Everything in life worth talking about

[hunterlicious]

What is in store for Hunter Weston (Hopefully)

I’m at a point in my life where I’m quite confused about what I want to do. I’m currently attending college at Rock Valley College right now and I’m in my third semester. I have two more semesters until I can get my Associate of Arts. I’ve switched my major three times already though I’m sure I’ll do it again before my college career is over. I know for a fact that I’ve wanted to be a comedian since seventh grade. The issue is deciding how to put money on the table while I perform. I have to decide on a career that I like in case comedy doesn’t work out in the long run. However, here is how I would like my future to unfold in the best case scenario. I hope to finish my next semester at rock valley college with somewhat good grades. At least “C’s is all that is needed. Over the spring semester of 2019 I’d also like to continue running the Rock Valley Open Mic Club and make it into a more proper RVC club. I then hope to go to my mom’s over the Summer while also taking online courses over the Summer Semester. If I do well then I’d like to move to the dorms at NIU.

I have no way of knowing what attending NIU is like. I plan on getting a degree in whatever I decide upon. (LOL) I also know that while I’m there I want to play football. I played in high school so I already have experience playing football. So obviously not their main College football team that appears on TV. They have another more minor team that plays more local games as well and I’d probably join that team. I’d have to get back to my football workout in order to stand a chance of doing well. After graduating from NIU I plan on moving to Chicago. There I plan on getting a job and performing stand up comedy as often as possible at open mics. I hope to after a few years start getting paid to do gigs and starting to build a name for myself. I might also like to attend Second City improv classes as well. In a perfect world if they liked me I’d be invited to audition for Saturday Night Live. That’s one of my biggest dreams so like I said before, a perfect world.

I’d also be happy as an actor. I’ve taken multiple classes and I feel I could do that as well. I also know that in my future I’d like to have a wife and kids but I don’t want it to happen too early because so I’d have time to have some good life experiences first. I’d like to maybe travel a part of the world or do some backpacking through Europe. Now of course all of these things listed aren’t likely to all happen but it would be pretty awesome if it did.

[hunterlicious]

Here’s the deal about college

So I’ve been in college for about a year and a half now. I’m going for an associate of arts but I can tell you I’ve changed my major two times already. The original plan was go for an associate of  arts and then pick a more specific degree when I transferred to NIU. However, things are always changing in college. Just like high school, college has it’s highs and lows as well. Here’s a list of things I’ve noticed about how college is difficult and how college is easy compared to high school. Now of course I know this varies based off of what classes you take and what you’re majoring in. 

1. Easier- Schedule

In college, unlike high school, you are not only allowed to choose your classes but you also get to choose what days of the week and time you want to go to class. Of course there are limitations. Some classes aren’t taught on certain days and are limited to a certain time slot but this is still more than high schools offered. Of course I instantly tried to put all my classes on two days of the week to avoid going to class for more than two days a week but that didn’t work out.

2. Harder- Guidance

This is both a curse and a blessing. While in college they treat you like an adult. However this means that all the responsibilities of adulthood as well. In high school teachers were much more understanding about explaining due dates and deadlines. In college they will tell you once and maybe depending on how cool your professor is they’ll remind you once or twice more. Gotta grow up sometime I guess. 

3. Easier- Time

College is super convenient because of the way it’s set up. I’ve never been at the college for more than 5 hours for classes. In high school with eight roughly one hour classes every day is around eight to nine hours long. This gives me plenty of time to do homework or get business done around the college. Or if you don’t have any other work it gives you plenty of time to go home and sleep for longer. 

4. Harder- Long Term Projects 

This is kind of common sense but it’s still important to mention. More often than not teachers will go over the syllabus on their first day. When they do they will tell you mainly about the big projects and assignments you’ll be working on over the class. In college however these long term projects are much more difficult because the quality of work has to be higher than in high school. This means that it takes much longer to provide quality work and this could lead to great confusion.

5. Easier- Class Work

So while the long term projects are more difficult than in high school, the class work and day to day homework is much easier. Most of the time you don’t get day to day homework but when you do it’s rather simple. Classwork mainly consists of taking brief notes which is way simpler than high school.

6. Harder- Registration

College registration is a huge pain in the a-- compared to high school. In high school the amount of paperwork required to register was much less than the amount required in college. None of the offices in the student center are convenient and often times involve a lot of sending students back and forth. When you finally do find the office you need they will assign you special required forms you need to fill out and explain them using much technical jargon. 

