Dear Cia Column

Dear cia,
(I have to re-write this because the first one I wrote was lost )
What instruments do you play? I myself play grade 5 piano, grade 2 piano theory and I also play the cello, drums, ucelely, recorder, and know the strings of the harp, double bass, violin and viola (but I can't play those last 4). As you can probably tell, music is alot of my life. Thanks.

Dear Hannah,

First... *hug*.  ^^
Second... *huuuuug* ^__^
And third.... your reply...  

[and btw, typing this all out of memory so I might be butchering the science a bit, but bear with me] XD

It's interesting that you should specifically use chocolate and caffeine as examples, since those are among the select classes of foods that contain food opiates... special molecules that can traverse the blood-barrier in the brain and directly connect to and usurp receptors in it. These receptors have special functions related to mood and emotion, among other biological functions -- but when foreign opioids bind to these, those functions can be significantly altered against the will of the person.  This is why morphine in medicine eases pain (since it blocks pain receptors), and why some bad drugs can have at first pleasant effects, then horrible after-effects, followed by strong addictive effects, no matter how strong or smart the person is (or thinks he is).

While some foods like cheese and chocolate have fairly weak opiates... enough to make you like these foods but not really crave them uncontrollably in most cases... others have a much stronger stimulating effect, to the point they can make you hungry when you're not, and give you a kind of addiction that can only be satisfied when consuming these same foods.

Strong appetite stimulants in our foods today are sugar, coffee, modern hybridized and GMO corn, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and MSG... not surprisingly, all foods that have a heavy manufacturing or modification process. These are all foods that are recognized to be bad for your health in "immodest" quantities, and you may hear about them in a bad light even if they are still crammed in many foods today due to the fact they promote sales (because people who eat these foods will want to consume more of them).

Unfortunately, the most powerful appetite stimulant goes ignored very often because it is a staple food that almost all of us are addicted to and it is the backbone behind all the new processed foods made in the last century, from cereals to snack bars to "healthy low fat" TV dinners. That food is wheat, and it has a particular nasty opiate called gliadin that affects your brain in much the same way as morphine does, and causes a strong and powerful craving for other carbohydrates. Like I mentioned yesterday about wheat being changed a lot in the last few decades, modern variants of wheat have this stimulating effect, so food makers stick this in TONS of processed foods -- it gives them the benefit of addicting their customers on their products, without fear of being called out for "evil" ingredients like sugar or MSG.  Stop consuming wheat for a while, and you'll immediately get sad, tired, anxious and depressed for a while, because the opiates are still forcing your brain to keep receiving more opiates.  But keep consuming then, and the chronic over-stimulation of your brain begins to take its toll in the form of brain fog, memory loss, manic depression, and a whole host of other neurological disorders... think of these as a way of your brain giving up and letting itself be consumed by the madness as it never seems to stop.  

Of course, other chemicals and food may affect more than just the brain.  The main stimulant in coffee is caffeine, and that affects the nervous system directly, causing a fake and temporary sense of alertness. This is good for quick fixes, but not good as the only way to stay awake since it too can cause an over-dependency on this stimulant.  

Ironically, foods that cause a gradual but positive effect on emotion, energy and mood are those that help rebuild or grow new brain cells, maintain and restore nerve cells, improve hormonal development, and enhance your body's immune system.  Considering that your brain, your nerves, your hormones, and your natural antioxidants are mainly comprised of saturated fat and cholesterol, eating foods rich in healthy saturated fat and dietary cholesterol are actually very helpful in restoring damage to the brain and body.  

These are also foods that you are told not to eat, because they will "cause heart disease" and "make you fat", but these claims are not based on proper science, simply on mandated policy designed to make you eat more grains and carbohydrate foods rich in wheat and sugar.  The less fat and cholesterol you eat, the weaker your body and brain, the easier it is for you to become food addicted and buy more products made with wheat and sugar.  

Break out of this cycle, and you won't need food just to make you "happy" -- the food you would eat in a real healthy diet would simply make you "happier", but even without it you would be happy, healthy, awake, and smart.  And that's how it should be.  


