International Travels

It seemed like for the past two weeks I had been on a constant schedule without rest, but it was all in good fun. First me and the family drove on up to Niagara Falls in the great northern wilderness. What was supposed to be an eight hour drive took around twelve long and painful hours, nearly two of which were spent in a line of cars at the border. After that trip everyone just wanted food and sleep, luckily we ran into what was one of the coolest restaurants on the trip. The Copacabana, named after the borough in Rio not the song by Mr. Manilow, is a Brazilian Barbecue and it was delicious! Any sides you want are all on the buffet table and servers come around to tables with giant swords holding different kinds of meats. If your card if face up you get meat, if it's face down you don't...simple. I highly recommend that anyone with a carnivorous mindset should go look into Brazilian Barbecue restaurants, they are surprisingly plentiful on the island and in the city.
Of course there was more to the trip than a trip to a meat lovers paradise. Tourist attractions galore is what you will find in Niagara Falls but they all manage to be entertaining, and a little degrading. The Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds are the two popular attractions that get people ridiculously close to the falls. After donning a poncho that's thinner than a garbage bag you take off on your lovely adventure. The Maid of the Mist is located on either the Canadian side or New York side of the falls but the Cave of the Winds is located only on the New York side. The Maid takes you on a wet boat ride where you get to see just how gigantic the falls truly are.
Being that close to the largest part of the falls is terrifying and awe inspiring all at once. The Cave of the Winds seems to be nothing more than a walk on a boardwalk that runs adjacent to the falls until you reach the Hurricane Deck. This piece of the boardwalk is no less than ten feet from the falls and the daring people who stand on it get drenched. Both are awesome little stops that allow you to see the falls in all their glory.
Besides being around the falls and taking pictures of the gorgeous views we went to a casino, drank, ate, and went on one of the most insane hikes I've experienced. Devil's Hole State Park is a park in Niagara Falls New York and it is home to a nearly 4 mile walk that involves steep and slippery steps, narrow edges running adjacent to a rapid river, and coyotes. The walk was a blast and without a guide of any kind you almost feel in danger at times, especially when a baby coyote is following you around. The steps that lead down to the trail are something out of a Tomb Raider game and the views of the river that run next to the trail are incredible.
After our Canadian excursion we headed home and in eight hours our vacation was over, well my family's was. The next day I spent five hours driving down to DC for some quality time with the lady. Just a tip for anyone driving long hours alone, bring along either a comedian's Cd or listen to talk radio because you'll start to go inane on the ride if you don't. DC is an incredible city, if you know your way around. Getting lost in the heat looking for easy to find landmarks that no cop thinks you need help finding can be rough but there are some awesome places to check out in Washington. I won't go crazy listing everything to do in DC but if you have the chance head down to Georgetown or Bethesda and checkout Georgetown Cupcake. These little miracles are $2.75 each and are some of the most incredible desserts you will ever have. Their red velvet cupcake tastes better than most restaurants red velvet cakes and the pb fudge cupcake is just ridiculous.
So after nearly two weeks of traveling I am home and all is well. Expect more posts, hopefully on a somewhat daily basis, and email me at fisco316@gmail.com if you have topics, comments, insights, complaints, whatever. You can comment on my facebook as well just keep it classy.

Disgusting America, College, Movies, and a picture of Drew Carey!

It is becoming widely apparent that America enjoys disgusting television. It is not the sort of disgusting that creeps you out like Fear Factor or makes you not want to go down the dark hall after watching Criminal Minds. No, it is the type of disgusting that puts a smile on our face as we watch a man devour 6 pounds of beef, tuna semen, 4 sticks of butter, and so many more tasty treats. Shows like Man vs Food, which I am guilty of watching plenty of, feed America's insane addiction to watching eating. Eating is a way to stay alive and keep the body at its best, instead we have turned it into an exhibition of grotesque proportions. Sure watching this man, Adam Richman, take on some insane challenges is entertaining but is that because we want to be eating this food or because in some sick way we are hoping something horrible happens? Many people watched Super Size Me hoping for Spurlock to vomit and when he did audiences were pleased. The appeal of these shows is a mystery because the majority of people who watch shows in which huge amounts of food are being served or eaten make comments on how disgusting it all is. Maybe it's the fact that achieving something like eating a 5 pound burrito is truly amazing, or maybe we secretly want these normal guys to overcome the odds, or maybe we just want to see them have a heart attack on television...who knows?

