Tribute to a Trilogy of Truth

Let me start by saying, Clap your hands if you think that title is awesome!
*bursts of applause from the peanut gallery*
Thank you, thank you. Now, I suppose you'd like to know the point of the title you didn't clap about. The trilogy to which I am referring is, of course, the most popular one in the world right now:
THE HUNGER GAMES (by Suzanne Collins. *Hooray!*)
And why am I writing a tribute to this trilogy, as if the hundreds of millions of book sales and hundreds of millions of dollars in movie revenue do not provide enough recognition? As if my opinion were worth anything? Because the opinions that don't produce revenue are sometimes the most valuable in non-monetary ways. I can bear this out by my own experience: My best friends have not paid money to read my book, but after getting it shoved in their face a few times some of them have given some pretty constructive criticism. Likewise, I have not bought a copy of any of the Hunger Games books; the first two I checked out from the library and the third I borrowed from my sister. *Thank you!!* Yet, I would venture to say that I appreciated the story's relevance a lot more than most of the 11 to 20-year-olds who went to midnight showings of the film just to see Josh Hutcherson duke it out with some hot Careers who know how to use a sword. Or their boyfriends who joined them to see Jennifer Lawrence in that red dress.
I, personally, do think that Josh Hutcherson is one attractive human being, and Jennifer Lawrence was an excellent depiction of Katniss. But to me and a minority of Hunger Games fans out there, these young actors' performances made them more than "rising stars" or "the new sensation". I almost wish that their careers could be limited to this trilogy, that they would never play in anything else, so that this is what they'd be remembered for. Because Jennifer Lawrence was not just a ridiculously talented actress playing the role of "the girl on fire"; for two hours she became, body and soul, Katniss Everdeen of District 12. And Josh Hutcherson was not just a ridiculously handsome kid playing a character that girls across the country have swooned over; for two hours I connected with him as Peeta Mellark, the eloquent and personable and infuriatingly good person that Suzanne Collins meant to portray.
And every other person in the film contributed something meaningful to it, even just by walking around the set in an outfit that said "Look at me, I'm a rich and sheltered resident of the Capitol and I will never have to put my name in twenty times for tesserae." As Caesar Flickerman, the one whose job it is to make the Games look like innocent fun, Stanley Tucci portrayed exactly the right touch of sorrow and disgust for the plight of the Tributes. As Cinna, someone made rich and famous by the privilege of dressing these Tributes, Lenny Kravitz's disregard for the glory--and compassion towards those who suffer as a result of it--is touching. As Rue, Amandla Stenberg doesn't ask for pity but moves us to it anyway, and I'm certain that, as her death played out, there was not a dry eye in the audience at the movie showing I attended. My 25-year-old "big brother" figure was sitting next to me, and he cried.
Did the majority of the audience know why they were crying? Of course, a little girl died and it was sad. She should not have died. It wasn't fair. Yes, I acknowledge and agree with all of that. But Rue's was not the only death I cried over at that moment. Do you know what I mean?
If so, I raise three fingers to you, friend, for having the insight to discern the TRUTH behind these phrases: "Thank you for your children. And thank you all for the bread."

Thanks for reading,

Brooklyn

P.S. Visit my web site for samples of "The Hunger Anthems", my series of poems written as a tribute to the trilogy.

Everyone's Mixtape - Check This Out! (CTO!) 4

Check This Out!

This one's awesome! We'll they're all awesome. It plays different music depending on what mood you say you're in.

Drinkify - Check This Out! (CTO!) 3

Check This Out!



So you're listening to music. Have you ever wondered what you should drink if you're listening to... Led Zeppelin? No? Well why not? You should wonder. Go to Drinkify and they'll tell you...

Scale of the Universe - Check This Out! 2

Everybody!

You must check this out...

Patrick Watson - SOfT (Song Of Today) Edition 7

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Patrick Watson

Song: To Build a Home

Moby - SOfT ( Song of Today) Edition 6

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Moby

Song: Porcelain

SOfT (Song Of Today) Edition 5

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Passion Pit

Song: The Reeling

(Project Glass) Networking. A Diagram.

Networking in the past

Networking now

Networking in the future

Does this really look like fun to you?


