Christmas Is Not Dead: A Revelation at Yankee Candle

Every year it’s the same. On the Friday after Thanksgiving I begin an internal battle. Part of me is thrilled December is a week away, and that means, that Christmas is just around the corner. The holidays mean that I get to go home, see the people I love, enjoy their company, exchange gifts, and celebrate how much we care about each other. The other part of me sulks. It’s the part of me that spends too much time getting a liberal arts education. That part believes that Christmas is a sham. That it’s a holiday cooked up by Coca Cola and Macy’s to milk every last dollar out of the American people before the new year starts. I hate that part, because I know that it has just as valid a point as the happy, family reunion part.

Somehow I always manage to side with the optimist in me, but not without the bitter aftertaste left by all the consumption of stuff. Well I’m tired of that aftertaste. I wanted to know one way or another if Christmas really has wholesome meaning, or if it truly has been lost in the torrent of commercials and jingles that we are drowned in during the last two months of every year.

So I went to the one place where I thought the dark side of Christmas would be strongest: the Yankee Candle, in South Deerfield, MA. I thought the self-proclaimed “World’s Best Christmas Shop” would be the ultimate test of Christmas’ meaning. If it could survive there, where you can’t turn your head without some bright packaging or enticing scent to befuddle your senses, then it had to be alive everywhere else. Here’s what I found.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. To be engulfed by throngs of people all being herded through an endless stream of products, and yet have them articulate that Christmas means more than that, tells me that the advertisers and corporations haven’t won, and that I can put aside my fears about a dying Christmas.

I’m not a religious person, so when I asked people what Christmas meant, I actually wasn’t expecting to hear people tell me that it’s about the birth of Jesus. Looking back, I’m a bit surprised that no one made that kind of comment, but I think it says something else about Christmas. In this day and age, the meaning of Christmas has not only not been lost, but it’s evolved to mean something more than was ever intended.

I think Christmas is a holiday for everybody. I don’t care what your religion is. I don’t even care if you want to call it Christmas. It’s the season of giving, of caring, and of enjoying each other’s company. If you’re like me, it’s easy to lose sight of that, and find yourself distraught at the seemingly unstoppable bombardment of consumption. Just remember that beneath that ugly layer of stuff, stuff, and even more stuff, the true meaning of Christmas is not lost, after all, if it can survive here, it ought to be alive and kicking everywhere else.

Daylight Savings Time Exposed

I really hate it when Daylight Savings Time ends -- now it will get dark around here at 5:30 PM. I wish they would just leave it on year round. Any reason for us to still do this? Is there any "savings" in an economic view?
-Steven McCauley on byrnerobotics.com forums

This kind of confusion surrounds the issue of Daylight Savings Time. Those who don't like it seem to just simply not get it, while those fighting for it aren't getting the message to those fighting against it. Check out some of these stories which dig up the dirt on DST and Put the arguments for and against it into perspective.

First Daniel Mangan helps clear up the history of DST. Check out its past, present and future here.

Next Travis Bassett gives us a look at the current controversy surrounding DST including both economic and public health perspectives.

Then head over Arjun's Arrow to find the international perspective on DST.

Megan Valcour examines the recent iPhone alarm debacle.

Finally James Bucklin talks with Joyce Vander Molen about her seasonal affective disorder or SAD.

For those of you experiencing DST blues, here's a tip from ABC 7 on adjusting to the time change...or refusing to.

REVIEW: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

I'm on to bigger and much better things now (Fallout: New Vegas) but before it's too late i wanted to give credit where credit is due. Before starting Vegas, and after completing a most disappointing Force Unleashed 2, I was lucky enough to get my hands on an unexpected little gem called Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

I remember the first time I played a Spidey game and thought, "man, this is pretty cool." That was the video game adaptation for the first Spidey movie. So imagine my surprise however many years later when I realized that game was pitiful compared to the new Shattered Dimensions. Now I know what a Spidey video game can really be.

This game departs from the traditional Spider-Man open-world style, which, looking back, really only had the effect of slowing down gameplay. In SM:SD, we find ourselves in extremely linear levels with very obvious goals. But fear not, true believers, this design is a very nice improvement, and it is supplemented with the "Web of Destiny" which adds a nice dimension of pseudo-quests to each level. There are a series of tasks one can complete for points which you can then spend on combat and character upgrades, like increased health and new combos. The more tasks you complete on the web, the more are unlocked. Some of these are completed by simply doing the things you need to do to beat the level, while others require you to use certain moves in combat, complete tasks within a certain time limit, or hit a certain number of enemies with the same attack. While these don't add any new physical dimension to the levels, they make a nice addition for those of us who want a little more out of our game play. There are also a huge amount of collectible spider emblems in the game which restore health and give you more points.

