We're being invaded!!!1

For those who do not know, I love playing video games. Ever since I had my Atari 2600 to my Colecovision to my Nintendo to now Playstation 3, I just love playing them. Why? Simply because I get to role play as a hero, football player at my old college, soccer player in Europe or even an up and coming crime lord. Are games violent nowadays? Yes but there are plenty of games out there that are not. But I recently purchased a game and, let’s just say, it bothered me quite a bit.

I purchased “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”. For those who are not familiar with the game, it is fictionalized account of…well modern warfare in the world. Played through first person point of view, you take on roles of different soldiers from different divisions in the English and American military. That action is fun and realistic. Plus the story makes sense in this game. There are plenty of “Call of Duty” series and they are very entertaining to play.

In the latest edition, there is a segment where you are an undercover CIA agent infiltrating a Russian terrorist group. While doing this task, you and your fellow terrorists attack an airport and start gunning down innocent bystanders. You literally have to shoot and kill innocent people at the airport. If you don’t your cover is blown and you cannot advance through the next stage. There is an option where you can skip the stage but if you do, you’ll be missing a part of the plotline. Because of this act of brutality, the story unfolds where Russia now invades the good ‘ol stalwart USA. The rest unfolds like the events you probably remember in movies like “Red Dawn”.

So why did this bother me? For one was the act of shooting innocent people. In games like this, you pretty much have the good guys and the bad guys. You try and eliminate the bad guys and try not to harm the innocent. Now I have played the whole “Grand Theft Auto“series and loved every minute and detail of it. Those games were violent and, yes, you do a lot of questionable things but the plotline was great and most of it was pretty much stupid humor (For those who say that it promotes violence and drug use, I say to them, play the game first and then compare the protagonist of the game to the protagonist of “Les miserables” or “24” or “House” or “The Godfather” series and any gangster movies made on film and then tell me what the real difference is). I have played the whole “Call of Duty” series and they never had anything remotely disturbing like this. That act of shooting innocent people pretty much blurred that fine line of good and evil. Do I think it helped the game’s plot? Yes. Was it necessary to be put into the game? Maybe. I know that playing games are form of escapism where you are in a fantasy world. Still that game, that scene, that act made feel terrible for a while and it just bothered me. Maybe the fine that has been blurred is reality and fantasy.

Speaking of invasions, has anyone caught the series “V” on TV lately? I remember the original back in the early 1980’s and thought this was going to good or equally interesting like the original. So far, not so much. For those who do not know the original series, it was about these aliens coming in big spaceships (I wish for once an alien would come in a economy sized spaceships instead of a massive one), promoting peace and sharing their highly advanced alien technology with the human race. But their real motive was to drain the earth’s water supply for their use and use humans as… as food! Plus, behind their human exteriors, they were nothing more than …..reptiles! The show was about the aliens against a rebel group of paramilitary human resistance groups. The original show had very strong under/over tones of Nazis. It was pretty much an allegory of Nazi activities and a “what if” the Nazis were strongly opposed by resistance groups. Now the 1980’s version was pure fantasy and it was fun. Ok, I was like 6 and scared that a nuclear was imminent and just like the whole idea of “us versus them” mentality. Oh, the original “V” was a mini-series and had sequel miniseries and a regular, short run series.

Now the “V” of the current has pretty much the same premise except with some changes. For one, all of “V’s” are really good looking. I really mean that. Now comparing the old leader of the 1980’s series to the 2009 version, there really isn’t a comparison. The 2009 version is about a million times much hotter. That’s not all. Even the other “V’s” of the 2009 version is really, really good looking. The 1980’s had a mixture of old people with the young to make them look like a real population but the 2009’s “V’s” look like either models or good looking actors….

