Ryan Beatty Pretending

Color Fest 2012 (Utah)

At the Hari Krishna Temple in Utah. Many gathered for the anual color fest a festival that rings in spring. Bright colored chalk is thrown into the air.

 

Gaming Addiction and Reality

Just yesterday I found myself in the school library. I was working on some writing assignments for my classes. The computer lab was full. A  message from the administrator popped up on my screen : Please log off if you are not using the computer for school work. I looked around the room. I wondered if everyone got that message. Did they know what I was looking at online? A boy sitting at the table next to me was probably not doing school work. He was on his personal laptop, hood on. The game he was playing for longer than I was in the library ….the awful, the most addictive game in the universe… you guessed it WOW or “World of Warcraft”.

the Ultimate Gaming Experience

I’ve heard stories about babies in Japan dying because of this game. A few years ago I found myself in the sauna at a large gym. I was alone in a hot sort of dark room with about 7 other strangers. I like getting to know strangers and so I talked to the people in there. As it turns out two of the boys told me they hadn’t been to the gym in a long time. They confessed they where going cold turkey off of Wow. I praised them for their efforts.

Online role-playing games may be more than a way to pass the time. For some, they can become addictive, leading to lost spirituality, lost opportunities, and lost relationships.-Charles D. Knutson

 

” There is a growing number of people who demonstrate compulsive behavior in playing massive multiplayer online role-playing games (or MMORPGs). In these games, social networking meets virtual computer fantasy to bring players into exciting, collaborative quests. Tens of millions of players are active worldwide, with new players joining every month. The growth of the activity shows that an increasing number of men and women enjoy MMORPGs as a relaxing, recreational activity. But some people  are letting recreational, virtual life interfere with their actual lives.” Says Knutson.

 

I worked at a drug and alcohol rehab for a few years as a cook. I had the opportunity to talk to the residents at the rehab. They told me their stories about how their addictions have ruined there lives. They also told me stories of how it all started. Sometimes to fill a void, to ease the pain, to fit in , or out of boredom. I Believe the gaming addiction is very similar.

 

Today Gameing Rehabs are on the rise. Places like Restart and The canyons offer hope for those who are consumed in a virtual reality.

 

The ReStart website claims, “Our professionally trained clinicians understand technology related process addictions, and the impact problematic use has on life. We work with individuals, couples and families to promote a better understanding of problematic technology use; assist users in discovering the underlying issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, ADHD, learning differences, stress, family relationship issues, and addictions) that may be co-occurring with excessive use patterns; and work together to design an individualized plan to promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

 

So how do you know if you have a problem? An article written by a Brigham Young University Professor lists the warning signs:

• •Do you play compulsively?
• •Do you play for long periods of time (often longer than you had planned)?
• •Once online, do you have difficulty stopping?
• •Do you play as often as you can?
• •Do you sneak or violate family rules in order to play, even when facing punishment or loss of privileges for doing so?
• •When you are not playing, do you obsess about the game, plotting and planning your next opportunity to play?
• •Do you sacrifice real-world things for your online world?
• •Is your gaming negatively affecting your relationships with family members or other non-gamer friends? For instance, if you are a parent, does it cause you to neglect your children’s needs? If you are a child, does it cause you to distance yourself from your parents and siblings?
• •Do you consider other online gamers (even those whom you’ve never met in real life) to be among your best friends?
• •Is your school or work suffering because of the time and energy you spend gaming?
• •Are you having a difficult time deciding to serve a mission because of the extended break from the game that will naturally result?
• •Do you neglect personal hygiene?
• •Have your sleep patterns changed since you became involved with online gaming? Are you staying up extremely late or getting up in the middle of the night to play?

reference: “More Than Just a Game” in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, available at springerlink.com.

So why is it so addictive? well because the game continues while you are not there. There are goals to reach. You can play with “friends”.

Knutson says it this way:

Why Are Online Role-Playing Games So Compelling?

on reason that online role-playing games may potentially be more addictive is that they are essentially a social network with an exciting graphical interface. They fill social needs that may be unmet in the real world. For instance, a teenage boy may not feel popular or successful at high school, but in the online world, he gets a fresh start and a new set of friends. His problem-solving skills and intelligence make him socially important in his virtual community. He steps into a role in which he feels needed and successful.