We'd all like to say "No. I'm different. I won't turn into that". I hope we're all right. Can you imagine how lonely and depressed we'd all be if the only thing we talked to was our own face? That's what this is turning into. This is not Gene Roddenberry's  vision of the future (The creator of Star Trek ). He thought humans would be smart and use technology to make things better, expand our knowledge, make friends with aliens, fix the planet, do cool stuff in outer space, have doors that open automatically and make cool *wshh* noises. Not this. This is just dumb.

What do you think? Am I wrong?

SOfT (Song Of Today) Edition 4

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Plumtree

Song: Scott Pilgrim

Click here to listen. Press the play button in the top left corner of your new window.

Stop Imitating Me! (Involuntary Social Impersonation)

So...

If you have never watched Derren Brown Mind Control, you should go look at a couple of clips on Youtube right now. What Derren does is a psychological concept called "suggestion". He's not the first man to exploit this, and he's not even the first man to make a living doing it. Have you ever heard of Houdini? Check out the video below:

SOfT (Song Of Today) Edition:3

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Telepopmusik

Song: Breathe

How to "Speak" Sign Language

If you find the title of this post offensive, I'm here to tell you that I agree. While I'm at it, I will highlight a few other pretty ignorant misconceptions about something very important to me and hundreds of millions of other people on earth.

My sister is not speaking sign language.

In the last two years or so, a number of people have told me that I "speak sign language! Wow, that is so great!" And I always want to tell them No. I do not speak sign language. I use sign language; I also sign. It is impossible to speak a language that does not employ the vocal cords.
On that note, another thing I want to say is Yes. American Sign Language is indeed, as implied by the third word in the phrase "American Sign Language", a language. Several weeks ago a good-hearted and well-meaning woman was watching me sign, and made this wonderstruck comment: "Wow. It's like learning another language..."
"Yes, it is," I patiently responded, wanting to strike her wrist with a ruler for being so ignorant. Another woman with us, who does not know ASL but does have common sense, remarked: "It is another language." In my head I was applauding.

In the course of these last three paragraphs, I hope you have learned at least two things:
YES. American Sign Language is a language.
NO. You cannot speak it.

Thanks for reading,

Brooklyn

I Hate Birds

Attention,

I hate birds. A lot. Well, only birds that do a certain thing to my car. Do you know what I'm talking about? If you own a car I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Did you know that bird poop and rain have two things in common?

1) They fall from the sky

2) They get on your car right after you wash it

I want everyone to know (read as "I don't want anyone to know") that I always have bird poop on my car. Well, not 100% of the time but about 99%. During the second half of any given car wash my car is free of bird poop. Immediately after that, however, it has bird poop on it again. What drives me crazy is that the day after I wash my car, a bird poops on it, but then I'll go 2-3 weeks before washing it again, and during that time, no birds poop on my car(I hate saying "poop"). Why? Why, oh why does this happen? Can't they poop on my car the day before I wash my car?

Edit: This is literally the funniest thing ever. After writing a draft of this post, I walked out to my clean car, and there was bird poop on it. Oh the irony!

Written by individual contributor 

Lane Fries (a.k.a. Dr. Freeze)

SOfT (Song Of Today) Edition: 2

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

Snow Patrol

Song: When It's All Over We Still Have To Clear Up

Writing About Publishing

In addition to dashing the hopes and
dreams of aspiring young authors and
authoresses, this is what I'd be doing
if I worked for a publishing company.

This Is Seriously Ironic.

It has taken more time, energy and effort for me to publish my novel than it did for me to write it. And that is just sad, considering the fact that my novel is five hundred ninety-four pages and one hundred eighty-seven thousand words long. 

From start to finish, Mermaids in the Fish-Tank took fourteen months to compile. I wrote most of my first draft in the course of a single month--November 2008, to be exact. For those of you who have never heard of it, November is National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org), and it is a great way to get your creativity kick-started if you want to do some writing. The goal of it is to make you completely let go of your inhibitions and write whatever comes into your head until you reach the 50,000-word mark on the 30th of the month. Every week a new encouraging video is posted on the site, most of them featuring caffeine overdoses and viking hats, and even throughout October and December the participants receive hilarious e-mails about how to plan your writing and where to go with it.

