Smoking Sucks And Kills!

Less than a week ago, I had a small scare when the place I'm currently living filled up with smoke.  When it happened, I had no idea what was causing it, but was determined to get to the bottom of it.  As, I walked through the place, I feared the cause was a still-lit cigarette or a small fire, but the cause was a pot left on a stove unattended.  It was an honest to god accident, but it made the the place and my clothes reek, making me realize smoking just sucks.

I wonder why smoking is considered cool or necessary by so many people?  Is it because they just stand around holding a cigarette or what?  I understand the need to be cool when you're young, or "light" up when you're stressed, but cigarette's aren't cool, and they actually harm you more with the nicotine and tobacco in it, which can lead to many long term diseases.  Sure, it provides temporary relief and can be social, but it comes at a terrible price.

Now, I admit that it may be wrong to make such a judgment on something I've never tried before, but I don't need to try something that might kill me.  I've seen the ads, and I have family and friends who have been affected by cigarette smoking firsthand.  It's not a pretty sight, which is why I'm telling people not to smoke.  Don't just think about now, think about the future.  You do it already with school, so why not your health?

Mean Joe Green Coke Commercial

When it came to Super Bowl commercials yesterday, I didn't see most of them besides the Paul Harvey "God Made A Farmer" one, which was inspiring and risky.  As much as I enjoyed that though, it still doesn't make me feel as good as my favorite Super Bowl commercial, which is also one of the most famous.  It's the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial.  Been parodied numerous times, but the original with it's simplicity and sweetness will never be copied.

Enjoy and have a Coke while you're at it!

Static Shock: My Top 10 Episodes

Usually when you ask someone who their favorite superhero is, they respond with Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Flash, etc, but when you ask me who my favorite superhero is, I say without hesitation Static from the show Static Shock.  He was great not just because he was a teenage superhero, but because children of all races/ethnicities could look up to him, and claim him as a superhero of their era.  It's rare to see a show aimed at children made with such quality and thought, but Static Shock was with it's array of issues, animation, and plot. 

Static Shock was a show that aired on WB in 2000 about a kid named Virgil, who one day, is caught in this gas explosion known as the Big Bang.  He doesn't think much of what happens, until he wakes up one morning and realizes he has static electric powers.  Using his powers for good, he teams up with his friend Richie to become superheros and save his city Dakota from Bang Babies/Meta-Humans (people exposed to the gas who want to use their powers for evil), all while trying to live life as a teenager.

Now that I've said that, my top 10 Static Shock episodes...

10. Power Play: Richie meets an old man named Ragtag, who has the ability to give people powers.  Richie receives powers from him, and becomes a new superhero named Push, but his powers are temporary.  The only way to get more: commit crimes on Ragtag's behalf.  I like this episode because it's early in the series, so we still see growth in the characters, and it's the first time Richie gets powers, which I thought was pretty cool.

9. Blast From The Past: Static teams up with an old superhero from the 60s named Soul Power to take down an old nemesis, but their age difference makes it hard for them to work together. This episode is here because of it's humor, campy style, and the fact it reminded me of the Batman series and movie from the 60s.

8. Sons Of The Fathers: Richie invites Virgil to stay at his house, but his father comes home, and turns out to be a racist bigot, causing Virgil to leave.  Richie leaves the house in anger, only to be kidnapped by Bang Babies.  I like this episode because it addresses racism, which is always a strong issue, and it shows father-son relationships, and how difficult they really are.

7. Replay: A Bang Baby named Replay appears and can duplicate himself at the snap of his fingers.  After a scuffle with Static, he makes a duplicate of him, and has the evil Static do his bidding for him, ruining the real Static's reputation.  This episode is cool because I like the good vs. evil plot angle, Virgil and Richie's dialogue, and the fact Neil Patrick Harris plays the villain.

6. Shock To The System: The first episode of the series and the one that started it all.  It's here because it give us background on Virgil/Static, and it has some memorable moments like when Richie helps Static pick out an outfit.  Hilarious!

5. Frozen Out: It's Christmas time, and a young Bang Baby named Permafrost comes to Dakota freezing things uncontrollably.  Static tries to stop her, but then learns about who she is, which causes him to offer his help.  This is a standout episode because of how touching it is with the flashback scenes, and it tackles real issues like homelessness.  It's one of the times Static is a superhero without having to use any powers.

4. Attack Of The Living Brain Puppets: Richie is running in the student election.  His opponent, a student named Madeline Spaulding, who uses her Bang Baby powers to turn everyone into zombies and have her way.  I love this episode because of the hilarity of it, and the fact it tackled zombies before they blew up everywhere.

