Am I playing a video game or a movie?

It doesnt really need to be said that over the years as technology and computers have gotten much, much better.

But where I greatly benefit from all this is the world of video games, where the games and consoles have also seen dramatic improvements.

I’ve loved video games since I was younger, dating back to the original Mario Bros. on Nintendo (remember those?)

My brother and I have always advanced with the new gaming platforms, eagerly purchasing the first Sony Playstation system, then upgrading to the PS2. I even went out and bought an Xbox when they first came out. In those days, video games were… well, games. You would play a character, run around a level and complete a few missions and there was never very many cut scenes. The content of the games, the layout of the levels and even the weapons in the game were a little too unreal, but still loads of fun.

Enter the new generation of video game consoles.

Full 1080p high def, wireless internet connections, and blu ray disc readers top the long list of high tech features that add to the amazement of new age video game systems. The games for these systems go far beyond what was once accepted as a video game.

Games  like the Metal Gear Solid 4 and the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, showcase this technology flawlessly. My first time playing MGS4 I was in awe as I played through levels and watched the lengthy, well thought out video clips in between play – the videos not only look extremely impressive, but ad to the story line.

Playing through this game felt like I was part of an interactive, cinematic experience. The gameplay itself was epic, with a complete arsenal of weapons from around the world. But what was most impressive about MGS4 was using shadows and camouflage to blend into the environment and hide from the enemy, in an attempt to avoid violent battles.

Playing through the new MW2 is a bit different. Stealth is not commonly the objective, but between the intense gun fights, helicopter battles and an extensive online experience, the game goes well into a real life playing style. I have yet to play through the entire game, but

Only time will tell where the future of gaming will take us. My prediction is that sooner than later gamers will be off the couch and actually have physical involvement in the game. I have a feeling that in a few years, Christmas lists will be topped with the likes of a video game system that combines the powerful processors and high definition of the PS3 to the ultra interactivty with the Wii.

I guess we’ll find out. Until then, MGS4 and MW2 will keep me quite happy.

Sex and unprofessionalism

I think we may have crossed a line. Scratch that. We jumped right over it.

The Spectrum printed, on the front cover, a giant portrait of two people engaging in sexual activity (although the models were clothed). It is blatantly obvious that this picture’s purpose is to portray a message of sex.

I have been told this picture is distasteful, verging on pornographic, awesome, hilarious and a range of other things.

My thoughts? We might have gone a bit too far. I was shown a different, worse picture that was originally going to be used. We decided to change that picture, but after I left, the new one was chosen and I was unable to voice an opinion.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m talking about the sex issue that The Spectrum printed on Monday November 9. And I was directly involved in putting this whole issue together. I knew about every single article in the paper. At the very least, my co-editor and I helped in some way, come up with almost every article that appeared in the sex issue. I did not by any means write all of them, but I was present in many meetings brainstorming ideas, who to contact and what angle should be taken.

The photo in question has caused much debate and even led to coverage on a local news channel. But more on that later.

I will say, I am proud of what we came up with. I am proud that almost every editor on the staff helped out, had fun and wrote some entertaining and informal pieces. I personally believe the issue was a large success and excessive focus has been given to the cover art.

This was a special sex issue – on a college campus. In this issue, we were not aiming to win Pulitzer prizes, write for children or worry about upsetting a few readers. Sex is a large issue and we were anticipating some negative and positive feedback. After all, journalism is designed to get people talking, whether it’s good or bad.

Despite my mild disagreement with the choice of the picture on the front page, I have stood behind the paper I work for. I have stood behind our editor in chief, the entire editorial staff and every article written.

What really gets to me about this entire issue were the choices of one of our own editors.

He strongly disagreed with the use of the picture on the front page and asked to have his name removed from the masthead. As I said earlier, we were expecting negative feedback, but not from our own staff.

Instead of keeping his opinions and concerns within the editorial staff, he took the issue to our faculty adviser and then far worse, appeared on a local news stations discussing his distaste with the sex issue and the decision of the other editors to run the picture.

After seeing this, I was astounded that a fellow editor and coworker would go on camera bashing the newspaper in which we both work. I found his decision to be both unprofessional and unnecessary.

If he thought the paper had made a mistake in printing the picture, his comments would have been far more valuable in the newsroom in which he spends most of his time and not on the airwaves of Buffalo media. Furthermore, if he was at all worried about the reputation of the paper at which he works, the should have never gone on camera and brought more light to the situation, which had at that point received no formal complaints from anyone outside the newsroom.

He has every right to disagree with the picture on the front page, and as an editor, I would hope that he wouldn’t be afraid to voice his opinion – but not in the way he did.

It’s important to point out that he was out of town for the making of the sex issue and was unable to participate on production day, but the issue had been planned for months – plenty of time for him to voice any concerns, which never happened.

I think, what he has done is inexcusable and hopefully the fallout will not reach too far and affect the paper too poorly.

