Amnesia

Amnesia, by Miracle of Sound

I found this guy on YouTube about a year ago, and I've been a fan ever since. Most of what he writes is based on video games, but a lot of his stuff is wholly original as well. Everything he writes is tailored to whatever game he's writing the song about, so there are plenty of genres at work, but he pulls them off amazingly well. 

This is one of those songs where you just can't be down while you're listening. A lot of his original music falls into this category, but this one's a particular favorite of mine. I hope you guys enjoy it like I do.

What a drag...

Does anybody else get that apathetic feeling sometimes? Like you just want to sit in front of the computer all day because you don't care enough to do anything else? I feel that way a lot - right now, for instance.

And the thing is, I know I shouldn't feel this way. I have plenty of stuff in my room to keep me busy; my games, my books, my art, my fanfictions which I haven't written yet. But sometimes I get this way where I don't have the energy or drive to do any of them. It sucks, because I don't know how I can knock myself out of it. If I was merely anxious, I could take something. Is there medicine for apathy? Something to look up, I guess.

What do you guys do when you just don't care? How do you get back that spark? Lord knows I could use some advice.

Fossilized at 20 years

Earlier today I learned that Brandon Sanderson, whom I've stated before is one of my favorite authors, has published a new novella taking place within his Mistborn world during the original trilogy. My initial reaction was of slight disappointment; he'd hyped it up as a long-awaited secret project on his blog, and I was really curious to see what it was. Not that I dislike Mistborn, far from it, but I finished the original trilogy long ago and I would have preferred something unconnected from his previous series - or as unconnected as the Cosmere gets, at least.

I quickly overcame my dissatisfaction and figured I'd buy it anyway because it's Brandon Sanderson and I vowed a while back that I would read his works religiously. It turned out to be a Kindle book. I don't own a Kindle and I don't intend to, so that was a bummer.

I've heard e-books are a really convenient way to read these days, but I just can't see the appeal. I've read one before and it was a nice experience, but I can't imagine myself reading all of my books that way. It feels so hollow, almost impersonal. Reading a book is supposed to be like holding a conversation - the book speaks to you, and what you take from it and imagine in turn becomes your response. I don't get that feeling from an e-book.

Call me old-fashioned, but I like being able to touch my books when I'm reading them. I like carrying a heavy book around with me, because that reminds me of just how much is contained within its pages. The weight is no worrying matter. The same goes for movies, TV shows, and a lot of other things. I prefer buying actual DVD's and CD's to downloading them, because even if it puts them in jeopardy of being lost or damaged, it means that I have something tactile. Something to keep with me when I go places.

That's a rush I just don't get from digital media.

Concept Corner #2

For my second Concept Corner, I'm putting up what may be the first true story idea I've ever created. Like many of my ideas, it came to me while I was walking around and playing with my thoughts; somehow they aligned themselves enough to give birth to this story's name, and from there I concocted the premise.


Concept Corner #2 - Angel of Glass
A bitter young man with osteoporosis - brittle bones - stumbles one day across a small spirit-like creature that has itself been broken - shattered into pieces and clinging to life. Empathizing with the sprite, the man promises to help it seek out its missing pieces in the hope of finding solace from the pain he has been burdened with since birth.

I think this would be a standalone novel aimed at adults, not a series. I suppose it could be a series, but it would take some thought. It's not as fleshed out an idea as some of my other ones, but I figured I'd put it up here anyway.

It's only my future on the line here

So there was a Career Fair on Trine campus today. Since I'm hoping for a summer internship, I made an effort to be prepared this year - I printed out resumes, got them looked at and critiqued the day before, and picked out a reasonably professional outfit the night before to make a good first impression.

I had a fairly productive time. I managed to find six companies that seemed to fit my needs and I either gave them my resumes or made plans to contact them soon, and I made a point to take some business cards or brochures from as many of them as I could. With any luck, I'll get some good results back.

And it only took a half-hour to do the whole thing. That's a good deal in my book.

Las Vegas' little cousin

We had a guest speaker in Creative Writing class today; an author by the name of Mr. Lorne Niemi. Apparently he and Ms. Homan - our professor for the class - know each other.

He was an interesting guy. He told us about the ten types of story plots and went into some discussion about points of view and tenses - general writing tips, but it was nice to hear about them. He's got a book out talking about these things. I might have to buy it off of Amazon some time.

