Laboratory of Mathematics and Writing

Take Me Back We all get nostalgic from time to time. Although, I think my age cohort, the millenials, seem to be afflicted with it the most. Maybe it's just me. Or perhaps it is just simply documented more than any other generation. At any rate, it's time for me to take a trip down nostalgia lane. It's been awhile. Lately I've been listening to songs that would often play on the radio or appear on The Box (that's the poor man's MTV) when I was a kid. Every time I listen to them, it sparks memories and emotions that simply take me back to my childhood. There's alot. I'll try to cover as much as I can remember and without being overbearing. Pras with ODB &amp Mya - Ghetto Superstar This song is one of those one hit wonders and an excellent one. This takes me to the old house garage where I was hanging out with an old friend of mine. This song happened to be playing on the radio at that mom...

Mass Effect I actually recall when this series of games came out in the late 2000s and early 2010s. I was oddly hyped for them even though I had no intentions of playing them. I must have been hyped on behalf of gamers somehow. Perhaps I read it in a magazine or watched a commercial and fell for the marketing. What I garnered was that Mass Effect is supposed to be a more action oriented version of Knights of the Old Republic. Now, I did play the first KOTOR back in the day. While I did have quite a bit of fun, I was disappointed that the real time combat didn't exactly feel like real time combat. I was confused exactly how it functioned and how turns where determined. Luckily, it's not important to understand how each turn is determined. You could easily just select your actions and hack away at enemies. Real Time Combat I've digressed. The action in Mass Effect is indeed action oriented. There are no turns and there are no lightsab...

Max Payne 3 I played the first two Max Payne games on the originial Xbox when I was a teenager. I absolutely adored them. I also finally played Max Payne 3 all these years later. This game, too, was a lot of fun. I can't quite remember how the second one ended, but I'm pretty sure that Max came to terms with the loss of his wife and child by the end and was ready to move one. So, when the third chapter begins with him still unable to let go, it's somewhat jarring. At any rate, the shooting action is about as good as ever, even if the story is less interesting than the first two. Dwelling on the Past The story for the third installment begins with an alcoholic and depressed Max that still refuses to let go of his past tragedies. He carries his scars on his body, his personality, his character, and his very soul. Amidst his drunken depression, he takes on a job protecting rich people in the city of Sao Paulo, Br...

Omikron: The Nomad Soul I remember trying Shenmue over a decade ago. I believe I was in grad school or just before entering. I can't quite remember. Now, Shenmue is often touted as one of the Dreamcast greats and incredibly ahead of its time. Perhaps I played it too late because after playing through only the first disc, I failed to appreciate it and stopped playing it. I still have a copy and perhaps I will make another attempt in the future. It's really just a murder mystery with barely any action in it. The setting is generic. The plot is generic. None of it captured my attention for very long. Again, I'll give it another go in the future. After all, Dreamcast is my second favorite console. Comparison I mentioned Shenmue because it is the first thing that popped into my mind while playing Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Just like Shenmue, Omikron is also a murder mystery with some action in it. What sets it apart, howeve...

Early Y2K Music Lenny Kravitz in 1995. He could pass for an agent in the Matrix The first half of the 1990s, and then some, was dominated by two major musical movements: grunge and gangsta rap. Both genres stayed popular and relevant well into the early Y2K era and even beyond. Gangsta rap carried its influence deep into the 2000s with artists like 50 Cent, while grunge eventually evolved into post-grunge. Both were immensely popular, but each scene faced major setbacks through a series of tragic events. As their initial waves began to fade, new musical movements started to emerge: dance music, boy bands, R 'n' B, girl pop, pop punk, and, my personal favorite, nu metal. Tragedy in Grunge First, Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. This alone dealt a huge blow to the grunge scene, but there were other troubles as well. Layne Staley of Alice in Chains strug...

Super Nintendo Masterpiece I played this game after I played Terranigma; by several years, in fact. I first played Terranigma in the early 2010s and was instantly enamored by it. After many years, I played Chrono Trigger and was also instantly enamored. The reason why I hesitated for so long to play Chrono Trigger is because it's turn-based. I never liked turn-based combat and still don't. I will discuss this game's combat later. The Highest Praise Throughout high school and throughout college, everyone on the internet and in real-life heaped the absolute highest possible praise upon Chrono Trigger. It almost always appeared at the top of best-of lists. Some of my acquantances even opined that it was the greatest game of all time. I still didn't budge. It wasn't until I encountered a loose cartridge at a local retro game store for ninety dollars that I bought it and played it. I guess all the hype throughou...