In the 2009 version, the story is well… pretty much a political commentary on our current lives. It takes a very obvious jabs at the current Obama administration especially with the hope of universal health care coverage. It’s not even a subtle jab. Oh no, it’s very blatant. They also mention about the current flu crisis and how people tend to over-react to it. Listen, I enjoy any political or social satire as anyone (I am a proud fan of “MAD” magazine and watching “South Park”) but somehow, this version of the show seems, for the lack of a better word, lame. Lame as in that I do not feel that there is a threat. Even when they revealed that the aliens were reptiles, I wasn’t that shocked. In the old version, when you saw the aliens as reptiles, your reaction was “Oh my God! What the $#%#! They’re lizards?!” This time around, I just reacted “Oh look…it’s a reptile…”

Maybe the current version of the show is still in its early stages and it’s supposed to be a series and they are just building it up. The old version was a mini-series and they had to show pretty much everything in three nights (whatever happened to mini-series? I remember all the major networks had them every Sunday night….Some good TV came from mini- series like “V”, “Roots”, “North and South”, “The Thornbirds” and “Lonesome Dove”….whose bright idea was it to take them away?) but still the old version clearly set the line of humans good, aliens bad. The new one…well…not so much…Maybe it’s because it has to do with the alien leader. In the old version, a female alien leader named Diana, just looked menacing and evil. So evil, you wouldn’t want to sleight her in any way. The new one is named Anna and she looks like a super-model. Call it the “stupid guy” mentality. No matter how mean or cruel a woman can be, as long as she is looking super-duper, super-model hot, you can’t but try to be in her good graces. She could’ve murdered a whole town and you would actually feel bad for her because she looks that fine. Well Anna in this case is that fine. Maybe I am that stupid guy….Still the current show lacks that big shock factor and seems to be content on taking jabs about our current politics. I will still watch the show until the end of the season but they better show something. Right now, I kind of like being invaded by good looking aliens.

Review of "500 Days of Summer"

“To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die…”- The Smiths

It is this phrase that confirms the main character from “500 Days of Summer” that he has truly found his soul mate. The movie which stars Joseph Gordon Levitt (the kid from “3^rd Rock from the Sun”) and Zooey Deschanel (an exact clone of Katy Perry) is a romantic comedy but not in the conventional sense. I will admit that I am not a big fan of the romantic comedy genre because they seem unrealistic in pretty much every way. The plots of these movies are, in an essence, “romanticized”. I will also admit that when I heard the premise of the movie, I assumed that it was another “romanticized” movie with a tacked on happy ending. Only reason I decided to watch it was because I had seen Mr. Levitt’s work in another movie (“The Lookout” ; Another well done movie)and became a fan of his. It was because of my new admiration for the actor that I was able to find this pleasant movie.

The story is about Tom, a greeting card writer and his relationship with a co- worker named Summer (now you see where the title is coming from). Tom believes in destiny and “love at first sight” ideas while Summer is the exact opposite and does not believe in true love. Now you’re probably thinking “How did these two ever get together?” That occurs when it is revealed that both of them are fans of the British band, The Smiths. Like any couple, they go through their shares of highs and lows and sadly, ends with them drifting apart.

The movie is not linear. It does skip from different time period to different time period but before each scene is shown, the day number is shown. This may cause some confusion about the happenings in the plot but it’s not too difficult to follow. The chemistry between the main actors is great. They look and act like how a couple who are involved in relationships should act. Credit the actors’ abilities and how they react to each other. While the movie is told from a male perspective, the viewer can relate to both the female and male aspects. For me, I related to the male perspective more.

My two criticisms for this movie would be the ending and the main character’s interpretation of the movie “The Graduate”. The plot is credible, but there are some parts that seemed “tacked” on especially the ending. The ending is believable but I felt it was added on to redeem the main character in some way. As for “The Graduate”, Tom saw it as a movie about true love. How he got this interpretation, I do not know. Anyone who has seen the movie knows that it was about people making rash decisions and not being aware of the consequences of their actions.

I enjoyed the movie for many reasons. One of them is that I was Tom. I actually went through the exact emotions he did during the movie. I remember those moments when I met a girl and she had similar interests I had. At that moment, I thought this person was the one. I also recall those moments when you first start a relationship and the overwhelming joy you share with the person. You are just caught in this whirlwind of never-ending happiness. Sadly, I also remember the pain of having my heartbroken when our relationship ends and left me as a confused, mumbling mess trying to figure out what went wrong. I remember all of them and glad I went through it. It is these emotions that makes us, at times cynical of love but also more experienced in finding the right person for us. Call it one of life’s lessons on how to grow old gracefully.

In one aspect of the movie, towards the latter part of the movie, it does give a female perspective on why Tom and Summer’s tryst ends. This is one of the first times in a movie that actually gives an honest reason why the girl ends the relationship. It isn’t melodramatic. It’s a simple reason. For some guys or gals, at that moment, we are not able to comprehend the reason but in hindsight, we can only assume that “it just wasn’t meant to be”.

