15) Apocalypse How?

Let's face the facts. America is not in a good shape right now. You don't read the front page of the newspaper or watch the local news without seeing some disturbing, convoluted, or depressing image.

And yet here we are, nearing the most holy of days, and the general aura around me seems to be getting sadder and sadder. There is an unspoken, unrealized trend of depression going on, seeping into the very fabric of our lives, dragging us down into the depths of our own private hells.

But who's to blame? You can't really be optimistic when you see the long list of things this current society gets to complain about. There's global warming, the war in the middle east, the destroyed housing market, the collapsed economy, the rising unemployment rate, etc. The list goes on.

I try to remember the happier days, when others around me weren't so grouchy and pessimistic about everything. You could sense the shift from the happier times to the current hell. You might not have seen it, but I did, in very subtle and nearly unnoticeable ways.

Take the slackers for example. There are always a group of people in school that don't do the work, joke around, disrupt class, etc. I always used to think that they really didn't care about their future. But now, I start to question whether they are subconsciously smart enough just not to care anymore. What good does an education do you when the world is ending? Why not laugh it up while you still can? Isn't the guy with no brains and a stable low-paying job worth more nowadays?

I don't really know. All I can know is how to pull through. But if I survive long enough to see the next generation suffer, I can tell them what an idol of mine once said:

If you're going through hell, keep going.

- Winston Churchill

14) Ego Stroke.

It was all started in 1899 by Rudyard Kipling. "The White Man's Burden" unleashed a hell of what is today, arguably, a policy of global intervention and imperialism. Granted, the poem can be interpreted many different ways, but the main message persists: It is the white man's way to try and help the other, lower, inferior races.

It all started the spiral of Eurocentric racism, and more importantly, it is still a vital part of many countries today. However, I bring this up to remind you of the repercussions.

Racism is what is too natural in compulsive human behavior. Nobody can be blamed for prejudiced behaviors and opinions because they cannot be easily controlled. There is still no effective way, in this day and age, to eliminate racism.

But when it comes to conquering other countries and killing their people to satisfy the "White Man's Burden", how far is too far? Where does the global superpower draw the line between the improvement of other countries and genocide?

Take the Philippine-American War for instance. When the U.S. tried to annex the Philippines, what happened? The country, expectantly, fought back. And then the U.S. government now had an obligation to correct the wrongs of the country and instill "peace". And that's exactly what happened. The Philippines would not become independent until 1946.

And so it continued, and continues to this day. The fact is that Imperialism is just another form of racism, clear and simple. I said you couldn't prevent it. That you couldn't get rid of it. But when people realize it, and do absolutely nothing against it, we have a serious issue on our hands. Forget the moral implications. Isn't it more central to American ideals that all men should be able to live with their creed and beliefs? Without being punished for it? Without being forced to change it?

What gives a country the right to impose on another, when they have been doing perfectly fine by themselves for the past thousand years?

And yet, we see the paradoxes that have occurred. Today, the war in Iraq serves as a prime example of the American ego that has not yet been quelled. Of course the war is justified on some means. But you want to be fair? Put U.S. troops in every single major conflict in the world. Put them in Israel-Palestine, put them in Africa, and then we can talk.

And then I'll be able to look you in the eye and tell you humanity has advanced themselves for the past two millennium. That they've risen beyond selfish compulsions of resorting to violence.

13) I swear I wasn't high. Well, maybe a little.

When it comes to creating art, most tend to come up with something that hasn't done before. The premise is that you really want to avoid being called a plagiarizer.

Video games are no exception. I'm referring to the unique ones with an interesting premise, or lack thereof. For those who can pull it off, they not only have something terribly unique, but they also have a blockbuster hit on their hands.

It all means that when you sit down and try to ponder where these ideas came from, you might as well draw blanks. Some games really take the phrase "I couldn't make this up if I tried" to a new level. That's how creative you have to be when you want to sell to millions around the world.

