Writing these things down seems to make it official in some sense. Legal sense, probably. But whatever the reasoning behind it, it is official what I’ve set out to do.
I’m getting a second degree. My obsessive creation efforts with Spore: Galactic Adventures and my over-active imagination when it comes to constructing stories and fantasies are the major signs that I should be doing something else rather than making art. Which, I have to admit, I haven’t done since I graduated. Go figure I would become a statistic.
My second degree with be in Interactive Media and Game Development. I will attempt to get this degree from Savannah College of Art and Design. I went there on a family trip to the romantic south and had a spontaneous campus visit. We ended up getting rained out before I could inquire on department specific visits. I have registered for an official tour and will confirm if I can get an appointment with a department representative, preferable from the faculty, to get further information on my particular situation.
However, upon settling on this goal, I was sharply reminded how special and unique my education at Watkins College of Art and Design really is. One year of tuition as a Full-Time student, not including dorm cost, will cost me as much as my degree. The cheapest route for me at this point is to take one class at a time, which will cost me as much as one semester did during my undergrad studies.
Scholarships and grants are based on portfolio reviews. Being a graduate, the level of expectation is high. After doing several sketches today, it’s clear my skills have dropped considerably due to lack of practice. Furthermore, the hard drive I was storing my portfolio on was damaged recently and caused a massive data wipe. In other words, I don’t have any of my past works’ documentation. The exception goes towards the three pieces from my thesis show since they were not on my hard drive at the time. But my drawings from my Junior year that everyone in the school loved, the one that got me a cash prize at the student show it was exhibited in, are all gone. To make matters worse, I can’t seem to find them among the stacks of papers and drawing pads I’ve amassed to document them now.
My immediate goal is a duel challenge in a single act of play. First, I must bring my skill level and craft back to where it was a year ago in what time I have outside of work. Second, I must rebuild my portfolio using the only pieces documented as my launching point. Projects must be conceived on my own and properly documented this time.
Upon talking to a few SCAD alumni that I was fortunate enough to meet on a social networking site, I found out that the Game Design department will want to see how well I can draw from life as well as if I can provide engaging character design. Learning this has caused me to focus specifically on anatomy. My proportions are on the button as far as creating height, but limbs are another problem I need to focus on as well. Foreshortening has always been my weakest area, so working on that is something I plan on focusing on as well. Finally, I need to find a way to safely bring my sketchbook to work so I can practice gesture drawings while I’m waiting for my ride. Management has been getting rather bitchy about bringing personal items, stating either leave them in your car or don’t bring them at all. If all else fails, there’s always the anatomy book from Figure Study. (Though I probably need to buy myself one of those martial arts pose posters.)
I hope something good comes out of this. I’ve become complacent in my routine, and as a result, my life has been set adrift down a river with no real guidance. It feels like I’m on the beach of depression again, and I don’t want that. What I want is to be doing what it is that I enjoy doing. Ironically, I don’t even know what it is that I’m doing that I enjoy so much.
I just like to create. It’s one of the first signs of a god complex.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Were the World Mine
I was very excited to get this DVD in the mail last week. So much so that it made waiting to find time to watch it very difficult. It is one of those movies that I knew was going to be good, but I didn’t know how great it would end up being until I actually sat down and watched it with fresh eyes.
What movie could possibly have me this excited? Well, it wasn’t some summer blockbuster or anything Hollywood has produced that I may have missed. It’s actually an independent film called Were The World Mine.
The set up is rather simple. Token gay student Timothy, played by Tanner Cohen, attends an ivy league private high school has a crush on the star jock of his class Jonathon, played by Nathaniel David Becker. He’s out, and because the entire town is mega-conservative, he gets picked on. Jonathon, while he has a girlfriend, is the only one that defends Timothy when he gets beat up on a daily basis. Also coming to his emotional aid is a drama teacher played by Twin Peaks actress Wendy Robie. She is probably the only encouraging soul Timothy has ever known, as she constantly pushes him towards the arts and performing on stage through her Shakespeare class she teaches at the school. Outside of school, Timothy has only two good friends. Frankie, a tom-boy rocker girl played by Zelda Williams, and her extremely horny boyfriend Max played by Ricky Goldman. Both are rather accepting of Timothy’s sexuality and see nothing wrong with it. Timothy’s mother, played by Broadway’s Judy McLane, does have a problem with it as it is preventing her from getting any kind of employment in such a narrow-minded community. It is so difficult for her that her only job she can get is as a door-to-door make-up sales woman for the richest women in the town played by All my Children’s Jill Larson.
Whew!! What a cast!
So what’s the story? The school is holding the annual Senior Class Play, and this year they are doing A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream. Because it is an all-boys school, the drama teacher is delighted that they will be performing the play as it was performed in Shakespeare’s time. (i.e. men playing the women’s roles) She casts Timothy as Puck, which for those who are not familiar with the play is the most popular of the fairies that reside in the mythical forest. While rehearsing and learning his lines for the play, Timothy stumbles upon a working love potion hidden within the script. So, naturally, he uses it on his crush Jonathon. But as a result, religious tensions start to flare up and conflict ensues between the newly-converted homosexual and his sudden boyfriend that eerily runs a parallel course to the actual Shakespeare play.
There are some comedic moments as well as some really difficult moments to get through, most of them involve the school’s coach who was made to fall in love with the school’s dean when Timothy went crazy with distributing the love potion. But these moments are few and far between and only serve to break up the drama that the story actually centers around.
Interestingly enough, this film is a musical. The songs flow in and out very organically, with one exception going to the bridge between the second and third act of the film. Most of them actually happen in Timothy’s mind, as it is established very early on in the film that he tends to day dream in musicals. Gay stereotype? Could be. By themselves, the songs are very pleasant and hypnotic in tone. If the voice of the singer is actually Tanner Cohen singing, then someone give this kid a contract. Every song this guy sings in the film is gold. Once you hear his voice, I dare you to find a way to get it out of your head within 15 minutes!
The only major distraction for me was the quality in production. It looked as if they blew their budget on all the musical numbers, as those have the best lighting and best image quality overall. They must have sacrificed some of that budget on the dancing, because the choreography is rather bland. When the film isn’t in musical mode, it looks as if it was shot by a sophomore film school student. What I mean by that is that there is attention to lighting and frame composition, but it is done in a way that clearly shows they were on a budget.
I, personally, loved Wendy Robie’s character and how director and writer Tom Gustafson evolved her character throughout the film. She starts off as this hippie art teacher that works on the level of the cliché, but as the story progresses and the parallels to the Shakespeare play become more and more pronounced, you get this odd feeling that she is more than what she appears. Those who are fanatical about anything Shakespeare will love the final plot twist with her character. I know I did, and like most of the students in the high school in this film admit time and time again, Shakespeare doesn’t make sense to me.
Even if you don’t like musicals, this one doesn’t beat you over the head with song every scene. Even if you don’t understand Shakespeare, this film does a better job of telling you what happens in A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream to where you can pick out the parallel plot points. And even if you don’t like Gay Cinema, at the very least this film doesn’t beat you over the head with idea of gay rights and a director’s political agendas. It’s just a very fun film.
I mean, I've watched this film at least five times already and is saving my pennies to get the soundtrack form iTunes! I enjoy it that much!
What movie could possibly have me this excited? Well, it wasn’t some summer blockbuster or anything Hollywood has produced that I may have missed. It’s actually an independent film called Were The World Mine.
The set up is rather simple. Token gay student Timothy, played by Tanner Cohen, attends an ivy league private high school has a crush on the star jock of his class Jonathon, played by Nathaniel David Becker. He’s out, and because the entire town is mega-conservative, he gets picked on. Jonathon, while he has a girlfriend, is the only one that defends Timothy when he gets beat up on a daily basis. Also coming to his emotional aid is a drama teacher played by Twin Peaks actress Wendy Robie. She is probably the only encouraging soul Timothy has ever known, as she constantly pushes him towards the arts and performing on stage through her Shakespeare class she teaches at the school. Outside of school, Timothy has only two good friends. Frankie, a tom-boy rocker girl played by Zelda Williams, and her extremely horny boyfriend Max played by Ricky Goldman. Both are rather accepting of Timothy’s sexuality and see nothing wrong with it. Timothy’s mother, played by Broadway’s Judy McLane, does have a problem with it as it is preventing her from getting any kind of employment in such a narrow-minded community. It is so difficult for her that her only job she can get is as a door-to-door make-up sales woman for the richest women in the town played by All my Children’s Jill Larson.
Whew!! What a cast!
So what’s the story? The school is holding the annual Senior Class Play, and this year they are doing A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream. Because it is an all-boys school, the drama teacher is delighted that they will be performing the play as it was performed in Shakespeare’s time. (i.e. men playing the women’s roles) She casts Timothy as Puck, which for those who are not familiar with the play is the most popular of the fairies that reside in the mythical forest. While rehearsing and learning his lines for the play, Timothy stumbles upon a working love potion hidden within the script. So, naturally, he uses it on his crush Jonathon. But as a result, religious tensions start to flare up and conflict ensues between the newly-converted homosexual and his sudden boyfriend that eerily runs a parallel course to the actual Shakespeare play.
There are some comedic moments as well as some really difficult moments to get through, most of them involve the school’s coach who was made to fall in love with the school’s dean when Timothy went crazy with distributing the love potion. But these moments are few and far between and only serve to break up the drama that the story actually centers around.
Interestingly enough, this film is a musical. The songs flow in and out very organically, with one exception going to the bridge between the second and third act of the film. Most of them actually happen in Timothy’s mind, as it is established very early on in the film that he tends to day dream in musicals. Gay stereotype? Could be. By themselves, the songs are very pleasant and hypnotic in tone. If the voice of the singer is actually Tanner Cohen singing, then someone give this kid a contract. Every song this guy sings in the film is gold. Once you hear his voice, I dare you to find a way to get it out of your head within 15 minutes!
The only major distraction for me was the quality in production. It looked as if they blew their budget on all the musical numbers, as those have the best lighting and best image quality overall. They must have sacrificed some of that budget on the dancing, because the choreography is rather bland. When the film isn’t in musical mode, it looks as if it was shot by a sophomore film school student. What I mean by that is that there is attention to lighting and frame composition, but it is done in a way that clearly shows they were on a budget.
I, personally, loved Wendy Robie’s character and how director and writer Tom Gustafson evolved her character throughout the film. She starts off as this hippie art teacher that works on the level of the cliché, but as the story progresses and the parallels to the Shakespeare play become more and more pronounced, you get this odd feeling that she is more than what she appears. Those who are fanatical about anything Shakespeare will love the final plot twist with her character. I know I did, and like most of the students in the high school in this film admit time and time again, Shakespeare doesn’t make sense to me.
Even if you don’t like musicals, this one doesn’t beat you over the head with song every scene. Even if you don’t understand Shakespeare, this film does a better job of telling you what happens in A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream to where you can pick out the parallel plot points. And even if you don’t like Gay Cinema, at the very least this film doesn’t beat you over the head with idea of gay rights and a director’s political agendas. It’s just a very fun film.
I mean, I've watched this film at least five times already and is saving my pennies to get the soundtrack form iTunes! I enjoy it that much!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Active vs. Fit
Well, I finished my 30 Day Challenge the other day. According to the software, it was four days before the projected deadline, which is nice. I also met my weight goal right on schedule as well, despite the fact that I don’t like how I’m hovering at 155 lbs. So now seems like as good a time as any to put these two programs against each other.
Nintendo’s Wii Fit vs. EA SPORTS’ Active
The way we will go about doing this is by category. I’ll compare each of the software products based on what they have in common with each other and then announce the better of the two in said category. I’ll tally the scores at the end, and the one with the most points wins. Seems like a fair way to judge between the two.
Exercises
I’ll be doing this in two parts, but both will count as a collective whole.
Both products offer a wide variety of exercises that range from cardio to yoga to muscle building. They even offer mini-games to trick you into working out certain areas of your body. However, when it comes to a full set of honest exercises that will kick your fat ass into shape, Active is the clear winner by how much it offers. You have boxing, volleyball, track running, and a whole collection of others. Meanwhile, Wii Fit only has yoga and a series of isometric exercises like push ups and sit ups. Strangely enough, the exercises that Active is missing can be found on Wii Fit.
But variety is nothing if the exercises are not very effective. While both will cause your muscles to ache, Active will cause you to wake up sore the next morning. Not once did I fill like my thighs were going to explode with Wii Fit. What I do with most games I get is that I devote a whole day to them. After 12 hours of Wii Fit, I woke up the following morning feeling no pain. After 10 hours of Active, I was lucky I could walk. Furthermore, I’ve begin to notice definite form in my muscles, particularly my arms, as a direct result of Active. Wii Fit’s posture-based methods have done nothing to prevent me from slouching in my chair as I type this.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
It knows how to kick my fat ass and how hard to kick it so many ways that it’s not even funny.
Workouts
Wait, there’s a difference? For these programs, yes. Both consider the individual exercise just that: individual exercises and not full workouts.
As of right now, Wii Fit doesn’t offer a workout program in the same sense as Active does, but this will be taken care of in Wii Fit Plus due out sometime next year in the US. What Wii Fit does offer as of now are suggested workouts for you to do, mostly two or three exercises that go well with each other. However, you cannot access them one after the other and must quit to the exercise menu and select it again.
Active has at least 40 preset workout programs of various difficulties that target areas you would be interested in. It has a program to help your arms, get your heart pumping, low impact on your lower body, and even a marathon run that puts you throw the entire collection of exercises over the course of an hour! Still not enough? Well, you have the option to create your own workout session based on whatever the hell criteria you want. And if you are not that creative, just click on the check mark on any of the preset programs to opt out of the exercise. No running? No problem!
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
At least until Wii Fit Plus releases…
Goal Setting
What good is exercising without a goal? (Don’t answer that. I know it was rhetorical.)
Wii Fit does not have that many options to keep you goal oriented. The product likes to tease you if you missed a day of checking in even for something as silly as a Body Test, which is their fancy way of saying “checking your weight.” The first time you start the program, you’ll be asked to make a weight goal of either losing or gaining a certain number of pounds over a period of time. It does a really good job of telling you when your goal is unrealistic, so I’ll give it that much credit. But after meeting your weight goal, you’re asked to make another one. Why? I met my goal. Well, if you set it to zero, the software then tracks to see how far you’ve gained or loss from your goal weight. Anything over a single pound in either direction is a bad thing for the program. God!
Active has about four different ways you can keep yourself goal oriented. The three you are introduced first are the basic calorie burned, workout time, and number of workout goals. Like Wii Fit, you can set how much/many you want to do over a period of time. The only drawback is that there is no telling if your goals are unrealistic or not, so don’t be surprise if you actually fail to reach a goal when the deadline rolls around. After each workout, you are given a screen that shows these goal and how close you are to completing them. The fourth way Active keeps you goal oriented is by awarding you trophies for various fitness achievements. You don’t need some kind of cheat wiki in order to find out how to unlock these trophies, as they are pretty much given to you from the start what you need to do. There’s no real benefit either to gaining trophies. It’s just a special land marker for you to feel good about.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
There’s something so satisfying about seeing a progress bar fill up to 100% that doesn’t compare to a line graph that looks like the back of a cartoon alligator.
Charting Your Progress
One of the big elements to any fitness program is keeping a record of your progress to help you know if you are keeping on track with your goals.
Wii Fit offers only four charts, and unfortunately two of them are the same thing. It can track your Body Mass Index (BMI), your weight, your Fitness Age, and how long you’ve worked out. Within the last graph is a color code system to show how much of that time was devoted to one of five categories. You even have the option of logging in outside activities, though the benefits of doing so are non-existent. Wii Fit does have a calendar option to help you keep track of your progress on a daily basis, but to be honest, it’s not needed. The only good that the calendar does is track where your center of balance was on that particular day’s test. Not that interesting. And because all the data is what it collects from the Wii Balance Board, it’s kind of difficult to fudge around your true weight.
Active goes into overload mode with how it charts you. You have a chart for outside activities, food intake, water intake, sleep, stress, and even one where you can rate how important working out is to you for the day! Not to mention the four ways in the category above. In addition, you have a daily medal you can earn based on your performance that is recorded on a calendar. These medals are then averaged out with the results posted on yet another chart that shows you how many total calories you’ve burned, hours you’ve logged, and even your average rating for outside activities since you started the program! With all these charts, what could possibly go wrong? Well, all the charts are very subjective. It’s very easy to cheat when inputting data to be logged. The most annoying thing is that the questions it asks to help log specific data is often very vague. Example: How many balanced meals did you have today? What would this program consider a balanced meal? Hitting all four food groups? It got to the point where I was interpreting the question as “how many times did you eat?” On top of that, I’m not convinced that the calories I burned are the actual number I burned. If anything, Active just estimates it based on your height, age, and weight you input yourself.
Winner: Nintendo’s Wii Fit
Because you can’t lie! You can’t lie to Nintendo!!
Encouragement/Critiquing
The reason you would want a personal trainer of any kind is to help push you along to your fitness goals. And it helps if you have someone that is actually encouraging.
Wii Fit seems to have taken the tactic of both gentle pointing out your flaws and bombarding you with posture propaganda. If you don’t mind the playful teasing it does for missing just even one day of checking in for a test or workout, this gets really annoying really fast. The audio library is also rather limited. This results in not really encouraging you so much as repeating the same line of praise or critique you’ve heard before.
Active takes a more dynamic approach. If you suck as a particular exercise consistently, it will gently encourage you to try harder. However, if are consistently good at an exercise and then suddenly start to fall apart, it will resort to boot camp tactics of pushing you. There’s no real middle ground. If there is, I haven’t found it. The audio library is just as limited, but it still manages to somehow have at least two unique lines per exercise. You’ll still get the generic lines you’ve heard before cycle through, but every so often you’ll hear something different that you may not have heard for at least two days.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
If only because it is less annoying than Wii Fit.
Equipment
The reason why the price tag is so freaking high is because of the equipment that comes with the product. And both are designed specifically for the product’s use.
The Wii Balance Board is, like one person I overheard has said, a glorified bathroom scale. It’s about as big, the same color white, and all I’ve been using it for is to track my weight. Within Wii Fit, it is so sensitive, it’s mind blowing! The tiniest of shifts are noted, even the ones you don’t feel! Its response time is surprisingly very quick too, which means it’s your own damn fault for not being able to move fast enough to head butt the soccer ball flying towards you. But in the actual fitness areas, specifically the yoga exercises, the it doesn’t really do much other than point out that your balance is off.
Active comes with a leg strap and a resistance band. The leg strap is designed to keep the Nun-chuck close to your thigh in order to help the program track your lower body movements during exercises like squats and lunges. The resistance band is designed to enhance the upper body exercises by offering, well, resistance so you don’t have to resort to free weights and fumbling around with how to hold the controllers comfortably. However, both items are what I would consider “outside of the program” and do not directly supply input to the program. On top of that, the supplied resistance band has been the focus of a lot of heat from consumers. Outside of my own experience of tearing and snapping it and a replacement band, others have said that it doesn’t even supply any kind of tension. Thankfully, because this item is outside of Active’s programming, a lot of users have just replaced it with more resistant bands.
Winner: Tie
They both get the job done, but they also have their flaws.
Overall Verdict
Final Score: Wii Fit: 2 – Active: 5
While both may be gimmicky, the fact of the matter is that EA SPORTS’ Active program will get you the results you will probably want out of a home fitness program that isn’t a DVD where you are passively watching the screen and the trainer puts you on the honor system of doing the exercises. Yes, Active still maintains that level of cheese, but because it is (dare I say it for the first time) a video game, you are required by design to interact with it. That alone makes it better than the cardio and strength training DVDs you can buy that tell you what exercises to try. Even the ones with similar equipments!
Nintendo’s Wii Fit vs. EA SPORTS’ Active
The way we will go about doing this is by category. I’ll compare each of the software products based on what they have in common with each other and then announce the better of the two in said category. I’ll tally the scores at the end, and the one with the most points wins. Seems like a fair way to judge between the two.
Exercises
I’ll be doing this in two parts, but both will count as a collective whole.
Both products offer a wide variety of exercises that range from cardio to yoga to muscle building. They even offer mini-games to trick you into working out certain areas of your body. However, when it comes to a full set of honest exercises that will kick your fat ass into shape, Active is the clear winner by how much it offers. You have boxing, volleyball, track running, and a whole collection of others. Meanwhile, Wii Fit only has yoga and a series of isometric exercises like push ups and sit ups. Strangely enough, the exercises that Active is missing can be found on Wii Fit.
But variety is nothing if the exercises are not very effective. While both will cause your muscles to ache, Active will cause you to wake up sore the next morning. Not once did I fill like my thighs were going to explode with Wii Fit. What I do with most games I get is that I devote a whole day to them. After 12 hours of Wii Fit, I woke up the following morning feeling no pain. After 10 hours of Active, I was lucky I could walk. Furthermore, I’ve begin to notice definite form in my muscles, particularly my arms, as a direct result of Active. Wii Fit’s posture-based methods have done nothing to prevent me from slouching in my chair as I type this.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
It knows how to kick my fat ass and how hard to kick it so many ways that it’s not even funny.
Workouts
Wait, there’s a difference? For these programs, yes. Both consider the individual exercise just that: individual exercises and not full workouts.
As of right now, Wii Fit doesn’t offer a workout program in the same sense as Active does, but this will be taken care of in Wii Fit Plus due out sometime next year in the US. What Wii Fit does offer as of now are suggested workouts for you to do, mostly two or three exercises that go well with each other. However, you cannot access them one after the other and must quit to the exercise menu and select it again.
Active has at least 40 preset workout programs of various difficulties that target areas you would be interested in. It has a program to help your arms, get your heart pumping, low impact on your lower body, and even a marathon run that puts you throw the entire collection of exercises over the course of an hour! Still not enough? Well, you have the option to create your own workout session based on whatever the hell criteria you want. And if you are not that creative, just click on the check mark on any of the preset programs to opt out of the exercise. No running? No problem!
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
At least until Wii Fit Plus releases…
Goal Setting
What good is exercising without a goal? (Don’t answer that. I know it was rhetorical.)
Wii Fit does not have that many options to keep you goal oriented. The product likes to tease you if you missed a day of checking in even for something as silly as a Body Test, which is their fancy way of saying “checking your weight.” The first time you start the program, you’ll be asked to make a weight goal of either losing or gaining a certain number of pounds over a period of time. It does a really good job of telling you when your goal is unrealistic, so I’ll give it that much credit. But after meeting your weight goal, you’re asked to make another one. Why? I met my goal. Well, if you set it to zero, the software then tracks to see how far you’ve gained or loss from your goal weight. Anything over a single pound in either direction is a bad thing for the program. God!
Active has about four different ways you can keep yourself goal oriented. The three you are introduced first are the basic calorie burned, workout time, and number of workout goals. Like Wii Fit, you can set how much/many you want to do over a period of time. The only drawback is that there is no telling if your goals are unrealistic or not, so don’t be surprise if you actually fail to reach a goal when the deadline rolls around. After each workout, you are given a screen that shows these goal and how close you are to completing them. The fourth way Active keeps you goal oriented is by awarding you trophies for various fitness achievements. You don’t need some kind of cheat wiki in order to find out how to unlock these trophies, as they are pretty much given to you from the start what you need to do. There’s no real benefit either to gaining trophies. It’s just a special land marker for you to feel good about.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
There’s something so satisfying about seeing a progress bar fill up to 100% that doesn’t compare to a line graph that looks like the back of a cartoon alligator.
Charting Your Progress
One of the big elements to any fitness program is keeping a record of your progress to help you know if you are keeping on track with your goals.
Wii Fit offers only four charts, and unfortunately two of them are the same thing. It can track your Body Mass Index (BMI), your weight, your Fitness Age, and how long you’ve worked out. Within the last graph is a color code system to show how much of that time was devoted to one of five categories. You even have the option of logging in outside activities, though the benefits of doing so are non-existent. Wii Fit does have a calendar option to help you keep track of your progress on a daily basis, but to be honest, it’s not needed. The only good that the calendar does is track where your center of balance was on that particular day’s test. Not that interesting. And because all the data is what it collects from the Wii Balance Board, it’s kind of difficult to fudge around your true weight.
Active goes into overload mode with how it charts you. You have a chart for outside activities, food intake, water intake, sleep, stress, and even one where you can rate how important working out is to you for the day! Not to mention the four ways in the category above. In addition, you have a daily medal you can earn based on your performance that is recorded on a calendar. These medals are then averaged out with the results posted on yet another chart that shows you how many total calories you’ve burned, hours you’ve logged, and even your average rating for outside activities since you started the program! With all these charts, what could possibly go wrong? Well, all the charts are very subjective. It’s very easy to cheat when inputting data to be logged. The most annoying thing is that the questions it asks to help log specific data is often very vague. Example: How many balanced meals did you have today? What would this program consider a balanced meal? Hitting all four food groups? It got to the point where I was interpreting the question as “how many times did you eat?” On top of that, I’m not convinced that the calories I burned are the actual number I burned. If anything, Active just estimates it based on your height, age, and weight you input yourself.
Winner: Nintendo’s Wii Fit
Because you can’t lie! You can’t lie to Nintendo!!
Encouragement/Critiquing
The reason you would want a personal trainer of any kind is to help push you along to your fitness goals. And it helps if you have someone that is actually encouraging.
Wii Fit seems to have taken the tactic of both gentle pointing out your flaws and bombarding you with posture propaganda. If you don’t mind the playful teasing it does for missing just even one day of checking in for a test or workout, this gets really annoying really fast. The audio library is also rather limited. This results in not really encouraging you so much as repeating the same line of praise or critique you’ve heard before.
Active takes a more dynamic approach. If you suck as a particular exercise consistently, it will gently encourage you to try harder. However, if are consistently good at an exercise and then suddenly start to fall apart, it will resort to boot camp tactics of pushing you. There’s no real middle ground. If there is, I haven’t found it. The audio library is just as limited, but it still manages to somehow have at least two unique lines per exercise. You’ll still get the generic lines you’ve heard before cycle through, but every so often you’ll hear something different that you may not have heard for at least two days.
Winner: EA SPORTS’ Active
If only because it is less annoying than Wii Fit.
Equipment
The reason why the price tag is so freaking high is because of the equipment that comes with the product. And both are designed specifically for the product’s use.
The Wii Balance Board is, like one person I overheard has said, a glorified bathroom scale. It’s about as big, the same color white, and all I’ve been using it for is to track my weight. Within Wii Fit, it is so sensitive, it’s mind blowing! The tiniest of shifts are noted, even the ones you don’t feel! Its response time is surprisingly very quick too, which means it’s your own damn fault for not being able to move fast enough to head butt the soccer ball flying towards you. But in the actual fitness areas, specifically the yoga exercises, the it doesn’t really do much other than point out that your balance is off.
Active comes with a leg strap and a resistance band. The leg strap is designed to keep the Nun-chuck close to your thigh in order to help the program track your lower body movements during exercises like squats and lunges. The resistance band is designed to enhance the upper body exercises by offering, well, resistance so you don’t have to resort to free weights and fumbling around with how to hold the controllers comfortably. However, both items are what I would consider “outside of the program” and do not directly supply input to the program. On top of that, the supplied resistance band has been the focus of a lot of heat from consumers. Outside of my own experience of tearing and snapping it and a replacement band, others have said that it doesn’t even supply any kind of tension. Thankfully, because this item is outside of Active’s programming, a lot of users have just replaced it with more resistant bands.
Winner: Tie
They both get the job done, but they also have their flaws.
Overall Verdict
Final Score: Wii Fit: 2 – Active: 5
While both may be gimmicky, the fact of the matter is that EA SPORTS’ Active program will get you the results you will probably want out of a home fitness program that isn’t a DVD where you are passively watching the screen and the trainer puts you on the honor system of doing the exercises. Yes, Active still maintains that level of cheese, but because it is (dare I say it for the first time) a video game, you are required by design to interact with it. That alone makes it better than the cardio and strength training DVDs you can buy that tell you what exercises to try. Even the ones with similar equipments!
Friday, June 05, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 12
Balance Board day, which is the second time I've used that. It would have been the third, but I accidently turned the Balance Board option off when the second day came aorund.
I kind of like the Balance Board exercises. It's essentially getting two birds with one stone. I get my lunges in as well as whatever upper body movement the software is making me do. Today it was tennis and vollyball, both of which are made harder with the Balance Board.
I have eight more workout sessions to go before the challenge is over, and I'm aiming to get this done by the 16th of this month if not sooner. When that happens, I'll have my full review on the product.
I kind of like the Balance Board exercises. It's essentially getting two birds with one stone. I get my lunges in as well as whatever upper body movement the software is making me do. Today it was tennis and vollyball, both of which are made harder with the Balance Board.
I have eight more workout sessions to go before the challenge is over, and I'm aiming to get this done by the 16th of this month if not sooner. When that happens, I'll have my full review on the product.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 11
Technically, Day 17 Workout 11, but you get the idea.
Mostly sports drills with some upper body resistance band stuff. Was forced to do squats back-to-back against jump squats. Kind of hurt, to be honest, but not as bad as the jumping lunges from the last week. Barely made the calorie burn goal for that workout, but I think it is because I burn the most calories on the track than anywhere else in the program. Go figure that running away from my problems would turn into a health benifit.
Wii Fit has me at 155 lbs. today. Hopefully, I will stay there or at least get closer to 150 by the end of the challenge. Other than that, I'm feeling really good right now. Hopefully that's the change that I need to get everything else rolling, or at least get some self-confidence back.
