What’s up Addicts?
So I’m driving along on just one of the many California freeways, top down on the LeBaron, wind in my fur and rather than concentrating on the veritable deathtrap that is the CA highway system, I’m thinking of you guys and gals and William Wordsworth. How’s that for random?
This actually does make a little sense, I promise. So, the first thought I think to myself is, “Self. It’s been far too long since you wrote a TSTO Anon post but what should you write about?” The second is, “Dang there’s a lot of cars (I was passing where two freeways meet in Los Angeles), makes me feel kinda small in the world.” If you really want to know, the following thought was, “Hmmmm… I’m hungry, the next Inn N Out is 3 exits away… woo hoo!”
So, I keep driving, get some delicious animal style heart clogging morsels and keep thinking about TSTO Anonymous. What I came up with is combining something I learned about in my British Literature class with us tapping Addicts.
Wordsworth was big on this concept called “spots of time”. Here’s an excerpt from his poem The Prelude
There are in our existence spots of time, That with distinct pre-eminence retain A renovating virtue, whence--depressed By false opinion and contentious thought, Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight, In trivial occupations, and the round Of ordinary intercourse--our minds Are nourished and invisibly repaired; A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced, That penetrates, enables us to mount, When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen. This efficacious spirit chiefly lurks Among those passages of life that give Profoundest knowledge to what point, and how, The mind is lord and master--outward sense The obedient servant of her will. Such moments Are scattered everywhere, taking their date From our first childhood.
Feel my current collegiate pain? Basically, “spots of time” are key moments in the history of your imagination. Small moments in your life can make a difference. If you’ve ever had a moment when you keenly felt how large the world was and considered your position in it, that’s a spot. They are usually small moments that are memorable and often occur when you’re immersed in nature. “Spots of time” allow you to go to a place where you see the world differently. They are “trivial” events that become important and are renewable over and over. Basically a moment to think, reflect and to understand your purpose and place in the world. Imaginings from the past that invoke your feelings which open up your imagination.
Woah… TSTO Anon just got deep up in here lol. I have moments like this.
– 350,000 feet in the air flying over Azerbaijan’s beautiful and untouched snowy mountains.
– Precariously standing on shale about 5 feet from the edge of the Grand Canyon.
– Realizing one day while tapping on Wookieetown that there are over a million people just like me that like this game, people that could quite possibly be tapping at the same moment as me.
Holy smokes! Here at Addicts, we’re not the biggest blog community in the world but there are so many great and entertaining folks here. Alissa, Bunny and I are just the entertainment while you dine with your friends and fellow Addicts. No worries, no more Italian Restaurant analogies ever.
Thousands of people visit here daily and our readers hail from 187 different countries in the world! When one person you don’t know reads your stuff, that’s flattering. When there’s the possibility that thousands will, that’s astonishing. The best thing to me is this tiny little blog about a silly game is what it is because of awesome readers like you that all have a shared passion for a mobile game! If that’s not something to wow you for future thought, I’m afraid to say I can’t think of anything else to do it. Just think that every word on this blog, including your comments, can be read by people halfway across the Earth from YOU. Soooooooooo coooooooooooolll.
Sure we’re addicts
Sure we sometimes are blissful and not negative
Sure we realize that sometimes EA could do better
Sure we fear the day our games won’t be around
Sure we can’t afford everything
Sure there’s something we want that we don’t have
Sure the geek flag flies prominently
Sure we love this game
But you know what I’m SURE of? You are the Best. Readers. Ever.
I know it was a random way to get from a freeway to William Wordsworth to just letting y’all know how amazing you all are but it needs to be said. Don’t let anyone put you down and know that on this site, you always have at least 3 fans who want all the best for you and yours. It’s good to have something in common with other people and I’m definitely blessed to have met so many awesome folks through TSTO.
So, in summation, YOU ALL ROCK. It’s a fact. Also, my Brit Lit teacher is driving me carayzee but it appears I’m actually learning something that applies to my real life. Also, I may need to get a real life lol. Also a fact that California freeways are dangerous and I should probably concentrate more on the road than on post ideas. I also brainstorm while walking the dog and washing dishes. I have another thinking spot but that’s a secret between me and Winnie the Pooh.
