Word on the Street

The Seven Minute Difference

2010-10-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have to say, whenever I see something that looks like a self-help book, I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to buy the book and get started. But after getting a little ways into "The Seven Minute Difference" by Allyson Lewis, I realized that that was not what the book was at all. This book isn't your typical "Twelve steps to feeling amazing" or anything like that. This book is about what one person found to genuinely help them get motivated and focused. It's not about improving yourself and finding ways to augment what you already do - this book is an effictive tool for making you more efficient. It doesn't give you new ways to radically change your entire lifestyle. What it does give you is the insight you need into your own goals and motivations to get up and get going. Along with the Seven Minute Daily Planner, this book will help you clearly lay out the goals you need to help you get the most out of your abilities and efforts.

Don't get me wrong - this book can't tell you everything you need to know. It is short and sweet, and while it doesn't have enough content to cover your entire financial, personal, and work lives, what the book can do is show you how to organize your daily life and life goals in a quick and easy manner. It's a great starting point for a larger journey - discovering what you need to make yourself successful and happy and figuring out how to prioritize for getting the most out of your days.

I haven't completed the entire planning process, since the book has just been released, but I must say that after reading the book and writing our some of its recommendations, I have found myself with more clear goals for the future and a way in mind to complete those goals. This book will really help to get you motivated and seeing how to maximize your efforts, and I highly recommend it.

Yep: Lost

2010-05-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in about forever. I just felt that I needed to after watching the series finale of LOST. There's a lot of hubbub about the final episode of the hit show, and I thought I would offer my thoughts to the 1 or 2 people who might stumble upon this.

First of all, a lot of people have been griping and moaning about how the final episode did not answer all of their questions. Let me just say this: if that is the case, you have been asking the wrong questions, and weren't really thinking or paying attention during the finale. Sure, it would be great to get a detailed analysis of the island's origin, where the big light came from, who that crazy lady from Juno was, etc. But that isn't what the show was ever supposed to be about. This finale showed that it was about the people, and instead of just the facts and what it all literally means, it was about the people on the island, their journey, and who they became through all of the trials they went through on the island.

I see people saying "Wow, WTC ZOMGOSH Lost just wasted 6 years of my life!" Really? This show provided 6 years of not only quality entertainment, but a truly well done and moving way to connect with more characters than any television show has ever seen. It was a JOY to watch, and even if you don't agree with the perfectly good open-for-interpretation, artisitic, and wonderful ending, get down off your high horse and deal with it. It was incredibly well done, and despite the fact that you think you are entitles to the exact ending that you wanted, the writers intended everything they did from day one and, if you EVER paid attention or watched during the show for the past six years, you would notice all of the ways they set up this ending. It was fantastically done as an entire series, including the finale, whether you liked the ending or not, saying that the entire show was a waste just because your unintelligent questions weren't directly addressed is a ridiculous and pathetic statement that should be kept off of the Internet and out of your conversations.

All that said, I'm not really that angry of a person, and this was more just a rant on my part than anything serious. I enjoyed it a lot, and hope everyone else did, too. Maybe eventually I will post my thoughts on the actual show and what it meant.

Who ya gonna call?

2010-01-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's, etc. Got some news on the video game front, but for the most part I've just been sitting around the house, taking a break from school. The break went by way too quickly, I only have about 3 or 4 days left. Going to enjoy this short half-week to the fullest.

I got some awesome stuff for Christmas, including some excellent clothes and such, movies and TV shows on DVD (hecks yeah for Arrested Development), some computer accessories, and last but certainly not least, Prototype for the PC. Let me tell you, it has an incredible amount of violence and I assume language (I play on mute just in case and because I play in the living room while watching TV), but let me tell you, it is one of the most fun games I have played in a long time. Totally open, all kinds of super fun powers, an almost perfect recreation of NYC, and an interesting story (even without sound). In addition, I picked up Ghost Busters: The Video Game. It is an outstanding addition to the movies, and they really make you feel like you are participating in a Ghost Busters movie, and although it's rather short, it is an amazing recreation that is a lot of fun to experience and well worth the measly 20 bucks. Especially with such unexpectedly good graphics - you can see the acne scar pits in Bill Murray's face! Who wouldn't want to pay 20 bucks for that?!

Also, I saw both Avatar and Invictus. Both movies were outstanding. First, Avatar's CGI and animation were AMAZING. Particularly, the 3d made the really well done imagery stand out, from the people to the amazing luminescent environments and scenery. It did have some obvious underhanded political statements but, coming from James Cameron, it's to be expected. Aside from that, however, it was a really well done, beautiful, interesting movie that, surprisingly, DID have a real story and interesting commentary on humanity. Invictus, on the other hand, obviously didn't have a lot of CGI, but it did a great job of telling a historical story about South Africa and their Rugby team, and how it helped inspire their country. There were a lot of interesting deep parts, and while I'm not Matt Damon's biggest fan, he and Morgan Freeman did an outstanding job on this movie. I highly recommend both to everyone, GO SEE THEM! I'm hoping to go see Sherlock Holmes soon, and I'll be sure to make a post about it after I do.

Hope everyone has a great rest of their break (if you have on), and good luck with either school or work. This has been a weird post because I feel like I don't have much to say, but I'm bored and felt like making one.

P.S. Iron Man 2 trailer:

We have a title!

2009-10-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

When I started the blog, I was in a serious and, apparently very long, creative slump. A few hours ago, it finally hit me - there are like 100 things to do with "Street." Street talk passed through my head, but I landed on "Word on the Street." YAY for puns!

In other news, midterm exams were HORRIBLE. Don't even ask me.

I don't even KNOW

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to go with the old standby and separate my 100% random thoughts by number. If I switch to letters, though, don't be surprised. I do that a lot.

1. If you are reading this and are my facebook friend, PLEASE be my FarmVille neighbor. I only need ONE DANG MORE to expand my farm. It won't HURT you, you don't even have to LOOK at it, just add it!

