Are video games good or bad for teens? – Part 1

When I was a teenager they had just came out with the Atari try as we might we could never convince my daddy to get us one. Every time I’d ask he’d say that they rotted your Brian or that it was his job to provide food and shelter not useless toys that would make us sit around all day eating and playing games. I could never understand why my friends and cousins could have one and I couldn’t it took having my on children for me to be able to understand he’s point of view.

Now I’m not saying I having every bought my kids the latest game system because I have like some of you rushed out and bought them one just because they had to have it or they might just die. They wouldn’t have kicked the bucket no more than I did, when I couldn’t have an Atari. But buying them what they ask for some have gives me a sense of accomplishment, knowing that they have things that I didn’t and knowing that I could afford to give them the extra things they wanted like their friends got.

Thank God my girls never became addicted to video games like my nephews have. We fortunately got to stop buying games and machines right after Nintendo 64 or PlayStation 2. I don’t remember which came last, I just know that every year there was another system and game to buy. The prize just kept going up, and soon as you got everything for one system another new hot thing came out.

Maybe that’s what happened to reading, everyone’s to busy playing video games. We never purposely got the girls any games with that filthy talking on it. But I remember walking in my eleven year old room only to hear the game saying things you wouldn’t hear in a bar. Maybe that’s when I decided enough was enough I don’t know. I do know that some times I just buy the girls things to make me feel like I’m keeping up with the Jone’s. That’s not really anyway to teach them responsibility.

Frightenly, my daughter plays softball, basketball, and tennis so she doesn’t have time to sit around and rot her Brian out like some teenagers can. But I have to say my nephew does and I don’t like the way these games teach them to talk, act and feel like a human live is not worth anything. They really get points for the more people they kill, now how disgusting is that? Because I know there are children out there that their parents can’t or want teach them right from wrong.

How can we as the American public think it’s okay for our children to think it’s funny to kill someone, shot people, or be a prostitute. Unfortunately that’s the value’s video games are teaching our children our hope for tomorrow. Boy are we in for it, now I know it’s the parents job to censure their children but if they can’t or won’t someone has to. That’s the problem with teenager’s today no one wants to be the bad guy and say enough is enough you can’t do something just because you want to.

Can you imagine what kind of adults we will have in the future? And they called my generation spoiled and useless. These gamers are growing up without a conscience. And it’s all our faults, they have laws to keep children from smoking, and drinking. They should pass laws that if a minor is caught with a game they are to young to comprehend the true meaning of it, the parent should be fined. For some people don’t want to tell their children no, or they have the attitude that it’s best to live and let live.

Which is way our children are so far behind children in other country’s. Someone has to be accountable and it seems to me that everyone should be. Contrary to popular believe you are your brother’s keeper. And it does take a village to raise one child. We should all be doing our part for the future of these moralise teenagers.

Drink recipes: Rum Bamboozle

Here are a few simple, tasty rum based cocktail recipes which can be enjoyed anywhere and any time of year. Enjoy!

Rum Bamboozle Cocktail

Ingredients Needed

2 oz dark rum

2 oz Jamaican rum

2 oz light rum

1 dash of bitter

1 dash of grenadine syrup

3 oz pineapple juice

1 slice of mango

1 oz coconut extract

Mixing Instructions

Pour a small amount of bitter over ice, strain, then add all the rum. Add the pineapple juice, coconut extract, dash of grenadine syrup, with a thin slice of mango for garnish. This tastes great and looks great served in a hurricane glass.

Rummy Jamaican Glow

Ingredients Needed

1 tsp Jamaican rum

1 oz gin

1 tbsp red wine

1 tbsp orange juice

Mixing Instructions

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.

Fruity Rum Cocktail

Ingredients Needed

1 1/2 oz gold rum

3 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp Jamaican dark rum

1 tbsp white rum

1 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tbsp papaya juice

1 1/2 tsp sugar syrup

1 tsp 151 proof rum

1 pineapple stick

1 pinch of powdered sugar

Mixing Instructions

Shake all ingredients (except the high proof rum) over ice, the pineapple stick and the sugar. Strain and add ice. Garnish with pineapple. Float the high proof rum on top and sprinkle a little sugar over the top. Heaven!

Downloadable game review: Hospital Hustle – Part 1

Graduated from University of California as a nurse, you are ready to work at a nice hospital. As you send job applications to those nice hospitals, you get rejected by them except Maryville Hospital. You start your first day and the tutorial helps you to get used to the game controls. There are not many kinds of treat stations in the beginning. You unlock them as you advance in the game. As the patients flock to the hospital, you first take them to the diagnostic doctor. Not all the patients can be treated in your hospital. If they can’t be treated in your hospital, you can put them in the ambulance and the ambulance takes them to a better equipped hospital. If you can treat them in your hospital, the treatment method appears in the thought bubble. You drag and drop your patients to the place they will be treated. You need to give prescriptions, diagnostic reports and pills to some patients. When the patients got treated, they leave you some money and also a dirty bed. You need to clean the beds and throw the garbage in the trash can. The rainy days bring more patients. If you cannot handle all the patients, you can offer them a drink or a food so they can wait a little bit longer in the bench. At the beginning of the day, you can buy and sell treatment stations and equipments like snack machine, plants. There are very skilled doctors working at your hospital. The surgeon anesthetize the patient by hitting a blunt object to his head and the medical diagnosis X-Ray machine seems to have some kind of electrical malfunction. You can increase the doctor’s and pharmacist’s salary and they will work faster. As they work faster, you can treat more patients and earn more money. But keep an eye on your daily funds, do not exceed it. You can also change the color of your uniform. As you increase your star rating, you transfer to other hospitals.

The music is very fun to listen and it doesn’t touch your nerves after a while. Graphics are very nice. There are many games that you can download from the internet but this game is one of the best I have ever played. The game deserves 5 out of 5. It offers you hours of fun. If you are bored at home, buy this game and you won’t regret it.

Drink recipes: Seven and seven

The Seven and Seven recipe is categorized as a highball cocktail. It is the combination of Seagram’s 7 Crown blended Canadian whiskey and 7-UP soda over ice. It is a recipe that every bartender should know.

This drink is frequently ordered in North American bars. Also known as a Seven-Seven or “14″, it became popular in the 1970s when characters from the films Mean Streets and Saturday Night Fever ordered them in scenes. It enjoyed a comeback in 1990 when Robert DeNiro ordered it in Goodfellas. More recently,fans of The Sopranos have noticed that Jackie Aprile Jr. always orders one at The Bing.

The ingredients for a Seven-Seven are as follows:

1 1/2 oz. (either 1 shot or 6 counts) of Seagram’s 7

6 oz. (1/2 a can) of 7-UP

Ice

Fill a glass with ice. Pour the Seagram’s 7 over the ice and then fill the glass up with 7-UP. Stir this mixture. This drink can be garnished with a lemon or a lime.

The Seven-Seven should be served in either a Collins glass or a Rocks glass. A Collins glass typically holds 8 fluid ounces. A Rocks glass holds between 5 and 10 fluid ounces. If the drink is being ordered for a female customer you can also serve it in a chilled martini glass with a sugared rim and garnish it with maraschino cherries. Never serve a drink on the rocks in a stemmed martini glass, it will tip over and quite possible spill all over the place.

7-UP that’s being poured from a can or bottle needs to be poured slowly. Use your discretion if your bar is stocked with Sprite or generic lemon-lime soda and you have to use that instead.

Your average bar or restaurant customer will refer to the Seven-Seven as a “7&7″ or “14″.

If your customer orders a “Double 7&7″ that means he would like 3 ounces (approximately 2 shots or 12 counts) of Seagram’s in his drink. A Double 7&7 should be served in either a Collins glass or a Bucket glass.

If your customer orders a “Shaken 7&7″ that means he wants the ingredients combined in a martini shaker and strained in to a glass of ice.

The Seven-Seven has a few variants for customers who are bored with the lemon-lime flavor. This involves pouring an additional liquor or liqueur in to the Seagram’s and ice mixture prior to pouring the 7-UP. The recipe becomes a Seven Veils when less than a shot of Chambord Raspberry Liqueur is added to the whiskey. To make your Seven-Seven in to a Formula 420 add a shot of Midori Melon Liqueur to the whiskey. You can also make your Seven-Seven in to a Cibola by adding a shot of Goldschlager to the whiskey.

An “Orange 7&7″ means that the customer wants either orange juice or orange soda pop combined with the standard Seven-Seven recipe (ask the customer to specify which one). I have also had customers request that I add ginger ale or tonic water to their otherwise regular Seven-Seven.

The Seven-Seven cocktail is easy to make whether you are at home or behind the bar. Always serve it responsibly.

Is gaming addiction a problem? – Part 3

It seems society has been trying to blame everything on some sort of psychological disorder lately. You’re kid’s disobedient? It’s okay, he just has ADHD. That guy killed someone? Oh, but it wasn’t his fault. He was suffering from “temporary insanity.” It seems we have excuses for everything thing these days, and no one wants to face up to the facts.

Now, the American Medical Association wants to add “video game overuse” to list of “formal disorders”.

But like drug and alcohol addictions, this is not something that someone is born with. It is something they do to themselves. However, unlike doing drugs and drinking excessively, addiction to gaming is not caused by any chemicals in the body that would keep the user coming back. The ability to stop lies completely in range of the person’s physical abilities. It only takes a little will power.

But before we go off and label this a “formal disorder” and ship gamers off to therapy, we should pay attention to the actual causes of their addictions. According to a 2004 study on on-line gamers, four common causes are: “shyness, lack of spiritual faith, belief that others are controlling their lives, and an elevated belief in chance as an influence on their lives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Game_addiction).”

These are problems that exist and have existed even without gaming. It’s only since gaming came along that people like this, who find real life wanting when compared to their fantasies, have had such an outlet. Before gaming, they had to deal with these problems in other ways, such as reading books and comics, or in the more extreme cases, developing a case of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (these, by the way, are what real “formal disorders” are supposed to be).

Gaming itself is not the cause of these problems. Gaming is simply a way to help people get through them. And yes, some people may get so used to living in their pretend worlds that they become completely addicted and do not want to enter the real the world, but people like this don’t do well in the real world anyway. These people feel out of place surrounded by actual people and would most likely hide in a corner, lost in their own heads, while everyone else lives in reality.

Gaming addiction is not a problem that is harming the world in anyway because it does not hurt people anymore than they are already hurting. Instead of worrying about how we should save our generation’s youth from the evils of technology, we need to worry more about how to fix the evils in reality. If the world wasn’t such a messed up place, maybe no one would need to hide in a world of make-believe.

Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence? – Part 1

Does drinking coffee make you want to process coffee beans? Does watching “The Fast and the Furious” or playing “Need For Speed” make you want to go see if your car can do 180mph through town? More than likely I bet you’ve answered no to those questions. So saying violent video games contribute to real life violence is just ridiculous. Instead of blaming violent video games or movies for violence in real life let’s just call it what it is: poor parenting. I grew up watching rated “R” movies since I was born. I also grew up playing my fair share of violent video games long before the ESRB would have considered me old enough. But I had responsible parents that made sure I knew the difference between a game or a movie and reality. Mel Gibson pumping eight or nine rounds of 9mm into a local bad guy in the “Lethal Weapon” series or watching Chuck Norris breaking somebody’s neck before a building or car exploded in the background was just plain good entertainment. But that’s just what it was: entertainment. Not something I would have even considered doing to the local bully at school. I knew the difference. Just because running over pedestrians was fun in GTA doesn’t mean I would enjoy hopping my car and mowing a few people down. If anything, I’d consider violent video games a good outlet for one of those really bad days at work. Just get demoted? Feel like “killing” someone? Grab your “Operation Flashpoint” or “Vietcong” and waste some animated commies. Better yet load up your favorite online game and “pwn” (I think that’s what they’re calling it these days) the first person you see. There’s been at least a few occasions I’ve wanted to cause physical pain to someone and I think we’ve all that “I could just kill (insert name here)” feeling. I don’t pull out my handgun (yes, I actually have one) and start shooting. I didn’t hop in my car and run anybody over. I simply go home, rant, rave, and fume and load up my favorite games. It’s been said before that video games are the target of this generation just like the rap and rock ‘n’ roll before it. Let’s stop blaming media and start taking responsibility because it’s up to us to make our children understand these concepts. Instead of saying the video game made him/her do it, dig a little deeper and examine the individual. Blaming media is just taking the lazy way around the real problem. Besides, I’ve seen more violence on CNN than in any of the games I have ever played, including “San Andreas”, and CNN has no rating system.

Family games for the holidays

Despite the increasing prevalence of video games and electronic media, families still enjoy gathering around a good old fashioned board game during the holidays. The board game promotes strategy, friendly competition, and family conversation. Throw in some drinks, popcorn, and other snacks, and the family has a party. Granted, the games themselves can change over time as the children grow a bit older but some games remain classics for many years. Here are a few suggestions of good family games for the holidays.

Rummikub

The game of Rummikub is a fun game for most ages. Very small children may have difficulty with the numbers but they can at least “help” the adults by identifying sets of colors and numbers. The goal of Rummikub is to create “runs” and “sets” of numbers and place the tiles in the middle of the game space. Other players can then play off of combinations in order to get rid of their tiles.

Sorry

Another classic board game is Sorry, which can also be played by a wide variety of ages. The game is a standard “around the board” game where players try to get all their pieces from the start to the finish line. This can be fun for families but parents have to be aware that children may exact revenge on a sibling who bumps their piece back to the start. Therefore, ground rules may be valuable before the game begins.

Clue

As kids get older, they can get into more complex games like Clue. The game of Clue is a murder mystery where players have to use logic in order to deduce “who did it.” They also have to figure out the room and weapon that was used. This is an excellent exercise is deductive reasoning, as people have to use a process of elimination to solve the mystery.

Trivial Pursuit

Another fun game for the family is Trivial Pursuit. While this game may seem a bit above the skill level of kids, it has actually come a long way from the original “Genus” version. Today, there are different versions of Trivial Pursuit, including themed versions and family versions. Therefore, everyone can join in. Sometimes it works out best if people work in teams so that they don’t feel lost in some of their answers.

Monopoly

Finally, Monopoly is a classic game that families can still enjoy after years of being produced. The basics of Monopoly center on buying property, managing money, and trying to gain a “monopoly” of certain areas. The game can be competitively fun and allow kids to learn some skills related to money management, borrowing, and commerce.

Overall, there are many different games that a family can play during the holidays. The important thing is to spend time together playing and be sure to make it a priority. There are other things to do during the holidays and sometimes it can tempting to just “throw in” a movie, but the time spent around a game board can be very valuable. Family time is about buildling memories, and games can be a part of that family legacy.

How well do video games translate into movies?

Let’s be honest, with the exception of, well, nothing, video-game-to-film adaptations have been about as entertaining as jumping on your bicycle only to find the seat missing.

From the wildly misguided Mario Bros. to the benign plots of the Resident Evil series, no one producer seems able to assemble a team capable of recreating the excitement and unadulterated fun the gaming originals have so consistently provided.

The main problems appear two-fold. Firstly, and with the greatest will in the world, the subject matter is almost always as flimsy as a 10-year-old’s homework excuse. Our beloved games are not known to take their inspiration from high art, nor seek to replicate it, and in a manner befitting the medium, opt for guns and gore over film noir musings and intrigue. No one in a Charles Dickens adaptation ever shot another man in the face with an RPG because they were a trifle irked’ at their conduct, but then no one in a game sat around for three hours discussing the pitfalls of 18th Century sanitation (though the way the Metal Gear Solid cut scenes are going, I wouldn’t totally rule it out). In this respect, the film and video game platforms show themselves to be two very different beasts. Where as a film must guide you and hold it’s audience with a set narrative, the mainstream gamer wants for no such exposition and can be forgiven for taking style over substance. Trying to add flesh to the bones of a see it, shoot it’ formula is an artificial concept and leaves far too much open to interpretation, ultimately ending up as a pointless exercise why attribute the script to a game at all? Which leads us to the second problem.

As sure as we bemoan the endless, undercooked film cash-ins that wind up on every single console, festering on the shelves and in the bargain bins for years to come, the same principal applies the other way around. Studios recognise the original material as a game and budget accordingly. The best writers or directors are never going to be assigned to such projects while those faceless suits kicking back on their leather chairs, drinking wine from the cleavage of the next Sharon Stone, think they are being asked to reinterpret a toy’ at great expense. There does not seem to be the desire to explore the games for extra depth, aiming the projects instead at children and using none of the creative flare evident in the source material. It has become merely an exercise in slapping a label on a generic concept in the interest of milking another few dollars out of an already wheezing premise.

There is much made of the convergence of modern-day media, and advancing technology is rapidly blurring the lines between the platforms. It might be that at some point in the very near future a new genre of entertainment is born. Dare I suggest the much vaunted (and subsequently much derided) interactive movie comes of age?