If I had to give a grade on this movie, I would give it a solid “A”. It isn’t a masterpiece and will not win many awards but it is a movie that is honest. The actors are played very believably and the plot is something that anyone who has ever been in a relationship can relate to.

Back in 1993, my high school history/ sociology teacher was talking about cultures and he had mentioned a book he had read called “Friday Night Lights”. He was talking about how high school football in certain parts of this country had become the town’s main focus and how they players were treated like royalty not only by the school but by the whole town. They are idolized as heroes. At first, I thought he was talking nonsense and decided to pick up the book myself and check it out. The book by HG Bissinger is an excellent read. The book is true story which deals with not only high school athletics but the social and racial effects within a small west Texas town. I loved the book because it showed the glamour and glory of high school football but also gave a realistic and honest portrait of these young men who have high expectations thrusted upon them to succeed only on the field, how most of them see their football performance as the only way out their hopeless town, and how they are glorified by the town when they play but then discarded when they graduate.

There was a movie made based on the book which starred Billy Bob Thorton, Derek Luke and Lucas Black and directed by Peter Berg. Although the film was well made, due to the time constriction of the movie, they only barely touched on topics like race relations and really did not go in depth with the characters and their lives like in the book. Then I heard they were making a TV series of it in fall of 2005. The show is produced by Peter Berg, the same director of the film, with Jason Katims, a well knoqn TV drama writer. I will be honest and say that I missed out on the first season (I had a lot of things going on in my life and watching anything on NBC was not a top priority). After reading some positive reviews on it, I spent my $22 at Target and purchased the first season. One word to describe the show is: brilliant!

Similar to the book and the movie, the TV show is based on a high school football powerhouse in a West Texas town except the school’s name, the town and the characters are changed. However the shows premise of how high school football affects this town and its denizens are still intact. In the first season, a new coach arrives into this town with his family and how he has to deal with the pressures of leading his team to a state title. He has to deal with his player’s egos, the town and their team booster’s pressure to succeed and how to deal with his family life as well. While the theme of the show is about football, the actual game is rarely showed. It acts a setting, so to speak.

So here are the reasons why I love this show and why you should check it out:

1) The story is amazing. While football is just used as a setting, the show is mainly about the characters of this town. You have the young coach dealing with his team, the boosters, his wife and family. You also have the wife who not only shares his joys of victory but also the stingy criticism from the town when he loses a game. You have the young, cocky black running back who shows his swagger on and off the field and how he will risk everything including his health just to get a college scholarship. You have a young and unproven quarterback, thrusted into the lime light after a team tragedy and how he copes with his new stardom and his home life. You have the brooding fullback who comes from a dysfunctional family who pretty much floats through life. These are some of the dramas you will see but the catch with them is that they are all portrayed realistically. There is no fantasized dramas you see from soap operas. These characters honestly react to the situation they encounter. My suggestion is this: Watch the first episode. If you are not honestly engaged after just watching the whole first episode, you have no soul and maybe reality TV is for you.

2) These are characters that you actually want to see succeed. So many shows nowadays have anti-heroes as their protagonists (ie. House, 24, even Lost). Why would you want someone you know if you encountered in real life and would immediately think of them as jerks, want to succeed? From the coach to the players, you get a very detailed description of who they are. At first you may not care but, after getting to know them, you actually want the best for them and hope that they attain their life goals and dreams. The way each character is written and developed, you feel like you have known these for most of your life. I have never really cared about TV characters until I watched this show. You actually feel every lows and highs they encounter and just want to root for them to get everything they wish for.

3) While the show is critically acclaimed, the show’s viewership is low. Even after the first season, there was a threat of cancellation. The first season was finished where if it was cancelled, they show would have ended nicely. The show was brought back again for the second season and again the threat of cancellation. Then the third season was brought back and again cancellation threat. Now in its fourth season, the show is better than ever. Credit both the actor’s performances and the writers for delivering an engaging story and causing a rabid fan base of this show. Every season is concluded in a way that if the show was cancelled, you would be satisfied with the outcome of it.