Sound off below with anything you like. The point of these little “meetings” is just all of us being together and realizing it’s OK to be a TSTO Addict. In the big picture, there are much worse things to be “addicted” to. Have any of you read Wordsworth? Braved a freeway lately? Proud to be a TSTO Addict? Surprised by how diverse this site’s visitors are? Got an essay I can borrow? (totally kidding with that last one).
As always we end with the TSTOA Serenity Prayer
“EA, grant me the serenity to accept the updates I cannot change, the courage to recommend the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Together we can… one tap at a time. TTFN… Wookiee out!
For anyone new to these meetings, you can check out more meetings here and our 12 Steps here. Please know these “meetings” are meant lightheartedly and not meant in any way to make light of or poke fun at amazing organizations battling addiction.
Quick question, did I miss the update with the spuckler brood?They’re on my people to collect but I’ don’t think I’ve ever seen an update with them. Or is this new?
They literally came from their Mom Brandine.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/02/06/should-i-spend-donuts-on-brandine/
Awesome post! Have you ever read “Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”? Those moments when you’re traveling remind me of some passages from it. Good stuff. =)
This post made me a little weepy, in a good way. Im not a very social person, I recently deleted my fb, not on Instagram or any other social media sites. For me to be here is slightly out of my character. But its just that everyone here is so welcoming and non judgemental and real. I love this site, the writers, the readers and of course the game. You make me proud to be an addict, lol. 🙂
I can share 2 times where I’ve had that moment: taking a helicopter to the bottom of the Grand Canyon for a picnic, and laying on the beach at 3am in OBX, looking at the Milky Way and watching a meteor shower. Awesome times.
🙂 we love you too! And we’re glad to have you here 😀
wOOhOO, the brownies are outta the oven y’all…oh shhhh…I’m out of milk?!?! So, you had a double animal style fries and a double-double animal style…sounds like some chili or bacon was involved in this phenomenon…
🙂
Of the TSTO blogs this is my fav and it’s because I get a sense that all of the writers here genuinely enjoy this fun game. Even though many of the posts are silly and wacky, they are never condescending, I never get the feeling the writers think they are smarter than those who visit the page. I appreciate that. You are a down to earth group.
Well said this is the best…….
I coined a phrase several years ago that never really took off…
“The only time you should look down on someone is when helping them up.”
Yeah…too many words for a T-shirt, huh…
I like that. Even if it’s not t-shirt friendly. Lol
Thank you…now if only I could adhere to it…yeah, I often find myself judging when I should not…but I’m trying. 🙂
Wookie do all of us rock? I’m more a slow cha cha cha man myself
Rock AND Roll…they go hand in hand. Some of us rock…some of us roll. Lol
So, this comment totally made me think of the episode that starts with the Simpsons in church where Bart sneaks a copy of that good ole time hymn “In the Garden of Eden” by I. Ron Butterfly to the organist, and Homer wistfully remembers when he and Marge used to make out to that hymn…I forget what the actual plot of that episode was (and I’m too lazy to look it up, much find a full clip from a site that doesn’t ask to install cookies), but since my random thought happens to be connected to the show I may as well say it.
Like eggs n bacon love n marriage pi n pie
Lol. 😉
Just got stampy thank drink for that…..
I just didn’t think “you all paper/scissor” sounded as good lol. Go on with your bad self.
What about bow-chicka bow-wow…??? (Any Red vs Blue fans in da house?)
Very insightful Wookiee. I have had many moments like that, along with many ‘spots of time’ which have left a permanent negative impression on my soul. It is the open nature of this blog, or shall I say it’s authors, that keep me coming back. Yes, I am slightly addicted to TSTO and yes, the game information is helpful. But it is the character that Alissa, Bunny, & you have which makes this site unique. So thank you!
Side note: My favorite British writer is Roger Waters {yes from Pink Floyd} & I would probably get kicked out of that Brit Lit class pretty fast. 😉
Insightful? Me? Nah, just random as usual and my “other” life is influencing my thoughts. I think it’s fair to say that people can’t pick their “spots” just like a guinea pig. As for the class, trust me when I say it would be hard to get booted. Some of the things people’s children say blows my mind. Songwriting is literature to me, just like tattoos are art. Thanks for the comment.
