A Case for Pokémon Go

Is anyone else tired of all the Pokémon Go hype?? I can't take one trip to the store without seeing 5 groups of people with their heads in their phones hunting for make believe monsters!

It's been almost a month, and this is the kind of talk I've heard every day for four weeks. Since I don't personally have a smart phone, I haven't experienced the thrill of hunting Pokémon down for myself, but I've seen enough people enjoy the experience to love the game anyway... What really bother me about this trend is the wave of Pokémon NO-ers! WHY? Why do you glare at the innocent players of a harmless game with so much distain? Why do you shake your head as they rattle off Pokémon names as though you are somehow better than them by not understanding the basics of a popular mobile game. Here some reasons I think people are still frustrated by the un-killable trend:

Invalid reason 1: They're tired of seeing groups of teens and adults with their heads in their phones instead of talking to each other!

Teens hanging out while playing a Nintendo game might be worse than just holding meaningful conversations without any distractions. That's fair... I guess. But its not a valid comparison! It's not like those same people were having heart-to-heart conversations without their phones in hand last month, and this pesky game just ROBBED them of their social time! WELCOME TO THE TWENTYFIRST CENTURY! The people hanging out in groups playing the SAME real time game would probably all be on separate apps if Pokémon Go didn't exist. Many gamers are taking their time they used to spend alone at home playing unsocial games with their friends walking through their community checking about monuments and social spots. Because of the very mechanics of the app, people are able to socialize and talk WHILE playing a game together. What's the harm in that??

Invalid reason 2: But what about the News stories of people getting robbed by chasing lures into dark alleys or unmarked vans?

People were getting kidnapped, mugged, and stabbed long before this game came along. It's not Nintendo's job to eliminate global crime or physically prevent stupid people from wandering around alone. They recommend you travel in groups and what where you are going... What more can they do? Idiots will be idiots, but the majority of players will just have a good time without walking off bridges or wandering away from home alone.

Straw-Man argument 3: Nintendo is stealing all my personal information to steal to the government!

Most mobile apps have pretty long, sometimes sketchy terms of agreement nobody reads. The Pokémon Go app terms give access to your camera (for the augmented reality part of the game to work), and location (duh), but also some potentially allow access to some unneeded things like photos, contacts, and storage space. Still, this isn't anything new, it's just making headlines because this game is so unexpectedly popular. Most apps on your phone are probably stealing your information to sell to interested parties right now. So don't play. If you care so much, ditch your smart phone!
...Or just read all terms of agreement yourself whenever you download software.

HAHAHA! ..."Wait, you're serious?" Nobody reads that stuff! Most people don't even mind if their phone is tracked and the data is used by Google to anonymously determine how fast traffic moves or how popular shopping centers are. If you don't want anyone mining your information without consent... DON'T USE AN IPHONE! Just buy an android, delete all your apps, and don't use any search engines. They can save our searches to improve future results. And stay away from vending machines, coke fountains, and rewards card programs. They can all legally track your buying habits. ;) The rest of us prefer convenience and ignorance to privacy.

Honestly, I don't think anyone has a right to be upset they see a group running around a corner to catch a Squirtle. This game has given people who have trouble starting a conversation to hang out with their friends, while doubling the value of Nintendo the first two days. No, it isn't going to fix all the problems of society. It doesn't teach people how to socialize or exercise (although the mechanics encourage communication and group activity). A single videogame won't end organized crime, prevent kids from using their phones while driving, or teach anyone to watch their step while using their phone (although it isn't so engaging that normal people would be LESS capable of using their phone and walking.)

Nintendo has made a game that makes the world better in a few ways, and doesn't make anyone worse off at all. If you don't play the game that's fine (I don't play ether). You can hate the game all you want, just stop looking down on the over 4.3 million players still using the app.

To the rest of you, happy hunting! Thanks for reading! Comment if you disagree with my stance on Nintendo's new game.

- The Noah

Back to Earth

10 days felt like 10 months, but it also kinda flew by like 10 minutes.

I just finally got caught up on sleep after an eventful, tiring, AMAZING summer scholars trip at Lipscomb. I talked about how psyched I was a few weeks back (that was actually my first post here, so hopefully some of you read it). I was SUPER pumped and a little nervous, but I had no idea what to expect! I was excited about the Grand Ole Opry and trampoline place and the Escape Game, but I had no idea what to think about the class or the rest of the trip.

My expectations were blown out of the water! We did SO MANY activities from canoeing to indoor go-karting to solving a murder mystery all over downtown. And all of that was fun! The work load for the class seamed pretty heavy at first, but my class mates were all super smart, so we worked together, reviewed each other's speeches, and got it all done! I was actually really surprised by how smart everyone there was! I felt like I could be myself without being judged, even though everyone there was so wildly different. I made some great friends and we had a blast "adult-ing" together. 

