Davio's Den.

uh.. hooo boy. here is the final three paragraphs of my communications paper. EDITING SORELY NEEDED ... i sound too much like marx advocating the communist manifesto.

Before I started this paper, I was not even aware of how far the media go to protect their own interests. The media had been doing this all through the nineties and continues to do it now. What amazes me is that I did not realize it until it was expressly pointed out to me. It has been in front of our faces for years and years, and yet we do not realize that it is there. This revelation is proof that not reporting on something can be defined as propaganda just as much as blatant persuasion. In fact, the number four Canadian under reported story in 1995 was “Social spending not cause of deficits, debt” (Project Censored Canada). This is the media obviously trying to shape public opinion in favour of cutting social spending. Something which is under-reported can change one’s opinion just as much as something which is over-reported. The media has no excuse for not reporting on issues like this; they are obviously not the watchdog of the public, but more so the watchdog of the economically elite.

So does propaganda exist? Obviously it does not exist in the same forms it existed during World War II and the Cold War, but it is still around and still has an effect on society. Though I have not done research in the area, I am almost sure subliminal propaganda has been wiped out. Flashing images which you do not consciously see on the screen, but registers in your subconscious is extremely illegal. Even though it is recognized that this is an evil practice, one which should not be done under any circumstances, lying to the public is still popular. Historians are constantly bending history to show what they want it to show; like George Orwell says in 1984, “Who controls the past now, controls the future. Who controls the present now, controls the past.” (Orwell, 1949). The government understands this, and will do their best to give an account of events which makes them look good (i.e. Chomsky’s example of mortality figures in Vietnam war). What is important is not the abolishment of this practice (though that will come as well) but the admission of this practice. We have to open our eyes and realize that what we see and hear was carefully planned out by someone who has an agenda. Nobody can escape that label, not the American government, Canadian government or Noam Chomsky. When we hear a news story we must look at it from all angles, even if it reflects badly on us (i.e. Canadian involvement in Somalia).

There must be an understanding on the part of the governments, that the people are not all uneducated fools who cannot think for themselves and must be indoctrinated in order to carry on in a peaceful society. The world is learning – we all must learn to tell the truth. The governments, the citizens and the media. If, first of all, people realized that they were being persuaded in one direction, admitted their prejudices created by media propaganda, and stepped away to look at the media objectively, we could start making some progress. We also have to realize that, when we see ourselves as sceptical of everything we see and hear on television, that we are not “freaks”, “weirdoes” or “social outcasts”. Those who see the propaganda among them must group together – find solidarity with each other so that action can be taken. One person with all these thoughts running through his or her head is useless – organization is necessary, how do you think the media moguls got where they are today? We must emulate the example given to us by the media moguls, and group together. If enough people raise their voice, the message will be heard, and until it is, people’s eyes will say shut. [From here on, it is not included in my paper] It is our duty, as those who can really see through the propaganda, to help open up the eyes of our comrades. Yes, our comrades, at the risk of sounding completely communist, we must also realize that we are in this together. There is strength in numbers, and that is the only strength we have. The mighty dollar may control all the power, but without citizens to have power over, they have nothing. People of the world, rise up! Shake off your shackles of oppression and live together in harmony!!

Today, when coming home from Seven 11, I discovered a rare fact about me. Something that I've known all my life, but never really KNOWN... or admitted to myself... I like banging myself, (full body contact) into doors, which I know will not open.. weird huh? ... back to my paper.

ooooh man December is going to be an expensive month. I was just surfing around EB Games and i came across some releases in December. aaaaawww shiiiaaaat. i mean.. i not only have to buy gifts for my friends, but i also have to buy these for myself... lets take a look at december's releases.... :

Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland ... ok .. this is not a must have, but cool none the less. who knows, maybe i will end up getting it...
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past ... This .. this is a must have!!
Street Fighter Alpha!!!!! another must have. a game from my childhood made better, but for GBA!!! woohoo!!
GBA "Halo" light... hmm this looks like a good GBA lighting system if you dont wanna go and get an afterburner.
Lunar Legend!!!! I had no idea this was coming out so soon!! looks like a GREAT RPG ... will really awaken my nostalgia... hmmm.. great graphics too.... *sigh* money money money.
Lufia: The Ruins of Lore!! This title looks awesome as well.. great gfx, another awesome RPG to light up my GBA screen....
Pokemon Advance... and of course Pokemon. Who could have a handheld game system without pokemon. This one is developed with the BIG BUCK of nintendo, so i'm looking forward to seeing what the big N has in store for us.
Rock n Roll Racing!! What the hell!! will the nostalgia ever end!?? i played this for.. who knows what system.. nintendo i guess... and hahaha the music in this game ROCKS.. they have Van Halen, Ozzy Osborne, and many more!!! hahhaha i'd buy this game just for the music while you race around!!
Phantasy Star Collection... Number 1: its by sega, Number 2: its old, Number 3: its an RPG. Number 4: damn those graphics suck. if i can pick it up really cheap offa ebay i prolly will. but then i said that about Breath of Fire II as well... I think I will still try to pick that one up... *sigh* my gameboy..
Thats not to forget the Nintnedo Gameboy Advance E-Reader!! This thing gives you connectivity between GBA and Gamecube, and especially with Animal Crossing!! And you can play CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC games on here for like 5 bucks each! and trade those classic games with your friends!!! wooooo!!!
Yoshi's Island 3!! I played this game on Super Nintendo, and I really liked it.. Great gfx, fun gameplay and a very solid game... this may end up in my GBA collection too somehow... hehehehe...
Metroid Fusion... Now who can ignore this title? Connectivity between this version and GC version, a game many consider to be the best game ever made... I, for one, was never a platform gamer myself, but remembering the extent to which I enjoyed Yoshi's Island 3, (as mentioned above) I can't help but to include this title as well... it looks wonderful; great colors, good graphics and its a Nintendo franchise... so of course theres a Nostalgia factor as well..
Contra: The Alien Wars EX... Ok.. ok, this is a bit of a stretch, but i can't, in good conscience, mention Metroid, but not Contra. This is another platformer from my past, I'm pretty sure i have an old Contra title laying round somewhere, and it is one of those games.. just one of those games that people liked a long time ago, and is impossibly hard, but great to just keep ramming your head against...
Game & Watch Gallery 4!! This game is a must have for me, because anyone who knows me, knows my obsession with pointless games in which you just do the same thing again and again to beat ur high score. This is really great stuff folks.. like for those nights that you just have to be up all night.. or ... waiting for something... if you have nothing to do for like... 8 minutes or so.. and you dont wanna pop in the RPG.. or the Street fighter, cuz those games take a bit to get into and get things done.. you just pop in Game and Watch, and off you go... you can have 3 or 4 games done, and those 8 minutes? well you didn't even feel them. Whereas without this game, you could be sitting there for those 8 minutes, feeling each agonizing second tick by...
He-Man.. Speaking of nostalgia. game might suck.. may not... i might just play it to hear taht opening intro music... i can just hear it now ... (in midi form of course) da da da da da.. da da da da da da... da da da da da da ... da da....... and so on..
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon... Just mentioning this to keep my list going. cuz its true!.. it is...
Breath of Fire II.. I mentioned this before, but didn't link to it... so .. heres the link! :]

Anyways, thats enough for my end of 2002 / beginning of 2003 buying guide. it is now 9am. I will be starting my 10 page essay due today at 4pm right now. We will see where my writing takes me. :]

woot woot. ok whats up? good. Good mood reigns here because I'm making headway on my paper. should be done by today. woot woot. I'm 5 pages in with LOTS to say, and it has to be minimum 8 pages.. so WOOT WOOT. ok.. anyways... i cant celebrate yet... because if i finish this today, tonight/tommorow i have to start my next paper... that must be finished by thurs at 2pm... and i have to go over this one (im currently working on) again.... before i hadn it in wednesday night before 9:30. So i have pretty much ALL day wednesday to work on either paper, and then about half the day on thurs to work on my other paper. then, IF i get the one due on thurs in on time, thats a big IF, then things'll be rolling smoothly. one more paper due after the thursday paper... its a big one, but i have 4 FULL days to work on it.. thats FRIDAY alllll the way to TUESDAY AT 1PM. hmmm.. that should not create a large problem............... so .. lets finish this one and see where things go! woot woot!!