2. DTH editor letters. 1st, there was an article about a transgender who had been kicked out of his/her church. Someone commented on it online, which was published in the paper (see 1 post earlier on here). I sent in a letter on that. Here's the news. Yesterday, the transgender in question responded to ME PERSONALLY in the letter to the editor section. From there, 2 other letters were in today, one of which told me I didn't know what a transgender was (?), and one who used Biblical evidence to counter-point the 3 unquestionably shaky points the transgender sent in. I've gotten dozens of emails, facebook messages, etc., so as you can imagine, this has not at all decreased the stress of an already crazy 2 (3?) weeks. I did not at all mean to cause all of this...guess I shook up the hive a little. Go google the Daily Tarheel website to read more on the opinion page.

3. Speaking of crazy weeks, I had a Physics exam today, I have a Calculus 3 exam Thursday, and a Comp Sci one on Monday, not to mention 3 homework assignments and a lab report due this week. I might cry.

D. Left 4 Dead. This game does not cease to amaze me. It actually hasn't been working for the past month or so, so I did a clean wipe and reinstalled it, which apparently fixed the problem. Now, I was browsing through L4dmods.com, and found an AWESOME shredded skin for the Tank (not to mention a mod that turns all of the common infected into Teletubbies - WHEN WE THOUGHT IT COULDN'T GET ANY CREEPIER). Get this game. Just...just do.

5. North Carolina has been disappointing me a little this week. UNC - sad. Panthers - pitiful. We need to step it up. Hopefully crushing Virginia this weekend will raise the morale for the Tarheels.

6. This 2 weeks makes me want to switch to an English and Religious Studies major. These tests are THAT BAD. I'm starting to get sick of math which, on my career path, does not foreshadow a happy 50 years of work coming up. I need something to make me UN-sick of math, 'cause I'm gonna have to use it for a long time to come.

Guess that's all...I'm really just posting because I'm bored and the Calculus teacher is reviewing things I already know right now, and this amount of typing makes people think I'm busy writing a paper (ugh, gotta do that, too). Basically, it's one of those test days where I STILL have homework on the subject I got tested on and a monstrous Calc exam coming up - goodbye to recreational, fun, and social activities for a while.

DTH Letter to the Editor, New Shows

2009-09-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

So, I was recently published in the Daily Tarheel, the UNC Chapel Hill official newspaper. I wrote a letter to the editor, which surprisingly made it through. Here's the article:

http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/bible-lays-out-what-sinful-behavior-and-what-not

This sparked some interesting Facebook, email, and comment conversations, and I would like to take this time to clarify some apparently confusing points:

1) When I mentioned transgenderism being a sin, I obviously don't mean that the Bible says that (the operation apparently was NOT readily available 2,000 years ago). When I discuss this, I obviously don't mean any genetic special cases...I am talking about when a person believes they are homosexual and decides to have their...stuff...switched. This, homosexuality and transgenderism due to it (or just due to being weird) is the sin that both the original article and I are referring to.

2) A lot of people are throwing the word hate around about this. I tried to make this clear in the article, but either I didn't or people can't pick up on this point, so I'll say it how you CAN'T miss it. GOD loves EVERYONE despite their sin, I love EVERYONE despite their sin (sometimes a bit more difficult and difficult to show, however, for me. I ain't perfect ;)). There is absolutely no hate here - as Christians we are called to love EVERYONE and our entire community.

3) Out of this, it is important that we as Christians point out our fellow Christians' sins in a loving way. Someone pulled out the "plank in your own eye" argument, but I believe that that was a bit more specific. Someone struggling with a sin obviously should not give spiritual advice about that sin to other people, otherwise they could cause that brother or sister to stumble. That's what I think that passage means...and I think it is important to note Matthew 18. We are CALLED as Christians and as Christian communities to approach people about their sin and try to help them...if they refuse after everyone has confronted them (the church being the last step), we are to treat them as "pagans and tax collectors (tax collectors being worse then than it is now)." This is what happened that the original article is in response to. The most opposition I have encountered on this article is that people apparently think that we cannot judge others. Obviously, that's true, it goes to God and God alone to judge people's hearts...but we are COMMANDED as Christians to lovingly point out sins to a fellow Christian, and if they do not listen to you, their friends, and their church, they are to be treated in a way that tells them that their sin is wrong. Refusing to acknowledge something as a sin when the church clearly points out Scripture that says it is is when I believe that the church is in the right to kick out that member until they admit - it is a sin, they struggle with it, and need help to confront it. Dismissing it as not a sin and continuing is when the real problem shows up.

There really isn't time in the world to discuss this all the way through, so I'll stop trying now, and if I need to add stuff later, I will.

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On a lighter note, some new shows or new seasons to watch(I am), on Hulu and ready to go:

Community

Glee

Office (continuing)

30 Rock (continuing, coming soon)

Monk (continuing)

Psych (continuing)

White Collar (new, coming soon, looks good)

Lost, Geza Vermes, etc., etc.

2009-09-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm sure all one or two of you aren't too heartbroken.

First things first. I just finished LOST seasons 1-5 on Hulu, and just let me say.

IN. TENSE.

(1 word there. Just...take out the periods)

The last part of that last episode...all I can say is...BOVINA SANCTA. Which is Latin for HOLY COW. Let me take a few sentences here to just rant about how AWESOME this show is.

A) Character development. With flashbacks, flash forwards, and Island happenings, I have to say that this show has accomplished things far beyond anything before it. Never has a show so well made you care about each and every character, and done it with SO MANY. Just...just go watch the show. You'll see what I mean.

B) Realism. While this may seem to contradict my next point, this show could (minus some[SOME] of the sci fi stuff) be entirely real. Each character, their reactions to situations, everything, I can all see happening with real people in real life. All I can say here is, good acting, good writing, good directing, and good camera...ing.

C) Science fiction. A lot of the stuff in this show is RIDICULOUS. What you might think to be a totally down to earth, regular, standard mockumentary actually turned into a, while still realistic to a degree, really fun to watch never-know-what'll-happen-next crazy show. Good times.

