Blog Review Post Reviewing Blogging....Fun!

The end of the school year is finally here and let me just tell you all that I could anticipate the 6th of June anymore than I do right now. Except that one thing has been brought to my attention. This blog was created as a homework assignment for my English class, but, I find myself admitting the fact that I quite enjoy blogging and don't want to see my blog go.

At first I was a bit skeptical when I was told that I would have to create a blog for my English class, being forced to write post after post to turn in for credit, but the truth of the matter is, is that it felt good to get my thoughts and points written down on paper for people to read. I felt like someone out there was listening to what I had to say on the trivial things of life and that made me feel as though my blog has some importance.

When I first started writing Reviews, Rants, and Everything In-between it was a bit strange to know that I had the freedom to take this blog anywhere I wanted to with it. I had the potential to write about anything that I liked and I think that I chose a broad enough variety to keep myself and you entertained. What, with my rants, reviews and random thoughts on things of little importance.

As time passed, though, I started to see a flow and pattern to my writing and it all started to seem easier to post and rant to you. When I saw that I was growing an audience from all around the world I was so surprised and happy that I even wrote a whole post just saying thank you to everyone who had ever looked at my blog.

This blog has become more than an assignment for my English class, it has become apart of me; an outlet for my feelings and opinions to be shared with people who may agree or disagree with me.

I am so happy that I got a chance to actually create something like this and I would have never done it without the help of my English teacher, Mr. Parker, so he deserves his own thank you for just making me create a blog in the first place.

If I had the choice to never have done this blog, or do it all over again, I would definitely take the latter. Again, thank you all so much, it means so much to have your support and willingness to read these posts.

I hope I can continue to add to this blog in the future....And If I may add, if you are looking for some interesting blogs to check out, I recommend the links below.

Amber Deden
Paul Gibson
Allison Vernon
Cameron Mercer

Thank you for reading, please accept this unicorn as a gift from me...!

Chubbeh Bunneh Challenge

As of recently my fourth hour Journalism class has taken up the habit of completing popular internet challenges. So far we have successfully completed the Cinnamon Challenge, which let me tell you hurt, as well as Hallway Swimming.

The most recent challenge we have pursued is what is well known as the Chubbeh Bunneh challenge AKA the Marshmallow challenge.

Basically what this challenge consists of is stuffing as many marshmallows as one person can into their mouth while still being able to say the words chubbeh bunneh. You may be sitting at your computer reading this with a scoff, thinking to yourself, that sounds like the easiest thing ever.

Well, let me tell you right now, it's freaking hard to get past three marshmallows at the most. You cheeks get so puffed up with the sugary ball of fluff, and your throat closes up from how sweet each marshmallow is, up to the point where you feel like your are going to puke.

Ms. Hooker Starting off the challenge

We ended up having at least seven people try the actual challenge itself, and the highest score of marshmallows shoved into ones gob was around six, I believe.

Each person who tried the challenge could not stop laughing as soon as they popped the first marshmallow in their mouth. Of course, there was also a classmate who wouldn't stop making puking noises to deal with, which made it all the more difficult to proceed with the challenge.

Me at five marshmallows in my mouth.

I thought the challenge was going to be a lot simpler than it actually was, but in reality it got difficult after I got two marshmallows stuffed up in my cheeks.

This challenge by far was my favorite because it didn't hurt my throat and make me cough and choke, plus it was fun to try as well as to watch.

Morgan (left) and I racing with mini marshmallows, while Zack (middle) yells at us.

Eventually we ran out of big marshmallows - which we had to beg for from the foods class - and decided to try our own little challenge which we called mini chubs.

My good friend, Morgan, and I raced to see who could get the most mini marshmallows in our mouth without chewing or swallowing them. In the end I won and Morgan shuffled off to the trash can to spit out a giant glob of marshmallows into the trash.

When we finished racing each other, we needed to clean out the bag of marshmallows so, Morgan decided to dump the whole bag into his mouth and on his face.

I recommend this challenge, it's a fun one.

Morgan dumping the marshmallows in his mouth.

Black Veil Brides

Two days ago I stood in line, in the freezing cold, for two and a half hours to see the best concert that I have been to as of now. The line stretched nearly around the block and out into the street, but luckily my group and I had gotten a good place in the middle of the line.

Who were we waiting for you might ask..

None other than Black Veil Brides themselves.

