Bundy's Blog

Free Time

2014-02-08T23:31:00.001-05:00

Well...the weekend is here. It's an interesting time of the week in which I don't have class, and it seems that there isn't as much to do. I don't know about other people, but even as much as I look forward to the weekend, I don't enjoy it as much as I used to.

Sure, there used to be less care-free times in which I would watch Saturday Morning Cartoons and chill out at home...but now I'm a college student.

Although Saturday Morning Cartoons are still a sometime thing...

I went with my roommate to a Frozen Sing Along today with some other friends, and then we went to lunch and other fun stuff. I returned to my dorm and my roommate decided to go to sleep. Alright, that's cool. You sleep most of the day away...then I get him up for dinner and we go there.

Currently he's out and about, probably watching the Olympics with friends. Me, I'm sitting alone in my dorm room, occasionally walking the halls and seeing where I can integrate....it's not looking good.

I mean, I could have been productive today, but I honestly thought I needed rest. However with the resting I did today, I feel more tired than I did before. It's quite the conundrum.

So I have free time, I just haven't learned to utilize it correctly. That, and I feel like I'm doing that thing in which I cut myself off from society again. Meh. I wish it was easier for me to express my thoughts in written form, but this is about the best I can muster.

That's another reason why I try to keep up this blog. It gives me some outlet in a form other than keeping it in. Whelp, this is a shorter blog post, but I was able to (I think) get my thoughts out. I'm rather tired, so I'm not sure if I'm as coherent as I think I am...

A Documentary About Bronies? - A Review

2014-01-25T21:46:00.004-05:00

So I was looking for a movie to watch tonight whilst eating in my dorm, and so I decided to go onto Netflix and find a movie to watch. Upon looking through the many different movies, I settled on a little documentary on there called "Bronies". To be quite honest, I was a bit curious, as I know a few of my friends and colleagues call themselves Bronies, and having watched a fair amount of the show myself (but not calling myself a Brony), I thought it would be interesting to check out.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza in lap, I delved into the world of Bronies.

Coming into it, I honestly was a little hesitant. As much as I can tolerate people like that, there is somewhat of a presupposition among people on the internet about Bronies, like how they are all 30-year-old pedophiles who live in their mother's basements, and how creepy the thought of it is. Needless to say, I didn't want to associate with it.

The Brony in its natural habitat.

But being more serious, the documentary as a whole kind of opened my eyes a bit to what the world of a Brony is. It follows around five to six guys and their excursions to their country's Bronycons. Coming from different walks of life and different backgrounds, these people united under one convention to connect over something that they all love: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

The documentary itself was well made. Created by Lauren Faust, the creator of MLP:FiM, Tara Strong, one of the main voice actors, and John de Lancie, another of the main voice actors, the documentary carries a high production value with custom songs and animations full of wit.

That's a custom John de Lancie Pony on the right. Throttling a hipster.
Voiced by John de Lancie.

I was speechless at the end of the documentary. The documentary brought a message that friendship, which is one of the main aspects of the show, carries throughout the fandom. They raise a lot of money for charity and other things like that, but it's interesting that people still judge the fandom as a whole.

The one thing though that bugged me was that the documentary brought up the fact that some people treat the show like a cult. As with any other cults, there are extremists. A word of caution: watch yourself. Whether it be ponies, jedis, vulcans, time lords or whatever else, moderation is key. Having that friend that won't shut up about what they're passionate about can get tiring after a while. I try real hard not to tune people out, but it happens. I guess that would be more of a caution to people in general.

Funny enough, as I'm writing this, my RA and another guy in my hall walk in (I'm wearing my OSU snuggie) and I brought up that I had watched the documentary. They were kind of skeptic about it, and one of them even told me, "Bundy, don't be a Brony."

Okay. I wasn't sure how to react. I humored him. I honestly kind of want to have those guys watch just one episode. I've watched the first episode of each season at the least, and I have to say I do enjoy the show. I still (for my social life's sake) won't call myself a "brony," nor would I consider myself an avid fan of the series. However, just as well, I will try my best to defend my brony friends for what they enjoy. I got y'all's backs.