Just as a quick side note for anyone having nightmares of debt and crying whenever the words college textbooks comes up in conversation, checkout www.textbookrentals.com Yes this seems like a weird advertisement and yes the name of the site sounds too simple to be useful but it actually lists all of the websites that have the book you're looking for (including chegg, ecampus, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc) and it lists them in price order. Not to sound like an ad but it actually saved me nearly $150 and my friend over $250. It's a good site so give it a look when you have the time.

Speaking of college lets talk about Netflix. Instant streaming has become hugely popular and the instant stream library is quickly becoming home to some of the strangest and eclectic movies and television series imaginable. I'm just going to run through a few quick selections that you should check out for a good time. First of all in the television category they now have Hercules...that's right Kevin Sorbo as the demigod himself so stop what you're doing and go watch Mr. Sorbo "act" and "punch" and have a hairy chest, go on. Also they have a ton of awesome shows from overseas including the Queen's favorite car show Top Gear. Top Gear has some of the most incredible and hilarious car related challenges and as someone who knows absolutely nothing about cars I can honestly say it is accessible to anyone. Merlin, Doctor Who, Jekyl, Black Adder, they're all English and they're all fantastic. On the US side of television Netflix has just about any series you could ask for but do yourself a favor and go watch the 13 episodes of Firefly that are up for instant streaming. Firefly is a space western created by Joss Whedon, the guy what made Buffy and Angel, and it is outstanding. It is one of those shows that does so many things right that even when it does something wrong you make excuses for it to be right. Sadly only one season was made of Firefly so after you're done with it the only other bit of Firefly-esqe action you can get is the movie Whedon made called Serenity which is a nice two hour closure, also on instant streaming. Now as for movies there are a whole bunch but I'll mention two that are, in my mind, must sees. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is the movie that every robbery comedy tries to be. The movie involves a then unknown cast including Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, Jason Flemyng, and even Sting. The movie centers around a group of thieves and criminals who are in a big time debt and go to great lengths to pay it off. Director Guy Ritchie adds some fun moments with the gang that make the movie pop and the writing is top notch. Statham is exceedingly funny as the movie rushes forward and the twisting multi-sided story intertwines itself so well that it all makes perfect sense and gives the viewer a sense of knowing over the cast. Overall it is a fun ride that makes a huge impression with its witty dialog and great twists on common criminal movie situations.
Another great movie is the rough gem known as Brick. Starring a very young Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a teenage investigator looking into a murder of a has been love of his. Jocks, geeks, actors, druggies, and other typical high school clicks are well represented in this movie and each one is depicted as if from an incoming freshman's nervous mind. What makes Brick so amazing isn't the clicks or the acting or even the story. While all those elements are solid for a budget indie film what stands out is the incredible dialog. These are all high school students yet they all speak in 1950's cop talk. Each sentence is filled with gibberish that almost needs a second listen to understand what they're talking about. Brick is one of those movies that makes you think while it's on and when it's done. A story about a lost love, drugs, money, oh and Gordon-Levitt gets his ass kicked...a lot, Brick is a truly hidden gem among the tons of movies on Netflix so stop watching White Chicks and Epic Movie and go watch Brick.

As promised

Mass Appeal!

I realized that confining a blog to a single topic is not the best way to get a bunch of people to read it so let's change things...now. Let's not waste time with explanations or excuses and instead jump into the five topics of today's blog. These topics will include; one person to follow online, one book to check out, one website to look into, recent musical goodies, and a blow your mind story. All that along with any random tidbits.

The internet is full of interesting people who do strange things. It is also full of really interesting people who seem to understand what other people want to watch and read online. Kevin Rose is a mixture of the two aforementioned archetypes of "online celebrities". That is really what Rose has become in recent years, a celebrity with a cult following of technological and savvy internet wanderers. Rose began his low level stardom on the TechTV show The Screen Savers as a young tech who always preformed barely legal computer tricks. Moving on to hosting the web show Diggnation with co-host Alex Albrecht where they cover stories on the site Rose helped to create Digg. Digg is Rose's baby and his enthusiasm for his project shows in his daily tweets and videos. For those unfamiliar with Digg it's a site that encapsulates the best news stories and people can either digg them or not resulting in the most popular stories being on the front page. Rose is extremely interesting to follow whether you check out his tweets, his YouTube videos, or his always entertaining episodes of Diggnation. With his newly acquired position of CEO at Digg there are more interesting videos from Rose and his friend author Tim Ferris about angel investing and other really interesting topics. Check out Rose's site at kevinrose.com or his twitter at twitter.com/kevinrose and I promise you'll be happily surprised with the content.

