Internet

I've been a serious gamer since the days of the original Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and so on; and back then these were the simple sit-down games that you would play alone or with your peers around you. The internet revolutionized the way gaming is played. The way games are now developed have a high quality gameplay that allows players to challenge one another over the internet. I remember one of the biggest breakthroughs of internet gaming was Counter-Strike. This was a realistic first-person shooter that allowed people to come together on the internet and join certain servers with a unique type of gameplay. I was in middle school when this game became extremely popular. And I remember throughout my 6th and 7th grade of middle school, I was consistently playing Counter-Strike day and night during the weekends and immediately right after school once I got home. As time passed, I became more addicted to the game, and realistically I could care less of hanging out with my friends. I actually made friends on the internet while I was playing in the game. My addiction got so bad that I literally went over to the mall every weekend just to go to the internet cafe, so I can play Counter-Strike on a much faster internet speeds and high-quality computer. My family was starting to get fed up with all my video games, so they went over board and restricted me from using the computer at home. Eventually my addiction to play games online died out, and I started doing the normal activities that I used to do before the internet games. I did activities such as joining my school's basketball team, and I found that a great way to keep my mind off of the itching urge to play my computers games again.
Here is the trailer of Counter-Strike 1.5(the version I played):

Movies

My favorite movie of 2010-2011 is the Fast Five. Since I followed through all the whole Fast and the Furious movies, it's safe for me to say that this one tops the rest. This flick had everything I'd expected in this film, plus more! There was all of the adrenaline pumping action scenes one after the other. And the storyline was actually pretty good! Overall, this movie had me on the edge of my seat most of the time, so that's why I chose this as my favorite movie of 2010-2011.

Watch the Fast 5 trailer:

My favorite movie all-time is the GoodFellas. If you're into the whole gangster, and wise guy type of act like I am, then this is a great movie to watch. The reason why I love this movie so much, is because this movie has great acting with a really sweet cast, violence, and even a good amount of humor. This film will always remain to me as a classic in my book.

Check out the trailer for the GoodFellas! /div>

Magazine Proposal

Name of Magazine: 21st Century Swag

Concept: Presenting trending styles of men and women from around the world, not only limited in the U.S.

Readers: The demographics of this magazine would typically aim for people around their early/late 20s. People who are open to all types of fashion. This magazine would apply to all ethnicities because each issue contains articles about a large range of styles from different modern countries and cultures. This magazine would also be aiming for those who are aspiring fashion designers and models.

Competition: In each issue, there will be sections showcasing various styles from around the world. This is a great way to find that inspired look that's "different" and more in touch with your personality.

Advertisers: Macy's, Target, Louie Vuitton, Nordstrom, Nikon

Articles:

• The man with the swag: The Dos Equis Man
• The Royal Wedding: Bizarre hats? You decide!
• How to make your outfit speak for itself
• Fashion appreciation month
• Swag Match: Finding the perfect swag for you!

Books

In high school, I was required to read a handful of books. And one that stood out to to me the most was the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I found this novel very moving, because the story to me is the epitome of the "American dream" along with the corruption caused by money and social value. The character Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man through illegal businesses shows the things people would do just to become extremely wealthy--wealth which leads to negative changes in their lives.The reason why I chose this book is because how it closely related to us as people present, even though the story took place around the 1920s.

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling would be number two on my list. I first read this book when I was in middle school because it was recommended by a classmate. The reason why I chose this book is because as a young reader, each page I read expanded my imagination and pretty much took me to a whole another world one page at a time. The funny this was, at the time I thought idea of a story about wizards was a bit tacky, but I gave it a chance and ended becoming hooked onto the book which lead to me buying the second book, The Chamber of Secrets.

The very last book it would like to introduce is, A Series of Unfortunate Events: THE BAD BEGINNING, by Lemony Snicket. I found this book very amusing, mainly because how applied the story plot goes extremely well with the title given. This story is literally about three children going through countless series of unfortunate events, which many are told in a humorous/ironic way. As the story goes, to me I find the creativity of this book sky high.

Week 2: Media Impact

In our current society, it is without a doubt that media creates conflicts between expectations and society. Many reality shows today stress that beauty is more important than anything else. Girls and even guys spend unnecessary amounts of money just to imitate a certain look seen on television, on their favorite celebrity, or a trend that is popular among their peers. Media consists of a sea of many role models who sometimes do not understand how much of an impact they have on their loyal fans. Most people rely on the news, entertainment news, or radio talk shows to receive information about the latest topics or trends happening. Most of the media is corrupted by some sort and not many people think outside of the box and research a topic on their own, they solely rely on the media's word.

Another huge conflict facing young women today is the pressure to lose weight. Many shows like "America's Next Top Model" create controversy about what is considered "socially acceptable" in our world today. Many young females believe that being beautiful and skinny is what will help advance their social status in the world. These are the female who starve themselves, confusing their mind set and leaving them in complete ignorance that they are damaging their health. It's sad say yes, that people actually do that just to lose those unwanted pounds and look abnormally skinny.

A quote from this article I found that describes this whole issue in one statement, "Eating disorders are NOT diets!".

Media Autobiography

Growing up as a child, television became a huge aspect life. I remember waking up every saturday morning around 7 o'clock just to catch my favorite early morning weekend cartoons. I absolutely could not get enough of the Pokemon series. I was so hooked onto the show, I ended up spending my money collecting countless Pokemon cards that resulted to sitting in a box in my room to this very day. Another cartoon show that I really enjoyed was Dragonball Z. I remember how all of my friends were addicted to the series just as much as I was. Almost every morning after the day the show aired on television, my friends and I would get into character and imitate the action shown on the previous episode of the cartoon until class started.

Watching the show influenced me to start drawing the characters shown in the show, because I thought they all looked so cool. I would go to the library and rent as many Dragonball Z/GT anime books as I can, and attempt to imitate what I see shown in the book. Ever since I started drawing the anime characters, I became extremely addicted to just drawing in general.

Even though I can admit I was a scaredy cat when it comes to watch scary movies. Nothing stopped me from watching the movies with my cousins. I remember how we used to gather up every other weekend, and have a night dedicated to watching horror films. Going through all of the different types of nightmares that were influenced by the various scary movies, there's still something that keeps bringing me back to watch more horror flicks.

As I grew older, I got hooked onto playing video games. And there was a time when I could not stop ordering gaming magazines. I owned a wide range, such as Game Pro, PC Gamer, and etc. Just by reading the gaming magazines, it kept tempting me to constantly buy the latest and greatest games that were advertised. I remember that it got so out of control, my mom just had to cancel my subscriptions for the magazines. To this very day, I haven't gotten a magazine with my name on it ever since.

I got an iPhone almost 2 years ago, and I feel it totally revolutionized how media is used. When it comes to recordings, my iPhone is my new toy that I basically rely on 24/7. Whenever I need to document any new experiences, I always have my iPhone in my pocket so I can record any videos or even take quick snapshots of whatever I see in an instant.

I also see my phone as my portable computer. I'm hardly home, so I rarely have time to ever catch the daily paper anymore. To fix that, I use the News application on my phone so I can keep myself up to date with the issues going on locally and globally.