Nine Posts Later..

So I was going to write about how, due to the birth and rise of the internet, the world is becoming more of a "survival of the fittest" place.  I started writing a couple of paragraphs and realized that while I believe this to be true, my arguments are fairly weak and I need to think it through a bit more.  Instead, I now feel like it'd be more appropriate for my final blog post to be an analysis/evaluation of the blogging experience I've gained in this assignment.

I had absolutely no idea what I was going to blog about for this assignment, but it turned out to be sort of a diary written for me and the public.  Regarding "me," I feel that this project inadvertently strengthened my views on particular subjects.  Knowing that anyone can read what I was writing, I wanted to be certain I agreed with everything word and phrase that I typed.  After all, it's my name that is attached to this.  In the beginning, this was the part that scared me about blogging, but I really don't think it was that bad in the end.  I rather enjoyed this aspect of blogging.  Regarding "the public," I learned to better decide what I felt was worthy of sharing with the world.  And what kind of things I want other people to get excited about.  Sometimes this assignment made me rethink my beliefs and forced me to ask myself "why" I feel the way I do, which was actually the reason I changed the topic of this post. 

However, once my thoughts are straightened out a bit, I'll be sure to write about the birth and rise of the massive, empowering, diverse and enriched communication facility known as...the internet!!

----->Blogging in the Name of School<-----

I have two hours, to complete two more blogs.  I admit the last one was kind of cheap, but who knows?? Maybe I made some oblivious Cartoon Networks fanatics' day.  Of course, in order to do that, they wouldn't just have to absolutely love CN, but they would also have to read my blogs.  Speaking of, I see two view counts for all of my blog posts.  It makes me wonder, are people actually reading what I'm writing, or are they just randomly stumbling across my blog page, and then choosing to move on without reading. 

I do want people to actually read what I'm writing so I'll take this moment now as an opportunity to encourage comments on my posts.  If you're reading this, feel free to give me some feedback! And thank you in advance.

The next blog I write will be a bit more in depth, me thinks..

Cartoon Network on Netflix!!

I don't have cable.  I haven't had cable in 3 years.  I probably won't get cable again.  I do, however, have the internet, and with it, Netflix.  It's been I while since I've watched any shows lately besides Fullmetal Alchemist, but I recently discovered a large list of CN shows from the late '90s early '00s that have now been released on Netflix.  Woooo!! It goes something like this:

"Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Venture Bros., Adventure Time, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, Metalocolypse, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Regular Show, The Boondocks, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Chowder, Batman: The Brave & The Bold, Robot Chicken and Children's Hospital"

 I guess I have no good excuses for boredom for quite some time..

Hipsters

When I first heard the term, "hipster" was probably back in high school.  At the time, I didn't really know what that meant other than it was a word used to describe a certain type of person.  Often I would hear people use it to describe someone who is somewhat full of themselves, with their ego riding on their sense of style.  I think I viewed those who wore overly baggy clothes and listened to hip hop music as hipsters.  Intelligence was not a factor in what made you a hipster. 

After high school, the term evolved a bit for me, but it still revolved around those who depended on their appearance to give them an ego boost.  I started to associate people who wore trendy hats and think rimmed glasses as the true hipsters.  I never really liked the term though, and would refrain from using it myself as it was another word that categorized people into a group that was easily judged by others before they were actually understood. 

Since then I moved to Milwaukee where the hipster subculture is huge.  I see people all the time walking  around with goofy hats and thick rimmed glasses.  I say "goofy," but that doesn't actually mean I think it's a repulsive style.  I myself have a goofy hat I like to wear and although I don't wear my glasses often (I hate not having great peripheral vision),  they are thick rimmed.  I just think wired framed glasses look bad on me..  Being that the hipster subculture is so much more prevalent in Milwaukee, and hearing the term fly around more frequently, I decided to do an urban-dictionary search of the term.  Surprisingly, the top result provided a much different meaning than the one I generally imagined when I heard the term. 

