The Man with the Hat

So I know to most people this will sound strange but I have never seen the Indiana Jones movies. I KNOW apparently that’s a crime against humanity, or at least it is according to some people I know. J But tonight I am correcting this error and am watching the second movie (I know it’s out of order but really who cares), at this very moment I am on the search for the Holy Grail. . . Now while I haven’t seen the originals I did see the newer movie and wasn’t all that amazing but I’ve been told these are much better so I decided to give it a try. The reason I wanted to blog about it was because it is amazing to me how movies can have such a following after so many years. I though t about it and I can see it happening to movies and books all over take Harry Potter or the Twilight series people feel the need to grab hold of something and create a mini-culture around them. (Not that I’m completely innocent of this but I thought it was an interesting observation)

Listening

So recently my sister purchased some audiobooks and sent them to me. Now she loves to listen to books even more than reading them but I actually prefer the other way. I love the feel of reading from an actual book, the fell of the paper, the smell, everything. But recently I have come to really enjoy some particular books on "tape" so I decided to post about it. One of the reasons why it is fun to listen to some books on tape is because to me it is like watching a movie. You get some of the nuances that can be missed while reading the words for yourself; such as accents and personality of the characters that a good reader will bring to life. Some readers are amazing at creating voices for character that are perfect and bring the world of the book to life. One such example is The Chronicles of Nick set in New Orleans. The way the reader can bring you to New Orleans is amazing. The reader, Holter Graham, is particularly great at this in this series. There is such a wide arrays of voices I really do feel like the characters are speaking and it is a fun experience.  Sometimes I have gone to do something else and caught myself wondering what show, or movie, I was watching before I remember that I was lisening to a book. If you haven't tried out audiobooks I would recommend it, especially for times when you’re walking to or from school, working out, or other things that need your hands but not necessarily your whole mind.

Crying Movies

To the movies that can make you cry and laugh at the same time. Today I saw the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close at the dollar theater. Wow. . . it was a really good movie but definitely one that made me cry quite a few times. It was a very moving movie about a boy whose father died in the 9/11 attack and his journey to figure out what a key he found in his dad’s closet opens, so that he can feel close to him again. Along the journey he meets so many people and learns their stories and expands himself while facing his fears. You see him and his mother trying to learn to live again together without him. I thought that this movie was put together really well and the actor did a wonderful job. I would definitely recommend this movie as long as you don’t mind some good crying moments alongside some moments of laughter.

Priorities

Priorities. . . . *Sigh* The trouble with being an adult is that we are responsible for ourselves. Now don’t get me wrong it’s also nice but sometimes I let my priorities get away from me because there is no one to say otherwise. What does this have to do with the media you might ask; well it is an amazing conduit for getting distracted. We have access to so much through the media, TV, internet (hulu, youtube, Netflix, facebook, etc.) radio, book, audiobooks, the list could go on in on. My problem is that I can get really into whatever I’m doing whether it is reading a book or watching a new series online and because of this I get sucked into the world of whatever it is and everything else seems less important somehow. L Luckily this doesn’t happen to often I just thought of it now because it happened last night when I found a new show on Netflix because I had a free hour, well that hour turned into many more until suddenly it was four thirty in the morning.  Do any of you have a similar predicament?

Grandparents

So today I wanted to blog about how media can help to bridge the gap between the generations.  So before I moved to Utah for school I had not really had the chance to get to know my grandparents all that well because I saw them probably once a year for a week to ten days with forty other people there as well. One of the ways I have been able to spend more time with them, getting to know them is through the classics and other similar shows and movies. We watch shows such as musicals from the 40s and 50s, other shows and movies from that time and shows from masterpiece classics on PBS (the show we were watching until it ended a couple of weeks ago was Downton Abbey which I thought was awesome J). It gives us something in common to talk about and has led to many long conversations about their lives, which are infinitely more interesting then I was led to believe previously. I have learned more about my grandparent in the last year then the nineteen before and I have to say that very happy that I have had this opportunity and I hope to continue to enjoy like shows and movies with them for many years.

Fifth Element

So I am sitting here watching Fifth Element and I thought it was really interesting to see what the people who made the movie thought fashion would be like in the future as well as their perception of what urban life would be like. The outfits range from completely drab to outrageous concoctions of plastic. The city is sky high with traffic on all levels and a layer of smog so thick at the bottom you can’t see through it. Then you see the scene where lelou types in war on the computer trying to learn about human nature and she becomes so depressed and can’t see why she should protect the world when we just destroy it. And Corbin explains that there are good reasons to save it and the reason given is love. I love this movie for lots of reasons but that is one of them. Even though mankind does all kinds of stupid and hateful things that is not all of who we are and we are capable of so much more. Which I thought was a great message for a Friday night. J

Holiday Madness

So today I was going to take my two younger cousins (two girls three and five) to see the newer movie The Secret World of Arietty about the borrowers (the tiny people who live in the wall). So I had two options one at 1:30 at Thanksgiving point and one at 1:55 at a cinemark but an hour before both were sold out, at two different theaters, it was crazy. I felt bad becuse then I had two sad little girls with me. So now I know on a holiday buy the tickets ahead of time.