Ok.. starting a new essay today. we'll see how it goes. bah!

hmmm Since I slept 2 hours last night, after i came home from school, i just tutored for 1.5 hours and then crashed into bed. didnt eat dinner or anything. next thing i knew it was quarter to 1am. damn. my internal clock is screwed. ah well.. i wonder if i should go back to bed tonight... .. hmmm where'my pj's?

UHHH... damn... i didnt fall asleep till 5, and was woken up by a shaking room at 7... oh yah, and both my arms were numb.. completely (and freezing cold)... what the hell? what a night.. both my arms lose circulation, i sleep only 2 hours, and ..... and.... i checked ticketmaster.ca for disturbed tickets and THEY'RE SOLD OUT. they just went on sale on the 8th!! of course i didn't know about it, cuz i DONT LISTEN TO SHIT STATION XFM. damn... damn man.

you know... when i made that post about gay people searching for stuff on the internet to hit my site, it was funny. well people, its not funny anymore.

http://aolsearch.aol.com/dirsearch.adp?start=&from=topsearchbox.%2Fdirsearch.adp&query=guys+underwear+showing+at+school+when+they+dont+notice&x=27&y=14

look at the keywords in that query. goddamn. *shudder*

ok damn. i just wasted a lot of time on this article about Christina Aguilera.... maaan... i wouldnt want to meet her/know her. gives u some insights into the person behind the media snapshots... but whatever.

ok the madness is over - i finished my paper and did my presentation today .. two birds in one day.. thats great... only 3 papers left. cheer for me.

ok now i'm getting excited and i dont even have a gamecube.. nintendo is planning on making a "MegaTon" announcment sometime in december. There is lots of idle speculation of what this will be, but the big N claims it'll be earth shaking. Just to throw my two cents of theorizing in there, this is what I think it will be about:

And there you have it folks, a leaked poster from a few months back - could a massively multiplayer online pokemon rpg be in the works? Maybe. would it be earth shaking? you bet your ass. We'll see what nintendo has in store for us in the coming months - like i said, even I'm getting excited, and i dont even have a gamecube. on a sidenote Nintendo is releasing a "gameboy player" for the gamecube. This is an addon which u connect to the gamecube to play gameboy/gameboy color and gameboy advance games. What is cool about this thing, is that you do not need a gameboy advance to play gameboy advance games - you can play them through your gamecube, with your controllers. Since some gameboy advance games support up to 4 players, all you need are 4 controllers and you're good to go! Anyways, heres a pick of that accessory, as anyone who owns a gamecube would be interested in picking one of those up. Oh and one more interesting note, it is said to have a retail price of about $40 usd. which is cheaper than a gameboy advance.... so will this accessory make the success of Nintendo's popular handheld drop? or will it make the gamecube sell more? whos to say? only time will tell... in any case, gamecube is looking freaking cool right now.

ok... posting again. added a netstat thingy.... procrastination... just wrote some great lines in my essay. im happy with them. i have a feeling my teacher wont be though. shes a hard marker. anyways.. im on top of the 6th page, and i have 6 more to go; but plenty to write on. not worried yet..... yet........... yet..................

aaaaaaanyways, im 4 pages into my essay, and i must finish it before 12am tonight. I have to tutor sometime today also, and I helped someone out with their essay for 2 hours today already. *sigh* when will it end, when will this madness end!!!

mmmm went to bed at around 7am, and am waking up and getting back into the paper now.... I have about 2 pages of writing. so goal for today: write 10 more~!!

ok.. just finished a bit of a break... on page 105... i think i have something to write on now... looking good so far...

and i got an email back from my prof, the penalty for late is 20% per day, no exceptions. so this must be handed in on tuesday. ah well.