--Cia 


PS:  Oh, and as an addendum, I am also beginning to read up on resistant starch and it's effects on promoting good gut flora health. Resistant starch is a kind of fiber normally not digestible by us, but very digestible to some bacteria in our intestines which eat it, then poop out helpful fatty acids that are beneficial to us -- common sources are starchy vegetables like potatoes, carrots, chicory, legumes, and some earthy leafy vegetables like dandelion leaves or their roots.  A happy gut leads to a happy body, and this is yet another way to improve overall health -- but more on that when I learn more.  

Dear A4,

Eek! Well you found my Achilles' Heel, congratulations. XD

Music is one of the few things I'm most ashamed about, since I can't play an instrument properly, nor envision original music in my head.  I don't even listen to much music IRL, though when I do I love epic orchestral pieces (I'm feeling a Dos Equis moment right now, hehe). XD

In school I was forced to use the oboe for a while, and totally sucked at it.  I tried pretending to play drums for my brother's old band, and had lots of fun even as I sucked at that too.  And more recently I've tried to teach myself the use of a piano and especially MIDI-style music on Garageband, but not only did I suck, I also sunk a lot of money in it for nothing. XD

Oddly enough, I do love to dance... so long as it's wild and chaotic, which is my favorite.  Raves especially are my favorite place to just go wild and get lost in the music. By contrast, rhythmic music with complicated steps annoy me, and while I may play along for a bit, sooner or later I just cut loss and dance free style, and wow the audience either with my busting dance moves or the hilarity of seeing a phenomenon writhe about like an inflatable sky puppet.  XD

This may come to mind:



So yes, if you want to embarrass me, ask me about music.  In that respect, I fail at life.

Not to say I don't like music -- I do envy people that can do a lot with music and instruments. ^^
If only I could find it on Youtube, I would link to you my favorite song of all time. ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia

Where did your love for bread start?

Dear Tex, 

Hehe, well a more interesting question is when my love for bread STOPPED. XD

But as for how it started, enough to make me want to name myself after the infernal little things... let's see...

Bread is a big thing in my family, especially Mexican sweet breads which we would eat in earnest whenever they would be available (in my early childhood they weren't).  Ironically, although I loved it, I never felt truly "addicted" to bread the way my brother is or my mother was,... whereas they could never go on one second without the stuff, I didn't fall apart if I missed out on it from time to time.  Even so, I grew up on it or sandwiches or pasta or breaded/fried chicken or cookies or any of the millions upon millions of food items that are made with wheat (the ingredient in the flour most commonly used to make bread).  

By my teenage years and college, however, I became a big fan of those fancy schmancy artisan breads, including hand-crafted ciabatta bread which was soft and chewy, with a nice thick crust and a handy-portable size.  Most of these were billed as wholesome and healthy, so of course I packed them on like there was no tomorrow, opting to make sandwiches instead of proper meals (using low-fat low-sodium garnishes like fat-free turkey or bean sprouts or egg whites, etc).  And of course I gained weight, although I never directly associated it with the bread... more for the occasional fat I would still 'accidentally" ingest, or for the portion sizes which were never quite that small, or for the frequent snacking that I would often do since i was perpetually hungry.

So I kept at it, I kept loving my ciabatta sandwiches, I kept trying out pretzel burgers and sandwiches when they were a "thing", and I kept feeling worse and worse.  Tellingly, I never considered baking my own bread until I started playing and running this server -- until I began actively exploring the consistency and chemical properties of wheat and its alternatives like spelt, millet, sorghum, etc, I never once questioned the fact that my beloved bread could be a source of so many of my problems.  In a way perhaps the server saved my life, or at least my gut/brain/gall-bladder/pancreas/kidneys/appendix/joints/heart/thyroid/blood-sugar... XD

So that more or less explains the origin behind my name, which I don't dislike anymore since I kinda love the delicious ironies of life [pun intended]. ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia,
What kind of bread is best served with turkey? it's almost thanksgiving and i want it to be the best and healthiest one i can have.
-Grim

Dear Cia

my town is growing before my very eyes. what exactly should i build in it to keep it expanding

Dear Grimm,

A food question, yum!  Albeit one that seems to be a bit contradictory. XD

Well short of making homemade, naturally gluten-free bread (not the store-bought kinds which are typically made with junk carbs), sorry to say the short answer is: NONE.  