I wish the publishing world were as friendly as NaNoWriMo.

Don't listen to a word I say, because I have never actually contacted a publishing agent (I could never afford to hire one), but I've heard comments from publishing agents that were pretty discouraging. Basically the gist of them is this: 

'No one will ever want to read anything you've written, so don't even try. Is your book any good? Probably not, but even if it was, there is at least one on the market that's better, so it's no use trying to compete. The world is full of unread words and paperbacks rotting in warehouses. Do you want to end up like that? I didn't think so. Then back off and stop trying to sell me your insipid manuscript.'

Maybe I was interpreting the seminar a little too strongly, but I can't shake that condescended-upon feeling. Publishing agents scare me. Part of the reason for this is that what they said was so true of me. One woman explained that only in a very limited number of situations is self-publishing a good idea. (My novel has been self-published for over two years.) Because, she explained, nobody knows about it. (A grand total of two people have bought my book at retail price.) And if, she explained, you ever want to sell a previously self-published book to a publisher, the only way they will ever consider buying it is if you somehow managed to acquire a significant readership during the time it was on the market, thus proving that the book would be popular enough in bookstores to earn the publisher some money. (A total of zero people, other than myself, have read my book.) Which means, she explained, that you yourself must have some marketing savvy and be able to draw people to your book using modern means such as The Internet.

This was the point in the seminar at which I began to hate her and every other person even remotely associated with publishing companies, because this was the point at which I realized that no matter how hard I worked, my book would never become popular. I know this because I have been promoting my book on the internet for several months and not a single purchase has resulted from it. And yet, people who write romance novels--even vampire romance novels, for heaven's sake--get published. Why?

I have concluded the publishing world is made up of a snobby bunch of business executives who have never read Paradise Lost or The Odyssey. If the time periods in which those works were written had publishing companies like we do today, our culture would be dead. Books like Mermaids in the Fish-Tank would never be written--and I, for one (probably the only one), would be sad.

Preview and rate Mermaids at https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1097246!

Thanks for reading,

Brooklyn

The Haircut Effect

Monday April 23rd, 2012

As with everything I write, many people will read this and think that I'm absolutely insane. That's ok with me. Having a reputation at all is better than to be the guy who sits on the couch at the party and doesn't say anything. But I digress. What I'm here to admit to you is that I have a split personality. Yes, it's true. Let me explain...

I have bad hair days and good hair days just like everyone else. Mine work on a different type of dynamic though. It's simple, really. Let me illustrate:
Haircut < Two weeks ago = Good hair day
Haircut > Two weeks ago = Bad hair day.
So, what does all of this have to do with multiple personality disorder?

Personality #1 = Long Hair
If my hair is long, I look different, I feel different, I act different, and, worst of all, I am different. Why? Because I have less self confidence when my hair is longer. I don't like how it looks! Naturally, if we don't look good, we don't feel good. But it's so much more than this. I've noticed serious changes in mood, the way I treat others, and even my outlook on life. Is that normal? Is self image really that important to me?

Personality #2 = Short Hair
I have just had my hair cut. I feel great. I feel like I look great (even though I probably don't), I am positive, but here's the bad news. I am not as nice to people when I like my hair vs. when I don't. I think my self confidence goes up too high.

This is some weird stuff, people. Really weird. Although I'm cognizant of all of this, I somehow can't control it. Just like The Hulk! He knows he shouldn't get angry or he'll literally explode into a not-so-jolly Green Giant. But I am wondering how many other people experience this. Am I alone? Hello!? Is anybody else out there?!

Seriously though, I know I'm not alone, and that's the scary part. Everybody treats people differently, feels differently, so-on and so-forth, depending on a number of factors. What interests me, though, is how we all understand life, we understand that the world actually did not turn upside down just because we lost the bid for the signed copy of the first Backstreet Boys album on eBay, but we continue to act like it has turned upside down, and there's nothing we can do about it. We are NOT in control, people. Even though we understand that little things like having a good or bad hair day, or realizing the shirt you're wearing has a little stain on it, or wearing shoes with laces that keep coming undone (which is SO ANNOYING!), have little to no affect on how successful we are, or how happy we should feel, we act like whiny babies, just like whiny babies! How is it that the way my hair looks can change my viewpoint of things on such a large scale?

