Questionings

Here are a string of questions that just popped into my head... If anyone cares to answer, it would be cool to see what questions people answer/what people's opinions are.

What really matters in life? Is jumping in crisp fall leaves more important than being cooped up indoors writing college apps? Old people only remember important moments in their lives, if all you do is boring and habitual, what fond memories are there to remember? Is working hard worth it? Should "fun" be a priority lest you burn out later in life? Why is life set up so that very few can what they want? Can anyone make a difference? Does anything matter? Since everyone travels the same path in the end, should we all just watch TV and eat nachos? Society urges people to be "successful," but how can anyone be successful if they don't make a difference in the end? Why is "success" normally considered in material terms in our country? Is it because we're capitalists? Does having more things make people more miserable? Are these questions silly? When people feel safe, like in their car, why are they more likely to be abrasive towards others like when people give others the middle finger yet wouldn't do it if they were exposed? Why are people nice to other people yet insult them behind their backs? Why not treat everyone with respect? Where does laziness come from? If we know things are bad and know how to fix them, why don't we do it? Why don't we take solace in our kind like other species do? Why are we greedier than other animals? Why can't we ever be as content as other animals? Why do we feel we should control the world? Why are we basically at the top of the food chain?

RED Movie thoughts

I went into the theater last weekend eager to see RED (retired, extremely dangerous), a high profile action movie boasting an impressive cast of Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovitch. I was expecting to see an entertaining semi-comedic flick with great action scenes. I was greatly disapointed.

First of all the action scenes where pretty stale. The enemies the protaganists where facing, instead of being the elite of the US government, seemed little more than bumbling thugs. A team sent to kill Bruce Willis is taken out one by one from behind, without any of them even firing a shot, despite there being three of them and one of him. The next squad's strategy revolves around firing fully automatic from the hip while walking slowly towards Willis' house, without even bothering to find a target. The assasins also never seem to need to change magazines, despite shooting fully automatic for a good couple minutes, with guns which fire 700 rounds a minute and only hold 30 bullets.

In most of the other scenes none of the characters actual seem to want to kill each other, only pointing their guns in the vague derection of the enemy and shooting without aiming. Helen Mirrens in one scene fires a .50 cal heavy machine gun, which is accurate to over a mile, solidly for an entire firefight, at enemies ten feet away, and doesn't hit anything. By far the worst firefight was at an airport. Previously you learn the CIA had a helicopter with a machine gun watching them at a secluded bayou. Instead of shooting them there, the CIA decides it would be a good idea to attack them at an airtraffic control tower in the middle of a commerical airport. Once again the CIA just shoot half-heartedly in the general direction of the heros, not actually aiming. Later in the airport scene, a CIA agent fires an RPG at one of the protaganists, even though A) she had to go through a lenghty reloading sequence when either one could have shoot each other B) the US does not use RPGs C) the range was so close the RPG would not have detonated anyways.

Many important plot points are not explained either. The one that annoyed me most was how some how explosives where planted on a get away car, without any of the characters being in a position to do so. And SPOILER ALERT why did they wait until the vice president was surrounded by body guards before assasinating him. And why are they even trying to assasinate him? Why don't they just bring the case to court. Deciding to go shoot-up every one seems to be the least logical option, despite other alternatives being presented.

Decent humor might have made the movie passable, but sadly there was none. The only joke I can even remember had something to do with a banjo, and I only remember it because it was really unfunny. Most of the laughter of the audience came from mocking the stupid scenes, not any intentional humor.

In conclusion, RED falls flat on its face. An action movie without decent action is nothing. If one makes a Bruce Willis movie, the body count needs to pile-up, and/or the enemies need to be at least worthy of fighting skill wise. The bodies, however, do not pile up and the enemies are also all fumbling idiots. Action sequences need to either believable, such as in Black Hawk Down and Green Zone, or completely over the top, like Die Hard or The Matrix. The violence is neither over the top nor credible, which makes the film kinda boring. Humor could have saved the movie, but was barely present. To wrap it up, the plot, almost never the strong point of a action movie, just left me confused to all the character's motives and led me to seriously question the basic decision making skills of all involved.

Letter to Bethesda SoftWorks

To whom it may concern,

As a huge fan, I would just like to say a few words about the impact that your games have had on me. I remember in my middle school years and before, my friends and I would play games like Kirby’s air ride and CoD2 on game cube and the original xbox. Then the 360 came out, and we played Gears of War 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas.

