My Household's Gaming Atmosphere

As you may or may not know, playing video games is one of my primary hobbies. I feel I cannot sanely live without interacting with something highly intuitive and gratifying in order to to alleviate any of my pent-up stress throughout my school day. And for better or for worse, video games have always been recipes for disasters at my house. Skepticism, fury and rage are three things my father expresses to convey his vehement disapproval of the general act of playing those so called 'life-ruining' video games. Whenever I would be caught in the midst of playing a video game, my father would make a pessimistic, dismayed look, where he would turn around in disgust of this addictive activity. Apparently, his generation never grew with video games, and he never began to accept them as a viable form of media that can be enjoyed responsibly. Had he ever caught me watching any given television program, there would be absolutely no argument. I think his great dislike for all things video games stems from his memory of me playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox 360 last year well past the world's bedtimes. I would do this on school nights, weekends, and holidays.

Given the fact that I now attend a college prep high school, I suppose his position on the matter is somewhat more justified, but hear this. On a daily basis, I go to track practice in Chicago (which is far from my suburban house), which means I have to take the train to get home, and will reliably get home by about 6:15 PM. And because of my free periods, I will rarely do my homework after track practice, considering my amount of energy as well. But on this day, I do my arduous homework for nearly two hours, taking a half hour break to play Battlefield 2 to clear my mind. (Especially since I no longer have a functioning Xbox 360 to play Call of Duty 4, but that's another story of my father's fury) So my father comes in the room yells at me as fiery as ever, clearly biased by his opinion regarding video games. Then I am offended by his blatant disrespect of the media and stand up for myself, yelling at him at an equally deafening tone. Then, I run out of the office, only to be chased by my father at a moderate pace. Afraid by the thought of being beaten, I never stop to allow myself to be caught by him throughout my house. You see, my father can either be in a very jovial, cheerful mood, or a rather tribal, barbaric state; and anyone who witnesses him in such an enraged state is sure to get out of his way. He then tells me that if I go to my room, I will be safe from him. Sounds ironic, right? Well I believe him, and ultimately, everything is fine. Video games have been the catalyst for many contentions in my household lately. And while I continue to enjoy them, if my enjoyment during the weekend, (which is supposedly when video games are intended in my household) ever carries over to the workweek, something traumatic is bound to happen in one fashion or another.

By: Michael Lenoch

My Story: FaceBook

FaceBook -- a haven for social connoisseurs to vent their meaningless lives on a daily basis. For some, FaceBook is his or her sole contribution to the internet. For me, it is not. So never visiting FaceBook.com was a relatively easy endeavor.

After being barraged daily by teen angst and senseless grieving from my "friends'" status updates, FaceBook is a place I spent my time largely as a disinterested, fatigued spectator, nearly timid to contribute. By this account, FaceBook is an inconsequential waste of time as well as a sanctuary for highly unintelligent conversation and commentary. And to FaceBook's credit, I suppose the website was never intended to be a place for intelligent conversation. Although not a thing I have posted or submitted to FaceBook ever seemed to hold any meaning or care. For all intents and purposes, I could have never made a FaceBook profile, and everything would be the same as it is now. Possibly, this is rather an issue of me being boring, and being assumed to be "nerdy", or otherwise an "outsider" within the realm of school. Yet, anyone who has gotten to know me, or anyone I have gotten to know thinks I'm a rather interesting person; the problem simply is that I never try to be a particularly outgoing person. I've grown up with the ambition to be as organic, as blatantly honest, and as admittedly flawed as possible; had I not, I may as well be a recipe for disaster.

All in all, I have a heartfelt sentiment that FaceBook, for however inconsequential and meaningless it is, should be avoided at all costs, as I may as well never visit that time-wasting website again.

Compulsory Reading: Not on Our Watch: A Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond Book Review and Impressions

Not on Our Watch: A Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast immediately illustrates an accurate image of current-day Darfur, laden of death, rape, pillaging, and rampant destruction; essentially creating an ideal human rights reformer’s nightmare. The book appears to have one goal in mind: to shine stark light on the unspeakable exploitations of human rights that are performed by the sinister Janjaweed militants even to this day, and revealing it to the largely ignorant western world in one of the most convenient of fashions. What renders Not on Our Watch so profoundly inspiring is its practical roadmap to how exactly virtually anyone, [even anyone with little or no money or time] can contribute to extinguish genocide and its potential spread to the wider world. Don Cheadle’s tale intentionally evokes a sense of guilt to the reader, convincing him or her to take an immediate course of action, no matter how little or minor his or her contribution may be, as it is a contribution that will help people in need nonetheless. But according to Cheadle, hope in Darfur is a likely possibility; but for the most part, the United States could have prevented or possibly stopped the horrific crimes against humanity if the United States government had taken a prominent role in peacemaking, protection, and punishment in Darfur and ‘beyond’. According to Don, it is within the United States government’s close grasp to grow awareness and activism of genocide among citizens to eventually work to build an ‘international coalition’ that will further reduce the likelihood of genocide of ever occurring again. It is vital to take action; one must educate oneself, as there are currently many major organizations to join to make an impact on genocide.