Image Source: Themetalresistance.com

The concert started at approximately 7:00 and by the time I made it to the doors of The Complex, I was being crammed into a tiny room with a billion of other people. Imagine having an inch of personal space for two seconds then all of a sudden being pressed up against three people without enough room to move your arms.

That's how crowded it was.

As soon as the opening band came on stage everyone was rushing forward with screams that nearly punctured my ear drums. The opening band was a crunk-core band that went by the title of I Capture Castle. A local band from Salt Lake City, whom I found myself loving every second of each song they played.

I Capture Castle worked the crowd up and got the energy flowing and the vibe reverberating. The crowd was screaming their lyrics and jumping around like there was no tomorrow. Mosh-pits riled up and people were surfing through the crowd. I couldn't believe all the amazing madness, what with this only being the opening band and all.

Image Source: Jamesbelliston.com

My feet had begun to hurt by the time that William Control took over the stage and I must admit right now that his music didn't really intrigue me, though his fashion sense was actually very interesting. His music was a mix of screaming and electric beats that, for some reason, just made me want to cover my ears.

However, he was dressed like an old school vampire, what with his posh brittish-punk clothing style and funky up-do that made him seem just the slightest bit aloof. He did, though, have a very excited and upbeat on stage personality that kept the crowd dancing and screaming for Black Veil Brides to come onto the stage.

Image Source: Jeremysaffer.bigcartel.com

....Finally the time had come...They were finally coming on stage...

C.C. (drummer for BVB) was the first to appear on stage, and just the mere raise of his fist made the crowd wail like a bunch of lovesick girls. I clearly remember that tears sprung to my friends eyes when Ashley Purdy (bassist) walked on stage and formed a heart with his hands.

The band did not disappoint. They played a number of great songs, including a cover of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" with an interesting 80s metal twist. They made me laugh and scream and jump around, as well as wish that the concert would never end - no matter how bad my feet had started to hurt by this time.

The concert, songs, and band members of all three bands were amazing and worth the money and time spent on going to see them, and even the fan-base (audience/crowd) were a very interesting bunch of people to hand around.

Harlem Shake...Really?!

Okay, let's just ge one thing straight right now, shall we? Internet memes are either complete genius, or they don't make any sense and then there are the memes that are just completely random and stupid.

For example, the Harlem Shake. This merely started out as a thirty second video of a man in a mask dancing by himself, then, as soon as the bass drops there are nearly twice as many people dancing around with him. This video transcended up the ranks of internet popularity faster than a rock being chucked at your face.

Before last week I didn't even know what the Harlem Shake was, but now that I do, I wish I could reverse time and go back to the simple days when internet scandals were no more than pictures with random quotes and writings around them.

Image Source: Wikipedia.com

The picture above is a regular meme, not the Harlem Shake. I think that any stupid viral videos should somehow be banned from the internet as to avoid the nuisance of having to watch and hear about them twenty-four seven.

Anytime someone tries to make a Harlem Shake video, I hope they meet the same result as the man in the video below.

Video Source: Youtube.com

(Sorry about low quality)

No Celebrities, Just Plain'ol fun

Please keep an open mind about this blogpost because I will merely be sharing with you my experience that I had while I went trekking around Park City during Sundance (perhaps, just maybe, looking for all those famous people everyone is always going off about).

Anywho, I did not make this journey alone! I was accompanied by three of my very good friends (Picture below) who kept me well entertained and cheery while we walked up and down the very thin and very crowded sidewalks of Mainstreet. We searched up and down those sidewalks, in every crevice and alleyway we could find, just to get a glimpse of someone who may or may not have been famous, but after half an hour we gave up and decided to enjoy ourselves.

By going into every store we saw...

I should admit right now that we did get yelled at a few times to "NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!" because apparently nowadays browsing means that you must have your hands tied behind your back  and stand at a safe distance, which I guess is 5ft away from the actual shelf.

Left To Right: Anna, Me, Naomi (My friend Zizi had the camera).

After a few hours we ended up heading to Dolly's bookstore, where we stumbled upon this adorable pooch with the most piercing blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. I felt like that dog was staring into my soul and deciding my fate with his face! Okay, so that was worded a bit weird, but that's what it was like readers, you have no idea.

After I got through with the dog, however, my friends and I found ourselves rather hungry but sadly we were all broke, penniless, no money to spare, you know what I mean? Well through a little thing we like to call walking and talking, we ended up finding a place that was handing out free food.