That's why it's so important to think before we speak and act, because what we think is a great idea today (quitting our jobs because they're annoying), may actually be a horrible idea.

Wow! That was preachy. To be honest I didn't know where I was going with this when I started writing. I just wanted everyone to know that I am crazy. Mission Accomplished!

Written by Individual contributor

Personality #2 of Lane Fries  (a.k.a.  Dr. Freeze)

You May Possibly be Killing Somebody!

You’re killing us! Quite literally. The stress caused to those, like myself, who work in a call center is so extreme that many are developing serious stress related illnesses. As annoying or unfair as you may think we are; we are just doing the job assigned to us. It’s already stressful and so you, the callers, can make it easier on us. How? Here are some tips of what to do or not do when you call a call center.

Don’t start off the call by complaining about the hold time:
We are aware that hold times are sometimes ridiculous. We also realize that you have better things to do then to listen to awful music from the 70’s. We get it! Trust me, we do. But realize that people who waste our time complaining about the hold time is part of the reason why the hold time is so long.

Have all of your information ready:
There are very few things that are more annoying then a customer calling and not having all their information ready. This becomes infuriating when, while you were holding, a prerecorded message plays reminding you to have your information at hand leaving you no excuse to be missing anything. What is more annoying is when you force us to wait for you while you tear your house apart searching for information you should have had in your hand. Do us a favor and if you’re missing something that’s required of you to have, offer to hang up and call back. You should do this because it’s just common courtesy to the C.S.R (Customer Service Representative) as well as other people using the service.

Don’t eat on the phone:
This one is simple. I’m sure you’re not a big fan of someone chewing food in your ear. So, that being the case, don’t do it on the phone because it’s essentially the same thing, and it’s certainly just as disgusting.

Stop the background noise:
Give the baby a pacifier. Throw the dog outside. Tell your friends to shut up. Turn the television off. All these steps should be taken prior to making a call. We don’t care what your cousin Ronnie said about Sarah over the weekend. We don’t want to hear about who the father is on the episode of Maury playing in the background. And we definitely don’t want to hear your baby and dog crying and barking simultaneously in an orchestra of annoying noises. Please, stop the background sounds before calling.

Stop talking and listen:
Humans have a true gift; that of speech. However, when misused, this gift of speech can become quite a curse. Such is the way with calls we receive. Unless you are calling the suicide hotline there is really no reason why you should be telling a C.S.R your life story. To be honest we don’t care. When asked simple questions give simple answers, and avoid excessively repeating yourself. Also don’t give more information than requested or talk at a speed that will only result in you having to repeat everything over again. Last but not least, listen and focus on what we are saying so that we don’t have to repeat ourselves a dozen times.

Don’t be a know it all:
If you have never worked at the company that you are calling then please refrain from assuming you know how it runs. Avoid telling the representatives (as if they run the company) how YOU think things should be done. In most cases we agree with you, but remember we just work there. We have about as much power as you do in how things are run so just do what we do and complain to your friends about it and leave us out of it.

These are just a few of many ways that you can make life a little longer and a little easier for us lowly C.S.R’s

SOfT (Song Of Today) 1st Edition

First of all, the rules.

1. You need good speakers or headphones
2. Have an open mind
3. Listen. Really listen
4. Crank the speakers or headphones up

RadioHead

Song: Lotus Flower

This song is just excellent. I often can't describe why I like a particular song but this one has a couple things that I can pick out.

First, I love falsetto (which is basically a particular vocalist's upper vocal range).

Second, the driving bass and the synthesizer that follows it.

Third, Presentation. I just loving watching these guys. They make it look and sound so effortless.

Fourth, the lyrics. If you can understand them, awesome. If not, look them up.

Angry Birds Versus Art?

 Sunday April 22, 2012

The game Angry Birds has found a new target to crash into and what it is may surprise you.