Mostly sports drills with some upper body resistance band stuff. Was forced to do squats back-to-back against jump squats. Kind of hurt, to be honest, but not as bad as the jumping lunges from the last week. Barely made the calorie burn goal for that workout, but I think it is because I burn the most calories on the track than anywhere else in the program. Go figure that running away from my problems would turn into a health benifit.
Wii Fit has me at 155 lbs. today. Hopefully, I will stay there or at least get closer to 150 by the end of the challenge. Other than that, I'm feeling really good right now. Hopefully that's the change that I need to get everything else rolling, or at least get some self-confidence back.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - The Half-Way Point
I got my replacement band from EA but is very hesitant of using it. In the meantime, I’ve forced myself to use the medium intensity Pilates band that I bought when the band first broke. Upon my second set of shoulder presses, I noticed the band got looser. I’m worried that this may be the first sign of it potentially snapping on me like its easier brother did several days earlier.
In any event, I’ve completed Workout 10 of the 30 Day Challenge, but noticed that my progress has fallen behind. The calendar cataloguing your progress showed me at Day 16 out of 30, which essentially means I’m a day behind now. In order to catch up and finish this challenge on time, I need to do the last half without a break day. I can probably squeeze in one or two break days, but any more and I won’t finish on time.
The thing about this program is that it is very forgiving in the 30 Day Challenge. It didn’t tell me that I was a day behind. I just noticed it on my own. If you can’t complete the 30 Day Challenge in 30 days or less, it doesn’t really care from the looks of it. Just try again and hopefully you can do it the second or third time around. It’s similar to how the game tries to lock you out of working out on break days. It prompts you with information as to why it is important, but ultimately, it’s your decision to work out or not.
Wii Fit says I’m hovering at 156. I took my Wii Fitness Age, which is a gimmicky version of finding out your physical fitness age, and it claimed that I was 20. Last time I took it was a month ago, and it said I was 23. Mom took it, and it said she was 30 years younger than she really is, which is very good for a senior citizen.
On a related note, Wii Fit PLUS was announced at E3 recently. It’s the sequal to Wii Fit offering similar options to Active, mainly the creating a customized workout that will go from one exercise into the other for however long you wish to work out. That alone is reason enough for me to consider it, as I now finally have a simple and easy way of incorporating yoga into my daily fitness routine. Strangely enough, with that announcement, I came to the epiphany that I’m more interested in fitness games now than I am in, say, the upcoming Ghostbusters game or even my copy of Punch-Out!! First a dropping interest in porn, and then a dropping interest in video games. I can only wonder where my interests will be when I get Spore: Galactic Adventures in the mail next month.
In any event, I’ve completed Workout 10 of the 30 Day Challenge, but noticed that my progress has fallen behind. The calendar cataloguing your progress showed me at Day 16 out of 30, which essentially means I’m a day behind now. In order to catch up and finish this challenge on time, I need to do the last half without a break day. I can probably squeeze in one or two break days, but any more and I won’t finish on time.
The thing about this program is that it is very forgiving in the 30 Day Challenge. It didn’t tell me that I was a day behind. I just noticed it on my own. If you can’t complete the 30 Day Challenge in 30 days or less, it doesn’t really care from the looks of it. Just try again and hopefully you can do it the second or third time around. It’s similar to how the game tries to lock you out of working out on break days. It prompts you with information as to why it is important, but ultimately, it’s your decision to work out or not.
Wii Fit says I’m hovering at 156. I took my Wii Fitness Age, which is a gimmicky version of finding out your physical fitness age, and it claimed that I was 20. Last time I took it was a month ago, and it said I was 23. Mom took it, and it said she was 30 years younger than she really is, which is very good for a senior citizen.
On a related note, Wii Fit PLUS was announced at E3 recently. It’s the sequal to Wii Fit offering similar options to Active, mainly the creating a customized workout that will go from one exercise into the other for however long you wish to work out. That alone is reason enough for me to consider it, as I now finally have a simple and easy way of incorporating yoga into my daily fitness routine. Strangely enough, with that announcement, I came to the epiphany that I’m more interested in fitness games now than I am in, say, the upcoming Ghostbusters game or even my copy of Punch-Out!! First a dropping interest in porn, and then a dropping interest in video games. I can only wonder where my interests will be when I get Spore: Galactic Adventures in the mail next month.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
RiiFlex: Another Wii Accessory to Help With Excer-Gaming
I found out about these when I was checking my post on EA's forums about my problem with Active. They are scheduled to make their debut at this year's E3, which is the Mecca of electronic entertainment. There's a 2lbs. version and a 4lbs. version available for pre-order at Riiflex.com.I'm going to wait for a product review before I consider it. Especially since IGN made fun of both this product and Active in their original video/fake advertisement for EA Huge.
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - I Was So Fucking Close!!
Today would have been the halfway mark of the 30 Day Challenge, the bulk of the software's main draw. I was on the last third of the today's routine, feeling really good about things. While in the middle of a shoulder press, the resistance band snapped. TWICE. I was left with nothing but the nylon handles and two pieces of rubber.
Seeing as how I bought a three-pack for the first replacement, I decided that maybe I am getting stronger and it is time to graduate to the next level. Upon testing the mid-range band, I found out that these pilates bands are not designed to be stretched in the way Active wants me to. I was barely able to do a bicep curl, but doing a shoulder press would result in this brand new band snapping as well.
As such, Active is, essentially, unplayable right now. I could just go through all the routines and turn off the upper body exercises, but that would feel like cheating in a fitness program. It's that whole "pushing yourself" thing that's been my ulterior motive through these last several days. Increase my self-confidence in physical appearance, and the rest will hopefully follow suit.
As such, I'm rather depressed right now. So much so, I may take a three-hour walk after my shift with Skip.
Seeing as how I bought a three-pack for the first replacement, I decided that maybe I am getting stronger and it is time to graduate to the next level. Upon testing the mid-range band, I found out that these pilates bands are not designed to be stretched in the way Active wants me to. I was barely able to do a bicep curl, but doing a shoulder press would result in this brand new band snapping as well.
As such, Active is, essentially, unplayable right now. I could just go through all the routines and turn off the upper body exercises, but that would feel like cheating in a fitness program. It's that whole "pushing yourself" thing that's been my ulterior motive through these last several days. Increase my self-confidence in physical appearance, and the rest will hopefully follow suit.
As such, I'm rather depressed right now. So much so, I may take a three-hour walk after my shift with Skip.
Friday, May 29, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 9: Back to Basic
Day 9 was suppose to be Back to Basic routine, but it served as more of an introduction to the most difficult and painful exercise I've ever seen in Active: Squat Hold. I found out from my sister that when she injured her knee, her physical theorpist had her doing this same execrise. She said I was doing it wrong, but no matter how much I tried to correct myself, holding that position for 45 seconds is so difficult.
I did find myself immediately popping in Punch-Out!! after the workout. I also have this strange want to seek out a fighting game that offers a Create a Fighter option that is as strong as Spore. Meanwhile, my porn runs have dropped like a rock since I started this 30 Day Challenge. I wonder if that means something.
I did find myself immediately popping in Punch-Out!! after the workout. I also have this strange want to seek out a fighting game that offers a Create a Fighter option that is as strong as Spore. Meanwhile, my porn runs have dropped like a rock since I started this 30 Day Challenge. I wonder if that means something.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 8 (AKA Lather, Rinse, Repeat)
Today’s routine was a lot of the same. It had me doing side lunges, curls, and lifts one after the other. In between each set of those three exercises, I would be sent to the tennis court or inline skating. Both of which I am no good at, causing me to finally hear some negative feedback from the personal trainer that bordered in insulting me. Seriously, one of the lines is “Did you even show up or is that your identical twin falling over themselves? Hit the showers!” Not very encouraging. At least Wii Fit is a little bit nicer about pointing out you’re not doing something correctly.
The projected workout routines have gotten longer, but the calories burned goals have not increased any. It’s kind of contradicting what I was reading about how this challenge works.
All I know is that today’s rating is the lowest I’ve gotten due to my lazy day yesterday. Sitting around for six hours reading internet buzz and listening to iTunes downloads is apparently very damaging to my overall health score.
Scale says I’m stuck between 155 and 156 for the last two days. Still not happy about that.
The projected workout routines have gotten longer, but the calories burned goals have not increased any. It’s kind of contradicting what I was reading about how this challenge works.
All I know is that today’s rating is the lowest I’ve gotten due to my lazy day yesterday. Sitting around for six hours reading internet buzz and listening to iTunes downloads is apparently very damaging to my overall health score.
Scale says I’m stuck between 155 and 156 for the last two days. Still not happy about that.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 7
I intended to take the day off and be lazy, but every bit of slothful actions I did just made me feel very guilty about doing them. Then again, I’m Catholic by association so having guilt is a given. By lunch when I had fast food with my mom and sister, the guilt was so high that I decided to go ahead and bump the Day 7 workout up a day.
Active didn’t mind. It gave me the obligatory warning about how resting is important to developing muscle strength and cardio endurance, but after that prompt disappeared, I was allowed to do the Day 7 workout.
It was a balanced workout featuring an equal amount of lower and upper body exercises with some minor cardio. Introduced into the mix was volleyball, which was a welcome change after failing at the non-Balance-Board version of the tennis drills. Seriously, I hate tennis. I can only imagine how bad I’ll be when they introduce the baseball drills into the workout.
The thing that I took away from today’s workout was how strangely compact the setting is. I was expecting a different location for the volleyball drills, but noticed the court is next to the track during the running portion of the workout. In fact, with the exception of the inline skating drills, everything is near the track. You can see the gazebo where the boxing and cardio dancing drills next to the tennis court next to the volleyball court. On the other side of the gazebo are the platforms you do the upper and lower body exercises on, which are next to a basketball court. Across from that is the baseball diamond. The whole setting is very utopian, and I swear one of the NPCs looks like Oprah. I guess the visuals are not very stimulating any more and just serve as instructional now. As a result, I am starting to take note on little details that I failed to notice the first several times through.
Active didn’t mind. It gave me the obligatory warning about how resting is important to developing muscle strength and cardio endurance, but after that prompt disappeared, I was allowed to do the Day 7 workout.
It was a balanced workout featuring an equal amount of lower and upper body exercises with some minor cardio. Introduced into the mix was volleyball, which was a welcome change after failing at the non-Balance-Board version of the tennis drills. Seriously, I hate tennis. I can only imagine how bad I’ll be when they introduce the baseball drills into the workout.
The thing that I took away from today’s workout was how strangely compact the setting is. I was expecting a different location for the volleyball drills, but noticed the court is next to the track during the running portion of the workout. In fact, with the exception of the inline skating drills, everything is near the track. You can see the gazebo where the boxing and cardio dancing drills next to the tennis court next to the volleyball court. On the other side of the gazebo are the platforms you do the upper and lower body exercises on, which are next to a basketball court. Across from that is the baseball diamond. The whole setting is very utopian, and I swear one of the NPCs looks like Oprah. I guess the visuals are not very stimulating any more and just serve as instructional now. As a result, I am starting to take note on little details that I failed to notice the first several times through.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 6
Today's routine was fairly light. Running, combination bicep curls and upright rows, some boxing drills, and an introduction to basketball using the Balance Board. Seems weird how I just breezed through that workout and still managed to burn 10 calories more than the projected results.
Another strange bit that happened this morning is that my weight dropped to 154. Dropping anywhere between 2 to 3 lbs. over the course of 24 hours is said to be normal, but keeping it off is where the challenge is. I'm using Wii Fit to keep track of my weight with a goal set to be around 150 lbs. by the end of the 30 Day Challenge. I'm actually aiming to be at about 135, but I'm not expecting to get that lean.
That said, the Journal today did something rather funny. It assumed that because I haven't reported eating fast food that I've been cooking my own meals at home. In reality, I have been going to fast food resturants but I've been ordering off their healthy menu. That's one of the interesting things about where I work. You can go to the burger joint down the block and still find something that will please the health nuts. For the Journal to assume that I've been cooking my own meals when I haven't even logged in cooking in the Other Activities Survey is rather strange.
Tomorrow is a break day, and I intend to keep to it. My arms are now what's hurting since getting a new resistance band. It's also the first day off I've had from work since getting Active, so it should be interesting to see if my behavior has changed any. Why do I say that? Because normally I just sit around and surf the internet on my days off. When I'm not walking to the bank to deposit my check, that is.
Another strange bit that happened this morning is that my weight dropped to 154. Dropping anywhere between 2 to 3 lbs. over the course of 24 hours is said to be normal, but keeping it off is where the challenge is. I'm using Wii Fit to keep track of my weight with a goal set to be around 150 lbs. by the end of the 30 Day Challenge. I'm actually aiming to be at about 135, but I'm not expecting to get that lean.
That said, the Journal today did something rather funny. It assumed that because I haven't reported eating fast food that I've been cooking my own meals at home. In reality, I have been going to fast food resturants but I've been ordering off their healthy menu. That's one of the interesting things about where I work. You can go to the burger joint down the block and still find something that will please the health nuts. For the Journal to assume that I've been cooking my own meals when I haven't even logged in cooking in the Other Activities Survey is rather strange.
Tomorrow is a break day, and I intend to keep to it. My arms are now what's hurting since getting a new resistance band. It's also the first day off I've had from work since getting Active, so it should be interesting to see if my behavior has changed any. Why do I say that? Because normally I just sit around and surf the internet on my days off. When I'm not walking to the bank to deposit my check, that is.
Monday, May 25, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 5
You want to know the strange thing about today’s workout? I almost forgot I did it. I was all set up and ready to go this afternoon only to find that I had a little red check mark next to today saying I completed the workout.
I’m not saying that Day 5 is easy, as I still have the program set to a medium intensity and I have a new resistance band. I’m just saying that it is starting to become routine and habit forming.
What I do remember is the odd looping that today’s workout had. Basically, it started with some running, transitioned to squats and lunges, had me do a combination exercise involving bicep curls and shoulder presses, and then had me hit some boxing targets. After the boxing exercise, the program went through the previous exercises in reverse order. The only thing that broke it up was a run of inline skating, which still is taking a toll on my knees.
Wii Fit says I dropped back to 157, though it still feels rather odd that I was ever close to that weight at all given how much I’ve been eating and what I’ve been eating. Thankfully, I’ve been avoiding MacDonald’s for at least a month now, but that doesn’t mean I’m in the clear from fatty foods. The only thing that’s making this change in my diet so damn difficult is my love/dependency on soda. One every so often is okay, but I really want to have at least one a day, and I know that’s a bad thing.
God, I miss soda...
I’m not saying that Day 5 is easy, as I still have the program set to a medium intensity and I have a new resistance band. I’m just saying that it is starting to become routine and habit forming.
What I do remember is the odd looping that today’s workout had. Basically, it started with some running, transitioned to squats and lunges, had me do a combination exercise involving bicep curls and shoulder presses, and then had me hit some boxing targets. After the boxing exercise, the program went through the previous exercises in reverse order. The only thing that broke it up was a run of inline skating, which still is taking a toll on my knees.
