What Makes Archery So Cool?

I’ve noticed an interesting trend this year in movies. It seems that in a few of the big blockbusters they’ve had an archer running around shooting arrows into things, namely Katness Everdeen from Hunger Games, Hawkeye from Avengers and Princess Merida from Brave. Speaking as an archer myself, I want to delve a bit into why this ancient activity looks so cool on screen, and why we squeal every time we see a bow drawn.

First off, unlike guns and knives, archery requires skill to bring someone down. Say what you will, but a child can’t pick up daddy’s bow and hurt too many people. This comes up a bit in Hunger Games when one of the tributes tries firing at Katness with no luck, but this is especially illustrated in Brave during the suitor competition (This isn’t a spoiler, since this whole scene was a trailer for the film. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4EZULqhP2E&feature=relmfu). The suitors, despite being “mighty warriors”, can’t get a bullseye to save their lives, and the one guy who does almost does it by accident. Princess Merida then shows up, spouts I think everyone’s favorite line from that movie “I’ll be shooting for me own hand!”, rips her dress, and systematically schools each suitor. She goes so far as to split the one bullseye’s shot in half with her own arrow! It’s a cool scene, and shows how bad to the bone she is, despite being a princess. I want to see Belle or Aurora try that!

Second, arrows are so much more useful than bullets. A bullet is good for putting holes in stuff. That’s it. Hawkeye and his fancy quiver (For those who don’t know, a quiver is where one stores arrows) could do repelling lines, smoke bombs, explosives, and a bunch of other little gadgets handy to get across long distances. And need we forget Legolas in Fellowship of the Ring, where he actually stabbed a charging Uruk Hai with an arrow in his hand before notching it and taking down another. It’s pretty tricky to take out two opponents with one bullet.

Third and final argument: A fully drawn bow just looks so chill. Anyone can pick up a gun, but not everyone can look cool doing it, but when an  archer has sights set on a target, it’s over. Game over man. Even wusses like Young Link, or people who normally aren’t supposed to look dangerous like Inara look scary with a bow. Even though it was a needless cameo and he didn’t do anything, most people remember Hawkeye’s debut in Thor just because someone was willing to shoot the God of Thunder with an arrow. And let’s be honest here, if it wasn’t for the bow, would it be just impossible to tell the difference between Arwen and Legolas?

Archery is a great hobby to take up, and even though I haven’t loosed an arrow in years, I still think fondly of when I did. It’s a skill that takes an afternoon to learn and a lifetime to master and is so worth it, because when you’re standing with a full draw on your target, for just an instant you feel like you can take on the world.

Then you let go, miss the target, swear, and try again.

-JOE

Some Funny Videos For Monday's Aftermath

I've got a case of Monday aftermath (and writer's block).  So, instead of writing, I'm going to share some YouTube videos that I've found to be entertaining.

Today's first video is a fun spin on music videos.  What if the music video said what was really going on rather than the song lyrics?  The result is 'Total Eclipse of the Heart: The Literal Version'.  Enjoy!  (Video is definitely rated PG-13).



The next video comes from the music of Jonathan Coulton.  At times, I've been tired of being the skinny geek, yet this video gives me hope that one day, I will rule the world!  Well, maybe if I manage to eliminate all the other Mormon Geeks authors first!  Just kidding.



Going again with the theme of music to a strange twist.  How about a home made music video to 'Ride of the Valkyries'?  It was actually made by a friend of mine from college who is also now a co-worker of mine.  Random, probably like this blog post.



Perhaps you've heard one of the 'latest hit' songs 'Call Me Maybe'.  Or perhaps, you've hated the song.  Well, as I said to a friend of mine, "The Muppets make everything better!"  Cookie Monster definitely proves this in his latest music video.



How about ending this random blog post with a random video of a cat saying gibberish?  I think so!



Anyways.  There are plenty of other entertaining Muppets videos on their channel, many other 'literal versions' of music videos out there, and Jonathan Coulton has many other interesting music videos.  Alas, one blog post is far too short to share all of those things.

Have a comment, complaint, or doubt about Mormon Geeks (or my sanity)? Have a funny video that you would like to share?  Leave it in the comments!