4) Suspense. This one is a number, not a letter, just to keep you on your toes. Anyways, as far as suspense, all I can say is go watch seasons 1-5 except for the last one. Stop for a few minutes, take a break, go use the bathroom, then watch that last episode. Even though you JUST WENT, you will STILL POOP YOUR PANTS. Wow.

E) Other stuff. Back to letters here. EVERYTHING ELSE is awesome. Great casting, great location, intense mysteries yet to be solved, all KINDS of crazy stuff. Go watch the show.

-------------

Now on to less serious things. We had a guest professor this week in Early Judaism, one Geza Vermes who happens to be the world leader in dismissing the Bible. This guy was a Jewish Hungarian (?), who converted to Roman Catholicism for a little while before becoming an atheist and attacking Christians everywhere. He hides behind things like saying he is "objective," while any self-honest person who reads his stuff can completely see his intense bias against the Bible. He clearly already made up his mind, and is now stretching as many facts as possible to get "history" to match up to those conclusions. Hopefully, my papers on the subject saying these things won't bring my grade down too much :D. To make matters worse, secular people seem to see him as the next (insert some revolutionary guy here who is actually wrong when people think he's right...Hitler, maybe? Dunno). The point is they really really like him. And his "facts" have the leisure of, apparently, no one checking up on them for him before he writes his books. He uses several of what he calls contradictions in the Bible to try and prove that it is an unreliable source. Each of his contradictions is EXACTLY this: he sees something mentioned in one Gospel, but not mentioned in the other three. This, apparently, makes all of the Gospels wrong, because, hey, an omission of any MINOR detail in one to three of the Gospels means they couldn't POSSIBLY be true! This guy makes me want to go into apologetics for a career, so I can point out that his logic has more holes in it than the plot of Donnie Darko (never actually saw it, but if you get that reference to an obscure online comic, you get 9000+ points [another 50 if you get that one]). I don't want to rant any more, but if you want to talk about it/for me to tell you what on earth I'm talking about, shoot me an email (streetg@email.unc.edu). I'm happy to.

The etc., etc. that you may or may not have noticed in the title was just so the two-topic title would look more...fulfilled. Although I guess I technically filled up the alloted "etc., etc." space explaining my "etc., etc."

Good work self. (That was actually the second etc.)

Lost has been Found!

2009-08-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

So, Hulu just posted the entire first 4 seasons and some of the 5th season of Lost. I gotta tell you, I gave the show a chance a while back, but because I had never seen any of it before, it all made no sense and I quickly gave it up. But I have to tell you, starting from the beginning, the show is honestly great. Now here's what I think of it: as far as special effects, action, and story, it's a lot like a bunch of installments of a made-for-TV sci-fi movie. However, when you get down to the acting and the presentation of the story, and how each character's struggles, past, and personality are shown, this show is top-notch. I highly recommend hitting up Hulu and trying out the first few episodes - I love a good story, one that is new and well-told, and Lost does a great job of that. Get in there now, though, because there are a lot of episodes to watch (90!!!) and who knows how long they'll be up!

G.I. Joe: A Real American Movie

2009-08-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have to say; unlike the rest of the nation, I was thoroughly satisfied with the film. On some levels, as just a standalone film, it wasn't astounding. However, it REALLY fits the American standard for filmmaking, especially in recent years. On this comic book/older TV show remaking kick, America has really lowered it's standards for what makes a good story. While most of the movies do a great job of maintaining the feel and essence of the original, almost every detail of the movie is incorrect. Here are a couple of examples that, in the past, I have gotten very angry about as a purist:

Lord of the Rings - Most people don't realize, but while these were astounding movies, they got almost everything wrong and what they didn't state incorrectly, they left out of the films.

Fantastic Four, esp. Rise of the Silver Surfer - This movie got everything but the Silver Surfer's name wrong. As a huge SS fan and owner of EVERY issue since 1966, this movie made me incredibly angry.

Every remake film of the last 10 years has fit this template to the letter. G.I. Joe is NO exception. Almost every part of the story has changed like CRAZY, especially from the 80's cartoon I used to love watching. However, G.I. Joe is an exception to my anger because, from the original toyline, to the cartoon, to the multiple comic book series, to the original movie, the story has changed so many times, there's really no one official canon. It's really just like adding another continuity to the countless others. Apart from story, details, and the untold left out characters, I LOVED the movie. There was more story than I anticipated, and while it was totally anticipatable, the style of delivery was just like that of the original Joes. While on the subject, the entire film really managed to capture that spirit. Absolutely cheesy and predictable dialouge, unrealistically futuristic weaponry, and the classic good vs. evil was really well done. With some story modifications to fit it more to the original, a lot more of the original characters, and a different mask for Snake Eyes would have made this an almost perfect film as far as being a true G.I. Joe movie. The action was intense and almost completely non-stop, and both the stunts and CGI were absolutely astounding. Don't let others talk it down; this movie is action-packed and ABSOLUTELY worth seeing.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, Monk, Psych

2009-08-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

Just finished the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo. Actually very un-disappointed (I'm...appointed?) with it. They finally DIDN'T go with the dumb Christian Bale voice and got the original voice from the 90's TV show/Justice League/Batman:Vengeance. Joker's voice and everyone's appearances were nice - back to the original, at least somewhat. They did a good job of mixing the original gothic style, the darker themes, and the modern techonology (Batman's armor, etc.) After prices drop, I'll be sure it buy it.

The combat system, while simple, isn't awful and isn't the entire game. Stealth, thinking, and setting up cool traps is actually all part of the game. The demo did end too soon to determine how boss fights are going to be, but other than that, it was fairly comprehensive and very fun :D It's one of those demos I might keep installed a few days. Too bad you don't get to drive the Batmobile in the demo, but that's another thing. Everything in this game, down to the Batarangs, is a cross between the comics from the 80's/90's, when it was really good, the newer movies, and a sleek modern look. The Batmobile is a good example. It isn't a dumb, stupid, idiotic, garbage, stupid TANK (I really dislike that about the new movies), but it is a bit bulkier than the original. At the same time, it keeps the good, nostalgic Batmobile style that I loved. I really recommend visiting the game website and downloading the demo if you have a decent PC.

