Imagination

The teenage years have been ingrained in my brain as a period of activity and shenanigans and making memories. You can ask most adults and it seems like they'll provide you with example upon example on how they cherished their time. Whether it was that time your Uncle Roy snuck out in the middle of the night to meet up with some cute blonde, or how your grandfather shot a 10-point buck on his very first hunting trip. This time has always been rumored to seem so fulfilling, but it doesn't feel that way at all. The time seems to fly by without anything significant happening. The memories you make don't feel deep enough to notice later on. Sometimes you wonder if they even qualify to be labeled as proper memories. However, imagining what could be always seems so vivid and remarkable, you can hardly believe that kind of emotion even exists within you. You see yourself skydiving out of a plane with some of your closest friends. You're now scaling a gorgeous cliff face vegetated with all the most gorgeous, scenic plant-life you've never seen before. You imagine lounging near a lakefront nigh untouched by modern civilization and literally bask in your ideal relaxation and self-fulfillment.

Just thinking about it what could be invokes an emotional response. It feels like you can survive off this satisfaction alone, however the reality of your true situation bleeds through the vision. The physical record shows that nothing notably close to your expectations has been accomplished. That dark fact looms over you, beckoning you to change it. It hates its blank slate. It hates lack of substance. It feels empty and meaningless, almost hurtful. A water-less ocean is only a desert after all. Unfortunately, the feeling is not strong enough and is easily ignored or brushed off as hormones or a sour mood.

The Wikipedia Game

Over the past few years, I've off and on played the Wikipedia game with others. If you've never played, it's simple. You can play with just yourself or with a hundred other people. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and Wikipedia. Choose a random page (either select one or click "Random Article") and then decide on another page you plan on navigating to. Using only links found in the articles, try to get to the specified page before anyone else.

It seems like an easy game, and sometimes it is. Other times, it's so unfathomably hopeless that you begin to wonder if the page you're looking for even has links to it. Yet even in its difficulty, I usually get there eventually. You almost have to at some point—unless you're just not paying attention, the nature of Wikipedia will show you links that get you closer and closer to your destination. At its heart, the game works because of Wikipedia's interconnectivity. But it's a bit more complicated than that.

Stannis and Why He is the Mannis: Part I

Stannis Baratheon

King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.

Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.

Recently on HBO's Game of Thrones, this aforementioned character did something awful. I mean, gut-wrenchingly awful. Like Red Wedding minus the awesome build-up awful. On the show, Stannis burned his daughter, Shireen, alive to melt the snows that entrapped his army. If you think that's ok, you're probably a piece of shit. So you might be asking yourself; why would someone ever make a post on their super-popular blog about how he is the Mannis?

         

Before we proceed any further, I must establish that this will be an argument for the Stannis Baratheon of the books! The series upon which Game of Thrones is based (George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire) is becoming increasingly different from it's televised counter-part. Stannis' storyline is one in which these changes are especially apparent. In the show, Stannis burns his daughter the day after the food supplies for his entire army get destroyed by a band of twenty men. In the books, Stannis refuses to burn anyone in his army after weeks of starvation in a Northern blizzard. In the show, Stannis is clearly lustful towards Melisandre, whereas in the books, he usually avoids intimate contact of any sort. 

Clearly, book Stannis and show Stannis are different characters. The former is far from the monster the latter has been made into. However, even some well-informed book-readers live under the delusion that book Stannis is not a fit ruler. I will now tell you, lucky reader, why he is possibly (definitely) the best living candidate for the Iron Throne.

I will start, as any decent apologist would, by addressing Stannis' perceived sins. The first (although not foremost) among these is his maiming of Davos Seaworth. Davos was a lowborn smuggler who saved Stannis and his garrison from starvation during the Siege of Storm's End. He smuggled a shipload of onions past the Redwyne blockade, thereby saving the men in the castle. In return, Stannis raised him to knighthood, and gave him wealth and lands... but also ruled that Davos would have to lose the first joint of each finger on his left hand as punishment for his years of smuggling. Some presumed Frey-sympathizers out there say that this is unfair; Davos saved the entire castle! He should be treated like a hero, not a criminal!

          

These objections, however, ignore two pertinent facts. Firstly, Davos was in the castle with the rest of the men. Smuggling the onions wasn't some sort of heroic sacrifice, it was self-preservation. Now, obviously, Davos acted with valor and deserved a reward, which Stannis gave him. But that doesn't erase all the crimes he's committed in his life! Which brings me to my second point: Davos' punishment. Now, many (most) would say that cutting off one's fingers is a pretty extreme punishment for any crime, and I would agree. But it's not recognized as such in Westeros, where someone could be beheaded for cheating on the king. More importantly, Davos found the punishment just; he agreed with Stannis' sentence (albeit under the condition that Stannis do the cutting himself [which he did cause he's a badass]). Davos' penalization was not, as some detractors might say, a cruel injustice forced upon a selfless hero. Rather, it was an agreed-upon penance for years of crime.

