Jessica Gray's Philosophies, Rants, Information, and Etcetera

At one time, the term plague pretty much applied to a contagious physical illness that used to leave a terrified city with numerous bodies piling up in the streets.  The cause was often unknown and usually blamed on the supernatural or God's anger.  Modern scientists have often found the cause to be something apparently harmless, like a tick that lives on rats.  Hygiene and science have kept many epidemics in check, though some still threaten us. In the end, though, the biggest threat to humanity has always been ourselves.  We are truly our own worst enemy.  Our technology, often developed to make a better and brighter future, often winds up getting used to indulge the worst side of our natures as well. Humans being jerks to each other is hardly new.  The behavior has probably been around since the first Homo Sapien .  However, for many years, bullying had its limits.  Essentially, it was confined to a certain boundary--like high school or a town.  Maybe people did it be

One of the things I really like about Tombraider is that it has branched out into many creative avenues.  This is gratifying particularly because it is a defense against the arguments that video games promote aggression and destroy the imagination.  Of course, not all video games have branched out in the same way as Tombraider.   Perhaps Tombraider attracts creative people to begin with (and here people thought gamers were only interested in looking at Lara's boobs!).   Tombraider has fans that are into paper sculpting, costume making for cos-play, fan fiction, fan drawings, and making their own video game levels.  In addition, many fans are interested in the archaeology and myths behind Tombraider.   Of course, there are gamers that are into the violence and into Lara's boobies...but most things attract a low brow audience too. My favorite Tombraider game is Legend.   This was my first exposure to the world of Lara Croft, and it was also the

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1484871022/sr=8-1/qid=1380129817/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1380129817&seller=&sr=8-1 When I was in fourth grade, our teachers began assigning creative writing essays.  Usually they would hand out a paper with one unfinished sentence.  We were supposed to write a story by the topic the sentence introduced.  I remember one particular paper, "If I were a balloon...."  I had never written a story before then, but I suddenly felt very inspired.  I had just seen a French movie about a boy and his red balloon.  It was Halloween, and I wished I could go to a Madonna concert that was playing in my area at the time.  These influences made me easily compose a story about a red balloon dressing up as a ghost on Halloween, attending a Madonna concert, befriending a child, and going trick-or-treating. I always wondered how my teachers felt about my work.  Most of my classmates managed to write their entire story on the o

"The only thing we have to fear is fear it'self - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." FDR - First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 I once googled, "Why do I get angry for no apparent reason?"  This is a problem that frequently afflicts me.  I'll just be sitting there, doing my thing, and suddenly I will feel angry.  Nothing has happened to provoke it, or so it seems.   There is no great trauma in my life.  Often my thoughts have been focusing on a fantasy I was imagining.  Admittedly, my imagination often chooses to indulge unhappy scenarios:  unrequited love, people making fun of me, etc.  I may be a Jedi Knight, but I picture myself fighting with Padme Amidala.  In fact, I have grown to really loathe this character.  It isn't because of anything that George Lucas created the character to be...but what my own mind has used her for.  Every time I pick up a book, I hear Padm