Wii Fit says I dropped back to 157, though it still feels rather odd that I was ever close to that weight at all given how much I’ve been eating and what I’ve been eating. Thankfully, I’ve been avoiding MacDonald’s for at least a month now, but that doesn’t mean I’m in the clear from fatty foods. The only thing that’s making this change in my diet so damn difficult is my love/dependency on soda. One every so often is okay, but I really want to have at least one a day, and I know that’s a bad thing.
God, I miss soda...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Resistance Band Goes SNAP!
How unfortunate. I was expecting this to happen, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.
In an effort to increase the intensity of the strength training exercises, I decided to shorten the space between the two grips instead of opting to fold the band over itself. The result was the band snapping. Well, tearing, technically.
Not knowing what to do, I called GameStop to see if they sold replacements. The person I talked to said that EA only sells a kit for multi-player options which includes an additional leg strap and resistance band. I was planning on buying this, but that would ultimately mean I would still be down a band. The person I talked to was very knowledgeable about the product, and suggested I go to Wal-Mart and pick up some pilates band. They are essentially the same thing, and they are cheaper.
So I did. The $10 set comes with three different colored bands, each representing a different level of intensity. Immediately, I noticed that the "easy" band was thicker than the band that came with the game. It was also significantly wider, which made tying it to the grips that much more difficult. I tested it with a shoulder press, which is the farthest the band should stretch on any given workout session for the game. And I got a stronger resistance than I did with the pink band that came with the game!!
Incidentally, these bands are the same ones that my sister used when she was in ballet with her warm up stretches. She said she used to use the green one, as the orange one was not strong enough for her. And I'll be using the orange band for tomorrow's workout. This should be very interesting.
In an effort to increase the intensity of the strength training exercises, I decided to shorten the space between the two grips instead of opting to fold the band over itself. The result was the band snapping. Well, tearing, technically.
Not knowing what to do, I called GameStop to see if they sold replacements. The person I talked to said that EA only sells a kit for multi-player options which includes an additional leg strap and resistance band. I was planning on buying this, but that would ultimately mean I would still be down a band. The person I talked to was very knowledgeable about the product, and suggested I go to Wal-Mart and pick up some pilates band. They are essentially the same thing, and they are cheaper.
So I did. The $10 set comes with three different colored bands, each representing a different level of intensity. Immediately, I noticed that the "easy" band was thicker than the band that came with the game. It was also significantly wider, which made tying it to the grips that much more difficult. I tested it with a shoulder press, which is the farthest the band should stretch on any given workout session for the game. And I got a stronger resistance than I did with the pink band that came with the game!!
Incidentally, these bands are the same ones that my sister used when she was in ballet with her warm up stretches. She said she used to use the green one, as the orange one was not strong enough for her. And I'll be using the orange band for tomorrow's workout. This should be very interesting.
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Journal Discovery
I didn't score high enough today on the break day to get a Gold Medal rating without exercise. But I got something I didn't expect from the program. Suggestions based on data I gave.
The game said I've been consistantly unable to reach the ideal of liquid intake. So, it suggested that if I don't like water, I should drink tea or broth or even skim milk. I didn't expect to see suggestions based on data. Randomly generated compliments or suggested based on the data I entered five minutes ago, yes, but not something that appears to be built from the previous days.
Another surprise is I'm not sore, but I'm also kind of energetic. Not to the point where it feels like I've been alert for hours, but enough energy where I almost did my normal/long route of walking Skippy. I'm taking that as a good sign.
Wii Fit says weight is the same, staying just a few ounces over 158. I still feel fat, though.
The game said I've been consistantly unable to reach the ideal of liquid intake. So, it suggested that if I don't like water, I should drink tea or broth or even skim milk. I didn't expect to see suggestions based on data. Randomly generated compliments or suggested based on the data I entered five minutes ago, yes, but not something that appears to be built from the previous days.
Another surprise is I'm not sore, but I'm also kind of energetic. Not to the point where it feels like I've been alert for hours, but enough energy where I almost did my normal/long route of walking Skippy. I'm taking that as a good sign.
Wii Fit says weight is the same, staying just a few ounces over 158. I still feel fat, though.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 4
Before I go into my Active experience, I would just like to point out that it’s been over a month since I started this whole “exercise gaming” regiment with Wii Fit. Upon looking at my BMI and Weight line graph on the Wii Fit Channel, I was slapped in the face by reality. Since I started, I only lost and kept off one whole pound. It’s kind of depressing to me. So I talked to the two athletes I know from work, and only one was able to help me out. It became clear that I had to up my intensity. Burn more calories, breathe harder, and if I don’t feel different as a result of the workout, I’m not doing it properly. And if I had the time, work out until you can’t move.
Hence why I held off doing the Day 4 exercise until later in the day today. Not only did I change the intensity from low to medium, but I also added some other workouts to extend what I was doing. Outside of walking the dog, that is.
But the whole “work out until you can’t move” angle was a stupid thing to go by for today. The routine featured Jump Lunges and Jump Squats, both of which took a toll on my knees. Apparently, both my sister and I inherited my dad’s bad knee. Did my body feel different after that routine? Yes, and it hurt more than when I first started and I felt like my thighs were going to explode. Could I move afterwards? Just barely, but only enough to get me to the nearest chair so I can take all the pressure off of my knees. Looking ahead, I’m not out of the woods yet. These Jump Lunges and Jump Squats will become a regular part of the routine now that I upped the intensity.
All is not bad news, however. Much to my surprise, I got an instant Gold Medal rating today before doing the workout for the challenge. How? Because I improved on both my eating habits and outside activities. Whatever I did yesterday was enough to warrant a rating of 86% by themselves! With another break day coming up tomorrow, you can bet that I’ll be trying to repeat that accomplishment again when I record today’s activities in the Journal tomorrow.
Hence why I held off doing the Day 4 exercise until later in the day today. Not only did I change the intensity from low to medium, but I also added some other workouts to extend what I was doing. Outside of walking the dog, that is.
But the whole “work out until you can’t move” angle was a stupid thing to go by for today. The routine featured Jump Lunges and Jump Squats, both of which took a toll on my knees. Apparently, both my sister and I inherited my dad’s bad knee. Did my body feel different after that routine? Yes, and it hurt more than when I first started and I felt like my thighs were going to explode. Could I move afterwards? Just barely, but only enough to get me to the nearest chair so I can take all the pressure off of my knees. Looking ahead, I’m not out of the woods yet. These Jump Lunges and Jump Squats will become a regular part of the routine now that I upped the intensity.
All is not bad news, however. Much to my surprise, I got an instant Gold Medal rating today before doing the workout for the challenge. How? Because I improved on both my eating habits and outside activities. Whatever I did yesterday was enough to warrant a rating of 86% by themselves! With another break day coming up tomorrow, you can bet that I’ll be trying to repeat that accomplishment again when I record today’s activities in the Journal tomorrow.
Friday, May 22, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 3...ish...
If you don’t count yesterday, today would be Day 3 of the 30 Day Challenge. Why? Because technically I didn’t do a 30 Day Workout yesterday.
Today’s workout was kind of a false advertisement. The Trainer Audio said at today’s prompt that we would be focusing on Upper Body stuff while incorporating the Balance Board. I thought, ”Gee, I wish I knew that yesterday so I could have done that then.” Turns out I was wrong. There were some track stuff and lunges thrown in there to give the work out some balance.
The Balance Board workouts were Tennis—which I hate—and cardio dancing—which for some reason isn’t as fun. Again, I had sensor issues and my first Wii Accident since getting the system. During the tennis exercise, I hit the armrest of a chair that was closer to me than I though. I guess the next time I do those exercises I need to step farther back. Either way, the Balance Board didn’t register my lunges properly nor did it register my steps on and off the balance board during cardio dance.
Speaking of which, what the hell kind of dance move is “The Shopping Cart?” I looked at the on-screen people to see how to do it for the short time you are suppose to do it, and it didn’t look like any dance move I’ve seen before. And I’ve seen a lot of cheesy dance moves come out of this cardio dance exercise on YouTube.
Because I worked out yesterday during a break day, the journal is still encouraging me to take some time off. My next break is this Sunday, so I may actually listen to it. After all, my thighs are still about ready to explode.
Oh, and now weight change since yesterday. I'm still hovering over 159 lbs., which Wii Fit is calling Overweight for my height and age.
Today’s workout was kind of a false advertisement. The Trainer Audio said at today’s prompt that we would be focusing on Upper Body stuff while incorporating the Balance Board. I thought, ”Gee, I wish I knew that yesterday so I could have done that then.” Turns out I was wrong. There were some track stuff and lunges thrown in there to give the work out some balance.
The Balance Board workouts were Tennis—which I hate—and cardio dancing—which for some reason isn’t as fun. Again, I had sensor issues and my first Wii Accident since getting the system. During the tennis exercise, I hit the armrest of a chair that was closer to me than I though. I guess the next time I do those exercises I need to step farther back. Either way, the Balance Board didn’t register my lunges properly nor did it register my steps on and off the balance board during cardio dance.
Speaking of which, what the hell kind of dance move is “The Shopping Cart?” I looked at the on-screen people to see how to do it for the short time you are suppose to do it, and it didn’t look like any dance move I’ve seen before. And I’ve seen a lot of cheesy dance moves come out of this cardio dance exercise on YouTube.
Because I worked out yesterday during a break day, the journal is still encouraging me to take some time off. My next break is this Sunday, so I may actually listen to it. After all, my thighs are still about ready to explode.
Oh, and now weight change since yesterday. I'm still hovering over 159 lbs., which Wii Fit is calling Overweight for my height and age.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - The Break Day That Didn't Happen
Okay, I know I said I'd give Wii Fit some attention today, but the fact of the matter is my thighs still hurt from the days before. And since the bulk of what I do on Wii Fit involves the legs, I opted out of it for my own health. Ironic, no?
Strangely enough, Active gave me the option of taking a break, which was all over the Journal today, or actually doing the next workout session. Early in the morning, I decided to not bother with the program, much to the software's dislike. Talk about fickle! What does it want me to do? Take a break or not?!
But later today, I decided to create a custom workout that focused on my arms. They weren't burning yet, and I figure burning something is better than nothing as far as how today went. I mean, 20 minutes walking the dog? Not really a work out.
And Active let me perform this session. It even graded me for the day. And in case you are wondering, I didn't do very well, favoring only a 79% overall for the day. Why? Because I didn't meet the calorie burn goal for my custom work out. Who knew boxing the heavy bag 400 times in under two minutes would be so difficult?
The biggest surprise is how much my diet has changed in just two days. I work around soda and for the first time I didn't fill up on it. I work next to a hamburger grill, but instead of ordering my usual, I got something off of the healthy menu. I hope to make a habit out of this. It's bad enough the software keeps getting on my ass about not eating enough.
In other related news, my dad tried out the resistence band that came with Active. He said it doesn't give much resistence. I trolled the EA Forum set up for Active, and it appears he's not the only one that believes this. In fact, a lot of people are going out and buying better, more resistent bands to use. While it is a smart option to consider, I'm sticking with this one for now. Despite my first impressions, it's actually doing the job as advertised.
Strangely enough, Active gave me the option of taking a break, which was all over the Journal today, or actually doing the next workout session. Early in the morning, I decided to not bother with the program, much to the software's dislike. Talk about fickle! What does it want me to do? Take a break or not?!
But later today, I decided to create a custom workout that focused on my arms. They weren't burning yet, and I figure burning something is better than nothing as far as how today went. I mean, 20 minutes walking the dog? Not really a work out.
And Active let me perform this session. It even graded me for the day. And in case you are wondering, I didn't do very well, favoring only a 79% overall for the day. Why? Because I didn't meet the calorie burn goal for my custom work out. Who knew boxing the heavy bag 400 times in under two minutes would be so difficult?
The biggest surprise is how much my diet has changed in just two days. I work around soda and for the first time I didn't fill up on it. I work next to a hamburger grill, but instead of ordering my usual, I got something off of the healthy menu. I hope to make a habit out of this. It's bad enough the software keeps getting on my ass about not eating enough.
In other related news, my dad tried out the resistence band that came with Active. He said it doesn't give much resistence. I trolled the EA Forum set up for Active, and it appears he's not the only one that believes this. In fact, a lot of people are going out and buying better, more resistent bands to use. While it is a smart option to consider, I'm sticking with this one for now. Despite my first impressions, it's actually doing the job as advertised.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - Day 2
I knew I was going to feel it in the morning, and boy, did I. I lost a good three hours of sleep because I woke up with sore legs. But, as the cliche goes, "No pain, no gain."
So with sore legs and all, I hit the second day of the 30 Day Challenge. Today's workout was centered around limbs and strengthening them. It incorporated variations of exercises that was done the day before as well as including the sport I suck the worse at second only to Baseball. Tennis.
And it is there that I noticed some failing programing within the software. You can fail, and I did. I failed hard. None of the tennis balls coming my way hit the blue target on the other side of the court and my counter didn't go up at all. Both on the forehand and backhand strokes. Strangely enough, my calorie burn went up as normal.
But today should be a day of oddities. The Wii Remote failed to send a signal that said I was doing an exercise drill properly. Then, when I was signing out, I noticed that the battery life was already at 50%. And to top it off, my trainer today sounded like Greg Grunberg if he smoked several packs a day. Yesterday, he sounded like Duo from Gundam: Wing.
But the oddest thing was the fact that I burned more calories than projected but didn't sweat as much as I did. I somehow gained 2 pounds since yesterday, so this morning I was training at 158 lbs. The math said I would burn 112 calories with today's workout, but I ended up burning close to 130.
My journal was loaded with compliments on all my achievements from yesterday, as well as from today's work out. It's also the first time I've noticed how much of the workout takes up in your daily medal, which is about 50% of your daily score. But that's where the compliments end. My food survey said I need to eat more in general, as well as take in more fruits and veggies. The Outside Activity survey apparently scored me lower than yesterday by at least half due to some fine print I didn't notice where it recommends not recording any activity that wasn't done for at least 15 minutes at a time. Go figure.
Thankfully, I got a score of 81%, which is still a Gold Medal for the day. I even got a congrats video from Bob Greene for completing a fitness goal.
Tomorrow, the 30 Day Challenge is telling me to take a break. I think since that will be the case, I'll be spending some time with Wii Fit. Yeah, I know, I'm cheating on my outside activity survey, but walking Skippy for 20 minutes isn't really an intense activity.
So with sore legs and all, I hit the second day of the 30 Day Challenge. Today's workout was centered around limbs and strengthening them. It incorporated variations of exercises that was done the day before as well as including the sport I suck the worse at second only to Baseball. Tennis.
And it is there that I noticed some failing programing within the software. You can fail, and I did. I failed hard. None of the tennis balls coming my way hit the blue target on the other side of the court and my counter didn't go up at all. Both on the forehand and backhand strokes. Strangely enough, my calorie burn went up as normal.
