Lights Out by Santigold:
Monday, April 23, 2012
Santigold
While listening to the radio tonight (And simultaneously cleaning my kitchen) I heard a song, and I immediately ran to my computer to look up the artist and song on the radio station's website. The artist is named Santigold and she's pretty solid. I'll attach a couple videos with her songs. Give her a listen and leave any feedback you care to share. L.E.S Artistes by Santigold:
Lights Out by Santigold:
Lights Out by Santigold:
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sometimes I Miss Snail Mail
No media review here, just a simple observation about a pop-culture phenomenon that I'm finding somewhat disturbing. Let me preface this by saying that I value and applaud any attempt at saving paper or other non-renewable products that otherwise help the environment. I myself recycle and I attempt to print and copy as few papers as possible, and when I do decide to print I at least make the attempt to print double-sided. Although I try to "go-green" in every sense of the word I do feel that in some cases, and for some documents, it's ok to actually splurge and print the thing out, especially on nice paper.
Where did this little blurb come from? For the past four months I've been anxiously awaiting my teacher's certification in the mail. I earned the certification last December when I finished my student teaching, and I was told that I should get in in a month or two. Little did I know at the time that the Pennsylvania Department of Education but in this new and incredibly inefficient system that delayed me receiving my certification for another two months. Ok enough of that, so I've been anxiously awaiting a letter/package that says do not fold from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for about two and a half months now until yesterday when a friend of mine texts me to tell me that I have to print my certification of the Education Department's website. Seriously, print it off? I spent two and a half years of my life and countless hours, not to mention the $100 certification fee, only to print the certification on plain white paper. Uh-uh, that effort and payment at least deserves some type of fancy seal and some expensive, off-white paper. What is this world coming to that significant documents such as teaching certifications (Which for all intensive purposes are licenses to teach) can be printed off department websites? I honestly feel like it's fake. The paper is still sitting on my printer and it just doesn't feel legitimate. This boring paper that I printed off the internet allows me to shape young minds in the great state of PA along with whatever other states accept PA certifications. This process really takes away from all of the effort and money that I put into earning my certification. What a sour end to a very labor-intensive process.
Side note/let's go back in time. This same thing happened to me nearly three years ago when I received my graduate school acceptance letter in an email. Same situation involving the anxious waiting, only to open my gmail one day and see a message from my graduate university titled Congratulations! Shocker...I got in. I remember in high school when I awaited my acceptance letters for undergrad. A regular envelope was always a bad sign while a large packet-which would likely contain the acceptance letter and all necessary orientation materials-was a much better sign. Definitely not a fan of the email acceptance letter people. Call me old school, but I still value snail mail for things like invitations, birthday/holiday cards, and major news such as acceptance letters. I get that we're going green in many aspects of our lives, but sometimes when important documents are received electronically it just takes away from their intended effect and meaning. I don't feel like checking for spelling and/or grammar errors because I'm tired, so forgive me because I'm sure this is still legible.
Where did this little blurb come from? For the past four months I've been anxiously awaiting my teacher's certification in the mail. I earned the certification last December when I finished my student teaching, and I was told that I should get in in a month or two. Little did I know at the time that the Pennsylvania Department of Education but in this new and incredibly inefficient system that delayed me receiving my certification for another two months. Ok enough of that, so I've been anxiously awaiting a letter/package that says do not fold from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for about two and a half months now until yesterday when a friend of mine texts me to tell me that I have to print my certification of the Education Department's website. Seriously, print it off? I spent two and a half years of my life and countless hours, not to mention the $100 certification fee, only to print the certification on plain white paper. Uh-uh, that effort and payment at least deserves some type of fancy seal and some expensive, off-white paper. What is this world coming to that significant documents such as teaching certifications (Which for all intensive purposes are licenses to teach) can be printed off department websites? I honestly feel like it's fake. The paper is still sitting on my printer and it just doesn't feel legitimate. This boring paper that I printed off the internet allows me to shape young minds in the great state of PA along with whatever other states accept PA certifications. This process really takes away from all of the effort and money that I put into earning my certification. What a sour end to a very labor-intensive process.