I hope to see most of the students again next year, along with my professor Mr. Burtch and my councilors! I'm pretty much sold on Lipscomb if I can afford to go. I wish I could stay, but I also miss Alabama! Still glad to be FINISHED!

So does that mean I'm done with this blog? Well I'm glad you asked hypothetical person I made up to justify changing the topic. Although I am DONE with this class, I've learned a lot about communication, so I'm still going to keep blogging. I love sharing my thoughts with the handful of people still reading them, so as long as I still get a steady 5-10 hits a day, I'll keep posting,.

So SUBSCRIBE and share and what not... And check out Lipscomb too, it's a great school. Thanks!

- The Noah

Books or Movies

Comparing a book to a movie is ridiculous! It's an "apples to oranges" comparison.... Come to think of it that saying doesn't make a lot sense. I can pretty easily compare apples and oranges in a broad sense. For example, oranges always have more vitamin C, potassium and protein, while apples have been known to lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar (not to mention they keep the doctor away).

 

No matter how many ironic compare and contrast papers, pictures and blogs we write, that obviously was not the point of the saying. I think a more clear proverb than "you can't compare apples to oranges" would be "you SHOULD'NT compare AN apple to AN orange." You can't take ONE apple and ONE orange and decide which is "better". If "better" means which one is the tastier fruit, than the orange will probably win if you prefer oranges and the apple will win if you prefer apples. The orange is inherently better at having the characteristics of an orange! And the apple is inherently better at being an apple. Enough talk about fruit, let's get back to books and movies.

 

When people compare a book to its movie, it's just like comparing an apple to an orange. The book will always be better at being a good book, and the movie will always be better at being a good movie. So why do people rate films based on novels by their "accuracy" to the novel, rather than their quality as a piece of cinema?

 

Books and movies are entirely different outlets of media, just as dissimilar as songs are to videogames or blog posts. I go to a book to enter a world through the writers view. Books are careful to express every emotion, thought, and scene, with clear diction so that the reader understands how the characters interact. In a movie, the director has to use action to show who their characters are in a much shorter time.

 

For a movie to feel like the book, it may have to put the characters into different situations, change their appearance to make them fit better on screen. Movies are billion dollar investments so each adaptation or diversion from the source material is deliberate and intentional.

 

The Lord of the Rings books AND movies (not including the recent Hobbit films) are pretty universally accepted, but the movies still made a LOT changes from the books. For example, in the books, Orcs had more human characteristics, and there is a chapter in which a few Orcs express their desire to win the war soon so they can return home to their families. Painting the Orcs in this light gave a new layer of meaning to the book as the reader had to pause and consider the warrior's dilemma. In the film, the human characteristics were all but completely cut from the disgusting orcs, so that the audience wouldn't be confused about whose side they should be on. 

 

My point is the books were better AND the movies were better because of some variations. If we keep punishing movies for diverging from the source we are only hindering writers and directors from improving films. Instead of forcing oranges to be as apple-like as possible, let's appreciate both for what they are.

 

 

Thanks for reading this blog post and commenting below! I know it isn't as good as the song "Dead Come Alive" by Tyler Joseph, but it's still better than the live action Super Mario Brothers movie. ;) Enjoy your media.

 

- The Noah





(Bonus: link to "Dead Come Alive" by Tyler Joseph, with a mind blowing animation - https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj-nrLKo93NAhXBkh4KHRYeDwEQ3ywIHzAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-FHYI3kdK_g&usg=AFQjCNFTWB4nzQ66XveoloE15Y8LLLtaAw&sig2=c4qMaiX3BZMxy-rqblR5jQ)

 

Most Partiotic Blog Ever!

Happy AMERICA Day! Celebrating our God given right to blow stuff up!

Okay, It's July the Fourth and I'm honestly proud to be flag waving, bacon burger eating 'Mercan. But I've noticed that a lot of my fellow Americans think of this beautiful land as less than the greatest country on Earth. That makes no sense to me!

Conservatives tend to talk about the country the way we would talk about a really nice cruise ship that's on fire... It was really nice at one time, but now the whole thing is going down and there isn't much we can do about it. A lot of people around here are proud of America's history, but not our present.

On the other hand, a lot of liberals are proud of the country right now, but ashamed of our past. They point to slavery, sexism, and religious intolerance as proof that our country just isn't as great as some of the glorious lands of "Non-America"

First of all, I think we have a lot to be proud of right now! In America, our poorest are wealthier here than anywhere else, we have more freedoms than any other country, and we have done more to protect our equality of rights for everyone than any other country has.