7. Easier- Obligation

In the eyes of society college isn’t as necessary as high school. If your family can afford to send you then great but if not it’s not the end of the world. Because you pay for college your professors will treat you as such. You may leave the classroom when you wish to use the restroom, leave, or do anything else. However the flip side is that teachers won’t stop teaching just because you left.

8. Harder- Make up work

Because your teachers aren’t obligated to help you if you miss making up work is entirely on you. And that’s only if they allow make up work in the first place. Because of this every sick day matters so you better use them sparsely. Fortunately most of my teachers have been very cool about sick days.

[hunterlicious]

Why Batman V Superman gets such a bad rap

I am a huge comic boom fan and have been since I was very young. Perhaps that's why I'm in the minority of people who thoroughly enjoyed Batman V Superman. Most of you reading probably just threw up in your mouth at the thought of that movie. That's why I'm going to give you a breath mint and explain why it's a much better film than most believe.

Rotten tomatoes ranked this movie at a measly 27%. However the other audiences that watched the movie ranked it at around 63%. So there is a somewhat divide in public opinion on the movie. I biggest argument I’ve heard against this movie is that it’s too dark. people say, “Oh, well Superman should be more lighthearted”. However, the comic book the story is based on involves Superman becoming an enforcer of a dystopian government. Batman decides not to kill superman but remind him that Superman isn’t all high and mighty with a good ol fashioned ass whooping. 

[hunterlicious]

Starting Comedy

I plan on writing my feature story on what getting started in the comedy business is like. I decided to choose this as my feature story because I’m trying to get started in the comedy business myself so it is of great interest to me. The comedy business is very difficult to get into. its about as difficult as acting to get into. It involves putting your material out there time and time again and performing at open mics for free hoping eventually your name gets heard by the right people. At first they’ll offer you money to go and perform 5-minute sets at local places. Eventually if you’re lucky you’ll be getting calls from all around the country asking you to perform at different functions for increased pay. A lot of people will join different comedy groups. Some of the most famous comedians began in improv comedy groups or skit groups. Improv is where the group specializes in coming up with funny material off the top of their heads. Skit groups will write funny stories and act them out. The type of people that become comedians go along with actors, musicians, and artists. For my feature story I want to interview 4 people. An experienced comedian who travels around the country. David Graham. An experienced comedian famous at the local level, Marcos Lara. I want to talk to an aspiring comedian just starting into comedy. Stephen guerrero. And lastly I want to interview the person in charge of hiring comedians at a comedy club. I will ask all of the comedians how far along they are in their field and how they’re working on getting better. I will also focus on who their role models are, how they got into the field, and where they wanna be. I will ask the comedy club worker what they look for, how their process works, and useful tips of the trade.

[hunterlicious]

A sad moment in my life.

I don’t believe I have a “saddest moment of my life”. I’ve had so many that stuck with me that I think it would be easier to pick out one, or at least the one with the longest lasting effects. When I was very young around seven or eight my parents got a divorce. My mom ended up getting custody of my brothers and I. I saw my dad every weekend and before you know it, I had a new step-dad. The worst part of it all is that at the time as a child I didn’t know any better. I saw everyone around me suffering and I couldn’t try to comfort them because I didn’t know any better. I remember my first time meeting my step-dad, my dad was dropping my brother Seth and I off at his apartment. My dad was talking about how my step-father ruined his marriage by stealing his wife. My first words to my step-dad, William, were, “My dad says you stole his wife”. So, obviously my parents’ divorce wasn’t going great. I never harbored any ill feelings toward Will. My dad eventually reconnected with his high school sweetheart. Well, eventually my mom had my little brother Ian. We moved about half an hour away from my dad out to Poplar Grove. I was only seeing my dad every week to two weeks. I remember my brother Seth coming home from school one day and running to my mom crying about how he missed out dad, and as I watched him do this I must of still had my childlike innocence and not understood why he was crying because I didn’t feel anything like he did.  We then moved during the summer before 4th grade to Belleville, Illinois which is a small town near St. Louis. At this point I was only seeing my dad once every month to a month and a half. I lived in Belleville through my junior year in high school. I saw my dad every month and stayed with him every summer. Both my dad and Step-mom and my mom and Step-dad treated each other very bitterly in the first few years. It was a never ending competition for affection putting my brothers and I in the middle of a situation we never wanted. It had become the norm to me. I was completely emotionally numbed to my parent’s situation. The repercussions of their divorce still affect me. I had always wanted to play football but couldn’t because practice was over the summer while I was at my dad’s. I never acknowledged my feelings and I learned to bury em deep. I had troubles trusting or opening up to anyone making it impossible for me  to maintain relationships. I only ever had one serious relationship which was doomed from the start. as she was a German exchange student who had to return to Germany.at the end of the school year.That was my first taste of heartbreak. This caused me to make the hardest choice of my life. All my brothers had moved in with my dad when they became eighteen. However, if I left, my brother Ian would be all by himself. It broke my heart to leave my little brother but I did. I had become eighteen junior year so I moved back in with my dad the summer of 2017 so I could finally play football senior year. Now the roles had turned and the same schedule I had growing up of seeing my dad once a month had flipped and now I saw my mom and brother once a month instead. Unfortunately, after graduating high school and adopting more adult like responsibilities I’ve realized that those same responsibilities have prohibited my time with my mom and brother. I only get to see them around big holidays every few months now and it’s one of my saddest regrets. That my brother Ian had to grow up barely seeing his brothers who are supposed to teach him and help raise him.

