Andy Rooney On The Middle East. Utah and Utaq, Mesopotamia and Persia, Iraq Half the Size of Texas, Iran Double the Size of Iraq and Magic Carpets ala Aladdin

…… Iraq is MUCH smaller than Iran, as you can see on this map. The huge country adjacent to Iraq is Saudi Arabia.

Utah and Utaq? The late, great Andy Rooney seeks to inform us comedicly regarding “The Middle East”. While this segment isn’t full of stuff you never knew, you will likely learn something new either way. Or at least, something you never thought about This article marks my long-awaited return to my “Andy Rooney On” weekly article series. I’m glad to start doing these again, as I love the insight from someone of his age and experience… someone who lived and grew up in such a different, old-school era than myself (born in the mid 1980s).

Even though I couldn’t disagree more with ol’ Andy regarding Christianity/religion/faith and politics. He being a hardcore, dedicated liberal, me being a Christian Conservative and diehard Republican.

Did you know that Iraq is where the Magic Carpet, ala Aladdin, originated? Did you know the “Middle East” isn’t really in the “middle” of anything? Did you know that Iraq is half the size of the state of Texas in the USA? Did you know that Iran is double the size of Iraq? Thus bigger than Texas… and Saudi Arabia is double the size of Iran!

…. Look at that! Iraq fits snugly inside of Texas! I bet you didn’t know it was that small compared to the continental US.

Andy Rooney demonstrates this in fine style by using puzzle pieces cut out in the shape of each country, and showing how Iraq can fit snuggly within Texas. Genius!

Utah and Utaq! Hahahaha. Ingenious.

Did you know Iraq and Iran only have one letter different among their names? I bet you never realized that. It can make things confusing. It would be like having the state of Utah and then the state of “Utaq” here in the U.S. Hahaha. Utah and Utaq, ingenious. In the old days the two countries were completely differentiated from one another because Iran was called “Persia” and Iraq was known as “Mesopotamia”. Which clears things up quite a bit and makes you realize that they are completely different countries.

Given all the talk of Libya regarding the Obama Administration and our U.S. investment, blood and sweat still going into the Middle East from Iran to Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Libya to Syria to Lebanon to Israel to Palestine and the West Bank…. I thought this Andy Rooney video from the President George W. Bush era was still timely and relevant. How ironic. That.

Previous Andy Rooney On Videos:
* Andy Rooney On the Middle East. Utah and Utaq, Mesopotamia and Persia, Iraq Half the Size of Texas [Posted On October 28 2012]
* Andy Rooney On WWII and Covering the 8th Air Force Division During World War II [Posted On July 11 2012]
* Andy Rooney On Ex Presidents [Posted June 13 2012]
* Andy Rooney On His Critics [Posted June 1, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On Lists and Magazines [Posted May 26, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On A Woman US President and Why We Haven’t Had One. Plus Ar Women Smarter Than Men? What Countries Have Women Presidents [Posted May 21, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On Computers, Bill Gates, Off Being On (Start) and Typewriters (Andy’s Funniest Video) [Posted May 9, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On eBooks and eReaders… Physical vs digital (Kindle, Nook, etc.) [Posted May 2, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On the 5 Worst Inventions of All Time [Posted April 25, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On Saving, Investing, Money, Finances, Bailouts and the National Debt [Posted April 19, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On President Obama’s Election [Posted April 14, 2012]
* Andy Rooney On the Death of Osama Bin Laden [Posted April 12, 2012]

 

Countdown to WiiU GenGame Guest Article Written By Me. WiiU Satisfies My Burning Desire For More Nintendo

Samus will always satisfy my burning desire!

I wrote a guest article called Wii U Satisfies My Burning Desire for More Nintendo for the website GenGame.net, and they published it as part of their Countdown to Wii U, 25 Days Remaining article series!

Please give the article a read by heading over to their website and leave a comment!

Here is a portion of my article below:

“One of the industry trends that I hate most is the… elitist (for lack of a better word) tone that a lot of gaming media and people in the industry seem to have towards people of my slant. They believe the more customization the better, sandbox and open-world gaming are mana from Heaven, and online multiplayer is a requirement.

Who are they? Did they not play Ocarina of Time? Have they not bitten into the juicy, tasty morsel that is Final Fantasy IX? Must I tell them how to guide Link through the Dark World? If you tell me Zelda would be better as an online multiplayer game I’m gonna smack you upside the head so hard you won’t remember how to pronounce your own customized name.

What I’m getting at is this – Nintendo needs to continue being Nintendo… up to and including the Wii U. Pikmin 3? SIGN ME UP! There is a seemingly small, but actually large (see what I did just there?) group of loyal Nintendo gamers out there who want Donkey Kong Country-style gameplay. Who love Zelda and turn-based Final Fantasy. Who PREFER classic, tank-style, static camera angled Resident Evil games.

I’m in the minority in thinking games like Metroid: Other M are perfect compromises. It had just enough of that old-school flavor to be awesome in my book yet provide an interesting modern spin on the franchise. And I think Nintendo would be wise to keep going in that kind of direction.

Nintendo needs to continue to resist the temptation and the calls to add online co-op to Zelda or make Animal Crossing an MMO. There are certain traditions and old-styles of doing things that work perfectly fine in this day and age and remain awesome to a large group of gamers out there weaned on the love that Samus brings. Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Galaxy. These are the types of games that I will be buying a Wii U for. I already own an Xbox 360. I have, literally, no use for Batman: Arkham City – Armored Edition or Assassin’s Creed III Wii U. That is what my Xbox 360/PS3/Xbox 720/PS4/PS Vita are for. Right?

Assassin’s Creed III? While it sounds awesome, I’m still stuck way back at Assassin’s Creed ONE. And that, my lovely friends of the new generation, is called being old.

As I get ready to celebrate my 28th year (hey I’m not THAT OLD) I’m finding myself increasingly out-of-step with the seeming “mainstream” of gamers out there and finding it harder and harder – impossible, actually – to catch up. In fact, I’m more excited by a myriad of Indie Games than I am by anything “first-person shooter,” from Borderlands to Modern Warfare to Battlefield to Crysis (though Metro: Last Light has my attention as do games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent; I’m a big survival horror fan). Most of the big, so-called AAA games of this day and age do absolutely nothing for me.

And this is why I believe the Wii U will be a raging success. Personally, I’m waiting for that 2D, side-scrolling Metroid game that tops Super Metroid with a hand-painted art-style or innovative graphical look a la Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Grand Theft Auto V can keep their pimps and hoes. All I need is my Samus to satisfy my burning desire.”

Thanks to Rubendevela for the excellent Metroid Zero Suit Samus artwork above, be sure to check out their Deviantart profile!