It's been awhile

Well, I dropped the ball on updating this digital machine.

Guess a month out is a fine time to pick it back up.

This week's been a bit of change of pace from the eternal loop that is "adult" life: work-home-work-weekend repeat. And I'll have to say its rather nice. The hardest challenge in transitioning from the sleepy town of Tahlequah to Owasso was going from feeling like I had a ton of time, to feeling like I no longer have any. And, me being who I am, I tried to logically layout the reasons so as to find some comfort:

There is 168 hours in a week (Sunday to Saturday). 40 of which are etched out for work, be it mundane or not (128hrs left). Let's say you try to get 8 hours of sleep a night for the days before work, as your job asks that you start at around 8AM (as most do, haha). You would have to awake within the 6 o'clock hour, which means you would have to go to sleep at 10PM from Sunday to Thursday (hereby named "Work-nights") (88hrs left). Of course this isn't accounting for the time you'd have to lie down in order to fall asleep BY 10pm.

Then let's move on to the other things that make up a standard day: extra-curricular activities. While I can't go into much detail on how much time is spent on various activities, let's just say on a work-night basis getting off at 5 and going to bed at 10, you would have about 5 hours to do whatever it is you want for that evening. Since I'm only counting 4 nights as work-nights that would put us at 20 hours a week on goofing off (48 left). Now that estimate is without the time taken to eat. Let's tackle that next as this is the most unstable of variables.

On record, there are about 3 periods in a day for eating a dedicated meal (snacking excluded), and we all are well aware of what they are. For the first, on work-mornings, let's say you take about 10-15 minutes preparing and eating breakfast. For Lunch you take a full hour, and for dinner you take about 40 minutes for preparation and ingesting. Of course this is where the results become subject to fragmentation due to what you're preparing and how fast or slow an eater you happen to be.

At this point, my pursuit on this as a means to bring me comfort quickly dissipated. Logically I don't see how free time is even had, but in reality I can plainly see how: you just cut into time that should be spent on something else. You go to bed at 11 or 12. You stay up late on weekends. You skip a meal (namely breakfast). You take your time going to work. You goof off at work. You eat out (which actually would lend itself to taking longer that it would to just prepare food yourself).

At this all I could say is Time is a wondrous thing. It never moves faster, nor slower. It never stands still. But, likewise, it can appear to be doing all of that to us as individuals. Whether you feel like your job "sucks" all the time away from you or not, just really stop and think about how little time you actually have. From each week starting with 168 hours to that number shrinking drastically towards its end, we don't really have much time at all.

So take some time to stop the above-mentioned cycle and get lost in a sunset, eat something you wouldn't normally, create a side-project or two, learn to play an instrument, get involved at your church, re-connect with a relative, walk your dog. Anything really. If there is one thing I'm seeing as I'm getting older it's that days turn into minutes, weeks turn into days, months into weeks and years into months. The phrase "Oh man it just seemed like it was New Years yesterday" becomes more commonplace.

Tempus es Vita. Don't wish it pass faster than it already does.

Questing

It's been a while since I've turned to this page.

Wouldn't be surprised if it'd be same for you too (reader).

Well let's get this underway shall we?

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I started writing more, and now I feel like this story is finally coming together. The only problem is weaving all my influences into something new (read: unique). But yet I will persevere. It would be a shame to loose such a latent passion.

I am also looking to take the JLPT next year. This will be the hardest thing I will do, but I will be so much better for it. Language is something I can't help but be interested in.

That's about it for most of an update. Now for something for everyone else.

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It's funny how something can seem so complete in what we think we want from it.

For example imagine your absolutely perfect day. from waking up to going to sleep.

Maybe you spent the day around the house, passing the time reading, playing games, catching up on lost tv shows, etc. Or maybe you went out to all those places you want to go, but just can't seem to find the time to visit. Or maybe, strangely, you found yourself in a strange limbo of nothingness: not really wanting to DO anything but at the same time feeling like you should do something.

I hate that occurrence.

Often, we spend our days longing for "Friday" only to have it herald our breaks which, more often than not, entail us playing catch up.

Now i'm not saying I hate this cycle. Mostly because it happens to all of us eventually. Moreover I just think it's a quite strange circle we humans add to our lives.

I'll be excited about monday this weekend. Maybe that can break the ebb and flow of it all.

Cheers all.

Plot Stale. Please Try Again.

Today I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the entertainment industry and how, in so many of its forms we are exposed to, the same story lines and predicable plot twists emerge.

Example: This past weekend I took my girlfriend to see Dear John, the latest Nicholas Sparks book-to-movie convert, and I was quite appalled at the first 45 minutes of the film.

Not to disclose any spoilers, my fault with the film lie solely in the fact that the main characters fall head over heels in love with each other in a period of about one week. It doesn't take much for the guy protagonist to completely overwhelm the girl protagonist's mind and make her a (sole) member of his fan club.

Now lets compare recent trends of this nature:...

Actually I think some are already coming to mind even as you read this.

Now my question is not posed against these films; I am a huge lover of a good story, no matter its form. MY question is can't we as a culture be shown a different type of love story?

Just curious.

On the topic of story lines and plots, Another issue was brought up during my aforementioned conversation: Variety.

Here in America we are privy to the indulgence of the media: bleed it dry.

Our entertainment industry has a hard time letting good things just end.

I like the tv show Scrubs. I don't like it when the main character is slowly ousted in lieu of keeping the show "alive" after a clearly good stopping point.

I like the show How I met your mother. I'll be darned if the same thing happens to this show. It needs to have an end, and not 11 seasons down the road.

I like the show the office. But clearly they enjoyed taking an original concept to us Americans and pushing it to become something completely unrecognizable.