On another note, new episodes of Monk and Psych tonight! w00000t! They were epic. Psych finally used it's wit to point out the fact that The Mentalist 100% copied it. Good times.

Quite possibly the most epic thing of all time

2009-08-05T21:47:00.001-07:00

I have to say...I've watched this thing a dozen times and it blows me away. Check it out:

The song is Hero by Skillet, one of their 2 recent singles that will also be on their album, releasing August 25th, Awake.

I love this video because I love superhero movies, but even I, the guy who watches movies 1,000 times, can get bored waiting for the action to start. This video takes all that out of it. Granted, it's only 3 minutes, but it's the best action sequences of the best movies about superheroes in the past decade, all put together to one of my favorite songs of all time. The video fits PERFECTLY with the video, e.g. when the Jumper guy is jumping to the staccato notes of the song, near te beginning. It also has a lot of clips from Heroes, which I don't particularly care for, but can certainly stomach for this AMAZING video. You're welcome - now go watch it over and over.

GREEN!!!

2009-08-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of Ted Dekker-associated things for his upcoming book, Green! It's gonna be amazing! CHECK IT OUT!

Arrested Development

2009-08-03T00:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you missed this series when it was on, but I have to say that EVERYONE should watch Arrested Development. The series, while hilarious at the beginning, gets funnier and funnier as the series goes on. It got cut short several times due to mediocre ratings, and only 53 episodes were made. All 53 are now on hulu.com, so go look it up and start watching from the Pilot! It's free and hilarious...I've watched it at least 12 times through this past year. GO GO GO!!!

P.S. Also, they're working on a movie. Get watching now so when it comes out you can be caught up!

Another book, etc. etc.

2009-08-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

I finished Kiss, a Ted Dekker and Erin Healy cowritten book. I have to say, when I heard it was a book with a female as the protagonist, I expected an entirely new kind of story from Dekker. Here's what it really turned out to be:

1) The same suspense that Dekker always delivers. In some ways, it grows better with age and familiarity, which makes you think you know what's coming next, which makes the revelations of the story that much more fun. However, as with anything, it can also get old.

2) The same supernatural-type thriller you expect from Dekker. Almost all of his books seem to have a main character with a strange, unexplained ability. Switching worlds, dying and coming back to life with new memories, writing in books that change reality, curving bullets, hearing thoughts, etc., etc. Dekker uses this a lot, and I really REALLY like it and all it's applications, but throwing some curveballs in concerning the abilities might entertain the reader more and gain some new readership.

3) Unexpected character twists that I've come to expect. Without revealing too much, everyone you think is someone and everyone you think is someone else (I mean good guy, bad guy) switches up several times. By itself, the way Dekker does this is great. But like everything else, I've come to expect it and it's lost its flavor.

The verdict is: the same. This book doesn't present anything new from Dekker. If this was the first book by Ted that I had ever read, it would have blown me away as much as the first few I ever did read. However, after reading about 15 of his books, reading Kiss was, while entertaining and certainly worth it, not quite anything newly bind-blowing from Dekker. I do recommend the book, Dekker fan or not, but don't expect to be blown away if you're a regular reader.

Graphic design/wisdom teeth/Spider-Man

2009-07-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

I've done some more work with graphic design, and I like showing it off and getting positive/negative feedback. Here's some of it (EDIT - It's resizing them for some reason, blogger must have updated it's format or something):

If anything doesn't show up, it's because it was made for a dark, but not black, forum. Anyone wants a forum sig, let me know!

I also have an update on my wisdom teeth. On the third day, the pain is worse than it has been at any point so far, though I suspect it's from sleeping on it or something. I took some pain medication, which helped, but I'm trying to stay away from it as much as possible. So far (except when I was asleep and wasn't in control of it), I've only had half a pain pill per day. I hope to keep this up...but anyways, although the pain has increased, I'm finding it easier to cope. I just took a few minute bike ride, and helped my mom clean some. I feel like, while the pain is getting worse, I'm also recovering. On the plus side of all of it, I'm getting to watch Star Wars and not feel bad for laying around too much :D Good times.

I've also been playing Spider-Man: Web of Shadows while just sitting here. I have to say, it is a HIGHLY underrated game. I've read tons of reviews, and they all say the same thing. They say it's a HORRIBLE game because it's too repetitive. Let me tell you something: this game is anything but repetitive and, even if it were, that one thing does not justify giving it a 5 out of 10 if that's the only flaw you can find. I've been playing this game for 6 months, however, and I just found 3 or 4 combos I didn't even know about. This game has at least a hundred unlockable combos and moves, and even some other moves that are discoverable through experimentation that are already available at the start of the game. There is only one way to find this game repetitive --- to keep pressing the same buttons over and over again. I'll tell you why people who play this game on PC or console get frustrated with repetitiveness: they are used to playing console games, where pressing the same button over and over presents you with something different each time. People get used to dumbed-down gameplay, and frankly become gaming idiots (sorry for harshness). These people, when presented with the slightest amount of actual, legitimate, elegant, well-put-together gameplay, get confused and, as opposed to exploring the complicated intricacies of the game, get frustrated and keep hitting the same buttons, then call it stupid and repetitive when the same thing keeps happening. These people are ruining the industry and giving any game that does not submit to their simple tactics a bad review. This means any well put together game that at all challenges human intellect won't even make it past the roughest development stages, and this all makes me sick, because the quality of all games goes down drastically. People need to wake up and actually TRY the game, and all of it's features, before shooting the game down with baseless accusations founded in their own stupidity. This game is EXCELLENT, and any actual gamer (a rare breed) could see that.

*HINT* - If the majority of the time you spend gaming is on an Xbox 360 or PS3, where the aiming is done for you and the game literally plays itself, and/or your favorite video game is Halo, you are NOT an actual gamer. GET OVER YOURSELF.