Another, more common sin that Stannis is faulted for is the, "murder" of his brother Renly Baratheon. After the death of King Robert, his brothers (Stannis and Renly) both declared themselves King on the Iron Throne. Stannis summoned what power he could to Dragonstone (approximately 5,000 men, not really conquest material). Renly, having received the lordship of the Stormlands (which should also have been Stannis') and an innate charm from Robert, forges an alliance with the Tyrells and forms a host of 80,000 men. Stannis, being the rightful king, met with Renly and told him to surrender his false claim. Renly refused. Shortly thereafter, Stannis sent a shadow demon from Melisandre's womb to stab Renly in the neck (yeah... don't fuck with Stannis). Many of Renly's men then swore to Stannis, which allowed him to march on King's Landing.

Now, again, there are two main facets of this situation that the anti-Stannis, anti-Jesus folks ignore. They say that, although Renly was not king by rights, he would have been a better ruler than Stannis. This claim is not only unprovable, but also probably false. At the time of the conflict, Renly had gathered 80,000 men. That's the largest army we've seen in the entire series (except possibly that of the White Walkers). All he had to do to win the throne was march to King's Landing. He could've stormed the city and executed Joffrey in an hour. But what does he do instead? He holds a month-long tournament in the middle of the Stormlands. This gives Stannis time to arrive and later kill Renly. If Renly hadn't been screwing around, he could've won the War of Five Kings in a week. But he didn't take the war seriously; he made a game out of it, and it cost him everything. Who's to say that he wouldn't make a similar mistake with the kingship? Renly may have been more charismatic, but at least Stannis takes his job seriously. 

The second issue people take with Renly's assassination is the cold-heartedness it seems to suggest in Stannis; How could a man kill his own brother for a crown? How evil of Stannis! While this is a fair objection, it is one that must be borne by all contenders for the Iron Throne. Joffrey would kill Tommen to be king in a heartbeat, and Renly was planning to kill Stannis the day after he was murdered. It's easy to forget the fact that Renly was preparing to destroy Stannis and his army. Although his method would have unquestionably been more honorable, Renly was aiming to kill Stannis just the same. He would have been far less justified as well, since Stannis is in fact the king by law. Furthermore, Stannis himself is haunted by his actions afterwards, realizing how he had loved his brother. It is doubtful that Renly would've reacted similarly to Stannis' death.

Some other problems people have with Stannis are his burning of the sculptures of the Seven at Dragonstone and his murder of Cortnay Penrose. These acts cannot be justified; they are moral failures through and through. However, Stannis did not perform them entirely of his own volition. He committed both sins on the advice of Melisandre of Asshai. Melisandre manipulates Stannis (perhaps unknowingly) with promises of what he's always wanted: significance, recognition, glory. Stannis has been living in Robert's shadow his entire life, and Melisandre's prophecies give him a way out of it. This desire, coupled with the fact that his queen and over half of his men had converted to the Lord of Light, leads Stannis to do likewise. One condition of his conversion was that he had to burn the ancient statues of his former religion that were kept on Dragonstone. This was wrong, but Stannis was partially manipulated and strong-armed into doing it by circumstance. 

The murder of Cortnay Penrose is less understandable. Stannis demands that Penrose surrender Storm's End and Robert's bastard son, Edric Storm. Penrose refuses, knowing that Edric Storm might very well end up burned by Melisandre. Stannis then sends another shadow-monster to kill Penrose, whose successor gives Stannis the castle and the boy. Clearly, Penrose was right to defend the fortress and, by extension, Edric Storm. But, again, Melisandre's influence is the driving force behind Stannis' consideration of killing Edric. She tells him that burning Edric is the only way for him to become Azor Ahai, which he believes to be his destiny and duty. Even then he refuses to do it, wrestling with the decision for days on end. Fortunately, Stannis' other influence, Davos, kidnaps/rescues Edric and sends him far away from Dragonstone, saving him from possible burning. Does Stannis execute Davos for this? Does he exile him or torture him as an example? Almost. But in the end Stannis listens to Davos and ends up saving the Night's Watch from the wildlings under Mance Rayder. Stannis has made mistakes, but so has every character, even those we love (R.I.P Robb Stark), and most of those didn't have to resist a creepy shadowbinder on top of it.

Stannis is constantly referred to as one of the greyest characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. I contend that this greyness does not come from a moral neutrality, but rather from a moral dichotomy. Stannis has one of the most sinister characters advising him, and one of the most virtuous. He has done things most people wouldn't even come close to doing, both terrible and great. But, as this post has shown, he is a far cry from the cold, ruthless villain that some people (FREYS) view him as. In part II, I will deliberate on what exactly earned Stannis the title of Mannis.

