Josh Leblanc's blog

Its been over a month and no blog posts. If anyone is still reading this I would like them to know that I am still alive and online. I have added some new stuff to the songwriting page so check it out. And that’s not all! I even threw in a WHOLE NEW PAGE!!!! All about my other animations. THE END

Well short story two is up. Here’s the link. It’s called The Sellsword. It basically follows up on short story one by adding new characters and of course bringing back some old ones. Also you might note a few character developments in Aelar. Of course this will be a series of three or four stories so read on. The third one is ten percent done by the way. Now please enjoy this insanely cool video.

The Modern Warfare 2 map Estate

Summer is usually depicted as a time where kids play outside, go to the beach, have water fights and build forts. But nowadays kids, especially those my age spend there summers indoors, playing video games. Here’s a fact, more people play on Xbox Live during the summer than any other season. The same goes for online play for almost any other video game console. Why don’t we want to go out and play? I can only think of a few reasons.

Reason 1: Attention span. Our generation as a whole has a very short attention span. If we can’t find something to satisfy us within 30 seconds of us wanting to do something then we are “bored” our outlet for boredom is texting, social networking and especially video games. As a matter of fact most video games are designed so that something happens to you, whether it be a challenge, puzzle or plot twist every thirty seconds. This way we keep our interest in the game at all times. Even in online play the gameplay is specially designed so that you meet a challenge every 30 seconds, in first person shooter games this is accomplished by putting “rewards” in the center of the map. These “rewards” are designed to try to get all the players in the game to try and get to them. Good examples of “rewards” are: rare and powerful weapons and vehicles, tactically advantageous terrain, powerups, and in some game types things you need to capture like flags and territories. A perfect example of a map with a “reward” in it is Estate a map from the first person shooter Call Of Duty Modern Warefare 2. In the center of the map is an estate, (hence the name) that everybody tries to capture and occupy for the reasons that you can kill them while they can’t kill you, and because it is cool. So naturally, the game is set up so that an enemy soldier tries to enter the house about every 5-15 seconds, thus keeping everyones interest and keeping them playing the game.

Reason 2: lazyness. This one is pretty easy to explain. Why would you bother to go outside and run around and get all sweaty when your character can run around and get all sweaty for you? Exactly. For most kids it’s a no brainer.

Any more reasons? leave a comment!

Also the next short story is up, check it out. Comment.

Best speech ever. Short and sweet. Even though the school year is ending, this blog will continue.

Check it out. It’s called Songwriting. Here’s the link: link of doom!

This one references an amazing cartoon called Invader ZIM.

This picture refers to a series of youtube videos call ASDF movies. (If you don’t know them then you are a nube)

Yes I really am obsessed with this picture

I  have been hooked on these things called motivational posters lately. They are basically motivational posters exept with funny themes. For example:

But just recently I have found a website that allows me to create motivational posters. Heres some of my first creations.

Waffle Kebabs. The greatest food ever. (idea courtesy of my lil bro) I tried it and unlike choclamato, (the last food I made up) it actually tastes delicious. I tried them, they made me go yum. I wil be posting a recipe shortly.

http://hoppingthefence.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/GO-away.jpg

First I would like to apologize to all of my readers (you may not leave comments but I know that you’re out there!) for not writing much lately. Frankly I’ve been busy with many things. I will now share some of them with you.

1.) The essay that I wrote (in second post down) won me a 150 dollar savings bond toward college. (yay one book!)

2.) I got a solo in the song “I’m Yours” for my school choir.

3.) For all those readers of my short story I am completing the final draft of the second story. It is called The Sellsword and it will be up soon.

4.) One of my videos on flipnote hatena (for those new readers flipnote hatena is an animation website that I frequent) has become hugely popular and I have been up maintaining it. I will not share it though because I am self conscious about my work.

Now for todays assignment. I am to write a post describing the laws that I wrote about immigration. Here they are:

Q: If you were in charge, what rules would you make about who could become an American?

A: Anyone should be able to be an American. If you live in America becoming a citizen is a right, not a privilege. A privilege that anyone, Pakistani or Canadian can achieve.