4) The story told in the show is very relatable. While the show is centered around football, it is mostly about the people in the town. You can relate to their situation whether it be their family, financial and even racial. It deals with real life problems that we all deal with. If you do not perform to your company’s expectations, you get fired right? Well that is what the coach deals with everyday and every game. The threat of his and his family’s livelihood being taken away when he does not win. The struggles the quarterback has as not only being the “QB1” but dealing with being a student and working a job to support his grandmother with a mental disorder. The situations and how the characters react to them are real life. You know these situations because you have either been in them yourselves or you know of someone personally who has.

The fourth season began not too long ago and, I have to admit, it is so far becoming the best one. Season 1 was an introduction of the town and it was still a great season, in terms of, the character and plot developments. Season 2 was not their best but was just good enough. Season 3 was phenomenal. I thought it was the best one out of all of them until the fourth season so far. I won’t ruin it for anyone but let’s just say it does have a deep allegory to our current economic conditions and how we try and rise up from. I really do think this an under-rated show and am shocked how this show can have such low viewership. Please go check out the show and I would love to get your opinions on it.

If I caught someone using my stuff without my permission...

This is an interesting question: What would I do if I caught someone using my work without my permission? Like anybody out there who was a victim of theft, I would begin to cry like a little school girl who got teased by a boy at the playground. Ok maybe not that extreme but I would first wonder the "why's". "Why would you steal?" or "Why can't you just give me the credit when it was due?" or"Why the F@%#%# did you steal my work?!" The obvious thing to do is to hire an attorney and make try to make a "case of the century" on plagarism and request a ridiculous monetary compensation. But I think that would take too much time and effort and also, I would end up paying for the legal bills. I can go through the thug route and find out where the the criminal lived and just beat him up. But then I would end up getting arrested and pay the legal fees. This is a tough question to answer.

On one hand it isn't a physical theft. It's not an item where a person needs it to physically live. For example, a while back I was waiting outside at a supermarket and saw this homeless man stealing a big jug (not a bottle) of vodka with the alarms going off. I immediately notified the security guard. Why? Because he was stealing liquor. Does he need a jug of vodka to survive? No. If he was stealing food, I probably wouldn't have ratted him out because he needed that food to live and he was hungry. When someone steals my work especially in print, it's more of an intellectual theft, the stealing of my thoughts and ideas. I guess I would end up asking them why they did it and suing them. That seems like the logical thing to do.

Blogging opinion

Being part of the blogging world is something I am ambivalent about. On one hand, I like the idea that it gives people a forum to speak their mind and give their opinions on different subject matters. On the other hand, there are so many blogs out there. Do I really want to know what you think or what you are going through everyday? Not really. Here are the reasons and the why’s….

1) I have some friends who wrote blogs and I enjoyed them. That’s the thing. I enjoyed them because they were my friends and I knew how their personalities are. If I wasn’t a friend of yours, why would I be interested in what you have to say or write? I only read their blogs because they asked me to. That’s it.

2) Many blogs are not kept up to date. I have read blogs where I would read it for some period of time because a new one was written, let’s say, every Friday. If it’s good, I really looked forward to reading it. However, the problem with many blogs is that they are not kept up to date at all. For whatever reason, the writer loses the will to just write. If the writer is not willing to share his or her thoughts on a regular basis, why would I want to come back and read it?

3) Some of the information written on blogs are wrong!!! As many of you know out there, I follow sports and, yes, I read sports blogs. The problem with them is that during a live event for example, a blogger would write something and the major news outlets would pick it up and report it as the truth. The thing is that it was only the blogger’s opinion. This had happened about a month ago during a fight I was watching. I read a blog statement from Yahoo Sports and it had reported that the fighter was going to sign with another organization. There was no truth to this. If you hadn’t noticed, blogs have become the new gossip mill/rumor mill. Write whatever you want with about 10% truth in there and it will get picked up fast within the internet community and it will be reported as the truth.

Personally, ever since I started this blog, it has been pretty much a journal. I used to keep a journal before and I still have them. I have never let anyone read them because they were my thoughts and nothing more. No one really needs to see them. But this new form of journal writing is a little different. I can’t or won’t really write my honest opinions on them. Maybe I am inhibited. Maybe I just don’t feel like putting out my real thoughts on in the public forum for people to read and critique. Maybe it’s just that I feel my thoughts and ideas should just be my own and mine alone. Does this mean that I can change my viewpoint? Possibly but for now, I will just write on the blog as objective as I can without giving too much information.