I think that'll be it though in terms of a review. I recommend this documentary to anyone who is curious about the Brony fandom or happens to be a part of it. The production value is high, and being only an hour and a half, is definitely not a waste of your time.

Doing Hard Things

2013-11-18T19:17:00.000-05:00

Yeah...I totally semi-ripped the title from a book. One that I honestly never actually read all the way through. That seems to be something that happens to me on a constant basis.
I never seem to finish a lot of the things I start. I've been looking back at some of the things in my life and there are some things that could have had the potential to be great. However, I lost focus and dropped the project. Various Video Blogs, game projects, etc. have all fallen victim to the Bundy Effect. It seems that everything that I seem to lead tends to die an early, abrupt death.

It is definitely visible on things that I am not required to do. If you look at my YouTube channel, you will see many unfinished Let's Play Projects, and a lot of failed attempts at things.

I want to change that.

It's going to be difficult. I realize this. And I'm not just talking about my YouTube Channel, in which I just recently hit over 100 subscribers. I also mean in everything that I do. I just have to step it up in my priority list.

(and 6 hours later...)

I really don't remember where I was going with this blog post, other than being more prudent in everything I do. It's going to be difficult for me. Especially since I have school and such. I'm hoping that things will get easier for me as I go about doing them. So until next time, thanks for reading!

This Past Week was Rough...

2013-11-16T00:52:00.001-05:00

I think it was not being able to rest last weekend due to the 72 hour film festival that I took part in. Yeah. It took a lot out of me. Not to mention the procrastination had caught up to me.

There were two consecutive almost-all-nighters this week. TWO. Each with about two hours of sleep. Reason being: paper writing. THAT WAS IT. The first one was due to being a group project, and me having the last part of the paper to write. The second one was all on me, though, and it was something that I don't want to do ever again...(although it probably will sometime).

On top of all that, there were a lot of other things that happened this week. Too much to name, honestly, but I'm so glad for the weekend. More than usual.

I really don't know what else to say for this. I got on here in hopes of updating my blog and trying to keep current and what not, but as soon as I was inspired, I lost it. Woo.

"The Disaster Artist" - A Review

2013-10-21T22:09:00.002-04:00

Now anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy movies...of lower quality. I'm not sure why, but I've always enjoyed those movies that lots of people know as "cult classics." Movies that the fans love, but the critics do not.
Some like Troll 2, Super Mario Bros., etc. come to mind. One of these that I really enjoy is the movie The Room. The story really doesn't make sense, and a lot of the goings on in the movie is laughable, but it's also really quotable and people who watch it remember Tommy Wiseau and his performance/director/producer-ness.

This movie...

Recently, the man who played Mark, Greg Sestero, wrote a book called The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made. It's really an interesting read! I admit I'm not much of a reader, but I found myself sitting in the Student Center after dinner Monday night. I read the first eight chapters of the book (around 118 pages) in one sitting. Getting a glimpse into Greg's encounter with Tommy and the production of The Room was very insightful and entertaining. I could find myself visualizing the production process and all of the memories Greg writes in the book. I haven't finished the book yet, but it made me in the mood to watch the movie again. It had been too long.

"What a book deal, Mark!"

I do have to say though, after reading the book, the scene with Chris-R is more terrifying.

That's Chris-R. He's a gangster.

Anyway, even though I haven't finished the book, I highly recommend it...especially if you have watched The Room or if you ever wanted to know a little bit more of Tommy Wiseau and his acting method.

Needs more emotion.

I'll go ahead and finish this review here. Once I finish, I'll write a little more (maybe). So maybe check back in a few days (or weeks, however long it takes to finish this book) and maybe there might be more down here.

Where have I been?

2013-10-12T16:57:00.000-04:00

You might have noticed (or you may have not) that I disappeared off the face of the Internet for a little over a week.
I mentioned in a few Facebook posts on my personal page that I thought I was getting sick. I had flu symptoms, and after a week, it really didn't get better. Plus, my skin started to turn yellow, and I felt miserable. After a soccer game (I run camera for it), I had to leave halfway through because I was not looking the greatest and a bit yellow. Luckily, my family had gone to the Renaissance Festival that day as well, and my sister's boyfriend goes to my school. They had to drop him off, and they asked if they wanted to ask me to meet for coffee. So I did.

