Awesomeness Arizona

This is based off the proceedings of the Livorno counsel.

Have you ever been inside a dark house? What if that house was haunted? During the Halloween season many people put together haunted houses that include different details of environment control, noise, illusions, wind, and others to create a sense of fear or enjoyment. The reason that people go to haunted houses is because they want to be involved with the "story" that the makers created. They want to feel something.

Now picture this. You, along with 5 other guys or girls, walk into a warehouse. You are led into a locker room that is quite dark. You put on the jump suit offered you on top of the clothes you are wearing. You are handed what looks like a gun. You put a helmet on. Slowly you are led from normal ground to a surface that sounds like hallow tin on water. Everything is dark. Everything is still. Music starts playing. Battle music! Music of warriors! Staying in your vessel a black wall lifts in front of you and you can see fog. You can see the water around you. And you can hear gun fire. "Go go go!" someone screams. You start seeing light tracers and black bullets whizzing by. Your vessel slowly lowers it's front and you find yourself on Normandy beach. A man in front of you about 10 yards suddenly explodes into the air knocking him a few feet away. There are dead bodies on the ground and fake blood oozing from everywhere. Tank shells are going off in the back ground. You rush forward and are met by a man that says you have to take the beach.

Now compared to a haunted house this seems a bit more scary. How do you get the guns to work? Paintballs or air soft pellets. How do you get explosions? Gusts of air or paintball grenades. How do you make it feel not like paintball? All the paint is red. There are ways to simulate a real life situation of the past, future, or fiction.

Let's try again.

You enter a building along with 3 other people. You meet a man who looks like a security guard. He hand cuffs you and leads you to a prison cell where he tells you to get on the inmate suits that are on the wall. As you walked through the halls you saw people and other police officers, nothing out of the ordinary. The security guard stands at the door and makes sure you don't get out. The lights are on and all is as it should be in a top priority prison. All of a sudden there is no more noise. All you can hear is the breathing of you and your friends. The security guard treats this as normal, until he hears a knock on the door. He gets up off his chair and walks towards the door. As he reaches for the handle all the lights turn off and a high pitched scream is heard from the depths of the building. The police officer is crushed by the rubble produced by an explosion above his head and another one produces a hole in part of the wall that leads to to the exit. The doors have electric locks. The electricity has been disengaged. There is steam pouring out the hole with the aftermath of the explosion. You reach for the prison doors and to your relief and dismay they are open...

The rest can be left up to your imagination for now. We of the Livorno counsel know somewhat of the following events.

These are not just haunted houses. You have thus seen not only a very scary situation but also a very action based situation. This is a new form of entertainment. These are called experiences. The difference between an experience and a haunted house is the ability to interact with the story. Just as playing a video game is more engaging than watching a video game the experience will draw on you as the participant. There is the possibility to alter events. There is the capacity to create a higher sense of reality.

Now these are very top of the line experiences. Obviously they would be expensive and would require the use of wavers, but is it worth it?

Thus Awesomeness Arizona is born. Experiences and attractions all put together make up a park with the capacities of Disney world and land.

There are a few different building in Awesomeness. -----------------------------------------------
The Globe

What is the Globe? Precisely that! A globe. It has three main levels. The bottom is composed of a circle with a ring around it. The two levels above are just rings with a hole in the middle so as to see the circle. This is the dining area. Each level would represent a certain global community and the restaurants will have themes about them. For example you might sit on the floor in the Indian or Chinese culture. You might sit at a bar in a salon in the American west restaurant. The specifics have not been decided. You can get authentic food from each place and we hope to hire specific workers from that country to serve and cook the food. There are a few special components of the globe. Since each restaurant matches that specific culture there is the possibility to have pinatas in the Spanish one for example. You could have little rivers and bridges in the Italian one. One day you could be eating food in the salon when two cowboys start a gunfight or dual each other.

The Tower
Small Experiences
Big Experiences
The Hotel

We also put together a few ideas of experiences. ---------------------------------------------------
Starcraft
Prison break (above)
WWII (above)
Halo
Alien
Star Trek

Memory

The first and greatest commandment is to love God. Why does that work in every aspect?

Whenever we put our love more in other relationships we start to lose sight of who we are. No matter what expectations that friend may have for us they never will match that of God's. Only He knows us perfectly. We always need to put His relationship first. If we can do that we'll never get down on ourselves. We'll never think we aren't good enough. We'll have the hope to continue onward. We know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that will help us succeed. And who can fail with that type of knowledge?

