A Road Already Traveled

Imagine if someone gave you a map of your life with every choice you are going to make with an X at the end. Would you take the map or just throw it away?

Having this map would be pretty helpful. Now you would know  what mistakes your were going to make before you actually made them. If you had a tough decision to make and you ended up making the wrong choice, you could change it because you now know the outcome.

A downside to this idea is that, where is the excitement? Some people live for the unexpected. They like living on the edge and not knowing what lies ahead of them.

I think that knowing your destination takes away from the meaning of life. It takes away from our ability to make choices and chose our own paths. Sure, some would breathe a sigh of relief knowing if their hard work is going to pay off, but not knowing if your going to reach your goal is what keeps us going.

Me personally, I enjoy not knowing the unknown. Waking up and not expecting what may or may not happen that day. I think it all depends on the person that you are. There are some that like taking chances, while there are others who like knowing what is going to happen next. Some skip to the end of a movie just to watch the ending while others enjoy watching the plot and story unfold in front of them.

Here is another tough choice. What if you found out the path you were in was a one that had a nightmare ending. Maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time and something bad happening to you. This is when knowing the future would be very helpful and may save you from a nightmare ending and turn it into something a lot more rewarding.

No need for a map when you already know your destination!

When that time comes and you find that so-called treasure map with your life planned out, do you dare to look?

I think I would just take that map of my life and put it back in the treasure box that it came in and live life without it.

Behind the Mask

When I say Superman, you think cape. When I say Batman, you think black suit. How about The Hulk? Giant, green guy who is too big for his own good? Yup, you got it! Every superhero has style and some styles are definitely better than others. When your out there fighting crime, it’s pretty obvious that you need a cool outfit to do so. The costume is just as important as the person inside of it.

Don’t take off your mask, its your identity. Spidey, no! :O

Ring, ring, ring and your awaken by the screeching sound of the phone. Finally, you drag your self out of bed, wipe your eyes and give a big morning stretch.  Slowly you pick up the phone and to your surprise it’s the Green Lantern! He said, he wants you to come to his birthday party.

The catch is that only super heroes are invited and everyone needs a costume. He says that you can pick out any costume you want and only have a few hours until the party!

Immediately, you jump out off your couch, put on your socks and run to the closest Halloween store. Once you get there, you realize that you might have went to the wrong place. Unless you want to dress up like a clown or a ghost this isn’t the place for legit superhero costumes.

Finally, you return to your house, get out your sketch book and begin to plan out your costume.

Definitely one of the coolest superhero suits ever! Look at that style and awesomeness!

Now the pencil is in your hand and your blanking out! It is a lot harder than it seemed at first, right?

Me personally, I would have to make sure my superhero costume was comfortable. Luckily, for The Hulk all he wears are sweatpants, while someone like Iron Man has to wear an annoying iron suit. I would definitely make sure my suit was comfy.

Next, it’s all about the mask. I would want a mask similar to the one that Wolverine from X-Men would wear. That mask was freaking awesome. I would take that mask,  make it black and add some blue pinstripes along the side. For my suit, I would want a suit that was similar to Batman, but I would want it to have some blue lines that ran down it to match the mask, preferably cool neon ones that shined in the dark.

Last, but not least I would take whatever shoes The Flash has. That dude is fast as heck!  I would just  hope  his shoes came in a size 10.5.

Now my suit is planned out and I can go save the world and drink some punch at the party!

Things I Like and Don’t Like! :D

I have been writing blog post, after blog post and I never had the chance to tell much about myself! I guess if you count my About the Author page, but that doesn’t tell too much about me. So, I have decided to take a break from my normal blog posts and come up with a list of my likes and dislikes! I put my top 10 of each in bold, caps and underline, not in any particular order. It’s really hard to make a top 10, because some of my likes and dislikes are sillier than others, but I tried!(:

Likes

• Pizza, bacon, bacon pizza(:, PENGUINS, ladybugs, HEY ARNOLD, spaghetti, helping other people, Rob and Big, anything blue, Lupe Fiasco, Daffy Duck, late night snacks, CHRISTMAS!, bubble gum, cartoons, glasses, ketchup, looking at stars, Mario and Luigi, acoustic guitars, FAMILY & FRIENDS, glow in the dark stickers, SNOW, chap stick (more of an addiction), shyness, sleep, big cities, Kit-Kats, loud music (at times), writing, arcades, air conditioners, MAKING PEOPLE SMILE, late night talk shows, libraries, Yoshi, Nintendo, Monsters Inc. (Mike, Sulley, Boo, I know too much about this movie, I swear :P), songs with meaning, VIDEO GAMES, dollar stores, Owl City, lol’s, dorks, geeks, nerds, pumpkin flavored things, wheat thins, SPORTS, open roads, comics, fantasy sports, politeness, skylines, Ne-Yo, windy days, the smell of new shoes xD, sweatpants, Elf (the movie), caramel, chop sticks, country accents, Space Jam, eBay, blue eyes, late night car trips, action figures, super heroes, oceans, spaghetti, ninja turtles, pillows, smiley faces: some of those guys are over there —> (: :D :P :O xD, ROLLIE-POLLIE-OLLIE BUGS, nighttime, rain, the New York Jets, city lights, lazy Sundays, COTTON CANDY ANYTHING, Italian ice, Mountain Dew Code Red

Dislikes

• BUMBLEBEES (I pretty much run away when I see one :/ I really don’t like them), peanuts, WAR, tomatoes, super hot days, fame, money, NEEDLES :O, heights, SELF-CENTERED PEOPLE, Game Stop, doctors offices, cucumbers, caves, BRIDGES, spicy food, getting older, people who are sad, yelling, having too much free time, spiders /:, mornings, stop signs, CURSING,  when my mom cleans my room, the day after Christmas .__., perfection, breakfast, piercings, airplanes, popular trends,  home work, red lights, train tracks, my eyes are super sensitive, the last gummy bear in a pack, contacts, fashion, Tom Brady, loud people, the need for attention, mirrors, not having gas in my car, overly fuzzy things, sunburn, busy Mondays, time, BEING SICK, liars, mad and sad smiley faces >:/ :(, fairy tale endings that never happen, social media, girls that wear makeup, celebrities, tigers, lions and bears, oh my D: people who take easy ways out, BEING SELF CONSCIOUS, roller coasters, things that are too bright, STEREOTYPES, walking in the street at nighttime, really scary movies, I’M WAY TOO NICE TO PEOPLE,  promises, relying on someone else, ladders, pollen

There you go! A bunch of amazing things about me. Some of which your probably like, what the heck o.O, Oh well, that’s me! I’m probably going to update this throughout life, I am sure I will always find something new to add-on here! :D

Super Powers, I Want One!

Wouldn’t life be so much better if you had super powers?

I mean come on, the ability to fly, shoot lasers from your eyes or run at the speed of light would be pretty epic. What if one day you had the ability to chose one super power that you could have for the rest of your life?

So you wake up and check your mail for your daily bills and you see this mysterious letter. This is not any ordinary letter, it is in a blue envelope and is stamped with a yellow S-shaped logo. You look at it from all angles just to make sure it’s safe and finally get the courage to open this mysterious letter. Reading through the letter, you can’t believe what you have just read. It was from Superman himself and he has selected you to be his new sidekick. He said that you could have one super power of your choice, any one you could think of.  He also said that he is flying over to your house tomorrow to pick you up!

What are the chances that both of the them happen to use their laser beams at the same time. Gosh!

Here it is, the ultimate decision. You thought choosing what to eat for breakfast was a tough decision, but how about this one. One super power that you can have for the rest of your life. If it was me I would have to sit down and think about this one.

Let’s start with flying, this one would be a popular choice of many. It would be cool, but there are already other things that fly, like planes and birds. I fear that I would hit into a bird on my way to beat down some evil villain. Next on my list would be laser beams, the kind that Cyclops from X-Men has. Laser beams are pretty awesome and would definitely be useful if you would have to fight some evil villains. What if an evil villain had non-breakable metal suit? Never thought of that did you, exactly. I don’t think that would be the best choice.

I think I have it. The ultimate super power of all-time and it is… wait for it… wait for it… invisibility! That has to be the winner, right? You could walk through walls, sneak behind villains and attack them or even sneak into the White House to see what the president really does on a day-to-day basis. Invisibility would definitely be my choice. You could even go to the super market, switch on the invisibility mode, take the candy bar you wanted and head on out. Invisibility would not only help against fighting villains, but it would also help you in many other ways as well.

When it comes down to it and the choice of any super power to choose for life, give me my invisibility!

No More Video Games! Wait, What?

Many parents yell at their kids and say that they are not active. They tell kids to put away their video games because they are not productive and are just a waste of time.  The mass media also agrees, they say that video games cause violence in younger children and expose them to things that they should not seeing at their age.

The debate is that video games cause violence in younger children. Video games are similar to movies, they are not real and are just for entertainment. Also, video games have ratings on them, they tell you what age group should be playing what game. Parents should be responsible for letting their children play a game that has a mature rating, just like they should be responsible for letting their child watch a rated-R movie. I think that video games are a scapegoat to bad parenting. As a parent, they should know what their children are playing and watching. Even though its inevitable to block everything that they see, they should still be able to monitor what they watch or play. I don’t get why no one puts any kind of blame on television and movies and always are quick to blame video games.

There are far more positives than negatives when it comes to video games. Video games keep kids away from violence that they could be in. Kids are safer inside of their house shooting imaginary aliens rather than out on the streets causing chaos. Video games help keep kids and their minds active, instead of them going out smoking and drinking like many kids are doing in our generation now. There are even video games that are educational, there are games that help kids learn even more than they do in school. Let’s face it, what kid actually pays attention in class, I know I never did. I can honestly say I learned more jumping from platform to platform in Mario and trying to collecting rings in Sonic than learning useless equations in math.

All he ever wanted to do was eat some ghosts. I wouldn’t consider that a crime, the dude was hungry.

Most parents want kids to sit at home and read books. Sorry, but no twelve-year-old wants to jump into an exciting book. They want to pick up a controller and try to catch every Pokemon they can. If you can get your kid to read book after book, then I give you all the credit in the world. Sure, reading can be good, but so can video games. You can learn the same amount in reading a book as you can playing a video game.

Take away video games and see what happens. Kids would go crazy, there would be more kids in trouble than ever. Video games are more than education, they are fun as well! Video games can help you learn without even knowing that you are learning. Playing puzzle games such as Tetris can help you lean the concept of recognizing and putting things where they belong and following an order, tell me how this is different from what you learn in math class, it is not. I say not only should kids play video games, but they should be encouraged to.

Die a Hero or Live a Villain?

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Harvey Dent spoke these words in the final scene of the movie, Batman: The Dark Knight. It is a quote that leaves you thinking and gives you the ultimatum of either dying a hero or living as a villain.

Obviously, this is probably a decision that can’t be made over night. This is a decision that you have to sit down, grab a cup of coffee and weigh both of the options.

Being a hero is a prestigious honor. A hero is someone who is looked up to, someone who is there for others to help them decide between good and evil. At the same time, being a hero is a dangerous task. It means standing up for something that you believe in and defending it to the death. There are all different kinds of heroes. These heroes can range from sports athletes on the field to any army solider on the battlefield. Being a hero is not an easy job, it a lifestyle that you have to live by. Would you risk it all? Are you willing to take a bullet just to die with this prestigious title?

Hero or Villain? What side do you choose?

A villain is pretty much the anti-hero. This is the person who does not have a drop of kindness or remorse for anyone. They are there just to satisfy them-self and to make sure that the hero doesn’t achieve their goal. Some people act like villains in our everyday lives. I am sure that you know someone who is always jealous of another. The same person who just hates to see others succeed and that no one else can achieve happiness unless it includes them-self.

Some people are able to embrace the villain role though. There are even people who feel bad for villains and think that they can be cured to one day become a good person. Many flourish when faced with evil. They enjoy the hate and love being the bad guy. They love being the rebel and standing for everything that is wrong. Is it worth it? Would you want to live with the title of being a villain and having the world turned against you?

In the famous quote by Harvey Dent, he said that if you have the chance to die a hero and don’t take it, then you will eventually turn into a villain.

Taking the chance to die, means you are indeed a hero. Standing for something and risking death, are traits only heroes have.

After seeing both sides of the quote and thinking it over, I think I would much rather die a hero. There are people who believe in something, but aren’t willing sacrifice in order to show their true belief. I believe if you are willing to sacrifice your own life for something  you believe in, it shows the kind of person you are. It shows that you are indeed a hero no matter what anyone says and you willing to pay the ultimate price to show it.

No Love for the Sidekick

Why is it that whenever there is a heroic accomplishment by a group of people one gets remembered and the other doesn’t? It has happened multiple times over hundreds of years and no one has said anything. I am going to take a stand and announce that the sidekick never gets enough credit. Yup I said it, someone had to do it. The little guy never gets any of the fame or the respect compared to the main protagonist of any book, movie, game or anything!

Take someone like Michael Jordan, everyone knows who he is. People who don’t even watch the sport of basketball know who the best basketball player of all time is and that is Michael Jordan. What about his right hand men Scottie Pippin and Dennis Rodman? If you say those names to the average person they would say, who the heck is that? Sure, Jordan was the arguably the greatest of all time, but if he didn’t have Pippin and Rodman, he would have not been the same legendary player without them.

Jordan just has to be in the middle! Why can’t Pippin or Rodman be in the middle?

How about Luigi from Mario, he is always there for Mario every step of the way, but all he gets is a pat on the back while Mario gets the princess and all of the attention. How about Batman and Robin? Batman gets his own movies and stardom while Robin just sits back being the nice guy who gets none of that spotlight. The list can go on and on, I am talking lists and lists of duos where one always outshines the other.

Every music band has a main singer, drummer and a guitarist. Guess who gets all of the credit, fame and attention from all of the fans? You named it, the lead singer of course. What fan would brag about that them getting an autograph from the drummer or the back up guitarist, not many. The drummer and the guitarist are the ones who work the hardest and are probably the most talented. Yet the main singer gets all of the credit because they in the front and center of the stage.

Ever hear of the famous phrase it takes two to tango? I am sure you have, it pretty much means that without one there would not be the other. Say a pitcher throws a perfect game in baseball, that means that he doesn’t allow a single hit or walk the whole entire game. The only person who ever gets credit for the perfect game is the pitcher, but what about the eight other players on the field? The catcher is the one who calls what pitch the pitcher throws and there are also seven fielders who have to make sure they do their part and field any ball put into play, so that the pitcher could achieve a perfect game.

It is time that Robin, Luigi, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, all the other sidekicks and back ups take a stand. They need to stand up and say, hey you know that Michael Jordan guy? He was good and all, but without me he wouldn’t be the star he is today. Luigi needs to stop helping Mario all of the time and Robin needs to get his own movie, Robin the Green Knight. Let’s make it happen!

Two Lives to Live

Imagine not having only one life to live, but now you have two.

When you see a yellow box with a question mark. You have to jump and hit it, obviously!

Another day just walking through the park. All of a sudden, you find a box floating in the air with a question mark on it. Playing Mario multiple times before, you know exactly what you have to do. Of course your going to jump up and hit the block! That is exactly what you do and out comes a green mushroom. It falls to the ground, starts moving to the right and you chase after it. Finally catching up to it, you touch it and it disappears.

Days goes by, even months and you go to the doctor for your yearly checkup. He tells you that he has discovered something that has given you another life, meaning if you would happen to die you have another chance to live. All of a sudden you freak out, well obviously, it’s crazy that you have another life. Thinking to yourself, you remember the trip to the park, finally it all comes together. Mario, a yellow question mark block, a green mushroom and another life, It was a 1-up mushroom!

What would you do? Now you have another life!

Let’s lay down some rules. This extra live is exactly how it is used in Mario, if you would fall off a cliff or run into a goomba you would be dead. Well in our world if you would run into a bus, but you get the idea.

I don’t know what I would do, should I just go to the top of a mountain, jump off and see what happens? I think I would have to do something like that, right? I need to utilize this 1-up, it’s not every day you find these kind of things lying around.

On the other hand, it would pretty scary. I’m not sure if I would want to kick the bucket and come back, even if it was for only a few seconds. It would be pretty crazy, because who knows what actually happens to you in those few seconds when your gone. I know when Mario falls of the edge of a platform, he just gets right back up and continues on his journey. I’m not too sure that I would be able to get up like that and go on like nothing ever happened!

Now that I think about it, I’m not too sure that I want that 1-up. Maybe I should just stay away from yellow question mark boxes if I ever see one. They are pretty suspicious now that I think about it!

If Only Superheroes Were Real

So your walking down the block in New York City. You see an old lady getting ready to cross the street. It is your picture perfect scenario to walk over there and help her. Make you feel good about helping an old lady and look like the good guy. Your all ready to go, waiting for the right moment, hoping that there are a lot of people around to see you do this good deed.

All of a sudden, here comes something flying toward this old lady. It is a red object, wait…no! You finally realize that it is a person hanging from a web. This mystery person swoops up the old lady, drops her on the other side of the street and continues on swinging from building to building on his web like nothing ever happened. Don’t lie, if that ever happened it would pretty awesome.

Imagine if all of your favorite superheroes came to life. All of the superheroes that we all idolized growing up, turned into reality!

Another day, another morning. You get ready to go to work once again, wake up, go outside and you get your daily newspaper. You turn to your left to say hello to your neighbor and you see this pretty cool looking car outside of his house. Looking closer you realize that is a the Bat Mobile, the same one that you use to watch on television as a kid. Making his way out of the car is Batman him self, he looks at you, gives you a wave and continues on his average day of fighting crime.

If superheros were real, there would be no need for a police force. Just think about it, who in their right mind would want to mess with a superhero with unnatural abilities that could take you down in an instant. Well of course if you are a villain like the Green Goblin or someone like that. Besides those crazy villains, there would be no one and I mean no one who would every stand toe to toe with a superhero in a fight.

