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?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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."
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