[hunterlicious]

Stranger in a Strange Land

My Junior year was both my best and worst year of high school. My brother, whom had never not been at my side, had just moved in with my dad. I was left to experience high school on my own for the first time. Only then did my eyes open and I lived the life I wanted, I needed to live. First few weeks of school were great. I reconnected with my best friends from all the way back in 4th grade whom I hadn’t spoken to since 7th grade. I also made some new friends that would become some of my absolute best friends. Every weekend was filled with drinking, partying, drama, hanging out, and talking about life. This was a big paradigm shift for me considering my previous two years of high school consisted of chilling at home, watching Netflix, and doing homework. I was in two honors classes and barely passing. Skip to Junior year and I was back in all regular classes but happier than ever. Then she was there. Just like that. A single moment. It was as if one second she wasn’t there and then she was. While in my U.S. history class with Mr. Lands, she just appeared. My guess is magic was involved because most people don’t just spontaneously appear. I sat in an end row seat and I simply noticed that she was in the parallel seat on the opposite side of the class. I’m telling you Magic is real and I discovered that in a computer lab. I was at my computer diligently working away and talking with my friend Nick. I felt her hand brush my shoulder and I looked over to see what had roused my attention. It was a beautiful girl with dirty blonde hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes. She had an accent and a very soft voice as if everything she said was in a faint whisper. I didn’t know it then but this girl would change my life. Skip forward a few months. I’d noticed I had grown fond of her. The day before we we went of Christmas break I made my move. I had just finished the same class’s final that we had met in. She had taken her final in the hallway. I asked to be excused to the restroom so I could have a chance to talk to her. At this point every time I see her is like the first time and I freeze up. She sat at a desk looking away from where I was. I walked up slowly bracing my pride in one hand and my tremendous fear in the other. I began the conversation casually by asking how she felt she did on her final. She answers back just as casually as I asked her. In my head I thought, alright so far, so good. Then I proceed to accomplish the task which had haunted me for so long. I had to play it smooth however. I asked her if she was ready for Christmas to which she replied, “yeah.” I then asked, “Do you know what would make the absolute best present?” She then replied, “what?” The Trap was sprung, now to pounce. Then as smoothly as ever I replied, “If...you would give me your number and go out with me sometime.” Right away in my head a stop watch went off. For what feels like an eternity goes by until finally a laugh so warm it would melt any man’s heart is heard. She then says “okay”. That was my big moment, I had achieved my heart’s desire. The affection of a German goddess was mine. 

[hunterlicious]

The Universal Language

It has been said that music is the universal language of the earth. These are the five best songs I enjoy from different genres that represent the best aspects of the individual genre.

Aces High-Iron Maiden. Heavy Metal, the muscle car, of music genres. This song is just one of the many amazing songs released during the golden age of heavy metal. The 1980′s saw a wave of heavy metal from all over the world. Heavily distorted guitars, long hair, and roaring vocals. I’ve listened to heavy metal since I was young, so I grew up thinking all those things were amazing. No matter the song I always left pumped up and empowered. That’s one reason this speech by Winston Churchill is used. The song is heavy, brutal, and fast paced just like the planes featured in the video, the perfect example of what makes heavy metal so amazing. 

2. Black Dog- Led Zeppelin. Some would say Led Zeppelin could be considered a genre of its own. Figuring how their music combined elements of blues, rock, and early metal. Although, most people now group Led Zeppelin as simply classic rock. This is one of Zeppelin’s most recognizable songs and one of their most popular. It’s no surprise considering all the band member’s legendary status. Jimi Page, Robert Plant, Jon Bonham, and John Paul Jones are viewed as gods of rock. Rock stations today use the line “Get the Led out” referring to their need to listen to some classic Led Zeppelin. 

