Can Pokemon solve the Economy?

I've been too stressed lately, so I've decided to allow myself a little extra time every other day to play Pokemon. It helps me to relax and the more relaxed I am, the better I am at what I do.

Well it's probably no surprise to you why I chose Pokemon Black 2. It's in contrast to my copy of Pokemon White, and it has the same, awesome game mechanics I've loved since I first started playing Pokemon Silver in 2001. (Being broke makes you a late bloomer.) Also, the main female choice has a sincere air of familiarity to her that I simply can't ignore.

But there's a few other things about the series that I liked as a kid, and as an adult, I realize could be really useful outside of the classic RPG series. Ideas that if implemented, could turn our economy around, promote commerce and make life easier all around. So here's a short list of what I've found:

24 Hour Shops ~ In the Pokemon games, EVERYTHING is open all the time. Whether you're playing at 2 in the morning, 3:15 in the afternoon or 10 at night, everything is available to you. 

Not only does this help the economy of cities such as Nimbasa, Celedon and Goldenrod, it also generates enough commerce that in the most recent games, the shops start picking up more and more merchandise. Plus some stores offer incentives to buying things in bulk. 

For example, if you buy 10 Pokeballs, you get a Luxury Ball for free, thus giving the consumer a reason to return. 

And with everyone being employed around the clock, you never run across anybody homeless on the streets in these areas. If they're out and about, it's just them having down time.

NO curfew ~ Now this sounds like a strange one, because (if you've read my other blogs on kids) I am NOT a fan of kids acting like adults. However, in the games and in the anime/manga titles, there is no curfew at all. Meaning that being out late is not considered a taboo worth breaking. And if it's not a rule worth breaking, nobody ages 10 and above thinks about acting out about it. 

Now granted, it's creepy to see a tween out that late, and you worry about the adult creeps that target them, but then you have to worry about those creeps 24 hours a day, so inside or out, that threat doesn't go away.

But there's no teenage gangs roaming around, no parents screaming at their kids about how late they're out, and the best part? Because the police aren't busy playing babysitter to the runaways, they have all the extra time to focus on nabbing the REAL criminals. 

Think about it. Team Plasma, Rocket, Aqua, Magma, they're the only threat you have. The robbers, rapists, embezzlers, abusers and stock analysts are all BEHIND BARS. Why? Because Officer Jenny is spending more time keeping them under lock and key than she is worrying about Ash Ketchum being out past 11. 

24 Hour Schools And Daycare ~ While I'm not happy that after being told my character had to wait until she was over the age of 10 to get her Pokemon Trainer Card, I bumped into Preschooler Anklebiter ~ who just waltzed up on me with a Pokemon bigger than him, I will say this, the concept of a 24 hour school is genius.

It's 2 in the morning, and I walk into a preschool that is well lit, stocked with toys, and run by people giving these kids a real-world education. There's a four year old who just told my character all about potions and how to properly take care of a Pokemon, and another toddler just finished studying. Their parents are nowhere to be seen, but it's assumed they are at work, much like all the other adults I keep finding.

The teacher doesn't care if Mom and Dad drop Junior off at 1 in the morning or at 4 in the afternoon. They're more concerned with making sure he has his manners in check and that he's getting an education strong enough to take him into old age. 

If we had schools like this all over America, I wouldn't want to throw rocks at every establishment I see. All of the other schools are like this as well. You can read books at the Trainer school/college at all hours of the day and night, and bump into teachers just randomly giving out advice, even if you're not a student.

NO Obesity Nazis And Snack Food that's GOOD for you ~ I'm constantly complaining about these losers, especially on days where I see parents ~ fully grown ADULTS with jobs, money and a post-college brain in their heads ~ bullying kids into thinking that if you start getting a little chubby, Mommy and Daddy will hate you. So sick I am of seeing these kids ~ not even old enough to buy a sandwich by themselves ~ bullied by the people whose job it is to protect them. And yet more and more, I see these kids with full on anorexia, lethargic, out of breath, running themselves into an early grave, just because a few weirdos decided that you're morbidly obese every time you touch more than two carrot sticks.

So it's nice to see that in the Pokemon world, people are fine with you giving your Pokemon a Lemonade or a Soda Pop. Not only does it replenish their HP, it also makes them more friendly towards you, important if you're trying to obtain friendship-only evolutions like Azumarril or Togetic.

Snack Foods are cheap, and are not considered to be bad for anyone's health. So nobody bullies me when I purchase a Castelliacone or pick up a Rare Candy. People are just not that nosy, and I like that.

