Game Review: Final Fantasy X

   
     I have no idea WHY would I pick this topic, but most teenagers (especially the guys) play video games, right? Well I'll be more specific on the game I'm talking about: Final Fantasy X. Like movies, there are genres for videogames and for Final Fantasy X, this is a role-playing game, a.k.a RPG. What is a role-playing game? It is when the player takes a role of a character(s) in a fictional setting. It's like you are part of a story and a game at the same time! This was developed and published by Square (Square Enix) as the tenth title in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 2001 for Sony's PlayStation 2 and was the first to include voice-acting.
    The game sets in a fantasy world named Spira, where the whole story's main purpose was to destroy a monster called "Sin". Sin is a 'creature' shrouded with water and was created because of the people's sins and the only way to end it was for the people's atonement for their sins from using machina weapons (machines) for war.The play character is Tidus, a blitzball (a fictional underwater sport) star who finds himself in Spira after his home city of Zanarkand is destroyed by Sin. During the game, Tidus, along with several others, aids the summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage (journey) to destroy Sin.
      I noticed there are a lot of similarities from the game compared to real life and ideas based on real life. For example, there are some different 'races' or tribes/clans in the game that can be distinguished by the their outlooks and a made-up religion called Yevon. There is also the 'atonement' that the people must do because of their use in machina for war. In real life, the atonement is like what we call "the Apocalypse" or "The Final Judgement" predicted because of people's evil acts. The underwater sport, blitzball, is also based on a real life sport, soccer (football) and handball. There is also a similar 'act' of genocide (not torturing people or keeping them captured, but were trying to get rid most of them) of people in the videogame called the Albed. The Yevon's people think that the Albed are the cause for Sin because they do not follow Yevon's teachings and they use machina, a forbidden act from Yevon's teachings. For that reason, they fought against Yevon and had to dispersed to other foreign islands because were being outnumbered with the people of Yevon. 
    Overall, I really enjoyed this game, despite the fact that its really old and all. It also features minigames and a way to power up your characters by using a "sphere grid". I loved the plot because it contains a bit of romance towards the two protagonists in the story. However, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who doesn't like really complex games. With a fan reaction towards this amazing game, its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, was released two years later in 2003.
        - Interested in this game? Here's a link: FFX

Imagining the Unimaginable... Final Draft

3. Human nature: Who participates in genocide, and why? What does the commonality of genocide lead you to believe about humanity?

        The "official" definition of genocide is "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”. People who participate in genocide generally believe that those they are exterminating are the cause of major problems and/or evil. They generally believe in a certain racial group because of their "difference" between them and the rest.
          There were variety of genocides; a well known genocide would be the Holocaust, or "Shoah" ,or "Final Solution" to the Jewish. The Holocaust was one where approximately 6 million Jews were innocently involved during the World War II. However, apart from the Jewish, there were also other groups, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. Including the groups, the total number of Holocaust victims would be ^{between 11 million to 17 million people.}

          During Hitler's control, the Jewish were sent to concentration camps, stripped of what they owned. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the extermination of the 'different' groups (Jews, the mentally retarded, homosexuals, etc.).Many people were torn from families, tortured, and lived in fear. Children who were born in camps or were too young were sent to the burning pits upon arrival. This also included any elderly or people with health issues. Other than the SS men who control the camps, people die because of being experimented using drugs, had unnecessary operations on spines, organs, etc. Josef Mengele was known for his 'work' on children, especially twins. He supervised an operation by which two Gypsy children were sewn together to create Siamese twins. Some children’s hands were infected where veins were resected. He often injected chemicals in their eyes in an attempt to change their eye color. Mengele performed experimental surgeries without using anesthesia--- transfusions of blood from one twin to another, injected lethal germs, sex change operations, removal of organs and limbs, incestuous impregnations, etc. Due to his cruel actions, he was nicknamed "Angel of Death". However, the rest of the people died from gas chambers. The gassing process was 'simple' -some hot air was pumped in from the ceiling, then crystals of Cyclon were showered down on the people, and in the hot wet air they rapidly evaporated. In anything from two to ten minutes 200-250 people were dead.