Meeting my parents was probably a God thing, because I was hoping for some help. I ran into my parents and my mom looked worried. "Son, you're yellow."

They promptly took me home, without any notice or packing or anything. I was so sick I didn't really care if I needed anything or not. So I left with my wallet, my phone, and my keys. Nothing else. Once we got home, I basically rested the rest of the day.

The next day, Sunday, my family went to Church. I didn't feel up to it, so I stayed home and rested. Once they returned, my mother came in to check on me. Looking at me, my eyes especially, my mother decided that it was time for me to get taken care of. After a phone call, it was decided that I take a trip to the Emergency Room. Yay.

At the emergency room, they hooked me up to a Saline IV and checked my vitals. At that time, they thought it was a blockage in my gallbladder. Since they didn't have a GI specialist at that hospital, they had to transfer me to a hospital about half an hour away in Lima.

This is where I would be for the next three days.

So at first, they kept messing up who I was. I almost was admitted as my father, then they said I was some random age that was between my father's and mine. That got all figured out, then I was treated by a whole array of different nurses and doctors.

I've never had to stay at a hospital before. It was a strange experience. Since at first I could hardly eat anything, I had to have a restricted liquid diet, and call the nurse whenever my IV started beeping. The doctors would show up maybe once or twice a day, and eventually they told me that it wasn't something with my gallbladder.

After so many blood tests and an ultrasound, everything looked really healthy. They believe that it was something with my liver. They're not sure what, as all the major tests turned up negative. For all they know, it could've been a fluke, or my body not quite responding well. Like, it's not Hepatitis A, B, or C, or anything major. The doctor's convinced me of that.

You little imp.

Well, I could have been discharged, but the enzymes in my liver were a little high, so I had to stay another day. I was discharged the next day, which was Wednesday. It sucked because after the first night my dinosaur of a phone died, and I didn't have a charger to charge it. Almost lost my job because of it. (I didn't, though) I'm not looking forward to turning my phone back on and getting these back texts.

"Yes, I think being in the hospital for three days is okay."

Thank you to everyone who checked up on me. I'm feeling better, my skin's just a little yellow, which it might be for a little bit. And luckily the things I missed are easily caught up.

Hopefully more videos, blogs, and more will be coming in the near future!

Fear

2013-09-27T16:58:00.004-04:00

Fear. It's defined as such (according to Dictionary.com):

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

So that is the main definition of fear. With games in the mainstream like Dead Space, Slender, and Amnesia, people are exhilarated by the concept of fear. It's interesting how the adrenaline boost is drug-like, and is quite addicting. I have had my fair share of games, and I do enjoy them on occasion. However, fear in real life is something that has been holding me figuratively hostage lately it seems.

Now, I don't know if people can sympathize, but I find that I tend to sabotage myself in a lot that I do. Like, I don't start something because I'm incredibly fearful to start something new. It's hard to believe, but it's true. I like change, but not a lot of it. I'm starting a new exercise plan this next Monday, Steve Cook's Big Man On Campus 12-Week College Trainer. I'm terrified because I am doing things that I have never done before. There are workouts in this training that I've never done before, and I'm moderately terrified about doing it wrong or something like that. I figure I might have to do this alone too, which is something that terrifies me as well.

This is his basic idea. It's quite inspirational.

But for some reason, the topic has been brought up a lot in different things this past week. First, over at Ohio Comic Con. Jason David Frank taught a brief karate class, and he spoke a while before. It was kinda cool because he kinda was mentioning how a lot of what we do is based on what we say. He mentioned that our words control our thoughts, which control our body, which control our actions, which control our habits, which control our characteristics. He mentioned that we shouldn't let fear stop us from doing what we dream.
I was inspired by this, and it really made me want to start doing something. To drive the nail further on the head, we had Scott Rigsby come in and speak in chapel. He's a double amputee who had won an Iron man competition. He was speaking on how he overcame his disability and did an awesome thing.