Side note/let's go back in time. This same thing happened to me nearly three years ago when I received my graduate school acceptance letter in an email. Same situation involving the anxious waiting, only to open my gmail one day and see a message from my graduate university titled Congratulations! Shocker...I got in. I remember in high school when I awaited my acceptance letters for undergrad. A regular envelope was always a bad sign while a large packet-which would likely contain the acceptance letter and all necessary orientation materials-was a much better sign. Definitely not a fan of the email acceptance letter people. Call me old school, but I still value snail mail for things like invitations, birthday/holiday cards, and major news such as acceptance letters. I get that we're going green in many aspects of our lives, but sometimes when important documents are received electronically it just takes away from their intended effect and meaning. I don't feel like checking for spelling and/or grammar errors because I'm tired, so forgive me because I'm sure this is still legible.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A Few Recommendations
As my steady readership (I like to refer to you as the two and the proud) knows, I often give my suggestions for upcoming movies. I don't often like to break from tradition, so here are a couple of movies that I may or may not endorse.
Lockout starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace involves a futuristic space prison that is taken over by its prisoners precisely when the President's daughter visits for a goodwill mission. As in all blockbuster action movies, the authorities can only send one man to solve this catastrophe, and in this case it happens to be a bad ass Guy Pearce. On paper this movie looks pretty rediculous and awful, but as I continue to watch the trailer and clips I become more interested in seeing this movie. Maggie Grace usually does a nice job (and she's not bad to look at), and I believe Guy Pearce to be one of Hollywood's more underrated actors. If you're currently hungering for a shoot-em-up, action-packed movie (and if you have the $11 to spend on a movie ticket), this one should be right up your alley. Here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure:
My next prediction may shock my avid readers. Here it goes: I think The Avengers is going to be a huge let down. Before you say I've gone nuts let's think about this. This movie is packed with A-list actors (At least nine that I can think of), all of which demand considerable salaries. On top of that, the studio can bank on the fact that each individual superhero has a pretty solid following, and all of those fans combined will likely flock to The Avengers. My bold prediction is the now common Hollywood phenomenon of jam-packing a movie full of stars and skimping on the writing, directing, and effects. I predict that this movie will have one major action sequence, and that the rest will be poorly written and drawn-out drudgery. I pray that I'm wrong because I really like a lot of the actors and characters in this movie, but it's got bust written all over it. Plus, it's the third different guy playing the Hulk, possibly my favorite comic book character. Gotta have some stability there people. Anyway, consider my advice to skip this one when it's in theaters.
Lockout starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace involves a futuristic space prison that is taken over by its prisoners precisely when the President's daughter visits for a goodwill mission. As in all blockbuster action movies, the authorities can only send one man to solve this catastrophe, and in this case it happens to be a bad ass Guy Pearce. On paper this movie looks pretty rediculous and awful, but as I continue to watch the trailer and clips I become more interested in seeing this movie. Maggie Grace usually does a nice job (and she's not bad to look at), and I believe Guy Pearce to be one of Hollywood's more underrated actors. If you're currently hungering for a shoot-em-up, action-packed movie (and if you have the $11 to spend on a movie ticket), this one should be right up your alley. Here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure:
My next prediction may shock my avid readers. Here it goes: I think The Avengers is going to be a huge let down. Before you say I've gone nuts let's think about this. This movie is packed with A-list actors (At least nine that I can think of), all of which demand considerable salaries. On top of that, the studio can bank on the fact that each individual superhero has a pretty solid following, and all of those fans combined will likely flock to The Avengers. My bold prediction is the now common Hollywood phenomenon of jam-packing a movie full of stars and skimping on the writing, directing, and effects. I predict that this movie will have one major action sequence, and that the rest will be poorly written and drawn-out drudgery. I pray that I'm wrong because I really like a lot of the actors and characters in this movie, but it's got bust written all over it. Plus, it's the third different guy playing the Hulk, possibly my favorite comic book character. Gotta have some stability there people. Anyway, consider my advice to skip this one when it's in theaters.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
I must appear to be a novice when it comes to Game of Thrones because the title of the series is actually A Song of Ice and Fire. Hope I didn't offend anyone there. Anyway I finished the first book and I'm about to go buy the second, A Clash of Kings. I'm excited to finally read ahead of the TV episodes.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Game of Thrones
Due to my current employment situation-and my unwillingness/laziness in regards to working out-I've had a decent amount of free time on my hands. Out of pure boredom I flew through the entire first season of Game of Thrones in less than a week, and I must say that I quite enjoyed it. I remember being thoroughly confused after watching the premiere episode because there were so many dynamics happening at once and I couldn't quite understand it. For me not to understand a plot line in a movie or TV show is quite rare. I'm usually the person everyone turns to when they have no idea what's going on. What bothers me is the fact that so often if they just keep watching the movie or show usually answers all of their questions. This happened for me as well with the last nine episodes of Game of Thrones: Season 1.
Not only have I gotten into the show, but I have also started to read the books. I believe there are five books now, and I'm nearly finished the first. This would be a good point to write my book review for the first 650 pages of Book One: A Game of Thrones. The book is certainly a masterpiece for it's genre-science fiction/fantasy-effectively creating a fictitious world with many believable elements, most of which reflect the middle ages, a time of kinds, queens, lords, knights, and castles. The detail given and the number of plot lines provided by the author, George R.R. Martin, are very well done, and provide numerous directions for the story to take. There are so many well developed characters that you'll find your mind wandering in so many different directions with your plot predictions. Martin does a great job at creating characters that anyone could love and hate, and although Martin provides villains, he makes sure to show every characters potential for evil and vulnerability. This aspect keeps you guessing who is truly right and who you're rooting for. You may even find yourself supporting different characters who may have the same goal which places any fan in a conundrum of loyalties.
You're probably thinking that I couldn't possibly have anything bad to say about this book right now, but here it comes. These books are marathon reads. I am by no means a fast reader and I have been chipping away at this first book for quite a while now. Of course, I may be able to give a more accurate opinion once I finish book two because with this series I've taken the opposite route that I normally do when there is a TV show or movie based on a book: I watched it before I read it. I know how the book will end so unconsciously I'm probably in no rush to finish it, especially because I didn't like the ending all that much. I will say this; Martin did something in his first book in a series that not many authors would do and I applaud him for his uniqueness. SPOILER ALERT: He kills off one of his main and most likeable characters. It's risky, yet necessary for so many of the conflicts that will follow. If you don't mind and you like the genre, then I highly recommend the series, but if you're looking for a quick and fun read i.e. Hunger Games you may get a little more than you bargained for.
So that's the book, and here's the show: I think the casting was very well done and the setting and direction match the text extremely well. The one great thing about portraying this book as a mini-series as opposed to a movie is that you don't have to cram an 800 page book into two and a half hours, but instead you have 10 hours worth of episodes. This way, not much is left out, and you don't often find yourself saying how much you wish they would have included a certain scene. So far nearly every scene of importance that I've read has been included in the series, and I think that this mini-series substantiates my ongoing argument that television is truly leaving the movie industry in the dust. So many great actors, directors, and writers have come to TV, making it far more likely to see a great mini series or TV show than a great movie. If you don't already watch this show, start now. There's a great combination of sex, violence, drama, and a good bit of comedy from a little person. With so many different story lines the possibilities are endless, and it's up to you if you want to find out the endings by reading the books. Give this show a shot and you won't regret it. Here's the season 2 trailer, enjoy.
Not only have I gotten into the show, but I have also started to read the books. I believe there are five books now, and I'm nearly finished the first. This would be a good point to write my book review for the first 650 pages of Book One: A Game of Thrones. The book is certainly a masterpiece for it's genre-science fiction/fantasy-effectively creating a fictitious world with many believable elements, most of which reflect the middle ages, a time of kinds, queens, lords, knights, and castles. The detail given and the number of plot lines provided by the author, George R.R. Martin, are very well done, and provide numerous directions for the story to take. There are so many well developed characters that you'll find your mind wandering in so many different directions with your plot predictions. Martin does a great job at creating characters that anyone could love and hate, and although Martin provides villains, he makes sure to show every characters potential for evil and vulnerability. This aspect keeps you guessing who is truly right and who you're rooting for. You may even find yourself supporting different characters who may have the same goal which places any fan in a conundrum of loyalties.