The place was called Morning Star and they were trying to spread the message that vegetarian food is better for you and can taste good, therefor they were offering free vegetarian burgers to the public.

How could we say no?

With little less than a five minute wait, we were chowing down on some grade A vegetarian "meat" I suppose you would call it, and truth be told it wasn't half bad.

Dog with the eyes to the soul.

Well, I guess that's all I really have to say about that. I did end up seeing a few Sundance films and I must say that they were interesting, if not a little hard to follow. The free will and expressionism that comes with making a film for Sundance is absolutely astonishing. If those artists want to spread a message of view they know exactly how to do it and aren't afraid to say what they want to say.

Well alas this post has come to the end and I shall end by saying that if you have never been to the Sundance Film Festival, it is a must try thing that should be experienced once in your life.

The Egyptian Theater

Dishonored Review

Photo Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Dishonored_box_art_Bethesda.jpg
Image Source: Wikipedia 

Now, when I got this game, I have to admit I was freaking out. I swear, the moment after I buy a new game - especially one like this - the only thing I want to do is grab some Code Red, put my comfy clothes on, and lock myself away in my room....Which is exactly what I did.

The game itself is astonishing. You are thrown into the first-person stealth/adventure game, seeing through the eyes of Corvo Attano who has just been framed for the murder of the High Empress of Dunwall, an industrial city riddled by a vicious and lethal plaque. With nothing else to lose, you become an infamous assassin, out to right the wrongs committed against you. Skilled in stealth, combat, and blessed with gifts from The Outsider, an all powerful deity, that allow you to blink from one area to the next, possess animals and guards of Dunwall, and even see enemies through walls.

Pretty cool, huh?

Well, that's not even the best part my friends, oh no! "Dishonored", not only allows you to upgrade your weapons and powers through Bonecharms, and Whale-Bone Runes, but it is also affected by the choices you make. Right from the start of the game, the choices you make change the entire outcome; such as killing an enemy, or leaving them alive and merely sneaking past them. If you slit someones throat, you automatically become known as a ruthless masked killer on the prowl, and everyone in Dunwall is alert and afraid of you. Yet, when you sneak past an enemy and keep them alive, you become a mysterious and skilled escape artist, with the occasional whispered rumor about your existence. Be warned, the second option may seem interesting, but it took me long enough to achieve it. Not because I had to restrain myself from killing the guards, but because you literally cannot be detected once. Moving on, the other big player that affects the game is how you deal with your targets. I know you must be thinking that you have to kill them right when you see them, when there are actually a number of ways to take care of the target, even non-lethal ways. Make your choices, and decide the fate of Dunwall.

Photo Source: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2012/10/Dishonored-Assassinate.jpg

Image Source: Forbes

I was a bit disappointed, though, when I saw the graphics of the game. Not that I'm complaining really, I mean, I undertand that the effort put into making the game as free willed as it is, leaves little time to adjust and focus on the graphics of the game solely. But, come on, they could have at least made something a little more eye popping. When I saw the cover of the game - which is amazing - that's how I thought the graphics would turn out, but alas my hopes were crushed by the actual thing, which seemed a bit rushed and unrealistic. Now, don't get my wrong here, alright readers, I'm not saying that the graphics are so awful that you shouldn't go buy the game, I'm just saying they aren't what I expected.

Moving on, assuming I didn't just kill your interest with my petty lingering on something that doesn't really matter, we should really discuss the gameplay, hmm?

Photo Source: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2012/10/Dishonored-Piero.jpg

Image Source: Forbes

While I was playing through "Dishonored", I didn't really notice any big issues or bugs that really detracted from the gameplay experience. At least, not until I reached the last few levels of the game, that's where real problems started to build up and get on my nerves. For one thing, I remember on the second to last mission, I was talking to Pierro, the handy-man (who is a very anti-social genius),  had some of his dialogue skipped over, so whilst the conversation was taking place, I was sitting there, controller in hand, wondering what in the world he was talking about. Seriously the conversation went something like this.

"Corvo......On the roof.........Knock out..........Your choice, sir."

I mean, come on now!

Alright, I'm getting heated just talking about it. But, if I was given the choice to buy Dishonored again, or chose a different game, I am more than sure that I would pay the big bills for Dishonored, just to have the one-of-a-kind experience the game offers.