Talkin Bout My Generation

One of my biggest concerns of college was the sheer fact that I would no longer be spending every waking moment of my life doing idiotic things with my friends, and the worry that as a result, we would drift apart.  College in general had been given a certain stereotype as we grew up, always hearing that college is where you make your life time friends, or its the best years of your life. However I realized that notion relates more to the college of a different generation. In our generation we have this little known entity that is the internet. With Skype, texting, vid-chatting and of course Facebook, keeping in touch with friends has become a non issue. In the end though we still weren't quite together, spread out all over the place, until Thanksgiving rolled around. With everyone back I thought at least something would have had to of changed. But then once again all my worries were relieved, and it felt as if it was just yesterday I was cruising around North Shore with the gang and playing Nintendo into ungodly hours of the night. Everything had been eerily similar to how it had once been, something still that I'm surprised about.

Our generation is one that developed during an odd time. Where most of the youth today are all on computers and have cell phones, many of us did not. Gone our the days where kids went door to door to ask their friends to come out to play soccer or go skateboarding, most kids just spend their time on Xbox live or on their computers. Even when they want to be social they just use whatever chatting device they have without actually leaving their homes. We are part of a transition generation, one that allows to keep our contact with technology but we also don't rely on that technology to grow our friendships. We know that developing social bonds involves actually being with people, not just digitally talking to them. Chances are once the youth of the early 90's is gone, so will be any normal social construct and sense of real childhood.

In my opinion this means that the strong social lives and skills of my generation, which allow for more long lasting relationships, will not be duplicated as long as technology remains relied upon to be social. Its time for kids to get back outside, to put down the controller, tune off of the t.v and tune into the real world.

Granted nothing will ever be as good as it was in the 90's.....

Molto Bene.....That's Italian, Right?

The loudness of college students is sometimes incomparable, but often this excitement is a result of the frantic struggle to complete something that should have been completed hours, days, and weeks before hand. Currently resonating throughout dorm room 507 are the screams of fear as we all try to make our schedules before some other students scoop up the classes we want. Some of us have formulated plans as to what we have in mind while others, have put it all off until now, unmercifully  trying to find classes worth taking. I have quite a few plans in mind for my schedule, however my opportunity to pick classes doesn't begin till 7. With these thirty minutes i find myself constantly checking the total number of spots available in the classes I want, nervously anticipating them to be taken up by the time I come around. On the agenda is Italian, Statistics, World Literature, American Government, and for my entertainment, Sports Management. Most interestingly though is the addition of Italian, a class I did not anticipate ever having to take again.

One of those things that I had always heard throughout school is that if we took our language again in junior year, then we wouldn't have to take it once were in college. But here I am.....in college.....taking Italian. It might just be that fate is cruel and all of my hard work will go for naught, ok all of J-Wangs hard work that somehow got me better grades then him. Or maybe its the karma of Rossi and I making a mockery out of the class for an astounding seven years. Now I should hope that after those seven years that my mind has picked up a bit of the language, yet thinking back to those years all I can think of is doing presentations with J-Wang and Rossi, where the presentation was as new to Rossi and I as it was to the rest of the class. I'll be honest, I don't even know what his project to the left is, I don't even remember what grade we did it. Well we didn't do it thats why, all J-Wang. I really didn't do much at all in these projects, it was always J-Wang, he was the brains behind the operation, but I always came out on top during the presentations because as we all know J-Wang isn't quite the most vocal kid out there. But I digress, in the end its time for me to go out on my own and try to learn Italian. 

I promise to make Ms. Koch proud though!

Probably not actually......

Papa Smurf's Red Army

When i was young I always liked Smurfs, the little blue guys were always part of one of my favorite shows as a kid. Even today i still like to pick up Smurf toys if i happen to come across them, and my X-box gamer-tag is PNH Papa Smurf. But recently i have come to find out that Smurfs are in fact a satire of communist Russia, and as I thought about it, it all seemed very logical. Now first I'm gonna write what aspects of the show I see to be a representation of communism, and after I've exhausted what I could figure out on my own I'll do a little research.

First off, is the fairly obvious factor. The only Smurf with any say in what goes on is Papa Smurf, clearly a representation on Lenin. Papa Smurf is draped in red, while all the other smurfs wear the mostly similar white. His word is always the final word and it seems as if the Smurfs must follow this, regardless of how they feel about it. Brainy Smurf however is the only Smurf that ever does decide to speak up and voice his opinion, but this usually just leads to him getting dumped on. Clearly he is smarter than any Smurf, yet he has the exact same home, the exact same food, and the exact same life as all the other Smurfs. Jokey Smurf is pretty much just an ass that pisses off all the other Smurfs with his pranks and brings very little service to the community, yet like Brainy and the rest of the Smurfs, he receives all the same benefits as the rest of the Smurfs, despite them being harder and more talented workers. Hefty Smurf does most of all the hard work in the village, and is the strongest of the Smurfs. But, like everyone else his hard work is for naught, he can't gain anything for his labor other than the same benefits that every other Smurf is given. Now this is what I figured from just sitting here and thinking about it, now I will look into it with further detail, so I'll look some stuff up.

