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All posts for the month May, 2012

Everythingness

Posted by Chris Demas on May 31, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 comments

Can you remember when a TV couldn’t connect itself to the internet?  Do you remember when cellphones were the new “thing” and they didn’t do anything but call other people?  Nowadays those last couple of questions seem quite irrelevant because of the idea of everythingness.  Everythingness – the idea that one object should not only perform its primary function but also a list of other functions. I believe that as technology grows, so does this idea of everythingness.

Everythingness has it’s pros and its cons.  An old tube tv can probably be dropped a couple of times in your house when you move it. I dare you to drop that shiny high definition television!  New technology just isn’t as durable as its older bulkier counterparts. However, my T-mobile 4g sidekick has a sleek sexy look to it. We don’t really see that kind of visual elegance in our older machines.

Our older machines were more straightforward to use though! Push some buttons on your phone and call your buddy.  The cordless home phone looks ordinary but it does its job.   Everythingness complicates technology in so many ways.  Cellphones contain numerous apps that slide around the touch screen.  You endure learning how to navigate your phone which can be extremely confusing.  If you don’t believe me, ask me how long I suffered through teaching my grandfather how to use his sidekick.  Regardless, the worst thing everythingness can promote is the sacrificing of the machines original function.

A function like playing your video games, making a phone call, reading your tablet, and etc.  I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy the PSP. Its primary focus  just feels like it wasn’t about playing video games.  Which, in my opinion is why The DS outsold the PSP.  Try to recall the first everythingness smart phones.  The common-sense phones that texted better than actually speaking into the phone. And because of all those cool little functions your phone can do it dies in an hour! I admit I’m probably exaggerating a little on that one.

Exaggerating or not though, a machine really should do its primary function well.  Whats your view on everythingness’?  Do you enjoy having all the shiny bells and whistles that comes with a smartphone?  Is there one particular gadget that you love because of its everythingness?  Will everythingness continue to populate more objects like your clock?  I’ d really like to know your view on this since I have a love/hate relationship with my gizmos.

Write below! (And yes, I made the word Everythingness and its definition up!)

The Immersive Experience

Posted by Chris Demas on May 28, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 2 comments

ImageBy Spyders

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys what can only be described as an immersive experience, then you should play  Journey.  This is an exquisite title developed by Thatgamecompany.  Journey is a game about the long road one singing pilgrim must take to gain understanding of there own culture.  Along the way they will find friends, danger, and tons of sand. But, what really makes this game an immersive experience?

The game play is where the experience begins.  Journey gives you the option to wander around the map at your pace taking in the sights and sounds of the world.  It slyly hints in a certain direction which is your characters main goal.  Nevertheless, you may explore at your leisure.  This dynamic creates an immersive experience where you can enjoy the world at your own pace yet never feel overwhelmed or lost.  Will you float whimsically over sand dunes or slide down in an entertaining fashion? Its up to the player to decide.  Did you know part of this game is wholly visual?

You’ll create the entire story of this game on your own.  Creating an immersive experience for a game thats 2 hours long in total is hard to do.  There isn’t much room to tell a story unless you cram it in there.  However, by showing the player wordless hieroglyphic cut-scenes upon completion of a level its up to the person playing to decipher their meaning.  This means the entire story is truly yours to create. Journey also has a painted visual style that makes every level something to gander at.

But a visual feast isn’t the only way Journey pulls you in.  The score of this game in many ways, defines your personal immersive experience.  Austin Wintory composed the music of this Journey. And as you progress through the game the music carries you.  You’ll never have to guess what the game wants you to feel since the music continually mixes with the games set pieces.

Games continually try new things.  They give us new features, characters, music, and game play.  However, with Journey its about everything all at once.  An immersive experience like this shouldn’t be missed.  If you have the time and a PS3 then go check it out.  Everyone I’ve asked who has played it has a vastly different feeling about it.  Now you should experience it.

