Well, what a busy week for me while working on this blog. Not only did I work a total of 32 hours at my actual job, plus going out and seeing Transformers 3 for next Monday's review (one of the reasons I didn't post one this week). I also was doing research for this week by skipping last week. And the reason I did this goes back to the harassment topic I posted about last month, and the fact that while we are online, we have a semblance of Anonymity in who we are.
Now, I bring this up because of a news story posted by Yahoo news, in which a New York City football star was recently killed in a stabbing just after his graduation. The incident was between the player, his father, and two parking attendants, in which the father had a 200 dollar bottle of cologne in his car as a gift to his son for graduation. However, upon returning to the car, the bottle was missing. He immediately accused the attendants, a brawl ensued, and in the end, his son was stabbed and killed.
This is a tragic story, one that has a few angles on it that can be told, but that does not mean that the news aggregates have every side of it. They have the side that gets hits, and sells papers, they are in the best interests of themselves and making money. So why is it, when people are commenting on these stories, that the internet should protect their identities from their stupidity?
NYC Football Star stabbed to death
To reference the article in question, a follow up does state that the father was in the wrong. But ever since that story broke on Yahoo news, there has been a split between people who were supporting the father, those who were being completely racist, and those who were in the middle claiming neutrality. No matter what the events happening were, there is no reason that comments like those should be made, either online or in public.
The fact that a person is anonymous online is something that is well known. Ever since the start of online connection, not knowing who is on truly on the other end of your chat is the way things have been done. Only recently with the invention of social media and connection have we truly known who is there. But that doesn't mean that all websites have moved into this social space. Many web news aggregates do have connections with Facebook and Twitter, for instance, but very few really use the connection for their accounts, starting their own and leaving them signed in.
This present a danger online to anyone who has an opinion, and the internet, like other public domains, is a place where people deserve to have not only their opinions, but their identities secure and safe from repercussions. But with that safety net comes people who use the safety of that to hurt others, to send racist, homophobic, hateful rants and insults to people in a major online forum that they believe is their only for their beliefs and no one elses.
While one could argue that the internet has evolved from the original educational purpose of the internet, in no way did the internet evolve into a weapon of hate and anger that people turn forums and comments into on the web. Repeated bashing of opinions and personal character by people who don't even know you can take it's toll, in real life or online. It all depends on how a person perceives what is written or said about them. But that doesn't change the fact that words can hurt, and those people who use words for that very purpose need to realize the true consequence of their actions.
Now I am not saying that people can't have their opinions, that's wrong. People will always have opinions about groups of people as well as topics in the world. And through the power of the internet, these topics should be debated and discussed openly with logic and fact rather than biased rants and insults, throwing salt into open wounds.
When it comes to the human condition, I believe that Adam Sessler said it best in February 5th, 2009 Sessler's Soapbox podcast. In the cast, he mentioned the people who said that he took money from Microsoft to review games on their systems for better than they actually are. He asked a very simple question that kinda summed up how he felt about people flaming his personal character.
The question was: "Do you F*** your mother? Yeah, you don't like the implication of that. Don't impugn my integrity."
The fact is that people read these comments and take offense to them is true. I am not going to post anything here, a lot of them are just too offensive to post. But as we've seen previous examples, words do hurt people. Calling people racist names whether to their face, behind their back, or online is wrong. Insulting people and trying to hurt them is wrong. People need to think about their actions before getting into an argument about something and throwing words around that they do not understand.
Yes, someone did die, and he might not have been the complete A+ honor role student that the article makes him out to be, but we don't know what really truly happened, or who the kid really was. But it's not up to use to judge him for who he was or why he died. That's not our decision to make, nor is it our right to spew off hurt and hate on comments.
Now, if you want to have an intelligent debate on topics, many other people and I are on message boards and websites willing to have one. We know a wide variety of topics, and are willing to have a willing and intelligent conversation. But that doesn't mean we're going to or should accept hatred and racism, and words that can hurt. And people need to start making a change not only online, but in the real world as well.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Random Review of the Week: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm
To continue off of last weeks review of Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, this week will be the review of the technical "sequel" to the book, The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm. This book is once again written by Christie Golden, continuing the story of the heroes of Azeroth during the aftermath of the war against the Lich King after his inevitable demise. A good portion of the major characters in World of Warcraft are represented. From Thrall and Garrosh Hellscream, to Varian Wrynn, his son Anduin, and Magni Bronzbeard, the book has an ensemble cast of characters, each one having equal importance in the book's events.
The book begins with a lesser seen character, Drek'Thar, an orc shaman who players would recognize as the former leader of Alterac Valley in the game. He will continue to pop up throughout the story, as a shaman who is seeing dark and dangerous visions of the future. This is only the start of the parade of characters that will appear throughout the book, both major and minor characters from dungeons and quests that players have experienced through the classic game before the current expansion was released.
The story continues, bringing us Garrosh Hellscream and Cairne Bloodhoof as they fight to withdraw their troops from Northrend, the parades and memorials to the fallen of both the Alliance and the Horde, the occupation of Thunder Bluff and Ironforge, the deaths of Magni Bronzebeard and Cairne Bloodhoof, and many other events that led up to the recreation of Azeroth that we see in the game now.
The book is a very entertaining read, and all the characters are well written and received. Garrosh is the example of one of the characters that is shown in a light that sets up his character in the game. He is seen as both a brash, uncontrolled young warrior who has little regard for others lives but his own, and as a somewhat tactical general who is able to conceive backup plans and contingencies along with the main objective.
However, there is a couple major problems that I have with this book. It doesn't stem from anything that Christie Golden could control, or the fact that she failed at writing. On the contrary, the book is a wonderful addition into World of Warcraft canon and helps set up the expansion of 'Cataclysm'. The first one is that there is no true 'villain' in the book. Because the book is told from two separate sides that are rarely interacting, as well as each of those sides having their own internal antagonist, there is not one person for each character to fight against, but many.
In the previous book, this wasn't a problem, because we were being shown through the eyes of the villain. Arthas was the antagonist, so we didn't need a villain for him to fight. However, that's also what made Arthas great. Arthas was a character that readers could relate to. He was a human first, he wanted to do what is right for his kingdom. Over time, that right crossed a line and changed from kind-hearted intentions to twisted visions of torment. People can see something of themselves in Arthas, and that allows readers and players to connect with him more.
The Shattering has a true villain that is never shown, as the one causing the torment of the world is Deathwing, formerly known as Neltharion. He is the one who used to help shape and form the lands. Now he is out to kill everything that lives. But a villain like that is hard to connect to, since all they feel is pure hatred and rage. Arthas wasn't like that, he was human at one point, and that makes him a much better character.
The other problem I have with the book is that this book leads into an expansion where the world is led into chaos. In Cataclysm, the Horde and Alliance's cold war has heated up to a more aggressive level, and are fighting each other on multiple fronts for territory and resources. But at the same time, the whole world has faced devastating consequences from Deathwing's return. But not much is shown about that. The book ends leaving the expansion to tell the story, and can be separated from the book. Unlike Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, which had a true ending, this one did not.
Overall, it was a great book, but nostalgia is what keeps me revisiting Arthas and his story. Warcraft 3 was the first Warcraft game that I actually played, and Arthas is one of the characters that I keep coming back to. He was the true darkness in the human heart, and Blizzard's writers brought that out beautifully. But The Shattering is an entertaining read, and to anyone who likes these books, will not disappoint.
My Review:
3/5 stars
The book begins with a lesser seen character, Drek'Thar, an orc shaman who players would recognize as the former leader of Alterac Valley in the game. He will continue to pop up throughout the story, as a shaman who is seeing dark and dangerous visions of the future. This is only the start of the parade of characters that will appear throughout the book, both major and minor characters from dungeons and quests that players have experienced through the classic game before the current expansion was released.
The story continues, bringing us Garrosh Hellscream and Cairne Bloodhoof as they fight to withdraw their troops from Northrend, the parades and memorials to the fallen of both the Alliance and the Horde, the occupation of Thunder Bluff and Ironforge, the deaths of Magni Bronzebeard and Cairne Bloodhoof, and many other events that led up to the recreation of Azeroth that we see in the game now.
The book is a very entertaining read, and all the characters are well written and received. Garrosh is the example of one of the characters that is shown in a light that sets up his character in the game. He is seen as both a brash, uncontrolled young warrior who has little regard for others lives but his own, and as a somewhat tactical general who is able to conceive backup plans and contingencies along with the main objective.
However, there is a couple major problems that I have with this book. It doesn't stem from anything that Christie Golden could control, or the fact that she failed at writing. On the contrary, the book is a wonderful addition into World of Warcraft canon and helps set up the expansion of 'Cataclysm'. The first one is that there is no true 'villain' in the book. Because the book is told from two separate sides that are rarely interacting, as well as each of those sides having their own internal antagonist, there is not one person for each character to fight against, but many.
In the previous book, this wasn't a problem, because we were being shown through the eyes of the villain. Arthas was the antagonist, so we didn't need a villain for him to fight. However, that's also what made Arthas great. Arthas was a character that readers could relate to. He was a human first, he wanted to do what is right for his kingdom. Over time, that right crossed a line and changed from kind-hearted intentions to twisted visions of torment. People can see something of themselves in Arthas, and that allows readers and players to connect with him more.
The Shattering has a true villain that is never shown, as the one causing the torment of the world is Deathwing, formerly known as Neltharion. He is the one who used to help shape and form the lands. Now he is out to kill everything that lives. But a villain like that is hard to connect to, since all they feel is pure hatred and rage. Arthas wasn't like that, he was human at one point, and that makes him a much better character.
The other problem I have with the book is that this book leads into an expansion where the world is led into chaos. In Cataclysm, the Horde and Alliance's cold war has heated up to a more aggressive level, and are fighting each other on multiple fronts for territory and resources. But at the same time, the whole world has faced devastating consequences from Deathwing's return. But not much is shown about that. The book ends leaving the expansion to tell the story, and can be separated from the book. Unlike Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, which had a true ending, this one did not.
Overall, it was a great book, but nostalgia is what keeps me revisiting Arthas and his story. Warcraft 3 was the first Warcraft game that I actually played, and Arthas is one of the characters that I keep coming back to. He was the true darkness in the human heart, and Blizzard's writers brought that out beautifully. But The Shattering is an entertaining read, and to anyone who likes these books, will not disappoint.
My Review:
3/5 stars
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Lulzsec: Cyberactivism or Cyberterrorism?
Hacking has been around almost as long as the internet has been. Like other destructive acts, hacking can do potentially major damage against people and corporations. Hundreds of different hacks occur every day, with the results leading to the theft of hundreds if not thousands of different users' credit card and financial information. Now, with the internet growing larger by the day, and our world shifting from an analog one to a digital world, the internet has become an even more dangerous place.
LulzSec Website
Surfacing in May 2011, a hacker group named Lulz Security has begun delivering some very high profile attacks against major corporations. Their largest attack was on Sony, stealing (allegedly) 1 million different users' information from their Playstation Network, and shutting the entire network down for over a month. Only recently has the network come up, being brought back up just before the E3 conference a couple weeks ago.
After the Sony attack, LulzSec has moved on from Sony and started focusing their efforts on other targets. Moving from Bethesda Entertainment, to PBS and Fox networks, and then going to a multitude of other gaming servers and finally onto different governments. Recently they attacked the British government's organized crime division, the CIA, FBI, as well as a couple Chinese and Brazilian Government websites.
On the same website, Lulzsec released a manifesto in accordance with their 1000th tweet on their twitter account, twitter.com/lulzsec. This manifesto outlined why they are doing what they are doing. Saying that they will continue to hack and take things offline until they are caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Asking if we honestly feel safe that they release something, when other hackers are potentially squatting on the same information. But that does not change the fact that they attacked Sony for their action against George 'Geohotz' Hotz, attacked PBS for their documentary about Wikileaks, attacked Fox for their story against the rapper/actor, 'Common'. Lulzsec does have a political agenda, and has shown it time and time again. To say that they're doing to for entertainment is naive and nothing more than a smokescreen from the truth.
Lulz Security Manifesto
The fact that this group, no matter how loosely affiliated to each other they are, has taken action against multiple countries, denying service to their websites, is an act of cyber-warfare. If people want to send a message to a country or a company, there are very legal, ethical ways to do it. To attack the government of any country in any way is an act of warfare, and this group has decided to go down a very dangerous road that could lead not only to their imprisonment, but potentially their own deaths.
Admittedly, however, they are right on one thing. To quote their manifesto:
"Do you think every hacker announces everything they've hacked? We certainly haven't, and we're damn sure others are playing the silent game. Do you feel safe with your Facebook accounts, your Google Mail accounts, your Skype accounts? What makes you think a hacker isn't silently sitting inside all of these right now, sniping out individual people, or perhaps selling them off? You are a peon to these people. A toy. A string of characters with a value.
This is what you should be fearful of, not us releasing things publicly, but the fact that someone hasn't released something publicly. We're sitting on 200,000 Brink users right now that we never gave out. It might make you feel safe knowing we told you, so that Brink users may change their passwords. What if we hadn't told you? No one would be aware of this theft, and we'd have a fresh 200,000 peons to abuse, completely unaware of a breach."
The thing is, people weren't safe before, and aren't any less safe now, but this group has made it their mission to potentially destroy hundreds of thousands if not millions of people identities and lives for their own amusement. While it isn't the first time, nor will it be the last time that hackers have banded together for a common goal, massive attacks by Lulzsec have already happened, and more will happen over the coming months, potentially years, if something isn't done soon.
The worst part potentially comes from the hands of laws and governments just like the United States government. How easy is it to defend a case for a cause like Net Neutrality when hackers conspire and attack our government? How easy would it be for them to suddenly ask for the reins and try to take full control of the United States network? How would it feel to suddenly have the world of the internet go from a completely free state, to one where a global government institutes laws, controls and restrictions on it. That's where we are headed if these attacks do not stop, if people don't begin to sit down and realize that their actions are destroying the online community at large.
As it is now, people see the Internet as the wild west of the 21st century. An infinite playground of information and data, able to be picked up and used in a second. However, it is not. People are subject to their local and federal laws. When you cross a border, whether in person or digitally, your laws change, you are now subject to more than just your local laws, or your federal laws, but the laws of a land you may not understand.
Now, as I write this, I already have the idea that Lulzsec is going to attempt to attack my livelihood, if they haven't already through some of the places they have already hacked. Every person who has spoken out against them or been arrested in connection with them has had their credibility attacked and defamed. My guess is that while I am a little fish in a very large pond, they possibly may come after my information. But to that I say bring it on. For I know that their time will come, and whatever is done to me can be reversed and corrected. But I will not live in fear of some hacker attacking my social structure online, because I know that maybe it is their hacks on me that could be detected and bring them to justice.
I will do my level best to help our government bring these hackers down. As should everyone who finds out their information and identities have been stolen. Make sure that you go through the motions, follow every angle possible if you suspect a breach, you may just be able to stop more people from suffering the same fate.
LulzSec Website
Surfacing in May 2011, a hacker group named Lulz Security has begun delivering some very high profile attacks against major corporations. Their largest attack was on Sony, stealing (allegedly) 1 million different users' information from their Playstation Network, and shutting the entire network down for over a month. Only recently has the network come up, being brought back up just before the E3 conference a couple weeks ago.
