Up & Down I Go

     Hey all! It sure has been a while since I wrote last. But it's been the holiday season and I needed to build up some material. I hung out with Mike and Matt a couple times and we were talking about the blog and I ended up deciding that perhaps doing a blog every single day isn't so necessary. At that rate I am pretty much just talking to talk. So I am going to be spacing these out to at most a weekly basis. I'll talk when I feel the need to talk. Plus it's good for those days where I do absolutely nothing and I end up writing a small handful of dinky paragraphs about nothing, which can be quite dull. Perhaps, if I do end up writing posts like those, I'll just keep them as drafts and only publish the good ones. I'll let it happen as it will.

     So let's catch up a wee bit, shall we? I figure we should start with Christmas. Well, on the 23rd, my dad and I dressed up as Santa and his elf, respectively, and delivered a bunch of presents to a family who is currently going through some very hard times, and with two little kids having to endure it all, it felt good to do it. The next day, some relatives came over, as we normally do on Xmas Eve. Everything went well, and the Nerf war we had went spectacularly. There were Nerf darts everywhere around our house... Christmas day went well too, no issues to really speak of, though I did make a mental note that this year, there was slightly more bickering amongst us, to which I say, "Oh well."

     In terms of gifts? I got a bunch of new clothing, which fits me relatively better than what I've been wearing as I lose weight. In particular, I got this nice black zip-up hoodie from GAP, which if you've ever seen me in the confines of my home, you'll know that I am almost always wearing one of these, generally sans shirt (That's right, ladies). I got a bunch of Halo-stuff, including: a bunch of megabloks sets, calendar, MC Play Arts figure, Lmt Ed. version of 'Halo: The Art of Building Worlds,' as well as the Child's Play Auction items: Halo 4 concept art (which I've mentioned in the past), the Dr. Halsey Journal from Halo Reach signed by Eric Nylund, A signed copy of Halo: Evolutions Vol. I, and finally the one and only physical copy (that I know of) of Levi Hoffmeier's, "Halo: A Fistful of Arrows." This last book was a big thing for me because I REALLY loved the story, not to mention the incredible art that he does. Levi also did a personalized sketch in the front cover, which is fucking amazing. Nicely done, sir. The sketch can be seen below. The FoA book also came with a Mr. Chief sketch, done by Frank O'Connor from 343 Industries and some prints from FoA (Levi, if you're reading this, it's like you knew that the Jun-using-Armor-Lock picture was one of my favorites. So cool.).

     I also got tickets to go see Andrew Bird witha friend on March 22nd. Mike and Matt, this concert is in St. Louis, which means you both are coming with me. I only have two tickets though, so one of you will have to buy one. This is for you to decide. ...That is of course, assuming that the seats aren't assigned. I'll have to go and look to make sure >_>. Anyway, Mario Kart 7 has been keeping me busy, I have a new brown leather messenger bag, which I've been using at any opportunity. And I finally got something I've been wanting for a long time, but never really remembered to ask until this year- a golden pocket watch. I've always liked the idea of a pocket watch and I haven't had one since my old Full-Metal Alchemist one broke back in the beginning of High School. What makes it even better is that there is a '117' engraved on the inside cover, which is very awesome to me. And finally, after telling my mom that her old, and quite shitty, computer was finally being replaced by my iMac, I was surprised with a entirely NEW iMac. The plan was that mine would go to my mom and I would get my dad's, which he doesn't use very much at the office and is a couple years newer. Evidently something happened that would've made it more expensive to move his from the office and he decided to just get me a new one. Past the unique Halo stuff and the watch, this was the highlight gift of 2011. Overall, a VERY good year, both in Xmas, and just overall.

     Now, on to more current affairs. Since Xmas has passed, things have been... slow, to say the least. All week long I have literally been doing next to nothing. I built all of the Halo Megabloks sets, watched the Blu Ray Lord of the Rings Extended versions, listened to a dramatized version of The Hobbit, played a bit of Skyrim on my mage, and spent more than a fair amount of time in my hot tub. This week has been a lazy bum's paradise. Only today did I finally get my mom's new computer into the Apple store for a data transfer. And tonight my family and I went to the Chicago Blackhawks game against the Detroit Redwings. We won. Huzzahs were had by many. But this week I've been really noticing a subtle change in my behavior...

     I feel lost right now. Throughout the week, I've been progressively getting more easily agitated by my family, and I guess just by everything. My intolerance for illogical actions has been at a recent high, which has been working against my current meditations to let things go and allow things to work as they will. The constant cheerfulness that I've been having for the past 2-3 months has been diluted... I think some of it has to do with how, since I've been home, I've been regaining some weight- not much, mind you, but some poundage to be sure. There's just been so much bread around. I think I need to re-cut it out of my diet. Perhaps I just need to get out and do something. I could've written this at literally any point this week, and yet I didn't feel like it. I even tried to organize my Halo stuff finally and quit after like half an hour. I don't know... I have become a mope that just meanders about my house, not doing anything; waiting for death to overtake me. That's an exaggeration, of course, but if I let things continue as they are, I fear a looming depression. But the timing of things this weekend doesn't help all that much, seeing as it's New Years.

