Top 10 Video Games

      After having so much fun with my list of top ten movies I have enjoyed I thought I would make a list of my top ten favorite games. I think these are the best. I know many will not like the absence of Zelda or other very popular games but these are the ones that made me feel like I was having the most fun.

1. Fallout 3: Very violent but man was this game fun! That came out wrong, the game is so detailed and so complete it makes you feel like after you have played it you really could survive in a post nuclear apocalyptic society. Super cool game.

2. Fable: Remember when HALO CE came out and you bought the original xbox so you could play it. Well I bought my 360 after renting Fable 2, just so I could play the rest of the game. Then me and my wife got Fable 1 and have since gotten Fable 3. Coolest games ever!

3. Morrowind: I think I wasted more of my life towards the end of my high school years playing this than in any other single thing. I remember all the fun things I could do. Including the building of a wall made completely up of the helmets of slain Ordinators. I also spent a lot of time being lost in it's vast map.

4. Modern Warfare 2: I am a traditional HALO fan, I have a family of HALO nuts but when I played this game I'm afraid HALO just took back seat. This game focuses way more on skill and accuracy instead of who has the rocket launcher, shotgun and Sniper rifle. The only multiplayer game I have ever spent playing into the wee hours of the morning.

5. HALO: The king of first person shooters. Sure maybe I like MW2 better as a multiplayer but this game is the reason the MW2 even exists. Most next gen FPS are all copy cats from this one game. It changed gaming forever and it holds a special place in my heart.

6. Final Fantasy 3: Although referred to as final fantasy six nowadays I knew it as final fantasy III when I played it for the first time on my SNES. Actually the games story was so enthralling to me an and my brothers that we just sat and watched my cousin play it because he could get through it the quickest and thus make the storyline progress the best. I still remember the triumph when we beat Ultros at the opera house for the first time after many many attempts.

7. Assassins Creed: The only games to date where I have wanted to get every single achievement even after beating the main storyline long ago. The Italian cities are lush and accurate and the artistry is outstanding and detailed. Sweet game.

8. Mario: Who doesn't love a good Mario game? Lots of great childhood memories with many of the titles under this particular franchise. Clean and entertaining.

9. Earthsiege II: Most people won't even know what this game is but for those of you that do I'm sure you would agree that it was one of the better old compute games ever made. It's like a mech warrior game with a storyline and a plot. It also spawned Starsiege and Tribes which although not AS good were still great titles.

10. Battle Tanx: Me and my brothers spent hours playing this game. The plot was a little weak but it was so much fun to play the four player multiplayer blowing each other up that the rest didn't keep it off of my list.

And for honorable mention I have "Perfect Dark" the best pre-Halo first person shooter. This game was awesome because of all the guns you could use and the fact that you could actually have computer simulated badguys after you.

Top 10 Movies of All Time

     I would first like to preface this by saying that this is my list of top ten and I know that you will have a totally different opinion than I but I wonder who out there will have a similar view. I chose these movies based on the wow factor that they gave me and I also have a very great love of things that make me rethink my thoughts like "Inception" and "The Others" twists are cool and so are things like "Braveheart" and "The Last Samurai" where it makes you feel like you could stand up to a corrupt system and fight for freedom.

1.Inception: My Favorite movie to date is "Inception" Awesome idea, well directed; with that "Wow" factor in visual artistry.

2. Batman: The Dark Knight. A movie that really puts some edge into the otherwise cheesy superhero genre with a few emotional highs and lows and some good acting as well as one of the best villains of all time.

3. Batman Begins: A movie that I think raised the bar in action sci-fi forever. The film was well written well directed and made the super normal seem plausible.

4. The Village: M. Night has since fallen off the wagon of good directors but this movie touched me deeply, portraying a fantastical metaphor of innocence and true chaste love.

5. The Last Samurai: Anyone that saw this movie had to be moved by the way that the Samurai were portrayed had be be engrossed in the story of courage and honor. It had some sweet battle scenes as well.