... 45 pages in. lots of notes - relevant stuff every 2 pages or so. but i dont know enough about my topic to see how relevant it is. hm. everyone's gone to bed, and my day's just starting. how strange.

ok people. status check number 1. this is going to be a looong night. Starting my 12 page research paper. got home at 10:30 from library with 8 books. all about feminism, none about The English Patient which is the book i'm writing about. ate dinner. I have a 3 page essay to edit for someone which must be done by tommorow at 4:30. my english paper must be done by 1:30 on tuesday, or i can skip most of the class and hand it in at the end of class.

checklist, beginning with the book itself. will go through all parts of The English Patient which contain signs of feminism to me. Will make notes, and mark pages with post-it notes. Will read "Whirling blindfolded in the house of Woman": article about feminism in Ondaatje's works which sucks and the inspiration for this paper because her article sucked and i will write a paper which will look like what her article should have looked like. Will make more notes, and start writing paper. Write as much as i can. Then delve into feminist books and look for parallels in feminist theory with the parts of The English Patient which resemble feminist statements. Make more notes. Try to almalgamate the paper on The English Patient and the 8 books of feminist theory. Sleep. thats it for now...

ready to go to bed. dead tired. see you later.

Hmmm. Reading Penny Arcade has caused me to stumble upon another internet person asking for money. Now this person is much more credible than Karyn from my previous post. Check out the site, and look at the pictures. Seems like a nice enough guy, too bad he lives in America and they don't have medicare there... Sometimes life sucks - heres an example of someone who really needs help, but not so much in the form of money (though I'm sure they're not refusing it) but moreso in the form of bone marrow. Here's the site:

Jason

Save Karyn..................................<---link

This makes me sick. This beggar needs to get a job. Beggars can get jobs; it is possible. Why don't they? They choose not to; and why not? who knows, go ask a damn beggar. This person is no better than a beggar - but she was a successful beggar. Since her site was so popular, and so many people donated to her, I'm sure someone else will do it. I bet there are hundreds of sites like this up right now!!! I mean - this is not just for any beggar, you need some simple internet know-how, you need some goddamn money to start with so you can pay for the bandwidth, and you need credit cards to accept payment......... What this girl is doing is just begging. Don't be fooled by her... I dont know how so many people were... GODDAMNIT YOU PEOPLE GAVE HER $20,000 us dollars!!? do you know how much money that is!?!?? Thats 31,517.91 CAD!!!! are people just out of their minds? or what?!?!? goddamn.... *sigh* well some people get all the breaks. i guess inside i'm envious and spiteful. I don't see why she could get this kind of outpouring of help from strangers, when someone like me, has to walk for 45 goddamn minutes in the goddamn rain, to get to my goddamn class, when people driving by could see my goddamn thumb out, coud see that it was raining, could see that it was only a 3 minute drive, could see that i had been walking from the bottom of the hill; yet would they help a stranger in need? no fucking way! so i get to class over an hour late, and this bitch walks to the bank with over 30,000 dollars?!! i've never seen that much money in my life. my best friend mike makes more money than I do at my job, and he works fulltime - more than fulltime, he's always got overtime, thats more than 40 hrs a week... i work 38hrs in 2 weeks... damnit!! i'll never see that much because i know my best friend mike doesnt make that much in a freakin' year!! and this bitch walks away with $30,000 for nothing?!? *sigh* what the world is coming to. and she has the audacity to say "but my credit is still bad" after her entire debt is payed off.... still trying to squeeze sympathy out of people... what the hell? People are too eager to help a pretty face in need - but too neglectful of those people who are TRULY needy .. even though they look like shit.. (shes not truly needy, she has a goddamn laptop for chrissake, i dont even have a laptop and i love computers). im sure there are tens of thousands of people that could split that $30,000 among themselves and it could have helped them boundlessly.