But today should be a day of oddities. The Wii Remote failed to send a signal that said I was doing an exercise drill properly. Then, when I was signing out, I noticed that the battery life was already at 50%. And to top it off, my trainer today sounded like Greg Grunberg if he smoked several packs a day. Yesterday, he sounded like Duo from Gundam: Wing.
But the oddest thing was the fact that I burned more calories than projected but didn't sweat as much as I did. I somehow gained 2 pounds since yesterday, so this morning I was training at 158 lbs. The math said I would burn 112 calories with today's workout, but I ended up burning close to 130.
My journal was loaded with compliments on all my achievements from yesterday, as well as from today's work out. It's also the first time I've noticed how much of the workout takes up in your daily medal, which is about 50% of your daily score. But that's where the compliments end. My food survey said I need to eat more in general, as well as take in more fruits and veggies. The Outside Activity survey apparently scored me lower than yesterday by at least half due to some fine print I didn't notice where it recommends not recording any activity that wasn't done for at least 15 minutes at a time. Go figure.
Thankfully, I got a score of 81%, which is still a Gold Medal for the day. I even got a congrats video from Bob Greene for completing a fitness goal.
Tomorrow, the 30 Day Challenge is telling me to take a break. I think since that will be the case, I'll be spending some time with Wii Fit. Yeah, I know, I'm cheating on my outside activity survey, but walking Skippy for 20 minutes isn't really an intense activity.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
EA SPORTS Active's 30 Day Challenge - The First Day
Originally, I was going to do a comparison review of Active against Wii Fit, but I figured blogging on a daily basis during the product's 30 Day Challenge would be better. It's also going to be the only series of posts I'll tag for this blog for easy searching.
To start off, this product is hardly a game. The marketing team from EA was right in saying it is a personal trainer in a box. What they don't tell you is that there is some assembly required. Though simple, it is kind of slap in the face to the ill prepared that just wants to jump right into the program.
After all the physical set up is done, I fired up the Wii and was prompted to create a profile. It asked for the same things that Wii Fit asked for. Age, height, gender, but I had to input the weight myself. The product is designed so that it is compatible with the Balance Board but isn't needed. As such, there's no "scale" feature for you to utilize if you don't own a bathroom scale of your own. It's because of this that I've installed the Wii Fit Channel and placed it next to the Disc Channel. That way I can remember to weight myself every day and update Active's profile for me when appropriate. Apparently even one pound in either direction causes a different calculation of calorie burn for the workouts. Go figure math would be involved.
Oh, and today I weight in at 156 lbs.
Alright. Main Menu. It makes sense here, the biggest button here is the Journal where all your information will be saved and recorded. They want you to go there first, so it is the biggest button on the screen. Second biggest is the 30 Day Challenge, which makes total sense. Third is the Preset & Custom Workout button, with the smallest going to the Settings and (much to my surprise) an Info button that essentially functions as an online manual.
The Settings menu is fairly limited. Check to see if you have a Wii Balance Board and if you want to use it or not in your workouts. Create a custom playlist of music that came with the game so that you have something more pleasurable to listen to while you are working out. You can even review tutorial videos for exercises you've done in case you forgot or are bored.
The Preset & Custom Workouts are for those that don't want to do the 30 Day Challenge but still want to work out. You are presented with a slew of options ranging from both easy and hard settings that run the gambit of a 15 minute work out to a whole hour! Surprisingly, you can even access the various 30 Day Challenge lists in all three of their difficulty settings. If you have a favorite set of exercises or you can't find the workout that's right for you, you have the option of creating one. All of the events are unlocked from the start of the game, so no need to play through the 30 Day Challenge (although, I think that kind of helps get you familiar with the program). Simply click on what you want to do and a nifty little bar at the bottom will tell you how effective your workout is. For example, I created a 10 minute demo for my mom that will only burn 50 calories by the end of the session. Very low impact and very short. You know, to gently usher her in.
In any event, the big chunk of meat of this product is the 30 Day Challenge. And the bulk of this series of blog entries.
On your first day, you are given a special video from EA SPORT Active's celebrity sponsor Bob Greene. You know, Oprah's personal trainer? He pretty much gives you some words of encouragement as you start your 30 Day Challenge and hopes you end up living a healthier lifestyle by the end of it all. You then pick the gender of your personal trainer, the intensity of your workout, and what kind of music you want playing in the background while you work out. Don't know why that is an option, but that's probably because I'm paying more attention to the trainer's audio than I am to the background music.
From there, Active takes care of the rest. You are given a 20 minute workout for that day with a goal to meet by the end of the session. Today's goal was to burn 96 calories. Today's session also included the Wii Balance Board, which was a nice first day introduction, if you ask me.
My session began with a warm up of walking, running, and then doing some squats. We then went on to doing some kick boxing and then some inline skating simulations, both of which used the Balance Board. From there we went on to doing some side lunges, bicep curls, and low rowing pulls. The last two on that list involved the supplied resistance band, which out of the package smells like dental floss. From there, we cycled back around to boxing and ended with a jog around the track.
When all was said and done, I actually burned more than what was projected for the session with two minutes to spare. The data was recorded on my Journal, which then was promptly filled with positive feedback about how impressive I performed.
I was then prompted to fill out the various lifestyle surveys in the journal in order to be rewarded a daily medal. These surveys appear to be nothing but a way to keep track of your personal habits like how much sleep you are getting or how many glasses of water you drink verse sodas. It also records and scores you on your outside activities such as walking the dog or the time you spent in yoga class. This was kind of surprise to me, as it gave me a reason to still use Wii Fit. And with the summer weather being as it is right now, getting 20 minutes of walking in won't be a problem until Fall rolls around. The only downside to these surveys is that it asks you about YESTERDAY's events. Who knew that having a good memory was part of being healthy?
According to whatever mystical math this product uses, I scored 88% on today. That score was high enough to get a Gold Medal and even more positive feedback added to my journal.
Tomorrow should be interesting. My trainer said we'll be doing lateral exercises as well as upping the exercises I apparently excelled at today.
To start off, this product is hardly a game. The marketing team from EA was right in saying it is a personal trainer in a box. What they don't tell you is that there is some assembly required. Though simple, it is kind of slap in the face to the ill prepared that just wants to jump right into the program.
After all the physical set up is done, I fired up the Wii and was prompted to create a profile. It asked for the same things that Wii Fit asked for. Age, height, gender, but I had to input the weight myself. The product is designed so that it is compatible with the Balance Board but isn't needed. As such, there's no "scale" feature for you to utilize if you don't own a bathroom scale of your own. It's because of this that I've installed the Wii Fit Channel and placed it next to the Disc Channel. That way I can remember to weight myself every day and update Active's profile for me when appropriate. Apparently even one pound in either direction causes a different calculation of calorie burn for the workouts. Go figure math would be involved.
Oh, and today I weight in at 156 lbs.
Alright. Main Menu. It makes sense here, the biggest button here is the Journal where all your information will be saved and recorded. They want you to go there first, so it is the biggest button on the screen. Second biggest is the 30 Day Challenge, which makes total sense. Third is the Preset & Custom Workout button, with the smallest going to the Settings and (much to my surprise) an Info button that essentially functions as an online manual.
The Settings menu is fairly limited. Check to see if you have a Wii Balance Board and if you want to use it or not in your workouts. Create a custom playlist of music that came with the game so that you have something more pleasurable to listen to while you are working out. You can even review tutorial videos for exercises you've done in case you forgot or are bored.
The Preset & Custom Workouts are for those that don't want to do the 30 Day Challenge but still want to work out. You are presented with a slew of options ranging from both easy and hard settings that run the gambit of a 15 minute work out to a whole hour! Surprisingly, you can even access the various 30 Day Challenge lists in all three of their difficulty settings. If you have a favorite set of exercises or you can't find the workout that's right for you, you have the option of creating one. All of the events are unlocked from the start of the game, so no need to play through the 30 Day Challenge (although, I think that kind of helps get you familiar with the program). Simply click on what you want to do and a nifty little bar at the bottom will tell you how effective your workout is. For example, I created a 10 minute demo for my mom that will only burn 50 calories by the end of the session. Very low impact and very short. You know, to gently usher her in.
In any event, the big chunk of meat of this product is the 30 Day Challenge. And the bulk of this series of blog entries.
On your first day, you are given a special video from EA SPORT Active's celebrity sponsor Bob Greene. You know, Oprah's personal trainer? He pretty much gives you some words of encouragement as you start your 30 Day Challenge and hopes you end up living a healthier lifestyle by the end of it all. You then pick the gender of your personal trainer, the intensity of your workout, and what kind of music you want playing in the background while you work out. Don't know why that is an option, but that's probably because I'm paying more attention to the trainer's audio than I am to the background music.
From there, Active takes care of the rest. You are given a 20 minute workout for that day with a goal to meet by the end of the session. Today's goal was to burn 96 calories. Today's session also included the Wii Balance Board, which was a nice first day introduction, if you ask me.
My session began with a warm up of walking, running, and then doing some squats. We then went on to doing some kick boxing and then some inline skating simulations, both of which used the Balance Board. From there we went on to doing some side lunges, bicep curls, and low rowing pulls. The last two on that list involved the supplied resistance band, which out of the package smells like dental floss. From there, we cycled back around to boxing and ended with a jog around the track.
When all was said and done, I actually burned more than what was projected for the session with two minutes to spare. The data was recorded on my Journal, which then was promptly filled with positive feedback about how impressive I performed.
I was then prompted to fill out the various lifestyle surveys in the journal in order to be rewarded a daily medal. These surveys appear to be nothing but a way to keep track of your personal habits like how much sleep you are getting or how many glasses of water you drink verse sodas. It also records and scores you on your outside activities such as walking the dog or the time you spent in yoga class. This was kind of surprise to me, as it gave me a reason to still use Wii Fit. And with the summer weather being as it is right now, getting 20 minutes of walking in won't be a problem until Fall rolls around. The only downside to these surveys is that it asks you about YESTERDAY's events. Who knew that having a good memory was part of being healthy?
According to whatever mystical math this product uses, I scored 88% on today. That score was high enough to get a Gold Medal and even more positive feedback added to my journal.
Tomorrow should be interesting. My trainer said we'll be doing lateral exercises as well as upping the exercises I apparently excelled at today.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The Untapped Potential of the iPhone/iPod Touch app Remote
Last week, my family and I (FINALLY) had a meal at The Aquarium over at OpryMills. This has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, mostly because of how strangely attracted I am to water. (It’s a star-sign thing.) While having dinner there, we heard several tracks of music play over their dining room that we actually liked. It was at this point that I had an idea related to my iPod.
The origins of this idea date back several weeks before this dinner. I downloaded a free application for my iPod called Remote. It was suggested I get this application now that iTunes 8 has the option of being able to be controlled remotely from iPhones and iPods with this application. It actually helped me out greatly, because now I don’t have to get up from the dinner table to skip a track that my parents don’t want to listen to. You know, on those rare nights were I can actually play my MP3s because they actually found a collection of tracks that I have that they like.
Probably the best feature I like about Remote is the fact that it will tell you what is currently playing when you first launch it. This is especially useful for those tracks you like but don’t know the title or artist playing it. All you do is fire it up and your iPod/iPhone displays the information right there for you to take note of. This feature is what I wish I could have used in The Aquarium a week ago when the three of us heard a track all of us liked. If I had my iPod on me and if The Aquarium’s audio system was Remote-compatible, I would have found out what was being played.
An interesting feature that I’ve been playing with is the Request a Song option that you can open up in Remote if you or another person has the iTunes DJ playlist open. Just as the feature suggests, you can request a song to be played and iTunes will update the playlist to feature that song. As an added bonus, the music library’s owner has the option of allowing people to vote for songs. The most requested/voted song gets higher priority on the upcoming selection of songs until what is currently playing ends. The request then starts playing, and the whole process repeats itself. When no request is made, iTunes DJ just goes into its normal shuffle mode.
When you combine these two features together, you have a very interesting marketing potential for places like Starbucks or Panera Bread. I know Starbucks often will sell CDs, but they also have free wi-fi internet. As such, they could have an iTunes library that features tracks from those CDs on it that would play over their dining room. Customers with an iPod/iPhone with Remote could use it to check out what’s playing from those CDs, listen to tracks from them that they may be curious about, and hopefully like the music enough to buy it to import into their own iTunes collection.
The economic synergy of this idea can be pushed even further when you think about it from another angle. In order to have control over what music plays in your dining room, you need to have an iPod/iPhone with Remote. Which would increase sales of iPods and iPhones. And the more restaurants that feature Remote Controlled dining room audio, the better the dining experience is for the customer, which could mean a bigger tip for the waiter/waitress if it is that kind of establishment.
I mean, imagine this scenario. You go to a restaurant that has some rather loud dining audio and the hostess says in her spiel that their dining audio is accessible through an iPhone with Remote. You can make a request and keep an eye on the line up to know when it will play. You take a look at their selection and notice a track or artist you like and request it. While you are waiting for your food, the track plays. And then say you like what you heard. You ask the waiter if you could buy the album that featured the track you just heard, showing him the album cover on your iPhone. And then he replies that he will bring a copy out for you to purchase along with your check. How awesome would that be?
I hope someone for Apple stumbles across this blog entry and actually goes through with this idea. If it isn’t already in the works. I see a great untapped potential for this application and its simple features.
The origins of this idea date back several weeks before this dinner. I downloaded a free application for my iPod called Remote. It was suggested I get this application now that iTunes 8 has the option of being able to be controlled remotely from iPhones and iPods with this application. It actually helped me out greatly, because now I don’t have to get up from the dinner table to skip a track that my parents don’t want to listen to. You know, on those rare nights were I can actually play my MP3s because they actually found a collection of tracks that I have that they like.
Probably the best feature I like about Remote is the fact that it will tell you what is currently playing when you first launch it. This is especially useful for those tracks you like but don’t know the title or artist playing it. All you do is fire it up and your iPod/iPhone displays the information right there for you to take note of. This feature is what I wish I could have used in The Aquarium a week ago when the three of us heard a track all of us liked. If I had my iPod on me and if The Aquarium’s audio system was Remote-compatible, I would have found out what was being played.
An interesting feature that I’ve been playing with is the Request a Song option that you can open up in Remote if you or another person has the iTunes DJ playlist open. Just as the feature suggests, you can request a song to be played and iTunes will update the playlist to feature that song. As an added bonus, the music library’s owner has the option of allowing people to vote for songs. The most requested/voted song gets higher priority on the upcoming selection of songs until what is currently playing ends. The request then starts playing, and the whole process repeats itself. When no request is made, iTunes DJ just goes into its normal shuffle mode.
When you combine these two features together, you have a very interesting marketing potential for places like Starbucks or Panera Bread. I know Starbucks often will sell CDs, but they also have free wi-fi internet. As such, they could have an iTunes library that features tracks from those CDs on it that would play over their dining room. Customers with an iPod/iPhone with Remote could use it to check out what’s playing from those CDs, listen to tracks from them that they may be curious about, and hopefully like the music enough to buy it to import into their own iTunes collection.
