Mass Effect 2

I'm going to take a page out of Jotte's blog and write  a blog about a favourite video game of mine. I like to compare it to a mix of Star Trek, and Ocean's Eleven. The plot is that you are a character named Shepard, and you need to gather a crew together to stop an ancient alien race called the "Collectors" from trying to take over the universe. That plot by itself is pretty normal, but the stories inside the game are much better, and really make the game what it is.

This is the kind of game that I have recently came to love, its a game where you literally cannot have the same play through as one of your friends, without weird coincidence. In the game you crate what your character looks like, and what powers and guns they use, you choose whether you want to be good or evil (e.g. kill someone or save their life). And everything you do has an effect on the outcome. For example, at the end of the game, I did the last mission, and one of my crew members died. If you went to ten other people one could say that all his members lived, one could say that all his crew members died. 

I never played Mass Effect 1, which I kind of regret, because this series is a avalanche of repercussion which I wish I could have seen to the full extent. If I were to start in Mass Effect 1, and brought my character to Mass Effect 2, all my decisions would have a repercussion to the effect of new story lines in MS2. For example, if in MS1 you let a central character die, they obviously won't be there in MS2, while if I started in MS2, they will be there because I didn't have the option to kill them. 

The series will be coming to a conclusion in March, with Mass Effect 3, which I am quite exited for. Because while MS2 was amazing, it was the EMpire Strikes back of the series, the ending was quite morose, and I really want to see how my character ends up. 

The voice acting of the game is quite amazing also. They have voice actors like Martin Sheen, playing the Illusive Man.

Seth Green plays the pilot of the ship, Joker, 

The gameplay of the game is very well done too. You can control your squad fully, like tell them where to go, what weapon to use, which enemy to attack, and which psychic power they use (if they have any). It is in third person, which I like, because I'm sure if there was first person I would pick that because it's generally easier, I like the challenge of not having that option. In the game you spend most time hiding behind cover, then jumping out of the cover when the enemy has to reload.

Overall the game is definitely a 5/5 stars.

Link to Mass Effect 3 Trailer

THe Life of the Mind

Here is the list of Darren Aronofsky films that I have seen to date. This is the order that I watched them in. 

The Wrestler: I saw this movie because it was nominated for best picture in 2008. While I did think this movie was good, it was just too good. The acting was amazing (common theme in Aronofsky films). Aronofsky did such a good job at showing the life of Rourke’s character, which he made the audience feel the pain that he felt. I personally don’t think I will ever voluntarily watch this movie again, because I don’t want to feel that depressed again, kind of along the same lines of Precious. 

Black Swan: I saw this movie for the same reason as The Wrestler, it was nominated for best picture in 2010… seeing the common trait of Aronofsky’s movies? Black Swan was such a, for lack of a better term, mindf*ck. This movie explored the mind of a character inside and out. The plot is very melodramatic, but Aronofsky’s style of psychological thriller really made the picture intense and passionate. Natalie Portman had the role of her lifetime in this role, she wasn’t even acting in this movie… she was this character, she was that excellent. 

Requiem For a Dream: I watched Requiem because I was so impressed with the last two Aronofsky films I watched, and I heard good things about it. I didn’t know anything about the plot, but after watching it I realised it wasn’t a movie as much as it was an anti-drug advertisement. All four main characters are addicted to drugs, and have lost sight of their original life goals. I fell in love immediately with the way Aronofsky filmed the use of drugs. He used close up shots of each action in the steps of using the drug. I find it interesting how this movie had one of the darkest endings that I have ever seen in my life, but I still would rather watch this movie again than the wrestler. 

Pi: I didn’t hear anything about this movie before watching it. I just watched it because it was in black and white and needed to watch it for film studies. Wouldn’t you know it, it’s about a guy obsessed with the concept of pi. Now I look at Aronofsky and see that this man has found his genre, and has stuck with it from the beginning. After watching this film you see this introverted mathematician 

Legalizing vs decriminalizing

A very controversial topic for decades has been the topic of legalizing marijuana. I listened to the thoughts of many stoners, of how it would be better to legalize, because marijuana isn't hurting anybody else. Most stoners would tell you to look at the prisons, and how they are all full, mainly because there are so many people in there that don't deserve to be in there (other stoners). I do look at these opinions and say "yea, these are some good points... but it doesn't seem right."

If marijuana was legalized I personally believe that while there would be more room for prisons, and less friends of mine would have to be afraid of the police... there would mainly be negative effects. I'm sure many stoners think of it in a way that if it were legalized and you could literally just go to the corner store and buy a dime bag, that would be the perfect world. But no not really, the government would tax the price of pot so high, that stoners would still just buy from their normal dealers.