Wisdom teeth

2009-07-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

Got my wisdom teeth out today. I didn't remember a thing from when the IV went in until about 4 hours later at home, there isn't any swelling yet, and the pain has been minimal. The only thing is that a couple hours ago, I threw up, but that's because I ate way too much Ice Cream. I expect the swelling will come up in the next day or two, but I think the worst is over and the bleeding is basically 100% stopped. Praise the Lord for a great, smooth procedure!

100 hits!

2009-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

100 hits so far, as of when I posted this, on the blog this month! Definitely a record for all previous months...keep coming, people!

Another sig

2009-07-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

I made another forum sig, this time Kings-themed. If you've seen the show, you'll get it. I made an avatar to go with it:

If anyone has a request for anything, let me know in the comments here, I'll be glad to work on anything, I'm trying to improve.

Kings finale, graphic design

2009-07-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

So first, the Kings season (series?) finale came on tonight. I have to say...I am not at all disappointed (I'm...appointed?) with the series as a whole. With the single exception of Jack's homosexuality, I REALLY liked this series. The relation to the actual story of David is uncanny, with new things thrown in to keep the series interesting for people who have ever read the Bible.

Now, NBC severely disappointed me here. After 2 episodes, they made the decision to only air 2 more, then push the rest of the series, which would be cut in half, from March to mid-Summer. I really, REALLY think that a more sufficient chance was needed to prove itself as a series. NBC (and FOX, as well as other channels, for that matter) has become extremely strict and unrelenting in shutting down series with slightly sub-par ratings. You HAVE to give a series time to catch on! Even in some cases, shows that have huge followings, especially online and DVR, are getting canceled because they're ratings are only DECENT, not GREAT (e.g., Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). If you are reading this and are from a TV studio (yeah right), PLEASE start giving shows time. You're making money either way!

Anyways, the way the story is set up, it doesn't really tell much of David's real story yet. He hasn't yet become king, so most of the material about him in the Bible hasn't even been covered by the series. The finale of this season did a GREAT job of setting up another season, if another will even be considered by NBC. I highly recommend trying to find some episodes online and watch it. I don't normally like dramas at ALL, they're too...dramatic. But I would consider this one exception, as the series has been EXCELLENT.

I've also been working on my graphic arts recently. I've been making forum signatures for the CSS/TF2 clan I'm in, and I have to say I think I'm improving. Here are a few of the sigs to take a look at and give some feedback if you want:

Review of Adam, Epic Win Announcement

2009-07-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

OK, the awesome announcement first. I acheived the Captain status in the Forest Guard! This means I got 15 recruits on my account and 2000 total points. What this entails is, I get my name printed in Ted Dekker's next book, a certifcate of Captainhood, and an advanced copy of Ted Dekker's next book, supposedly Green. Now, I don't know if this is a reader's copy that I don't have to pay for, or if I'll still have to buy it, or how they'll get it to me. But in any case, I will get it before all of you XD. Now, there are still a ton of prizes to be won, so I still need recruits. It only takes a second. All you have to do is go to www.teddekker.com/readgreen/ and use 6647 as the Forest Guard Friend number. You will get an email or two about Ted Dekker's awesome Circle series and the epic conclusion/preclusion to it in Green, his next book.

So also, I read Adam, another one of Ted Dekker's recent books. It follows the story of an FBI investigator and a serial killer he is obsessed with catching, known only as Eve. He claims his victims by exposing them to some sort of virus, what appears to be a mutated form of meningitis. I don't want to ruin anything, but I'll just say the book is, for me, about a 7 out of 10. Most of Dekker's books, I would give a 9 to 10. This book is definitely just as suspenseful, with almost as many twists as some of his other books. The thriller part of the novel is definitely present and as adrenaline-pumped as ever. However, the present themes are not nearly as well delivered as Dekker's other books. Without revealing too much, the book does a little too much to support the stance of the Catholic church and some things that I'm not sure about scripturally (e.g. exorcisms, etc.). The themes about Christ and his power over evil are certainly present, but like I said, could be presented in a much better way. That said, it IS an excellent book and I do recommend it, but I recommend the other books of his that I've read (Black, Red, White, Showdown, Saint, Sinner, Skin, Blink, Obsessed, House, BoneMan's Daughters) first.

In addition, I've started Kiss, and am not sure what to expect. I'll let everyone know.

Forest Guard Again

2009-07-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

OK, so I really REALLY need everyone to read this and PLEASE help me out. ALL that I need is for everyone to go to www.teddekker.com/readgreen and SIGN UP for the updates. You can use an old email account, delete the emails, whatever, but I NEED the points and recruits. At this point, I need 8 more recruits. It will only take a few seconds of your time. In the Forest Guard Number box, type 6647. PLEASE, IF YOU READ THIS, go sign up! It won't hurt, it takes no time at all, and I NEED the signatures :D thanks everyone!

TOM KITTEN

2009-07-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

These past few months of my existence, among other things, have been occupied by a most challenging goal: finding a video that I remembered seeing as a very small child. When I was VERY young, one of my first memories was watching this VHS tape my parents recorded from TV about a cat, and there was somehow butter involved. That is literally ALL I remembered for about 16 years. Finally, one day, as I began to REALLY try and remember this video, the name Tom popped into my head. I thought, hm, Tom Cat. Well, this turned out to be too vague of a Google search to produce any results worth mentioning. Just some Tom and Jerry videos and, of course, actual Tom Cats (and llamas, for some reason? THEY'RE TAKING OVER [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama]!).

Then I remembered, it was a very small cat. So I typed in Tom Kitten. Turns out, it WAS an actual cartoon! However, the specific one I remembered was no where to be found.

Well, I racked my brain again and decided to include the only other detail I remembered: butter. So with the search "Tom Kitten butter" I managed to sift through all of the unrelated sites and find ONE that, in the description, had the words "Tom Kitten...a pat of butter...".

