I Don't Want To Line Dance

I'm rather tired of seeing Alan Jackson before every Youtube video I watch. Let me tell you something. I don't want to 'see you down the line.' I mean fucking line dancing? I can't imagine that line dancers is a very big demographic. Who in the hell is this supposed to appeal to? I prefered the Asian man telling me something that violated the laws of thermodynamics.

More importantly, How in the hell do I know Alan Jackson is? I feel like it is a waste of a part of my brain to know some random Country singing.

I think it is a new strategy by some advertising; to be as annoying as possible. I mean why bother creating a decent commercial when a lot of people don't watch them? So, just be as annoying as possible in the mediums where the ads can't be fast-forwarded through. We are were horribly assaulted by those terrible NAPA lip-syncing ads during the NCAA tournament. They were unavoidable because they were during live sporting events.

I wish I had something exciting to share, but really nothing in my day is that worthy. It cost me $42.15 to fill up my truck today thanks to oil speculation on Wall Street. I pre-ordered Mortal Kombat as well. That's the best I can give you guys.

I'll try to think of something better for the next few days.

Thanks for reading.

-Michael

Re: Sirius Black

In response to Tyrannosauruslexxx's post about Sirius Black yesterday.

In the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius Black is definitely not shown in his best light. Honestly, almost none of the characters are shown in their best light. He seems reckless and at times treats Harry more as a friend, or replacement for James, than he does a godson. Dumbledore won't talk to or acknowledge Harry despite the promises made following Harry's return from Little Hangleton. Harry is a whiny adolescent for most of the book, even locking himself up with Buckbeak after deciding everyone would be better without him.

I think Sirius in the Order of the Phoenix isn't upset that he's stuck in Grimmauld Place like a grounded teenager. It is about not being able to help the Order; not being able to do anything to protect Harry. Lupin, Hagrid, Dumbledore and worst of all Snape were able do be active in the Order. He didn't like that his friends were in so much danger or that his enemy was able to be hero while he had to remain sedentary and could easily be made out to be a coward. Sirius could deal with being stuck in Grimmauld Place, but not while the world was going to hell all around it.

In The Order of the Phoenix, Sirius and Harry were actually in pretty similar situations. Sirius is stuck in his house. Harry is under the thumb of the biggest bitch* in the series. Sirius definitely advised Harry to do some reckless things, but most of it wouldn't put Harry in any real danger. The exception being proposing the meeting in Hogsmeade, but even that probably wasn't as horribly risky as it may seem and is out of desire to see Harry as much as getting out of Grimmauld Place.

Still, I don't think Sirius completely dropped the ball as 'grown-up' in the Order of the Phoenix. There are a few particular points in that book where he put aside his grumpiness and was a bit more parental.

The first is the fight between him and Molly about what Harry should be allowed to know about what was going on with the Order. At that point in Harry's life he had already faced Voldemort three times and certainly deserved not to be kept in the dark about what was going on. Molly was being over-protective. She was not serving as a better parental figure than Sirius. Keeping Harry in the dark to 'protect' him would have likely caused Harry to do something stupid or dangerous.

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," said Lupin sharply, "Sirius, sit down."

When the children returned to Grimmauld Place after Mr. Weasley was attacked, Sirius was very mature and acted as a authority figure. He wasn't going to try to rescue Arthur himself. He didn't rush them to go see their father. He was calm and had them stay put and wait for word. That certainly wasn't a rash thing to do, but it was what was for the best.

There's no denying that Sirius had a bad temper. Still, I don't think that hurt his ability to do well as Harry's godfather. This bring me to the Occlumency lessons. I think that what Sirius did when Snape showed up at Grimmauld Place to tell Harry about the lessons is probably what James would have done in that position. It may not have been the wisest thing, to almost duel in the kitchen, but it was out of love for Harry and hatred of Snape. When Harry used Umbridge's fire to talk to Sirius, it was a combination of Lupin's telling him that he must continue with the lessons no matter what and Sirius' indignation that showed Harry how important those lesson's were. Sirius wanting to 'have a word with Snape,' wasn't the smartest thing for him to consider, but it clearly showed how much he cared about Harry and his understanding of the importance of those lessons despite Snape.