One of our classmates mentioned casinos as part of an assignment, so he told us a story about how he went out to Reno with either his sister or his friend (I forget which, or if it was even one of those two), and they went to a bar with a bunch of slot machines, and they got several of them to pay out. The bar wouldn't give them cash for all the coins they received, so they had to cram them all into whatever pockets and spaces that they could find. When they went outside, they found a crowd gathering around two Elvii fistfighting, and then a third one walked up to them (Lorne and the others, not the Elvii) and said how he was better than both of them.

9/10. Would attend again.

Also, before I forget - when gambling, keep the money you win and the money you're going to spend separate, and when playing slots it's better to spread your attempts out over a number of machines rather than focusing on just one. Your odds are better that way.

And yes, I do expect compensation if these tips lead to anybody hitting it big. Comment me and we'll discuss meeting times.

This is an assignment for my Creative Writing class - a short nonfiction story. I think it's adequate, so I figured I would post it here. I hope you all enjoy it.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Walking Around Notre Dame

Jacob Biggs

I have a lot of family living up in South Bend – most of my family, actually. My grandparents and the majority of my aunts, uncles, and cousins all live in some part of South Bend. My family and I travel up there to visit once every couple of months or so on average, depending on events and situations of life. Nowadays, it's mostly my parents that go up there, since I'm in college, but I still get to accompany them every now and then.

While my family is up in South Bend, we like to go somewhere and walk around for a while, sometimes with an end goal in mind but mostly just to meander. A favorite place to visit, and one that I have some nice memories of, is the University of Notre Dame. It's a scenic place, especially in the spring and summer when it's warm out and the shrubbery is green and full of life. When I think of South Bend, I usually imagine it in the winter, because we always spend Christmas in South Bend and did so recently, but in my memories of Notre Dame, it's sunny with blue skies all day long.

When my family visits Notre Dame, we usually park in a lot near a couple of basketball courts and a grove of trees that towers over us, with thick, bushy branches of green leaves. There's a small cemetery nestled in that grove, tucked away beneath the trees. It's pretty well hidden in the summer, but in the winter the shroud of leaves falls away. I think that's pretty clever.

Just near this parking lot is the bookstore. The bookstore's quite large for a university bookstore, and dual-tiered as well. It's not just textbooks they're selling – there's plenty of pleasure books for sale as well. I've bought many from the school over the years. There's also a cafe and newsstand with tall windows built into the hard wooden walls, so patrons can see outside.

There's a road outside the bookstore that extends up north for a while before ending in a loop. In the middle of this loop is a jade statue of Jesus Christ, and in the distance you can see the main building, which towers over even the trees and has a golden dome atop the center tower. A similarly gold statue of Mary stands on top of this dome.

The buildings at Notre Dame are brick like the ones at Trine, but unlike the reds and browns we have here, the buildings at Notre Dame are more of a golden tan color. Unlike the buildings at Trine, which are flat cubes, the buildings at Notre Dame have many sharp angles incorporated into their designs; even the bookstore was built in this manner. I don't know what kind of architectural style this is, but it reminds me of how churches and steeples are often built – with the roof converging into sharp upward-facing angles above the doors and windows. A campus of cathedrals... there's something poetic about that.

In the midst of all of the academic buildings, the sidewalks and pathways crisscross in an intricate and artistic pattern, the kind you'd see on an heirloom from long ago. The campus is a very green and vibrant place – there are trees almost everywhere in the gaps between walkways, and the shade that they provide makes the campus seem like a very secluded place even though it isn't. A lot of squirrels can be seen scurrying about on the ground and up the trees, if you come at the right time of the year. There's also a couple of big lakes near the edge of campus, with sidewalks running nearby for people to walk on and enjoy the view of the clear, rippling water.

Lastly, there's a big football stadium in the middle of the campus for sporting events. Sometimes people tailgate there for big games – we've gone to watch at least once. It gets really crowded, with lots of trucks, sports logos, and noise spread out over the entire parking lot. There's plenty to see if you're willing to make the walk around. The stadium itself is circular, with gray walls built high like a fortress. When you're inside and standing on the turf, looking out at the rows of seats stretching outward and upward, it makes you feel small, in a humbling way.

I don't visit the University of Notre Dame enough for the memories to be completely fresh, but I remember a good amount of what I've seen over the years. It's a very scenic college, and I think nature-lovers would find it very soothing. It's not a college I would wish to attend – too large for me – but a visit every now and then is nice.