I've been trying to get some good use out of my Netflix lately, and it works out that I've also been trying to learn more about comic book characters. I've only watched two episodes of the show so far, and I'm actually kind of liking it.
The plots are pretty simple, and I'm thinking the first season will be a little bit of a chore to sit through. It's definitely not the Spider-Man I know from the movies. This one, you see, has the spider-senses, but uses cartridges for his webbing. Cartridges? That's kind of weak!
But, I'm thinking that the second and third seasons will get better for this show. Judging by the summaries I've read from Netflix, I think they're more of a tightly woven story.
The first episode, "Night of the Lizard," was about one of Spider-Man's professors, Dr. Connors. Dr. Connors lost a limb, and he tried to use science to allow his body to be like a lizard's, in which it could regenerate limbs. This worked for him, but it also made his mind unstable! Don't worry though, Spider-Man saved the day!
The second episode, "The Sting of the Scorpion," was actually a lot like the first. The stories weren't exactly brought together at all, but Scorpion became a villain through the same form of science as the Lizard. Judging by the looks of most of these summaries, Neogenics seems to be the cause. I'll ignore the fact that Neogenics isn't a real type of science, it's actually just an attraction to neon lights, for now! The true villian seemed to be J. Jonah Jameson in this episode though. He created the Scorpion, because he really hates people that hide behind masks. Ironic that he created that, so he could get rid of it. Huh?
Either way, if you're into comic books, or the Marvel Universe, and you feel like doing a little bit of reminiscing to your childhood, I'd suggest checking these out on Netflix Instant Watch!
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Cap!
Last night I went with a few friends from work to Captain America! I went mostly just to feed my insatiable need for social activity, but I decided that since most Marvel movies are good, and Captain America was my favorite character to use on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, what could I have to lose?
Well, I just lost $6.50. I did not consider it much of a loss though, because the movie was pretty great! The only thing that upsets me is that beyond what I've learned from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, I know absolutely nothing about him! Well, I guess that's not the only thing. I did have one actual gripe with the movie. We had a lot of fun with it, because we were just shooting off one-liners left and right, being the only ones in the theater. However, I feel like if it had not been for my friends, that movie would've hardly been funny at all.
So, yeah it was filled with action-y goodness. Yes, I learned something about Captain America. Yes, it was very nice to see a superhero starting off in another time frame aside from current day, for once. But, I felt the movie took itself a little too seriously at times. If I had to give it a thumbs up rating, it'd approximately range itself around 1.7988746314 thumbs up!
I was also thinking that I definitely need to get my hands on X-Men: First Class. It's one of the few Marvel movies I haven't seen yet, and according to all of my friends, it has been the best so far. And I know it takes place during the Cold War, so that'd be another superhero movie that doesn't take place in present day! I need to get on that!
And one more thing. Jeb, my friend, made us stay until all the way after the credits. Apparently, all Marvel movies, except for X-Men: First Class, have previews after the credits that reveal the next Marvel film! I don't want to ruin it for you, so only highlight this if you saw Captain America, but didn't stay for the preview! It's The Avengers! It looks pretty sweeeet!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Well, I just lost $6.50. I did not consider it much of a loss though, because the movie was pretty great! The only thing that upsets me is that beyond what I've learned from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, I know absolutely nothing about him! Well, I guess that's not the only thing. I did have one actual gripe with the movie. We had a lot of fun with it, because we were just shooting off one-liners left and right, being the only ones in the theater. However, I feel like if it had not been for my friends, that movie would've hardly been funny at all.
So, yeah it was filled with action-y goodness. Yes, I learned something about Captain America. Yes, it was very nice to see a superhero starting off in another time frame aside from current day, for once. But, I felt the movie took itself a little too seriously at times. If I had to give it a thumbs up rating, it'd approximately range itself around 1.7988746314 thumbs up!
I was also thinking that I definitely need to get my hands on X-Men: First Class. It's one of the few Marvel movies I haven't seen yet, and according to all of my friends, it has been the best so far. And I know it takes place during the Cold War, so that'd be another superhero movie that doesn't take place in present day! I need to get on that!
And one more thing. Jeb, my friend, made us stay until all the way after the credits. Apparently, all Marvel movies, except for X-Men: First Class, have previews after the credits that reveal the next Marvel film! I don't want to ruin it for you, so only highlight this if you saw Captain America, but didn't stay for the preview! It's The Avengers! It looks pretty sweeeet!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The Hard Times of RJ Berger
I've never been all that huge on TV shows. Last school year my girlfriend got into the show Weeds, and by about the end of the first season, I was hooked as well. Since we got up to season five of that show, however, nothing has especially hooked me.
Then, about a month ago, I was digging through Netflix Instant Watch and found a little gem I'd been wanting to watch for a while, but was never really sure about. You see, it's hard to have high expectations for a show that lies on a channel with a slew of reality trash. Jersey Snore? No, thanks. Teen Mom? Umm, well, you see... no...
And MTV's attempt at another show, My Life as Liz, which wasn't a reality show, definitely failed whenever I watched it. I often found myself bored, and I had mostly lost all hope in MTV.
But I'd seen commercials for the show, and little bits of the show here and there, and the one or two times I watched it, I laughed for a few minutes. So I decided that I'd check it out, and let me tell you, I was NOT let down!
This show is hilarious! It definitely makes me miss high school, but just the concept of why his life is such a roller coaster is funny in the first place. You see, RJ has something that, stereotypically and superficially, most men would want to have. I think if you can't figure it out for yourself, this show is already not going to be funny for you.
RJ and his friends are definitely immature, but they're in for some good, not very clean, fun. This is NOT a show for kids, but more of an older teen, young adult crowd. I'd say the best age range would be sixteen to twenty-three. I'd also say, keep your kids away from this show at all costs. This is not for them. There are a ton of sexual references, some drug references, some bleeped out curse words, and a bit of violence as well.
If you're wondering more about the show, RJ is a high school nerd. He is tormented by the jocks of the school, in love with the most beautiful girl in school, constantly pursued by this nasty girl Lily, whom you'll learn to hate in no time flat, and is always having misadventures with his best friend Miles. The show deals with issues that a lot of high school kids can face, from bullying, to a divorce. It also deals with some more shallow, but definitely humorous issues, such as when your mom starts dating your (SPOILER) gym coach, or when you lose your innocence to (SPOILER) THE SPAWN OF SATAN (not really, but close).
This show is hilarious, and while it's definitely immature, and the first season gets a little repetitive at times. It's worth a watch. Check out the first season, commercial free on Netflix, and if you like it, check out the rest of the episodes on www.MTV.com, all for free, and completely legal!
Thanks for reading!
Then, about a month ago, I was digging through Netflix Instant Watch and found a little gem I'd been wanting to watch for a while, but was never really sure about. You see, it's hard to have high expectations for a show that lies on a channel with a slew of reality trash. Jersey Snore? No, thanks. Teen Mom? Umm, well, you see... no...
And MTV's attempt at another show, My Life as Liz, which wasn't a reality show, definitely failed whenever I watched it. I often found myself bored, and I had mostly lost all hope in MTV.
But I'd seen commercials for the show, and little bits of the show here and there, and the one or two times I watched it, I laughed for a few minutes. So I decided that I'd check it out, and let me tell you, I was NOT let down!
This show is hilarious! It definitely makes me miss high school, but just the concept of why his life is such a roller coaster is funny in the first place. You see, RJ has something that, stereotypically and superficially, most men would want to have. I think if you can't figure it out for yourself, this show is already not going to be funny for you.
RJ and his friends are definitely immature, but they're in for some good, not very clean, fun. This is NOT a show for kids, but more of an older teen, young adult crowd. I'd say the best age range would be sixteen to twenty-three. I'd also say, keep your kids away from this show at all costs. This is not for them. There are a ton of sexual references, some drug references, some bleeped out curse words, and a bit of violence as well.
If you're wondering more about the show, RJ is a high school nerd. He is tormented by the jocks of the school, in love with the most beautiful girl in school, constantly pursued by this nasty girl Lily, whom you'll learn to hate in no time flat, and is always having misadventures with his best friend Miles. The show deals with issues that a lot of high school kids can face, from bullying, to a divorce. It also deals with some more shallow, but definitely humorous issues, such as when your mom starts dating your (SPOILER) gym coach, or when you lose your innocence to (SPOILER) THE SPAWN OF SATAN (not really, but close).
This show is hilarious, and while it's definitely immature, and the first season gets a little repetitive at times. It's worth a watch. Check out the first season, commercial free on Netflix, and if you like it, check out the rest of the episodes on www.MTV.com, all for free, and completely legal!
Thanks for reading!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Problems in the Horn of Africa!
Hello everyone,
You see, I was going to write a blog post about how we should all go to Free Rice and try to earn thousands of grains of rice for people in the Horn of Africa, around Somalia, and Ethiopia, however, to my dismay, I have discovered that even though it is run by the World Food Programme, Free Rice is unable to give their earned rice to those people. This is sad, but I figure that the least I can do now is to help educate others on the problem, and how we can all help!
The main problem lies in southern Somalia. A famine has been declared in that region, and now millions of lives are at stake. A famine being declared means that at least 20% of households are currently facing extreme food shortages. Apparently there is currently a drought in this region that has helped to cause the problem. There are also very high food and fuel prices in this region. Another problem was with a group called the Shebab, which forced aid out of the country. Now, finally, they are allowing people to help again, but were resistant because they believed that we were sending spies and Christian crusaders.
Now that we can help again, I urge you to look into your options. For those of you with a few dollars to spare, go check out this page. Your donations are tax deductible in the United States, and you'd be giving one of the most direct forms of help. However, if you do not have money, you can help by spreading the word. Most of us have Facebooks, Twitters, or are part of some social network. Post a status about the famine, with a link to how someone can help if they so choose. Education on the issue could help speed up the process of aiding these people, and it takes less than a minute to post a status update!
One more thing you can do is take this quiz. It's five questions long, and takes about two minutes. It doesn't matter if your answers are wrong or right, and you can learn more about the situation as well. Taking the quiz will help to feed a child in need. Also, once you've finished, it gives you the opportunity to send out the message to your Facebook or Twitter feed.
All the help you can give would be greatly appreciated. I know that this problem doesn't affect myself, and it may not affect you. Many people's lives are at risk though, and if you can take a few minutes of your day to spread the word, or donate to the cause, it'd be a great thing to do.
Thank you for reading.
A News Article on the Famine
The WFP Crisis Page with Up-to-Date Information on the Situation
You see, I was going to write a blog post about how we should all go to Free Rice and try to earn thousands of grains of rice for people in the Horn of Africa, around Somalia, and Ethiopia, however, to my dismay, I have discovered that even though it is run by the World Food Programme, Free Rice is unable to give their earned rice to those people. This is sad, but I figure that the least I can do now is to help educate others on the problem, and how we can all help!
The main problem lies in southern Somalia. A famine has been declared in that region, and now millions of lives are at stake. A famine being declared means that at least 20% of households are currently facing extreme food shortages. Apparently there is currently a drought in this region that has helped to cause the problem. There are also very high food and fuel prices in this region. Another problem was with a group called the Shebab, which forced aid out of the country. Now, finally, they are allowing people to help again, but were resistant because they believed that we were sending spies and Christian crusaders.
Now that we can help again, I urge you to look into your options. For those of you with a few dollars to spare, go check out this page. Your donations are tax deductible in the United States, and you'd be giving one of the most direct forms of help. However, if you do not have money, you can help by spreading the word. Most of us have Facebooks, Twitters, or are part of some social network. Post a status about the famine, with a link to how someone can help if they so choose. Education on the issue could help speed up the process of aiding these people, and it takes less than a minute to post a status update!
One more thing you can do is take this quiz. It's five questions long, and takes about two minutes. It doesn't matter if your answers are wrong or right, and you can learn more about the situation as well. Taking the quiz will help to feed a child in need. Also, once you've finished, it gives you the opportunity to send out the message to your Facebook or Twitter feed.
All the help you can give would be greatly appreciated. I know that this problem doesn't affect myself, and it may not affect you. Many people's lives are at risk though, and if you can take a few minutes of your day to spread the word, or donate to the cause, it'd be a great thing to do.
Thank you for reading.
A News Article on the Famine
The WFP Crisis Page with Up-to-Date Information on the Situation
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Education in Nerdery!
Hello everyone!
Okay, so almost all of my readers, of either this blog, or The Gamers Corp probably know that I hope to someday work as a video game journalist. Most people also know that this will take an immense amount of knowledge on things that nerds love.
I'm a big fan of Star Wars, the original Star Trek, Roleplaying Games, Anime, Sci-Fi Movies (Not to be mistaken with SyFy movies, yikes!), and Mountain Dew!
I would like to ask all of you though, what things do you find to be nerdy? Recommend some of your favorite Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy movies, some of your favorite Anime shows, some good TV shows, and maybe a good book. I'd love to expand my proficiency in all things nerd-tastic! What are some of your favorite games? Shoot anything my way! I'd love to learn about it. I think it'll be lots of fun. Also, once I've finished learning about it, we could probably have conversations on it! Conversation is the #1 learning activity in my book!
So shoot me a comment, or like my page on Facebook, and post there! I check them both daily! (I know that seems hard to believe, since I haven't posted here in months! I really do check this blog multiple times a day though. Why don't I post more often? GREAT question!)
And if you're wondering how I'm educating myself right now, I'm currently just starting Blood+: Part One, and I'll be starting my first play through ever of Persona 4!
Thanks for reading everyone!
Okay, so almost all of my readers, of either this blog, or The Gamers Corp probably know that I hope to someday work as a video game journalist. Most people also know that this will take an immense amount of knowledge on things that nerds love.
I'm a big fan of Star Wars, the original Star Trek, Roleplaying Games, Anime, Sci-Fi Movies (Not to be mistaken with SyFy movies, yikes!), and Mountain Dew!
I would like to ask all of you though, what things do you find to be nerdy? Recommend some of your favorite Sci-Fi, Horror, or Fantasy movies, some of your favorite Anime shows, some good TV shows, and maybe a good book. I'd love to expand my proficiency in all things nerd-tastic! What are some of your favorite games? Shoot anything my way! I'd love to learn about it. I think it'll be lots of fun. Also, once I've finished learning about it, we could probably have conversations on it! Conversation is the #1 learning activity in my book!
So shoot me a comment, or like my page on Facebook, and post there! I check them both daily! (I know that seems hard to believe, since I haven't posted here in months! I really do check this blog multiple times a day though. Why don't I post more often? GREAT question!)
And if you're wondering how I'm educating myself right now, I'm currently just starting Blood+: Part One, and I'll be starting my first play through ever of Persona 4!
Thanks for reading everyone!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Back in Action!
I promised a blog post as soon as I found out about my job status for next year, and I'll just start with.
YEAH!!!
I received a letter today telling me I've been placed in W. W. Holes Hall and I couldn't be any happier than I am now. This is the best news I've gotten in a long time, and I'm so excited! I already know two of my co-workers, and I'll find out on Friday who the rest of them are.
I also decided a while back that there was no way I was going to go back to Clarkfield over the summer, and I have talked to my mom about it, and I may be able to take some summer classes. I've already registered for three, and plan on taking them. I just have to line up a living space for the summer, and maybe a part time job, and I'll be good to go. If anyone knows of anywhere in St. Cloud looking for part-time help over the summer, send me their way, I'm their man!
