Computer Problem

So my computer is flat out busted. This blog is indefinitely suspended until I can fix the computer.  Apparently some chip related to the internet/detecting an internet connection fried inside my computer. (It'll be kinda hard to update this without an internet connection.) Luckily the chip is located on my mother board, so now not only do I need a new chip, but a brand spanking new mother board. I don't even know if it is worth it at this point considering my computer is older than dirt in PC years. (like 20000000 years.... unless you have some REALLY old dirt, that's gonna be tough to top) Do they even make mother boards for my FUBAR computer? (My technical computer knowledge is noticeably vast...)

So I'll catch you guys on the flip side, hopefully soon.

P.S. I added an RSS feed option, just in time to not make any posts for a while! Now that's smarts.

Sorry Ben, Another Post About Video Games

So now that I've gotten back into stride with this whole summer thing, I have created a to-do list for myself to follow. Based on the fact that I don't follow it at all, I am not quite sure why I created it in the first place. Something about filing tax returns, backing up my music collection, and cleaning out my closet. Yet somehow video games managed to sneak onto the list, and completely take it over. Oh well, I have embraced this fact and have instead compiled a to-do list of video games. Much simpler, and much more helpful in allowing me to procrastinate from doing what I really need to. (A portfolio would be nice....) See that picture there to the left? That's it. We got Boom Blox (Wii), The Orange Box (Xbox 360), Condemned ([#1] Xbox 360), No More Heroes (Wii), Bioshock (Xbox 360), Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360), Battalion Wars 2 (Wii), and Mario Kart Wii (You seriously don't know?). Of those I've started plenty of them, and am currently working my way through Half-Life 2 of the Orange Box. This game is a phenomenal sci-fi shooter.
Hopefully this list will allow me to break the curse of starting a game for a few hours and never finishing it. (the dead pile of last-gen games sitting in the corner of my family room)

Hey Ben look down here, this may be a little more friendly to your interests.
Alas, I am not wasting all of my summer simply melting my mind with video games. Being the OCD nutcase I am, and feeling the need to keep everything in list or chart form, I've created a book reading list! This list starts with No Country For Old Men (Cormac McCarthy), then goes to my reading for next school year, East of Eden (John Steinbeck), and ends with Boomsday (Christopher Buckley). As always, No Country For Old Men is better in book form (somehow beating out that masterpiece of a movie).

I've also taken this summer to fall back in love with movies. I have been vigorously adding to my movie collection via used DVDs from Amazon, Netflix, or FYE. Surprisingly FYE has some good deals, considering their outrageous price for new stuff. (30$ for a DVD!?)
And, despite the inflated cost of going to the movies these days, I have pledged myself to see at least one movie a month. (Any guesses to this months? *Hint rhymes with Bark Right*)

No moron it's not Dark Kite....

Sorry For The Silence

Hey Wouldn't It Be Cool To Be Reading a Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip In This VERY Space? I do too, but apparently Safari doesn't agree.

As of late, I haven't been posting (note: last post of May 28th). You can't blame me though, things have been hard of late. I've needed time to adjust to the rigors of summer vacation, what with the doing nothing but playing video games and reading books all day thing. That's a much harder adjustment than some of you think.

No that's not the ENTIRE truth. Honestly it has just been a combination of laziness and general lack of concern for my readers (all three of you [AJ Jenn Nick] and the occasional Fez). I just don't feel like talking about nothing a whole lot, but now that I have taken the time to post this, it has made me semi-interested again. You could say it has reignited the spark you have all so long waited for to be rekindled. Despite my being over dramatic look for more blog posts coming this July. I'm preparing for some pretty cool stuff, something like movie coverage, maybe a bit of messing around with the Creature Creator (check it out!) and some other fun stuff (reviews?) I don't know. Just get excited for what's to come. 

P.S. read The Wiire everyday and all the time. 

Hey Sucker!

I have a sudden obsession with lollipops. For some reason they have become something I depend on, and I rarely go a day without eating at least one. They are also a good stress reliever while driving (people are idiots).

I'm not addicted....I could stop at anytime. Seriously.

Sorry the blog posts have been few and far between lately, the school year is rapping up, and my job at The Wiire (check us out!) has me writing enough lately. Look for the blog to come back in full force this summer.

Also, look for my reflections on the Phily Wizard World Comic Con' on Friday.