If you're talking about your typical flour-based bread [which is in about everything that we consider "bread", even "corn bread"], you can never get it to be the best and ESPECIALLY not healthy.  This is because flour sold today is almost exclusively made with hybrid semi-dwarf wheat, which is only shy of being a genetically-manipulated food crop (the ancestor of today's GMO foods made in the 50's and 60's); and it was rushed into the markets of the world despite going any kind of serious testing, mainly because of its incredibly-high yields and efficiency.  It was later found to have strong opiate (and other brain-changing) properties, making it great as a food additive because it made people get hungry more, hence why flour is now added to almost EVERY processed food item, including things you wouldn't expect it to be in, such as canned soup or Twizzlers.  It's also being increasingly-linked to various forms of health issues, and it's no coincidence that as this frankenwheat began to grow in consumption within the last 50 years or so (and in combination with other bad advice such as eating foods with more sugar, and eating low dietary fat), we've seen skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, GI conditions, thyroid conditions, neurological disorders in children and adults, alzheimer's, debilitating arthritis, food allergies and intolerances, heart disease, cancer and so forth.  

Even with much older varieties of wheat such as emmer and spelt (free of most of the problems affecting modern wheat), it was always problematic to the human diet due to the fact that human beings were never meant to consume grains (the seeds of grasses, like those on your street lawn).  We don't have the adaptations of a cow to eat grass, or the adaptations of a bird to eat the grass seeds (grains), which is why we can get sick if we don't cook them right, or sick anyway over time even if they ARE cooked right. They definitely due a number on our teeth, which is why compared to ancient human beings, post-agricultural human beings have comparatively-worse teeth -- and even up until recently, tooth health of native populations of people were usually excellent up until they were introduced to flour and sugar, after which tooth decay and all "diseases of civilization" became rampant. 

Anyway, I could go on and on, but you can watch more about all that here and explained in much better detail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeyKvCkxp2o

In short, bread as we know it is not a good thing.  It's thought of as a good thing for the same reason that Monsanto can force unlabeled GMO foods on all of us in this country... government is controlled and manipulated by big agribusiness, which in turn passes laws or edicts that are beneficial to their sales, NOT to your health.  These laws have dictated how medical professionals are trained as well, so most will either not study nutrition, or be taught (or forced) to adhere to advice to eat low-fat and eat plenty of whole grains to solve diseases that were caused by this bad advice in the first place.  This is especially criminal to diabetics who need to eat LESS junk carbs and not more... asking them to continue eating multiple servings of this crap is the stupidest thing ever! XO

But I digress....

If you want a truly healthy and awesome Thanksgiving, focus on eating lots and lots of delicious whole foods and healthy fats, all the while cutting wheat and minimizing consumption of other grains (like corn and rice).  If you're eating turkey, eat both white and dark meat, and the skin, and organs if you're okay eating those... it's all good for you.  If you want gravy, don't use flour-based gravy... use real delicious meat drippings and thicken it with heavy cream.  Eat potatoes and sweet potatoes, and don't skimp out on the fat over them... drizzle them with whole-fat cream and butter... REAL butter, not margarine or crappy vegetable spreads.  Have copious amounts of colorful vegetables, and don't feel the need to hold back on fat... many nutrients in vegetables are fat-soluble, and can't be absorbed unless accompanied by fat.  So if you want, douse them with a healthy serving of butter or extra-virgin olive oil!  Trick here is to not be afraid of fat, it's good for you, despite what the same people who want to stuff you full of grains say.  

