After these messages

Advertising is something that was part of the History of mankind since the creation of commerce. And oh boy it's getting something huge nowadays. The world is now full of ads everywhere you look: movies, games, books, food, webs, work… And that is something that (of course) is affecting society in a bad way. 

Let me be clear: I do realize we are living in a capitalist world and that we all humans live in order to satisfy our consumerism and all that communist stuff, but we have a huge problem with that thanks to commercials and adverts.

Allow me (as always) to put an example: sometimes you feel hungry when you are watching TV, right? And then you listen to your inner thoughts and you think “I should buy some of that food that was announced before”. You know, that lovely ad with the catchy tune, the fancy slogan and the gorgeous woman that was eating… chocolate. And there you go: you just fell in the net of the expert in advertising, who also knows that you are going to believe that if you get that sweet piece of chocolate you will also be able to get that sweet piece of… quality.

We buy the things that TV want us to buy. We are just mere test dummies for the big brands: they made us to get new products and things we don't really need at all just because they put a piece of junk with flashy lights and people having the time of their lives just by turning on a vacuum cleaner.

Do I agree with commercials being part of our culture? Yes, of course. Do I have any idea about how to put an end to this? Yes, but I don't think the world is ready for a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Maybe in a few years...

In space, nobody can hear you contaminate (Space Debris Outline)

I. We usually believe that the junk we throw away disappears like some kind of magical phenomenon, but this is wrong. And worst of all, when we believe that our planet is being contaminated so much that we need to deposit our trash outside of it, then you realize that the minor problem is becoming a serious issue.

II. Space debris: what is it?
 A. When it was starting to originate.
B. What is made of.

III. Why it is dangerous?
A. The debris can damage modern equipment such as satellites or spaceships.
B. It pollutes the atmosphere.
C. It can be dangerous if the junk goes off the Earth's orbit.

IV.  What can we do to solve this matter?
A. Reduce our trash emissions.
B. Try to find alternative ways to deal with the waste.

V. To sum everything up, space debris can be a huge issue due to the mentioned problems and affairs, and maybe the solutions can be a little bit idealistic, but we (at least in this century) have only one planet where we can live, so is our duty as residents of this world to make it free of danger and contamination.

Videogames: the "gaming" part now is optional (Outline)

I. Videogames used to be a way of entertainment, but nowadays they are just another way of making money.

II. They are sold in pieces
 A. Pre-ordering games
1.Exclusive content
2. Cutout content
3. Season Pass

III. Games are broken
A. Lots of issues at launch
1. Bugs
2. Glitches
3. Bad optimization for all platforms

IV. Buying at full-price is not worth it at all
A. Games are getting more and more expensive (in consoles)
B. Most of the games are "sequel-bait": they made them just for the sake of selling more of the same stuff

V. As a quick summary, the videogame industry is getting worse and worse, trying to find ways of making quick money without even caring about the customers at all.
 

Racism: something worth talking about it

Humanity. Again. I think I need to talk about something else, but whatever. And this time the topic is racism in the world, so I believe this is going to be interesting.

Racism is one of those global issues that some people believe that it's "not that important to talk about" or that it's "something not as important as, for example, global warming". And well, the latest one is right, but again, it's worth talking about it. You see, the world is full of different types of humans: white ones, black ones, asiatic, european... and this cultural diversity makes one huge issue within the world population: which one of those types is the "superior one". This problem has led humanity into some really nasty moments through History: street violence, revolutions, a sense of alienation in the population just for his skin tone or language... The list goes on and on. This problem creates a sense of "supremacy" in the powerful countries against those cultures and places marked as "the inferior ones" or "the savage ones", thus making the process of living in a place that it's not your place of birth a lot harder.

One of the solutions that I believe (and also one of my colleagues, so I suppose it's right) could be that we should make people aware of this issue from a very young age. Society has told us to mock about people who live in other places, so why not make society teach young people how to tolerate them? Besides, let's focus in the most important point of this topic: why we discriminate people to begin with it? It's just pointless! WE are humans: we go work, we feel emotions, we think... We are an entity that should get along with everyone instead of fighting like stupid animals in order to show the world which part of the human race is the most retarded.

