Flo-Rida Plays Silent Hill 2?

          Alright, so it's been a while since I posted something that's light-hearted... Probably the first time I will post something that's light-hearted.  Anyway, there was a song I overheard a while back that caught my attention.  Strangely, this was not anything alternative or thrash metal, but it was still catchy.  The lyrics were rather promiscuous and carried little meaning, but the guitar in the background was hypnotic.  The song was "Whistle" by Flo Rida.  Now I know what you're thinking: he's listening to modern music?!? NOOOOO!!! Not that filth!!  Well, in actuality, I was not listening to modern pop/hip-hop/crud.  That guitar was simply entrancing.  It gave me a weird feeling... What was it?... Oh yes! Memory! I remember hearing something similar in an entirely different medium.  As it turns out, the guitar introduction in "Whistle" is a sped-up, slightly altered riff of that in "Promise" from the Original Soundtrack in Silent Hill 2.  The main differences are tempo and the tone on the amplifier.  Really, check it out! I liked that riff so much because I heard it before and already associated enjoyment with it.  This begs the question: Did Flo-Rida rip off a video game?
          Foremost, the actual person that wrote "Whistle" could have heard it and decided to "sample", take the riff and change a few things.  Being from a not popular source where no one but yours truly would ever actually notice it, the producers decided it would not be a big deal to take it from Silent Hill 2 note for note.  OR, this could be completely coincidental (not likely).  Even if they did take it, so what?  There are two options: the original was so good, Flo-Rida had to remake it to show respect for the original; or modern music producers are lazy and not creative.  First of all, this riff IS worth putting into popular culture.  It carries emotion.  (Oh but its from a stupid game.)  Silent Hill 2 is a psychological horror video game that has one of the greatest story lines I have ever been exposed to.  This isn't about the game itself, but I will say the game concerns the elements of remorse, self-suffering, and psychological horror.  It is built around the premise of James Sunderland receiving a letter from his wife who has been dead for years.  It is scary.  It is sad.  It is a true tragedy.  "Promise" seems to captivate the game, and it leaves me speechless every time I hear it.  That is what "Whistle" must live up to.  Does it?  Well... read through the lyrics.  I won't contaminate this blog with them; so, that should give my opinion of the subject.  What about any of you?  Any defenders of Flo-Rida?  Anyone else know of any "sampled" songs?  Other ones by my definition of sampled include: "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin from "Spiders" by System of a Down and (sigh) a Nickelback song from "Walk" by Pantera.  Leave a comment and have a great day :)

New Year's Resolution

          Well, I know it's early, but I have already decided on what my New Year's Resolution is, to not be scary.  As a child, I was always the one scared easily.  People bullied me for it; people scared me to bully me.  I wanted to revenge that pain.  Now, I realize the harm that it truly is.  Not only did I overcome my fears I had as a child, but I became the fear of other people.  It is now I recognize that others fear me.  I always thought of myself as a freak but not a monster.  I am though... I've scared away too many friends.  I want to change things.  I don't want to lose anyone else I hold dear to my heart.  I don't want to hurt anyone else.  I don't want to be scared of myself anymore.  I will end the fear, and I will try to replace it with love and compassion.  It's funny, though.  I used to be the scared little kid.  Now, I am the fear.  But that will change.  I have friends to fight for.  It will change.

Human

          I don't get people.  I just fail to understand them.  Everyday, I lose faith in humanity when I'm in school.  No one seems to be of good heart anymore.  I understand that adolescents usually have some hormonal activity during the high school years, but what I go through on a daily basis is simply outrageous.  No one has any sense of what is right and what is wrong.  Suicide is not a joke and shouldn't be treated lightly, yet I'm faced to hear "Go kill yourself" or "Just end your life" on a daily basis.  These people make me sick.  At least half the kids in some of my AP classes cheat on a regular basis.  To them, AP means harder work; so they're justified in getting around it.  To me, AP is supposed to mean an increase in the caliber of education and people.  I guess it doesn't mean Advanced morality.  Also, nearly everyone is a hypocrite.  Trust no one.  Don't ever tell anyone else anything that's personal and important because that person will screw you over.

          I thought that the adolescent years are supposed to be a time of maturity and growth into adulthood.  The morons I'm surrounded by are all Benjamin Button!  Most of them grow worse as high school progresses.  I say most because there are only a few good souls left in the school, according to my current understanding.  Anyone one of them could easily fall from grace and sink into the behemoth masses.  It has happened before, and I REALLY don't want it to happen again.  People that have been severely bullied turn around and start attacking others.  Has suffering taught nothing?

          Now, I know I am far from perfect.  I am perhaps the biggest mistake on the planet.  Except, I recognize that.  I know I make mistakes, large and small (mostly large).  Except, I want to correct them.  I want to be a better person.  I want to be so that society can at least tolerate me.  Being that I am a mistake, I don't know when I am making a mistake.  I admit this!  I apologize in advance!  I'm sorry for being me!  I'm really trying to not be a nuisance to people, especially my friends.  It's never enough.  What more can I do?  All I know is I want to be better.  I care about everyone else (even though a solid 99% doesn't care about me); so I try to improve myself, improve myself for them.  It doesn't seem like anyone else does that.

          Why does it seem that no one is human?  Nearly everyone has been dehumanized, feeding off the misery of others, stabbing friends in the back, committing to live to dishonesty and dishonor.  I know I don't agree with these things, and I don't fit into these things.  Am I too human because I care too much?  Or are they human?  Are these the qualities of humanity?  Then what does that make me?  Am I the animal?  Is caring too much the true problem in this world?  What does it mean to be human?