     I'm not a big fan of New Years. For me, it's just when people go out and drink obscene amounts of alcohol and then conceive the unfortunate offspring that will be born in August and September. The kids part is just a side note that I felt like pointing out, but it's really the drinking aspect that makes me not like this holiday. I don't drink at all, especially after the surgery last June. I will say though, I did take two shots last month of SoCo and lime juice, and those weren't bad, but it's nothing that's changing my mind of the matter. And since I would roughly be the only sober adult at such a party/gathering, I would feel the need to take care of drunk people and keep things in order. And even past all that, I don't really care that it's the new year. Ultimately, it's just another day, but even still, this year has been the best in recent memory by a long shot, and I don't really care to see it go. But like I said, it's just another day and that's how I should think of it. I've been invited to three separate occasions for New Years, all of which I have said 'no' to. Colin, Kozi, and a bunch of others are heading down to Chicago to go drink. This was pretty much an instant no for me. Dan and Rojek are heading out to Indiana University to stay and Rojek's house and party there. Again, I said no. Mike and Matt are both in New York, albeit separated from each other. Finally, my cousin's girlfriend, Jill, is having a shin-dig (who uses shin-dig anymore, especially in writing? haha) which is where my brother and sister and a bunch of my cousins are going to. It's the same situation, although I may actually go to that one for a wee bit. So, my plans for New Years? I'm going to see MI:4 with my dad, and I presume my mom also and then I'm coming home and doing nothing, except hang out in the hot tub and enjoy that.

     I never understood the whole Resolution thing with New Years either. All it is, is a false promise that you make to yourself, seemingly in hopes that it'll just sort of bring itself about. I imagine that it's rather rare for someone to actually follow through with it, unless the person is very take-charge. I was asked what mine was tonight at dinner. I replied with, "I don't do resolutions," and that was the end of that. I guess if I was forced to make one? Hmm.... Lose weight? I'm already doing that. Perhaps get down to a target weight by a certain time. Eh, but that seems so generic and typical, especially in the United States. Something with Halo? I have already gained the title which I have craved so. Perhaps giving back to the Halo community in some way. Some ideas come to mind, but I'll need time and people to help with that... I guess on a solely personal level, I would have to say start reading certain Philosophy books that have been recommended to me, and to continue practice my dancing. Oh! That reminds me!!

     On three separate occasions since I've come home, I have been hugely complemented on my dancing skills. So much so even, that on ALL THREE times, the people watching me dance said that it should be recorded and put on the internet for all to see and to become an internet star. The idea seems quite enticing to me to say the least, so that may pop up somewhere in the future hahaha. Either way, when I am at school, my dancing is usually made fun of, so to get compliments so many times after coming home means a fucking lot to me. Thanks all.

     So, I leave you with, "Up & Down I Go," by Pretty Lights, who has been just recently put on my radar by multiple people. Twice this song has come up in shuffle and both times I have tried to put it into my 'Current' playlist. That must mean I like it. I'm going to dance the fuck out of this song tonight.

     Despite not liking New Years myself, I still wish everyone else's to be joyous. Just don't be surprised when you find you're/she is pregnant. hahaha

Until next time...

Timestretch

     Hey all, a couple topics to cover today, but I'm at least back to having one be much more prevalent than the others. So, as per usual, let's start with the small stuff.

     I think I should start putting a picture in near the beginning or something. When I share my blogs on facebook, the little picture that pops up is just my profile picture from blogger, which is also my picture on facebook... and twitter. I JUST LIKE IT, OKAY?! But, it's still redundant and could use some...sprucing, I suppose the word would be. So, I suppose I'll put this picture in:

(you'll see why soon :})

     I've started playing Skyrim again, this time around, I'm playing a mage. This is actually the first time really that I've ever played a mage in any sort of game, unless the protagonist was one to begin with. Whenever I play RPGs, I usually play a class that is close-quarters-oriented. In WoW, my main was a paladin, which I loved SO much more than any of the other classes. I felt so much more in-the-action. In Skyrim, I played as just a warrior, and would only use magic or archery when I felt it was REALLY necessary. In Skyrim though, at one point, a mage describes magic as being a natural force that we are able to control with years of practice. The point was, was that I could literally harness the forces of nature.  Mages are wizards are also generally seen as being so brilliant and wise. And as someone who seeks further wisdom, I felt I could actually relate to being a mage more than I could being a warrior. So far, everything has been going splendidly, except that I accidentally killed my housecarl, Lydia, so I am kind of in mourning right now. From the standpoint of an on-looker, it's relatively pathetic... But to each their own. 

     Well, fuck. I know there were a couple other things I wanted to talk about, but for the life of me, I can't remember.... let me think for a moment.............. Oh yeah, Christmas is in a couple of days, and for those of you who celebrate Hanukkah, it's difficult to spell your holiday (Thank science and man for Google). How odd, when I look at the written word, 'Google,' I can actually see the colors of each letter change to what they are on the website. Blue, red, yellow, blue, green, red. ...Let's check if that's right.... It is. Interesting, I'll need to look into this further at some other time. Anyway, for those of you who celebrate Hanukkah, I believe this is day #3?  I suppose I should at least acknowledge any other religious holidays that happen around this time. Either way, I hope all goes well and all have happiness, whether it's the holiday or not. If you're not happy, then go find what makes you happy. Don't think about it, just go.

     Tomorrow, I will be reprising the role of Buddy the Elf, accompanying Santa, played by my dad. Together we go out each year and bring a bunch of gifts to a couple families who are... not as well off, I suppose; the less fortunate. It's a program put on by the school where my mom works, but now that she's retiring at the end of this year, I don't know whether this will be our last year doing this or not. Only time will tell.

     Which brings me to what I want to talk about today (Ah, what a great transition and lead-in that was). This is actually something that I wanted to talk about the next day after I cleared out that swamp with Colin, but I figured I should hold off. This is one of those subjects that I've been keeping since before I started this blog, and boy (or girl), I'm excited to explain my theory. But first, let's set up the contextual backdrop in which I formed this idea, shall we?

     It was some random weekend, leading up to the release of Skyrim. The only reason that this is relavent, is because since Skyrim wasn't out yet, I was trying to satiate my hunger for fantasy-genre media. So, for the fourth time during this past semester, I was doing The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition marathon. Let me also add, that I was not sober in the least when this happened (which, for me, makes this even better). To liken this to someone who may be confused, or perhaps intimidated by the length and seeming complexity of it, don't fret. This is very VERY simple. Think of it as the moment when the apple dropped on Newton's head and he finally put together his theory of Gravity. This is about as close to that as I can get.