And most important of all, have a variety of other amazing foods -- even without grains, you still have a HUGE variety of meats, poultry, fish, game, healthy fats, milk, cream, cheese, butter, tubers, squashes, leafy vegetables, stalky vegetables, bulbous vegetables, herbs, spices, starchy fruits, sweet fruits, fatty fruits, citrus fruits, berries, nuts, seeds [not from grasses, like sunflower or pumpkin seeds], peas, beans, legumes, pickled foods, sausages, bacon, and chocolates to choose from.  Learn to eat these, and not only will you enjoy a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, but you won't have any of the crazy bloat that you may have otherwise felt after heaping servings of bread, stuffing, pie crusts, flour-gravies, and so forth.  ^^

But if you absolutely-positively MUST have some kind of bread with your turkey... er.... I guess you can try sweetbreads.  >v>;


--Cia

Dear Tex,

Lol, preferrably not something big... don't forget you built that darn thing out of the Ark area AND on dry land, so that's going to be a task for me to move out of there when we migrate to 1.7.  

But that really should rely on the theme of the town... up until now, it's kind of just a great big cross.  Maybe you'd like to start adding thematic elements to your town that would make it a bit of a tourist hub?

Also, don't forget that you can add standard town utilities as well.  A TP building for starters, also a bank, some shops, maybe some kind of size changer, and possibly even some cool natural elements such as unique trees.  ^^

And don't underestimate the importantce of walls and roads.... Walls enhance security and make it SAFE to visit your town, and roads make things pretty, accessible, and inviting.  


--Cia

Also, don't answer this as I'm posting it, get some sleep.

Dear cia,
I've been considering making my own town near brightsvale, so I could continue to help run there, and make my own thing. Do you have any suggestions for a cool sounding name for my town? I was considering giving it a darker feel, to contrast Brightsvale.

Dear Grimm,

Aha! Crafty! You posted the last question literally minutes before the end of the day, THUS ensuring you could effectively get double points. You crafty GrimReaper, you.

Granted this isn't as awesome a question for me compared to your last one, so prepare for a very short answer.

Anyway, you're welcome to it of course, although if you want to help Hannah AND the server, you'll consider positioning your new town strategically in a location that will help "lead" a new road, one planned to connect DawnStar, Brightsvale, Zardenmuiden and Spawnington. ^^

If you need a darker theme, consider positioning it at that swamp at x-2400 z-100, and style it in the way of a Walking Dead city... dark and gritty with Southern undertones. Maybe even an abandoned railyard or prison?

As for a name, do a play-on-words with unpleasant sounding things, such as "Gangrimm" (gangrene) or "Grimmyard" (boneyard).


--Cia

Dear Cia,

There are alot of different languages around the world. But my question is... Which languages do you speak and do you have trouble learning new languages? And are there any languages you do want to learn? In my case I speak both Dutch and English (And I'm terrible at German xD wish I was better at it)

- Spook

Dear cia,

My FPS in minecraft is usually around 1-20 and i really want to make it higher. I have a windows 7, lenovo laptop and It is really expensive to buy upgrades to make it better, but right now i am trying to save money to replace 2 of my keys that have kinda broke. How can I improve my fps?, and btw i have read http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Frame_rate ,but still it has not improved much. D:

from hanana

Dear Spookie,

Ah, an interesting linguistic question.

Being Mexican, and strongly adhered to my culture, it's almost a given I know Spanish, and in fact am about as fluent with it as English. Growing up I tried learning French in school through a class, but it wasn't successful because A) it was an American school, and B) I was still a big grain brain at the time. So try as I might, it never stuck. XD

I did have some success trying to learn Japanese back in my anime-watching days, but like most people I gave up after kanji memorization became too crazy. And I didnt have people to practice with, so most everything i learned was lost. ;-;

As for languages I'd like to learn... I can't say I have an overwhelming interest to learn them, but I wouldn't mind learning Chinese or Russian, at least a little bit. They are so important geopolitically, it wouldn't hurt to at least now some words in those languages. ^^


--Cia

Dear Hannah Banana,

haha, well, this is a very interactive question since we're in the process of talking this out through Steam.

