Ubik is a novel written by the late Philip K. Dick. Although it is set in present day it was written over 40 years ago which explains the very futurustic setting (hover cars etc.) of the world. It centers around the characters of Glen Runciter and Joe Chip. Runciter is in charage of a large anti-psi company (which supresses the abilities of pre cogs, psycics, telekinetics etc.) while Joe Chip works for Runciter by measuring psi fields.
After an iroduction and development of characters the story really takes off with an explosion which makes the reader questions the moatives of ever character and even if whether it is a dream or reality. This is an excellent and highly influental novel and I would reconmend this anyone.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Why the Leaving Cert needs to be changed.
I did my leaving cert (LC) 2 years ago now and I'm not embarrised to admit it went really badly. I got about 150 points. I was not motivated to do well simply because very few of the subjects interested me. The LC focuses on people's weaknesses as opposed to developing their strengths. Lets say an athlete is competing in the olympics and is told they have to compete in all of the events even though they are only good at javelin, does that sound right to you?. Then imangine that athelete is under pressure to get golds in every event.
My three main interests in life are playing Music, working with Computers and creative writing. Ok I will admit that the Music subject in the Lc was not that bad, as for the Computer subject, oh wait there is none even though we all heavily rely on computers in our everyday life. I quite enjoyed the creative writing/poetry aspect of English but then you have to learn/revise plays such as The Playboy Of The Western World and MacBeth. This is not some poor attempt to critize O'Casey or Shakespeare, I'm merely pointing out that the type of language used in these plays are completely irrelevant by today's standards. Would you use a Shakespearean dialect in a job interview?, well I guess you could if you wanted to be unemployed.
I have a cousin who did the LC at the same time as I did, he managed to get over 500 points. This same cousin now has attended 2 different colleges (and changed course 3 times) in two years and still does not know what he wants to do with his life. He spent so much time studying that he forgot what his interests were.
The question is do we want our education system to produce directionless but excellent all rounder students or do we want students who excel in one field and have the drive to make a successful living out of that particular interest.
My three main interests in life are playing Music, working with Computers and creative writing. Ok I will admit that the Music subject in the Lc was not that bad, as for the Computer subject, oh wait there is none even though we all heavily rely on computers in our everyday life. I quite enjoyed the creative writing/poetry aspect of English but then you have to learn/revise plays such as The Playboy Of The Western World and MacBeth. This is not some poor attempt to critize O'Casey or Shakespeare, I'm merely pointing out that the type of language used in these plays are completely irrelevant by today's standards. Would you use a Shakespearean dialect in a job interview?, well I guess you could if you wanted to be unemployed.
I have a cousin who did the LC at the same time as I did, he managed to get over 500 points. This same cousin now has attended 2 different colleges (and changed course 3 times) in two years and still does not know what he wants to do with his life. He spent so much time studying that he forgot what his interests were.
The question is do we want our education system to produce directionless but excellent all rounder students or do we want students who excel in one field and have the drive to make a successful living out of that particular interest.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Red Alert 3 pc game review
Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 is a Real time strategy (RTS) game. Its platforms range from the PC to the Xbox 360. The story follows the Soviet Union building a time machine, going back in time and erasing Albert Einstein from history. This was an attempt to destroy the Allied Nations and allow the Soviets to become the world's greatest superpower. By changing history the Soviets made a great mistake, now a third faction The Empire Of The Rising Sun (Japan) has to come to power to wipe out both the Soviets and the Allies.
This is an example of the ridiculus plots that are usually used in C & C games. But if you were a fan of the series prior to the release of this game then this should feel just like the old ones with updated graphics and better quality FMV (Full Moition Video) which is the type of cinematics used in C & C games. Not much of a review is neede here really, if you have played these games before then you know what to expect but if your new to this franchise then you should probably start with one of the older games in the series. If fact I would recomend that you do this so. After all this is one of the most celebrated franchises in computer game history.
This is an example of the ridiculus plots that are usually used in C & C games. But if you were a fan of the series prior to the release of this game then this should feel just like the old ones with updated graphics and better quality FMV (Full Moition Video) which is the type of cinematics used in C & C games. Not much of a review is neede here really, if you have played these games before then you know what to expect but if your new to this franchise then you should probably start with one of the older games in the series. If fact I would recomend that you do this so. After all this is one of the most celebrated franchises in computer game history.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
TV is desensitizing our kids to violence.