The economic synergy of this idea can be pushed even further when you think about it from another angle. In order to have control over what music plays in your dining room, you need to have an iPod/iPhone with Remote. Which would increase sales of iPods and iPhones. And the more restaurants that feature Remote Controlled dining room audio, the better the dining experience is for the customer, which could mean a bigger tip for the waiter/waitress if it is that kind of establishment.
I mean, imagine this scenario. You go to a restaurant that has some rather loud dining audio and the hostess says in her spiel that their dining audio is accessible through an iPhone with Remote. You can make a request and keep an eye on the line up to know when it will play. You take a look at their selection and notice a track or artist you like and request it. While you are waiting for your food, the track plays. And then say you like what you heard. You ask the waiter if you could buy the album that featured the track you just heard, showing him the album cover on your iPhone. And then he replies that he will bring a copy out for you to purchase along with your check. How awesome would that be?
I hope someone for Apple stumbles across this blog entry and actually goes through with this idea. If it isn’t already in the works. I see a great untapped potential for this application and its simple features.
Friday, May 15, 2009
$5 Towards TellTale Games on Me
Use the following code to get $5 off any TellTale Game item in their store to help them celebrate their 5th year in business.
FED-TVL-B2Z-WR7
This company is responsible for putting out classice adventure game titles like Sam & Max and recently the Strongbad series. Most of these games only cost less than $10 to begin with, so it's a pretty sweet deal.
As a member of that site and a regular customer, I can tell you right now you won't be disappointed with their products even if you are not that big into games. Try it out. I mean, hell, I just gave you $5, for crying out loud!
FED-TVL-B2Z-WR7
This company is responsible for putting out classice adventure game titles like Sam & Max and recently the Strongbad series. Most of these games only cost less than $10 to begin with, so it's a pretty sweet deal.
As a member of that site and a regular customer, I can tell you right now you won't be disappointed with their products even if you are not that big into games. Try it out. I mean, hell, I just gave you $5, for crying out loud!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
How Online RPGs Screwed Up My Consumer Sense
For those that don’t play online RPGs or any kind of online games that involve a community, item collecting, and rare treasures, let me educate you for a moment. These games all have one thing in common: rare items. These items are not like the rare items you would normally come across in offline RPGs where you are pretty much promised to come across it if you play long enough or are lucky enough. No, these items are items that you can get for a set timeline—most commonly for about a month—and then after that set timeline is up, the item goes away. When they go away, those that bought them or acquired them will no doubt hold on to them with the vain hope their price will go up. Owning a discontinued item is a very exciting investment.
In an online role-playing game only.
In real life, rare items don’t really lend themselves very much to exciting investments anymore. Oh, sure, you could use comic books as examples, but that market bubble popped a long time ago. The only ones worth anything any more are well over 50 years old and so rare they are spoken like legends themselves. Disney has been known to pull this trick every so often, but whenever they need a buck, those DVD reissues that they “threw back into the vault” come out again. But what about those items that have been discontinued by the manufacturer for whatever reasons those may be? Those obscure collector’s items that geeks like myself try to acquire and keep shrink wrapped are often sought after to the point of personal bankruptcy.
Which leads me nicely to my little epiphany I had just now. I was adding something to my Amazon Wish List when I noticed one of Samurai Jack season DVDs has been discontinued. I fearfully looked to see the alternative buying options only to fear potentially being conned into buying a bootleg copy… again. And in that panic, it suddenly dawned on me. The reason I wanted that item in the first place wasn’t because I was a fan of the series and wanted to relive it. It was to study the art style. But I already had a DVD that fit that role just fine, so why did I need the entire set?
See, this is where the collector in me will start yelling and screaming with illogical reasons as to why I would want the entire set. Yes, it’s nice to have the entire series of stories to relive and revisit whenever I’m feeling nostalgic, but in the end, what I was looking at was something I didn’t really enjoy to the point where I’d seek it out in its entirety. Which is sad given the fact that I love Samurai Jack but found their stories rather hit and miss. At least with the Batman: The Animated Series collection, I knew I would enjoy every story they put out, even the bad ones. It’s also why I haven’t bothered looking into the Justice League collection since I only like a handful of episodes and not the entire series. And yet here I am still waiting on Animaniacs vol. 4 just because I love the show and its nonsensical humor that is not only dated but still able to stand the test of time.
I guess part of me just wants to hold on to something from the past like a photo album. I know another part of me wants certain things so that I can show them to other people in the future, hence why I have some Queer Cinema titles on there that I need to buy the moment they become widely available. But the rest of the stuff on there as far as my entertainment goes is pure nostalgia. It won’t bring me any kind of good short of being able to relive a happier time in my life that doesn’t exist anymore save for the vague memories of that time.
So the smart consumer in me came out and looked at my wish list and deleted that which served no real purpose or things that I wouldn’t miss. It actually freed up several hundreds of dollars I could have potentially spend. But looking back on it all, I can’t help but wonder why I was behaving that way in the first place. Why did I want so many items where I already got what I wanted out of them?
I’ll tell you why. It’s because of the behavioral trait I picked up playing online games where there was an emphases on collecting rare goods in the hope of being able to make a profit out of it. And sadly, those days are over in the real world, thanks to mass production.
I really need to get back in touch with reality. Living a cyber life 80% of the time is proving to be damaging to the little exposure of reality I get in my daily life now.
In an online role-playing game only.
In real life, rare items don’t really lend themselves very much to exciting investments anymore. Oh, sure, you could use comic books as examples, but that market bubble popped a long time ago. The only ones worth anything any more are well over 50 years old and so rare they are spoken like legends themselves. Disney has been known to pull this trick every so often, but whenever they need a buck, those DVD reissues that they “threw back into the vault” come out again. But what about those items that have been discontinued by the manufacturer for whatever reasons those may be? Those obscure collector’s items that geeks like myself try to acquire and keep shrink wrapped are often sought after to the point of personal bankruptcy.
Which leads me nicely to my little epiphany I had just now. I was adding something to my Amazon Wish List when I noticed one of Samurai Jack season DVDs has been discontinued. I fearfully looked to see the alternative buying options only to fear potentially being conned into buying a bootleg copy… again. And in that panic, it suddenly dawned on me. The reason I wanted that item in the first place wasn’t because I was a fan of the series and wanted to relive it. It was to study the art style. But I already had a DVD that fit that role just fine, so why did I need the entire set?
See, this is where the collector in me will start yelling and screaming with illogical reasons as to why I would want the entire set. Yes, it’s nice to have the entire series of stories to relive and revisit whenever I’m feeling nostalgic, but in the end, what I was looking at was something I didn’t really enjoy to the point where I’d seek it out in its entirety. Which is sad given the fact that I love Samurai Jack but found their stories rather hit and miss. At least with the Batman: The Animated Series collection, I knew I would enjoy every story they put out, even the bad ones. It’s also why I haven’t bothered looking into the Justice League collection since I only like a handful of episodes and not the entire series. And yet here I am still waiting on Animaniacs vol. 4 just because I love the show and its nonsensical humor that is not only dated but still able to stand the test of time.
I guess part of me just wants to hold on to something from the past like a photo album. I know another part of me wants certain things so that I can show them to other people in the future, hence why I have some Queer Cinema titles on there that I need to buy the moment they become widely available. But the rest of the stuff on there as far as my entertainment goes is pure nostalgia. It won’t bring me any kind of good short of being able to relive a happier time in my life that doesn’t exist anymore save for the vague memories of that time.
So the smart consumer in me came out and looked at my wish list and deleted that which served no real purpose or things that I wouldn’t miss. It actually freed up several hundreds of dollars I could have potentially spend. But looking back on it all, I can’t help but wonder why I was behaving that way in the first place. Why did I want so many items where I already got what I wanted out of them?
I’ll tell you why. It’s because of the behavioral trait I picked up playing online games where there was an emphases on collecting rare goods in the hope of being able to make a profit out of it. And sadly, those days are over in the real world, thanks to mass production.
I really need to get back in touch with reality. Living a cyber life 80% of the time is proving to be damaging to the little exposure of reality I get in my daily life now.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Changes?
First off, I am alive. I've just been very busy.
Second, I'm considering taking this blog in a very different direction. My blog on Spill and on Gaia has a focal point where I can talk about a subject that actually pertains to that particular group that it is exposed to, what little there are that read it. I've always considered this blog to be a place where I can rant and let my emotions run wild. As healthy as that is for me psychologically, it's not doing me a lick of good when nothing is happening that warrents ranting like a loon.
I'm considering just utilizing this blog as a way to express my inner geek instead of joining another community site to talk about video games I'm playing or art. Spill is for movies, Gaia is for... well, Gaia, and my Spore blog is for Spore. Hell, I have a photo blog I need to update.
I don't know. We'll see what happens in the future.
Second, I'm considering taking this blog in a very different direction. My blog on Spill and on Gaia has a focal point where I can talk about a subject that actually pertains to that particular group that it is exposed to, what little there are that read it. I've always considered this blog to be a place where I can rant and let my emotions run wild. As healthy as that is for me psychologically, it's not doing me a lick of good when nothing is happening that warrents ranting like a loon.
I'm considering just utilizing this blog as a way to express my inner geek instead of joining another community site to talk about video games I'm playing or art. Spill is for movies, Gaia is for... well, Gaia, and my Spore blog is for Spore. Hell, I have a photo blog I need to update.
I don't know. We'll see what happens in the future.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I Feel Old
According to Wikipedia, the following events took place today (aka my birthday):
1889 - The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated.
1918 - Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
1930 - The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next thirty eight years.
1968 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not run for re-election.
1970 - Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere (after 12 years in orbit).
1985 - The first Wrestlemania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE, takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York.
1998 - Netscape releases the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement; the project is given the code name Mozilla and would eventually be spun off into the non-profit Mozilla Foundation.
2008 - Aloha Airlines, a bankrupt airline, permanently ends passenger service
Sharing my birthday today are...
1596 - René Descartes, French mathematician (d. 1650)
1675 - Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758)
1878 - Jack Johnson, American boxer (d. 1946)
1885 - Pascin, Bulgarian painter (d. 1930)
1948 - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1965 - Steven T. Seagle, American comic-book writer
1889 - The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated.
1918 - Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
1930 - The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next thirty eight years.
1968 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not run for re-election.
1970 - Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere (after 12 years in orbit).
1985 - The first Wrestlemania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE, takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York.
1998 - Netscape releases the code base of its browser under an open-source license agreement; the project is given the code name Mozilla and would eventually be spun off into the non-profit Mozilla Foundation.
2008 - Aloha Airlines, a bankrupt airline, permanently ends passenger service
Sharing my birthday today are...
1596 - René Descartes, French mathematician (d. 1650)
1675 - Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758)
1878 - Jack Johnson, American boxer (d. 1946)
1885 - Pascin, Bulgarian painter (d. 1930)
1948 - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1965 - Steven T. Seagle, American comic-book writer
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Driving Me Insane
What is it about me and bettering myself that causes me to be so hypocritical? No more than an hour ago, I was talking to a co-worker who, for the first time since I-don’t-remember-when, made the rhetoric about driving make sense to the point where I said to myself “That’s it. I need to do this now or I’ll never be any better.” And now? I’m googling tips to overcome my fear of driving only to learn that every tip I find I’ve done but hasn’t helped. I mean, I’ve tried everything short of taking a seminar on the subject!
The only tip that has worked that I’ve found is the driving buddy tip. If I can find someone who I feel safe with in the car, it could lessen the fear. To date, only Jason has proven to be that person. My folks make me feel uneasy, and all my friends are long gone or I fell out of contact with them. Hell, I’m not even sure I feel comfortable driving them anywhere if only to better myself.
I think the thing I need to get over first is this self-defeating nature of mine. Actually feel confident that I can get something done. Something big. Maybe then I can actually do these things.
I don’t know. Maybe I’ve gone crazy. The fact of the matter is something in that conversation made sense to me. And now I find myself at an impasse that needs to be addressed now and not later.
And to think we started this conversation by me asking him how he gets into the creative mood so that I could have a pool of suggestions to get some artistic projects done.
The only tip that has worked that I’ve found is the driving buddy tip. If I can find someone who I feel safe with in the car, it could lessen the fear. To date, only Jason has proven to be that person. My folks make me feel uneasy, and all my friends are long gone or I fell out of contact with them. Hell, I’m not even sure I feel comfortable driving them anywhere if only to better myself.
I think the thing I need to get over first is this self-defeating nature of mine. Actually feel confident that I can get something done. Something big. Maybe then I can actually do these things.
I don’t know. Maybe I’ve gone crazy. The fact of the matter is something in that conversation made sense to me. And now I find myself at an impasse that needs to be addressed now and not later.
And to think we started this conversation by me asking him how he gets into the creative mood so that I could have a pool of suggestions to get some artistic projects done.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Feeling like Dr. Manhattan
For reasons unknown, I pulled out my high school year book and Googled someone's name I was thinking about. Found a facebook profile that I wasn't sure about, but looking at the friends pretty much confirmed it was who I was looking for. Their names, all familiar. Their faces, mature and grown.
I don't know what's wrong this time, but I feel as if my life is breaking down. It's almost undetectable. I think it may be due to the fact that I'm so good at faking a smile now that I'm starting to fool myself into thinking things are all right. A large part of me is wondering what life would have been like if I did things differently. I think this is what they call regret, but I've grown so far away from anything that could be called human that I'm starting to feel more and more dead inside.
Recently, a guest at work tried to hire me away. He liked how personal I was with him while sticking to the script. One thing lead to another, and I guess I impressed him a little. When I came home that day, I didn't think much of it. In fact, as happy as my folks sounded when I told them story, I didn't feel anything. I faked my happiness just as well as I faked the smile I gave the guest earlier that day.
I have no motivation any more. I have a half-completed apology zine that needs to be attended to. I have a check to be deposited and college programs to look into. Even the looming pressure to learn to drive a car on my own and overcome that fear has been boiled down to a numbing sensation that can only be described as inconsequential.
I look at porn everyday, often while my family is on the other side of the room in an area were they cannot see what I'm looking at. However, I bet they've seen me quickly scrolling pass the images when I remember they are in the room. I've been masturbating at least once a day since Valentine's Day, causing me to make a conscious effort to not find time to do it over the course of a day. And with so much porn being viewed daily, I'm not even sure what stimulates me any more. Males? Females? Muscles? Tattoos? Mature? Young? Hairy? Smooth? Big butts? Blonds? Brunettes? Blacks? Whites? Russians? Europeans?
I have become the living definition of indifference. Cold, emotionless, and mechanical. What little bit of humanity that was left in me is now reserved only for nostalgia, regret, and a lust towards the things in life that I've missed out on experiencing. Jason would call this stagnation. My teacher in high school would call it depression. My parents call it being lazy.