But of course, you demand examples (SPOILER ALERTS):

Portal: Imagine yourself trapped in an abandoned testing facility built in 1986. Your only companion is an AI voice named GLaDOS that becomes increasingly homicidal as you progress through test areas of the facility. Also, you solve puzzles using a device that opens and closes instant teleportation portals.

Fallout 3: Taking place in an alternate timeline in which the electronic transistor was never invented, you fight for your life in a post apocalyptic Washington D.C., devastated by nuclear war. The entire setting is locked in a 1950s culture with a Cold War that lasts 332 years. Think of The Jetsons, but with atomic weapons.

Silent Hill (series): Protagonists are drawn into an abandoned town that is home to two alternate dimensions: an empty and deserted town with perhaps ten inhabitants, or a dark and hellish nightmare. All the games are depicted as a protagonist's fight against him/herself. Also, you fight humanoid headless teddy bears with giant claws (I'm not kidding).

Bioshock: An underwater dystopian/anti-utopian city of the 1960s where gene manipulation has caused people to make lighting/fire/water/ice from their hands. As the lower classes suffer, a civil war erupts into pure chaos. The citizens who modify their genes suffer extreme mental and physical degeneration. And they all want to kill you. Here's a speech from the beginning of the game:

I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?

No, says the man in Washington; it belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican; it belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow; it belongs to everyone.

I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose...

Rapture.

— Andrew Ryan

That's my speech when I create a game that involves hyper ninja green space zombies of doom that fight humanity along with a religious alien empire hell bent on human extinction.

Wait, that's the Halo series.

Damn.

12) Artificial "Intelligence"

There used to be a segment on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, called Jaywalking, in which Leno would walk around L.A., interviewing people and asking them basic questions anyone should know the answer to. The humor came from the fact that 20 and 30 year-olds could not tell the audience how many stars were on the American flag, state the first amendment, or who invented the telephone. Of course I understand it's humor, and not a good representation of the average American. But this introduced something else in my mind.

After reading and gutting The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or Don't trust Anyone Under 30) by Mark Bauerlein, I have come to the decision that the title is exactly what it suggests: the newer generation is stupider than the previous. And there is little we can do about it.

Granted, this most likely makes the publishing of the book completely pointless (Which makes him the ultimate idiot), but I understand what he is so paranoid about.

This is the basic premise: the technology age has provided enough opportunities for students to devote themselves to everything else than what matters: an interest in learning.

No student reads Machiavelli's The Prince even though its online. They skim it. And they sure as hell do not read it for leisure.

Let me level with you. As a student, I disagree with Bauerlin because I don't see the advantage of going to school past the 8th grade. I don't understand why I'm going to learn so many things I will never use in my lifetime. The plot of The Cather In The Rye does not help you do the taxes. It doesn't help you get a job. It doesn't pop back up when you are 35 and are working in a cubicle, where reciting its plot details gets you a promotion.

When you hand in your resume, they will ask you whether or not you know how to use Microsoft Word. Not whether you know the British commander at the Battle of Yorktown.

I'm not saying this is to apply in all situations. I'm saying that students learn things they have no interest in learning, and will do nothing for them should the distinct opportunity arise. They simply go online and do a simple copy and paste for assignments in school. They skim passages like you are doing now. Nobody learns anything permanent when they pick up the backpack and leave the door.

Of course I know why. It's much more important to be accepted by your friends when you know more about an American Idol judge rather than a Supreme Court judge. It's more important to update your Facebook page than to read the news. That's just where society has gone.

Is it a bad thing? That's not really for me to decide.

All I really know is that the British commander at Yorktown was George Cornwallis.

11) Neon Lights Far Too Bright.

Few people know I was born in Hong Kong, and even fewer know I went there this past summer. As such, its time for me to 'reminisce' about the good times I had before I truly embark into the "Year of Hell" (Otherwise known as school).

