I Am Nerd Hear Me Roar.

Brian Cook Loveable opinionated jerk. Member of Dungeons and Randomness Social media marketing student Writer of blogs

[notsoawkwarddork]

Find your butterfly, then chase it.

[notsoawkwarddork]

  Our love is

It’s

It’s

It’s like a boat stuck out at sea

Alone, scared, but able to withstand anything.

Crashing waves on its side

Haven fallen and died.

Our love is

It’s

It’s

It’s like a new puppy

It pees on the floor

It’s still new at its core

But it continues to learn

To grow

Our love is

It’s

It’s

It’s like a dead tree.

Bare, dark, unmovable

But among it all it still stands

Our love is a lot of things

A lot of different things

Different things to different people

But among it all

It is one thing.

Ours. 

[notsoawkwarddork]

Letter to my 16 year old self

A Letter to my 16 year old self

By Brian Cook

  Hey there dick,

Buddy and Baby

Those days are over.

The days of simplicity among trials.

Trading that driving around for miles.

You sit there, in the dark, afraid of the light.

Preparing yourself for the never ending fight.

You sit there stroking

Your lack of charisma.

Don’t be left alone.

Stand up for what you feel is right

Even if it’s not tight.

Cool down, slow down, simmer to a stop.

Don’t miss your chances.

And smile at those second glances.

Be who you want to be kid.

Don’t doubt yourself.

Otherwise your feelings will be put on the shelf.

No one has to like you.

No one has to care.

Get here and grow a pair.

Bitch                           , you are weak now.

But just remember.

Every dog has their day.

Every choice paves it’s way.

And at the end of it lies the road of success.

So skip that party.

Don’t go to that dance.

Avoid your real life friends.

Who needs them?

Spend all your time hidden away in a magical land.

But don’t forget what you will become.

Hang up the phone, things will get better.

Until then, just remember this letter. 

[notsoawkwarddork]

My idea of a good Friday night is a marathon of a crappy television, Chinese food, and hanging out with my girlfriend and her friends.

[notsoawkwarddork]

The only love you should search for is the one that makes you learn what love is.

[notsoawkwarddork]

Everyone wants to get from point A to point B, sometimes people just want to do it in a way that's different from you.

My Dad

[notsoawkwarddork]

What Japan's choice of a World Cup mascot means for Pokemon and brand revitalizing

Few times do you truly see an older brand get reignited under the same ideas that it has used for years. Pokemon is a brand that blew up in the 90s with anything and everything being created in the style of Pokemon. Pencils, binders, trading cards, and most notably the games. 

Japan announced that for the 2014 Soccer World Cup that they will be introducing the world to their newest mascot attached to one of gaming's most notable brands. 

So what do that actually mean? From an outsiders perspective, nothing. For a common viewer of the World Cup, this would just be another pebble thrown into the bowl. From an industry perspective though, what is seen as a light gesture is actually a wonderful step for a franchise that was low on the spectrum of gaming.

Don't kid yourself. Pokemon Black and White 2 were games that most of us probably looked over. The quality of video games released featuring the cute, cuddly, large, and legendary creatures had slowly flowed down the toilet on it's way to the back of the minds of gamers. 

Upon the release of Pokemon X and Y, the use of the 3DS' features like 3D, and online features used to trade and interact with players world wide brought a large flame on the brand fire for the Pokemon games. Players from yesteryear who grew up with the games were going out to buy the game and console because of the new features.

Brands live and day by a "what have you done recently" feel. The use of the online features, the new Pokemon, and the non linear storyline are just among of the new moves that Pokemon has taken in order to continue growing.

So, what does the move Japan has made to name Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and the other selection of Pokemon as mascot mean? It provides a lesson to any struggle game developer or one hit wonder game developer around. Take note. Just because you are in a slump now. Even if your quality of work is down, you can still make moves, you can still make choices that will eventually put you back up on top. 

Good on, Japan. 

[notsoawkwarddork]

How James Cameron made it okay to spoil movies and other forms of media.

SPOILER ALERT!

We all have battled that moment when your friends who have seen a movie, played a game, read a book, or something you have been meaning to do and have wanted to talk to you about it. They struggle to hide their thoughts on Luke Skywalker being related to Darth Vader, the ending of the Titanic, or whether or not Santa is real. They bite their lip, kick their foot around, and try to hold in their feelings.

Spoilers have constantly been a part of any aspect of any media, books, or anything that has had a story attached to it. People have attempted to hide from spoilers, but in a world of social media and instant sharing of thoughts and opinions on endings of movies and books has hurt the possibility of you shielding yourself from the ending to that Mass Effect game you have going.

I've been there. I've battled that battle of wanting to not know the ending to The Dark Knight Rises, but it happens. At some point you have to just bite the bullet and know that you may not have the time to finish a certain media that you have been grinding at.

For a long time, I always got angry at my friends who would spoil things in front of me, even if I asked for the ending to be told to me. What I had to figure out was how, while I still wanted to finish that last bit of Mass Effect, how I could enjoy the drive up to the finish line.

James Cameron is widely known for his big productions on movies. Many people know he did Avatar, but a few might not know he also did a little film called Titanic. During the media for Avatar, YouTuber Philip Defranco secured a quote that has lived in my mind when any sort of storytelling comes into play

What I took away from this quote is simple, and my method of handling spoilers.

The best example I can use to illustrate how spoilers don't bother me anymore is Dungeons and Randomness. Dungeons and Randomness is a Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition live campaign podcasted during the weekend. I am a part of the second group in our three group campaign and each group works in the same world. If you don't know what Dungeons and Dragons is, it (simply put) is a story driven adventure game where you roleplay a character and go on quests, battles, and more. 

As I said before, this game is very story driven, and because of this, each new episode released is another part of the story. I know what happens during the episodes I am a part of because I'm there, but often I listen to the other episodes to hear the story. Recently, I've been put into a place where involved with the other groups where they want to discuss what happened in their last episode, but I haven't been able to listen to it. 

"Do you mind if we spoil it?"

"Sure, why not."

The reason I've grown to accept spoilers in the media is due indirectly to James Cameron. If I know how a movie ends, I don't get the surprise, but I still in my mind want to know how they got to the end. How did they solve the problem? How did they get to the big plot twist? What made character A the way he or she is now? 

Each one of us experience something called perspective. We carry our minds towards one way or another how will we comprehend, gather, and the movie. Do I care? Maybe. I probably would have liked to be surprised, but unless I know the entire build up prior, I still have that story to read. 

The reason that spoilers shouldn't bother anymore is the path to get to what is spoiled. So what the end of movie A was spoiled, and you found out that characters A and B end up killing each other. Unless you are heavy headed, wouldn't you like to KNOW how they ended up in a pool of their own blood? 

Perspective plays into comprehending a story. I may know the ending or the big plot part in an episode of Dungeons and Randomness, but I will react a lot more different, and get more out of hearing it first hand, opposed to living through a second hand account.

Media consumption is all based around one principal. Perspective. That alone  allows you to avoid the depressing nature of spoilers, and still being able to enjoy the story. 

So what if you know that the Titanic sunk, don't you want to know the story of HOW is sunk and WHO was on it? 

-Brian