Medical and Grocery combo stores ~ This is a newer feature in the Black/White era. You walk into a PokeCenter, and not only can you heal your Pokemon, you can also buy food and supplies and even access a global battle/trade area.

True, some hospitals in the real world have little shops, but like airports, their goods are overpriced and of a low quality. And in this fast paced world, where you have to tend to the injured and sick in your family AND provide for the non hospital goers, adding regular shops with affordable goods can drive up commerce and create new jobs. This way, those who are waiting for a loved one can still buy a decent meal or obtain what they need when they go home, instead of sitting underneath a TV blasting crappy programming while trying to lie to yourself that a 3 year old issue of Newsweek Magazine is a thought-provoking read from unbiased writers.

It's amazing to me that a simple video game has all the answers to America's problems. Now if only someone was smart enough to implement them.

Don't let your folks give you trust issues.

A friend of mine was hurt pretty badly by her dad recently, and sadly she's not the only one. More and more, I'm finding people in my age group who have really BAD relationships with at least one parent.

I have no idea what exactly happened here, but sometime in the 1980's, a number of self-centered, spoiled, out-of-touch, abusive, manipulative, Douche-bag ala-modes, started having unprotected sex. The result was my generation.

Most of us have ONE parent that we have had a decent parent-to-child relationship with. This is the "good" parent, the one that actually sent payment to the utility companies (that's not the same as bringing money home, you know), stayed up with us when we were sick, offered advice when we all should have known better, and actually took the time to remember who is on what medication.

Then there's the DOUCHE parent.

The one that throws temper tantrums ~ complete with screaming, crying and hitting ~ whenever they don't get their way with us, but cower in the corner every time an adult with a doctor's uniform says "no".

The one who walks out on you, seemingly forever, only to come back into your life when he/she feels like it, and start bossing you around ~ even after you grew up.

The one who never gets to know you personally (likes, dislikes, ect.) but throws a tantrum when you won't let he/she blather on about themselves.

The one that beats you up physically to make themselves feel big and strong, beats you mentally to make themselves feel powerful, and then has the nerve to bitch and complain that you never spend time with them. He/she will then insist they have no friends, threaten suicide, and then call all 10 of their real-life friends to talk about what a horrid bitch/bastard you are, and how they wish you'd move away.

The one that insists that if we were all dead or living elsewhere, he/she "wouldn't have to" bend over backwards, bust his/her ass, put food on the table, roof over the head, dear God I have memorized every one of these childish claims. Funny thing is? They all talk like this ~ but not ONE of them is welcome to move back in with Grandma or Grandpa. EVER.

The one that drinks heavily, wastes money on stupid ventures or other BAD things, and then has the nerve to throw a hissy fit about money if you dare to purchase a new t-shirt... from the Goodwill.

This is the clown that will turn every moment into the ME show, and then get pissy when he/she is not the center of the universe.

Yeah. I have a "parent" like that.

It's amazing, I have babysat plenty of badass kids, and not ONCE have any of them been even close to the level of difficulty of one of these jerks.

Worse? I know more than one person with BOTH parents acting this badly ~ and step parents too! Now those are the people who deserve my sympathy right there.

But one thing that bothers me, is when a bad relationship with a spoiled brat parent, translates into permanent trust issues, and the re-posting of 100 or so DeviantArt Photoshops.

You know the kind. They have a sad, sometimes sobbing, teenage girl in the background all blurry, or the image of two teens holding each other, and they have words in the front of them. Either a poem about abuse, a warning about not forcing people to kill themselves, or a message about her disappearing from your life.

They are ineffective and are often marked as spam, but seemingly this is the only way some of these wrongfully abused victims can express themselves.

(Thank you so, bloody, much public school system, for killing the arts program.)

After seeing a photoshop about a girl who does not have the ability to trust anybody, based on her father being a jackass, I was compelled to write this:


" I have a lousy, nonexistent relationship with my dad. He's the type that will "swear" he loves you, only to tell you how badly he wishes the condom didn't break next time he has a fight with you.

Growing up, he'd make up excuses as to why he wouldn't spend time with me, he cheated on my mom ALOT, forged her signature on several credit cards that he used to spend money on other women, beer and really super GIRLY stuff for himself. He took me away from my elderly relatives on my mom's side ~ so I could waste time being moved across country for 6 years, and when I came back, everybody I missed was either dead, dying or had moved away. I came back to nobody waiting for me. And there were plenty of times he'd pick at the parts of me that aren't White, despite the fact that he's the idiot that married a Mulatto in the first stupid place!

