OCR Text |
Show A&EDiversions Page 6 Friday, Feb. 26, 2010 Cover your larynx to escape the cold I have a lime green scarf with multicolored neon tufts of fluff that make it look underhandedly soft, when in fact, it feels like an abrasive carpet. (I wear it for the looks, not necessarily because I like the feeling of a rug flopping around my neck.) I used to be a fanatic about scarves, especially during the first winter I lived in Logan, because I am a crazy-sock person. Are you confused? Let me explain the correlation. Since no one can see my crazy socks underneath layers upon layers of winter clothing, crazy scarves are the next best medium to show off my chromatic colors. But alas, one day I simply became lazy and decided it was OK to freeze my neck if I did not feel like taking the excruciating effort to find and wrap a scarf around my larynx. I am not immune to the symptoms of senioritis. Sometimes being scarfless is all a person can be motivated to be. A friend nicknamed Sir Chival would reckon to differ. He stated, "I don't understand why people don't wear scarves." Background Info: Sir Chival has a strong Dutch connection. He lived 14 years in Europe. He was raised on the scarf. "The greatest thing about scarves," he explained, "is that they are incredibly warm. If you wear one, it enables you to get away with wearing shorts and a T-shirt in the dead of winter." Well ... I am not entirely sure that moi, unTexan, can quite handle that extreme, but, I have indeed decided it is about time to resurrect and up my scarf usage. And wow. I have been blown away by the extra protection a scarf provides from the biting cold. In fact, I have developed a strangely urgent desire to take a plethora of scarves and wrap my face and elbows and hips and Achilles heels with them. I mean, c'mon, if I was a mummy made of scarves, I would totally experience that awesome feeling of not-getting-out-of-bedbecause-it-is-way-too-comfortable-underneathmy-warm-blankets-and-sheets-to-even-consider-peeking-my-head-out-into-that-cold-heartless-world, all day long. Niiice. Believe me, scarves can give wearers an equivalently cozy feeling, as long as a scarf is worn properly. Sir Chival informs me that the American way of tying a scarf is laughable. Americans tend to fold their scarf in half and wrap it multiple times around their neck and pull the ends through a loop. A gnarly knot. This is not acceptable, or appropriate. It is a disgusting misuse of a scarf. Though it is a quick fix to get a scarf around a neck, it is not the most 'Rain' story rich, dialogue heavy If you are a gamer who loves to sit back and listen to dialogue more than actually playing, then "Heavy Rain" is your type of video game. I had an idea of what the game was about before I bought it, but I had no idea that I would actually be getting half a video game and half an animation movie. 0,,,Q • • N Billy Harlow Let's go Gaming The storyline is just not your typical "single-track narrative." It is done in sort of a "branching narrative." This means you are free to take the storyline in any direction you want. If you want to act mean and nasty, by all accounts, the developers made it possible. The same goes for if you want to act like an angel, Quantic Dream, the studio you have the choice to do so. that created the game, is known "Heavy Rain" This became frustrating for me for its storytelling ability and not because at many times in the its gameplaying ability. It defistory, I found myself wanting to nitely stayed true to its reputation in the crebe both good and evil but only allowed to be ation of "Heavy Rain," with a great storyline one. and an innovative gameplaying style that is The graphics are stunning up close, like somewhat lacking at times, to say the least. newborn baby Jesus, but lack some quality I will warn you, when you begin to play the when it comes to surroundings in the gamegame, you must, and I mean MUST, be pre- play environment, just like baby Jesus' manger. pared to sit through long, slow dialogue for The movements of your characters sometimes the first few hours of gameplay. This may lead look unnatural and give them a zombie-walk to you getting the urge to go out and hit a look. The characters' dialogue sometimes run small child, most likely a ginger-haired one. on and on, and it has a lot of meaningless If you make it through that, then you have character transportation that leads you to wish a pretty decent game on your hands. "Heavy the creators made it more like a "Grand Theft Rain" is a story of a serial killer, nicknamed the "Origami Killer" for the origami creations he leaves on his victims' bodies. The Origami Killer kidnaps younger boys when there is a forecast of heavy rain (hence the name of the game) and locks them in runoff drains to drown slowly as the water rises. In the game, you play four characters who are trying to figure out the identity of the killer. You periodically switch among the characters, depending where you are in the story. They each have an important role in the unveiling of the killer. The storyline takes you on a bunch of twists and turns that will most likely leave you surprised at the end. The storyline feels like a mix between the movies "Seven" and the "Saw" series. Quantic Dream takes the Playstation3 six-axis controller in a new direction that I have never experienced before. While moving your character around, at many points you are asked to move the joystick in a certain choreographed direction or fling the controller around in a specific direction - like a Wii controller. Also, with all the dialogue going on, you get multiple button prompts that pop up on the screen that controls the direction your character takes the dialogue. Auto" series with a fastforward button so you don't waste your time. There are also some really