Sorry to make it so short, but I have class soon, and I just wanted to let everyone know! Thanks for reading!
YEAH!!!
I received a letter today telling me I've been placed in W. W. Holes Hall and I couldn't be any happier than I am now. This is the best news I've gotten in a long time, and I'm so excited! I already know two of my co-workers, and I'll find out on Friday who the rest of them are.
I also decided a while back that there was no way I was going to go back to Clarkfield over the summer, and I have talked to my mom about it, and I may be able to take some summer classes. I've already registered for three, and plan on taking them. I just have to line up a living space for the summer, and maybe a part time job, and I'll be good to go. If anyone knows of anywhere in St. Cloud looking for part-time help over the summer, send me their way, I'm their man!
Sorry to make it so short, but I have class soon, and I just wanted to let everyone know! Thanks for reading!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Forgive Me Please!
Hello everyone,
I want you all to know that I frequently check my blog. I don't know why. Maybe I just expect it to update itself. Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I don't really have any excuses aside from lack of motivation, and I just wanted to make this post to update you a little, and let you know that I haven't forgotten my blog! In fact, I've actually made another blog!
My New Gaming Blog
That is my new gaming blog called "Gamers Corp." (Said, Gamerscore, I think the name sounds cool! :P ) Anyways, I know in the past I've told you all that I'd love to someday work as a video game journalist, so I thought I'd get some further experience. Now you'll know that if you come to this blog you can expect to see things about movies, music, and myself, and nothing about video games. If video games are your thing however, please head on over and check it out, and maybe become a follower if you wish! ;)
I've also been reading books lately to expand my knowledge on the subject. A professor here, Matt Barton has written two books on video games, and I'm currently reading his book Dungeons and Desktops. It's thoroughly entertaining, and I actually see it being the first book I've finished in quite a while, and in case you're reading over from BookSneeze, don't worry, I haven't forgotten the book you sent me, it's greatly appreciated, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, but I promise I won't let you down!
If anyone knows any other books on the subject, please don't hesitate to comment on my post. I want to learn as much as I can, especially since they don't exactly teach video game journalism at SCSU.
Thanks for reading again everyone! I really enjoy blogging, and I just wanted to let you know I haven't given up on it! I just haven't had the time or the motivation!
Have a wonderful day!
ALSO, I ALMOST FORGOT.
I reapplied for the Community Adviser position at my university, and I'm very excited because the interview went very well. I have really missed my job, and I would love nothing more than to get it back. I'll know on Monday if that dream will be a reality, and I'll update this as soon as I find out!
Okay, bye!
I want you all to know that I frequently check my blog. I don't know why. Maybe I just expect it to update itself. Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I don't really have any excuses aside from lack of motivation, and I just wanted to make this post to update you a little, and let you know that I haven't forgotten my blog! In fact, I've actually made another blog!
My New Gaming Blog
That is my new gaming blog called "Gamers Corp." (Said, Gamerscore, I think the name sounds cool! :P ) Anyways, I know in the past I've told you all that I'd love to someday work as a video game journalist, so I thought I'd get some further experience. Now you'll know that if you come to this blog you can expect to see things about movies, music, and myself, and nothing about video games. If video games are your thing however, please head on over and check it out, and maybe become a follower if you wish! ;)
I've also been reading books lately to expand my knowledge on the subject. A professor here, Matt Barton has written two books on video games, and I'm currently reading his book Dungeons and Desktops. It's thoroughly entertaining, and I actually see it being the first book I've finished in quite a while, and in case you're reading over from BookSneeze, don't worry, I haven't forgotten the book you sent me, it's greatly appreciated, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, but I promise I won't let you down!
If anyone knows any other books on the subject, please don't hesitate to comment on my post. I want to learn as much as I can, especially since they don't exactly teach video game journalism at SCSU.
Thanks for reading again everyone! I really enjoy blogging, and I just wanted to let you know I haven't given up on it! I just haven't had the time or the motivation!
Have a wonderful day!
ALSO, I ALMOST FORGOT.
I reapplied for the Community Adviser position at my university, and I'm very excited because the interview went very well. I have really missed my job, and I would love nothing more than to get it back. I'll know on Monday if that dream will be a reality, and I'll update this as soon as I find out!
Okay, bye!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Minecraft: First Impressions
Hi everyone!
Over the course of the last month I had heard a lot about the game Minecraft. I had seen my friend Eric play it and wondered the whole time... What on Earth is going on? Everyone is ranting and raving about this game composed of a bunch of 8-bit blocks!
I'll tell you what's going on... Minecraft!
I've been playing for the last hour and a half. Currently you can only play by yourself unless you set up a server, and I'm not sure how hard that is to do, nor could I connect to another server when I tried, so I guess for now I'm just sticking to single player!
This game is a time-sucker. Definitely for breaks only, unless you want to lose plenty of homework time! It is a sandbox game that you can basically do anything you can imagine in. You use the blocks that you get to craft things which can be used to build shelters, mine resources faster, or slay monsters harder.
The first half an hour I played I was more than confused. I was also slain by monsters in the dark. My advice to you right off the bat is to do what I did the for the second and third half hours that I played. Watch a tutorial on Youtube. Just look them up, there are tons of them.
Once you get the hang of it it's pretty simple. Except for the whole crafting thing. I'm still having trouble figuring out what I can and can't build. Which combination makes what. And where on Earth I can pick things up that would make better a combination.
So far I have build a little cobblestone house for myself, which is currently walled up completely until:
I'd just like to point out one thing to the creators, if they were to ever read my blog. Your music, while cool, reminds me of Silent Hill. I don't like that. I'm in a world all by myself with a bunch of night-monsters roaming around. I don't want to be creeped out and depressed. Bad combo. I know you're still in Beta, so please, add some happier music. I feel like it could add a lot to your game!
If you would like to play Minecraft, you can try it or buy it by clicking --> here <--.
Thanks for reading everyone! If you'd like to play the game with me, please just drop me a message on Facebook and maybe we can figure something out!
Over the course of the last month I had heard a lot about the game Minecraft. I had seen my friend Eric play it and wondered the whole time... What on Earth is going on? Everyone is ranting and raving about this game composed of a bunch of 8-bit blocks!
I'll tell you what's going on... Minecraft!
I've been playing for the last hour and a half. Currently you can only play by yourself unless you set up a server, and I'm not sure how hard that is to do, nor could I connect to another server when I tried, so I guess for now I'm just sticking to single player!
This game is a time-sucker. Definitely for breaks only, unless you want to lose plenty of homework time! It is a sandbox game that you can basically do anything you can imagine in. You use the blocks that you get to craft things which can be used to build shelters, mine resources faster, or slay monsters harder.
The first half an hour I played I was more than confused. I was also slain by monsters in the dark. My advice to you right off the bat is to do what I did the for the second and third half hours that I played. Watch a tutorial on Youtube. Just look them up, there are tons of them.
Once you get the hang of it it's pretty simple. Except for the whole crafting thing. I'm still having trouble figuring out what I can and can't build. Which combination makes what. And where on Earth I can pick things up that would make better a combination.
So far I have build a little cobblestone house for myself, which is currently walled up completely until:
- I learn how to make a door.
- Morning comes!
I'd just like to point out one thing to the creators, if they were to ever read my blog. Your music, while cool, reminds me of Silent Hill. I don't like that. I'm in a world all by myself with a bunch of night-monsters roaming around. I don't want to be creeped out and depressed. Bad combo. I know you're still in Beta, so please, add some happier music. I feel like it could add a lot to your game!
If you would like to play Minecraft, you can try it or buy it by clicking --> here <--.
Thanks for reading everyone! If you'd like to play the game with me, please just drop me a message on Facebook and maybe we can figure something out!
Kiki's Delivery Service.
Okay, okay, I realize that a lot of people will have two instantaneous gripes as soon as they look at this movie.
I have loved Hayao Miyazaki movies ever since I was a kid. I always used to get My Neighbor Totoro from the library. Once I discovered the fact that the same guy that had made that movie had made other movies too, I went on a search to find and watch them all. Over time Howl's Moving Castle became my favorite, and throughout all of the years, the only one I had never seen any part of was Kiki's Delivery Service.
Until now, and man, am I upset that I waited this long!
The story is about a young girl who sets off to find a new home as part of her witch's training. She leaves her family at the age of 13, and goes to a big city. At first she finds quite a few enemies, but very shortly after she not only finds some new friends, but one of those friends gives her a place to stay. Her and her cat Gigi then decide to start a delivery service. Throughout the movie we see her ups and downs, and how sometimes she has to sacrifice things and get nothing in return, and she may not always be treated the best, but she learns after a while that as long as she keeps her head up and stays strong, she can do anything she puts her mind to.
The story was very nice, and I especially enjoyed the scenes where she had to leave her cat with the little boy while she tried to find the doll. The dog, Jeff, was definitely a favorite character of mine!
As I said before, this is a movie for kids, but I want you to give it a chance if you haven't seen it before. It's actually very good. If you have kids this is definitely one they will enjoy, but I think it's fun for the whole family! I give this movie a 9.5/10.
What!? You ask? Yup, a 9.5/10! I really loved this movie, and I don't care what anyone else thinks of me because of it. Take a chance on this one, and I guarantee you'll love it!
- It's a kids movie
- It's a Japanese anime
I have loved Hayao Miyazaki movies ever since I was a kid. I always used to get My Neighbor Totoro from the library. Once I discovered the fact that the same guy that had made that movie had made other movies too, I went on a search to find and watch them all. Over time Howl's Moving Castle became my favorite, and throughout all of the years, the only one I had never seen any part of was Kiki's Delivery Service.
Until now, and man, am I upset that I waited this long!
The story is about a young girl who sets off to find a new home as part of her witch's training. She leaves her family at the age of 13, and goes to a big city. At first she finds quite a few enemies, but very shortly after she not only finds some new friends, but one of those friends gives her a place to stay. Her and her cat Gigi then decide to start a delivery service. Throughout the movie we see her ups and downs, and how sometimes she has to sacrifice things and get nothing in return, and she may not always be treated the best, but she learns after a while that as long as she keeps her head up and stays strong, she can do anything she puts her mind to.
The story was very nice, and I especially enjoyed the scenes where she had to leave her cat with the little boy while she tried to find the doll. The dog, Jeff, was definitely a favorite character of mine!
As I said before, this is a movie for kids, but I want you to give it a chance if you haven't seen it before. It's actually very good. If you have kids this is definitely one they will enjoy, but I think it's fun for the whole family! I give this movie a 9.5/10.
What!? You ask? Yup, a 9.5/10! I really loved this movie, and I don't care what anyone else thinks of me because of it. Take a chance on this one, and I guarantee you'll love it!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Looooong Movie... The Green Mile
I just finished watching The Green Mile. It wasn't a bad movie at all, in fact, it was pretty good. The characters were likable - that meaning, I liked the ones I was supposed to, and I loved to hate the ones that I wasn't supposed to like - and it was a pretty nice story overall. I'm just wondering WHY it had to be over THREE HOURS LONG?
I realize that they made it so long so you got the feeling that these people had been in prison for months, even years, but really, I didn't pick up on any feelings like that. There were times when I couldn't tell if a day had even passed. Maybe that's what they were aiming for instead then, the feeling of being in prison, like the days would never end.
Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan take the leads in this movie, and they both play their characters superbly. Hanks' character is a nice prison guard that wants to make the inmates on death row's final time on Earth as peaceful as possible, because he realizes that isn't an easy situation for anyone to be in, regardless of what they've done. Michael Clarke Duncan's character however, John Coffey, "Like the drink, just not spelled the same." was very different indeed. John was put onto death row for committing a double murder and rape of two girls that lived nearby where he happened to be one day. I'm not going to give anything away, but let's just say I saw the ending coming, for the most part, and they didn't need to take three hours to show me how they got there.
Overall, it was a pretty entertaining movie. Seeing the whatever miracles John Coffey would perform next was always fun, and I really loved what ended up happening to Percy - one of those characters you'll love to hate. As a rating I'll have to give this movie an 8/10.
Thanks for reading everyone!
I realize that they made it so long so you got the feeling that these people had been in prison for months, even years, but really, I didn't pick up on any feelings like that. There were times when I couldn't tell if a day had even passed. Maybe that's what they were aiming for instead then, the feeling of being in prison, like the days would never end.
Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan take the leads in this movie, and they both play their characters superbly. Hanks' character is a nice prison guard that wants to make the inmates on death row's final time on Earth as peaceful as possible, because he realizes that isn't an easy situation for anyone to be in, regardless of what they've done. Michael Clarke Duncan's character however, John Coffey, "Like the drink, just not spelled the same." was very different indeed. John was put onto death row for committing a double murder and rape of two girls that lived nearby where he happened to be one day. I'm not going to give anything away, but let's just say I saw the ending coming, for the most part, and they didn't need to take three hours to show me how they got there.
Overall, it was a pretty entertaining movie. Seeing the whatever miracles John Coffey would perform next was always fun, and I really loved what ended up happening to Percy - one of those characters you'll love to hate. As a rating I'll have to give this movie an 8/10.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Milk
Harvey Milk was a political right's activist back in the 1970s. He got into politics right around his 40th birthday, and he was the first openly gay male elected into public office in the state of California. I suppose I could have warned of a spoiler for the movie, but that was a pretty obvious one I figured.
The movie Milk tells of the life of Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn) from his 40th birthday, when he decided to go into politics, and when he met his lover, Scott Smith (played by James Franco), until his assassination eleven months after he was elected into his position as a supervisor in San Francisco.
I didn't know anything going into this movie, and I've really never watched any movies that have dealt with activism, or the rights of gay people. My beliefs for the last few years of my life have been that every human deserves to be treated the same way, and watching this movie didn't change my beliefs at all, but I do think that if someone didn't have those same beliefs they may find it hard to watch. There are a few scenes which have men kissing other men, and I know that would be awkward for some people. It was awkward to me. I'm all for equal rights, but that doesn't mean I want to watch that. I'm sorry. I guess that was, honestly though, my only gripe with the movie, just that there were a few too many make out scenes for my tastes.
The rest of the movie was great! Watching the struggle that they went through was slightly upsetting, but Harvey always kept going on, and he never gave up, because he believed in what he was fighting for. It was a very inspirational movie, with a great message about how all people should be treated the same. Harvey loses his lovers, and gains new ones, and gets old ones back, and the love story of Harvey and Scott is intertwined throughout the entire movie. Sean Penn and James Franco were both great in their roles, and they didn't hold back. They did their job, and they did it very well.
Like I said, this movie was great. If you're looking for an inspirational movie, pick this one up. It's got a great message, and everyone should see this movie. I'd definitely throw a 9/10 rating on this movie.
Thanks for reading. I'll update again later, after I've finished watching The Green Mile.
The movie Milk tells of the life of Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn) from his 40th birthday, when he decided to go into politics, and when he met his lover, Scott Smith (played by James Franco), until his assassination eleven months after he was elected into his position as a supervisor in San Francisco.