I'm writing this down because I'm bored, and also because I hope to find a bit of myself by sharing my experience. I hope you get something out of this. Anything.

Most people have never visited Hong Kong. The lesser known cousin of the bright lights New York, most Americans will never go there in their lifetime. I urge you to go if you have the chance, not only as a vacation destination, but to understand a bit about yourself by contrasting culture.

I say this because I was not born in the good old United States. Most people who are natural born citizens, as I see it, always take it for granted. Maybe it's the fact that they don't have a moral obligation to think otherwise, but I still hear and feel the culture that clashes with what little I grew up with.

I just couldn't seem to understand why everyone was so used to saying "we" when they referred to the United States instead of the words "the U.S." You don't say that the U.S. is going through tough times. You say WE are going through tough times.

I came to this realization while walking down main street Hong Kong, 11pm, while the city was still in full swing. Then I realized something else:

I am not American.

As much as I might try, I will never truly understand what it means to be born here and to die here. I can come close, but I can never know and appreciate what everyone else values and respects.

Don't get me wrong, I know this works both ways. But it's still another case of unknown identity. I can wear the clothes, speak the language, and blend in, but I will never FEEL like I'm part of the group. I will always have an excuse to say that I'm not like the others.

I'll try and get over this someday, but maybe that's part of what being American is all about: Having the opportunity to be yourself without punishment of any kind.

Well, almost any kind.

Interlude: Mirror, Mirror...

I often reflect on my origins and my past for future steps. We all do. When I try to think about why I do the things I do, I draw blanks.

What is my purpose? My destiny?

That's another philosophical question for another sunny day. For today, I had to look at the past posts on this blog and decide whether I've stuck with my original purpose and goals.

What goals? What purpose? I created the blog because it was a mandatory assignment. My original statement of purpose? I pulled that out of my ass because it was an assignment I had to do.

I said I would try to make the world a better place by provoking thought. I might have succeeded in making the few who read my blog think, but I've really achieved what I was looking for: Reflection.

School isn't easy. It is very tiring and boring for me. This blog is just tacking on to the list of "Reasons to live". Reasons to get up in the morning.

When it's all done and over, I think I could look back on this blog and see what I've accomplished. It'll bring a small smile to my face knowing I've done what little I could online in the grand scheme of things.

So that's my new goal. To keep publishing new posts on my blog. Surviving. Being proud of something at the end of the day. Just for the hell of it.

So I will remember what something someone close to my once said: "Life is the uphill battle you fight. When you get to the top, your ultimate reward is peace - Death. The part you need to look for is getting up the hill under enemy fire. And planting your flag on the top."

So I will keep fighting that war. That struggle to get to the top of the hill. This blog will be another rest stop for me.

I can put my weapon to the side and just sit down for a while. That sounds about right.

10) Flora and Aura

In trying to develop a case of how some video games can become popular over others, I have come across an example of a game that is an exception to the trends in the current electronic market. This missing piece, surprisingly, is what makes this game a unique masterpiece.

The missing piece I'm referring to is a story. Although there is little explanation for the setting of this game, it is open to whatever interpretation you want to slap on it.

I am talking about NEOTOKYO(http://www.neotokyohq.com/index.html). A Half-Life 2 modification with more than 4 years of development put into it. It tells the story of a future dystopian Tokyo, in which a shadow war is being fought in the back alleys of the capital of Japan. It depicts a conflict between the future Japanese GSDF against the NSF, a special counter-terrorism unit under the command of the prime minister.

So we have a setting. What we do not have is a centralized plot to what we are playing. And that's just it. We don't need a story. This future Japan we are playing in is filled with a unique visual style that encompasses everything, from billboards to cars.

I draw attention to this because I have decided to document some of the real life aspects that have been put into this game. The images seen that make you believe you are actually THERE. I'm referring to some of the advertisements. I've added their real life counterparts into the following images for comparison purposes:

(I'm guessing this last one was in the interest of not getting sued.)