I Love Music

Posted by Chris Demas on May 25, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

Have you ever heard a song that filled you with “that” feeling.  You know the feeling!  Its a sensation that’s hard to explain but easy to appreciate.  Sometimes when I hear “She is Beautiful” by Andrew W.K. I feel that cant-quite-put-my-finger-on-it tingle. Mr. WK is a skilled musician, music producer and motivational speaker.  He is also quite outlandish which makes him such a good rockstar.  How is he outlandish?  There is a particular musical conference that can be found here where he brutally plays with a chair during a speech.

Anyway, whats your song?

I Miss Traditional Mail

Posted by Chris Demas on May 19, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , . 4 comments

The mail has always been a great idea from the first day it was invented by Benjamin Franklin.  Now that we have email I think sometimes we forget the positives of tradition letters.  When was the last time you sent an envelope containing your actually written words to someone across the country?  Snail mail seems archaic now because we have E-mail.  Here are just a few things that I love about the non-digital mail.

I enjoy that someone had to sit down with a pen and write me the letter.  There is a chance the letter was typed on a computer but then you might as well email me at that point.  Knowing someone took the effort to write a letter to me in the first place makes me feel really good inside.  I like to matter.  And, the letter itself carries a certain amount of character left by its writer.

The act of getting a letter feels superb too.  In my household we are very digital and computer oriented.  Its rare that when I receive any sort of mail its the physical kind.  Because of this fact when I am handed traditional mail I experience a more personal bond with it.  I don’t feel those bonds with emails.  Letters have wear and tear.  They can be colorful and smell interesting.  Some letters have even had interesting journeys.

The journey of a letter is probably my favorite aspect of traditional mail.  Whoever wrote this either gave it to a carrying service or the post office.  Who then in turn protected and processed my mail.  The mail itself was probably stamped or maybe taped.  And eventually sorted to be hand delivered to my house or my hand.  The journey of email is a 7 second trip from my computer to yours.  I find that less exciting.

Email of course is the more practical of the two choices.  Its quick, reliable, and easy.  I just thought Id remind everyone of the simple benefits of traditional mail.  Though, its less practical in our age its also still just as viable.  Lets hope someone sends me a letter soon.

Final Fantasy Sucks!

Posted by Chris Demas on May 12, 2012
Posted in: Video Games, Writing. Tagged: . 5 comments

I’m just kidding.  Actually I love most of the games in the series with Final Fantasy Tactics remaining my favorite.  I grew up playing these video games.  However, the new trends in the franchise are weighing this game series down like an anvil in mud.    Some may want to disagree with me.  And that’s fair.  Here are my few complaints with this series as of late.

Lately I’ve noticed a couple of Final Fantasy games have been using a completely linear path system.  This idea is terrible.   Final Fantasy was about exploration and discovery.  There was a certain amount of pride you’d get when you explored a dungeon and found chests or other secrets.  Now you walk down the endless world hallway to instant gratification land.  Why take out the fun of enjoying the scenery?  Now treasure chests are almost impossible to miss. You can’t even get lost because the game always heads in the same direction.

Usually that direction is straight into combat.  Combat was another part of Final Fantasy that’s changed over the years. It used to be turn based which meant everyone including the monsters gets a turn to attack until one side or the other is dead.  You’d choose each characters actions individually. Now,  there are still turns but now you don’t control individual characters.  Its streamlined so the characters attack as one big unit and as the player you change what way the characters fight.  Then your automated team does all the work. WHAT?!  I understand streamlining the combat but to the point where all I do as a player is change my teams strategy?  That completely takes me out of the game.

You know what really takes me out of the game though? Most of the characters in the last few games havent had much in the way of personality.  Lightning for instance from Final Fantasy 13 is always angry.  And while we learn why, she spends a majority of the game on this one note.  Moreover, its unrealistic anger at that gets increasingly intense.  Final Fantasy has made some great characters. What happened?

Whether you enjoy Final Fantasy or not, you should definitely try them.  Go back to the older games because there you’ll find exploration, intricate combat, and well rounded characters.  If the next Final Fantasy continues to follow the current trend I don’t think the series will survive.  And lets not even start talking about their latest attempt at an MMO.  Maybe Square-Enix will come up with something new that I’ll enjoy soon.

Greatness.