I didn't know anything going into this movie, and I've really never watched any movies that have dealt with activism, or the rights of gay people. My beliefs for the last few years of my life have been that every human deserves to be treated the same way, and watching this movie didn't change my beliefs at all, but I do think that if someone didn't have those same beliefs they may find it hard to watch. There are a few scenes which have men kissing other men, and I know that would be awkward for some people. It was awkward to me. I'm all for equal rights, but that doesn't mean I want to watch that. I'm sorry. I guess that was, honestly though, my only gripe with the movie, just that there were a few too many make out scenes for my tastes.
The rest of the movie was great! Watching the struggle that they went through was slightly upsetting, but Harvey always kept going on, and he never gave up, because he believed in what he was fighting for. It was a very inspirational movie, with a great message about how all people should be treated the same. Harvey loses his lovers, and gains new ones, and gets old ones back, and the love story of Harvey and Scott is intertwined throughout the entire movie. Sean Penn and James Franco were both great in their roles, and they didn't hold back. They did their job, and they did it very well.
Like I said, this movie was great. If you're looking for an inspirational movie, pick this one up. It's got a great message, and everyone should see this movie. I'd definitely throw a 9/10 rating on this movie.
Thanks for reading. I'll update again later, after I've finished watching The Green Mile.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Really quick link post.
Hey everyone, I just really quick wanted to drop a link to a video that a professor of mine from last year's wife took of his not-even-2-year-old son. It's really cute, and I totally think it should go viral! He knows almost all of his U.S. presidents, and he gets so excited about it! It's great! Check it out!
--> Here is the link <--
I also have been a longtime fan of the game Timesplitters, and Free Radical stated a long, LONG time ago that they were working on Timesplitters 4. Unfortunately Free Radical went under, but Crytek came along to save them and Free Radical Design is now Crytek UK. While they may have been saved, it's impossible to know if they're active or not, since they aren't releasing any information about anything that they have done in the last two years! I've created a Digg page for the Timesplitters 4 page on Gamespot. Please go to the Digg page and digg the link. Maybe if we can get the developers to see how badly we want this, they'll show us that they're doing something!
--> Click here to go to the Digg page for Timesplitters 4 <--
And if you have a Digg account, and feel like doing me another favor, feel free to click digg on the link to my blog!
--> Click here to go the Digg page for my blog <--
And if you'd like to follow me on Twitter,
--> Click here! <--
Thanks! Bye!
--> Here is the link <--
I also have been a longtime fan of the game Timesplitters, and Free Radical stated a long, LONG time ago that they were working on Timesplitters 4. Unfortunately Free Radical went under, but Crytek came along to save them and Free Radical Design is now Crytek UK. While they may have been saved, it's impossible to know if they're active or not, since they aren't releasing any information about anything that they have done in the last two years! I've created a Digg page for the Timesplitters 4 page on Gamespot. Please go to the Digg page and digg the link. Maybe if we can get the developers to see how badly we want this, they'll show us that they're doing something!
--> Click here to go to the Digg page for Timesplitters 4 <--
And if you have a Digg account, and feel like doing me another favor, feel free to click digg on the link to my blog!
--> Click here to go the Digg page for my blog <--
And if you'd like to follow me on Twitter,
--> Click here! <--
Thanks! Bye!
Pokemon - Hardcore Mode!
Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore Pokemon player? Well, have you ever tried this?
I was talking to my friend Zach last night and he said something about this variant of the Pokemon games that he had heard of called 'Hardcore Mode'.
What could be so hardcore about Pokemon, you ask? Well, probably nothing, unless you play the game like this:
Play the entire game this way and see how far you can make it. This will require a lot of grinding (which I talked about in my last blog post), and it may stink at times, but I think it'd be a lot of fun. I've also heard of variants where you must do the initial quests after getting your starter, and then releasing your starter into the wild once you've captured your first Pokemon. This actually doesn't sound fun for me though, because the starters are some of my favorite Pokemon in the game. They look the coolest! Especially their evolutions! You also cannot have any more than six Pokemon at a time in this variant. You can play it as you wish though! Just trying to throw some newness into the game!
All of this hype lately about Pokemon really makes me wish I had a DS so I could play Black or White, which just came out on Sunday. Unfortunately, I don't even have a job right now, so I'll have to keep dreaming! I think I'll just go play the older Pokemon games now instead.
Thanks for reading again everyone, sorry if you were disrupted by my two simultaneous posts!
I was talking to my friend Zach last night and he said something about this variant of the Pokemon games that he had heard of called 'Hardcore Mode'.
What could be so hardcore about Pokemon, you ask? Well, probably nothing, unless you play the game like this:
Start off the game with any Pokemon. Here's the catch; once you've started, if any of your Pokemon faint, you aren't allowed to ever use it again, and it must be released into the wild! That means if your Pokemon faints before you've caught a second one, you must start over completely.
Play the entire game this way and see how far you can make it. This will require a lot of grinding (which I talked about in my last blog post), and it may stink at times, but I think it'd be a lot of fun. I've also heard of variants where you must do the initial quests after getting your starter, and then releasing your starter into the wild once you've captured your first Pokemon. This actually doesn't sound fun for me though, because the starters are some of my favorite Pokemon in the game. They look the coolest! Especially their evolutions! You also cannot have any more than six Pokemon at a time in this variant. You can play it as you wish though! Just trying to throw some newness into the game!
All of this hype lately about Pokemon really makes me wish I had a DS so I could play Black or White, which just came out on Sunday. Unfortunately, I don't even have a job right now, so I'll have to keep dreaming! I think I'll just go play the older Pokemon games now instead.
Thanks for reading again everyone, sorry if you were disrupted by my two simultaneous posts!
Grinding! My Favorite Past-Time!
Grinding is so much fun! Sometimes I wish I was able to do it all day long. It's so nice to just sit back, and mindlessly duel monsters for hours.
Confused yet? No, I'm not talking about the way that teenagers dance. I'm speaking of grinding to level up your character!
I am a big role-playing game fan, and one of my favorite things to do is just adventure out into the wilds where I can continuously romp on the enemies that pop up. Games like Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and tons of other JRPGs allow you to train your characters like this, so that when you finally do decide to move on in the game, all that time you spent training can transfer into easily beating the next part of the game.
Pokemon is one of my all time favorite series of games that do this. You can spend your time in the wild grass trying to level up your Pokemon, which can lead to rewards such as new abilities for your Pokemon, or even an evolution if enough time is spent. Grinding your Pokemon like this can also make the next gym leader, or the next section of the game a lot easier! Sometimes all of that time spent in the grass can also lead to discoveries of rare Pokemon that show up very infrequently in any such area. I remember in the first game that the section of wild grass that led to the Elite 4 could be accessed before you even went on to the first gym leader. This grass was filled with Pidgeys and Rattatas, but if you took your time in this area while grinding your Pokemon to higher levels, you could also find some Spearows, some Primapes, and some Nidorans or Nidorinas. The reason I love Pokemon so much is because it allows me to have these mindless hours and hours of fun!
Games like Final Fantasy also require that you spend a little time grinding. There are actually many cases where you can't get by in a game like this without grinding, unless you are some kind of strategy guru.
This is the case with many JRPGs, and this is probably why I love all of them so much, but here is my plea to the American game creators:
And to continue on with my plea, even though I really doubt this will do anything:
Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day.
Confused yet? No, I'm not talking about the way that teenagers dance. I'm speaking of grinding to level up your character!
I am a big role-playing game fan, and one of my favorite things to do is just adventure out into the wilds where I can continuously romp on the enemies that pop up. Games like Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and tons of other JRPGs allow you to train your characters like this, so that when you finally do decide to move on in the game, all that time you spent training can transfer into easily beating the next part of the game.
Pokemon is one of my all time favorite series of games that do this. You can spend your time in the wild grass trying to level up your Pokemon, which can lead to rewards such as new abilities for your Pokemon, or even an evolution if enough time is spent. Grinding your Pokemon like this can also make the next gym leader, or the next section of the game a lot easier! Sometimes all of that time spent in the grass can also lead to discoveries of rare Pokemon that show up very infrequently in any such area. I remember in the first game that the section of wild grass that led to the Elite 4 could be accessed before you even went on to the first gym leader. This grass was filled with Pidgeys and Rattatas, but if you took your time in this area while grinding your Pokemon to higher levels, you could also find some Spearows, some Primapes, and some Nidorans or Nidorinas. The reason I love Pokemon so much is because it allows me to have these mindless hours and hours of fun!
Games like Final Fantasy also require that you spend a little time grinding. There are actually many cases where you can't get by in a game like this without grinding, unless you are some kind of strategy guru.
This is the case with many JRPGs, and this is probably why I love all of them so much, but here is my plea to the American game creators:
Please, I beg of you, stop making games with linear stories that require that I continue on through my game before my character is able to level up again. It doesn't really make sense to me! Oblivion, sure you can grind, but if you go to sleep, and level up, the entire game gets harder! That's awful! I didn't spend all of my hours laboring away just so I could go take a one-hour in-game rest and have it all go downhill! Then there are games like Dragon Age: Origins, which you are able to level up your characters in, but it requires searching and digging around for quests. Why can't you just let me come back and forth to an area filled with some darkspawn? That's all I ask of you!
And to continue on with my plea, even though I really doubt this will do anything:
Dear creators of Elder Scrolls,
I really do love your games, trust me! I'd just love them even more if you could make Skyrim a game where grinding actually does something for me, instead of making me toil away at leveling up my character, and being left in the dust whenever I go to take a nap in a bed. Yes, I realize that I could just avoid sleeping, but then quests that are only available at level 20 will never become available to me, and this would make me sad! Maybe you could just tune the game so that the harder quests are only available to the higher leveled people, and they get harder as you go, while at the same time having monsters in one area being fairly weak, for when my character is just a wee-little noob, and then when I stretch out across the lands, you can make things harder for me! Do that instead of punishing me every time I level up and making the entire game harder. Please, just find some way to reward grinders for their time. I'm sure we'd all enjoy that.
Thank you,
Brent Johnson
Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Collections?
I'm back again!
I've been playing Oblivion since I made my last blog post, and I've been spending that entire time searching for something called a Nirnroot.
Once you get your first Nirnroot you are given a quest. You must go to find an alchemist, whom will direct you to another alchemist, who will tell you what they can be used for. There are a total of 310 in the game (according to the Internet). So far I have found ten, which I brought to the alchemist, and he's making this potion now. This potion increases a bunch of your stats for like five minutes of play time, and after he's made it for you once, you can go back to him and buy more of that variant, or you can continue to collect Nirnroots and bring them to him and he'll give you stronger and stronger variants.
Now, after spending the last hour collecting these Nirnroots (I may or may not have used guides online!), I have spent this whole time thinking about collections. Does anyone collect anything?
When I was a kid I was an avid Pokemon card collector. My shiny Lugia card was my claim to fame. I'd also always wanted to get my hands on a Charizard card, because everyone that knew how to actually play the game, which was probably about twenty people worldwide, knew that the Charizard card was one of the strongest cards you could get.
One collection that proved to be of great value to Lauryn, Andrew, and myself was my Uncle Jim's CD collection. Why? You ask. Because when I spent a week at their house a few summers ago, we played the game Monster Rancher 3. Anyone that has played this game will know that if you want to get some of the coolest monsters in the game, you need to test out different CDs with the monster generator. It was all pretty cool, and it couldn't have been that cool without Uncle Jim's CDs, especially not his old Weezer and R.E.M. CDs. Go Uncle Jim!
My brothers also collected baseball cards. They each had huge sets, and cards which I am sure are worth tons by this time. My questions to you all are, have you ever collected anything? Does your collection have value to only you, or would it have great value if you tried to sell it? What are some cool collections you've heard of?
I remember a few years back on MTV they had some True Life episode about how a kid's dad was obsessed with collecting Star Wars memorabilia. This kid was so ashamed of his father, and I never understood it! The collection was amazing! Seriously, there were few things at that point in my life that I had seen that were cooler!
Answer my questions in the form of comments! Thanks for reading everyone!
I've been playing Oblivion since I made my last blog post, and I've been spending that entire time searching for something called a Nirnroot.
Once you get your first Nirnroot you are given a quest. You must go to find an alchemist, whom will direct you to another alchemist, who will tell you what they can be used for. There are a total of 310 in the game (according to the Internet). So far I have found ten, which I brought to the alchemist, and he's making this potion now. This potion increases a bunch of your stats for like five minutes of play time, and after he's made it for you once, you can go back to him and buy more of that variant, or you can continue to collect Nirnroots and bring them to him and he'll give you stronger and stronger variants.
Now, after spending the last hour collecting these Nirnroots (I may or may not have used guides online!), I have spent this whole time thinking about collections. Does anyone collect anything?
When I was a kid I was an avid Pokemon card collector. My shiny Lugia card was my claim to fame. I'd also always wanted to get my hands on a Charizard card, because everyone that knew how to actually play the game, which was probably about twenty people worldwide, knew that the Charizard card was one of the strongest cards you could get.
One collection that proved to be of great value to Lauryn, Andrew, and myself was my Uncle Jim's CD collection. Why? You ask. Because when I spent a week at their house a few summers ago, we played the game Monster Rancher 3. Anyone that has played this game will know that if you want to get some of the coolest monsters in the game, you need to test out different CDs with the monster generator. It was all pretty cool, and it couldn't have been that cool without Uncle Jim's CDs, especially not his old Weezer and R.E.M. CDs. Go Uncle Jim!
My brothers also collected baseball cards. They each had huge sets, and cards which I am sure are worth tons by this time. My questions to you all are, have you ever collected anything? Does your collection have value to only you, or would it have great value if you tried to sell it? What are some cool collections you've heard of?
I remember a few years back on MTV they had some True Life episode about how a kid's dad was obsessed with collecting Star Wars memorabilia. This kid was so ashamed of his father, and I never understood it! The collection was amazing! Seriously, there were few things at that point in my life that I had seen that were cooler!
Answer my questions in the form of comments! Thanks for reading everyone!
Day #3 of Spring Break
I'm really in the mood to make a blog post right now, so here I go!
I really miss my girlfriend. I'm so used to spending so much time with her that all of this time receiving only a text or two per hour feels like I'm growing apart from her! I know she misses me too, so that should make our reuniting that much better. I can't wait, and I'm sure it'll be filled with hugs and kisses galore! I don't want to start sounding like a sap, but I really do enjoy all of the time I spend with her. Sometimes we just sit there and don't talk, but being able to turn around every once in a while to see her can make whatever I'm doing at that time that much better.
I planned to watch a lot of movies over Spring Break and so far I've hardly watched any. I think it's just because I'm so used to watching them with Rachel. I've tried watching The Big Sleep, but I just decided to stop, because I felt unfocused, and some of the reviews I read before watching it said that focus was key in a movie like this, because there are many characters, and it's all part of a huge plot-line with subtle twists that can leave you in the dust in the end if you've lost that focus. Maybe I'll try again later. I also tried watching Big with my mom last night, but thanks to the wonderful work of Frontier, our Internet connection died about half an hour into the movie. This is just not a good week for movies and me, I guess.