Blogs

So I was thinking about the guest speaker and how she made a business out of her blog. Last Sunday my aunt introduced me to another blog that has become a business it greensmoothiegirl.com, a type of healthy lifestyle guide. It didn’t mean a lot to me than just an interesting blog to read but after listening to her talk about it I thought it was impressive that someone could take their talent or what they are interested in and develop it into a business. It really shows how all-encompassing the internet has become, the fact that you can run a business through what I’d always thought of as an online journal type of media it’s kind of cool. I also noticed how much the logo of a blog makes a difference on whether or not I want to stay and read further; and truthfully I really liked how the green smoothie girl blog and cite was set up.

Why??????

Let’s talk about those channels that sucks you in no matter what is showing and don’t release you for hours. It doesn’t matter if you are particularly interested in what is going on but the channels have some kind of power and before you realize it an hour or three has passed you by. For me the biggest offender is channel 58, HGTV. I don’t know what it is but I could watch that channel all day, in the background or just watching the TV. I think one of the reasons this happens to me is because they have those double features, or double; double features (I’ve seen it). So I get invested in what is happening and then I transition onto the next episode without quite realizing it and when I do I want to know what happens so I don’t turn the TV off or change the channel; I know it’s a viscous cycle. *sigh* The other channel that sometimes gets me in its hooks is TLC channel 44. Now I know it seems like that’s a lot of TV and it is but truthfully I don’t like silence (probably comes from being one of seven children in a house that is never quiet) so I always have background noise whether it’s the TV or music. Let me know if you have similar channels, or shows, that do the same thing to you. J

Go Bro!

This doesn’t really have to do with the media but I just wanted to give a shout out to our armed forces. My older brother is leaving tomorrow for boot camp for the National Guard; so this is for him. Good luck Tim and I hope you have some fun amidst all the grueling hours of hard work. I am so Proud of you and I know you are going to do great. We are all a little nervous but also excited for you as you begin this journey and we LOVE YOU. So remember that when things get tough you have your own personal cheering squad. J

Video Games

So I class while we were discussing video games I was remembering my past experiences with them. I was never a gamer but I did enjoy watching my brother play. When I was growing up me and my sister used to watch my brother play the Final Fantasy games for hours. The time would usually depend on whether it was the summer or during school. In the summer I can remember times when we would sit there watching him for hours and hours. It was a bonding time for us, common ground. In fact sometimes when I couldn’t be there he would save the big story scenes for me.  Thinking of this I remembered back to when we all played Sega and you would blow on the game and then the consul and it some how that would always work. J The information in class made a lot of sense for me; video games can be a big burden for those to whom it becomes a problem for. For me though it brings up happy memories and makes me smile.

Books, Books, Books

For the book assignment this week I chose my favorite series as a child; which was the Nancy drew Series. The reason I chose this as my favorite is because it had a great impact on how I view books now. Before being introduced to this series I liked to read just fine but that was all. I was drawn into this series; I fell in love with the characters and following them on their countless adventures. I loved being able to delve deeper and deeper into their characters as each book went on revealing new thing about them. This series was the catalyst to the forming of my love of reading. I have continued to find special meaning in reading the series work of different authors. If I had to choose one author whose series I read and reread the most it would have to be Tamora Peirce; so I would say her books are my favorite at the moment.  My favorite genres are Fantasy, Mystery, and Sci-fi pretty much in that order. I could never get tired of reading; it is like entering another world where anything is possible, where imagination is the only limitation and there is something about that that draws me in makes me happy.

If I Were A Song

So for the activity in class the song that I picked was “If You Believe” from the Ella Enchanted soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_0NVu8e8DY

Now I couldn’t really think of a song that represented me but I thought that this song was good metaphor for where I am at in my life. I have always been the kind of person who would do what they were told just because I was told too. Within reason obviously I wouldn’t do anything bad and the order would have to come for an authority figure (parents, teachers, church leaders, etc.) to count but generally I would class myself as a goody two-shoes. So in some ways it was a shock growing up and having to make these decisions for myself and finding out my own reasons for doing the things I know I am supposed to do and not doing the things I have been told not to do. But I am also creating dreams for myself about my future right now so I can also see myself in the part of the song that talks about believing in your dreams and working to make them come true.

Four Year Old at Heart

So today I wanted to post about the fact that deep down (ok not really that deep) I am a little girl at heart. I say this because of my love of Disney and most things princess. My tastes run parallel to my four almost five year old cousin Millie. Now I’m not just drawn to the classics I grew up with but I get excited about the new princess movies that come out; I saw tangled three times in theater and it never go old. Not only that but my older sister Kirsti and I thoroughly enjoy the Barbie Princess movies that have started to come out in the last couple of years. It started out that I would watch it with my youngest sister Kassie but now Kirsti buys then and we watch them before Kassie ever sees them. I also enjoy other shows that I wouldn’t have at that age but I have a special place in my heart for these movies. My favorite classic princess movie is Beauty and the Beast (Belle is also my favorite princess) and my favorite new move would be Tangled because it made me laugh so hard and it still has the power to make me laugh; besides the fact that its my grandpa’s favorite, which I think is great! ;)