Aside from educating to the world how exactly cruel and striking many of the earnest African citizens have had their lives abruptly interrupted, or changed forever, Cheadle manages to somehow fit an emotional rollercoaster ride of a story in the book as well. But by my perspective, the greatest tragedy of all is the hesitance present in all the world’s nations to outright coin the situation in Darfur as a blatant ‘genocide’, and acknowledging all the implied meanings that people associate with that word. While intentionally avoiding the use of the word ‘genocide’ in place of ‘mass killings’ or ‘widespread atrocities’, accordingly, people around the world have been granted the ability to watch their respective nations, which together, are equipped with an incredible amount of power and resources at their disposal, do nothing at the horrendous sight of Darfur’s genocide. Whether or not Darfur’s current circumstance fits the dictionary definition of ‘genocide’ or not, I wholeheartedly fail to see the purpose of one of the world’s most psychologically sound governments, such as the United States and European governments dancing around feeble justifications such as the mere name created to depict these senseless killings taking place in Darfur, and using that as any reason not to have any governmental action. It is utterly a shame to witness Darfur in its current state, formerly a crucial contributor to the world’s economy, only to now remain neglected, ridden with crime and indecency, now a dying, rotting corpse of its past self, as the world’s economy is indubitably hurting with an entire country out of the picture. The powerful words that comprise this book show signs to a powerful grassroots uprising in Darfur, and are likely to bring trepidation to even some of the bravest Janjaweed militants, discouraging their travesties from ever occurring again.

By: Michael Lenoch

Killzone 2: Video Impressions

Considering that I currently have a broken Xbox 360, I have entertained the thought of buying a PS3 a hefty bit. The PS3 was the system I initially planned to purchase even prior to the release of the Xbox 360, and when I was still playing my PS2 (Although I still do to this day). The PS3 seemed to me as the ultimate system, admittedly, this opinion was formed solely by its slick exterior design. Now there is one game that has caught my eye a considerable bit; Killzone 2.

Having a broken Xbox 360 means I play Battlefield 2 on my well-equipped PC as a relatively poor substitute for Call of Duty 4. But after seeing a few videos of Killzone 2, the game seems a fair competitor in the first-person shooter realm of Call of Duty 4 knock-offs.



Although I'm not what you may call a reliable source for what Killzone 2 truly has to offer in terms of gameplay, what is evident from the videos is everything dedicated Call of Duty 4 fans, such as myself would be pleased to see. The classes aren't entirely customizable, as Call of Duty 4's were, but various perks from each class such as the shock paddles from the medic class and any other perk from another class can be combined to your particular liking.

But what I find most amusing is the gratuitousness of the gunplay in the game, coupled with the feature that Killzone 2 and Battlefield 2 share in common -- a state of shock that the player who would otherwise be dead falls in that allows a medic to come rescue the incapacitated player. There is not only that, but what's more is the fact that in Killzone, you can shoot your befallen enemy to a messy pool of blood. Never in a game have I felt such a sense of joy emerging from gruesome violence -- not even in Gears of War or Gears of War 2.



I've heard that Killzone 2 makes you feel less as agile and as athletic than Call of Duty 4. At first, I found this slightly dismaying, but then I realized how comparatively little tactical experience I have had throughout my entire time Call of Duty 4. Given the fact that in Killzone 2, there is a constantly changing multiplayer mode that consists of three or more different multiplayer match types (For example; Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, and in Killzone 2's case, Search and Retrieve. Sound familiar? I thought so.) in a single round the time it takes to find players and enter that match is considerably reduced, but also a fair amount of variety is thrown into the mix.

All in all, if I had a PS3, or if I were to ever acquire, purchase, steal, or come across a Playstation 3 console of my own, you can expect me to be playing Killzone 2 quite a bit.



This is my favorite video.