With summer upon us it seems that there is an increasing amount of time in the day that is empty. When these times occur why not grab a book and read? Don't know how? Well I can't help you there but if you are capable of forming sentences in your mind through the use of your eyeballs then I suggest checking out Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. A book that I picked up randomly due to the simple cover with nothing but text and a razor I thought a random book buy would be interesting at the least. Flynn's novel somehow gripped onto me and did not let go for the next few days while each page flew by and each event stapled itself to my memory. The story follows a depressed and broken woman on her return home to get the latest story about some killings in the area. I don't like to spoil much when talking about books but the twists and emotions this book throws at you will be more than worth the time you spend reading it. Sharp Objects

The interwebs are full of interesting sites and stories that most people are unable to cover in their lifespan. My hope is to show you one or two sites that bring some joy to your life and maybe even help you out in some small way. The site I'm going to talk about for this post is Food Mob. The full address is http://revision3.com/foodmob as it is a show on the site Revision3 which is full of great shows I'll talk about eventually. But Food Mob is a great cooking show hosted by Chef Niall Harbison. Harbison and his (maybe) British accent guide viewers through some of the easiest recipes I have ever seen that yield some of the most amazing foods I've tasted. Pancakes, burgers, steak, fajitas, pasta, and a lot of other really great recipes. All of Niall's recipes contain only a few ingredients and the steps are mind numbingly simple to boot. Along with great tips on gear and tricks to make bear cold or how to cut better the show is great for people who just want to cook without a 40 minute prep time. Food Mob also has a large fan base with emails and pictures that Niall shows on each episode, overall its a fun time coupled with a great learning experience. Food Mob

So recently I have been into buying CDs and listening to each song instead of illegally obtaining my music and I must say that the feeling of having a collection and knowing that I am supporting the bands I like is really cool. Lately my listening habits have been focused on two albums. Brothers by The Black Keys and Infinite Arms by Band of Horses. Come June 20th I will being seeing Band of Horses live in Brooklyn so I'll definitely tell you all about that but in the mean time let's talk Brothers and Infinite Arms. Brothers is the newest album by The Black Keys and it is just a fun ride. The first seven songs all give me the feeling that they'd be great to blast in the car and just cruise too and I was completely right about that. As a whole it is a very funky album with heavy amounts of bass and vocals reminiscent of Muddy Water era vocals. Not being the definitive source of music knowledge by any means I thought it was a pretty amazing album that I bought solely on the fact that the album art made me laugh. Brothers. Infinite Arms is the third full album from Band of Horses and it is, just like the first two, inspiring and impressive. The vocals are like anything I have heard before, other than the other two albums, and the lyrics reverberated strongly with me. There are clear cut singles like Laredo and Compliments but NW Apartment, Dilly, and Infinite Arms all sound fantastic as well. I am completely one sided when it comes to Band of Horses and I say that to let you know I am 100% biased. They are a great band and I think giving any one of their albums a listen would be a favor to you eardrums so go on and do it. Infinite Arms

Science is a scary topic at times. Wormholes, space travel, black holes, cancer, death, rebirth, regrowth, and so many other amazingly destructive yet beautifully realized ideas that swarm our planet and our galaxy. This story comes from Mail Online, a UK site, and it involves the realized use of stem cells. Using a damaged liver and stem cells scientists were able to recreate a new liver that replaced that same patients damaged liver. There is no chance for rejection, no complications, and no donor needed. The patient is the savior in this story. Imagine the possibilities that something like this can lead to. Not all organs can regenerate like a liver can but there is no harm in trying right? Liver

There is always more to talk about and that is the crazy beauty of this world we live in today. Let me know what you think by shooting me an email at fisco316@gmail.com or leave me a post or a facebook message, just get back to me however you can I'd love to hear thoughts on all this.

Random Grenades

Recently Infinity Ward put out an online commercial to jokingly address the problem in Call of Duty's multiplayer mode known as grenade spamming. This is the act of throwing multiple grenades in random spots in hopes of killing anyone who is unfortunate enough to walk by one. The commercial itself is voiced by Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and honestly was done very well. Hearing Hamels talk about the problem in a jesting way was humorous and the ending of the in game video was a good gag. The problem occurred when the video ended and a voice said "Brought to you by Fight Against Grenade Spam". The fake company that jokingly paid for the commercial just happens to create the acronym of "FAGS" which was intentionally done by Infinity Ward. They believed the joke was not offensive and ultimately more entertaining than hurtful. Before I go off on a tangent about the ridiculousness of this entire situation I would just like to say that G4TV's Adam Sessler addressed the situation as well on his webshow, Sessler's Soapbox, and pointed out the problems with this commercial exactly as I would have. So instead of writing for a few hours on the reasons this commercial and the entire mentality of people who either agree with it or don't see the problem with it is frustrating at best I'll just post a link to the video. Adam Sessler is a very animated, intelligent, and passionate video game journalist who hits very key points in this video. Give it a look.

