Scribblenauts

Perhaps one of the most entertaining video games you can play right now is Scribblenauts. It's so entertaining that sometimes I steal Albert's iPad during AP Lang just to play it. (Sorry, Mrs. Smith.) The premise is extremely simple: the player is presented with a puzzle and can summon a wide variety of objects in order to solve it. And when I say "wide variety," I mean, "99% of whatever you come up with can be summoned in this game." Would you like to bring in a dinosaur? Type in dinosaur, and you'll get one. Maybe you want a specific dinosaur. Want a stego? Type it in, and you're done. Say you want to be more specific about what the object you want. Later versions of the game allow you to add adjectives for extra amusement.

When I first played a version of the game, I was extremely caught up in seeing what sort of ridiculous things I could make up. Zombie robots. Violent rocks. Cthulhu. I rode on a giant docile dragon wielding a mind control device and fought God. (No offense, Christians.) Then I realized that I hadn't even started the actual game yet. I had already spent tons of time on what turned out to be the start screen.

The puzzles themselves are just fun to play through again and again due to the fact that there are multiple solutions to a problem. For example, one early puzzle instructs the player to summon objects to give to people of varying careers and give them an object that fit into their jobs. For example, a policeman could be give a pair of handcuffs or a gun, while a chef could be given dough or a rolling pin. The sheer flexibility of the game's puzzles makes it very satisfying to play, and recommended for anyone who's interested.

The Chens

I am sure that everyone knows that Frank Chen wins everything. As in, literally everything. I am also sure that everyone knows that his older sister, Sophia Chen, also wins everything. Again, literally everything. We all know that this year's Awards Night was not the end of the Chen clan's winning spree. Tons of other academic institutions across the country generously hand out awards to whoever they deem to be a bright young mind, and you can be sure that the siblings Chen will be awarded them.

So now we have gotten the fact that the Chens win everything out of the way. Knowing that the Chens win everything, we must logically conclude that the Chens never lose. Scary thought, isn't it? To always be outsmarted by a Chen, to always face defeat at the hands of a Chen, to always be crushed soundly by a Chen. You can't win against a Chen. No one can win against a Chen. They never lose.

But then, there's a much more scarier thought. Let's do a quick recap: First, the Chens always win. Following that, the Chens must never lose. Now here's something to ponder about: what would happen if the Chens competed against each other? What would happen if you took two unstoppable forces and unleashed them against each other? Would they cancel each other out. To be honest, I believe that a clash of the Chens would be so disastrous that it would lead to the destruction of life, the world, and maybe even the entire universe as we know it.

So spread the word. Prevent the Chenpocalypse.

Because This is Too Good to Not Share

An Absolutely Sincere Thank-You to Evan Jensen

To kick off the journal project that I have just been dying to do this whole semester, I just want to express my gratitude for Evan Jensen. "Why Evan Jensen?" a most certainly skeptical reader must be thinking right this very second. "What has he done to earn a thank-you from such an esteemed person like Alex Liu?" (And I thank you, my dear readers, for having such a high opinion of me.) I understand this confusion, and I will take the time to outline my reasons for bestowing such a great honor upon Evan.

I wish to thank Evan for his role in bringing about an AP Lang project for the students of Mrs. Smith's class. I must admit, being the good little Asian child I am, I have been yearning for such a project this whole time. When Mrs. Smith informed us about this project, I'm sure that, on the outside, I appeared to be horrified. I am sure that some might have noted my reputation for being lazy and may believe that, at that moment, I was feeling an intense fury and hatred towards Evan and his plea for an AP Lang project. Nonsense, I say. When I heard about the existence of such a project, I experienced a joy of an enormous magnitude.

So thank you, Evan Jensen. Thank you for helping to bring about this AP Lang project for me to do. Thank you for giving me another reason for me to worry about my AP Lang grade a chance to help my AP Lang grade go up. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so thankful that I have dedicated the very first journal post to this wonderful individual.