     Okay, I'll begin as I do whenever I explain to someone in person. What is on X-axis of almost any and every graph? More importantly, what yields movement in our universe? The answer? Time. How does one define 'Time' off the top of their heads? Usually, it's seen as its own entity, an anomalous thing that just happens. This may hurt me in some fashion, but I've never looked at the dictionary definition of 'Time.' On Dictionary.com, Time is defined as: 

the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another.

(Well, at least I know where and how Dan came up with his definition of time so quickly when I asked him haha)

     So anyway, while watching The Fellowship of the Ring, I was at the part when Gandalf talks with Frodo in Moria In the scene (at like 1:55 in the linked video), Gandalf says, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Sidenote: This is actually my favorite line in the entire movie, ...possibly the entire series. It really resonates with my beliefs, which perhaps I should outline to give more context to this whole thing...

     Okay, I was saving this for another whole blog, so I guess I'll just give the highlights: I do not believe in any such god, though I do not reject the possibility that I may be wrong after all is said and done. Until there is some definitive proof of such a divine presence working in our universe, I'm sticking with a "What you sense is what you get" mentality. My perspective tries to see things as they are in nature, not how people see things in their mind. We let our conventions control us and we have become close-minded. I am trying to change that, if not in others, then at least within myself. The universe is made up of particles and forces, not some intended path that has been rolled out for Humans. I try to be as logical as I can be and try not to let my emotions interfere when observing, but when interacting with others, try to be as relatively courteous and nice as I can possibly be. I do realize that at times, this may not be the case, and I can at least recognize that I, along with everyone else, is a (presumably) walking contradiction. We see contradiction as being a stain on our identities, when we should just recognize that everyone does it, so now that we see it, let's do something about it, together.

     I think that's enough on that subject, at least for now. Anyway, when Gandalf says the line mentioned above, I suddenly recalled another instance in The Two Towers, when he is telling the three hunters his tale and how he "moved across time and space, where every day was as long as a life-age of the earth" (Or so I think it goes.... It's close enough). I can honestly say that I cannot remember what it was about these two lines that sparked it for me, but the idea rushed forward as if I was uncovering it from a lost memory. Oh, how wonderful it was... The metaphorical light that switched on shined brighter than any almost any other (the almost being in comparison to two other huge events, one of which is what led me to my current way of thinking, which I briefly articulated above). I was about to redefine the concept of Time.

     We are able to measure relative time, but as it's own separate entity. Time is its own category. This is not the case. In quantum theory and particle physics, there are four forces of nature: gravity, electro-magnetism, Strong Nuclear Force, and Weak Nuclear Force. I don't want to get into explaining the nature of each one, so I'll link this very helpful video, here. A curiosity just struck me as I finished watching that video. At the end, Brian mentions eventually discovering a "Theory of Everything," through the unification of these four forces of nature. How poetic and romantic that sounds... Perhaps, and this is the short version of my theory, Time is actually a fifth force of nature. 

     Since the Big Bang event that, for all intensive purposes, started the universe as we know it, any and all bodies of mass and particles have been extending outwards, in all directions, at an exponential rate. Aside from the other four forces, which obviously work in conjunction with time, time is almost solely responsible for everything in our universe. Everything that has any sort of movement or change to it, is solely due to time. If there was no time, the big bang would never have happened because nothing moved. All the mass in our universe was collected in one singular spot within space. Time is what changed that.

     My theory suggests that perhaps time, as an almost physical force striking that matter, or more likely, time exploded out from within the singular mass. The explosion shoots everything outward and continues to carry everything outward on a wave- a time wave. The time explosion, the big bang is still in the first half of its sequence, or perhaps even the first quarter. I suppose I should explain it this way: think of gravity as the antagonist of time. Gravity is what held together all bodies of mass into that singular point prior to the big bang event. Where time moves things out, gravity pulls it back in. It's also why particles like light move in waves rather than just straight lines. Time is a wave. 

     Time is also the largest measurement of distance that our universe can reach. This may seem confusing, but think of time as a measurement of distance, rather than of just...well, time. Go look at a clock, not a digital one, but an old-fashioned round clock that you have to read to tell the time. Now go and cut in on the '12' line. Now pull the two sides apart until it's flat. For all intensive purposes, that clock is now a ruler. This is how we measure time through space. The length at which our universe finally stops expanding (the wave of time) is measured as (and I'm going to put this in quotes to distinguish it more), "1 Time." Time is the largest unit of measuring distance in our universe. 

     Things like video and audio? They're time machines! We are recording past events that actually happened and we watch/hear them because we cannot physically go back in time...yet. When we edit these recordings, we have then discovered the nature of the term, "false" or "Fiction." We are able to manipulate the appearance of events in time so much that we are able to create whole new existences within our minds, which are just pseudo-realities that we create to try and understand nature. 

     We are able to predict the trajectory of a rocket or something that we launch off. Through calculation, we are able to figure out the relative position, and possibly the exact position of where the rocket went. So here's the kicker, if this is how time works, why can't we do the same thing with literally every body of mass in the universe? Down to the last proton in your body, the trajectory of time (along with the other forces of nature) dictates how each particle moves and acts. So just magnify that to a larger scale. The particles make up cells, which make up tissue, which make up your body chemistry, which pretty much defines who you are, plus your experiences. Anything and everything anyone or anything that has ever happened or ever WILL happen can be predicted through probability. Now, what I sort of mentioned way up above is that I also don't believe in any intended path, nothing is predetermined. That belief has been shaken more than ever since I thought of this. With this, everything is predetermined from probabilities and the dictatorship of nature. Some may see this as being a very scary thought, knowing that there is no real free will and that it's just time moving your particles around enough to make the decision for you. Others may feel a bit more free, knowing that despite what they think, what happens, happens. I tend to lean to the latter. 

