Ain't what it use to be

Well for those of you that don’t know…probably because I never fucking mentioned it, I am busy doing my honours in Informatics (Information sciences for those who want the proper name) and I have just finished my first semester and I have to say….holy shit why am I still doing this. This will be my sixth year of studying having done some engineering and then my Informatics degree beforehand and I have come to the conclusion that I’m a glutton for punishment. In the early years I could sit down and study for hours and pull all-nighters like the young party animal I was, but I have found that as I get older and the years progressed…sleep is more pleasing, youngsters are more annoying and I’m growing hair in really weird places. The progression of time is a scary and weird thing. When I was young, I couldn't wait to get older, drink, party and be able to receive speeding tickets by myself, but now that I’m older, wiser and more independent I can’t help but think….this sucks. 

Suddenly....enlightenment

I have been hanging on every word and video released on the last few days about the upcoming WoW expansion, Warlords of Draenor, detailing each experience I have received with the glee of a Saturday morning cartoon....then it occurred to me. I was explaining to a friend the level 100 talents for a mage and he asked "So it's the last expansion?"
"What you mean?"
"When we reach level 100 it's the end"
"No they are still more expansions coming"  
"Too difficult to level characters now...too far to go."
Then it dawned on me. I have a warlock and rogue in the works, still unable to venture out on their own without the helping hand of heirloom gear. Getting them to 90 seemed to require more amounts of my life than I prepared to give, but reaching 100...nope. And for those of you that say " you can buy a level 90 now"...I respond, yes i could, but living in the economical hell of South Africa it means spending over R500 for the character upgrade...money better spent on an evening out with a female companion with R500 worth the assets.  

The less than Amazing Spider-man 2

Okay so this is just a first impression but I think that the Amazing Spider-man 2 the game is shit. I will admit that i enjoyed the movie even with its glaring turd stains upon it, like the over fucking hype and the green goblin only being on screen for literally five fucking minutes, Jamie Foxx pulled off Electro to the extend where i could accept him as a decent villain. But once again my standard rule of any game based on a movie is shit. the voice acting is laughable at best and the characters have a need to flail their arms about more than any humans should or is physically capable. The camera seems hell bent on making it easier for the so called 'bad guys' to beat me, but frankly they need all the help they can get. Although i have stated that any game based is doomed to fail, there has been exceptions to this rule. Two adaptions have managed to escape the turd storm of other adaptions. Namely: Spider-man 2 and Wolverine: Origins. Wolverine succeeded by being as far away from the actual movie as possible and Spider-man 2 broke free by having a actual good movie and realizing that the story was shit and making the web slinging feel like actual web slinging. But as this is a first impression, I could be wrong. Or it could be the turd in a blue and red suit I think it is. 

Feel the love

Who knew that you could have such a profound effect on my life? With the general elections having just occurred in South Africa, the life sucking vultures called politicians have finished advertising their best lies in order to get my vote. The come to you all smiles and promises but with a hidden agenda. Frankly this scares the shit out of me. South Africa has always been on this delicate balance of peace and general being totally fucked up due to the lack of competence of the leaders since 1994. Okay Mandela was able to save a country on the brink of war and lead us down a path of porosity, but then his party kinda lost its punch. Being a white male in a country where you are deemed a racist because of people you have never met did, does leave one with few options. I live with this constant gaze upon me like “what’s whitey gonna do?” often frustrates the shit out of me. What makes it worse is that ignorant statements like “Only whites do that” re-enforces the circle of hate that apparently whites are known for. If I call you a moron, it’s because you a moron, not because you are white or black or even purple for that matter. Just accept that you are an asshole and move on.