The Sun Shines High

I closed my eyes to the sight of those bright morning lights,
The sounds all around me yearned my voice,

I saw a glimmer of light as the sky shown so bright,
The beauty matched the colors on our face,

So highiah, the sun shines brighihiht,
A fate that awaits us from the barrels of relief
So highiah, the sun shines so bright,
And we are at the edge of wet clouds on the reef,

A new day begins and I wonder why we wait,
To tackle the opportunities that present themselves,

The people that we see each have stories and their fate,
to tell someone round that will lend an ear and say,

So highiah, the sun shines brighthit,
A fate that awaits us from the barrels of relief
So highiah, the sun shines so bright,
And we are at the edge of wet clouds on the reef,

Riding on the Back Train

Riding on the back train   

gana storm the castle       

gana blow the whistle     

and get out all the thistle  

and we just can't stop      

now we see the captain 

he's shooting up manhatten

sheriff's with his fatten

screaming shouts just like a cannon

and he can't stop

he doesn't understand that

it is our great intention

to rob this train and mention

that it is our time in wrenching

and now he starts

Robbin it blindly 

you shouldn't do it that way

let the law take you now

and lock you up today

So he pulls out his gun

and presses down the trigger

we gotta run and hide just

to save us from the glitter

cause we can't get hit

calling on his whistle

his bums come in a missile 

we're jumping left and right

and finally take out all the little

goons and such

Taking all the pieces

like booty from the misses

small tokens of achievement
bracelts, earrings and lil weevements

and now we're stuffed

Robbin it blindly

you shouldn't do it that way

let the law take you now

and lock you up today

Now we gotta run

and get all off this train

the breaks have now been pulled

and we'll head off to the mold

if we can't get off

The horses that we set up

see us holding to our get up

they're running with their heads up

and plead for us to jump up

and now we're safe

and now we're safe

Robbin it blindly

you shouldn't do it that way

let the law take you now

and lock you up today

You criminal masters

please don't go away

turn yourselves and win
a ticket to my stay!!!!

Fire

I never thought my mind could be on such fire. I have so many projects going on and so many things to complete. It almost feels like an impossible task to get them all done. My jobs are overloaded and yet still I procrastinate some things and put my priorities in wrong directions at times. It is really hard haha.

I need to learn this music and read this book and film this thing and consider this principle and help people with this computer problem and understand this situation and visit this person and make amends to that person and to repair that thing and prepare to right this thing and speak in that language... heck, my life is full.

There has been so many topics that deal with love in my life as of late. Love in the true sense, not some vain foolishness. Why do we do things? Out of love, love of ourselves if no other. We should be doing things out of love of God or others. How do we express that love? How do we focus in our energies and use them to benefit and profit others? What kind words or appreciation or even a mere acknowledgment of existence can do for someone?

My mind is on fire. It has many broken down tasks to accomplish and plenty of time to do it but does it have the will power? I've looked over my schedule again and again and I've found that it is possible. With God it is possible, but do I have the mental power to do it? Do I put my trust in Him? Do I trust in the arm of flesh?

I try to think of the things that we can do. I try to think of the things that we can't do. I am unable to identify anything that we can't do. I have a friend that finds it extremely hard to ice skate. I have another friend that cannot play frisbee. I have a friend that cannot write nor express their feelings. I have another friend that can never seem to arrive on time. I have another friend that doesn't really care about that thing over there. I have another friend that can't sing, another that can't dance, another that can't play an instrument, another that cannot critically think, another that cannot sweet talk, another that isn't funny, and another that, that that that. Why? Because they choose not to. It's a very sad way of thinking but I get the feeling that we really can do anything we put our minds to. So long work, I'm ganna go fill up my stomach!

6 October 2010

Yesterday I was handed a flyer that informed me of a contest using IMovie to create a theme "Everyone Deserves a
Second Chance". I was chatting with my friend David and we came up with an interesting idea. The winner gets a free IPad. The movie can only be 3 minutes long, is due October 15th  and has a 10 dollar submission fee.

Idea Number 1
Make a collage of newspaper and ancient records for BYU team and have a narrator describe the efforts and abilities of the team coming together to get a second chance.

Idea Number 2
Have a student that wakes up and starts his day off as normal only to the audiences painful understanding that he wants to commit suicide. Someone saves him and gives him a second chance.

Idea Number 3
Have a narrative of a courthouse scene where a boy is being accused of horrific deeds and actions, a lawbreaker. Have the prosecutions voice clear the boy's charges.

Scene one: This video is not real. It is the portrayal of a false situation where a boy is given a second chance.
Scene two: Black screen with words "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. -Jesus"
Scene three: Words with bike ride.
                    Overlapping commentary.

"Your honor, the charges to this boy, Michael James the Third consist of the following illegal actions; breaking and entering, robbery..."
"Thank you your honor. The defense would like to call Mrs. Haylee Davis, the daughter of the late Josy Fairbanks, to the stand."
"Your Honor. We move for an adjournment of a day to review the present evidence."
"Michael, what happened the evening of the 15th of October 2010?"-Defensive lawyer

"Mr. Jamison, you have been charged with breaking and entering on March 4, 2010. It is alleged that on this date you entered the home of one Josy Fairbanks and took some bread and fruit from her kitchen, which items did not belong to you. You had no permission for this action and were therefore trespassing illegally. How do you plead?" 
"Your request is denied Counselor. The proceedings will continue as normal."-Judge

"Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" -Secretary

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.        I was hungry. I was wondering along Elm street looking for a spot to sleep at. I saw a house that looked inviting and my tummy growled. I saw an opening in the basement and took my chances. I made my way up the stairs onto the first floor and went to the kitchen. I took some food from the pantry and ate it. It was really good. I heard a noise from the other room and decided to run. Before I knew what was happening I was down the stairs and trying to get out of the basement. I heard a crash behind me but was so scared. I had to run.    Please forgive me.   I was only hungry, only hungry."
'Crying' -Michael Jamison

"Josy was my mother. She was 90 years old, living in her comfortable home.