After the Sony attack, LulzSec has moved on from Sony and started focusing their efforts on other targets. Moving from Bethesda Entertainment, to PBS and Fox networks, and then going to a multitude of other gaming servers and finally onto different governments. Recently they attacked the British government's organized crime division, the CIA, FBI, as well as a couple Chinese and Brazilian Government websites.
On the same website, Lulzsec released a manifesto in accordance with their 1000th tweet on their twitter account, twitter.com/lulzsec. This manifesto outlined why they are doing what they are doing. Saying that they will continue to hack and take things offline until they are caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Asking if we honestly feel safe that they release something, when other hackers are potentially squatting on the same information. But that does not change the fact that they attacked Sony for their action against George 'Geohotz' Hotz, attacked PBS for their documentary about Wikileaks, attacked Fox for their story against the rapper/actor, 'Common'. Lulzsec does have a political agenda, and has shown it time and time again. To say that they're doing to for entertainment is naive and nothing more than a smokescreen from the truth.
Lulz Security Manifesto
The fact that this group, no matter how loosely affiliated to each other they are, has taken action against multiple countries, denying service to their websites, is an act of cyber-warfare. If people want to send a message to a country or a company, there are very legal, ethical ways to do it. To attack the government of any country in any way is an act of warfare, and this group has decided to go down a very dangerous road that could lead not only to their imprisonment, but potentially their own deaths.
Admittedly, however, they are right on one thing. To quote their manifesto:
"Do you think every hacker announces everything they've hacked? We certainly haven't, and we're damn sure others are playing the silent game. Do you feel safe with your Facebook accounts, your Google Mail accounts, your Skype accounts? What makes you think a hacker isn't silently sitting inside all of these right now, sniping out individual people, or perhaps selling them off? You are a peon to these people. A toy. A string of characters with a value.
This is what you should be fearful of, not us releasing things publicly, but the fact that someone hasn't released something publicly. We're sitting on 200,000 Brink users right now that we never gave out. It might make you feel safe knowing we told you, so that Brink users may change their passwords. What if we hadn't told you? No one would be aware of this theft, and we'd have a fresh 200,000 peons to abuse, completely unaware of a breach."
The thing is, people weren't safe before, and aren't any less safe now, but this group has made it their mission to potentially destroy hundreds of thousands if not millions of people identities and lives for their own amusement. While it isn't the first time, nor will it be the last time that hackers have banded together for a common goal, massive attacks by Lulzsec have already happened, and more will happen over the coming months, potentially years, if something isn't done soon.
The worst part potentially comes from the hands of laws and governments just like the United States government. How easy is it to defend a case for a cause like Net Neutrality when hackers conspire and attack our government? How easy would it be for them to suddenly ask for the reins and try to take full control of the United States network? How would it feel to suddenly have the world of the internet go from a completely free state, to one where a global government institutes laws, controls and restrictions on it. That's where we are headed if these attacks do not stop, if people don't begin to sit down and realize that their actions are destroying the online community at large.
As it is now, people see the Internet as the wild west of the 21st century. An infinite playground of information and data, able to be picked up and used in a second. However, it is not. People are subject to their local and federal laws. When you cross a border, whether in person or digitally, your laws change, you are now subject to more than just your local laws, or your federal laws, but the laws of a land you may not understand.
Now, as I write this, I already have the idea that Lulzsec is going to attempt to attack my livelihood, if they haven't already through some of the places they have already hacked. Every person who has spoken out against them or been arrested in connection with them has had their credibility attacked and defamed. My guess is that while I am a little fish in a very large pond, they possibly may come after my information. But to that I say bring it on. For I know that their time will come, and whatever is done to me can be reversed and corrected. But I will not live in fear of some hacker attacking my social structure online, because I know that maybe it is their hacks on me that could be detected and bring them to justice.
I will do my level best to help our government bring these hackers down. As should everyone who finds out their information and identities have been stolen. Make sure that you go through the motions, follow every angle possible if you suspect a breach, you may just be able to stop more people from suffering the same fate.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King
In 2002, Blizzard released Warcraft 3, a Role-Time Strategy game that began telling the story of Arthas Menethil. In November 2008, they released the second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King. The expansion continued the story of Arthas, telling the players more of the Arthas story, reliving certain aspects of it and showing us the full scope of what the power of the Lich King has become.
In 2009, Christie Golden released Arthas: Rise of the Lich King. This story did some retelling of the story in Warcraft 3, but also added a major amount of back story to the character of Arthas. It introduces one of the major catalysts of his personality, the death of his first horse, as well as more insight into his mental state as he went from a young boy to a paladin, then a death knight of the scourge to becoming the Lich King himself.
The book is wonderfully written, with both action an narrative standing out to keep the reader entertained. The narrative forces the reader to use a good chunk of their own imagination, but Christie Golden does enough with her writing where someone who isn't as well versed in the Warcraft Universe will be able to stay along with the story.
The greatest bit of story for anyone who has followed the lore of World of Warcraft through the expansion however, is the opening and closing scenes of the book. In these scenes, there are only three characters, gathered around a table in a traditional orcish hut.. Two of these characters have been seen by the players at some point. Arthas is one of these characters, along with a sickly, young boy who players of Wrath of the Lich King have come to know as Matthias Lehner.
The third character is the former shaman named Ner'zhul, and all three of these characters are important to think about as the story progresses. These three people represent certain parts of the psyche of Arthas as he progresses from Paladin of the light to King of the damned. One of the main things that Warcraft 3 failed to fully show the player before they turned Arthas into the lich king was the was Arthas felt about what he was doing. The weight of his crown as the prince of a human kingdom was a heavy and terrible burden, but it's what bolstered his personality.
Ner'zhul took control of the body of Arthas for certain points, but Arthas had the strength and the will to fight him for control as well. Ner'zhul represents the corruption that turned Arthas against everything he once stood for. Matthias stands for the innocence that was once present in him. And Arthas stands in the room as the person he wants to be. Each of these three will have a hold of him through the book, and it is these three figures that are the most important characters of the story.
The rest of the story unfolds over a number of years, ranging from Prince Arthas from the age of a child up until his time of undeath and becoming the Lich King. Anyone who has played both the RTS Warcraft games as well as World of Warcraft would find the book immensely satisfying. As a gamer who has played Warcraft 3, its expansion, as well as World of Warcraft and its subsequent expansions, the story of Arthas has always been once of my favorites.
It was because of this love for his story, and that we finally are awarded the chance to square off with him, that I love this book. While the end of that fateful battle ended in a cliched and predictable way, the end of Arthas was a satisfying one. When the lore is viewed in order, it is a very exciting story, one of not only corruption and betrayal, but one of wanting to do the right thing by your people, although you may not know what that is.
My review:
4/5 Stars
I do apologize for the late review, some surprise research for Thursday's post came spur of the moment and affected the release of this, but next week's review, "The Shattering" will be on time (hopefully)!
In 2009, Christie Golden released Arthas: Rise of the Lich King. This story did some retelling of the story in Warcraft 3, but also added a major amount of back story to the character of Arthas. It introduces one of the major catalysts of his personality, the death of his first horse, as well as more insight into his mental state as he went from a young boy to a paladin, then a death knight of the scourge to becoming the Lich King himself.
The book is wonderfully written, with both action an narrative standing out to keep the reader entertained. The narrative forces the reader to use a good chunk of their own imagination, but Christie Golden does enough with her writing where someone who isn't as well versed in the Warcraft Universe will be able to stay along with the story.
The greatest bit of story for anyone who has followed the lore of World of Warcraft through the expansion however, is the opening and closing scenes of the book. In these scenes, there are only three characters, gathered around a table in a traditional orcish hut.. Two of these characters have been seen by the players at some point. Arthas is one of these characters, along with a sickly, young boy who players of Wrath of the Lich King have come to know as Matthias Lehner.
The third character is the former shaman named Ner'zhul, and all three of these characters are important to think about as the story progresses. These three people represent certain parts of the psyche of Arthas as he progresses from Paladin of the light to King of the damned. One of the main things that Warcraft 3 failed to fully show the player before they turned Arthas into the lich king was the was Arthas felt about what he was doing. The weight of his crown as the prince of a human kingdom was a heavy and terrible burden, but it's what bolstered his personality.
Ner'zhul took control of the body of Arthas for certain points, but Arthas had the strength and the will to fight him for control as well. Ner'zhul represents the corruption that turned Arthas against everything he once stood for. Matthias stands for the innocence that was once present in him. And Arthas stands in the room as the person he wants to be. Each of these three will have a hold of him through the book, and it is these three figures that are the most important characters of the story.
The rest of the story unfolds over a number of years, ranging from Prince Arthas from the age of a child up until his time of undeath and becoming the Lich King. Anyone who has played both the RTS Warcraft games as well as World of Warcraft would find the book immensely satisfying. As a gamer who has played Warcraft 3, its expansion, as well as World of Warcraft and its subsequent expansions, the story of Arthas has always been once of my favorites.
It was because of this love for his story, and that we finally are awarded the chance to square off with him, that I love this book. While the end of that fateful battle ended in a cliched and predictable way, the end of Arthas was a satisfying one. When the lore is viewed in order, it is a very exciting story, one of not only corruption and betrayal, but one of wanting to do the right thing by your people, although you may not know what that is.
My review:
4/5 Stars
I do apologize for the late review, some surprise research for Thursday's post came spur of the moment and affected the release of this, but next week's review, "The Shattering" will be on time (hopefully)!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Libya: The Fight Continues, Congress is told to butt out
On March 19th, US Forces in concurrence with NATO forces began strikes in Libyan compounds that were government controlled as the citizens rebelled against their leader. President Obama didn't ask permission from congress, or anyone else, to begin these attacks. After two weeks of airstrikes and bombing runs on Libyan compounds, the United States handed over control of the operation to NATO forces.
However, publicly, all is not as it seemed.
The U.S. still has a presence in the operation. While we do not have troops on the ground, nor our planes in the air, we still have troops in the area in support roles for operations. Our ships still conduct strikes, along with our drones. The fact is, while no one in our government is admitting to it, this has turned into yet another war.
But the White House keeps saying that this isn't a war that the United States is involved in. Because under the war act of 1973, we have no troops on the ground fighting, therefore we are not at war. Though our drones and technology are still in the air, and our troops are supporting them through a computer.
We are at war in Libya. NATO may have control, but our tax dollars are being spent there, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq. Our soldiers may not be fighting and dying on Libyan soil, we still have ships that could come under fire, and soldiers populating those vessels. I guarantee that if one of those ships ever came under attack by Libyan forces still operating today, the United States would press forward.
It is because of this that I can say that we are already at war. Because the U.S. is the biggest financial and military supporter in NATO, and our forces are still in the area. Even though our esteemed President would like to make us believe that we are not.
Now, I do not dispute that the people in Libya need help. Their dictator, Gaddhafi, has been violent as their ruler and has finally pushed them to the brink. And as our status in the world, holding both nuclear weapons and one of the largest armed forces to date, it is our duty to help those who ask. But that doesn't give our leaders the right to lie to their own citizens and the officials those citizens elect to represent them.
President Obama should have come to congress for authorization of any attack on the Libyan government forces. That is the way our country is supposed to work. When September 11th occurred, President Bush went to congress for approval for war. They agreed. Congress also passed approval for President Bush and his war in Iraq. The Libyan conflict and our actions in it have never been approved by congress.
It is with this, that I believe that our current President is trampling on our constitution. While it is not currently affecting our freedoms, it is showing how he really feels about the laws this nation has. The constitution yes, is a living, breathing document. But at the same time, there are certain powers that a President may never have, and the power to go to war without congressional approval is one of them.
Our country has to speak up against him, and the liberal media that supports this regime. He is ignoring the fact that all citizens have rights. Same with the world. While the Libyan people did ask for our help, President Obama knows that we may not have the funds to offer it. So, speak up, citizens of the nation, it is time the president actually heard us.
However, publicly, all is not as it seemed.
The U.S. still has a presence in the operation. While we do not have troops on the ground, nor our planes in the air, we still have troops in the area in support roles for operations. Our ships still conduct strikes, along with our drones. The fact is, while no one in our government is admitting to it, this has turned into yet another war.
But the White House keeps saying that this isn't a war that the United States is involved in. Because under the war act of 1973, we have no troops on the ground fighting, therefore we are not at war. Though our drones and technology are still in the air, and our troops are supporting them through a computer.
We are at war in Libya. NATO may have control, but our tax dollars are being spent there, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq. Our soldiers may not be fighting and dying on Libyan soil, we still have ships that could come under fire, and soldiers populating those vessels. I guarantee that if one of those ships ever came under attack by Libyan forces still operating today, the United States would press forward.
It is because of this that I can say that we are already at war. Because the U.S. is the biggest financial and military supporter in NATO, and our forces are still in the area. Even though our esteemed President would like to make us believe that we are not.
Now, I do not dispute that the people in Libya need help. Their dictator, Gaddhafi, has been violent as their ruler and has finally pushed them to the brink. And as our status in the world, holding both nuclear weapons and one of the largest armed forces to date, it is our duty to help those who ask. But that doesn't give our leaders the right to lie to their own citizens and the officials those citizens elect to represent them.
President Obama should have come to congress for authorization of any attack on the Libyan government forces. That is the way our country is supposed to work. When September 11th occurred, President Bush went to congress for approval for war. They agreed. Congress also passed approval for President Bush and his war in Iraq. The Libyan conflict and our actions in it have never been approved by congress.
It is with this, that I believe that our current President is trampling on our constitution. While it is not currently affecting our freedoms, it is showing how he really feels about the laws this nation has. The constitution yes, is a living, breathing document. But at the same time, there are certain powers that a President may never have, and the power to go to war without congressional approval is one of them.
Our country has to speak up against him, and the liberal media that supports this regime. He is ignoring the fact that all citizens have rights. Same with the world. While the Libyan people did ask for our help, President Obama knows that we may not have the funds to offer it. So, speak up, citizens of the nation, it is time the president actually heard us.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Random Review of the Week: E3 2011
Every year, the Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3, is held in Los Angeles, California. Save the one year in Santa Monica, the big three gaming companies and a major collection of developers and publishers take control of downtown L.A. to show off what the biggest and best games of the next year are going to be. Gamers wait for this conference like a second Christmas, as it is where Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft show off what they think will be the next generation in gaming. The X-Box 360, Nintendo Wii, PS3, PS2, and many other systems were showcased here for the first time, and historically, this is the conference where gaming history is made.
However, after a failed experiment by moving the conference to Santa Monica, the expo fell in glory. What was once the yearly gaming mecca now became one of many different conferences and conventions about technology and gaming. It was fitting that this happened however, as gaming devices became much more than just gaming devices, fueling a much larger audience.
This year, in 2011, this wasn't any different of an expo. While the big three got together, I felt that there weren't many surprises they had. And I held off on making a thursday post to watch all the footage, and how best to describe what I felt about this. And what I felt, was nothing.
Maybe I am more jaded when it comes to video games and consoles, or possibly I'm looking just negative about certain things. But, in a conference where things have literally made my jaw drop in years past, this year felt like a moment of nostalgia. With both Sony and Nintendo showing off things that we've been hearing and seeing for months, and Microsoft not showing anything new in terms of software or hardware, it was hard pressed to find a surprise in the convention.
So, for a smaller in-depth look at the conferences, we'll start with Microsoft:
Microsoft debuted new footage of Gears of War 3, many Kinect enabled titles, showed off Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 footage, announced the same DLC deal they had in the previous year, and introduced yet another new interface for the X-Box and their Kinect motion controller. The conference didn't show much that we haven't already seen, and while the shiny new interface was different, it's the third one they've released in the last two years.
