Author: venturatreker

52 hours later…

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Skyrim…Skyrim…SKYRIM!  To much dismay from my girlfriend and my family I am still playing Skyrim. In fact I just passed fifty two hours of active gameplay.  Yes that’s right. In the last 19 days, two of those have been utterly devoted to killing dragons, backstabbing elves, and committing paltry genocide ( that then involves a village of angry peasants chasing you).

From that I would like to segway into talking about just how great this game is and some of the things one can do in the world of Skyrim.

When in doubt: Incineration.  With the ability to throw exploding fireballs from your hands and also use your body as a human flame thrower, what could be better than setting a wide assortment of things on fire.  This will really work with most anything, from a villager to his chicken to a dragon.

If you are one for a more relaxing game experience, working the saw mill is always satisfying, especially when you culminate your day sitting in a tavern listening to a bard sing the tale of Ragnar the Red.  Quite satisfying.

However you may choose to play Skyrim will win your heart and soul for many…many… hours.

So sorry to all who know me but they claim there is around 200 hours of gameplay. I intend to find out.

Being Thankful

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One year ago I was in Israel, two years ago I was at Midland.  Two years seem like a long time, but I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing.

Last year living in Israel my Thanksgiving meal consisted of yogurt, bread, cheese, water and an orange.  I was in Gadna, a mock IDF basic training program to test and place potential soldiers.  I did not even know it was Thanksgiving until later that night when one of my friends, who had spoken with his parents had told me.  There was still no other place in the world that I would have wanted to be.

Two years ago I was at Midland.  At Midland for Thanksgiving you don’t get to go home. Instead you family comes to you and a huge Thanksgiving afternoon and meal takes place with about twenty turkeys and over two hundred people.

This year I will be home, with my family and the people I love and will be eating TOfurkey.  In just two years things have changed so much and each year I find myself exactly where I want to be.  On Thanksgiving, that is what I am really thankful for.

There goes reality

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Last friday, a brand new video game game out, The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim was released.  It is the fifth game in the huge RPG series based on the fantasy province of Tamriel.

One of the best things about this game is the vast amount of things one can do.  For instance killing a chicken becomes a moral dilemma that will usually follow by a mob of angry townsmen.  One could also become a dragon slaying enemy infested spelunker

I have now logged about 22 hours of play time and I have only completed about 14% percent of the game.  You could literally spend hours just wondering around the game going from the wind-swept peaks to the deep marshes.

Basically this is the one game to rule them all. Period.

Bring on the Iron

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As a little kid and still I guess, I have always loved superheroes.  My favorite ones have always been marvel characters (minus the Green Lantern).

In my opinion the greatest Marvel characters are obviously the Avengers.  Who the true core team is always in flux as well as who is indeed their leader, their affiliation with S.H.I.E.L.D, which stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

The core Avengers though are: Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Ant/Giant Man, and The Wasp.

Personally I think it is all about Iron Man.  Tony Stark is a normal human, with no powers of his own except for what he can create. Allow though he is a genius, he lacks the physical supernatural powers of the others.

Although he is not as strong as the Hulk, courageous as Capt. America, or commands the power of Asgard as Thor does, he is still perhaps the most capable warrior of all.  His ability to adapt to any circumstance is what allows Iron Man to always come out on top.

Truly the Man in Steel or rather some other incredibly rare and unknown metal has the brains, power and ingenuity to be the greatest Avenger.

The Hunger Games

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Last week my younger brother gave me the book, The Hunger Games.  Being me I figured it would be stupid and a waste of my time, but after about two pages, I was pretty hooked.

The tale follows the teenage girl Katniss, from District 12 who sacrifices herself to save her younger sister, Prim.

Forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a gladiatorial fight to the death, Katniss is almost overwhelmed.  But with the help of the people around her she pulls through.

For anyone who wants to read about a crackshot heroine, then the Hunger Games is the book for you.

Times past

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Yesterday I had the chance to go back to a place that had a significant impact on my life, Midland School.

It is lovely to go back there because nothing really ever changes except the faces, but even then we all have something in common because of our shared connection to Midland.

One part that makes it the place that it is, is the communal showers. Yeah it sounds gross and not that great, but after a long day, sharing laughs with all your friends in the shower room is really the best thing there is.

When I went back, after my Football game I showered in the Junior bathroom with all my friends, it felt like nothing had changed.  I do miss Midland and the great innocent fun we had, but I am glad to have moved on and to be able to come back and remember those memories.

It really Hurts?

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Today I played my very first ever football game against the Dunn school.  I have practiced about twenty days and was in pads for about 18 of those.  All I can say is the game is much different then practice.

Being completely new to the game meant I had to learn everything, and with the goal of getting eligible for the game I focussed on one position, running back.

First I will say I really enjoy the game, but I’m still very lost.  I learned the hard way how it feels to be tackled and piled on by testosterone fuming teenagers.  To be perfectly honest, it’s not that bad.  Yeah it hurts but the pads do protect you and again and again I got up from being crushed by players. Saying that I think I ended up on the ground almost every play. I am not a great blocker so it ended with me or me and my “guy” on the ground, usually just me…over..and over…and over.. again.

What really hurts though is those precision hits. In the second quarter I got a helmet straight to the side of the knee.  I remember laying there looking up just thinking “Sweet Jesus, that really hurt”

So I walked away from the game with bruises, cuts, and possibly some internal bleeding (jokes)

But really, football hurts, but you gotta love the game.

Terra Nova

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I love anything Sci-Fi.  Saying this I have been ecstatic with the premiere of a brand new TV show on Fox.  Titled Terra Nova it combines the ferocity of the prehistoric earth with the ingenuity of humans 85 million years in the future.

In the world of Terra Nova the human race has destroyed the earths environments leaving it a barren, industrial waste on its last breath of life. Yet for the Shannon family there is another chance.  Being selected to embark on the 10th pilgrimage through a newly discovered time portal to an alternate universe begins the adventure of a lifetime.

Coming out on the other side the family steps into a world governed by nature.  With roaring dinosaurs and bizarre foliage, the family of five question if they made the right choice.  With joy and optimism they step into the settlement of Terra Nova but soon realize the truth: it wont be easy.

The SAT

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Today I took the SAT for the second time.  I took it once before last year. I, like most first time takers of the test did not do nearly as well as I would have liked to.  So for the second time I devoted about five hours of my saturday to taking a ten sectioned test that tests reading math and writing.

I will say it is probably one of the hardest tests I have ever taken and even will take.  The questions are misleading and the constant jump between subjects make it long and arduous.

Although it seems impossible to tell how I did on it without seeing my scores, I feel I may have done better than my previous attempt, I guess all I can do is wait and see if I’ll be going to college or not when I get my results.