However this has been a good week for video games so far! I've been playing lots, and it's really nice to be able to do that! I played Oblivion for a few hours the other night, and quit after it froze on me, and I lost all of my progress. However, I didn't give up, and yesterday I redid everything I had lost, making sure to save it once every ten minutes or so. I also played Witch Hunt, which is an expansion for Dragon Age: Origins. It was kind of fun, since I hadn't played that for a while, but the expansion was short, and ended very abruptly. So, I just accepted my achievement points, and moved on to playing some NBA 2K11. I really enjoy playing the 'My Player' mode, and I had to start a new character recently because, much like Oblivion, my save file was corrupted. It was probably a good thing I did so though. I changed my position and I'm now a center, and because I got used to it very quickly, I was able to get an A+ grade in my last draft combine game, allowing me to unlock the achievement for being drafted in the first round.
Today I went to the casino with Zach, and broke even. I was kind of bummed about this. I don't know what I was expecting. Just a nice boost of luck would be nice. I really want one of the new Nintendo 3DS systems! However, like I said, I broke even. Otherwise, my day has been very uneventful.
It's nice being able to see all of my friends, and get time to play as many video games as I want, but as I stated earlier, I really miss Rachel. I guess I've just grown accustomed to spending all of my time with her, and I don't really know what to do without her. It'd be really nice if she were here, or if I were at her house. I really do love spending time with her family!
I think I'm going to continue playing Oblivion now. I want to make sure I beat it to a great percentage before Skyrim comes out this November! Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great night! Feel free to continue to help out my group on Free Rice some more! Thanks as well to Keith Graham for helping me get the group an additional 8000 grains last night! If you need the link again, --> here it is! <--
Goodnight!
P.S. - My friend Hannah writes a blog for her class on feminism, and other issues relating to the LGBT community. She's very fun to read, and her blog can make for some entertaining discussion, please read her blog if you have time! The link for that is on the left side of my page, and the name of her blog is 'Finding Feminism.'
I really miss my girlfriend. I'm so used to spending so much time with her that all of this time receiving only a text or two per hour feels like I'm growing apart from her! I know she misses me too, so that should make our reuniting that much better. I can't wait, and I'm sure it'll be filled with hugs and kisses galore! I don't want to start sounding like a sap, but I really do enjoy all of the time I spend with her. Sometimes we just sit there and don't talk, but being able to turn around every once in a while to see her can make whatever I'm doing at that time that much better.
I planned to watch a lot of movies over Spring Break and so far I've hardly watched any. I think it's just because I'm so used to watching them with Rachel. I've tried watching The Big Sleep, but I just decided to stop, because I felt unfocused, and some of the reviews I read before watching it said that focus was key in a movie like this, because there are many characters, and it's all part of a huge plot-line with subtle twists that can leave you in the dust in the end if you've lost that focus. Maybe I'll try again later. I also tried watching Big with my mom last night, but thanks to the wonderful work of Frontier, our Internet connection died about half an hour into the movie. This is just not a good week for movies and me, I guess.
However this has been a good week for video games so far! I've been playing lots, and it's really nice to be able to do that! I played Oblivion for a few hours the other night, and quit after it froze on me, and I lost all of my progress. However, I didn't give up, and yesterday I redid everything I had lost, making sure to save it once every ten minutes or so. I also played Witch Hunt, which is an expansion for Dragon Age: Origins. It was kind of fun, since I hadn't played that for a while, but the expansion was short, and ended very abruptly. So, I just accepted my achievement points, and moved on to playing some NBA 2K11. I really enjoy playing the 'My Player' mode, and I had to start a new character recently because, much like Oblivion, my save file was corrupted. It was probably a good thing I did so though. I changed my position and I'm now a center, and because I got used to it very quickly, I was able to get an A+ grade in my last draft combine game, allowing me to unlock the achievement for being drafted in the first round.
Today I went to the casino with Zach, and broke even. I was kind of bummed about this. I don't know what I was expecting. Just a nice boost of luck would be nice. I really want one of the new Nintendo 3DS systems! However, like I said, I broke even. Otherwise, my day has been very uneventful.
It's nice being able to see all of my friends, and get time to play as many video games as I want, but as I stated earlier, I really miss Rachel. I guess I've just grown accustomed to spending all of my time with her, and I don't really know what to do without her. It'd be really nice if she were here, or if I were at her house. I really do love spending time with her family!
I think I'm going to continue playing Oblivion now. I want to make sure I beat it to a great percentage before Skyrim comes out this November! Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great night! Feel free to continue to help out my group on Free Rice some more! Thanks as well to Keith Graham for helping me get the group an additional 8000 grains last night! If you need the link again, --> here it is! <--
Goodnight!
P.S. - My friend Hannah writes a blog for her class on feminism, and other issues relating to the LGBT community. She's very fun to read, and her blog can make for some entertaining discussion, please read her blog if you have time! The link for that is on the left side of my page, and the name of her blog is 'Finding Feminism.'
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Last week of classes before Spring Break, and the Beginning of Spring Break!
Hello everyone!
I have a lot of catching up to do, so here I go! This post will be about To Save a Life, Gnomeo and Juliet, Stand By Me, and Die Hard, among other things, such as Free Rice updates!
In my classes on Monday and Tuesday, I took tests, and I'm pretty sure I rocked them, so that was nice. Let's just hope I actually did do well on them. I'm sure my Film Studies test will be online sometime over break so I'll be able to find out.
I guess now that I think about it, my week was pretty uneventful until Wednesday night. On Wednesday night I watched To Save a Life, and then I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my friend's fraternity group.
To Save a Life was actually pretty good. I had sat down when the group started watching the movie just to kill the time, and I got up a few times during the movie, but I only missed about 10 minutes total. Afterward the group took time to reflect on the movie and ask a few questions. One of them included a reference to the fact that a lot of Christian movies are pretty cheesy.
I think this movie had it's moments, but overall, it didn't really fit that catagory. It really stepped out to make a few of it's points. There were drugs, there was alcohol, there was cursing, and there was suicide/depression. All things that usually aren't included in a Christian movie, maybe just talked about briefly and forgotten. It gets the point in, but it doesn't get it across like this movie did.
The movie starts off with a young boy saving his friend's life. In the process of preventing a car from hitting his friend, he gets hit, and injures his leg. For the rest of his life, he is tormented with names like "gimp". Eventually, the boy who he saved the life of just leaves him in the dust, and they lose the bond they had throughout their childhood. It's pretty sad, and it really makes you angry at the main character. The rest of the movie includes messages about depression and suicide, and discusses a little why people choose to do these things to themselves. It has a message about how all of us just need someone to be there for us sometimes.
I would like to take something from this movie. Normally I'm a very friendly person, but from here on out, if I see someone sitting by themselves at a lunch table, I think I'll ask them to join me, for the sake of them having someone to talk to. I think it'd be an easy way to get everyone to feel better about themselves. (No, I'm not saying I'm some high and mighty power that can take away everyone's pains, but I can say that sometimes we all have pain, and I understand that we all need someone to talk to at times.)
Otherwise, the movie was pretty okay. The acting was a little sub-par, but they got their message across. I would probably have to give this movie a 6.75 out of 10.
On Thursday, Rachel and I went on our last date before Spring Break. We decided to go see Gnomeo and Juliet since we'd seen a lot of heavy movies lately. We both just thought it was alright. The last half hour was better than the first hour, simply because the first hour of the movie pretty much only had jokes that were in the previews, which was a total buzz kill. Basically, if you saw the previews, you saw the funny, which is really disappointing.
The story was your basic "Romeo and Juliet" story. Two lovers cannot unite because the people around them keep them apart. I guess it was an alright way of teaching the story to children, and they actually did go through with the death of Tybalt, which was very surprising to me. Of course though, since it was a children's movie, they edited the ending, and for as triumphant as it should have been, it was really hard to even care. Overall I would give this movie about a 5.5 out of 10 stars.
In class on Thursday we watched Stand By Me. This was probably my favorite of the movies I have seen in the last week. It really made me want to live in the 50s, and it really made me miss my childhood, and doing things like walking along the railroad to kill time in the day with your friends. The only difference was, my friends and I weren't looking for a dead body!
The movie is a flashback and it's told by one of the main characters from an older point-of-view. He tells the story of how he and his friends went on a journey to find a dead body so that they could become heroes in their hometown. They learn a lot about themselves along the way, and it seems like there's even a "Breakfast Club" moment at one point when two of the friends are sitting next to a fire. They discuss how one will go on to take college classes, and the other will take shop classes and be forever forgotten. I also really enjoyed the story that the narrator tells as a young boy about the fat kid. It's really entertaining!
For this movie, I'd probably have to give out a 9 of out 10 score. I really enjoyed it, and I love how it made me reminisce to, and miss my childhood.
Then, last night, I watched Die Hard with a few of my friends. We weren't paying close attention until about the second half, but it was pretty enjoyable. Since I didn't see the whole thing though I won't rate it, I'll just say that what I did say of it, I enjoyed. We also watched the first half of the third movie in that series, and I really enjoyed that, especially Samuel L. Jackson's character.
Spring Break started last night too. I've been having a lot of fun hanging out with friends from high school, and I'm actually looking forward to spending a week relaxing at home. They're even talking about another snow storm next week, and over 50 inches of snow are projected for this area over the next three weeks!
I do miss Rachel though, and I can't wait to see her again! That is the one bad part about this week, no Rachel!
Zach and I are going to play the demo now of "Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars". I'll update again sometime tomorrow I'm sure, when I've watched more movies, or played more games, or just have something to say!
Also, in case anyone is wondering about the Free Rice progress, our group has 16 members, and 56,830 grains. Keep up the great work, and we'll be in first place in no time everyone! And if you haven't joined the group yet, simply join the website, and once you've done that, --> here is the link to the group <--, just click join, and play!
Thanks for reading everyone! Enjoy your day!
I have a lot of catching up to do, so here I go! This post will be about To Save a Life, Gnomeo and Juliet, Stand By Me, and Die Hard, among other things, such as Free Rice updates!
In my classes on Monday and Tuesday, I took tests, and I'm pretty sure I rocked them, so that was nice. Let's just hope I actually did do well on them. I'm sure my Film Studies test will be online sometime over break so I'll be able to find out.
I guess now that I think about it, my week was pretty uneventful until Wednesday night. On Wednesday night I watched To Save a Life, and then I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my friend's fraternity group.
To Save a Life was actually pretty good. I had sat down when the group started watching the movie just to kill the time, and I got up a few times during the movie, but I only missed about 10 minutes total. Afterward the group took time to reflect on the movie and ask a few questions. One of them included a reference to the fact that a lot of Christian movies are pretty cheesy.
I think this movie had it's moments, but overall, it didn't really fit that catagory. It really stepped out to make a few of it's points. There were drugs, there was alcohol, there was cursing, and there was suicide/depression. All things that usually aren't included in a Christian movie, maybe just talked about briefly and forgotten. It gets the point in, but it doesn't get it across like this movie did.
The movie starts off with a young boy saving his friend's life. In the process of preventing a car from hitting his friend, he gets hit, and injures his leg. For the rest of his life, he is tormented with names like "gimp". Eventually, the boy who he saved the life of just leaves him in the dust, and they lose the bond they had throughout their childhood. It's pretty sad, and it really makes you angry at the main character. The rest of the movie includes messages about depression and suicide, and discusses a little why people choose to do these things to themselves. It has a message about how all of us just need someone to be there for us sometimes.
I would like to take something from this movie. Normally I'm a very friendly person, but from here on out, if I see someone sitting by themselves at a lunch table, I think I'll ask them to join me, for the sake of them having someone to talk to. I think it'd be an easy way to get everyone to feel better about themselves. (No, I'm not saying I'm some high and mighty power that can take away everyone's pains, but I can say that sometimes we all have pain, and I understand that we all need someone to talk to at times.)
Otherwise, the movie was pretty okay. The acting was a little sub-par, but they got their message across. I would probably have to give this movie a 6.75 out of 10.
On Thursday, Rachel and I went on our last date before Spring Break. We decided to go see Gnomeo and Juliet since we'd seen a lot of heavy movies lately. We both just thought it was alright. The last half hour was better than the first hour, simply because the first hour of the movie pretty much only had jokes that were in the previews, which was a total buzz kill. Basically, if you saw the previews, you saw the funny, which is really disappointing.
The story was your basic "Romeo and Juliet" story. Two lovers cannot unite because the people around them keep them apart. I guess it was an alright way of teaching the story to children, and they actually did go through with the death of Tybalt, which was very surprising to me. Of course though, since it was a children's movie, they edited the ending, and for as triumphant as it should have been, it was really hard to even care. Overall I would give this movie about a 5.5 out of 10 stars.
In class on Thursday we watched Stand By Me. This was probably my favorite of the movies I have seen in the last week. It really made me want to live in the 50s, and it really made me miss my childhood, and doing things like walking along the railroad to kill time in the day with your friends. The only difference was, my friends and I weren't looking for a dead body!
The movie is a flashback and it's told by one of the main characters from an older point-of-view. He tells the story of how he and his friends went on a journey to find a dead body so that they could become heroes in their hometown. They learn a lot about themselves along the way, and it seems like there's even a "Breakfast Club" moment at one point when two of the friends are sitting next to a fire. They discuss how one will go on to take college classes, and the other will take shop classes and be forever forgotten. I also really enjoyed the story that the narrator tells as a young boy about the fat kid. It's really entertaining!
For this movie, I'd probably have to give out a 9 of out 10 score. I really enjoyed it, and I love how it made me reminisce to, and miss my childhood.
Then, last night, I watched Die Hard with a few of my friends. We weren't paying close attention until about the second half, but it was pretty enjoyable. Since I didn't see the whole thing though I won't rate it, I'll just say that what I did say of it, I enjoyed. We also watched the first half of the third movie in that series, and I really enjoyed that, especially Samuel L. Jackson's character.
Spring Break started last night too. I've been having a lot of fun hanging out with friends from high school, and I'm actually looking forward to spending a week relaxing at home. They're even talking about another snow storm next week, and over 50 inches of snow are projected for this area over the next three weeks!
I do miss Rachel though, and I can't wait to see her again! That is the one bad part about this week, no Rachel!
Zach and I are going to play the demo now of "Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars". I'll update again sometime tomorrow I'm sure, when I've watched more movies, or played more games, or just have something to say!
Also, in case anyone is wondering about the Free Rice progress, our group has 16 members, and 56,830 grains. Keep up the great work, and we'll be in first place in no time everyone! And if you haven't joined the group yet, simply join the website, and once you've done that, --> here is the link to the group <--, just click join, and play!
Thanks for reading everyone! Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
A Lot Parking.
Hello everyone!
All Winter long I have been very upset about one thing. It's the lack of parking due to crappy parking by others in A lot. This will be a short post, and probably just be entirely a rant, but I want to voice my concerns, and I want people, especially those who park in A lot, to hear them!
Alright, there have been instances where I have had to back out from the middle aisle of the A lot in front of Stearns Hall because my car wasn't small enough to fit in between the gap that the people had created. There was also a time where I couldn't back out of my parking space because the car behind me was so close together that I was trapped.
It especially concerns me that on multiple occasions I have voiced my concerns to public safety, and they refuse to ticket/tow/whatever it may be to the people that aren't the best at parking. I have called public safety three times now this winter, and not once have they done anything to any of these cars, and I was left in a rut once, and I was forced to park in a different lot on several occasions. Failure to respond is NOT okay. If you are called, please come and help me figure something out right away! If I come back an hour later and those same cars are still there without a ticket, it is very frustrating to me!