To be perfectly honest, I wish someone would just come along and rescue me like in the movies. Someone good looking and kind and an all-around great person with practically no flaws. But I'm not living in a movie. I just work for them. And while I'm working, I have to make sure to exceed guest's expectations by giving a great performance. Even if that means faking a smile because I'm emotionally dead inside.
I don't know what's wrong this time, but I feel as if my life is breaking down. It's almost undetectable. I think it may be due to the fact that I'm so good at faking a smile now that I'm starting to fool myself into thinking things are all right. A large part of me is wondering what life would have been like if I did things differently. I think this is what they call regret, but I've grown so far away from anything that could be called human that I'm starting to feel more and more dead inside.
Recently, a guest at work tried to hire me away. He liked how personal I was with him while sticking to the script. One thing lead to another, and I guess I impressed him a little. When I came home that day, I didn't think much of it. In fact, as happy as my folks sounded when I told them story, I didn't feel anything. I faked my happiness just as well as I faked the smile I gave the guest earlier that day.
I have no motivation any more. I have a half-completed apology zine that needs to be attended to. I have a check to be deposited and college programs to look into. Even the looming pressure to learn to drive a car on my own and overcome that fear has been boiled down to a numbing sensation that can only be described as inconsequential.
I look at porn everyday, often while my family is on the other side of the room in an area were they cannot see what I'm looking at. However, I bet they've seen me quickly scrolling pass the images when I remember they are in the room. I've been masturbating at least once a day since Valentine's Day, causing me to make a conscious effort to not find time to do it over the course of a day. And with so much porn being viewed daily, I'm not even sure what stimulates me any more. Males? Females? Muscles? Tattoos? Mature? Young? Hairy? Smooth? Big butts? Blonds? Brunettes? Blacks? Whites? Russians? Europeans?
I have become the living definition of indifference. Cold, emotionless, and mechanical. What little bit of humanity that was left in me is now reserved only for nostalgia, regret, and a lust towards the things in life that I've missed out on experiencing. Jason would call this stagnation. My teacher in high school would call it depression. My parents call it being lazy.
To be perfectly honest, I wish someone would just come along and rescue me like in the movies. Someone good looking and kind and an all-around great person with practically no flaws. But I'm not living in a movie. I just work for them. And while I'm working, I have to make sure to exceed guest's expectations by giving a great performance. Even if that means faking a smile because I'm emotionally dead inside.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Disney's Gay Little Secret
I joined a new social networking site which main core is actually a movie review site. As such, I posted my own little take on High School Musical's closeted gay character. You can read it here.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Color Purple
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Monday, February 23, 2009
The End
A series of events has caused my usual Post-Valentine's Day slump to turn into an all-out depression. One that, apparently, I'm able to hide very well at work. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the job any easier. If anything, work is now my distraction from life, replacing school which used to have that slot.
I never really talked about this much, but for a long time, I would have reoccurring dreams about school or set in a school. They were always very strange symbolic dreams. I would get lost on my way to a class or I would find that my knees would give out under the weight of the books I was carrying. The strangest yet most common one was a dream I had where I couldn't find my gym shirt only to look down and see that I suddenly had it on.
These dreams stopped once I entered college. They were replaced by that level of deep sleep that doesn't trigger the dream cycle of the brain.
Recently, a new reoccurring dream has been making itself known. Same type of dream only the setting has changed to the work place. The only common thread between the ones I can remember is that there are no customer interaction in them. They all have to do with the people I work around or under. And recently, there has been this underlying sense that I am to be stuck in the position that I find myself in.
Like I said at the beginning of this, a lot of things have happened to me that has triggered a serious depression. I can't find anyone to talk to that has the time. E-mailing people that know me very well has proven impersonal if not unimpactful. Very few people actually know me, yet it is easier for me to just lay it all out there on this blog for everyone to see. This is my default when I have no one to turn to.
The list of problems are ones that several people are already familiar with: driving, not living on my own, being single when I don't want to be, etc. In the comfort of my room, I've caught myself talking to myself and finally admitting what is going on inside my head that has prevented me to do any of those things that would help me grow as a person.
I'm afraid. I'm afraid to live life. That merman picture I did for my thesis show illustrating that has become more truthful now than it was when it was hung for the show. I can't bring myself to take risks.
I'm afraid of driving. The idea of being in control of this machine that could kill both myself and several other people scares the hell out of me. The responsibilities that come with it such as gas and insurance and being a safe driver in general make me paranoid about not living up to expectations. Even the media has affected my perception on the type of car I would drive, making me very insecure about what little self-image I have left. (Which, at this point, is my ever-complimented pony tail. Seriously, that's the only thing that gets me compliments from women who think it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen.) Being behind the wheel of Jason's car during his last summer in town was the most difficult thing I had to do. Confronting your fear normally is. And despite all the hard work and time he sacrificed for me, I failed him because of the fact that I'm that afraid of driving. The only thing that helped me was the fact that he was there and trying to help me. Once he gave me that assignment to try and do something driving related on my own, the fear struck up louder than a marching band at half-time at a high school football game. Now that he's gone to the west coast to live his own life, I don't really have anyone to fill that role.
What about my folks? Those busy bodies whose only free time is when I'm away working at the movie theatre? Do I even need to answer that? My days off happen when they are working, and vice-versa. In fact, my mom wants to see a movie but she refuses to see it when I'm working despite the fact she can get in for free while I'm on the clock. Yet she has no problem going to have lunch at my sister's work while she (my sister) is working... when she's in town, that is. And I can't exactly request the weekends off; that's when the movie theatre needs as many people as they can get.
Speaking of which, as far as being single and hating it, I'm learning the hard way that work is not the best place to be googly-eying over every attractive guy that walks into the building. Unfortunately, I'm on the verge of making that mistake for the second time and is trying my damnest not to go there. But it just gets more and more difficult every day. I found myself struck dumb one day when a really attractive brunette walked to the Box Office and in his moderately deep voice asked for a ticket for Milk with a smile that made me melt. And there was something in his eyes that, for the first time, actually set of my gay-dar in the proper direction. But this is a no-no at work. The quickest way to get fired is to hit on the paying customers. (Actually, the quickest way to get fired is to aggressively hit on a co-worker, which is something I almost would have been charged with if I didn't work things out before it got too big for me to handle.)
There's a scene in The Wrestler where Rouke's character missed a dinner date with his daughter only to have the shit hit the fans at light speed. It ends with her saying something along the lines of that Rouke's character is broken. He's always been broken, and trying to fix things just makes it worse for everyone. She likes him being broken, and tells him with tears of anger and hate that there's nothing wrong with him being, essentially, a fuck up. In fact, she would prefer it over his efforts to reconnect with his daughter.
It's time to just come out clean. I'm not going to get anywhere in life. I'm too afraid to do the things that will help me grow. I'm unwilling to do them by myself despite the ever-growing need to do so. I'm at a point in my life where if I don't do these things now, I'll be fucked for the rest of my life. But the sad reality of the situation is I can't. Or maybe in the eyes of some, I simply won't. I need someone to hold my hand and baby me through these things no matter how long it takes, but I know that will never happen again. I had a taste of this rare gem of compassion, but other factors came into play and it was cut short for me. So is life.
I can't really live life in fear of the things so many teenagers look forward to do. I can't settle for stagnation or co-dependency in a culture that frowns on it or makes fun of it in movies and TV shows. Nor can I live with myself if I discover that my situation is now the main plot of an episode of Monk or the latest summer raunchy comedy film.
I can't live my life like this anymore. But I'm too afraid to do anything about it. All I do is complain about it to a public that doesn't appear to be listening.
I can't do this anymore. I'm not strong enough.
I never really talked about this much, but for a long time, I would have reoccurring dreams about school or set in a school. They were always very strange symbolic dreams. I would get lost on my way to a class or I would find that my knees would give out under the weight of the books I was carrying. The strangest yet most common one was a dream I had where I couldn't find my gym shirt only to look down and see that I suddenly had it on.
These dreams stopped once I entered college. They were replaced by that level of deep sleep that doesn't trigger the dream cycle of the brain.
Recently, a new reoccurring dream has been making itself known. Same type of dream only the setting has changed to the work place. The only common thread between the ones I can remember is that there are no customer interaction in them. They all have to do with the people I work around or under. And recently, there has been this underlying sense that I am to be stuck in the position that I find myself in.
Like I said at the beginning of this, a lot of things have happened to me that has triggered a serious depression. I can't find anyone to talk to that has the time. E-mailing people that know me very well has proven impersonal if not unimpactful. Very few people actually know me, yet it is easier for me to just lay it all out there on this blog for everyone to see. This is my default when I have no one to turn to.
The list of problems are ones that several people are already familiar with: driving, not living on my own, being single when I don't want to be, etc. In the comfort of my room, I've caught myself talking to myself and finally admitting what is going on inside my head that has prevented me to do any of those things that would help me grow as a person.
I'm afraid. I'm afraid to live life. That merman picture I did for my thesis show illustrating that has become more truthful now than it was when it was hung for the show. I can't bring myself to take risks.
I'm afraid of driving. The idea of being in control of this machine that could kill both myself and several other people scares the hell out of me. The responsibilities that come with it such as gas and insurance and being a safe driver in general make me paranoid about not living up to expectations. Even the media has affected my perception on the type of car I would drive, making me very insecure about what little self-image I have left. (Which, at this point, is my ever-complimented pony tail. Seriously, that's the only thing that gets me compliments from women who think it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen.) Being behind the wheel of Jason's car during his last summer in town was the most difficult thing I had to do. Confronting your fear normally is. And despite all the hard work and time he sacrificed for me, I failed him because of the fact that I'm that afraid of driving. The only thing that helped me was the fact that he was there and trying to help me. Once he gave me that assignment to try and do something driving related on my own, the fear struck up louder than a marching band at half-time at a high school football game. Now that he's gone to the west coast to live his own life, I don't really have anyone to fill that role.
What about my folks? Those busy bodies whose only free time is when I'm away working at the movie theatre? Do I even need to answer that? My days off happen when they are working, and vice-versa. In fact, my mom wants to see a movie but she refuses to see it when I'm working despite the fact she can get in for free while I'm on the clock. Yet she has no problem going to have lunch at my sister's work while she (my sister) is working... when she's in town, that is. And I can't exactly request the weekends off; that's when the movie theatre needs as many people as they can get.
Speaking of which, as far as being single and hating it, I'm learning the hard way that work is not the best place to be googly-eying over every attractive guy that walks into the building. Unfortunately, I'm on the verge of making that mistake for the second time and is trying my damnest not to go there. But it just gets more and more difficult every day. I found myself struck dumb one day when a really attractive brunette walked to the Box Office and in his moderately deep voice asked for a ticket for Milk with a smile that made me melt. And there was something in his eyes that, for the first time, actually set of my gay-dar in the proper direction. But this is a no-no at work. The quickest way to get fired is to hit on the paying customers. (Actually, the quickest way to get fired is to aggressively hit on a co-worker, which is something I almost would have been charged with if I didn't work things out before it got too big for me to handle.)
There's a scene in The Wrestler where Rouke's character missed a dinner date with his daughter only to have the shit hit the fans at light speed. It ends with her saying something along the lines of that Rouke's character is broken. He's always been broken, and trying to fix things just makes it worse for everyone. She likes him being broken, and tells him with tears of anger and hate that there's nothing wrong with him being, essentially, a fuck up. In fact, she would prefer it over his efforts to reconnect with his daughter.
It's time to just come out clean. I'm not going to get anywhere in life. I'm too afraid to do the things that will help me grow. I'm unwilling to do them by myself despite the ever-growing need to do so. I'm at a point in my life where if I don't do these things now, I'll be fucked for the rest of my life. But the sad reality of the situation is I can't. Or maybe in the eyes of some, I simply won't. I need someone to hold my hand and baby me through these things no matter how long it takes, but I know that will never happen again. I had a taste of this rare gem of compassion, but other factors came into play and it was cut short for me. So is life.
I can't really live life in fear of the things so many teenagers look forward to do. I can't settle for stagnation or co-dependency in a culture that frowns on it or makes fun of it in movies and TV shows. Nor can I live with myself if I discover that my situation is now the main plot of an episode of Monk or the latest summer raunchy comedy film.
I can't live my life like this anymore. But I'm too afraid to do anything about it. All I do is complain about it to a public that doesn't appear to be listening.
I can't do this anymore. I'm not strong enough.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Hypocrite
I hate working at the movies during a big crowd, but I love watching them with a big crowd.
I hate shopping, but I love looking at store displays.
I hate chocolate, but I love sugary snacks.
I don't like heights, but I love looking over balconies at vistas.
I don't hit on straight guys, but I'm constantly attracted to them.
I don't leave the house, but I love going out with friends.
I don't have many friends, but I'm friendly to everyone I meet.
I don't know what I'm talking about right now, but chances are I actually do.
I hate shopping, but I love looking at store displays.
I hate chocolate, but I love sugary snacks.
I don't like heights, but I love looking over balconies at vistas.
I don't hit on straight guys, but I'm constantly attracted to them.
I don't leave the house, but I love going out with friends.
I don't have many friends, but I'm friendly to everyone I meet.
I don't know what I'm talking about right now, but chances are I actually do.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
10 Years Behind
Settled in to this Sunday Morning routine
Sans my iTunes Weekly Top 40
Half-full Vault next to a copy of Spore
Fully empty Powerade bottle next to a copy of Zoo Tycoon
Able to critically think
Able to form political views
Able to budget funds appropriately
Able to know when to keep my mouth shut
No longer growing
Unable to grow
Settled for social stagnation
Looking for compassion in a seemingly careless world
Was told on the day of love that I'll find someone eventually
Rebuttaled saying that nobody would be interested in me
Confirmed later that day that I was right
Listed the reasons why
Ten years behind
Mentally sixteen
Physically twenty-six
Unable to grow
Unwilling to grow?
Scared to grow?
I need help
Slowly dying inside
Heroic music blaring yet pathetically complaining
Musing about romantic ideals that will never be
Traumatized by the past and unable to recover
Six years unable to get over
Desperate for a companion who can help me
Desperate for a hint of compassion
Desperate for understanding
Knowing full well this is an impossible ideal
I need help
Dying from a broken heart
I need help
Empty eyes wanting to cry
Faking a smile everyday
Nobody can see the pain
Nobody is allowed to
Nobody knows I'm hurting inside
I need help
Nobody cares
I need help
I can't do this alone
I need help
I need help
I need help
I need help...
Sans my iTunes Weekly Top 40
Half-full Vault next to a copy of Spore
Fully empty Powerade bottle next to a copy of Zoo Tycoon
Able to critically think
Able to form political views
Able to budget funds appropriately
Able to know when to keep my mouth shut
No longer growing
Unable to grow
Settled for social stagnation
Looking for compassion in a seemingly careless world
Was told on the day of love that I'll find someone eventually
Rebuttaled saying that nobody would be interested in me
Confirmed later that day that I was right
Listed the reasons why
Ten years behind
Mentally sixteen
Physically twenty-six
Unable to grow
Unwilling to grow?