Some interesting things I realized from looking at the character list and other sites show it going even further than I thought. Brainy Smurf, is basically an allusion to Leon Trotsky, Trotsky should have taken over for Lenin, but with such hardcore opposition and ideas, Trotsky was exiled and later assassinated. At the end of most episodes Brainy would be kicked out of the village for his extreme ideas of opposition to Papa Smurf. Now some of the more minor characters also represent communist fews. Poet Smurf and Painter Smurf, two of the more artistic oriented Smurfs are often disregarded and are only featured every so often on the show. Much like in Soviet Russia where people who considered themselves artist were often put into camps. One site suggested that the reason for Smurfette being the lone female Smurf is because of Karl Marx believed in a communal wife, stating "The Communists have no need to introduce free love; it has existed almost from time immemorial." There is even more to be found, search Smurfs and communism and you will find some great stuff.

Regardless of what the hell Smurfs are, it is obvious that they are an allusion to communism in Russia over the years. But in the end, Smurfs are still pretty awesome and make for a classic show and some pretty sweet toys.

The Best Secrets of a Secret Best Friend

Everyone always has that one friendship that nobody else would ever imagine existed. Iv'e gotta admit, even I at times tend to wonder how I have become friends with that so called "Secret Best Friend". But hey, no matter who it happens to be, as long as they are a good friend it doesn't quite matter what the skeptics are thinking. To cut to the chase, my secret best friend is Angelica Caporale, Iv'e known her for a coons age and i pretty much don't remember how we met. She is, and always has been one of the most critical people of me, in the nicest way possible of course. Well most of the time at least, but she eased up over the years. Our youthful friendship into middle school and high school, with some of the most interesting times coming during 9th grade. But you can ask her about that, I'm sure she would love to share.  I also feel the need to show Wyatt some love here, for he introduced me to the use of Angie, one of my new favorite names to bother her with. Speaking of nicknames, Gelly is also another great one that can't go without mentioning. And of course there is our mutual respect and fascination for Lindsay Lohan, because who doesn't love a good car crash.


Most of my rare mistakes have come as a result of not listening to her, she knows this of course though, and most of my best decisions have come as a result of her forcing me to make a smart choice. Its and odd, if not slightly dysfunctional friendship and has not been without its preferably forgettable moments *cough* Angel Bear *cough*. But she always looked past my incompetence and was there to back me up when I needed. Like I said already, most people don't quite understand such a random pairing of friends, but it works. Come to think of it, I do vaguely remember what may have started it all, if I'm not mistaken she may be the first person i met once I moved to North Shore. Well regardless of how we met, I am more than happy we did, and it appears the secrets out.

The Only Difference is the Platform

One of the things I always wished for is that i had been born in the mid 80's. This would enable me to fully grow up within the 90's and live through some of the most prime years. But sadly thats something that can't be changed. I was pretty young through most of my 90's years but old enough to remember a decent portion, the most memorable of which being when i moved schools before i started 2nd grade, in 1999. Luckily making friends was no issue for me, and I adapted nicely. However that is not the point, its what one of those friends gave me that is what will forever shape who i was, and most likely will be. Justin Wang, one of the most important people in my life still today, introduced me to the biggest phenomenon of the 90's, Pokemon. For my birthday in 2nd grade i received Pokemon Red for my old Gameboy. To this day J-wang and i still talk about that gift, and how it led me to one of my favorite hobbies from my childhood all the way to my newly beginning college years. For over 10 years I have continued to play games within this series, as it evolved and advanced I did as well. Now my girlfriend scoffs at the idea of me playing a child's game so late into my life, but some people don't quite understand the following that it truly has. I can admit that it has a bit of a nerdy stigmatism, but the fact I went to such a small high school meant that no one really cared about cliques or what was hip, for the most part everyone was accepting of each other. This is important for the fact that there were many, many kids that openly played the game even into my senior year which was only a few months ago. Come to think of it, about 15% of the kids I graduated with still play the game. So yes, maybe it is a bit of a childish game, but hey, I've played every game since Generation I of Pokemon and I anxiously await the new 5th Generation. There is a Ben Folds song that focuses on the challenges of growing old while putting things of youth behind, but in my opinion if there are things that still make you happy then I fully plan on enjoying them regardless of what others may think. In the end, you only live once, my dad always says it, and I always listen to Larry, have fun while you still can.