Energy Drinks: Yes, Please

I love energy drinks in general. I've tried many of them, to be honest. Some I like. Some I don't. Some are awesome! Some are...meh...But herein lies more than just my opinion, the story of how I arrived at various energy drinks.

While working one day after a long night, I went and bought myself a Red Bull. I kinda enjoyed its Sweet Tart flavor. (For my friend Casey who loves Red Bull, sorry, I still think it tastes like liquid Sweet Tarts.) So, every once in a while, I would drink a Red Bull.

After visiting my brother in Vegas one year, I went to fill up before my long drive home. Well, usually, I would buy the Hostess chocolate (or crumb) Donettes as my breakfast along with a Sprite. I left somewhat early in the morning (to avoid my nephews being sad at my leaving). When I walked into the Arco, I decided I needed something healthier than Donettes and grabbed an energy bar. Fearing that the Sprite would just make me tired, I walked over to the caffeinated section of the store. On this morning, I discovered SoBe's No Fear.

My logic was I loved the other SoBe drinks and decided to try this. At first sip, I thought it was odd, but then I really enjoyed it. It definitely helped with my 5-hour drives between Vegas and Ventura County, CA. It REALLY helped me on my 7 1/2-hour drives between Logan, UT and Las Vegas.

When I got married, my wife convinced me that I didn't need them for our drives from Logan to Vegas. Yeah.....seeing as how she slept from Cedar City to North Las Vegas, she has no idea how tired I really was because, let's face it, it's a lot of driving.

Over the next few years I occasionally would have a SoBe No Fear for the drive to Vegas. Occasionally, I'd want an energy drink, but decided not to. One day, my boss at my previous job had Diet Rockstar energy drinks that she offered me. Somehow, I imagine slop tasting better. (Not really, but you get the point.) It just did not taste good and it caused my stomach to be very unhappy with me. After drinking a second one a few weeks later, I decided this wasn't the drink for me. I didn't need energy to run to the restroom. I really didn't drink anything for a while.

And then my son was born (2nd child). With my daughter (1st), I worked 10 minutes away and had to wake up by 7:00 at the latest. I would get up with her at 5:30 (and plenty of times for an hour around 1:30 or 2:30 without my wife even knowing about it) to feed her a bottle. But with my son, I had to be up by 6:00 at the very latest and drive at least 40 minutes to work. He decided he needed to be up a few times in the middle of the night. One day my wife gave me her permission to drink a SoBe No Fear. So I went to the store all excited to discover it was out of them.

Well, I decided that Rockstar and I were sworn enemies. Red Bull still gave me thoughts of Sweet Tarts. So I ventured out and tried Monster. And you know what, I have not looked back since. Monster is my preferred drink. Even their Absolute Zero or low calorie versions are tasty for me. I know not everyone agrees with me, but you know what, don't care. Obviously I'm not keeping them in business (I am helping though.)

For the environmentally/financially concerned. There is a semi-cheaper version to all these drinks. (And when I say semi-cheaper, I don't mean "healthier-for-you". This is not a "drink this, not that" kind of thing. This is a "I like to drink this, deal with it" sort of thing.) 

The awesome people at SodaStream created this energy drink. (Add to carbonated water using their special system.) For me, it tastes somewhere between a regular Red Bull and the red (non-juice) Monster. It's also a lot cheaper. But it does take some time to make it. I mean, really, who can spare 2 minutes these days? (Oh wait, that'd be real people who aren't lazy, my bad.)

And here's another selection. One day I went to the store and someone was stocking the Amp energy drinks. So I asked him what he thought of them. He convinced me to buy one (I'm a firm believer in "try it before you convince yourself you don't like it" as opposed to my childhood alter ego whose motto was "if it isn't PB&J, candy, or milk, I don't want it.) In trying it, I decided that it was by far not my favorite. But it definitely beat out Rockstar in preference. And now I can say I've tried most the major brands out there.

I've even tried various different Rockstar drinks (none of which really fit me). I've tried about 3 different Amps (meh). I've enjoyed my SoBe No Fear (only one I've ever seen). I've tasted the low cal version of Red Bull. And I've had all but one of the Monsters (WOOT!)

In conclusion, I've suddenly become very thirsty.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.