My point is that some games can be better than others, even if they are missing an element of what would easily define them as a 'video game'. However, the developers of such a game must execute this style correctly and carefully.

If you have Steam, and a copy of Half-Life 2, I urge you to check this out. If not for the gameplay or graphics, then for the visual style not seen in recent years.

http://www.neotokyohq.com/index.html

9) The Wonders of Democracy.

With the United States in economic turmoil, everyone I know likes to question how we got here. They trace their steps back to when George Bush was first elected for president.

We can remember how close the 2000 and 2004 elections were. I personally remember the 2000 presidential election quite well. I was eating dinner with my family when the results were coming on. I saw how FOX news was reporting Bush the winner. When my parents changed the channel and I saw differing election results, my cousin audibly yelled: "What the ****?"

Watching episodes of The Young Turks (http://www.theyoungturks.com) brought me to thinking about how close that election was. How It MIGHT have gone the other way. So comes the controversy that gave me a blast from the past.

It was when I saw the video regarding FOX news's battle with the White House did I realize how big an issue this is. What a lot of people do not realize.

The news is important. You tune in every day or so to check the weather and the new developments around your community. But did you ever stop to wonder how much of it you actually believe? How much of it is true? Whether or not you question the validity of what you are hearing?

Cenk Uygur, Youtube spokesman for The Young Turks, was talking about the 2000 election between Gore and Bush. Because Bush's cousin told FOX news that Bush had won, FOX was the first network to publish results. This started a domino effect with the other networks. Nobody bothered to sit and wait for it to be completely over and official. They just cared about being the first to report it. They rest as they say, is history.

I'm not going to speculate on the what ifs this brings up. I accept the fact that George Bush became president. And as much as I disapproved with his polices and actions, I have no doubt that he and his administration had the best intentions.

What really scares me is the fact that a news network MIGHT have completely influenced the election of a president. How could such a thing happen?

Then again I might be paranoid. I'm pretty sure that I will never know most things about the U.S. government. The administration might be controlling the media, or the media might be controlling the government.

Either way, I honestly think there is something really wrong with the system.

8) I'm playing the movie. Literally.

Are video games a good narrative for telling a story? Most would tell you that it depends on the game. It would also depend on the characters, the plot, the action, etc. Well doesn't that sound like a movie you and your friends would see? Or how about a good book you would read?

Those who have played video games in the past year will know of the popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. As of May 2009, it has sold over 13 million copies. That's more than Halo 3.

So what makes this game so popular? Some would argue that the graphics, physics of the game engine, or the franchise's fame is what makes CoD4 the best of the best.

Want to know what I enjoyed most about the game? Why I kept replaying it?

As odd as it may sound, the story is what makes this game strong. CoD4 is one of the very few games that immerses you in the story. This happens thorough multiple perspectives in different levels. I'll try to explain what I mean to the best of my ability (SPOILER ALERT!):

The game starts you off as a member of the SAS on a routine Hollywood movie mission. As you get a feel for the controls, you infiltrate a tanker in the Bering Sea. You don't know what you're looking for until your teammate opens a cargo container. With radiation symbols all over it. Then the tanker gets attacked by MiGs. So starts your one minute dash to fumble with the newly learned controls to retrace your path (provided you can remember) off the ship before it sinks. Even as you watch the tanker go down from your helicopter, you feel relieved. Why? The character you're playing is a newbie on the team.

Your perspective switches to President Al-Fulani of an unnamed middle eastern country. You watch from his eyes as you are executed during a coup.

You then play as Sgt. Paul Jackson during an American invasion. You pursue Al-Asad, the coup leader, in his city. Just as you get whisked away on your helicopter, a nuclear weapon goes off, blacking you out. Even as you play through his last moments, you see and feel his pain as you arch up to look at the mushroom cloud before you die.