You're probably thinking that I couldn't possibly have anything bad to say about this book right now, but here it comes. These books are marathon reads. I am by no means a fast reader and I have been chipping away at this first book for quite a while now. Of course, I may be able to give a more accurate opinion once I finish book two because with this series I've taken the opposite route that I normally do when there is a TV show or movie based on a book: I watched it before I read it. I know how the book will end so unconsciously I'm probably in no rush to finish it, especially because I didn't like the ending all that much. I will say this; Martin did something in his first book in a series that not many authors would do and I applaud him for his uniqueness. SPOILER ALERT: He kills off one of his main and most likeable characters. It's risky, yet necessary for so many of the conflicts that will follow. If you don't mind and you like the genre, then I highly recommend the series, but if you're looking for a quick and fun read i.e. Hunger Games you may get a little more than you bargained for.
So that's the book, and here's the show: I think the casting was very well done and the setting and direction match the text extremely well. The one great thing about portraying this book as a mini-series as opposed to a movie is that you don't have to cram an 800 page book into two and a half hours, but instead you have 10 hours worth of episodes. This way, not much is left out, and you don't often find yourself saying how much you wish they would have included a certain scene. So far nearly every scene of importance that I've read has been included in the series, and I think that this mini-series substantiates my ongoing argument that television is truly leaving the movie industry in the dust. So many great actors, directors, and writers have come to TV, making it far more likely to see a great mini series or TV show than a great movie. If you don't already watch this show, start now. There's a great combination of sex, violence, drama, and a good bit of comedy from a little person. With so many different story lines the possibilities are endless, and it's up to you if you want to find out the endings by reading the books. Give this show a shot and you won't regret it. Here's the season 2 trailer, enjoy.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
My Unique Method of Learning Literacy
Learning literacy? But I competently (At least semi-competently write a blog). Oh no my friends I'm not talking about English. I happen to speak Hebrew pretty fluently yet I struggle to read and write the language of the chosen people. I've often thought that in my adult life I would make it a hobby to teach myself to read and write Hebrew, but I've not yet found the motivation or the proper means to do so. A while back I received a couple of work books and guides from my cousin but I never pushed myself hard enough to tap into them. I didn't lose any passion for my goal; I just more or less put off my goal. Don't worry I'm getting to the good part. I've finally found a way that I can learn to read and write the language of my ancestors: Google translator.
Google is so wonderful. It's given me the space to share my thoughts with you all, and now it will help me to learn how to read and write a language that I already know how to speak. Sure, google translator will not be my only tool. In time I'll practice hand writing the letters and reading books, magazines, and newspapers, but for now it's a great way for me to practice while I'm on the computer screwing around. I recently deactivated my facebook (again) and this time I want to see if I can be done with it for good. I promise I'm not an elitist, and not even an overly private person, but I fear that social networking isn't all that social. I prefer face to face interactions to discuss pressing issues such as politics, upcoming events, and the daily thing that just happened to piss me off beyond belief. Anyway, I figure I can take the time that I often waste on facebook and other pointless online time and I can devote it to worthwhile hobbies like Hebrew practice, reading, writing, and I think I may buy an acoustic guitar in the near future to begin lessons. We'll see about the latter, only due to financial constraints. The guitar itself wouldn't set me back too far, just the weekly lessons that would be required for me to reach a respectable level of consistency. Oh financial freedom how I long for you.
I subbed today and had another teacher reiterate the point of starting a business as a means of financial freedom over educating youngsters. Sure I love the kids and the teaching; I just wish the salary matched the effort that good teachers put in. Not to worry because I don't plan on giving up on my dreams of writing and life coaching, which are both in essence starting businesses.
This post was kind of all over the place but I figured it's about time I started to write my words down again. I've been feeling kind of down lately and writing may be a good way for me to pick myself up. I have the hardest time being optimistic for myself, but in this weird gray area in my life that happens to be at one of the worst economic times for our great nation I must persevere. You know what I find funny about the economy. Today the DOW finished higher than it has since 2008 mostly because oil is nearing a historic new high. Funny who really profits when the economy is at its highest...Don't you love capitalism?
Google is so wonderful. It's given me the space to share my thoughts with you all, and now it will help me to learn how to read and write a language that I already know how to speak. Sure, google translator will not be my only tool. In time I'll practice hand writing the letters and reading books, magazines, and newspapers, but for now it's a great way for me to practice while I'm on the computer screwing around. I recently deactivated my facebook (again) and this time I want to see if I can be done with it for good. I promise I'm not an elitist, and not even an overly private person, but I fear that social networking isn't all that social. I prefer face to face interactions to discuss pressing issues such as politics, upcoming events, and the daily thing that just happened to piss me off beyond belief. Anyway, I figure I can take the time that I often waste on facebook and other pointless online time and I can devote it to worthwhile hobbies like Hebrew practice, reading, writing, and I think I may buy an acoustic guitar in the near future to begin lessons. We'll see about the latter, only due to financial constraints. The guitar itself wouldn't set me back too far, just the weekly lessons that would be required for me to reach a respectable level of consistency. Oh financial freedom how I long for you.
I subbed today and had another teacher reiterate the point of starting a business as a means of financial freedom over educating youngsters. Sure I love the kids and the teaching; I just wish the salary matched the effort that good teachers put in. Not to worry because I don't plan on giving up on my dreams of writing and life coaching, which are both in essence starting businesses.
This post was kind of all over the place but I figured it's about time I started to write my words down again. I've been feeling kind of down lately and writing may be a good way for me to pick myself up. I have the hardest time being optimistic for myself, but in this weird gray area in my life that happens to be at one of the worst economic times for our great nation I must persevere. You know what I find funny about the economy. Today the DOW finished higher than it has since 2008 mostly because oil is nearing a historic new high. Funny who really profits when the economy is at its highest...Don't you love capitalism?
Monday, February 13, 2012
The American
Last week I began watching The American starring George Clooney on a whim, and it turned out to be a pretty solid movie. It's funny because I also tried to go see The Descendants which also stars Mr. Clooney, but it was nearly sold out so I didn't bother squeezing my way into the front row of a crowded theater, and possibly not even sitting with my female counterpart. It's almost like I needed my George Clooney fix, and since I couldn't get it at the movie theater I went ahead and watched The American to make up for it. I'm not obsessed, I promise; however, my recent Clooney conundrum has made me realize that he's one of my favorite actors. He just doesn't make a bad movie, and on top of that he's just the man. The guy can get whatever girl he wants, lives on Lake Como, Italy which is renowned as one of the most beautiful places in the world, and he opposes social media which I personally happen to admire (Kind of contradictory being that I have a blog and a facebook, but I refuse to get a Twitter). Anyway, back to my review.
The American chronicles an American man in Europe (Italy I believe. What a stretch for George...) who happens to be a high end gun dealer. The movie depicts the intricacies that go into one of his transactions and provides plenty of twists and interesting events along the way. And of course George has an attractive female love interest which is always nice on the eyes. The film is well written, acted, and suspenseful. I think the characters and setting were well chosen, and the cinematography is also well done. If you're a fan of George's previous works or if you enjoy somewhat suspenseful action movies, I highly recommend The American. Hopefully I'll get to see The Descendants sometime soon to see if George continues his on screen dominance.
Here's the trailer for The American:
And here's the trailer for The Descendants:
The American chronicles an American man in Europe (Italy I believe. What a stretch for George...) who happens to be a high end gun dealer. The movie depicts the intricacies that go into one of his transactions and provides plenty of twists and interesting events along the way. And of course George has an attractive female love interest which is always nice on the eyes. The film is well written, acted, and suspenseful. I think the characters and setting were well chosen, and the cinematography is also well done. If you're a fan of George's previous works or if you enjoy somewhat suspenseful action movies, I highly recommend The American. Hopefully I'll get to see The Descendants sometime soon to see if George continues his on screen dominance.
Here's the trailer for The American:
And here's the trailer for The Descendants:
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