People have finally begun to notice a huge problem in the video game industry, and no it's not about the violence or sex that has dominated the market. Rather the issue here is the price tag of current generation games. Think of the biggest gap you can and it will only be a plumber crack in comparison with the gap between the one dollar it costs to play Angry Birds and the 60 dollar tag on the top selling game Modern Warfare 3.

This problem can possibly mean the collapse of the Playstation, Xbox and Wii as well as any next generation systems that are being planned, such as the Wii U. What does this mean? Well, basically you are going to need to learn how to aim a camera, shoot, and reload with no buttons, triggers or analogue sticks. Have fun with that Modern Warfare veterans. This also means saying goodbye to Master Chief, Mario, and basically every other great game that has been created on both Nintendo and Microsoft's systems because as they both stated, “We will sell our properties to Al-Qaeda ( Microsoft said the Devil) before we sell them to Apple.”

What can be done to save our precious game industry?

• Stop acting like Angry Birds is that great: Yes its addicting and yes it only cost a dollar, but such is the  case with a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's. Now try taking a first date to Wendy's with the excuse that its fun and cheap without getting smacked in your mouth. See the issue here? As entertaining as Angry Birds is it has no story, simple graphics and no multi-player. Simply put, how many of your friends look at your Ipad and are blown away by that fact that you killed 12 green pigs with a giant red pigeon? No one. Now imagine a world where the only thing available to eat is what can be found on the dollar menu atWendy's...thats exactly what is about to happen to the game industry. Accept the cheeseburger will be a colorful cast of suicidal birds.
  
  
• Stop complaining about the price tag for console games: People have no problem paying 80 dollars to go to Six Flags to stand in lines for 6 hours to ride on roller coasters for a sum total of 6 minutes. People are spending 40 d0llars to take their whole family to movies on a Friday night for a 90 minute film. Games cost 60 dollars. Is that cheap, absolutely not, however the price is relative to the experience. In many cases you are getting for 60 dollars a game with great graphics and decent to excellent story telling depending on the content. Also you are buying Online multi-player which in some cases keeps people coming back for months if not years. To top it off you get to keep the game instead of just watching it for 2 hours and walking away with nothing more than a ticket stub. The same people complaining about the price of games are the same people spending 100 dollars a month for cable when all they watch are non cable television shows. Stop Complaining, could it be cheaper possibly, but its not and that doesn't stop you when it comes to any other form of entertainment.

Realize that we are going backwards. Games are art. They are an art form that is evolving and getting better every year. We are basically saying, by focusing more attention on Angry Birds then Uncharted, that we rather stare at stick figures than the Mona Lisa. Seriously, the games being released on iPad, Facebook, and Android markets are good, but we've played these games before back on Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. These games are not pushing the envelope and are a step backwards from games like Portal, Uncharted and Arkham City. Cave drawings are interesting, but I'd like to think that most people rather see a Pixar animated film. Should not this be the same with video games?


(The writer of this article does not promote the playing of games that are rated M or that are of a violent or sexual nature. Certain games are referenced simply because they are extremely popular or best sellers.) 

Written by individual contributor

Anthony Savage (a.k.a. Analytical Ant)

Perspective and Relativity

I have a friend who brought up a interesting argument the other day and I'd first like to relate it to you and then explain something important about perspective and relativity.

My friend brought up his issue with buying an alcoholic drink and spending so much for it. He figures he can basically get a free water or a much cheaper pink lemonade and be just as satisfied. This is very true, but also flawed in many respects. How so? Ill explain. 

I went on to explain to my friend the flaw in his thinking with an illustration. I told him that he can go to Burger King and get a Whopper for a few bucks right? However many times he will go to places like Ruby Tuesday's to get a burger and spend a considerable amount more for essentially the same thing. What is the difference? Here is where relativity and perspective come in. The difference is the price relative to that of the experience. In one instance many will complain about the price of drink or food, but in another instance with the same variables they will completely disregard the price if its something they like or desire to do. As with my friend, he couldn't understand why people would spend 13 bucks on one drink when they can get water because he doesn't care much for drinking, but he will spend 50 bucks for a ticket to a sporting event that he can watch on T.V. for free. Undoubtedly, someone who loves drinking would have just as valid of a complaint about someone going to a Basketball game. Or would he?

