Plastics-Tora Sellers

                Just like most other advice I receive, the best advice I’ve gotten recently was also unsolicited. During the course of a week-long confrontation I had with my mother, we had gotten to the point where we didn’t even acknowledge each other’s presence. In the end, my father stepped in to resolve the conflict. He came to my room in hopes of reaching an understanding with me. He assured me two things: he wasn’t taking either side, and that neither side would convince the other anything. So his solution was for me to be the bigger man (he reminded me that he wasn’t taking either side). He told me that the “winner” in an argument doesn’t actually matter. The only thing that matters is that the situation is resolved. After this, regardless of who claims victory, both parties have heard the grievances of the other, and even the “winner” will consider the other’s feeling more than they did before.  Trusting my father’s word, I apologized and ended the argument with my mother. And just like my father predicted, I felt like my mother began to see my point of view more clearly, and she’s been treating me the way I’d like to be treated ever since. 

Buckets and Buckets

High School:

1. Go to Prom
2. Build a schedule where I have to do minimum work for senior year
3. I was going to say to do all my blog posts on time, as I write this one late
4. Connect with my inner self and create more expressive art
5. Read more

College:

1. Not change majors an insane amount of times
2. Attend a few music festivals
3. Get faded?
4. Participate in programs and things that will greater my chances of getting a job after college
5. Make lifetime friends that I can call later in life when my husband, parents, or kids do something that requires me to take a break from life

Life:

1. Visit a couple countries or states far enough away that its like going to another country. Mostly just travel.
2. Have a stable job that I can rely on until I don't have to work anymore
3. Keep a pair of sunglasses for a year or longer
4. Successfully not let it slip that Santa isn't real to my kids. That's what their friends are for.

1. Create more expressive art

2. Attend music festivals

3. Travel

Hooray for Hollywood- Skylar

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gone_girl/

Is that all you need or...?

Buckets and Buckets-- Raiffa S

In no particular order

Before I finish High School I want...

1. To stop saying curse words and begin saying “buckets” in place of them.
2. To go to prom
3. To have my eyebrows on fleek
4. To do something daring and adventurous

Before I finish College I want...

1. To be able to carry a bucket full of water up some stairs.
2. To have kept in touch with at least one friend from high school
3. To have an idea of what I want to do with my life

Before I finish life I want...

1. To have never kicked any buckets... ever
2. To have found someone that makes me understand what true happiness is

So being a wuss I feel like getting somewhat over that before college would be important so I have to do something adventurous. And its not like I’m completely against the idea of skiing very fast down a steep hill but I get presented that opportunity like twice a year and I am never able to do it so.

Friends are a very important part of my life and my school friends have definitely made me who I am today. And I’d hate to forget a big part of my life so in a perfect world I’d be able to keep in touch with them but just one is the goal (tbh it’d probably be Jihae since I’ve known her since 4th grade but its all up in the air at this point winky face)

Really the only thing I want in life is (clliche as it may be) happiness and finding someone who makes me happy no matter what is really the only thing the helpless i mean hopeless romantic in me wants.

Assignment 17: Hooray for Hollywood-Mia Alexander

Tim Burton is the director most well-known to me. Freshmen year, some of English class was spent watching his movies and analyzing his techniques. As it turns out, most of the movies I enjoy are by Burton, so I enjoyed watching his movies in Mr. Lentz's class. The part I struggled with, was the analysis. Towards the end of the year my essay grade was at an apex yet I still feel a little weary about analyzing movies in any formal manner.
 Anyways, I obviously narrowed down to Burton's movies. I've watched several of his movies but I rewatched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" simply because the movies have vastly different pretenses.
In the NBC, it is similar to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". I forgot the main character's name, but he is portrayed as this villainous skeleton-of-a-man (literally and figuratively). He's also like some hero to everyone in his hood (a.k.a. the graveyard). There are two groups that focus on him: his friends/followers and then the people who fear him. The groups clash together when he ruins Christmas for everyone. I'm not in the business of spoiling movies but I did think it was a weird and corny ending to the movie.
Then, in CATCF, Burton again presents another character that is hated by one side and adorned by the other. Willy Wonka is loved by the people who worked with him, knew him personally, or were told the inspiring stories about him like Charlie. On the other hand, people who think they know him, yet do not know him nor understand him, loathe him.
The movies are virtually opposite seeing as one focuses on scary Halloween creatures around Christmas and then the other celebrates gluttony and wealth after struggling. However, one can see Tim Burton's perks in the common division of groups toward one person in particular. It is telling of how Burton views the world: haters and fans; black and white (not much room for gray area).

Hooray for Hollywood-- Raiffa S.

Since this is a blogpost and Mr. Logsdon does not grade for content I’m going to take some creative liberty with this post. Mostly because I’m pretty sure this prompt was the basis for an essay we wrote for Mr. Lentz freshman year and it was a lot of work.

So this post is neither about a movie nor a director.

But about the TV shows Pushing Daisies and Hannibal created/written/executive produced by Bryan Fuller. He’s written a few other shows such as Wonderfalls but these are the only ones I’ve seen and possibly his best ones (I say quite biasedly).

These two shows are quite similar but also radically different in many ways but before we get to that its probably important that I give a quick overview of both the show.

Pushing Daisies (as I usually explain it) is essentially the fairy tale version of Psych. It focuses around Ned the Pie maker who has the strange ability to wake the dead with a single touch. But another touch and the person goes back to dead. If he keeps the dead thing alive for more than a minute then something else must die in its place to maintain the status-quo. In the show he goes around with a private investigator waking people, asking them who killed them, and collecting the reward but things become more complicated when he finds his childhood sweetheart and decides to keep her alive and around.

This show could be really dark if it wasn't for the adorably awkward Lee Pace as Ned, the fun narrator recapping events passed at the beginning of the episode, and the whimisical fairytale qualities that are common throughout the fullerverse. A lot of saturated yellow and green and colorful shots.

Hannibal is more of the opposite of Pushing Daisies. It is a psychological thriller, horror, procedural kind of show. It follows Will Graham, a (recluse) with an empathetic disorder that allows him to empathize with a killer and recreate a crime in his mind. It follows his dark adventures with the FBI and his regular conversation/appointments with the terribly manipulative and everyone’s favorite artsy cannibal, Hannibal Lector. This show was based off the characters from Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs.

In both shows Bryan Fuller uses similar lighting and camera techniques, and some kind of filter/color saturation to give each scene a different feel. If Pushing Daisies wasn't so colorful and bright that would be one messed up show. Which is how Hannibal is. The dark colors make you feel upset while watching it and then in like every episode Will Graham looks psychologically tortured. Its incredible to see how Fuller can make 2 radically different tones in these shows with the same kind of techniques.

Honestly this is turning more into a “hey you should watch these shows!” so I’m going to stop rambling. But definitely watch these shows because they are so smart in how they twist your mind and just how everything connects and then Pushing Daisies is cute beyond compare.

plastics - taylor stewart

The Office

is

the

most plentiful

source of advice, period.

I know that this post is supposed to be serious. The first picture (actually gif) is actually what I was going to post for this, because it sums up the majority of legitimate advice I've received - to chill out. You know, step back and put whatever problem in perspective. Cause sometimes I get intensely stressed out about nothing. But you know what fixes that? lol music

Assignment 18: Buckets and Buckets - Matthew Logsdon

I was asked to respond to this one too --

• What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish high school?

Well I've finished school but somehow I'm still here.  I'd say in the next 18 months I'd like to have maintained my exercise regime and whittled away my 210 down to 175.  I'm currently hovering between 185 and 190 depending on the day, how much I've exercised and how poorly I've eaten.  I haven't seen 190 in at least 10 years so I'm already pretty pleased with how things are going.  In fact tonight I ran 6 miles- a first.  Ultimately I need to stay focused, allow myself to fail from time to time, and be ever mindful of the success I've experienced.  

But I also want to go to my first Gen Con.  Next August will be the first time this NERD - Gasitc experience will happen before school starts so I'm making plans to attend.  The problem is that it's pricey so I've got to start saving NOW! Tru-Dungeon here I come.  Don't Judge me!

• What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish college?

Let's see - we're looking at the end of 5 years.  My kids will be 16 and 13.  I want to take my family to Europe.  I want to see the Grand Canyon and Yosemite.  I want to make sure that I've soaked them up 'cause I'll only have 2 and 5 years left with them.  Then they're gone.  

• What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish living?

I want to live past retirement.  I want to visit SPACE.  I want to walk my daughters down the isle.  I want be married and see my 50th wedding anniversary.  I want to see my grandchildren.  I want the financial freedom to be a blessing to my children and grandchildren.  I want them to want to be near me.  I want to die with grace and dignity.  I want to have mattered.

Buckets and Buckets - Keanu Gomez

Before I finish High School:

• ·         Pass all of my AP exams
• ·         Get a 30 or higher on the ACT
• ·         Achieve a 4.0 GPA
• ·         Receive a scholarship to a college I would really like to attend

Before I finish high school, I really want to pass all of my AP exams. Although the other things on my bucket list are also important to me, for some reason, I think that passing every one of my AP exams will bring me the best sense of accomplishment.

Before I finish College:

• ·         To be able to enter medical school
• ·         Become a doctor (not really sure what specifically)
• ·         Enjoy my field of study
• ·         Although I do not really want to study abroad, I would like to go on trips and see the more of the world

Ever since I was young I have always looked up to those people I have met who are very knowledgeable about medicine. I find it really fascinating and so I really hope to become a doctor and have expertise myself. I know it will not be easy, but accomplishing this will have a great impact on my life. 

Before I die:

• ·         Find an amazing girl to spend the rest of my life with, get married, and start a family
• ·         Travel to the most popular tourist destinations on Earth
• ·         Make a difference in the lives of many as a doctor
• ·         Be able to play and have memorized all of the pieces of Chopin on the piano.

Well, assuming that I have already become a doctor after college, and although I would really like to make a difference in the lives of many, before I die I would really like to master the piano. I have never really thought of myself having a career in music, but I would have to say that it is my favorite hobby. So as many people know, the pieces of Chopin are not easy. They require a bunch of practice and skill to master. So before I die, I want to have every piece composed by Chopin mastered.

Buckets-Andrew Hardy

High School is an interesting deadline. Finishing high school doesn't narrow any opporttunities. In fact for many people, high school restricts what they can do. For that reason the only things I can imagine would be wanting to accomplish something from an early age, to better prepare you for an adult life. I think the thing that would be the most dramatic thing for me in terms of growth would be recording a EP. That would be an illustration of a lot of skills I've been learning, and important in learning to articulate through different mediums.

Before college is another story. In some of the same ways as high school, it prepares you for the adult world, but also allows you a level of freedom that doesn't occur in an adult life. I still don't have an incredible amount that I feel I need to accomplish before hand though. I would like to still have some experience creating things, but nothing specific. If I could publish some sort of fiction or research in undergrad, that'd be amazing, but I'd be content without.

In my life is a different story. That is the ultimate deadline, and so a much harder decision to make. What I want, more than skydiving experience or marriage, is a sense of accomplishment. I don't know the specifics of what it might be, whether scientific or artistic, but I would like to create a body of work that means my life as some sort of significance. I want to matter before I die.

Hooray for Hollywood - Taylor Stewart

I reviewed Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt.


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunt_2013/reviews/?page=2&type=user

Hooray for Hollywood-Sydney Taylor

I'm struggling to link this from Rotten Tomatoes because technology hates me but this is what it says.

I don't really know how to review this since I don't watch a lot of musicals but here goes. For a musical, it was pretty good. First of all, Meryl Streep is queen. She made the movie for me. Second, the music was catchy so I liked it. Personally, my favorite scene was the one with the two princes arguing about who had more I guess, romantic woes, in their life. Chris Pine was perfect for that role. I never saw the original so I didn't know what was going to happen or really what was going on most of the time, especially with the Cinderella portion of the story. However, I kind of liked how the baker, the baker;s kid, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and Jack ended up as a sort of a family. It was interesting take on how the stories all ended. Speaking of which, I liked how all the stories intertwined.

Buckets and Buckets-Sydney Taylor

My bucket lists are always terrible and unoriginal but here it is.

High School

1. Take more classes I enjoy.

2. Make more friends.

3. Go on more adventures.

College

1. Pick a major.

2. Take classes I don't need for my major, just because.

3. Try new things, all the time.

Life 

1. Have a job that I don't hate.

2. This is so cliché but I guess travel?

3. Find a decent hobby. 

So taking more classes that I enjoy in high school is important to me because I forced myself to suffer through AP Chemistry this year for kicks and my own inflated ego when I really could have spent that hour everyday doing something I'm good at or even just something that I might use in life.

Picking a major in college is obviously important to everyone but it feels very overwhelming to me now because as every family member likes to point out, I have less than no clue what I want to do with my life. I feel like there's options all around me while at the same time feeling lost and drowning in everything I don't know about.

And finally, having a job I don't hate is vital to everything I want my life to be because I know so many people who just live for the weekend, can't stand going to work, and otherwise waste 5/7 of their lives on something that's just not worth it. And I don't want that to be me.

Buckets and Buckets - Taylor Stewart

Note: a "bucket list" isn't something I think about too often, and I certainly haven't written it out before this moment. I'd definitely say that for me, it's a living list, and is constantly changing as I add and subtract from it (mostly add). Another thing - above all, it is my goal not to get caught up in these plans I'm formulating. I mean, I love thinking I know exactly what I want to do with my life, but if I can accept the changes and fluctuations in my "master plan" that are bound to occur, I'll be that much happier.

High school:
1. not procrastinating on college prep
2. continue to create art (outside of school)
3. assimilate fully into the HC ultimate team
4. get one teacher not to hate me omg
5. come up with some incredible  never-before-seen senior prank and involve lynnsey somehow
8. be able to actually pull a disc (maybe even in a game)

Though it's not really a bucket list thing, my most relevant high school goal is to enjoy the experience. As much as I'd love just to get the heck out of secondary school and move on with my life, I realize that I'll probably regret rushing through it later in my life.


College:
1. maintaining figure skating as a part of my life
2. take an art class, and maybe something else more out of my comfort zone
3. study abroad. Literally anywhere. I think the experience of another culture is vital to my college experience.
4. protest something
5. get a slide whistle like that one episode of spongebob and just troll everyone on campus one day
6. live like larry
7. if wherever I end up going does not have an ultimate frisbee team I'm totally going to start one
** I would include my intended major/college here (predentistry/Otterbein), but I feel like that's not really so much a bucket list thing as it is a plan subject to change. For me, it's more important to be open-minded. This applies to the career aspect of the next section.

The most important of these is probably taking classes that I wouldn't normally take, and exposing myself to a variety of ideas and people.


Life:
1. see Nada Surf live (and a ton of other bands duh but this one's the most important)
2. attend the winter olympics (notice I did not say participate)
3. current-career-aspiration: dentistry (as I said, this is tenuous and not concrete)
4. travel in general, I definitely want to go to Spain and Denmark
5. have a family and establish traditions
6. I actually have a lot of random house goals such as a rainfall shower and giant slide laundry chute type thing
7. go skydiving
8. be a groovy old lady

The idea of having a cohesive family unit with all these rad traditions really, really appeals to me. It's something that I'm honestly not too familiar with, and I want to change that for my (supposed) children.

Hooray For Hollywood- Jessica Nelson

I am not a movie expert. Quite like my taste in music my taste in movies is pretty much considered crap. If you recall I was the one who hadn't seen a single Steven Spielberg movie when Mr. Schuler was telling us about them, and before this assignment the only other director I would have been able to name would have been Kenny Ortega (the visionary behind installments in the High School Musical and Cheetah Girls trilogies). In attempt to retain a shred of dignity I refrained from writing about Mr. Ortega and instead decided to write about the director of my favorite movie (In Time), Andrew Niccol. Apparently he also directed The Host. Both movies are placed in a futuristic society with conflict between 2 distinct types of people (rich vs. poor in In Time and aliens vs. unoccupied human resistors in the Host). Aside from the obvious conflict, Niccol puts emphasis on internal conflict with his shot types, angelic music choices, and close ups on eyes. Many things in the films were black or white, creating contrast and deeper meaning through symbolism. The beginnings of both movies start dark with voice over suggesting the worlds/societies themselves are flawed and troubled.

