A Taste of Something...

Blue Valentine Review - Good/Realistic but not an enojoyable movie at the end.

2011-04-21T23:59:00.000-04:00

I watched the first hour and a half, and could barely understand the movie. It made sense in the plot was good, the acting was good, and the storyline was real, that is why it made no sense to me. Going through
the movie, it was made to look that Dean is the bad guy, but from what I watched is that he was a caring, good father who works hard and does all he can to help make his marriage work. Cindy on the other hand was an overemotional character, that is seen as the abused one throughout the movie, but to me it kept appearing that she was the one that caused the whole situation, and wasn't helping her husband make the situation
they were in workable. The starting was enjoyable and emotional at times, but I did not really connect to the story, and felt that these dysfunctional relationships happen, and they are heartbreaking to see,
and the trauma that it causes on all members is horrifying.

I just watched the ending part of the movie, and as expected the hero in the movie, is the father who walks away, giving up his life of happiness for something that the mother wants. It was a somewhat predictable ending, but I doubt that many people will relate and feel sympathetic for the real victim which is the father, and the effects that him leaving will have on the child. This is a good ending, and shows the male ability to give up, and be truly selfless.

Blue Valentine Review - Good/Realistic but not Great

2011-04-20T18:47:00.001-04:00

India or Sri Lanka?

2011-04-01T14:28:00.001-04:00

With the finals under a day away I thought I would write something about a preview of the game. In my opinion there are two ways that this game will end (obvious), because it depends on 2 players. Muttiah Muralidaran, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Why? Because if either Tendulkar, or Murali have a big game, their team will win. By big game I mean, a century or a 3-wicket haul.
Because of this, I am taking the likely Sachin to score this century in essence guiding India to win the tournament.

With both teams from Asia, it is an extremely interesting finals. There will be a few surprises, a decision to start a batter or two might result in a loss of 20 runs. Choosing the optimal time to take the Batting Powerplay is key. It needs to be taken at the 35th-37th over, when the relatively new ball is in play, that will allow for an increase of 20-40 runs. It should be an interesting game.
If India bats first they score 285-7. Sri Lanka gets 278-9. India wins.
If Sri Lanka bats First they score 225-10 while India responds with 227-4. India wins.
Sri Lanka will have a much higher chance of winning chasing, so they need to defer the choice to bat if they win the toss.

2011-03-29T22:31:00.001-04:00

How to Pick a Runescape Combat Type F2P

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

How do you know whether you should be a warrior, mage, or a ranger. This guide will give you some basic ideas to identify what to become.

Steps

Figure out whether you are a duo, group or solo Pker.
Based on that, you can pick a combat type.
As you start, the best combat type is mage, since at low levels you can hit the hardest with it.
Once you hit level 25, make a choice, whether you want to be a mage, melee or ranger. You could also be a hybrid.
Melee. Train to 40 attack, and 60 strength as well as 25/31 prayer.
- This is great if you fight in larger teams, or want to train outside of the wilderness. At this level you will find many large teams to fight with.
Range. Train to 67 Ranging and raise your prayer level to help you defend yourself.
- Range is ideal when fighting in small groups at the low level.
Mage.Becoming a mage becomes unimportant once you get to 42 combat. Until you reach 70 combat, there is no need to use mage, so picking another combat style is recommended.
Becoming a Range/2h pure is ideal for true Pkers especially soloers. Raise 40 Attack, 70 Strength and 70 Range for ideal results, with prayer as an optional stat.
This is a guide for pures, but if you want to gain defense, nothing is stopping you. Defense is great once you pass 90 combat.

Tips

Identify the group you are going to be Pking with.
Know the combat triangle. Mage beats melee, melee beats range, range beats mage.
Specializing is especially great in large groups, because it means less risk of backstabbing
People like having guys with defense on their team, because it helps take a few hits for the team, especially in large groups.

Warnings

The wilderness is dangerous. Do not risk stuff you are not willing to lose.
Get special stuff like gravite items. They are great for Pkers, but are long and hard to get, and easy to lose.

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

www.runescape.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Pick a Runescape Combat Type F2P. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Deter Noobs in Runescape

2011-03-28T19:27:00.000-04:00

How to Deter Noobs in Runescape

Noob's bugging you? These are a few easy steps to keep them at bay.

Steps

Know what world your on, staying on special skilled world's will limit the amount of low levels bothering you.
If you are a high level, keep your chat off, and try to prevent wearing rare/expensive items especially when in populated areas.
When Pking, do so in groups, or if you are soloing, have a low level account left at the place where you frequent. This will allow you to kill free loading looters, and other noobs.
Try to make yourself appear like one of the normal guys, offer advice to people, in the spirit of the game, but disregard any comments and queries made to "give free stuff".
Training at higher level monsters, or skilling at places frequented by higher levels will help take some of the "noobs" of your back.

Tips

The are coming to you for a reason, identify it. It is either your level, or your wealth.