You see it's all about perspective. However many people are so stuck in their viewpoint that other people's viewpoint becomes irrational when it really is not. It's like looking at the math problem 2+3=5 and agreeing that it makes perfect sense, but then when presented with the problem 3+2=5 they can't see how that can be true. Even though the order in which the numbers are presented are switched, both ways of presenting it still lead to the same answer. Notice too that both solutions are correct. So try something new for me, before voicing complaint about something or someone's likes, dislikes, or decisions look at it from another angle. You might find that 2+3 and 3+2 really do both equal 5. 

Or you can say "that's just his perspective on perspective and its completely wrong"...I'm cool with that because I am thinking the same thing about you if you disagree with me:)

Written by individual contributor

Anthony Savage (a.k.a. Analytical Ant)

Writing About Writing

(Beware, you who agreed with Lane's post about introductions: Even though this is only a blog, and not addressed to anybody in particular, I am going to preface it with a greeting.) 

Hello! My name is Brooklyn (or so you think), and I am Lane's sister. We don't share a nose, but we do share a cynical outlook.

My name may or may not be Brooklyn.

I don't know who you are, but if you're reading my post, I like you already. Do you know why?
Because nobody reads anything that I write. Actually, that's an exaggeration. Just last Friday somebody read something I had written. I was in the car with my little sister Abby and our friend Tyler; although I was too tired to form a complete sentence, being the only person of the three who possesses a driver's license, I had to somehow muster the energy to drive us nearly the entire circumference of our city. On the way to our destination, I told Abby to dig around in the back of my car (there will be another post on that subject) for my printout of the first two chapters of a novel I had recently begun rewriting.
(Beware, another greeting is coming, for in the first one I neglected to mention something about myself that you might like to know.)
Hello! My name is Brooklyn, and I am a novelist.

Tyler is subtle. If you can find him in this picture, I applaud your eyesight.

So anyways, Abby found the manuscript and handed it to Tyler per my request. Tyler is a fun guy. He's fourteen years old and has probably read more books than I have. Before I begin a new reading or writing project, I consult him to request his opinion, and he is always right. Therefore I asked him to read my two chapters while we (I) drove. (...although, in truth, at this point in my energy level Tyler should have been the one driving, license or none, and I should have read the script to him. But I survived to tell this story, didn't I?)
15 minutes later, Tyler set the pages down on his lap and nodded almost imperceptibly. He does almost everything imperceptibly, so I've learned to pick up on his signals. I asked him if he liked it, and he said yes. Any other writer would have been discouraged at the shortness of this response, but I could hear the faint vibration of genuine excitement behind his voice, and confidently I pressed on. 
"Are you intrigued?"
"Yes," said Tyler.
"Do you want to know more?"
"Yes."
"Do you like Josiah [one of the main characters]?"
"Yes."
"Do you like Novella [another character, obviously]?"
"Yes." There was a pondering pause before he continued: "I think I like Novella better than Josiah." 
Spurred on by all this positivity, I suppose I became a little overconfident when I ventured to ask a question to which he could not simply reply "Yes" or "No".
"Why?" I asked.
We were stuck in traffic, which gave Tyler what should have been a sufficient amount of time to ponder. But it wasn't until roughly 3.5 hours later (I'm not exaggerating) that he finally answered me, providing the quietly insightful "character analysis" that I would have expected from him.
Moral of the story: Some people do read things that I write. But the fact that they must literally have the manuscript handed to them in order to do so... is a little frustrating. That's why people publish books.
But what happens, readership, when your book fails to be published?
Find out next time, in the post that was really supposed to be written right here (but I got sidetracked with my story about Tyler--can you blame me?): 

"Writing About Publishing".

Thanks for reading!