Buckets- Jessica Nelson

*The things showing up in white aren't meant to be emphasized, it did that on it's own and I can't fix it*


Before the end of high school:

1. Nail down a scholarship

2. Have a solid group of friends (the last time I even can close to that was 8th grade and the 2 girls I associated train wrecked and it's something I'd like to move past)

3.  Have a class rank in the top 20

4. Get a blood draw

5. Lose at least 20 more pounds

6. Perform at least once

7. Get my gold award (highest award in Girl Scouting)

8. Finish writing at least 2 good original songs

9. Develop good study habits (I have been getting by on my horrible ones but if I continue how I have been going college is going to hit me like a bus)

College:

1. Keep off all the weight I've lost

2. Fall in love with a major/career

3. Study Abroad

4. Have a close relationship with at least 1 family member

5. Maintain a friendship with at least 1 person from my childhood/teenage years (probably the later since I have already missed the boat on the former)

Life:

1. Adopt a child

2. Volunteer consistently with an organization throughout my life (I was raised on volunteering and I have always found more joy in helping and pleasing others than myself and I never want to lose or forget that.)

3. Defeat my phobia of needles

4. Become more self confident

5. Have a happy and lasting marriage

6. Buy my mom an ark (not the Noah kind, I'm not really one for religion anymore, this ark is sold through Heifer international, a charity that gives animals to families in struggling 3rd world communities and when the animal has a babies the family must pass one on to another family, so eventually many families will have animals to stimulate the economy and supply food. The ark has 2 of each animal Heifer international offers, so I guess it is kind of like Noah's, and it costs $5000. My mom told me once it was her dream to buy one, and I feel a sense of duty to carry the dream on and fulfill it since it's likely she never will.)

Number 1 item for high school:

Get my gold award for girl scouts. This is no small feat. The gold is the highest award in girl scouting and it requires an 80 hour (minimum) service project that has to be self sustaining and fit many other rules. I already have my idea, supplies, and adult mentor, for now my biggest hurdle is getting through the 2 smaller awards I must earn first in order to begin which both involve an absurd amount of paperwork but I should be able to complete the project before I graduate.

Number 1 item for college:

Have a close relationship with one family member. In the past 8 years I have lost an above average amount of family members and we are somewhat isolated from the ones who remain. The tragedies keep coming and I'd just like to feel that close familial bond a lot of people cherish before I lose any chance of ever getting to experience that.

Number 1 item for life:

Adopt a child. I've always know that I want to have a child one day. For almost all my life I have loved kids and been told that I am good at "motherly" type things. But I don't think, at least for now, that I actually want to have kids. Instead I plan to adopt them. As I have learned more and more about the conditions and effects of orphanages I found fault with the idea bringing another child into the world when there are millions already here that need help and would love you just as much if not more than a child you produced. For abandoned kids you're not just a provider, you're their savior, you've given them a 2nd shot at life and I find that beautiful I guess.

Assignment 19: Plastics-Keionna Bailey

When I first read this question I was going to say my usual favorite quote "Never be average because it's as close to the bottom as it is to the top, so always strive for 110%". But I realized that that's not the advice that's made me who I am today. What caused me to be the way that I am is something my Aunt and mother told me in 5th grade. Don't be a follower, be a leader.

Once my family told me that I began to live by it. This is what made me the blunt, "I don't care what everybody else is doing" kind of person. I realized that if I were to be this conformist, the true me would never be seen. I wouldn't voice my opinions or dare to be different. It doesn't matter what jim or bob does it matters what I what I feel is right. This is why I don't do what the crowd is doing. I couldn't become the successful and driven person that I am now. But because I'm a leader and set my own expectations for myself, I am growing as person and know my place in life.

Assignment 16: Hooray for Hollywood-Keionna Bailey

My all-time favorite film director is Tyler Perry. He has a way of capturing the true essence of life with a comedic relief. There's always a laugh but before you leave, there was a lesson learned. I would like to compare Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Daddy's Little Girls.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman follows Tyler Perry's common story line. A woman was screwed over by a man and instead of plotting revenge on him or crying for years, he teaches them to forgive but dont forget. Because its the bad experiences like those that teach you not to make the same mistake again. He also teaches his audience to not let past tragedies affect your chances of a happy future. Not only that but he included the fan favorite character Madea who although may seem like a bad influence, always has the best advice but she can sometimes give the wrong one. For example landing her niece in jail by convincing her to rip all of her husband's possessions.

Most of his movies focus on the power of women and the problems women face through out life like Diary of a Mad Black Woman but Daddy's Little Girls completely surprised me considering it wasn't his usual "Women have the power" film. He took a different perspective focusing on a man who loses custody of his 3 girls to the mother of his children who is known for her presence in the illegal drug industry. He fights for his 3 girls using a lawyer friend who he is romantically interested in. For once Perry gives man the power in his fight to protect his children and community. Perry destroys the stereotypical image that black men don't provide for their kids, which I loved. Perry also touched on the court system's tendency to grant mother's the custody over the father even though they both have their faults. And he took a more serious tone in explaining his message that despite the hardships of a man he should still be given the privilege to care for his children.

Tyler Perry is the all around best director because he shows versatility in his talents and his abilities to be mindful of all audiences.

Assignment 19: plastics

Most of the advice we receive in our lives is unsolicited and quite frankly inane.  However, every once in a while we get a real gem and changes our trajectory.  What is the one piece of advice given to you that has stuck?  Explain its effect.


Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, February 1st at 11:59 pm

Assignment 18: Buckets and Buckets-Tora Sellers

                I, right now in this moment, cannot possibly think of anything more that I could want before graduation, besides absolute assurance that I am going to be accepted into the University I would like to attend. Obviously, because I have not even started studying for college entrance exams, I will not get what I want. But I can say that my #1 goal before I graduate high school is to decide for sure which Universities I am going to apply to and begin studying and preparing for the exams. This to me like a sad end to my life as an American teenager when I could be having fun instead…

                Before graduating from college, I’d like to have a little more fun.  Because I intend to attend university in Japan, my nation of birth (however not the nation I was raised in), I would like to get to know the country which I have only ever visited, this time by being a semi-permanent resident for the first time since infancy.  I would like to explore as much of the country as I can, and become closer to the friends which I leave behind every two years upon returning to the United States.

                After this stage of my life is over and I graduate from the University that I (hopefully) got into by working hard, I don’t intend to immediately enter the workforce. Why? Because I think that would be a terrible decision.  I want to explore the world before I die, and following graduation from college seems like the optimal time because I would be young, independent, and lustful for knowledge about the world.  Hopefully, during my travels, I will gradually be able to separate myself from money and technology. I hope to be able to spend my (hopefully) best year(s) of my life relying only on myself and other people I meet, instead of relying solely on cash or an iPhone to get whatever I want.

Jesse Konopka - Assignment 18

Really, the only thing on my bucket list is to, ironically, make a better bucket list. I really don't have any clear goals for what I want my life to become. I'm not that motivated, I lack self confidence, and I really just don't have any ambitions at all. It's honestly a pretty dull lifestyle, but I manage to make do. I live my life one day at a time, and when the time comes, I will have a nice set of goals for myself. However, for now I'm just that boring person who does nothing of any interest, and I'm okay with that. It's a role I've played for a while, and a role I'm willing to play a while longer.

Buckets - Charlie Payne

I have great difficulty forming bucket lists because I am not a planner. I basically am winging my life, and honestly I think I'm happier for it. Obviously I have certain aspirations, and I definitely have things I want to do, but they're mostly very general.
Before I finish high school I would like to play and record music seriously. Most of the people I look up to are musicians, and most of them played in high school or at least when they were teenagers; everyone from Jimi Hendrix to my own father.
Before I finish college I would like to study abroad. I love travelling more than most things, and being able to immerse myself in another culture would be an ineffably rewarding experience for me.
Before I finish life I would like to reach a point where I am totally happy with my life. I would like to reach a point where nothing else that could possibly happen in my life in general could make me any happier than I am already, as cheesy as that sounds.
Also I want to have bands so thick I need a Louis Vuitton suitcase to carry them around.

Hooray for Hollywood - Charlie Payne

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/916573315/ratings

Lucy Macfarlan

I don't like bucket lists. I think they're silly but I'll indulge you.
I would say that the number one thing I want to do before highschool is over is form a decent band. I try constantly to do this but for one reason or anything it's really hard to find the time and energy to figure it out. My friend grant and I just formed a Honky Tonk band so this one might be checked off sooner rather than later.
The number one thing before I finish college is to have had studied abroad. I really love to travel and I think that studyong abroad is so important to fully rounding out an education because it gives perspective on the world that we live in.
The number one thing on my bucket list before I die is to marry someone who I love and to make amazing memories with them. This may seem simple or stupid but it's important to me.
I don't like bucket lists because there are thousands and thousands of things that I want to experience and accomplish in my life and they're constantly changing so I like to live with a carpe firm attitude and take every opportunity I am offered.
I've also already accomplished a lot of things that people put on bucket lists.

