I'm not sure what others think when they are asked the question "what color do you like?" Do they consider what the color actually means or do they simply pick a color that they like to like at?

Well, either choice lands you in the same place because they both essentially boil down to the fact that you LIKE a color because you can ASSOCIATE with it. This is nothing new to most of those reading this I'm sure but I found it interesting that many people seem to simply blurt out whatever color they enjoy staring at mindlessly for hours on end while drool slowly oozes out from between their lips. Extreme exaggeration? Yes. Will you hold that against me for the rest of this blog? I don't know, I'm not a mind-reader.

So..where am I going with this? Well, I realized that I really never gave the notion much thought until recently when I had to wade my way through the poem "March" by Richard Wilbur. Don't get me wrong I love reading poetry but I think most people would agree that there's reading poetry and then there's reading poetry. The latter being the type of reading imposed on one by college courses, the kind that saps the initial energy and joy and mystique out of the poem and instead substitutes it with knowledge of the poem's inner workings, which is then mashed together with your original feelings. That's what happens to me at least but I digress..

To better explore my previous questions I divided my life into sections based on what I remember and what color I liked at the time. I left out anything before age 7 because anything before that age is pretty much just smoke and mirrors for me. I

Anyway, when I was younger (around 7-12) I really liked the color purple. My childhood wasn't rife with hardships nor was it particularly disappointing or particularly negative. Here's what the color Purple signifies, "Purple is the color for royalties. It stands for luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also the color of passion, romance and sensitivity. Purple is the third favorite color in terms of color preference after blue and green. Purple people are easy to live with but hard to know. They can be secretive, so that even when they seem to confide freely, their closest friends never completely understand them. People who are attracted to purple are people who have an aura of mystery and intrigue. Purple is often preferred by artists. People who like to consider themselves different from the common herd or unconventional often prefer purple." Well, I could see how I would like purple as a younger child. I never really enjoyed the company of other kids, had a few friends but I talked to everyone. I was not and I still am not an artist though. I cannot put pictures to paper, I cannot weave words into a creation that is both stunning and engaging and I definitely have no eye for lighting and photography. I am neither mysterious nor intriguing but rather a normal duder doing normal things in a normal way. The one thing I truly excelled at that the color purple is attributed with is the ability to retain secrets. I am Vault 101 and your secrets..wait didn't we escape from there? Yeah, bad example..but I can keep a secret!

Next phase in my life, I'm sure your yawning by now but I MUST have my self-reflection time and I feel like making a blog so just continue reading with morbid curiosity at what inane points this rant will produce next..

The Angst Years as I (fondly?) remember them as was a time in which I generally didn't like what I was (cliche) and my favorite color was Red. Here's what there is to say about that color, "It represents all things intense and passionate." (sex, lust, trust, strength, courage, excitement, creative energy, desire) Well to be honest, in my experience this wouldn't be so far off with the feelings that swirl around in a teenager's mind. I was never hormone crazed and obsessed with lusting after the womenz though. Courage was an attribute I was severely lacking and strength was nothing more than an empty hole that was bottomless. I wrote some poems in that time, standard teenager fair, full of angst and cliches and that was that.

And now, at the cusp of 20 I feel myself sinking slowly into a frothing mass of grey. "People who like Grey tend to be neutral about life. They like to protect themselves from the hectic world in a blanket of non-commitment preferring a secure, safe, balanced existence. They work hard and are the "middle of the road" type of individual. Grey can also signify psychologically gloominess, sadness." Yeah, that pretty much accurately sums up this point in my life. Do I feel any kind of self-pity for what my life has become, what it has evolved into? No, no I don't. Everythingiswhereitshouldbeinit'splaceandthisiswhereIamandwhereIamiswhereIbelong.

So in my opinion, do colors really mean anything in regard to how we feel about ourselves? Yes, to a certain extent they do. I wouldn't go so far as to say that someone can label themselves a "purple duder" or a "red duder" but our choice of favorite colors may have something to do with our psychological state of mind. I am not trying to create labels, merely trying to explore in a shallow and brief fashion what I have discovered about colors.