But even with all that, I realized that I can't have trust issues based off of ONE guy. That's all he is. ONE human being. ONE person, among several BILLION on this planet.

If your dad ~ or anybody else for that matter ~ walked out on you, hurt you, abandoned you or did anything else bad to you, drop them like the bad habit they are, and move on. There are BILLIONS of other people in this world that are NOT him, and you already have several who care for you."

I very much stand by that.

Chicken says No.

When you start to plan a move, you tend to look through the things you've collected while you've been in the house, and you remember all the little things that make you nostalgic for the first turn of that key...

Or in my case, it makes you pack a hell of alot faster.

When I first got settled into the house that is soon to become a Wal*Mart, I remember opening up a newspaper. It was April of 2007, and I was getting over being sick, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the time than by reading a newspaper ~ at least until the TV guy showed up. (That's another story.)

Upon opening the ever thinning paper, I came across a story that grabbed hold of my attention. At first I thought "I must still be sick, because that just sounds stupid" but upon putting my reading glasses on, I realized I was not making a mistake.

Man taken into custody in downstate Indiana after molesting chicken to death.

You now have my undivided attention.

Now, I could have put the paper down. But when you hear or read a story that absurd, you just have to read the rest of it. You can't stop. You can't help yourself. If you don't find out what happened, it will eat at you for the rest of your life. You'll go crazy, trying to draw up conclusions on scrap paper, scribbling on chalkboards. You'll start talking in your sleep and loved ones will find you face-down in the toilet, trying to flush the damn thing out of your head.

So knowing I would hate myself in the morning, I turned the page, and read the story.

During the Spring of 2007, a serial animal rapist was taken into custody.

Serial? Yes, apparently an arrest warrant was issued on the man, after the third time he had been seen molesting a cat. In the span of four months, he had molested a total of two dogs, four cats and three chickens, the third chicken he had stolen from his friend's farm.

Now the first three animals he molested were alley animals, and were all later adopted out.

Let me stop a moment so you can let that seep in. How on Earth do you adopt out a dog or a cat in that situation?? I can see it now. After a lengthy and harassing commercial, featuring Willie Nelson and Sarah McGlaughlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan singing about abused animals in a shelter, a young family pops into the Humane Society. A little boy spots Rover in the corner, shaking violently and howling when he sees the boy's father. The parents ask what's wrong with him, and the clerk says:

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!! His last owner turned him around and banged him like a Salvation Army Drum, rode him up and down the street like a wheelbarrow an' then he downed a 5 Hour Energy shot an' tried to perform the bedroom yoga like he was a caffeinated mail order bride. But I'll give ya a $10 discount if ya get him chipped an' neutered today!!

So moving on..

The first three animals he abused were alley animals, and all of them have good homes now. The rest of the animals came from his friend's farm.

Now his friend took him in off the streets, thinking that he was just down on his luck. But then he started noticing that his animals all acted funny around the guy, and he could no longer control them.

One night, he caught the guy abusing his chickens, and he realized that this pervert is no longer his friend. The two had an argument, and then the man stole the friend's chicken. The friend then called the cops.

A few hours later, the police got a phone call from a woman at a hotel nearby, saying that she felt something was wrong with one of her guests. Police broke in to find the man sobbing uncontrollably.

Somehow, he had smuggled the chicken into a room, and had proceeded to molest it, without anybody at the hotel realizing it.

Unfortunately, in the heat of passion, he accidentally broke the chicken's neck, and it died.

The man was crying, because he had zero intention of killing the chicken, despite it leaving claw marks all over him.

But when the police examined the room, they only found pieces of the chicken left over.

... This hotel had a mini-stove in the room.

Now the article goes on to say that the man was really sorry the chicken died, and he had said in the testimony that he truthfully loved the chicken, and was convinced it was his soul mate.

The article ends there.

... Leaving something unanswered...

......

Did you EAT the chicken too? And if so, was it rotisserie style? Did you fry it? Did you bake it? Was it a deep fry or pan fry?

We may never really know.

EDIT: My mom found the newspaper article. Turns out this was in upstate Indiana, my bad, here's the article:

"

After chicken feathers and blood were found all over a room at a Valparaiso Motel, Valparaiso police were called to investigate. The room was found to have been rented to Michael Bessigano, a 30-year-old Valparaiso man with a history of harming and having sex with animals. Police questioned Bessigano and said he admitted having had sex with a chicken. 

