I'm allowed to have my rebellion, but you're not

Well, video games are bad for the youth of America. So says a bunch of people in Congress and "experts" in the field. It seems playing a game as a Italian-American who jumps around a lot, eats mushrooms to gain power, and fights evil turtles encourages you to commit violence.

Yes, good ol' Congress, who would rather denounce video games and hold hearings on steroids in professional sports than solve problems like health care.

Take the biggest story of the last few weeks, involving the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Apparently hidden deep in the game's code is a minigame in which you can have virtual whoopie with women. The developers locked the code away, but with a downloadable mod, you can play the minigame. The controversy was so great that last week the game's rating was changed to "Adults Only" and several stores yanked the game.

Now comes a story about a controversy, which according to one person, is bigger than Grand Theft Auto. Click here to see a story which is quite interesting. This man has a beef against The Sims 2 because you can apparently get a patch to remove the blur that covers your sims when they are without apparrel. And he thinks that the game will be used as "training" for pedophiles.
Now, I play video games for fun, and sometimes as a stress reliever. I have a rough day, I can come home and beat up some supervillians in City of Heroes, play the dark side in Knights of the Old Republic, and yes, go on a rampage in Grand Theft Auto. Does that make me want to go out and commit violence? No! It actually calms me down since I can get stress out virtually. I'm smart enough to realize that it's not real. I sure as hell can't go put myself in "god mode," find a way to get every weapon imaginable, and go blow stuff up.

It's the old standard. The parents and government blame the media instead of themselves. Your kid just went out and carjacked someone to emulate Grand Theft Auto? Guess what, you're more to blame than the game. Because you let your kid play the game unsupervised, and were too dumb to point out, "Now honey, you do know you can't do that in real life, right?"

It's funny because I seem to recall reading about similar incidents like when say, Rock n' Roll first became big. Rock n' Roll was devil music and made children do terrible things. I say it's funny because the same kids who were rebelling back then and defending the medium are now probably the same people who are denouncing video games. Circle of life, indeed.

Do video games need a better ratings system? Maybe. The one now seems to be very close to movie ratings, telling you what the game is rated and why. Do places that sell these games need to do better when it comes to selling mature-rated games to kids? Definitely.

But for once, I would really like to see the blame shifted internally rather than externally. And as much as I hate to quote something, I'm going to quote South Park and its character Kyle, who is trying to plead with his crusading mother, "Want to blame someone? Blame me. Want to deal with someone? Deal with me."

What a wonderful smell you've discovered!

Well, on a whim, I decided to see the movie The Island this weekend. I had fun with it. Sad thing is, the movie is a victim of false advertising. The trailers and commercials make it out to be this slam-bang action movie, when at heart its a good sci-fi thriller that happens to have some action sequences in it.

But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to talk about the foul smell I have to endure maybe three times a week or so. Right around maybe 6pm a pungent smell starts coming from one of the neighbors apartments through one of the AC ducts. I don't know if its from the type of food that's being prepared, or that the oven is in dire need of some cleaning. All I know is that it really makes it hard to breathe in my apartment. It's like from the movie Austin Powers in Goldmember when Fat Bastard is describing his own flatulence, "You know when you go into an apartment building and you smell the other people's cooking on each floor and you go 'What are they cookin'?' That, plus crap!"

I've tried several remedies.. a TrueAir air purifier, which does little; spray air fresheners, which only help the problem for a few minutes; stick-up air fresheners near the AC ducts, which dried up too fast.. nothing is a really solid solution. Its so bad that its one of the main reasons I want to move when my lease is up.

Anyone have this problem? And if so, do you have any solutions? I'm suffocating here.

Home Entertainment System

Like probably a lot of people, I have a job that I just don't like. It's a paycheck, nothing more. For 8 hours a day, 5 days a week I get calls from people with Internet problems. There's a lot of abuse that you have to have to learn to take. And there's some days where I'm just wasted when I get home. A few weeks ago things changed where my group started getting a LOT more calls. People giving us the calls are not following procedure. We get bombarded with calls, with never a moment's rest, save for lunch. This combined with poor sleep has left me a wreck when I get home. Oh, and my apartment complex hasn't responded to a repair request I put in 2 weeks ago to have my ceiling fan fixed. Good moods are hard to come by.

There's some bright sides in the days however. As soon as I unlock and open the door I'm greeted by a furry companion. Yes, Mocha, my cat, greets me at the door. I get some hello meows, a hug, then some begging for a belly rub.

It's been over 2 years since I got Mocha from my sister-in-law, who rescued Mocha from being a stray. Mocha was causing trouble with the "alpha" cat in the apartment so off with me she went.

She can be a handful for sure. Mocha is a Himalayan cat. Her breed is very chatty. The only times I get blessed silence is when she's asleep, she fusses alot for attention, whenever she sees me stir in bed she'll try to get me up.

