I've been keeping it to myself for awhile, partly because I don't like talking about myself and partly because I didn't know if it would pan out, but I have gone professional...sort of. I have begun to write reviews for a website called Randomville. It doesn't pay (at least not yet) and honestly, if it never does, I don't really care. The byline with my name on it means everything.
It is a legitimate website and everything I post goes through an editor who I am in constant contact with throughout the publishing process. I will do mostly game reviews since I know so much about the subject and since that is what they will mostly be lacking but my editor is open to almost anything I feel like writing, with the exception of religion and politics. Sometimes, I'll even do music reviews, and even though they don't pay, they'll send me a free cd and I get to keep it!
I know its not really a big deal and I'll only be doing it in my spare time, but for someone who's not had a lot going for him as of late, it is definitely a confidence booster.
If you want, go to the website, randomville.com and see my first review. If it sounds familiar, it is. I posted the review on my blog awhile back. Anyway, I guess thats all. We'll see where it goes.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Everyone Wants To Be In A Movie (Unfortunately)
Throughout my whole life, I've noticed something strange. People often tend to be overly dramatic, over-zealous, and downright stubborn with certain things in their lives. I've known many people who thrive on drama, they constantly hate it publicly while loving it secretly, who can't go on living unless a million different things are going wrong. You can blame the parents, or society, the country, global warming, the Free Masons, Marilyn Manson, the weird spot on your body, or even the scary guy at the park that one time, and you'd be wrong on all accounts. It is none of these things, as treacherous as some may be. The real reason that people are like this is that everyone wants to be in a movie.
This seems like a simplified answer to a complex problem but think about it to yourself; has anyone ever said anything that was a bit strange? I'm not talking about something random or something out of the ordinary but something that you would only expect to hear in....well, a movie!
To exemplify what I'm talking about, I will relate a story. I have a friend who's girlfriend left him. It was not the first time she had done so. In fact, she had left him four or five times previously. In a dramatic flair, she packed up her things and left. My friend was heartbroken. I told him that I was sorry but not to worry because she would probably be back, just like she had all of those other times. In a dramatic flair, he told me, "Not this time." My eyes then proceeded to roll out of my skull in sarcasm. I left him to his pity party only to hear that the following morning, his girlfriend came back.
So, let's analyze this. If I was smart enough to know that his girlfriend would come back, then that means that my friend would too, since he has spent far more time with her and obviously knows how to push her buttons since she left, and how not to cross the line. So, if he knew all of this, why did he act dramatically and tell me, "Not this time" when he could have just agreed with me? It's because he wants to be in a movie. However, since he will never be in a movie, he has to act out his dramatic moments in real life.
In a way, I understand this. There are many moments in my own life, where having that musical soundtrack swell at the right time would make a good moment so much better. I've also always wished for that a-ha moment to come, where the main character of the film is in the dumps, and then is told something wise by a wise and unexpected person and then begins to turn his life around because of it. We also all play our own favorite parts. I'm the good-friend-you-can-count-on-who-tells-it-like-it-is-and-tragically-dies- to-the- detriment-of-all-like-Mercutio-in-Romeo-and-Juliet-except-that-I-don't- dress-up-like- a-woman-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie-because-thats-kind-of-weird. That's my favorite part to play.
The part that most people like to play though is not so much an actual part but more so a scene. And the scene they like to play most is the one-liner-that-sums-it-up. Hence, why my aforementioned friend opted to say, "Not this time". If we had been in a movie, he would have said it with a close-up on his face, staring off into the distance before cutting back to me for a reaction shot where I have nothing to say. The scene then would have ended.
Since we were not in a movie, I ended up wanting to puke at the over-the-top dramatics of the whole thing.
Everyone just wants to say something profound, something that people will remember. They seek to have those moments (or scenes) because they want their lives to mean more, whether to themselves or to others. But in all honesty, I prefer honesty. Why do we need to say something profound? Why do we need to give more meaning to moments that have no meaning? Let's live life in the here and now, and say profound things if we think of them rather than thinking of something clever so we can act in the secret movie that no ones watching or cares to watch. Just live with all of our inadequacies and our troubles. It's better than a movie.
This seems like a simplified answer to a complex problem but think about it to yourself; has anyone ever said anything that was a bit strange? I'm not talking about something random or something out of the ordinary but something that you would only expect to hear in....well, a movie!
