Wasting time for a good cause.

Is it just me or did this blog get very happenstance and very do-goody all at the same time? I promise I have some other stuff to write about, but this came to my attention last night. Realizing that most people read this while wasting time at work, it seemed as if it should go up without delay so folks might have a chance to waste some time with it while it lasts.

We all have favorite charities, most of which jive with our particular interests. I like the dog-related charities, of course, because I have Henry, and I give blood, which is charityesque I suppose, because I have blood. After this, my charity list gets real short. On it is a video game charity. That's right, a video game charity. Wha...?

Child's Play was started a few years ago to provide video games and other time-wasters to kids stuck in Children's Hospitals around the world. It doesn't pack the punch of say, fighting malaria in Africa, but having spent some time in hospitals with adults during the past year I've seen that fighting morale-killing boredom is important for them. I can't imagine what it's like to have the energy and attention span of a kid and be stuck in the same bed for long periods of time.

Let's use boredom as a bit of a transition and talk about one of the most boring fundraisers I've ever heard of. Desert Bus is video game created by magician/entertainers Penn and Teller years ago expressly to be dull. (Check out the link above for the full story.) Eight hours of jaw-slackenning play is rewarded with one point. Playing this game for an hour would be hideous, forcing someone to play for hours?

Unspeakably cruel.

And here's where it gets fun...

An online comedy troupe (no, I didn't know such a thing existed either, and don't know if they are funny) has decided to raise money for Child's Play by playing Desert Bus for as long as people will pay them to play it. An honorable decision, and one in need of timely mention, but what made me need to post this Right Now for all you bored office folks is that they have live video feeds of the screen and the players, so you can listen to them moan in pride and horror as the donations come in and their sentence gets longer.

Check it out here:

The 1st Annual Desert Bus for Hope.