Daddy...
You defy all the commonly accepted rules of labor,
Make a spectacular steak,
Manage five or so hotels, a five-star restaurant as well as an enormous staff consisting of maids, chefs, waitresses, receptionists, and janitors,
And fly an aircraft straight from World War II,
Yet you still have time for all of us... Most of the time at least
You truly are a superhero Daddy-o-Daddy!
6.22.09
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Soccer.
Soccer. When I say the very word, what comes to mind? Excitement, national pride, glory, and triumph may be a few words that epitomize the beautiful game. The FIFA World Cup is the most bombastic and intense culmination of all the world’s soccer tournaments. Since 1930, the World Cup has stunned fans with unexpected victories, housed upsets, and thrived as the world’s premier soccer event.
An estimated________ fans come from far and wide to see the World Cup every four years. This year, the World Cup is set to take place in South Africa in 2010, with the final match to take place in the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. According to Voanews.com, “nearly 400 million people will be traveling to South Africa” for all of the World Cup matches across ten different locations throughout South Africa. The largest stadium in all of South Africa, the Soccer City Stadium is anticipated to seat an enormous crowd of 95,000 screaming, jumping, and enthralled fans, sitting on the edge of every seat. For years, the World Cup has rendered as the spark to some of the world’s most notorious rivalries, a few being, Argentina and Brazil, England and Germany, France and Italy, and Argentina and England.
What puts soccer at the top of the sports hierarchy is its pace of play, the pure energy that is incessently exerted by each and every fan, and above all the universal love countries share for soccer with each other.
6.30.09
An estimated________ fans come from far and wide to see the World Cup every four years. This year, the World Cup is set to take place in South Africa in 2010, with the final match to take place in the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. According to Voanews.com, “nearly 400 million people will be traveling to South Africa” for all of the World Cup matches across ten different locations throughout South Africa. The largest stadium in all of South Africa, the Soccer City Stadium is anticipated to seat an enormous crowd of 95,000 screaming, jumping, and enthralled fans, sitting on the edge of every seat. For years, the World Cup has rendered as the spark to some of the world’s most notorious rivalries, a few being, Argentina and Brazil, England and Germany, France and Italy, and Argentina and England.
What puts soccer at the top of the sports hierarchy is its pace of play, the pure energy that is incessently exerted by each and every fan, and above all the universal love countries share for soccer with each other.
6.30.09
Giant Bombcast
Each episode of the Giant Bombcast begins with friendly chatter about the past week in gaming, revealing the very little chemistry the Giant Bomb crew has, and the awkward nature in which the show has grown.
And whenever Jeff begins to speak, the conversation quickly gains steam, bringing a segmented stop to the idle talk that comprises the hours-long weekly show.
7.2.09
And whenever Jeff begins to speak, the conversation quickly gains steam, bringing a segmented stop to the idle talk that comprises the hours-long weekly show.
7.2.09
My family
I can only stand obligatirily stunned by my family's astounding lack of any remote value to any religious devoution. It is possibly the most saddening sense I have ever felt to witness a family such as mine, born wholly of Adam and Eve, and entirely guilty to an uncommted life of Christianity, enamored by mere human secularities.
Edit: As of June 5th 2009 on my last day of Sophomore year at Saint Ignatius my family has progressed tremendously. We all get along famously now, and everything is good, and God is great.
5.9.09
Edit: As of June 5th 2009 on my last day of Sophomore year at Saint Ignatius my family has progressed tremendously. We all get along famously now, and everything is good, and God is great.
5.9.09
Bungie: Too Conservative?