"Nice one!" shouted Sirius, forcing Harry's head down as a pair of Stunning Spells flew at them. "Now I want you to get out of---"

Finally that brings me to the Battle at the Ministry. Sirius came to protect Harry. He fought Death Eaters while trying to get Harry to get out of there. He loved Harry cared that Harry was safe way more than he cared about himself and his actions in the battle clearly showed that. Ultimately he died because he loved Harry so much.

Going backwards, in the Goblet of Fire, Sirius was definitely a more sound advice giver to Harry. It was clear to him that Harry was in real danger at Hogwarts that year. Whereas in the fifth year, the danger was real, but in reality Harry was safer in the fifth year than the forth. Voldemort had no chance to get into Hogwarts in year five and unlike year four there was no agent of his in the school.

That's all we really end up getting about Sirius. We know the actual Sirius for two books. He wasn't the best role model. He was definitely arrogant and brash. Still, he loved Harry like a son and having that capacity is amazing considering he was locked in Azkaban for so long. He didn't show Harry how to be the ideal wizard. However, he did show loyalty, courage and the power of love. Those were the lessons Harry really needed; not a how to keep his temper under control.

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I couldn't really find a way to put this into the post, but it fits so here it goes.

I really think that Sirius and Dumbledore both feel tremendous guilt about the Fidelius Charm on the Potter's home. It's obvious in hindsight that Sirius' idea to use Peter Pettigrew instead of himself was really dumb. I think this is part of the reason he doesn't fill the father role exactly, but treats Harry more like a peer in some circumstances. He doesn't think he's worthy to fill James' shoes, because he blames himself for his and Lily's deaths.

The strange about that to me is that I think the end result would have been the same, just slightly delayed had Sirius been the secret-keeper. Sirius would have been killed by Voldemort, because as talented of a wizard as Sirius was he would be no match. As we learned after Dumbledore's death, once the Secret-Keeper dies everyone who know about it becomes Secret-keeper. Peter Pettigrew would've undoubtedly would've know about the Potter's home and once Sirius was dead it would be the same result.

I think Dumbledore feels guilt about not forcing James and Lily to make him Secret-keeper. Voldemort wouldn't have dared take on Dumbledore, so the Potter's home and little Harry would have been safe. I think that is at least part of the reason he was always certain of Harry's safety and took such an interest in him.

So today comments are for your thoughts on Sirius Black and the Fidelius Charm.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*Ok, the biggest bitch not named Bellatrix LeStrange

Gaming Tuesday- Homefront

Last time on Gaming Tuesday: I told you that I was fighting the urge to go get Homefront. That I'd just wait until I could pick it up used and on the cheap. Now on Gaming Tuesday:

I bought Homefront. It was a breakdown in my better judgment. I kept hearing about how awesome the multiplayer was and I just went to Gamestop and dropped the full price on it. This is as borderline as I've ever been on whether or not the game is worth it. I'm not going to do a review since it's already been out for a while, but I'll tell you what I think of the game. There will be no major spoilers, if you're worried.

I'll start with the single-player campaign. Simply put, it is below average. The story isn't horrible or even that crazy once you get over the premise, but it is by no means extraordinary. It succeeds in horrifying the player with the first cut scene. You see Americans being shipped to internment camps and most awfully parents being executed in front of their small child. They certainly didn't pull any punches when it came to setting the true horror of the setting.

The player finds a few more horrible scenes as he or she plays through the campaign. Those scenes go along with pretty typical first person shooter type objectives. You know, 'kill all the bad guys and get something' or 'take out something at a certain point,' the status quo. The game play mechanics are identical to Call of Duty, so one won't struggle with the controls in all likelihood.

It sounds fine, but this game was not done very well technically. The graphics are terrible for a game in 2011. There are frame-rate issues caused simply by having your character turn to the side. There is no bullet penetration, which is just annoying. The controls aren't actually sluggish. In fact there as close to Call of Duty 1:1 as I've played, but they end up looking sluggish due to the choppy frame-rate at times.

The thing that is worst about the campaign is how fucking short it is. A game like Homefront, with such a unique story, should not have a campaign that is only five hours. A longer campaign would allow the story to develop more naturally and would just be better. A Call of Duty 4 length campaign would've suited this game very well. It should have been longer, more exciting and should have built to a fantastic crescendo*.

The single player was definitely a big let down in Homefront. There's not even a cool secondary single player game mode. The best props I can give to that aspect of the game is that the collectibles are really cool.