Brooklyn

My Mind Unfiltered

In this segment of "My Mind Unfiltered" I am going to express a bunch of movie and TV show ideas that I have thought up

• They should make a movie based off of Captain Planet the cartoon (Google it I refuse to do all the work here)  starring Will Ferrell as Captain Planet. The film takes place 30 years after the cartoon. All the kids have grown up and are big business tycoons and instead of saving the world by thinking green, as captain planet trained them to do, they are actually each heavily responsible for its bad conditions. Captain Planet returns to convince the kids (now adults) to change their ways to save the planet. (Comedy/Drama/Preachy)

• They should make a TV show called "After Hours". I was part of a cleaning team for ten years and if you only knew all the things that go on after you leave your job and the cleaning team comes in you would die laughing. The idea behind the show would be about a number of cleaning teams who come in to clean up a huge outlet mall after closing. After a nearby Bank fires their cleaning staff they begin searching for another team in the area. When the different cleaning teams in the outlet mall get wind of this they begin to compete to get noticed. In the same vein as the Office and Parks and Recreation, After Hours will be a mocumentary style Show.
• Another movie idea is one called "Film Class 101". This show will be about a class in high school that studies the basics of film and filming and go through their school throughout the year filming all sorts of different aspects of their high school from the teaching staff to the students. This would be a gritty and real documentary style film about High School, love, loss, growing up, and finding yourself. The main Characters would be a student who has a real passion for film and begins to get into deep when he begins capturing footage on tape that if shown will make the whole school staff and students alike hate him, including his own film teacher. Another main character will be the teacher training him who encourages him to show the footage without realizing how it can possibly lead to the loss of his own job. 
• "I TO I". This movie would be about a popular kid in high school who will soon be graduating.  His future looks bright everything is going great in his life with his friends and his girlfriend. However his world is turned upside down when he receives a text message from himself 20 years in the future. His future self has hit rock bottom and finds a phone that has only one number which happens to be his from 20 years earlier. He begins to warn his past self to change his ways so that he doesn't end up where he is in the future. With very little time remaining before the moment that will change his life forever occurs, its a race through time and against the clock to convince his younger stubborn self to see eye to eye with himself. 

Have plenty more, but I'm tired...tell me what you think.

Song Of Today (a.k.a. SOfT)

Everybody! I'm excited! You should be too. Here's why...

I've decided that it's worth it to share music through something called SOfT (Song Of Today). 

In order to support musicians and avoid litigation I'm going to be posting a link to a source where the music can be found. The writers here at T.I.S.I. have a wide range of musical taste. We're going to attempt to give you something to listen to that you likely haven't heard before.

Please try to have an open mind when you give these songs a listen. Even if it's not your cup of tea, it's nice to just sit and listen to the music. I guarantee it'll all be good music.

Stay tuned for the first post on Monday!

Here's a clue as to what album the song will come from

Written by individual contributor

Lane Fries (a.k.a. Dr. Freeze)

Wash Yo Hands!

This is a Public Service Announcement brought to you by common sense.

WASH! YOUR! HANDS!

Women, this may surprise you, but men are disgusting creatures. Not all men mind you (not that I could name one that is not), but most men are disgusting. Let me tell you why...

Now, I don't like bathroom humor. It's not my thing. It's just undignified if you ask me. But what I'm about to tell you is very serious. It's not a joke. I'm not mentioning because I want to, but rather because I must in order for the human race as we know it to survive. Many men do not wash their grimy hands after using the lavatory. *Crowd gasps*. I know, I know. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this. Believe me. I am probably breaking the "Guy code", or "dude code" or "Bro code" depending on where you live, but I'm sorry dudes, guys, and bros. You've gotta start washing your hands. 

I work at an office. You'd think that offices are cleaner than just about any other work location other than a hospital (Ha ha. Yeah right. Hospitals are gross), but they're not. Each time you touch a doorknob, a keyboard, a mouse, a person's hand, the refrigerator, the apple you're about to bite into, KNOW THIS! It has urine on it. *Phew*. I'm sorry, to me "urine" is a curse word. I had to tell you though. Let me explain what happens in the "Men's" restroom (I quoted "Men's" because real men care about people other than themselves). It goes something like this:

*Door flies open without regard for who might be on other side*

Jim - "BOB! What's up? Monday sucks man! Arrrrgh the boss has been on my back about those reports"

Bob - "Oh I know it man. He's been on me about that too. I gotta drop a deuce ("deuce" is a colloquialism for... well, you know).