Posted by Chris Demas on May 9, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Avengers.  I’ve been following all of these movies that lead up to this one epic testament to cinema, art, and writing.  And, before I decide to go see it I think I need to reflect on my life.  Why?  Because this movie is something terrifyingly great.  It will be different things to different people but one thing they will mostly agree on is its greatness.  Introspectively speaking, I want to accomplish something just as amazing as this movie.  Something so powerful that people feel things and truly take notice.  Maybe I’m thinking too much about it.

Do You Want to Quit Your Job?

Posted by Chris Demas on May 9, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

I understand if thats a strange question to ask yourself.  However, lets be honest with one another.  When I worked at home depot, I wanted to quit so hard!  If you want to quit your job then why are you working there? Its probably for the money.  Is that the only reason that stops you from leaving?  Here are three reasons to quit your job and think outside the cubicle.

Quit your job if you hate it. I mean it!  Lets look at it logically.  You spend your time and most likely money to travel work.  Then, you spend the next few to several hours being miserable.  It might not show on your face but I’m sure you know your thoughts.  Suddenly work becomes more like prison and the money is more like a bribe to keep arriving to do that thing you hate.

Remember those things you don’t hate?  If you quit your job then you’ll have more time to do them.  Time is the currency of life and its running out each second.  Work steals the free time you might have used.  Think about all the projects you promised yourself that would get done but then life got in the way. For many of us, that “life” is work.

And for many of us, its all about who we work for. You might already wanna quit your job just thinking about the boss you have.  Is he or she domineering and controlling? Do they enjoy micro-managing your position while criticizing how you work ever step of the way?  Perhaps you’re left on the workplace floor to fend for yourself only to be reprimanded for doing some such thing in the wrong manner. Quit your job already.

However,  have a plan before you quit your job.  Leaving without a direction isn’t the smart play.  But if you’re sick and tired of being behind that counter, in that cubicle, or out on the show room floor then do it.  Because honestly, worse than leaving your job is floundering without money at all.  Now with that word of warning out of the way, go take a risk that could change your life.

If youre thinking its time to quit your job. Check out location rebel.

I Love Art.

Posted by Chris Demas on May 7, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

It seems that no matter what period of my life I find myself in, I love art.  I admit getting tingles every time I see well made and well thought out pieces.  Something about art just makes me happy and I hope I never lose my passion for writing and art.  This is MaryDoodles!  She’s a costume creator and water-colorist.

Enjoy MaryDoodles “Coffee Panda”

What Does a Freelance Seo Writer Do?

Posted by Chris Demas on May 3, 2012
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

A year or so ago I didn’t even knew what a freelance seo writer was. It sounds like a special computer writer or someone who does vast amounts of editing. So what does this kind of writer do? This type of writer helps get hits on Google and other search engines for companies on the internet. And, a freelance seo writer has to do a few things to satisfy both his clients and readers. They need to have decent keyword density, write an interesting article, and proofread for mistakes.

Mistakes are made in seo writing all the time, I’m sure, but the biggest would be to forget about your keyword density. A freelance seo writer has to write articles using a phrase or keyword fairly early and often in the article. These keywords can range from mundane domestic words like “broom handle” to more complex concepts like “thermonuclear physics.” A clever freelance seo writer has to be able to find subtle ways of slipping these keywords in their articles and titles.

Articles also need to be interesting! I know the concept sounds sort of simplistic but imagine being in the writer’s shoes. This freelance seo writer has to mix in these keywords and that seems priority number one. But if the writers article is bad who will come back to the company website and read the second article? No one. That outcome defeats the whole purpose of generating traffic.  Besides, if a blog has no audience then the writer runs out of work.

A freelance seo writer has a finished first draft. Job complete right? Nah! Now they need to proofread the article. A paper with multiple errors will be noticed right away by the internet elite. These articles often get shunned or get trolled since the writing is so miserable. Proofreading gives the writer a chance to rewrite anything too inaccurate or convoluted. A once over edit is the writer’s best friend.

If you’d like to become a better writer these tips are okay. If you’d like to pursue a career as a freelance seo writer these tips are invaluable! Learning to write an interesting article with keywords and phrases will get you fairly far. However, learning to proofread and edit your own material will make you a great writer in general. Thank you for checking out my random article!

Let me guess, now you want to be a freelance seo writer.