Sony: As Jack Tretton said about the conference, there was a major elephant in the room once he walked on stage. The Playstation Network outage that plagued Sony for a month was one thing that needed to be addressed, and Tretton responded with class. He apologized on behalf of himself and the company, and did it remarkably well enough to convince me at the very least. However, after that, there wasn't any more surprises to be had, except for the Sly Cooper 4 announcement trailer. The game has already been announced though. And while we now know the true name of the new Playstation Hand-held, the Playstation Vita, we've already seen how the system will function, what it can do. There wasn't anything that truly stood out, except for the graphics were of PS3 quality.
Nintendo: Yes, Nintendo did show off the new WiiU console, the hardware that they are releasing with Next-Gen Graphics capability, improved online play, and storage space in order to hold content and information. However, this is something we've been hearing rumors about from Nintendo for a while, and at the same time, it was something that was needed in order for the company to continue to compete with the other two console makers. The Wii at this point is underpowered, and is unable to handle experiences that the PS3 or 360 can. The WiiU and it's new "innovative" controller (a normal controller sporting a touchscreen for enhanced content and two cameras) is designed to make the console competitive.
The problem is, that they didn't show any gameplay. Third party titles were shown by footage from the other systems. First Party footage was shown in trailers of games that have been already released that were souped up. There is nothing of actual proof of what this console can actually do, which leaves me skeptical.
The rest of the conference was a mash of "been there, done that" for me, with all the games already shown at other conventions and conferences. This year, i'm sorry, has taken away my lust for the convention, and possibly even for following gaming news entirely. It is sad, since gaming is one of my favorite hobbies, and I did spend all week scouring the gaming news aggregates in order to find something that blew my mind. Sadly, nothing truly popped out like that.
I do apologize for skipping thursdays post for this one, and I will be back on schedule this week. Thanks for your patience.
No review score this week
However, after a failed experiment by moving the conference to Santa Monica, the expo fell in glory. What was once the yearly gaming mecca now became one of many different conferences and conventions about technology and gaming. It was fitting that this happened however, as gaming devices became much more than just gaming devices, fueling a much larger audience.
This year, in 2011, this wasn't any different of an expo. While the big three got together, I felt that there weren't many surprises they had. And I held off on making a thursday post to watch all the footage, and how best to describe what I felt about this. And what I felt, was nothing.
Maybe I am more jaded when it comes to video games and consoles, or possibly I'm looking just negative about certain things. But, in a conference where things have literally made my jaw drop in years past, this year felt like a moment of nostalgia. With both Sony and Nintendo showing off things that we've been hearing and seeing for months, and Microsoft not showing anything new in terms of software or hardware, it was hard pressed to find a surprise in the convention.
So, for a smaller in-depth look at the conferences, we'll start with Microsoft:
Microsoft debuted new footage of Gears of War 3, many Kinect enabled titles, showed off Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 footage, announced the same DLC deal they had in the previous year, and introduced yet another new interface for the X-Box and their Kinect motion controller. The conference didn't show much that we haven't already seen, and while the shiny new interface was different, it's the third one they've released in the last two years.
Sony: As Jack Tretton said about the conference, there was a major elephant in the room once he walked on stage. The Playstation Network outage that plagued Sony for a month was one thing that needed to be addressed, and Tretton responded with class. He apologized on behalf of himself and the company, and did it remarkably well enough to convince me at the very least. However, after that, there wasn't any more surprises to be had, except for the Sly Cooper 4 announcement trailer. The game has already been announced though. And while we now know the true name of the new Playstation Hand-held, the Playstation Vita, we've already seen how the system will function, what it can do. There wasn't anything that truly stood out, except for the graphics were of PS3 quality.
Nintendo: Yes, Nintendo did show off the new WiiU console, the hardware that they are releasing with Next-Gen Graphics capability, improved online play, and storage space in order to hold content and information. However, this is something we've been hearing rumors about from Nintendo for a while, and at the same time, it was something that was needed in order for the company to continue to compete with the other two console makers. The Wii at this point is underpowered, and is unable to handle experiences that the PS3 or 360 can. The WiiU and it's new "innovative" controller (a normal controller sporting a touchscreen for enhanced content and two cameras) is designed to make the console competitive.
The problem is, that they didn't show any gameplay. Third party titles were shown by footage from the other systems. First Party footage was shown in trailers of games that have been already released that were souped up. There is nothing of actual proof of what this console can actually do, which leaves me skeptical.
The rest of the conference was a mash of "been there, done that" for me, with all the games already shown at other conventions and conferences. This year, i'm sorry, has taken away my lust for the convention, and possibly even for following gaming news entirely. It is sad, since gaming is one of my favorite hobbies, and I did spend all week scouring the gaming news aggregates in order to find something that blew my mind. Sadly, nothing truly popped out like that.
I do apologize for skipping thursdays post for this one, and I will be back on schedule this week. Thanks for your patience.
No review score this week
Monday, June 6, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Hangover: Part II
In 2009, Todd Phillips directed The Hangover. The comedy told the story of four friends going to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, only to get totally messed up and losing one of their own. The remaining three friends then try to trace their steps in order to find their missing friend, and end up on the comedic adventure of a lifetime. The movie redefined drunk comedy, and made the comedy genre a highlight of the next year in a industry that is more enthralled with blockbuster epics than smaller films of this nature.
In 2011, Todd Phillips directed The Hangover Part II. A sequel to the original film, the four main leads reprise their roles and set off for a new adventure in Bangkok, Thailand. Justin Bartha once again sits out of the action, but this time it is Mason Lee portraying Teddy as the one that the 'Wolfpack' has lost in their night of drunken stupor. They set off into the heart of Bangkok in order to bring him back in time for Stu (Portrayed once again by Ed Helms) to get married to his sweetheart.
The premise makes it seem all too familiar, and to those who have seen the original, it pretty much is. While the idea was hilarious the first go around, the second one already feels dated and repetitive. I was apprehensive to watch the first one, but when I finally did, I laughed through every minute of it. As I sat through the sequel, I could see where the formula became contrived and outdated within just one film.
The opening of part two is almost a direct mirror of the original, with Phil (Bradley Cooper) making a call to Tracy (Portrayed once again by Sasha Barrese) and saying how they messed up once again. It then flips to only a few days prior as Doug, Phil and Stu prepare to leave for Thailand and end up once again bringing Alan with them to the wedding.
From here, the film becomes almost an exact carbon copy of the first one. The story is almost the exact same, but uses a couple new elements of a Buddhist monk and a drug-dealing monkey. However, the formula hasn't changed. The premise of the movie is the exact same, and the characters haven't matured or grown any from the events of the previous film.
There is laughs here, and the movie is a bit darker than the previous film, but the film is still contrived. The fact that this movie style has quickly gotten stale is a fact that is obvious from the first few minutes of the film. While I usually don't agree with the true movie critics, I do agree with them here.
The acting is the same quality, all the characters shine. However, you can tell they're just going through the same motions as before. If there is a third film, I will be surprised if it as much of a success as these last two have been.
My Review:
2/5 Stars
In 2011, Todd Phillips directed The Hangover Part II. A sequel to the original film, the four main leads reprise their roles and set off for a new adventure in Bangkok, Thailand. Justin Bartha once again sits out of the action, but this time it is Mason Lee portraying Teddy as the one that the 'Wolfpack' has lost in their night of drunken stupor. They set off into the heart of Bangkok in order to bring him back in time for Stu (Portrayed once again by Ed Helms) to get married to his sweetheart.
The premise makes it seem all too familiar, and to those who have seen the original, it pretty much is. While the idea was hilarious the first go around, the second one already feels dated and repetitive. I was apprehensive to watch the first one, but when I finally did, I laughed through every minute of it. As I sat through the sequel, I could see where the formula became contrived and outdated within just one film.
The opening of part two is almost a direct mirror of the original, with Phil (Bradley Cooper) making a call to Tracy (Portrayed once again by Sasha Barrese) and saying how they messed up once again. It then flips to only a few days prior as Doug, Phil and Stu prepare to leave for Thailand and end up once again bringing Alan with them to the wedding.
From here, the film becomes almost an exact carbon copy of the first one. The story is almost the exact same, but uses a couple new elements of a Buddhist monk and a drug-dealing monkey. However, the formula hasn't changed. The premise of the movie is the exact same, and the characters haven't matured or grown any from the events of the previous film.
There is laughs here, and the movie is a bit darker than the previous film, but the film is still contrived. The fact that this movie style has quickly gotten stale is a fact that is obvious from the first few minutes of the film. While I usually don't agree with the true movie critics, I do agree with them here.
The acting is the same quality, all the characters shine. However, you can tell they're just going through the same motions as before. If there is a third film, I will be surprised if it as much of a success as these last two have been.
My Review:
2/5 Stars
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Evil Empire of the Gaming World: Activision Blizzard
The world of video games has never seen a better time. With the process of device integration, the gaming console has become a much more powerful and seductive machine. With consoles being able to watch and download video content, stream files from other computers, browse the internet, the gaming console is becoming the one thing that many people have wanted for years, a computer to connect to the television.
But at the heart of the gaming console is still the games, and where there are games, there are large corporations that are dedicated to making games for these boxes we connect to our television. But with each Konami and Ubisoft out there, there is one major conglomerate that can be seen to not have the best interest of quality and standards at their heart. For most of the 2000-2010 decade, that company was viewed as Electronic Arts. However, in the recent couple of years, that balance of power has shifted, to Activision Blizzard.
While the company of Activision has been around since the early eighties, Activision has only been a true powerhouse in the industry of game development since 1999 with the start of the Tony Hawk series. Ever since then, Activision had been greatly chipping away at the market share that their biggest competitor, Electronic Arts. With the success of the Tony Hawk series, then Call of Duty, then Guitar Hero, Activision had become one of the largest gaming companies in the world.
On the same token in the PC market was Blizzard Entertainment. While only producing few games for the PC, those games have been monsters on the charts. Ever since they changed their name from Silicon & Synapse to Blizzard Entertainment, most of the titles they produced have been in their three largest franchises, Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. However, each game has been majorly successful, and in 2004, Blizzard released World of Warcraft, the largest MMORPG ever to be produced, now holding 11.4 Million Subscribers.
In 2008, the companies merged, forming the new Activision Blizzard, with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick having control of the entire company. Publicly, Blizzard Entertainment was still going to be run the way it was, with Kotick offering no interference. It was also in 2008, however, that we saw a downturn in quality from both companies.
In November of 2008, Blizzard released the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft, entitled Wrath of the Lich King. This expansion has been deemed some of the worst content in the game's history for both Player vs. Environment and Player vs. Player content. With some of the most boring and repetitive opening raiding content, and a questing environment that took away from the community aspect of the game, WotLK has been criticized heavily.
At the same time, things for Activision weren't any better. The Tony Hawk franchise that truly set the company on the map was starting to fall flat, with game after game being rated lower and lower. The Guitar Hero franchise was losing more and more market share to EA's Rock Band, and was also being scored lower than the franchise as well. Other Activision games were also lackluster, with the main money makers for the Activision Blizzard being the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises.
However, in 2009, Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game was lauded by critics, but gamers had some complaints about multiplayer glitches, rushed storylines, and all too similar feel of the gameplay on both sides. Later litigation by the former heads of the Infinity Ward, the company who made Modern Warfare 2 for Activision, revealed that Activision rushed the release of the game in order to meet the 1 CoD game per year deadline.
I call this company the Evil Empire of Gaming, because of the fact that Activision has put it's fingers into every aspect of game design. The biggest margin of proof of this comes from the release of the third expansion to World of Warcraft, Cataclysm. The expansion had been in development for at least a year, with artists working to rebuild the entire original world from the ground up and add new content into the game.
However, upon release, players saw almost two months straight of hotfixes (updates that can be done without patching), fixing different issues from bug fixes to damage in combat. 20-30 different changes a day, were released, which made the game have a very rushed feeling behind it. At the same time, Blizzard came out and admitted that one of their classes was broken.
These are things that should not happen with a company. No game or piece of software is ever going to be perfect, and it's expected to have some glitches when a game is a massive as World of Warcraft. However, when things are this broken upon release, when Blizzard has never had this magnitude of a problem before, is evidence that Kotick and his Activision design philosophy has severely impacted the company.
The next fault in the game is coming in the soon to be released content patch for WoW, 4.2. This patch has new raid content for endgame players in the Firelands, a dungeon designed with seven bosses and a new daily questing area. However, there are certain things that have been admitted by the company that make it seem like their either resting on their laurels, become lazy, or Activision is tightly holding the reins of the company.
This patch is supposed to be comparable to 3.1, which was the first released raid content in Wrath of the Lich King. 3.1 introduced Ulduar, a 14 boss raid encounter which, while the rest of the expansion was frowned upon until the final raid, had some of the best raiding experiences that the game had to offer. The World of Warcraft community praised 3.1, noting numerous changes to the game made the experience better and had much more to offer.
However, Firelands only has seven bosses, with their Baradin Hold instance getting a new wing added to make up an eighth boss. At the same time, a 5 man dungeon called the Abyssal Maw was supposed to be released with Firelands. However, in a recent post by the developers, the team on Abyssal Maw was moved onto Firelands to include additional bosses into the instance.
So to think that Fireands was actually supposed to have fewer than 7 shows that Blizzard has moved from a philosophy of "It's done when it's done" to moving towards the Activision philosophy of wanting the bottom line and getting the maximum dollar value of everything, regardless of quality.
It is sad when a company begins to take this route. In gaming history, we've seen this before. Electronic Arts during the last decade was like this, with most of their major game releases only being yearly updates to their sports franchises. People were buying them up, but the games in about 2006 begun to take a huge downturn. The releases of Medal of Honor weren't any better, and the whole company began to fall.
However, in 2008, things began to pick up. New IPs were introduced, and other IPs were transformed into innovative and powerful franchises. This allowed EA to once again become a major force in the gaming industry. But it took them a few years to figure this out, and now I have to wonder when Activision Blizzard will learn this same information.
With the next games coming out from the Activision Blizzard lineup, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Prototype 2, X-Men, Transformers and Spider-Man, things aren't looking to change. Activision has already put certain franchises on hold, but their studios are working on nothing substantial. On top of this, World of Warcraft just lost 600,000 subscribers, going from 12 million to 11.4 million. When you look at how much this is lost in revenue per month, that's 9 million dollars lost per month. Every month, the company will make 9 million less. And if the quality of content doesn't increase, it wouldn't be hard to see that loss go even higher.
So, as a company, Activision Blizzard, I plead with you to move away from this path, but it's only we the gamers who can truly make a difference and change this. The next release of Call of Duty, don't buy it. Or maybe for the 12 million wow players, cancel your subs for a month. Look at how Activision would feel at that point. That is a major blow to the company itself, and possibly could turn things around.
But at the heart of the gaming console is still the games, and where there are games, there are large corporations that are dedicated to making games for these boxes we connect to our television. But with each Konami and Ubisoft out there, there is one major conglomerate that can be seen to not have the best interest of quality and standards at their heart. For most of the 2000-2010 decade, that company was viewed as Electronic Arts. However, in the recent couple of years, that balance of power has shifted, to Activision Blizzard.