NBA Finals: 2015 Edition.

I love sports, I really do. They helped me get through some tough times and some of my closest friends came about through playing sports (hey Josh!). I watch sports all the time. The first thing I check every morning is the scores and stats. Any kind of sports from Basketball and Football (REAL FOOTBALL NOT THAT SISSY ASS SOCCER CRAP), to tennis and even golf if I'm depressed. Sports are very important to me, and they play a big role in a lot of peoples lives. Look at LeBron's decision to leave Cleveland in 2010. The sheer hatred of the Cleveland Cavaliers fans towards arguably the greatest player of all time shows how much sports matter. So much passion is exuded in these simple games and cities are very dependent on the success of these teams. Sports matter, and while you may not like it, I love every second of it. So now that I'm done with justifying why I love sports and why all my posts are going to be about it, lets actually talk about sports.

The 2015 NBA Finals are one of the more compelling finals in recent memory. I may be late hopping onto the gravy train, but it still has to be said. LeBron's feel good, coming home story and maybe, just maybe being able to bring Cleveland something versus Stephen Curry's MVP season and his push to be considered the greatest shooter ever, while trying to bring success back to The Bay Area in 40 some years. That's just one story line out of so many. One is LeBron James trying to prove that he deserved MVP. Another is LeBron James putting an entire team on his back, and carrying them it to other worldly heights. Its not all about LeBron though. Game in and game out, Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson are proving that they deserve to be in the conversation of greatest backourts in league history. Curry proving he deserved that MVP trophy.

As the series is now Golden State 3 Games to Cleveland's 2 Games, the biggest story line is becoming more and more apparent. LeBron is having little help, while Curry is having tons of help That is the reality of these finals. LeBron is putting up god-like numbers (36.6 ppg, 12.4 rpg, and 8.8 apg), while playing an average of 45.5 mins out of 48 mins. He is the the Cleveland Cavaliers entire team. Anytime he comes out of the game, the Cavaliers fall apart into the mess of role players they really are. J.R Smith is out hucking 3's like he's Curry, Shumpert is letting his hair think for him and Delladova is just being Deli.

ew

It's sad because LeBron will get all the hate from people for losing this series. They will say he's chocked away any chance of being on the level of MJ: Our Hero. Nevermind that he is without his 2nd and 3rd best players on the team, or that Golden State is as healthy as a team can possibly be in the NBA Finals. Golden State has had everything favor them this series. Home Court advantage, a better PG, better SG, better PF, better Coach. And yet they barely hold a 3-2 series lead, where one made shot could easily have reversed the situations. Odds are LeBron and Co. are going to lose this series. We shouldn't put the blame on LeBron at all though. Take away LeBron from Cleveland and you get 4 straight years in the lottery. He is in the midst of arguably the greatest finals performance of all time, and while his team may be down it's not his fault. Everything Cleveland does, LeBron is at the root of it.

So this post swiftly turned from about the Finals as a whole, to a defense of the greatest player in the world and his many critics. Thats fine. He's carrying a sorry ass team to the peak of basketball, and people are saying hes not doing enough, or complaining about he's going about it.  He should be praised for the work he's doing, even if team success isn't following suit. One man can only do so much, before others must step up and help. And right now, no one is helping LeBron out at all.

Walking in a Weaboo Wonderland

The Spring of 2015 is a wonderful split for new and recurring anime series. We have new seasons of some very well loved shows, like an exciting, dramatic continuation of Fate/Stay Night and The Disappearence of Nagato Yuki, the well anticipated sequel of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. There has also been the introduction of some other very well made manga adaptations. Owari no Seraph and Ore Monogatari are some amazing new show adaptations that cover a broad spetrum of genres. However, the best new anime to show its face this Spring most definitely has to be Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka (DanMachi). While having the most adorable and awesome protagonist, being Bell Cranel, it also has the most wide variety of perfect waifus to ever be created: Hestia, Lilli, Sylph, and Welf (if you're into that sort of disgusting thing). As well as beating the hell out of monsters in a badass fashion, this show wins. 10/10 would watch again

Its a Blag!

Oh.
Oh heavens.
Oh sweet mother of pearl.
I've reached an all time low.

There comes a time in every man's life where he needs to make a decision for himself. A fork in the road takes shape on the horizon, and from that moment onward a man knows that he can only make one choice which, in the words of Robert Frost, will "make all the difference". Every night I find myself approaching a fork such as this. Jefferson, the majestic creature, tells us "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise". And so the road shows itself before me: sleep at a reasonable hour or stay up until 3:30 in the morning browsing countless pages of the internet which I'm bound to not remember like the disgusting garbage I am.

Basically the nightly ritual.