So I was incredibly inspired. I want to start doing things and not be afraid of what people think or what I think of myself (which quite honestly is probably half of why I sabotage myself). It's interesting to think of what I can accomplish.

Would it be cliche to end with a cliche Bible Verse?

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13, ESV)

As much as this is taken out of context, I still use this as a really nice inspirational verse when I find myself stopping what I want to do for myself. What are you afraid of, and how can you overcome it?

Ohio Comic Con 2013 Recap

2013-09-25T11:25:00.002-04:00

So over the weekend, I went to Ohio Comic Con in Columbus, Ohio. I have to say...that was one of the best experiences that I have had in a while! Being my third year, I was excited to see what the convention held for me this year!

So I dressed up as Captain Falcon, more specifically Captain Falcon from the Web Series, There Will Be Brawl, played by Damian Beurer.

See the resemblance? (Me on left, Damian on the right)

So putting that costume together was a trip, doing it in around 24 hours with two of my friends who went as Snake and Lucas, giving us a Super Smash Bros theme to go to the con with. Having it finished, we went to the convention. Among the guests there were Stan Lee, William Shatner, Summer Glau, Jason David Frank, Ray Park, and many others.

Me with Ray Park (Darth Maul)

Bundy with Jason David Frank (Green Ranger)

My Sister and I with Summer Glau (River Tam, Firefly)

So meeting all these celebrities was amazing. I always like to meet these people and find that they're just regular people! I met a bunch of other people as well, and it was awesome to connect with them!

Honestly though, the highlighting moment of the trip was meeting Damian Beurer, the guy in which I based my costume. Needless to say, he about died of laughter when he saw me and realized who I was.

Damian liked that I did the costume.

There was SO MUCH that happened over this weekend...and I took a lot of video and photos...I was in the costume contest, which was awesome, and even though I didn't win, I had a blast! To conclude, I made a highlight reel of Comic Con. Enjoy.

School starts again...

2013-08-20T08:18:00.000-04:00

So, if you haven't heard already, I'm back at school at Cedarville University. I'm actually really excited about it. Classes don't start until Wednesday, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a great time. I've moved in with my roommate who is awesome, and we finally unpacked last night (I've been here since Saturday) and everything is starting to seem a bit more real.

It's such a pretty campus!

The new President, Dr. White (you can follow him on twitter: @DrThomasWhite), started off the school year with chapel yesterday with a Q&A Chapel, and he mentioned that he wants this year to be a year of stability. He wants us to be able to trust him as well. I respect that. I really do. Coming into the school year with no one knowing who he is, and having a lot of people not like him because he's not our previous President, Dr. Brown. Yeah, I imagine it's going to be hard to get used to it, but I for one am welcoming this new change. Having something different isn't always a bad thing.

Also, I realized this past weekend that I have a lot of friends. Yeah, I kinda realized a little before, but on Saturday after my parents left, I spent time with about three different friend groups. Being an extrovert, this is fine. I am energized by being around people. It just goes to show that I also am going to have to be discerning about who I hang with more, especially in the aspect of time management. Once school starts, it's going to be difficult to hang with all these people all the time. I don't like making choices. Like, I live between the two bathroom doors and have trouble deciding which one to use regularly.

I probably make Rebecca Black look extremely tame.

Finally, I've been slowly trying to urge myself to start getting into exercising again. The gym is a stone's throw from campus, and most of the time last year, I only used the gym to get from the dorm to the student center, as it's a straight line from one to the other. Wanting to find myself accountable in that aspect. Well, in many aspects this year.

Yep.

So this year is already off to an interesting start, and school hasn't even started yet. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.

Running Sucks

2013-08-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Okay so back on Tuesday, I decided I wanted to get back into a non-round shape. (I blame that clown at Bremenfest) So I decided to go on a walk. We have a trail alongside the Miami-Erie Canal, and it goes all the way through our town:

Doesn't it just scream "I LOVE NATURE?"

It's a long trail. There's a break that takes you to a road, and I kept going. Kept going for a while. I ended up in the next town, and decided to turn around and walk back. I was dead by the time I got back home and I just was walking.