     A further theory from this is that perhaps, when the time wave comes to its stop and gravity begins pulling everything back in, perhaps time will just be going backwards. We, being long dead by this point will come back to life and shrink younger and younger until we are no more yet again until the universe is back to the singular mass it was so long ago. Perhaps that if everything went back exactly how it was before, that when the big bang should happen again, time as we have seen it unfold, and will see it unfold in the future, will just repeat itself. Making the universe the biggest phoenix-metaphor ever! Amazing...

     So keep this in mind. You may continue it forward until everyone sees it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! And for those that would ask me to prove it, just watch things happen as they do. Don't influence it with your wants and your emotions, just watch it happen and you'll see it.

     If you like heavier, more intense, electronic music, this is a good song for you. I went through a small kick with it, but I prefer stuff that's... well, just not as intense - more danceable. Anyway, enjoy Bassnectar's "Timestretch."

Until next time... (Hah! Now it works on two levels.)

Tomorrowland

     Hey all, switching back to the normal format for a couple days. As I was writing yesterday's blog which was a Halo one, I began to want to talk about just what was going on. Thankfully I held off and I have a longer blog today because of it. So here we are

     The Hobbit trailer came out yesterday and I am pretty fucking excited for it. I love Lord of the Rings. I did the extended LotR marathon 4 separate times this past semester. I need some new fantasy-genre movies that don't suck. That coupled with the Dark Knight Rises trailer? Whoo, am I excited for these movies. Although something with The Dark Knight Rises seems off to me.

     Now, this is going to get some negative feedback, but hear me out. I could see, despite how good the trailer looked, that the new batman movie could, and possibly will suck terribly. Nolan doesn't seem to care what gets leaked, as we've seen so many things from camera phones. Haven't heard of security, Nolan? No one can understand what Bane is saying and evidently, Anne Hathaway has been getting some criticism because of how her voice sounds. Nolan has stated that he isn't changing either problem. Plus, if it sucks, it will leave us wanting another batman movie to make up for it. How many batman movies have there been now? Having this one suck will allow the studios to reboot the series in a few years. You see it happening even now with Spider-Man. You just wait. I hope I'm wrong, but I can't rule out the possibility that TDKR is going to be bad.

     I got back into contact with Volgi today, thanks to Rojek. So there are currently plans in the works for us tonight. Dan will hopefully join us as well. I also talked with Mike today and according to him, he, Matt, and myself are hanging out on Friday, when Matt gets back from Madison.

     I was out in the hot tub yesterday afternoon and it finally began to snow. It was so pleasant to be in the hot water, while still getting snowed on. But an odd thing occurred once the snow began to fall. Across my deck is a tall tree and near the top was a squirrel yelling. And I mean like actually yelling. It made some pattern of noises and then shrieked twice, and would repeat that for the next like... ten minutes or so. I couldn't help but imagine that it was calling out the snow to his fellow squirrel friends, possibly a scout team for a larger squirrel city or civilization. This squirrel's job would be to warn his fellow squirrel brethren that was  

     My fantasy football league is coming to a close and I finally lost last week, so this coming week, I'll be playing for 3rd place. Hopefully I'll win so that I can have it twice in a row, plus I'll get paid if I win this match, albeit only my money back.

     I played a game of Heroica, which is one of those Lego board games. It's like a demi version of Dungeons and Dragons. What's cool though is that you can connect all 4 sets and have them be one big game board. Plus it doesn't cost nearly as much as D&D does. And if you alter the rules, it makes the game much more fun to play and doesn't even guarantee that there will be a winner at the end of it. If you die in the game, that's that. You're dead and unless you have the right combination of items, you aren't coming back to see the end. It's good for what I want, something a bit faster and I can do on my own time or with a few other people. If you like LEGO and are like me with D&D and don't want to spend too much, check out Heroica.

     I'm also now watching Limitless with Rojek right now. For those that haven't seen it, it's a very underrated movie and you should see it. It's on Netflix streaming or on itunes to rent or buy. It's with Bradley Cooper if you really have no clue what I'm talking about.

     I know this blog ended up being rather short, but oh well. Rojek just showed me this video of a music festival called Tomorrowland. I know the title has nothing to do with the various subject matters of this blog, but I thought it'd be cool to show. I'm not one for crowded music festivals or anything like that, but this place looks like it'd be a blast to go to, albeit when it's not crowded and full of sweaty people. Enjoy!

Until next time...

Halo: Part 2: Unyielding

----------Halo----------

-----Part 2: Roll Call-----

-Released (Halo 3 OST):

     Halo 2 was finally upon me and I couldn't put it down. That was at least, until the flood was also upon me. I liked playing as the Arbiter, I thought it was a good way to show other perspectives, but god damnit, the Flood was on my doorstep just a bit too early... Again, I found them so damn frightening. So much so as not to play again for like a month or so. But I was back soon enough and I finally beat the campaign. I loved the ending too. Everyone bitched and moaned about how the ending was bullshit, and I know that the third act was cut out, but that's what a cliffhanger is supposed to do. Especially since now that Halo 3 is out, no should even begin to open their mouths on the subject.

     Anyway, it was after beating Halo 2 that I found myself being much more invested in the story than what Halo CE did. Seeing both sides of the war really opened up the universe for me. I once told Colin on the subject, Halo CE was like the prologue for the other games, not just because it was first in the series, but because we hardly learned anything from it compared to what we would learn later on. It was just to get us salivating for Halo 2 and 3 and so on. Halo 2 is where the story REALLY begins, at least for me. It's a constant debate subject in the community, but, and this may be just because Halo 2 is what I played most, first, but, I feel still that Halo 2 had the best campaign in terms of just storyline, followed by ODST, H3, Reach, Wars, and finally CE.

-Bravery, Brotherhood (Halo CE:A OST):

     I had been invited on a couple different occasions to attend a LAN party by my friend, Zach, who hung out with Mike, Matt, and myself as well as another group who was made up of gamers. I initially told him no, but eventually I felt like I wanted a change...