Anyway, this is definitely a challenge, but always bear in mind that most of these Windows computers are designed to run like sloths ON PURPOSE. It's no surprise that upgrades are expensive -- the idea is to buy a semi-defective or incomplete product that punishes you for not getting a premium product, and straddles the minimum requirements for Windows 7. Since the hope is that you will break down and buy an upgrade for it, they will make lots of money, and the people selling the laptop to you can make money because you'll likely give it to them to do the upgrade for you -- it's a very lucrative money racket.

To top it off, Windows is insecure by nature (also by design, I feel), so you're asked to spend money and processing power installing anti-malware software to cover up the holes that are left behind in Windows due to bad design -- of course THEY won't spend money to fix those holes, they want YOU to spend the money for them. What little performance you have left is wasted on these applications, and then as you use the computer more, you WILL accumulate some additional cruft, rather voluntarily (through applications installed) or involuntarily (to junk files or malware accumulated). To make matter worse, with some modern exceptions, Windows is built upon a very antiquated unjournaled file system, requiring you to defragment your hard drive regularly, else accessing your files becomes slow and cumbersome over time.

In short, a design model designed to benefit Microsoft and its partners, NOT you the consumer. And then people wonder why I hate Windows.

Anyway, so the idea is to not give in and work with what you have now. We're not short on options, of course. Aside from doing everything they recommend to improve Minecraft performance, we can certainly give your computer a tuneup as far as defragging, removing unnecessary programs, running various malware scans, and improving overall performance. Backing up your files and reinstalling Windows 7 back to its factory state is a more drastic way of getting this done, but that may be overkill... especially when you consider your computer will be slow again after a while. ^^

Of course if Windows is still Windows, I would strongly suggest dipping a toe into the world of Linux, specifically Linux LiveCDs and LiveUSBs. These can let you try out the OS on a virtual environment without destroying your WIndows install -- and yes, you can play Minecraft on Live environments too. Granted it will be slower than a real install (unless you're on a LiveUSB, in which case it can be even FASTER than running it from an installation!), but if it turns out your performance is HUGELY better on a limited environment like this, imagine if Linux had full control of your computer? In any case, it's definitely worth learning more about this other free OS, especially for data recovery (which can be useful later when your Windows inevitably dies). Read more about my favourite distribution here:

http://www.linuxmint.com/

Lastly, there is the option of getting another machine, which you had mentioned to me via Steam. I like this option since it's always good to have TWO computers on hand anyway, especially in this society where being connected is important, and the death of a family machine can make the difference between life and a failing grade... a second computer is definitely a wise investment. But does it have to be expensive? I would say no,... in fact, the notion of buying an expensive second machine is the Windows logic at work, convincing you that this machine has to be NEW and thus expensive as heck. In reality, all PCs since Windows Vista have arguably been unchanged, and since PRESUMABLY Windows 7 and 8 are leaner than Windows Vista, anything capable of running Vista can easily run anything you throw at it. The reason it doesn't seem like it is because A) the computer is running newer "inferior" parts, or B) Windows 7 and 8 are designed to drag their feet regardless, especially if it detects the presence of older hardware. Install Linux on any of these old machines, and watch it scream -- WAY faster than any windows OS, old or new. So yes, if you ever have the opportunity to find a relatively old but relatively high-powered machine for a few pounds and pences, give it a good home, consider installing Linux Mint (or Ubuntu) on it, and give it the life it never would have had under a crippled OS.

Best of all, because it's on a second machine, you can experiment all you want, and never risk the safety of your Windows machine to let you continue computing like you've always done. A little bit of the old and the new at your fingertips, and the power that goes with being adept at multiple environments.


--Cia

Dear Cia,

As much as I hate History, I still wanted to ask: How did you and cayfie find each other and become friends? I probably heard some of it before, but forgot.

