caseyfenton dot net

Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.

I have a Penn State degree but I have only visited State College twice. I attended a branch campus, close to home, and I’ve never been a die hard Nittany Lions sports fan until after I graduated.

Ever since the scandal of this past year my pride and school loyalty has exploded as I defend my institute against anger, misinformation, confusion and hate.

One thing has remained though, my respect for Joe “JoePa” Paterno. It might be true that the alumni and students have a cult level type respect for the man but he has been the face of the school for longer than Orville was the face of popcorn.

And it’s rightfully earned.

The previous 99% of his life was, to public knowledge, honorable and bursting with positivism to the world. Anyone who will remember Paterno for the past year in a negative way probably wouldn’t have remembered him after he passed anyway.

He was a hell of a man who left the world better than he found it and that is one hell of a legacy.

Rest in Peace JoePa. Thank you.

Last night’s season two premiere of Being Human was excellent, and made me wonder if it has jumped into one of my favorite shows on television. Now, I have never seen the UK version which hipsters claim is better, but I don’t care. (AMERRRRICAHHH) Let’s do a quick run down of what I think the best shows are,their strong points, their low points and if you should be watching.

Breaking Bad (AMC)

No list is complete without Vincent Gilligan’s masterpiece theatre, that is Breaking Bad. It just completed its 4th season with a 5th starting this summer and it may very well be it’s last season. The hour long drama is more like a television mini-series then a regular show because the sets, acting, cinematography and development of storylines are all movie quality.

In today’s television world where it’s a race to the next canned laughter joke (Big Bang Theory), dragging out storylines to fill episodes (LOST) or ignoring character development entirely to get to mindless action, Breaking Bad takes it’s time to build suspense and knows the best opportunities to blow you away.

How Many Episodes You Need to Watch To Get Hooked: Just one. The pilot.

Dexter (Showtime)

Just finishing it’s 6th season and signed on for two more seasons to be their last now is the time to catch up with America’s favorite vigilante serial killer. Initial thoughts by some may shy away from having a protagonist murderer but Dexter, relatively, is a good guy who is living his life as a sociopath who is attempting to control his “dark passenger.”Some of the best moments of the show are when he attempts normal interaction with family, friends or coworkers.

While some may say the show has grown stale in recent seasons, the earlier years are some of the best of any show I’ve ever seen. There is also amazing acting from Michael C. Hall, as Dexter, and guest stars such as John Lithgow, Colin Hanks and Jimmy Smits.

Get Hooked: The entirety of season one. Some of the twists and reveals will have you begging for the next season quickly. Season four is also one of the best.

The Walking Dead (AMC)

In the middle of Season 2, ready to return shortly, The Walking Dead is based off the graphic novel of the same name. Like many shows/movies based on graphic novels the visuals in the show are outstanding. Just look at the picture above.

It’s orchestrated shots and visions like that which make the zombie apocalypse worth watching. There are some concerns that a lot of the original writers and creator have left the show which may take it in a different direction, which a lot of people don’t care for, but the acting is squeezing out all it can from this show. You care about some characters and you hate others. Not many shows can make me feel that way. The music is excellent as well.

Get Hooked: First three episodes, if you can handle the gore and care about the characters at that point you’ll have to keep watching.

Community (NBC)

The first non-drama on the list, Community has one of the biggest cult followings of any show on television today. Unfortunately, this cult following hasn’t translated to television ratings and it is hanging on the edge of cancellation. It does have half of Season 3 and been guaranteed Season 4 however, so there is still plenty to watch. It has star power with Chevy Chase, Alison Brie (Mad Men, Scary Movie 4), Joel McHale (The Soup), Ken Jeong (Hangover movies) and up-and-coming Donald Glover (Childish Gambino rapper alias).

Some episodes are complete stand alone parodies or tributes to other shows or movies and provide an amazing single viewing experience that a lot of full story driven dramas can’t match. Their “paintball” themed episodes have been listed on some “best episode of the year” lists.

The show’s creator Dan Harmon has created a smart comedy with snide inside jokes and continuity easter eggs that even the most loyal viewer sometimes doesn’t catch until the third or fourth viewing. With so many “canned laughter” sitcoms, this comedy doesn’t insult the viewer’s intelligence and provides a more satisfying level of humor.

Get Hooked: List of the 10 best episodes, and I agree with most of this list.

