Winding Down, an After Christmas blog

So it's over. After all the build-up, after the months of Christmas music and the hours of shopping, after wasting our lives laughing at stupid puppet Santas on TV and waiting for the morning when we get to see those presents under the tree. I know it's all over and you probably don't want to hear about it any more, but I can't just let it go. How can you? I love the Christmas season so much that I can never just wake up the morning after and go on as if it never happened.

To me, the Christmas season is like the Empire Strikes Back. It's incredible the whole way through. Lots of suspense, lots of build up, and then you get the penultimate climax of pure uncut awesomeness, and then the credits role. It's a breathtaking ride, but at the end, you're still like, "wait, Han Solo got captured! And Vader is Luke's father? I need more! It can't be over!" But it is. To me, New Years is the time to cool off. New Years is like Return of the Jedi. Not quite as good* but it's fun, it ties up all the loose ends, and it leaves you feeling good about the end of the Star Wars saga. Just like New Years to Christmas.

The Top 8 Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials

We're knee deep in snow and less than ten days away from Christmas Day. The stores are packed, the decorations are in full bloom. I think it's safe to say that the Christmas season is here. Tonight, I've decided to take a break from reminiscing about my childhood to talk about one of my favorite parts of the season.

The Christmas Shows.

These are those little movies or TV specials that the station like to play in the evening just before Christmas. The fill the airwaves as we approach the greatest day of the year, entertaining us and getting us excited for what's to come. ABC Family even devotes their entire afternoon programming block to it during the month of December.

For me, they've always been a staple of the season. Just as much as eggnog and snow, it just can't be Christmas without these shows. I grew up watching these with my parents, who in turn grew up watching them with their families. They hold great nostalgic value for me. Some of them are entertaining, some hold special meaning, some are so cheesy that I honestly have no idea why I watch them. But I do, and I love every second of it.

An Essay About Video Game Violence That I Wrote For School

This was my last week of classes for the semester and I'm psyched. I hate school, I've always hated school, and the only reason I'm even in college is because I pretty much don't have a choice unless I want to be working at my crappy recycling job for the rest of my life.

For English 101, our final essay was an argumentative essay about anything we wanted to write about. Since I had to do it, I figured I might as well try to make the best of it and take the opportunity to write about something I actually care about. I decided to defend my position that video games don't cause violence, and that any claims of such are the result of a bunch stuck-up close minded media heads with no understanding of gaming who are just looking for a story. Since it's game-related, I figured I'd post it here, just for the heck of it.

Keep in mind it's an essay, so it's very formally written. There are also citations and references and all of that pointless academic stuff. Also, I rushed at the end because I was getting sick of writing it, so the ending is pretty shallow.

Anyway, here's my argumentative essay on why video games aren't bad and why the media can suck it.

Christmas Memories, Part 2

As awesome as Christmas Eve is, it's only the predecessor to Christmas day. Like the appetizer of the greatest meal of your life. Nay, more like the lunch to an entire five course dinner and dessert. Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Kathy's house was fun, but it ultimately only served as a slight thirst quencher for the excitement that lay ahead. The excitement of Christmas Morning.

Of all the days of the year, I can't think of one that is as saturated with joy and excitement and happiness. There are other fun days, like birthdays and Halloween and trips to Enchanted Forrest (a water park.) Christmas, however, is pure delight on the most basic level, the most complex level, and every layer in between.

Christmas Memories (Part 1?)

The woods are quiet. The daylight is long gone. Darkness shrouds everything; even the pristine, white, ocean of snow disappears in the black of Christmas Eve night. The only hint of light in the entire forest is the soft rainbow halo that paints the ground around the cabin. A chorus of jeers from inside breaks the silence of the woods. We are gathered behind its walls, laughing loving loud enough to shatter the peace on the other side.
It’s warm inside. The fire in the wood stove emanates throughout and the entire cabin feels like it’s wrapped in a quilt. It doesn’t hurt that there’s an entire gaggle of people packed into a space barely big enough for a couple. My entire family of five is there, along with my aunt and uncle and several cousins. My uncle’s tiny television is on in the corner, accompanying the fun with whatever Christmas cartoon was on at the time. My uncle hands me a present from under the tiny Christmas tree and I tear into it. It’s a plastic lightsaber, with a retractable green blade that lights up and makes noise, like the one used by Luke Skywalker in the movie Return of the Jedi.
I glance at my younger brother, who has just finished opening a similar package. He’s gotten same thing, except his is red and modeled after the one used by Darth Vader. Our eyes and hearts light up as we see each others’ new toys. We immediately tear open the packages and start to beg the grown-ups, hoping not to become victims of the infamous “batteries not included” scam. We’re lucky enough to secure some hulking D batteries, and with our weapons blazing, we lock ourselves in the bathroom and turn off the lights so that we can get the full effect during our duel.

The Seven Deadly Sins, As Explained Through Disney Villains

Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Lust
Pride
Envy
Wrath

The seven deadly sins. A list of characteristics that evil, unwholesome. Spritual flaws that can invoke wickedness in a person, or bring about their own downfall.

The concept finds itself rooted in the Bible. Our own faults and sins drive us towards misdeeds, and cause us to betray God again and again. Contrary to popular belief, the seven deadly sins are never specifically mentioned in the Good Book. The closest the Bible ever comes mentioning them is a passage in the book of Proverbs which describes certain human behaviors that are not good personality traits, each sharing similarities with the seven deadly sins we know today.