Some people might come up with he false idea that after being legalized, the attraction to marijuana would go away... that is obviously a false view with the prime example of alcohol.

Just this morning I was listening to an old episode of the Adam Carolla show, in which his guest was Rob Schneider. One topic that came up was this very subject. Rob made and interesting point that legalizing pot would let any schmuck able to smoke pot without any hassle. But if it were decriminalized like in California, then the extra step of having to get a card to smoke weed would be enough hassle to weed a couple people.

Going Too Far

I think that I have a pretty good sense of humour, often sadistic, but still good. I’ll just start with the statement that I love Jackass, the TV show and all three movies. I love knowing I am smarter than those idiots, and will never snort wasabi, or try and annoy a bull.

The point of Jackass is reaction comedy. Generally the guys go out in public, do something stupid, and they film the reaction of the audience around. If not in public, they at least film the reactions of the friends laughing at the jackass in pain. Trying to think back to their best segments, for the most part, they don’t really affect civilians. For the most part they get emotional reactions, for example the fear of seeing an old man fall down some stairs. The only time I think they actually affected a business or company in a way that caused trouble was when Dave England took a poop in one of the toilets in one of the store, this is an example of going too far. By that I mean they pushed the boundaries, and while I do not approve, and think what they did was wrong, just messing with an innocent guys day… I do think it was 100% hilarious.

One of my favorite companies on the internet is a group of friends called Mega64. They are most known for dressing up like video game characters, and interacting with strangers for the purpose of getting reactions. I have the exact same feeling with them as Jackass. They often just interact with each other, while civilians walk by, but sometimes they go as far, or further than the Jackass boys. For example, again keep in mind it was hilarious, it was a a**hole move. In a video game called Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, the character is able to go back in time after making a mistake. One of the guys buys a trey full of stuff from a fast-food joint, and as he walks away from the counter he purposefully falls on the ground, dropping the trey. He then proceeds to acts like he’s making time reverse, and gets up, and walks out of the restaurant backwards.

I don’t know what the outcome of the fast-food joint was, or what the outcome of the Dave England toilet stunt was, but from what was shown on video, it seems as though the guys just leave without helping clean anything up. I don’t know what happened after each, but I do hope they each at least apologised and paid for what they did.

The main reason I am on this subject is because of a couple of videos that I have just started watching on youtube which feature a Frenchman named Remi Gaillard. This guy does the same things as these past two examples… except he takes it to much further levels. By that I mean he is more of a a**hole that the jackass guys, which says something, and he has no respect at all for authority or people’s property. I will say it again, I do find him funny and continue to watch his videos, I’m not talking about that though, just the fact that my conscious keeps telling me that this is too far, and what will be next? I mean, this guy is running through bars and stores, knocking displays and people over, he is disturbing police officers on purpose, and is even putting people in danger by driving on the road in a go kart, dressed as Mario, and throwing bananas at cars.

To conclude, I hope all of these three groups continue to make videos and shows, I just wish they could do less effect on innocent civilians, and more on their own idiotic bodies.

Jackass Stunt (NSFW) content might be disturbing for many viewers, you’ve been warned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoW8bbyaXbw

Mega64 Skit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDqZpPJjljU

Remi Gaillard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81szj1vpEu8

Podcasts: An Obsession

I think I first started listening to podcasts in the summer of grade ten. I started with a podcast called the “Drunk tank”, which was made my Rooster Teeth, a popular company on the internet. They would talk about many of my interests, movies, TV shows, video games, but that wasn’t what kept me around, I think it was the intimacy. I had watched the videos they made since about grade six, but now I got to learn who these people actually were, and what their relationships were like with each other, and how they all started. When I would listen to this podcast it sounded like a bunch of friends just hanging out, talking about life, and I was just a fly on the wall. They have made one podcast a week; I believe they are almost at their 150^th podcast, each range from 50 minutes to an hour and a half. This company currently has about twenty people working in it, so each week you get a variety of different people from the company.

 I don’t know what it was, but this is what got me hooked into podcasts. I listen to them everywhere now. When I walk the dog, when I drive to school, during D.E.A.R, literally everywhere I go, I have someone talking in my ear.

I remember in Pineapple Express, Seth Rogan’s character would listen to talk radio, and James Franco’s character said how he thought it was so boring, I partly agree. While I do say many podcasts and talk radio shows would be extremely boring, that is why I stick to the few that I love, and they never bore me.