Anyone who is biased and treats an immigrant with hate or disrespect gets a stamp on their forhead that says: “I am a biased loser feel free to mock me”

America is the land of opportunity not the land of  “GO BACK TO MEXICO!”

Q:  should all new immigrants know how to speak English?

A: No. But, I do think that if you don’t speak fluent English then you should be signed up for free English lessons. That way you can better flourish in our country. The lessons would be held in some public building in the county and most languages should be represented. If for some reason the state or county cannot find a tutor for a specific language then there is always Rosetta Stone.

Frankly I think we as a country should welcome immigrants not tell them to shove off.

In language arts class today we were assigned the task of writing a personal essay about something very dear to us. The essays will be entered in a contest. I could win me some moneys. Read my essay below. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Reading And Writing, My Passions
When most people talk about something they enjoy it is usually a game or activity, such as sports or music. Few people name an item, such as ice cream, or video games. And an even smaller number of people than that list something academic like Math, Science or History. One of the things that I enjoy most falls in to the last topic. I enjoy reading and writing.
Now don’t call me a kiss-up for entering this in a writing contest. I truly do enjoy reading and writing. I take great pleasure in watching jumbled letters form into words, those words forming sentences and those sentences coming together to form stories. I take equal pleasure in diving into a good book and putting myself in the characters’ position. I have been known by my friends to read excessively, plowing through a book at least every three days. I have even been known to come to school without any sleep because I was up all night reading or working on a short story. And I am a frequent flyer to the school library.
I enjoy almost all genres of writing, from non-fiction to mystery. But the ones that I most enjoy reading and writing about are fantasy-fiction and science-fiction. Authors like Eoin Colfer, Douglas Adams, Robert Aspirin and J.R.R Tolkien have inspired a lot of the work that I do and their books are my favorites to read. I do not know why but I enjoy venturing in to new worlds, discovering new things, and inventing crazy creatures and fantastic beasts.
When I write stories I enter a whole new world where I am the creator. It exhilarates me greatly to watch as words fly off the page, creating worlds, beings and universes with them. I find great joy when I write about my characters finding a clever way out of a pickle that I have put them into and I find great sorrow when it is time for one of them to die. The sheer ecstasy I receive when I have finished a story that took me weeks to create is indescribable in itself, a feeling ten times greater than getting a perfect score on a test, or getting something amazing for Christmas. It is a feeling of creation for upon completion of your story, a new world with new possibilities is born by you into this world.
A similar feeling is received when I pick up a pencil with an idea for a new story. I have the ability, with a few strokes of this pencil, to create a whole new world with no limitations or boundaries except the ones that you create for yourself. Who says that just as the bad guy is about to get shot, that a great robot can’t burst out of thin air due to a loophole in the fabrics of space and time, taking the bullet for the bad guy, thus allowing him to escape to terrorize the general population another day? Nobody but me controls my world.
When I pick up a new book I receive a different sensation, similar to the one that a small child receives before unwrapping a birthday present. A feeling of wonder, knowing that when you open up those pages you will be dragged on a wild ride through the eyes of the characters, there will be action, drama, and depending on the author, a good laugh or two. It is a much greater sensation than one you receive from watching a movie, for even though the author dictates your actions you still have the freedom to imagine the characters and settings any which way you want. A movie spoils that by not allowing you to use your imagination. A good book captivates your attention and keeps you there for as long as possible. I can finish a good book in two days, and a great book I can finish in one.
At the end of a book another great feeling awaits you. This time it is similar to finishing a potato chip. You are delighted with the chip’s flavor and cannot wait to try another one like it. This is the same for a good book. A feeling of happiness wells up inside of you for you have come to yet another happy ending. But an overpowering desire for more also overcomes you and you cannot wait for the next book to come out. Especially if there’s a cliffhanger ending. I cannot even write those in my stories for the tension in between books is stressful to an overeager reader such as myself. When the book ends with the characters stranded on a planet that is about to be disintegrated by death rays, it can make a reader anxious. And when the author never gets to writing a sequel that’s just awful.
Reading and writing have definitely shaped me as a person. It has given me creativity and a vivid imagination to boot. It could also help me in the future. When I grow up I can be a language arts teacher, a book critic or even an author. As with the worlds I can create, I can create my own future. The possibilities are endless.