Frankenstein

Halloween, that time of year when the days are short, the leaves are orange, and the kids are excited. A time when we celebrate fear and the macabre rather than run from it. Children make their costumes for trick-or-treating. Zealous residents adorn their houses with ghoulish decorations that would make neighbors call the police any other time of year. And the TV stations flood the airwaves with films about ghosts.
Halloween is steeped with tradition, and I could go into the history itself. But I’m going to talk about a more “modern” (term used loosely) custom that comes associated with the day. When you thing of a monster movie or monster story, you probably think of one of two things: either a giant monster, or humanoid monster. Both kinds have had their fair share of fan favorites over the years, and rightfully so. Godzilla, King Kong, and more recently Cloverfield have decimated our cities, while zombies and vampires (not the sparkly kind) have chilled our bones.
In honor of Halloween, I’d like to talk about arguably the most famous spook story in the latter category. One that has been passed on for almost two centuries, and is till one of the most recognizable horror icons. The story of Frankenstein.

Thirteen Games I'd Play If I Owned the Other Consoles (in no particular order.)

My video game console of choice? The Nintendo Wii. I love my Wii and all the games for it. I have an absolute blast when playing it and wouldn't trade it for any of the other consoles. I have nothing against the other consoles, I just don't have hundreds of dollars laying around to go buy them and start a library of games for each one. Since I actively engage in gamer culture, it's impossible not to know about the vast selection of successful and beloved games for the others, many of which look like they'd be right down my alley. So, I've decided to compile a list of games for the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 that I would play if I owned either of those consoles.

A couple things to note here. The favorite genre out there right now is the FPS. I don't mind FPS games, they're fun, but I don't hold them in the same regard that some people do. WarRock and The Conduit are plenty enough for me, and I really have no desire to play Gears of War, Halo, Call of Duty, Fallout, or whatever else. There are a couple shooters on this list, but they appeal to me for a different reason that I'll discuss when I get to them.

Adam Reviews an Anime: K-On!

I don’t watch a lot of anime. The main reason is because, well, I don’t care much for television. I don’t really like to watch TV that much. The extent of my TV watching usually consists of finding some background noise while I surf the web or something that feels more productive than watching TV but really isn’t. Keep in mind that anime isn’t exactly widely available on basic cable, either. So in order for me to watch anime, I have to actually put effort into finding it somewhere on the internet and sitting down and watching it. Given my indifference-at-best attitude toward television in general, I’m sure you can start to understand why.

Adam's Top Five Foods of Summer

You know what one of my favorite things to do? Eat. I love to eat. Eating is probably one of my favorite activities. I know, that sentence probably makes me sound really fat, especially since I'm a game nerd as well, but no. I actually exercise a lot and I am in decent shape. In fact, that's all the more reason to eat.
Now that summer is here in my home of the beautiful upstate New York, it got me thinking about all the summer foods. BBQs, cook outs, ice cream parlors, and all the great yummy treats that start to come out this time of year. Now, keep in mind that these foods are foods typically associated with summer in my neck of the woods. Furthermore, it has a lot to do with my personal opinion. I'm a very picky eater, and there are a lot of foods that I just plain don't like. So without further ado, here are my top five foods of summer.

Missed Connection--The guy who ate my shield--m4?

You probably don't remember me. I was the little guy in light purple with the white sword. You were waddling back and forth between a couple wizzrobes next to the block on the left (you know, the one that opens the door if you push it?)

I just want to let you know, I hate you.

When I was in the room, did you notice the shield I was carrying? Of course you did, because YOU ATE IT. Do you know how much I had to save up to buy that thing? 130 rupees. It took me forever to save up that much cash! Sure, 130 isn't that much, but to a guy who already stupidly got all the hidden rupees from the moblins and spent them all, it took me quite a while. Just wandering around, killing all the enemies I could, hoping they would drop some loot. It took me forever!

Feeling sad? Why not cheer yourself up with a Cute-splosion!

It's an explosion, of Cuteness!

Crash Bandicoot: The Downfall of a Hero

I originally posted this as a comment to another blog, a review of Crash Bandicoot Warped by Serperoth (here: http://www.screwattack.com/node/23317) but got so carried away that it was no longer just a comment and I decided to make it it's own blog post.

If you're not familiar with Crash Bandicoot, it was (unfortunately, still is, as you'll read later) a series of platform games. The main character was the titular Crash, an anthropomorphic Bandicoot who platformed his way through his jungle island home to thwart the evil mad scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex. The first four games were developed by Naughty Dog for the original Playstation. Though it was never official, Crash was widely considered to be the Playstation's mascot and the answer to Nintendo's Mario. After the fourth game in the series, however, Naughty Dog made a vital mistake and gave the license away, ultimately leading to Crash's downfall.

Hello there!

Hello there. I'm making a blog. I like to blog, but I got tired of writing completely from my myspace page. So I made this, to have a place to write a blog that's an actual blog. I could tell you a bunch about me, but if you just read the blog, you'll probably learn about me as you read.

I also keep a blog on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lightningandice

And when I blog about video games, I post it on ScrewAttack: http://www.screwattack.com/user/37443