One last complaint is that people will take up multiple parking spots. This forces others, who are also paying for A lot, to go and park in one of the other A lots, when they shouldn't have to.
So, I ask of all of you A lot parkers: please, learn how to park when there is snow on the ground. I realize it's hard to see the lines, but just line up your car with the others. Don't park on spots where you know there are no-parking lines. They are there for a reason, and you should know where they are. If you don't, then just measure for yourself. Say, "Huh, I have a large car, and this spot is very near the sidewalk. Maybe, so other cars don't have to go around me and jeopardize their car, their safety, and the safety of others, I should be the bigger person, and park in another one of the A lots."
That's all I have to say, just something to hopefully think about for those of you who park in A lot.
And a quick P.S. -
Thank you to everyone who has joined my Free Rice group so far. We've surpassed 34,000 grains of rice, and we're still going! My goal is still to reach the top, no matter how long it takes, so I'll be working on it no matter who is with me. I just prefer that there are more of you with me! I love seeing other people with high scores that challenge my own! (And if you want a link to join my group, it's still in the last post, labeled like --> This! <--
Bye everyone! Thanks for reading!
(And I'm sorry I couldn't get you any pictures, but I'm sure if I had a picture for every time I was upset about someone's failure to properly park this winter, I'd have more than enough to fill up a page on my blog!)
All Winter long I have been very upset about one thing. It's the lack of parking due to crappy parking by others in A lot. This will be a short post, and probably just be entirely a rant, but I want to voice my concerns, and I want people, especially those who park in A lot, to hear them!
Alright, there have been instances where I have had to back out from the middle aisle of the A lot in front of Stearns Hall because my car wasn't small enough to fit in between the gap that the people had created. There was also a time where I couldn't back out of my parking space because the car behind me was so close together that I was trapped.
It especially concerns me that on multiple occasions I have voiced my concerns to public safety, and they refuse to ticket/tow/whatever it may be to the people that aren't the best at parking. I have called public safety three times now this winter, and not once have they done anything to any of these cars, and I was left in a rut once, and I was forced to park in a different lot on several occasions. Failure to respond is NOT okay. If you are called, please come and help me figure something out right away! If I come back an hour later and those same cars are still there without a ticket, it is very frustrating to me!
One last complaint is that people will take up multiple parking spots. This forces others, who are also paying for A lot, to go and park in one of the other A lots, when they shouldn't have to.
So, I ask of all of you A lot parkers: please, learn how to park when there is snow on the ground. I realize it's hard to see the lines, but just line up your car with the others. Don't park on spots where you know there are no-parking lines. They are there for a reason, and you should know where they are. If you don't, then just measure for yourself. Say, "Huh, I have a large car, and this spot is very near the sidewalk. Maybe, so other cars don't have to go around me and jeopardize their car, their safety, and the safety of others, I should be the bigger person, and park in another one of the A lots."
That's all I have to say, just something to hopefully think about for those of you who park in A lot.
And a quick P.S. -
Thank you to everyone who has joined my Free Rice group so far. We've surpassed 34,000 grains of rice, and we're still going! My goal is still to reach the top, no matter how long it takes, so I'll be working on it no matter who is with me. I just prefer that there are more of you with me! I love seeing other people with high scores that challenge my own! (And if you want a link to join my group, it's still in the last post, labeled like --> This! <--
Bye everyone! Thanks for reading!
(And I'm sorry I couldn't get you any pictures, but I'm sure if I had a picture for every time I was upset about someone's failure to properly park this winter, I'd have more than enough to fill up a page on my blog!)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Free Rice!
Welcome to my blog again everyone!
Did you know?
-One in seven people on Earth are malnourished.
-Hunger is the number one health risk in the world, even more than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
-You can help make a difference.
There is a website run by the United Nations World Food Programme called Free Rice (Links coming!). This website is dedicated to helping stop the hunger problem worldwide, and they do it in a very unique way.
The website earns it's money through advertisers on the bottom of each answer page. This money they earn is enough to get them about 10 grains of rice per page. If you spent an hour a day on this website (assuming you could, fairly easily, answer 20 questions per minute), you would earn 12,000 grains of rice. It takes 19,200 to give a small family two meals each, and you'd be contributing to over half of that!
The website is really easy to use. A recent addition to the website is the ability to log-in. When you are logged-in you can track your progress, and you can join groups, where you can work together with other people and compete against other groups in the leaderboards. In fact, this is going to be the paragraph where I give a quick plug to the group I just created, just to see if I can refer anyone to Free Rice, and to see how much of an impact my blog can make on this website. --> Here is the link <-- Simply join the website, click on that link (to take you to my group's page), and click play. The group will then be listed on your bar going across the top of each page, right above the amount of rice you've donated in that single playing session.
For those of you whom do not want to join my group, or track your progress, or any of that fun stuff, here is a banner that will just take you to the website:
The website is very fun, and actually really educational. You can play in a variety of different catagories, each with their own difficulty levels. You can play English Vocabulary on level one, and get words like "small", which means "little." Or you can take it up to level 60, where you'll get words like "ostiary", which is apparently a "church doorkeeper."
The other categories on the website include:
-English Grammar
-Famous Paintings
-Chemical Symbols (Basic)
-Chemical Symbols (Full List)
-French
-German
-Italian
-Spanish
-Identifying Countries on a Map
-World Capitals
-Basic Math (Pre-Algebra)
-Multiplication Tables
Clearly there are tons of things you can study on here, and while some of them are very basic, some things can truly test your wit. Any category you are playing will automatically start out at the lowest level, and for every three questions you get right, you automatically level up, but the next one you get wrong will take you down a level. It also keeps track of the highest level you've attained, and it's fun to learn new words! The best part is, if you don't know a word the first time, it'll come back around in a few questions, and you'll get another chance at it!
Thanks for reading everyone, I really hope you take the chance to check out this great website. If you'd like, you can also go straight to the WFP website (which I linked to earlier in the post), and make a direct donation, which would probably take up quite a bit less time, and help a little more, but no matter what you decide to do, you'll be making a difference!
Bye everyone!
Did you know?
-One in seven people on Earth are malnourished.
-Hunger is the number one health risk in the world, even more than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
-You can help make a difference.
There is a website run by the United Nations World Food Programme called Free Rice (Links coming!). This website is dedicated to helping stop the hunger problem worldwide, and they do it in a very unique way.
The website earns it's money through advertisers on the bottom of each answer page. This money they earn is enough to get them about 10 grains of rice per page. If you spent an hour a day on this website (assuming you could, fairly easily, answer 20 questions per minute), you would earn 12,000 grains of rice. It takes 19,200 to give a small family two meals each, and you'd be contributing to over half of that!
The website is really easy to use. A recent addition to the website is the ability to log-in. When you are logged-in you can track your progress, and you can join groups, where you can work together with other people and compete against other groups in the leaderboards. In fact, this is going to be the paragraph where I give a quick plug to the group I just created, just to see if I can refer anyone to Free Rice, and to see how much of an impact my blog can make on this website. --> Here is the link <-- Simply join the website, click on that link (to take you to my group's page), and click play. The group will then be listed on your bar going across the top of each page, right above the amount of rice you've donated in that single playing session.
For those of you whom do not want to join my group, or track your progress, or any of that fun stuff, here is a banner that will just take you to the website:
The website is very fun, and actually really educational. You can play in a variety of different catagories, each with their own difficulty levels. You can play English Vocabulary on level one, and get words like "small", which means "little." Or you can take it up to level 60, where you'll get words like "ostiary", which is apparently a "church doorkeeper."
The other categories on the website include:
-English Grammar
-Famous Paintings
-Chemical Symbols (Basic)
-Chemical Symbols (Full List)
-French
-German
-Italian
-Spanish
-Identifying Countries on a Map
-World Capitals
-Basic Math (Pre-Algebra)
-Multiplication Tables
Clearly there are tons of things you can study on here, and while some of them are very basic, some things can truly test your wit. Any category you are playing will automatically start out at the lowest level, and for every three questions you get right, you automatically level up, but the next one you get wrong will take you down a level. It also keeps track of the highest level you've attained, and it's fun to learn new words! The best part is, if you don't know a word the first time, it'll come back around in a few questions, and you'll get another chance at it!
Thanks for reading everyone, I really hope you take the chance to check out this great website. If you'd like, you can also go straight to the WFP website (which I linked to earlier in the post), and make a direct donation, which would probably take up quite a bit less time, and help a little more, but no matter what you decide to do, you'll be making a difference!
Bye everyone!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?
Post #2 for the day!
Alright, I just spent the last half hour looking around the Internet for games. Rachel said she wanted ideas for my birthday, and I was looking at all of the games that I wanted, and it made me want to make a blog post about what I actually would really love to do with my life.
I am a journalism major currently, and I'm debating whether or not I want to transfer over to broadcast journalism. I probably will, because it would open up a few more options for me.
My dream job, the one that I would take if I could work anywhere I wanted to in the world, would be with Gamespot. They are a video game journalism website that runs under CBS. I check their website at least three or four times a day. I would love NOTHING more than to work for them.
"Why are you minoring in film studies than?" -
Because I want to have a broader background in the entertainment industry. Do I want to be a journalist for Gamespot that covers movie-based-games? Heck no! But I think it'd be nice to know more about the entertainment industry, to watch more movies to broaden my knowledge of forms of entertainment, and because it's fun.
If I do end up majoring in broadcast journalism however, I think I could live with a job with G4TV. They are an entertainment-style television station that mainly focuses on video games. They used to more back in the day, than they do now, but it'd still be a blast to work for them.
These are all dreams of course, but I just thought I'd throw my dreams out there.
Also, on a side note-
I found out from Rachel that there are still 17 male community adviser positions open still for next year. I sent my old hall director a message on Facebook, and she thinks it'd be a great idea for me to reapply. So this is me letting everyone that doesn't already know that I plan on reapplying for the job on Monday. I loved that job so much, and I miss it more than anything.
Thanks for reading everyone! Leave comments, as always. This time leave a comment on what your dream job would be!
Alright, I just spent the last half hour looking around the Internet for games. Rachel said she wanted ideas for my birthday, and I was looking at all of the games that I wanted, and it made me want to make a blog post about what I actually would really love to do with my life.
I am a journalism major currently, and I'm debating whether or not I want to transfer over to broadcast journalism. I probably will, because it would open up a few more options for me.
My dream job, the one that I would take if I could work anywhere I wanted to in the world, would be with Gamespot. They are a video game journalism website that runs under CBS. I check their website at least three or four times a day. I would love NOTHING more than to work for them.
"Why are you minoring in film studies than?" -
Because I want to have a broader background in the entertainment industry. Do I want to be a journalist for Gamespot that covers movie-based-games? Heck no! But I think it'd be nice to know more about the entertainment industry, to watch more movies to broaden my knowledge of forms of entertainment, and because it's fun.
If I do end up majoring in broadcast journalism however, I think I could live with a job with G4TV. They are an entertainment-style television station that mainly focuses on video games. They used to more back in the day, than they do now, but it'd still be a blast to work for them.
These are all dreams of course, but I just thought I'd throw my dreams out there.
Also, on a side note-
I found out from Rachel that there are still 17 male community adviser positions open still for next year. I sent my old hall director a message on Facebook, and she thinks it'd be a great idea for me to reapply. So this is me letting everyone that doesn't already know that I plan on reapplying for the job on Monday. I loved that job so much, and I miss it more than anything.
Thanks for reading everyone! Leave comments, as always. This time leave a comment on what your dream job would be!
Role Models
Hola!
Last night Rachel and I watched the movie Role Models. The movie is about two guys who get in trouble with the law, and to get out of going to jail they are forced to do community service. The two guys have to help out a non-profit organization that acts as a big brother, little brother program. Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd are both in this movie, and both deliver alright performances.
The way the story plays out is pretty funny, but in most cases, it was very predictable. I guess I didn't watch it for the predictability factor though, Rachel and I watched it because we'd been watching a lot of heavier movies lately, and this looked like an easy way to sit back and have a laugh. The movie is pretty funny, but it is also very vulgar. I don't recommend showing this movie to anyone under the age of 16. There is nudity, there is a ton of swearing from the 10-year-old character, and there are a few drug references.
I think the reason I enjoyed this movie more than I probably should have was because I really enjoyed the nerd-style humor embedded in the movie. One of the characters, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin', playing his type-casted McLovin' role, once again), is involved in a live-action roleplay world called Laire, and I think without that aspect of the movie, it really would've bombed. So, if you don't enjoy nerd humor, KISS jokes, or excessive cursing from a 10-year-old, I really wouldn't recommend this movie to you. If you do on the other hand, this is probably your movie.
If I had to give it a star rating (which I haven't been doing until this post, I'm starting this now), I would give it 7/10. The movie was above average for me, but I didn't LOVE it.
As for the rest of the weekend, I've got to study eventually, probably soon. I also think I'm going to go to the hockey game tonight, since it's the last one of the regular season at home. I'm sure Rachel and I will maybe watch another movie today as well.
Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day!
Last night Rachel and I watched the movie Role Models. The movie is about two guys who get in trouble with the law, and to get out of going to jail they are forced to do community service. The two guys have to help out a non-profit organization that acts as a big brother, little brother program. Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd are both in this movie, and both deliver alright performances.
The way the story plays out is pretty funny, but in most cases, it was very predictable. I guess I didn't watch it for the predictability factor though, Rachel and I watched it because we'd been watching a lot of heavier movies lately, and this looked like an easy way to sit back and have a laugh. The movie is pretty funny, but it is also very vulgar. I don't recommend showing this movie to anyone under the age of 16. There is nudity, there is a ton of swearing from the 10-year-old character, and there are a few drug references.
I think the reason I enjoyed this movie more than I probably should have was because I really enjoyed the nerd-style humor embedded in the movie. One of the characters, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin', playing his type-casted McLovin' role, once again), is involved in a live-action roleplay world called Laire, and I think without that aspect of the movie, it really would've bombed. So, if you don't enjoy nerd humor, KISS jokes, or excessive cursing from a 10-year-old, I really wouldn't recommend this movie to you. If you do on the other hand, this is probably your movie.
If I had to give it a star rating (which I haven't been doing until this post, I'm starting this now), I would give it 7/10. The movie was above average for me, but I didn't LOVE it.
As for the rest of the weekend, I've got to study eventually, probably soon. I also think I'm going to go to the hockey game tonight, since it's the last one of the regular season at home. I'm sure Rachel and I will maybe watch another movie today as well.
Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day!
Friday, February 25, 2011
3:10 to Yuma and Revolutionary Road
Hey everyone!
Yesterday I went to the library to pick up a book, which I'm sure I'll finish and do a review on soon, and I discovered that the library actually has quite a few more movies than I had originally thought!
The first movie I found was 3:10 to Yuma (2007). I can't actually recall ever watching a true Western film, and I must say, I now feel much more inclined to start watching them (so I've added A Fistful of Dollars, and For a Few Dollars More to my library holds list. Hopefully they'll come in soon, but onto 3:10 to Yuma).