Back to level design. It's a mixed bag. Some of the levels are ingenious and very fun to play, like the lauded Sandman level, or the horrifying Carnage level, while others seem like a very irritating trek through hordes of D-bags to get to the boss. In the end, the levels all come down to how well the boss fight is designed. Again this is a mixed bag. They range from Some of the most excellent battles I've ever played, again like the battle with Sandman, in which he turns into a massive sand vortex and you must defeat him from the inside, to hugely disappointing, like the Deadpool fight, which I found to be less than impressive. The fights and levels entertainment value depends on how each different Spidey (there are 4 of them) uses their special abilities. In Noir we see a lot of stealth, which I actually enjoyed, though many have complained about. In Ultimate we get to use the Black Suits rage mode which is very cool and lets you effortlessly slice through swaths of enemies. In 2099 we have the acceleration mode which slows down time to let you dodge missiles and objects during the supremely well done free fall sequences. In amazing we just see Spidey doing what Spidey can, and it works out well.\

Check out this gameplay footage from the Sandman Level:

As far as the nitty gritty goes, the graphics aren't amazing, but they do a good job making each universe feel unique. The sound is a major downside. While traditional thwacks and pows might get some nerds hearts beating, they get very repetitive, as does the in game dialogue between Spidey and his nemeses. And Stan Lee, I love you, but your bit is getting very tiring. As the rightchief narrator for the games cut-scenes, Stan's voice work is just not that compelling, though some of the other voice talent including Neil Patrick Harris, is pretty good.

Lastly there is plenty of replay value here. With the web of destiny alone, there is a reason to go back and try and beat the game again, not to mention three different difficulty levels, and ranking systems on the levels so you can strive for the coveted gold medal. There are plenty of trophies/achievements to go around for those of you who like that sort of thing.

SM:SD was a short fun experience which should make Spidey fans happy while they wait for the Spidey reboot and inevitable game that comes with it. If you want to play a game you can beat in a week and have some fun with, check it out. Don't expect a great story, but do expect some fun gameplay.

Here's the trailer:

JOURNALISM 392W - Project 2: The Rally to Restore Sanity

200,000 people.

That’s one of the higher end estimates, according to Boston.com, for turnout at last weekend’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” hosted by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the hosts of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report respectively.

One rally attendee, Natasha McKenzie of Boston, MA, had this to say to the Boston Globe:

I think that things in this political climate have gotten very extreme. I feel it’s important for people to come together and stand up against that kind of sentiment…It’s an amazing blend of both [entertainment and politics]. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert leveraged their popularity to bring people out in a political way, and that’s brilliant.

200,000 people.

Do you know what it means when 200,000 people care enough about an issue to get out of their homes at the same time from around the world and all go support something? Not to mention 200,000 Americans, who, in general, are so used to having access to so many things within the comfort of their own homes that it seems unnecessary to go out.

It means that whatever is going on is important.

It means that people are fed up enough with the state of American government that they feel each and every one of their presences at this event will make a difference. And if that many people think this is an important issue, why are the only people who are listening two comedians?

McKenzie seems to think that it’s a good thing that Stewart and Colbert managed to pull this together, but she and many others are missing what’s written in between the lines here. Stewart and Colbert were the ones who did this, because no political figure could, or cared enough to. Nobody in politics is in touch enough with the American people to realize that the insanity and confusion needs to end. That it’s driving people crazy.

What does it say about America when the only people who can get people to turn out for an event, or who care enough to try, are two stand up comedians, who are going to see their ratings skyrocket for this stunt? It says the American people afford more respect to their entertainers than to their politicians, and it says that our politicians are not aware of what America is feeling.

Imagine what might have happened if, rather than Colbert or Stewart, two politicians had gotten behind this rally. Imagine if Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid had realized how America felt, and reached across party lines to rally behind sanity and what is best for the American people.

Stewart’s and Colbert’s rally has already begun to affect some small amount of change among journalists. According to Politico.com, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has removed the “Worst Person in the World” segment of his show, after it was criticized at the Rally. Imagine what kinds of changes might be affected if two politicians rallied together and started naming names, and criticizing bad policies.

Cheer for the Rally to Restore Sanity if you want, but don’t forget to weep for what it truly represents at the same time.

JOURNALISM 392W - Race Preview

This year almost every political race has some intriguing element. Whether it's vicious biting attack ads and wildly untrue accusations or the potential to drastically change the political landscape, these mid-term elections have become a truly tumultuous affair.

While the eye of the nation seems to be focused on some of the more deciding or outrageous examples, I think we are having a very interesting race right here in Massachusetts.