Procrastination: The Other White Sin

A week or two ago I talked about how great film making was.  Then I talked about how things that we love to do, whether it is drawing, playing music, or making movies will often get put on the back burner.  Why do we do this?

I remember one time my mission president was interviewing me.  I had become a little inactive in my planning efforts.  My mission president lovingly taught me the importance of planning and asked how I felt about it.  I could honestly say that I thought planning was an important tool of the mission.  Indeed, I gained a very strong testimony of it coming home.  Despite knowing how true it was I also knew one other thing about it.

Planning is hard.

Trying to figure out what you're going to do in an area you know nothing about is daunting.  I got exhausted just thinking about planning.  I knew that it was true but had the hardest time getting on my knees for a planning session.  I told my mission president that I knew it was a true principle that I just had a challenge following it.

So why was planning so hard for me to do?  I don't know.  What I do know is that I liked to put it off when I could.  I also know that getting it done felt really good and put my mind at ease.  In the end, I would get scared and procrastinate.

The reason why we don't do productive things we love is because they will truly make us vulnerable and that scares us.  I am so afraid of failure. Last night, I didn't make a commitment I made to myself and an accountability partner.  I agreed that I would have two drawings sketched and inked for a friend's movie he was filming.  Only one was sketched and inked.

I was afraid of my artwork not being good enough and therefore me not being good enough.  I was afraid of new territory of doing artwork for someone else.  I was afraid of not meeting my deadline.  In giving in to my fear I also gave into idleness.

A lot of times we fill our lives with so much stuff and things to do that we don't make time for things that are really important.  I had plenty of time I could have set apart for my artwork but instead chose to give it to friends, Facebook, reading articles, and other stuff.  Those other things are not bad but I was doing those things instead of facing my fears and doing what I needed to do.  I needed to do it for me and who I want to become not only as an artist but as man.

Satan will use distractions and get us to procrastinate so we don't go anywhere.  If he can't pull us down he can try to immobilize or slow us down.  Procrastination is easy to do because it feels like we're not hurting anyone or doing anything wrong.  But we do hurt people--ourselves.

Not facing what we are afraid of or uncomfortable with hurts us.  The only way to not procrastinate is simply doing it.  You can't face your fears unless you simply face them.

Yesterday, I didn't meet my deadline but I did do something.  I got one drawing done and without an accountability partner I probably wouldn't have even gotten that drawing finished.  Even having one of my sketches inked makes me feel great.  I know the joys that we have in doing what we love (and things we need to do) can be ours if we simply just do it.

-Stephen

The Dark Knight Rises Review

There's a major problem in the entertainment industry that comes with success, besides the inevitable decline in morality and drug abuse. The problem comes that when someone does something that's hugely successful and popular, there expected to then do it again next time. That's the problem which haunts The Dark Knight Rises, besides the fact that the script writer presumably is a magpie and can't focus long enough to get a coherent thought on paper.

Now let me clarify one thing: I liked Rises. Overall it's a pretty decent movie with a great cast, some really solid acting and impressive visuals. Even though I'm fundamentally a Superman fan, I got a kick out of the portrayal of Batman, Bane, and especially Catwoman. I'm particularly impressed that Nolan didn't turn Hathaway into some sort of Playboy Kitty, but instead made her the best representation of the character I've ever seen. Despite what I'm about to say, go see it, it's definitely worth the time and money.

As I said before though, it's fundamental problem comes with the artist's previous work, namely The Dark Knight. The film was brilliant, not only for a Batman movie but for anything else you want to talk about. It took characters and a world that had been across the map in regards to silliness and stupid and made them feel real, which is no small feat. Ledger deserved his Oscar, and I hope he feels his work is appreciated now in the next life. The problem at this point was that Rises now had to somehow surpass it's older brother, but without Leger's brilliance to even be referenced to, the film took on more than it could chew and sadly just doesn't live up to its older brother.   