The film starts off with a stagecoach being robbed by Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang. In the process of robbing this stagecoach, Ben's men also kill a few of Dan Evan's (Christian Bale) cattle, and Dan and his kids witness it. They think about trying to leave at first, but then they are seen, so Dan steps forward, and he explains to Ben and his crew that his family needed those cattle, because they were having troubles paying for their home/life/etc. Eventually, a little later in the film, Dan catches up with Ben again, and Ben pays his for what he owes, and at that point *SPOILER* (Highlight to read, it's not that bad of a spoiler, it just helps move the plot along)
The rest of the movie is a wild goose chase between Ben, Dan, Ben's gang, and a few other groups of people. It's loaded with action once they leave Dan's home, and even before that. It was really entertaining, and I really enjoyed everything up until the ending. If you haven't seen a Western, much like I hadn't before, this may be a good one to start with! I'll be back with more reviews on Westerns when I get the two movies I had spoken of earlier!
Revolutionary Road was very, very different. When I first read the cover I was excited that I had found a movie that I thought Rachel and I could watch and enjoy together. I'm going to start off now by saying I wasn't wrong, but it wasn't at all what I had expected. After I picked it up I went to my film studies class and my friend James told me that it was a very depressing film. I went on to check Netflix for reviews and saw that people had given very low ratings because they also couldn't stand all of the depressing material in this film.
The film takes place in the fifties and is about a couple with two kids. The film starts with them fighting, and ends with one of them wishing they'd appreciated the other more. They both lie, they both cheat, and it tears their relationship apart.
Here's judgment time. Rachel and I both really enjoyed the film. It wasn't perfect, and the depressing factor in the film did bring it down a little, but the overall story, we thought, was filled with lessons on love, they're just delivered in a very harsh way. The film also has lessons about living the life the way you want it. One of my favorite quotes from the movie was:
Thanks again for reading everyone, if you also write blogs about film, please leave a comment with a link to it, and I'll check it out! As for my readers, I just picked up three movies from the library, Role Models, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Milk. I've heard good things about all of them, and I'll try to bring you some posts about each of them by the end of the weekend! I also picked up Chinatown this weekend. Hopefully I'll get time in to watch a few of these. I've got tests on Monday and Tuesday as well, so studying comes first!
Bye everyone!
Yesterday I went to the library to pick up a book, which I'm sure I'll finish and do a review on soon, and I discovered that the library actually has quite a few more movies than I had originally thought!
The first movie I found was 3:10 to Yuma (2007). I can't actually recall ever watching a true Western film, and I must say, I now feel much more inclined to start watching them (so I've added A Fistful of Dollars, and For a Few Dollars More to my library holds list. Hopefully they'll come in soon, but onto 3:10 to Yuma).
The film starts off with a stagecoach being robbed by Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang. In the process of robbing this stagecoach, Ben's men also kill a few of Dan Evan's (Christian Bale) cattle, and Dan and his kids witness it. They think about trying to leave at first, but then they are seen, so Dan steps forward, and he explains to Ben and his crew that his family needed those cattle, because they were having troubles paying for their home/life/etc. Eventually, a little later in the film, Dan catches up with Ben again, and Ben pays his for what he owes, and at that point *SPOILER* (Highlight to read, it's not that bad of a spoiler, it just helps move the plot along)
The local police come into the saloon where Ben and Dan are talking. They need to bring Ben to the train that will take him to Yuma Prison.
The rest of the movie is a wild goose chase between Ben, Dan, Ben's gang, and a few other groups of people. It's loaded with action once they leave Dan's home, and even before that. It was really entertaining, and I really enjoyed everything up until the ending. If you haven't seen a Western, much like I hadn't before, this may be a good one to start with! I'll be back with more reviews on Westerns when I get the two movies I had spoken of earlier!
Revolutionary Road was very, very different. When I first read the cover I was excited that I had found a movie that I thought Rachel and I could watch and enjoy together. I'm going to start off now by saying I wasn't wrong, but it wasn't at all what I had expected. After I picked it up I went to my film studies class and my friend James told me that it was a very depressing film. I went on to check Netflix for reviews and saw that people had given very low ratings because they also couldn't stand all of the depressing material in this film.
The film takes place in the fifties and is about a couple with two kids. The film starts with them fighting, and ends with one of them wishing they'd appreciated the other more. They both lie, they both cheat, and it tears their relationship apart.
Here's judgment time. Rachel and I both really enjoyed the film. It wasn't perfect, and the depressing factor in the film did bring it down a little, but the overall story, we thought, was filled with lessons on love, they're just delivered in a very harsh way. The film also has lessons about living the life the way you want it. One of my favorite quotes from the movie was:
"If being crazy means living life as if it matters, then I don't mind being completely insane."I think it's a little rough to take, but if you prepare yourself for a lot of depressing material, Revolutionary Road is definitely a film worth watching. Aside from the story, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet both deliver great performances. Give this one a chance.
Thanks again for reading everyone, if you also write blogs about film, please leave a comment with a link to it, and I'll check it out! As for my readers, I just picked up three movies from the library, Role Models, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Milk. I've heard good things about all of them, and I'll try to bring you some posts about each of them by the end of the weekend! I also picked up Chinatown this weekend. Hopefully I'll get time in to watch a few of these. I've got tests on Monday and Tuesday as well, so studying comes first!
Bye everyone!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Date Night and Thelma and Louise - Spring Break
Hey everyone!
Over the last few days I've watched a few movies. In my film studies class I watched Thelma and Louise for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. I also watched Date Night with Rachel tonight. I really enjoyed both of the movies, and I actually couldn't help but to find a similarity between the two.
Thelma and Louise is kind of a female-power movie which dramatizes the way men bring down women. The movie has very few woman, a ton of men, and all of the men in the film seem to be bad guys. Actually, now that I think of it, not one of the men I saw in that film was a good guy. I guess at least one was trying, they just weren't having it. Can you blame them though? They did go all the way across the country to flee from the police!
Date Night was just a fun romantic comedy, which, trust me, I get to see a lot of since my wonderful girlfriend loves them so much. And, quite frankly, some of them are actually really good. Date Night pushed a few boundaries on being a good film in that some of their jokes got used... Over, and over, and over. Seriously, the kill shot joke, was funny the first time, not so much the second. The dancing scene was funny for the first 15 seconds, but then it got old, kind of fast. "Whacked Off." Yup, we get it, no need to reiterate seven times for us. Thanks. Otherwise, the first times they did each joke were really funny. Just put the main characters into your mind as if you were a child, and they were your parents, that's what I did, and I liked it quite a bit. Another quick gripe I had about this film was the beginning, the initiation of them getting into trouble. It was kind of cliche. It's been done before, and I'm pretty sure the director has seen North by Northwest, so they probably knew they were ripping it off. The side characters are a lot of fun though. James Franco and Mila Kunis are in the film for about 10 minutes, and James Franco shines for all 10 of them. Maybe I'm biased, he is one of my favorite actors.
I also talked about a similarity. What? You ask. Well, in Thelma and Louise, they end up doing something that gets them in trouble, and then trouble follows them for the rest of the movie, and it seems to bring no happiness until the end for them, much like in Date Night. I guess that was the only similarity, but I guess that might be another reason to dock Date Night. I am seeing a couple of things that they kind of ripped off.
Either way, they are both good movies. Thelma and Louise may be a quite a bit greater, but Date Night is a pretty good film too, in it's own right.
-------
Spring Break is also coming up in a few weeks. Something came up in my journalism class today too, so a lot of stuff got moved around, meaning I now, aside from Monday of next week and the few days of studying I'll need to do before it, have quite a bit of free time going into, and during Spring Break.
Part of the reason I'm studying film as a minor is because I think it is a great link to cultures from all around the world. Some films teach us about a culture, and some films can even bring change around in a culture, regardless, I think it needs to be noted that if studied in-depth enough, film can be just as useful as any textbook.
So, over Spring Break, I want to continue to grow my knowledge of film. In this short side-post I'd just like to quickly ask any of my readers to leave a comment, and let me know about some of your favorite movies, especially ones that are on Netflix available for instant viewing (but you can tell me other films you love as well). If I haven't seen it, I'll look into it, maybe watch it, and if I do watch it I'll probably end up talking about it, and reviewing it in my blog.
Thanks in advance for any of your comments, and thanks again for reading. Every page view I see in my stats really means a lot to me. Trust me, I look at my blog stats well over 10 times a day, just ask Rachel if you want proof. She'll tell you. I think she may get kind of annoyed! :-P
Bye everyone!
Over the last few days I've watched a few movies. In my film studies class I watched Thelma and Louise for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. I also watched Date Night with Rachel tonight. I really enjoyed both of the movies, and I actually couldn't help but to find a similarity between the two.
Thelma and Louise is kind of a female-power movie which dramatizes the way men bring down women. The movie has very few woman, a ton of men, and all of the men in the film seem to be bad guys. Actually, now that I think of it, not one of the men I saw in that film was a good guy. I guess at least one was trying, they just weren't having it. Can you blame them though? They did go all the way across the country to flee from the police!
Date Night was just a fun romantic comedy, which, trust me, I get to see a lot of since my wonderful girlfriend loves them so much. And, quite frankly, some of them are actually really good. Date Night pushed a few boundaries on being a good film in that some of their jokes got used... Over, and over, and over. Seriously, the kill shot joke, was funny the first time, not so much the second. The dancing scene was funny for the first 15 seconds, but then it got old, kind of fast. "Whacked Off." Yup, we get it, no need to reiterate seven times for us. Thanks. Otherwise, the first times they did each joke were really funny. Just put the main characters into your mind as if you were a child, and they were your parents, that's what I did, and I liked it quite a bit. Another quick gripe I had about this film was the beginning, the initiation of them getting into trouble. It was kind of cliche. It's been done before, and I'm pretty sure the director has seen North by Northwest, so they probably knew they were ripping it off. The side characters are a lot of fun though. James Franco and Mila Kunis are in the film for about 10 minutes, and James Franco shines for all 10 of them. Maybe I'm biased, he is one of my favorite actors.
I also talked about a similarity. What? You ask. Well, in Thelma and Louise, they end up doing something that gets them in trouble, and then trouble follows them for the rest of the movie, and it seems to bring no happiness until the end for them, much like in Date Night. I guess that was the only similarity, but I guess that might be another reason to dock Date Night. I am seeing a couple of things that they kind of ripped off.
Either way, they are both good movies. Thelma and Louise may be a quite a bit greater, but Date Night is a pretty good film too, in it's own right.
-------
Spring Break is also coming up in a few weeks. Something came up in my journalism class today too, so a lot of stuff got moved around, meaning I now, aside from Monday of next week and the few days of studying I'll need to do before it, have quite a bit of free time going into, and during Spring Break.
Part of the reason I'm studying film as a minor is because I think it is a great link to cultures from all around the world. Some films teach us about a culture, and some films can even bring change around in a culture, regardless, I think it needs to be noted that if studied in-depth enough, film can be just as useful as any textbook.
So, over Spring Break, I want to continue to grow my knowledge of film. In this short side-post I'd just like to quickly ask any of my readers to leave a comment, and let me know about some of your favorite movies, especially ones that are on Netflix available for instant viewing (but you can tell me other films you love as well). If I haven't seen it, I'll look into it, maybe watch it, and if I do watch it I'll probably end up talking about it, and reviewing it in my blog.
Thanks in advance for any of your comments, and thanks again for reading. Every page view I see in my stats really means a lot to me. Trust me, I look at my blog stats well over 10 times a day, just ask Rachel if you want proof. She'll tell you. I think she may get kind of annoyed! :-P
Bye everyone!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Helpful People All Around Me.
Hello!
Tomorrow I have an article due for my journalism class, and I've been extremely stressed out by it. It's been hard to find information, and for the longest time I didn't even know what I wanted to write it about. Finally I decided I would write it on a former teacher at the college, and since I've done that I've also asked some people for help.
My friend Molly, who works at the University Chronicle, was the first of the helpful people. Last night I said something to her about my assignment and she actually set aside her own time to help me look through the archives of old newspapers. I really appreciate the fact that she's taking time out of her day to help me with a project that should've been done about a week ago. Thanks Molly!
My girlfriend has also been very helpful. Last night I was super stressed out and she calmed me down and then we sat and watched the news. She helped me realize that I will still be able to get this done if I let it wait until today, because I really wasn't going to find any information at 10 p.m. at night. Thanks Rachel!
And today I e-mailed the library to ask them how to get a hold of a biography file on Helen Hill, they directed my to the archivist, and he pulled out the box with the files and set up an appointment for 12:30 p.m. today. Thank you archivist and library reference desk!
I'm assuming that since I have all of these helpful people around me, everyone else has helpful people around them too. You just might not notice it at first. So, if you get stressed out about something, ask someone for help, and they might put you in the right direction. Ask me about something, I'm here if you want me. I don't know what I could help you with, but it'd definitely be worth a try.
Thanks a lot for reading! As always, leave comments!
Tomorrow I have an article due for my journalism class, and I've been extremely stressed out by it. It's been hard to find information, and for the longest time I didn't even know what I wanted to write it about. Finally I decided I would write it on a former teacher at the college, and since I've done that I've also asked some people for help.
My friend Molly, who works at the University Chronicle, was the first of the helpful people. Last night I said something to her about my assignment and she actually set aside her own time to help me look through the archives of old newspapers. I really appreciate the fact that she's taking time out of her day to help me with a project that should've been done about a week ago. Thanks Molly!
My girlfriend has also been very helpful. Last night I was super stressed out and she calmed me down and then we sat and watched the news. She helped me realize that I will still be able to get this done if I let it wait until today, because I really wasn't going to find any information at 10 p.m. at night. Thanks Rachel!
And today I e-mailed the library to ask them how to get a hold of a biography file on Helen Hill, they directed my to the archivist, and he pulled out the box with the files and set up an appointment for 12:30 p.m. today. Thank you archivist and library reference desk!
I'm assuming that since I have all of these helpful people around me, everyone else has helpful people around them too. You just might not notice it at first. So, if you get stressed out about something, ask someone for help, and they might put you in the right direction. Ask me about something, I'm here if you want me. I don't know what I could help you with, but it'd definitely be worth a try.
Thanks a lot for reading! As always, leave comments!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tangled!
Hello!
Last night Rachel and I saw Tangled together at the Atwood Theater. The movie was a lot of fun, and we both really enjoyed it! I seem to be enjoying films a lot more lately than I normally do, which is probably a good thing, considering the fact that film is my minor!
Without giving away too much I'd just like to point out, right off the bat, that the story almost plays out exactly like Hercules. I guess by this time maybe it's hard for Disney to come up with new directions for their stories, and I'm letting this slide since Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies, and Tangled had characters that made the movie worth watching.
My favorite of those characters was Maximus. A horse that takes pride in being a horse for the guard of the kingdom that the story centers around in Tangled. He's great! The fights between him and Flynn are hilarious, and Maximus has very human-like qualities. In fact, he has almost every quality of one of the royal guard from the film, except for he is smart, he can't talk, and he is a horse.
Overall, Rachel and I really enjoyed this film. It was funny, it had plenty of "aww" moments, and all of the characters were extremely likable. And while it did play out a lot like Hercules, that may have made me love it even more.
Also, there was a preview for a new Disney movie coming up called Prom. Neither Rachel nor myself knew what to think about this. It definitely doesn't look anything at all like something Disney has made before. I guess at least they are getting new ideas, but this one may be a little far out of the water, especially for a Disney movie! Check out the trailer for yourself if you want to see what I am talking about!
