The Manifesto

This is my blog, or "blag" for you xkcd.com readers, for random thoughts and rants about various topics. My goal is to produce quality, yet entertaining commentary without being preachy or excessively partisan.

I'm not going to explain the title of my blog, instead I'll let my intrepid readers do the research. I will reveal that it is related to both my philosophy towards internet culture and the gentleman named in the blog url (m-t-cicero = Marcus Tullius Cicero). Cicero is one of my favorite historical figures and a kindred spirit.

In this blog I will talk about the things I find interesting. Things of interest include: politics, sports (primarily football and hockey), and video games. I reserve the right to talk about other stuff, but my praise, ire and time will be primarily spent among the listed topics. Hopefully someone else on the Internet will find something worth reading.

Since this is a manifesto post, I should summarize my personal views on the topics I intend to discuss.

Politically, I am chronic fence-sitting moderate. I don't dislike Republicans or Democrats, but I hate the vast right-wing conspiracy as much as the vast left-wing conspiracy. Both parties have some great ideas about how to run the government and they usually do good things if they work together. A psychologist might say that my politics are derived from a latent desire to be labeled as a "coveted member of the electorate" by the media during every election cycle.

When it comes to sports, I am a big hockey and football fan. As a Michigan alum, my undying loyalties lie with the Wolverines. Detroit sports teams are my favorite professional teams, especially the Red Wings and Lions. This will be the first and last time I will talk about NASCAR, because it is a terrible excuse for a motorsport. European Formula One is much more exciting with the diverse teams, left AND right turns, a global tour, and shorter races.

My political stance definitely affects my opinions on video games. First, I like lots of different video games. First-person shooters (FPS), role-playing games (RPG), real-time strategy (RTS), turn-based strategy and adventure games are my favorite genres. Second, PC gaming is not dead. Tell Stardock or Blizzard that PC gaming is dead. Lastly, console fanboy-ism is stupid. I own an Xbox 360 and a decent gaming computer. I enjoy playing games on both platforms and I can appreciate the gaming experience on a Nintendo Wii and a Playstation 3.

That about covers the basics for the Hannibal Ad Portas blog. Enjoy!