TO GAME OR NOT TO GAME?

This past week I received a new assignment for my graduate Writing for the Web class. In the class (which spawned this very blog) we are tackling projects focused on this very crazy thing we call the World Wide Web.

WELCOME VISITORS!

For this assignment we are to create a game. We have to bear in mind our audience, have a plot-line, have characters, determine the goal, the list of requirements goes on and on.

I’m thrilled about this project in that I already have my idea. An interactive online game, focused at helping children learn Spanish. It would feature a character I pulled from a children’s book I wrote, “Ramon el Raton;” a skateboarding rat who speaks Espanol.

Nothing is impossible for Ramon!

As we continued to talk about the assignment, we got into the heated debate about “gaming.” And whether or not violent games = violent children.

The class was quickly divided, with some of my colleagues thinking that violent games for hours on end does enlist violent behavior. And other thinking it does not.

Many articles, are supporting this answer. After scanning the brain, according to Kristin Kalning of MSBC, game violence does trigger violent behavior.

"Man Hunt 2," a game which is said to promote hostile behavior

“Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention.”

Jared Lee Loughner, who at the begining seemed "normal"

With the horrific shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, where many are putting blame on the violent games the shooter (Jared Lee Loughner) loved, we cannot help but wonder.

So what is your opinion? I know this is a hot topic and yet find myself divided. Therefore I would love the input!

~Eli

1 OUT OF 3

Last year, I went to three weddings. The first was a traditional Catholic wedding which took place in a huge Cathedral in downtown Savannah, GA. As I sat quietly in my pew, I glanced back as the bride made her way down the long aisle. The look in her eyes when she saw the groom, whom she had met at work, was breathtaking.

The lovely Catholic St. Johns in Savannah, GA

The second was a beautiful outdoor wedding that took place right on the Carolina beach. As the sand shifted under my sandles I smiled at the cute couple, who had met while attending college at UNC-Wilmington.

The beautiful...Wrightsville Beach, NC

The final wedding was that of one of my good high school friends. As she made her way down the aisle at the huge Presbyterian church in Raleigh, NC, I smiled. The couple had met online on the popular dating website, e-Harmony.

Watching her cut the cake with her handsome husband had me thinking…just what was the deal with these online websites?

It seems like every other commercial today is about how match.com or e-harmony helped a couple meet. Yet they are not all the same. After doing some investigating (i.e. gossiping with my girlies who have tried it out), I ‘ve discovered the following.

E-Harmony, which according to their website is the “#1 Trusted online dating site,” matches couples based on their trademarked, 29 Dimensions® of Compatibility quiz. After taking the quiz and paying the payment of either $59.95 a month or $39.95 for two months,  you’re ready to meet your match solely based on your interests. According to friends, this is for SERIOUS online daters. No fun “meet-and-greet” here folks! We’re talking marriage!

apparently e-Harmony worked for Katie and Danny!

Match.com, which according to the online dating survey, Chadwick Martin Bailey, is the #1 Rated Dating Site. What differs is the fact that there is no major personality quiz. Instead, users simply upload their photos and brief descriptions and they’re off. Off with the help of a monthly payment of  $24.95 for 1 month, 3 months for $49.95, and 6 months for $79.95. Bottom line, not as serious as e-Harmony, yet still guarantees a match!

Plenty of Fish, is a free online website, which according to two of my “sources” is simply for flirting. Most of the guys aren’t serious about dating and simply meeting for a good time. The website is also FREE. HOWEVER, I do have to say I  know two happy couples that met from this website and are seriously dating!

Recently I have seen hilarious commercials for a new online dating website, Zoosk.com. It promotes the fact that you can look for it all. A casual relationship to something serious. Also free.

The list goes on and on from okcupid.com to datingfriend.net, (both free) there are plenty of sites to check out.

Today I’m heading to yet another wedding. This time for a beautiful couple that were introduced by the professor I originally created this blog for. While they met on a blind date,  it really seems that you really can NEVER know when you will meet “the one.”

And according to my own “wedding survey” of last year, it seems that 1 out of 3 couples scope out the online singles bars!

Cheers! ~Eli

YOU GOT GAME?

 

We ain’t talking about basketball here folks!

Recently, while out downtown with two of my gorgeous “single-and-ready-to-mingle” girlfriends, I thought to myself, what does it take to “have game?”

What are the bodily reactions and verbal ploys that prove to be successful?

 

As one male approached me, I nervously looked away. Since I wasn’t really feeling it, I thought I would observe. See what my friends and the other females at the bar did to attract attention of the opposite or same sex.

After ordering another vodka tonic, I watched in amazement. There really are things that women and men do to help “have game.”

The Females:

#1- Batting of the eyes. (The metallic, smokey eyes that is…)

#2- “Flooffing of the hair.” (My friend Diana does this via Dirty Secret, an awesome hair product that helps add volume to your lusterous hair.)

#3- Re-applying the make up. (Lip gloss, eyeliner, face paint, etc.)

#4- Eye contact, eye contact, eye contact!

#5- Sexy drinking…playing with the straw…you’ve seen this!

The Males:

#1- Straight approach, walking up to you and saying hello. (BOLD MOVE HERE!)

#2- Direct verbal approach…”What’s your sign baby?”

#3- “Poofing of the chest” (Walking around with their chests stuck out, arms back…flaunting their feathers!)

#4- Eye contact, eye contact, eye contact!

#5- Casually bumping into you at the bar. “Whoops…you come here often baby?”

So who really does have game? And will we ever know if it’s working? Whatever you do, please do not do this…

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/212297/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-hashtags-worst-pick-up-lines

OWN YOUR POWER

I’ve recently been going through a rocky part of my life and seem to have lost perspective. I could lie and say it’s because of school, but it’s not. It’s because of a romantic relationship with a boy I’ve loved.

Dealing with this has been one of the most difficult situations to deal with. Denial has always been a strong suit of mine. My earlier post about anxiety? Yep, it’s mainly a result of this.

It doesn’t help that approaching the big 3-oh, has brought on a series of questions, adding fuel to an already flaming cocktail of anxiety.

1-Will I ever get married?

2-What about kids?

3-Why do I still like to go out and act like I’m 21?

While I am by no means ready to answer any of these, I do think that sometimes it’s good to talk to people who know you…the real you. Your family.

The above quote is right out of the mouth of my older AND wiser brother, Troy. Hearing his encouraging voice over the phone brought tears to my eyes, but it also reminded me of who I was. I had forgotten that.

Me and the big bro, "Troy-sito!"

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

Clink! Clink!

Nope. Not Christmas. It’s wedding season. And as someone who has literally felt like Katherine Heigel in “27 dresses,” I know a thing or two about this hectic time.

Not another one!

For those of you who are getting married, read below. For those of you involved in helping them, read below. I’ve decided, since this isn’t my first rodeo, I’d compile some advice in order to help both groups not kill one another. 😉

Watch out!

Top 5 signs you’re becoming …a BRIDE-ZILLA!!!!

1- Your seven year old niece starts to hypervenhilate out of fear when practicing to walk behind you.

2- Your ring tone is ‘Here comes the bride.”

3- You ask your MOH (Maid of Honor) to plan 2 engagement parties, 3 destination bachelorettes, 4 bridal showers and are shocked when she can’t find time.

4- Your parents are taking out a second mortgage for the “big day.”

5- Your answer to all questions is, “I do.”

Now bridesmaids, you’re not off the hook either. While it may seem like your friends or family members have morphed into a different person at times, it is crucial to remember it is their big day. A day to remember. Plus just have faith in knowing that usually, (hopefully), there is a good amount of alcohol afterwards to help both of you get through it all.