Nobody has forgotten the impressive upset victory of Senator Scott Brown, who replaced the late senator Edward Kennedy, and the question on my mind, and I would imagine the minds of many others, is will this happen again? Unfortunately I can't get out to vote today. I'm registered in NY and have already cast my absentee ballot, but I am following this race very closely.

Massachusetts is not usually one of the states that people focus on because it tends to be staunchly blue. However Scott Brown's win signals a potential shift in voting patterns, and shows us that discontented Republicans and Independents may once again flock to the polls in order to topple the norm.

The Boston globe today said that Democrats are going as far as to adopt a risky campaign strategy in order to increase turnout. They are campaigning in typically republican areas in order to bring out more voters, which they think, in the end will work in their favor. This move has the possibility to bring out both more Republican voters, and also voters who favor a local democrat, but not the party standard bearer, governor Deval Patrick. A risky play like this says that democrats are feeling pressed to take action outside their comfort zone of Urban areas, and may make for some very interesting campaign results. I'll be keeping my eye on it.

REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

I really desperately want to break the trend of bad reviews this game has been getting, because after all, I did enjoy it. My love for Star Wars gives me the ability to enjoy even the worst content Lucasfilm/Arts/Books/etc. puts out, and this is by no means the worst, but my point is that if you don't love Star Wars there is little reason to buy game.

Because I love Star Wars, and want to give the game credit where it deserves it, I'll start with the good. The visuals in SW:TFU2 are truly stunning. Lucas once again proves that he has created easily the prettiest, shiniest, and highest definition science fiction universe ever. The animations are smooth, and the worlds are very real. Every particle effect is brilliant and the force looks cooler and more powerful than ever in the hands of our hero, Starkiller. Facial expressions look very human, and the detail put in to making Starkiller and Kota come alive is astounding. Other reviewers have said it, and I agree, that this is one of the best looking games I've played.

Also worthy of note is that, in typical Star Wars fashion, the audio work is spectacular. From our favorite familiar tunes and some new ones, to the sounds of battle, your ears will always be in the game. The voice acting, combined with the aforementioned attention to detail in facial expressions and character designs really makes it a true Star Wars experience. See the video below:

More Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Videos

Unfortunately, no matter how glossy the coat of paint, the remainder of the experience falls somewhat short. I bought the game last night, and started playing it at 9:00PM. I was finished by 1:30AM. For those of you who have trouble with math, that's a 4 hour 30 minute run time. Granted I played it through on easy so I could get the story, but even so, thats a disturbingly short game.

During most of that time I found myself endlessly cutting through swaths of enemies with very little variety in order to get to the next cutscene, boss fight, free fall, or button mash sequence, which, in all fairness, are pretty cool when you get to them. The problem is, those sequences make up less than a quarter of the playtime, so most of the time it's just hack and slash. The levels feel needlessly drawn out for the sole purpose of extending playtime, though at least they look good enough to keep you hypnotized by the environment while you cut through the ranks. The Boss fights (all 3 of them) are neat, and epic, but overall pretty simple and repetetive. You fight the big Gorog from the trailer, a big droid, and (SPOILER) Darth Vader...Raise your hand if you're shocked. The free fall sequences are a nice touch, though I'm glad they only had three of them, as they, like much of the rest of the game, are fairly repetetive.

Combat is nearly identical to the original game, with the interesting new power mind trick, which is rarely useful, though rather amusing. The enemies are all very simple to kill. You either hack/force them to bits or only hack them to bits, or only force them to bits.

And now we come to it. The story. Even with all the bad parts, you'd still expect the story to hold up, right? Well, it's a mixed bag. I liked it overall. I'll give you a rundown.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

Darth Vader is trying to clone Starkiller on Kamino. He tells you that you are the latest attempt, but that the process is imperfect. You have a vision of Vader killing the original, freak out and run away. You go get Kota because you've had visions of him and you think he can lead you to Juno (your sweety from game 1) who you've also had visions of. You get Kota who tells you Jedi can't be cloned and that you must in fact be the real Starkiller. Meanwhile Vader sends Boba Fett to capture Juno. You go to Dagobah and do some crap in the Dark Side Cave where you have more visions of yourself and Juno. Yoda is there. Just as you are about to reunite with her, the rebel fleet is attacked and Juno is captured by Fett. Jerk. You and Kota and the rebel fleet chase Fett and the Imperials to Kamino where there's a space fight and you crash a ship into a Kamino city. Kota tries to get you to stay with the army and help destroy the Imperials on Kamino, but you say you only care about Juno, so you chase her down. You kill a bunch of dudes then have some visions, then confront Vader, who runs away from you while simultaneously releasing clone versions of you for you to fight. Wimp. He escapes, sort of. You chase him into a room where he has Juno, and he tells you he'll kill her if you don't submit to him. You do so, he lets her go, and she tries to kill him. He force throws her through a window. That pisses you off so you pummel him and then have the option to either be good or evil, which comes down to a single button press, unlike in the first game where this choice determined who you fought for the final boss. If your good, the alliance captures Vader, Juno is alive, you kiss, and the game ends with you still being unsure of whether or not you're a clone, and Fett following you into space. If your bad, another clone of you comes up behind you, kills you, kills the Rebel alliance, and Juno is dead.