Thank you (Bunny too!) for helping making this a fun game and source.
You are more than welcome. 😉
We’ll keep writing for as long as we’re allowed. Thank YOU for reading!
Woohoo, I $till have maybe $4 million…in TSTO money…
just 1 mil from that Zirconia! 🙂
Heck no… 🙂 …I passed on that, the 50′ magnifying glass, and the popsicle building…but I had to get the escalator…I HAD $6 million and spent the difference on clover bushes!!! 🙂
Hmm… pondering, meandering thoughts of more than the mundane.
I got up this morning when my niece arrived, as always. As always she gives me a weather report, which usually goes like this “Auntie, it’s kinda cold out… but not too cold, I think. I can’t get this knot out of my hair… auntie I need an envelope for my lunch money.”
To which I say “Alright I’ll be right out” … I drag my reluctant body out of my warm bed, get dressed, go brush my teeth… etc… and grab an envelope, brush her hair, get my shoes on, check the weather on my kindle, hey it’s over 30 today, score!
(My son was up and off to school long before I was awake, I vaguely remember the ritual of him coming in my room to say good bye, kiss his hand and plop it on my forehead… to which I mutter something to the effect of “have a great day love you…” and fall back asleep.)
So we walk to the bus stop a half-block away, I tell her several times that she has to stay away from the road or auntie will have a heart attack. We wait with other kids and their various guardians for the bus, in the cold. One girl says she can’t wait to complain that it’s too hot. I concur.
So she’s off the school with the traditional “have a great day!” from me, and I walk home. Today I have an appointment with the eye doctor to have pictures taken of my eyes for future reference. (pfft whatever)
I finish knitting my new finger-less gloves to go with my infinity scarf before I go, pretty! Still need to work on the scarf… oh well, later.
~Skip to the office~, they never entered – or managed to delete my appointment, “can you re-schedule?” Do I have a choice? I didn’t think so.
On the way home I’m on Rt 2, medium traffic, big trucks make me nervous, kinda bleak and gray out. I wonder how long things will stay as they are. They can’t you know, stay the same. Do you ever feel like something is looming… something is happening behind the scenes and it will change everything. OK so I’m paranoid but this is what I think about. It might have to do with the book I’m reading, (part 2 of “The Game is Life” by Terry Schott – I’m a big sci-fi fan)
Nah that’s not it, I’m always thinking of things that could happen, and if that happens then this could happen, oh but if that happens… then oh boy that could happen! AHHHH!!! How well stocked is my pantry, is the emergency food in our bug-out bags expired?! I need more matches…
(Side note: Abe is now a prepper, it’s excellent… that 500ft magnifying glass will be a great source of free power, I want one.)
So I’m crazy, I’m OK with that. My theory is this… when the pewp hits the fan, and it will, all those people who spend their lives on tech gadgets, computers, games, facebook…etc… are going to suddenly have nothing to do. They will look a lot like zombies… shuffling around with vacant eyes. My imagination goes on from there, I’ll spare you that.
You’re Welcome.
So! I get home and there’s a package hanging from my mailbox, YAY! I love packages. Oh sweet it’s the 2 stainless water bottles I ordered for my son and I when I found out that my “No BPA” bottles are made of Nalgene (7) and are actually WORSE than bottles made with BPA. I’ll also spare you that dramatic scene with me throwing out all my plastic eating and drinking …ware. And the whole explanation about the plastics… YW.
Hungry, oh yes I have leftover kimchi-fried brown rice, a fried egg on top and …delicious and healthy! I’ve learned to make fermented kimchi since I read about probiotics and candida, probiotics are expensive. Kimchi is easy, inexpensive, and delicious, and better for you. And just how do they keep those little “good microbes” alive all dried out in pills anyway?
So! Washed/filled stainless steel water bottle and bowl of rice with a fried egg in hand, I turn on the computer and go to TSTOA to see what’s the haps. And here I am! Yes, I check here first to know whatever I need to know before I log in to my game, that way I avoid sending people on jobs who will be needed for other things because of… whatever EA has drawn out of their bag-o-tricks today.