A Kanye West Glow in the Dark Concert Review

Go see this.

Stray Thoughts #3

Sorry, it's been a week since my last post. I've been busy doing other things, and the blog was forgotten, for a while at least. But I'm back, and I'm still suave as hell, so 'sall good.

ANYWAY, Today's entry is going to be deep, but also shallow. It will have it's depressing moments, but it will also have lighthearted revelry.

I will start with the heavy stuff....Recently, The Sudanese Government has officially renounced Chad, and is on the brink of war with them. This cannot mean anything good for Sudanese refugees seeking shelter within Chad's borders. All of this makes me wonder...How can we solve this? I attend a Mennonite school, so I am constantly pressed with the ideals of Pacifism, but I am never satisfied with the response. Talks have broken down every time they have been arranged. Treaties have been broken every time they have been written. It is pretty clear that Omar al-Bashir has no intentions of negotiating. So I pose this question to those who advocate pacifism. How are the refugees to respond, without violence? The U.N. is useless and what little troops they have deployed are too few in number to make a difference. Do they not defend themselves? Do they allow the Janjaweed to trample all over them, rape the women, kill the rest? Now what? I hear the idea of pressuring China into stopping the support of the Sudanese government, but how do we pressure them? Would a boycott of something like the Olympics do it? How else are we supposed to "pressure" them? To protect the innocent should the U.S. step in? If they do, we are faced with another war, one that I do not believe the American people can take. Look at our previous record with getting involved in civil wars, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq. And yet we've tried isolationism, in World War II, but we got dragged into that as well. What the hell is the right answer!?! I have so many questions, and so little answers!

Moving on to some of the lighter stuff.....Kanye quickly approaches, and I personally think it'll change my life. All I have heard is this concert is hella sweet and will be a hell of a time. Here's to hoping Rihanna is on first.

I also got a job over at The Wiire, and I for one, am very VERY excited. The staff is very kind, very patient, and I look forward to working with them. I've been given editor status, basically meaning I'll post news and possibly some reviews and such. Great things will come from this.
Check us out.

We Are the Insurgents

If you would come to me a week ago and ask me who the Flobots are, I would look at you strangely, and ask if you were speaking of automated machines built to do work humans are too lazy to. However, about 5 or 6 days ago, I heard the song "Handlebars" on the radio, and here we are now.

I liked what I heard the couple of times I heard Handlebars, so I decided to buy the whole album (available on iTunes). This record is tight.

The Flobots themselves are an odd group. Featuring two vocalists, a violist, a trumpet player, a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. This quasi hip-hop/rock group creates a unique sound with tight beats and smart vocals.

Fight with Tools opens up with the track "There's a War Going On for Your Mind", a war briefing of sorts, preparing you for the onslaught of invaders competing for you. A sweet viola melody plays in the background and a warlike drum beat backs up the vocals, as you are made ready for the corrupt world of today. It ends with the words "We are the Insurgents" driving the point home. They are here to make a difference.

Vocals are border line stream-of-conscious at times, but remain potent as ever. Brer Rabbit and Jonny 5 have a lot to say and this socially charged music tackles problems such as poverty, hunger, and presidential power. The most powerful line to me has to be in the track "Stand Up" .
"Stand up, we shall not be moved, except by a child with no socks and shoes. Stand up, we shall not be moved, except by a woman dieing from a lose of food. Put you hands up, and I'll copy you." This track brings the plight of our world to light, and then urges action. It is powerful to say the least.

Instrumentals are what give the Flobots their truly unique sound. I never thought the viola and trumpet could be used in such ways, as they are in tracks such as Handlebars, Same Thing, and Stand Up. These songs attest to their creativity. The viola switches between staccato plucking, to rhythms custom crafted to match the song. Drum beats are far more than basic hip-hop beats and enhance the chanting vocals. The guitar and bassist round out the instrumentals, and when they get loose, they lay out sick rhythms. The instrumentals are then mixed in masterfully to create the sound that defines the Flobots. Nowhere is this more evident than in the tracks Same Thing, and Combat.

The Flobots are going to be huge one day, one day soon. They have a unique enough sound, that they will not fall into the pool of generic rock bands, and one-hit wonder hip-hop artists. No, instead they are the best of both, and the worst of neither. This packed with the motivation to change the world, will lead the Flobots to the highest pinnacle of success.

I rate this album a 9/10.