Totem Poles

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You Beat It In 2 Days, Really?

One thing that has really come to annoy me as a gamer is when in talking to other gamers about specific games and I get the 'oh I beat that game in X days' where X equals a ridiculously short amount of time in which they wear like a badge of honor.  So here is the question I have for those of you who beat the game in a ridiculously short of amount of time:  Did you enjoy it?  You played the game like my dog eat canned food, in one swift and decisive gulp.  Did you experience the immersion in to the game world?  Were you able to develop likes and dislikes for characters?  Did it make you want to come back for more?

Not a ridiculously long blog post, still nursing a broken arm.  Just annoyed, really.  Bravo for those of you who can enjoy a game that you can beat in a few hours flat.

I Give You Permission

Written in response to a Fox News Facebook post about the incidents at LSU involving a student wanting to burn a flag.  I wrote this in response to a few who, on the Fox News Facebook post, urged him on.

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That Flag means EVERYTHING. It means 200+ years of freedom. It means that men and women died so we would have our freedom. That flag means that you are free do do what you want, think what you want, feel how you want and that you will not have to worry about your government oppressing you. Think about that when you burn that flag. Think about the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who have all died to give you the freedom to burn that flag. Thank them for that freedom. To me, that flag means that my children can grow up to decide their own future. That my daughter will not be oppressed by brutal religious laws. That flag means that I don't have to wake up every morning and swear my love and allegiance to a supreme dictator who is detached from the people he oppresses. That flag means that I can turn on my TV and be entertained by shows that don't first have to be approved. That I don't have to be subjected to propaganda and that the press can be free to report on news and deliver opinions that are against the government. That flag means that the government won't come and take us away if we don't agree with them.
I was a sailor in the United States Navy. I chose to put my life on hold for four years so others wouldn't have to. I stood watch while you slept at night and went to foreign lands and waters to make sure others could be free. If it means that much to you, that you hate this country so much that you feel you need to burn our symbol of freedom, then go ahead. I give you permission, but when you do, think about those who died to give you that freedom while you do burn that flag.
Have a nice day.

Hop: A Criticism

My sister-in-law had been planning to take the kids to go see the movie "Hop", about the (I'm assuming) a way ward Easter Bunny who can poop jelly beans.  As a Christian Dad, I could think of several better ways to spend money on my kids rather than to take them to a movie that would further distort the meaning of Easter.  It's bad enough that we have people calling it "Zombie Jesus Day" complete within internet memes and t-shirts.  Numerous were the commercials these Easter season encouraging women to make sure they have the right shoes on when they plan the perfect day out with the kids and grandpa hunting for Easter Eggs.  Afterall, you have to look good in front of your lady friends or better yet, the potential competition.

Is this what it has come down to?  A competition between the Lord and the internet, fighting for the truth?  A competition between the Lord and movies, fighting for the truth?  Or does the Lord really want us to think that having the right shoes will help us walk the path to salvation?  Well, actually yes, having the right shoes will help us walk that path, but you won't find them in department stores.  You will find them at your local Christian store, your church, and among your family as you teach them what the real meaning of Easter is. 

He Is Risen!

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.  She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!"   Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side. Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed – for until then they hadn't realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. Then they went home.  Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 

"Why are you crying?" the angels asked her.

"Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him."   She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. 

"Why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?"

She thought he was the gardener.  "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him." 

"Mary!" Jesus said.

She turned toward him and exclaimed, "Teacher!"

"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God."

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his message.  That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said..  As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!  

He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven."

One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you."  Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway."

Jesus' disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life. (John 20, NLT)

No Cons For Me This Year.

It's a bummer because we had the money right up until the wife's van needed breaks, the cats got sick and when my son started having unpredictable reactions to his medications.  I just canceled the reservations for both hotels (was planning overnight stays for both Cyphan and WWCCC).

Maybe next year.

Random Thought

Gorns are lizards, so I assume that a female Gorn would lay eggs, right?  Would that make a female Gorn in fact a Gornish Hen?

Obama: Homegrown?

Palin and Trump have both pushed the matter of Obama's citizenship, Hillary Clinton demanded Obama prove his citizenship, and a 2004 AP article opened by addressing then Sentorial candidate Barak Obama as 'Kenyen born'.  A man who has nothing to hide would come clean, right?  Obama, both as presidential candidate and as a sitting president has blocked (with lawyers) all attempts to have any light shed on truth, no matter what the truth is.