Jim - Alright, I gotta drop off the Browns at the Superbowl too

Let me break character for a moment here. I am extremely uncomfortable about telling all of you about this. Ok, back to the story

*Fart noises escape from each stall*

Jim - Bob, what did you eat for breakfast, man?

Bob - Wooooooooooo! You don't wanna know, man.

*Flush*

Some time later, Bob, and eventually the respectable Jim will exit the stalls and high five. After this they will ( I must stress the fact that I am absolutely NOT making this up) exit the rest room without even thinking of washing their hands.

Wow, I am so sorry that you just read all of that. Truly, this is the kind of thing that has to be done though. Like, when a father needs to explain the birds-and-the-bees to his son. Or when Jim and Bob's boss needs to fire them. It simply must be done for the human race to continue living.

These men have absolutely no regard for human life at all. Seriously. This is so disgusting that it makes me want to wear gloves all the time. And on top of those gloves, I want to put another pair of gloves. And then I want to pour acid onto those gloves, then gasoline, light them on fire, and then throw myself from the nearest bridge into a river of Purell . Have these guys ever thought about the fact that if they are dumb enough to do this that other men are doing it too? No. They haven't. 

Fresh Prince to Lost...what happened?

 Television is going through an odd phase lately if you haven't noticed. I remember growing up and watching shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-air, The Cosby show, Full House and Boy Meets World. These shows had very simple formulas. The plot usually consisted of normal or abnormal families going through trials that we all have, albeit somewhat exaggerated. The camera was stationed in one spot where it filmed the entire room which was just a set. On this set the stairs led nowhere, going into another room was just away to exit the scene, and every problem was solved within 30 minutes or less. Simple right? But something changed. Shows about families have been drowned out in a sea of reality shows that place "real" people in "real" situations. Examples of these are Survivor, Big Brother, The Apprentice and so on. You also have shows about finding talent or the next big star and these shows I don’t need to list because surely you know what I am referring to here.

...what happened?

What I would like to focus on though in this Blog is what I like to call "The Lost Phase." For those of you who don’t know, I am not referring to the actual act of being lost, but rather the television show that ended a few years ago. In my opinion that show has changed television and the way shows in general are being executed. Lost was basically about an airplane full of people that crashed onto an island with a dark past and a fair share of mysteries. Throughout the series the characters are being chased by a black smoke monster, traveling through time and space, and running into polar bears. It was complicated, frustrating, but the show was a huge deal and was oddly addicting. This was primarily due to the way the show told the main story and its ensemble of characters and their intertwining pasts. Herein lays the problem. The success of that show has in many respects led many of these TV networks to try to come up with their own Lost, so to speak, especially now that the show is over.

For example shows like V, Person of Interest, Terra Nova, The Event, Awake and Alcatraz (some of which have since been cancelled) have come onto the scene with seemingly simple plots that become overcomplicated because of the creative ideas that are thrown in to hook the viewers. For example, let’s isolate the show The Event. Summed up, the show was about aliens that looked just like humans because of a 1% difference in DNA trying to get back to their home planet. The problem came in when they tried to make it about this big event that was referred to and danced around up until the day the show got cancelled.

This is the problem. These ideas are great for a 2 hour movie. But when you take a plot that works well for a 2 hour movie and try to spread it across 5 seasons it loses all credibility and creativity. These shows wind up getting cancelled leaving those faithful to the show without satisfying answers or closure. It’s sad, really, and frustrating to people like myself who get into the show because of the interesting concept, but get (no pun intended) lost when they start adding all these different twist and turns to keep the show going past its prime. Meanwhile, while these networks attempt to create the next Lost they lose focus on creating good shows like Community, Psych, House, and Parks and Recreation. These shows have great ensembles and wonderful stories, but are being filtered out and forgotten thanks to reality TV and the “Lost Phase”.

"they lost focus on creating good
shows like Community"

 The reason for my bringing up this topic is so that we as viewers don’t allow quality television to get "lost" in a never-ending sea of complicated monotonous crap. When shows like House are ending and Community is
close to being cancelled, we need something creative, something classic, something that reminds us of a time when shows were simple and the problems were solved in 30 minutes or less.

Written by individual contributor

Anthony Savage (a.k.a. Analytical Ant)