While the company of Activision has been around since the early eighties, Activision has only been a true powerhouse in the industry of game development since 1999 with the start of the Tony Hawk series. Ever since then, Activision had been greatly chipping away at the market share that their biggest competitor, Electronic Arts. With the success of the Tony Hawk series, then Call of Duty, then Guitar Hero, Activision had become one of the largest gaming companies in the world.
On the same token in the PC market was Blizzard Entertainment. While only producing few games for the PC, those games have been monsters on the charts. Ever since they changed their name from Silicon & Synapse to Blizzard Entertainment, most of the titles they produced have been in their three largest franchises, Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. However, each game has been majorly successful, and in 2004, Blizzard released World of Warcraft, the largest MMORPG ever to be produced, now holding 11.4 Million Subscribers.
In 2008, the companies merged, forming the new Activision Blizzard, with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick having control of the entire company. Publicly, Blizzard Entertainment was still going to be run the way it was, with Kotick offering no interference. It was also in 2008, however, that we saw a downturn in quality from both companies.
In November of 2008, Blizzard released the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft, entitled Wrath of the Lich King. This expansion has been deemed some of the worst content in the game's history for both Player vs. Environment and Player vs. Player content. With some of the most boring and repetitive opening raiding content, and a questing environment that took away from the community aspect of the game, WotLK has been criticized heavily.
At the same time, things for Activision weren't any better. The Tony Hawk franchise that truly set the company on the map was starting to fall flat, with game after game being rated lower and lower. The Guitar Hero franchise was losing more and more market share to EA's Rock Band, and was also being scored lower than the franchise as well. Other Activision games were also lackluster, with the main money makers for the Activision Blizzard being the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises.
However, in 2009, Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The game was lauded by critics, but gamers had some complaints about multiplayer glitches, rushed storylines, and all too similar feel of the gameplay on both sides. Later litigation by the former heads of the Infinity Ward, the company who made Modern Warfare 2 for Activision, revealed that Activision rushed the release of the game in order to meet the 1 CoD game per year deadline.
I call this company the Evil Empire of Gaming, because of the fact that Activision has put it's fingers into every aspect of game design. The biggest margin of proof of this comes from the release of the third expansion to World of Warcraft, Cataclysm. The expansion had been in development for at least a year, with artists working to rebuild the entire original world from the ground up and add new content into the game.
However, upon release, players saw almost two months straight of hotfixes (updates that can be done without patching), fixing different issues from bug fixes to damage in combat. 20-30 different changes a day, were released, which made the game have a very rushed feeling behind it. At the same time, Blizzard came out and admitted that one of their classes was broken.
These are things that should not happen with a company. No game or piece of software is ever going to be perfect, and it's expected to have some glitches when a game is a massive as World of Warcraft. However, when things are this broken upon release, when Blizzard has never had this magnitude of a problem before, is evidence that Kotick and his Activision design philosophy has severely impacted the company.
The next fault in the game is coming in the soon to be released content patch for WoW, 4.2. This patch has new raid content for endgame players in the Firelands, a dungeon designed with seven bosses and a new daily questing area. However, there are certain things that have been admitted by the company that make it seem like their either resting on their laurels, become lazy, or Activision is tightly holding the reins of the company.
This patch is supposed to be comparable to 3.1, which was the first released raid content in Wrath of the Lich King. 3.1 introduced Ulduar, a 14 boss raid encounter which, while the rest of the expansion was frowned upon until the final raid, had some of the best raiding experiences that the game had to offer. The World of Warcraft community praised 3.1, noting numerous changes to the game made the experience better and had much more to offer.
However, Firelands only has seven bosses, with their Baradin Hold instance getting a new wing added to make up an eighth boss. At the same time, a 5 man dungeon called the Abyssal Maw was supposed to be released with Firelands. However, in a recent post by the developers, the team on Abyssal Maw was moved onto Firelands to include additional bosses into the instance.
So to think that Fireands was actually supposed to have fewer than 7 shows that Blizzard has moved from a philosophy of "It's done when it's done" to moving towards the Activision philosophy of wanting the bottom line and getting the maximum dollar value of everything, regardless of quality.
It is sad when a company begins to take this route. In gaming history, we've seen this before. Electronic Arts during the last decade was like this, with most of their major game releases only being yearly updates to their sports franchises. People were buying them up, but the games in about 2006 begun to take a huge downturn. The releases of Medal of Honor weren't any better, and the whole company began to fall.
However, in 2008, things began to pick up. New IPs were introduced, and other IPs were transformed into innovative and powerful franchises. This allowed EA to once again become a major force in the gaming industry. But it took them a few years to figure this out, and now I have to wonder when Activision Blizzard will learn this same information.
With the next games coming out from the Activision Blizzard lineup, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Prototype 2, X-Men, Transformers and Spider-Man, things aren't looking to change. Activision has already put certain franchises on hold, but their studios are working on nothing substantial. On top of this, World of Warcraft just lost 600,000 subscribers, going from 12 million to 11.4 million. When you look at how much this is lost in revenue per month, that's 9 million dollars lost per month. Every month, the company will make 9 million less. And if the quality of content doesn't increase, it wouldn't be hard to see that loss go even higher.
So, as a company, Activision Blizzard, I plead with you to move away from this path, but it's only we the gamers who can truly make a difference and change this. The next release of Call of Duty, don't buy it. Or maybe for the 12 million wow players, cancel your subs for a month. Look at how Activision would feel at that point. That is a major blow to the company itself, and possibly could turn things around.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Return of the Ashbringer II
For those non-nerds out there, I do apologize, but this will be a week of World of Warcraft on the blog. Today's post as well as thursday's will be totally WoW related. Today, I will be reviewing a feature-length Machinima video, entitled 'Return of the Ashbringer II: Raiders of Northrend".
This movie is a sequel film (Obviously), and I have not seen the first one. However, you don't need to in order to enjoy the film. The most interesting thing about this film is that, unlike other Machinima films based on the World of Warcraft universe, this one is shot entirely in the game. All the animations of the characters are actual emotes that players are able to do with slash commands in the in game engine.
The story is also a major highlight of the movie. This is one of the few films that actually uses the WoW timeline from expansion to expansion to tell a story. As the movie is told in both a series of flashbacks and "current" events (I say current for the fact that the events of the film are actually now in a past expansion and are no longer current content), we see events from both The Burning Crusade expansion and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
The story follows a guild named Arctica, a former raiding guild during the events of The Burning Crusade expansion. We see as they have fallen from their former glory because of the lust for battle has left it's leader, Maxcell. The viewer also follows three other members of Arctica, Kraakku, Jallu, and Pykmi, as they go on a mission given to them by Maxcell.
However, the most prominent character in the video is Pykmi, a protection warrior for Arctica. The flashbacks are mostly of his story, and how he's lost people in the past and made him what he is today. His story is told magnificently throughout the film, as his story dovetails with the history of Arctica, and why they chose to stop fighting.
Another interesting part of the film is that they actually use players to tell a story of betrayal, murder, and the battle of will. There is a small twist in the film that uses two different player characters in a way that I hope they make a third movie out of. It is very important to the story, and allows people to really see where the game headed in Wrath of the Lich King.
The movie also uses many of the in-game mechanics and story pieces that were presented in the entire game of World of Warcraft. The flashbacks have the definite feel of having Classic WoW in terms of prejudices and hate. The current film timeline feels very much like Wrath, with desperation and fear taking a major toll on each character. That expansion did a very good job in storytelling, and this film does no different.
Each of the characters have brilliant voice actors (At least one of which World of Warcraft enthusiasts will recognize as the voice of OMFGCata, Jesse Cox), and they bring the script to life with the limited canned emotes that World of Warcraft provides in game. The best thing is that the voices are recognizable, but they actually have the quality that is presented in a lot of lower budget Hollywood films.
Overall, this film is an excellent set-up Machinima, and makes you want more. If you're into World of Warcraft at all, this movie whets your appetite for more.
My review:
4/5 stars
This movie is a sequel film (Obviously), and I have not seen the first one. However, you don't need to in order to enjoy the film. The most interesting thing about this film is that, unlike other Machinima films based on the World of Warcraft universe, this one is shot entirely in the game. All the animations of the characters are actual emotes that players are able to do with slash commands in the in game engine.
The story is also a major highlight of the movie. This is one of the few films that actually uses the WoW timeline from expansion to expansion to tell a story. As the movie is told in both a series of flashbacks and "current" events (I say current for the fact that the events of the film are actually now in a past expansion and are no longer current content), we see events from both The Burning Crusade expansion and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
The story follows a guild named Arctica, a former raiding guild during the events of The Burning Crusade expansion. We see as they have fallen from their former glory because of the lust for battle has left it's leader, Maxcell. The viewer also follows three other members of Arctica, Kraakku, Jallu, and Pykmi, as they go on a mission given to them by Maxcell.
However, the most prominent character in the video is Pykmi, a protection warrior for Arctica. The flashbacks are mostly of his story, and how he's lost people in the past and made him what he is today. His story is told magnificently throughout the film, as his story dovetails with the history of Arctica, and why they chose to stop fighting.
Another interesting part of the film is that they actually use players to tell a story of betrayal, murder, and the battle of will. There is a small twist in the film that uses two different player characters in a way that I hope they make a third movie out of. It is very important to the story, and allows people to really see where the game headed in Wrath of the Lich King.
The movie also uses many of the in-game mechanics and story pieces that were presented in the entire game of World of Warcraft. The flashbacks have the definite feel of having Classic WoW in terms of prejudices and hate. The current film timeline feels very much like Wrath, with desperation and fear taking a major toll on each character. That expansion did a very good job in storytelling, and this film does no different.
Each of the characters have brilliant voice actors (At least one of which World of Warcraft enthusiasts will recognize as the voice of OMFGCata, Jesse Cox), and they bring the script to life with the limited canned emotes that World of Warcraft provides in game. The best thing is that the voices are recognizable, but they actually have the quality that is presented in a lot of lower budget Hollywood films.
Overall, this film is an excellent set-up Machinima, and makes you want more. If you're into World of Warcraft at all, this movie whets your appetite for more.
My review:
4/5 stars
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Technical Difficulties: Take 2! Blogger joins PSN in failure!
Alright, now I am getting upset. Yes, my schedule has been busy, but not busy enough to write a blog post. I wake up on Monday, ready to do a review, and Blogger doesn't allow me to login. Nothing, nada. Wednesday was the first time I was able to log in, and here is the first post since then. Because of all this hoopla with Blogger it actually got my thoughts going on another recent outage that happened, and that's the attacks on the Playstation Network.
Now, ever since the Playstation 3 was released, there have been attempts to try and hack the system itself. There have been several ways to play burned games, but each one was eventually phased out through software updates. Unlike Sony's portable system, which is easily hacked and manipulated, it seemed that the PS3 was impenetrable.
However, things changed in January of 2010, in which George 'Geohotz' Hotz, was able to finally crack the PS3's software using the Other OS option, allowing him to play PS2 titles and install Homebrew applications. Sony responded by removing the Other OS option, which allowed users to install Linux Operating Systems onto the console.
George Hotz then began working on custom firmware for the console, however posted on his Twitter feed that he had given up trying to crack the Playstation 3. Things changed on January 2nd, 2011, when Hotz posted the Root keys of the console on his website. Sony immediately took action, forcing him to take them off of the website. Hotz complied, but began posting videos showing the system being cracked without any devices attached to the console itself.
This prompted legal action by Sony Computer Entertainment, in which they filed both a restraining order against Hotz, as well as a suit against him in order to stop hacking products they produce. It was this legal action that spawned what we have seen today with Sony.
After the suit was filed, Sony came under attack by an underground hacking group called 'Anonymous'. They began their attack on the Playstation Network itself, but gave up quickly, realizing that the only person they were hurting with their hack was the consumers. It caused some slowdown in gameplay, but nothing too severe.
However, days after their attacks ended, Sony came under a much larger attack, one that saw the theft of 77 million users' personal information. This attack became the largest theft in the history of business, and certainly is cause for speculation. Ever since the beginning of that attack, other systems of Sony have come under attack globally.
To speculate that these attacks are connected is a theory, but one that probably holds true. But the reasons for the original attack, as well as the homebrew hacking of the console by Hotz, I feel are completely stupid.
Hotz said in an interview that he believes that since he purchased the hardware, he should be able to do what he wants with it. Now, on this point, I can agree. I like to do many things with my gaming consoles as well as computer systems. But the problem is, the major thing that a custom firmware on these consoles allows is the burning and theft of video games. That's where I have an issue.
The fact that this firmware basically allows the PS3 to function totally like a computer is irrelevant, since most people who own gaming consoles have a computer in their homes or have access to one. Buying a gaming console with internet just for that console is redundant, so it would make sense to have computer hardware somewhere in the home.
To fight for the fact that you want to basically commit theft is an idiotic reason. Sony has every right to limit the ability for someone to steal software using their system. Game companies spend millions of dollars to produce titles for people to play and enjoy, and while 1 person's 60 dollars won't matter, if 100 people stole that same game, that price starts to add up.
Because of these constant attacks, Sony has taken major heat in the press for allowing these major breaches into their servers. While, yes, Sony is partially to blame for not having their security as tight as it could be, people can't just throw all of the blame on them. Sony did not ask for this to happen to them. They as a company did not pick the fight. People who want to break the law in a social medium that currently has no laws in place are the ones that chose the arena. So people, as you read about what is going on, really look at what should be happening on both sides of the spectrum.
I do apologize to non-gamers that are reading this post, but this wave of attacks is just a show of how much our world is evolving. As our society grows more and more on the internet, safety and security are top priorities. But just like the real world has murderers and rapists, the digital one has hackers and thieves like anything else, trying to gain more for themselves. So please, be careful in how you act online, and what you do with your information.
Now, Monday will have our scheduled review as promised, and I am sorry for the lack of updates. I would've been online sooner, but grr at you Blogger.
Now, ever since the Playstation 3 was released, there have been attempts to try and hack the system itself. There have been several ways to play burned games, but each one was eventually phased out through software updates. Unlike Sony's portable system, which is easily hacked and manipulated, it seemed that the PS3 was impenetrable.
However, things changed in January of 2010, in which George 'Geohotz' Hotz, was able to finally crack the PS3's software using the Other OS option, allowing him to play PS2 titles and install Homebrew applications. Sony responded by removing the Other OS option, which allowed users to install Linux Operating Systems onto the console.
George Hotz then began working on custom firmware for the console, however posted on his Twitter feed that he had given up trying to crack the Playstation 3. Things changed on January 2nd, 2011, when Hotz posted the Root keys of the console on his website. Sony immediately took action, forcing him to take them off of the website. Hotz complied, but began posting videos showing the system being cracked without any devices attached to the console itself.
This prompted legal action by Sony Computer Entertainment, in which they filed both a restraining order against Hotz, as well as a suit against him in order to stop hacking products they produce. It was this legal action that spawned what we have seen today with Sony.
After the suit was filed, Sony came under attack by an underground hacking group called 'Anonymous'. They began their attack on the Playstation Network itself, but gave up quickly, realizing that the only person they were hurting with their hack was the consumers. It caused some slowdown in gameplay, but nothing too severe.
However, days after their attacks ended, Sony came under a much larger attack, one that saw the theft of 77 million users' personal information. This attack became the largest theft in the history of business, and certainly is cause for speculation. Ever since the beginning of that attack, other systems of Sony have come under attack globally.