I spend most of my day thinking of “the bigger picture” so playing TSTO and a few other little games, knitting and reading, are my “brain junk food” to stop thinking about disasters and the problems of the world.
I do love my little digital town, it makes me happy. Especially when Stampy munches on Bart. They really need to give me the Supercollider and the black hole darnit!
Anyway, that’s (have you ever seen the Scrubs episode where Carla pulls back the top of her head and the crazy blazes forward like a beacon?) that.
Love you guys, love your blog… Sorry for the novelette. 🙂
Well…we love you too 😉
Having a nice lil escape is wonderful. Great outlet to just get away.
MMMMMMMM Kimchi bokkeumbap is one of my FAV dishes. I make it all the time since my Korean Sister in law showed me how she makes it. So Yummy n delicious.
OOOoooh you have a Korean Sister-in-Law! So jealous!
The Koreans are culinary geniuses, I swear. I love Bulgogi so much I’ve learned to make it and my family demands I make it for get-togethers. Who needs turkey and ham with Bulgogi, Sticky Korean rice, Kimchi and sesame bean sprouts. …darn, must add shaved or cube steak to grocery list. Just about any meat is to.die.for. if you marinate it in home made teriyaki sauce. Must stop, drooling….
Right now I’m sipping a little Baileys Irish Cream… so wonderful.
I love Korean food. The people I used to fly with always knew that if we landed somewhere, I knew where the good food was. There was an amazing Bugogi place in Osan, Korea, Calzones in Misawa, Japan, Seared Ahi sandwiches in Oahu, Hawaii. Ok, I’m hungry now. Off to feed the piehole.
@Wookiee …people you used to fly with?? Eep. You mean flying was like, a regular thing? All those places, wow. I’ve been out of New England exactly twice. Once for a beanie baby convention (don’t go there, it was my group I had to go) in Minnesota, and once I went to North Carolina. (No offense to anyone from NC but I hated it there, the people I met were so racist! It made me so upset I wanted to go home. I’m sure all of the state isn’t like that 🙁 )
With that said, I went in cars. I’ve been on a plane once, in girl scouts, we went to Logan Airport, boarded a plane, got a tour and then exited the plane. We also went to the top of the Prudential building, it made me dizzy. So yea, I’ll keep my feets firmly on the ground tyvm.
I do wish I wasn’t such a chicken sometimes, but mostly… meh.
I was a flight medic for 10 years. All over the Pacific, US, Middle East and parts of Europe. I love being in the air.
Can you knit a Dr Who scarf????????
I have. As well as Harry Potter ones. 😉
Oh yes, my son has one that I made… it’s huge. In fact he rarely wears it because it’s too heavy to walk around with in school all day. I absolutely adore Dr. Who, I watched Tom Baker every day with my dad when I was a kid, and I’ve not missed an episode since.
I also knit Jayne hats (innit cunnin’?) I made one for my son, then I had the rest of my family demand theirs. Never saw so much orange and yellow yarn… YECH. Love the hat, hate the color. I hate making ear flaps and pom-poms! They are awesome though…
I made myself a hat and multi-color scarf with colors I like. 🙂
Awesome…both of you…it just so happens that my folks gave me ONE birthday a year…wink, wink… 🙂
Oooooh… cute little nieces, sci-fi, delicious kim-chi and so much more. Great comment and write as much as you feel like. This goes down as one of my favorite comments of late. We love you right back.
Aww thank’s Wookiee 🙂 Don’t make me blush!
Wow…I couldn’t possibly string that many thoughts in a row without offending someone, somehow…no sh%&!!! 😉
Deep Wookiee, but 2 thumbs up 🙂
Furry waters run deep…. errr, I think that’s how the saying goes.
