Drake Drake He's our man if he can't do it no one can. Well okay he isn't that fantastic, but many people still look up to him and find deep meaning in his lyrics and in him in general.
I just have a thing in my brain that when I'm about to do something that's genuine or authentic, I think of it in song form. I'll be like, 'Yo, this is a human emotion that no one talks about.'
Drake 
Like yo for serious. Okay I do like him and his songs, but my main reason for posting on this, seeing as its my last blog post would be this song by Drake. Started from the bottom now we're here. I had the fewest blog posts of anyone at the beginning of this week. I checked! And now i am here. Finished. I have learned a lot in this class and I appreciate everyone's effort in these blog postings. I really noticed a lot of good insight.

NBA 2k13 or 14?

So NBA 2k13 was so good and the gameplay was pretty good compared to other games of the same style. When it came out I thought that graphics couldn't get any better. They were so real and life like. That is until NBA 2k14 was released! My Goodness!!! These graphics make it look like you are controlling the real NBA players. Many of the problems of 2k13 have been removed in this next installment and vastly improve its appeal. This next generation of game systems will really blow peoples minds. Mine is dripping out of my ears because of this game.

Talk about realism. This is an actual ingame photo

This game was a great improvement from similar games and it was very realistic.

Man of Steel

Thank God for redemption from Superman Returns! Man of Steel really lived up to the hype. I loved how they combined elements from the lesser known Superman movies and put them into this one. Lex Luthor was missing but in many scene you can see his companies name on vehicles or buildings. I really liked the subtlety of some of the jokes that they intertwined into the action scenes. I think the casting for the movie was well done as well. I can't wait to see the next instalment. Granted if Christopher Nolan could of had full influence in this movie it would have been much better, but it is okay cause it was still very well done.

Prison Break

So... Prison Break! Yes Yes Yes!! At least for the first season. This show started out with two brothers. One a genius and another not so much. The genius decides to break the innocent not so smart one out of prison, from the inside. Hence the title Prison Break. From the very first episode it was full of suspense. Every episode of the first season ended in a cliffhanger. I would of hated to have watched this show during its original run. Thank goodness for Netflix.



The show had 4 seasons but the first season was by far the best. The second season was all about the prisoners running after the escape which happened in the first season. The third season was crap and was about another escape from prison. The fourth season was about taking down the Company that caused all of their problems in the first place. The series ended very badly and a lot of poor decisions were made in the writing after the first season. I would have been fine with them ending the series after the first season and into the second season a few episodes. Overall I would give the show a 3.8 out of 5 but the first season definitely gets a 5.

Mumford and Sons

This is a band that produces a bluegrass/celtic beat that is unmatched. This sounds emitted from Marcus Mumford's vocal chords perfectly combine with the banjo strumming.

Babel was the title of the bands second album. 

There are many now popular songs from this album including I Will Wait and Hopeless Wanderer  as well as the song that the album was named after Babel. 

This music video is very different, it appears to shot in one take but their is often times the same person in the same shot. I'm no filmmaker. I'm a Fusion Media man. I still think it's a great video to go along with a fantastic song.

Sigh no more was this band's first major album and some argue it is their best. Sigh No More and The Cave are probably the most popular. I am in love with both of them. You just can't beat this band!!!! 

Hunger Games Catching Fire

So Catching Fire was pretty good! At least it didn't crash and burn. I haven't read the books at all but the first movie was pretty lame for me. I expected the second movie to be better and it was. I still don't think this will become one of the classic movie series that we will talk about for generations. I guess I just don't like the story that much. Well I like the overall plot of the story but I hate the subplot love triangle bullcrap.


 I think the movies are pretty well done, but the story just doesn't compare. The governmental control, the need to rebel against the communistic system, the story isn't that rare, but it has enough variations to make it okay. One thing I would like is for Katnip, Katniss, Cat Piss, whatever her name is, to keep it in her pants. Stop playing with peoples feelings. I hate heroes (Heroines) that are retarded.

Blood Brother Blog

I forgot I hadn't posted this blog. I wrote it the night we watched this and completely forgot. So here it is.
     What starts out as a profile of filmmaker Hoover's best pal turns into a remarkable journey into the human soul. Not only does Hoover witness something unexpected, but his own life is changed forever by the experience. And the film is beautifully shot and edited to make the story powerfully compelling.