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/700461/Sesslers-Soapbox-Adam-Calls-Infinity-Ward-Out.html

A Big Ol' Smorgasbord!

As Dragon Age Origins slowly downloads onto my steam account and I wait impatiently to play it my attention turns to my blog. It has been mainly comprised of video games, in fact it has been all video games. While that is my passion I feel as though it might get a bit boring for some so I'm going to do my best to include whatever else comes to mind, hence this post's title.

One of the first things that has been slowly taking over my Zune and my musical interests is the Blues; Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf to be specific. I recently watched Cadillac Records and was instantly grasped by these two artists, mainly because their music was so emotional and real. It didn't feel like they were making music because it helped them become gods amongst men, it felt like they made these songs to embody their lives and emotions. I am no movie buff so I'll leave the film review of Cadillac Records to someone more inspired to write about it, instead I'll focus on what the music did to me. Muddy Waters' music is perhaps some of the most catchy and inspiring music I have heard since I began listening to broad types of music. Every single one of his songs can be manipulated to prove that someone else used his music to make their song. Innovation does not even begin to describe what Waters did for music as we know it. However, for every one of Muddy's songs I fell in love with there was a Wolf song I couldn't stop listening to.

The methodical approach towards every note, the voice that no one else can copy, the harmonica solos that captivate anyone willing to listen, and of course the lyrics (mainly thanks to Willie Dixon) that tear at your heart and then stitch it back up. Howlin' Wolf is something that I have never experienced while listening to a musician before, a combination of true emotions along with music that anyone can enjoy. Maybe it is just my strange and often random addictions to different musical types but there is something special about Howlin' Wolf. Give his songs a listen and let me know what you think.

I suppose I'll end this post a bit abruptly as the game has finished its downloading but I'll end with...a book! Yes I read too, it's incredible. As of now I've been getting my nerd on with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. It is quite possibly the most interesting series of books I have ever had the absolute pleasure of reading. The story focuses on a land filled with strife and conflict that spans many miles and many families. The interesting points come in when Martin kills of main characters that the reader was following. Instead of that instant feel good "everyone lives because they're the good guys" feeling you get a sense of confusion that no author has instilled in me before. Knowing who is good and who is bad is not always as simple as it has been with other books like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. There is no clear line drawn between characters and it makes each scandal, battle, murder, and back stab seem that much more powerful. Go read the first book entitled A Game of Thrones, it won't be a waste if you're able to keep up with the changing point of views and long character lists.

So Many Ads!!!

Credibility has become a topic of much debate in the video game writing world. It is difficult to seem unbiased about a game you're reviewing when the game is covering your site with banners and ads. The problem is that video game websites want to include ads that their viewers and readers will click on to generate profit. Any gaming site can put up ads for a clothing store or a new cooking product, but those ads won't generate the revenue that a Halo 3 ODST ad or a Dragon Age ad would create. This becomes a problem for viewers of the site, do you trust the review of a game that is currently being advertised on the site? Or do you look elsewhere for an unbiased review?

One of the most famed stories in video game journalism is that of Kane and Lynch and the review it received from former Gamespot employee Jeff Gerstmann. The game, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, was being advertised by Gamespot and eventually it was reviewed. Jeff gave the game an average score of 6.5 out of 10 due to the games many bugs and glitches. Gerstmann was fired soon after and the reasons were never truly or clearly stated why. While it is ridiculous to assume that the review would be the only reason for his termination the entire process brings up a great point about credibility and integrity. Gaming sites and magazines walk a fine line between giving honest reviews to their fan base and making sure game companies still want to advertise within their pages. Giving an advertised game a lackluster score could end up leading to gaming companies not wanting to advertise for a magazine or website that won't praise the game that is bringing them revenue through ads.

However, most sites and magazines do manage to pull off the advertising and reviewing debacle very well. Whether it is through disclosures at the beginning or the end of the review, not reviewing an advertised game until the ads are down, or sometimes just reviewing the game regardless of ads. The point is that reviews are written by people who are giving their opinions on a game they have played in an often different way than how most people play games. While most people take their time to see it all and have fun on their own time reviewers run through a game and make sure they see everything a game has to offer in a short amount of time to deliver a timely review. Take reviews with a grain of salt, and if a website or magazine seems like its being a bit too biased with a certain game then go look the game up on a different website, metacritic.com is a good source for nearly every review of a game...just don't take the metacritic score to mean something, we'll talk about that tomorrow. Happy gaming.