The first issue here is the plot. Without spoiling anything, it's nearly impossible to explain what Rises is really about. Basically Batman has retired since the incident with Two-Face and friends down by the dock, leaving Bruce Wayne to be a shut-in billionaire pining after his lost Rachel, that Kirsten Dunst looking girl from the other films. Then events transpire that require the return of Batman and Wayne jumps to the call to stop the evil Bane from.... doing stuff... Even if you see the whole thing the main villain's motivation is pretty confusing, it being a convoluted mess trying to tie all the films together, which is pretty sad considering the last villains only reason to exist was basically just to mess with Batman and he got an Oscar for it. It feels like Nolan was trying too hard to impress us again, and ended up just creating an avalanche of motivations, sub-plots and secrets that sort of pay off but not really in the end. It's not a bad idea before heading into the theater sitting down with the first two films and review them then checking the finale out. 

Another really sad part about this Batman movie was that there wasn't a whole lot of Batman. We get some nice material of Wayne dealing with his tortured soul and whatnot but he doesn't throw on the suit and kick butt as much as he did in the last two. The film should have been named "Batman and All His Angry Friends Go on an Adventure Through Imaginary Chicago". We also don't get a lot of Alfred time, which considering he's the film's comic relief the film get's pretty heavy pretty fast. Hathaway is left to make the sarcastic comments, but she's already pulling the psuedo-love-interest-action-girl routine she just doesn't have time to also be the C3PO of the film. 

I know that I've thrown a lot of negativity about the film, but despite its issues it's still a decent film. If it wasn't sitting in the shadow of the wonders and delights that is Dark Knight I would probably like it more, but we know what Nolan is capable of and this just falls a bit below the bar. Still go see it. If nothing else, I can promise that it's very ending is at least original and moving enough to conclude Batman in the way he as a character deserves, once and for all. 
-JOE

Fun Ways to Pass the Time

Have you ever noticed times in your life where you've 'come to' and realized that you've been enjoying yourself for an extended period of time without even noticing that time was passing?  Such and experience is called 'flow'. (See wikipedia for a bit more explanation)  I've had that experience many times before.  I've had it happen when I'm playing games with friends, when I'm at work, or when I've been enjoying a good video game.  Why do I bring this up?  I feel like my last weekend passed like a dream.

I spent the weekend playing in the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend.  I only had from Friday around noon till yesterday at midnight in order to play the game.  I played in one of their previous beta weekends and I was hooked almost immediately.  One of the things that had me hooked about the game was how beautiful it was.  The graphics aren't cutting edge or super realistic, but the landscapes are pretty stunning for a game.

The game play is very unlike other online role playing games that I've played.  First off, the game rewards players more for being skillful than for having the best gear.  There were many times where I had to stay on my toes in order to defeat one or multiple opponents that were bearing down on me.  It took a bit of practice to figure out what worked and how to use my skills to best defeat my opponents.  Second, the game encourages cooperation with other players!  The game creates a number of 'events' that show up where the players have to cooperate together to solve.  The difficulty of the events increases the more players that show up.  Third, the "quests" and events had variety to them.  Some events involved trivia, some involved defending or escorting people or places, and some involved taking down a rather large and nasty monster.  Most, if not all, of the quests gave players options on how to complete them.  I remember doing one quest where I could either retrieve bugs and grubs for cows to eat or I could go and try to cheer up depressed cows.  Fourth, the game encourages players to explore.  Each part of the game has a set of places to discover and "quests" to perform.  It also has a set of 'vistas' that a player can go to in order to see a short cutscene of the area.  Some of the vistas are rather easy to get to.  One of the more difficult ones I did involved doing an extensive jumping puzzle through some old ruins in order to get to the vista.  The game also has other jumping puzzles for players to explore and experience.  I was only able to find one of them this beta weekend, but I am sure there are many more.

Anyways, there are many things from Guild Wars 2 that I didn't have a chance to experience such as dungeons and player vs player combat.  I could spend the rest of this blog post lauding Guild Wars 2 for so many of things that they've done 'right' in the game (like fast travel, being able to access bank accounts at crafting stations, etc).  Anyways, I would like to share with you some Flash games that I've also found to be entertaining over the years.  Perhaps you will find a new way to pass the time and experience some 'flow'.

