My Final Post

Man, this year seemed to fly by at a speed that Barry Allen would be jealous of. I have had one of the most fulfilling years of my high school career this year by a wide margin. I took the most challenging selection of courses I have ever had at this school and managed to get pretty damn good grades in just about all of them (lets not talk about calculus). I survived the college application and acceptance process with only mild cases of complete mental breakdowns and crippling anxiety and got into one of my top choices for schools. I plan on going on to study electrical engineering as well as studying audio engineering and studio recording. At this point in my life, I would say that my dream would be to move out to LA and open a music studio with some of my closest friends, but aside from that there are plenty of other more realistic options that sound appealing as well. I know that as long as I enjoy what I'm doing with my life I wont care if its lucrative or whether I could live more comfortably doing something else. The most important thing to me at this point in my life is enjoying everything around, trying new things and trying to reach new heights in the activities I love the most. I plan on really trying to improve my music abilities in the near future so that I can try my hand at professional musicianship as I have already been offered an opportunity to show what I can do. To be honest, I cant say that I am glad this year is over but at the same time the future seems so bright that I just can help but be drawn towards it and wonder if I really can do the things I have always wanted to do. I hope those of you reading this are filled with the same passion and drive to go out and live you dreams because now is the time and I cant wait to get started.

The Power of the Internet Hivemind

Seeing as last weeks post was so well received I have decided to once again do a write up on one of the many aspects of world wide web. Tonight I will once again be delving into the mystical world of the internet and how this lawless frontier decides what becomes popular and what does not. When talking about the internet, many people relish in their ability to share their opinions freely without having to worry much about others judging their decisions. However, many people also form their opinions based solely upon what they read or see is popular on the internet, wanting to seem up to speed and in with what everyone else deems is the social norm. In real life, this is called peer pressure and is relatively harmless compared to the grotesque form it takes on the internet which is usually referred to as the internet hive mind. The hive mind of the internet is more or less made up of the vocal majority on the internet who all share the same views on the world and believe them to be the only correct ways to experience life. This can pertain to anything from what musical group is the most trendy to what politician should become the next president. One thing each aspect has in common is that no matter how insignificant the opinion, those members of the hive mind will stop at nothing to berate you, tell you why what you believe in is wrong and tell you that what they believe in is correct. One of the most recent examples of this comes with the new announcement trailers for the latest Call of Duty and Battlefield video games. In the eyes of most on the internet, Call of Duty is regarded as a trash game run produced by a corrupt company who puts no effort in re skinning last years game and charging full price for the new modern shoot em up IN SPAAAACE. Battlefield on the other hand has a much better reputation due to the fact that each new battlefield feels like a new battlefield with epic large scale combat that Call of Duty simply cannot hold a candle to. When the trailers dropped for each new installment in the series, history was made as the Battlefield 1 trailer became the most liked trailer of any kind on YouTube while the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare trailer became the most disliked trailer of all time. many attribute it to the fact that Battlefield is breaking new ground and basing their game in WW1, something never done before by a AAA shooter title, while COD is once again creating a futuristic warfare game that will most likely be very similar in play style to the one before it, and the one before that and the one before that... Yet I also see the workings of the internet hivemind at work as even those people that I have talked to that have never played a game from either series have joined the dislike parade just so they can rejoice with the rest of the internet as they try their hardest to tell Activision how bad they're game series has become by flooding it with dislikes and hate speeches. I personally couldn't give a rats ass about Call of Duty, but I will definitely be buying the new battlefield if only to live out my dream of dive-bombing the french countryside while blasting Black Sabbath's War Pigs over my external speakers.

Mixin It Up

This week on my blog I decided to have my good friend Dan Sullivan from thealphabet123 blog come in and collaborate on a post with me. Today, we watched one of Dan's favorite videos on the internet, a highly educational video that outlines how family's viewed the internet and computers before they became a staple in every household. Through the use of clever editing and stark social commentary, the video aims to provide what any other educational video does, informed education on the subject matter. Dan and I tried to offer our most sincere criticisms of the video as well as any other insights we may have had about the internet and it's culture while we watched this video. So without further ado, I present one of hopefully many collabs with my friend Dan on this blog.

Bruins Beat: Lets Talk Playoffs

Hello again and welcome to another installment of my wonderful yet terrible medium which I utilize to exorcise the hockey related demons that take up way too much space in my head. We are returning after a two week break which saw the regular season end and the Bruins, once again, fall just short of making the playoffs after losing 8 of their last 11 games in the season. To put it in perspective, before the Bruins took their annual spring California road trip the team was sitting comfortably in first place in the Atlantic and held an 11 point lead over the third place Detroit Red Wings. They of course lost all three games on the road trip and crashed their way to the end of the season in a fashion that can only be compared to a multi car pileup on I-95. The Bruins choked for the second season in a row, and really that's all their is to it. What stings the most is the fact that Bruins went in on acquiring pieces for a playoff run and kept the soon to be free agent Loui Eriksson who will most likely not be returning unless he takes a heavy discount to stay in Boston.
Anyway, I am going to put that behind me for right now and focus instead on the current playoff picture in the NHL as we move into the second round of the gauntlet which decides who get to hoist the great silver chalice in mid June. The first round provided insane action with three of the four favored teams in the west being knocked out already, including the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Kings and Ducks were also put to bed which leaves the second round in the west comprised of the Stars facing the Blues and the Sharks facing the Predators. In the East, things went a little more to plan as three of the four favorites moved on to the second round which features the Islanders facing the Lightning and the Capitals facing the Penguins. In my opinion, the two teams most likely to face each other in the finals would have to be the Blues and the Capitals as both these teams are the deepest and have the most proven goal tending which is usually an extreme factor as the playoffs go later and later and the front line skaters begin to fatigue more and more. If I were to choose one of those two teams to win the cup I would have to go with the Blues as they have a more robust and grindy team which can easily chew up and spit out some of the Caps more finesse players. I may be showing a little bit of personal preference in that pick however as the current Blues team reminds me so much of the Bruins 2013 cup final team which should have resulted in the Bruins second cup in 3 years. which I will leave at that so as to not trigger my postseason PTSD.

Bruins Beat: Crunch Time

Hello all welcome back another edition of How Will This Team Ruin Your Life Today! I'm your host Adam "Literally Kevan Miller" Bergeron and I will be informing you guys today on how exactly this Team is going to make you wish you had never started watching this self deprecating mess of a team.
In all seriousness however I am back and here to talk you guys through this difficult time of the year when wildcard teams are doing everything short of murdering the other team in cold blood just to get a shot at that illustrious silver chalice that waits at the end of a grueling two months of playoff hockey. Just hours ago, the Bruins played one of many quality games that this team has shown they have the capacity of producing by beating the Red Wings 5-2. This game had extra importance tacked on due to the fact that the Red Wings were exactly 2 points up on the Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic yet both teams now find themselves tied with one game remaining. Unfortunately for the Bruins, the Red Wings own the tie breaker stat (Regulation + Overtime Win) which means that even if both teams win or lose their last game and remain tied, the Red Wings would take the playoff spot. This leaves the Bruins second option for getting in to the round of 16 this year which would be the wild card spot, which is unfortunately even more complicated than the final Atlantic playoff spot. The Bruins are currently 1 point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers after their loss to the Leafs in overtime tonight but unfortunately have not 1 but 2 games remaining in their season which would mean they have a possible 4 points to gain to Bostons 2 points, meaning if both teams won out the rest of their season, the Bruins would be eliminated for the second year in a row. This means that the Bruins basically must win their last game and hope that either Detroit loses in regulation, loses in OT, the Flyers lose their last two games or they win one game and lose the other in any fashion as the Bruins do hold the tie breaker over Philly. To keep it simple, the Bruins just have to win their game on Saturday and hope the rest works out for them or else their going to be on the wrong side of playoff picture again and I will be on the wrong side of a mental hospitals cushy walls as this team will have finally driven me over the edge.

Bruins Beat: Vessey's Decision

As today is Ivy Day, the day which all the ivy league colleges around America release their decisions for who will become a freshman at their school this upcoming fall, it seems almost natural to talk a little college hockey today. As fate would have it, I would also like to address a certain decision recently made by a Harvard hockey star and soon to be Bruins property Jimmy Vesey. Vesey Recently made a very controversial decision which works out great for the Bruins in the fact that they get to sign him right out of his senior year at Harvard where he is currently nominated for the Hobey Baker award for top NCAA hockey player in the nation. Funnily enough however, Vesey was never drafted by the Bruins like most other prospects are when they go back to finish school, he was drafted high in the first round 3 years ago by the Nashville Predators. Vesey decided not to join the team when he was drafted and committed to finishing his Harvard education which also took up all 3 years of his eligibility as Nashville's property. Usually when this happens, the player respects the fact that the club used a draft pick on him and would resign with the team, but instead Vesey has decided to not resign with the Preds and instead is in talks with the Bruins so as to sign in mid August when his rights expire. Many people in the hockey world are calling him out as disloyal and disrespectful to his parent club as he does not want to resign and failed to give proper notice so as they could try and trade his rights. Personally I don't agree as Vesey had an amazing opportunity to finish a 4 year tenure at Harvard and, allegedly, gave the Preds organization notice before the trade deadline that he would not be resigning. Honestly, I don't see why people believe Vesey should have a blind loyalty to the Preds just because they drafted him, it was their decision to draft him and if he wants to pursue a career somewhere else he should have the opportunity. Also, I personally am super excited to see this kid in the Black and Gold next year.

Bruins Beat: F*** The Refs

Due to a  recent string of questionable calls in the past couple Bruins losses I am unable to write a regular Bruins Beat without succumbing to fights of violent rage and incoherent babbling. Instead, I have decided to write a little poem in order to work on refining my understanding of our current English unit as well as take my mind off the fact that the Bruins are blowing up at the exact worst time for the second year in a row. Anyways, here it is:

Referees

Oh what a joy it must be to be a ref

Able to alter the game, even if blind or deaf,

With stripes like zebras you prance about

Ruining everything I care about, 

I do not even think you know the rules

Yet you continue to officiate like mules,

To compare you to an ass might be too good

And I would call you much worse thing if I could,

It is here that I must bid you all adieu

And to the refs, I can only say...

F***

You