Second Life Adventure

After seeing my little brothers play World of Warcraft, I have always been curious to create an avatar and escape to a virtual world. Second Life allowed me to do that. The only difference is that Second Life is as closest to real life as a virtual portal could ever be. The first place I visited is Muddy's Music Cafe where they were playing Usher's "DJ's Got Us Falling in Love Again." I did my best to work some dance moves, however, it ended up looking awkward and uncoordinated. I noticed nobody on the dance floor had that problem. I then proceeded to teleport to a place called France Pittoresque which I'm guessing is some type of beach in France. I liked this place. It seemed relax and easy going. There was also Bob Marley playing in the background and found a group of people just hanging out around a bonfire.

The next few places I visited were other countries. I decided to teleport to my hometown the Philippines and then visited Dublin, Ireland. Walking around the Philippines and the first thing I noticed was a church which is pretty common. The Philippines is a widely religious and Catholic churches can be found almost everywhere. I also visited two U.S. places. I went to New York City and the Washington D.C. I even got to set foot inside the Oval Office!

Overall it was a fun and interesting journey. The settings were vivid and detailed. It's pretty easy to move the avatar around and there's enough interaction to keep you engaged. I definitely can see why people would get addicted to it. You can get carried away in a virtual world just by having everything in the tip of your hands. But as much fun I had exploring, I was ready to get back to reality.

Check out some of my photos:

This is me attempting to dance at Muddy's Music Cafe

Here I am at some beach in France. Probably one of my favorite places since it seemed very relaxing and the scenery is beautiful

I'm in my hometown in the Philippines. You can see the Philippine flag in the corner. I'm inside a Music Lounge.

Here I am inside a plant store in NYC. I was a little disappointed in what I saw when I was on the streets. Not the NYC I remember.

Here I am in Dublin, Ireland. This was pretty cool.

And I got to visit the Oval Office and even sit at the President's desk

Game Review: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is an interactive, user-friendly game that is downloadable to a device like the iPhone. For those familiar with Crash Bandicoot probably remembers playing the character on a PlayStation back in the mid-90s. This popular character has made its way back to the scene with a different concept: Racing. Old fans of the original Crash Bandicoot games are used to playing him through challenges that require special powers such as his infamous spinning move. However, that won't be used in this game. This game will not have Crash on foot, but in a race car instead.

The race is pretty simple. You are racing against traditional characters that are featured in Crash Bandicoot like Dr. Neo Cortex, Coco and Dingodile. It's very easy to control as you can move your phone as if you were playing a controller on a game console. The movement you make with the phone controls the direction of the car.

There's also familiar props to the game that can be seen in the original Crash Bandicoot like the question mark boxes that can grant you weapons to use. In the picture, Crash Bandicoot acquired a shield after hitting the box. This shield protects him from all harm in a certain amount of time.

If a new user is trying out the game for the first time, the best option is to choose the "Quick Race" which is a single race that doesn't measure points to count for or against you, or the "Tutorial" which features tips below the screen. For those want to be a little more daring and jump in, there is the "Cup" option which does award points based on what the user placed in the race. If the user gathers more points than all the other racers, a trophy is awarded for being in first place.

The "Cup" option comes in two different levels: To Easy for Grandma and Difficulty is Rising. There is a third level, but it has to be unlocked by placing first in both levels. Each level has four laps and also lets the user choose their own character. If a user would rather not go through all four laps, there is the option of choosing the "Story" feature of the game. This part is divided into missions and a character is assigned for the user. The mission is revealed before the race starts by Aku Aku. When the race ends, you are told whether you passed or failed your mission.

This game was a decent game overall. It's about average I would say. It's kept true to the Crash Bandicoot theme with the characters and the props of the game, but the levels could have been more creative. It's one of those games that you could get tired of after playing for a week. Unlike Angry Birds, there's not a strategy that can be picked up in each level. Every level seems the same and once you have mastered it, it doesn't leave you craving for more. However, it's user friendly and doesn't complicate you to the point where you get frustrated. It's simple and sweet.

Dumbledore comes out

For some time now, Christians have argued that Harry Potter books are a bad influence toward children with the magic and sorcery theme because it promotes the work of the devil. Now, they might have something to argue about again, this time dealing with Dumbledore’s sexuality.

JK Rowling announced during a reading at Carnegie Hall in New York that Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay, according to USA Today.

"I always saw Dumbledore as gay," Rowling said in answer to a fan's question about whether the wizard ever found love, reported USA Today.

The fans reaction was quite surprising to me. According to the article, “The crowd of about 2,000 hardcore Harry fans, who had won tickets through a nationwide drawing, exploded in screams and applause at the news.”

I would’ve expected a different response from the fans, not that the first one is a bad one. But when you look at all the Harry Potter books, it seems like Dumbledore is depicted as a very masculine character who served as a strong father figure for the students, and now being announced that he's gay adds a feminine side to him.