You explore the past history of your squad leader, Cpt. Price, as you control him in a flashback. A flashback that takes place in Prypiat, Ukraine, near the Chernobyl disaster site.

As you pursue Imran Zakhaev, the main antagonist, you fight into his missile base in the Russian Mountains. As you are about to open the gate, you see two missiles leaving the silos. As the game loads, you see the casualty projections: 43 million on the East Coast of the U.S. It's no longer business. You feel the character's anger. It becomes personal.

And even as you and your team are incapacitated in the final seconds of the game, Zakhaev arrives with his two bodyguards. When an explosion happens nearby, distracting them, you turn to Cpt. Price, clutching his wounds. He is about to die before he takes the pistol off his belt and slides it over to you. You take it, and kill Zakhaev in cold blood during a slo-mo sequence.

My point is that the story is what makes this game exciting and interesting. Executed correctly, any game can immerse you into the plot, and make you associate yourself with the characters. If you think that story was interesting, check out the trailer for the sequel, Modern Warfare 2, slated for release in Nov. 10, 2009. The trailer by itself is another story begging to be told:

I'm going to play CoD4 again. See you in awhile.

Quote of the Day - Tatum Article

"(10.) Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Cultural racism—the cultural images and messages that affirm the assumed superiority of Whites and the assumed inferiority of people of color—is like smog in the air. Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent,[9] but always, day in and day out, we are breathing it in. None of us would introduce ourselves as “smog-breathers” (and most of us don’t want to be described as prejudiced), but if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing the air? If we live in an environment in which we are bombarded with stereotypical images in the media, are frequently exposed to the ethnic jokes of friends and family members, and are rarely informed of the accomplishments of oppressed groups, we will develop the negative ideas about those groups that form the basis of prejudice. […]"

I think that this is the most important paragraph in the article because it actively defines what prejudice is. It also provides a good analogy to help us better understand the concept. I drew attention to the smog analogy because it is the one thing all different cultures and races can understand. The author claims we always breath in the smog, and it surrounds us all the time. I also underlined the last line of the paragraph, because I think it is true that we are bombarded with negative stereotypes rather than the achievements of these groups. Unless we can focus on "breaking the cycle", we can never get rid of racism.

7) Reimagining the Jetsons.

I want you to imagine a 1950's suburbia, with a hardworking successful businessman coming back home after a long day at work. There to great him is the subservient wife, the respectful children, and the family dog. They sit down for a family dinner, all sporting smiles on their faces. As the camera zooms out, we see that this household mirrors all the others in the community, all lined up in good little rows.

This image I describe is no longer the norm that is either appeasing, attractive, or politically correct. With the onset of advances in humanity, we can never revert back to those days. I want to tell you about one consequence of such progress.

I draw your attention to this 50's scenario because it was a time before we made the shift of our psychological health reliance to be based on people rather than technology.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Look around you. You either have a cellphone in your pocket, credit cards in your wallet, and most importantly, you are reading this on a piece of technology.

These things we have come to rely on has not only made our lives easier, it has made it a bit harder. We can no longer talk to people face to face, or have conversations that don't get interrupted by a sports game on TV, or have to step outside for a cellphone call.

This has led us down a dangerous road of extremely easy technological isolation. We have come to trust strangers halfway across the world on the internet rather than trust the people who live with you.

The consequences? Rising teen suicide rates, higher rates of stalking, more people in the prisons.

You think I'm exaggerating? Try not using a single technological device for one week. I dare you.

6) When Guevara met McCarthy.

Anyone who has ever used the internet in the past few months will know what I am talking about when I speak of online advertising.

It comes up in many forms, including, but not limited to; popups, web banners, spam e-mail, etc. Most of the time it is just plain annoying. It is so common that you no longer recognize the main ones, especially if you see them over and over again on a website you visit often. Accidentally hover your mouse over one? Yeah I want to start shooting the computer too.