For the time being though, and on the evidence presented so far, we are all far better off leaving films and games as estranged partners.

Downloadable game review: Elf Bowling Hawaiian Vacation by Mumbo Jumbo

5/5 Need a mini vacation without leaving your desk? Take a trip to Hawaii with your favorite North Pole toy factory workers, plus some assorted penguins and polar bears, as they ditch the thermals and pointy shoes for floral prints, sandals, sunglasses and drinks with little paper umbrellas. Elf Bowling Hawaiian Vacation by Mumbo Jumbo, the latest installment of the popular game series, combines all the successful elements of the previous Elf Bowling games; clever one-liners, movie quotes, site gags, Matrix-inspired camera movements and more. There are even some new twists as you mow down the funny little guys on board The Arctic Explorer cruise ship, on a tropical shoreline and other exotic locations. The game takes the elves out of their element but never out of character in the three new story levels. The concept stays strong throughout the game, layering and building long after the initial amusement at the sight of the drastic costume changes.

The graphics seem sharper and even more realistic, especially when the game dares to venture into some water effects and inventive angles as elves fly in the air, red pointy fur-trimmed hats bob in the water, and sharks swim menacingly. Cool, minty greens and vibrant yellow colors bring out the vacation vibe while rolling a red-and-white candy cane stick keeps you in the holiday spirit. Be sure to explore the backgrounds and onlookers for even more funny gags and references.

The sound is better than the previous games, making the non-stop elf quips a bit easier to understand this time around. The bowling sound effects are hilariously accurate. Of course your favorite background music returns in full force.

Once again there are many options for one or two players with a roster of ten characters. As always there are lots of intriguing lane and ball choices for customizing your very own ohana elf experience. Some old balls even do new tricks alongside brand-new balls in your nineteen ball anti-elf arsenal. Players can power up, use dirty tricks, win trophies and compete in four different modes of play. Watch your standings rise and fall with the virtual tide as the trouble-making elves help you kick back and take a mental vacation. Sunscreen is not required, but you will need enough room to download just under 27 mb.

Christmas 2007: Gift ideas for cocktail lovers – Part 4

The cocktail lover on your gift list this Holiday season seems deceptively easy to buy for – until you start shopping. Is there any perfect, catch-all gift for someone who enjoys mixed drinks? To your good fortune, there are several fantastic gifts that will make any drinker happy – and they’re incredibly easy to find.

R.U.I. (READING UNDER THE INFLUENCE)

The absolute best book for any cocktail lover is “Bartending for Dummies” by Raymond Foley. It’s got recipes for almost every drink imaginable (including regionally popular ones), hilarious drinking toasts, and gives detailed descriptions and uses for cocktail glassware. Several years ago I bought this book for myself, and have never stopped using it.

A book of toasts would also be greatly appreciated by any dedicated drinker; one of the best and most comprehensive that I’ve ever read was “Toasts: Over 1,500 of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, and and Graces” by Paul Dickson. It’s absolutely packed with funny toasts, quick one-liners, and serious sayings that can be used on any occasion.

SOMETHING TO DRINK FROM

Any self-respecting drinker will have an extensive collection of glassware – and it can never be extensive enough. It’s easy to find fantastic new additions – all you have to know is that it’s almost impossible to go wrong.

There are fantastic sets available almost everywhere you look; pick the most unique (but by unique, I don’t mean hideous) design and it’s sure to be a smash! To make sure that the glassware you buy will go with everything, avoid those that are streaked with color or that have a specific brand name on them – unless you’re absolutely positive that the recipient’s tastes sway that way.

SOMETHING TO PUT IN THE GLASSWARE

A perfect complement to any of the gifts you’re buying for your favorite cocktail lover is a bottle of – you guessed it – their favorite drink! In fact, this works well as a stand-alone gift, too. When you decide to buy alcohol for someone, though, make sure it’s not what an avid drinker would call “bottom shelf” or typical “well” liquor – those are drinker terms for “the cheap stuff.”

If they’re a vodka aficionado, for instance, don’t get them a bottle of 5 O’clock and a coffee mug and call it a day; there are several “top shelf” varieties of almost every kind of liquor – and a serious drinker will know the difference between all of them. Your best bet, if you’re not sure, would be to ask the staff at the liquor store – they’re

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