However, the game I always liked best was your own; The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. I remember countless days before I had a 360, after a day of sledding in the snow, me and my friend would sit in his room and dive into the world of Tamriel. Because it was his house he always got to play, and I would have the guide book and give him instructions. It was the coolest game I had ever seen. Previously I had thought RPGs were all turn based and anime, which is something I hated. Oblivion completely changed my perspective. When for the christmas of my freshman year, my parents said I coudl get a 360, and what game I wanted with it, there was no hesitation in my mind. The only game I wanted was Oblivion. Since that Christmas, there has been no game I have played more. Even now, four years later, despite having increased my game collection, Oblivion is still the one that holds the dearest place in my heart, as much as a video game can. Fallout 3 was a fantastic game, and in many aspects much better than Oblivion. The soundtrack of ‘30s songs also widely broadened my musical tastes, and now I like nothing better than listing to Billie Holiday, and I will be sure to pick up New Vegas. However no game since has taken hold of me like Oblivion. The opening and battle music is one of my favorite tunes, and still never fails to send a thrill of excitement through my heart. In no other game have I ever enjoyed simply exploring as much as in Oblivion, and it has even inspired me to go exploring and looking for adventure around my local area. In no other game would I have ever got a little bit excited about harvesting flax seeds, as I have in Oblivion. You folks at Bethesda probably get hundreds of letters from people wondering about the next installment in the Elder Scrolls, and I am no exception. Please, Please come out with another one. If you do release another one, there are several things that I would really be awesome to see introduced. More weapon and armor variety would be really cool. Once I got to a certain level I stopped caring about the effectiveness of armor, and just wanted more variety to make my guy look cool. Another couple things would be more cool creatures, but no more oblivion gates. The only thing I really disliked was closing Oblivion gates (exploring and bandit hunting, though I could do forever) even though they were an integral part of the game. More region specific dialogue from townspeople would also be great. When one finds a chapel in the middle of the woods, or a village tucked away in the mountains, one wants to know what its history and reason for being there is. Thank you very much for you time, if you read all of that.

Sincerely,

Harry Voelkel

DEION

Dear Mr. Branch,

As Randy Moss left I was very upset to be receiving a fourth round pick for such a great player, but when instead of that fourth round pick I learned we were receiving you I was very happy. As a Super Bowl MVP in New England I'm sure you are pretty excited to come back "home" as well. Deion, you were, and always will be my boy. I hope with you back on the squad some tension in the locker room will be dispersed and that we will win yet another Super Bowl.

Great to have you back,

Graham

letter

Dear, Mirabel

We are sitting next to each other now, and it is a not so good day outside. You just informed me that you are going to be getting two new kittens this weekend. That is so exciting. I have two cats of my own and they are the best. I hope that you enjoy their love and that you chose good names for them there is nothing worse then a cat with a bad name, especially if they are crappy cats. Well the period has ended and I must depart, good luck with your next class.

Until next time!

Niki Lawless

letter

Dear Kobe Bryant

I am the only fan of yours this side of the Mississippi. Any shot is a good shot for you. Fade away jumper all day. You and Shaq had your differences, but still managed 3 championships. I was wondering how long per day do you practice? The finals last year will go down as one of my favorite 7 game stretch to watch. Ball well this season sir. My fantasy team depends on it.

From Kyle

one day.

Colleges, colleges, colleges. Everything ties back to that. The classes I take, decide whether I get into college. The test scores I get and how much I study for them, decide whether I get into college. 250 words, can decide whether I get into college. And what college I go to "decides how I do in life". See I don't believe this, yes those factors all contribute to what college I get into and yes good college degrees help you get good job interviews but if you have the capacity to succeed, no matter what you'll find a way to do it. I'm not even sure if I'm applying to the right colleges, there's hundreds and hundreds of them, hundreds you will never even know existed. What I wonder is why college is even such a big deal? And then there's the other problem, writing the college essay. Finding a story that works since everything is supposed to be stories and descriptions that reveal something about your character. But when I write, its usually musings, like this, where I just write out my thoughts, instead of describing random things. I could write narratives on random events, but would they tell anything about me? Blah I want answers to these questions. Or really, I just want this year to be over. That would be so much more satisfying. One day. One day.

NBA, get ready!

So I think that with the approach of the NBA season, it's time someone did a pre-season analysis of the best and worst teams in the league. So here we go (Sportscenter style):

THREE CHEERS (top 3):

1) Miami Heat. Kobe is good and the Celtics are trying to put together a "big five," but with the shooting and strength of LeBron and D-Wade, the rebounding skills and height of Ilgauskas and Bosh, and House, an ex-Celtic point guard who's got an unnatural shooting touch, the Heat are untouchable.