Being Human (SyFy)

Season two just premiering last night, it’s about a vampire, werewolf and ghost all sharing a house in Boston and trying to live normal lives. Since it is on SyFy there aren’t big budgets and lots of special effects but the characters are tremendously well developed and the interaction between these different characters are believable.

It’s also very well written to provide depth to the story line and unexpected twists to the story.

Get Hooked: Season One

Honorable Mentions:

• Friday Night Lights – The show has run it’s course but the five seasons are absolutely amazing and worth a full watch through. The first episode should be enough to make you want to spend the whole weekend watching.
• 30 Rock – In similar fashion to Community, it’s a smart comedy that trusts the viewer to understand references and sarcasm rather than obvious flat jokes and basic storylines.
• House – The final season is set to begin soon after a long and successful run. The loss of a few major characters from the past few years may make or break this season since it’s tough to care about newly introduced people when you know it’s so close to the end. It will definitely go down as one of the best shows in television history when it ends it’s run though.

I’ve been an avid gamer for as long as I can remember. A story about my childhood begins with how I wasn’t allowed to play Mario before bed because it would make me grind my teeth overnight. That may still be true.

As I’ve grown from a wide-eyed kid with a Nintendo to a home-owning adult with a laptop, a few consistent loves of the game have remained. One, primarily, is the beauty of the graphics.

To look at screen shots of old games such as Half-Life (1998) or GTA Vice City (2002) compared to today’s graphics is laughable. However, at the time, these things were beautiful and impressive to the beholder. Some of today’s most breathtaking games (in my opinion) are Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City and Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

There have been arguments in the past that video game design could be compared to an artform, and I think the industry is increasingly reaching that point. You never found yourself in Mario, Pong, Tetris, pausing and just taking in the ambience of the scenery. You didn’t waste several hours of gameplay by just exploring the world and seeing what you discovered. These open virtual worlds surround you in a way that was never before possible.

One may argue though, why are you getting lost in these virtual worlds when there is so much beauty in the real world? While that is true, how easily is it obtainable? Will I realistically see the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, etc. all before I’m gone? If my desire, wealth and motivation are high enough, sure, but unlikely.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a virtual world is never a replacement for the real world. If anything, it is a compliment to it. Whenever I admire the beauty of an in-game environment and then I go out into the physical world, I find myself noticing the landscapes, the architecture, the people and the sky all the more closely. Noticing things I never have and appreciating things that would otherwise be forgotten.

Whether I’m looking into the Skyrim sun or the Pennsylvania stars, both are amazing to take in and allow it to fill you with happiness for the world around us.

They also both make great desktop wallpapers.

I was just thinking on my drive home of some things for a Bucket List… wanted to write them down. (in no particular order)

Things Already Done
Buy a house
Own season tickets to the Bills
Have a dog of my own
Have long hair
Appear on TV
Be published in a newspaper/magazine
Win a contest
Get a phone number from a girl I never spoke to

Things Still to Do
Get married
Have childrenWitness Buffalo Bills playoff game / Super Bowl
Own a Jetski
Be in a theatrical movie
Donate $1000 or more anonymously to a person, charity or cause
Break up a fight between strangers
Be kissed by a celebrity
Visit Hawaii
Have something on a menu named after me
Interview someone for a job
Apply for and be issued a patent
Have a game-winning hit, goal, touchdown in an organized sporting event
Be on a reality tv show

*** That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll add more someday.

Everybody has it. Few ask for it. Fewer follow it. I feel like I have lots of advice for the general public on ways to improve themselves or the way they go about doing things. However, they never ask me. Whether it’s because they don’t care about my opinion or they don’t know I exist, regardless, I’m here to give it out right now.

Now, I’m no hypocrite. I follow all of my advice to the best of my ability and it has served me well. Consider me the guinea pig of these suggestions. Also, excuse my randomness as my mind jumps from place to place, nobody has ever advised me to fix that.

- Be thrifty when it comes to buying things for yourself but be overly generous when it comes to tipping strangers.

- If you can’t do anything about a problem, don’t think about it until you can.

- If you tell somebody that they will never understand because they aren’t part of a certain demographic (e.g. Woman to a Man, Poor to the Rich, Country folk to City folk, etc. and vice versa) then there is no reason you should be telling this person about your problems. They can be polite, listen and nod, but if you don’t think they’ll ever understand because of a fundamental lifestyle then you are wasting your time and, more importantly, theirs by giving a false sense of inquiring assistance. It only gives you the opportunity to put them in their place as an outsider and secluding yourself alone in your problem which, in your mind, requires sympathy but only makes you seem pathetic.

