paralizedfish

Y'know, religion isn't that bad. It promotes morals and ethics, it can take the most crooked individual and put him on the straight and arrow (it did wonders for Bush) and it brings people together. So, yeah, religion looks good on paper. But y'know what else?SO DID COMMUNISM.And the irony is that if there is a God, that is, a God in the sense that is described in ANY major religion, then right now he's shamefully shaking his head while he watches us jack off to our lastest STOLEN porn and enjoying our indulgent freedoms while we pretend to follow his teachings. The rabbis are eating pork and the priests are fondeling chior boys and everyone is sinner in some way, in some form, according to these religious documents. But y'know what else?NOT EVERYONE IS A BAD PERSON. So what does this tell us? Quite simply, religion is good... to an extent. And all the wars and battles and everything bad that has ever happened in the name of "God" happened because they took "God" too seriously. They took RELIGION too seriously.

First of all, I am not of the faith but I have very good friends who are as well as I have a personal interest in the matters of the middle east and so forth. As I understand it, Islam is a beautiful religion that promotes peace and personal understanding and growth. What is happening is, quite simply, Islam is getting old and the wrinkles are showing. Sure, non-believers go to hell in Islam, but so the non-believers of Christianity. I believe that the bible states that by asking Jesus into you're heart you will be engulfed by the light or somthing like that. And if not...well, J wants you to take this letter down to Stan for him.The point is these major religions both come from Judaism, which I already talked about in a different post so I'll move on at the risk of getting double whammied.These religions are old, and they worked back then. You ever wonder why some Jews keep kosher. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a "good jew" or "bad jew". When this concept was created way back in the day, pork (a kosher keepers worst nightmare) was not edible. You would get sick if you ate pork, it was unsanitary. It would've been like pulling that squished rat you caught in you're mousetrap, microwaving it, and eating it for dinner. NOT A GOOD IDEA. Well, obviously thanks to great strides in technology and the Meat Packing Industries (look up Sinclaires book "The Jungle" if you are considering being a vegitarian we can now safely eat pork without concern of bacteria and certain projectile vomiting. Not very kosher.So, even though I didn't specifically answer you're questions, I hope that I conveyed my point as valid. Religion is sooo last millenium. Actually, even farther back than that....

The whole concept behind AA makes me a little uneasy. It's bassically the US army's attempt to grab all those gun-crazy FPS lovers (that's us) and saying "hey kid, put down the mouse and pick up a real gun" (thumbs up)Well, unfortunately I wouldn't trust most, if any, of those gun-crazy, violence mongering, blood lusting, FPS lovers (um, still us) with a gun if it was a matter of National Security. That includes me, nobody should trust the fish with a gun, nobody.Nevertheless, AA is a well made game. It's certainly a bargain considering that it's FREE with very quality graphics and some pretty innovative, ultra realistic game-play. A little heavy on the "patriotics" and the training missions got to be kinda excessive. For example, sitting in a class-room and listening to a lecture, then, in a act of computer gaming blasphemy, THEY MADE YOU TAKE A TEST ON THE LECTURE! Those bastards. As if I don't already get enough of that at, um, what's that place called? Oh crap, it's at the tip of my tongue. Oh man, why can't I remember. Brain fart. That place, where teachers talk to you and say things and you just daze off or doodle in you're notebook. Y'know?Oh right...SCHOOL! Have fun...

