BMG Cheers on Client, Clan Milk, in Guinness World Record Attempt
BMG is excited to have just created a new site for gaming group, Clank Milk. At its heart, Clan Milk is about people who love gaming coming together to play for the joy of the game. The new Clan Milk site aims to connect professional players with more amateur members of the gaming community. Clan Milk is dedicated to providing a supportive, inclusive community for all who love to game, regardless of skill level or experience.
Recently, Clan Milk has made news by announcing that on January 26th, founder, Sam “Milkfat” Braithwaite, will be attempting to set the Guinness World Record for longest marathon stream of all time. Playing Heroes of Newarth, Milkfat seeks to break the current record of 52 consecutive hours by a full day. In other words, he will attempt a full 76 hours of playing time.
(Yes, you read that right.)
Although many might say such a feat is impossible, or at the very least, insane, Milkfat is taking on this endeavor for a worthy cause. After graduating high school, Milfkat spent four months in Kenya with his father, volunteering in a program similar to Doctors Without Borders. Accordingly, the proceeds of this lofty challenge will be donated to the charity. Clan Milk wishes to impress upon the public that the gaming community is not a plague on society as some may believe, but rather a community of good people with good intentions trying to make a difference.
Of course, there are some rules Guinness World Book of Records has put in place. Milkfat is granted 10 minutes break for every hour played. Beyond breaks, he must not deviate from the game for more than 7 seconds. If a technical difficulty were to arise, Milkfat must resume as soon as it is fixed, and submit a written, undersigned document to confirm that there was actually a problem. Finally, a drug test will be administered before and after the tournament.
(And you thought the Olympics were hardcore.)
Milkfat will be playing in front of an audience of family, friends, and members of the gaming community in Howie’s Game Shack in Mission Viejo, California. His efforts will be broadcasted across Kaleidoscope Malls, streamed live on Clanmilk.com, and documented on Honcast.
For now, Milkfat is getting his shut eye, exercising, and eating his fruits and veggies. He says when it’s over, he’s sure he’ll treasure his Guinness placard above all else.
Heck, I sure would.
The Skinny on Georgia’s New Childhood Obesity Campaign
But are they going about it the right way?
The staunch ads have drawn fire from critics saying that the ads only further ostracise overweight and obese children. Parents and health experts worry that such ads will only increase the low self-esteem and bullying, common to these children. Others just find the ads to be upsetting, overly-harsh, and lacking any positive message to inspire action.
But Georgia is making no apologies. Said Linda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “We felt like we needed a very arresting, abrupt campaign that said: “Hey, Georgia! Wake up. This is a problem.””
In fact, Georgia is the second “fattest state” in the country, behind Mississippi and an estimated 1 million children in the state are considered overweight.
Who is at the heart of the problem, according to those leading the campaign? Their parents.
According to a study conducted within the state, 50 percent of parents did not know childhood obesity was a problem and 75 percent of parents did not identify their obese child as even being overweight. Accordingly, the campaign is intended not to blame the children, but to get their parents’ attention. Even if it means making them uncomfortable.
So what do you think of the new campaign? Spot-on or off target? Helpful or hurtful?
Check out the ads here.
New Year’s Resolutions
(Or for January, anyway.)
The New Year brings a seemingly endless number of advertisements, PSAs, and articles, which tell us what our resolutions ought to be and how we should go about keeping them. I recently read an article on what my resolutions should be as a twenty-something. It didn’t include “get a job” so phew! Bullet dodged.
These resolutions mean business, too. All those people swearing to beat the bulge mean big bucks for the fitness industry. In fact, last year, the resolution-ers spent over $60 billion dollars in such things as gym memberships, fitness equipment, and diet meals. Memberships to fitness clubs and the like are estimated to more than double at the start of each New Year and the industry relies on these eager, early-year sign-ups for their revenues. While this fitness flock means crowded space initially, most gyms see a decrease in attendance by mid-February.
Similarly, companies aimed at helping people quit smoking see a huge boost in numbers at the start of each year. Advertisements for nicotine patches, lozenges, and gums bombard us in every media outlet. (I’ve never been a smoker but some of those commercials are so intense I’m still convinced I need to quit.) Unfortunately, it is estimated that while 17 million Americans vow to quit smoking each year, only 1.3 million succeed long-term.
Which brings us to the age-old question: do New Year’s resolutions really work? Or are they merely a naïve optimism we hold at the beginning of the holidays, drunk off of holiday spirit and egged on by businesses with something to gain? Don’t we know deep down that if we really wanted to change, we wouldn’t need to wait for some ceremonious occasion?
Maybe. But I’d like to take a lighter approach. So what if many of us don’t fulfill our resolutions? (I just had a clementine with my burrito so I’d say my “eat more produce” goal of ’08 is going fabulously.) Is it not better to set goals for ourselves than it is to be defeated before we have begun? Maybe we need a new year to remind us that we only have so many more to live to their fullest. A New Year can be a fresh start. Yes, it’s a simple change in the calendar, but it can also be a change in lifestyle if we truly grant it that ability. 2012 will be exactly what we make it to be.
And for those of you reading this and guiltily staring at your cheese puff-stained fingers, fret not. “#ibrokemyresolutionwhen” is now trending on Twitter.