But it's all worth it. A rotten mood can melt away just from a single action, from something as simple as a yawn to something like watching her play (she hunts the little tabs you get off a gallon of milk). And of course, there is the greeting when I get home. I bet its difficult for non-cat owners or people with a cat "stereotype" in mind to think about a cat greeting you. But she does, and when I finally sit down on the couch after I get home and change, she'll run over to me, climb up on me, and ram me in the face (its better than it sounds). She's a little home entertainment system.

I'm sure any pet owner can say the same about their pets. Its nice after a day of getting the worst from people, to get some love from your pet. Trust me, if you're in a bad mood, and none of your unwinding activities make you feel better, just play with your pet. You'll feel a lot better.

A declaration of sorts

Hello dear readers. I know it has been awhile but I have something personal to say. Ok, here goes. I have decided to get in shape. I know, I know, but don't surf to the web site that has the celebrity babes centerfolds. This is a decision that I didn't come to lightly. This idea has always popped in my mind, but something was always missing. Motivation. Yes, I have never had the right motivation until now. The idea of improving one's health would be the motivation, but it isn't. Impressing members of the opposite sex is not on the list either. Yeah, like I would really to meet a gal that is jonesing for my washboard abs and not for my personality. Yes, you read right, I want to meet a gal that loves my personality and not my body (well if she was married to me then she could love my. . . ummm some readers might be under 18 so I will stop this thought now). Anyways, the main motivation for me getting in shape is to be able to protect people. At work I am one of the few males on staff and I also work to closing time, so walking women to their cars is an almost daily occurence. I feel that is a duty of men to do this and usually for me it is a pleasure. Due to some disturbing events (basically ex-boyfriends stalking their ex) I have realized if it ever came to blows I would lose. If I had some muscle I would feel more confident that I could properly protect my fellow female workers. Hopefully, I will never have to do that in my life.
Fortunately, the company I work for has a fully equipped gym and excellent rates (you wouldn't believe how excellent the rates are). Thats right I have to decided to get off my ever fattening duff and do something. It will be painful and hard, but you know what thats okay with me. I think if I work at this hard enough, the benefits will be nice. Also, I might have to make some life changes, like getting up early and doing my work-out before work(hence the pain). I gladly(ok glad will be a stretch at first) and willingly take this challenge on if I can get more energy and feel a tad better about myself. Maybe, I will update my dear readers with my progress (maybe with "before and after" photos). Thats all I have to say for now, I am sure I could have said more but I am tired. Ok, now you can go surf to the celebrity babes centerfold web site.

Don't trust movie critics

Well, this past weekend Fantastic Four was released to harsh reviews from critics. The website Rotten Tomatoes listed it as having only 26% positive reviews. Yet go to Yahoo! Movies, and 12,000 people have given the movie an average of a B rating. A couple of forums I frequent have mostly positive reviews from the users. Oh..and the movie was #1 at the box office, making $56 million.

This is just one in a large string of movies that critics hate and moviegoers seem to love. Which makes it no big surprise that fairly often, movies that win a lot of Oscars are not huge box office winners.

I liked Fantastic Four. I had a fun time at the movie. Sure, it could have been better, but for what it was it did the job. I had planned putting out a long review ala my War of the Worlds review a week ago. As I started writing it I realized that it would end up being long and boring. You should really make your own judgement on a movie. If you see trailers and ads for a movie, and you think it looks good, you should go. If you're hesistant, then talk to some friends and family. People whose opinions you trust. Chances are you know what types of movies they like and what they hate, so if they liked something you'll probably know its good.

My experience has been that if I see a movie that someone I know has NOT seen, and I recommend the movie, then the person generally will enjoy it. I've already "converted" by contributor to movies like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I, Robot, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

So don't let a bad review from the Daily Inquisitor deter you from a movie. Form your own review.

This is the story of a king and a clown..

Anyone recall the "good 'ol days" of advertising? When the sole purpose of the advertisement was to show how much better your product was than your competitor's? The Whopper beat the Big Mac in taste tests. Diet Coke has fewer calories than Diet Pepsi. Energizer batteries last longer than Duracell.

Nowadays I can't seem to get a bead on what certain commercials are trying to say. The concept seems to be the same, but the execution is unclear. For example, a commercial for Diet Pepsi that I've seen a few times recently. We're shown a convenience store closing, and loud music playing. In the refrigerator, the Diet Cokes and Gatorades are complaining about the music. Then we see the Diet Pepsis "dancing" to the music, and one can eventually jumps out the door, lands on the ground, and continues "dancing." One of the Pepsi cans comments, "I love it when he does that." The ad then ends with a Diet Pepsi logo.

Huh?

This convinces me to buy Diet Pepsi how? "Give me a Diet Pepsi, 'cause their cans party hard!" *scratches head* We've got Sonic and their two annoying people saying how they've got stuff that other restaurants don't.. and every cell phone provider contradicting each other about various charges. Burger King seems to think that a creepy plastic King stalking people in their homes will get us to buy some Croissanwiches. Pizza makers give us gimmicky new pizzas every other month ("our new pizza is made entirely out of cheese! Even the crust!") to try to hook us.