- Your schedule is never too busy to respond to a text message. If you don’t reply, be honest and say you had nothing to say.

- If you talk about hating something more than another person talks about the same thing who loves it, it means you secretly love it but are too embarrassed to admit it.

- When you say you can’t do something that is physically or mentally possible to do, you are really saying that the negative consequences from it aren’t bad enough yet to convince you to change. If you lack the will power to achieve something, that doesn’t qualify as a “can’t” it means you “won’t.” The only things you can’t do are defined by the laws of physics, mortality and physical capability. Mental capacity is only “not yet” or “won’t try.”

- If you say you are a vegetarian but eat chicken sometimes, you are not a vegetarian. You just have a selective diet. If this upsets you, then you’re being a vegetarian for the wrong reasons anyway. You’re seeking approval and praise from the public for your choices rather then doing it for the reasons you claim you are, such as animal rights and a healthy diet.

- If you aren’t happy alone, you will never be happy with anyone else.

- The harder you look for happiness the more difficult it’ll be to find. Let it find you by naturally making choices every day that provide comfort and normality to who you are. If you try and fit your square personality into a circle hole, you will always be struggling. Accept you as you.

- People always fantasize about the end result. Try to fantasize the path and you might realize it’s not that big of a fantasy.

- Freedom of Speech is a great thing. An inner monologue is often times a better thing.

- If you call yourself or your friends “bitches”, “sluts”, “whores”, “skanks” or “tramps” with pride and fun then you’re probably none of those things for real. Because if you were, it’d hurt. And you’re not making anyone else proud.

- The point of discussion and debate is to be open to accepting the opposition’s viewpoint as an alternative to your own. There is no wrong or right. You’ve both lived peacefully and successfully to this point with different viewpoints, why are you so upset that the world is going to continue afterwards the same way?

- The best advice has always been to be yourself. It’s the baseline of every decision you should ever make. You always have your own back and everything else falls into place as it should.

In October of 2010 was my first time. I was scared and nervous. I had never done it before but was assured it would be okay. Afterwards I felt dirty, guilty and ashamed. I knew someday it’d be okay but right now it felt like a mistake.

I didn’t pay my full credit card bill.

I had to save up to $5,000 for the down payment on my house closing in two months and the amount of money for inspections and paperwork was adding up. I was lucky enough to get a loan from family but I needed more and the only way I was able to keep up was to stop keeping up with payments.

It has always been my philosophy that you don’t buy something that you can’t afford. The only reason credit cards exist is so you don’t have to carry around large amounts of cash with you at all times and really, still to this day, 95% of the charges on my credit card are only bills and gas. If I don’t have cash to go out to eat, I don’t do it. If I am lacking the money to go to the movies, I watch something on TV. It seems like common sense to me. The amount of negative consequences later from having a small amount of gratification now does not compute inside of me. If I do splurge on something I want and I know I shouldn’t have, it feels tainted. I can’t fully enjoy the experience because in the gut of my heart (the most inner reflecting part of you… look it up, it’s science) I know it was wrong. I’d much rather wait for when I can purchase it guilt-free and embrace it with open arms. The satisfaction of saving and reaching your goal is an additional endorphin kick which boosts my enjoyment easily to 105-110%.

That is why, I am proud and thrilled to announce that I have officially climbed out of the red and am now credit card debt free.  The smile on my face when I see my outstanding balance is a “0″ is unrivaled. I can now stick to my carefully calculated budget and begin saving for the future.

For the last 6-7 months I’ve had $200 in my budget dedicated towards paying off additional money on my credit card. That money can now be put towards home improvement, the rising cost of gasoline, paying off my car loan or another night a month I could go out to eat or order pizza in. It’s like I just got a raise.

I am grateful for credit cards that it allowed me to purchase my home and I know millions of Americans rely on them for everyday necessities such as food, clothing and bills. However, getting out of debt is easy.

Prioritize your life. Make a budget that works and STICK TO IT. Numbers don’t lie and they will guide you to a better life.

Learn the difference between “need” and “want.”

Learn to say no to yourself. Be your own guardian. Know what’s best for you even when you sometimes disagree.

There will be sacrifices on the way, there always are, but the feeling you get from reaching that zero is unrivaled.

The feeling you’ll get tomorrow is better then any feeling you will get from buying what you don’t need today.