It's a reasonable 11:30 right now, and for the past couple minutes(hours) I've been reading the wildly uninteresting yet oddly addictive blog posts of my teachers. This quickly got me thinking, "what if I wrote wildly uninteresting blog posts?", because apparently being out of school for three weeks has given me serious and possibly dangerous symptoms of writing withdraw. Thanks, Mr. K.

Being one of those people who often forgets their train of thought halfway through their sentence-
...
Oh, right. Being one of those people whose only interesting trait is that I'm friends with interesting people, I couldn't enter the blogging industry alone. So my seven (COUNT THEM, SEVEN) friends and I are  basically going to be chronicling our lives. Or in the case of Other Brendan, post about Game of Thrones. Or in the case of Juice, post about his queer anime shit. Or in the case of Lucas, post about sports bullshit.
Maybe I'm taking this too seriously.
Maybe I really just needed an outlet for writing.
But hey, worst case scenario, I end up with a little journal of my life (for at least a short period) to look back on.

I've actually come to the point where I'm purposefully doing that which every student fears most: writing. Definitely an all time low.

Finding the Finish Line

Graphic design is my passion. I guess.

I'm good at it, I'm told, but I'm not. Nothing ever looks quite right. No, it's not as bad as the picture above (which is really quite beautiful—the placement of the frog using the rule of thirds and the text is on the golden ratio between the bottom and the halfway point, quite amazing really). But for some reason whatever I do never has any of the polish that other people have.

Sure, it could be more creative or unique or interesting, but it never looks finished.

Finishing things is hard. I'm particularly bad at this. A year and a half ago I started Game of Thrones and I'm still only halfway through it. Last Christmas I started Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle but never finished, so I restarted a few weeks ago and I'm still not halfway through.

Other than books, I started a started the senior video and never finished (due to technical difficulties, but I still plan to finish it). I started a paper maché chair two years ago but never even got to the stage where I put the actual paper maché down. I still want to finish it; it was going to be all Eames–esque and stuff. I would have stained it red and maybe have newspaper comic through the stain and glossy finish, with wooden dowel legs.

I tried to start a graphic design business but gave up after not getting any clients. I'm bad at finishing.

Sometimes I wonder why this is. Perhaps it's rooted in my tendency to procrastinate. But I think it's really rooted in my fear of failure. When I was 7 my sister gave me a shirt from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. It had the NASA logo and beneath it read "Failure is not an option". I was only a kid, but it spoke to me for some reason.

I asked why, and she explained how if you fail on something like going to space you die. You either do it, or you don't go. Failure is dangerous. Failing a math test is less drastic, but it's still not a great thing to do.

I guess this is why I never finish things. It's at the very least part of the reason. I didn't finish the newspaper chair because I was lazy, but I didn't succeed in the graphic design business because I didn't want to fail. I was far too lazy to put in the work needed to succeed.

If I had gotten clients I probably could have been fairly good. Even if I wasn't good, I'd at least be better than the other graphic designers on craigslist, because they suck.

But I didn't get clients. They don't come running to you. You have to find them, and I was afraid of finding them and being told "No." A "no" is a failure, and I was afraid of that. I may be a decent graphic designer, but I'm a terrible finisher.

MJ: Our Hero

The 90's were a tough time on America. Bill Clinton was president, Desert Storm happened in the early 90's, and Nirvana was popular (those were dark and terrible days). This blogger, upon looking back into the past was confused about how American's came out alive and kicking into the glorious 21st Century. I have finally found The Answer, hence my name. Not Allen Iverson, who happens to be called The Answer. But The Answer. Only one person could have saved us from those dark and terrible days of baggy suits and bad haircuts. Only one man, one glorious wonderful, athletic, competitive, and slightly douche man. That man is Michael Jordan. MJ. His Airiness.

 

It is this man. No, not man. This Hero is the being whom we should recognize as saving us from the horrors of the late 80's and 90's. Just look at what he accomplished: Six-time NBA champion (1991-93, 1996-98); MVP (1988, '91, '92, '96, '98); 10-time All-NBA First Team (1987-93, 1996-98); All-NBA Second Team (1985); Defensive Player of the Year (1988); Nine-time All-Defensive First Team (1988-93, 1996-98); Rookie of the Year (1985); 14-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1988, '96, '98); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History ('96); Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92). That's not even bringing up his all time scoring numbers (4th highest scorer in NBA History, highest scoring average in NBA History). Jordan had one purpose in his whole life. He was put on God's Green Earth for one very important reason. Michael Jordan was born to ball. And he inspired countless others to ball as well. In a very important way, Jordan was the first baller. In a generation where no one could ball, one finally did. And for that, we all owe Jordan our praise. Hail Jordan.

We have a blog!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and then Zach made a blog for the Tribe. Have fun.