Back from Break

Over break I spent 90% of my time applying for jobs and working on my computer build, so not a whole lot of media was consumed, save for some PC building YouTube tutorials. Once I got back from break, however, I had the privilege of watching a couple movies and play some video games. The movies I mentioned are/were Zoolander (a timeless masterpiece) and Jurassic Park. It was my girlfriend's first time seeing Zoolander, so I was honored to be the one to take her on that journey. I, unfortunately, have never seen Jurassic Park before (I'm ashamed) and I'm currently watching Jeff Goldblum flirt with Laura Dern. I'm only a little way into this movie and it's already amazing! I'm on edge waiting for something to go wrong, I know something is going to go awry. There's something refreshing about watching an early 1990's movie, it's been awhile since I've watched something from the late 1980's-early 1990's.

Video Games are media, right?

As I've stated before, I don't have a whole lot of time for media this semester other than my Pink Floyd while write papers. Recently, I've found myself craving little ten minute gaming sessions, and I've turned to prop hunt to satisfy my needs. Prop hunt is a hide-and-seek video game that you play online with other people, and most importantly, each round is only about 5 minutes, so it's a great little video game "snack." Players are either on the team "hunter" or "props." The goal of the players on the prop team is to hide in the environment as an inanimate object, like a chair or a soda can. The hunters try to determine which objects are normal, and which objects are secretly players. It might not sound too great, but it curbs my cravings for video games and allows me to get back to work quickly. Lately, thats been the most significant piece of media in my life.

My roommate's TV addiction.

My roommate pretty much just watches TV all day every day. He has classes two days a week, and the other five are spent soaking in sitcoms and cop shows, with two, sometimes even three, meals a day. He usually goes to sleep around 2:00 am and wakes up around 12:00-2:00 pm. He needs all that sleep so he can be awake for Netflix.

Why am I telling you this? Well, the sad truth is that he is providing a good 50% of the media I consume. Second-hand media consumption. I hear so much television through my headphones on an average day, I realized recently that it's a huge part of my regular media consumption. It's not voluntary, I don't want it, but it's always, always there. He recently configured the room in a way such that it's pretty much impossible for him to use headphones for his Netflix. His TV sits on the very top of his desk and gets Netflix from his laptop down below on the actually work-station area of the desk, while he lies in his bed, eyes glued to the screen, for hours on end. The closest headphone jack is probably on the TV, a good 10-12 feet from his head. Not that it matters anyway, he forgot his headphones at home in New York City. So here I am, writing this right in front of him, but he doesn't notice because he's watching some New York City cop drama. This blog is about media consumption, so I was pretty much required to write about him, he's one of the most heavily weighted aspects of my media diet.