out-of-the-ordinary nude scenes that I felt were unnecessary - unless you are into that sort of thing. There are a lot of negatives to the game but there are also positives. The creators did a great job of making it so you can interact with a lot of the environment, giving you a little feeling of freedom and choice. The best part about the game was the great storyline that you get sucked into because of the depth of the dialogue and of the characters. The game is rated M due to blood, intense violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language and drug use. Like I said earlier, if you are a gamer who loves a great story, than this is most likely a good fit for you. But I took only about 12 hours to beat the game, so I wouldn't recommend buying it but rather just go out and rent it for cheap. Positive: Great graphics, great storyline and innovative new controller gameplay. Negative: Too much dialogue, zombie-like movements and frustrating camera angles. Rating: 7 out of 10. - billy.harlow@aggiemaiLusu.edu ilrefaftg warm way. The Proper Way to Wear a Scarf: Do not fold your scarf. Have one side of the scarf drape significantly longer than the other side. Take the longer side and wrap it once or twice around your neck. Proceed to tuck the remaining scarf ends into your hoodie or jacket. Tada. Now you are set to be toasty. My friend, nicknamed Mursk, is a pro at properly wearing a scarf. She stated, "I am addicted to scarves." Background Info: Mursk served an LDS mission in the Baltic area of Europe. Before her mission, she was as hopelessly indifferent to scarves as I was. On her mission, she learned that the act of not wearing a scarf was culturally offensive to the predominant baboushka population. After her mission, she knew there was no going back to a naked neck. "Even if it is warm outside, Latvians will still wear scarves, for the sole reason that it is the season to wear scarves," Mursk said. Everyone wears scarves in Europe. No ifs, ands or buts. Mursk explains this fact further, in great detail. You have your fancy, lacy scarves for the business ladies. You have your red, flowery scarfs to cover the heads of the baboushka. You even have black-and-white checkered scarves, called hooli scarves, for the local punks or "hooli"gans. The young people of Europe wear their square scarfs like bandits. They have the ability to pull up their scarves to cover their mouths when it is frigid, and to pull down their scarves when they have important things to say. Thus, the scarf is useful as well as hip. Scarves can also be worn as shawls or belts. The ultimate question is: Will you wear a scarf, dear reader? "Hopefully people will read your article and wise up and wear scarves," Sir Chival spoke smartly. I am a convert. I am a believer. Try it for yourself. You do not have to travel to Europe to adopt this European trait. Melissa Condie is a senior majoring in music education. Questions or comments can be sent to her at m.condie@aggiemail.usu.edu . Street Speak If you could make any new tradition at USU, what would it be? "Kill a cougar day" -Jordan Rupp, sophomore, economics and finance "Have a tomatothrowing festival in the quad, jult like they do in Spain. Or, have a Guatamala day." -Josue Carias, senior, nance and economics "Make January `White History Month.'" "They need to start singing the Scotsman at graduation again." - Nathan Allen, sophomore, math - Whitney Putnam, graduate student, 2nd language teaching Homes: No experience required continued from page 5 with the projects," Nash said. "The more hands we have, the more help we can give." Habitat for Humanity is also doing its part in helping with the earthquake relief in Haiti. Through a four-phase program, the organization has helped survivors of the tragedy by giving emergency kits, providing short-term shelter and helping in the clean-up efforts. The organization will rebuild shelters and homes after the clean up is finished. USU's local chapter has also done its part. In January, just a few days after the earthquake, a fundraising concert was held to raise money. Musicians, including Cub World and Stay for the Summer, came together for the concert and helped to raise hundreds of dollars. All of the proceeds went to the relief effort in Haiti. Nash said volunteers who wish to participate don't need any experience in construction to help. "Those who don't know anything about building are more than welcome to come and learn." Most of the work the students participate in isn't very technical and mostly includes clean up and assistance to those building their homes. "The thing that is really cool about what we are doing is that the homes we are helping to build are also being built by that who are actually going to live in the homes." Nash said. This is being done through a program called the Cache Valley Nonprofit Homes organization. Through the program, people are able to build their homes at a discounted price, with help from professional builders. For those students interested in joining Habitat for Humanity, send an e-mail to usuhabitat@ gmail.com. A build will take place Saturday, Feb. 27. Students will meet in the stadium parking lot at 8 a.m. For more information on the Habitat for Humanity visit www.habitat.org. dr Great Summer Jobs • • . • . - jared.boyd.stewart@gmail.com Grand Opening in California for the largest family-owned pest control company in the US. 100% commissions up-front. Gas & cell phones paid. March 1st-6th Door Prizes: Jewelry, Gift Cards, Dinners. $700 Value d Prize! & Daily Winners! Check out www.clarksummerjobs.com FOR THE 930 N. Main Logan 435-753-9755 cirrww_jerrklisfirkejewelry_com UTAH CONSERVATION CORPS! www.usu.eduiucc UtahStateUniversity or call now 877-899-1205 411111111111•1110 40 01•111111111. ■ : CLARK :• ...PEST CONTROL Nor |