     I eventually asked Zach if I could come to one of these weekly parties that they all had where they just played Halo the entire time. How weird was that?? But I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to try. At the time, I didn't know that this would increase my interest in Halo almost exponentially. It was at this time that I really began developing new friendships. It was where I began investing time with people like Zach, Colin, Kozi, Dan, Chris, Eric Siegel, Mike (better known as T-Nags, as his last time is Tinaglia), Erich Rojek, Anthony Volgi, Nick Briesmeister (or just, 'Breeze'), and some others who were not as regular. Joining the 'gamers' as they could be grouped as, was a big transition for me, as I stopped spending as much time with Mike, Matt, Pat, and the rest of those whom were considered part of the 'popular' groupings.

     For the next two years, these became my new best friends and we spent our weekends over at Siegel's house where we would play Xbox for hours and hours on end. It was great. It was them that got me onto Xbox Live, and it's also how I started reading the Halo novels.

-Data Hive (Halo 3: ODST OST):

     I searched through the 'Sci-Fi/Fantasy' section in Barnes and Noble until I found it- the original Halo novel trilogy. Now, mind you, this was still early after Halo 2's release, also not long after I began attending the weekly LANs. Anyway, I read them all, albeit very VERY slowly (as I read at the pace at which I talk). Reading the books though is what really put me over the edge as being a big fan of Halo. I started doing research here and there and joined Halo3forum so as to invest myself more into Halo.

     As new information came out through those couple years about Halo 3, I had become known more and more in my school as a huge Halo fan. Even the staff knew about it. All my teachers knew that I wouldn't be in school the day Halo 3 came out, even the soccer coach, who I was managing for throughout high school. It was nice to be known as something to other people. The next day I couldn't even count all the people that asked me how Halo 3 was. After a while I almost got sick of it.

-The Last Spartan (Halo 2 OST):

     Prior to Halo 3's release, my dad and I had the idea to take our LAN parties to the next level. Instead of bringing the TVs and the games to the people, why not just bring the people to the TVs and the party? So that's what we did. We got eight 32" flat screen TVs, and wall-mounted four on opposite sides of the basement. And all had ethernet cords going through walls to connect all of our Xboxes to the internet. It was great! Everyone would come to me now (Perhaps I built it out of sheer laziness *shrug*). But things didn't quite pan out as I had hoped.

     There was drama occurring within the group and it was slowly but surely tearing us apart. Zach and I ended up splitting off the group swearing off certain people, while others were just kind of left in limbo, not choosing a side. It was fairly chaotic and, in hindsight, very emotional and testosterone-filled. But with the group splitting apart and Zach switching over to Call of Duty 4, which had just come out as well. Zach and I would later join those whom I consider to be my 'everyday friends,' as they are the people I live with and have been friends with since the end of high school. If you've been reading past blogs, you'll notice that this is changing, as I have gotten back into contact with Mike, Matt, and all my old Halo friends.

     Anyway, what ended up happening was that my basement LAN system never got to see the constant Halo LANs that I had envisioned for it. Instead, it became the hub for my 'everyday friends' and I while we played Call of Duty and they played every new sports game that has come out in the past 5 years. Despite being used constantly, I always felt like we waisted it...

     And none of my 'everyday friends' even like Halo. So I was alone... But, with time, comes movement and change.

----------End of Part Two----------

     "Unyielding," by Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori isn't one of my favorites, but the overall tone was odd to name, so I picked based on my growing investment in Halo. Plus it's fun to drive to and it makes things more intense. Enjoy!

Until next time...

Christmastime is Here

     Today, I've decided that I will take a small break from the Halo story and continue it every once and a while, meanwhile publishing new blogs in between. And actually, I didn't write this today, I wrote this yesterday, which is actually today for me, even though it's technically tomorrow, since it's 12:40AM... So I'm writing this today. Isn't relative time perspective fun? I thought so. To save on confusion, I'll write this as if during the moment I publish it.

     So, Kim Jong Il is dead. I would make a Team America joke, but I'd bet that just about everyone, at least, in America did that already.... So I'll guess I'll just say, "You beat me to it, everyone ever." But honestly, Kim is dead, Saddam's dead (yes, I know this is slightly dated, but still), Bin Laden's dead, Castro is about to hit the ground (as far as I know). This seems to be a good time for America. If I were the dude from Iran, I'd be watching my back. Celebs always die in threes, dictators may be the same way hahaha. But to tell you the truth, I don't follow these subjects nearly as much as other people do. I actually prefer to ignore it all because for me, whatever happens, happens.

     Now, past small stuff, I'm not sure what exactly to talk about. I am waiting to continue the Halo piece, I have another draft of something going on right now, but I want to take a lot of time to get it right, when I'm feeling clear and not so distracted by Netflix or the music coming from my computer or when people aren't calling me down for favors...

     I won the one-and-only copy of Levi Hoffmeier's Halo fan-fiction book, "A Fistful of Arrows." Needless to say, I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I also won a copy of "Halo Evolutions I," which is also signed by all the authors. Very cool if you ask me. I did feel bad though, a friend of mine contacted me right after the 'Halo: Evolutions' auction ended asking me if I had won. I told him I had and as it turns out, he had put in a bid for $50, three seconds before it ended. For some reason though, it didn't register or something and I ended up winning it for $46. From what I remember, I had put in a max bid of $60, but even still... And to be perfectly honest, I don't need it. It was something small I felt I could get my hands on while getting more money towards the charity. So Keith, if you're reading, contact me about buying it. I was serious before when I asked if you were looking to get it before xmas or not.

     I also want to thank my friend, Laird, who kept me posted about the "A Fistful of Arrows" book, and who was also the one who donated all of the Halo items that went up for auction. He raised $6,400 USD after everything was said and done. Congratulations!