After living in India for three years, Rocky comes home to Pittsburgh a changed man. He had to return to America to sort out his visa, and realizes that he simply can't fit in there anymore. So Steve decides to return to India with him and see what his life is about. Rocky now lives in rural India and works an Aids refuge populated by HIV-positive women and children. Steve is a bit unnerved by how Rocky has no barriers with these kids: he is now their brother. And they are his whole life.

Hoover's perceptive camera catches tiny details of life both in America and India, putting scenes into sharp perspective. And as he documents Rocky's interaction with these children, who are often dangerously unwell, his camera refuses to cut away. This makes the film transcend the documentary format, because it shows us the truth we would rather not see. A dying child is unbearable for us to watch; we want to run away. And yet there is Rocky, diving into action to help.

Hoover also captures Rocky's goofy antics, moments of deep doubt and the steely resistance we see him struggling to overcome in order to help people. Even his courtship with that girl doesn't go as planned, forcing Rocky to consider the reality that he's also marrying India itself.

Aside from really great photography, the film's real strength is in the way it confronts us with our own life choices. Rocky has decided to live an almost shockingly non-Western life in a very difficult place, simply because it has more meaning than the empty pursuit of money and things back home. And even if this comes from his religious convictions, his satisfaction even in darker moments inspires us even more than the selfless work he does every day.

School of Rock

Forget all that touchy-feely crap about getting in touch with your wounded inner child. This movie brings a different approach on self realization through its comedic nature.

It imagines that deep in the soul of every child, parent and even the lamest school principal a suppressed rock and roll maniac is clamoring for release. Or as this movie's resident rock expert announces to a group of shy fifth graders, rock and roll is about ''sticking it to the man." The movie also tells you to pursue your passions and follow your dreams, not matter what anyone else tells you.

This movie was definitely the best of the music movies shown at signs and wonders, at least that I saw.

The Pacific

Another team up of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg creates the miniseries, The Pacific. If you watched Band of Brothers like I did and thought that the horrors of war couldn't get any worse, then you have to watch The Pacific to be proven wrong. The Pacific makes painfully clear in its early episodes, the Marines that it follows had no idea what they were getting into. They were in the Pacific region to take out the Japanese enemy that attacked Pearl Harbor. That was a simple fact and that was all that they knew. The miniseries is very depressing actually. Much of the time the soldiers are drenched in rain, dying of sickness rather than wounds and when they did fight it was devastating situations. The creators of this miniseries didn't shy from showing really depressing realities about the war in the Pacific in World War II. At the end of Band of Brothers their was a happier note, but at the end of The Pacific you are left depressed and upset. The show is fantastic but it is difficult to watch. War is nothing to take lightly, it is shows like this that make us cringe, but we need to face reality sometime. 
Another Warning: Disturbing Content may be in here.

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers is based on a book by American historian Stephen E Ambrose, who compiled the story from interviews with veterans of the "Easy Company", the Airborne's 506th. It is a 10-part miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for HBO. The show follows the members of Easy Company from the time of their training to the end of the World War II. The show seems like it tries to be a lot like Saving Private Ryan, but I am okay with that since it's one of the greatest movies ever. It is a very emotional show and you grow to love many of the actors. There are many moments in the miniseries that make you cringe, but they show you some of the horrors of war. Near the end of the show the the Company liberates a concentration camp, this shows the horrors of the holocaust. The holocaust was one of worst things to happen on this planet and I'm glad the show's creator didn't shy away from showing it. Even though it makes me sick to my stomach that so much evil happened, I think that we need to not shy away from showing things like this, otherwise we grow to pampered and we forget. 
WARNING: Disturbing content may be in this video.

Dexter

Okay so recently my roommate and I have started watching the show Dexter which aired on Showtime.
There are eight seasons and we are about halfway through the third. This show is about a man who does not process most emotions. He goes through life faking just about everything; he is also a serial killer. The character development in this show is great. The writers are very clever, and over these past seasons, they have not failed to keep my attention. Normally with T.V. shows there is a lull in activity, this has happened in this show already, but it has still enthralled my attention. They really dive deep into their characters, and they show events that are happening that really connect you to the characters. I have yet to watch a show other than Game of Thrones that does this so well. Already this show is in my list of top shows. Very well done.
   

