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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

AR, VR, AC, MTV, VCR, VHS, DVD... Wait, just the first 2?

Hey guys! Sorry it has been a while since I discussed a topic here on this page, but I am here now. So, recently I have found myself thinking a lot about augmented reality, the art of merging VR and real life. Pokemon, Occulus and other things of the like have put me in the mood to discuss this topic at length. AR could be our future. Do me a favor. Look around the room and really think about what actually needs to exist physically. As it turns out, not much, not even the people necessarily need to be there. Imagine, instead of a $20 chess set and a several thousand dollar TV, you buy them in the app store for a few dollars and use them anywhere, any time, at any size. Imagine being in the same room as a person across the globe, for a game of chess, a conference, or just a conversation. Imagine a world, where we can all be together, social, and having a good time. That is the issue with our current technological age. People are losing ability to communicate. Society is undergoing a paradigm shift. We can let it go as is, and evolve society to be fat, language-less creatures that communicate by typing on cold, non-personal computers. There is another way. We can push the shift to utilize AR and regain our humanity, get the brightest minds together to kill disease, and even truly play Pokemon in real life.
There are also many concerns behind AR as well, but I feel they lack ground. People are concerned that this will put many people out of work, having their service or product become purely digital. It will, but without AR, this shift away from the necessity of those jobs will happen anyway. In every paradigm shift, people lose their lives work. Between cave men and early civilization, people had to abandon hunting and gathering, and learn to farm. They then had to learn to build. The list goes on and on. Every time society changes, people have to adapt. Some more than others. This world is changing either way, it may as well be for the better. Some are concerned that this will cause too great a reliance on electricity, and make power plants a main target for terrorists, making it easy to take out a country. Yes and no. This, again would happen anyway if we let the shift go as is. However, incorporating AR will allow the best minds to come together to create new, hyper-efficient renewable energy sources. It will also allow us to all become closer together, a little bit of kindness and realization of ones own humanity will make it easier to avoid people becoming violent extremists, and could even prevent wars. People are also concerned that it will end the age of good, hard work. That age is already over. I value hard work in all forms, physical and mental, and feel that AR will make it easier for us select few, who, in addition to efficiency and enjoyment, crave a challenge, to keep that ideal alive.
We could advance all areas of science.Medicines to extend life, cold fusion in a jar, and hyperspacial travel are all very real possibilities that can now become a reality in our lifetimes, if only the right people could come together. Finally, not enjoying your first date? Hit end AR call and you are gone. See ya and allons-y.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Cursed Time Consumer

Hey guys. So as you all may know, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child just dropped, and I was absolutely thrilled. Even though I was slammed with work, things at home, and a few other things I can not discuss at the moment, I read it within 3 days of it coming out, and day 3 was just the last chapter. So, I have decided to review it, spoilers, but, not really. I just have to call it so that no one gets mad. Anyways, since my first reading of it so little time ago, I have reread it more times than I like to admit, and have read every review I could find. I think that I was getting too much hate. I will explain why the bad emotions were out of proportion, and then why the book is good. One reason why I believe people have been hating on it so much is because of the format. It was written as a script, as for a play. This format can be unfamiliar to those who are not actors, or lovers of Shakespeare. Things that are strange and unfamiliar can be uncomfortable for people, and this format can make it difficult to immerse oneself in the story. I am an actor and a lover of old Billy Shakes(sorry Mr.Shakespeare), but to immerse myself in a script was a learned skill, and one that not many have. However, the main reason it is getting such bipolar reviews is because people went into this expecting it to be as good as the original 7 books. There was absolutely no way that this new book could compare to the original series. You have to take it, although as a canonical part of the series, as a separate book. It is made to tell an after story, to give another ending, and renewed life, to all the characters we know and love.
Billy Shakes
Image result for billy shakesNow, to explain why this book is a work of art. Here spoilers may get a little worse, so beware, but not really. I drove home from my local bookshop, and I could feel the book burning a hole in the seat behind me, where I placed it so I could restrain myself. It had beautiful art on the cover, and promised me the story of Harry's son. The inside was even better. As I opened the cover, I was instantly back in the wizarding world. This book transports us into the head of the teenage child of a legend, the one who, from the moment he started at Hogwarts, felt like a disappointment. He had only one friend, and constantly feeling like he had failed. I think this boy, Albus Severus Potter, is the most relate-able character in any of the series. We all know what it's like to try and escape someones shadow, only to end up disappointed. We know what it's like to feel alone. Furthermore, as the book progressed we got to reunite with our old friends of the past, grown older, and see what their lives became. They all had great lives, which is what we all wanted to know for true. Some characters, through portraits, and Albus' screwing up time to undo the mistakes of his father, we got to see some deceased friends, come back, in perfect character. We got to see how everything could have turned out, with the tiniest of changes. This book, in true harry potter fashion, ended in good morals and lessons, as well as new beautiful quotes. So remember to be close to your loved ones, to learn from your mistakes, that everything happens for a reason, and that we all must make sacrifices, for the greater good of others. See ya and allons-y!