Thanks for reading everyone! As always, leave comments!
Last night Rachel and I saw Tangled together at the Atwood Theater. The movie was a lot of fun, and we both really enjoyed it! I seem to be enjoying films a lot more lately than I normally do, which is probably a good thing, considering the fact that film is my minor!
Without giving away too much I'd just like to point out, right off the bat, that the story almost plays out exactly like Hercules. I guess by this time maybe it's hard for Disney to come up with new directions for their stories, and I'm letting this slide since Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies, and Tangled had characters that made the movie worth watching.
My favorite of those characters was Maximus. A horse that takes pride in being a horse for the guard of the kingdom that the story centers around in Tangled. He's great! The fights between him and Flynn are hilarious, and Maximus has very human-like qualities. In fact, he has almost every quality of one of the royal guard from the film, except for he is smart, he can't talk, and he is a horse.
Overall, Rachel and I really enjoyed this film. It was funny, it had plenty of "aww" moments, and all of the characters were extremely likable. And while it did play out a lot like Hercules, that may have made me love it even more.
Also, there was a preview for a new Disney movie coming up called Prom. Neither Rachel nor myself knew what to think about this. It definitely doesn't look anything at all like something Disney has made before. I guess at least they are getting new ideas, but this one may be a little far out of the water, especially for a Disney movie! Check out the trailer for yourself if you want to see what I am talking about!
Thanks for reading everyone! As always, leave comments!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Birth Control Weekend! + Power Outage!
Hello everyone!
I was going to write last night when Rachel and I got back from babysitting my nephews, but we were both tired and just wanted to go to bed, so I'll write about it now! :-)
We spent the weekend at my brother's house babysitting my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old nephews and it was crazy.
Kash is constantly moving, and while he is very cute, he is a lot to handle. If you pick him up, you can't expect to put him down any time soon, because the second you put him on his bum, he'll cry. However, if you are carrying him, you have to be moving, or he'll kick and throw his arms and try to break free. He needs to make up his mind!
Conner, on the other hand, is very random with his actions. He is also moving around a lot, always begging for you to play with him, which is alright, until he insists on punching you and throwing things at you, then it's time for a time-out. When he is good though, Conner is a lot of fun. Conner loves watching movies and in the two days we were there we watched Star Wars IV-VI, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and Planet 51. I also got in my fair share of Batman movies and cartoons, because he absolutely loves anything to do with Batman. He runs around in Batman pajamas with a cape on too!
Rachel...
Is not one of my nephews! She is my girlfriend, whom I've already talked about a few times. I am extremely thankful I had her with for the two days we were there this weekend, because she is so great with the kids. We also devised a plan on Saturday morning at 6:45, when we first woke up, for one of us to take a nap while Kash slept in the morning, and the other could take a nap while Kash slept in the afternoon, and it worked like a charm! We both felt great for the rest of the day, and we both had tons of fun. I must also admit that Rachel is definitely a better babysitter than myself. She plays with the kids, cuddles with them when they cry, she's great at changing diapers, and she is the best at laying down the law! I expect her to be a great mom someday!
On that note, I'll make sure to point out that that "someday" will not be someday soon. This weekend was definitely eye-opening. While we weren't planning on having children anytime soon, since we're both in college, it really just helps us reaffirm that we don't want them at all. Rachel liked Kash whenever he woke up from naps, because he'd be really cuddly, but otherwise, we wanted nothing to do with having children. So, Kash and Conner, thank you for being our free birth control!
I'd also like to take this paragraph to thank my parents.
Mom, Dad, thank you for coming up a day early to babysit so Rachel and I could go home today. It was nice. Thanks!
I'd just like to share one last quote on this part of the post from Conner, it goes like this.
Oh joy! :-)
--------
Now, today, we had a power outage in St. Cloud. It sucks, and Excel Energy said they'd have the power back up by 1:15 p.m. It is now 2:21 p.m. and we are sitting in Caribou, because they have power and the Internet here, all the way across town!
We aren't really sure why the power went out, but it may have something to do with the wind. It's super windy here right now, and eventually it should start snowing. There was supposed to be a huge blizzard hitting us today, but it missed us so far, and it's gone south. I'm banking on no morning classes tomorrow, since my professor is from Blaine, and the Twin Cities metro area is supposed to get hit really hard, and apparently already has been hit quite a bit.
That's all I've got for today! I think I'll watch a movie on my Netflix. I had kind of planned on sitting around and playing video games all day, but I guess not!
Thanks for reading! Leave comments as always!*
*If you want something to comment about, here's a list of topics.
1. Good movies that are on Netflix to watch during a snow day.
2. Stories of your times babysitting.
3. Stories of power outages that you've been through.
I was going to write last night when Rachel and I got back from babysitting my nephews, but we were both tired and just wanted to go to bed, so I'll write about it now! :-)
We spent the weekend at my brother's house babysitting my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old nephews and it was crazy.
Kash is constantly moving, and while he is very cute, he is a lot to handle. If you pick him up, you can't expect to put him down any time soon, because the second you put him on his bum, he'll cry. However, if you are carrying him, you have to be moving, or he'll kick and throw his arms and try to break free. He needs to make up his mind!
Conner, on the other hand, is very random with his actions. He is also moving around a lot, always begging for you to play with him, which is alright, until he insists on punching you and throwing things at you, then it's time for a time-out. When he is good though, Conner is a lot of fun. Conner loves watching movies and in the two days we were there we watched Star Wars IV-VI, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and Planet 51. I also got in my fair share of Batman movies and cartoons, because he absolutely loves anything to do with Batman. He runs around in Batman pajamas with a cape on too!
Rachel...
Is not one of my nephews! She is my girlfriend, whom I've already talked about a few times. I am extremely thankful I had her with for the two days we were there this weekend, because she is so great with the kids. We also devised a plan on Saturday morning at 6:45, when we first woke up, for one of us to take a nap while Kash slept in the morning, and the other could take a nap while Kash slept in the afternoon, and it worked like a charm! We both felt great for the rest of the day, and we both had tons of fun. I must also admit that Rachel is definitely a better babysitter than myself. She plays with the kids, cuddles with them when they cry, she's great at changing diapers, and she is the best at laying down the law! I expect her to be a great mom someday!
On that note, I'll make sure to point out that that "someday" will not be someday soon. This weekend was definitely eye-opening. While we weren't planning on having children anytime soon, since we're both in college, it really just helps us reaffirm that we don't want them at all. Rachel liked Kash whenever he woke up from naps, because he'd be really cuddly, but otherwise, we wanted nothing to do with having children. So, Kash and Conner, thank you for being our free birth control!
I'd also like to take this paragraph to thank my parents.
Mom, Dad, thank you for coming up a day early to babysit so Rachel and I could go home today. It was nice. Thanks!
I'd just like to share one last quote on this part of the post from Conner, it goes like this.
Me: "Conner, you smell like maple syrup."
Conner: "Who is Maple Syrup?"
Oh joy! :-)
--------
Now, today, we had a power outage in St. Cloud. It sucks, and Excel Energy said they'd have the power back up by 1:15 p.m. It is now 2:21 p.m. and we are sitting in Caribou, because they have power and the Internet here, all the way across town!
We aren't really sure why the power went out, but it may have something to do with the wind. It's super windy here right now, and eventually it should start snowing. There was supposed to be a huge blizzard hitting us today, but it missed us so far, and it's gone south. I'm banking on no morning classes tomorrow, since my professor is from Blaine, and the Twin Cities metro area is supposed to get hit really hard, and apparently already has been hit quite a bit.
That's all I've got for today! I think I'll watch a movie on my Netflix. I had kind of planned on sitting around and playing video games all day, but I guess not!
Thanks for reading! Leave comments as always!*
*If you want something to comment about, here's a list of topics.
1. Good movies that are on Netflix to watch during a snow day.
2. Stories of your times babysitting.
3. Stories of power outages that you've been through.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Why Hate?
Welcome again to my blog everyone!
If you're getting sick of me writing so frequently, get over it! I love this! Don't hate! (And if you think my writing is really bad, leave a comment! I hope to be a writer for the rest of my life, so every word I type onto these pages is practice for me, always hoping to become a better writer!)
Tonight Rachel and I watched the movie American History X. It was a LOT to take in. There were parts where I grabbed Rachel and asked if I should cover her eyes, basically subliminally saying that I wanted my eyes covered, but I didn't want to do it by myself. It was one of those moments. I just had to see what happened!
Hopefully, without giving too much away, I can give you a synopsis. The movie is broken into two through black and white scenes, and color ones. The black and white are all flashbacks, telling the story of Derek and how he got the way he is, while the color ones tell us what is going on right at that moment with Derek, now that he is out of prison, with his brother, who has followed Derek's lifestyle, and the members of the group of skinheads that Derek helped to create. We see change in the characters in the movie, and we look at others wishing for it.
This movie is a loaded one. It shoots it's message at you like a bullet moving at 100 miles-per-hour. It's extremely powerful, and has a very strong message. That message is that hate isn't worth anyone's time. We all live lives that are too short, and we shouldn't waste our time hating others, especially not groups of others because of some shallow, stereotypical belief that we have.
Rachel and I wanted to see this film as soon as we talked about it in our ethnic studies class. About half of the class had seen it, and loved it, and they loved it for a great reason. It is really tough to swallow, but it truly is a moving film. If you haven't seen it yet, don't waste your time any longer. Check it out! I know I regret putting it off as it sat there on the desk for the last week, because I just didn't have the time, or I thought I had better things to do.
As always, I ask that you leave comments, and this time, please tell me some of the movies that you have all seen that come with a loaded message. A movie that truly changed the way you think about life.
Thanks again for reading everyone! Have a great night!
If you're getting sick of me writing so frequently, get over it! I love this! Don't hate! (And if you think my writing is really bad, leave a comment! I hope to be a writer for the rest of my life, so every word I type onto these pages is practice for me, always hoping to become a better writer!)
Tonight Rachel and I watched the movie American History X. It was a LOT to take in. There were parts where I grabbed Rachel and asked if I should cover her eyes, basically subliminally saying that I wanted my eyes covered, but I didn't want to do it by myself. It was one of those moments. I just had to see what happened!
Hopefully, without giving too much away, I can give you a synopsis. The movie is broken into two through black and white scenes, and color ones. The black and white are all flashbacks, telling the story of Derek and how he got the way he is, while the color ones tell us what is going on right at that moment with Derek, now that he is out of prison, with his brother, who has followed Derek's lifestyle, and the members of the group of skinheads that Derek helped to create. We see change in the characters in the movie, and we look at others wishing for it.
This movie is a loaded one. It shoots it's message at you like a bullet moving at 100 miles-per-hour. It's extremely powerful, and has a very strong message. That message is that hate isn't worth anyone's time. We all live lives that are too short, and we shouldn't waste our time hating others, especially not groups of others because of some shallow, stereotypical belief that we have.
Rachel and I wanted to see this film as soon as we talked about it in our ethnic studies class. About half of the class had seen it, and loved it, and they loved it for a great reason. It is really tough to swallow, but it truly is a moving film. If you haven't seen it yet, don't waste your time any longer. Check it out! I know I regret putting it off as it sat there on the desk for the last week, because I just didn't have the time, or I thought I had better things to do.
As always, I ask that you leave comments, and this time, please tell me some of the movies that you have all seen that come with a loaded message. A movie that truly changed the way you think about life.
Thanks again for reading everyone! Have a great night!
Double Indemnity, Any Others Like it?
Hello everyone!
The other day in my film studies class we watched the film Double Indemnity. I've never really watched any classic films that I have really enjoyed from before the 1950s, but this movie really did it for me!
The movie's plot goes something like this (From Netflix):
My friend James and I also quickly discussed while we were watching the movie that we both believed it would be a good film to show in a philosophy class, because of Edward G. Robinson's character. He plays a detective style character (even though he is an insurance agent), and he deduces the crimes that happened, it's really funny how he does it, and speaking of things I loved about this movie, Edward G. Robinson was one of them!
I really loved this movie, and I was just wondering if any of my readers have seen any other Noir style movies, or if they've seen any other movies with Billy Wilder as the director, that they've really enjoyed. I've also seen Some Like It Hot, which is another Billy Wilder film, and I loved that one as well. If you could suggest movies for me, I'd love it! Just leave a comment. Neo-Noir films can also be thrown in any lists of movies anyone gives me! Feel free to recommend movies that starred Edward G. Robinson as well. He really made that movie great!
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer:
I realize I can check Netflix/IMDB if I want more information on these people, and just watch their movies, or look up Noir films on either one, but I want to find out YOUR opinions! I'll also make more blog posts about these films if I find anymore I love!
The other day in my film studies class we watched the film Double Indemnity. I've never really watched any classic films that I have really enjoyed from before the 1950s, but this movie really did it for me!
The movie's plot goes something like this (From Netflix):
"Smitten insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) plots the perfect murder with femme fatale client Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): staging her husband's "accidental" death to collect double indemnity on his life insurance and absconding with the loot. But before their scheme can pay off, the lethal duo must first get past a crafty claims investigator (Edward G. Robinson) who senses something isn't kosher."At first I thought it was going to be kind of boring, but as soon as the movie started, I was hooked. Walter Neff tells his story from the top down. It starts at the ending, and he retraces his steps. I thought that was a really interesting way to do the film, and despite the fact that you seem to think you know the ending, it really added a lot of mystery to the film!
My friend James and I also quickly discussed while we were watching the movie that we both believed it would be a good film to show in a philosophy class, because of Edward G. Robinson's character. He plays a detective style character (even though he is an insurance agent), and he deduces the crimes that happened, it's really funny how he does it, and speaking of things I loved about this movie, Edward G. Robinson was one of them!
I really loved this movie, and I was just wondering if any of my readers have seen any other Noir style movies, or if they've seen any other movies with Billy Wilder as the director, that they've really enjoyed. I've also seen Some Like It Hot, which is another Billy Wilder film, and I loved that one as well. If you could suggest movies for me, I'd love it! Just leave a comment. Neo-Noir films can also be thrown in any lists of movies anyone gives me! Feel free to recommend movies that starred Edward G. Robinson as well. He really made that movie great!
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer:
I realize I can check Netflix/IMDB if I want more information on these people, and just watch their movies, or look up Noir films on either one, but I want to find out YOUR opinions! I'll also make more blog posts about these films if I find anymore I love!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
To Write Love on Her Arms.
Hey, Howdy, Hey everyone!
Tonight I went to see Jamie Tworkowski on campus. Jamie is the leader of the To Write Love on Her Arms initiative. Listening to him speak kind of gave me the motivation to want to reach out more. I feel motivated to go and talk to people I've never met, and make new friends.
I believe Jamie taught us all a valuable lesson tonight. Aside from telling us the story of why he started his non-profit organization, he also gave the listeners a message about how we can make a difference in our own lives. While Jamie's organization listens to people's problems and responds to them, they can't help everyone, as much as they'd like to try.
