Short Term 12

By far my favorite film we watched over the course of class this year was Short Term 12.  Short Term 12 is a live action short done by Daniel Cretton.  The gist of Short Term 12 is it is a film based Daniel's personal experience working with at risk teenagers.  I think the reason I liked Short Term 12 so much is because I like to see kids work their way out of bad situations and turn themselves into a success story.  Not every teenager in America is able to live drug free or anger free and I think it is important that we reach out and help teens whole struggle with issues like depression and addiction.  No matter how bad of a situation teens are in there is always a second chance.  God gives second chances everyday and I think it is important for young teens to realize. I know many teens who are at risk and have battled the same issues as the kids in the film and the teens I know have ended up turning their lives around probably being why this is my favorite film because I know close friends who can relate to these situations.  I would love to see the full movie they made out of this film!

Presentation from Class Today

Great job Nick and Noah! Your guys presentations were both very informative and was impressed with the way you were able to bring the knowledge of each of your subjects to the class room.  I was a sports kid growing up so I didn't watch as many cartoons as the average child therefore I was able to relate better to Noah's topic rather than Nicks.  I learned a lot during Nick's presentation especially that character development in cartoons is on the rise.  I didn't realize that we lived in the time considered the "golden age" of cartoons, I was unaware.  I really like Noah's passion for sports broadcasting ever since I meant Noah this fall that is all that he would tell me is that he is finally able to pursue his dream of commentating for Huntington Mens Basketball.  With Noah's passion and love for broadcasting he has the ability to make it far in his career field once he hits the real world.  My favorite part of Noah's presentation was the information covering Harry Caray.  I am a huge fans so I got a kick out of Noah playing that video.  Harry Caray was a very special man and he brought a lot to the city of Chicago for both the North and South siders.  One thing I learned during Noah's presentation of Vin Gully.  I knew who he was and his popularity amongst Dodger fans but I wasn't aware of his background history.  All in all both presentations were great and I truly enjoyed listening to both of you in class today.

Managing Stress as Semester comes to an End

As we approach finals week next week many of us are very stressed as we finish up projects for many classes and begin to study for finals.  It is very important that you don't let stress levels over whelm you too much.  During these stressful times I encourage you to find your happy place or take action in getting your stress out.  Whether your stress reliever is eating a bunch of food, lifting weights, running, playing video games, watching movies, laughing with friends, playing with children or animals I encourage you to take some time this week or next week on down time between finals and do so.  If you over stress yourself out you are less likely to perform as well academically on your finals.  Have faith in your ability to achieve success.  We are blessed at Huntington to have such great professors who care for us as students and take the time to teach us well in various subjects.  Study hard and pray.  Pray for academic success and the ability to focus and retain the content necessary to score a good grade on your tests.  We are about to get a few weeks off so just give it your all in these last few days in class.

Home Alone

Well it is that time of the year where many of us get in the spirit to watch Christmas movies.  My favorite series of movies I like to watch each Christmas break is Home Alone.  The original first Home Alone is my favorite but I enjoy all of them.  It is Christmas time in the McCallister family and everyone is getting ready to prepare for the vacation to Paris, France.  Kevin the main character of the movie goes to his room the night before they leave for the trip after getting in a fight with his older brother Buzz.  As the family woke up late the next morning in a frantic rush to get to the airport on time to catch their flight to France they accidentally forgot to wake little Kevin up in his bedroom.  Kevin wakes up and realizes his family left without him and instead of being sad decides he is going to have some fun without them.  As the days went on burglars Harry and Marv discover the McCallister family is gone and they should try to rob the house because they think no one is home.  They get a little surprise to learn Kevin is still home though.  Kevin turns out to be a mastermind in booby traps and Harry and Marv didn't stand a chance in the end......

Angel Tree Christmas

If your family doesn't already I encourage everyone and their families to help out the Salvation Army and participate in the Angel Tree Christmas.  The Angel Tree Christmas is a program put on by the Salvation Army who helps kids receive gifts for Christmas who are less fortunate.  The program is put on around the United States.  In your community you will need to go to businesses or the Salvation Army office and you can pick a an angel off of the Christmas tree.  The angel piece of paper will have the name or the boy or girl and how old they are along with something useful that he or her could use for Christmas.  You go out by the gift whether it is a toy or clothes or shoes and you wrap it and return it to the Salvation Army office where they distribute the gifts to the kids.  This program is such a special thing because not all kids are fortunate enough to be able to open gifts on Christmas morning.  The season of giving is a special time.  Encourage your families or close ones to go out and get a few angel tree children and help for a good cause.

Boundaries

Recently I finished reading a book called Boundaries.  Boundaries was written by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr John Townsend, since the released of the book over 2 million copies have been sold.  Boundaries is a book that teachers you when to say yes and how to say no to take control of your life.  The book is written to help people thrive in ownership of their own lives by following the insights and practical wisdom of Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend.  Syndicated Columnist, Cal Thomas quote after reading the book "Boundaries define everything from football fields to nation-states, yet our culture has pretended it could violate boundaries in human relationships without serious consequences. Cloud and Townsend examine the damage caused by this flawed view and point the way back."  If you are into reading books I recommend this book!

Media effect on College Football Playoff

Well the 2016 College Football Playoff is finalized.  Alabama earned the #1 seed, Clemson #2, Ohio State #3, and Washington #4 seed.  As the selections just took place this morning there is already a lot of controversy over Ohio State and Washington being selected.  Ohio State went 11-1 on the year, with there only loss coming to Penn State.  Penn State won the Eastern division of the Big Ten Conference this year then this past Saturday defeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference Championship so many people feel that Penn State deserved to earn either the #3 or #4 seed in the college football playoff.   Many have already began to argue that the reason Penn State wasn't selected was because the media feels like they will make more money with Ohio State in the college football playoff.  I think this is true, there are many more Ohio State fans across the country that will view the game so I feel Ohio State will bring in a larger revenue for the media.  It is interesting how media can play a role in athletics!!

Hacksaw Ridge Movie Review

Andrew Garfield plays as Desmond Doss as the WWII army medic in the new hit movie Hacksaw Ridge.  Desmond Doss served his time during WWII in the Battle of Okinawa.  One thing separates Desmond from all of the other soldiers and that is the fact that Desmond won't kill people.  Desmond's belief and faith calls him not to every car a weapon in war.  Therefore Desmond gets bullied and picked on by the other soldiers because he won't shoot a gun or kill anyone.  The other soldiers do this because they feel that Desmond isn't much help during battle without a weapon and they won't be able to rely on him when in need.  Desmond stays strong to his faith and belief throughout the whole movie and in the end is a hero.  Desmond ends up going down as the first American in history to win a Medal of Honor without firing a single bullet during his time of war.  This is a great watch and it makes it even better it is based on a true story.

Wild Fires in Tennessee

The human caused wildfire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is the largest wildfire to happen in Tennessee in over 100 years.  As  of now there have been 13 deaths tallied because of the fire.  12 of the 13 victims died as a result of the direct fire and the other victim is suspected to have died from a heart attack trying to space the fire.  Not only have humans been effected by the fire but many wildlife species and organisms have lost their homes and lives because of the fire.  To put this in perspective there have been 1,413 structures lost as cause of the fire.  These structures include houses, barns, businesses, hotels, cars, farm equipment, etc.  There are currently 19 crews, 47 fire engines, six helicopters, five bulldozers, and a total of 605 people fighting the fire.  The fire has spread to around 500 acres.  This is very sad for everyone in Tennessee but the search teams are doing their best to identify the three men who were behind the starting of the fire, names have yet to be released.

7th Largest Gathering in Human History

Friday the Chicago Cubs celebrated their win of the World Series with a parade in Chicago.  The Parade started in  Wrigleyville and ended in Grant Park a populous neighborhood in Chicago.  Media and news officials estimated that there were 5 million people in attendance at the parade.  5 million people ranks as the 7th largest gathering in human history.  There has never been a human gathering this large in United States history.  The most recent gathering that ranked even close to this was the Rod Stewart Concert in Brail in 1994 which had 3.5 million people and ranks 9th overall.  Schools and businesses shut down in Illinois on Friday in order for students and employees to be able to attend the parade.  Thankfully, security and police were able to keep everyone safe and no one was injured or killed during the parade.  The city of Chicago will forever be changed now that the 108 year old curse has been broken!

For the Birds- Reading Quiz 2

For the Birds was a short Pixar film that came out in 2000.  It was directed by Ralph Eggleston.  This film is very humorous and would be very engaging to young kids.  This film depicts a message that young kids can pick up on in that picking on people usually comes back to bite you in the long run.  In the film the big bird is sitting on the telephone pole while all the little birds are spaced out on the electrical wires chirping away and having fun.  The big bird decides he wants to join in with the little birds so he flies over and lands in the middle of all the little birds.  I wire is now drooping towards the ground and all the little birds are scrunched together and they don't like it.  So they start getting mad and pecking at the big birds feet until he is hanging upside down and finally lets go of the wire.  Picking on the big bird came back to haunt those little birds because when he let go of the wire all the little birds went sailing into the air and lost all of their feathers.  In the end the big bird got the final laugh when all the little birds came falling back down to the ground naked with no feathers on them.  The part of film that impressed me the most was the outstanding job they did on the animation of the feathers!

New Go Pro Session 5

The new GoPro Session 5 was released to the public on October 2nd.  This camera is almost invisible it is so small.  The GoPro session 5 is so small it can fit in your pocket and you wouldn't even know it is there.  Innovated to be small but very mighty at the same time.  For its size there is no other camera that puts out a better quality HD image or video than the GoPro Session 5.  One the nicest features about this new product is it only has one button, this allows for people to capture there moments right in time without having to mess with a bunch of button to capture a video or picture.  The camera is also has a voice control feature on it.  Considered from the makers of GoPro the most durable product they have made yet.  The Session 5 is completely water proof.  With the new GoPro Session 5 you can place it in spots where you couldn't before because of its small size.  I am in the process of purchasing one of these after using my friends and if you are into taking pictures and videos I encourage you to consider the GoPro Session 5!!!!

Ouija: Origin of Evil

Friday night I went and watched the movie Ouija: Origin of Evil with a group of friends at the Huntington movie theatre.  The Ouija: Origin of Evil movie takes place in Los Angeles in 1965.  The movie is based around a widowed mother and her two young daughters.  Doris Zander the youngest daughter brings evil into their home with after their seance scam business.  Doris's life is overtaken by the evil spirit.  The family immediately notices and tries to overtake this evil spirit to get Doris back to normality.  That backfires on them.  The power of the ouija board is to strong to take over.
Before watching this movie it is important to have a background on ouija boards.  Research them and have an understanding of the concepts behind them and how creepy they truly are.  Having prior knowledge will help you understand the movie better.

What Curse??

Well the Cubs finally did it!  They broke the World Series curse.  The Chicago Cubs will be playing in the World Series against the Cleveland Indians.  This World Series birth is the

first time in 71 years.  I am very excited because I have been a die hard Chicago Cubs fan all my life being raised in a Cubs family.  The 2016 National League Pennant will be one to remember for the ages.  This was the 17th pennant in franchise history.  The last time the Cubs won the National League Division there current coach Joe Maddon wasn't born, color tv didn't exist, microwaves weren't yet invented, there was no such thing as super glue, diet soda didn't exist nor did velcro, and lastly Hawaii and Alaska weren't even states yet.  Next week is going to be a great week as a Cubs fan, lets hope they can win the World Series for the first time in over 100 years! And then the curse will be broken forever......

Media Making Matters Worse

Tuesday November 8th is not too far off!  That is the day American's will get to cast their vote on who they think should be the next President of the United States.  To be honest I can't wait for the presidential elections to be over.  I am sick of hearing about so many of these argumentative topics.  The media has a big blame for a lot of this I think.  You get on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and many other social medias I am sure and it is all the same crap.  People are creating false articles and making up situations that didn't even happen to Donald or Hillary and posting them.  The result, is that most people on these social medias are dumb enough to believe them and this is where things get blown way out of proportion!  People are posting nasty things about these candidates that eventually turn into a Twitter as I see often.  All of this is a waste of time because at the end of the day people are going to have to face the results of Donald or Hillary.

Monitoring Children's Media

As a child I never really got into watching cartoons or children's movies.  My favorite channel was ESPN, I was a little sports fanatic.  So in my scenario my parents never really had to monitor what I watched because watching an NBA basketball game typically doesn't get too inappropriate, unless you are good at reading lips then you might be able to pick up on a few new bad words here and there.  With this being said, I still think parents need to monitor the types of children media there kids consume.  There is a lot of media out there that most children these days probably shouldn't watch on a daily basis.  But, I think watching an episode here or there can be meaningful especially if the parent watches it with them and is able to identify to their children, what to take away from the message? what shouldn't he or she do after watching this? why it is inappropriate?  Overall, children learn so much from media I just think there are many parents that are concerned with what their children watch.  It is good that children stay away from watching inappropriate media but at the same time the child has to be able to learn from it so I am kinda in the middle on this topic! 

Sully

Over the weekend I saw the movie sully while I was at Purdue visiting with some friends.  Sully was a very interesting movie to me!  Tom Hanks stars as Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger as the pilot of an Airbus A320 airplane.  'Sully' lands the plane in the Hudson River after an dual engine failure had occurred because of a bird strike that damaged the engine.  After the crash an investigation team tries to prove that he could have landed the plane at a nearby airport in New York.  The investigation team thought that they had the evidence to prove that one of the engines was still equipped and working well enough for Sully to have not landed the plane in the Hudson River.  Then in the end Sully proves that both engines were lost and the pilots were fully prepared to land the plane in the river.  Sully's logical reasoning after the debate of the flight crashing simulation allows his reputation and career to be held now as an american hero.  I would definitely recommend for anyone who is looking to watch a movie in their free time.

Quote of the Day

"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."
                                                                                             -John Maynard Keynes

For all of us freshman this is a new time in our lives.  This is no longer high school so we have had to adapt in our time here at Huntington University.  Hopefully five weeks in you have now found that understanding for your new self identity since you have made the progression since high school.  For some it is easy to let go of the things from your high school or hometown but for others it is difficult. I just think it is really important to expand and broaden yourself in these next four years at HU.  Develop new hobbies and meet new people.  This world is becoming more and more diverse so don't be afraid to try something out of the ordinary, take a class that you we have never imagined taking.  This time in our lives is the best time to venture out and try new things and let go of some of your past.  You will only be able to live through this college experience once!!!

Do Christians Need Art

"...the Christian who ignores art agrees with a secular view of art--the art has no ultimate meaning for life nor does it reveal the God who is there...In an area where the church believes itself to be more holy by ignoring music, film, poetry, literature, and the plastic arts, it actually looks more like modernist than it does Christian."
I really like what Hudson has to say in his reading Do Christians Need Art.  I think there is a lot of meaning behind his message.  I think in todays world there aren't as many people informed on the music, poetry, literature, and plastic arts in Christianity.

Art definitely has a meaning for life.  Art is very powerful.  Art displays so much meaning without words, you just have to be able to depict the meaning by studying the image.  The image of God can be revealed in every work of art.  The problem is in todays world is that no one takes the time to look into the meanings of what art displays.  Most of the times people are just content with looking at an image and seeing the creativity and color it has to offer.  It all takes time though and most people don't want to find the meaning of life in an image. Until they are willing to do that art won't be as important as it should be in the lives of Christians.

Christians in a Changing World

“As Christians today we realize that we are living in hard times. It is hard to keep to the right path; temptations are legion. And as we look around, it is hard to see a great culture breaking down around us, even though, as we have seen, it is not really based on Christian principles, but on those of the Enlightenment."

Today I think there is one influence among temptations in teenagers and young kids.  Social Media is that influence.  Smart Phones have forever changed the world we live in, both for the good and the bad.  Everything that happens nowdays gets caught in an image or video on a spectators smart phone.    Everyone has them, they have came to be addictions to some teens recently.  I think it is ridiculous, you can go sit at a restaurant with your family and look around at other families and teens are on their phones not even talking to their parents or paying attention to them.  If you can't sit and have a meal with your family without being on you cell phone I think it is sad.  Family time is nothing that should be taken for granted!  

Most alarming temptations today all surround a cell phone.  Parties, drug deals, nudes, sex it all starts with a txt message, snapchat, DM on Twitter, or something of that sort.  It is sad to see these little Apple devices take over teens lives but I guess it is just the world we live in now.  I don't for see anything stoping the popularity in social media.  It is just getting more popular.  I am at a loss of words for solutions......