Month June 2015

Reincarnated – Laptop Beyond: The Return of the Internet – Dawn of a New Era – The Saga Continues

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Much like how Snoop Dogg reincarnated into Snoop Lion, my laptop begins anew in another vessel.

“Believe in the backside” (#ButtsWin)

– A quote that has absolutely nothing to do with what follows.

On June 26 2015, a landmark moment in history took place; one whose symbolic meaning and effect was just as significant as its practical application. Because of what transpired on that day, the entire world bore witness to pure evidence of a positive shift in our collective ideologies… I am of course referring to the purchasing of my brand new laptop. I knew people would be happy about what took place, delighted that they would be receiving more of my oft-revelatory blog posts about super important matters. My previous post on the subject of my laptop was one of tragedy. It chronicled the rise, the fall, the rising again, and the final fall of a machine that’s been by my side throughout most of my University life. When it died on me, it felt like the world was crashing, like I was experiencing the worst pain anyone has ever faced ever (an assumption that was proven correct one evening when my TV was facing difficulties). I’ve faced many trials, but don’t fret kids, for you see this story has a happy ending. I was given a false one when my laptop resurrected only to die soon after, but when I arrived at Future Shop with my credit card (a necessary component of the incantation) to perform a reincarnation ritual, my laptop was returned to me anew. Much like how Megatron became Galvatron, my Gateway laptop became a ‘DELL-somethingorother’.

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Batman: Arkham Knight and the Real Threat to Gaming Journalism

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The final installment of the Rocksteady Arkham trilogy has finally arrived, and its impact is exactly what you would expect from any hotly anticipated game these days. Most people have already decided that they love this game, and unfortunately, anyone that disagrees with this “well-founded” opinion is met with scorn and outrage. This happens every time with games that fall under the public’s favour and its kind of pathetic. Gamespot’s “divisive” 8/10 review of The Last of Us is an extreme example of this. According to many, this was the “final nail in the coffin” for Gamespot, as this paltry 8/10 review shows that they hate gaming and don’t understand anything about criticism… that is until Gamespot turns around and gives a game they know they’ll like a score they agree with, because in that case, Gamespot knows exactly what they’re doing and whoever else disagrees with them is crazy. We’ve seen this time and time again, and it has happened once again with Arkham Knight, for which Gamespot once again finds itself at the centre of its controversy. Giving the game a 7/10 score over criticisms that mostly centred around the use of the Batmobile (which is a legitimate problem), the review was met with a ton of backlash. Just outright hatred for a singular reviewer for having the audacity to not agree with them on one particular thing. Even more saddening is the fact that the type of people getting bent out of shape over reviews tend to fanatically cling to others who agree with them, even after naming those parties as trash over occasions where they weren’t in agreement. They go on long rants, comparing different review scores from games they didn’t like to the games they do to “prove” that they’re right about the reviewer’s inadequacy; as if to say that every review made for a website is from one person and that people can’t possibly enjoy things more than you did. You have to question their level of self-esteem and the value they hold in for their own thoughts and self-worth. I don’t understand why people need this type of validation when it comes to liking video games.

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5 Things I Loved About Inside Out – A Morally Relevant Movie

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Everyone should go see Pixar’s Inside Out. Saying that “everyone” should see something is a pretty common way to praise something, but here I am literally saying that every single person should experience this movie. It’s important, not just as a piece of art, but morally speaking as well. If you are parent, or someone who is planning on having kids, or someone who is or has been a kid – you need to see this movie. It’s got an ambitious premise, a solid script, perfect casting, and is legitimately hilarious; but all of that isn’t as important as the lessons it teaches about being a child and being a parent. It’s also the way it conveys these messages that really gets to me, the complete mastery of metaphoric storytelling. Nothing is overly complicated, it’s all easy to follow, and yet there’s a ton of depth to it all. It’s a movie that explores the importance of sadness, the tragedy of growing up, and the nature of joy. Happiness isn’t forever and sadness isn’t something that should be suppressed, parents can say the most devastating things without realizing it, and children have to learn how to communicate their pain. These are all beautiful messages that the movie teaches so well, and I’m not sure I can do it justice by just telling you about it, but I will tell you just some of the things I loved about it (without spoiling it of course).

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iZombie Completely Subverts the ‘Boring Boyfriend’ Trope with Major Lilywhite

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From reading that title, I know what you must be thinking: How is it possible for a cleaning detergent to subvert anything on a TV show? Never fear, because the name “Major Lilywhite” actually refers to a character on the show, and despite having an incredibly goofy name and filling the dreaded role as the lead’s “sweetheart ex-boyfriend”, he actually turned out to be a fantastic character in his own right. I’m still pretty shocked at about it all as I type this, because I’ve never really seen something like this being done deliberately. The audience was led into thinking Major would just be Liv’s (the show’s lead) lame “perfect” boyfriend from the past who would show up every once in a while to make her feel guilty and remind her of what she could have had, but instead he’s a fleshed out character with his own world and problems to contend with. He even has a seasonal arc that runs parallel to Liv’s, which eventually converges in the season 1 finale in an explosive way. I would go as far as to argue that Major is one of the most smartly written television characters to show up in recent history.

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Entourage – Existing in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

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The 2004-2011 HBO show Entourage and its recent movie release are fascinating. This is an example of a television dinosaur revived into an era it no longer has a place in. Truly a relic of another age, it’s interesting how this movie shows how much our sensibilities have changed in the last four years. A show that so many unquestionably adored or dismissed as just dumb fun is now being derided by many as toxic.There are a number of reasons for this change in attitude towards it, but I’d wager it has a lot to do with our perceptions on the reality of the world of Entourage. The idea of a bunch of rich white dudes being awful and constantly screwing up but facing almost no repercussions for their behaviour and having everything go their way in the end has become too eerily close to reality. At a time where white and male privilege has fully entered our public consciousness, the existence of something like Entourage seems tone deaf. The problem being in the way the show and movie chooses to confront these “bros”.

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The Dumbest Thing in Recent Memory – Vin Diesel driving off a cliff in Furious 7

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I know what you’re thinking, it’s pretty ridiculous to call out something for being dumb in a proudly dumb action flick like a movie from the Fast and Furious franchise, but hear me out. This scene in particular is especially dumb in the classical sense. It’s not something you have to think too hard about like a movie plot hole, and it’s not something that really takes you out of the movie in terms of how stupid it was (that ship should have sailed long ago). It isn’t “so bad it’s good” dumb, I think it’s a bit too ridiculous for that, but it is a stupid enough moment to make you stop and think about what exactly went on in the writers room.

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