END SPOILER

The story is decent. Not good, and not bad. It's very disappointing that we don't get clarification on the main mystery of the game. But at least it wraps up the the Juno thing pretty well, and reunites us with favorites like PROXY and Kota from TFU1. It's a cool adventure over all, and definitely intriguing, but unlike the original, it does very little to affect how we perceive the events of the original or prequel trilogies unlike the first game which dropped a very well done bomb on the Universe, and explained how the alliance was formed. For the most part it serves in a similar manner to the Empire Strikes Back, in that it is mostly just a connector between part one and the inevitable part three. That's OK with me, because now I know what the intent of these games are. They're not supposed to just be Episode 3.5, but rather a whole new stand alone trilogy within the 6 episodes. My other big disappointment was that characters like Yoda and Boba Fett, which were made out to be important in the trailers, served only as cameos, though I would bet money that we get to fight Fett in the third game.

Overall I enjoyed the experience, though only because I am a Star Wars fan. If I wasn't, this would have been a real waste of money. For those of you interested in the game I have two pieces of advice:
1) Make sure you played the original first, as you will be lost otherwise, and
2) Rent it rather than buy it if you can.
You can literally beat this game in an afternoon, and it's simply not worth $50. The story is OK, but not OK enough to excuse the other bad aspects of the game. Honestly, with all the work they put into sound, acting, and visuals, this would have made an awesome feature length CGI movie.

Why I Will Never Buy Another JRPG

Today I was sitting in my room reading the latest issue of GameInformer, and something in the issue really hit home for me.

It was intended to be a humorous article, as the lovely folks at GI often publish, but much of it actually rings true. It's essentially a flow chart of what they refer to as "every RPG ever." I would title it more accurately "every JRPG ever."

Though much of the flow chart is supposed to be funny, the unfortunate fact is that most of it is true, and most of it applies to every JRPG I've ever played.

It's always Amnesia followed by a ritual, followed by some sort of devastating reason to set out on a journey, followed by a Boss you will probably encounter again later, followed by many hours of grinding and acquiring new crap, followed by massive plot twist, followed by more grinding and finishing up sidequests, followed by a seemingly endless final boss sequence.

Seeing this all laid out in front of me brought me to the epiphany that I actually hate JRPGs. I started thinking about the countless hours I've spent in front of them over the years, and I realized that the only JRPG I ever finished was the Final Fantasy III remake for NDS. And that took me a year. I really forced myself to finish that game.

Then I thought about the JRPGs I never finished:

Final Fantasy 1&2 - GBA
Final Fantasy 4 - NDS
Rogue Galaxy - PS2
DQM: Joker - NDS
Final Fantasy 10 - PS2
Final Fantasy 7 - PS
Tales of Symphonia - GCN
and most recently Final Fantasy 13 - PS3.



Then I thought about my overall RPG experience over the years, and all the games I've loved and completed.

Icewind Dale 2 - PC
Diablo - PS
Diablo 2 - PC
Baldur's Gate + Expansions - PC
Baldur's Gate - PS2
X-Men Legends 2 - PS2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - PS2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 - PS3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 - PC
The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion - PC
Mass Effect - PC
and my absolute favorite RPG of all time: Neverwinter Nights, which I just started a new game on after almost 10 years of playing it.



Notice anything? NO JRPGs on my completed list. It's not manufactured. It's the truth. I always go buy these "critically acclaimed," or classic JRPGs because I feel like I should like them. And I'll admit that they can be temporarily entertaining, but in retrospect, the sheer unoriginality of them makes me realize that there is very little fresh gaming to be done in JRPGs. The RPGs I've completed and love strive to break from the norms of JRPGs by providing deeper plots, more meaningful choices, and more colorful characters. JRPGs are just rehashed content and the same plot over and over again with a new coat of paint. Well I say f*** 'em. I'm going in tomorrow and trading in my copy of DQ IX, and I don't think I will ever get another JRPG again.

