Where Is My Safe Haven?

Creative Writing.
Written 29/07/2013.

After reading the recent script to screen adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel a couple weeks back, it got me thinking... I don't really know.

Perhaps it bleeds into the diary written in Shorthand, with the cryptic messages updated whenever the heck I feel like it. Engulfed in the heavy workload and tasks that begin but always seem so far from completion. Headphones in. Music loud. This is what it feels like. Drawing inspiration from just about anything, seeking confirmation that I'm doing the right thing or following the right path. Ignoring that sucker of doubt that sticks with you like a limpet to a moss infested rock, never quite washed away by the infrequent seas of success.

The life that's been left behind. Immersed in the fictitious world of gaming whilst in the attic climbed after a hard days moping. Even technology can be unreliable. You let the darkness swallow you whole as you lay there, lost in thoughts of what could have been. Memories captured in a photograph that you can't bring yourself to look at. And spending time with family that barely recognise your face. Time invested in a Journalist who can't even bring themselves to write. And it's in our nature to help these people, but how can we when they're not even willing to help themselves?

"I thought you'd be more sympathetic." It's a selfless crime, not a selfish one. My life is a collection of lost puzzle pieces that my OCD can't bear. That constant nagging element of choice that people feel the need to complain about. I'm an optimist who has her bad days. Often wondering if she's running from something or someone. With the added responsibility of being forced to function in the real world. But unlike Alex and Katie, my life is far from a love story. My cobbled path could take me anywhere, it's all a matter of time.

My nanna always said I was the dreaming type.

The Devolution of Lara Croft; A Review of Tomb Raider (2013).

Since the birth of Tomb Raider in 1996, we have seen Lara attempt to battle new heights, as the infamous archaeologists daughter returns in the reboot of the much loved gaming franchise.

[All Screenshots From Personal Gameplay. Image Rights Owned By Crystal Dynamics]

Aptly named the same as it's predecessor, the game, developed by Crystal Dynamics, acts as a prequel to the previous original series, aiming to take us back to the core of Lara's journey of self discovery; from timid teen to hardcore heroine. With awards for Most Anticipated Game of the Year (*Digital Spy) and Best Action Game (*IGN, 2011) under it's belt, I expected something utterly mind blowing following the anticlimax of Tomb Raider: Underworld.

After the events of the shipwrecked Endurance, Lara is thrown in at the deep end throughout her mission to regroup with survivors and escape the cursed island of Yamatai, Japan. But first she must battle the dreaded cult of Himiko as she is captured by satanic worshippers of the so called "Sun Queen". A storyline which was shrouded in potential, yet slowly became generic and predictable (with the odd occasional false scare, of course). It somewhat dragged at times and I found myself more admiring the scenery than the actual game itself. 

CRITICAL REFLECTION #2

Though renowned for its hard news approach, WINOL Features has triumphed over the past year, with individual magazines being set up, as opposed to having a generalised Features section, to accommodate the needs of a less specific target audience and improving the navigation of the site as a whole. From News to Reviews, the start of the semester sparked statistics that overtook the likes of Daily Echo #54,081 in GB Rank and HampshireChronicle #27,772, with WINOL standing at a comfortable #15,260 [06.02.2013] , with the increase of #12,025 within the next couple of months.[27.03.2013][1].

"People come for the News and stay for the Features."

After I struggled last semester during my brief stint as part of the News Team, I was assigned to the Features Team as the Editor of WINOL Travel and Adventure, which, needless to say, was a daunting task. 

I knew I’d be somewhat better suited to Features as over Christmas I had compiled various contributions to a couple of the magazines, such as an interview with Fashion Designer Siv Stoldal for Absolute:ly and a philosophical review on the Freud Museum for NewWinchesterReview (NWR). But to actually lead a magazine meant I had to majorly improve on my organisational and timekeeping skills, which I believe were my downfall last semester. My subconscious just kept telling me; “How am I going to do this? I can barely organise myself, let alone a whole team.” 

