Cartoons are very popular. I mean they are really, really popular. Not a day goes by where some animated show or feature isn’t on the television or even at the cinema. Cartoons have evolved greatly from the days when they were just humble and quirky animated shorts. Now, a cartoon can be just about anything.
There’s hand drawn and computer animated; family and adult; shorts, shows and feature length; serious and comedic; brightly coloured and subtly shaded; realistic and just all out crazy. Even a single studio can produce a plethora of animated delights. Look at Studio Ghibli – they have both animated features that are highly grounded in realism and others that… well… that really are not.
There is such variety that you may find the idea of me trying to suggest that there is a common trait that they all share while simultaneously also being the reason why so many people love animation is utterly mad. To be honest, you’re right. But just hear me out anyway.
There is an important distinction that I personally like to make between being DEPRESSED and having DEPRESSION.
Due to its many ways of being undetectable, depression is a funny topic for people to understand and thus it makes it even harder for them to talk about. A disease that makes you think irrationally sounds irrational to a rational person. A lot of people just don't really even comprehend what it is, how severe their problems are or even recognise that they (or someone else) have even got it.
All this naturally led to me thinking up this distinction. It is my personal way of understanding it all, both for myself and for others.
Deciding whether or not to go to university, can be one of the biggest decisions you ever make. With university fees increasing (in the UK), it's more important than ever to know beforehand whether going will be worth it.
I am a person who on the surface, looked like a great university candidate – I was an academic, hard-working kid who liked Maths. However, my time at university was quite disastrous and – despite getting a good degree in a good subject – it set me back very far. Maybe I wouldn't have gone on to accomplish all that I have done or be the young man I am today without the hardship, it's hard to tell. Nevertheless, I have very mixed feelings about whether my university experience was ultimately a liability or an asset.
It is my wish that young students going to university not only feel that they are making the right choice but also that they are proved absolutely correct throughout the rest of their lives with no regrets.
I love cartoons - it's no big secret - and I have always been happy with the way that they have evolved throughout the years. On the whole, I like the things that have changed and I like the things that have stayed the same. Sometimes I would like to see a few more shows animated in a particular way; or I would like to see more shows make use of a rarely used style of storytelling. However, this is not often; very rarely do I feel this way. There is one thing however, which I have not seen change in cartoons. I know this will sound odd but bare with me, as it something which I profoundly hope will change in the near future...
With time, everything changes and cartoons are no exception. The creation of animated shows has transformed vastly over the decades – with artistic, acting and storytelling styles evolving enormously. Though it is debatable as to whether on the whole cartoons are now better, there are things that I don't really see in cartoons anymore that I feel (and I think most people also feel) make them a whole lot better. So here are 5 cartoon improvements:
After an update to Super Mario Maker in November 2015, there is now a Hard version of the mini-game Gnat Attack. This mode is incredibly difficult but those who manage to beat it will earn Mystery Mushroom Costume 101: Fighter Fly. In fact, it is so tough that not many people seem to have beaten it. As such, I couldn't really find any guides online or many videos of people doing it. After beating the game myself, I wanted to share what I felt helped me and hopefully it will help some of you out there too.
I really love Super Mario Maker for the Wii U and have had tremendous fun creating courses. However, I have even more fun when I am playing everyone else’s levels. As such, I have played over 1000 courses and beaten Expert and Super Expert Mode over 50 combined times, including a number of levels with incredibly low completion rates (less than 1%). There are lots of fun levels out there but on these modes, you will see the most difficult courses – either using clever ideas or just plain old poor design. Here are the top 10 things that have worked for me to hopefully help you beat this mode:
I have just finished my first (and hopefully last) Premium subscription to Voice123. At the cost of $395, what this generally entailed me to is for the past year I would get auditions from their "Smart Cast" system and would be more likely to get more private auditions than non-paying members. Literally weeks into my subscription however, I had my doubts about whether the site was right for me and soon after that I knew in my heart that after my year was up I would not want to go through it all again. Wondering why? Read on...
It's amazing how life changes in so many ways and what in your life makes you evaluate that change. What has made me take a look back... has been the Pokémon animé. That's as geektacular as this post gets I promise, as over the last 9 months I have had quite a large and wonderful wave of nostalgia thanks to this cartoon.
Cartoons have had a hugely positive impact on my life in a variety of wonderful ways. So I personally find it strange when every once in a while I see something about a parent who won't let their children watch television or hear someone saying cartoons are bad for kids.
Here are 5 reasons I feel cartoons are a force for good:
The Simpsons is without doubt one of the most popular and well-loved television shows in the world and has been going strong for over 25 years. However, many argue that the show isn't as good as it used to be. I myself do prefer some of the "older" episodes but have found there to be a huge number of terrific episodes after the show supposedly "lost its touch". The show still brings me a lot of joy, great laughs and I love it. I actually think there are ways in which the show has improved with newer episodes. So here are 5 ways I personally feel newer episodes are better than older ones:
I have been thinking a lot about luck lately. It seems to be popping up everywhere in my life in the past few weeks. What is it? How does it exist? Who is lucky?
There is so much beauty in this world and yet we only pay attention to a fraction of it. Every once in a while I remember this and start trying to take the time to really focus on everything around me, the wealth of wonder out there.
I think Columbo is a really terrific show. What I also firmly believe is that the show is a useful resource from which much can be learned, notably by actors. Weird idea, I know, but hear me out as I explain why I feel watching this show is hugely beneficial.
When I got close to completing all of the challenges in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and looked at what I had left to do, I thought unlocking all of the Mii Hats would not be a problem at all. Boy was I seriously wrong… looking around the Internet, it quickly became apparent that I was not the only one and that nobody knows for sure just how getting custom headgear works. So though this is not a definitive guide and filled with a “this may or may not work” type of attitude, I wanted to put all of my observations, things I could remember and ideas I saw online that I agreed with in one place about how to unlock custom headgear in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
I’m weird. I have been a gamer almost all of my life, however the world of modern voice acting in video games is a realm that is actually somewhat new to me despite having been aware of and experiencing voice acting in video games since the late 90s.