To speculate that these attacks are connected is a theory, but one that probably holds true. But the reasons for the original attack, as well as the homebrew hacking of the console by Hotz, I feel are completely stupid.
Hotz said in an interview that he believes that since he purchased the hardware, he should be able to do what he wants with it. Now, on this point, I can agree. I like to do many things with my gaming consoles as well as computer systems. But the problem is, the major thing that a custom firmware on these consoles allows is the burning and theft of video games. That's where I have an issue.
The fact that this firmware basically allows the PS3 to function totally like a computer is irrelevant, since most people who own gaming consoles have a computer in their homes or have access to one. Buying a gaming console with internet just for that console is redundant, so it would make sense to have computer hardware somewhere in the home.
To fight for the fact that you want to basically commit theft is an idiotic reason. Sony has every right to limit the ability for someone to steal software using their system. Game companies spend millions of dollars to produce titles for people to play and enjoy, and while 1 person's 60 dollars won't matter, if 100 people stole that same game, that price starts to add up.
Because of these constant attacks, Sony has taken major heat in the press for allowing these major breaches into their servers. While, yes, Sony is partially to blame for not having their security as tight as it could be, people can't just throw all of the blame on them. Sony did not ask for this to happen to them. They as a company did not pick the fight. People who want to break the law in a social medium that currently has no laws in place are the ones that chose the arena. So people, as you read about what is going on, really look at what should be happening on both sides of the spectrum.
I do apologize to non-gamers that are reading this post, but this wave of attacks is just a show of how much our world is evolving. As our society grows more and more on the internet, safety and security are top priorities. But just like the real world has murderers and rapists, the digital one has hackers and thieves like anything else, trying to gain more for themselves. So please, be careful in how you act online, and what you do with your information.
Now, Monday will have our scheduled review as promised, and I am sorry for the lack of updates. I would've been online sooner, but grr at you Blogger.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Absence of Controversy
Well, this week has been sad for this blog, but a good thing for our country. I spent all week trying to find a story that intrigued me to write a blog post this week. However, there hasn't been anything that captured my interest. I found one small thing about NASA narrowing down the number of landing sites for humans on Mars, but I decided that the story wasn't enough to excite me.
So, what I'm going to do today is just recommend a podcast for the readers to listen to. From RobotPanic.com, comes DGRadio. Formerly Drunken Gamers Radio, John, Moe, and Hilden every week talk about a different topic that interest them, take listener e-mails and voicemails, have an in episode game show called the Lightning Round, and generally have a really good time.
They also have another podcast called After Hours, in which they talk about whatever they want as well, sometimes leading into stories about them in college, or about topics just like this blog that infuriate them. So, go check them out, and hopefully, for my sanity's sake, we actually get some controversy next Thursday.
So, what I'm going to do today is just recommend a podcast for the readers to listen to. From RobotPanic.com, comes DGRadio. Formerly Drunken Gamers Radio, John, Moe, and Hilden every week talk about a different topic that interest them, take listener e-mails and voicemails, have an in episode game show called the Lightning Round, and generally have a really good time.
They also have another podcast called After Hours, in which they talk about whatever they want as well, sometimes leading into stories about them in college, or about topics just like this blog that infuriate them. So, go check them out, and hopefully, for my sanity's sake, we actually get some controversy next Thursday.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Tron: Legacy
In 1982, Disney released a science-fiction movie by the name of Tron. Tron starred Jeff Bridges, and introduced the world to an animated insides of a computer generated world. For years in development limbo, rumors of a sequel to the movie that spawned a huge cult following continued to surface. In 2010, nearly 30 years after the original was released, Tron: Legacy debuted to audiences.
As big of a nerd as I am, I have never seen the original film. However, seeing the sequel has gotten me interested in the original. Tron: Legacy brings the story from the original into the modern world by introducing us to the son of Frank Flynn, Sam.
Sam is played by Garrett Hedlund, an young actor who is just starting his career. However, he portrays the character very well. Sam is a young, naive individual who has control but doesn't want it. He is first shown fighting for a cause against his father's former company, Encom. However, through the course of the film, the character grows and matures, allowing him to finally in the end take control of the company from a power-hungry board of directors.
Jeff Bridges returns in a dual role, playing both Frank Flynn and the antagonist of the movie, CLU. As usual, Jeff is at the top of his game, playing Frank with perfection. Even though he has some funny lines as Frank, his role as CLU is incredibly serious and brings the world of Tron: Legacy to the viewers in a very dark setting of political coups, genocide, and totalitarian control.
The storyline isn't amazingly deep or complex, but used some well known sociological ideas in order to formulate what is going on inside the Grid and how that relates to the human world in Tron. Each world has it's own unique challenges, and in each world, the actors present those challenges and their resolutions with precision.
The world of Tron has a vibrant darkness in it. The graphic designers did an amazing job designing a world that was both visually stunning and yet destructively elegant. The graphics are the most amazing part of the film, not just of the world, but the suits that they wear, and the digitized face of Jeff Bridges that is thrown onto CLU. Because CLU is a program, he can't age. However, Jeff Bridges has aged a good deal since the first Tron movie was released, so they digitized a copy of his younger face in order to play CLU.
The movie is great, especially for someone who hasn't seen the original. The movie doesn't provide the viewer with a lot of backstory to the original film, but it does have a few throwbacks to the story. A cameo played by Cillian Murphy as Edward Dillinger Jr. as a throw back to Dillinger Sr., the human antagonist from the first film, as well as another major protagonist from the first film returning, the film does enough to give fans of the previous film to salivate over as they witness the new story unfold.
In short, this film is a great addition to the franchise, and sets up what appears to be a third film quite well. There are enough players in the film in order to see both protagonists and antagonists for the next film in the series, and has a heart to the film that many pictures did not have last year.
My Review:
4/5 Stars
As big of a nerd as I am, I have never seen the original film. However, seeing the sequel has gotten me interested in the original. Tron: Legacy brings the story from the original into the modern world by introducing us to the son of Frank Flynn, Sam.
Sam is played by Garrett Hedlund, an young actor who is just starting his career. However, he portrays the character very well. Sam is a young, naive individual who has control but doesn't want it. He is first shown fighting for a cause against his father's former company, Encom. However, through the course of the film, the character grows and matures, allowing him to finally in the end take control of the company from a power-hungry board of directors.
Jeff Bridges returns in a dual role, playing both Frank Flynn and the antagonist of the movie, CLU. As usual, Jeff is at the top of his game, playing Frank with perfection. Even though he has some funny lines as Frank, his role as CLU is incredibly serious and brings the world of Tron: Legacy to the viewers in a very dark setting of political coups, genocide, and totalitarian control.
The storyline isn't amazingly deep or complex, but used some well known sociological ideas in order to formulate what is going on inside the Grid and how that relates to the human world in Tron. Each world has it's own unique challenges, and in each world, the actors present those challenges and their resolutions with precision.
The world of Tron has a vibrant darkness in it. The graphic designers did an amazing job designing a world that was both visually stunning and yet destructively elegant. The graphics are the most amazing part of the film, not just of the world, but the suits that they wear, and the digitized face of Jeff Bridges that is thrown onto CLU. Because CLU is a program, he can't age. However, Jeff Bridges has aged a good deal since the first Tron movie was released, so they digitized a copy of his younger face in order to play CLU.
The movie is great, especially for someone who hasn't seen the original. The movie doesn't provide the viewer with a lot of backstory to the original film, but it does have a few throwbacks to the story. A cameo played by Cillian Murphy as Edward Dillinger Jr. as a throw back to Dillinger Sr., the human antagonist from the first film, as well as another major protagonist from the first film returning, the film does enough to give fans of the previous film to salivate over as they witness the new story unfold.
In short, this film is a great addition to the franchise, and sets up what appears to be a third film quite well. There are enough players in the film in order to see both protagonists and antagonists for the next film in the series, and has a heart to the film that many pictures did not have last year.
My Review:
4/5 Stars
Friday, May 13, 2011
Technical Difficulties
Well, it seems that Thursday didn't happen like it should have. I had the post all ready for yesterday, however Blogger decided to take the control panel offline and go read-only. So, sadly enough, I was unable to post last night. However, with the post, I would like to take the time to revisit the topic of harassment. Last month, I posted about harassment, and touched upon the stories of teens who were bullied and abused during their life an ended up committing suicide.
After I made that post, I looked on Youtube and found a clip from the Ellen show, just after Tyler Clementi took his own life. As much as I don't like Ellen's comedy, I agree with the message that she put forth onto her show.
After watching the video, I decided to look through the comments on the video, and saw how varying people thought about harassment. Now I can say this, children, just as much as adults, are different in personality. Some children take the harassment and internalize their anger and anxiety, turning it into more and more pain against themselves. Others take that same anger and externalize it, fighting back. Either way, adults can stop the behavior, but have been blind to it. Some of the comments on this video have made me sick, and I won't reference them directly here.
Another thing that inspired me was a message that I got on my Youtube account, from user Kyliemorganmusic. The user is the official music video channel of a new country singer named Kylie Morgan. I have no honest clue whether she sent this message to everyone, or just to me. However, it was a major coincidence that I wrote about the very subject matter of this video.
The video is a direct memorial to Phoebe Prince, entitled 'It Matters What We Do'. This song truly shows how far the act of harassment ripples through our society. That's the hardest part of harassment, is that when someone takes their life because of harassment, our entire nation is affected. When our country goes through a month like last September, it scary to see how far our children have gone in order to escape the pain that they're being put through.
Parents need to remember that every child is different. None of them handle the physical and mental abuses of grade school the same way. Teachers, Counselors, and Principles all need to realize that they have roles to play in order to stop harassment and violence. The sad thing is, I don't have enough space to honor every victim of harassment by name, for there are many children out there.
I ask that you watch these videos, listen to the messages they bring forward to our society. Harassment can make people stronger, but at the same time, it can make people weaker. Harassment does not show that our society is united, it shows that our country is divided. It is our time to bring this to an end.
After I made that post, I looked on Youtube and found a clip from the Ellen show, just after Tyler Clementi took his own life. As much as I don't like Ellen's comedy, I agree with the message that she put forth onto her show.
After watching the video, I decided to look through the comments on the video, and saw how varying people thought about harassment. Now I can say this, children, just as much as adults, are different in personality. Some children take the harassment and internalize their anger and anxiety, turning it into more and more pain against themselves. Others take that same anger and externalize it, fighting back. Either way, adults can stop the behavior, but have been blind to it. Some of the comments on this video have made me sick, and I won't reference them directly here.
Another thing that inspired me was a message that I got on my Youtube account, from user Kyliemorganmusic. The user is the official music video channel of a new country singer named Kylie Morgan. I have no honest clue whether she sent this message to everyone, or just to me. However, it was a major coincidence that I wrote about the very subject matter of this video.
The video is a direct memorial to Phoebe Prince, entitled 'It Matters What We Do'. This song truly shows how far the act of harassment ripples through our society. That's the hardest part of harassment, is that when someone takes their life because of harassment, our entire nation is affected. When our country goes through a month like last September, it scary to see how far our children have gone in order to escape the pain that they're being put through.
Parents need to remember that every child is different. None of them handle the physical and mental abuses of grade school the same way. Teachers, Counselors, and Principles all need to realize that they have roles to play in order to stop harassment and violence. The sad thing is, I don't have enough space to honor every victim of harassment by name, for there are many children out there.
I ask that you watch these videos, listen to the messages they bring forward to our society. Harassment can make people stronger, but at the same time, it can make people weaker. Harassment does not show that our society is united, it shows that our country is divided. It is our time to bring this to an end.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Fast Five
Back in 2001, The Fast and the Furious exploded onto the scene as the start of the media's interest in fast tuner cars, illegal street racing, and their link with the seedy criminal underworld. The movie, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez, spawned a total of 4 sequels, as well as other numerous video games from the Need For Speed franchise, and other films in the same genre. After the critical failure of the first sequel of the franchise, 2Fast 2Furious, the writers started to bring the franchise back on track and back to the original cast. In Fast Five, they continue this line and make the stakes even higher than before.
This film brings characters from all four previous films in the franchise together. Tyrese Gibson and Chris "Ludacris" Bridge reprise their 2Fast 2Furious roles of Roman Pierce and Tej Parker. Sung Kang returns as Han from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Gal Gadot once again takes up her role as Gisele Harabo, a character who has a much larger part from when she was in Fast and Furious, becoming a major part of Dom's team. Matt Schulze also returns after being gone from the past four films, reprising his role of Vince, Dom's childhood friend and part of the original Los Angeles street racing crew that Paul Walker's character was assigned to take down.
New characters come from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, playing a DSS agent named Luke Hobbs, who is on assignment to track down Brian O'Conner and Dominic Toretto after Brian and Dom's sister break Dom out of federal detention and go on the run. As well as Hernan Reyes, a Brazilian investor that has his hands in all of the corruption in Rio de Janeiro. The final newcomer to the series is Elsa Pataky, who plays an uncorruptable cop named Elena Neves, who at the end becomes Dom's love interest.
The film includes some of the best acting by the actors that the franchise has seen yet. Each one shines as the team comes together with the same style of comedy and action that has been expected of the franchise. With some actors, it's expected. Hobbs' character as a complete soldier/tough guy is something that is not surprising and doesn't test Dwayne Johnson's ability in any way. Besides him however, the other actors' ability shines through and brings humanity to characters, rather than just having them as fast talking, whip-cracking sidekicks that they were before.
The story shows an evolution in the ability of the writers to take the characters out of their comfort zone. For instance, the first time Brian O'Connor was taken out of the police force, the character was seen smug yet uncomfortable. When this happened in 2Fast 2Furious, the movie suffered from being overly cartoony and childish. However, in this movie, all the characters seem to have life written in them that is brought out by each respective actor.
The film has gone from being a film about street racers attempting to pull heists to being a true heist movie, with a majority of the film going through the plan and ending with a high-octane theft of a massive evidence vault being pulled by two Dodge Challengers through the streets of Rio, taking out buildings, cop cars and anything that gets in the way of the plan succeeding.
The action in this film also is a lot more physical for the three leads of the movie. A ten minute section of the film involves a favela foot chase involving Brian, Mia and Dom as they run from both Reyes' henchmen as the team that Hobbs commands. Each bit of action isn't just there for the sake of having action. Each scene has importance to the plot, leading to the final moments of the film.
This film is the ultimate summer popcorn film, and is the best of the franchise. For fans of actions films, or heist films, this movie has something for you. Before you go in, know this, you won't be watching a Spielberg or Michael Bay action film, nor will you be watching something on the twisted levels of Stanley Kubrick. This is, as I said, a popcorn film. You can sit here on the edge of your seat, reaching your hand into the bucket and not paying much attention until the nice, pretty explosion distracts you and pulls you in.
My Review:
3/5 Stars
This film brings characters from all four previous films in the franchise together. Tyrese Gibson and Chris "Ludacris" Bridge reprise their 2Fast 2Furious roles of Roman Pierce and Tej Parker. Sung Kang returns as Han from Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Gal Gadot once again takes up her role as Gisele Harabo, a character who has a much larger part from when she was in Fast and Furious, becoming a major part of Dom's team. Matt Schulze also returns after being gone from the past four films, reprising his role of Vince, Dom's childhood friend and part of the original Los Angeles street racing crew that Paul Walker's character was assigned to take down.