You know what media I love and wish we had here? Limited Episodic.

Television series in some other cultures tend to be 24-40 episodes and thats it. 1 to 2 season tops. That's it.

You know what this kind of mentality propagates? Variety. It's simple: when a series is allowed to end a myriad of things happen: 1) Writers can finish their projects without burning out, 2) Viewers can actually experience a finished story without asking "where did this all even start?" 3) New material can be made without actors being pigeon-holed into a certain character (I'll never see John Krasinski as anything other than "Jim") and 4) Box sets won't be a hundred plus dollars for an entire series.

Some of the best stories I can remember are the ones that ended. Period. I mean think about it: what fun is a story that never really ends, or goes on so long that it's forced to have a weak ending (see Matrix)?

Lyric-less in Owasso

Today I was browsing for new music to listen to, a thing I do every couple of months or so, when I came across a style of music I very often forget but hold in high regard.

Shoegazer; Dream Rock; Transient Rock; Instrumental; Sleep Rock and so on.

Whatever you want to call it, it is basically lyric-less music. And I love it. As I listened to samples of new material and titles from my own collection, I noticed something. These bands are just as big as bands like Aerosmith and have just as big a following. But why? Like I said it's lyric-less music, and experience has show us that people are adamantly in love with lyrics in their music, for want of a sing-a-long or some other 'this-band-puts-into-words-all-my-emotion' reason.

I have a bit of a theory, and by "theory" I mean "obvious point": Just as classical music moved people in its time, so does this music move people.

This music basically says, "I am here to let you think on you. I am here to provoke and then move out of the way of your thoughts." And this I admire. This is the music I listen to whenever I feel like putting words to my thoughts.

Music itself is vast, and so I cannot listen to this style terribly too much. Mostly for fear of my mind wandering far too far away.

So this to say, you can be a successful musician and not be able to sing or be in a band that can sing.

And the Best Genre...

Today I read an article that expressed the idea that the news coverage for upcoming pieces of entertainment give out too much information about the piece itself. Thus robbing the viewers of the experience of "the first time".

Example: The Lion King

How many of you can remember knowing the plot of this film before seeing it?

I can't.

How many of you would regard this to be a great film.

I would.

To elaborate, I believe that the very fact that we had no prior knowledge (save the fact that it was Disney and a cartoon and maybe a trailer) gave many people a better experience overall.

Example: Avatar

I was curious about this movie and, as such, proceeded to read a review on IGN that, without plot twist spoilers mind you, went into detail about the plot. That was it. Now if I decide to go see this film, I walk in with a subconscious idea of what kind of story I expect to be told.

To me, I believe only the book retains an element of surprise to its audience. Hence why books are always better than movies.

Now allow me to switch to another form of entertainment: Video Games.

When I was younger I played a game called Phantasy Star IV. All I knew of this game was that it was an RPG (my first to be exact). What I was shown, on the other hand, was a wonderful story about...well, saving the world.

Everything was fresh, everything was new and wonderful, even when I died horrid, horrid deaths due to my ill-planning. It was great.

Long gone is this feeling of fresh and new. Now I read and watch reviews, read comments and articles, and watch trailers until my eyes tire. Only after to decide if I want to plop down the $60 to take it home. Usually this has me just playing a game just to play it. Nothing more.

However, deep in my gaming subconscious is a genre that stands unwavering against my prying curiosity. The MMO.

This genre is quite immune from this peeping-tom-ery due to the sole fact that the developers haven't finished telling the story, immersing you, or exposing you when you start playing. All anyone can really know about an MMO before they play it is what it looks like. They can see screenshots and videos, but much of the mystery is still hidden.

This is why, gamer, you may find yourself longing to play such a game. The mystery of what could happen to you is still alive and fresh. At least, that is what this writer would like to believe.

The best genre?

The one that keeps much of its mystery at the moment its audience first tunes in.

What is the difference?

Archetypes and Cliches

These two words are a clear indication of words that have very similar but different meanings.

Let me start from the beginning.

Tonight I was watching my usual weekly shows when this formula of storytelling dawned on me.

In this particular anime, the elements of a very important female character, a mysterious yet strong male character, a group of ugly bandits (all bandits, unless good guys in disguise, are ugly), and an important but deadly "thing" that must be protected all made their appearance.

Here is the catch.

I was interested.

No matter how many times I have seen this story start (Star Wars; Final Fantasy 7; Rurouni Kenshin; and more), I get interested every time.

So I ask, what is the line between archetypes and cliches?

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On another note, this particular anime presented the mysterious male character as being able to use bubbles.

As a weapon.

Even depicting scenes of him killing someone with them.

Bubbles.

Just let that sink in for a moment.

Nevertheless, I was still interested and watched for the entire 25 mins.

A Clean Slate

This is the second time in my life I have started a blog.

Well, only if you can call the first a "blog". The first was during the illustrious days of Xanga.

This outdated concept is so old that even my browser's dictionary refused to recognized the word.

Hmm, I'll take that as good advice...

This is the first time in my life to start a blog.

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Writing

Really when it comes down to writing, I am at odds and ends about it. On one hand so much of what we enjoy comes down to writing: Entertainment Media sites, Reviews of recent (and old) video games, and even the storylines we readily enjoy in said video games. With this being fact, It can also be said that writing is rather hard.

Let me explain.

In grade school we are taught all about grammar and all about how to properly make sentences on paper for the sole purpose of school. Academia. Never are we given proper venue to let our imagination pour forth onto page, to let our minds use such techniques to create something unique. So we conclude this simple fact:

Creative people are geniuses.

This is a lie. Creative people are the ones who learned how to spit their imagination out into whatever form they are using.

All this to say...

This is the first time in my life that I have started a blog.