Earl’s Blog: Part 3

Recently James, Colt, Steven, and DS came over to my once-peaceful home and we had a little get together where we played Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mariokart Wii, and even some Halo. By the way, thanks guys, it was a lot of fun and you’re welcome back any time (and by any time I mean never). It would have to take a “genius” like me to make it into something complicated. Whenever we ordered some pizzas and got some drinks, and DS made the comment that he wanted to drink this certain flavor of Sierra Mist more because it had a picture of Steve Carell on it. It made me think. Some people have a preference of Coca Cola over Pepsi, or Sierra Mist over Sprite, when it’s basically the same flavor. People will say “This is horrible” when another may say “That’s the best soda I’ve ever drank”. Any food or drink has a certain taste that never changes, it just might be good or bad depending on what you look for in a soda or food, or whether it has Jessica Alba or Rosie O Donnell on the front. (Shivers) So next time you take a drink of a soda or bite into that new tasty treat, think about whether that’s really the worst thing you’ve ever tasted, or if it’s all in your head.  

Many of you into gaming should be familiar with gaming delays. These are, of course, delays that occur when the “supposed date” isn’t the “right date” and the game gets pushed off another month or so. This has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves in gaming. James, I know you’re gonna jump down my throat with this, but it’s worth stating. I have no problem with a developer saying “We’ll have it in 2 or 3 years”, but when you say “We’ll have it in a year!” I expect it in a year. I don’t expect you to day 1 year and then delay it over and over and over and over until I don’t care about it any longer. It may be a little bug before the launch that needs a month to fix, but delaying a game 5 times for “little bugs”, no, I don’t think so. It’s a matter of getting gamers hopes up cough *Brawl* cough, and then delaying it 6 or 7 times, your hopes get tired, and those of you who know me/go to school with me know I get my hopes up a lot. It just hurts getting your hopes up every potential date for something that never comes. I work on the school paper , and when we say a date, we mean it, it comes out on that day. Developers, when you schedule a game for release, do everything in your power to make that release, don’t disappoint the gaming public. I know you want the best quality, just don’t give us false hope.

Sitting here now in my Journalism class, overhear several conversations, not that I’m an eavesdropper, but because I am observant, if that’s what you want to call it. A lot of the things I hear I can’t repeat on this PG-rated site, but sometimes I hear some things that spike my interest, and cause me to instantly form an idea in my head and then post it here, as I am now. I hear people a lot of times recommending movies to other people, most of the time because of where I live movies like Talladega Nights or other movies that kinda fit into our Southern culture but aren’t necessarily the best movies. People love these movies, and yet I can’t see why. Before you can comment, I know, people have different tastes in movies. Some like movies colely based on the fact there are a couple of cute and furry animals on the front, others may buy a movie just because they love to see Will Ferrell think he’s on fire. Some may even buy movies just because a friend recommends it. I don’t have a problem with this. If you enjoy a movie just based on those aspects, that’s fine. I’m different. I like to hear about a movie, get hyped up for a movie, get some interest in it, go see it if it has something interesting enough, if not, rent it. I might even buy a movie if I really like it. It just kinda feels weird sitting aside when you hear people recommend if it is (in your opinion) the worst movie you’ve ever seen, or when noone even mentions that one golden gem of the weekend.

I recently reserved, rented, and watched the well-known movie, I Am Legend. As a refresher, the movie follows Robert Neville, a scientist who in 2009 helped develop a cure for cancer. The supposed cure ended up wiping out almost all of the Earth’s population, except for Neville. He then spent the three years after the movie in New York City, all alone going day and night with his faithful dog, definitely in this case man’s best friend. A lot of the movie’s best scenes came from Neville’s anxiety, depression, battle with insanity, and loneliness, greatly portrayed by the superb performance by Will Smith. However, this is not a movie review, this is an opinion. Now whether it’s due to my nature or whether we’re having trouble filling up this issue, but I was fascinated by this aspect of the movie. Will Smith’s portrayal as the last man on Earth was realistic, so much that most of our reactions would be the same. It really makes you think how dependent we are on human reaction, and without that we are left alone to our own thoughts. Leaving so much spare time on our hands, we wouldn’t know whether we’d be questioning our morality and decisions, or whether we would take advantage of the lack of social activity and use it to better ourselves, leaving us to improve our survival instincts when we are on our own and have to take care of ourselves. We could use the time to better certain physical characteristics, to finally get that exercise we need, to do whatever we ever wanted. I consider it a blessing that there are people to interact with, people to help us, to encourage us, make us laugh, and to help us in the end. Robert Neville certainly didn’t do too well in I Am Legend, but I won’t spoil anything for those yet to see it. However, the movie is just that, a movie, hopefully we will never be faced with a pandemic where one human is faced with the eventual, although seeming like a blessing at first, curse. I certainly recommend the movie, and that you ponder your survival strategy next time the dark seekers (my Math teacher suggested I change it to that) are hot on your trail.