Advertisers seem to just assume we want their products. What happened to working for it? Honestly, who would like to see a return to commercials where the only goal is to humiliate and discredit your opponent? I'd personally like to see that creepy Burger King guy hanging outside a person's house, only to have a cop jump him, pound on him awhile with a nightstick, then turn to the camera, take a giant bite out of a Big Mac, and say "I'm lovin' it!"

Aliens! Quick, everyone stare in awe!

Well, I saw the big "summer event" movie yesterday, War of the Worlds. All I can say though is "ho-hum." This movie, while a good distraction, was the first of the summer that just didn't thrill me.

I was definitely excited to hear that Steven Spielberg would be directing WotW, with David Koepp assisting with the script (he's done scripts like Jurassic Park, Panic Room, and Spider-Man). Tom Cruise starring. Okay, not the biggest fan of his, but it definitely added star power. I was also excited to hear that they would (for the most part) be closely following the novel, of which I am a big fan.

The novel is an unnamed man's account of an alien invasion in 1898. It mainly follows his exploits as he dodges alien attack, ends up trapped in a basement with an eccentric, and eventually reunites with his wife.

The movie, of course updates this to present day, and adds kids to the mix. The plot very closely matches the novel, which is good. Tom Cruise plays...well, Tom Cruise.. he (and his kids) dodge alien attack, end up trapped... well..like I said, it follows the book.

So why wasn't I dazzled? Well, for several reasons. And these reasons may be why other people will find problems. WotW is nothing new. We've seen it all before, and Spielberg and crew don't do much to add flavor. In fact they try to make it rather preachy. Tom Cruise's character just isn't all that likeable, and his kids don't help...in fact I'm not sure why they were added to the story to begin with, other than maybe to give Cruise's character a reason to be heroic. Most of all, there's no heart to this movie. No "yeah, all right!" moments, even at film's end when victory is assured for the humans.

The novel made it very clear as to why the aliens perished at the end, and there was a nice closing to the novel basically saying how life moved on. The movie omits the nice closing, and condenses the "why" to a single paragraph read by Morgan Freeman. All in all, the movie is very bleak, and none of the heart, or fun, that was apparent in Spielberg's earlier movies is apparent. (Heck, even Jaws was fun.) Even John Williams comes out rather blase in this movie, and I don't recall any memorable pieces of music.

What works in the movie? Well as to be expected, the special effects are mind boggling. And yes, the movie does find a way to be entertaining. And give the movie credit for trying to be different from other alien invasion movies. Here you see the invasion through the eyes of pretty much one person. This lack of "full reveal" is where Spielberg shines as a director.

This movie definitely rates as a good afternoon's distraction, but I fail to see any long-term impact. It's sure to rake in the money (in fact I see the movie has already passes $100 million). But these are the summer months, and darn it, I want to have fun at the movies. Revenge of the Sith, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Batman Begins were fun. And I hope to return to the fun next weekend with Fantastic Four.

*** out of *****

An announcement I would like to hear

ATTENTION SHOPPERS: Thank you for choosing us as your shopping headquarters, we would like to give you a few pointers to make your shopping experience more enjoyable. First, push your cart in the manner that you would drive your car safely. This means stay on the right and yield when crossing over to the other side. Secondly, if you need to stop in the aisle please park your cart to the right side, so other shoppers can pass you safely. And finally, when you are passing someone that is blocking you, please use a courteous manner (i.e. Excuse me ma'am or sir). If you follow these simple guidelines your shopping experience will be more enjoyable. Thank you for your attention and have a nice day. *Click*

From the Mind of Mocha

Hello humans, Mocha the Cat here.

We of the Himalayan breed are very talkative by nature, so I felt I needed to get something out in the open. We cats lead very stressful lives. We lead a very strict schedule of eating, sleeping, personal grooming, and random running across the room at full speed. On top of that we still need to fit in our 18 hours of sleep! It is very disrupting to have you humans come and try to pet us, brush us, or pick us up when we are in the middle of something like napping.

Like just today, I was at the window, closer than ever to getting the little birdies, when my human picks me up and puts me in a cage! Off we went, to strange sights and sounds, into a moving vehicle. I was begging and pleading to be let out, when we finally stopped. He then took me into a room with a bunch of strange humans, who buttered me up by saying how pretty I was (no argument there) and then proceeded to poke me with sharp things! I don't even know these humans!

I'm now at my home, my entire schedule thrown off, and now I must plan revenge.. do I ignore my human, or do I act like I want attention and then fuss when he tries to give it to me? Decisions decisions.

The point is, you humans with cats, that you with your worry-free lives don't consider the feelings of us opressed kitties. Please, let us come to you on our own time with our needs and problems! Thank you.