Music Video Double Credit

Simple Math. The music and the video are perfectly synced. Some of these shots are so stunning and just penetrate right to your heart. Manchester Orchestra did it right. Music like this needs to be mainstream and it's sad that it is not. 

                                                                              If you go through and read the comments on youtube about this video it seems that everyone realizes that this song is amazing. This in my opinion is an

example of a perfect music video. The shots, the music, the timing, it all adds up. Simple Math. It's perfect.                                                           

Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan is very pretty song. This is the type of music I like to listen to when I'm trying to get work done or working out which I do on rare occasions. The music video really plays with your head sometimes. The main character is running in fast forward it appears and then everything else is being rewound. There always seems to be a different sort of beauty in slow motion, but another level is added in this video because it is slow motion backwards..What? Blow my mind why dontcha! I have always wondered why we view slow motion as cool or beautiful. Is it because our brains really work slowly and process things at a slower rate so when we see something slow it appeals to us? I don't know but it's cool! Anyone have an opinion on this? 

I am Sam's desperate need for more blogs

Rule number one. You do not talk about fight club.
Rule number two. You do not talk about fight club.

Well to bad that I'm talking about Fight Club in this post.
This movie is easily one of my favorite movies. I could watch this movie at anytime. It is so good, and it has a lot of very deep meaning and symbolism to it. One of my favorite quotes of the movie is, 

     "Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off. 

We do squander our potential more often than not in this world. We define ourselves by the house that we live in and the car that we drive. When it's all said and done our bodies will be lying in the ground and our possessions won't matter. What we do on this earth matters, not what we have. That is why as Christians we should focus on living our lives so that we leave behind something that matters. Our legacy is more than the things we leave behind in a will. Our family, our words, our contributions, these are what will be left behind that matters. 

Seven Bros for Seven....umm....somethings that rhymes...what could it be?

Never call me Frankincense again!

I had some doubts about this show before we started. I had never been in a musical before but bless my beautiful hide; not a production have I been in that was better than Seven Brides. The cast that we had to work with was so great and everyone was very encouraging to one another. Sean and I were definitely two of the people that had the least dance experience and it was a struggle for myself in particular. Once the two of us got it down we did pretty well I

Us sexy brothers!

think. The two people that had the most influence in this production, although it pains me to say it, were not myself and Sean but were Maggie Gilliam (Milly) and Josh Cookingham (Adam). They were both constantly encouraging the cast and both of them helped the other actors through by showing complete investment. Both of them made excellent choices that really developed their characters and helped other people pull from their actions. Maggie had many points during the musical where I could tell she was fully invested and connected in the scene and the actions going on around her – specifically the Social. If I ever lost my investment in the scene I just had to look at Maggie. I felt that every choice she made was honest and believable. One time the button of my pants popped off, and she saw me struggling with keeping my pants up. She came right over and in perfect character, tried to assist me in fixing my pants. It was things like this that showed her complete investment into the scene and helped us pull of a truly fun, enjoyable, and fantastic musical. 

MEOW!

Look at that ax jumping beauty!

The Man Who Planted Trees Q#2

 The man who planted trees was my favorite film shown during this past section of class, even more than the pixar shorts! Crazy I know! Normally I dislike this style of animation but it was done so well that I can't complain.  This film spoke to me about the power of one man and his diligence to his task. The man planted trees through two world wars and never stopped to bother about what was going on outside of his task. He kept his nose down and produced one of the single most magnificent man made marvels (I just put five "M" words in a row. Booo Yaa!) ever known in my opinion. I wish this was based on a true story. The world was completely upturned and crazy but he just planted trees and did more good for the world than any war could ever accomplish. If we all focused on what we can do to help the world through our actions and diligently performed that task, then I don't see how that could have any negative side effects.