There are people with real problems out there, not credit card bills... damn shes asking help for things she's already baught... others ask for help for things they do not yet have. Who deserves the help more? someone who has nothing? or someone who has everything they want, but cannot afford it? I think i've made my point clear, but i cannot begin to express how much this disgusts me. I hope that girl one day finds out what it means to be truly needy, and there is no one there to help her.

Sometimes I have so many ideas for blogspot posts.. and I tell myself "I'll write it in when I get home", but I never do get home, and all those posts get lost in the jumble of my brain. Sorry blog readers... :(

I realized something yesterday about the communications department at SFU. It's all well and fine that we are learning about the exploitation of the world for the first world's advantage. It's great that we learn about how companies like Nike make around 400% profit on each shoe they sell. It's also great finding deals on brand names - say Gap pants for $6.50. So we know all about that... we know that 90% of the worlds wealth sits with 10% of the world's population, while 90% of the world's population splits up the remaining 10% of wealth. Great. It is very sad that we, as students and consumers, know about it, yet do nothing about it. Yes we know that big-box stores move into the outskirts of town (where land is cheap), and have prices that are lower than the small family-run business can buy at. Yet we still shop at places like Ikea, Wal-Mart and Superstore. We know so much, and yet can do nothing - why? Because we are part of the capitalist-consumer system. We live in this system of consumerism, if you do not buy things you are seen as strange. When September 11th happened, Dubyah said that the best way to help the country was to buy stuff. I'm sure there were millions of patriotic Americans who took his suggestion to heart and came home with new computers, T.V's, cars and appliances. Was it all necessary? Did promoting consumerism really "show the terrorists that our nation will not submit to acts of terror"??! Did getting that new Chevy Blazer really help one of the 2,000 victims of the WTC bombing? Hm.

What I'm getting at is, we know about the global issues surrounding us, we know about the media issues surrounding us - but while we live in it there is not much we can really do. Ok, ok, there is a lot we can do. There is that guy named Michael Moore, lashing out against America, and writing books. There are activists all the time demonstrating against the powers that be, in rallies like the one in Seattle. But really - is there much we can seriously do? I do not think so. My point is - that Communications class is kind of like Religion. You can attend it, learn about it, believe in it, and preach it, but when it comes down to it - if you don't do anything about it, its meaningless. So should we all give up Communications like most of us have given up Religion? Should we take action? Of course we should - but in what form? I don't know - will I ever take action? Probably not - all you have to do is look at my church record to determine that. We'll see. Yes... we'll see.

Ok.. surfing Penny Arcade, and I come across one thing, which leads me to another... First things first... There is a website out there run by GIRL GAMERS.. how cool is that? and there is an article in the website about a game called "rez", you may have heard about it - but what you havent heard about is the nasty side of the game. yes this game has a dirty secret. It doubles as a vibrator! Not only the rumble in the PS2 gamepad, but also an external rumbler.... read this article for all the details!!! Some of the comments are RETARDED, i've read them all and commented myself... some guys are just totally brain-dead stupid. On the other hand, there are some pretty good comments... While going through the comments I came across a pic of a game in japan right now... ahha check out this pic:

hahahahahaha is that some funny shit or what!!? so before you get all riled up about the Rez Vibrator, check that shit out!! hahaha

Japanese people are WEIRD!! in japan you can get female underwear in vending machines, and used ones cost more!!! Japanese people seem really sexual.. hmm maybe its just my imagination... maybe its not!! Oh well.. one day i'll go on a trip there and see what there is to see.. i wonder how cultures as groups all grow up with the same chracteristics... its weird too, because japanese people are some of the most modest.. its a really really really big deal to let people see your underwear, though they do it all the time, but each time they do, they act like its the biggest thing.. its so weird.. hmmm i should do an in-depth study on japanese culture.. how can they be totally embarrased about showing their underwear in public, but not embarrased about being seen playing a game like this in public? it's beyond me... im out for the nigh!

ok i'll re-post a post i did earlier, in shortened form.