3. Cold Shot- Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Blues was named that because it generally focused on being sad so I’m not sure why it makes me so happy. Vaughan was a blues guitarist who was well known for his song Pride and Joy. Stevie Ray Vaughan was so talented, that he could play guitar behind his back like it was no problem. Once during a guitar solo during the song “Look at Little Sister”, a guitar string snapped mid-solo, so Vaughan had to come up with an impromptu guitar solo. He then casually switched guitars and continued playing. This shows Stevie’s dedication to playing quality blues and it was quite evident with the amount of soul he put into every one of his performances which is why it belongs among the greats.

4. Gin and Juice- Snoop Dogg & The Dogg Pound. Any person who doesn’t bob their head to this song is crazy. This song’s chorus is one of the catchiest in all early Hip-Hop. Snoop Dogg was made famous by one of the founding fathers of gangsta rap, Dr. Dre so he shows up in the video. This song simply describes a party where everyone is having such a great time which caused America as well as myself to love this song. 

5. The Veldt- DeadMau5. Pronounced Dead Mouse. Any song based on a child’s story is bound to be interesting. I love this song because it brilliantly conveys the story in such a beautiful way.

[hunterlicious]

These are some of the funniest videos on the internet.

caOne of my favorite groups of videos on the internet right now are made by 5 Second Films. While not exactly following the 5 second rule every time, every clip conveys a basic joke within anywhere from 5 to 9 seconds and never fails to make me laugh. My all time favorite is probably one called Guns a blazing. I think it was just the one whose punchline took me the most by surprise.

There are quite a lot of 5 Second Films to choose from. Some are dark and twisted. Some seem like innocent stupid dad jokes. One of my favorite dad joke based films is simply called Missing. Everyone of them simply makes me laugh and brightens my day a little.

[hunterlicious]

Why George Carlin is the KING!

I have, since about 7th grade, always been intrigued by the comedian George Carlin. It was George Carlin who first helped me realize that I wanted to be a comedian. However, the funniest aspect of how I first became aware of George Carlin is that the first time I heard of him was my step-father hearing that George Carlin died. My step-father was quite upset that George Carlin died. I was only in about 3rd grade when George Carlin died but I used to sneak out of my bedroom at night when my parents were asleep and watch his DVD specials in our living room. This was the catalyst of my deep love and scholarly study of comedy. I began researching all I could about who exactly George Carlin was and what he did in his life. It turned out that George Carlin had been a comedian for so many years and for so long that he and another legendary comedian, Lenny Bruce, once got arrested together. Lenny Bruce was an even older comedian who opened the way for comedians to use vulgarity and speak negatively about social norms with no consequences and was George Carlin’s hero, so George was ecstatic to have a chance encounter in the back of a paddy wagon.

People’s Inspirations are incredibly obvious when viewed carefully. I’ve always been inspired by how George Carlin would not really tell jokes but tell his opinions and ideas about the world and make it funny. It always seemed like George Carlin never held back or altered his jokes for anyone. This is because he was inspired by Lenny Bruce which is why Bruce was arrested that day. He was arrested for local obscenity laws. Carlin later challenged the system as well and paid the price after performing his easily most popular Joke, 7 Words You Can’t Say on TV. Carlin was arrested directly after performing this set because of the same obscenity laws as Lenny Bruce. WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised.

I was always inspired by George Carlin’s devotion to his craft  I strive to make my jokes as intellectual and thought provoking as George Carlin’s comedy. However, I’m not the only person George has inspired. Countless scores of comedians have been inspired by George Carlin. After Carlin’s death, Louis C.K. gave a speech at a George Carlin memorial. Louis said that at a point in which he was struggling, he listened to an old Carlin interview. Carlin said that instead of taking the easy way when it came to comedy which is using the same jokes, he would write new material every year and choosing the harder choice payed off. This inspired Louis C.K. as well as many others including myself. George Carlin will always be the king in my book.

[hunterlicious]

Why the heck am I going to college.

I could just as easily say the same reason a lot of kids say which is simply so that I may get a good career and make good money. However if I was being honest with myself I would say my motivation is this. My dad had a rough childhood. He wasn’t provided for as he should of been and he moved from house to house and family to family for a lot of it. My dad’s family wasn’t the loving supporting family that would send you off to college. My dad had to work his way up from the bottom and he finally did get to go back to college but way later than most. I would say I’m going to college to not only get a good career but to make my father and family proud.