True Learning

Progressing our species, in some cases, we are,
We may think this, but in trueness, the world, we mar,
Appealing to the economy and seeing what sticks in this ever-evolving modern life,
But to work, work, more we must, to only promote pollution to become ultimately even more rife with dust,
Intelligence is a question not answered by many,
Especially by those who only bear a penny,
City people, so numerous and neglected,
Stuffed in a smoky haven of selfish individuals who stay connected,
What is this world coming to?
Certainly not any closer to the days of the sky, so wonderous and blue,
Children are failing, misusing the English language,
Their only medium to communication,
But one question that no one can answer is whether or not I am a self-delusioned scholar,
As all the opinions and criticisms of those around me are purely subjective, so why should I bother?
Do I credit myself or over-validate my opinion?
The annoyance of constant laughter and internal noise,
Is this a thing that we are prone to be poised?
Cunning, convincing and swindling too,
There is nothing a money-grubbing American won't do,
For more of it, and more of it, the dirty green substance,
And in the end, who knows, none of it will we have a chance,
And forget life's truest values, and to sell them off for a minor monetary gain,
In America, we are forced to purchase our "happiness", a fact that will have me willingly flee to Spain,
America is slow to adapt, and to spread the theory of green,
And by doing so, America is proving less likely for it to be a side in which I would lean,
Americans would not be so attached to their native land had they known the beauty that lies abroad,
And for their blissful ignorance, I satirically applaud,
For luckily, my green Europe will not be mucked away by the land-grabbing Americans and their empires of wealth,
For I shall reside humbly in Germany in comfort and stealth.

7.3.09

Wasting My Life

Sitting still,
Not doing a thing,
While passively letting my life slip by,
Watching the numbers grow, seasons change, all the while doing not a thing,
Not doing my hobbies, flexing my muscle or stimulating my brain,
Sitting, stagnant, worthless,
If donating my time is an indication of selflessness, then I am the greediest milionaire to purchase a golden toilet,
Although thinking about wasting time is a sound investment of my wealth,
Contemplating, and progressing my mind is always wise mental growth,
Writing in twisted ways, with wild and convoluted paths that even I can't devise an immediate end to,
Being open to obscure inferences, and constantly hoping to be an impressive, reverred writer, notably for my young age is an ironic way I want to spend my time before I grow old and then fully realize my dream of expression by the time I reach a certain age.
Oh how greatly I try to cherish my young age,
To do as I want and to make my time spent as a child count and increase my depth of knowledge

6.17.09

Fathers' Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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