I was reading penny-arcade and I came across some information on a game that will cost anyone who owns an xbox, the price of the xbox. ahhaha. it is like, $300!! haha.. its called Steel Battalion, by Capcom. Why does it cost so much you might ask? Well because of its controller of course.. [duh]... anyways..here's a pic of it... haha

Crazy huh!!? If you look to the right side of it, you will notice a box with caution stripes around it. Since Steel Battalion is a Mech game, you are a character riding in a mech, and if that mech is destroyed, you have to press "eject", so flip the plastic encasing up, and hit the button. if you don't you die, and lose all your former save files!! woah! talk about consequenses!! anyways, this game looks cool. but i could never afford it, nor fit it anywhere... what the hell, it should come with its own table/chair at this price... where would you put the top part? on your lap or something? hah... i dunno.. anyways.. that was the post from before... bah!

what the hell... my post is gone, and its not published.

hey... in a pretty good mood tonight even though im dead tired... read for 4.5 hrs last night, and slept for 4 hrs.. hahaha.... good book though, worth the read... it was about the entire lineage of a chinese family who lived in vancouver's chinatown. it spans from 18-something to 1950 or so.......... actually all the way to 1986... it was really interesting seeing how the insides of a chinese family worked... all the stuff about keeping the family name and getting whores for ur son because his wife is barren.. but its actually the son who is barren... hahaha.. stupid guy. aaaaaaaaanyways.. now i have to read anthony and cleopatra.. which should be alright.... hmmm i also got my gameboy advance today.. its orange! :) whee i love orange things! :) hmmmm i also gottt..... i dunno i forget now... oh yah.. i finished "soultaker' .. i downloaded all the episodes.. all 13 of them! they should be good... when i have time... nothing much new to report... same ol... getting stressed out with school, so i might not post here for the next 4-5 weeks... who knows.. we'll see how things go.. whee

ok.. so halloween has come and gone. i didnt do much.... but i did have a pretty funny experience handing out candy. this kid came to the door and was dressed up as a wizard... and he was like "trick or treat" and i was like, "hey kid, are you dressed up as harry potter?" .. and he was like "no, just a wizard" and i was like.. woah..cool... "good for you kid! stick up for your own identity", do NOT give into consumerism, do not go with the mass media, be your own person, do your own thing, dont fall into the rank and file of every other damn kid in a wizard suit out there. stick up for yourself and dont give into the mass market! (i only said the part in quotations, for his parents were in my driveway watching me closely.) i was thinking, i could have had a great time that night giving out candy with anti-consumerism manifestos at the same time.. dont give into capitalism, be a comsumer whore and become part of the system! step outside of the box! Do your own thing! haha.. i wonder what parents in the driveway would've thought about that. ... next time i see a "star wars" character at my door, they'll say "trick or treat" and i'll say, "here you go, you filthy consumer whores". with a biiiiiig smile on my face. because, as we all know, halloween is just a made up thing, encouraged by the capitalist pigs who run the economy of north america, so people can spend billions of dollars on costumes, candy and fireworks. in most other countries it is a time to respect the dead, in our dumbass american skin-deep society, it is a time to prance around looking like idiots collecting candies from people who are all part of the grand system to make people consume and spend money. scary shit eh?

Just to re-iterate my post from earlier about Christina Agulera being a porno star... I came across a video of her dancing topless. Maaaaan. Is it a pre-requisite for a musical artist to be a stripper first? Or what? Maaaan. I like the music I like, cuz I don't have to look at them naked. What they look like does not matter. Since when did music become a modeling industry? like... what the hell?!!!

"i look at all the lonely people.... i look at all the lonely people..... elenore rigbey... died in a church and was buried along with her name, nobody came, father mackenzie wiping the dirt from his hand as he walks from the grave.... nobody was saved... all the lonely people where do they all come from? all the lonely people, where do they all belong?"