Another draw is that online gaming provides an unending source of goals or objectives. Unlike games installed on a home computer, MMORPGs prevent players from ever actually winning the online game because each victory brings yet another task, goal, quest, or skill level to be obtained.

Moreover, as players perform quests and rise in their achievements, the time investment for each skill level normally rises. So while players may gain 5 or 10 levels in their first few days playing, the next week may bring only one or two new levels, with each new level after that requiring longer and longer time investments. Players who have spent significant time attaining a certain skill level tend to be reluctant to walk away from the game and lose their investment.

Finally, the collaborative nature of online role-playing games can result in a strong form of peer pressure. Each person’s involvement matters not only to himself or herself but also to guild or team members, so a player who cuts back on playing time or fails to show up at agreed-upon times may face criticism or rejection from fellow gamers.”

Even Tyra talks to a woman who is fed up with her husbands addiction to world of warcraft

Ryan The New Justin…What Rhymes with Beatty?

Ok I was watching Cimorelli Youtube videos. They are my favorite accapella-cover-Youtube-band of the year!!! So I watched This

Then I wondered who that boy was. He is not a part of the Cimorelli family. So  I watched This….

How is this voice coming from this kid? I love it!

. Then I watched this…

I’m thinking wow is this kid famous yet??? Soo of course I am following him on twitter… Well as it turns out he is indeed working on an album. You can currently listen to his single EVERY LITTLE THING YOU DO on Spotify or download it on iTunes. The Song is awesome it sounds a little like the islands or COUNT ON ME by BRUNO MARS or IM YOURS by JASON MRAZ.

Your Welcome!!!

Buffy the original vampire movie!!

Ok so in 1993 I was watching this movie at my friends house. I was in 3rd grade. Her brother left it on in the living room. When her older sister came in she asked me what I was watching. Anyhoo long story short the family has called me Buffy ever since. So I am excited for a remake of the movie. I guess this is the time of the vampire with the Twighlight book and movie sucess in recent years. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was actually a flop in 1992.

Street Art: Stencils, Anarchy, Yarn, Anti-establishment, Spraypaint,

Street art is noncommissioned art seen in many streets in urban communities around the world. The art comes in many forms. Street artist should be appreciated for taking risks, sharing their talent, and for the anti-establishment message they create.
Talent
“the mid-to-late 1990’s was a period of slow evolution as key figures such as Barry Mcgee, Cost & Reves, Espo, Os Gomeos, and Banksy began to perfect their style and change the way artists approached graffiti”, Tristan Manco. (53) Street art is a form of mixed media. Some of the more well known artists of the recent street revolution are incredibly gifted artists. These artist could work for advertising companies and make a lot of money. They created art in public spaces. Most commonly found in urban communities. Talented artist have found ways to quickly create art on the streets. Stencils, posters, stickers, tiles, photography , and sculpture pop up overnight on busy cityscapes. Also a type of street art that has been exploding recently is Yarn Bombing, yarn graffiti, guerilla knitting. Knitting crews like “Knitta Please” have gained recognition. The art captures the public as its audience. We should appreciate the artists for being so generous with their creativity. The art they share is free. “for every artist whose work has won recognition there are many less celebrated artists who have also contributed”. Manco(pg 50)

Risk Taking-

Why would an artist knowingly break the laws of the land? Maybe it’s the thrill of being rebellious. They know what they do is not legal and if caught they could pay large fines or serve jail time. All over the world graffiti and street art are considered vandalism. The artists are not authorized to create in the space they choose. “British street icon Banksy regularly makes front page news”. (50) Whether it is the codes that structure our cities or the conformities of art practice, they (Darius & Downey) have found ingenious ways to draw attention to the rules by craftily breaking them”. Manco(58) Since street art is placed on city property the art usually exists in its original form and place for a short period and time. We should appreciate the risks that these artist make to create free public art that is so timely.

Cctv is the way that the government uses surveillance cameras to monitor the citizens in the UK.