Unspeakable Hilarity

My Goings-Abouts on Virtual DJ

Lately, I've gotten into some Virtual DJ remixing, and this is what I've done

(Personally, I'd say I'm more proud of the bottom one)

Battlefield 1943 Impressions

Considering that I'm what one might call a Battlefield afficiando among small circles, particularly 1up.com's message boards, Battlefield 1943 is a game that I don't exactly know what to expect from. Battlefield: Bad Company, a console-exclusive first-person shooter [released August of last year], was a game that seemed entirely based around destructable environments. By my perspective, it was a horrendous game that had so few redeemable qualities other than the unique destructibility offerings.

For better or for worse, Battlefield 1943 is also based on the Frostbite engine; the same one that Battlefield: Bad Company was based on. Let's just hope there's more variation than miles and miles of sparse land and uniform destruction throughout what seemed to be all the buildings and structures.

Given that Battlfield 1943 will also be on PC, I can only hope to see more powerful weapons than those of Battlfield: Bad Company's; Also, the ability to lie down would be rather nice.



Wishful thinking for this new Battlfield...

Just a thought: The way I like to top off a weekend

By the end of a sleepy weekend, I feel I need to do a few last things that I meant to that would ultimately make my weekend feel complete. Otherwise, I would feel I lived through an unsatisfying weekend; regret the wasted time, reflect, and get up in the middle of the night to do so. I find posting on 1up.com's message boards most satisfying... blah blah blah.

I have a certain unofficial OCD-type obsession that I must make use out of my weekend, or I feel uncomfortable for some reason.

I honestly don't know why I'm telling you this -- if there is anyone anyway.

That's probably why my writing here is so convoluted. I'm writing to myself.

If anyone's here, show yourself in the form of a comment. If not, this will continue to be my mainstay for a public diary regardless.

There will be a time...

Where I will no longer aspire to be great;
No longer aspire to be admired;
No longer linger in obscurity;
No longer be modest with my craft;
No longer be deplored by the world;
No longer deemed 'insane';
No longer waiting to take the next step;
No longer waiting for that faithful moment;
No longer remember how it felt to admire;
No longer be filled with discontent;
No longer driven with the desire to be famous;
No longer associated with my past;
No longer seek attention;
No longer defined by my actions of the past, but rather, my actions of the now.

Oh, how I wish to become a great writer.

By: Michael Lenoch

To 1up Yours Crew, from Michael Lenoch

FINAL EPISODE OF 1UP YOURS

Direct Download Link for 1UP Yours ep. 164





PERSONAL THOUGHTS, OPINIONS


You all have no idea how much I would like to make my font size the largest, but hopefully my sentiments will speak louder than a mere size.

I cannot imagine my life without 1up Yours. I can't believe I've felt such an indescribable emotional connection with people I've never met before. I can't believe people who drink alcoholic beverages and have discussions about video games would so colossally spark my interest in writing and the video game industry as something that would be viable for me as a profession. It's unimaginable that the entire 1up Yours crew shaped the little, tiny voice inside my head that tells me what to write -- intelligent or otherwise illogical. So much of what I try to be as a person stems from the 1up Yours crew.

John -- blatant honesty
--His organic nature, his personality to enjoy life, and to not ever be totally invested in anything
Shane -- exaggerated expression; or maybe him just saying the word "Bombastic", while emphasizing every syllable of the word
-- Definitive personality
-- Obstinance
--Chauvinism
Garnett -- his logic and sense (Which is not to denounce Garnett for his typically refutable opinions, but rather his excellent problem solving)
Luke -- nothing, because there's no way I'll ever be as funny as Luke
And all the other numerous guests have contributed in ways I'm sure I'm not even aware of

You all have no idea how lucky you are to be a part of the 1up Yours crew.I'm grateful I was born when I was, and coincindence had it that I would stumble upon 1up Yours as I did, and listen to what would be the greatest podcast in the history of radio shows.



Breathtaking ending. If only I knew people who felt as enthusiastically about games and 1up Yours as I do. Thank God there's boards though. But there is one very integral aspect missing from the boards -- your voice. Text only tells a fraction of what someone feels, and that's why what anyone may say on the internet can so easily be mocked, as anything can be interpreted a number of ways drastically divergent of the intention.

Finishing that final episode felt like finishing a great novel, filled with many twists and turns, and very deep-seeded relationships that will last a lifetime -- thank God there was a podcast made to capture all the magic.

I think this is why I want to be in the gaming industry. I want to discuss games in this sort of fashion. Whether I play "devil's advocate" or truly feel compelled to voice my argument, I love talking about games and most likely always will.