A damn fine read.

I just finished reading "The Curious Incident with the Dog in the Night-time".





















A damn fine read, if I do say so myself. And I do.

The protagonist (Christopher) in the book has Asperger's Syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. It basically means that while his cognitive abilities are largely intact (and superior in some cases, such as observation, memory and calculation), social cues and situations remain elusive. This character seeks to discover why a dog was killed in his neighborhood: namely who killed the dog and why.

I think the reason the book is so remarkable is that the motivations and reasoning behind the main character's behaviors are made perfectly clear, and behaviors that might seem strange are largely demistified. In fact, as I reached the end of the book, I found the main character to be oddly lucid, while the remaining "normal" characters seem unpredictable, strange and even menacing.

It's an amazing insight into high-functioning autsim, which is a disorder that is often misunderstood by many; myself included. Indeed, people with this disorder seem to be truly differently-abled, and should be met with respect and admiration rather than pity.

I can't decide if this is really lame... or really cool

Nah, it's really, really cool.

Yes, as you should be aware, I do engage in an activity that involves both pen and paper, and dice that may have more (or less) than six sides. I have a regular group now, yet sometimes, I'm hesitant to mention anything about our exploits. Yet, after all is said and done, I've never considered wearing homemade armour, and brandishing foam weapons.

Perhaps I'll reconsider.

Update: Ahh Family guy shows us what role-playing is all about.