model more. It gives everyone permission to not climb a linear path to transcendence.

Posting the pyramid is a great reminder to acknowledge feeling anxious or tense and that a hot meal and shower could be the solution. But I want everyone to have permission to strive for constant betterment because humans are complex and can run parallel processes at the same time. You can need to see friends more than you need to eat. —MV

Happy first anniversary of lockdown!

AGE OF HEROES

Luis rediscovers the joy of basketball

I’ve been very vocal this year about my dislike of NBA2K21. Over the past five years, my most played game was always NBA 2K. That changed with the ’21 release.

First, they changed the shooting mechanics in game. They took a function no one really complained about and wanted everyone to learn a new method of shooting. Then they buffed the AI on the CPU making it even harder to defeat your virtual opponents. After that they completely turned their back on current gen users to focus almost solely on the next gen consoles. Those of us without a next gen console had to look on while a whole new city playable area was built for PS5 and XboxS users. Lastly, the proliferation of weekly releases made the game more pay to play than ever. The barrier for casual players was simply too high.

For months, I’ve avoided the game. Then they released their Season 5 trailer... “The Age of Heroes.” The new season would be based on heroic card versions of some of the best past and present players in the NBA. As a lifelong comic book fan, this catered to me. Over the past month I’ve played more 2K than I have since its release. The shooting has been retooled to match previous versions. The CPU not as buff. There are still problems with too many premium cards released, but they made quite a few hero cards available for a casual grind. That plus the hero cards like Galaxy Opal Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich coach cards! All in all, for the first time this season, content and gameplay have meshed and I’m actually enjoying this game. I hope Season 6 is just as good.

The other day the New York Times had a story where they were talking to a bunch of 15- and 16-year-olds about the volunteer work they were doing during the pandemic. And they all looked so old. Like beat down and joyless old. Like “ugh, being middle aged sucks” kind of old. It made this artist’s progress photos that go from a baby to Morgan Freeman feel even more like it needed to be included in a pandemic anniversary issue.