So here I go, asking anyone who doesn't know me as a friend already, to please, send me a message. I'd LOVE to talk to you sometime. And you can trust me when I say I'm not just doing this so I can feel like I've actually done something with my life, I want to actually make new friends. If you want a close friend, hit me up. I've got time for you. I can guarantee it! Send me a message on Facebook, let's hang out, whatever, if you go to my school and just want someone to talk to, let me know. Let's go to Garvey sometime!
And if you feel like you have no one to talk to, because no one can understand your problems when it comes to depression, I'm sorry to inform you that I don't know how you feel. I can tell you right now though, that I'll be there to listen if you need me!
Also, Jamie had the singer from Sleeping at Last start off his presentation. He was a really funny guy, and he really appreciated the applause. The thing is though, he definitely deserved it. Go and check out their music, he had an amazing voice, and I bet he would love to add one more fan to their fanbase!
And in case you were wondering how I did earlier today in the Soul Calibur IV tournament, which no one probably is, the tournament never happened because not enough people showed up, but I got to meet some nice new people and the four of us just hung out for an hour and a half taking turns playing the game together. I think I might check out there club in the future as well. Who doesn't want to join a club that hangs out from 5 p.m. to midnight every Monday just playing video games? Heck yeah!
If there is anything else anyone wants said about Jamie's talk tonight, just add it in the comments, and if you'd like to know more about Jamie's initiative, Click Here!
I'll leave you with a quoted paragraph from the initiative's website:
Thanks for reading, and please continue to invite your friends, and check out my blog regularly! I've had quite a few page views over the past few days and I want to let you all know that it makes me feel very good! THANK YOU!
Tonight I went to see Jamie Tworkowski on campus. Jamie is the leader of the To Write Love on Her Arms initiative. Listening to him speak kind of gave me the motivation to want to reach out more. I feel motivated to go and talk to people I've never met, and make new friends.
I believe Jamie taught us all a valuable lesson tonight. Aside from telling us the story of why he started his non-profit organization, he also gave the listeners a message about how we can make a difference in our own lives. While Jamie's organization listens to people's problems and responds to them, they can't help everyone, as much as they'd like to try.
So here I go, asking anyone who doesn't know me as a friend already, to please, send me a message. I'd LOVE to talk to you sometime. And you can trust me when I say I'm not just doing this so I can feel like I've actually done something with my life, I want to actually make new friends. If you want a close friend, hit me up. I've got time for you. I can guarantee it! Send me a message on Facebook, let's hang out, whatever, if you go to my school and just want someone to talk to, let me know. Let's go to Garvey sometime!
And if you feel like you have no one to talk to, because no one can understand your problems when it comes to depression, I'm sorry to inform you that I don't know how you feel. I can tell you right now though, that I'll be there to listen if you need me!
Also, Jamie had the singer from Sleeping at Last start off his presentation. He was a really funny guy, and he really appreciated the applause. The thing is though, he definitely deserved it. Go and check out their music, he had an amazing voice, and I bet he would love to add one more fan to their fanbase!
And in case you were wondering how I did earlier today in the Soul Calibur IV tournament, which no one probably is, the tournament never happened because not enough people showed up, but I got to meet some nice new people and the four of us just hung out for an hour and a half taking turns playing the game together. I think I might check out there club in the future as well. Who doesn't want to join a club that hangs out from 5 p.m. to midnight every Monday just playing video games? Heck yeah!
If there is anything else anyone wants said about Jamie's talk tonight, just add it in the comments, and if you'd like to know more about Jamie's initiative, Click Here!
I'll leave you with a quoted paragraph from the initiative's website:
"You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters."
Thanks for reading, and please continue to invite your friends, and check out my blog regularly! I've had quite a few page views over the past few days and I want to let you all know that it makes me feel very good! THANK YOU!
I'm Pumped for Today!
Hey everyone!
I hope everyone is having a good day! I sure am. I woke up this morning and went to class, excited to hand in my work, mainly because I already know I'm going to get an A on it. You see, A grades are automatically assigned to any work that is turned in that gets published in a newspaper...
The story I wrote for this morning will be in next week's University Chronicle!!!
I'm so pumped! It feels so great knowing that people will be reading something I wrote, and it feels great knowing that the editors thought it would be good enough to be put into their paper!
As for the rest of my day today, other than being excited in anticipation for Monday's paper to be released, I got to spend some nice time relaxing with my wonderful girlfriend! We took a nice nap after our morning class, and snuggled the morning away! After that I went to give blood, and all went well.
Today is a great day! :-)
Let's just hope it gets even better. I'm going to enter a Soul Calibur IV tournament on campus later today. $3 is the entry fee, and gift certificates are rewarded to the top fighters! I'm hoping to do well. If anyone wants to add me on Xbox Live, my username is StealthStallion. If you want to play some Soul Calibur, I'm up for it! Especially for the next two hours, while I train!
I also wanted to say, if anyone has any blogs that they want to have people know about, just leave a comment in my post. I don't mind your advertising at all. It's always nice knowing you have more readers, and I'll definitely respect anyone's wish to put their blog into my blog list, as long as it's appropriate! Also, send people my way too! Readers make me happy!
Have a great day everyone! Don't forget to leave comments!
I hope everyone is having a good day! I sure am. I woke up this morning and went to class, excited to hand in my work, mainly because I already know I'm going to get an A on it. You see, A grades are automatically assigned to any work that is turned in that gets published in a newspaper...
The story I wrote for this morning will be in next week's University Chronicle!!!
I'm so pumped! It feels so great knowing that people will be reading something I wrote, and it feels great knowing that the editors thought it would be good enough to be put into their paper!
As for the rest of my day today, other than being excited in anticipation for Monday's paper to be released, I got to spend some nice time relaxing with my wonderful girlfriend! We took a nice nap after our morning class, and snuggled the morning away! After that I went to give blood, and all went well.
Today is a great day! :-)
Let's just hope it gets even better. I'm going to enter a Soul Calibur IV tournament on campus later today. $3 is the entry fee, and gift certificates are rewarded to the top fighters! I'm hoping to do well. If anyone wants to add me on Xbox Live, my username is StealthStallion. If you want to play some Soul Calibur, I'm up for it! Especially for the next two hours, while I train!
I also wanted to say, if anyone has any blogs that they want to have people know about, just leave a comment in my post. I don't mind your advertising at all. It's always nice knowing you have more readers, and I'll definitely respect anyone's wish to put their blog into my blog list, as long as it's appropriate! Also, send people my way too! Readers make me happy!
Have a great day everyone! Don't forget to leave comments!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
Hey everyone,
Today is Valentine's Day. Do I know the history of it? Nope! Do I have any amazing Valentine's Day stories? Nope! But can I share with you a post about the girl I love the most? YOU BET!
I have this girlfriend. Her name is Rachel. I love her more than anything!
Rachel is smarter than anyone you know. She astounds me sometimes with her love of researching things that may affect her. If she thinks there is something wrong with her, WebMD, here she comes! If she wants to create an argument on animal rights, she'll read a book on it, and then when you start an argument on animal rights that you'll claim she started (everyone does this to her, I swear), she'll come right back at you, and tell you why you should shut up!
Rachel is prettier than anyone I know! Her eyes are beautiful and greener than emeralds. She has a smile brighter than the light towards Heaven. She is skinny and has a gorgeous body. She has wonderful brown hair, and her nose is absolutely perfect.
Rachel is so much fun to spend time with. We watch movies together, we play games together, we read together, we go out to eat together. Rachel and I are like two peas in a pod! Just try to separate us!*
Rachel's family is another thing I love. My whole life I've wanted a girlfriend, and the one thing I've been scared of the most, is getting a girlfriend that has terrifying parents. Sure, the first time meeting them had me shaking, but since then, I feel like I've made two new best friends. Her brother is my homie too! We be tight!
Sometimes I come up with crazy dreams, but the nice thing about Rachel is, she always puts up with it.
"Hey Rach, I'm gonna join the NBA!"**
"Yeah you are! I can't wait to cheer you on from courtside!"
"Hey Rach, I'm going to write a book by July 4th, so that I will be able to come see you whenever I want, and I won't have to work at Wal-Mart!"***
"That sounds so wonderful!"
I love you Rachel, so much, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my first and only ever girlfriend. You rock my world, and I can't wait to marry you someday, and have babies of course! And then we can read them the Kiss the Cow book!
Thanks for reading everyone!
*Actually, please don't!
**I'm AWFUL at basketball!
***I never actually wrote a book by July 4th. Someday I plan on writing a book though!
Today is Valentine's Day. Do I know the history of it? Nope! Do I have any amazing Valentine's Day stories? Nope! But can I share with you a post about the girl I love the most? YOU BET!
 |
| Rachel, Sally, and Me! |
Rachel is smarter than anyone you know. She astounds me sometimes with her love of researching things that may affect her. If she thinks there is something wrong with her, WebMD, here she comes! If she wants to create an argument on animal rights, she'll read a book on it, and then when you start an argument on animal rights that you'll claim she started (everyone does this to her, I swear), she'll come right back at you, and tell you why you should shut up!
Rachel is prettier than anyone I know! Her eyes are beautiful and greener than emeralds. She has a smile brighter than the light towards Heaven. She is skinny and has a gorgeous body. She has wonderful brown hair, and her nose is absolutely perfect.
Rachel is so much fun to spend time with. We watch movies together, we play games together, we read together, we go out to eat together. Rachel and I are like two peas in a pod! Just try to separate us!*
Rachel's family is another thing I love. My whole life I've wanted a girlfriend, and the one thing I've been scared of the most, is getting a girlfriend that has terrifying parents. Sure, the first time meeting them had me shaking, but since then, I feel like I've made two new best friends. Her brother is my homie too! We be tight!
Sometimes I come up with crazy dreams, but the nice thing about Rachel is, she always puts up with it.
"Hey Rach, I'm gonna join the NBA!"**
"Yeah you are! I can't wait to cheer you on from courtside!"
"Hey Rach, I'm going to write a book by July 4th, so that I will be able to come see you whenever I want, and I won't have to work at Wal-Mart!"***
"That sounds so wonderful!"
I love you Rachel, so much, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my first and only ever girlfriend. You rock my world, and I can't wait to marry you someday, and have babies of course! And then we can read them the Kiss the Cow book!
Thanks for reading everyone!
*Actually, please don't!
**I'm AWFUL at basketball!
***I never actually wrote a book by July 4th. Someday I plan on writing a book though!
Kiss the Cow!
Hey everyone!
I just wanted to tell you all about this cute little children's book I got Rachel for Valentine's Day. It's called Kiss the Cow.
Rachel was having a bad night after a slew of incidents that came right around the midnight hour, and to make sure she felt better, I read the book for her. I read it in my softest possible voice, and then, a short way through the story I realized I would have to do something else!
So I sang the lines in the book!
This made Rachel very happy!
The book is about a woman with a ton of kids and she uses one cow to supply them with all of their food. The main character, Annalisa (whom we changed the name of to Rachel for our reading experience), was determined to milk the cow by herself. So she went to milk the cow, and then the next day, the cow wouldn't give anymore milk.
This was a really cute story, and it was a nice little way of telling your kids that if someone does something nice for you, it's always nice to return a favor!
So if you're looking for a way to get your girlfriend to say "Aww!" this Valentine's Day. Feel free to pick up this book. Read it to her too. Get snuggled up, and ask her to turn the pages. She'll feel like a kid again, and I know mine really appreciated the opportunity to feel very loved after a long night of stressful events.
And in case you were wondering, this would also be a very good book for your little sons and daughters.
Thanks for reading!
I just wanted to tell you all about this cute little children's book I got Rachel for Valentine's Day. It's called Kiss the Cow.
Rachel was having a bad night after a slew of incidents that came right around the midnight hour, and to make sure she felt better, I read the book for her. I read it in my softest possible voice, and then, a short way through the story I realized I would have to do something else!
So I sang the lines in the book!
This made Rachel very happy!
The book is about a woman with a ton of kids and she uses one cow to supply them with all of their food. The main character, Annalisa (whom we changed the name of to Rachel for our reading experience), was determined to milk the cow by herself. So she went to milk the cow, and then the next day, the cow wouldn't give anymore milk.
This was a really cute story, and it was a nice little way of telling your kids that if someone does something nice for you, it's always nice to return a favor!
So if you're looking for a way to get your girlfriend to say "Aww!" this Valentine's Day. Feel free to pick up this book. Read it to her too. Get snuggled up, and ask her to turn the pages. She'll feel like a kid again, and I know mine really appreciated the opportunity to feel very loved after a long night of stressful events.
And in case you were wondering, this would also be a very good book for your little sons and daughters.
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Blog #WHAT?
Alright, I'm sorry everyone. I know I've started a new blog like once a month for the last few months, and they've all died, such as my workout blog, which by the way, has not been going well over the last few days, and after weighing myself again, in case anyone was wondering, I'm right back up to 242, where I started.
The inspiration for this blog comes from my little circle of blogging friends that seems to be growing more every week or two. Now my buddy Garrett has a blog too, which our blogging circle to like five people now! I'll post links to all of their blogs at the end of this post, please check them out, and please leave comments on their blogs as well, so they know they are being read. We all love knowing there are people out there that care about us!
Now, instead of like always where I make my first post an introduction to myself, and then say I'll post again soon, I'm actually going to post about my life recently.
I've been going through a very tough time the last few months since I lost my job. I think the reasoning behind why I lost my job was absolutely ridiculous. It gets very hard to live with yourself thinking you're doing something so right, and then when you're done, you lose your job, because apparently, even though you didn't know it, you did something wrong as well. It's been messing with my mind since December, and I just haven't been very happy.
I want to dedicate this paragraph to my girlfriend. Rachel, I'm sorry for being a pain your side for the last few months. I'm extremely thankful that I have you to stand by me, and I'm so glad that you've chosen to stick with me for the last year. Thanks for everything. You're my world, and I'm so happy I have you. I love you so much!
As those fifteen people that saw my last blog also know, I'm trying to lose weight. I've been going swimming once a week, and I try to work out at least three or four times. It's nice having my friends Kenny and Kyle too, because they are always there Mondays and Wednesdays to play basketball with me, and they put up with the fact that I REALLY suck!
Then I have friends like my old residents, the people I miss more than anything in my life right now. Guys, I'm sorry I went and got fired on you, I feel like I've let you down, and I hope I still get a million more chances in my life to hang out with you again. Jared, call me up more often, going to the concert and hanging out was fun last night! Mike, Billy, Wade, Jake, if any of you guys ever read this, I miss you guys so much. You four were so funny and you totally made living on that side of the hall way better than the other side (even though Billy was actually on the other side). Luke and David, you two crack me up as well, let's hang out more often too. Luke, get back on your feet and get another girlfriend so we can take them on more double dates, those make Rachel happy! Patrick, I want to thank you a lot as well, because I feel like in the time since I've lost my job you were the one I've grown closest to. I haven't seen you a lot in the past few weeks, but we need to hang out more often, and I really hope I can find a job soon so I can live with you and Kyle and John next Summer/School Year, that'd be SICK! Pat, thanks for being there for me buddy!
Also, if anyone knows of job openings in the St. Cloud area, please hook me up, because I need one, pronto. My funds are quickly diminishing!
Thanks for reading guys. Leave comments, I'd love to hear from all of you, tell your friends to start reading as well please, because it's really nice seeing lots of comments and lots of page views!
P.s.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)