This brings me to my conceptual metaphor of "Capitalist Fascism". The main and chosen few who control all the wealth decide to form a party to oppress the people. They bombard them with propaganda, and other acts to prove their loyalty to the people and to demand the same in return. They control the one thing that can be used to manipulate people: Money.

The propaganda I use in this example is the online advertising. It is the rich CEOs demanding your loyalty and obedience to the their up and high class(or party) of wealthy individuals consumed with utter greed.

Can you blame them? Of course not. As everyone is in pursuit of survival and happiness, wealth just happens to be one of those things to nirvana. Everybody wants it, everybody needs it.

Truth is, in this economy, acts of generosity are extremely rare and valued. And if conditions might allow it, the path we tread may lead to Karl Marx's Communist Revolution. If I had said that forty years ago, I might be dead right about...now.

Then again, what do I know? I'm just another equality loving socialist who believes in an achievable utopia.

I'd like to thank Fate for the First Amendment.

5) Semper Invicta.

Above is a picture of my airsoft gear. I decorate the helmet with what defines me as who I am: around my core beliefs. The holster is what I posses, my morality. The weapon is what I attack with against my life and problems. The goggles remind me of the importance of perspective. The helmet reminds me of infinity and fate in my life.

I believe in the three things that makes us human: Fate, Infinity, and Conviction.

ETKA/Fate - Belief and perception that you shape your destiny and it shall shape you.
AYLOYSTAT/Infinity - There shall be no bound to any established concept of action.
MESION/Conviction - Heed the translation of your power from mental to physical, with full force and devotion to its origin.

When they ask about my religion I tell people I'm agnostic. When I tell them what I believe in, it seems more and more that people either don't care or really think it's stupid. That's just it isn't it? Human nature.

When this happens, I think about what Albert Einstein once said:
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness."

The unspoken truth is that nobody acts on this anymore. No respect or morality that comes with daily life. It is rare. We see racism, intentionally and unintentionally. Since the beginning of time war has been fought over religion. The crusades are more or less a perfect example. Am I saying it is right or wrong? No.

I'm asking how we got here. What happened to the ideals that we were brought up with? Tolerance, Peace, Love? It just seems to disappear overnight when nobody else your age is doing it. Is that the problem? Peer Pressure?

I would never disrespect your creed. Is it wrong to ask you not to disrespect mine?

Interlude: The Least I Could Do.

I apologize. It seemed so damn relevant.

Source: http://www.leasticoulddo.com/

4) morituri te salutamus

We give death a personification, an image, a perception of what to fear as inevitable. It happens every second, but everyone tries to dodge the subject. There is the American society that stays away from death, but at the same time, has a weird and complex obsession for it.

There hasn't been one Hollywood action movie where the protagonist does not have a brush with death, or is involved in the act themselves. Countess fiction and non fiction devote themselves entirely to the subject. You can find it anywhere and everywhere. You just have to look for it.

Episodes of the popular television show Family Guy depict Death as a laid back character who fumbles with his job. In the episode "Death is a Bitch", there is a scene where one of the main characters, Peter has dialogue with Lois, his wife, and Stewie, his infant son:

Peter: Look. Here they are. My family. Guys, I don't say this often enough, but I'm gonna die!
Lois: Oh my god.
Stewie: High five! Anyone? Anyone?

Of course you could argue that this is purely fictional and for laughs, but what I'm trying to emphasize is that death causes a paradoxical response. We can laugh and make jokes from it, then find out that your cat Whiskers died, leaving you in tears. We've come so far in humanity as to render Death a subconsciously strong symbol of something we understand all too well. Just google death and war and you will see dead bodies, weapons, and destruction of past and present wars.