Is it me, or is the tried-and-true Halo shooter formula losing its luster? Even two years after the fall of 2007, which saw the pitting of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare against Halo 3, Halo ODST shows how much faith Bungie has in their engine, style of play, and graphics, as ODST appears to be ostensibly Halo 3 with a new paint job. Throughout the duration of Microsoft's E3 Press Conference, Modern Warfare 2 as well as Halo ODST had their time to shine. Not surprisingly, Halo ODST looked very dated in stark comparison to Modern Warfare 2. Why is it that it seems as though Bungie is not willing to conform to what is obviously successful in the realm of shooters? Is it that Bungie feels they can have their own unique shooter experience? Personally, and maybe you've already deciphered this through my wording above, but I feel as though the Halo franchise has a far less immersive shooter experience to offer. Certainly Halo games have their climactic moments, but in terms of multiplayer and the simple act of shooting, Halo does far less to give the player a visceral sense of force behind the rifle. In fact, it's as if Halo is becoming primitive in this ever-evolving industry. The Halo franchise may also feel overwrought due to how little Bungie is willing to take risks, and how little they seem to have noticably implemented to the gameplay over the past years. It is evident Bungie does not want Halo to become a game where Spartans are lying down in multiplayer matches, trying not to be seen, or conversely, like the high-speed pace provided by the Unreal Tournament games. Rather, the Halo games have apparently been trying to achieve a balance of pace, tactics, and action. But if the Halo franchise were to endure a drastic change in gameplay, the genre of shooters as we know it may change forever. So I suppose I've answered the question for myself: Halo is Halo, and Call of Duty is Call of Duty, and there's no worth in changing that fact.
6.3.09
6.3.09
Leaving...
My heart is leaving my body,
My reistance is growing thin,
I anticipate the arduous car ride that lies ahead,
I think of the cramped car and the ensuing arguments between siblings, and sometimes parents alike,
I feel like staying home,
Yet I know I must attend this or that party or celebration, and must somehow find an activity that will pass the time,
I hope my youth does not slip away,
My mother is screaming like
a maniac, trying to gather the family, ignorant of the discussions upstairs,
I anticipate the cleaning I'll be forced to do once I arrive home,
I look out the windows and regret the stellar day I could be having,
I smell the intoxicating scent of the world's perfumes combined, making me quesy,
I imagine how easy it would be if my cousins lived within walking distance,
I sense the sensitivity of my family when in such close proximity and how easily a heated debate could emerge,
I do my best to not object or arouse any anger in my family by acting complacent,
My mother does the same as she adjusts the route-divising GPS,
My father mocks his own arrogance and age, my family family responds joyfully with laughter,
Contrary to as I predicted, this car ride is progressing smoothly,
My family discusses the anti-social qualities of my cousin -- the cousin who is having the graduation party, my mother calls him a "blob",
My sister is the first to notice the repugnant scent,
My mother then turns on the air conditioning, retorting with an "eew",
Throughout the concrete expanses, my mother earns her title as 'most wobbly driver'
5.25.09
My reistance is growing thin,
I anticipate the arduous car ride that lies ahead,
I think of the cramped car and the ensuing arguments between siblings, and sometimes parents alike,
I feel like staying home,
Yet I know I must attend this or that party or celebration, and must somehow find an activity that will pass the time,
I hope my youth does not slip away,
My mother is screaming like
a maniac, trying to gather the family, ignorant of the discussions upstairs,
I anticipate the cleaning I'll be forced to do once I arrive home,
I look out the windows and regret the stellar day I could be having,
I smell the intoxicating scent of the world's perfumes combined, making me quesy,
I imagine how easy it would be if my cousins lived within walking distance,
I sense the sensitivity of my family when in such close proximity and how easily a heated debate could emerge,
I do my best to not object or arouse any anger in my family by acting complacent,
My mother does the same as she adjusts the route-divising GPS,
My father mocks his own arrogance and age, my family family responds joyfully with laughter,
Contrary to as I predicted, this car ride is progressing smoothly,
My family discusses the anti-social qualities of my cousin -- the cousin who is having the graduation party, my mother calls him a "blob",
My sister is the first to notice the repugnant scent,
My mother then turns on the air conditioning, retorting with an "eew",
Throughout the concrete expanses, my mother earns her title as 'most wobbly driver'
5.25.09
I feel as though there is no single individual that can speak for the entire...