3. Future Shock: After helping Batman and Robin with a job, Static is sent 40 years into the future, teaming up with the new Batman, Terry McGinnis.  If I have to explain why this episode is bad ass, then there's something wrong with you guys.  Static Shock meets Batman Beyond, enough said!

2. Jimmy: A teenager named Jimmy brings a gun to school to protect himself from bullies, but he shoots Richie in the leg, causing Virgil to feel guilty.  This episode is strong because of it's structure.  It tackles different issues like gun control and bullying, and shows us a side of Virgil we don't see often which is touching.

1. Flashback: It's been five years since Virgil's mother died.  He wants to see her again, but can't, until a new Bang Baby named Time Zone comes and takes him back in time.  Only problem, they have a fight with Ebon that transfers them all back in time.  I think of this as my top Static Shock episode because of the theme of love in it, plain and simple.  It's the episode where I think we see Static at his most vulnerable, and one where he has to make the toughest decision of his life.  I usually like time travel stuff in shows, so this one is definitely number 1.

My Current Health

I'm in a bit of a writer's funk today and not feeling too well everybody, so I won't be posting anything today. Hopefully, I'll be back soon. But if I'm not back by tomorrow, have a great rest of the weekend!

Adult Playgrounds

As I'm sitting here writing or doing schoolwork, various things run through my mind.  I think about my friends, food, and what I'm going to watch later, but the thing I think about most is fun.  If I could have a choice of doing anything, what would I do?  Some people would choose to be with your significant other, or play video games, but the thing I'd really want to do is go on a playground and have fun like the old days.  I'm not even lying.

Playgrounds are significant to me because they represent innocence and a good chunk of my childhood.  When I was a child, we had a swing set in our backyard that was just the best.  Each of my siblings had a swing, and we would play on it all the time until we had to go in.  Most of the time it was just us swinging, but whenever we had friends over, we'd play the lava game, which was hilarious as a child.  I don't think any one of us thought of it as anything else than just a swing set, but as children, I guess we didn't have to.

By the time I reached middle school, the swing sets were long gone, and I hung out in the park in my neighborhood.  The park was fun because of how big it was, and how many more things it had there like slides and monkey bars, but we didn't go as much because my parents became busier as I got older.  I could have gone by myself or with my friends at that time, but it just didn't feel the same anymore.  There were too many people at the park I didn't know, and when I went to the park with my friends, all we did was play basketball.

Now, as a 21 year old, I can't go to playgrounds anymore.  Yet, a small part of me still wants that enjoyment of running around, swinging on swings, and sliding down slides.  Since I can't get that feeling anymore now, my suggestion is that they make playgrounds for adults to play in.  It sounds ridiculous, I know, but I think it would be cool to see adults having real fun or relaxing after a long day's work.  Plus, I feel like there's a bit of child still instilled in all of us, so why not try something that can ease people's stress and help them exercise, therefore making them feel good.  Playgrounds are getting emptier everyday because children play more games or have more homework, so let us adults have some fun for once.  We're not nearly as stuck up as you think.

Newspaper Wars

Awhile ago, I was reading the Boston Herald in public when I heard someone make a comment about me.  It wasn't about the way I looked, or what I was wearing, but about the fact that I was reading the Boston Herald since in this person's mind, it was garbage.  I couldn't believe the audacity of this random person, making a comment about me, and the newspaper I read.  How could they judge me when they didn't know me?  They only looked at the type of newspaper I had which was wrong.

First off, I think I deserve credit for reading a newspaper of any kind because most people nowadays don't even read the newspaper anymore.  They'll just read it online, or watch the news instead, which is a lot faster.  Secondly, you can think what you want of the Boston Herald, but the Boston Globe isn't much better.  It's basically saying the the same things other Boston newspapers do, except they charge more ($2-$1), and they do it in sections like that's so genius.  Why separate everything if the point of a newspaper is to keep it all together anyways?  It just doesn't make sense.  Also, the Boston Globe has a terrible design being more vertical, therefore making it hard to read on your lap and eat at the same time.  That may not sound important to many of you people, but the point of a newspaper is convenience, and that doesn't sound convenient to me.

The thing that ticks me off about the Boston Globe the most though is their online site.  After awhile, you can't read their paper anymore online for free.  You have to register or pay for it, which I think is BS compared to the Boston Herald, which you can read in it's entirety for free.  It's a principal thing to me.  The Boston Globe advertises itself like it's better because of it's format, writer's, delivery, etc, but they're charging more for the same news that other papers and news outlets have.  It just doesn't make sense, and is very deceiving in my mind.

This isn't a piece to disapprove the Boston Globe.  I happen to read their paper sometimes, and enjoy some of their writers, but I don't want to be judged just because I read the Boston Herald.  There's more to me than that, and there's more to newspapers than just the titles.