A fellow editor should be setting an example for the rest of the staff and supporting the paper he works for, even during tough times. Not that everyone needs to think alike, but going to an outside media source and discussing ones distaste for the paper is just flat out not needed.

The Spectrum may have gone a bit too far in printing such an enormous picture of people having sex. To that, I will agree. But this has been a learning experience for all of us – a staff comprised entirely of student journalists. I know I have learned some great lessons out of this.

I just hope we all have.

A different type of war story – What it’s like not to write about death and oil

I have recently accomplished something in my goal of becoming a better journalist – I have worked on a long and detailed feature, one with international roots and one of the more exciting stories I have worked on. It all started with a student returning from Iraq. The story has led me to several long distance phone calls, some to Washington, D.C. and even more to various military departments in Iraq.

Maybe this doesn’t seem too big a deal to the average person, but as a young, energetic and eager college newspaper reporter and editor, I was thrilled to take on this task and it has been my most exciting journalistic adventure so far. I’ve spent the past week e-mailing and calling high ranking military officials and I also worked on getting an interview with an Ambassador in Iraq – which didn’t end up happening, as I found a civilian that was involved with the reconstruction efforts and works for the Department of State (also a friend of Sgt. Irwin).

So, why would I be making so many calls to our nation’s capital and Iraq? Well, I think this story had surpassed my expectations by miles.

Originally, I was going to run a profile on a student, who had just come back from Iraq. I was mainly going to talk about his transition from soldier to student and his getting used to hauling around books instead of his M4 Carbine assault rifle. I knew ahead of time that he had done some civil affairs work over there, so I would ask him about it, but I was unsure of what exactly he had been doing.

After speaking with Sgt. Christopher Irwin of the U.S. Army Reserve for about an hour, and then double-checking my notes afterward, I knew this story could go further, much further than just a profile. He mentioned he had given away over $1 million in aid to Iraqi people – and that was just him. So how much is the entire U.S. Army spending on these efforts? I needed to know, and thought the public should as well.

For once, I thought, there could be something different written about Iraq, a story void of suicide bombers, dead American soldiers and oil. This story could shed some good light and perhaps a positive attitude toward the U.S. military service members.

Then again, some people might get pissed. I had a feeling that the total amount of taxpayer dollars spent in Iraq on these humanitarian efforts was well within the hundreds of millions, but my suspicions were quite low – the numbers came in and they turned out to be in the billions.

With the American economy in the dumps, unemployed families, starving college students and an aggressive health care debate, many people might see this figure of over $9 billion and think of spending it in better ways.

Furthermore, I fully understand the corruption and lies the government and military has been a part of in the past and I assume they still partake in such actions, using us media figures to spread their deceit. However, I am young, hungry for big stories and trying to make a name for myself, a key to my success, I thought, would be this story.

I also truly believe that a lot of good does come out of these efforts; for example, Sgt. Irwin seemed like a grade-A fellow, fresh from the desert and all grown up at the ripe age of 21. The army will be paying his tuition and living expenses and will undoubtedly call him back to action once things in Afghanistan get shakier. But, that is another matter, the things this man did, the aid he provided to the Iraqi people, I think, can truly shape a young mind and inspire many more. He said himself that he is now more mature and more patriotic. One could wonder that perhaps, seeing all the poverty, hardship and death within our world would indeed make a soldier much more grateful of our glorious American Dream.

And to support that American dream, the United States Army decided it would be a good idea to give the Iraqi people some good old American made water purification systems. This was when my faith in the military – the higher ups, not the ground soldiers (who just do what they’re told) – had begun to dwindle.

Small Iraqi villages are now getting over a thousand gallons of clean water per day – more than they have seen in a lifetime I’m sure – but what happens when this magical gadget runs out of filters (they are given 2-3 years worth, courtesy of Uncle Sam), or worse, the solar panel breaks?  I’ll tell you, plain and simple – they’re fucked.

Right now, the American military is providing money, reconstruction efforts, clean water, sewage, electricity and much more to these unfortunate and  poverty stricken people. It looks great from a diplomatic standpoint and may even clear the conscience of some high-ranking officials. But a few years down the road, when our Civil Affairs battalions go elsewhere (it would be wrong of me to say ‘when the military leaves,’ because let’s face it – we are never leaving Iraq so long as oil is buried in that wasteland), what happens to these villages, towns and cities?

They will be forgotten. The water systems will rust, break and become another useless piece of trash in an already garbage ridden landscape. And the U.S. military won’t give a damn less.

I don’t see this happening anytime soon, and maybe I’m just being ridiculous, but there are times when my faith in the government runs extremely low. But, what working on this story has done for me is re-boot my faith in people, just when I was starting to think this country was full of selfish, heartless bastards, along came an average guy like Sgt. Irwin, who joined the Army to fill a void of adventure and accomplishment.

Irwin and few others like him can go to Iraq and provide an astonishing amount of support to a nation – and its people in desperate need of a helping hand. Hopefully, more like Irwin will enlist, funding will continue and maybe, just maybe, in the near future, Iraq will find peace.