I am not going to mess with someone who looks like that. Tearing up the ground for no reason!

Picture this, you get pulled over for going 35 mph over the speed limit. You lower your window to deal with a cop who is going to yell at you and then you realize, it is The Hulk. Yes, the giant green guy who can crush you into pieces if you dare to even give him a wrong look. I know I would say something like, “Sorry for speeding Mr. Green giant looking guy, just please don’t hurt me. It won’t happen again I promise.”

I would then take my ticket, not say a word and get the heck out of there. Of course if you paid The Flash a few dollars, he could take you to wherever you wanted to go in lighting fast time. You would never have to worry about another speeding ticket ever again.

Is it a crazy idea to have a world with real superheroes? I don’t think so at all. I think it is a win-win situation for everyone involved here.

Heck, let’s go as far as saying that there would be no need for a president. I think the Justice League would do a pretty good job of keeping our country safe.

The Best Mario Spin-Off Game!

Everyone knows Mario. Let’s face it, the guy is pretty much a global icon. He has kept us up many nights past our bedtime, just for so we can step on some goombas and jump on some turtles. Super Mario Bros on the classic Nintendo is where he really took off. Then came Super Mario Bros 2 and 3. Mario just doesn’t like to save Princess Peach from castles, he enjoys other activities as well. He is pretty versatile believe it or not. Some Mario games have been swept under the rug that have been released after Super Mario Bros. I am going to bring back the memories and list the top Mario spin-off games of all time.

#3 Mario Party

Take all of the Mario characters that we have loved over the years and throw them on a virtual board game. Throw in dice to roll, some coins and a star to collect and you have Mario Party. This is the ultimate, quick, fun, sit down and play Mario game. There have been 9 Mario Party games so far and I think the can make 100 of them. The basis of the game is to win mini-games and collect coins. In Monopoly when you pass Go, you get $200. Instead of gaining $200 in Mario Party, if you have enough coins you can exchange them for stars. Whoever has the most stars when the game is over, wins! This game is a lot of fun especially when playing with a lot of friends. Definitely worth of a spot in the top Mario spin-off games.

#2 Mario Tennis

Mario loves his sports. There have been games such as Mario Golf, Mario Baseball, Mario Basketball and Mario Soccer. I would not be surprised to see Mario Volleyball. Let’s not forget about Mario Tennis either which makes #2 on my list. Mario Tennis is not like regular tennis. Sorry to say but, tennis on television is pretty boring. Two people hit a little, green ball back and forth over a net until someone misses. That is not very exciting at all, but when you add Mario and his gang to the mix, it is a lot of fun. Mario Tennis has backhands and even drop shots. It still stays true to the game of tennis, but for some reason it is a lot more fun than real tennis. It is faster paced and playing doubles with a friend makes it even more exciting. Mario Tennis for the N64 was fun, but Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube is a lot better. In the GameCube version, players have a special shot that adds a whole new element to the game. Take Diddy Kong for instance. When you use his special shot he will automatically go to the ball and hit is back. It is not your normal return though, he puts a crazy banana shaped curve on the ball, making it hard to hit back. This game takes tennis to the next level. I sometimes wish real life tennis was exciting like it is in Mario Tennis.

#1 Mario Kart

Who even knew that Mario was old enough to drive? I honestly never knew he was able to. I also didn’t know that a dinosaur and a monkey were capable of operating a vehicle. I have no clue who passed them for their drivers licenses. Whoever it was, I would have to thank them.

Mario Kart is the hands down #1Mario spin-off.

There have been Mario Kart games released for handheld systems like the Game boy Advance and Nintendo 3DS. The classic Mario Kart’s on the N64 and GameCube is where it is at. Mario Kart puts Mario and his crew behind the wheel of go karts and lets them race to the finish. It is no simple three lap race though. There are items that you can pick up along the way. Some of them include, shells that you can throw at other divers and bananas that you can place down, in hope that your opponent drives over it and spins off the track. Mario Kart first started off as one person behind the wheel. Then Mario Kart Double Dash was released on the GameCube that featured two drivers on one cart. One driver would throw the items and the other would drive the cart, you could switch back and forth between drivers as well. Each character has a special item, similar to special shots in Mario Tennis. The courses are awesome as well. Courses take place in deserts, jungles and even on top of Daisy’s Cruiser. Yes, you get to drive on a yacht in the middle of the ocean.

Mario Kart is a classic and is my #1 Mario spin-off game!