La Violi Rosso

The Red Violin on Sunday for signs and wonders was actually very good. Sadly this is not a true story and the accounts and people in it are completely fake. It was really cool to go through the history of the violin even though it wasn't real. At some points I thought the director went over the top though. Like in the scene when William Pope has sex with a woman while playing his violin. That in and of itself is quite strange, but then he loses his "inspiration." Goes into a spiraling sexual depression and in a brief scene you see him lying naked in his bed stroking the shaft of his violin. Really? I get that the director wanted to show how this was a very sexual character whose inspiration came from sex and music, but he didn't have to make it so awkward for everybody! I didn't post the picture cause its just so awkward and I didn't want Caity to die laughing awkwardly like she did on Sunday. 

      Besides the sexual violin master there were other very nice moments in the movie. To be honest, anything with Samuel L. Jackson has to be cool! At least for the moments were you see his face and hear that gorgeous voice....sorry that was a man crush moment. Anywhoooo.............


I really enjoyed this film and was really happy that I finally got to make it to a Sunday signs and wonders because I really enjoy these types of movies! I here I'm lucky that I missed out on some of the other ones. :P SUGGESTION!!!! Show "August Rush" Its one of my favorites! :D Although I probably won't be able to make it to another Sunday night unless Treblemakers practice is cancelled again...darn this angelic voice of mine! 

PRISONERS

MY GOODNESS!!!!! This movie was so great!!! I went to see it with Evan, Mason, and Panthelys. A mind-screwing, heart pounding, suspenseful thrill. Besides Hugh Jackman playing his best roll ever, Jake Gyllenhaal restored my faith in his acting abilities. Definitely the best film I have seen in a while. It really played on my emotions and made me want to figure everything out that was going on in the movie. 

You really don't have to try to figure anything out though because everything is eventually revealed in the end, but it had me consistently on the edge of my seat. My heart was pumping so hard and tears tried to well up in my eyes! The movie was directed by Devin Villeneuve and Mark Wahlberg was the Executive Producer. Yes I said Mark Wahlberg. That should make anyone wants to see this film! haha

One thing I definitely liked about this movie was the spirituality of Hugh Jackman's character. He was definitely misguided in some of his actions but even at the end he was praying. The supporting actors were all terrific but Jackman's performance in this movie goes above my expectations. I will be surprised if neither he or Gyllenhaal win awards for this. This movie is definitely one of the best made all year. If you enjoy suspense then this is a movie for you. An absolutely fantastic film.

Faculty Art

The Show was pretty darn great! I really enjoyed all of the work by Brian Ballinger! His stories in his art were humorous and still had a high quality that surprised me. He had some cool photographs but they weren't as good as W.K Hopper's photos. Hopper's photos all were superb. Professor Leeper's art was
spotless as always! I am so happy that our professors actually know what they are doing!
       One thing I have a hard time appreciating, is the art form of pottery. I just don't get it. I'm not a very artistic individual anyways. However, that Cheshire Cat teapot was really well done.

 When I look at art I never really study it. I look at it, enjoy it, and move on. I leave amazed at what people can do and wish I had those skills. I'm working on developing my appreciation for these forms of art. My snail of a mind is progressing slow but sure.

Drunken Angel, Akira Kurosawa,

I enjoyed Kurosawa's film immensely! My favorite character was the Doctor. The Drunken Angel. His abrasive methods towards the Yakuza character's, I thought, were very bold and courageous. They way a drunken man would confront someone. But the Doctor did it even when he was sober! I know many symbolism were in the film but I'm not focusing on those. I enjoyed watching my first Japanese film whose mouths moved with the sound precisely! I was surprised at the acting ability of most of the cast! All in all this movie really reversed my stereotyped opinion on such films.

Sam Jones, Intro

My name is Sam Jones and I am a Freshman at Huntington University. My major is Broadcasting/Fusion Media and I am taking Theater Arts as my minor. I was born and raised in Hillsdale County, Michigan. That's right on the Indiana/Ohio border. I am not an easily embarrassed person. I could literally stand naked along the side of the road and be totally okay...maybe that was a bad illustration. Please don't try to imagine me being naked you creepers!!! I love talking but hate being the one to carry on a conversation! You think of things to say...I will answer accordingly! Or make fun of you...only cause I'm good at that!