After the Drunk Tank I moved on to “The Ricky Gervais Podcast”, which is the only overseas podcast I currently listen to. This podcast features Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. It’s basically about Karl, who is a really dim witted guy, that Ricky and Steve love making fun of. Half the podcast is Ricky laughing, and it is just so funny to hear him laugh at his friend. Ricky’s podcasts are just talking about random stuff, which I love. But then he started releasing individual audio books, that were specifically about one topic, for instance, medicine, or history, and the guys would talk about that topic and see how little Karl knew about the subject.

Then the next podcast I started listening to is called “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old”, which features Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith. The podcast was made so that each week Jason Mewes could inform everybody that he is in fact still sober, and say how many days he is sober. Each week Kevin and Jason talk about how drugs affect their lives, their sex lives, and random things in pop culture. I think I love this podcast for the exact reason I love the Drunk Tank, because I was a fan of Kevin Smith films for a while, and once I found out about the podcast, and got to learn about these people’s lives, I just feel so much more connected to them.

From that podcast these two started a morning show podcast called “Jay and Silent Bob Get Jobs”, in which they talk about news stories and entertainment in a less formal, more casual way. I love it because its so funny how informal it is, they broadcast it live in Kevin’s Smith’s house, so every know and then you hear Kevin yell at his dog to “Shut up!”, because she’s barking. I think even once she peed in the house while they did the show, and you heard Kevin discipline her.

And the final, and my newest favorite podcast is “The Adam Carolla Show”, which features Adam Carolla, Bald Bryan, Alyson Rogen, and a new famous guest each week. This podcast is basically about Adam ranting and complaining about any topic. It’s the only one I listen to that has “drops”, which I like, for this show only, because it feels like the radio.

Interestingly, the main comparison of each podcast, excluding the Kevin Smith Podcasts, is that more often or not there is a lot of arguing that takes place between the people of the podcast, which I don’t know why I love so much. I’m not one for conflict myself, but I do love so much listening to people argue… is that normal? I think I might have a problem. It’s kind of sad and weird, but a while ago I actually had a dream, and while in the dream there was a narration going on of people talking, yes, I dreamed that I was listening to a podcast. 

The Experience Machine

Robert Nozick was a philosopher who came up with a thought experiment where the concept was about the idea of happiness. Nozick asks us to imagine a machine, that if we entered it, we would enter a dream world, in which we could program what happened. Once you entered the machine you wouldn't remember programming it, you would wake up, with whatever new things you want (e.g 3 feet taller, living in Hawaii) and you wouldn't find anything strange. Nozick claims that if this machine did exist, and anybody could just live in this dream world with a fantastic life, nobody would ever enter it. He claims that you need a little bit of bad in life, so that the good can really be good. Perfection is boring, and knowing the future is even worse.

I personally wouldn't enter the machine, because, well basically because of Nozick's reasons, I want to do things for real, not just experience fake versions of them. One interesting thought people have come up with, and I contemplate from now and again is the idea that the life we live now could intact just be a dream. There literally are no clues to the true knowledge of our existence. I do love the quote by René Descartes, "I think, therefore I am", but what if the dream is telling us to "think", and to "be".

Rises to the End

Christopher Nolan just had an interview with Empire magazine, revealing some information about his upcoming movie "The Dark Knight Rises". Nolan said that it will take place eight years after "The Dark Knight", and will be about how Bruce Wayne is older, and weaker than before. Other information that isn't knew, but still worth writing about would be the new actors and characters joining this Nolan Batman series. Tom Hardy (Inception), is playing Bane, and Anne Hathaway (Ella Enchanted), is playing Catwoman. I just went on IMDB and saw that Joseph Gordan-Levitt is also in this, the original rumor was that he was going to be the Riddler and be the main villain, which I think I would hav enjoyed, but am still happy with the idea of Tom Hardy as Bane. Instead of the Riddler, Gordan-Levitt is playing "John Blake", who is a character that I have never heard of.

The rest of the old cast is still there, and will be back (without Ledger sadly). But yes, Morgan Freeman is back as Lucius Fox, Michael Cane as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commisioner Gordan. Even Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy are coming back for the last one to reprise their roles as Ra's Al Ghul and The Scarecrow. Looking at this cast I realize that there are a lot of returning actors from Nolan's last film "Inception", and I just love this because all of my favorite directors typically use the same actors in a lot of their films. I find it really gives the actors a sense of comfort, and imagine that these are the films they enjoy making the most, because they keep returning to the director.

I didn't know until today that it would take place eight years after "The Dark Knight", but it does make sense. And is very possible, as we all know by looking at all the films of Christian Bale, he has no problem with changing his body for the a role.

I am sad that this series will be over, but all good things must come to an end. I'm sure there will be future batman films in my time... but I'm positive none will come close to the Nolan series.