Sending a message
Many well recognized street artist such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Darius & Downey have an anti-establishment message they send clearly through their art. The message must be easy to understand by the public. At first the public may laugh or giggle, but moments later the observer begins to think about what is really going on in society. In the book “Yarn Bombing” a new street art social effort is explained. This recent movement includes crocheted covering of benches, buses, trees, street lamps, and other easily seen fixtures. The book explains “while many have never considered yarn and anarchy to be congruous terms, yarn craft and activism have a long history together …knitting and crochet can be political, artistic, and yes renegade. “-yarn bombing (Moore, Praine, pg 22)
Everyone can get in on the action of street art and send their own message to “The Man” . You don’t even have to be an artist to participate. Shephard Fairey a street propaganda artist who is based out of L.A. allows any one to down load printable posters to support the current occupy wall street movement. The posters are found on his website at http://obeygiant.com/support-the-occupy-movement-free-downloads



Occupy wallstreet …I’m trying to make sense of it…. Over educated and underemployed

This picture was going around Facebook. Then Finally came a response.

No print coverage in the New York Times…Organized on Twitter!

(please watch all videos at the end of article)

So like I said I have not been paying attention to politics for quite some time. So today at school I had two classes. In both the topic of occupy wall street became the focus of the class. The opinion that we need big corporations and that 1% pays 50% . of all taxes was mentioned. Now don’t quote me on that ,I’m not sure that is the real situation. Well I haven’t been watching the news but I did watch some Colbert Report. I think Stephen Colbert explains political things in an easy and sort of funny way. In my other class we talked about how this is an interesting time. We watched “Hot chicks Occupy Wall Street”.

So let me explain what Occupy Wall Street is:

1% of  The U.S is super rich

99% is not

Mostly liberals are having a peaceful protest which  is planned to last 1 month.

Some of them are wearing V for Vendetta masks -“V for Vendetta,” the comic-based movie whose violent, anarchist anti-hero fashions himself a modern Guy Fawkes and rebels against a fascist government has become a touchstone for young protesters in mostly western countries. While Warner Brothers holds the licensing rights to the Guy Fawkes mask, several protesters said they were using foreign-made copies to circumvent the corporation.”-Vendetta’ mask becomes symbol of ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests , AP

 

These people are mad that the banks invested everyone’s money….gambled it away really.

The money was lost and the government bailed them out and paid off their debts.

Not only are people occupying Wall Street but sit ins are being held in places like California and London, England.

They are mad that they paid for education that can’t get them jobs… some even want their debts forgiven like the banks debt was. The news doesn’t seem to be giving the protest much airtime. I was watching Rock Center with Brian Williams which is a new show on NBC. The show is films in a studio in New York not far from Wall street. On the day I watched the program Brian introduced a segment by barely mentioning that there are still people occupying wall street. He then used that as a lead in to a story about how a small town in th U.S. has plenty of jobs due to an oil boom. It seems like the demonstrations are not getting the attention desired. At least not in mainstream media that is, newspapers and T.V. news programs.

So what exactly do the 99% want? well a list of demands has been published on the internet and refered to in the press. I have found that this is not an official list. I am glad to find this out because the list published on the apparently un-official website www.occupywallstreet.org  seems unreasonable. Demands such as universal debt forgiveness, and free education and so on. As it turns out there are many list to be found on various websites. It seems like I have an opinion against the OWS movement.“There are so many people here with so many different ideas and so many different goals,” said Andrew Green, a volunteer at Occupy Boston who works full-time at a pharmacy. “So there hasn’t yet been any unifying decisions made as to what to do. But taking money out of politics would be a very good start.”-Occupy Wall Street: Is campaign-finance reform the answer?,Peter Gelling.

I just haven’t been able to find out what the demands are or what the wanted out come is. I will keep researching.

“Following the trail is complicated– it’s hard to pinpoint where it began. After all, the Occupy movement is intentionally leaderless and decentralized.”- Whos’ Behind It? Tracing The Origins of the 99 Percent Movement, Robyn Gee

 

.   What do you think? Can you explain it to me?

Speaking American-How others do an American accent

I did a YouTube search to find British accents. I wanted to work on my English accent.  Then I wondered about the other side. What do non-American english speakers do when they try to speak “American”? What do they  think an american accent is like. I actually found quite a few funny videos. I hope you also like them.

Under a Rock , on a Rock in the Middle of the Ocean

In the recent 2 years I have spent 18 months virtually obsolete of media influence in my life. ” Have you been living under a rock?”, you may ask. Well yes. Actually on a rock or volcano to be more exact. I have been in Hawaii. I made a committment to void my life of television, magazines, newspapers, radio, most books, and most music,movies,  and the internet for a year and a half. The reason was of a spiritual matter. I did read religious  materials, and I listened to classical music.