Dear Avocado, ^^

Lol, you are our first repeat-question, kinda-sorta.
Well how we became friends is a bit private [sorry >v< ], but as far as how we met, I quickly detailed that in one of my earlier answers (to your counterpart Rad, in fact):

https://bigsister.forumotion.com/t419-dear-cia-column#6668

In case you ever wondered where the Step On Inn Alpha comes from, it used to be on that abandoned server -- although by the time I arrived at the scene, it was already gone and replaced with a snapshot world. I only got to know it through pictures, and later through the actual map file that my friend sent me a few weeks prior to Cay Day.

I wanted to do something similar to get the old Gunia map files before the server anniversary, but alas.. Gunia did not archive our world, so its gone forever. -.-

But yes, that's more or less how it is... and NUUUU, don't hate history. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it... don't be doomed.


--Cia

Dear Cia

Whats your opinion on the second avengers movie trailer



I know your not much of a comic person i just wanted to ask

Dear Tex,

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh....... XD
You're right, I admit I'm not much of a comic book person at all (or even a manga person for that matter).  While I may recognize some names such as Batman or The Atom or Kitty Pryde, and while I do find some of their movie adaptations enjoyable (the original Batman movie and the Batman Begins trilogy for instance), it's not something I've never been able to get into.  Batman has an appeal to me for the same reason as some anime heroes and heroines do... they are normal people who become exceptional through a combination of courage, dedication, intelligence and their own wits -- whereas characters that are automatically endowed with super amazing and crazy super powers (and bouncy biceps or boobs to match) sort of strike me as boring and cheaty.  

I'm sure that Mary Sue aspect has been toned down a lot over the years, and this movie certainly attempts to add more pain and angst to these heroes.  Even so, and after watching the original Avengers movie at some point (and at least the first Iron Man), everything does feel so out of place and shoe-horned, like humanity is incapable of solving its own problems without this merry band of heroes (AND THE US GOVERNMENT!!) to save them.  Saw the same thing with the newer Superman where the world would have been hollowed out by a giant gong bell if not for the help of this angsty alien boy who gets invincible thanks to help from some major Vitamin D intake (AND THE US GOVERNMENT!!).  And the word would be destroyed by various apocalypses waged by piles of scrap metal vomit known as Michael Bay's Decepticons, if not for a goofy boy and his pet car toys (AND THE US GOVERNMENT!!) -- I especially love the scene where they somehow find the EGYPTIAN pyramids.... in JORDAN!!!

FREAKIN JORDAN!!!!!!!!!!!  XD



Geez, yeah, the Pyramids of Giza are soooo inside... you know... Jordan... >_>

Then there's the whole Fantastic Four bit and some nude narly surfer dude (AND THE US GOVERNMENT!!), but those movies were just mind-numbingly stupid, so meh. XD

I guess things like Batman resonate more with me because, apart from being a more realistic and believable hero, it also has a much more balanced approach to authority (even if it does paint people as helpless and stupid more often than not); and movies like Guardians of the Galaxy as well because they pretty much bypass all earthly problems and just have some plain ol' fun.  I want movies to entertain and inspire me, not show me 250,000,000 ways to watch my fellow human beings get killed, shot, burned, maimed, tortured, crushed, drowned, disintegrated, or turned into ravenous zombies (I'm looking at YOU, movie-adaptation of World War Z!!), or all of the above (@#%& YOU, 2012!!!).

That also leads me to the other complaint I have with the apparent movie concept, and the fact it has a very dark and apocalyptic feel... YET ANOTHER dark and apocalyptic feel.  Again, Batman gets a free pass in the last movie because the nuke would have only destroyed Gotham, sparing the rest of the world from the whole drama -- but everything else superhero-related seems obsessed with killing the whole world because of course humans are too weak and stupid to defend themselves properly (EXCEPT THE US GOVERNMENT!!!).  Not to say the premise of an apocalypse can't lead to very good movies... I actually did like The Day After Tomorrow for its great and intelligent characterization and humbling (but not devastating) message to its viewers, and I absolutely LOVED Deep Impact for the same reason only better (and DAT ENDING!!!!).  XD
And don't get me started on Pacific Rim -- dire, but so so AWESOME, and it's one of those rare movies that has the whole world fight a powerful foe together (if a little stereotypical at times, but I'll take THAT over Transformer's bad geography any day). ^^