To exemplify what I'm talking about, I will relate a story. I have a friend who's girlfriend left him. It was not the first time she had done so. In fact, she had left him four or five times previously. In a dramatic flair, she packed up her things and left. My friend was heartbroken. I told him that I was sorry but not to worry because she would probably be back, just like she had all of those other times. In a dramatic flair, he told me, "Not this time." My eyes then proceeded to roll out of my skull in sarcasm. I left him to his pity party only to hear that the following morning, his girlfriend came back.
So, let's analyze this. If I was smart enough to know that his girlfriend would come back, then that means that my friend would too, since he has spent far more time with her and obviously knows how to push her buttons since she left, and how not to cross the line. So, if he knew all of this, why did he act dramatically and tell me, "Not this time" when he could have just agreed with me? It's because he wants to be in a movie. However, since he will never be in a movie, he has to act out his dramatic moments in real life.
In a way, I understand this. There are many moments in my own life, where having that musical soundtrack swell at the right time would make a good moment so much better. I've also always wished for that a-ha moment to come, where the main character of the film is in the dumps, and then is told something wise by a wise and unexpected person and then begins to turn his life around because of it. We also all play our own favorite parts. I'm the good-friend-you-can-count-on-who-tells-it-like-it-is-and-tragically-dies- to-the- detriment-of-all-like-Mercutio-in-Romeo-and-Juliet-except-that-I-don't- dress-up-like- a-woman-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie-because-thats-kind-of-weird. That's my favorite part to play.
The part that most people like to play though is not so much an actual part but more so a scene. And the scene they like to play most is the one-liner-that-sums-it-up. Hence, why my aforementioned friend opted to say, "Not this time". If we had been in a movie, he would have said it with a close-up on his face, staring off into the distance before cutting back to me for a reaction shot where I have nothing to say. The scene then would have ended.
Since we were not in a movie, I ended up wanting to puke at the over-the-top dramatics of the whole thing.
Everyone just wants to say something profound, something that people will remember. They seek to have those moments (or scenes) because they want their lives to mean more, whether to themselves or to others. But in all honesty, I prefer honesty. Why do we need to say something profound? Why do we need to give more meaning to moments that have no meaning? Let's live life in the here and now, and say profound things if we think of them rather than thinking of something clever so we can act in the secret movie that no ones watching or cares to watch. Just live with all of our inadequacies and our troubles. It's better than a movie.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Happy Birthday, Survival Knife!
Today is my brother's birthday. I have some things I'd like to share about him. But before I get to that, I just want to announce that this will be my last birthday post. I like making people embarrassed and appreciated by doing them, but there are some memories I do not want to share, not because they are embarrassing to the person involved, but because some memories are for me. That and, eventually, I might run out of things to tell and then I'd feel really bad. Anyway, without further ado...
If there's one thing you should know about my brother and I, its that we absolutely hated each other when we were growing up. Actually, I don't know if that is true. Let me rephrase that. I absolutely hated him growing up. He would always pick on me and I would bug him or aggravate him to do something so I could fight him or he could beat me up so I could get him in trouble. The only time we weren't fighting was when we would form a temporary truce to battle my sister, Amber, if she was put in charge and had begun to quickly declare her kingdom a dictatorship. He beat me up so many times when I was younger-although I probably deserved at least half of them. I used to swear to my mother that when I grew up, I was gonna beat him up. Now, that I AM grown up, I don't want to anymore. It was a curious thing how it happened. I remember one day being in the kitchen at our house, and I think I was around twelve, which would put my brother at 16. Out of the blue, he just...started talking to me...asking me about things...telling me that he wanted to show me some stuff he bought and was excited about. I was a bit skeptical. Was this some sort of new military strategy he was starting? Was I on new and dangerous and uncertain ground? But nothing happened. He was being nice to me and just kept being nice to me. He had grown up. I was so glad. Now, we are very close, maybe even the closest of the siblings just because we have many of the same interests. He has influenced me in so many ways, I don't think he even realizes.
Even though he might have picked on me when I was younger, he was still my older brother, and younger brother's all think that their older brother can beat up anyone else's older brother. One time, I was getting into lots of fights at school with a certain kid. This was when I was in kindergarten, so I don't think that the fights were very serious. You can rest easy, Mom. Anyway, I would always fight this boy and sometimes I would win and sometimes he would win. Then there was a few weeks stretch where I couldn't beat him, no matter what I did. So, I asked my brother, even though we didn't get along, on how to fight and what to do. He taught me some things, which I was surprised he did instead of just blowing me off. The next day, I got into a fight with that same boy and I won! I was so happy that I had finally won and I was happy that my brother had helped me do it.
My brother knows so much about so many things. He gets that from our father. He is a library of information and I always ask his opinion about things that I'm unsure about. He never thinks I'm stupid for not knowing something and is always glad to impart his knowledge to all of his family and friends.
One of my favorite childhood memories of my brother is one where for some reason, the tv where we played our video games ended up in the room that we shared along with our video games. My brother and I stayed up the entire night. I'm not even kidding. We played video games all night, and when we would get tired of that, we would play with these new cards that my brother had, which were crazy 8's, Old Maid, and a few other card games. We had so much fun. I think my mom knew we had stayed up all night because the next day, the tv and video games were taken out of our room again.
My brother is a wonderful man. I'm glad that we've become so close and I hope that we continue our relationship for the rest of our lives. Happy birthday, brother.
If there's one thing you should know about my brother and I, its that we absolutely hated each other when we were growing up. Actually, I don't know if that is true. Let me rephrase that. I absolutely hated him growing up. He would always pick on me and I would bug him or aggravate him to do something so I could fight him or he could beat me up so I could get him in trouble. The only time we weren't fighting was when we would form a temporary truce to battle my sister, Amber, if she was put in charge and had begun to quickly declare her kingdom a dictatorship. He beat me up so many times when I was younger-although I probably deserved at least half of them. I used to swear to my mother that when I grew up, I was gonna beat him up. Now, that I AM grown up, I don't want to anymore. It was a curious thing how it happened. I remember one day being in the kitchen at our house, and I think I was around twelve, which would put my brother at 16. Out of the blue, he just...started talking to me...asking me about things...telling me that he wanted to show me some stuff he bought and was excited about. I was a bit skeptical. Was this some sort of new military strategy he was starting? Was I on new and dangerous and uncertain ground? But nothing happened. He was being nice to me and just kept being nice to me. He had grown up. I was so glad. Now, we are very close, maybe even the closest of the siblings just because we have many of the same interests. He has influenced me in so many ways, I don't think he even realizes.
Even though he might have picked on me when I was younger, he was still my older brother, and younger brother's all think that their older brother can beat up anyone else's older brother. One time, I was getting into lots of fights at school with a certain kid. This was when I was in kindergarten, so I don't think that the fights were very serious. You can rest easy, Mom. Anyway, I would always fight this boy and sometimes I would win and sometimes he would win. Then there was a few weeks stretch where I couldn't beat him, no matter what I did. So, I asked my brother, even though we didn't get along, on how to fight and what to do. He taught me some things, which I was surprised he did instead of just blowing me off. The next day, I got into a fight with that same boy and I won! I was so happy that I had finally won and I was happy that my brother had helped me do it.
My brother knows so much about so many things. He gets that from our father. He is a library of information and I always ask his opinion about things that I'm unsure about. He never thinks I'm stupid for not knowing something and is always glad to impart his knowledge to all of his family and friends.
One of my favorite childhood memories of my brother is one where for some reason, the tv where we played our video games ended up in the room that we shared along with our video games. My brother and I stayed up the entire night. I'm not even kidding. We played video games all night, and when we would get tired of that, we would play with these new cards that my brother had, which were crazy 8's, Old Maid, and a few other card games. We had so much fun. I think my mom knew we had stayed up all night because the next day, the tv and video games were taken out of our room again.
My brother is a wonderful man. I'm glad that we've become so close and I hope that we continue our relationship for the rest of our lives. Happy birthday, brother.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
10 Things That Make Me Feel Good
No explanation is needed I hope. Here we go:
1. The song "In This Home On Ice" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
2. Pretty much anything from Keva Juice (although I've heard Wheat Grass juice is disgusting)
3. Jamming with my bands
4. Writing pretty much anything
5. Traveling pretty much anywhere
6. Sushi-the Dragon Roll is to die for
7. Being crazy, which is harder and harder to do, the older I get
8. Watching a movie and knowing in the first five minutes that I'll be a different person when the movie is over (it doesn't happen that often)
9. Dispatching of Ganon in all of his various forms throughout the history of time
10. Intercepting a football in a game
1. The song "In This Home On Ice" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
2. Pretty much anything from Keva Juice (although I've heard Wheat Grass juice is disgusting)
3. Jamming with my bands
4. Writing pretty much anything
5. Traveling pretty much anywhere
6. Sushi-the Dragon Roll is to die for
7. Being crazy, which is harder and harder to do, the older I get
8. Watching a movie and knowing in the first five minutes that I'll be a different person when the movie is over (it doesn't happen that often)
9. Dispatching of Ganon in all of his various forms throughout the history of time
10. Intercepting a football in a game
Monday, March 23, 2009
Happy Birthday Dad!
With lack of something interesting to write about, I thought I'd write about my Dad's bday 5 days early.
Here are some memories I have of my Dad:
When I was 14 or 15, my father was put in as the Young Men's quorum president and he was in charge of our High Adventure trips. We went up to Durango and went hiking, white water rafting, and mountain biking. The mountain biking turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me. It was 25 miles through a beautiful mountain pass. There was probably 20 of us and once we got out on the trail, we all went our own pace. To this day, it is still one of my favorite memories. There were a lot of times where I was completely by myself, where I couldn't see the person in front of me and I couldn't see the person behind me. I was enjoying the scenery and the sounds of the mountain. The other nice thing is that the trail was mostly in the shade so it wasn't too hot. To keep people from getting lost, my father was riding behind everyone else. And he followed REALLY behind. He got to the end of the trail a whole hour and a half after the person before him. He denies that it was because he was slow though. He just says that "he was enjoying the sights".
My dad and I would go to the climbing gym quite a bit when I was younger. I actually preferred it over real climbing because it didn't take long to get to the gym and you didn't have to set anything up. And it was fun. He never climbed that much and always preferred to belay (is that how you spell it?). I always enjoyed these times because we were constantly communicating with each other. I would tell him when I needed to rest and sometimes, I would ask him for suggestions about where to go. One time in particular, I wanted to attempt an overhang, which is pretty difficult because it requires a lot of upper body strength. I had never been able to do it before and my Dad had me watch some of the other more experienced climbers in the gym before I tried it. When it was finally my turn, I was able to emulate what they had done and I did it. However, I was not able to finish the climb. I got past the overhang and then couldn't figure out how to reach the top. Still, it was always fun going with him.
My dad and I always watched the Dallas Cowboys together. My mom hated it a lot of the time because if they were losing, we would get so mad about it. However, if they won, we would be really happy. My dad would always say, "See, life is good when the Cowboys win." I couldn't agree more.
I always have enjoyed talking to my Dad. He knows so much about so many things that it makes him a good conversationalist. If he doesn't know about something, he always asks questions about it. I think I got that same quality from him because I'm the same way.
Instead of getting all mushy like I've done before, I'll just say the thing that sums it up. My Dad is the best man I've ever known. I feel bad for people who don't feel this same way about their own fathers. That's always how it should be. For me, I'm glad that it was. Happy birthday, Dad.
Here are some memories I have of my Dad:
When I was 14 or 15, my father was put in as the Young Men's quorum president and he was in charge of our High Adventure trips. We went up to Durango and went hiking, white water rafting, and mountain biking. The mountain biking turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me. It was 25 miles through a beautiful mountain pass. There was probably 20 of us and once we got out on the trail, we all went our own pace. To this day, it is still one of my favorite memories. There were a lot of times where I was completely by myself, where I couldn't see the person in front of me and I couldn't see the person behind me. I was enjoying the scenery and the sounds of the mountain. The other nice thing is that the trail was mostly in the shade so it wasn't too hot. To keep people from getting lost, my father was riding behind everyone else. And he followed REALLY behind. He got to the end of the trail a whole hour and a half after the person before him. He denies that it was because he was slow though. He just says that "he was enjoying the sights".
My dad and I would go to the climbing gym quite a bit when I was younger. I actually preferred it over real climbing because it didn't take long to get to the gym and you didn't have to set anything up. And it was fun. He never climbed that much and always preferred to belay (is that how you spell it?). I always enjoyed these times because we were constantly communicating with each other. I would tell him when I needed to rest and sometimes, I would ask him for suggestions about where to go. One time in particular, I wanted to attempt an overhang, which is pretty difficult because it requires a lot of upper body strength. I had never been able to do it before and my Dad had me watch some of the other more experienced climbers in the gym before I tried it. When it was finally my turn, I was able to emulate what they had done and I did it. However, I was not able to finish the climb. I got past the overhang and then couldn't figure out how to reach the top. Still, it was always fun going with him.