New characters come from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, playing a DSS agent named Luke Hobbs, who is on assignment to track down Brian O'Conner and Dominic Toretto after Brian and Dom's sister break Dom out of federal detention and go on the run. As well as Hernan Reyes, a Brazilian investor that has his hands in all of the corruption in Rio de Janeiro. The final newcomer to the series is Elsa Pataky, who plays an uncorruptable cop named Elena Neves, who at the end becomes Dom's love interest.
The film includes some of the best acting by the actors that the franchise has seen yet. Each one shines as the team comes together with the same style of comedy and action that has been expected of the franchise. With some actors, it's expected. Hobbs' character as a complete soldier/tough guy is something that is not surprising and doesn't test Dwayne Johnson's ability in any way. Besides him however, the other actors' ability shines through and brings humanity to characters, rather than just having them as fast talking, whip-cracking sidekicks that they were before.
The story shows an evolution in the ability of the writers to take the characters out of their comfort zone. For instance, the first time Brian O'Connor was taken out of the police force, the character was seen smug yet uncomfortable. When this happened in 2Fast 2Furious, the movie suffered from being overly cartoony and childish. However, in this movie, all the characters seem to have life written in them that is brought out by each respective actor.
The film has gone from being a film about street racers attempting to pull heists to being a true heist movie, with a majority of the film going through the plan and ending with a high-octane theft of a massive evidence vault being pulled by two Dodge Challengers through the streets of Rio, taking out buildings, cop cars and anything that gets in the way of the plan succeeding.
The action in this film also is a lot more physical for the three leads of the movie. A ten minute section of the film involves a favela foot chase involving Brian, Mia and Dom as they run from both Reyes' henchmen as the team that Hobbs commands. Each bit of action isn't just there for the sake of having action. Each scene has importance to the plot, leading to the final moments of the film.
This film is the ultimate summer popcorn film, and is the best of the franchise. For fans of actions films, or heist films, this movie has something for you. Before you go in, know this, you won't be watching a Spielberg or Michael Bay action film, nor will you be watching something on the twisted levels of Stanley Kubrick. This is, as I said, a popcorn film. You can sit here on the edge of your seat, reaching your hand into the bucket and not paying much attention until the nice, pretty explosion distracts you and pulls you in.
My Review:
3/5 Stars
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Decade of Terror, Justice has Prevailed
Nine and a half years ago, the most fateful day of our nation happened. September 11th, 2001 was when our country truly had a fight brought to our doorstep. The war that a radical leader of a peaceful religion declared on us years before, now we finally saw that this man and his group had to be brought down. And it was on May 1st, 2011, almost ten year after that day, President Obama came onto Worldwide television and announced that Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist group, mass-murderer of thousands of innocent civilians, had been killed in Pakistan by American Forces.
Now, as much as I criticize President Obama, I do have to congratulate him. But more than congratulating him, I congratulate the men and women of our joint armed forces, for they are the ones who have fought and died for us in order to bring to justice the man who committed the worst terrorist act in history. I also thank the soldiers in SEAL Team Six. These men are the elite soldiers in our Navy's Special Ops program. They train the hardest, they practice the most, and they are the ones who will be fighting the enemies front line from behind it. These men had to have complete precision in order to commit an operation like this.
Let us remind ourselves, as the President sits behind a podium telling us about his part in the operation, we will never get to hear the side of the soldiers stormed the Bin Laden compound. They, like many soldiers out there, will celebrate tonight not being able to tell their story, one that should be shared with the world. It was these men, not the President, who were the ones who were going to succeed or fail in their mission. And it is these same soldiers, who fight for our freedoms, that are also the ones who are protested in death.
In light of our recent victory against our enemies in terror, I would like to honor the thousands of American soldiers that have died in both Afghanistan and Iraq by reviewing the Bill of Rights. The reason I review it here is because, each of the ten unalienable rights that American's are granted, are paid for with the lives of the soldiers and civilians who died because of this war:
First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Second Amendment:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Third Amendment:
"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Fourth Amendment:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Fifth Amendment:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Sixth Amendment:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."
Seventh Amendment:
"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."
Eighth Amendment:
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Ninth Amendment:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Tenth Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
I remind the readers of these first ten amendments to the constitution, because it is these rights that our soldier fight for, bleed for, and die for. Our soldiers know when they sign up, that their main duty is to the Constitution of the United States, and protecting those very same unalienable rights of our citizens. And no matter how much the citizens of this country spit on them, taunt them, hurt them, they will continue to defend our country from any foe, both foreign and domestic.
I say that we take this day and remember this, especially those who choose to use those very same rights to harm, to cause tyranny in others. For when a group protests the funeral of a soldier that fought and died in Iraq, saying that god hates him, they need to be reminded that his sacrifice was to protect their right to say that. When someone takes up arms against another person in nothing more than spite, a member of our armed forced served to protect that.
Our country needs to realize that while we do have the some of the most flexible rights and liberties out of any nation in the world. The difference is, that we take those rights and we twist them to suit what we want. While yes, we do have the right to assembly, our line of moral decency should show us that protesting the funeral of a fallen soldier is wrong. That calling someone a racist name because of the color of their skin is wrong. However, like I said, our constitution allows for this. These types of ideologies are just as harmful as the ideologies that our soldiers are fighting over in Iraq and Afghanistan, and must be fought with just as much love and hope as we can muster.
So, as we sit back and celebrate the conquest of justice, let us remind ourselves that the war is not yet won, nor will it ever be. For it is not a country that we wage battle with, not a religion at we seek to cause harm, but an ideology. For an Ideology, while twisted and broken, is something stronger than any army, stronger than any human being. For once an idea forms in the mind of one, that idea can adapt and grow into a meaning for many.
Today, honor our soldiers, both fighting and fallen, for tomorrow begins the fight ever more. Our world has changed, for the better and worse, and only in the due course of the next generation of youth can we hope that the ideology is viewed in its true light.
Now, as much as I criticize President Obama, I do have to congratulate him. But more than congratulating him, I congratulate the men and women of our joint armed forces, for they are the ones who have fought and died for us in order to bring to justice the man who committed the worst terrorist act in history. I also thank the soldiers in SEAL Team Six. These men are the elite soldiers in our Navy's Special Ops program. They train the hardest, they practice the most, and they are the ones who will be fighting the enemies front line from behind it. These men had to have complete precision in order to commit an operation like this.
Let us remind ourselves, as the President sits behind a podium telling us about his part in the operation, we will never get to hear the side of the soldiers stormed the Bin Laden compound. They, like many soldiers out there, will celebrate tonight not being able to tell their story, one that should be shared with the world. It was these men, not the President, who were the ones who were going to succeed or fail in their mission. And it is these same soldiers, who fight for our freedoms, that are also the ones who are protested in death.
In light of our recent victory against our enemies in terror, I would like to honor the thousands of American soldiers that have died in both Afghanistan and Iraq by reviewing the Bill of Rights. The reason I review it here is because, each of the ten unalienable rights that American's are granted, are paid for with the lives of the soldiers and civilians who died because of this war:
First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Second Amendment:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Third Amendment:
"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
Fourth Amendment:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Fifth Amendment:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Sixth Amendment:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."
Seventh Amendment:
"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."
Eighth Amendment:
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Ninth Amendment:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Tenth Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
I remind the readers of these first ten amendments to the constitution, because it is these rights that our soldier fight for, bleed for, and die for. Our soldiers know when they sign up, that their main duty is to the Constitution of the United States, and protecting those very same unalienable rights of our citizens. And no matter how much the citizens of this country spit on them, taunt them, hurt them, they will continue to defend our country from any foe, both foreign and domestic.
I say that we take this day and remember this, especially those who choose to use those very same rights to harm, to cause tyranny in others. For when a group protests the funeral of a soldier that fought and died in Iraq, saying that god hates him, they need to be reminded that his sacrifice was to protect their right to say that. When someone takes up arms against another person in nothing more than spite, a member of our armed forced served to protect that.
Our country needs to realize that while we do have the some of the most flexible rights and liberties out of any nation in the world. The difference is, that we take those rights and we twist them to suit what we want. While yes, we do have the right to assembly, our line of moral decency should show us that protesting the funeral of a fallen soldier is wrong. That calling someone a racist name because of the color of their skin is wrong. However, like I said, our constitution allows for this. These types of ideologies are just as harmful as the ideologies that our soldiers are fighting over in Iraq and Afghanistan, and must be fought with just as much love and hope as we can muster.
So, as we sit back and celebrate the conquest of justice, let us remind ourselves that the war is not yet won, nor will it ever be. For it is not a country that we wage battle with, not a religion at we seek to cause harm, but an ideology. For an Ideology, while twisted and broken, is something stronger than any army, stronger than any human being. For once an idea forms in the mind of one, that idea can adapt and grow into a meaning for many.
Today, honor our soldiers, both fighting and fallen, for tomorrow begins the fight ever more. Our world has changed, for the better and worse, and only in the due course of the next generation of youth can we hope that the ideology is viewed in its true light.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Random Review of the Week: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
The Harry Potter book series has been a series of novels that has revolutionized reading in our young children. Most of the kids in my generation have read the entire series through, from book 1 to book 7, and has spawned everything from toys, spin-off books, movies, even a theme park. This movie marks the second to last movie of the series, and the first part of two that converts the last book of the series into film. Because of the DVD release in the past week, I will be reviewing it. However, this is a review of only the movie, not the DVD/Blu-Ray disc in it's entirety. Also, If you have not read the books or watched the film, stop reading now, because I will be spoiling it.
This movie starts in a much different place than the book does, starting first on Harry and his friends rather than Voldemort. This change however, is something I really enjoyed. It shortened the scene of the Dursley's evacuation of their home, but added additional reflection from Hermione and Ron as they prepare for the oncoming war. One very powerful scene involves Hermione (beautifully acted by Emma Watson) wiping her parents memories of her. The camera pans along the pictures around the home as she is wistfully wiped from them, leaving her as a blank slate in their lives.
The movie follows the plot decently, however, the shortened run time of the movie makes the movie's biggest weakness. No plot point is skipped over, but certain scenes could've been extended for much more of an impact with the audience. The opening chase for instance, where Harry battles the Death Eaters in the skies above London could've been extended, allowing for more drama and action, as well as the inclusion of the small plotline of Stan Shunpike.
However, the biggest problem with the film is that it cuts out the all important list of Horcruxes that Harry has to find through the two films. The sixth movie cut out the same list, and it could leave viewers a little bit baffled as they attempt to figure out what they are. This makes the movie feel a bit unfinished, and makes me believe that the director was forced to leave a lot on the cutting room floor.
Certain scenes are perfect. The trio being on the run, the fight between Ron and Harry, these things were done really well through the books. Another one of the highlights is the scene between Harry and Ginny in the kitchen of the Burrow. In the book, this scene happens a lot differently, and the movie's change works better in my opinion. Another one is when they fight the Death Eaters in the London café. This scene shows the dangers they face very well, and shows how the trio has to fight amongst a guerrilla war against Voldemort in order to stay alive.
However, amongst these scenes, other scenes stand out among the worst scenes of the film. The best example of this comes from when Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to impersonate Ministry employees in order to find Dolores Umbridge and retrieve their first horcrux. In the book, this scene is very tense, and Harry shows his ability to perform as a more clandestine operative in the ministry, and more than capable of blending in and surviving.
In the movie though, this scene is done in a very jokey way, with the actor who is playing Harry under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion looking out of place and wonky. This scene is important in the story, showing how things have changed in the Wizarding World, and how Voldemort is ruling behind the scenes.
The other major problem with the movie is that the movie holds a two and a half hour run time. By no means is this the longest film, but it's the most plot-heavy film in the series. When the filmmakers decided to split Book 7 into two pieces, that means that they should've allowed more run time for both films in order to get the full story of the novel.
With this shortened run time, there are certain key things that the books have that are missed, one of them being from Book 6, in which Harry learns exactly what Voldemort made into his horcruxes. So, since we learn that as readers, yet not as moviegoers, how in the heck does he know?
Other scenes suffer from this as well. Things such as the opening battle and chase with the Death Eaters as Harry is leaving the Dursley's suffer from being no more than the blink of an eye before it ends. Other things, like the Stan Shunpike sub-plot, were completely cut. Things that could've gone deeper into Harry's personality were removed, and these things are vital to the books to show how Harry is not truly as infallible as he seems.
The wedding scene was also removed for a shortened cut of the fated reception in which it is revealed that the world had changed. This change was only minor, along with other certain cuts in the film, but there is another major change that urks me. In the books, the character of Wormtail owes Harry for sparing him in the third book, which in this book, Harry cashes in that debt. For Harry cashing that debt in, Wormtail's life is taken by the very gift he recieved from Voldemort in book 4, a metal hand to replace the one he cut off to revive Voldemort. In the movie, he is just knocked unconcious.
Another small change is the character of Grindelwald. In the book, he denies Voldemort the location of the Elder Wand, feeling remorse for what he did during his rise to power. In the movie, this scene shows a more hateful Grindelwald, who leads Voldemort straight to where he wants to go. This small change actually will change the whole view of Aberforth's story in the second movie, and I don't agree with that direction.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint do excellent jobs as the three main leads in the film. Ralph Fiennes plays Voldemort brilliantly in the few scenes that he's in. Other characters, for the length of time that they're in the story, are all played to a top notch level. So to say the acting is the issue here is not the case. Everyone here is bring their A-game, knocking home runs out of the park like Barry Bonds with the asterisk.
Now, all Harry Potter fans turn to July 15th, in which the eighth and final movie is to be released to the world. Warner Brothers just released the first actual trailer for that film, and it tells viewers that the showdown will be an epic one. However, after the release of this film, I can't help but wonder if the next film will be all action and no plot, or if things are going to actually live up to the epic quality of the book.
My review:
2.5/5 Stars
Now, to show the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2:
This movie starts in a much different place than the book does, starting first on Harry and his friends rather than Voldemort. This change however, is something I really enjoyed. It shortened the scene of the Dursley's evacuation of their home, but added additional reflection from Hermione and Ron as they prepare for the oncoming war. One very powerful scene involves Hermione (beautifully acted by Emma Watson) wiping her parents memories of her. The camera pans along the pictures around the home as she is wistfully wiped from them, leaving her as a blank slate in their lives.
The movie follows the plot decently, however, the shortened run time of the movie makes the movie's biggest weakness. No plot point is skipped over, but certain scenes could've been extended for much more of an impact with the audience. The opening chase for instance, where Harry battles the Death Eaters in the skies above London could've been extended, allowing for more drama and action, as well as the inclusion of the small plotline of Stan Shunpike.
However, the biggest problem with the film is that it cuts out the all important list of Horcruxes that Harry has to find through the two films. The sixth movie cut out the same list, and it could leave viewers a little bit baffled as they attempt to figure out what they are. This makes the movie feel a bit unfinished, and makes me believe that the director was forced to leave a lot on the cutting room floor.
Certain scenes are perfect. The trio being on the run, the fight between Ron and Harry, these things were done really well through the books. Another one of the highlights is the scene between Harry and Ginny in the kitchen of the Burrow. In the book, this scene happens a lot differently, and the movie's change works better in my opinion. Another one is when they fight the Death Eaters in the London café. This scene shows the dangers they face very well, and shows how the trio has to fight amongst a guerrilla war against Voldemort in order to stay alive.
However, amongst these scenes, other scenes stand out among the worst scenes of the film. The best example of this comes from when Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to impersonate Ministry employees in order to find Dolores Umbridge and retrieve their first horcrux. In the book, this scene is very tense, and Harry shows his ability to perform as a more clandestine operative in the ministry, and more than capable of blending in and surviving.