If you haven't heard of Urban Dictionary before, it's a website that was created with the purpose of defining words and phrases you wouldn't normally find in a regular dictionary because they have evolved from everyday speak.  When I read the definition of "hipster" off this website, which was written back in '07, the description was much deeper than I had ever imagined it could be.  It is described as more of an underground cultural revolution taking arise from values of independent thinking, progressive art, and open-mindedness.  I won't be able to summarize the article very well here, because its says a lot in an already summarized form, so I posted a link below.  It's funny, after reading it, I actually see myself falling into the "hipster" category in quite a few ways. 

Good or bad, I try not to categorize myself into groups of people, especially one that has such an unstable meaning amongst others.  Furthermore, this is NOT the official definition of "hipster," and there is no official definition of the term.  As you can see by going to the link, 2.5% of people voted the definition down in disapproval.  None the less, I think it's and interesting take:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster&defid=2705928

My "Scarborough Fair" Acoustic Cover

Today, my plans were to go to the BOTB Red Light Refugee Show, but my "friends" bailed on me.  Oops.. I'm not overly bummed out about this.  They always put on a good show, but I kind of just felt like staying in anyway. 

Instead... I stumbled across some nice covers of the traditional folk song, "Scarborough Fair," which inspired me to post my own cover since I already know and love this song.  This was my first video on my new youtube channel, Armbreakfire.  You can check it out if you like:

http://youtu.be/EEBoU8I0tPk

One cover I came across and really liked was a well-produced music video by The Gothard Sisters.  Their version of this fantastic song includes and drummer/singer, a violinist, and a guitarist. 

Another version I enjoyed was by Brandon Purcell, who surprisingly doesn't actually have a lot of views.  He sings the song while playing an acoustic guitar, and it's flawless!  He also adds some kind of reverb effect which gives it a soft airy sound.
 

Links to both are below!!

http://youtu.be/mGfUszwN5x0 - The Gothard Sisters
http://youtu.be/BJUwdP4w6MU - Brandon Purcell

Lucid Dreams - Follow up to my Tucker Dreams

I've actually been trying to record my dreams lately in an effort to improve my lucid dreams skills.  The process goes, you write down your dreams shortly after you wake up, preferably before you even crawl out of bed so that you remember the most.  Then you read through your dreams and attempt to identify any "dream signs" present.  Signs are categorized into four areas: Inner Awareness, Action, Form, and Context. 

Inner Awareness - There is something unusual about your in-dream thoughts, emotions, sensations, or perceptions. 

Action - Some physical activity seems wrong.

Form - The shape or appearance of a person, obect, or place is unusual or even impossible.

Context - The situation you're in seems unusual or impossible and contrary to real life.


I now realize that seeing Tucker in my last dream clearly seemed "unusual and contrary to real life" (context).  And I actually noticed this peculiarity in my dream when I asked my mother why we can see Tucker.  At this point, I should have been asking myself, "Am I dreaming?" but I didn't think of it.  Hopefully, I've learned from this and next time I see Tucker appear in my dreams I will be able to ask that question.  Of course, now that I'm aware of it, I probably won't see him in any of my dreams again.

Tucker is Haunting my Dreams

Our family dog that I grew up with, Tucker, recently passed away, and since then has appeared in four of my dreams.  In one of my dreams, I actually cloned him by using his DNA.  Below is my latest Tucker dream:

Back for Chinese

My family and I are gathered around the dinner table eating Chinese food at my parents’ house.  The food is delicious so I’m stuffing myself.  Our dog, Tucker jumps up on a chair and tries to guilt us into giving him food by giving us the sad puppy look.  That’s when I realize that Tucker’s been dead for a couple weeks now.  It’s strange to me, because everyone one in my family could see Tucker perfectly fine.  They could see exactly what I see.  We begin to discuss this phenomenon and my mother points out that we could still see him because we all knew him well.  She tells us that he is not actually there, but because we all know what Tucker would be doing in this situation (begging for food), we see him as if he actually still exists.  Someone knocks on the front door and it turns out to be a person I don’t recognize who probably won’t know Tucker.  I see this as an opportunity to test this theory and ask her if she can see Tucker.  Sure enough, he appears invisible to her.  My mind is blown. 