           In "Night, the author, Elie Wiesel describes his vivid memory of when he and his family were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which then became a center of the largest amount of Jewish deaths. In the first three chapters, he described his daily life in his childhood before when before a sudden change happens to him. So far, there were some descriptions of upon his arrival to the camp, there was a "fire"--- a black thick fire that held the smell of burnt flesh. Before long, separated from his mother and sisters, Wiesel describes of his daily routine within camp, his worries for his survival for the day. From what it was heard, if people thought that the beginning was sad, it will continue on a spiral of death...

          The commonality of genocide in history is appalling and this leads into the fact that humanity is corrupt. They are corrupt by their own insecurity and fear of being worst than the first class. If genocide was ever needed for humanity, then what has become of it just for the survival for the rest of us? Simply by killing off the evil for the sake of humanity does not mean this is for the good. No matter what, even though there is peace, there will always be violence. Genocides are just showing us that humans are cruel to kill for the sake of the so called "good" when it was really not necessary.

Twilight: Good Read?

     To those Twilight readers out there, I don't think you would really want to read this blog. So my topic would be about this thought:'Is Twilight that good since its so popular?' This thought came up ever since the first movie came out. In my opinion, I thought it might have a lot of action and humor along with this vampire-romance novel.
    To see whether or not I would actually read it before i watch the movie, I googled it, and it came out as...unoriginal. To be honest, I was disappointed. The thoughts of a possible action, humor, and romance vanished in seconds. I mean, the first novel was about about how a girl name Isabella or Bella moving from Arizona to Washington. Then, she befriends her new classmates and started getting attracted at this "mysterious" Edward. Later then, she finds out he's a vampire and their 'forbidden love' begins. This is my summary (pathetic I know) of this 'great' novel. I debated whether or not I should read the actual book in hopes of changing my mind of the book. I have never came across a novel I didn't like,until I read it. 
     It was one summer day when I decided to actually thought of the book again and decided to read 'it'. Luckily, there was one available in the main library and it took me 3 weeks. The results: I regret reading the book. How did this capture so many people's attention? And so much it turned into a movie? I tried to continue reading the next novel after that, New Moon. Once again, I was lucky that there was one available at the library. Result? Nothing. It took me 2 weeks to read the first two chapters. After that, I returned it, and never once went back to re-borrow the novel again. To those who want an actual (and proper) summary of the novel, here's the link to Wikipedia: Twilight Summary

Ice Cream

Ok now, I am officially running out of ideas and am procrastinating. Bad. Very Bad. As usual, once I am running out time, I, like many others, will do the first thing in mind: PANIC! Unless, you think of a topic before hand or having one after screaming around the house think you're going to have a late assignment. This is why I usually don't procasinate. Anyways, here's this blog's topic: Ice cream.

From Wikipedia:Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners.In some cases, artificial flavourings and colourings are used in addition to (or in replacement of) the natural ingredients. This mixture is stirred slowly while cooling to prevent large ice crystals from forming; the result is a smoothly textured ice cream.The meaning of the term ice cream varies from one country to another. Terms like frozen custard,frozen yogurt, sorbert, gelato, and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles.

In most cases, people LOVE ice cream.They are great to eat especially during the summer and can by found almost everywhere in different variations. That's the great thing about ice cream. There's so many flavors to choose from, you'll end up having more than one favorite! I think it's interesting how there are different desserts that are topped, decorated, or contains ice cream. For example, if there are any a la mode after a desert, it means there's ice cream being topped off. Another dessert being what is now popular, ice cream cakes. This genius (in my opinion) thought of combining cakes AND ice cream! Everyone loves cakes and ice cream so put them together! Another popular desert is ice cream mochi. In case if no one knows what that is, ice cream is..well ice cream(or you can define it has how Wikipedia did) and mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. So basically, ice cream is used for the mochi filling and once its cold, its a great desert to eat! Personally, I think this is a pretty interesting desert: Ice cream tempura. Once again, coming from Wikipedia, Ice cream tempura is commonly made by taking a scoop of ice cream frozen well below the temperature at which ice cream is generally kept, possibly coating it in raw egg, rolling it in cornflakes or cookie crumbs, and briefly deep frying it. The extremely low temperature of the ice cream prevents it from melting while being fried. Honestly, FRIED ice cream? I didn't believe it until I see it, which I did about 10 minutes later. I was amazed; it tasted so good, I expected the ice cream will be all soft and melting when in fact, it was still frozen solid. Anyways, I think that's all the desserts I can think of for now... Until then, I'm off to get some mochi ice cream.
Here's a picture of Ice Cream Tempura: