Hey all,
Sooo who else is sick of hearing about Tiger Woods? So the guy cheated on his wife...with however many women - what are we up to now? 10? Ugh. It's gross. It's wrong. But is it really any of our buisness?
If he did cheat, he was wrong and his wife had every right to try to brain him with his own golf club while he attempted to drive away in a very expensive car, which he crashed because he was in a drug induced stupor - or whatever the story was that day. Personally I would have tried to kill him too. Lol.. but is it really necesary to air another story on TV about Tiger Woods every 10 minutes? Yes I counted.
I think the media is blowing this whole ordeal waaay out of proportion and quite possibly making the situation worse. One minute Tiger's a cheater, the next he's a sex addict with connections to escort services, prostitutes, oh and apparently he's addicted to pain killers.
I also think that whichever NBC exec decided to give Jaime Whatsherface her 15 minutes of fame - which is what she clearly what all these women want - on the TODAY show is retarded. Forgive my language, but I really don't see the point of letting these homewrecking sluts get their TV time - they all try to appear sweet and innocent, but they are just as much in the guilty party as Tiger. They can't honestly say they didn't know he was married as I'm sure they all read the gossip rag magazines that are owned by the TV shows they appear on.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Planting of Girls
Hey All,
So this week I watched The Planting of Girls for Comm. 399 and all I really have to say is "ouch!"
The entire film (another by Viola Shafik by the way) is a documentary about the practice of female circumsicion in the Middle East. In the film various families get to discuss why they do or do not choose to circumsize their women.
Unlike male circumsicion, which typically happens at birth, female circumsision usually takes place at the onset of puberty or anytime between 7-13 years of age. More often than not, these procedures are done without any kind of anestheic. Basically what happens is the doctor or midwife (or whoever typically performs the procedure in a certain village) completely removes a girl's clitoris and the surrounding tissue...yeah...like I said...ouch!!!
From what I could gather, those who still choose to carry on the practice do so because it's a traditional practice that's been done for many years. Others claim that in the Quran the prophet encourages the practice to keep women pure and clean. In the film more than one mother validated her choice to circumsize her daughter because of the belief that circumzising actually helps calm a girl and keep her mild mannered as opposed to being a boy crazy wild child.
There has been a recent movement however to educate people about the practice of female circumsision and about the major misconceptions people have about the practice. There was one woman in the film who held a sort of sex ed. for grown ups class. She pretty much told these women that female circumsision does not make a girl calmly or pure...she tried to drive home the fact that modern science has determined that our brains are responsible for our control over our actions and if a girl is disobedient its because she chooses to be that way not because of a piece of skin.
Some of the women in the film were truely depressed because of their circumsisions. They have quite a bit of deep seated resentment and hatred toward their family members who one day grabbed them and forced this procedure on them. They were never asked their own permission. Others still were in unhappy marriages and in the midst of divorce. One man, in the film, actually came and complained to his wife's doctor about her inability to feel anything while in the midst of intercourse because of this procedure.
The film was pretty hard to sit through. You know how guys automatically cringe when they see another guy - in real life or even on TV - get kneed in the groin? Yeah, this film was kinda like that only for girls. Lol. The film wasn't graphic and it didn't show any of the actual procedures but just hearing about them was pretty bad. I just didn't quite understand why a mother - who had herself experienced the pain and suffering associated with such a procedure - would put her daughters through the same thing.
So this week I watched The Planting of Girls for Comm. 399 and all I really have to say is "ouch!"
The entire film (another by Viola Shafik by the way) is a documentary about the practice of female circumsicion in the Middle East. In the film various families get to discuss why they do or do not choose to circumsize their women.
Unlike male circumsicion, which typically happens at birth, female circumsision usually takes place at the onset of puberty or anytime between 7-13 years of age. More often than not, these procedures are done without any kind of anestheic. Basically what happens is the doctor or midwife (or whoever typically performs the procedure in a certain village) completely removes a girl's clitoris and the surrounding tissue...yeah...like I said...ouch!!!
From what I could gather, those who still choose to carry on the practice do so because it's a traditional practice that's been done for many years. Others claim that in the Quran the prophet encourages the practice to keep women pure and clean. In the film more than one mother validated her choice to circumsize her daughter because of the belief that circumzising actually helps calm a girl and keep her mild mannered as opposed to being a boy crazy wild child.
There has been a recent movement however to educate people about the practice of female circumsision and about the major misconceptions people have about the practice. There was one woman in the film who held a sort of sex ed. for grown ups class. She pretty much told these women that female circumsision does not make a girl calmly or pure...she tried to drive home the fact that modern science has determined that our brains are responsible for our control over our actions and if a girl is disobedient its because she chooses to be that way not because of a piece of skin.
Some of the women in the film were truely depressed because of their circumsisions. They have quite a bit of deep seated resentment and hatred toward their family members who one day grabbed them and forced this procedure on them. They were never asked their own permission. Others still were in unhappy marriages and in the midst of divorce. One man, in the film, actually came and complained to his wife's doctor about her inability to feel anything while in the midst of intercourse because of this procedure.
The film was pretty hard to sit through. You know how guys automatically cringe when they see another guy - in real life or even on TV - get kneed in the groin? Yeah, this film was kinda like that only for girls. Lol. The film wasn't graphic and it didn't show any of the actual procedures but just hearing about them was pretty bad. I just didn't quite understand why a mother - who had herself experienced the pain and suffering associated with such a procedure - would put her daughters through the same thing.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Lemon Tree
Hey All,
Soo just got done watching The Lemon Tree for Egyptian film. It was short and interesting...sort of.
The film was directed by Viola Shafik - the woman who's books we're supposed to be reading for the course.
The film take the story of The Lemon Tree written by Ibrahim Shokrallah and applies it to the writer's family living in the Middle East at a time of political unrest.
In the story, a little boy tells the story of his family's lemon tree that sits out in the garden. The family practically worships the tree. They love to watch the lemons grow and ripen; they like the smell of the lemons wafting through their house on breezy days, and the tree provides a comfortable shady spot to sit when the sun gets too hot. One day, the boy's father decides to chop down the tree to make way for an expansion to the house - the family would use the extra rooms to generate more income. This decision, of course, upsets the entire family, but the father does it anyway. The boy then explains the fear and anxiety he feels about his father's decision. While it may be just a tree to everyone outside the family, the boy explains that not having the tree there is like living in a foreign, chaotic world.
The story of the lemon tree serves as sort of an allegory to the writer's own family. The writer Ibrahim, the father, was an affluent writer at the time...he also was heavily involved on the political front. Well he got married, had 3 kids - all of whom also got involved in political matters. Each of his children was arrested at one point or another during student protests. It was a very chaotic time for the family. It was as if their own 'lemon tree' was cut down, their peace destroyed and all of a sudden the entire family was thrown into this foreign, chaotic world the boy in the story attempts to explain.
Yeah. It was a bit much to pack into a 28 minute film.
Soo just got done watching The Lemon Tree for Egyptian film. It was short and interesting...sort of.
The film was directed by Viola Shafik - the woman who's books we're supposed to be reading for the course.
The film take the story of The Lemon Tree written by Ibrahim Shokrallah and applies it to the writer's family living in the Middle East at a time of political unrest.
In the story, a little boy tells the story of his family's lemon tree that sits out in the garden. The family practically worships the tree. They love to watch the lemons grow and ripen; they like the smell of the lemons wafting through their house on breezy days, and the tree provides a comfortable shady spot to sit when the sun gets too hot. One day, the boy's father decides to chop down the tree to make way for an expansion to the house - the family would use the extra rooms to generate more income. This decision, of course, upsets the entire family, but the father does it anyway. The boy then explains the fear and anxiety he feels about his father's decision. While it may be just a tree to everyone outside the family, the boy explains that not having the tree there is like living in a foreign, chaotic world.
The story of the lemon tree serves as sort of an allegory to the writer's own family. The writer Ibrahim, the father, was an affluent writer at the time...he also was heavily involved on the political front. Well he got married, had 3 kids - all of whom also got involved in political matters. Each of his children was arrested at one point or another during student protests. It was a very chaotic time for the family. It was as if their own 'lemon tree' was cut down, their peace destroyed and all of a sudden the entire family was thrown into this foreign, chaotic world the boy in the story attempts to explain.
Yeah. It was a bit much to pack into a 28 minute film.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Week of the "-itis's"
Hey all,
So I've come to the conclusion that I'm screwed. I somehow managed to develop tendonitis in my right hand/wrist (kinda glad I'm a lefty) the last couple of weeks. Annnd I only now just got around to going to the doctor - go me! (In my defense, I was really busy with school and whatnot). Oh and as if that wasn't enough my son has conjunctivitis hence the title of the blog "week of the -itis's." Boooo!
Anywho I'm pretty much screwed when it comes to class. I'm on Doc's orders not to do any typing, however that's not gonna happen as I have to somehow type up an entire script for a 5-6 min final Comm. 215 production, 2 more 4-5 pagers for Comm. 399, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a response paper for Comm. 299 this week too.
Ugh...there's only 2 more weeks right?
So I've come to the conclusion that I'm screwed. I somehow managed to develop tendonitis in my right hand/wrist (kinda glad I'm a lefty) the last couple of weeks. Annnd I only now just got around to going to the doctor - go me! (In my defense, I was really busy with school and whatnot). Oh and as if that wasn't enough my son has conjunctivitis hence the title of the blog "week of the -itis's." Boooo!
Anywho I'm pretty much screwed when it comes to class. I'm on Doc's orders not to do any typing, however that's not gonna happen as I have to somehow type up an entire script for a 5-6 min final Comm. 215 production, 2 more 4-5 pagers for Comm. 399, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a response paper for Comm. 299 this week too.
Ugh...there's only 2 more weeks right?
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Sooo I've decided it just isn't Thanksgiving without Adam Sandler's Thanksgiving Song. The singing isn't so great, but hey it's Adam Sandler - it's funny and it's a classic. So enjoy it - I do. Lol...
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! And to those who feel that that's politically incorrect...like those in a local Bridgewater preschool, I hope everyone enjoys their "Joyous Friendship Feast Day." Jeesh sometimes people over-analyze things.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! And to those who feel that that's politically incorrect...like those in a local Bridgewater preschool, I hope everyone enjoys their "Joyous Friendship Feast Day." Jeesh sometimes people over-analyze things.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
New Moon
Hey all,
Saw New Moon yesterday night and I have to say that 1.) It was considerably better than Twilight and 2.) Despite it being better than the first movie, it was kinda a big dissapointment.
For those who haven't seen it yet, but want to I'll try not to spoil it for you...but no promises. Lol.
Anyway, the first oh I dunno half hour or so was kinda boring and extremely overacted. I was not a huge fan of Kristen Stewart's attempts to look heart-broken and depressed, or her really crappy sobbing scenes. If your going to act out a crying scene - at least give a solid go at trying to be even semi-believable. My 3 year old boy does a better job pretending to be sad.
I refused to see the film opening weekend because I really wanted to avoid sitting in a theatre filled with the many psychotic Twilight fans that have come outta the woodwork since the first film...but as it turns out - week 2 isn't a good time to see it either. Lol. I mean I'm a fan, but I'm not obsessed. Sadly, I was probably one of the very people over 18 in the theatre. And I made the mistake of sitting in front of a bunch of tweens who, clearly, have seen the film more than once in the past few days. These girls already knew every line and the shrieks that came from these girls when Jacob took off his shirt for the first time probably rivaled that of a whole football field full of Banshees.
Anyway, I digress, the film got decidedly better once Bella discovered Jacob's werewolf identity and she flew to Italy to save Edward. At least by this point there was quite a bit of action to carry the film to the end that wasn't. Lol. The film ended with kind of a cliffhanger...
The Twilight films don't quite do the novels justice.
Oh one last thing....
Alice had some really nice outfits and uh Victoria was rockin some pretty serious, well-defined curls so uh....if someone could put me in touch with Alice's stylist and Victoria's hairdresser that would be greatly appreciated. Lol. J/k.
Saw New Moon yesterday night and I have to say that 1.) It was considerably better than Twilight and 2.) Despite it being better than the first movie, it was kinda a big dissapointment.
For those who haven't seen it yet, but want to I'll try not to spoil it for you...but no promises. Lol.
Anyway, the first oh I dunno half hour or so was kinda boring and extremely overacted. I was not a huge fan of Kristen Stewart's attempts to look heart-broken and depressed, or her really crappy sobbing scenes. If your going to act out a crying scene - at least give a solid go at trying to be even semi-believable. My 3 year old boy does a better job pretending to be sad.
I refused to see the film opening weekend because I really wanted to avoid sitting in a theatre filled with the many psychotic Twilight fans that have come outta the woodwork since the first film...but as it turns out - week 2 isn't a good time to see it either. Lol. I mean I'm a fan, but I'm not obsessed. Sadly, I was probably one of the very people over 18 in the theatre. And I made the mistake of sitting in front of a bunch of tweens who, clearly, have seen the film more than once in the past few days. These girls already knew every line and the shrieks that came from these girls when Jacob took off his shirt for the first time probably rivaled that of a whole football field full of Banshees.
Anyway, I digress, the film got decidedly better once Bella discovered Jacob's werewolf identity and she flew to Italy to save Edward. At least by this point there was quite a bit of action to carry the film to the end that wasn't. Lol. The film ended with kind of a cliffhanger...
The Twilight films don't quite do the novels justice.
Oh one last thing....
Alice had some really nice outfits and uh Victoria was rockin some pretty serious, well-defined curls so uh....if someone could put me in touch with Alice's stylist and Victoria's hairdresser that would be greatly appreciated. Lol. J/k.
Monday, November 23, 2009
High School
Hey all,
This is kinda late, but viewed High School for a Comm. class last week. While I probably wouldn't have watched the film on my own, I found a few spots in the film pretty funny.
The film documents the day-to-day in a high school (duh!) in the 1950's? 60's? The film includes some pretty boring everyday high school happenings like Morning Announcements, English and Home ec. classes etc. but it also includes more interesting events like students completing a space shuttle flight simulation, students getting in trouble, and Sex Ed. class.
Comparing high school then and high school now was pretty interesting. Aside from one cooking class, I don't think I've ever taken a home ec. course - and sewing wasn't even offered. Lol. I used to think the computers in our computer labs and the audio equipment we used in some classes was pretty dated - that is until I saw the clunky typewriters and humongous record players the students and faculty were using. Pretty funny that that stuff was once "state-of-the-art."
I got a huge kick out of the Sex Ed. classes. In the Sex Ed. classes I've taken, I seriously think they stopped separating the girls from the boys in 6th grade. To see 15-18 year olds taking a segregated Sex Ed. course was pretty funny...at least to me. The information the instructors were doling out was even funnier - One male teacher told his class of all boys about how the women run the home, balance the checkbook etc. etc.
This is kinda late, but viewed High School for a Comm. class last week. While I probably wouldn't have watched the film on my own, I found a few spots in the film pretty funny.
The film documents the day-to-day in a high school (duh!) in the 1950's? 60's? The film includes some pretty boring everyday high school happenings like Morning Announcements, English and Home ec. classes etc. but it also includes more interesting events like students completing a space shuttle flight simulation, students getting in trouble, and Sex Ed. class.
Comparing high school then and high school now was pretty interesting. Aside from one cooking class, I don't think I've ever taken a home ec. course - and sewing wasn't even offered. Lol. I used to think the computers in our computer labs and the audio equipment we used in some classes was pretty dated - that is until I saw the clunky typewriters and humongous record players the students and faculty were using. Pretty funny that that stuff was once "state-of-the-art."
I got a huge kick out of the Sex Ed. classes. In the Sex Ed. classes I've taken, I seriously think they stopped separating the girls from the boys in 6th grade. To see 15-18 year olds taking a segregated Sex Ed. course was pretty funny...at least to me. The information the instructors were doling out was even funnier - One male teacher told his class of all boys about how the women run the home, balance the checkbook etc. etc.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Creating a Production...
Hey all,
Since we're talking about the production process this week I thought I'd share my own experiences...
First off I'm very much a newbie. I'm taking Television Production this semester and it's my first real, hands on media class. It's a ton of work, but I actually kind of like it.
Preproduction work is sometimes a real struggle. In TV Prod. we don't by any means have to do the extensive research or talent/location aquisition that one might have to do with a professional production because everything is right there available for our use. I think I'd go insane if we had to do all that for a 200 level course. Lol. Preproduction is definitely the biggest hurdle we need to clear in the whole production process...
Next comes the actual production. This is pretty straightforward. You already have the script, the talent, the location etc. all you need to do is shoot the thing. The biggest challenge here, at least in TV Prod. is trying to get good shots and film the entire production in the time alloted. Time flys when your trying to produce a 5-6 minute product.
We havent dealt too much with post production yet. There isn't much editing and/or sound mixing going on in Comm. 215 because it's shot in much the same way a live newscast is...you get a rehearsal or two and then you begin recording - not very many second chances. We do get to watch what we've created though - which is always fun.
Since we're talking about the production process this week I thought I'd share my own experiences...
First off I'm very much a newbie. I'm taking Television Production this semester and it's my first real, hands on media class. It's a ton of work, but I actually kind of like it.
Preproduction work is sometimes a real struggle. In TV Prod. we don't by any means have to do the extensive research or talent/location aquisition that one might have to do with a professional production because everything is right there available for our use. I think I'd go insane if we had to do all that for a 200 level course. Lol. Preproduction is definitely the biggest hurdle we need to clear in the whole production process...
Next comes the actual production. This is pretty straightforward. You already have the script, the talent, the location etc. all you need to do is shoot the thing. The biggest challenge here, at least in TV Prod. is trying to get good shots and film the entire production in the time alloted. Time flys when your trying to produce a 5-6 minute product.
We havent dealt too much with post production yet. There isn't much editing and/or sound mixing going on in Comm. 215 because it's shot in much the same way a live newscast is...you get a rehearsal or two and then you begin recording - not very many second chances. We do get to watch what we've created though - which is always fun.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lost in La Mancha
Hey all,
Watched Lost in La Mancha for a class this week and I have to say A.) I felt really bad for Gilliam and B.) I hope I never ever get stuck working on a production that poorly planned.
Watching the film you can't quite help but feel bad for Gilliam he's been trying for so long to get his vision of Don Quixote off the ground. The story seems like a really funny adaptation of the classic tale of Don Quixote complete with all the crazy extra stuff Gilliam seems to be known for. But...
Ever since the first day of my first media class the importance of preproduction work has been throughly imprinted in my brain...and this film finally showed me first hand exactly why that is. I mean, its not that hard of a concept to grasp, but theres a huge difference between reading it in a texbook and seeing it actually happen. There is also a HUGE difference between neglecting to properly plan a quick 5 minute newscast in Comm. 215 and failing to carefully plan the production of a multimillion dollar, hour long movie. You just might be able to get away with it in Comm. 215 - big budget movie...eh not so much.
The whole project fell apart because of poor planning and even poorer communication between team members. It does not matter how great your idea is - if you neglect to take care of all the planning ahead of time you're ultimately going to screw yourself over.
Watched Lost in La Mancha for a class this week and I have to say A.) I felt really bad for Gilliam and B.) I hope I never ever get stuck working on a production that poorly planned.
Watching the film you can't quite help but feel bad for Gilliam he's been trying for so long to get his vision of Don Quixote off the ground. The story seems like a really funny adaptation of the classic tale of Don Quixote complete with all the crazy extra stuff Gilliam seems to be known for. But...
Ever since the first day of my first media class the importance of preproduction work has been throughly imprinted in my brain...and this film finally showed me first hand exactly why that is. I mean, its not that hard of a concept to grasp, but theres a huge difference between reading it in a texbook and seeing it actually happen. There is also a HUGE difference between neglecting to properly plan a quick 5 minute newscast in Comm. 215 and failing to carefully plan the production of a multimillion dollar, hour long movie. You just might be able to get away with it in Comm. 215 - big budget movie...eh not so much.
The whole project fell apart because of poor planning and even poorer communication between team members. It does not matter how great your idea is - if you neglect to take care of all the planning ahead of time you're ultimately going to screw yourself over.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I just don't get it...
Hey all,
Lol. So I'm on babysitting duty tonight. I don't quite know how I got suckered into watching three extra children - specially when tomorrow is a school holiday. Anyway there's three girls aged between 2-10 plus my son who is 3...so it's a full house.
My house was in a state total chaos until I found a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and I have to tell you I have never in my life ever seen children so entranced by the televison. Even the 10 year old is dancing and singing along. I wish I had a webcam to show you all just how these kids went from screaming banshees to mindless zombies in 2.5 seconds. The transition is pretty funny and the dance-along is hilarious.
Personally, I don't quite see what's so great about the show, but maybe that's just because I'm 22 and grew up on shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers - you know shows that actually made sense. For those of you who haven't seen the show (as I'm sure most of you haven't) the whole show is reminiscent of an 80's cartoon/variety show complete with cheesy music, graphics, and cartoon transitions.
There's a weird array of characters on the show including some skinny guy dressed head-to-toe in orange spandex complete with fuzzy hat to top off the ensemble, a funky green thing with long arms, a yellow robot, a cat (I think), some pinky poofy thing that I've been told is named Foofa, and a bumpy orange thing (an alien?) that looks eerily like an adult toy. Somehow they also managed to coax celebrites to guest spot on the show as well...so far I've seen Jack Black, Sean Kingston and Mya.
This is entertainment now?
Lol. So I'm on babysitting duty tonight. I don't quite know how I got suckered into watching three extra children - specially when tomorrow is a school holiday. Anyway there's three girls aged between 2-10 plus my son who is 3...so it's a full house.
My house was in a state total chaos until I found a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and I have to tell you I have never in my life ever seen children so entranced by the televison. Even the 10 year old is dancing and singing along. I wish I had a webcam to show you all just how these kids went from screaming banshees to mindless zombies in 2.5 seconds. The transition is pretty funny and the dance-along is hilarious.
Personally, I don't quite see what's so great about the show, but maybe that's just because I'm 22 and grew up on shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers - you know shows that actually made sense. For those of you who haven't seen the show (as I'm sure most of you haven't) the whole show is reminiscent of an 80's cartoon/variety show complete with cheesy music, graphics, and cartoon transitions.
There's a weird array of characters on the show including some skinny guy dressed head-to-toe in orange spandex complete with fuzzy hat to top off the ensemble, a funky green thing with long arms, a yellow robot, a cat (I think), some pinky poofy thing that I've been told is named Foofa, and a bumpy orange thing (an alien?) that looks eerily like an adult toy. Somehow they also managed to coax celebrites to guest spot on the show as well...so far I've seen Jack Black, Sean Kingston and Mya.
This is entertainment now?
Monday, November 9, 2009
It's that time of year again...
Hey all,
Sooo it's that time of year again - time to pick out your classes for next semester. You get to spend hours (ok ok 15-30 minutes) devising the perfect schedule that allows you sleep til 10am and yet still be done with all your classes by 1:00pm. You also get to stay up til 3am trying to log onto infobear and beat out 25 other people for a spot in the classes that you want - only to find out the class is full and you need to quickly rework your schedule before all your alternates fill up too. Fun times. Ugh.
And forgive me as I rant a little bit more, but...
It's also the time of year where we're in that sort of limbo between the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays...Sooo why the hell are we already being force-fed Christmas crap? Lol. Is it just me or does anyone else think that retailers jumped on the xmas bandwagon a bit too early this year?
Don't get me wrong -I love the holidays as much as the next person, BUT I'd like at least a week or two to recover from my halloween candy coma before I'm even able to set eyes on the latest Santa lawn ornaments that are not only inflateable but animated too. Where did Thanksgiving go? I saw fully lighted xmas trees on display in some stores the day BEFORE Halloween - it's as if Thanksgiving has completely dissapeared. I've also noticed the Hershey Kiss and Walmart holiday commericals making the rounds. *sigh* It's only November 9th and I'm already kinda sick of hearing Silver Bells.
Sooo it's that time of year again - time to pick out your classes for next semester. You get to spend hours (ok ok 15-30 minutes) devising the perfect schedule that allows you sleep til 10am and yet still be done with all your classes by 1:00pm. You also get to stay up til 3am trying to log onto infobear and beat out 25 other people for a spot in the classes that you want - only to find out the class is full and you need to quickly rework your schedule before all your alternates fill up too. Fun times. Ugh.
And forgive me as I rant a little bit more, but...
It's also the time of year where we're in that sort of limbo between the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays...Sooo why the hell are we already being force-fed Christmas crap? Lol. Is it just me or does anyone else think that retailers jumped on the xmas bandwagon a bit too early this year?
Don't get me wrong -I love the holidays as much as the next person, BUT I'd like at least a week or two to recover from my halloween candy coma before I'm even able to set eyes on the latest Santa lawn ornaments that are not only inflateable but animated too. Where did Thanksgiving go? I saw fully lighted xmas trees on display in some stores the day BEFORE Halloween - it's as if Thanksgiving has completely dissapeared. I've also noticed the Hershey Kiss and Walmart holiday commericals making the rounds. *sigh* It's only November 9th and I'm already kinda sick of hearing Silver Bells.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Well that's pretty grim...
Hey all,
Just read an article form aol.com that explores the issue of teen suicide. Apparently four students from a high school in Palo Alto, Claifornia have all commited suicide within four months of one another in the same location, using the same method -jumping in front of an oncoming train. A fifth student tried to take his own life as well, but was saved at the last minute. These events have the writer of the article asking whether or not teen suicides are "contagious."
They even have a name for this kind of thing which is in and of itself kinda scary. The experts interviewed called them "suicide clusters" and these clusters are happening more and more frequently among US teens.
One expert in particular, Larry Berman - exec. director of the American Association of Suicidology (yes apparently there is such a thing) - raises an interesting point. He says while commiting suicide on the train tracks is not typical of teenagers, those who have done so only did so because of the role the media had in reporting such suicides. In other words, one teen did it so another attempted to copycat and so on. He says that the media needs to rework how they present topics such as teen suicides because "vulnerable kids will imitate behavior" and it's a "very fine line to walk: how to increase awareness without adding to the problem."
Just read an article form aol.com that explores the issue of teen suicide. Apparently four students from a high school in Palo Alto, Claifornia have all commited suicide within four months of one another in the same location, using the same method -jumping in front of an oncoming train. A fifth student tried to take his own life as well, but was saved at the last minute. These events have the writer of the article asking whether or not teen suicides are "contagious."
They even have a name for this kind of thing which is in and of itself kinda scary. The experts interviewed called them "suicide clusters" and these clusters are happening more and more frequently among US teens.
One expert in particular, Larry Berman - exec. director of the American Association of Suicidology (yes apparently there is such a thing) - raises an interesting point. He says while commiting suicide on the train tracks is not typical of teenagers, those who have done so only did so because of the role the media had in reporting such suicides. In other words, one teen did it so another attempted to copycat and so on. He says that the media needs to rework how they present topics such as teen suicides because "vulnerable kids will imitate behavior" and it's a "very fine line to walk: how to increase awareness without adding to the problem."
Monday, October 26, 2009
Nasser 56
Hey all,
Watched Nasser 56 last week for a film class. While I enjoyed the film for its insight into how the main character might have felt during that particular time in his presidency, I couldn't help but feel the movie was a little propaganda-y - The director must have really liked Nasser.
The film follows egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in the year 1956 - hence the title. At this point, Nasser is trying to raise the money to build the Aswan High Dam, but no one will help him. The dam is supposed to help make life for the Egyptian people better as it would provide water and electricity to the poorer rural areas of Egypt.
America had originally offered her support, but withdrew soon after possibly because they didn't want to start a war against the British (who, until 1922 had colonial control over Egypt). The British, though they have long since loosened their grip on Egypt, are still trying to profit from the country.
After his plea for outside funding is turned down, Nasser decides to nationalize the Suez Canal. The canal, which is located almost smack dab in the middle of the country, still belongs to the British. It's kind of equivalent to having a country within a country. Nasser develops plans to secretly nationalize the canal with the help of his fellow country men.
The movie, like I said was enjoyable, rather long, but enjoyable. You couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. He worked so hard to get control of a canal that technically belonged to his country anyway only to have England and France launch a world-wide smear campaign against him calling him a fascist among other things. They also double teamed him in a war.
But that feeling of "feeling bad for the guy" was also my main issue with the film. It was as if that was the main goal of the film. Now creating sympathy for your main character isnt an overall bad thing to do - I just dont particularly like watching it for 2.5+ hours.
Nasser in the film is portrayed as an almost super-human individual. The guy works until the wee hours of the moring, yet never needs sleep. He is the doting father to 5 impossibly well behaved children who all crowd around him and fall at his feet every time he enters a room. He is husband to an obedient, supportive wife who absolutely adores him even though he's never home and hardly shows her any affection. And the film made it seem as though this man did not have one critic in the entire country of Egypt at the time (and maybe in reality he didn't at the time, but it still seems odd to me).
Watched Nasser 56 last week for a film class. While I enjoyed the film for its insight into how the main character might have felt during that particular time in his presidency, I couldn't help but feel the movie was a little propaganda-y - The director must have really liked Nasser.
The film follows egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in the year 1956 - hence the title. At this point, Nasser is trying to raise the money to build the Aswan High Dam, but no one will help him. The dam is supposed to help make life for the Egyptian people better as it would provide water and electricity to the poorer rural areas of Egypt.
America had originally offered her support, but withdrew soon after possibly because they didn't want to start a war against the British (who, until 1922 had colonial control over Egypt). The British, though they have long since loosened their grip on Egypt, are still trying to profit from the country.
After his plea for outside funding is turned down, Nasser decides to nationalize the Suez Canal. The canal, which is located almost smack dab in the middle of the country, still belongs to the British. It's kind of equivalent to having a country within a country. Nasser develops plans to secretly nationalize the canal with the help of his fellow country men.
The movie, like I said was enjoyable, rather long, but enjoyable. You couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. He worked so hard to get control of a canal that technically belonged to his country anyway only to have England and France launch a world-wide smear campaign against him calling him a fascist among other things. They also double teamed him in a war.
But that feeling of "feeling bad for the guy" was also my main issue with the film. It was as if that was the main goal of the film. Now creating sympathy for your main character isnt an overall bad thing to do - I just dont particularly like watching it for 2.5+ hours.
Nasser in the film is portrayed as an almost super-human individual. The guy works until the wee hours of the moring, yet never needs sleep. He is the doting father to 5 impossibly well behaved children who all crowd around him and fall at his feet every time he enters a room. He is husband to an obedient, supportive wife who absolutely adores him even though he's never home and hardly shows her any affection. And the film made it seem as though this man did not have one critic in the entire country of Egypt at the time (and maybe in reality he didn't at the time, but it still seems odd to me).
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Random Stuff...
So while walking around campus today I found myself wondering where the hell Fall went...I mean did I sleep through it or something? We had Summer (what little good weather we had after all that rainfall) and now Mother Nature has apparently decided to go straight into Winter. It's pretty friggin cold outside.
Anyway, I'm watching the news right now and the most interesting thing that happened today was the crashing of a huge helium balloon thing out in Ohio. The contraption looks a bit like a humongous mylar balloon one sees at children's birthday parties...and I guess some family in Ohio built it for a reality TV show they were going to be on. What makes this "Breaking News" is that the family's 6 year old son supposedly climbed into the basket shortly before the balloon took off and now the boy is missing. When the balloon crashed down, the boy was nowhere to be found.
What's interesting is that I've seen the same video clip of the balloon crashing down about 10 times now...and every news anchor covering the story has said the same exact thing, but the family who's son is "missing" has yet to comment on the story. If the boy is really missing - it's highly possible that they could be busy searching for the boy or in too much of a shock to comment on the day's events - I know I would be, but usually they have reporters on the scene trying to harass the family into talking or they're just camped out in front of the family's home or something.
Anyway, I'm watching the news right now and the most interesting thing that happened today was the crashing of a huge helium balloon thing out in Ohio. The contraption looks a bit like a humongous mylar balloon one sees at children's birthday parties...and I guess some family in Ohio built it for a reality TV show they were going to be on. What makes this "Breaking News" is that the family's 6 year old son supposedly climbed into the basket shortly before the balloon took off and now the boy is missing. When the balloon crashed down, the boy was nowhere to be found.
What's interesting is that I've seen the same video clip of the balloon crashing down about 10 times now...and every news anchor covering the story has said the same exact thing, but the family who's son is "missing" has yet to comment on the story. If the boy is really missing - it's highly possible that they could be busy searching for the boy or in too much of a shock to comment on the day's events - I know I would be, but usually they have reporters on the scene trying to harass the family into talking or they're just camped out in front of the family's home or something.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Toy Story...
Hey All,
Last weekend I took my son on his first ever trip to the movies. I thought it'd be really fun to see the Toy Story double feature that's playing. I remember really enjoying it as a kid and figured he might like it too...turns out I was wrong. Go figure.
First of all for those who don't know, my son is 3. While my boyfriend has been itching to take our son to the movies for about 2 years now (and that's no exaggeration), I've been kinda reluctant to shell out $8 for a movie I might not get to watch. My reasoning was that a kid that young would never sit through an entire movie.
Anyway...my son did in fact sit through the entire movie. BUT the poor kid was miserable after he ran outta popcorn and m&m's and chocolate milk...and the 3D glasses were entirely way too big for his head.
While he was still munching on his popcorn though, I couldn't help but notice all the adult content in that movie. I'm sure you've all heard of all the hidden images/messages in Disney films; normally I find them amusing - but I've officially resolved to not buy my son a Mr. Potato Head anytime soon for fear that he just might try to recreate the scene where Mr. Potato Head plucks off his lips and proceeds to gesture in such a way as to tell the slinky dog to kiss his butt.
And my son probably would too. He did after all come home and begin reciting line after line from the movie (keep in mind this is the first time he's ever seen Toy Story). My personal fav: He just finishes putting on his pj's, is clearly half asleep, but turns to his father and says "You are one sad, strange little man," - I honestly dont think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.
Last weekend I took my son on his first ever trip to the movies. I thought it'd be really fun to see the Toy Story double feature that's playing. I remember really enjoying it as a kid and figured he might like it too...turns out I was wrong. Go figure.
First of all for those who don't know, my son is 3. While my boyfriend has been itching to take our son to the movies for about 2 years now (and that's no exaggeration), I've been kinda reluctant to shell out $8 for a movie I might not get to watch. My reasoning was that a kid that young would never sit through an entire movie.
Anyway...my son did in fact sit through the entire movie. BUT the poor kid was miserable after he ran outta popcorn and m&m's and chocolate milk...and the 3D glasses were entirely way too big for his head.
While he was still munching on his popcorn though, I couldn't help but notice all the adult content in that movie. I'm sure you've all heard of all the hidden images/messages in Disney films; normally I find them amusing - but I've officially resolved to not buy my son a Mr. Potato Head anytime soon for fear that he just might try to recreate the scene where Mr. Potato Head plucks off his lips and proceeds to gesture in such a way as to tell the slinky dog to kiss his butt.
And my son probably would too. He did after all come home and begin reciting line after line from the movie (keep in mind this is the first time he's ever seen Toy Story). My personal fav: He just finishes putting on his pj's, is clearly half asleep, but turns to his father and says "You are one sad, strange little man," - I honestly dont think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Viral Videos
Viral videos. We've all seen 'em, we've all suckered ALL of our friends into watching them too. Some of them make you laugh 'til you cry, some make you cringe, and then there are those videos that fill you in on what happens when you leave someone home alone with your pet and a webcam.
While waiting for a group presentation this week, my group mates and I for some reason, decided to pass the time watching some viral videos. One guy actually found a list of 99 (or maybe it was 100) viral videos you must see before you die...anyway some of the videos were pretty funny, but unfortunately I couldn't find that list. I did however, find this video of the 100 Greatest Viral YouTube Videos. It packs all 100 videos into 4 minutes. How many have you seen so far? I, personally, have only seen about 24, but depending on how History class goes on Friday - that number just might jump up a bit. Lol.
P.S. I finally figured out how to embed videos. Go me!
While waiting for a group presentation this week, my group mates and I for some reason, decided to pass the time watching some viral videos. One guy actually found a list of 99 (or maybe it was 100) viral videos you must see before you die...anyway some of the videos were pretty funny, but unfortunately I couldn't find that list. I did however, find this video of the 100 Greatest Viral YouTube Videos. It packs all 100 videos into 4 minutes. How many have you seen so far? I, personally, have only seen about 24, but depending on how History class goes on Friday - that number just might jump up a bit. Lol.
P.S. I finally figured out how to embed videos. Go me!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
John & Kate + Who???
Alright, if any of you are like me...you're sick of hearing about John and Kate Goselin. As if it weren't enough that their faces are plastered on every tabloid imaginable, while commuting to school this morning I happened to hear about their latest divorce/financial spat in an "Entertainment" segment.
Honestly, they have to be two of the most selfish people on the planet. They come across as being so wrapped up in their own lives that they seem to forget - a lot - about doing what's best for their kids. In fact I think they should just title their show "John and Kate"...or since John was recently fired, I think, just "Kate."
Being a mom myself, I can tell you that my life pretty much revolves around my son. Whenever I make a major decision I make sure that I know how its going to affect my son first (but maybe that's just me). Even when his father and I have our little moments, where we really piss each other off, we make sure that our son is elsewhere before we go at each other. Lol. Kids, especially the young ones, shouldn't be exposed to such things (but again, maybe that's just me).
Honestly, they have to be two of the most selfish people on the planet. They come across as being so wrapped up in their own lives that they seem to forget - a lot - about doing what's best for their kids. In fact I think they should just title their show "John and Kate"...or since John was recently fired, I think, just "Kate."
Being a mom myself, I can tell you that my life pretty much revolves around my son. Whenever I make a major decision I make sure that I know how its going to affect my son first (but maybe that's just me). Even when his father and I have our little moments, where we really piss each other off, we make sure that our son is elsewhere before we go at each other. Lol. Kids, especially the young ones, shouldn't be exposed to such things (but again, maybe that's just me).
Monday, October 5, 2009
Kilometre Zero
Hey All,
Watched Kilometre Zero for Egyptian Film this week. I can't quite say I hated it as some parts were pretty funny, but overall I found it rather dull.
The film follows this one guy, Ako during the Iraq-Iran war. Ako is Kurdish and, understandably is not one of Saddam Hussein's biggest fans. Saddam did kill thousands of Kurds in '98 in a chemical weapon attack.
Anyway the film tells of Ako's attempts to avoid being drafted into the war by Saddam. He tries, in vain, to pack up his wife and kid and high tail it out of the country. His wife, however, refuses to leave because she doesnt want to leave her bed-ridden, ailing father.
Ako does end up going to war, but while on the army base he tries really hard to get discharged. At one point he resolves to "sacrifice his own leg" - what follows is a pretty comical scene in which, while fighting in the trenches, Ako stops shooting, lies down, and holds his leg up high demanding the enemy to shoot his leg off. Ako is a bit indecisive tho, as he keeps switching legs; he's not sure which one would be the better one to lose.
Ako doesn't lose his leg, unfortunately, but he does leave the base when he's charged with the task of delivering the body of a fallen soldier back to the soldier's family. Poor Ako then has to drive for the next three days, with an Arab man (Arabs and Kurds at the time must have had difficulty getting along, or at least that's what the film implied) through the dessert with a rotting corpse resting in a crude casket tied to the top of his car. The smell alone, I think would have killed me.
While driving along, Ako and the Arab man get into a disagreement that leaves Ako (and the corpse) alone in the desert. Ako then, somehow manages to get himself, his wife, his son, and his father-in-law (bed and all) to the Turkish border and then from there into much safer conditions.
While the film had a good storyline, the way the film was shot and edited didn't quite win me over. There was a slight problem with editing - this may have just been the crappy quality of the streaming though, but at the end, right before the credits Ako and his wife were standing at a window shouting and jumping for joy at the fall of Saddam and then, suddenly they werent there anymore.
Watched Kilometre Zero for Egyptian Film this week. I can't quite say I hated it as some parts were pretty funny, but overall I found it rather dull.
The film follows this one guy, Ako during the Iraq-Iran war. Ako is Kurdish and, understandably is not one of Saddam Hussein's biggest fans. Saddam did kill thousands of Kurds in '98 in a chemical weapon attack.
Anyway the film tells of Ako's attempts to avoid being drafted into the war by Saddam. He tries, in vain, to pack up his wife and kid and high tail it out of the country. His wife, however, refuses to leave because she doesnt want to leave her bed-ridden, ailing father.
Ako does end up going to war, but while on the army base he tries really hard to get discharged. At one point he resolves to "sacrifice his own leg" - what follows is a pretty comical scene in which, while fighting in the trenches, Ako stops shooting, lies down, and holds his leg up high demanding the enemy to shoot his leg off. Ako is a bit indecisive tho, as he keeps switching legs; he's not sure which one would be the better one to lose.
Ako doesn't lose his leg, unfortunately, but he does leave the base when he's charged with the task of delivering the body of a fallen soldier back to the soldier's family. Poor Ako then has to drive for the next three days, with an Arab man (Arabs and Kurds at the time must have had difficulty getting along, or at least that's what the film implied) through the dessert with a rotting corpse resting in a crude casket tied to the top of his car. The smell alone, I think would have killed me.
While driving along, Ako and the Arab man get into a disagreement that leaves Ako (and the corpse) alone in the desert. Ako then, somehow manages to get himself, his wife, his son, and his father-in-law (bed and all) to the Turkish border and then from there into much safer conditions.
While the film had a good storyline, the way the film was shot and edited didn't quite win me over. There was a slight problem with editing - this may have just been the crappy quality of the streaming though, but at the end, right before the credits Ako and his wife were standing at a window shouting and jumping for joy at the fall of Saddam and then, suddenly they werent there anymore.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Did you know 4.0? Umm...no not really.
I came across this video while chatting with a friend(Thanks Lizzie!!!). Anyway I found it to be quite interesting.
As media students I'm sure we're all aware that the ways in which we communicate with one another are constantly changing. Many of our major communication methods today didn't exist 5-10+ years ago (Twitter, Instant messaging, YouTube video posts etc.).
We also know that the world is getting smaller; technology brings the world to us by giving us the capacity to chat with someone halfway across the world with the click of a button or read an Egyptian newspaper while sitting at a desk, in a dorm room, in New Jersey.
What I find absolutely mind boggling are the actual numbers. Yes I know millions of people use the internet every day, but I didn't know how many millions. I was only vaguely aware of the fact that more people visit Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube each month than they do news sites like ABC or NBC. I had absolutely NO idea that Michael Jackson's death was considered much more important than the Iranian election. Who'd have thought?
PS: I tried embedding the video, but technology hates me today. Go figure. As wonderful as media/technology can be (bringing the world together and all) it sure can be a real pain in the arse sometimes. Sorry.
As media students I'm sure we're all aware that the ways in which we communicate with one another are constantly changing. Many of our major communication methods today didn't exist 5-10+ years ago (Twitter, Instant messaging, YouTube video posts etc.).
We also know that the world is getting smaller; technology brings the world to us by giving us the capacity to chat with someone halfway across the world with the click of a button or read an Egyptian newspaper while sitting at a desk, in a dorm room, in New Jersey.
What I find absolutely mind boggling are the actual numbers. Yes I know millions of people use the internet every day, but I didn't know how many millions. I was only vaguely aware of the fact that more people visit Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube each month than they do news sites like ABC or NBC. I had absolutely NO idea that Michael Jackson's death was considered much more important than the Iranian election. Who'd have thought?
PS: I tried embedding the video, but technology hates me today. Go figure. As wonderful as media/technology can be (bringing the world together and all) it sure can be a real pain in the arse sometimes. Sorry.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Yacoubian Building
Hey everyone,
So, last week I had to watch The Yacoubian Building for my Egyptian film class and I just have to say that it's the one Egyptian movie I never thought I'd see. In the textbook for our class the author, Viola Shafik, is always commenting on Egypt's strict censorship laws. She said that among the major taboo topics are sex, religion, and politics. The sex thing is pretty much self explanitory; no overexposure of the human body (male or female), no scenes depicting prostitution, no explicit rape scenes. When it comes to religion, film makers usually stick to depicting Islam rather than Christianity or Judaism (both of which also exist in Egypt) so as not to upset the Islamic majority...and blatent political statements are usually on the "no-no list" so as not to incite rebellion and war.
The Yacoubian Building, however, had all that and more. This film touched upon political corruption, rape, homosexuality, drug use, fundamentalism, and even prostitution...oh and a touch of Christianity was thrown in for good measure. It was an extremely good film, a long film, but a good one, but I just don't understand how the film actually passed the censorship board.
So, last week I had to watch The Yacoubian Building for my Egyptian film class and I just have to say that it's the one Egyptian movie I never thought I'd see. In the textbook for our class the author, Viola Shafik, is always commenting on Egypt's strict censorship laws. She said that among the major taboo topics are sex, religion, and politics. The sex thing is pretty much self explanitory; no overexposure of the human body (male or female), no scenes depicting prostitution, no explicit rape scenes. When it comes to religion, film makers usually stick to depicting Islam rather than Christianity or Judaism (both of which also exist in Egypt) so as not to upset the Islamic majority...and blatent political statements are usually on the "no-no list" so as not to incite rebellion and war.
The Yacoubian Building, however, had all that and more. This film touched upon political corruption, rape, homosexuality, drug use, fundamentalism, and even prostitution...oh and a touch of Christianity was thrown in for good measure. It was an extremely good film, a long film, but a good one, but I just don't understand how the film actually passed the censorship board.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
To tweet or not to tweet?
In this day and age being able to remain in constant contact with your friends, family, and even complete strangers 24/7 seems like a great idea, right? Eh...maybe in theory, but in practice...not so much. We have cell phones, e-mail, blogs, text messaging, instant messaging, Facebook, and Myspace - why then, my friends, do we also need Twitter?
For reasons completely beyond my understanding everyone seems to be 'tweeting' these days...Personally, I don't care what everyone is doing every minute of every day... it seems to me that for only being able to post a message of 140 characters, people on this site sure do share an awful lot - Quite few even tend to seriously overshare. I dont need to know when your walking to class or are on your way to see your shrink, nor do I care to hear all the grisley details of your pending divorce, but I especially dont want to know that you just left the bathroom and/or what you did there. Gross.
I dunno. Maybe its just me that feels this way. I'm perfectly happy with updating my Facebook status whenever I feel the need to do so to keep my friends updated on my current crisis, or chatting with people I know on Aim. I dont feel the need to give the whole world the ability to subscribe to my life.
For reasons completely beyond my understanding everyone seems to be 'tweeting' these days...Personally, I don't care what everyone is doing every minute of every day... it seems to me that for only being able to post a message of 140 characters, people on this site sure do share an awful lot - Quite few even tend to seriously overshare. I dont need to know when your walking to class or are on your way to see your shrink, nor do I care to hear all the grisley details of your pending divorce, but I especially dont want to know that you just left the bathroom and/or what you did there. Gross.
I dunno. Maybe its just me that feels this way. I'm perfectly happy with updating my Facebook status whenever I feel the need to do so to keep my friends updated on my current crisis, or chatting with people I know on Aim. I dont feel the need to give the whole world the ability to subscribe to my life.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Emigrant
Hey everyone,
I just finished watching Youssef Chahine's film, The Emigrant (1994) for Comm. 399. Overall it was a pretty good film. It rehashes the biblical story of Joseph, or in this film - Ram, who was the favorite son amongst all his father's children. Ram's brothers attempt to kill him because they're insanely jealous of all the affection and attention their father gives to him. Ram manages to escape however and he makes a decent life for himself in Egypt.
The film certainly followed Todorov's narrative theory about equilibrium. In the beginning, clearly everyone wasn't happy, but Ram's entire family/tribe was together - this was their equilibrium. When Ram's brothers attempt to kill him - the equilibrium is disrupted - Ram's father is devestated at the loss of his favorite son, and Ram struggles to acheive his goals in Egypt. Everything is set to rights - the equilibrium restored - when Ram finally meets his brothers again and is able to return home.
While the film hints at the director's Christian beliefs - it never mentions Christianity specifically -only the belief in one true God. I'm pretty sure this has much to do with the censorship practices in Egypt at the time of the films release. One of the textbooks for this class, a book by Victoria Shafik, mentions how it is common practice to make Islam the main religion mentioned in movies so as not to upset people; Islam is afterall the major religion of the Middle East. Interestingly enough, the film ended up being banned in Egypt anyway. Go figure.
I just finished watching Youssef Chahine's film, The Emigrant (1994) for Comm. 399. Overall it was a pretty good film. It rehashes the biblical story of Joseph, or in this film - Ram, who was the favorite son amongst all his father's children. Ram's brothers attempt to kill him because they're insanely jealous of all the affection and attention their father gives to him. Ram manages to escape however and he makes a decent life for himself in Egypt.
The film certainly followed Todorov's narrative theory about equilibrium. In the beginning, clearly everyone wasn't happy, but Ram's entire family/tribe was together - this was their equilibrium. When Ram's brothers attempt to kill him - the equilibrium is disrupted - Ram's father is devestated at the loss of his favorite son, and Ram struggles to acheive his goals in Egypt. Everything is set to rights - the equilibrium restored - when Ram finally meets his brothers again and is able to return home.
While the film hints at the director's Christian beliefs - it never mentions Christianity specifically -only the belief in one true God. I'm pretty sure this has much to do with the censorship practices in Egypt at the time of the films release. One of the textbooks for this class, a book by Victoria Shafik, mentions how it is common practice to make Islam the main religion mentioned in movies so as not to upset people; Islam is afterall the major religion of the Middle East. Interestingly enough, the film ended up being banned in Egypt anyway. Go figure.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
CSI
So I had to watch two episodes of CSI:Miami this week for Comm. 229. Now I love crime shows. Law and Order, the First 48, Unsolved Mysteries. They're great shows...they keep you on the edge of your seat waiting for the conclusion. CSI: Miami - eh, not so much. The pilot episode was horrible - at least I thought so.
The CSI's find clues and piece together information way too easily - it's not very realistic. I'm sure some cases may very well be 'open and shut' deals that are easily solved, but a triple homicide/missing persons case that involves 2 locations and a crappy, uncooperative witness? Come on. That's too tough a case to solve simply by finding some bullet shells, a barrette, and a sweet smelling hat etc. all one right after the other.
I do understand that CSI's writers present their story the way they do due to time contraints and whatnot. I guess I'm just not a huge fan of how CSI gift wraps a crime investigation into such a neat and tidy little package. That coupled with the dry humor made me wonder how the series ever got picked up. Give me some suspense, keep me guessing, suprise me - I like more 'filling' to the shows that I watch.
The CSI's find clues and piece together information way too easily - it's not very realistic. I'm sure some cases may very well be 'open and shut' deals that are easily solved, but a triple homicide/missing persons case that involves 2 locations and a crappy, uncooperative witness? Come on. That's too tough a case to solve simply by finding some bullet shells, a barrette, and a sweet smelling hat etc. all one right after the other.
I do understand that CSI's writers present their story the way they do due to time contraints and whatnot. I guess I'm just not a huge fan of how CSI gift wraps a crime investigation into such a neat and tidy little package. That coupled with the dry humor made me wonder how the series ever got picked up. Give me some suspense, keep me guessing, suprise me - I like more 'filling' to the shows that I watch.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sorry, but I just had to...
Ok...I hate to do this, especially since everyone and their mother has talked/tweeted/blogged etc.etc. about the Kanye-Taylor incident. BUT I too have to say it - Kanye was such an ass.In typical Kanye fashion, he managed to steal someone else's moment.