Scared to grow?
I need help
Slowly dying inside
Heroic music blaring yet pathetically complaining
Musing about romantic ideals that will never be
Traumatized by the past and unable to recover
Six years unable to get over
Desperate for a companion who can help me
Desperate for a hint of compassion
Desperate for understanding
Knowing full well this is an impossible ideal
I need help
Dying from a broken heart
I need help
Empty eyes wanting to cry
Faking a smile everyday
Nobody can see the pain
Nobody is allowed to
Nobody knows I'm hurting inside
I need help
Nobody cares
I need help
I can't do this alone
I need help
I need help
I need help
I need help...
Dreaming About Work
For the past several nights, I've been dreaming about work. People becoming managers, new equipment, old co-workers coming back but in a different light. But either way, I've been working too hard (which is a good thing) too often ( which is kind of a good thing, financially).
Stress? Probably.
Stress? Probably.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Living in Fear of Living
I'm having that pathetic feeling again. You know, the one where no matter how much you try to lift yourself up with a happy song or knowing that you are really good at something most people aren't, you still feel rather boring? I think it has something to do with my reflection on my 20s. Here I am, halfway through with them, and nothing remotely normal has happened to me as far as living life. Sex, parties, moving out. None of that.
Why? Because I'm afraid to live. There, I said it. Living life scares me. The only thing I'm more afraid of is death, mostly because of the vain hope I cling to that my life will get better. I don't know what it is, but my biggest hang up is that I am afraid live life. I'm afraid to go out and be me. I don't know if it just because of what happened to me in the past with all the crap that clearly affected my social behavior or what.
All I know is this: There is a burning want to live again, to feel alive, to have that feeling of excitement run through my body. There's an obsession with wanting to experience the joys of the flesh and the times where things actually end up going how you hoped. But I'm too afraid to do any of that.
What am I afraid of? Getting hurt. Emotionally.
Why? Because I'm afraid to live. There, I said it. Living life scares me. The only thing I'm more afraid of is death, mostly because of the vain hope I cling to that my life will get better. I don't know what it is, but my biggest hang up is that I am afraid live life. I'm afraid to go out and be me. I don't know if it just because of what happened to me in the past with all the crap that clearly affected my social behavior or what.
All I know is this: There is a burning want to live again, to feel alive, to have that feeling of excitement run through my body. There's an obsession with wanting to experience the joys of the flesh and the times where things actually end up going how you hoped. But I'm too afraid to do any of that.
What am I afraid of? Getting hurt. Emotionally.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Single Too Long?
Valentine's Day is coming up, and being in the entertainment industry, I'm getting a lot of phone calls asking about movies playing that day. Strangely enough, they all involve the anti-Valinetine's-Day movie. Go figure.
During one of my breaks, a bunch of the female employees were talking about their respective boyfriends. Girl talk in the very sense of the word. When they realized that I was in the room, they apologized for... well, being girls. I told them not to worry about it. Then the conversation turned to me and if I had a girlfriend.
I didn't come out and say that I'm gay. I just told them that I haven't dated in well over six years. Okay, so I admit it was a half-lie; I've never dated at all. But it was a better answer than what I could have said.
From there the conversation went on about how that's way too long to be single. The girls are young, though, so they are living their best years of their lives right now. Or so I'm told. Still, the conversation did weigh in some introspective thoughts.
I've never been on a date. I've only gone out once, and that was kind of forced upon me by Jason. My 20's are coming up on their close rather fast. (I turn 26 this year.) And what stories do I have to tell for it? To echo the Marines commercial, if someone wrote a book about my life, would this chapter be interesting? No, probably not. I have archives dating as far back as 2002. That's close to seven years! And even if I edited it down, it would still be boring.
The highlights? Getting published in a local newspaper, having regular encounters with a celebrity at my work, and the time that I experienced the corporate devil in the fact that I was (and probably still am) getting screwed over with my pay. Going to New York, Spain, Italy for the second time, and my dark days in Seattle? Okay, maybe those could count too. But nothing really stands out as identifying or life changing in the same sense those girls were talking about in the break room.
When they asked why I haven't dated in so long, all I said was that someone broke my heart. That was probably the only honest thing I said to them in that two minute conversation that day.
During one of my breaks, a bunch of the female employees were talking about their respective boyfriends. Girl talk in the very sense of the word. When they realized that I was in the room, they apologized for... well, being girls. I told them not to worry about it. Then the conversation turned to me and if I had a girlfriend.
I didn't come out and say that I'm gay. I just told them that I haven't dated in well over six years. Okay, so I admit it was a half-lie; I've never dated at all. But it was a better answer than what I could have said.
From there the conversation went on about how that's way too long to be single. The girls are young, though, so they are living their best years of their lives right now. Or so I'm told. Still, the conversation did weigh in some introspective thoughts.
I've never been on a date. I've only gone out once, and that was kind of forced upon me by Jason. My 20's are coming up on their close rather fast. (I turn 26 this year.) And what stories do I have to tell for it? To echo the Marines commercial, if someone wrote a book about my life, would this chapter be interesting? No, probably not. I have archives dating as far back as 2002. That's close to seven years! And even if I edited it down, it would still be boring.
The highlights? Getting published in a local newspaper, having regular encounters with a celebrity at my work, and the time that I experienced the corporate devil in the fact that I was (and probably still am) getting screwed over with my pay. Going to New York, Spain, Italy for the second time, and my dark days in Seattle? Okay, maybe those could count too. But nothing really stands out as identifying or life changing in the same sense those girls were talking about in the break room.
When they asked why I haven't dated in so long, all I said was that someone broke my heart. That was probably the only honest thing I said to them in that two minute conversation that day.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Client, Boss, or Friend?
There's a problem with making friends in the work place. It's when they become your boss. Most places try to nip this in the bud with something called a fraternization policy. But they don't outright say that you cannot be friends with your boss. For example, the one I'm under says I cannot date or share a room with my bosses, but they are not oppose to off-the-clock hang out time as long as it doesn't effect job performance or the work environment.
My most recent design client is trying to become my boss in the work environment where we became friends. While a lot of people believe that I would make a good manager, the idea of answering directly to a guy that looks way too much like the people who are responsible for those dark days of my traumatic teen years is something that I rather avoid. Once he moves on to a better position, then maybe. It all depends on who takes his place.
And I do have friends who are my bosses, but when they put on that suit, there is a instant barrier that I construct due to rank. In other words, I may be friends with them, but I know where I fall on the food chain. Just because you can play nice with a T-rex doesn't mean they won't make you their lunch when the hunt comes around. Okay, bad choice of words, but you understand what I mean.
I think I'm being clingy again with who I think is the only person left that I can call friend. Well, the only person I can physically hang out with at least.
My most recent design client is trying to become my boss in the work environment where we became friends. While a lot of people believe that I would make a good manager, the idea of answering directly to a guy that looks way too much like the people who are responsible for those dark days of my traumatic teen years is something that I rather avoid. Once he moves on to a better position, then maybe. It all depends on who takes his place.
And I do have friends who are my bosses, but when they put on that suit, there is a instant barrier that I construct due to rank. In other words, I may be friends with them, but I know where I fall on the food chain. Just because you can play nice with a T-rex doesn't mean they won't make you their lunch when the hunt comes around. Okay, bad choice of words, but you understand what I mean.
I think I'm being clingy again with who I think is the only person left that I can call friend. Well, the only person I can physically hang out with at least.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Be Careful What You Wish For
For a long time, I was half-joking about a scenario where the managers would have to suddenly close down the consession stand due to the fact that the crowd wouldn't let up and labor laws required us to have a break.
That happened today. Kind of.
When our afternoon rush ended, I found myself by myself in the consession stand trying to restock that entire thing. I did not know what was going on and was being told several things to do all at once. I grew more confused and with that confusion got more frustrated. Visibly so. After being told to do thirty different things at once, the last thing I was told was to help a customer.
I threw a tantrum of sorts, slamming the candy drawer I was counting knowing that I won't get a proper stock list done in time for the next rush because of said customer. Rightfully appauled by my actions, they complained to customer service.
I recieved a verbal warning. I defended my position saying what was going on, and I even went as far as to retell the bad history I have of being left alone in consession to fend for myself and then being blamed for mistakes made by the managers.
Eventually, everything got sorted out.
Unfortunately, I'm still kind of sick. The stress and anger is probably going to put my system into shock when I calm down to go to sleep. And I have to work tomorrow, as well.
That happened today. Kind of.
When our afternoon rush ended, I found myself by myself in the consession stand trying to restock that entire thing. I did not know what was going on and was being told several things to do all at once. I grew more confused and with that confusion got more frustrated. Visibly so. After being told to do thirty different things at once, the last thing I was told was to help a customer.
I threw a tantrum of sorts, slamming the candy drawer I was counting knowing that I won't get a proper stock list done in time for the next rush because of said customer. Rightfully appauled by my actions, they complained to customer service.
I recieved a verbal warning. I defended my position saying what was going on, and I even went as far as to retell the bad history I have of being left alone in consession to fend for myself and then being blamed for mistakes made by the managers.
Eventually, everything got sorted out.
Unfortunately, I'm still kind of sick. The stress and anger is probably going to put my system into shock when I calm down to go to sleep. And I have to work tomorrow, as well.
Friday, January 09, 2009
The Empty Feeling is Back
I saw a familiar face just now. One I haven't seen in a long time. David.
He's grown up now. So mature. Sure, he may look young, but he's very much a man now.
The thing that is breaking my heart is if I really knew him. Was what I had a real and honest friendship or was it some sick game from another online player? Did I become a statistic or did I actually lose the best friend I have ever known?
A large part of me wants to believe I wasn't lied to. It wants to believe that naive point of view I had where I hung on every word I was told. That who I was talking to was really who I was talking to. That what I had going for me was a good thing and it fell apart because of this irrational rational thinking.
It's the part that hurts the most. The part that causes this empty feeling in the core of my very soul to come back. A feeling I honestly thought I wouldn't feel again. I haven't felt it in a long time. I thought I was okay. I thought I was over this. I thought I could move on.
I wanted to contact him the moment I saw his face on television, but that rational side of me knew better. Searching for e-mails and gambling on dumb luck won't bring back what I lost. It won't fix the pain I feel. It will only make things worse for me.
All I want now is the truth.
He's grown up now. So mature. Sure, he may look young, but he's very much a man now.
The thing that is breaking my heart is if I really knew him. Was what I had a real and honest friendship or was it some sick game from another online player? Did I become a statistic or did I actually lose the best friend I have ever known?
A large part of me wants to believe I wasn't lied to. It wants to believe that naive point of view I had where I hung on every word I was told. That who I was talking to was really who I was talking to. That what I had going for me was a good thing and it fell apart because of this irrational rational thinking.
It's the part that hurts the most. The part that causes this empty feeling in the core of my very soul to come back. A feeling I honestly thought I wouldn't feel again. I haven't felt it in a long time. I thought I was okay. I thought I was over this. I thought I could move on.
I wanted to contact him the moment I saw his face on television, but that rational side of me knew better. Searching for e-mails and gambling on dumb luck won't bring back what I lost. It won't fix the pain I feel. It will only make things worse for me.
All I want now is the truth.
Friendship is Not Static Cling
My new client, friend, and semi-long-time co-worker is becoming someone I want to hang out with more often. While he is cool with me, I felt rather awkward today.
I have very few friends as it is, and that number is quickly dropping the more I commit myself to the life of a hermit who leaves the cave only when he needs to. As such, friendships become very important to me. But there comes a point where I even find myself being a bit too possessive of something like that. It's like I'm suffocating the one thing I want to live and grow because I don't know how to make that happen. I'm like the little kid that shakes the goldfish bag excitedly after buying it from the pet store not realizing (or listening to those that know better) that shaking the bag is actually bad for the goldfish. Actually, I'm starting to see it with my dog. I hug him so hard sometimes that he coughs and then struggles away. He gives me this look too after he's out of my arms like I'm crazy. But he's loyal and will always come back once he feels better.
But people are not like dogs. You smother them with too much affection, even if it is just friendly in nature, and they get weirded out. Do it enough and you'll only push them away. At the same time, if you don't do it enough, you'll come off like a cold-hearted bastard who doesn't give a damn about people.
It's a tight rope act I hate performing.
I have very few friends as it is, and that number is quickly dropping the more I commit myself to the life of a hermit who leaves the cave only when he needs to. As such, friendships become very important to me. But there comes a point where I even find myself being a bit too possessive of something like that. It's like I'm suffocating the one thing I want to live and grow because I don't know how to make that happen. I'm like the little kid that shakes the goldfish bag excitedly after buying it from the pet store not realizing (or listening to those that know better) that shaking the bag is actually bad for the goldfish. Actually, I'm starting to see it with my dog. I hug him so hard sometimes that he coughs and then struggles away. He gives me this look too after he's out of my arms like I'm crazy. But he's loyal and will always come back once he feels better.
But people are not like dogs. You smother them with too much affection, even if it is just friendly in nature, and they get weirded out. Do it enough and you'll only push them away. At the same time, if you don't do it enough, you'll come off like a cold-hearted bastard who doesn't give a damn about people.
It's a tight rope act I hate performing.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Quite New Year
Nothing exciting to report. I have a client from work who wants me to design a better logo for his band. He was looking for people who are not familiar with Death Metal music or even the music industry, and when he found out that I graduated from a design school, I became the perfect choice. I don't like doing logos and stuff, but at this point, I could use something to get into the creative mood.
Been meaning to get back to my fireworks. I got a new soundtrack to a fireworks show I'm dedicating to my mom, but haven't found a moment to get refamiliar with Roller Coaster Tycoon. Mostly because I'm trying to get the last 60+ Spore creations posted on my other blog.
Been meaning to also design a Watchmen button, but someone on CafePress beat me to it. I may join CafePress to sell smaller prints of my avatars. I doubt there is a market for it, but the fact that they offer 13" x 16" framed prints does make the rather attractive as a potential commercial outlet.
I had a dream the other night. I was working in a grocery store, but I didn't know what to do. I ended up walking away mumbling something about going back to the movie theatre job I knew. I think I've become a bit too comfortable in my current state. I need a shake up.
Been meaning to get back to my fireworks. I got a new soundtrack to a fireworks show I'm dedicating to my mom, but haven't found a moment to get refamiliar with Roller Coaster Tycoon. Mostly because I'm trying to get the last 60+ Spore creations posted on my other blog.
Been meaning to also design a Watchmen button, but someone on CafePress beat me to it. I may join CafePress to sell smaller prints of my avatars. I doubt there is a market for it, but the fact that they offer 13" x 16" framed prints does make the rather attractive as a potential commercial outlet.
I had a dream the other night. I was working in a grocery store, but I didn't know what to do. I ended up walking away mumbling something about going back to the movie theatre job I knew. I think I've become a bit too comfortable in my current state. I need a shake up.