     I've also just bought a couple Nerf guns for our annual Christmas nerf gun war. It's me, my brother Travis, my sister Lizz, our cousin Michelle, and her two kids, Zoey and Xavier. I have a whole slew of Nerf guns and darts, but my dad requested I get a couple new guns, and good ones too- fully automatic. I ended up getting the "Raider Rapid Fire" which turns out isn't actually fully auto, but instead is a pump action...shotgun (I suppose) but it has this sweet drum clip. The other gun I got is called the "Stampede." This IS fully auto and boy is it fun to shoot. I'm excited to say the least. But for now, I have to clean my room, as there are darts covering my floor.

     Right now though? At this very moment? I'm just sitting here at my desk, drinking propel, watching Weeds on Netflix and writing. I did write another blog tonight actually, which I initially published but I felt it was too premature and was really the last part of my Halo story. So I reverted it back to a draft until the time is right. Plus it was rather melancholy and I could change the tone of it and make it fit the format of the other Halo parts. So, for those three of you that got to it before I reverted it, congrats.

     What else is there to talk about that won't drag this on for too long? Hmm... I did get my xmas shopping done, and if you put all the time actually shopping, it was easily the fastest xmas shopping I have ever done. I need to do internet shopping more often than I already do, especially for holidays like this.

     Well, it's a week before Christmas, and all through the house, not a sound could be heard, except the clicking of Jake's mouse (and keyboard, but that doesn't rhyme). So I'm naming this after one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Christmastime Is Here," by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. You may recognize it from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.

     Now, it's time for me to go lay in the hot tub, staring up at the dark clouds, hoping that it'll start to snow slowly, since I can't see the stars. And whether or not you celebrate Christmas, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't even matter that you have a happy holiday. What matters is that you're just happy. Good night, everyone.

Until next time...

Halo: Part 1: Unforgotten

     Well, we're finally here. Let me start by apologizing to my regular readers for not posting in two days. I'm probably more sorry to myself than I am to any reader though, as you most likely care much less than I do on the subject. Anyway, I've decided to name this blog and the next piece as simply, "Halo." Each part with a subtitle of one of my favorite songs. I will also be separating each blog into small chapters, which I will then name after different Halo songs, as there were so many choices that I wanted to use.

     Before I being, I'd also like to say a couple things. First, I'd like to point out that my friend, Natalie, has also started her blog. Congrats on the first post and I hope it continues to blossom into something that you care for very much. I can't wait to see what's in store. Next, I recently discovered that since mid-June of 2011, I've lost roughly 60 pounds! It wasn't until seeing this that I finally made the realization that perhaps this is part of why I have become so cheerful lately. And finally, I now know that I should be alone when I write. Being around friends has become such a distraction for me now because I actually tend to talk to others, rather than just observe and comment where necessary. And even past that, this blog is more a journal that anything, just with a relatively small audience; so really, it should be something "private" for me to talk about when there are no other distractions to take me away from my thoughts. 

     I would also like to preface by saying that I don't want to get into a whole lot of detail, as this is a fairly long story as it is and I want to keep things moving. Now, it's time to tell you a story...

----------Halo----------

-----Part 1: Unforgotten-----

-Prologue (Halo 2 OST):

     It's nearing the end of 2011 CE. The Halo franchise has just turned 10. What an amazing feat. How many things that you do on a regular basis can you say you've carried out for an entire decade? Not too much, I'd imagine, unless it is/was something that is very near and dear to your heart. So to be a fan of something for so long deserves to be applauded, but not to me, to everyone else who has seen Halo from its inception to where it is today. Me? I've haven't always been there. In fact, there was a time in which Halo meant absolutely nothing to me. But in time, Halo would become the thing that would define me, and set me on a new path for the coming years ahead.

-Out of Darkness (Halo Legends OST):

     I did have an Xbox, but back in the beginning of the decade, I was a Playstation kid. It was where I spent most of my time gaming. The Xbox was something that essentially just collected dust in the corner while I played games like Armored Core 2, Final Fantasy X, or even playing the latest Pokémon, as I was a big fan of that as well. And where my Xbox got so little attention, the newest game craze known as "Halo: Combat Evolved," for the Xbox got even less attention from me.

     During those days, I was at the tail end of, I believe, junior high school. I always hung out with Mike and Matt, both of whom I have mentioned before, and Pat Flanagan, who was the fourth in our close in-group. Mike and Matt, and before that, my friend Brant, only owned PS2, so to keep with continuity, that is what I spent my time with. I wanted to have as much in common with those that I kept company with, so it made sense for that to be my most-played-with toy. 

     I remember an instance, back in 8th grade, right at the beginning of the school year. I was in homeroom with Mike and Matt, which we couldn't help but be elated about. Dan Gatsakos, whom I cannot remember if I've talked about yet, was also in our homeroom. Dan has been a close friend of mine since elementary school, we've both always had similar interests like gaming and whatnot. Anyway, during our homeroom period, he had asked me if I owned an Xbox. I did. He followed up by asking if I ever played Halo. "Halo?" I thought to myself. I couldn't even put the cover picture to the name. He explained it to me until I finally remembered. I finally gave an emphatic, "No. That game sucks." Looking back, what a childish answer and way of reasoning. I had never even played it, but it was on the Xbox, which was "clearly" worse than the PS2. I had absolutely no interest in Halo whatsoever, let alone shooters, which I sort of played already with AC2 and SOCOM... No, Halo was a joke to me that shouldn't have even been given the time of day. Oh, the close-mindedness of it, how ignorant I truly was...

     During that year, another friend of mine, Ken Trader, had mentioned a web-series called "Red vs Blue." He told me that it took place in a videogame and followed these people who were fighting against one another but pretty much did absolutely nothing but talk and yell at one another. He pretty much went through the entire first episode. What I had missed, however, was that it took place in Halo. If I had known that ahead of time, my horribly biased mind would probably never have given it a look and I may have never started my journey.