JOURNALISM 392W - First Person Journalism

These types of stories are always interesting to me. It’s the type of writing I most enjoy doing, because it essentially boils down to storytelling, and since the story being told is one that centers around the tellers experience, the demand for certain journalistic norms like objectivity, neutrality, and specific formula are nearly non-existent. You can really write whatever you want to say about the topic, and you don’t even have to necessarily worry about staying within the confines of common decency, as can be seen in Scott Brodeur’s piece about Joe Lieberman, which is essentially a story about two men peeing.

What I think is important to note is that the newsworthiness of these types of stories often varies a lot from the majority of hard news. For example in the Lieberman story the newsworthiness essentially comes from the novelty of seeing a famous politician in a rest area bathroom, and the fact that it’s a famous politician. In the “Sucking Up” article, the newsworthiness seems to come almost strictly from the emotional proximity the author’s scenario might have to other people. One commonality here is that the newsworthiness for these articles is more about what is newsworthy for the author than what is newsworthy for the reader.

Yet somehow I still find myself interested in reading them. Like I said, I really enjoy first person journalism, but on another level, I’m glad the majority of professional journalism isn’t written in the first person, because I think it has the affect of really detracting from important issues, and discussions of societal trends in favor of gossipy sort of pseudoinformation.

JOURNALISM 392W - Congressman Neal Profile

I’m not quite sure who Richard Neal is.

I know he represents the Springfield area in the United States Congress. I know he has been a grade school teacher in the past, and is a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. And I know his history of supporting his constituents, their city, and their various causes, has made him well liked as a politician.

But I don’t think I really know who he is.

Last year I took a class with him: the Journalist and the Politician. Great class. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to go into either field. It gives Journalists an idea of what to expect when dealing with politicians, as well as giving people looking to go into politics an idea of how to handle us pesky journalists.

If there’s one thing I took away from that class, it’s that if you want to make it in either politics or journalism, you have to learn how to, in Neal’s own words, “play the game.”
Neal is a real master of this. To him, playing the game is really about putting on the politician mask, and never taking it off until you absolutely know you’re away from prying eyes. You can see this in both his teaching style, and how he handles himself during an interview.

A couple weeks ago I got to do an interview with Neal over the phone. We talked about Springfield’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program. He and Senator Kerry had worked to get this money to support Springfield’s minority students. This is what he said when I asked him why the investment was personally important to him:

“I think it augments 21st century global communication skills, and I think it emphasizes heavily what the new economy looks like. As a former teacher I think assisting these children … is just a good idea and it should be treated as an investment.”

If that’s not a cookie cutter response taken right out of some speech or press release I don’t know what is. I didn’t ask him for that; I asked him why it was personally important.

I remember getting responses like this in his class. Somebody would ask about how he felt about something, or how he would have reacted in a situation, and the response we would get was always like reading out of a textbook. You couldn’t get the guy to tell how he really felt about anything. Any anecdotes he gave were always about times when he won or did something exemplary as a politician.

Later in the interview I tried to get him to open up again. I asked him how he would like to see the money spent. That’s not even a very prying question. He said:

“I really refrain from that. I think the partnership is based upon the priorities that are determined by local officials, with the understanding that having children that excel is something good for America.”

How patriotic, and how very political.

It’s stuff like this that makes it very difficult for me to figure out who he is. He’s a great politician, and a very informative and interesting professor. But I wish I understood him a little better. I guess it all comes back to playing the game though. He’s better at it than most I think. Certainly better than me.

Here's a link to the audio from my interview with Neal:

http://www.zshare.net/myzshare/my-uploads.php

JOURNALISM 392W - Bullying Project

I think my favorite part of this project so far was the article about the anti-bullying task force by Heikkinen. It was the first one in the series that showed me that something real is being done to affect change in South Hadley Schools. That's something I had not seen before. Most of the coverage up until now has been highly critical of every aspect of the school leading up to and immediately following the case.

Because of that I also think that this project serves a community service purpose. Rather than focus on the conflict and try to determine who was wrong and how to punish everyone, Steve Fox' class is framing this story on a civic level. They are focusing on the community and on the steps being taken to rebuild and restructure. On top of that, they are taking their coverage of the situation and putting in context. They have other articles citing other suicides and what they have been related too. They talk about bullying related to everything from homosexuality to food allergies. I think it's an important part of processing something like this to have it placed within the context of a larger national or global trend.

Having said all of this, I should say that I am a bit concerned that some of the articles are rather shallow. While they have covered many issues, they have rarely been able to dig into them. I would imagine that has a lot to do with being inexperienced or being a college student, but as the project progresses I would like to see more thorough investigation.