I thought that this was an interesting video: a discussion of narcissism, but from a Catholic perspective. It can be summed up with this quote: "They [narcissists] terribly need the saving power of love, but are also absolutely certain that if they opened up to it, they would be destroyed." I deal day-to-day with my textbook narcissist father-in-law, and I'd previously reached this conclusion regarding him on my own: he has super low self-esteem so he rebuffs any attempt at attachment by being an asshole, because he doesn't feel worthy of that attachment.

Of course that's all happening at a one hundred percent subconscious level. In addition to being a narcissist he is also one of those people with essentially zero inner monologue or capacity for self-reflection. My mother-in-law often asks him how he's feeling, and not once has he been able to plainly answer that question. His existence is simply riding the current to-do item, then the next, then the next, and sentences simply pop out of his mouth ad-hoc whether they are mean, cruel, blatantly hypocritical, or don't even make any logical sense.

Changing gears and on the gaming front, my son had one of his best friends over this past weekend, and I fired up "Streets of Rage 2". His friend is twelve, and it was fun watching someone that age attempt such an all-time classic-- best brawler ever made-- for the very first time. I also sat him in front of "Gate of Thunder" on PC Engine so he could see what a "shmup" is, and handed him the Game Gear for a little "Sonic Chaos". He's developing a love for old video games-- as he put it to me: "I know I wasn't even alive then, but even for me the old games have a nostalgia with them, an 'it' factor that modern games totally lack." I told him he should pick up one of the cheaper old systems, and ask for a flash cart for Christmas.