-Blood Gulch Blues (Trocadero's "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue")

     I began watching Red vs Blue when it was only a mere seven episodes in. Yes, it took place in Halo, but that didn't matter after watching the first episode. It was too funny not to keep watching, and watch I did. It became one of my favorite shows, and it remains so today. It's what actually got me thinking about Halo. I loved the color customization for each player and how they 'fought' (for lack of a better word) on Blood Gulch. 

     The more I watched, the more the idea grew until, finally, I decided to go and get Halo: Combat Evolved. Now mind you, this is about 2 and half years after Halo came out. I suppose that's my secret: I used to actually hate Halo and didn't get started for a fair while... Wow, if only I'd have known ahead of time...

-Installation 04 (Halo CE:A OST)

     I sat down, put my newly bought Halo disc in the tray and pushed it enough to where the box took over. The game loaded and I was brought to the main menu. A mysterious and haunting chant began to play as the camera flew slowly around a giant mechanical ring floating in space. "Hmm..." I though to myself. I created my profile, simply named, "Jake." My spartan, I decided, would be cobalt blue, to liken myself to my favorite character from RvB, Church. I began the campaign on normal, because I didn't want to be dying constantly and because easy was what I would've considered 'dishonorable.'

     I played through "Pillar of Autumn" with a cautious viewpoint, as I was still unsure of what to expect from it. I was following the basic storyline well enough to understand it, but I didn't pick up on the subtleties like the jump from Reach. I also didn't understand for a while that the Covenant was a bunch of different alien races. At the time, I had understood it as the Covenant being one race of aliens that molted into new forms as they aged. I was young and I thought they all looked similar enough to where this was possible. Grunts turned into Jackals, which turned into Elites, which in turn, if they were strong and fortunate enough, would turn into Hunters. Like I said, they all had relatively dark skin, including Jackals at that point, so that's how I understood them.

     When my Bumblebee escape craft finally slammed onto the surface of Halo, I was a bit more open to it, not being so cautious about what I thought. I did feel, as was intended, the scale of it. The giant ring going up into the sky and then coming back down on the other side? It was massive. The lightly pined forest which I fought through gave a nice atmosphere. It wasn't too scary or destroyed or busy. It was just there (which isn't intended to be a bad thing). 

     After that first big battle, when the warthog is dropped off, I couldn't help but be thrown back into RvB. I played through the level, albeit getting lost a few too many times... In fact, I got lost to the point of getting fed up with it and quit playing for a while. I instead went to the split screen option where I checked out the maps and played by myself as I semi-reenacted RvB episodes.

     I eventually got back into it during the summer and continued playing up until the level, "The Library." This is where I almost stopped for good. The Flood was just such a scary character to me. I absolutely hated the feeling of being so surrounded by so many creatures that were stronger than me. Even today, I maintain that I hate the flood because of all that they are. They jump high, hit hard, sound fucking terrifying, and to top it all off, they were always in large numbers. So, I quit out of fear... 

-To Kill a Demon (Halo 3 OST):

     The next school year came and I hadn't even thought about playing Halo again since the horrid release of the Flood. I did, however, keep up with RvB. It was my only real conduit to Halo at the time. I was told that Halo 2 was coming out that coming November and it looked way better than the first one. New things were implemented like duel-wielding, and we would be fighting back on Earth, sans Flood. The story was back at a place where I preferred; a place where I wasn't cowering in fear like the soldier in "343 Guilty Spark." But a stray thought occurred... Perhaps I should actually go and finish Halo 1 before venturing into Halo 2.

     If I remember correctly, I ended up having someone else show me what happens during and after "The Library, so that I could get a feel for it. During the year, I eventually got around to completing the campaign on my own, thanks to the guided help I received. I ended it happy though, it had taken my months longer to actually beat it, but with Halo 2 just around the corner, I was ready for it. Halo 2 wasn't coming soon enough.

-Halo Reborn (Halo 3 OST)

     Finally, November 9th rolled around. My mom and I were in the Toys 'R' Us in Schaumburg, IL, which is about 30-40 minutes away. She was getting Christmas gifts for someone. While there, I decided to see if they happened to have a copy of Halo 2. They had told me that they had only one left that wasn't for pre-sale. We nabbed it and we went home. My parents went off to parent-teacher conferences. Meanwhile, I sat upstairs, unwrapping the cellophane from the game. Like I had done before, I opened the disc tray, set the game in, and pushed it shut. 

----------End of Part One----------

     I feel I have barely gotten into this story and yet, so far, It's longer than most blogs I've done thus far. So my thinking now is that it will be comprised of maybe 3 or 4 parts total. I will be continuing this piece either tomorrow, or, if I reason differently, will make this a blog that comes up every once in a while with other regular blogs in between. If you've read everything up to this, please comment and tell me how you think I should do it. And perhaps this is just me, but this portion of the story is somewhat drier than the parts to come, so if you felt the same way, don't worry, it'll be getting better as I continue.

Until then, please enjoy my favorite Halo song of all time (thus far), "Unforgotten," by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. This song means a lot to me in ways that perhaps will be talked about in the future. 

Until next time...

Going Nowhere

     I want to start by saying the the second half of yesterday's post was littered with spelling and grammatical errors. I tend to be a 'Grammar Nazi,' because I would think that being able to write and speak in one's first language should be something people should do correctly? Wouldn't you think?? I will obviously try to refrain from such atrocities in the future. Now onto my day...

     Today was a slightly odd day. Last night, we had to migrate from Colin's basement to my car (I think I need to stop saying things that can be misconstrued as being homosexual. I don't feel like being ridiculed). We were discussing different concepts and subjects and at times we were loud. Colin suggested that we go get milk shakes and that is precisely what we did.

