Identity?

I found an article on online identity and how it affects behavioral development of kids and teens: http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Youth_Culture_and_New_Technologies_-_Loss_of_Identity.  It talks about how kids who spend more time online interacting with AI and avatars than playing outside or whatever “become secluded and unattached to the real world and issues occuring within it.”  It also states that a lack of physical and interpersonal relationships may hinder a person’s social skills and even the development of a personal identity.  

Overall, this article is very biased against spending time online and playing in depth video games that require lots of time and devotion, which I think is totally unfair. I don’t even play online games (very much), but in my opinion, spending loads of time online is no different than spending loads of time reading or spending loads of time working.  No one says these other activities stunt a person’s identity, what’s the deal?

Firefly

Why do all the good shows get cancelled? I don’t even watch TV anymore. If ever want to watch something, I can just go online to Hulu or SurfTheChannel. But if I really like something, I’ll actually go buy the DVD box set. Firefly is one such example. The show is simply amazing, probably because it contains every facet of what I deem an awesome story: science-fiction setting, western style, tongue-in-cheek humor, dynamic characters, and space pirates! It’s been six years since this show debuted and it still has a huge fan base. I, for one, am excited about the new graphic novel that’s being published at the end of the year explaining more about the back story of Shepherd Book (“Serenity: Better Days“). It’s basically a collection of three small comic books that came out earlier this year. If you haven’t seen a single Episode of Firefly, check it out at Hulu.com...you won’t regret it. The movie is pretty sweet too (“Serenity“), and so is the first Firefly-based graphic novel that was published in 2005 (“Those Left Behind“). It’s always good to know that more people are finding out about the world of Firefly, because it’s really just one of those things that defines this generation.

Jayne is the best

All work and no lightsaber make Jonny…

…say “Screw this, I’m gonna go play Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.” It’s an old school action video game with modern technologies. I think a lot of people were disappointed by the repetivie gameplay and stale level design, but I really don’t care because it’s fun as hell. For the first time ever, I actually get to manipulate the force how I see fit. Throwing jawas into each other at 60 mph and slicing through robots with an electrified lightsaber is my idea of an exciting Star Wars game. One of the best aspects of this game, besides the realistic physics, is the storyline. It takes place between Episodes 3 and 4, giving extra canon to the Star Wars mythos as officially approved by George Lucas himself. The main character, Galen Marek (codenamed Starkiller), is really cool too, and the actor who portrays his facial expressions and voice does a superb job of making him believable. In fact, all the characters in the game are awesome, so far at least. I’m only on the planet Felucia, so I’ve got a ways to go in the game. In fact, I think I’m gonna get right on that.

Edit: WARNING! This game is frustratingly monotonous at times.

Online Time

I kinda lost track of my online hours somewhere in the double digits. I use the internet for work, school, and play, so I’m constantly on. If I were to add up the hours I’ve been online from Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 5:15 PM to now (Sunday, Sept. 14 at 3:05 PM), I’d estimate about 22-23 hours. I don’t even know if that’s a lot…it probably is, but the internet is such a useful tool, especially since the advent of Google. Some of the things I spend most of my time on are Google Images and sxc.hu for work (I use these to find stock images that I can mess with or draw inspiration from to make my publicity designs), WebCT for school, Gmail, various video game websites (IGN, Gamespot, etc.), webcomics (Questionable Content, Sam & Fuzzy, Penny Arcade, VG Cats, and White Ninja Comics are my favs), and sometimes Facebook, if I ever really need to get information about someone…not like that, jeez.

My Thoughts on “Growing Up Online”

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the videos we watched is that they seem a little behind the times. Young people sharing personal information and spending countless hours online chatting and surfing has been going on since the 90’s.  There’s a whole lot of naivety going on throughout the reports.  But I guess better late than never to bring to attention some of the negative aspects of the internet.

It’s good that they got the perspectives of both the kids and their parents. It wasn’t too skewed either way.  I’ve tried doing chat rooms and online social networking, but it all turns out to be a useless time-suck for me. So I can understand some of the parents thinking their kids are wasting their time. The only reason I use facebook anymore is to get in touch with someone whose phone number I don’t have.  But all the same, being able to instantly communicate with anyone online is awesome, and is something that should and will continue to grow into new areas. With this growth should also be a rise in awareness and responsibility on the part of parents and pretty much everyone in general.