My dad and I always watched the Dallas Cowboys together. My mom hated it a lot of the time because if they were losing, we would get so mad about it. However, if they won, we would be really happy. My dad would always say, "See, life is good when the Cowboys win." I couldn't agree more.
I always have enjoyed talking to my Dad. He knows so much about so many things that it makes him a good conversationalist. If he doesn't know about something, he always asks questions about it. I think I got that same quality from him because I'm the same way.
Instead of getting all mushy like I've done before, I'll just say the thing that sums it up. My Dad is the best man I've ever known. I feel bad for people who don't feel this same way about their own fathers. That's always how it should be. For me, I'm glad that it was. Happy birthday, Dad.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Video Game Review: Lego Indiana Jones
The Indiana Jones trilogy's or quadrilogy's (does anyone really want to count Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?) success is largely due to how much action-packed adventure is in them. One cannot be more adventurous than when they are running from a large boulder thats about to crush them or risking death from many different places to find the Holy Grail. Everything in the movies just screams to be put into a video game. At least, that's what Traveller's Tales was thinking when they made it. Lego Indiana Jones is a fun action game that merges the best things from the Indiana Jones films with the world of Legos.
This is the second game made in the Lego series of games, (the first being Lego Star Wars) and like its predecessor, there is a lot of action in the game with a twist of humor. The humor is one of the highlights of the game as it often pokes fun at characters and is funny to both kids and adults. One instance is that when Indiana sees snakes, he shudders and covers his face. Its funny and also quite adorable. The music is also very good as they were able to obtain the musical score of the films. Can you do better than music from John Williams?
The controls are simple and easy to use and the gameplay is tight. However, the camera can sometimes be a little touchy but this is only a minor problem.
There are loads of different characters you can choose to be, but unlike Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman, there isn't that many characters you would WANT to be. Indiana Jones is the coolest character in his universe. Why would you want to be anyone else?
The other downfall of the game might not be a downfall at all to some. In the end, though it might appeal to all age groups, the game is made for kids. Because of this, the game is often very simple and easy and can sometimes get boring to people who need more of a challenge from their video games. But all in all, Lego Indiana Jones proves to be a fun game that captures the spirit of the Indiana Jones films. And look how cute they are!
Hands down: 8/10
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Video Game Review: Castle Crashers
This is another video game review I wrote a while back.
Remember the good ol' days when you would travel over to a friends house with controller in hand, and settle down to a couple of hours of hack n' slash via Gauntlet? Castle Crashers revives this old action game genre and breathes (much needed) new life into it.
Developed by The Bohemoth, and published on Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare, Castle Crashers is light on story but heavy on action and gameplay. The story starts as an evil wizard steals a large diamond (whose importance is unknown even at the end of the game) from the King, and your job is to get it back (as well as saving and making out with 4 princesses who were kidnapped). The four characters that are immediately available is 4 differently colored knights, but the more you play, the more characters you can unlock and Castle Crashers has a whole slew of playable characters. The game has a light-hearted attitude and humor about it that are sure to keep you smiling throughout the game. The actions are fluid and the gameplay is quick.
However, I found that the taking potions (to replenish my health) was touchy sometimes, and I would sometimes die even though I knew I had hit the button to get full life again. The player can level up four different abilities: strength (which increases your attack), magic, defense (which increases your health) and agility (which increases your speed as well as the speed of your ranged attacks). However, the magic ability is the real hero here, and leveling it up early will insure your quick progression through the game. Another nice thing is the vast arsenal of weapons that you can collect throughout the game. As of this writing, I had collected around 40 different weapons, with still more that I had to find. Also, the player can collect different animals that have their own unique abilities. Some will amplify your attack abilities, some will help you find weapons, and others will attack enemies themselves. Each animal is unique and there are around 20 different animals.
The art style is unique and playful and only serves to add to the humor of the game. The music as well is very good and puts the player right into the action. The story is the only main downer here, offering only a new look and a cliched take on the fantasy genre. But at the same time, it is more than enough to expect from an Xbox Live Arcade title. If you want tight and fluid gameplay, with unique characters and light-hearted humor and attitude, Castle Crashers is the game for you. Download it, invite three friends over, and get down to some nice, reminiscent hack n' slash.
Hands Down: 8.75/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)