How the Playstation 3 changed my life

About three days ago, I was at the end of my rope. Burnt out on the scene, lying drunk, naked in the gutter. The pressure of school and life had been building up, and just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, a sign of hope flew down from the sky like the stork delivering a long-awaited baby to the parent.

The Playstation 3 had come into my life. It had been a tremendous three-year wait, which in my eyes had seemed like an eternity. This wasn’t just any normal Playstation 3. It was a highly uncommon backwards-compatible unit that I had scored off craigslist over the weekend.

“Backwards-compatible” means that the unit will play both Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 games, as well as the intended Playstation 3. In my opinion, Sony has made a huge mistake and disgraced its customers by doing away with the backwards-compatibility feature on the new Playstation 3s. It’s sad to see a good thing go, but if you’re determined, you can still find one on E-bay or craigslist. They are out there.

Since bringing home the Playstation 3, I’ve had a whole new outlook on life. I’ve felt happier in life and the world just seems like better place. The irony of the story is that after spending more money than anyone ever should on a gaming system, I’ve found myself to have put in about 15 minutes on actual playstation 3 games, and about 4 hours on an original Playstation classic known as Final Fantasy 7. I’ve got one Playstation 3 game lined up to play and about 5 original Playstation games that I can’t wait to get to.

I know it seems odd to push aside the technology and advances in modern video games to play the classics, but I couldn’t be happier doing so.

Inauguration Story Update

I caught up with Callie Palmer in the hallway yesterday. She wrote a blog about her inauguration experience for the Democrat Herald that can be found here. She also gave me a link to some pictures that she took of the trip that can be found here. Enjoy!

Profile Update!!

So I think I've decided who I'm going to do my profile story on. Ocean, he is the owner of Fireworks resturaunt and bar in Corvallis. Fireworks is a great place to eat and drink, but the best part is that Ocean insists on there being live music every night. Fireworks is quickly becoming one of the best low key venues in town and Ocean is the man behind it all.

The Profile.

I don't quite know who to profile yet, but it's sure to be someone good!! Maybe the guy who runs Woodstocks and Suds and Suds in Corvallis, his name is Joe and he's running a great Bar/pizza Shack! He's just an Idea though. If I get any other Ideas I'll throw them up ASAP.

Review Story

There's so many options for me to review out there. I'll share a few Ideas with you. The new Dillinger Four album would be a option, you can hear a track or two from the CD here at the Fat Wreck Chords web site. Another option would be to review the movie Pineapple Express, I saw this movie the other day and would love to express an opinion about it. Not to mention I need to do a movie review for my Film Studies class, killing two birds with one stone!! Another Idea I had was to do "Old School Reviews" for the commuter. This was an Idea I had to review old things like Original Nintendo games, movies, and music from the 80's. I was thinking Battletoads on the NES would be a classic game to review. So many great option, I'm really looking forward to the review!!

LBCC's own attends inuauguration

On January 20, Barack Obama will be inaugurated into office of US presidency. This is tremendously historic on many different levels, and two LBCC teachers along with three LBCC students are lucky enough to be there in person.

Robert Harrison, Callie Palmer, Amanda Halama, Toni Snow, and Randy Herron will be attending the inauguration. I had the chance to sit down with Harrison and Palmer to get some information on their adventure.

When I asked Harrison what he believes Obama would do for The United States he replied with, “first I believe that he will pass a big stimulus package to give the country a boost and help turn the economy around, he will help lead the green revolution, Obama has his goals but will be willing to compromise to get things done.” Harrison also stated “I’ve been so disappointed at the last 8 years that’s why Obama is so exciting” I asked Harrison how he felt about Bush and he replied, “I don’t think he was capable of doing the job.” It’s easy to see the mess that’s been left for Obama; thankfully this is America where as long as we have the proper leadership we’ll have a chance to turn ourselves around.

I also had a chance to speak to Callie Palmer, the LBCC faculty consultant for multi cultural issues, who is also attending the trip to Washington D.C. In our discussion she talked about how the events of U.S. history affected Obama’s chances to win the presidency. For example, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech was a huge step in the right direction. In the interview Palmer stated, “I don’t think we’ve reached post-racial politics like the pundits claim”.

Not only is Obama coming into office exciting enough but he’s got a great cabinet of top advisors that he’s bringing with him. “Hillary Clinton is a great choice for secretary of state” Said Harrison. Palmer was excited for Joe Biden whose wife was a community college teacher as well, “She will help us out,” said Palmer in reference to LBCC and community colleges around the nation.

There will be a presentation held by Dr. Harrison, Palmer, Halama, Snow, and Herron sometime in late February, an exact date has not been set up yet.

Alright, my story is finally pretty much done!!

I'm just waiting from my girlfriend, MaryAnne Turner who is an expert in the field of jounralism and Managing Editor of The Commuter to wake up so she can proof ready my story and make sure that I didn't totally mess anything up...Because I probably did..hehe.. I should have my story posted within an hour or so, till then check out this great essay written by Barack Obama for The Washington Times in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

Story Update!

So the story's looking good, but as opposed to going in the direction of students attending the inauguration I seem to just be ripping on Bush a lot. I had a great interview with Robert Harrison yesterday and not only got more information than I need but learned a lot in the process. I need to look at this story less as ripping on Bush and more as a historical moment being witnessed live by students and staff of LBCC.

Inauguration Story

I need to get some interviews going here. Some students and a professor from LBCC are planning on going to Obama's inauguration. I'm going to try to have a word with some of them and get some opinions on how they think Bush handled his presidency, as well as what they believe Obama has in store for our great nation. I believe the biggest question is what has the old president done and what will the new president do for America. I plan on focusing on the administartions and cabinet members of the partys as well the president and president elect. Everybody knows Obama's taking the thrown but does anybody know whois comming with him?? hopefully when my story is complete it will give us a nice look at the people Obama trusts to run the country by his side.

First Feature Story Ideas

So I started my concept map with the idea of politics. After narrowing things down I've decided that doing a piece in honor of George W. Bush would be perfect. He's in his last few weeks in office and it's a great time to look back and reflect on all the great work he's done. From the war on Iraq to hurricane Katrina, it'll never be possible to list all the achievements but I'm going to do my best in covering everything that I can.