Now, what this blog entry is not is an attempt to jump on the birther bandwagon.  It is more of an appeal to worry about other issues.  I firmly believe that we will not know the truth until after Obama is out of office and this birther controversy is something that I see as having the potential to last decades, as has been the case with the conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination.

So basically, my appeal to my fellow Americans is this:  The birther controversy is really going nowhere.  What we need to focus is on the issues:  high gas prices, unemployment, national debt, taxes.  These are only a few of the many things that trouble this country.  We need a person who can lead, who can guide us out of the mess we're in and who is willing to put aside party politics and agendas in order to get the job done.  Obama has neither shown the ability or willingness to do this so far, and I hold little hopes that he will do so in the remaining months of his first term in office.  He's already hit the campaign trail and any politician that spend so much time campaigning is a politician who is not spending enough time doing the job that the politician was elected to do.

Huckabee in 2012?

Originally, I thought Trump might have been able to beat Obama in '12, but now I'm not so sure. After reading G.W. Bush's "Decision Points", I've gained a better appreciation of what it takes to be POTUS, and I don't think that Trump has got what it takes to lead. He can command from the board room, but can he do it from the Oval Office? Can we trust Trump to make the right decisions when it comes to the defense of this country, or when it comes to diplomatic relations with foreign entities? We need legitimate experience in the Oval Office. Obama has failed to show the experience needed with running this country, he's failed to unify this country and he's failed to provide us with the leadership we need to get out of the economic crisis we're in.
We need a president who is willing to lead us and not run off on lavish vacations in the midst of a national or global crisis. There are several candidates who seem to be willing to take on the responsibilities of POTUS. Thus far, Gov. Huckabee has my vote. I hope that he can, should he choose to run for POTUS, convince me to continue to support him. I chose to vote for Gov. Huckabee in the 2008 primaries, and would vote for him again should he decide to run. This country needs a leader, not a pretender and certainly not a 'community organizer'.

Mass Effect: Review

I started playing Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 a couple weeks ago and quickly realized I was missing quite a bit of back story on the game which led me to purchase Mass Effect.  The first thing that I’ll say is this is not a game for kids.  Do not play this game around children due to the graphic nature of some parts of this game.  While to this point the most sexual content I’ve encountered has been to venture in to a ‘gentlemen’s club’ in search of intergalactic scum, there could be other content that could be encountered as you progress in the game.

This game focuses on the main character, Commander Shepard (who you can designate to be male or female), an Alliance Officer who is tasked with hunting down a rouge Alliance operative who is bent on destroying the Alliance.  For the purposes of this review, I will be referring to Shepard as male.  I don’t want to give away too many specifics about the game in the review as I went in to the game without knowing the background of the game.  I will say that as you progress through the game, which is a combination RPG and second (or third) person shooter that you will assemble an ‘A-Team’ of aliens who are full of personality and make this game much more interesting.

To date, this is the best science fiction RPG I’ve played.  Previously, my favorite RPG has been Final Fantasy X which had some scifi elements in it even though it was primarily a fantasy RPG.  Mass Effect is similar in gameplay to Bioware’s Star Wars:  Knights of The Old Republic, which was a very robust video game in itself.  It features a galactic map where key locations can be visited based on need and desire, and large open maps used during game play.  While exploring the maps, many of the non-player characters can be interacted with.  During interactions, you are given options on how to respond during conversations which can shape relationships, unlock additional side mission and can result in gained XP.  This format of game play gives the game a ‘choose your own adventure’ style of game play which I really like, and a nearly non-linear way to play the game.  Granted there are linear elements to the game but you are allowed to determine the direction you take to progress through the story.

Graphics in the game are top notch.  The game looks excellent on an HDTV and there is little discernable difference between cut-scenes and gameplay.  The voice acting is excellent, and in reviewing the game credits, I noticed several familiar actors and voice actors such as Marina Sirtis, Seth Green, Grey Delisle and Armin Shimerman.  I swore at times I even heard Jonathan Frakes as a voice at the beginning of the game.

The only criticism I’m going to make of this game is vocal interactions between teammates during casual situations in the game.  When selecting a teamed character to talk to, or when they converse in elevators, its near impossible to hear them without turning the volume on the TV way up, which can be very annoying.  I’m doing my best to overlook this.

I can’t think of anything else I want to say about the game to this point, however I will provide a review of Mass Effect 2 as I work my way through that game.  From what I’ve seen so far, it’s already excellent.

I highly recommend Mass Effect!