In the movie though, this scene is done in a very jokey way, with the actor who is playing Harry under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion looking out of place and wonky. This scene is important in the story, showing how things have changed in the Wizarding World, and how Voldemort is ruling behind the scenes.
The other major problem with the movie is that the movie holds a two and a half hour run time. By no means is this the longest film, but it's the most plot-heavy film in the series. When the filmmakers decided to split Book 7 into two pieces, that means that they should've allowed more run time for both films in order to get the full story of the novel.
With this shortened run time, there are certain key things that the books have that are missed, one of them being from Book 6, in which Harry learns exactly what Voldemort made into his horcruxes. So, since we learn that as readers, yet not as moviegoers, how in the heck does he know?
Other scenes suffer from this as well. Things such as the opening battle and chase with the Death Eaters as Harry is leaving the Dursley's suffer from being no more than the blink of an eye before it ends. Other things, like the Stan Shunpike sub-plot, were completely cut. Things that could've gone deeper into Harry's personality were removed, and these things are vital to the books to show how Harry is not truly as infallible as he seems.
The wedding scene was also removed for a shortened cut of the fated reception in which it is revealed that the world had changed. This change was only minor, along with other certain cuts in the film, but there is another major change that urks me. In the books, the character of Wormtail owes Harry for sparing him in the third book, which in this book, Harry cashes in that debt. For Harry cashing that debt in, Wormtail's life is taken by the very gift he recieved from Voldemort in book 4, a metal hand to replace the one he cut off to revive Voldemort. In the movie, he is just knocked unconcious.
Another small change is the character of Grindelwald. In the book, he denies Voldemort the location of the Elder Wand, feeling remorse for what he did during his rise to power. In the movie, this scene shows a more hateful Grindelwald, who leads Voldemort straight to where he wants to go. This small change actually will change the whole view of Aberforth's story in the second movie, and I don't agree with that direction.
Now, all Harry Potter fans turn to July 15th, in which the eighth and final movie is to be released to the world. Warner Brothers just released the first actual trailer for that film, and it tells viewers that the showdown will be an epic one. However, after the release of this film, I can't help but wonder if the next film will be all action and no plot, or if things are going to actually live up to the epic quality of the book.
My review:
2.5/5 Stars
Now, to show the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2:
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Harassment: The effect on our country and our students
As far back as anyone can remember, teasing has been in the lives of both adults and children. The name of this action changes many names as we grow older. From bullying, to ribbing, to trash talk. As adults, we deal with this type of behavior on an almost daily basis. Men more than women engage in it, using every version of competition in order to make fun of their "opponents". Usually, it's all in good fun, engaging from simple joking to maybe even an insult to a motherly family member. However, as adults, we know that when we cross a line, we are warned for it, apologize, and back off.
However, as children, these types of things are taught by our parents. When I was in school, I was instructed just to ignore it, let it go. They'll stop. However, this type of thing rarely ever stops, regardless of what is done by the target of the harassment. This type of anger and hatred towards others came to a head 12 years ago, in the small town of Columbine, Colorado. It was there that two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, stormed into their high school, using a combination of small explosives and firearms, and killed twelve students, along with one teacher. For those of you are reading this post, beware. It is going to get very dark, as I feel that I have to take you back a long journey in order to fully describe the message that I am trying to present. To each story there are two sides, however, a side like this has only come from a tragic event, and I intend to bring a light to the epidemic that has reached our children.
However, before we take the trip that far back in time, I would like this post to go on a guided journey back through time, starting with a student named Gaby Rodriguez. As a student of Toppenish High School in Toppenish, WA, she is required to do a student project for graduation. The one she chose actually made national headlines. Her project was titled, "Stereotypes, rumors, and statistics", in which it detailed the stereotypes and rumors that float around school, based on her "pregnancy", and recorded any comment that got back to her or her friends, in order to formulate data about how students view each other around a high school environment. This type of study on, essentially bullying and harassment, is the first of it's kind done in a high school setting by an actual student.
For six and a half months, Gaby faked her pregnancy, telling very few people about it in order to not taint the subject pool for her experiment. At the end of the experiment, Gaby held an assembly in front of her entire school, in which she presented cards that had comments made about her during the time of her test. Near the end of the assembly, she took off her fake pregnancy belly in front of the entire school, to a shocked crowd.
Over the six and half months of the experiment, Gaby gave up her senior year in order to record the results and deal with the aftermath of her undertaking. However, she faced many disparaging comments about her personality and body, with harassment from a lot of the students in the school. This is the type of thing that happens in our schools, and it's sad. While a pregnancy is a horrible thing to happen to a high-school student, students in schools pick out differences in a person and use them as a weapon against them. This type of behavior has gone on for years, and no one has made any moves to stop it.
Gaby should be praised for her efforts to make moves to bring this type of harassment to light, and our psychological and sociological communities should start making strides to improve the way of life in our schools for our children. There is a major difference between a bit of poking fun between friends, and the comments and actions taken by people we don't really know or associate with. To illustrate my point, we need to continue down the rabbit hole to September, 2010.
Last year in September, a wave of suicides in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community sparked attention on bullying and harassment as well. The most prominent one was that of Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His roommate and a hall-mate streamed him having sexual relations with another man in their dorm room, against his permission and knowledge, spreading it around the internet. Tyler learned about the first time after his roommate used his personal twitter account to tell that there was going to be a second stream going live.
Tyler went to his Resident Advisor, requesting a room change. From an online post by Tyler, he said that the RA seemed to take if very seriously. Now, whether or not the RA actually did take it seriously or not, I cannot find anything on the news about it. If you find something, go ahead and comment below. However, whether or not he did, on September 22nd, Tyler went to the George Washington Bridge and jumped into the water below, leaving his car, wallet and cell phone on the bridge where he took the plunge. It was also discovered that he left a message on the wall of his Facebook, saying that he was going to jump off that bridge.
His death had two different effects. In the Rutgers area, the two students who recorded Tyler surrendered to police, one of them still facing criminal charges. However, in the more national news, more cases of suicides based on the same types of bullying that Tyler did. The four other students, ranging from 13 years old to 19 years old, committed suicide in the same month as Tyler. The parents of these students have all petitioned for better control and laws in order to make sure that are schools are safer for any child who passes through the doors. I can't help but agree with them in every aspect. The names of the students who took their lives are still remembered by many, including the band Rise Against. In a song on their latest album, Endgame, the song 'Make it Stop (September's Children)', directly references the students by name, and speaking out against homophobia and bullying.
These events are devastating, as well as being a part of a pattern. One of the biggest things you should notice is the use of the internet in order to stream Tyler. As we continue our journey back to that fateful April 20th, 1999, I must go off on a small tangent of how the internet was first born, and how the internet has evolved since it's inception.
Now, I won't go as far back as 1958, in which it was known to researches as ARPAnet. However, I will go to 1991, when the World Wide Web project was introduced by CERN, a group mainly involved in particle research. While back then, websites were nothing more than text, images soon were able to be placed on the internet. Within a few years, you had flash animation, and by 1996, the word 'Internet' had become commonplace.
However, in 2000, and then again in 2002, the internet and the world began into a new age. The social media age began with Makeoutclub and then Friendster, along with the former social media powerhouse, Myspace. After Myspace, in 2004, Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg, which soon became the largest social media website in the world. These websites sparked an entirely new wave of interaction and connection with others. Photos that used to be put on bulletin boards or photo albums in a room could now be shared among friends online. Public journals of thoughts could be shared with hundreds, if not thousands of people at once.
But the main thing about the internet is, while things said and used on the internet can be used in a criminal case against someone, the internet is widely uncontrolled. And because of social media and it's uncontrolled nature, a new type of bullying has emerged. Cyberbullying has become a staple on the internet today, ever since our society changed from meeting face to face to living almost entirely online.
To get back on track, we now have to continue our time travel to January 14th, 2010. It was that day in which Phoebe Prince took her own life. Students in her school harassed her endlessly, calling her names and harassing her in school. When she got home, she would find that some of the most mean-spirited comments about her had made their way online by her classmates. Phoebe's aunt had warned school officials to watch over her prior to her enrollment, saying that she was susceptible, but no school official stepped in to to help her.
It was on January 14th that Phoebe was walking home from school. She had been harassed all day, when someone driving by threw an empty can at her, shouted a heinous insult, and then drove away. This event sparked her actions later that day, in which she hung herself in the stairwell of her apartment. The aftermath of this incident sparked outrage by other parents in her Massachusetts community. A meeting was held at the school by other parents whose children were also harassed and felt that their concerns were particularly ignored by the administration. State lawmakers passed anti-bullying legislation in a hurry, trying to stem a much larger epidemic. As a help for a national anti-bullying legislation, "Phoebe's Law" has been proposed to the U.S. government.
But cyber-bullying doesn't always happen by classmates, but even by adults to children as well. It is here we learn of the case of Megan Meier. Megan was a 13 year old girl in Missouri who attended Immaculate Concept Catholic School. It was a school of uniforms, no makeup, and strict guidelines. Like any parent who is trying to help their daughter, they thought it could help her fit in.
During this time, she created a Myspace account in order to stay in touch with her friends like anyone else. And it was on her Myspace that she was messaged by an account using the name 'Josh Evans'. However, a neighbor of Megan's named Lori Drew confessed to actually creating the account along with her daughter and an employee of her company. Lori Drew was the mother of one of the kids in Megan's class, and wanted to gain information about Megan, and how Megan felt about other people. She believed that Megan spread rumors about her daughter around their school, as did her daughter.
Megan was interested in the Josh character, Lori's own daughter and an employee of hers controlled 'Josh' and made him seem convincing. They continued to communicate through Myspace, sending messages back and forth. However, the tone of the texts soon changed. On October 15th, 2006, Lori used "Josh" to tell Megan that, "I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends". Lori then continued to share messages that she shared with Megan to others, as well as posting bulletins and other messages calling Megan more names in a more public forum.
It was learned later that the employee of Lori's had sent the final message sent to Megan before the tragic end of the story was a horrible message, stating, "Everybody in O'Fallon knows who you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a bad rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.". This wasn't the first message that this employee had sent to Megan, as the Myspace account was used by Lori, Lori's daughter, and the employee. The fact that Lori, a mother of a daughter of her own, organized an event of this nature is horrifying. This kind of message would be horrifying for anyone to read, and the fact that a grown mother of a daughter had sent that to a 13 year old girl is sickening. A person of that age and stature in a community ought to know better than to do anything of this nature.
After Megan's suicide, Lori Drew was arrested and convicted of conspiracy and violating the terms of use set by Myspace in order to protect people online. Her harassment fell under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and it was by that law she was charged. However, her conviction was later overturned. But, as a result of Megan's death, the Missouri law on bullying was amended to include online communication. The Drew family however, has been scorned by the community, asking them to leave. However, things did turn somewhat violent. Death threats came to the family, a brick was thrown through their window. Her business was forced to close as her clients all left her.
To present our last and final example before we reach our destination, I bring you the tragic suicide of 13 year old Ryan Halligan. When he entered Middle School in 2000, he was targeted by a popular group of bullies who deemed him a target. He did have a learning disorder, and was more into arts and crafts than in sports. It was because of this, that a group of kids that had been bullying him on and off since fifth grade (These two did go to elementary school together), had continued to torment him. His parents discovered that he had been bottling up his emotions, holding them back.
While his parents wanted to go to the school, Ryan had told them not to, because it would only make things worse. Kids in this kind of situation often believe this, and I have experienced it myself when I was in school. However, if the administration deals with the problem effectively, then bullying can actually be stopped by them. But getting back to the story, Ryan sought to learn how to defend himself. His parents bought him boxing gloves, a punching back, and tapes in order to help him learn. After learning this, a fight broke out between him and the bully, which the school's vice principle broke up.
Ryan then befriended the bully, and thought that they were friends. However, after Ryan told him an embarassing story that had happened, the bully thought that he must be gay, and decided to spread the rumor around to his classmates. It was after this that Ryan approached a popular girl at his school online, who pretended to be interested in him. They began to "date", well, date as much as 13 year olds really can. But the girl only wanted to get information to pass along to other kids. When he met her in person after the summer vacation ended, she called him a loser straight to his face, and admitted that she was only joking and wanted to embarass him.
It was all of this piling on top of Ryan, his father feels, that led Ryan to commit suicide. And after reading his story, I can agree whole-heartedly with the assessment. The fact that these kids, while most likely didn't mean to cause him to commit this action, did hurt him greatly. The depression of all this caused Ryan to turn inward, which forced him to trust only himself, and that he didn't want the pain anymore.
Now we get to twelve years ago, April 20th, 1999. I won't go into the horrific details of what happened, because it's public record and unnecessary. However, the tragic loss of life that happened that day could've been prevented. Things could've been changed. The actions undertaken by Dylan and Eric are reprehensible, and they were never model citizens. However, there were many who harassed them. Interviews of students after the incident proved that.
However, after the incident, people went to blaming the media for the events at the school. Movies, Video Games, and Music became the forefront in the war against violence in our media. But in the anger and sorrow of a nation grieving the senseless loss of life that these two brought on the school, they failed to see the real target. Could these two students have been prevent from harming others, if maybe the school had realize that people were harming them?
Their hatred was all around, they hated everyone, but that hate has to come from somewhere. People don't just wake up one day and hate people. They hate them for a comment said to them or about them, for seeing something horrifying that changes them. People change because of their environment that they are placed in. And it was this fact that was never shown on T.V.
But in this day and age, people still fail to recognize this. Even through all the anti-bullying legislation and prosecution of students involved, many states and many schools fail to see the truth behind the issues. School, while recognizing the laws, fail to enforce them to a level that either prevents or eliminates problems among students. Usually, the student being harassed is the one that is sent for help, while the ones who are tormenting him are the ones that are left on their own.
It is because of this, that we see the wave of suicides that we have in recent years. It's because, while people under duress handle problems differently, people who torment them don't care what happens. While they may not be looking to kill, they are doing damage. And it's because of this, that our schools don't see, or choose not to see, that when someone is fighting back, or trying to get the attention of a figure in power, they are trying to defend themselves against an attack. While it may not be an attack on their body, it is an attack on their mind and their heart. However, as we see in some of these cases, some people just couldn't fight anymore, and chose to go on their own terms. Others decided to take the fight to a level beyond what is acceptable.
And yes, I know that our schools are facing cutbacks, and our teachers are trying to teach northwards of thirty plus students in a classroom. But the thing is, they are the position of authority in a classroom. If a student is being harassed and he goes to them for help, it is their job to maintain peace in that classroom. If a teacher ignores that, thinking that they truly don't have control, they're wrong. As they are the position in power, they have every right to tell that student that what they're doing is wrong and it has to end now, or there will be consequences, job be damned. If that student decides to take the fight to the teacher instead of learning from his actions, then that teacher has every right to put that child to the floor and set him straight.
I never had that from anyone while I was in school, save one teacher. Mr. Ngyuen was the only one who stood up for me, the only one who ever thought that I deserved to be helped. When students made fun of me in seventh grade, and he had a chance to see it, he made sure that he acted to put at least a temporary stop on it, and I know that if I had anything happen, I could go to him for help.