6. The Lord of the Rings: As a trilogy and as a work of art nothing has come close to comparing to the "Epicness" of these films. No detail went to the wargs no line was left un-perfected. A modern masterpiece.

7. Tron: I know that this movie never really got to the top of the ratings charts but I think that it was visually stunning, morally clean, cleverly executed and above all very fun to watch.

8. The Others: Maybe you all saw the twist coming but this was one of the only movies in the history of my life that truly made me blink in momentary confusion and delight. Super plot point.

9. Braveheart: Being almost full blooded Scottish myself down to my bagpipes i actually play and my kilt i actually wear this movie got me to a level of Scottish pride I'll never forget. It also has several online awards for greatest battle scene in cinema.

10. Final Fantasy the Spirits Within: This movie came out when the art of computer animation was still in it's adolescence yet it made us all take a good step back and realize just how cool things could be on a screen.

As honorable mention I'm also going to have to put Avatar down. The first movie I ever "experienced" in a theater instead of just watched. Super cool.

These are my top ten hope you have a few favorite out of the mix.

The Enemy Effect

 

      Have you ever noticed how when you are trying to do something right your best friends suddenly become your biggest critics? Like when you are in the process of trying to loose a few pounds and suddenly everyone is offering you food or cake. Sometimes it's even worse, sometimes you are trying to make a decision based upon what you feel is right; and in the flash of an eye your closest kin turn on you and cast you out as if you are some kind of leper or something.
      This is a situation caused by guilt. Whenever you are doing something that somebody else thinks maybe they should have been doing or should have done, this enemy effect is bound to happen. Especially in friends and family because they see the effects of you choices first hand. It's interesting, because these same people that have the enemy effect happen to them when they see things you are trying to improve on happen and become full of pride and guilt; are also the first people to glory in your downfall. Now it may not seem that they are "glorying" in anything when something you try fails but you can bet they will be there to show you exactly where you "went wrong".
       Maybe using an example will illustrate what I mean. Lets say a certain person where to choose to do something a little out of the regular range of what society believes to be normal; for example join a religion that says it's christian but on the same hand has many things that don't fit into the regular christian ideals. This could be replaced by things such as homeschooling or home birthing or paying for things instead of getting into debt. All of these things have good end game results when done properly and with care and intelligence. We will stick with the first example that of a religion. Now, lets say that you tell your friends and family you have found the true church, one with all the answers. First there will be the initial shock of them being a little mad that you are not going to do things the way THEY would have done them. That can happen with anything; but then comes the real pain when to your frustration these same friends and family begin to treat you differently altogether. This is usually due to three things, firstly: you have changed; your life is going in a different direction than what they are used to and they don't know how to act around you anymore. Secondly: they truly don't understand you or what you believe; either because they are afraid of it themselves, or they are too lazy or set in their ways (like confederate slave keepers) to look into the reasons themselves. The final reason is The Enemy Effect, they can see the good that is coming into your life because of your choices and they wish they had the courage to change their own. They are angry because it seems like you have it all together, like you are part of something they never had the guts to do. In essence you make them feel like less of a person and they hate that about you. You make them feel uncomfortable with some of the choices they have made and they can't see past that. No matter how much they tell you, that you are making stupid decisions there is a part of them that yearns to have your courage and dedication.
       Now I want to make it clear that not everything works this way. Someone can make a poor decision and it is just that, in the name of change and self improvement they choose a path that makes their life worse. The way you can tell between the two is simple. Happiness, harmony and love; if these three things are present then someone is truly on a road to improvement. If however someone is afraid, worried, bitter, edgy, selfish,  defensive, contentious, deceitful, controlling and judgmental then this individual is not happy with his or herself, this is a person that will find it hard not to despise people that have found something that though maybe difficult actually gives them true purpose and happiness. An art upon which to dedicate themselves.