Warnings

Don't lavish friends with gifts in public spaces, because that will draw poor people.
Also don't lend out items in populated areas, because the vultures will be circling attempting to rob you of your items where possible

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

www.runescape.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Deter Noobs in Runescape. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

TV Shows I Like

2011-03-25T23:06:00.001-04:00

TV Shows I like

How to Find Biblical Information Online

2011-03-25T16:25:00.000-04:00

How to Find Biblical Information Online

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Having a strong spiritual side is important for the majority of the world, and Christianity is a large part of that. The holy book is available online to help further your spiritual connection.

Steps

Find a website that offers biblical information. Try Google to help you if you are not sure.
Know what you are looking for, be it a specific passage, or a prophet, or one of Jesus' sermon. I provided some of the basic websites that help you find this information online in my citations.
It is important to source your information as well, if you are using it for a school project or work presentation.
Learn from the scripture, it was written for a reason.
Be sure not to provide any personal information to these websites, unless you are sure about their intentions. Free e-bibles are available online, and do not need to be purchased.

Tips

Keep your mind open to the different opinions of understanding the bible
try to learn from what you read.
Prayer is a good way to complement reading the bible as it strengthens your spiritual connection.
It is always helpful to form an opinion for yourself, rather than taking every word literally, try to connect it to your experiences.

Warnings

Be Careful of Online scams.
Be aware of certain biases
Be aware of misinterpretations

Things You'll Need

A computer
internet connection

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

www.biblegateway.com
www.bible.com
www.bibleresources.bible.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Find Biblical Information Online. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

India Dethrones Australia

2011-03-25T10:52:00.003-04:00

     Australia had for the past 12 years been champions, while India hasn't hoisted the cup for the past 28 years. The favorites to win this year are the Indians, because of their batting, while their bowling and fielding has been mediocre to all right.

     It is one thing to say that Australia were destroyed but they did fight against the Indians, not wanting to give away their crown, but the Indians showed their depth. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh played the key roles pulling India over the last 70 runs in under 10 overs.
While the Indian bowling did give up a few more runs than they should have it was again their batting that rescued them.

     Virender Sehwag was the first gone, which wasn't a surprise. Then the fear set in when the best was dismissed. Sachin gone for 53. Thankfully Kohli was able to get a few runs before his dismissal. Then the joke of the game, Gambhir, twice survived, then got himself out running for no logical reason. At this point Dhoni comes in and it seems India still is in control, then he's dismissed and the game looks to be slipping away again.

     Then came the partnership that guided India to the Semi's to play Pakistan that will be the match of the tournament, year and possibly decade. This match is one to remember as well. Pakistan beat Australia, so did India, so it seems only appropriate that these teams play each other, with the winner hoisting the trophy in the finals.

Movie Review: The Best and the Brightest

2011-03-21T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not one to watch romantic and non-action movies, but this one was interesting because it had an interesting twist. Peter Serafinowicz(Clark Janowitz) was the star of the movie in my opinion, because he provided the role that allowed for a plot twist. Without him it would have been a romantic movie, with nothing of any interest.

The acting by the supporting characters in The Player (Christopher Mcdonald) and Katharine Heilmann (Jenna Stern) were amazing and helped stimulate the movie. Neil Patrick Harris played a minor role as one of the major characters, showing his ability to play various roles, and show his acting talent that millions enjoy.

One of the major problems with the movie was the stereotyping. it is an extremely racist movie. Full of white people in all the major parts, with the prostitute played by a Latino, and the bouncer, and a towel holder at the strip club played by a black man. This was the major problem with this movie, since I could not understand the reason for it being a movie about the "best and the brightest" and speaking only of white people.

The acting for this movies gets it to a 5/10 on my scale, the plot and interesting part bumps it to a 7, but because of the race issue it drops back down to a 4.5/10. This isn't a bad rating for movies of this type, but could have easily been better.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1438251/?licb=0.38174287993014777

2011-03-20T18:08:00.002-04:00

How to Play an Intro Tab

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Playing an intro to a song can set the mood for a song. while songs like Stairway to Heaven have great intros, there are some easy ones you can learn.

Steps

Find a song you like. This is the most important step, don't just play songs that are boring to you.
Figure out the tab, or go to a site like Ultimateguitar to find already made tabs. These are not 100% right so you have to adjust them by ear.
Start Easy, Sunshine of Your life is a good start. You do have to be able to read tabs for this, but it is easy to learn.
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/c/cream/sunshine_of_your_love_tab.htm
This is one of the easier tabs to play for an intro since the notes are close together on subsequent strings. The beat Other easy songs include RCHP-Californication and Tomorrows Bad Seeds-Only For You.
The interval is also important, notice between the first and second note there are two breaks, while between the second and third there are three to show that the second note needs to be held longer.
Practicing these tabs are important to memorize them. Playing them before your song will make the song sound so much better.
It is better to learn the notes on the guitar, but you can play without doing so as well.
As you progress with reading tabs you can play songs with hammer on's, pull off's in Only for You, as well as playing bends and slides in other songs.
Good luck and as you move up harder you can learn to improve on your intros to playing legendary ones.