Review: Killzone 2 (Single player only)

So my hopes of posting a Xbox Live Arcade article last night was ruined by my addiction to Killzone 2. I jumped into the game, thinking to play for maybe an hour or so, and ended up playing the game for close to five hours to its finish. Afterwards I decided that I would throw up a review of the single player game because I found it to be stunning in its simplicity of story and intricacy of gameplay. This will only be a single player review of Killzone 2 because I have not yet gotten into the multiplayer, but expect a write up of that soon.

After listening to a breathtaking speech by the game's antagonist Scolar Visari, played by Brian Cox, I jumped right into the single player action. With a basic militaristic plot outline you are put into the boots of Sergent Sev and told to go off and kill the enemy on their home planet. If you take the time to see the story for what it really is you get a feeling that more could have been done with it. There were very few times that Visari was portrayed in cinematics and that could have been a highpoint of the story. Visari's speeches about how the ISA, the protagonist's military force, treats his people like mutants who do not deserve to live make you sympathize with Visari and his seemingly

turbulent situation. Although for all the sympathy you may feel for Visari and his Helghast troops there is an underlying sense of manipulation given off by his speeches as well. Overall the simple story elements in Killzone 2 allow you to connect with the often silent Sev and his overly adrenaline pumped squad. Through quick cut scenes you get to better understand each member of the squad, although some of the characters seem paper thin. Killzone 2's characters are mainly developed through their final moments which always end in glorious and memorable ways. By the end of the game you can clearly understand the characters' motivations and quirks, and the bland plot is made up for by the incredible cut scenes.

The first thing anyone will notice about Killzone 2 is its incredible graphics. There were always claims made to trailers of Killzone 2 gameplay being made up because it looked so good. While some of the trailers were not gameplay footage it is apparent that the actual visuals are not far off from what was shown years ago. Everything from the barren and destroyed landscapes of the poisonous planet of Helghan to the interiors filled with Nazi-like flags of the Helghast is beautifully rendered. Gun models look fantastic and character animations, while occasionally awkward, flow nicely from shot to shot. Of course what would a first person shooter be without guns, and Killzone 2's guns are its bread and butter.

With a sizable variety of weapons, both big and small, Killzone 2's arsenal is impressive to say the least. While using the default ISA assault rifle and smg became my main strategy there were occasionally times where I would pick up something new for added flare. Some parts of the game require the use of a sniper rifle, missile launcher, and other one hit wonders. My personal favorites from the Helghast side were the bolt gun and electric gun. The bolt gun shoots a large bolt right into an oncoming Helghast and eventually detonates for maximum damage, while the overpowered electric gun shoots a bolt of electricity that stuns and then kills its target...oh it has infinite ammo too. While these guns make small bits of the game fresh and exciting the main part of the gameplay is exciting enough to not even warrant these outlandish guns. All of Killzone 2's

weapons have a nice weight to them and feel great when you are squeezing the triggers, not to mention that they all sound great when fired. My only gripe with the guns in the game is that, excluding headshots, it takes too many shots to bring down a Helghast. I understand that they are supposed to be mutated humans with great strength but they can't all act like Jesse Ventura in Predator. Besides that complaint I found the gameplay to be top notch especially with the great addition of stop and pop gameplay in a FPS.

By simply pressing the L2 button and finding cover Sev automatically hides being the object in front of you. If you keep L2 pressed down you can peek out from the side of the object or pop up top and let off a few rounds without taking too much damage. The enemies also behave in this manor and manage to provide some difficult challenges with their ability to take cover. While the AI in Killzone 2 could use some work the enemies manage to make up for their lack of brains with sheer numbers. At times it can feel like there is an unending number of Helghast

soldiers but that tends to make situations feel all the more intense. Especially during a particular battle for a courtyard, where the soldiers are literally endless until you manage to kill enough to move up on their position and continue to push them back. These battles feel great and make the game feel more like a war than a linear push through enemy territory. There is also a superbly done boss battle with Radec that makes me wonder why there are not more boss battles in first person shooters.

Overall I was blown away by the single player campaign in Killzone 2. It started off slow enough that anyone would be able to understand the basics and ramped up as the game progressed. The occasional crazed talks of Visari and his soldiers helped to flesh out what would've been a completely barren story; although I would venture to guess that most people would find Killzone 2 to be spectacular without any story elements at all. The guns and gameplay in Killzone 2 are polished and developed to such a high degree that by the time you finish playing the single player game you just want to keep shooting. Luckily there appears to be a robust multiplayer side of the game which I will look into and write about soon. As for now do yourself a favor and, if you own a PS3, buy Killzone 2.