Dirty Little Secret

Guilty pleasures. We all have them, activities we partake in that we are embarrassed about. Not because they are sordid, but because it isn’t normal in society's eye for us to enjoy them. I thought I would take the time to admit to some of my own.

I’ve tried to think of ones that are very different from each other, one for music, film, food, TV show, video game and book. This wasn’t as easy as it sounds either; I am a rather open person and not easily shamed.

Music

See, it's official!

This one is easy, and I came up with the idea for this post whilst I listened. Taylor Swift is my guilty music pleasure. There was a time when I scoffed at those who liked her music, to me she sounded cheesy, girly and a bit too country. But now, thanks in part to a certain person, (you know who you are) I can’t help but smile when I hear her songs.

Yes, most of her songs are along the same theme, either amazing relationship or tragic break-up, but for the most part they are feel good. A big reason for the joy I get from them is due to the memories I have associated to them. So yeah, I’m a Swiftie and proud.

Film

This one was difficult; I wanted a film that I would only watch alone. At first, I thought of the Saw films as I am rather ashamed that I have seen them. But the problem is I don’t really like them, so aren’t really a pleasure.

However, I think that the Resident evil films fit the bill, specifically Resident Evil:Afterlife.  The films have terrible plots, too much gore and tear apart the rich lore that the games set down. As both a gamer and a writer, I should hate these films. Yet, I can’t help but get a little excited at the nods to the game series. The climatic fight against Wesker in Afterlife is lifted straight from the game. My love of the film is due to reminiscing the times I enjoyed playing; which means I should probably just play the games again instead.

TV Series

Some people would be embarrassed if they watched as much children’s TV shows as I do. But I’m not, I love shows like Digimon. Despite their cheesy plots and clichés, it’s nice to have something mind numbing you can just switch off and take in.

But my guilty pleasure is an anime, Welcome To The NHK. This is a show about a man who hates leaving his house. He is obsessed with video games, TV and perhaps, most embarrassingly, dating simulator games. He then meets a mysterious girl who attempts to help him.

You're classic tale of shut-in boy meets insane girl.

What I find most unsettling about the show is how much of my younger self I see in the main character. I sympathised with him throughout, and that’s why it is one of the only animes I have watched until the end. It helps that the plot stays funny and interesting, whilst dealing with complex issues such as sexuality and depression. It is compelling to watch.

Food

This one is short and sweet, quite literally. It’s baby biscuits. It started with a single innocent looking Rusk. But now it’s escalated, and I always keep a packet of baby biscotti at hand. I love them, and they come in different flavours, chocolate, banana, apple and plain. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I am besotted with biscotti.

Books

This one is pretty easy and is a combination of books. Last year I went through a phase of reading a lot of horror fiction, centred on zombies. Typically these are gore filled; and involve a lot of smashing deceased humanoids skulls in. This is why I often feel uneasy about admitting to liking zombies. It’s because it can quite easily be seen as a way of fantasising about killing our fellow man.

Zombies provide us with a motive for killing each other, they aren’t human anymore. Whilst this is true, it is a thinly disguised excuse for mass murder. For this reason, I always feel a little guilty for enjoying Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide. A book that at times takes itself so seriously that I fear for the author’s sanity (even if he is the great Mel Brook’s son, so insanity runs through his genes).

Video Games

At this point it is probably about time that I feel slightly guilty about something that is clearly aimed at children. Viva Piñata is a game which tasks you with keeping an allotment, that’s it, pretty simple. The nicer your patch is, the more piñata animals you attract. It’s sickly sweet, and much like shows such as Digimon it doesn’t take much thought.

Good job too, if you do delve deeper into the game you actually see some rather dark undertones. To attract certain piñatas you must offer some of your residents as food. Basically sacrificing them; quite often I have bred a friendly critter from birth just so that I can feed him to an unfriendly fox. I do feel bad about it, honest. I won’t even talk about the animal husbandry mini-game, that’s just weird.

So there you have it, my secret shames on show for all to see. Although, as someone who is quite proud to be bizarre, it was a hard list to compile. Maybe next I’ll do a list of proud moments to compensate.

But for now, I challenge you to think of your own dirty little secrets. I want to hear them, so why not do a post like mine and I’ll link you in. we can start a chain post and the world can absolve itself. If you’re not a blogger then leave them in the comments below.

Hey Mr. Fudgehog you look happy,
just wait till the Mallowolf comes for ya.

Swift ID created on big huge labs, Wesker image from Comic vine, biscotti image from Tesco, NHK image from alphacoders, Brooks photo from Washingtonlife, Fudgehog image from Spong.