I also didn’t think that announcing Dumbledore’s sexuality was an important move for Rowling because it shouldn’t have mattered. The book allows children to use their imagination and they should be able to picture the characters in their head without wondering what sexual orientation they are. If anything, she added more controversy toward her books and gave another reason for parents to ban Harry Potter books from their homes.

The article also mentions how Rowling wanted to break prejudices in the book since they exist in society, which I can understand. But the book is about flying wizards and a magical school, where does that part exist in society?

If Rowling wanted to come out with a political statement about how everyone should be free to be who they are, then she should’ve done it through some other way, not through a fictional character who fights dark arts.

So close, but yet so far

When you think great football teams in Florida, usually one big name comes to mind and that's the University of Florida Gators. But yet, another team has made rankings and some media hype over the past couple of months and that's the University of South Florida Bulls. It's too bad that it wasn't the University of Central Florida Knights that got as far (with me going to UCF), but what the Bulls have proven is that a winning streak doesn't last forever.

USF Bulls was beaten by Rutgers 30-27. The St. Petersburgh Times had this on their main page with a picture of disappointed fans over the 3 point upset. The good thing about the coverage of this game is it doesn't all the way focus on how USF Bulls just lost their chance with being part of the Top 10 or the winning the Big East Conference, but it also focuses on the fans who filled almost half of the stadium of the Sun Dome during a watch party.

USF Fans supported their team as if it was a home game with decked-out green and gold t-shirts and hats and went to the South Dome and cheered on the Bulls. Now that's some school spirit. And St. Petersburgh Times captured the whole thing.

"This is the first time they let people come to the Sun Dome, and I think it's cool of the school," told Brian Dillard, a USF sophomore, to St. Petersburgh Times.

It's always interesting to see exactly how crazed fans would show their devotion for their football team, and I think the St. Petersburgh Times did a great job covering it.

In a state where Gators rule the national title, it's nice to see another team get some media coverage and I'm hoping UCF will eventually make it up there. But just like the Bulls, it's still a long road to victory.


Picture by Melissa Lyttle, St. Petersburg Times

Racial tension grows

First it was the case with Jenna 6, then it was the noose hung in University of Maryland's campus, now it's the death of Martin Lee Anderson. What these three issues have in common is the racial factor dealing with discrimination against African Americans.

Martin Lee Anderson is a 14-year-old African American who died a day after being punched and kicked by boot camp workers which was caught on video tape, reported by USA Today.

The case was a painful, emotional trial for Anderson's family because they had to watch the video tape of Anderson being punched and kicked in the courtroom. What was even more painful for them was that the boot camp workers who were taken to court for aggravated manslaughter were found not guilty.

The defendants, boot camp workers, defended themselves by saying that Anderson wasn't intentionally beaten up, but rather it was tactics used to discipline juveniles. But after Anderson was punched and kicked, the workers took him outside to the military-style camp and made him inhale ammonia which they said was used to revive him.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that instead the ammonia suffocated Anderson and lead to his death, aside from the punching and kicking he received.

Later on, an autopsy of Anderson revealed that he was suffering from sickle-cell amenia and that was the real cause of his death. But another autopsy revealed that Anderson was suffocated by the ammonia.

If a reader were to read this article and Anderson's race wasn't mentioned, it would just be an article exposing a problem with how juveniles are treated in a boot-camp setting.

"Ninety minutes of deliberation for a child's life, a child who we saw beaten to death on videotape over and over again?" asked Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami to USA Today. "Ninety minutes and not guilty. That's un-American. That is racist, discriminatory, bigotry."

A comment like this introduces race as a factor in this article. It's becoming more frequent in the news that racial crimes are being reported. But what exactly is triggering all these racial hate?

It's the 21st century, about 140 years past since the Civil War, and what should've been settled a century ago is still very much alive today.

"A nation divided against itself cannot stand," said Abraham Lincoln, which is something we are all still dealing with.

Say cheese

As cliché as it may sound, a picture is worth a thousand words and may even be worth a thousand votes. Yahoo displays pictures from the Associated Press that correlate with current events and latest news going on nationally and internationally. And viewers can vote on how great these photos are and they can e-mail them to as many people as they please.

I remember looking at picture of a man who could barely fit into a regular size chair at an airport and then when I clicked on the caption, it described how obesity is a growing problem in the U.S. The text and visual go well together. Readers can read and see how big the problem is.

It’s becoming more frequent for news to become more than just text, but also moving into a visual aspect.

USA Today has a photo gallery which is organized in different news categories like breaking news, sports, celebrities and even space. The category, the day in pictures, are some of the most moving pictures I have ever seen as it depicts issues from the war in Iraq to protests going on in the nation’s streets.

The Florida Times-Union has community photos submitted by Jacksonville residents, as well, as pictures taken by reporters. This gallery displays local events and daily activities.

Some newspapers do not make their photo galleries as visible as USA Today and The Florida Times-Union's in their homepage. It’s a shame because sometimes pictures are able to convey descriptions that words can’t emphasize. They can fill in the missing holes that words leave behind.

An article may be limited in how much words are written, but pictures can take up a lot more meaning.