Is it ethically wrong to be so close to it? We could say it causes extreme behavior in people. Then again there are extremes that people go to to depict it (WARNING:GRAPHIC):

Then there is the glorious side of it calling. The ancient samurai practiced a strict code of honor unto death, as do the modern day Klingons of Star Trek. We find this fascinating and might even imagine ourselves in it. When we understand they survived through death, we can imagine ourselves in their position. Here's an excerpt from Eric Nylund's The Fall Of Reach:

"The red war stripes that had been painted on the Iroquois' side looked like bloody slashes. The dockmaster had privately told Commander Keyes that his crew could buff the paint off - or even repaint the stripes, if he wanted.
Commander Keyes politely refused the offer. He wanted them left exactly the way they were. He wanted to be reminded that while everyone had admired what he had done - it had been an act of desperation, not heroism.
He wanted to be reminded of how close a brush he had had with death." (Nylund 157)

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've imagined myself in Captain Keyes's position. I am no exception to the fascination with death rule. I'm not trying to say it's a good or bad thing. I'm just trying to make you think on what I've already said.

And when my desperate hour comes, I will remember what I know by heart: "Be not afraid of the man unwilling to die, but be terrified of the one who is going to sacrifice them-self in a heartbeat."

3) Time Traveling Dust Bunnies of Doom.

Although I would like to travel through time, the theories of what could or could not happen when you return are endless. Time paradoxes here and there shouldn't do much. Right?

The concept of time travel is not new. Theorists have played with the concept for centuries, but none have ever truly been known for actually traveling through time. That's where fiction comes in.

A good TV example I can think of is of the original series of Star Trek, where a few episodes depict Captain Kirk and Spock in an alternate time line. Their persona is different and nothing like the one we know. Ever since, time travel has become regular in the Star Trek universe.

Perhaps the wildest imagination I've seen devoted to alternate history is writer Harry Turtledove, whose works have made me a theorist of the implications of time travel. He has a multitude of series devoted entirely to "what if?" scenarios in which the timeline is dramatically changed because of one factor. I will briefly tell you about one of Turtledove's series: Timeline 191.

Timeline 191 is a fifteen novel series which follows the United States from the Civil War to the end of World War Two. There's only one catch: the southern Confederate States of America (CSA) gains independence at the end of the civil war. This timeline is interesting as it is agonizingly complex; some events are just impossible to imagine as feasible.

To give a quick summary of major deviations: The CSA is never dissolved. Lincoln never signs the Emanipation Proclamation. In WW1, US president Theodore Roosevelt joins the Central Powers against Woodrow Wilson of the CSA. In WW2, Allied powers of the US, Germany, Canada, fight against the Axis powers of the CSA, France, Britain, and Russia. At the series conclusion, the CSA loses and is absorbed into the Union, ending their 83 years of independence. Confused yet?

One last example I'd love to mention is the video game Metal Gear Solid 3, which is a prequel to the entire series. I decided to see what would happen if I killed off one of the vital characters of the series:

Maybe one day I'll create a time machine to change humanity. Or something like that.

2) No I don't have a girlfriend.

With the recent passing event of PAX (Penny Arcade Expo), it seems relevant to talk about the role of video games in our society. PAX is one of the few examples of how gaming has influenced most of our lives. Gamers who follow gaming closely will know what I am talking about when I say things like E3, Sony Entertainment North America, Nintendo, Microsoft, etc.

What few seem to realize is how big gaming is in the general media. It makes its appearances here and there in the form of cameos in movies, tv shows, and, commercials. The recent bloom of Wii related items have spurred the market in telling people exercise in your living room will keep you from being fat. The unknown fact is that so many Wii's are bought everyday, but less than half of them are actually used.

Of course we like video gaming for a reason. It distracts us from the realities of life by replacing it with an alternate one, one where your actions have no moral or physical repercussions. As an avid gamer myself, I can tell you that gaming simply helps me relax in times of great duress. There is something to be said for going home to crawl into your room. Inside said room in the world of video games you can be anyone and anything you want to be.