My point is, Hollywood has a very disturbing obsession with, in a sense, "training" people to expect terror and horror, and someone to save them because they are, in essence, nothing.  Bystandards, ants, pond-scum, and worse... sometimes the very problem (ergo, ZOMBIES!).  And to show the solution as being a merry band of superhumans -- directed by or with the help of the all-knowing, all-seeing eye of the US government -- trains the viewer to be even more over-dependent on an external savior.  Rinse and repeat for a few generations, and that can potentially lead to very weak-willed people who lack confidence, which is ironic considering comic book characters, by their very nature, should inspire people to do good things.  Compare the original War of the Worlds movie in the 1950's where the humans do genuinely make an attempt to combat the shielded-alien threat, to the point where the main character is not only strong-willed and scientific, but also an active participant to studying the aliens... versus, say, Tom Cruise who just does a lot of running, whining, and bad singing.  And NONE of them hold a candle to H.G. Well's characterization of the narrator of the original 19th century War of the Worlds, where despite being technologically-outmatched, the narrator never loses his cool, and stays strong, observant, and strategic about the Martians.  Plus there's that AWESOME battle scene between a Martian War Machine and the HMS Thunderchild, and it was the absolute bestest-best thing EVA!!  Below is a screenshot:



Hollywood and television may claim they're simply responding to what people want, but I call bull... they helped change what people wanted slowly and subtly, and THEN claimed innocence at the growing trend of a victimized audience.  Or maybe they didn't change all that many minds at all... after all, movie sales are still not all that great -- but armed with the media, they can invent any kind of self-praise and public opinion they want. Either way, I'm not falling for it -- I can watch some of these movies for entertainment or for observation of current trends. I probably will watch this movie with someone, and Im sure it'll be silly but entertaining (just like the first Avengers movie). But no way would I follow into the helpless victim mentality, eager and willing to have other people's kids blow other people up just so I could feel safer (because since there are no Ultrons in the world, that's ultimately what ends up happening).  It's wrong and inhuman on so many levels, and I personally value being human a little too much to lose that feeling of self-worth, thank you very much. 

Now as for current movies... excuse me, while I indulge in my absolute favorite right now at the movies... XD



Oh yeah!  XD


--Cia

Dear cia,

What do you think about this random 7 second video?

Just for fun, y'know?

Dear Super,

I'm going to hurt you.  
At least I know what's your current game obsession du jour, you seem to always change one every week or month.  I still remember when you were gaga over Cave Story.  >v<

Anyway, normaly I'd be all WTH about that, but lucky for you, as of a few days ago, I know what those characters are.  They're characters from what's being billed as one of the scariest, creepiest games in modern history -- and although it's full of jump scares and such, there is an underlying current that is scariest and terrifying of all.  I might even give it a try some day (although granted, I didn't even last long in Penumbra before I left all scared).  XD

Anyway, if you want to see a good video about the possible historical connection of the video, check this out:



I'm not sure how true it is, but I still found it fascinating (if perhaps too disturbing).  >.<


--Cia

Yay two questions in a row

Dear Cia

What the actual hell is this?



First he ruins transformers, now he's eating people.

Dear Tex,

Haha, that was cute. XD
Well clearly, that's what that Transformers dork does every Tuesday night, the song seemed pretty self-explanatory to me.  

All Hollywood actors are crazy psychotic drugged-up cannibals, don't you know?  Even Anthony Hopkins, my gawd... XD




--Cia

Dear Cia, 

As we should all know you hate wheat and wheat by products with a passion, you have also said you have lacked starch products in your diet up until now (If I understood that correctly) . My question is what does your diet usually consist of and what other foods do you generally not eat/neglect?