Perceptions

So ever since we first discussed what we could do for our poster project in school I have been looking at TV in a different light. One of the options we discussed was the possibility of coding for the perception that television presents about males and fathers. So as this was at the back of my mind I started to notice how often fathers are portrayed as being kind of slow and so I started as a mini experiment to flip through channel and to see what shows I noticed this in. A few of the shows that I saw that were probably the worst are George Lopez, King of the Hill, the Simpsons, even shows such as Full House, and many commercials do the same. The thought that I had was that in today’s world there is no way that producers could get away with doing this the other way around in such an obvious manner putting the mothers in this role. As this was running through my mind I also started to realize that television does the same thing to many authority figures and the one I noticed most often were police men, I specify men because while it does happen I see more men played in this role than women. Shows like Psych are a prime example of this.

Modern Media

Oh Netflix. . . what can I say I am one of the many who have fallen for the modern convenience that is Netflix. It is quite amazing to me how just a few years ago I had not even heard of Netflix but now I couldn’t imagine not having it at my disposal. Between Netflix and Redbox stores such as Blockbusters and Hollywood Video are almost extinct. Personally I am not at all saddened by this at its end the Hollywood Video near my home in southern CA had definitely gone downhill with customer service and it renting system so that after years of being subscribing members my family mostly cut all ties with the store; seems dramatic yes but also true. Through Netflix I have been able to accesses television shows from around the world and from times gone by with relative ease. Just recently I was able to watch some episodes of an Australian show called The Elephant Princess; a cute fantasy show for teen about a sixteen year old girl named Alex who finds out that she is the heir to a magical kingdom called Manjipor. I think this is a fun system that you can accesses through all sorts of devices from a computer to a TV, to a phone. Makes me wonder what's next. . .  J

American Idol

So I don't know if everyone knows this or not but American Idol started its eleventh season this week. Now I must admit that I go through cycles of not really being interested in the show and really enjoying it but I still wonder why it is so popular. As I was thinking about it I thought of a couple of reasons; one it allows people to live vicariously, perhaps thinking well if their dreams can come true so could mine, and two it is part of human nature to find humor in the failings and blunders of others. It is not a nice thought but if you look at all kinds of entertainment it is a true one. Also I found it interesting that we have so many shows that follow the premise of following your dream; American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The X Factor, So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice, and I’m sure there are many more out there in the states let alone the world. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that but I found it interesting.

Ratings

So as I was watching TV and I saw a preview for the new Underworld movie and it started me thinking about the rating system. Who decides what a movie is rated? Well i decided to look it up online and on the Motion Picture Association of America website I found that the people who decide what a movie is rated by parents. "Ratings are assigned by an independent board of parents with no past affiliation to the movie business. Their job is to rate each film as they believe a majority of American parents would rate it, considering relevant themes and content." I thought this was interesting because as someone who would someday like to become a parent it is nice to know that other parent are the one deciding what a movie is rated. There are also cites such as www.kidsinmind.com can help parents know the reasons behind the rating so that parents can make an informed decision about what they want their kids as well as themselves exposed to.

G- General Audiences

All ages admitted

(1968–present)

PG- Parental Guidance Suggested

Some material may not be suitable for children

(1978–present; between 1972 and 1977, the word "children" instead read "pre-teenagers.")

PG-13- Parents Strongly Cautioned

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13

(1984–present)

R- Restricted

Under 17 not admitted without parent or adult guardian

(1970–present; during 1968 and 1969, the designated age was 16)

NC-17- No One 17 and Under Admitted

(1996–present; between 1990 and 1996, the wording was "No Children Under 17 Admitted")

If a film is not submitted for rating, the label NR (Not Rated) or UR (Unrated) is often used. Many older films have the label NR or UR, but merely because a film is labeled NR or UR does not always mean that it is suitable for children.

In the Ring

So today I went to the dollar theater and saw Real Steel, it was awesome. I thought the concept of the movie was really cool. One comment made in the movie really stuck with me. At one point when they are in the scrap yard looking for extra parts and they see an old head and Charlie explains to Max that the reason it looks so different than what they see in the fights then was because when the robot fighting first started they wanted them to look as close to human as they could but that had changed. This made me think how often do we miss big changes or jumps because they sneak up on us in small increments?

Favorite TV Show

My all-time favorite TV show is Doctor Who, a BBC show which began airing on SYFY as well in 2005, about a Time Lord who travels through time and space on adventures. The reason that this show is my favorite is because I feel that it take me through all my emotions and is very engaging. It is super funny and lifts me up when I am down or just need a relief from the day. It also has well developed characters and it is very easy to get invested in the storyline and the characters which brings it to life for me. This show is also a favorite of most of my family and it has become a bonding agent for us. We watch it together if possible and if not we usually call each other immediately after to talk about what had happened. Doctor Who is very complicated and it really engages the mind, making you think about things and really pay attention to what is going on, it just makes me smile. J

My Family

From the left; Chelsey (Me), Zachary, Ian, Mandy, Timmy, Kirsti, Kassie, Sydnee, Jesse