This is another article I wrote for the school paper. I came up with this one, no inspiration from girls. (Inside Joke)

You may be in the local grocery store, or the newest department store in the mall. It might even be on the drive home after school, but eventually you’ll come across that song that really gets your foot tappin’. Your adrenaline starts to flow, and pretty soon you’re playing air guitar and hoping no one’s watching. Or maybe you really get inspired by that song that you love so much and want to take the world on…again. It might even be that song that reminds you of a loved one that you miss or a friend you don’t spend as much time with. It’s no doubt that music is definitely one of the strongest art forms. We listen to it on the way to work or school, we spend hundreds of dollars on Ipods or Itunes, or practically anything with the word I- in it. We all love music, no matter what kind. Different people’s taste for music can be as diverse sometimes as religion or types of food. Some like the country tales of Trace Atkins and Rascall Flatts, others like more of the rock stylings of Cheap Trick, The Who, or a little band I’m sure no one’s heard of, AC DC. They’re just a little rock band, nothing special. You might even enjoy Rap, for whatever reason that may be. Music has a strange power over us; I’m not talking about some subliminal field that comes out of the radio, but more like an influence or a powerful force that can bring out several emotions. I hope you can see what I’m saying here. Like I said earlier, there’s no denying the fact that music is one of the great art forms the world has ever seen. I love music, I have my own playlist on Windows Media Player, have an MP3 player filled with The Fray, Styx, Queen, The Who, Todd Rungen, etc, and listen to 107.3 when other stations fill with the mindless dribble or advertisements. I have never gone to a Labor Day sale the day after Labor Day, and never will. Next time you’re listening to your favorite band I hope you realize the true Magic of Music. 

What has happened to America? What happened to the good old days when you knew where you were then, girls were girls and men were men. Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again. Didn’t need no welfare state. Everybody pulled his weight. Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days. But now we live in a world where, although the entirety of the world isn’t bad, but certain parts have definitely grown darker. What I’m trying to get at is that, whether it’s been through the music some listen to or through current trends, but there seems to be an uprising of gangs and overall young delinquency, sometimes in schools. I’m not saying it happens in our school or any school in particular, but that it does happen. Teenagers obsessed with fitting in put aside their safety in order to join a gang or a group of misbehaviors, which can lead to a variety of things that could never benefit someone. Starting a drug habit to seem cool or because “everyone else is doing it” (which never really made sense to me) can lead to obsessive and LIFE THREATENING drug use, but not just that. It can have kids starting fights in schools, being expelled and denied a life-significant education, or quite possibly doing something that ends up giving them a few years vacation in a little jail cell, giving their life a bad start. Culture also has a big part to play in this little phenomenon. It makes me sick to see a 10 year old playing a video game like Grand Theft Auto where some criminal shoots down cops, beats down other people, and commits other countless wrongs. They put that M for MATURE rating on the box for a reason! Foul-mouthed Rap Music that promotes gang violence is poisoning the minds or younger children, and some parts of television are only upping the dosage in this concoction of bad influence. Whoever it is that is buying or introducing these bad influences into the minds of the younger, whether it’s the parent, sibling, or whoever, they should really think about what example they’re setting for that child. Sure, the younger have always misbehaved, since the beginning of time, I’m sure Adam and Eve had to scold Seth a couple of times. However, I think it’s safe to say whoever is disciplining the child is in partial blame. There’s a common used saying, “Children are the future”, or at least commonly used on Nickelodeon. I think we should really take this to heart. Children look up to those older than them, mainly people our age. They look up to us, and reflect our behaviors. We should be a good example to those younger than us, and help them to make the right decisions.  I’m not saying this issue is totally without hope, but the introduction of some good influences, and the world can be a better place.