It is then surprising that out of that Single Player came the Multiplayer that Homefront has. I would've thought the focus of a game like Homefront would be single player. It would've been a way for this game to stand out from Call of Duty, whose last two single player campaigns have been lacking. However, that is clearly not how THQ and Chaos went about it. Their focus was obviously multiplayer and they ended up doing very well at it.

The most notable thing about Homefront's multiplayer is the absence of Killstreaks. They are replaced by an in-game currency system called, "Battle Points." You earn these points through getting kills, capturing objectives, taking out enemy vehicles and a few other things. This relieves the stress of getting to your Killstreak reward and thus makes it a much less stressful FPS. You don't have to worry about getting the streaks that you need in Call of Duty, but can focus on getting as many kills as quickly as possible for you to my your reward.

The Killstreaks themselves are pretty cool. You can get into armor or a helicopter. You can use your points to buy recon for your team. This sounds like it would get annoying, but it isn't that awful as it is pretty well balanced. Another cool thing is that a lot of these rewards have a second seat that a teammate can spawn into, which ends up benefiting both players.

Also this game had dedicated servers. Dedicated servers give me a boner.

There certainly are some flaws in the multiplayer. The hitbox is too small. It is really hectic and hard to really get into a good flow since there are so many players on the map. It's not uncommon to get repeatedly fucked by tanks and helicopters. Spawns aren't that brilliant even though they give a bird's eye view.

I really know that Multiplayer is good, because I'm terrible at Homefront, but I still enjoy playing it. I can think of few games I can say that I can actually enjoy while doing terrible, but this is one of them.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*If I had told you how the game ends, it would sound a lot cooler than it actually was.

I'm Looking For the BEDA Authority

I've been wondering if it's allowed/if it counts to have a post on another blog. My sport's blog, which is linked at the top of the page, is seldom used, but I've been wanting to write some posts about amateurism and the NCAA. Those would naturally go there rather than here, but I don't know if that would count towards my 30 day goal.

The sky was beautifully ominous when I woke up this morning. I really like thunderstorms. So waking up, hearing thunder, and seeing the dark sky makes me happy. There's been a few Thunderstorms roll through today. None of them were particularly great or strong, but still rain beating against the window and thunder in the distance is awesome.

The thing is, I used to be absolutely terrified of thunderstorms when I was younger. I mean, run to my Mom and cry scared. Just the forecast of severe storms would make me super anxious*. I think that was probably what got me interested in the weather. Now, I know so much about storms and Tornadoes. Understanding was at least part of the way I was able to over come that fear.

Tonight is dedicated to the Basketball National Championship game and rationalizing why I haven't the readings I need to do for class tomorrow. I feel way too typical.

Tomorrow, expect a post of decent length and slightly less rambling nature. It'll be the return of Gaming Tuesday.

Thanks for reading

-Michael

*The type of anxious that I know experience before a social gathering with unfamiliar people.

Tattoos

I'll share something I've never told anyone before. I really don't like Tattoos. I mean it makes me feel horribly closed-minded. I just don't find them cool, appealing or attractive at all. It's not a moralist thing either*. It's just something about tattoos that I really don't like.

It's not exactly absolute. I can get over little tattoos on a girl's wrist or ankle. Anything bigger than that and I just can't. If I were to use the classic 1-10 scale for attractiveness a large tattoo is probably -1 point in my eyes.

It's weird. I like to consider myself progressive. In this area I feel like such a conservative grandpa though. If someone says out loud that they want a 'tattoo,' I cringe**. I wouldn't ever tell anyone not to do it if that' what they really wanted.

I don't really have any theories on where this distaste for tattoos comes from though. I don't ever remember this idea being put into my head by my parents. I haven't had any terrible experiences with a person that has tattoos.

I don't know. Maybe I'm some sort of naturalist who just thinks human skin is beautiful and shouldn't be messed with. I don't think that's really me though. Skin is nice and all. I mean my bones and organs aren't all exposed and stuff, but sill I think it's probably for the best that we keep most of it covered most of the time.

While were here, I suppose I should touch on piercings as well. I'm fine with most piercings. In fact I find some of them cute(i.e. noise piercings.) Some of the more bizarre do gross me out though. Like the ones that go through the middle of the nose.

Questions for the day: Do you find tattoos attractive/just like them? Are there things you dislike that make you feel closed-minded?