As for our shameful history of slavery and intolerance, they rest of the world was made up of sexist slave owners too! Vermont was the first Sovereign State to abolish slavery IN THE WORLD in 1777! We had to fight a war that tore our country apart, but by 1862, slavery was completely abolished, despite the difficulties it caused to our economy. We were the twelfth country to give women voting rights (years ahead of Britain, Ireland, Spain, or France.) We've give more aid to other countries than anyone else in the world!

America hasn't always been perfect, and the system today is still pretty flawed. But it has still been BETTER THAN EVERYWHERE ELSE!

Happy 4th!


Thanks for commenting and sharing!

-  The Noah

100,000 lbs of Vulcan

Sorry for no posts in a couple days, I've been having some trouble with my computer...

Anyway, Yesterday, I went to see the VULCAN (You know? The big cast iron monument that people visiting from out of state always visit and locals visit maybe once then forget it's there.)  Anyway it's the largest cast-iron statue in the world (that's a surprisingly specific world record but I'm still proud of Alabama for it) and it really got me thinking about the unquantifiable.


The statue is 100,000 lbs. of pure iron, and throughout my day, I kept trying to imagine myself lifting something that weighs 100,000 lbs. I just can't wrap my head around a number that large, so I tried to break it up.

100,000 lbs. is the same as 50 tons. That's a smaller number, but it doesn't mean much to me, so we'll have to try something else.

100,000 lbs. is also about the weight of 30 midsized cars with overweight drivers

I love the Internet, because I found a picture of exactly 30 cars:

Still having a hard time wrapping my head around picking up a street load of cars. Let me try a new angle....

100,000 lbs. is the weight of an 18-wheeler, semi truck loaded with the maximum legal limit of microwavable bacon plus 73 liters of marshmallows (Okay, that didn't help at all, and anyone who reads my Google history will be really confused).

I guess I can't imagine what 100,000 lbs. feels like, and that's kind of like God's love. When we talk about God in worldly terms (for example: He is a loving father, a perfect Judge, the highest King, etc.), we are only speaking in analogy. We can't wrap our heads around God because He CREATED us; we didn't create Him. God's love is so amazing, He gave us the ability to worship Him or hurt Him, fully knowing we would all choose the latter before a few chose to worship Him. He then sent His OWN SON to die in our place so that we could be with Him without owing any debt for our crimes. Just for good measure, God inspired the Bible, guided its preservation, then sent His spirit to live in each of us, to guide us down the paths which are both righteous and beneficial.

God's love is bigger than a 100,000 lb. statue, and although I can't understand it, but I can admire it.


Thanks for reading and commenting!

- The Noah

Heathens Meaning

 

 

So Twenty-One Pilots (my all time favorite band) released a single last week for the Suicide Squad movie. As Official *self-named* Chief Overanalyzer of any song Tyler Joseph writes, I wanted to tell you all what Heathens means to me.


If you haven't heard the song, please go listen to it once. I'll wait. Here's a link to the music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UprcpdwuwCg&noredirect=1
...........................................................................................................You're back? Great!

In my opinion, the song is about the church. The chorus says "All my friends are Heathens" In the church HEATHENS is a more degrading word for sinners, or people with an ungodly lifestyle. The rest of the chorus warns against making hasty judgments against the HEATHENS. This just feels like it relates to the church more than Twenty-One Pilots fans, depressed kids, or even the Suicide Squad from DC.

The bridge (I guess it's the bridge. I don't know a lot about music so correct me if I'm wrong) is "You will never know the murderer sitting next to you. You will never know the psychopath sitting next to you. You will think how'd I get here sitting next to you..." The use of the words murderer and psychopath actually do make me think SUICIDE SQUAD, but if we stick with the church interpretation, the lyrics still fit. Christians tend to be quick to judge one sin as bigger than another (actually all people do this, but it's more obvious when a Christian does it). We never know what the person next to us is really going through.

Hope you enjoy re-listening to this song with my interpretation in mind!

Getting Psyched!

College. WOW! I guess I always thought it would be years until I would be thinking about college. And now it's less than two weeks away! Okay, I'm actually still a junior at Evangel Christian, but I got accepted into a Summer Scholars program at *drum roll*... LIPSCOMB!!! I can't even communicate how excited I am to attend the best engineering school in the South East. Not to mention getting my first college credit out of the way in just 10 days (plus about a month worth of pre-work including this blog, a video speech, and a final project two weeks after the program, but sure it's "just 10 days").

I'm going to get to see a whole lot of Nashville while I'm there, so brace yourselves for a sudden burst of Instagram posts from the Grand Ole Opry and a bunch of other hangout spots. Hope I don't die of excitement before the trip!!