This set off alarms in my head. I remembered those words! A pat of butter! I clicked the link, but nothing showed up, just some german site with a bunch of eBook links (they're still trying with the eBook thing?). So I hit back, and saw the only other words included in the description, which were actually in the URL, I think. "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers" or something to that effect. Off to YouTube I went, and SURE ENOUGH! There was the video, which turned out to actually be sorta disturbing and frightening. I theorize it to be the reason that I grew up with a loathing and passionate dislike of cats (allergies also played a part. I still don't like cats).

(I hate cats.)

But anyways, as I see the video, I get this sort of mystical feel. Like every part of this video has been locked away in my psyche and only the deepest most fathomiest parts of my brain were privy to it, but in those parts it was playing over and over, becoming a part of who I am. As it played, I remembered every little part as clear as day, and knew I was reliving one of the forming parts of my childhood, which, after seeing the video, made me rather sad.

Anyways, I am now FREE of this burden and have seen the video. Anyways, I know you are all (1 whole person who might find this blog) dying to see the video. Abandon all hope, ye who enters here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRDM5xzrbPw&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch%3Frlz%3D1C1GGLS_enUS305US305%26sourceid%3Dchrome%26q%3Dtale%2520of%2520samuel%2520whiskers%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26&feature=player_embedded

The very end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3RLGiohXc&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch%3Frlz%3D1C1GGLS_enUS305US305%26sourceid%3Dchrome%26q%3Dtale%2520of%2520samuel%2520whiskers%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26&feature=player_embedded

If anyone needs me, I'll probably have this on loop for the next few days. That's where I am if I don't pick up the phone :D plus, my sister is borrowing my phone.

Far Cry 2 Retraction

2009-07-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I have a retraction for my quick review of Far Cry 2 a couple of posts back. I said that it was one big open game. Well, I was under that impression simply because I failed to explore the whole thing. I ended up finding an entire other area, and there very well may be more. It was just so vast, I thought it was the one area. Sorry everyone, and again, as I've played this game even more, I highly HIGHLY recommend it.

Forest Guard

2009-07-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I joined the Forest Guard, a group of people who spread the word about Ted Dekker's upcoming novel, Green, the conclusion (beginning?) of the Circle and Books of History. The site gives you reward points for spreading the word about the book and getting others to join. I'm actually getting points for posting here :D

Anyways, I need those points for the reward so, even if you aren't interested in the books (you should be), it would be awesome if you could go sign up for me and delete the emails if you want. Go to http://www.teddekker.com/readgreen/ and when you sign in, type 6647 in the Forest Guard number box. Thanks everyone!

Transformers: Overratedness in Disguise

2009-07-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen(Shia LaBouef, Megan Fox) today. I have to say, it was a great movie, albiet overrated. Reviews and other people have been telling me how amazing it is, but in all honesty it was all about the special effects. The story, while tied into the original shows, was a little shaky. It was, at best, little more than an excuse for the movie's countless fight scenes. Don't get me wrong: the fight scenes were GREAT. But throwing in some thoughtfulness every now and then, despite what everyone in Hollywood seems to think, WON'T hurt the movie! Anyways, as far as special effects goes, it's really the same as the first movie. Granted, they threw in several more Transformers and a few new features to what the Transformers can do, but that doesn't justify the mindless story and, frankly, mediocre acting.

[Let it be stated for the record that, at this point, my dad came in and needed some help with something, and I totally lost my train of thought.]

So yeah, all in all, some great fight scenes and special effects but, in my opinion, don't expect it to leave your mind reeling. It's pleasing and satisfying as an action movie and a GREAT deal of fun to watch, definitely worth seeing, but not quite a mind-blower. I enjoyed it and recommend it, it has some great parts, but IMO, it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Conventional RPG vs. Far Cry 2

2009-07-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've played a lot of RPG's in my day. While most are MMO's or the like, I've still had a lot of "nonline" role-playing experience. Well, I just picked up Far Cry 2 (thanks to my sister for the b-day gift card I used to buy it) on Steam for $20. I didn't know what to expect, but I heard it was good, so I took a leap of faith. I have to tell you, I am VERY satisfied with the buy.Unlike most FPS RPG's (e.g., S.T.A.L.K.E.R.), the shooting system actually works quite well. It requires skill like a normal FPS that is all about the shooting, so none of the PC actual shooting is lost despite the fact that it's an RPG. I've played too many console-t0-PC ports where shooting in the general vicinity of the enemy causes him to fall over dead or stumble because of how much the shot hurt, despite the fact you shot the ground beside him. Like I said, a decent-to-good aiming and shooting system. While on the subject, the system for buying weapons is great. You can find diamonds, the only real currency in the area, in hidden areas, as well as rewards for certain missions. With these you can purchase weapons, but only after you unlock them by doing some favors for the weapons dealer (mostly taking out illegal competition). These missions, also, are unconventional to most RPG's of the type. While most games have a few rather large areas with loading screens inbetween, FC2 is one totally open, no-loading screen game. You can go find missions whenever you want, you are never obligated to do anything when you don't want to. Just go exploring, look for diamonds, anything you want. This kind of freedom lets you really feel like part of the game. At the same time, there are safehouses all over the play area. These safehouses are controlled by enemy troops until you take them out and secure it. At this time, you can store weapons there (after buying crates), sleep there until a specific time (you set the alarm), park your car there, etc. This game really is about freedom and accomplishing missions however you want. Whether you prefer stealth or brute force, this is a game for you. All kinds of weapons eventually become available. You really have all kinds of freedom in this game. Just recently, to find a back door into a mission, drove south of the main area in a desert landscape. After driving for a while, my vision started to blur. I fell right out of the car, rolled into the dirt, gasping. It was clear my character was dehydrated, and he blacked out. When I woke back up, I broke into the fastest run possible for a wetter area. I had no idea the kind of realism and freedom I was in store for when I bought this game, but I am THOUROUGHLY satisfied. 4.8 out of 5 stars. If you can run it, GET THIS GAME. Only $20!

