A Funny Moment By Isaac Ostrow Comedy isn't pretty. “I don’t get no respect, no respect at all, I tell ya.” ~Rodney Dangerfield Humor’s power in interactions is incalculable. It was humor that taught me the importance of friendship. When my friendships were tentative, when all of my friends were tense, I knew that humor would always liberate the lubricating oils of friendship. This was never more clear to me than when at a LAN party with three of my closest friends. We were unsure of what we were doing next, and CS:GO 2v2s had been growing old. Luckily, humor was there to free up the flow of the night. I had tossed a flash bang at Rowan, for no other purpose than to enrage him. Our poor host threw up his hands, threw out his headset, and bellowed: “One more god dammed flash bang, and I’m leaving!” We appeased him and gently lulled him into silence, which was induced by the false sense of security. Brad and I wore down Cam and Rowan, and the next round dawned. Seizing the opportunity, I bought a flashbang. I called a time out and pulled up the song “Handclap”, by Fitz and the Tantrums on my phone. You see, Rowan has a habit, in extreme rage, of clapping his hands. The song’s chorus, which I skipped to, says: “I can make your hands clap”. The round started with one last fleeting lie, that I had sworn off stun grenades. Little did Rowan... Read more →

Despite its early release, Bluehole’s Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds has been an amazing experience to behold. What sets this game apart from others is the fact that it is a battle royal style game. There aren’t many games of the like on the market right now, except DayZ or H1Z1, which have been popular in the past, but have been declining due to lack of content and lack of players. Battlegrounds captures the essence of those games, such as the amount of confusion you feel when you are getting shot at form three different angles, or when you are the last one alive, the pride and excitement you feel. All of this has succeeded in pulling me into the game and spending hours on end playing solos or jamming it out with a couple of friends. Despite its early release, Bluehole’s Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds has been an amazing experience to behold. What sets this game apart from others is the fact that it is a battle royal style game. There aren’t many games of the like on the market right now, except DayZ or H1Z1, which have been popular in the past, but have been declining due to lack of content and lack of players. Battlegrounds captures the essence of those games, such as the amount of confusion you feel when you are getting shot at form three different angles, or when you are the last one alive, the pride and excitement you feel. All of this has succeeded in pulling me into... Read more →

“Every age has its storytelling form, and video gaming is a huge part of our culture. You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality. People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theatre.”~Andy Serkis Today, gamers are seen as brain dead humans who are enslaved by their passion. Most people to don’t care to look deeper into how these games actually effect us. They say it induces violence, kills brain cells, is addicting, and ruins our lives. Although all we get from video games is joy. Gamers are mostly look down upon as lonely nerds who are throwing their life away. Yet, gamers are almost never like that. And the negative label on gaming is unnecessary and untrue. The countless rolling-on-the-floor laughing moments are a more important part of gaming than any killing, and those moments happen seamlessly from miles apart or sharing a table. It is our hope that tomorrow, gamers are viewed as mainstream, a common passion that is embraced by all. Our little group is already there. Enabled by our parents and their bank accounts, a little niche of our school community has been carved out by the gamers. Regardless of platform, we have intellectual discussions and laugh until our sides hurt. Outside of school, we will bring our PCs and laptops and monitors to each other’s houses and game the nights away. Our band of brothers would seem way out... Read more →