TV is desensitizing our kids to violence..........good, leave it do just that. You always hear parents complain about how even daytime programs or PG films have far too much violent content for kids to be watching. Well consider this, suppose there is a situation where a child witnesses a graphic car accident. Now of course the child will probably need therapy but there is a possibility the child would be less affected if they had already seen something similar on television. This is just one example but I think I've made my (very unpopular) point clear. Expose your kids to fabricated violence on television, maybe then they won't be scarred for life if they ever experience a real life situation tragedy.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Drugs and rock music
Throughout the ages rock music has always has a close and personal relaitionship with drugs.
Although it is well the documented the harsh effects that long term drug users experience, the question must be asked, would some of our favorite musicians had written those memorable songs if they were completely sober. Jimi Hendrix is a prime example of a musical genuis who died before his time before of his drug use, but many claim his excessive use of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD heavily influnced his style of play.
While Jimi is an example of musician who drew from his positive drug experiences, Layne Staley (lead singer of Alice In Chains) wrote material which was almost exclusively drawn from his negative experiences of drugs. He was addicted to drugs such as heroin. Many of Alice In Chain's songs were about his struggle with heroin and how he could not live without it. Would Alice In Chain's albums conveyed so much emoition if Layne was sober, we'll never know. Sadly Layne passed away from drug use.
Nine Inich Nails would be a less extreme example, their main songwriter Trent Reznor was addicted to many drugs in his career dating from the 80's to present day. In the last couple of years Trent has become completely sober and since then many believe his material does not live up to the standard of their previous drug influenced work. They are so many other artist who had similar relaitionships with drugs such as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Bon Scott and Darby Crash.
There is also those rare incidents where someone becomes completely indifferent to the effects of drugs, Keith Richards is an infamous drug user who is in his 60's now and still touring with the Rolling Stones. I will end this blog with quote from the late great comedian Bill Hicks "If you think drugs have done nothing for society then burn all your books, cds, vinyl etc.".
Although it is well the documented the harsh effects that long term drug users experience, the question must be asked, would some of our favorite musicians had written those memorable songs if they were completely sober. Jimi Hendrix is a prime example of a musical genuis who died before his time before of his drug use, but many claim his excessive use of hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD heavily influnced his style of play.
While Jimi is an example of musician who drew from his positive drug experiences, Layne Staley (lead singer of Alice In Chains) wrote material which was almost exclusively drawn from his negative experiences of drugs. He was addicted to drugs such as heroin. Many of Alice In Chain's songs were about his struggle with heroin and how he could not live without it. Would Alice In Chain's albums conveyed so much emoition if Layne was sober, we'll never know. Sadly Layne passed away from drug use.
Nine Inich Nails would be a less extreme example, their main songwriter Trent Reznor was addicted to many drugs in his career dating from the 80's to present day. In the last couple of years Trent has become completely sober and since then many believe his material does not live up to the standard of their previous drug influenced work. They are so many other artist who had similar relaitionships with drugs such as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Bon Scott and Darby Crash.
There is also those rare incidents where someone becomes completely indifferent to the effects of drugs, Keith Richards is an infamous drug user who is in his 60's now and still touring with the Rolling Stones. I will end this blog with quote from the late great comedian Bill Hicks "If you think drugs have done nothing for society then burn all your books, cds, vinyl etc.".
Monday, October 6, 2008
Deus Ex PC Game Review by Kenneth Hynes
Deus Ex was a grounbreaking Pc game when released back in 2000. It is a FPS (First Person Shooter)/ RPG (Role Playing Game) hybrid. The story is set in the 2050's and is seen through the eyes of JC Denton, an rookie agent working for U.N.A.T.C.O. ( United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition ). JC Denton is not entirely human though. He is a cyborg meaning that he is mixture of human and robotic body parts. UNTACO are currently at war with a group named the N.S.F. who are considered to be terrorists. As the Plot develops JC is in conflict with where his loyalties stand, multi-layered conspiricies are revealed and you constantly ask yourself who can you trust?.
When the game was released its graphics were considered outdated but it also received critical acclaim for its complex and engaging storyline and also for its cyberpunk themed soundtrack. The story consists of many plot twists as well as a intricate dialog system which gave the player many choices when speaking to a character in the game, this dialog system gave you so many choices that the game had 6 different endings. Many believed this rivaled and in some cases exceled in comparison to a movie script. It is considered by many computer game magazines to be the best PC game of all time and in my opinion it is the best PC game of all time.
When the game was released its graphics were considered outdated but it also received critical acclaim for its complex and engaging storyline and also for its cyberpunk themed soundtrack. The story consists of many plot twists as well as a intricate dialog system which gave the player many choices when speaking to a character in the game, this dialog system gave you so many choices that the game had 6 different endings. Many believed this rivaled and in some cases exceled in comparison to a movie script. It is considered by many computer game magazines to be the best PC game of all time and in my opinion it is the best PC game of all time.
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