Diib's Dilemma

In Diib's Dilemma, the player assumes the role of an apprentice that has to traverse Diib's tower.  Armed with his (or is it her?) magic, the apprentice must defeat all the monsters on a level in order to progress to the next level.  Along the way, the player can find runes which will allow him/her in order to unlock new and more powerful spells.  Some spells set traps, others throw fireballs and bolts of lighting, and others will heal the player.  The game starts out with a few simple slimes to defeat, and eventually progresses to powerful monsters like ghosts that will throw lightning bolts through the whole map.  It is a very difficult flash game, and rewards quick thinking, timing, and careful spell selection before each level.  If you're up for a challenging game, try out Dibb's Dilemma!

Merlin's Revenge

Many years ago, my little brother and I would play single player games together.  It's a little more complicated than it sounds.  It usually would devolve into me controlling the movement of the player and my brother controlling the firing capabilities of the player.  Of all the games we played like that, I think I most enjoyed playing Merlin's Revenge with him.  The story of the game is relatively simple.  Merlin sets out to save his friend Berlin.  Merlin's only defense against the monsters in his way is a powerful magical blast.

After saving his friend, Merlin is set on on a second mission (Merlin's Revenge 2).  In this game, Merlin gains the ability to fire energy beams, summon allies, and even transform into other monsters.  Both games provided my brother and I with many fun times together.

Seedling

Seedling is a very interesting game that I just barely discovered last week.  It is a game that plays very similarly to the 'Legend of Zelda' series, yet it is much more simple.  I haven't had a chance to play through the game all the way, but so far the puzzles have been a bit challenging.  If you feel up to some sword swinging and exploration, go ahead and give Seedling a try.

WWE

(Again, we at Mormon Geeks feel a terrible sadness for those affected by the Aurora tragedy. Please keep those affected in your thoughts and/or prayers.)

When I was a kid, I was a pretty big fan of the WWE (formerly the WWF). From 1990 through 1996, I watched wrestling as often as I could. My mom wasn't a big fan of me watching such violence and did what she could to forbid it. But I still got a little more than 6 years of it before I decided I just didn't have time for it anymore.

There's plenty to like and hate about wrestling. When they're standing up there and talking, I'm thinking, "Shut up and wrestle already." But when they're tossing people over the ropes, jumping off ladders, leaping off the top turnbuckle, landing on the Spanish announce table, or winning a title I want them to win, it's awesome.



Here are pics of who I consider my favorite 3 from that era. Left to right that's the Undertaker (probably the coolest character ever to grace the WWE), Bret Hart (my favorite wrestler during that time), and Shawn Michaels (someone I hated for a while until his character became liked).

Fast forward 15 years to 2011. Netflix has a deal with WWE to have some of its DVDs on Intsant Watch. One of these was "The True Story of Wrestlemania." For whatever reason, I decided to watch it.

In doing so, I got sucked into the stories again and the history. I started watching what I could, including renting DVDs from Netflix that I hadn't seen in over 15 years. I read what I could through Wikipedia about the history I had missed from 1996 to 2011. I had moments of sadness and loss upon hearing how many of my favorites had passed on. Below are three of my favorites that have sadly departed:

From left to right that's The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig), and the Big Bossman. I am still sad at their loss.

 As I read what had happened from 1996 - 2010 in the WWE (since it was early 2011 when I became re-interested in this), I became intrigued by the current wrestlers.

 I was fascinated that the son of one of the greatest villains was wrestling (Ted DiBiase Jr). I started to root for this great villain and was quite glad when he not only became a "good guy", he became one of the major champions (Sheamus).

And then of course, my wife has become minimally invested and even has her own favorite: John Cena.

There are a few reasons I chose to blog about wrestling today. First, today will be the 1,000th episode of WWE's Monday night show called "Monday Night RAW". 1,000 is no small feat. The thing that makes me want to watch it (besides being reinvested into WWE) is that I watched episode 1. I cannot believe it's lasted this long. That is awesome.

Second, I've been thinking about blogging about the WWE. I get mocked for liking it. I got mocked for it when I was younger. I get mocked for it now. I even get mocked by geeks for liking it. It bugs the crap out of me when I'm sitting there watching it and someone who doesn't get it just mocks it automatically. It's one thing to make fun of something or someone that you understand. (I mock the LDS church all the time. But I'm a member and do not lesson my faith in it by saying things like that.)