Finished another book, somewhat disappointed. Video games, too :D

2009-07-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I finished BoneMan's Daughters in about 36 hours after picking it up from the library. I have to say, it was really good as far as suspense and mystery, as well as story and message. However, one big disappointment for me was the language. Dekker was trying to broaden his audience with this book from just the "Christian" fan base. The book included one word that is widely considered to be a cuss word (a-word, like a butt), and several other words that are considered "bad," but not neseccarily uncommon in society and are not hard to read right over and ignore. However, for me, Dekker's books have been a great way to get away from hearing all that garbage out of everyone I speak to, and enjoy quality entertainment that's clean at the same time. It's hard to come across these days. And I understand that Dekker is trying to be more realistic and broaden the scope of his target audience, but I've heard that a thousand times, and it's one of the most common justifications for sin I've heard. Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

I think this needs addressing. While obviously, Dekker wrote the book and didn't speak it, it's the same principle. We are not to use language we KNOW the be offensive or wrong. It is important to know that we are set apart as Christians not in who listens to us or who we talk to (or who we want to read our books), but in what we say, what we do, and how we can affect others in a positive way for Christ. This is something that everyone needs to work on, and will never get perfect, but in such an avoidable way as a revised edition of a book by a Christian author, it seems somewhat less justifiable. I plan on writing a letter to Mr. Dekker (although I'm sure he gets enough) and explaining my view on this to him.

Other than that 1 word, though, EXCELLENT book that is a great choice if you can stomach some graphic imagery (breaking bones and such) and enjoy a good suspense story. Check it out if you're interested.

I also reinstalled Guild Wars, and after playing a bit, realized that I missed it a lot. It's gotten cheaper and there are no monthly fees, so pick it up if you like MMO's and think WoW is dumb (:D). You can get it through Walmart or just as free through Steam (www.steampowered.com).

Xion

2009-07-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Just recently found this:

http://xion.r2.com.au/

It's an AWESOME audio player with tons of custom, free skins. It's really fun to find new skins and mess with the settings to get a really cool-looking audio player. Once you install, you can put the custom skins in Program Files/r2 Studios/Xion/Interfaces. I'm going to go ahead and recommend looking for the Alexis and AudioInjected skins. REALLY cool.

In other music-related news, the release of Skillet's Awake is getting closer. If you haven't already, PRE-ORDER IT. It comes with a membership in the fan club, the CD, and a FREE copy of their new single, "Hero." You are going to want to hear this song, it's EXCELLENT. It's only $10, and the CD will come to you before or on the release date (on the release date if the system was perfect :P). You can pre-order here: http://www.skillet.com/

I haven't picked up Adventures in Eville by Eleventyseven yet, but I really want to soon. Birthday coming up! *Hint*

I also bought Saint and Sinner by Ted Dekker, two of the few I haven't read yet. I read Saint pretty quickly and LOVED it. I can't wait to read Sinner, but the library got a copy of BoneMan's Daughters back before expected, so I'm taking a quick mid-series break to read this new standalone book (not in the Books of History Chronicles), which is supposed to be really gritty. Not to that part yet, I guess :/

Leightur (say it out loud).

Challenge

2009-07-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, recently I've been working on how to do some more special stuff with GIMP and special effects in photos. I've decided to get to work on something that will really challenge me. I want to do something really awesome for the 2010 Gathering, a 1-day convention hosted by Ted Dekker, all about his books. It's all based on the content of his Circle trilogy and related books. I'm not gonna be too specific yet, until I get started working and can figure out if my idea will work, but I am looking forward to working on this and challenging myself to create something awesome. I'll keep the blog and the like 1 person who reads it up to date.

Sister, nephew in for visit :D Happy 4th

2009-07-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

So this past Sunday, my sister Bree and my nephew Lincoln flew in for a month-ish long visit. Lincoln has been enjoying his stay (for the most part, gets cranky sometimes after Mama leaves). He's only 2, but has been taking being away from home well. It's been GREAT getting to catch up with Bree and spend time with her...she's a blast, and we haven't got to spend this much time together for quite a while. My sister Haven and her husband Jon also came for a visit this weekend and we had a great time having the whole fam together.

Lincoln got to play with some puppies and even hold one, he cracks me up sometimes. Here's a few pics:

Looking forward to the rest of the month! Happy 4th everyone!

Updated wallpaper

2009-06-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

I fixed up that wallpaper. It's less blurry in the middle, and the logo is raised up so the taskbar doesn't cover it up. Enjoy!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk265/cc3nails4you/skilletselfmade-1.jpg

Skillet Wallpaper

2009-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

I made this...cause I felt like it.

Enjoy this Skillet wallpaper I made!

You can get it here: http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk265/cc3nails4you/skilletselfmade.jpg

It's 16:10 type resolution...it was made for 1680 x 1050, but in order to get higher quality I made it at twice that resolution (center image was small so it turned out fuzzy, but I think it's a nice touch :P

Mostly video games

2009-06-12T12:07:00.001-07:00

Since my last update, it's pretty much just been summer stuff. Washing the house, scraping off old paint, getting the house ready to paint. I have been playing some video games, though. I bought Splinter Cell: Double Agent for PC, and was quite surprised. I played it on Xbox a while back, but it's totally different. I honestly can't choose which I liked more...the Xbox 180 version had all the same old interaction methods and features as the classic games. This PC version was on a whole new Next-gen engine, but honestly looked about the same as far as detail. There were a few cool new moves and such, and the undercover system was a lot better (it was more realistic as far as being in the JBA base). The story, though, I have to say, is a toss-up. The x-version had a lot of cool plot points, and the final battle on the roof with Emile was excellent. On the PC version (same as Xbox 360 and PS3), everything seemed a bit...futuristic. We've caught up with the games, which did take place in the future, until this game, which took place in 2008. Everything is a little too technologically sophisticated, especially with the super-secret hardly-funded terrorist group. Don't get me wrong, the story was decent and all, but I would honestly have to say, if you had to choose one, get the original Xbox version if you can.