I recently started playing the game (right before Valentine’s Day). Blammo! Instant addiction. But I wanted to say that I have been an pseudonymous member of various online communities since the days of alt.tv.x-files on usenet (and if that doesn’t date me, I don’t know what). Great mods make great communities, and this is a a fun, happy, useful and (did I say fun?) space. Even when there are gripes (and legitimate ones) there’s happy help. So, hooray! Also, Wordsworth, man or astroman? And freaknstein8, I’m with you…
Well thank you very much. After going through other sites full of drama, we just did NOT want that for ours. We want this a fun place to go. Full of contests, community, and just all around laughs. Isn’t that what games are for anyway? For people to enjoy one another? Come together to hang out? Be silly? Enough drama in reality. This needs to be an escape. OOOOOOOH ESCAPE??!! Lol.
I am glad you are enjoying it here. I love helping people. We all do. If I can give back, I get even more joy from it. (That and you all tolerate my silly side. Or at least just smile, pat my head, and walk away…quickly.) 😉
If we can’t be silly, what’s the point of being a grown-up? Cheers to that!
when you stop being silly, you become old! no matter how old you are, the key to youth is to never lose it!
me too!
Hello, my name is Thaddeus, and I’m a TSTO addict!
The irony is that I do not watch the show itself, I think I watched the first 9 episodes of season 1 and thought, cute, but I don’t need to see this every week. I watch the occassional one here and there, but not much else. It was my curiosity above all that got me to download the game, and since July 2013 not a day has gone by that I do not tap. In fact I created 2 additional games to see how I can create a city by taking other paths.
So I think that the game has such a wide appeal as it touches one of our most basic humans needs….expressionism! We all are creative, we all have talent. I myself am an artists and writer (2 kids books and going) but even those who say I have no creative talent are wrong. Sure we may not be Van Gogh, Michael Jackson or Douglas Adams in our creative expressions, but none-the-less, we all have talent inside of us.
We may hide it in a note book and not let anyone read it for fear of ridicule, we may hide it in a sketch book and not show it for fear of comparison, or we may sing in the shower so no one can hear. (In my case that is the ONLY safe way to sing as I have a lead ear and could not carry a tune if it was stuffed in a back pack and strapped to me.)
So in this silly little basic game, we have the chance to express who we are by how we create our town. Are we an A-type who needs order and balance, neighborhoods on all ends, town square, shopping centers, or are we more free spirited and random, letting out towns fall into place. Do we frequently rearange, or do we have a motto, “once set, forever there it will be?”
Whatever the case, it expresses who we are in a safe environment. It allows us to be the creative person that all can be. The inner artist is set free by pixles and squares.
Best of all, it links us all together by the love of a game. As I read the blog posts from our staff bloggers, to all of the comments in the various posts, I see one thing in common. We are creative, we all express ourselves, some witty, some factual, but all of us, one and all are kind!
Kindness….in a world that has forgotten what it means to treat each other like humans, we come together on this blog and bring out the best in each other.
So yes, I am an addict.
Proud to be one, and proud to know all of you fine folks that share your passion with me.
We are glad to have you here. Now get back over here and help me clean up the coffee stirring straws and the mess Freak left around the cookie and snack area. (I won’t even mention the garbage YOU left while consuming ALL of the complimentary donuts. Sheesh) 😉
By not mentioning it…you just did! As far as the donuts or doughnuts go, I did NOT eat them all! I left half of one for you, though I did lick off the frosting! Not my fault if it dissappeared after I left!
Sorry again about the mess, but you did know I was in a hurry to get to the rest room! I’ll send over one the Minions to clean it up right away….you may want to lock up the bananas before he gets there!
Kindness, expression and expressive kindness. Sounds like you could write for the next meeting. Great thoughts Thaddeus!
Thank you, Sir. I’m here to serve…..
Very. Well. Said.!!!!! 🙂
I’ll have whatever Wookiee had to go , please…!?!
I’m telling you…there’s something in the water at the Addicts Asylum. It does wonders for the fur. You should see how Wookiee’s shines. 🙂
with all the cray cray going on there, i always knew there was something in that thar “water”! 😉
O.o
and I’m telling y’all I want a taste…seriously!!!
Bottle up some “Bunny Water”? Put it out on the market? Sell it for…1 MILLION DOLLARS??!! Lol 😉
So, you’ll have a double double animal style with animal style fries to go. I literally thought of this while driving, got food and came home to type it all out.