I feel as though there is no single individual that can speak for the entire
American community as there is such great diversity, yet no to little unity. People are so detached from each other in America, and people live such private lives that rarely incorporate and accept the views and opinions of others. People act incredibly complacent
5.24.09
American community as there is such great diversity, yet no to little unity. People are so detached from each other in America, and people live such private lives that rarely incorporate and accept the views and opinions of others. People act incredibly complacent
5.24.09
Aspirational Video Game Journalists
As evident by the rampantly enthusiastic community of video gamers on various internet message boards, video game journalism is something the majority of those gamers are setting their sights on. Given the sheer amount of those who aspire to be video game critics, one eminent issue I forsee is the surplus of enthusiastic video game fanatics who are not necessarily well-read or otherwise articulate writers or thinkers in general. This is also a problem dealing with an unbalanced quality to quantity ratio. There is an innumerable lot of gamers who are certainly enthusiastic enough about games to make it his or her living, but the question is whether or not those dedicated gamers will ultimately contribute to the industry's creativity, originality, and overall reputability. You can search on YouTube for a gamer's "rant", and you will witness a potential candidate for America's Funniest Home Video. Gamers seem to think their intensity of enthusiasm counts for something. It doesn't mean a thing unless that same enthusiasm bleeds through the page, and is communicated in a creative manner.
Another common misconception gamers seem to hold is that in order to become a video game journalist, one must be more knowledgable in the realm of video games rather than literature.
Industry veteran, Shawn Elliot has on multiple occasions, gone out of his way to teach the public that video game journalists should read more than play video games. This is often a topic of contention as on message boards, as it's fair to expect a divided community who will unendingly debate the strengths and weaknesses of being more knowledgable in the realm of either literature or video games. Personally, I consider it vital for there to be a proportion of one's knowledge of games and literature, as the two familiarities can complement each other in terms of writing an accurate, interesting, and societally aware piece.
5.22.09
Another common misconception gamers seem to hold is that in order to become a video game journalist, one must be more knowledgable in the realm of video games rather than literature.
Industry veteran, Shawn Elliot has on multiple occasions, gone out of his way to teach the public that video game journalists should read more than play video games. This is often a topic of contention as on message boards, as it's fair to expect a divided community who will unendingly debate the strengths and weaknesses of being more knowledgable in the realm of either literature or video games. Personally, I consider it vital for there to be a proportion of one's knowledge of games and literature, as the two familiarities can complement each other in terms of writing an accurate, interesting, and societally aware piece.
5.22.09
The Culture of Message Boards
Video game related Message boards seem to emphasize release dates, quotes of various outspoken developers, podcast discussions, and few high-brow discussions that ultimately are highjacked by short-attention spanned fools who haven't the patience to understand the topic. The problem I see in all of this is that there isn't much variety, and whenever a new, unique sort of topic arises, the community is apt to ignore it. This creates a sort of dynamic hierarchy within the community that sets the underlings as ones who only respond to the queries of the people who are vain enough to consider themselves intelligent, or at least moreso than that of their fellow community members.
5.15.09
5.15.09
Does every Game need an Experience System?
In the wake of 2005's Battlefield 2, Infinity Ward capitalized on DICE's experience system with Call of Duty 4, and to great effect. So much so that this sort of carrot-stick incentive-based system has gone rampant. Games that trailed off of Call of Duty 4's explosive success are Lost Planet 2, Gears of War 2, Battlefield: Bad Company (although it's arguable whether or not Bad Company's inclusion of the experience system was a reaction to Call of Duty 4 or it was fully intentional from the start of development), Far Cry 2, Crysis Warhead, and Fear 2. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how much you might have to earn to play at a reasonable level these days, especially if you're playing multiple shooters at once? And do you imagine yourself dividing your time between shooters given the time-consuming nature of the RPG-like experience system that is seemingly duck-taped in most modern online shooters? Personally, I find the ranking systems in some games truly unecessary, but then again, I'm certainly not someone who can plow through all the ranks in a few days, which
is something that may color my opinion.
The bad thing about this whole situation is the fact that fans don't seem to be getting bored of this experience system, no matter what game it's hastily botched on to. That's not very good in terms of the growth of the industry. As far ad I can see, people are eating any game up that has an experience system in it, and that's not encouraging any revolution. All I can hope is that Infinity Ward implements on some new gimmick before the experience system truly loses its luster.
5.5.09
is something that may color my opinion.
The bad thing about this whole situation is the fact that fans don't seem to be getting bored of this experience system, no matter what game it's hastily botched on to. That's not very good in terms of the growth of the industry. As far ad I can see, people are eating any game up that has an experience system in it, and that's not encouraging any revolution. All I can hope is that Infinity Ward implements on some new gimmick before the experience system truly loses its luster.
5.5.09
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