Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Violence in Videogames

"Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up." - Mohandas Gandhi

I'd like to tackle a subject that people have been asking my opinion on for awhile now.  Violence in Videogames.  The debate over the content of videogames has raged on since the days of Pac-Man.  Where ghost critics wondered why all the violence against their brethren.  Invaders from space sent in angry telegrams and snail mail, and morse code, however they used to communicate in the 80s, complaining of the mis-use of their likeness and their intent, stating, "all we wanted to do was invade the earth and kill all humans."  Nowadays the big topics are Grand Theft Auto and Mass Effect.  But I think society has let one culprit, or two, if you are playing with a friend, off the hook.  The Mario Brothers.


Hate mongers.

Mario and Luigi Mario (seriously is Mario their last name? what kind of parents name their kid Mario Mario?) have been harassing the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom, namely the gentle Koopa Troopa.  I challenge you, go back and play those Super Mario games, namely Super Mario World.  Look at those Koopa Troopas, watch them, what are they doing?  They're walking.  Not only are they walking, they're walking with a smile on their face!  The Koopa Troopa is probably just trying to get home to his wife and kid at home.  Or the flying Koopas that just got their wings and are excited to fly up and down in the middle  of chasm.  These little turtles don't deserve to be stepped on and evacuated from their shells.  Or worse yet to be eaten by a dinosaur with a saddle and consumed to take advantage of their power depending on shell color.  Why all the hatred for our green, red, blue, and yellow shelled friends?  I've heard unconfirmed reports that race organizers kill innocent Koopa Troopas, hollow out the shell and use them on race courses to be used as weapons.


The goombas I understand.  I mean look at those ugly freaks, they don't even have a body and you know they're evil because their teeth come from the bottom of their mouth.  Pirahna plants?  Sure they need to be set aflame, they jump out of pipes unexpectedly to bite your ass.  But the Koopa Troopa, this innocent fella just wants to get home and enjoy a nice TV dinner and watch The Biggest Loser.  Next time you play Super Mario Bros. just leave these stalwart nomads be.  How could you hate the Koopa Troopa?  Just look at him.


What'd I ever do?
Spare the Koopa Troopas,
Joel S.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

So many new shows, so little time...

"If I could write you a song to make you fall in love, I would already have you up under my arm." - Mike Posner, Cooler than Me

Hey all.  So after writing that intro post I wanted to go into my next post immediately.  However, I got caught up designing and editing my blog.  Snazzy eh?  So typically I watch a lot of television.  I'm usually pretty resistant to new shows, and often times it takes me until 5 people tell me a show is incredible to give it a chance.  Lost was one of those shows.  This season I'm trying to be more open minded with the new crop of shows.  That being said I don't like watching too many shows while they're on.  I try to pick and choose a few shows to watch regularly as they are shown, and then the rest, depending on if they survive, watch when the season is over.

Here's a list of my must-watch shows (along with a mention of the hottest girl on that show):

  1. Community (Alison Brie)
  2. 30 Rock (Tina Fey)
  3. Chuck (Yvonne Strahovski)
  4. Castle (Stana Katic)
  5. How I Met Your Mother (Colbie Smuther)
  6. The Big Bang Theory (Kaley Cuoco)
  7. Supernatural (Alona Tai [deceased, boo!])
  8. Leverage (Beth Riesgraf)
Now this isn't a definitive list of all the shows I'll keep up with this season, but these shows I will usually watch the same night that they are on.  Man looking at this list is kind of sad.  Some notable shows aren't on it, mainly 24 and Lost.  Oh Lost how I will miss thee.  It seems like every show is trying to be the next Lost.  Flashforward tried and failed.  V never captivated me.  And now we got a new one: The Event.  I caught the premiere.  It was okay, a little frustrating with all of the flashbacks and overly convoluted story.  It might out-Lost itself.  But it did pique my interest enough to watch it next week.  Speaking of Lost, one of the creators, a Mr. JJ Abrams is back with a new series, this time he's back in the spy world with Undercovers.  I didn't know what to expect, but I just finished watching the Pilot and it left me smiling.  Great chemistry between the two leads, some good action and story telling, and some excellent dialog had me looking forward to the next episode.  Keeping with the spy theme, Nikita, starring the oh so sexy Maggie Q premiered a few weeks ago. It had some decent action, a lot of Maggie Q in awesome outfits, and a nice twist.  I was a bit disappointed it felt like a CW show, I was hoping for more.  But I might check this one out after Season 1 is over.  On that note those last two shows Undercovers and Nikita both have non-white leads.  I haven't seen a primetime show with a non-white lead before.  That's pretty rad.  Oh and the girl on Undercovers: Gugu Mbatha-Raw...so hot.

I recently watched the belated Arrested Development and really enjoyed it.  Michael Cera and Will Arnett are fantastic on that show.  If you liked Arrested Development you should check out Running WIlde.  It has the vibe of Arrested Development, but it looks like it'll have more heart.

A few shows I wanted to mention before I call it quits.  I am really looking forward to seeing Dexter return.  After that finale the show could change drastically.  Also, even though I have to wait a whole year, Breaking Bad.  I freaking love this show.  On the same channel as Breaking Bad, AMC, even though I'm not a big zombie fan I am looking forward to The Walking Dead.  From all previews and pictures its looking like a dead-on (pun intended) translation of the comic books (written by Robert Kirkman).

Wow I wrote a lot.  Hope you enjoyed my geekaucity.

Peace Outside,
Joel

PS You probably that quote was going to summarize this blog...it did not.  I just always have a quote in my head.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Let the Adventure Begin...

"The journey of a thousand blogs begins with a single post."

Hey there.  If you're reading this you probably know me, if not...why are you reading this?  What are you some kind of stalker?  Nice my first stalker!  Welcome stalkers and friends.  I'm Joel Samson.  Recently, possibly due to being really bored with an obscene amount of free time I have really started to enjoy writing again.  If you follow me on facebook you'll see that I usually write movie reviews and such.  I thought I could use this blog to share my thoughts on movies, TV shows, videogames, and whatever random thing pops into my brain.  I usually start stuff like this and then stop writing in them.  We'll see how the reception goes.

If you started reading because of the title then you should know that I use it ironically.  As nothing about my life is adventurous, at all.  Haha.  It's okay I am a simple guy with simple ambitions.  I want to find a wife, and raise a family.  Some things to note about me: I love movies (most kinds), videogames, anime, television, football, and of course...the ladies!  I can't stand ignorance, rudeness, and douchebaggery.  Sense of style?  Don't really have any.  If I could I'd wear a football jersey everywhere I went, but alas I cannot do that.  I'm not in to status symbols like fancy watches or expensive cars.  Like I said, simple.

I hope you like what I have to read.  Please leave me comments.  You can also follow me on twitter @tensai214.  I'll end this entry here...and start a new one right about...

Mucho Love,
Joel