Saturday, September 27, 2014

It's HAAARD!!!

Okay so maybe it's not that hard, but blogging is an unusual task for me to try to enjoy. I don't hate doing it but i simply enjoy my spare time with other things sucking up my modern life of media power - heck, I barely use my Facebook other than posting pictures and sending messages here and there. I don't care to inform people about what's on my mind. I guess I feel like if they really want to know about me and my mind they'll get up off their butts and away from their computers to meet me. I mean I already do the same thing for them.
However, this kind of blogging away from my Facebook is better. Not everyone can jump on and find out what I'm rambling about and not everyone can get as offended about what I say. Goodness, I already offend some people enough when I open my mouth - so I guess this kind of media 'shout-out' is okay. It still takes a bit of effort for others to search this page out, and it takes more time for them to read my blathering dialogue.
But in truth, the biggest thing about blogging that bothers me is who in the world thought it up?! think about it - who sits down one day and says, "good heavens, I want everyone to know what I'm thinking! Journaling is not sufficient; wait for me to die for people to care about my writing? No way!!!" I can understand journal writing though, I almost feel like that kind of writing is more valuable, but becoming more and more forgotten, and what a mistake that is.
Yup, I value my journal more than I do this... and I feel just fine about that :-)

Classic, Old, and New? Best, Better or... just Okay?

Yesterday I got to watch Walt Disney's first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; it was immensely interesting to see how many times I and my friends genuinely laughed at the humor. It was witty and creative, yet simple. Even more interesting than this though, was that afterward we watched a portion of Beauty and the Beast - another great Disney with unique laughs, but more emotional drive similar to Snow White or other classics.
However, what wasn't truly interesting about everything I was thinking during these films, was unimpressed I still remained with Frozen and Tangled's quality. No they are not bad films, and yes they have some good laughs as well, but they fall flat on structure; I didn't feel like I needed to re-watch them nor ever own them to show others my appreciation for their style. Like I said, they're still a good style, but the last awesome children's film I saw recently was Pixar's Monsters University, and that's because I could relate to it more. 
Is that it then, relation? These new Disney tales of princesses are not relatable to me - but then I'm sure others will say (especially young women), "well that's because you're a guy and can't relate to stories about girls." And if that were so then I wouldn't enjoy or have as much association or empathy for Belle or Ariel, Cinderella or Snow White - except I do! 
So what is the difference? Does anyone else notice the lacking quality in female Disney flicks? 
The last epic or worthwhile Disney in my opinion was Tarzan, though Brother Bear was good too
Check out a few other favorites of mine (they're obvious really, but I love the pictures, lol): 
Pinocchio (1940) Poster Sleeping Beauty (1959) PosterThe Sword in the Stone (1963) PosterMary Poppins (1964) PosterBedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) PosterThe Great Mouse Detective (1986) PosterThe Rescuers Down Under (1990) PosterAladdin (1992) PosterPocahontas (1995) PosterThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) PosterHercules (1997) PosterMulan (1998) Poster

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Thanks Hollywood for the Propaganda!

I really don't know where to start, but I guess it all has to do with watching the most recent religious movie of the year - Noah, starring Russell Crowe. To put it simply (at least at first in this blog), I don't know how I would have made it out of the theater without talking and laughing at the ridiculous exaggeration of an already complete story.
It seemed as though the director and writers felt like the Bible version wasn't dramatic or exciting enough, "so why not?! Let's just add a few giant rock monsters - nobody's ever seen that junk on the screen before!" And I thought that would be the only real discrepancy I had with the film, after all so many of my friends who saw it in theaters only brought the rock monsters/fallen angels up as a big issue. Nevertheless, Hollywood seemed convinced to unknowingly shock and blaspheme the world of movie goers even more by making Noah an absolute maniac, who actually just wanted everyone to die, and was surprised when God allowed one of his children to get pregnant (though the pregnancy was already a miracle produced by Methuselah).
There's far more strange things then this that trouble me about the interpretation - there incredibly modern clothes and backpacks that could be sold in American Eagle outfitters today, or their sudden advancements of metal workings, showing welding and tempering techniques only understood and available thousands of years later, to name a few. But to make this movie worse an experience, was to openly discuss with friends during and after the showing how impossible and dreadfully unrealistic everything was, and to still have one of them declare that "it could be possible, we just don't know everything about the past, and can never know it for sure..."
WHAAAAAT!!! Modern life as we know it today has enough reflection of the past that we even without a scholar present can put together simple strokes of linear, and at times dynamic progression, not to mention utter logic that people didn't always have such things as buttons for their shirts, or flippin' skinny-jeans or welding helmets until the future!
Yet of course, and once again it seems obvious that Hollywood, like any powerful media tool, can suck many into its realm of "I don't know, and no one knows" dogma thanks to its blatantly popular propaganda filled spectacle.
What I'm trying to say is that the movie industry now seems to want to make scriptural, cultural, and holy records of writing into the common fun, yet fictional blather we share today. Except, instead of Noah being as kind and full of integrity as Spider-Man, he's as common a lunatic as Loki - heck, even Wolverine has greater morality than this depiction of a great prophet, which scripture states was "a just man... perfect in his generation" of violent murderers (Moses 8: 27)
Yikes! My media intake was rough this week; beware of this specific movie genre, lol. Bible movies were so much better when Charlton Heston was around            

Friday, September 19, 2014

"Oh, those Canadians"

Well it needs to come out sometime - yes, I am Canadian and I'm proud to be. Yet I'm living in the United States because I love this country and am proud of it too. I grew up learning the history of this country just as well as I did my own, and well, I also learned British and French history because that's just how polite and awesome we Canucks are, lol... jk... sort of.
But anyway, yes, I grew up loving George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and even JFK, learning all the history, sacrifices, and momentous changes that even affect the entire world. Nevertheless, with now living in the States for 5 years I think I might have figured out why Americans themselves remain so oblivious, and rude at times about other countries (especially my own) - the media makes other nations look quite stupid and obsolete against the mighty USA.
Now this isn't every piece of local media, lots of American movies today poke fun at their own people, whether as tourists or Southern folk (and I mean nothing bad against anyone in saying this myself); but there are simply far more movies, TV shows, and other outlets that express Canadians as a bunch of uneducated "How ya doing, eh?" drones, or British as bad teeth, weird humor dudes, or French as arrogant snobs with nothing to praise about their wine-bibber country.
This is simply sad to me and I'm wondering what others think of this; if I'm confused or overstepping my bounds as someone living in your lovely country (which is full of so much beauty and goodness), then please forgive me. However, Canada is gorgeous, and a place everyone should go see - Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Saskatoon, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Ottawa, and Prince Edward Island to name a few.
O' I love my country and this country too, but America's top hat (aka Canada) simply makes it look better; and we're right behind you Yankees on most of your decisions, so lets all just get along!
Check out some pics of my beloved home-country:





Saturday, September 13, 2014

Gamer, huh

I hear the word "gamer" tossed around a lot these days, a derogatory title handed out to many people. If someone plays a video game (but of course not an app on a mobile device, oh no, never) they are a "gamer." Yet I grew up in a world where I was a boy who simply enjoyed playing video games, heck I never even owned my own Gameboy until I was 16. And now as I've gotten older I've come to respect them as a unique art form.
So one day I looked around and most of the world, especially those who played the ever so popular phone apps, began criticizing those who played video games on home consoles. Now don't get me wrong, there's little to no glory in my books for entertainment riddled with the killing of digital images of soldiers and civilians like in Call of Duty, or the grotesque open world choices of Grand Theft Auto, or the absorbently addictive online grouping of stratagem found in World of Warcraft.
No, I don't like these types of video games at all; nevertheless, there are other types of games out there that I do respect and yearn for others to know about. The obvious ones are those from Nintendo - a perfectly welcoming company filled with a simple yet beautiful repertoire: Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros. to name a few.
Another series with far more artistry and impressive story telling is Metal Gear Solid. It's a saga spread throughout two different generations, with future then past protagonists colliding in pseudo history and profound pain from war displayed from a uniquely rough secret agent, code-named Snake. The entire purpose of each game is focused on espionage action, i.e. sneaking around.
Lastly, a surprisingly recent entry titled Destiny has more story and character development around its science fiction/fantasy plot than any game in its current genre.
I suppose I'm just trying to share that playing video games is not always a red flag - the choice to enjoy such an entertainment can be as logical as watching an ever enthralling TV series on Netflix.
Here's some pictures of some of these titles I'm referring - check them out for yourself:
Super Mario 3D WorldMario Kart 8Super Smash Bros.The Twin SnakesSubcover09089089

            

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Reality... bad, good, better, or alright?

Reality TV is an interesting thing; it seems to have all started with the Survivor series premiering back in the good ol' year 2000. It was so new and exciting to almost everyone - my Dad who was working as Master of Control at our local television network thought it was crap, but my brothers and sisters and I couldn't stop watching it! It was one of the first continuous shows where we didn't want to miss a single episode. It was addictive.
However, I got to thinking after the third season of madness, especially when other reality shows like Big Brother or The Amazing Race (which is a better show in my opinion) came out, that reality TV wasn't a new thing. In all honesty, it had been around since Who Wants to be a Millionaire, or even further with Bob Barker's The Price is Right, or Wheel of Fortune, or even The Ed Sullivan Show. All are reality based for our entertainment; some are talkies, showcasing new talent, some are intense competitions, and most are real people losing their minds in front of a camera.
Now I'm not trying to criticize the genre - real people trying to be themselves on TV is fascinating. And I for one feel that we've come pretty far these days, and some proof of that are the simple shows I still enjoy away from the fictional palette. These include Man vs Food, Chopped, Wizard Wars, and my personal favorite, Face-Off .
What's fascinating about these particular shows is that some have nothing to do with money (Man vs. Food, obviously), and most have more to do with getting a career as a chef, magician, or Hollywood makeup artist. These people really showcase incredible talent, but more so hardworking skills (or just have lots of fun, like in Man vs Food). I guess its proof to me that TV can now help people understand that we don't simply win money or do things for money by back stabbing friends like in Survivor, or doing basically nothing like in other shows. It takes skill to survive on TV, and it all can still be fun.
So check 'em out - here's posters of some of my favorites mentioned:
    Chopped intertitle.png