Racism is pointless: the real human potential lies in cooperation, but not as one race, but as a whole species. If we could just leave far away this stupid idea and just improve ourselves, we could make anything that we want.   

Man on the Edge: alternative ending

The wind was growing stronger every second he was there. Gazing upon the street, the man thought that all the crowd cheering at him were just a bunch of bored people that wanted to see someone turn into a human splat on the sidewalk. Sadly, he was right. He knew that those pigs in uniform didn't care about his life at all: they just cared about ending this stupid day and go home to watch some TV. "What a bunch of disgusting bastards are in this world" he thought. And there he was, thinking about doing it. It wasn't that hard, actually: just a little step forward and everything would end quickly. Just one step forward...

Not that far away, Gary was watching the news. Some poor idiot wanted to kill himself by jumping from a 90 stories building. "What a bunch of disgusting bastards are in this world", Gary thought. He had three kids, four jobs to keep them all alive and a wife so drunk and wasted that she invented a whole new language that she spoke with belches. But Gary wasn't jumping from a skyscraper like that pathetic guy, no: he was working like no one else. But no one cheered him for his hard work, no one ever said "thanks Gary you are a valuable member of this society!" or filmed him on TV. But there he was: one guy wants to draw some attention by jumping from a tall place and everybody goes crazy about it. It was unbelievable for Gary.

By making one step backward, he decided not to jump. Yes, he lost everything he cared about, but what was the point of killing himself? She was dead, but dying wasn't the answer for this situation. This was over. He gazed again upon the street and whispered: "I'm not going to make those bastards happy today. It's over". 

Gary couldn't believe what he was watching: the man wasn't going to jump! Was he for real?! After all that stupid play, he was so scared of death that he couldn't make one single step forward?! Gary was at the edge of his seat: all of this for nothing! He was really mad. He gaze upon his wife and kids: they were all sleeping. He was smiling with his crazy eyes full opened. Why they were resting so pleasantly?! They didn't deserve that pleasure! He went into his his room, grabbed his shotgun and loaded it with five bullets. No more, no less. The last thing that he whispered before cocking his gun was: "I'm not going to make those bastards happy today. It's over".

Manga: another way to read and think

When I was young, I was an avid reader. I read every single thing that had letters on it. But when I wanted to read a book, I was a little bit more selective: I was just interested in ancient books like The Odissey or The Divine Comedy, mostly because the huge amount of mythological content those titles had. But when I grew up, I was starting to getting bored of the way they told those kind of stories. But then, I discovered something that was a more interesting way of reading: manga.

You see, not everything in Japan is weird stuff, tentacles and weird humor: they also deal with moral concepts and ways of thinking inside their plots and characters. For example, right now I'm reading two mangas: Berserk, who deals with things such as the thin line between good and bad actions and that you need to fight for the things you want because people who wants everything without doing anything are going to be left behind (and everything is told in a medieval fantasy world, so that's a plus for me); and Shingeki No Kyojin, a tale set in a world ruled by titans and the only place that humanity can survive is surrounded by giant walls. This one is also quite interesting, dealing with the concept of the fragility of humanity against things that they cannot comprehend and the censorship imposed by the people who rule above everyone. 

The thing with manga is that you can find whatever you are looking for: love histories, fantasy, epic tales, horror,... And everything is ilustrated, so if you are really lazy (like me) and you don't want to imagine something just by reading text, this is the world for you.

Sex Pistols vs Rostropovich: Contrast

The British rock band Sex Pistols and the famous cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich are really different ways of listening to music. Sex Pistols was a punk rock band born in England in the late 70s. They were famous for making a huge impact in British culture with his music style and their aggressive concerts. One of the most noticeable members was Sid Vicious, the bass player. He had a short life full of drugs and alcohol, thus dying at the age of 22. However, Rostropovich is a little bit more relaxed with his music predilection. He was a Russian cello player who was left the Soviet Union in 1974 and he is considered one the greatest cello players alive. He is also recognized as loyal advocate of human rights, and he was awarded with the Award of the International League of Human Rights. As you can tell, the punk band and the Russian cellist are very contrasting ways of the music in the 20th century.