Does God exist?God is a concept developed to explain something unexplainable. Do I think that god is some parently diety wagging his finger at me from centuries ago, warning me not to screw the neighbors wife or keep kosher or eat before sunset on ramadan respectively. Absolutely not.Now, I'm not suggesting that "god" doesn't exist. Just not how we see him\her or it. You know that saying, "man was created in god's image"?scratch that, reverse it..."god was created in man's image"That's the truth. The bible didn't come from a beam of light descending from heaven. No religion came from any deity, it's all be WRITTEN by PEOPLE! Plain and simple fact. The oldest existing MAJOR religion (if major religion is considered Christianity, Judiasm & Muslim) is the Jewish religion. Christianity comes from Judaism (Jesus was a jew people) and the Muslim faith also. In fact, Jewish and Muslim beliefs are SO intertwined that they HAVE THE SAME HOLY LAND! Hence, all the problems we are seeing in the middle east.But that's not to say that Jews are on to something that others aren't. There's nothing particularly special about the Jewish religion, as Muslim and Christian faiths, have more or less the same pros and cons. I personally am not a massive fan of certain Christian denomentations, but, that's beside the point.The point in fact is, religion is a good metaphor. Which is what this "God" is... ...simply a metaphor.

Halo 2 is great but Half Life is FPS god and always will be. Playing Half Life 1 was a religious experiance. It made me realize that Gordon Freeman is Jesus Christ, if he got a shave and a education. Seriously, doesn't he look like Jesus? And the G-man... eh eh... Government man or... dare I say? God man?That would explain why the G-Man will appear anywhere at any time and, if you ever get the chance, shooting him is equivalent to shooting a steel wall.So anyway, Half Life 2, though it wasn't as moving as the first one. It was an incedible game with a terrific engine, immersive enviornments, intimidating baddies and a physics engine is so amazing that it makes me want to crap in my hand and throw it at people!

I hated Area 51, it blew on so many levels. David Duchovny's voice acting made me want to fall asleep at first, then it made me loose hope in humanity. Yes, I've lost all hope. Thanks Mulder.Halo is just a success because it has a very solid engine that promotes a effectively immervise combat system. The combat, though simple, allows for advancement in techniques beyond simply who can jump around corridors and shoot everything moving the fastest. There is a certain skill to it.

Halo 2 is actually the ONLY game I ever purchased for XBOX. The multiplayer is so addictive and fast paced. One of the most satisfying things about the multiplayer on Halo 2 is destroying all those budding nazi twelve year olds. Seriously, has anyone noticed how that game seemed to attract the most racist little kids? But anyway, honestly, the only differences between halo 1 and 2...1. DUEL WEILDING!!2. Hijacking vehicles3. The Chief runs slower4. The Chief jumps higher5. The Chief's Shields recharge faster6. The Chief can jump from ANY height and hit the ground running w\o a problem. (unless you're jumping off the level)7. There is actually a DEFINED BOSS instead of just a crazy finale. (I personally like Halo 1's single player more, and specifically like Halo 1's ending more.)

My OS is a Mac, and I have used iDVD numerous times and would highly suggest it if you ever get the opportunity.

I'm also going to have to add to the support for the VLC media player. I can honestly say that I have never used a player that is so consistantly reliable. I cannot recall a single time when VLC did not work. VLC all the way.

On Final Cut reversing video is a synch. I know it's expensive, especially for more advanced versions but take it from me, if you are really serious about being a filmmaker. I've been a film major for three years now and I have made several of my own short films. I guarentee you will need either Final Cut or Avid in order to survive. Simple as that.

Wickipedia offers a list of completely free action games from ligitimate game makers. All the games can be downloaded immedaitley and, like I said, they are completely free!

If you really want to make a action game with out having any knowledge whatsoever, look up a freeware game called "Cube". NOT a flash game, but it is a first person shooter with decent graphics that allows you to ALTER EVERYTHING WHILE PLAYING. You can manipulate everything from baddies to weapons and even LEVEL TERRAIN all on the fly. Check it out, it's free...

In the past, for several student films, I have used a combination of Final Cut Pro and Flash and even photoshop in one instance to create a animation using actual pictures, or frames from previously shot footage. A simple but time consuming process that essentially involves cutting up the footage into a desired amount of individual frames then manipulating it in Photoshop, ie adding solar flares, color correction ect. These "manipulated" frames can be loaded back into Final Cut and laid out as animation.Final Cut Pro also has some features that allow you to add effects you're video. I certain you would be able to place a black box over someone's face. You probably can on cheaper versions of Final Cut too but I'm not 100%