This was the reason that no one from 1997 to late last year actually knew that I liked wrestling. No one that didn't already know I liked it, had no idea I used to be so into it. I shouldn't be embarrassed for liking something like that anymore than someone should be embarrassed for being a major Harry Potter fan, or aTwilight fan, or a Desperate Housewives fan, or a Days of Our Lives fan, or a Nickelback fan, or a Bachelor Pad fan, or a Real Housewives of (this city) fan, or a Jersey Shore fan, or a Keeping Up With the Kardashians fan.

We get entertained by dumb things at times. I don't think wrestling is dumb, honestly. (About 75% of the time that one of them is talking, telling off somebody else, I do.) I do enjoy it and if you want to mock me, all I have to say is this: Beware, I WILL mock you back, because you obviously want me to do that to you since you're doing it to me.

Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled. 

Colorado Tragedy

I feel this day cannot go by without saying something. We at Mormon Geeks are both shocked and saddened at this horrific tragedy that happened last night in Aurora Colorado. I personally was at a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises with two dear friends and can't imagine what it would've been like to have been thrown into such real terror. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
Something that I want to say though is that now is not the time for fear. Our world will always be full of mad men who will kill and maim for their own sake, and it is the fear that they want. The only way to truly beat them is to show that they do not rule us, and that power is never found at the end of a gun. This is a theme Christopher Nolan explores in his Batman series, that good people do not cower before evil.
I want to say that if you haven't seen Dark Knight Rises yet and are now questioning weather or not to see it, I say do it. Don't let this man win by spreading fear and chaos. For just under a century movies have been a way for us to escape into other worlds of fantasy and beauty, to set down ourselves for just a moment and be swept away in an adventure, mystery, tragedy, romance, or comedy. Don't let him ruin that.
-JOE

Film-Making is Fun!

I got to have a great experience the other day.  On Tuesday, some friends from work invited me to be an extra in their short film they were filmming.  They have a very professional independant studio called J-Wat Productions.  I signed an Actor's Release form and in front of the camera I was no longer Stephen Larsen but a cold, high end, Mafia Thug.  I had no lines and only communicated danger through my steely gaze.

It reminded me how much I enjoyed performing on stage, giving talks, and some other work I've done in student/independant filmmaking.  So I thought I'd share some of the fun stuff I've done over the years.

The first is a whiteboard animation short.  This was my first experience in animation.  I don't think I want to do whiteboard ever again.  Ha ha.  Other kinds of animation I would be open to.

The characters and sound effects were all done by me.  The "music" as well.  I still use the characters Johan the Turtle and Leon the signing Simian in artwork today.

See?

This one is a project I did with my buddy Clint and Taisuke.  Clint filmed Taisuke and I.  I played a jerk roommate.  This was a lot of fun.  Clint is pretty brilliant in his camera work.  We barely even had to edit it.  My teacher liked my acting.  :)

Filmmaking is really a lot of fun.  Why is it that something I love doing I barely ever seem to do? Even drawing, as simple as it is, doesn't get the time it deserves from me.

Answers to questions like this will have to be looked at later.  Until then, enjoy some of my work and pick up a camera and shoot something.

-Stephen

Support for Claire

I want to take a day and show some support to my friend's daughter, Claire Driggs. I think her father's words explain it all:

Dear Friends and Family:

As most of you know, my sweet daughter, Claire, has been battling cancer for the last nine months - and I'm so happy to report that she's doing great!  She just started a final, two-year maintenance phase of chemo, and with God's help she'll come out cancer free.

She has decided to do a fundraiser to raise money for cancer research - "CureSearch Walk." I wanted to extend an invitation for you to join Team Claire, by making a donation, being on our team to walk on September 29th in Salt Lake City, or by just sending along your blessings to all those children fighting the good fight.

To join or donate, click on this site:

www.curesearchwalk.org/saltlakecity/teamclaire

Also check out the amazing video Claire's sister, Hannah, made.  Go to Hannah's site below to watch:

www.youtube.com/mod2amaryllis

Much love,
Dave Driggs

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to "lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees", well here's a great way to do it. Let's help make it so no child ever has to go through this again.
-JOE