Chapter 1: Angel

   
 
 Chapter 1: Angel


           "Good night Fred."
           "Good night Jo. Don't let the ghosts in."
           Joseph chuckled. It was an ongoing joke.
           They parted ways as Fred made off in his car. Joseph decided to start his rounds as normal. He was night shift for the company. He entered in through the main doors and made sure the security systems were on to any outside intruder. The office building was pretty big. It took more or less 45 minutes to get around the entire thing.
           Joseph was a normal security guard. He had on his black uniform with his hand gun and holster on his waist, a big standard flashlight in his hand as he walked. He stood taller than normal and rather enjoyed being physically fit.
           His rounds were always easy and the stairs never seemed like a daunting task to him. 5 flights on each end of the building were laid out in the building's schematics with two elevators and a reception room in the main entrance. All was normal. All was quiet.
           Jo made his way from room to room peering in and making sure everything was safe and where it should be.
           The building was newer. The company that owned it sold car insurance. They were a pretty good business with reliable clients and never too many problems. They had great lawyers. It was amazing the impact that words had whenever a problem arose. One of the main policies was to "keep your cool." Using this principle that was encouraged among all clients kept situations talk-able and clean.
           Joseph had been a security guard for a while. He enjoyed the job but always craved a bit of action at times, his adventurous side or so his wife said. He was walking along a wing of the building when a reflection in the window caught his eye. He grinned at himself using the dark mirror and continued his route, remember the instance when during close up time he felt that he had a seen a glint on the window so vividly he had called all the other officers and janitors on duty to alert. When everyone finally figured out what was going on they all just laughed and said that he was seeing ghosts. He had been so frightened at the time but now looked back at the memory with fondness. People appreciated others that could laugh at themselves.
          The something caught his eye again. He turned into the room that was reflected in the mirror. One of the computers was on near the back. The blue screen gave light to a man's face. He called out, "Hey."
          The screen went black. The flashlight still focused on the man's bald head.
          "Put your hands up, stand up, and tell me who you are." demanded Jo as he raised his gun.
          The man put his hands on his head and slowly stood up. His clear voice shot through the beam of light at Jo, "Joseph, there is no need to lift your gun. I'm finished here and I'm leaving now." He started walking towards Jo.
          Before the officer could react the man drew a gun and shot Joseph's gun out of his hand with ultimate accuracy. "There is no need to fear. I'm just on my way out. Don't try to follow me," came his clear voice again. It was almost memorizing.
          The next few seconds cast such a strong memory in the Joseph's mind that he couldn't forget it in a long time even though it was so foggy. The bald man noticed something in the doorway and started turning his gun. Joseph heard gun shots behind him and immediately threw himself to the ground. The bald man no longer had his gun but was charging the unseen shots. Joseph heard another shot and then fists and groans. Moments later a window broke and the alarm sounded loud. He heard a crash down at the bottom.
          Carefully he got up and moved himself towards the window. He was on the fifth floor and peered out over the broken glass. At the bottom he saw one man trotting off and the bald man motionless on the ground. 'How could anyone have survived that?' thought Jo. 'The new guy must have landed on the bald man and used him as a cushion,' answered his cognitive processes. 'The real police will be here any moment. I wonder what he was doing here.' This and many other questions needed answers.
          Peering around at the little glass that had fallen inside the building he made his way back into the room. The man's gun was still on the floor. Hopefully some conclusion would be made in tracing it. He made his way around to the computer that the bald man had used and glanced to find any marking or evidence that he had used it. It all seemed in perfect order.
          He could hear the police cars and see the reflections of their lights on the walls. Exiting the room he descended the stairs to meet them.
          There were only two cars that had come to investigate, three cops altogether. Without any explanation that was the base amount. Joe talked over the situation with the officers. He pointed over to where the body had landed. It was around the corner. They took a walk to the bend and peering around found only broken glass.
          "It looks like someone landed there alright," said the main officer. Joe couldn't believe it.
          "They fell from the fifth floor as you can clearly see."
          "Let's be on the look out. Maybe one or both of them are still here. Not likely I know but just to be on the safe side. Joseph, lead us up to the fifth floor," commanded the officer in reply to the look that Joe gave him.
          Guns at the ready they entered into the deserted office. Flashlights leading them ahead Joe headed the officers up the stairs slowly. They were all cautious. They made their way through the hall and over to the room, guns raised. Looking into the room Joe noticed that the gun was gone.
          'First he didn't die and second his gun is gone? How did he even get past us? The back door was dead bolt locked,' thought Joe.
          After checking the immediate crime scene they decided to split up and search the offices again from top to bottom hoping to find some sort of evidence that the two individuals had been there.