Nikola Tesla: The Key to the Future of Power

         We are at a dilemma in terms of power.  The best thing that we have going for us as humans is nuclear fission, but that is far too dangerous.  There is another form of nuclear energy known as nuclear fusion, but that is still under development.  The major problem is the inability to produce more energy than the amount put in.  Are we plagued with inefficiency of power for the remainder of our existence?  Hardly, that is unless someone will "step up" with  an innovative approach.  Yes, I am referencing Nikola Tesla, the Lost Wizard.
         Back in the olden days of Edison and the light bulb, Edison hired Tesla to create a more efficient form of electrical power.  I will not go into the whole history of Edison and Tesla, but I will sum it up that Tesla succeeded with Alternative Current.  This was vastly superior to Edison's Direct Current, the direct flowing of electrons from one area to another. AC involves the alternating current of electricity to give power.  This gave more power than DC and would reach much farther distances.  So, are we to just wait until another Tesla comes up with a magical idea? No.  Let put this this into perspective about what really went on.
        Direct Current is simple.  Electrons flow from one area to another.  Like static electricity from your hand to the door knob or vice versa.  Alternative Current is more complicated, but far more interesting.  It reminds me of a video I saw from MIT OpenCourseWare with Professor Lewin.(not sure if I spelt the name right)  I strongly encourage anyone reading to check out any of his lecture videos.  They are truly worth seeing; perhaps, some of the best lectures I have ever seen.  Anyway, he rubs a balloon against his head and hair, giving both the balloon and his head a negative charge. (I believe negative or possibly positive. Let's assume negative) With the balloon stuck to his head, he turns on a device that emits the opposite charge. (Going to assume positive) At this, the balloon rushes over because the negative charge is attracted to the positive charge.  Once the balloon makes contact, it springs back to the head.  The negative charge (excess electrons) was (were) removed from the balloon, and the balloon became positively charged (lack of electrons).  Because his head was still negatively charged, the balloon was attracted back to the head where the balloon will gain excess electrons once it makes contact with his head.  It was truly hilarious to watch the balloon repeatedly bounce back and forth between the device and the Professor's head, but it was also fascinating to watch how quickly and efficiently electrons are moving to give this balloon an alternating path.  It all made sense, but it was not as nearly as simple as direct current.  At a time where all anyone knew was that electrons flowed to positively charged sources from negatively charged sources, the premise of alternating current was truly advanced and (most importantly) creative.  It was a creative approach to solving the problem to make electrical energy much more efficient.  This was the key for alternating current.  It did not take magic to create, just an innovative mind with a different perspective.
          This is how we can use nuclear fusion.  We haven't been able to do it because we have not been looking at it the right way.  We need to look at it like Tesla, not magically, creatively.  I strongly think we can attain usage of nuclear fusion; we just need the right creative mind for it.
          Lastly, I would like to encourage anyone to check out Epic Rap Battles of History: Tesla vs. Edison.  If you know the history between Tesla and Edison or perhaps a Tesla, check it out on Youtube.  It truly is an entertaining video that I think portrays Tesla as the epic, scientist he is.

Gifted or Plagued?

Well, I have been neglectful of my blog, but I hope that is to change.  This is going to be more of an opinion post than anything else (sorry, no science).  What I want to know is why the "gifted" must suffer.
All my life, I've been different from everyone else.  This has had its benefits and malefactors.  Well, things in school have always came easy to me (except gym, social graces, and flirting with girls).  Sure, it seems that I have a bright future ahead of me, but there are so many other things going on.  I'm bored.  I really feel as though I'm wasting my time ging to school because I'm not getting enough out of it.  I'm taking all honors and AP this year, and I can say that I am bored with the level of material.  The amount of material is staggering, but that does not compensate for me actually being challenged on an intellectual level.  Also, because I am in the wonderful world of high school (sarcasm intented), everyone and their brother hates and judges me because of my intellect.  I have to be so careful in what I say and do so I don't upset anyone in the class.  Besides, I don't think I have such a bright future.  I used to stress over everything, especially my grades.  I still do, but the medicine made me stress A LOT less.  I always mess up, and it is always a constant reminder of why I will never be good enough...  People think I'm lucky to have a high I.Q., to be smarter than 99.99 whatever percent of the population.  All that means is that I can't relate to 99.99% of the population, and it is VERY hard to find good, relatable friends.  I do have friends, but I don't think a single one understands who I really am.  I can't share what I am passionate about with anyone because there is no one to share it with.  I hate being alone, but it is all I know how to be.
My second main point is on mental illness.  I don't know if high intelligence attributes from a major flaw or a low capacity in another area of the brain, but from what I have found, you can't really say that smart people are gifted.  Now, I do not include all people considered "smart", I mean genius level.  I apologize if I am coming off as pompous, but the higher high level people are the ones I am focusing on.  Studies have shown that "gifted" individuals (generally with IQ's 140+)(these are the ones I am talking about), tend to be deficient or ill in other areas of the brain.  First, there are the savants, which are (forgive me for being politically incorrect) autistic geniuses, Rain Man for example.  Next, there are the typical "nerds".  I have anxiety and depression problems, far greater than the average person.  I get panic attacks from high stress, confined spaces, and loud noises.  I also hear voices when I am under high stress.  These voices don't tell me to do crimes; they remind of how miserable I am.  These symptoms are quite common among those with high creativity and intellect.  They make it hard to live everyday life, and it seems like there are only a few people in the world who understand that we are in pain, that we don't want this burden.
Why is it like this?  Why is it that any other person can live a happy and fulfilling life yet I am destined to do something like prove string theory?  Why is it that I am miserable in the process?  Why are people still jealous of my potential for success when it costs happiness?  Am I destined to do something "great" and sacrifice any hopes of happiness?  What if I can't do anything good enough?  Do I have any hopes at real happiness?  Feel free to comment on your opinions of the plague of being "gifted".