     After we came back, we decided to just stay out in the car and continue our discussions. I left the electronics on so we would stay warm. Colin finally went inside and went to bed at about 3:30 AM or so. Kozi and I meanwhile discussed Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, which is where Kozi went to school and where I will be heading after I graduate from SIU with my BA. What I'll be studying during my stay there is still in flux. It's currently between video editing, cinematic directing, and/or game producing. I feel I would be pretty descent at any of them. This may be tooting my own horn a bit, but I'll link my past couple of Halo trailers that I made:

     Anyway, we talked until about 5:00 AM or so. Kozi and I finally decided to call it a night... er, morning, I suppose. When I tried to turn on the car, all that could be heard was a single click, followed by an unwelcome silence. My car battery was dead... The tone suddenly became one of being tired to one that said, "Welp... fuck." Kozi thankfully happened to have jumper cables. The only problem was that neither Kozi nor myself are car people by any stretch of the imagination...

     We barely managed to turn Kozi's car around, which was parked in by myself and Colin's cousin's car. Turning his car around was something akin to the scene in the original Austin Powers movie when Austin gets the cart stuck in the hallway and he keeps driving into and backing into each wall of the hallway. The connection was not lost on us as it was pretty much the first thing we thought of. Once we finally got the car turned around, we popped the hoods and got the jumper cables from Kozi's trunk. They were zip-tied... Of course they were zip-tied... The closest thing to a knife or scissors that we had were our car keys. Using that may as well have been a joke. Then suddenly, an idea! What if we used the sharp clamps to free themselves? It worked like a charm. Now onto actually trying to jump the car. We searched my car for the battery, but to no avail... What we thought was my car battery eventually turned out to be my car's fuse box. Who knew? We began laughing at ourselves as we compared ourselves to the apes in the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey. We couldn't have been more out of our element, sans critical thinking and improvisation. But eventually, we would yield ourselves.

     It was now 6:00 AM and we were still stuck in Colin's driveway, trying to be quiet as not to wake anyone up and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible to the various cars that drove by. The flashlight looking through a dark, turned-off car was not helping. So we finally gave up. My car was dead, and we, not being able to revive it, were forced to abandon the corpse where it lay... Kozi drove me home where I passed out for another 7 hours.

     I awoke with a splitting headache, most likely due to staying up so late/early. My left forearm felt as though someone had hit it with a bat and my legs were so achy that, at first, it was difficult to walk. These were obviously due to the swamp renovations from the previous day. With no one available to help me go save my car, I was marooned on the island that is my house. *Sigh...* I would have to wait until someone with a car came home. My dad was first on the list. When he got home, we called AAA and we would meet them at Colin's house. However, when we got there, we were able to jump it ourselves. I called AAA again and cancelled the service dude that was probably already on his way to come help us out. I felt somewhat bad, as we had pretty much just sent this guy on a wild goose chase. Where ever you are, I apologize for wasting your time. We then proceeded to take my car back to the dealership to go get some work done and to get things checked out, which was actually our plan before any of this had happened. So yet again, I am without a car...

     I'd like to note that the guy at the dealership that waved my car into the service garage was so outwardly happy, though I feel as though there may have been something slightly out of the ordinary going on. I supposed he may have been tripping on something, or, the more likely, he was possibly somehow handicapped. Either way, he was as happy as could be and had a huge grin on his face the entire time we were there. That's nice to see.

     However, once I got back home, I finally got my hands on the Halo 4 concept art (which is signed by Sparth). Oh, the joyousness of it; another one-of-a-kind piece of Halo piece has been added to my collection. When I got onto twitter, I saw that there was a community playdate for Halo tonight. @bsangel had tweeted that those whom she followed should send her a message via xbl saying simply, "twitter." I did so, though I decided on adding a 'meow' afterwards. I thought Jessica may appreciate this tiny gesture, and it seems I was correct. It wasn't even 2 minutes after I sent it that I got the invite. I was pretty pumped, as this was the first time in a LONG time that I've played Halo matchmaking, let alone the first time I was able to get into the community playdate party. Jessica recognized me and we caught up slightly and I apologized about outbidding her on the Halo 4 concept art. She was a great sport about it and said that, 'at least it was going to a good home where it would be cared for.' That's actually the third time in like two weeks that I've heard that about something I was bidding on. I love hearing stuff like that because it means that; 1. I seemed to have gained a reputation amongst the Halo community as a hunter of rare Halo pieces that cares deeply for them; and 2. It's a good reputation.

     So we played a few games and I tried fairly hard, as I didn't want to be seen as being a 'BK randy.' The fact that some people (& I suppose more now) know that I really don't play all that much Halo online, let alone gaming on a regular basis. I got a few nice kills here and there, even nice enough for people to complement me on them. The few jokes I made here and there were well received also, which is always a good ego-booster.

     Well, I suppose this is where I'll end. And to think, my original plan today was to actually blog about a big theory that I came up with, while only briefly talking about my car. Oh well... Tomorrow I should be getting my car back and depending on what happens tomorrow, I will be organizing my entire Halo collection into something more display worthy. If things go as planned, I will be starting my big Halo blog. Although I will say ahead of time that my mom, who is a kindergarten teacher is having the school's annual holiday faculty party at our house tomorrow... So things may not go my way on that front... I can only be thankful as this is the last year for this because my mom is retiring after this school year's end.

     I gotta say, yesterday's song choice was good and all, but I went through my ipod today in preparation for this blog and I found like three other songs that would've worked so much better. Oh well, what's done is done. Tonight's song is "Going Nowhere," by Cut Copy. And yes, I know. I have been using a lot of Cut Copy songs. This isn't to promote it so much as I just find that the titles fit what I happen to be talking about. I am trying to use some variety in my song choices, just need to write about the right thing. Anyway, enjoy!

     I think tomorrow I am going to finally start Christmas shopping. I also think I'm going to finish it all in record time. *Yawn* I'm tired... I suppose I should try and get my sleep schedule back in order before I fuck it up even more.

Until next time...