Thanks are due

Okay so I guess it’s no secret that I spend a great deal of my time on the internet. Apparently I have internet addiction or something…the website wasn’t very helpful. But the one thing I did find that helped me was a YouTube video. This was a draw my life video made by the YouTuber Markiplier. It was a video where, as the name suggests, he draws a summary of his life. Now my life hasn’t been the best, but I have been more fortunate than most and watching his video kind of enlighten me. He made his channel to do something that he really wanted to do, and this blog is the same story. I had been thinking about making a blog for years, but never just did. Then I watched the video and it made me just do it. Kinda think of it as the Nike of YouTube videos. I was always told that you should thank the people of inspire you if get the chance. If he read this awesome…hi Mark and thanks. If not….well then damn.

Draw My Life - Markiplier 

Make the bully kill itself

This one goes out to all the parents. Now I understand that most parents know less about the internet than the spawn and have to make that awkward request when they want to secretly want to access that website for “research” and need the help of their “innocent” spawn that know that site and six others they consider better. I find it odd that we live in a day and age where parents go to their children trying to learn how things work and not the other way around. When I wanted to learn how to cook, I went to my mother. When I want to learn how to change a plug, I went to my father. Now I look up online just how I can cook my chicken cu don blue, a recipe my mother has never heard of.

This is not much of a problem but an opportunity. Meaning that parents should learn this stuff, by themselves, and take an interest in what their spawn are up to. With the recent issue of cyber bullying being a hot topic, parents are oblivious to the fact their spawn is creating hell in another spawns life. How does a parent monitor this though? Let’s face being friends with your parents on FaceBook does create a since of dread considering they might find that photo of you from three years age showing you in an interesting position that would be deemed unacceptable with a hand to the back of the head. So what’s left? To be honest I don’t know. I guess the traditional methods should be considered. Keep an eye on your children and talk to them. Are they being bullied or are they bullying. One should be met with hot chocolate and talking will the other should be met with the selling other the spawns most treasured item, profits of which go to a suitable charity, and a photo on the net describing the situation.

The other topic is games making spawn violent and causing them to go on a shooting rampage. This is not the case, you can’t deem something is unhealthy to spawn and band it because of the actions of a few. Although I agree some games are not helping my case, you know how you are, and are just using the violence as a selling point and have as much stimulating game play as a brick; this doesn’t mean that “My little pony” on the xBox is going to lead your spawn to kill.  As stated above, take an interest in what your spawn is playing and see whether their choice of games is worth your seal of approval or something to mention to the local authorities. If they only play “Savage Slaughter” the series, then there is room for concern.

Parents please understand that spawn feel often alone and isolated and teenage years don’t help. Be more involved with your children and don’t just leave it to their teachers or authority figures. You are damaging your spawn more than video games could ever if you send the message that they aren’t worth your time and effort. 

Lego Marvel Zeros

I have to admit that when I first thought about buying the game, the small remainder of the young boy left in me showed the first signs of reappearance in the last 5 years...then I played it, and that young boy was beaten like a stepdad beating his ginger kid. Lego's Marvel Heroes or whatever it's called is a combination of my two favourite things as a kid, Lego and Marvel Heroes which at the time seemed like the combination of peanut butterfly and syrup on a lovely piece of warm toast, but it quickly turned into marmite and dog shit. My team members proved to be more of a menace to me then the people I was fighting and the just stood and watch as I was getting beaten, just like the mother of a ginger child being beaten by their stepdad. Although the Lego seemed to understand its part in the game, which was to get in my way each and every fucking time I tried to collect the dropped Lego pieces that I desperately tried to gather like junky looking for a fix. Then the final piece in the coffin containing my childhood was the character collection. In order to collect your favourite characters outside the story line, you have to locate them and solve a puzzle to obtain the token...which you then have to purchase. Disney you money grubbing bastards. I admit the fact that I played by keyboard might not have helped and feelings towards the game...but it was eclipsed by my urge to leap into the game and beat the hell out of my favourite Marvel heroes whenever they opened their mouths. i would like to go on about the game but just writing about it has reminded me that a spent about $5 on this game...$5 I will never get back.