This was meant to be about a normal day.

The Sky

War on high, permeates the morning sky,

Luminous warrior clashes with gray,

Below, the wind forces out a sad sigh,

The lonely tree cries brown in its decay.

In another sky, outlined in deep red,

Luminous warrior lies, his heart still,

The wind sighs in lament over the dead,

The tree, a solitary ashen hill.

Here you see, my outward reality,

Seen through a grudging veil of ceaseless gray.

Here you do not see, the sky within me,

And I, made of ash, will be blown away.

Now with a sigh, shallow and shuddering,

I am lost in the wind’s gentle mutterings.

This one is a continuation of the prior one. Except I created it. No imitation and what not. It IS supposed to imitate the courtly love style sonnets in theme though.

Love, my elusive and malicious light,

Lead me down the barren path to nowhere.

I follow languidly, towards two fair

Embers burning bright through oppressive night.

I approach, they turn, I retreat in fright.

Love, Her eyes sear my flesh and yet I dare

Approach again closer, I watch my flesh tear,

My eyes melt away, yet I retain sight.

Oh devious guide why torture me so?

Embers so bright, I only pray my tears

May sate inferno, ever unyielding.

My flesh turns to ash, I sway to and fro,

Love’s laughter rends my tortured, ragged ears.

Joy I find, in Her smile concealing.

Supposed to be in the style of "imitation" so the first line is from a Petrarchan or Wyatt sonnet, can't remember which.

Find no peace, and all my war is done;

I cower and believe, ablaze, yet like ice;

I soar high, yet remain unable to rise;

Bereft of all, yet lacking in not one,

The door is open but I am still in prison,

Free to flee, though trapped awaiting demise,

Love keeps me alive, undead through its devise,

But of eternal sleep it gives occasion.

Devoid of sight I see, tongue less I wail.

I wish for death, yet ask to keep my breath,

I love her, and thus I despise myself;

Sated by sorrow, I laugh as I fail.

Behold, I desire neither life nor death,

The inducer of pain rests within thyself.

Didn't know this appeared as a topic !

I also realize that some lines are off regarding the amount of syllables. So maybe It shouldn't be deemed a sonnet per se.

I recently purchased Dead Island for the Xbox 360 and I must say that I LOVE this game.

I am what one may consider a Zombie aficionado, so naturally I love most things with zombies. I was ecstatic when Left for Dead was originally released but I found myself disappointed with the action and the lack of variety. Yes, the boss zombies are cool until you fight them over and over again..the levels are fairly linear and the combat was not as brutal as one would expect from a zombie game. Then I purchased Left for Dead 2 which improved on the first one, but I still found myself wanting more area to explore and some form of reward for completing a level. Yes, it IS a great feeling knowing you survived the undead hordes but I wanted more, call me greedy but that's how I felt. The combat still was not as brutal as I had hoped. A staple of zombie movies is gratuitous gore and as shallow as this sounds I found myself wishing the kills were more visceral.

Then out came Dead Island, combining RPG leveling, looting and brutality. I love RPGs and zombies so this was a no-brainer purchase. I was not disappointed, far from it. The combat is up close and brutal, the leveling system is satisfying even though some of the voice acting leaves a bit to be desired. I found no textural issues and though I haven't really figured out how to join online games yet, call me lazy or illiterate but I didn't see it outlined in the manual (tell me how to join games if you read this :D?). It is unbelievably satisfying lopping limbs and heads off and watching blood gush out all over the place (childish as that sounds). There are plenty of side quests to keep me busy and it is fun running zombies over with my car. Weapon customization is also a great addition and adds a lot of fun to the experience as do the Boss creatures/different zombie types. I intentionally avoided the Dead Rising games because I cannot express competently how much I loathe games that put a time limit on your experience.

The one thing that really let me down was the fact that I cannot customize the way my character looks or even my characters gender.

So, if anyone reading this enjoys brutal zombie killing fun, RPGs, Weapon Customization, looting and doing so with friends then you should get this game.