There needs to be more teachers and administrators like that, willing to step in and step up to students who choose to target others for their differences. Because in all honesty, where would we be as a country without differences? Would we have cars, trains, airplanes, without people daring and striving to be different than the rest out there. Would we even have social media if there weren't those people aspiring to be different from the rest of us?
So, this post, I use it to honor the dead. The ones who have lost their lives from the heartbreak of tragedy of those who couldn't rein in their children, or those who couldn't see that people didn't deserve the punishment that they got.
Along with these tragic souls, we also mourn all those that have committed suicide because of bullying. There are too many pictures to find, too many people to post, however, know that your families and us here on the blog mourn the loss. Bullying is an something that can be stopped, and we urge you all to step in. We don't want to see more people on this wall, dead for being bullied or because people didn't want to come forward and accept people for who they are.
Credits for Images:
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/04/20/pregnot-toppenish-high-student-fakes-pregnancy-as-social-test-about-stereotypes-rumors - Yakima Herald Website, Article about Gaby and her Experiment
Bibliography:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/30/national/main6913514.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody - Article about Tyler Clementi
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/27/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main6146385.shtml?source=related_story&tag=related - Article about Phoebe Prince
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/17/national/main3517133.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;3
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/07/national/main3587960.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;5 - Articles about Megan Meier
http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/ - The Website setup by Ryan Halligan's parents, telling the story of what happened to their son.
However, as children, these types of things are taught by our parents. When I was in school, I was instructed just to ignore it, let it go. They'll stop. However, this type of thing rarely ever stops, regardless of what is done by the target of the harassment. This type of anger and hatred towards others came to a head 12 years ago, in the small town of Columbine, Colorado. It was there that two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, stormed into their high school, using a combination of small explosives and firearms, and killed twelve students, along with one teacher. For those of you are reading this post, beware. It is going to get very dark, as I feel that I have to take you back a long journey in order to fully describe the message that I am trying to present. To each story there are two sides, however, a side like this has only come from a tragic event, and I intend to bring a light to the epidemic that has reached our children.
However, before we take the trip that far back in time, I would like this post to go on a guided journey back through time, starting with a student named Gaby Rodriguez. As a student of Toppenish High School in Toppenish, WA, she is required to do a student project for graduation. The one she chose actually made national headlines. Her project was titled, "Stereotypes, rumors, and statistics", in which it detailed the stereotypes and rumors that float around school, based on her "pregnancy", and recorded any comment that got back to her or her friends, in order to formulate data about how students view each other around a high school environment. This type of study on, essentially bullying and harassment, is the first of it's kind done in a high school setting by an actual student.
For six and a half months, Gaby faked her pregnancy, telling very few people about it in order to not taint the subject pool for her experiment. At the end of the experiment, Gaby held an assembly in front of her entire school, in which she presented cards that had comments made about her during the time of her test. Near the end of the assembly, she took off her fake pregnancy belly in front of the entire school, to a shocked crowd.
Over the six and half months of the experiment, Gaby gave up her senior year in order to record the results and deal with the aftermath of her undertaking. However, she faced many disparaging comments about her personality and body, with harassment from a lot of the students in the school. This is the type of thing that happens in our schools, and it's sad. While a pregnancy is a horrible thing to happen to a high-school student, students in schools pick out differences in a person and use them as a weapon against them. This type of behavior has gone on for years, and no one has made any moves to stop it.
Gaby should be praised for her efforts to make moves to bring this type of harassment to light, and our psychological and sociological communities should start making strides to improve the way of life in our schools for our children. There is a major difference between a bit of poking fun between friends, and the comments and actions taken by people we don't really know or associate with. To illustrate my point, we need to continue down the rabbit hole to September, 2010.
Last year in September, a wave of suicides in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community sparked attention on bullying and harassment as well. The most prominent one was that of Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His roommate and a hall-mate streamed him having sexual relations with another man in their dorm room, against his permission and knowledge, spreading it around the internet. Tyler learned about the first time after his roommate used his personal twitter account to tell that there was going to be a second stream going live.
Tyler went to his Resident Advisor, requesting a room change. From an online post by Tyler, he said that the RA seemed to take if very seriously. Now, whether or not the RA actually did take it seriously or not, I cannot find anything on the news about it. If you find something, go ahead and comment below. However, whether or not he did, on September 22nd, Tyler went to the George Washington Bridge and jumped into the water below, leaving his car, wallet and cell phone on the bridge where he took the plunge. It was also discovered that he left a message on the wall of his Facebook, saying that he was going to jump off that bridge.
His death had two different effects. In the Rutgers area, the two students who recorded Tyler surrendered to police, one of them still facing criminal charges. However, in the more national news, more cases of suicides based on the same types of bullying that Tyler did. The four other students, ranging from 13 years old to 19 years old, committed suicide in the same month as Tyler. The parents of these students have all petitioned for better control and laws in order to make sure that are schools are safer for any child who passes through the doors. I can't help but agree with them in every aspect. The names of the students who took their lives are still remembered by many, including the band Rise Against. In a song on their latest album, Endgame, the song 'Make it Stop (September's Children)', directly references the students by name, and speaking out against homophobia and bullying.
These events are devastating, as well as being a part of a pattern. One of the biggest things you should notice is the use of the internet in order to stream Tyler. As we continue our journey back to that fateful April 20th, 1999, I must go off on a small tangent of how the internet was first born, and how the internet has evolved since it's inception.
Now, I won't go as far back as 1958, in which it was known to researches as ARPAnet. However, I will go to 1991, when the World Wide Web project was introduced by CERN, a group mainly involved in particle research. While back then, websites were nothing more than text, images soon were able to be placed on the internet. Within a few years, you had flash animation, and by 1996, the word 'Internet' had become commonplace.
However, in 2000, and then again in 2002, the internet and the world began into a new age. The social media age began with Makeoutclub and then Friendster, along with the former social media powerhouse, Myspace. After Myspace, in 2004, Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg, which soon became the largest social media website in the world. These websites sparked an entirely new wave of interaction and connection with others. Photos that used to be put on bulletin boards or photo albums in a room could now be shared among friends online. Public journals of thoughts could be shared with hundreds, if not thousands of people at once.
But the main thing about the internet is, while things said and used on the internet can be used in a criminal case against someone, the internet is widely uncontrolled. And because of social media and it's uncontrolled nature, a new type of bullying has emerged. Cyberbullying has become a staple on the internet today, ever since our society changed from meeting face to face to living almost entirely online.
To get back on track, we now have to continue our time travel to January 14th, 2010. It was that day in which Phoebe Prince took her own life. Students in her school harassed her endlessly, calling her names and harassing her in school. When she got home, she would find that some of the most mean-spirited comments about her had made their way online by her classmates. Phoebe's aunt had warned school officials to watch over her prior to her enrollment, saying that she was susceptible, but no school official stepped in to to help her.
It was on January 14th that Phoebe was walking home from school. She had been harassed all day, when someone driving by threw an empty can at her, shouted a heinous insult, and then drove away. This event sparked her actions later that day, in which she hung herself in the stairwell of her apartment. The aftermath of this incident sparked outrage by other parents in her Massachusetts community. A meeting was held at the school by other parents whose children were also harassed and felt that their concerns were particularly ignored by the administration. State lawmakers passed anti-bullying legislation in a hurry, trying to stem a much larger epidemic. As a help for a national anti-bullying legislation, "Phoebe's Law" has been proposed to the U.S. government.
But cyber-bullying doesn't always happen by classmates, but even by adults to children as well. It is here we learn of the case of Megan Meier. Megan was a 13 year old girl in Missouri who attended Immaculate Concept Catholic School. It was a school of uniforms, no makeup, and strict guidelines. Like any parent who is trying to help their daughter, they thought it could help her fit in.
During this time, she created a Myspace account in order to stay in touch with her friends like anyone else. And it was on her Myspace that she was messaged by an account using the name 'Josh Evans'. However, a neighbor of Megan's named Lori Drew confessed to actually creating the account along with her daughter and an employee of her company. Lori Drew was the mother of one of the kids in Megan's class, and wanted to gain information about Megan, and how Megan felt about other people. She believed that Megan spread rumors about her daughter around their school, as did her daughter.
Megan was interested in the Josh character, Lori's own daughter and an employee of hers controlled 'Josh' and made him seem convincing. They continued to communicate through Myspace, sending messages back and forth. However, the tone of the texts soon changed. On October 15th, 2006, Lori used "Josh" to tell Megan that, "I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends". Lori then continued to share messages that she shared with Megan to others, as well as posting bulletins and other messages calling Megan more names in a more public forum.
It was learned later that the employee of Lori's had sent the final message sent to Megan before the tragic end of the story was a horrible message, stating, "Everybody in O'Fallon knows who you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a bad rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.". This wasn't the first message that this employee had sent to Megan, as the Myspace account was used by Lori, Lori's daughter, and the employee. The fact that Lori, a mother of a daughter of her own, organized an event of this nature is horrifying. This kind of message would be horrifying for anyone to read, and the fact that a grown mother of a daughter had sent that to a 13 year old girl is sickening. A person of that age and stature in a community ought to know better than to do anything of this nature.
After Megan's suicide, Lori Drew was arrested and convicted of conspiracy and violating the terms of use set by Myspace in order to protect people online. Her harassment fell under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and it was by that law she was charged. However, her conviction was later overturned. But, as a result of Megan's death, the Missouri law on bullying was amended to include online communication. The Drew family however, has been scorned by the community, asking them to leave. However, things did turn somewhat violent. Death threats came to the family, a brick was thrown through their window. Her business was forced to close as her clients all left her.
To present our last and final example before we reach our destination, I bring you the tragic suicide of 13 year old Ryan Halligan. When he entered Middle School in 2000, he was targeted by a popular group of bullies who deemed him a target. He did have a learning disorder, and was more into arts and crafts than in sports. It was because of this, that a group of kids that had been bullying him on and off since fifth grade (These two did go to elementary school together), had continued to torment him. His parents discovered that he had been bottling up his emotions, holding them back.
While his parents wanted to go to the school, Ryan had told them not to, because it would only make things worse. Kids in this kind of situation often believe this, and I have experienced it myself when I was in school. However, if the administration deals with the problem effectively, then bullying can actually be stopped by them. But getting back to the story, Ryan sought to learn how to defend himself. His parents bought him boxing gloves, a punching back, and tapes in order to help him learn. After learning this, a fight broke out between him and the bully, which the school's vice principle broke up.
Ryan then befriended the bully, and thought that they were friends. However, after Ryan told him an embarassing story that had happened, the bully thought that he must be gay, and decided to spread the rumor around to his classmates. It was after this that Ryan approached a popular girl at his school online, who pretended to be interested in him. They began to "date", well, date as much as 13 year olds really can. But the girl only wanted to get information to pass along to other kids. When he met her in person after the summer vacation ended, she called him a loser straight to his face, and admitted that she was only joking and wanted to embarass him.
It was all of this piling on top of Ryan, his father feels, that led Ryan to commit suicide. And after reading his story, I can agree whole-heartedly with the assessment. The fact that these kids, while most likely didn't mean to cause him to commit this action, did hurt him greatly. The depression of all this caused Ryan to turn inward, which forced him to trust only himself, and that he didn't want the pain anymore.
Now we get to twelve years ago, April 20th, 1999. I won't go into the horrific details of what happened, because it's public record and unnecessary. However, the tragic loss of life that happened that day could've been prevented. Things could've been changed. The actions undertaken by Dylan and Eric are reprehensible, and they were never model citizens. However, there were many who harassed them. Interviews of students after the incident proved that.
However, after the incident, people went to blaming the media for the events at the school. Movies, Video Games, and Music became the forefront in the war against violence in our media. But in the anger and sorrow of a nation grieving the senseless loss of life that these two brought on the school, they failed to see the real target. Could these two students have been prevent from harming others, if maybe the school had realize that people were harming them?
Their hatred was all around, they hated everyone, but that hate has to come from somewhere. People don't just wake up one day and hate people. They hate them for a comment said to them or about them, for seeing something horrifying that changes them. People change because of their environment that they are placed in. And it was this fact that was never shown on T.V.
But in this day and age, people still fail to recognize this. Even through all the anti-bullying legislation and prosecution of students involved, many states and many schools fail to see the truth behind the issues. School, while recognizing the laws, fail to enforce them to a level that either prevents or eliminates problems among students. Usually, the student being harassed is the one that is sent for help, while the ones who are tormenting him are the ones that are left on their own.
It is because of this, that we see the wave of suicides that we have in recent years. It's because, while people under duress handle problems differently, people who torment them don't care what happens. While they may not be looking to kill, they are doing damage. And it's because of this, that our schools don't see, or choose not to see, that when someone is fighting back, or trying to get the attention of a figure in power, they are trying to defend themselves against an attack. While it may not be an attack on their body, it is an attack on their mind and their heart. However, as we see in some of these cases, some people just couldn't fight anymore, and chose to go on their own terms. Others decided to take the fight to a level beyond what is acceptable.
And yes, I know that our schools are facing cutbacks, and our teachers are trying to teach northwards of thirty plus students in a classroom. But the thing is, they are the position of authority in a classroom. If a student is being harassed and he goes to them for help, it is their job to maintain peace in that classroom. If a teacher ignores that, thinking that they truly don't have control, they're wrong. As they are the position in power, they have every right to tell that student that what they're doing is wrong and it has to end now, or there will be consequences, job be damned. If that student decides to take the fight to the teacher instead of learning from his actions, then that teacher has every right to put that child to the floor and set him straight.
I never had that from anyone while I was in school, save one teacher. Mr. Ngyuen was the only one who stood up for me, the only one who ever thought that I deserved to be helped. When students made fun of me in seventh grade, and he had a chance to see it, he made sure that he acted to put at least a temporary stop on it, and I know that if I had anything happen, I could go to him for help.
There needs to be more teachers and administrators like that, willing to step in and step up to students who choose to target others for their differences. Because in all honesty, where would we be as a country without differences? Would we have cars, trains, airplanes, without people daring and striving to be different than the rest out there. Would we even have social media if there weren't those people aspiring to be different from the rest of us?
So, this post, I use it to honor the dead. The ones who have lost their lives from the heartbreak of tragedy of those who couldn't rein in their children, or those who couldn't see that people didn't deserve the punishment that they got.
 | |||
| These are the victims of the Columbine High School Massacre. Rest In Peace, for while Columbine still honors your memory, that day will never be forgotten |
 |
| Tyler Clementi - You may be gone, but you will not be forgotten. Equality will always be fought for, for there will always be those who will fight for it. With you, we mourn the other four of September's Children: Asher Brown, 13, Billy Lucas, 15, Raymond Chase, 19, and Seth Walsh, 13. |
 | |
| Megan Meier - A victim of the brutality of those who should understand but refused |
 |
| Phoebe Prince - May you rest in peace, for people mourn on both sides of the pond |
 |
| Ryan Halligan - A life cut tragically short by people who can't see difference as a strength, not a weakness |
Credits for Images:
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/04/20/pregnot-toppenish-high-student-fakes-pregnancy-as-social-test-about-stereotypes-rumors - Yakima Herald Website, Article about Gaby and her Experiment
Bibliography:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/30/national/main6913514.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody - Article about Tyler Clementi
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/27/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main6146385.shtml?source=related_story&tag=related - Article about Phoebe Prince
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/17/national/main3517133.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;3
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/07/national/main3587960.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;5 - Articles about Megan Meier
http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/ - The Website setup by Ryan Halligan's parents, telling the story of what happened to their son.
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