Bessigano was booked into Porter County Jail on a felony animal cruelty charge. "Because this is the third crime against animals he's been charged with, he is also being charged as a habitual offender," said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gensel. He faces up to 7 1/2 years in prison if convicted of both charges. "He's got problems and hopefully he will be getting some help," said Valparaiso Detective Lt. Mike Brickner. "He has these urges that need to be addressed." 

Brickner said Bessigano stole a chicken from a chicken farm, took the chicken to his motel room which he'd just rented that one night, and plucked its feathers so he could have sex with it. Bessigano then had sex with the animal and it died, Brickner said. Although Bessigano has been out of jail since January, police said this is his first run-in with the law this year. "There's no indication he's done this (animal abuse) recently prior to that night," Brickner said. The owner of the motel told police he had no idea Bessigano was a convicted animal abuser. Motel officials discovered the blood and feathers when they went to clean the room. 

Bessigano's animal abuse dates back to 1991 when he was arrested twice, once after being accused of breaking a rooster's neck and once after he was found in a neighbor's goose pen apparently attempting to molest the geese. He was also accused of having sex with and killing a Rottweiler dog at a rural Crown Point ranch in 1992. He was convicted of theft and cruelty to an animal, and was imprisoned until 1994. A month after his release, he was arrested in connection with the attempted theft of a German Shepherd dog from some property in St. John Township. He was returned to prison, then was transferred to prison psychiatric care. He spent time behind bars after he was charged with biting a health care provider at Logansport's psychiatric unit in 1999. 

He was released on probation in January and had been living with a family member in Valparaiso. Bessigano has said he slept with dead animals, including a raccoon, when he was a child. While in jail, he would sleep under his cot, paint cat-like stripes on his body and make drawings referring to himself as "master of cats." A complete nutter."

Yes indeed.

Illinois Center For Broadcasting SCAM: A $16,000 student loan ~ so you can work at the Goodwill

Once upon a time, my mother went to the Illinois Center For Broadcasting.

She used a $16,000 student loan to go to the broadcasting school, earn a certificate and get a job in the industry, either on radio, television or in general voice acting.

They promised her a "good paying job in the field" and told her there was job assistance.

$16,000 later, she does not have a job, and the ONLY job they sent her today was for the Goodwill.

Is this to do voice-over work for Goodwill? No.
Is this to film a Goodwill commercial? No.

This is to stock shelves.

At Goodwill.

For $7 an hour.

Which equates to $14,560 per year, before taxes.

The poverty line in the United States is for those making $20,000 per year.

So she would be making $5,440 under the poverty line per year.

Working at Goodwill.

Stocking shelves.

With the $16,000 certificate the Illinois Center for Broadcasting gave her.

At the non-radio job, stocking shelves at the Goodwill they sent her.

After she used a $16,000 student loan for them to teach her voice over work, television, radio, behind the scenes in all media and video production.

Would you like to spend $16,000 for the same certificate and the chance to work for less than the poverty line at the Goodwill?

I didn't think so.

Many of the ex-students have been posting online that their equipment is old, being held together by duct tape, and that the computers still run on Windows XP ~ despite claims of "new goods".

Most got in on the promise of receiving an iPod or iPad upon registration. Only a third of them ever see such luxury items.

Rip-off report is currently collecting your stories on it, and already there are trolls posting FAKE "Nu-uh this is the best school ever, you're being butthurt" comments. 

The school hires people to post fake "positive" reviews for the school, often, the teachers themselves pose online to different college sites as their own students, posting positive reviews and talking about how innovative the campus is and how affordable dorms are.

There are NO dorms on the site. It's not even a campus, as it's behind a shopping center.

Two more people have accused them of blatant fraud:

Rip-Off Report records

 If you've been scammed like my mom was, I suggest you find a lawyer, they have been scamming people from at least 2009 onward, and recently paid the BBB off to expunge their complaints from 2010.

A challenge to CoverGirl

I saw my mother reading a magazine recently, in which there were ads in HD. Now before these ads came out, it was standard for makeup companies to airbrush celebrities like crazy, in order to make their product look better.

Nowadays when you see the same celebrities in the HD ads, you can still see acne bumps and scars underneath the makeup.

I've seen many girls cake the stuff on, in an attempt to look more attractive to young men, but the usage of the stuff can cause skin irritation, and in many girls premature wrinkles, leading them to buy copious amounts of anti-aging cream.

Shouldn't we ask for better out of skin care companies?

So here's my challenge, let's see if CoverGirl will take it: