John Carter

    My first thought when hearing of this movie called John Carter was, “did they make another terminator!?!” It turns out though that it is just a coincidence that both main characters have the same name. The movie John Carter is nothing like the terminator. It is about a human who somehow got transported onto the planet Mars. And Mars, having a less gravitational pull than Earth, helps Carter to become a “super human.” He ends up saving the planet from a takeover of an evil villain and his magical power... so far, your typical story.
    However, there were two significant things that made this movie appealing to me and unique from your usual super-hero movie. First off, the special effects of the beasts of mars were spectacular. The “white apes” were intensely real seeing the hair, teeth, and saliva just as you would if you were an ant looking up at a dog. You will see one of these creatures at the end of the movie trailer.
    The second thing that made this movie so great and unique was the ending and how everyone and everything connected clearly, perfectly, and unexpectedly. There are numerous characters that don’t make sense at all at the beginning of the movie on the planet Earth. This leads you to wonder what their role is and who they are. Soon after that the Mars adventure gets underway and before you know it, you have forgotten about all that was going on on Earth, just as John Carter forgot in the movie. Then while you think everything is said and done, and the planet is saved, you are hit with the realization that the adventure is not over yet. This is where everything comes together to make an unexpected ending. Overall I would give this movie a strong rating due to its well done qualities and surprise ending.

The Boondocks

    “Everyone is worried about kids and violence, right? And kids using guns... So why don’t they go after the gun manufacturers and gun dealers instead of people who make video games.” What is this person saying about what causes gun violence in kids. McGruder, as it seems, believes that video games are not the source of gun violence. The source that needs to be fixed is the gun manufacturers and the gun dealers. He makes a very interesting point saying that the people who are trying to fix gun violence in kids should focus more on the physical getting of the guns (gun dealers and manufacturers) instead of the emotional desire to use the guns (video games). I believe that this comic is trying to say that what is being done about gun violence and students with video games is not working.
    He portrays his point, obviously, through humor, being in the form of a comic strip. These two kids have a humorous yet mind probing conversation that gets you thinking. One of the kids states, “who would you rather start a beef with - some nerd who makes video games or some dude with a warehouse full of AK-47s?” He is making “them,” the people who are trying to stop gun violence, look like scared wimps who aren’t dealing with the real problem because of fear.
    He also throws some irony into the comic strip. The issue approached is about kids, gun violence, and video games, and in his comic the two having the conversation are kids who are playing video games and are from the Boondocks. This leaves one under the impression that they are probably playing some sort of violent video game.
    Overall, Aaron McGruder does a great job at making you take a second look at how gun violence is being handled in our society all in one, small, entertaining, comic strip.

The G.O.S.P.E.L.

God created us to be with Him.
Our sins separate us from God.
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
Everyone who trust in Him alone has eternal life.
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

    There is power in the preaching of the Gospel in this video given by a man who goes by the name of Propaganda. This video was made to go along with a conference called Dare to Share. Dare to Share’s purpose is to equip and empower students to go out into the world and share their faith with people who don’t know Jesus. Jesus has called us to go and make disciples of all the nation’s (Matthew 28:19) and it all starts with the life changing message of the Gospel.
    This video does a phenomenal job at presenting the Gospel in a new and interesting way. The way the man articulates his words added with the words that pop up during the video all help to solidify the message and make the most important parts stick out to the viewer. (Example - “God, Yes, God.”) For each main word, he repeats it with the word yes in-between. Along with the articulation of the words, the background (the sounds, beats, and special effects), all help to create a flow, moving from one point to the next. It grabs your attention and you can’t help but listen to the story. God Our Sins Payment Everyone Life; there is power in this video!

iPod People

     The iPod people in an iWolrd? People with wires coming out of their ears, making them unaware and oblivious to the outside world. Cut off from any social interaction from others. Walking around mindlessly bumping into objects and people. These are some of the ways that Andrew Sullivan describes the people of New York City. He took a trip there and noticed something strange... something unexpected. It was much quieter than he thought it should be. He wrote this editorial to share to people what MP3s and iPods have done to our society. Sullivan uses a technique of description that makes the reader feel very suspicious of portable music players.
    This technique he uses to catch the attention of his readers is mysterious. When he describes the headphones, he never actually uses the word, “headphones.” He describes them as, “white wires hanging down from their ears.” In doing this he makes the headphones look very suspicious. It leads one to believe that these white wires are some sort of electrical device that is keeping people from connecting with the outside world. He claims how they are “oblivious” to the outside world.
    In my mind, this description makes me picture some sort of alien invasion where the aliens implanted devices in us to control our every move. While we all generally know what he is talking about, it helps us to stay interested on his topic and we begin to look forward to more pieces to the mystery of the “white wires.” (279).

The Grey

    The movie The Grey could have been a very epic movie for all those who love to see a thrilling and gut-wrenching movies. Everything in my opinion on the movie was great from the storyline to the effects except for two issues that made me lose respect for the movie. The first being the insane amount of profanity and the second being its extreme anti-God outlook.
    First off, the question we face is, is it necessary to insert crude language in a movie? Do those words really make a movie more appealing? I, personally, don’t believe that having 50 f-bombs is the only way to show the madness of a movie and what these men were put through. One of my friends, named Chase Rhodes, who also saw this movie agreed with me. He gave it a 6 out of 10 because of its numerous f-bombs. You could easily see all the fear, anger, and frustration, without the profanity, in the men’s eyes and by seeing the choices they make and how they interacted with each other! So why use those words!
    Along with the profanity, the whole movie had a very negative connotation towards God. There was only one man throughout it that had some sort of faith in God but as soon as he stepped out with that faith, he was immediately shut down and made to be a fool. Also, the main character, Liem Neeson, had blamed God for everything throughout the movie, and finally, near the end, he gave God one final chance to help him but nothing happened. This movie made God out to evil and non-existent in this world.
    By adding the profanity and an anti-God connotation The Grey lost a huge group of possible viewers. I believe they could have made this movie neutral in its cursing and neutral in its opinion on God, and it would have still been just as thrilling and gut-wrenching as it was for all its viewers.

Mac vs. PC

    Once again PC and Mac meet head to head in a commercial, only this time PC has had a little trouble. He roles in on a wheel chair with bandages all over. Apparently, his “user” trip over the power cord and knocked him off the table. Mac, knowing this would never happen to him due to his high tech magnetic power outlet, casually takes advantage of the situation to show off his Mac guns.
    What is this saying about PCs? What is it saying about Macs? Its obviously showing the fact that Macs are better than PCs, so much better in fact, that even the little details such as, somebody accidentally tripping over their power cord, was thought up in the process of developing the Mac laptop! This commercial does a fantastic job at selling its product.
    First off, it has a background of hilarious commercials. Instantly when you see these two characters appear on the screen it takes you back to the feelings you had when you saw the others. Then you get excited to see what other hilarious commercials they will come up with. Secondly, it compares a Mac to a relaxed, easy-going, “cool” guy. The PC, on the other hand, is a nerdy, comb over, suit and tie guy who is not very bright. Everyone watching this instantly wants to be the relaxed, cool Mac. Third and lastly, Mac presents its case with humor. The PC comes in on a wheel with bandages wrapped around two of his arms and one of his legs. He looks like he got in a wreck, but alas, he just fell off his desk. Also at the end of the commercial PC starts seeing “his life flash before his eyes.” Mac instantly points out that what he is seeing is just his screen saver and PC shamefully admits to it.
    I believe Macs do a fantastic job with their commercials making it relevant to people (wanting to be cool), bringing out past feelings from past commercials, and making its viewers laugh. I personally am a Mac lover, and own one. When ever I see one of these commercials I am proud to be an owner of a Mac!

"Don't Friend Me!"

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           “Don’t friend me!” (285) Jacquielynn Floyd, a news writer, has taken a stand on Facebook and a problem that has developed with its creation. There have been many complaints about privacy issues with Facebook, and users are worried that certain things they don’t want the whole world to see will get out a lot further than they want. However, according to Floyd, “there’s not a thing wrong with Facebook.” (285) So then, where does the problem lie? The problem, she claims, is that we have lost, “the ability to distinguish between our public and our private selves.” (285)

            I enjoyed reading this, being a believer in her idea, because of her intensity and ability to be straightforward. Through her writing she shows a passion and fire for what she believes. She sarcastically uses the terms like, twittered, blasted, poked, or super-poked; to get her opinion across of how ridiculous the argument is that she has entered. She, as you can tell from her tone, is sick of hearing people complain about privacy issue when they could easily be stopped by just not posting what you don’t want the world to see. One of her direct, intense statements is this; “Face this:  You are your own front line of defense in maintaining your privacy.” (285) She is telling everyone who has a problem with Facebook’s privacy that the problem isn’t Facebook it’s you! The “Face this” part of it is what makes it so bold, and even offensive, to some readers.

            However, with all her intense wording and straightforward statements, she will turn off many of her readers. One risk in writing boldly is you will lose some credibility (ethos) with some of your audience who get offended by your statements. But along with that, you will also gain credibility with other groups of people, and most important of all, there will be a few that react to your bold statements with an open ear and turn to your ideas.

What to do with 952 Billion Dollars

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How much money do people need to live? There are some people out there making over 10 million dollars a year. Actually, according to the IRS tax year records of 2009, it was reported that 8,274 people who filed taxes that year made more than 10 million dollars (IRS Website). How much of that money is actually needed for these people to live comfortably? After asking this question, I needed to know how much it costs to live in America. I found that Manhattan was consider to be the most expensive American city to live in and in order to live comfortably, the source said you should make about $130,000 a year.

So what happens with all that extra money and more importantly, do they need it? I did some of my own calculations to see how much money could be stored up if all those who made over $500,000 put all but this amount into one big pot at the end of the year. I used the IRS tax records for 2009 that I got off lazymanandmoney.com and found that if everyone were limited to $500,000 salary for one year the country as a total would end up with an estimation of about 952 billion dollars at the end of the year. That is an insane amount of money! If we were to put all this money every year towards our national debt, our debt would be reduced to zero within 16 years.

For this reason, I believe there should be a maximum income law passed that would prevent citizens from keeping more than $500,000 of the money they gained each year. If this were to happen the money could potentially end our nation’s debt (within 16 years), world hunger, or poverty. Just imagine what the country could do with 952 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!

Why the Music Industry Hates Guitar Hero

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            The argument discussed in this essay has to do with faults on two sides of an issue. The issue stated is that Guitar Hero, along with other musical gaming systems, has cut into the profits of the music industry. The Game-makers are said to be taking advantage of artists by not paying them enough for the use of their music, while the musician’s album sales have dropped 19 percent (268). On the other hand, the music businesses are not taking advantage of the potential profit that would result if they and the game-makers worked together. They are “whining,” as how puts it, “over licensing fees (268).” This word “whining,” gives us some insight to how immature Howe thinks this issue is.

Howe believes they should both focus on a way of working together, which he puts as, “creative participation (268).” He proves how well this could work by using the band Aerosmith as an example of its potential. They recorded earning more money for their Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game than any of their single albums (268). This being proven should be enough to convince the whole music industry to jump in and get in on the profits. Aerosmith’s earnings were not a result of desputing, but a result of “creative participation.” Howe urges the music industry to update itself to a new way of selling its music. He believes the way of albums, like tapes and other older forms of music, will eventually fade away.

What I get from this is that there is a musical industrial revolution happening. It is changing the same way our country changed from an agricultural way of providing to a factory way of providing. I agree with Howe’s solution to this argument and believe if the music industry embraces this new way of selling music, it will benefit greatly in the long run. He brings straight facts that prove his point, and make it very simple.