L3: "Existentialism; Right vs. Left"

NIETZSCHE, HEIDEGGER, SARTRE.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE. (1844-1900)

Phrase "God is Dead" sparked the end of certainty (no Popper and 'Verification Principle'). Lead the way for freedom of thought; introduction of different aims and different morals which the State decides (oppose Locke and Natural Rights).

The "Ubermensch" (Superman) as Antithesis; the end goal in which we assert our own "Will to Live/"Will to Power" (Schopenhauer) through our freedom of choice/action (Existentialism).

MARTIN HEIDEGGER. (1889-1976) 

"Being and Time" (1927); Right wing view on what it means to exist (the nature of being) which Heidegger labelled "Dasein". He believed that the mind and body together makes understanding impossible. The Anti-Cartesian problem that "we are our minds" and therefore are unable to understand anything beyond it. Berkeley and Hume believed that we can never know.

The concept of "Dasein" refers to the interaction with an external form, such as Creative Writing or Journalism. According to Heidegger, dualism (mind and matter) cannot be possible if "Dasein" exists as this interaction is necessary for acquiring knowledge. For Sartre, "Dasein" is like living as the 'inauthentic self'; denying your own 'will to live' and therefore living in "bad faith". You are merely a social construction instead of living on the basis of choice.

Heidegger described this social construction as 'Facticity'; "we are thrown into the world." We are born at a certain time, in a certain place and therefore, the element of choice can sometimes be eradicated. This agrees with Locke's concept of a "blank slate"; as we already have a past, it is our future that defines us (Existentialism).

Bioshock: A Philosophical Review.

With the highly anticipated release of Bioshock Infinite (the third installment of the 2K game series), you will find below a review/analysis of the first game, complete with philosophical 

jargon and pictures and whatnot.

[All Screenshots From Personal Gameplay. Image Rights Owned by Irrational Games]

Released in 2007 by Irrational Games, Bioshock is seen as one of the Highest Rated First Person Shooters of All Time* The Gamer is immersed in the world of Rapture; an underwater city that is drowned in history. With what appears to be a longing for the past, the game design mirrors that of 1950’s/60’s America.

Amidst a plane crash, we are plunged into the depths of a Utopia; a sort of broken Atlantis. It is the end of an Idealistic Society said to have been dominated by “hand-picked” Scientists, Artists and Industrialists; a society which is now on the brink of war. You can alter your own biological structure with so called “Plasmids” (controlled by your own “will to power” – Nietzsche’s “Ubermensch”/Superman) and determine your own ending based on the choices you make throughout the game (Existentialism).

With awards such as Best Game of the Year (British Academy Video Game Awards), Best Original Game (Yahoo! Games Best of 2007) and Best Artistic Design (IGN E3 2007 Awards), Bioshock is a game like no other.

IRON MAN 3: A REVIEW.

“All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the beasts than overcome man?” [Nietzsche on the “Ubermensch”]

The past comes back to haunt Tony Stark in the third installment of the MARVEL franchise,  with the film being one of most bolt-busting and action-packed in the trilogy.

Image Rights Owned by ©Marvel Studios 2013.

Touching on the aftermath of superhero blockbuster “Avengers Assemble”, Stark comes to suffer from an undeniable anxiety problem following the day’s events in New York (I reckon that’s standard considering one had suffered a near-death experience), giving the film immediate leverage, as Stark reveals himself to be at his physically weakest; the man inside the suit becoming a broken man on the verge of a breakdown. Granted, he has always been a relatively self-destructive character, what with the laddish aura, the below the belt sense of humour and the inherent materialism, but c'mon, that's all part of his appeal.

First attempt @ Travel Blogging.

For WINOL Travel and Adventure Magazine. Issue March/April 2013.

P1: ST. CATHERINE'S HILL.

St. Catherine’s Hill is the perfect place to get all ‘camera happy’ with 143 acres of pure green land offering a view unlike any other; the opportunity to sit and overlook the whole of Winchester; from the Town Square to the Cathedral.