The dude makes good music - I'll give him that, I along with everyone else, knew the all the words to "Heartless" within a week of the song's release...(and Taylor makes good music too). However, I've just never liked Kanye as a person. That arrogant swagger just never appealed to me. And his last awards show fiasco (the one where he was pissed off that he didn't win and felt the need to let everyone know it) just turned me off completely.
I don't feel that this story deserved all the attention given it by the press. I've literally heard 'Taylor' and 'Kanye' over 1500 times since the show aired. The story is everywhere...TV, radio, internet. Kanye's done this kind of thing before...and if the media keeps giving him what he wants every time - ATTENTION - then chances are good he'll do it again.
The dude makes good music - I'll give him that, I along with everyone else, knew the all the words to "Heartless" within a week of the song's release...(and Taylor makes good music too). However, I've just never liked Kanye as a person. That arrogant swagger just never appealed to me. And his last awards show fiasco (the one where he was pissed off that he didn't win and felt the need to let everyone know it) just turned me off completely.
I don't feel that this story deserved all the attention given it by the press. I've literally heard 'Taylor' and 'Kanye' over 1500 times since the show aired. The story is everywhere...TV, radio, internet. Kanye's done this kind of thing before...and if the media keeps giving him what he wants every time - ATTENTION - then chances are good he'll do it again.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Wow.
While trying to avoid my mountain of homework yesterday, I found myself on YouTube yet again and discovered this...
Now I love videogames as much as anyone else who plays them, but I can't decide whether or not this is really really cool or really really creepy. Perhaps it's a little of both. I mean who, honestly, wants to have a little virtual boy in their TV? Especially one who can get to know you and read your facial expressions, remember your mom's birthday and whatnot? Just a tad creepy - after all who knows what that little boy will learn should you forget to shut the stupid thing off. Although, it would be pretty funny if I could leave it running and then program him to somehow yell out "Chris is home! Chris is home" as my little brother tries sneaking back into my parent's house late at night. Garenteed he'd never sneak out again. Lol.
As cool as it looks though, I'm curious as to whether or not this thing will actually work like it does in the promo videos. Its for the xbox 360 which means its from Microsoft...and uh we all saw what happened with Vista.
Now I love videogames as much as anyone else who plays them, but I can't decide whether or not this is really really cool or really really creepy. Perhaps it's a little of both. I mean who, honestly, wants to have a little virtual boy in their TV? Especially one who can get to know you and read your facial expressions, remember your mom's birthday and whatnot? Just a tad creepy - after all who knows what that little boy will learn should you forget to shut the stupid thing off. Although, it would be pretty funny if I could leave it running and then program him to somehow yell out "Chris is home! Chris is home" as my little brother tries sneaking back into my parent's house late at night. Garenteed he'd never sneak out again. Lol.
As cool as it looks though, I'm curious as to whether or not this thing will actually work like it does in the promo videos. Its for the xbox 360 which means its from Microsoft...and uh we all saw what happened with Vista.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Some people say...
I don't typically watch Fox News for anything other than catching up on some local news stories. Watching OutFoxed pretty much reminded me why.
As the documentary pointed out, the stories that are given priority are horribly biased. And more than once my favorite shows have been interupted for uber important 'Breaking News' alerts that turned out to be not so important - yes I still remember the 'Martha Stewart met with her probation officer' and the 'Bennifer' alerts. Who cares? Umm not me.
The obvious bias is probably what's causing more and more people to turn to shows like the Colbert Report and the Daily Show for their news nowadays. Myself included. I don't want to watch O'Riley yell at his guests to 'Shut up!' - I thought the whole point of having guests on a show like that was to talk to them...silly me. I find the dose of comedy that Stewart and Colbert throw into their respective shows refreshing and extremely entertaining.
As the documentary pointed out, the stories that are given priority are horribly biased. And more than once my favorite shows have been interupted for uber important 'Breaking News' alerts that turned out to be not so important - yes I still remember the 'Martha Stewart met with her probation officer' and the 'Bennifer' alerts. Who cares? Umm not me.
The obvious bias is probably what's causing more and more people to turn to shows like the Colbert Report and the Daily Show for their news nowadays. Myself included. I don't want to watch O'Riley yell at his guests to 'Shut up!' - I thought the whole point of having guests on a show like that was to talk to them...silly me. I find the dose of comedy that Stewart and Colbert throw into their respective shows refreshing and extremely entertaining.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
"The Other"
So...I just finished watching Youssef Chahine's "The Other" for my Comm. 399 class.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an Egyptian film from 1999 at first. I've only taken one one other class dealing with the Middle East and its culture - and aside from learning some pretty cool sounding words all that class did was pretty much emphasize points I kind of already knew (i.e. Muslims are not bad people, Islam shares some basic tenets with other major religions, women typically dress modestly etc.).
This movie didn't really emphasize or showase any of that. It did at one point, poke fun at the head-to-toe dress some women wear though...I totally didn't see that comming nor did I expect all the sexual references (especially after reading the book for this class).
Another thing I totally wasn't expecting - the heavy French influence on the film. The title, the credits etc. were all in french and there were a couple of major references within the film to France. Guess colonialism is still taking its toll on the Arab film industry.
On the whole, the story was an exotic twist on Romeo and Juliet. Aside from a few cheesy romantic lines - I have to say I really liked it (once my eyes adjusted to the horrible streaming quality and I got past my hatred of subtitles - especially white ones). Lol.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an Egyptian film from 1999 at first. I've only taken one one other class dealing with the Middle East and its culture - and aside from learning some pretty cool sounding words all that class did was pretty much emphasize points I kind of already knew (i.e. Muslims are not bad people, Islam shares some basic tenets with other major religions, women typically dress modestly etc.).
This movie didn't really emphasize or showase any of that. It did at one point, poke fun at the head-to-toe dress some women wear though...I totally didn't see that comming nor did I expect all the sexual references (especially after reading the book for this class).
Another thing I totally wasn't expecting - the heavy French influence on the film. The title, the credits etc. were all in french and there were a couple of major references within the film to France. Guess colonialism is still taking its toll on the Arab film industry.
On the whole, the story was an exotic twist on Romeo and Juliet. Aside from a few cheesy romantic lines - I have to say I really liked it (once my eyes adjusted to the horrible streaming quality and I got past my hatred of subtitles - especially white ones). Lol.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Hi!!!
Hey all,
Sooo this is my first blog ever - can ya tell? Pretty sad for a Communications major (at least I think so). Anyway I dont have any particularly profound thoughts to share today so how bout an amusing story instead?
So I got my first PC for x-mas when I was maybe 8 or 9. I loved it...took me awhile to figure out how to work it but whatever... Today my son Aidan, who is 3, opens up my laptop, turns it on, somehow navigates his own way through windows vista and starts playing some game on the 'HARD' setting. He's never done that before. It took me a week or so to figure out all the ins and outs of my first computer!!! So now he's got me wondering if I was just really slow as a child or if he's some kind of kid genius. Lol.
Nicole
Sooo this is my first blog ever - can ya tell? Pretty sad for a Communications major (at least I think so). Anyway I dont have any particularly profound thoughts to share today so how bout an amusing story instead?
So I got my first PC for x-mas when I was maybe 8 or 9. I loved it...took me awhile to figure out how to work it but whatever... Today my son Aidan, who is 3, opens up my laptop, turns it on, somehow navigates his own way through windows vista and starts playing some game on the 'HARD' setting. He's never done that before. It took me a week or so to figure out all the ins and outs of my first computer!!! So now he's got me wondering if I was just really slow as a child or if he's some kind of kid genius. Lol.
Nicole
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