There are of course, the parents who say that video games are violent, they inspire crimes (mentioned in my previous post), and they are making our new generation conscious soldiers. There have even been political scandals involved (google sex-box scandal).

The future of gaming? These days there are 3D goggles that work with your computer to create a real live world image. Frankly it seems that technology will one day advance to the point of no return, blending video games with reality. When we can't distinguish between the two (for some it has already happened), I'm going to sit back and read a good book.

And if we're living in The Matrix, I'll just keep laughing.

1) Get OFF my lawn!

After reading On Killing by Lt. Col Dave Grossman (required reading for the FBI academy mind you), I seem to have begun thinking about Death and its role in the modern United States society and perhaps the societies of most other countries in the world. In a nutshell, On Killing explains about how the military has indoctrinated soldiers and the current generation of young to become desensitized to death and violence.

The presence of violence in general media is not a new concept. However, it seems the few that do object to this gain absolutely no support from the general public. It has begun to become more widespread and common. The recent cases of video game "inspired" crimes seem to be one of the most memorable examples in the past years.

Back fifty years ago, this was not an issue. However, the origins were apparent. To quote Grossman: "In World War 2, only 15 to 20 of combat infantry were willing to fire their rifles...In Vietnam this figure rose to 90 percent". In a span of just a few decades, what transpired?

I'd like to use the career of Clint Eastwood, one of my favorite actors, as an example. In one of his well known movies The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1967), Eastwood plays "Blondie" (The good), who outguns some bandits to turn "Tuco" (The Bad) to a local town for some reward money. It is not until later we find out that Blondie comes up to free Tuco at his execution, and the two split the money. The implied message? You can be outside the law and still be a "good guy".

In Dirty Harry (1971), Eastwood plays Harry Callahan, a SFPD inspector who is willing to go above the law to capture "Scorpio", the deranged murderer of San Francisco. Harry pursues
Scorpio, fueled by a murderous rage and hate that could rival that of his target. After torturing Scorpio and cornering him, Harry does not arrest Scorpio, but shoots him dead in the chest, while throwing away his badge. The implied message? You are above the law as long as the bad guy goes down.

In his more recent film, Gran Turino (2008), Eastwood is grizzled Korean War vet Walt Kowaski, who has to deal with the local Hmong gang that threatens the lives of both him and his neighbors. In one scene, he raises his M1 Garand at the gangsters on his yard, and growls "Get OFF my lawn". The implied message? Superior firepower is a great deterrent.

So some wonder how our society has grown more violent. I simply ask: What are you going to do about it?

We Are Human.

Everyday events cause us to have opinions. They come and go as they please, but few take the time to fully examine them. They can be destroyed by other thoughts, actions, peer pressure, etc. Not enough people seem to appreciate the value of these opinions. It does not matter if it seems insignificant or is branded stupid by your brain. What's important is that it matters. Your Opinion Matters.

I hope this blog can be a space where I can express my opinions in the form of unrelated and random rantings. Little observations about the world compounded with my analyzations. My hope is that you respect my opinion as much as I hope to respect yours. My goal here is to try to provoke and encourage thought so that little by little, we can change the world for the better.

As a person who daydreams (who doesn't?), I hope to record what I can put together in words here. It would be great for me to talk about a variety of subjects, including games, movies, music, history, T.V., etc. If you're here to stay and read, I encourage you to have an opinion. Do you agree or disagree?

After all this is said and done, we can try and be proud to walk away knowing we had an opinion, even if we did not act on anything. All our actions stem from thought. For better or worse, it is important to try and understand our own opinion and the opinions of others. For some, a "good" event might be interpreted as "bad", and vice versa.

This is just one more step to becoming more reliant on decisions. If the answer is as simple as yes and no, good and bad, so be it. But if your answer is one you can stand behind, argue for, justify, and never regret, wouldn't that be great?

We stand here armed with the weapons to change the world.

Are you ready?