There you have it. Day 3 and you're already getting random ass confessions.

And now I feel terribly judgmental. And on that bombshell...

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*I don't think that's the first time I've used that rationalization on this blog.
**Particularly if it's a girl. I don't like tattoos on guys either, but since I don't find them attractive it brings about indifference.

Boring...

It's been a long time since I've told you anything that's has been going on in my life. The reason for that is pretty simple. There hasn't been anything worthy of note going on in my life. I mean unless you consider playing video games and sometimes doing well at them worthy. Or possible spending way too much time on Tumblr.

Let's go back to the five weeks or so where I thought I had pinkeye in late January/early February. I probably did have pinkeye, but after some reverse diagnosis I'm not sure what to think about that episode. I've never had allergic reactions in my eyes before. Still, my eyes are definitely irritated and red frequently and if it were still an infection I would be a corpse in the ground.

That's pretty much the only story I have from taking off Winter Quarter. The only thing of any note is that I completed my reread of all the Harry Potters. I've started on the Hunger Games, but that may take a while since my hunch is that pretty much all the reading I do for the next eleven weeks will be for school.

Spring Quarter started this week. I'm only going two days a week this quarter, which is the first time I've managed to pull off that feat of scheduling this my first quarter. The three classes I'm taking are Humanities 152- American Civilization since 1877, Sociology 202- Social Problems, and Humanities 245- American Art and Music since 1945.

I still have yet to be able to find the time to leave that doesn't result in my being super early or a little late. I mean just a few minutes difference in departure time can equal a lot of time in traffic. I really would rather not be 45 minutes early to my 8:30 class, but certainly don't want to walk in late either.

My professors this quarter seem to be alright. My American Civ Professor seems like he's going to be a bit anal (retentive.) I don't think it'll be too bad though. My Soc professor is pretty cool. Another redeeming quality for both of them is that they seem to keep the class for most of the scheduled time. That may seem like something that shouldn't be praised, but going to a commuter school where parking is a nightmare(enough so that leaving for a bit is a terrible idea) creates hours to kill where I end up looking like a loser/creeper.

I haven't really had the bat-shit insane, quite stereotypical college professor yet. That brings us to my Humanities 245 professor. He is definitely unique. Starting off, he's going to go backwards on the timeline. Giving us an excersize to draw the person sitting next to us with our left hand without looking. The capper though is showing us video of a photo session that was just a mass of naked people.

I don't mean to imply that I think it's bad. I think I'll enjoy this class if I can avoid failing it. I mean I don't personally have that huge of a beef with most of convention, but I suppose avoiding it at all costs can't be that bad either. I certainly will confess that I've never been so uncomfortable in a college classroom before though.

That's about it. That's 2 for 2 so far this BEDA.

Thanks for reading and please comment(especially if you have post ideas.)

-Michael

Born Elsewhere the Definitive Argument

I had a dream last night that made it so clear to me that the President wasn't really born in this country. It all came together in my head. I know I've been dismissive of this idea in the past. Often claiming the 'birthers' argument is filled with logical fallacies and just plain lunacy.

You see, it's so obvious that Obama was born in Kenya. I can't believe I couldn't see it before. I can't believe I though all the evidence was crazy or just made up. More so, It's so clear that Obama's Mother knew for certain that her son would grow up to be President of the United States though. She faked birth announcements in Hawaii. Then the crazy leftist Hawaiian government went along with the plan. I mean they didn't really make a birth certificate, but claim to have it 'on file' along with everyone's who was born there.

Hawaii shouldn't even be a part of the Union if you ask me. They want to keep their own language and culture. Who do they think they are? Give those volcanic islands back to the savages and just subjugate them.

Then, even if you accept that absurd notion that Obama was born in the U.S., he was obviously naturalized in Indonesia. An American would never spend anytime living in Indonesia unless they absolutely had to, even a child. I mean, what a hell hole!

Finally here is the ultimate proof.







I hope you guys were able to figure this one out, but APRIL FOOLS!

Obama was definitely born in this country and anyone who believes other wise is an idiot or an ideologue exploiting idiots. Also, I'm happy to have Hawaii as part of Union.

So, I'm back from an unannounced and unintended hiatus. Since April begins with the letter A, it also means that it's BEDA.

Thanks for reading.

-Michael

P.S. I'm very sorry to anyone who actually clicked that link.