Making Order out of Chaos

So I’m sitting at home by myself overthinking life and feeling a bit nervous about tomorrow.  Stress is getting to me and I begin to notice it.  At times like this I know from past experience that it’s best not to worry about things too much so I look for a distraction.  There it is, shyly hiding in the shadows underneath my coffee table.  This mechanical device designed to be the optimal cure for unnecessary pain.   The power within this mysterious object is that of which most do not fully understand.  The Rubik’s Cube, named after the great and mighty Hungarian sculptor and professor, Ernő Rubik, is the answer to all of life’s troubles. 

I learned to solve a Rubik’s cube maybe a year ago and must say that there is more to it that meets the eye.  At first, I viewed it as a puzzle that sat around many homes collecting dust because the act of completing it was too intimidating for most.  The spark was ignited for me in high school when I actually knew a person who could complete it.  When I decided to take it for a spin myself, I realized it was much too difficult to figure out.  The most I could get was one side right.  So I turned to the internet to learn how other people solved the cube.  Turns out that it’s actually not that hard to solve once you memorize the algorithms, which are basically patterns for turning the cube based on what the cube looks like at the time.  There are multiple different ways to solve the cube, which means there are multiple different algorithms you can memorize.  Some methods are more difficult than others to memorize, but allow you to complete the cube faster say if you wanted to time yourself.  Memorizing patterns may not sound that challenging, but it actually takes a while to get down.  At first, it takes some time to solve the cube, but overtime muscle memory allows you to complete it faster without have to think as hard.  And after enough times completing the Rubik’s Cube, those memorized patterns allow you to better understand how the cube works. 

The Rubik’s Cube can be addicting, so keep that in mind before you decide to learn to solve it.  It is a therapeutic route to relaxation.  It is something to do with your hands when you don’t really want to listen to the person who’s talking to you.  The act of turning just one side of the cube will trigger an instant release of dopamine in your hypothalamus.  If the drugs you take just do not do the trick anymore, this is your answer. 

I find that solving the Rubik’s Cube is analogous to something I already enjoy out of life, making order out of chaos!

The Sleep-deprived Alchemist

Today was a nice day.  Got about five solid hours of web work done.  I worked on planning a retro video game party I'm having the weekend.  I can't imagine it to be anything but fun, so I'll be looking forward to this all week.  Also watched some Fullmetal Alchemist, a TV series that's been recommended to me by many people.  This show is super in depth and I'm really digging it.  It's time's like these where I wish I could freeze time so I could watch every episode without having to worry about falling behind in school.  Anyways, the show is about two brothers who had attempted to bring back their dead mother with Alchemy, but failed resulting in the complete loss of one of their bodies (the soul was able to be attached to a suit of armor) and missing limbs on the other.  The show deals with deep and dramatic issues such as morality, the great length people will go for love, independence, and understanding.  I'm only about 15 episodes in, but I feel pretty confident I will only enjoy it even more as the series carries on!  Now I only need to decide whether I should go to bed now so I'm well rested for class, or stay up for one more episode.  Decisions, decisions....

First Blog, Kind of..

Welcome to my first blog, kind of.  I’ve written blogs before, but not on a website specifically for blogs.  I’ve actually been wanting to do this for a while, but I’ve been so very busy with all the other projects a unload on myself that I need to free up more time for this.  Also, I have been debating on what I should write about and if I want people to know that I wrote it.  I decided that I’ll probably open multiple accounts so I can post blogs in one account as an anonymous user where I can say whatever I feel like.  There are just certain things that I want to talk about, that I just don’t want everyone I know to be able to read.  I’m writing this and the next 9 blogs for my social media marketing class, so I might not keep this as my blogging account when the assignment is over.  Something about having my name and history attached to everything Google can see freaks me out a bit.  One day they will be able to enslave all humanity, wipe away and replace history, and we will be the ignorant servants.  We have a love/hate relationship..