Tips

Give your fingers time to build up callouses if you are new to the guitar, and don't give up on tabs.
Playing with another person can help you improve. One plays the chords the other plays the notes, or in some cases the solo for the whole song. Paint it Black by the Rollin' Stones does this.
Separate the long tabs into parts to play them easier, since it will be more beneficial to do so

Warnings

Don't overdo practice. 10 times practicing one tab is good enough, especially the short ones.
Playing easy songs in extremely important, do not try to rush into hard songs because if you fail you will be devastated and stop playing the guitar which is an awesome instrument

Sources and Citations

http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/c/cream/sunshine_of_your_love_tab.htm

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Play an Intro Tab. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Teams most Likely to Win the World Cup

2011-03-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

India- This is the favorites, and there is no doubt why. They need the best to step up. Sehwag and Sachin need to form 100 partnerships fast. Their lower order batsmen except for Yuvraj have not been able to step up to play at a high level. Their bowling has been great with Yuvraj and Zaheer. They need a good 5th bowler, and a clutch game bowler other than Zaheer. If they set the right team there will be no stopping them.
South Africa- Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers are amazing batsmen who will guide SA to a good cup run. They are not the favorites, but if these two batsmen get going they will be. Their bowling has not been anything great, and I don't see how they are going to be challenging for a cup if they keep bowling like they are. Their fielding though sets them apart.
Pakistan- Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Abdul Razzaq - nothing more needs to be said about their bowling. Their batting has not been superb, struggling at time especially with their 184 against Canada. But Misbah, and Younis have been able to hold the middle of the order together when they lose early wickets, and can score runs late in the game. Favorites from group A, almost guaranteeing them a spot in the Semis, and then the finals (depending on if they play IND or SA).
West Indies- Unlikely to really have a chance at winning it, but i believe that if Chris Gayle plays the whole game as well as Chanderpaul is back, these guys will be able to pull off a few upsets and force their way to the finals.
Sri Lanka- In many peoples eyes, Sri Lanka will be going to the finals because of the home field advantage, but mainly because their bowling with Murralidaran and the other spinners has been magnificent. They have been able to play at a high level, and their batting with Sangakarra and Jayawardene, as well as Angelo Matthews have shown they can build strong, though slow, important partnerships that can guide Sri Lanka to 300+ scores. If they win in the Quarters, they become the favorites, even over India.
New Zealand- Require Daniel Vettori back, their bowling and batting have been good especially with Ross Taylor. They do need a more experienced captain who can help set up fields to exploit their opponents.
Australia- Sure they have won the last 3 world cups, but have not been able to pull of consistently strong wins. Kenya scored 260+ against them. If they get their act together in the Quarter Finals then they move up the list to the top 3 spots.
England- have come through in clutch games, but their rather horrible bowling attack other than Swann and Bhopara have given reason to worry. Their batting has been somewhat strong from a few players, but on a whole they are not performing at the level needed to win.

NHL Headshot Conundrum

2011-03-16T01:36:00.000-04:00

The problem the NHL faces in regulating head shots in the sport is that players enjoy hitting others, they realize they are getting overpaid because of it, and that fans love watching it. The other problem is that a few bad incidents make the overall head shots seem to be bad. It is the same idea in Nagel's Moral Luck argument, where the ends justify the original actions. It really isn't fair to generalize hard hits. They have to be taken as separate tasks, not grouped together. if the player gets injured there is something expected to be done, while if the player is not hurt, the punishment should not be severe.

I think the NHL has proven that they know how to handle the issue, by keeping it as part of the game and not going to the extremes, leaving it up to the referees or by removing it from the game. The game in itself does not provide a high level of excitement except for the endings of close games (as in all sports), and taking enjoyable hits from fans paying to see it would be wrong and in essence robbing fans from the chance to see a good ol' slug-fest. Players should not be suspended on a large scale except if the hit is deemed unfair, not if the player is hurt, or dies or whatsoever.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-luck/

Ireland and Bangladesh - do they deserve a spot in 2015

2011-03-15T11:28:00.000-04:00

With the reduction of four teams in the next WorldCup, it seems only deserving that the two teams that have played so well deserve to be guaranteed a spot each in the next cup, rather than having to compete against other associate teams. Bangladesh has shown their skill over the last two cups, and could be going through this year, while ireland have performed well against England, India as well as against South Africa. Other teams like Canada have shown they can play as well, but not to a level that is consistent.

Pakistan at the World Cup

2011-03-14T12:36:00.000-04:00

They have been a confusing team to understand. They played well against Sri Lanka and Kenya but were almost defeated by Canada. Their opening batsmen have not performed at a high level, but their middle order has come to the rescue with Younis and Misbah playing well in almost every game. This along with Afridi's resurgence bowling at this world cup has made Pakistan a challenger for the Cup, though not a favorite because of their inability to be consistent. They have a lot to improve upon, and their match with Australia will determine whether or not they are going to have what it takes to win in this world cup