Next day. Wednesday. It's a bit of a brisk morning (hahah 9am and it's still considered morning) and I went on a shorter walk. Just to the first road and then back. But this time I walked part-way and ran (excuse me, jogged) the rest of the way. I'm not a runner. Farthest thing from it. I even suck at the video game version of it.

However, on Thursday, I woke up at 7:30am (what?!?!) and did the same walk/run again. I felt a bit more energized, and am starting to feel a bit more positive!

Anyway, it's a slow and tedious process. On top of that, I suck at staying motivated. Hopefully this is going to change. I want one of my goals to be to get in shape...or to stay consistent in my workout routine...which I really haven't in the past. We shall see.

On another note, I move in to Cedarville this weekend! So excited!

Okay. I'm done.

Are We Being Hypnotized in Worship?

2013-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

So I was in church this past Sunday, and I was hit with a thought. We were singing this song by Hillsong, "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

The song in itself is a decent song. Good beat, decent lyrics. It got to the point though where we were repeating the same lyrics over and over again.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Okay. Yes, the song's lyrics are decent. I'm not disputing that. The thing is that we were repeating this over and over and over and over. In the middle of my singing, I had to stop. I honestly felt like I was being pulled into a trance. I started feeling emotional and in a state of openness? It was hard to explain. It felt like I was being put in some sort of low level hypnotism.

Looking up hypnotism online, I find this phrase:

A person under hypnosis experiences heightened suggestibility and focus accompanied by a sense of tranquility

What does this mean? Heightened suggestibility and focus? Means that you are more open to different ideas. I could make you feel really good about doing something even if you wouldn't do that normally. A sense of tranquility just means you feel a bit more calm about things when listening to it.

Okay, I mean, I enjoy listening to this kind of music. Don't get me wrong. But seriously, tell me this doesn't sound like it could be the back track to a Hillsong track:

I don't know about you, but I don't feel like we need to hypnotize people in order to get them to follow Jesus. Over the summer, our Kinetic college group has been doing studies on different cults, the most recent being Scientology. We learned that in order to help them "gain social skills," they were to stare at another person for hours on end...basically hypnotizing them to believe what they want you to believe. Shouldn't the Word of God stand by itself?

Again, don't get me wrong. I like listening to Hillsong and other worship songs like that. But why must we repeat the same lyrics over and over to get the point across? For me personally, if I start doing the same thing repetitively, I tune it out and it just turns into "vain repetitions." It means nothing.

It really was bugging me on Sunday, and I feel like it is something that needs to be talked about...or explained so I can understand it a bit better.

New Beginnings!

2013-08-12T11:29:00.000-04:00

The countdown begins...my summer is slowly coming to an end, and I could not be more excited! With school coming up and so many different things going on in my life, I am looking forward to the future.

I thought I'd give somewhat of a summary of what I did over the summer:

I joined a college group at my new church, and we did a lot of really cool stuff...like going to the Creation Museum, meeting every Wednesday night, and making friends that are very similar to me! They got me involved basically right off the bat, and I find that I'm actually growing in my faith...or at least it feels like I am.

Some of the group from Kinetic on our trip...I'm not a creep. Pic by Bayley Davis

I didn't work a steady job this summer, as I applied numerous places, got one interview, but no job. Luckily, I was able to do a few odd jobs as well as had a generous sister and parents who made sure I didn't go without need.

I got to help though with Celina High School's Band Camp...which was awesome. This was my third year doing this with the band, and it was a little different with the people who originally asked me being gone, but it was incredibly memorable, and I was able to make an impact in some of their lives and they made one in mine.

Me with one of the Celina Kids. She has a roaming gnome. Awesome.

All in all, I have had a decent summer. It wasn't as bad as I originally was thinking, but I am ready to continue my time as a student at Cedarville. New friends, new adventures...I'm looking forward to this.

Now, I say this all the time, but Google is making it really easy for me to keep up this blog...and I intend to. I want to post at least once a week, as well as upload a Youtube video once a week, which you can subscribe to my channel or watch the video below that I took this past weekend. There was a festival and I dunked a mouthy clown.

Thanks for reading!