2) LA Lakers. Sure, the Celtics have won more championships. Yes, they have KG, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and Shaq. But if Bynum comes out strong with Pau Gasol and Kobe does what he does, then the Lakers can prove that beating the Celtics in the Finals last year wasn't a fluke.

3) Boston Celtics. They've been hyped up. For good reason. Allen and Pierce, while old, have still got some left in them. KG is a ridiculously good shooter for someone of his height. Rondo came out like a man on fire at the end of last season and looks to stay on that path. And then there's Shaq. The Big Shamrock. The Celtics should be a good fit for him; compared to other teams, they play more at his pace. They should be contenders for another year or two. But once they lose their starters, they may drop to bottom five.

THREE TEARS (what happened?):

1) Cleveland Cavaliers. They were good. Were being the operative word. Without James and Ilgauskas...they don't really stand much of a chance. Somehow Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams must be keeping them alive in the preseason, but come the season opener, I feel that ESPN's ranking is right - bottom five. Too bad. Maybe LeBron can win one in Miami.

2) Houston Rockets. They had a chance. Then Tracy McGrady moved to New York (then Detroit) and Yao broke his foot. Then they didn't have a chance. That pretty much sums it up.

3) Charlotte Bobcats. After being swept while posting a surprisingly strong performance against the Magic in the first round, the Bobcats seem to have lost all heart. They're winless in the preseason, and with their biggest names being Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton, they can't expect to do well in the postseason. Or even make it to the postseason.

THREE JEERS (bottom three):

28) Indiana Pacers. They're bad, and their 1-3 preseason shows it, with their only win being over #29. They have a decently strong player at every position except center, so they should be able to avoid being dead last at the end of the season. Sadly, they only have one decently strong player at each position, and that's not enough to keep them out of the bottom five.

29) Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love made a full-court shot back in college. One end line to the other. This team's going to need some more of that luck; even though they have a player on Team USA and an all-star, the rest are bad enough that those two are only enough to keep them off the bottom of the heap. I refuse to believe a 3-1 start to the preseason is an indication of what is to come.

30) Sacramento Kings. The only names they really have are Tyreke Evans and Marcus Landry. And they've both had one year of pro experience. Not really enough to compete with the likes of LeBron. Perhaps a franchise name change is in order? It doesn't seem like a name befitting the worst of the worst.

About Childhood

By the way, I don't even know why I always say "you" as if addressing an audience. I don't even think people read the blog (except Mr. Bourne). I guess sometimes you feel the need to express your thoughts. That's kind of what this is, just small musings about life/journally stuff. Also by the way, when I said I watched this when I was little, I was actually 3-5. I'm not just trying to cover up as if I watch it everyday and say "when I was little" to not embarrassed myself.
Do you ever read through your old picture books, or try to find old movies you used to love as a kid? SATs were today and since I felt totally brain dead, I ate some lunch, tried to do some homework, but basically slacked off the rest of the time to watch "The Grand Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", a childhood classic. Such a good movie. It's funny because a lot of children movies have adult references too so that adults can watch it with their kids and not get totally bored, and I actually got some references that I never got as a kid. There's also a lot of clever little funny references. At one point Owl's telling this story about his aunt who eloped with a pussy cat in a sea green boat which is an allusion to the classic The Owl and the Pussycat poem. There's even some slightly advanced vocab like when Gopher's calling Rabbit a "supercilious scoundrel." Definitely didn't know what that meant when I was little. But, there were some things praised in the movie that when I think about it shouldn't have been praised. So basically, there's a huge wind storm which turns into a flooding of the hundred acre wood and Owl's house gets knocked down. Eeyore looks for a house and comes up with Piglet's. Everyone's really confused and try to tell Eeyore that the house is Piglet's but Owl likes the house and so Piglet "heroically" gives up his house while starting to cry. Everyone commends him and Pooh says he can live with him instead. What kind of lesson is that? Give up your house just because someone else likes it? Seriously, Eeyore could have easily just found a vacant house or all of them could have worked together to build a new one. Sure, sharing and helping other in need is a good lesson, but doing so unnecessarily? It just doesn't seem right. When it came to the end, it was depressing as I remember it being. Christopher Robin tells Pooh he's going to school and won't be back for a long time. He's says for Pooh to think of him and wait. It seemed a little sad because it's like childhood ending by physically leaving his (imaginary?) animal friends and growing up. Sure, he could come back, but everything changes and so each time one goes back it's different. That's kind of a sad thought and reminded me of how once something's gone, you can never recreate it. It's like birthdays. Every year you're older and can never be younger again. You just go through life, not fully appreciating it, and keep plodding along until you don't. (Not trying to be histrionic by the way, just thinking...)