I've also picked up an old favorite, Battlefield 2, again. I haven't played in a while, I guess I got burnt out on it all those months ago. But I found a new command line to make it fit my widescreen resolution, so instead of blurry, it's all pretty now. I thought it was just a poor-graphics game, but turns out it just doesn't have native widescreen capability (or Vista capability for that matter, solved with a simple compatability property). It's really fun seeing some old people I used to play with and getting back into the ORIGINAL modern warfare game, which I highly recommend against the ripoff COD4 which basically stole the whole idea and claimed no one had had it before. Seems like a lot of game companies are doing this nowadays. I watched a lot of E3 this year, and every company said, "With this breakthrough game, we're implementing [insert feature here], which is brand new to the gaming industry and has never been seen before." And I'm like, "I got 2 different games for FREE through Steam that implement that EXACT same thing, and did it a lot better than your little demo on the screen there is showing us now." Freedom of speech, I guess. Still annoying.

I am looking forward to a few games, though. Splinter Cell: Conviction looks VERY promising and, from what I've seen, fairly brutal. It'll be good to see how they finish up this awesome franchise. Also, Assassin's Creed 2 has got me PSYCHED. The gameplay demo and cinematic trailer show a LOT of cool features coming up in this sequel. Only problem I can see is that we have a French main character. This is not at all promising. I feel like I will have an instinct to surrender at the first sign of any opponent.

While on the topic, Left 4 Dead 2 is set for release in November, just a year after the first one. Now, I LOVE L4D. It's astounding. But I feel like a sequel isn't quite justified. An expansion pack? Yes. Just a lot of new added content? YES. They're still working on new L4D content, why not just throw those maps, melee weapons, and new models in there with it? I hear they also amped up the Director's AI...why not just put that in the 1st game? I feel like an expansion pack is the most they can do without being ridiculous. I may not even buy it until it's been out for a LONG time, simply because the 1st game hasn't lost any of it's flavor 6 months into my playing it. Normally, I get bored with a game after a few months and either quit playing or uninstall to make HD space. But with L4D, I'm still playing as much as I used to. I have mixed feelings about this sequel. But that frying pan sure is tempting...and that logo is cool...:D

Later

Homestar Runner

2009-04-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many people know about/still visit this website. It's www.homestarrunner.com, and it is one of the best things of all time. I started visiting this website daily in about 6th grade, and still watch it constantly. It's a collection of Flash videos made by 2 guys who now use the website as their source of income through merchandising and sales that focus on the cartoon-type adventures of characters living in Free Country, USA. If you haven't ever seen it (or if you have) go to the main site and click "First time here." After that, I suggest watching the character videos, then moving on to some of the earliest toons and Strong Bad emails. With so many recurring jokes and gags, and an update (almost) weekly, the site has remained hilarious for 12 years. SERIOUSLY, watch everything on this website. Use the Summer for that or something. Also, the Homestar Runner wiki is very useful for understanding inside jokes and learning more about the emails.

Homestar Runner

Homestar Runner Wiki

Those aweome pictures.

2009-04-28T16:30:00.001-07:00

So you know those awesome pictures down there? You want one, just post a comment on the site or something with a link to a picture (use photobucket.com) and what color/effect you want. It doesn't take long and it's fun :D

Still bored

2009-04-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Studying for exams has been killing me. I needed to do something slightly fun instead :/

So I decided reveal the fact that I am secretly Frieza. The third form. You know, the one that DIDN'T look stupid. That's mah death ball attack or whatever.

REALLY bored.

Bored

2009-04-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

Yep...bored.

gotquestions.org

2009-04-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

I want to use this post to recommend that EVERYONE reading it visit www.gotquestions.org. This website is astounding. You can look up any topic imaginable and get a great Christian viewpoint on it. Don't take everything they say as true, though. It is based on specific interpretations of Scripture that you may not necessarily agree with entirely. Rather, read the actual verses that the website uses to support what they are saying. You can read and interpret how you wish, and get some help from the gotquestions.org website. This is only a quick post, but I highly encourage you to look up anything that is convicting you or that you have questions on to see what the Bible has to say.

Current MMO

2009-04-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've always enjoyed MMO's (less than FPS's and some others) to a certain degree, but not really a whole lot. I played Star Wars Galaxies, Lineage 2, and Guild Wars for quite some time, but getting into them, especially after completing the main stories, was always difficult. Recently, however, I've started playing Perfect World International with some friends. This game is completely free, no monthly fees, and is excellent. With some good friends, this game becomes extremely fun, and has a lot of fun features. At some point, I'll go into more detail, but I'll leave this post with a link to the main site and download site.

http://pwi.perfectworld.com/

http://www.perfectworld.com/download

Old/New Earth?

2009-04-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot lately about the age of the Earth. People say that based on geological evidence (which, funnily, I have never actually SEEN, just heard about), the Earth is 4.6 billion years old or something like that. Then people say that based on Biblical genealogy and the 7-day-creation (may or may not be literal 24-hour periods), the Bible says the Earth can only be 6,000 years old. Thus science is wrong or the Bible is wrong.

I think this is a ridiculuous way of thinking. Think about God for a minute. Does he have to operate within our time? Absolutely not. The definition of omnipresent is "present in all places at all times." So, did God HAVE to create our little corner of the Universe at the same time? If God wanted, could he not choose a specific point in time, and create everything outwards from there? I want to communicate this idea well, which is difficult to do. What I mean is, God could very easily have created everything, and given it a history afterwards, or simply started at the creation of man and created everything in a way that we would comprehend as forwards and backwards in time.

Arguing science against God would require an understanding of both. Modern scientists today (with exceptions) have almost NO understanding of God (who does) and, from what I've seen, little understanding of science. 500 years ago, science said the Earth was flat. Now, all of a sudden, everything scientists measure and say must be accurate. People are accepting science purely on faith. How many people go out and test for themselves what scientists are saying? These same people claim accepting Christ on faith is too big to do without SCIENTIFIC proof. I think everyone needs to start thinking about what they are saying and know what they are talking about before making claims of universal truths. Consider all the possibilites. This is all just a possibility, and something I've been thinking about.