Top 5 Favorite Video Games

Ok, so I’m a nerd. Or geek? I don’t even know what category I’m in. But I enjoy video games, as do almost all other ATEC majors here at UTD. I love being enthralled by other worlds where anything is possible. Among the myriad assortment of video games, commercial and artistic both, there are a few games that stand out in their ability to inspire my imagination.

The first would have to be Final Fantasy VIII. No, not Final Fantasy VII. It probably has something to do with it being the first Final Fantasy game I actually sat down and finished, so yeah, nostalgia plays a part. I just really enjoy the interesting characters and how they all play a part in the dramatic storyline…and absorbing magic from your enemies…and collecting Triple Triad cards. Say what you will, it’s my number 5.

My next favorite is Metal Gear: Solid, one of the first Playstation games I played through. There’s not much to say about MGS that hasn’t already been said a million times over; it’s simply superb.

Number 3 is Half-Life 2. Wanna know why? Two words: gravity gun. I love games with realistic physics engines, and Valve made quite possibly the best so far. The storyline might not make a lick of sense, but the believable characters, eerie environments, and fun gameplay pull you into it all the same.

The Neverhood. That’s my second favorite game of all time. Never heard of it? That’s too bad. You’re really missing out. It’s for the PC (Playstation in Japan) and is made entirely of clay. That’s right, a claymation video game. It’s like a first-person puzzle adventure game, kind of like Mist if you ever played that, but way sillier. The characters are hilarious and the things that happen in the world of Neverhood are just plain weird. It’s awesome.

NUMBER ONE!!! Shadow of the Colossus! This is one of those games that has a lot of emotional ties. I can’t help but feel for the main character through all the trials he has to face. And the immense, open world is just fun to explore. It was a spiritual sequel to Ico, though really more of a prequel if you can figure out what’s really going on. Here’s to hoping a sequel comes out next year.

Copy

Props for awesome album art

I don’t want to make all of my blog posts about music I listen to, but I’m having a tough time thinking about anything else. So here goes: Have you heard of a band called Copy? They’re pretty much amazing. Imagine music from 8-bit NES games fused with modern hip-hop beats. It’s really simple stuff, but the way they pull it off makes me want to listen to it all day long. I really can’t get enough of it. Each song has such a unique melody to it, kind of like Ratatat without the guitar riffs.

I found them listening to music on Pandora radio (pandora.com). I think it was either a Ratatat or Boards of Canada station I had made…one of those. But I can’t seem to find any info on them, like where they’re from and stuff. Everytime I search for “copy band” or “copy music” on Google it just gives me webpages on how to copy and paste music files. All I know are their album names: Hair Guitar and Mobius Beard. So if you know anything about them, do let me know.

In the meantime, I’ll be jammin’ to the free Copy songs I found on g2p.org. Oh yeah, g2p.org is pretty awesome…it’s a search tool that uses Google’s little search formulas to find online directories containing mp3 files. You should probably check it out if you have any interest in music at all. Just go to www.g2p.org and search for “Hair Guitar” (Copy’s latest of two albums). If I find Mobius Beard somewhere, I’ll most definitely drop the $15 for it.

Pinback

If you haven’t heard of this band named Pinback…I don’t blame you. I’m not usually the one to build up my obscure indie music knowledge base so that I can impress people who wear too-tight jeans and whose names I’ll probably forget next week, but that’s beside the point. Pinback makes some amazing music. And now you’ve heard of them. Do yourself a favor and download their music, then go and buy it because you like it.

I’m going to see them live September 18th at The Loft in downtown Dallas. It’ll probably be the chillest concert I’ve ever been to, but that’s okay, as long as I can sit down and just enjoy the music without having to be shoved around by alcohol-absorbant ________ (insert plural noun here!) That’s not to say all of Pinback’s music is laid-back…some of their tracks have strong driving beats that I’m really looking forward to banging my head to in person.

I’ll be going to see them with my friend Adrian Chen, who first introduced me to Pinback and let me borrow their first album (self-titled). It’s my favorite by far, but it took a few listen-throughs before I could truly enjoy the subtle but soothing melodies that are unique to Pinback’s style. Oh man, I feel like a music snob. I’m just gonna stop here.