Assignment 18: Buckets and Buckets--Amir Abou-Jaoude

Amir's Bucket List

Before I finish high school:

-Graduate with a 4.0 GPA

-Do well on all my AP tests

-Make a few short films

-Finish all my college applications on time

-Be accepted into a good college

-Receive my driver's license

Before I finish college:

-Major in art history or film

-Write a few screenplays

-Travel to Japan and Spain

-See a Wagner opera at the Metropolitan Opera

-Visit Los Angeles

Before I finish living:

-Win an Oscar for screenwriting and film direction

-Teach other people

-Travel throughout the world

-Win the Palme d'Or

-Learn another language

-Make films that comment on the world

-Spread my passion for the cinema to the others

High school: The most important item on this bucket list is to make a few short films. I believe a portfolio of work is needed to be accepted to film school, but this is not my primary motivation for placing this goal on the list. I believe that I would enjoy making a few short films. It would give me the chance to write more screenplays, work with actors, and become more involved in the technical side of film production. Making a short film is no easy feat--it is not a simple as filming a group of friends on a cell phone camera, but I feel that such an effort would be worth it.

College: The most important item on the bucket list is to see a Wagner opera at the Met. Richard Wagner, the late German Romantic composer who wrote Tristan und Isolde and the eighteen hour Ring cycle, laid the foundations for modern music. He was a complicated man--he was a prejudiced anti-Semite and was reportedly Hitler's favorite composer. At the same time, his music was brilliant and should be appreciated on its own terms. Wagner's operas are spectacles, and need to be seen in a venue capable of producing works on grand scale. The Metropolitan Opera is such a venue, and since I love Wagner's music, I would enjoy seeing one his operas performed there.

Life: The most important item on this bucket list is to spread my passion about the cinema to others. While our appreciation of cinema has grown and developed since the 1960s, there are still many who regard cinema, in the words of Martin Scorsese, as "an illegitimate child of the theater." I would like others to see the masterpieces of Kurosawa, Fassbinder, Ozu, Godard, and Fellini, but more importantly, I would like for others to be able to understand these works. In my opinion, it is worthless to see a film, especially a great film, if you stop short of analyzing and appreciating it. I would like to get more people interested in the cinema and create widespread visual literacy.

Buckets and Buckets- Kayla Beebout

Before I finish High School:

1.       Learn to play Für Elise on the piano

 

2.       Read Gone With the Wind

 

3.       Get my driver’s license

 

Before I finish College:

1.       Go to England (hopefully study abroad)

2.       Go on a road trip with a friend

3.       See a midnight premier of a movie I’m excited about

4.       Knit a blanket

5.       Visit a castle

 

Before I finish Living:

1.       Become an author

2.       Get married and have a family

3.       Foster/adopt kids

4.       Go to New Zealand (to see the Lord of the Rings sets they left up and all of the beautiful scenery)

5.       Swim with dolphins

6.       Ride a horse on the beach

7.       Learn how to fence

8.       Learn how to play another instrument (violin, maybe)

9.       Go white water rafting

 

High School: I have always loved music, and started playing the piano when I was in elementary school.  I stopped taking lessons in middle school, but began taking them again recently.  I absolutely love it, and I’m always ready to try new kinds of music.  One of my uncles, when I told him I played piano, asked me if I could play Für Elise.  He said it was his favorite classical music piece, so ever since then I have wanted to get better at piano so I can learn to play it.

College:  I have already written about why I want to go to England in another blog post, so now I’ll say why I want to study abroad there.  The universities in England are spectacular, and when studying abroad you get a longer and broader experience of life somewhere else than you normally would if you just took a vacation.  I think it would be cool to experience college life in another country, and since I’m going to be an English major I think it would be great to study in a country where so many of the world’s great authors lived or still live.

Life:  When people ask me what I want to do with my life, I say that I want to write.  There’s just something about putting the right words in the right places that I love.  I know that actually becoming an author is a difficult task, and I may not be able to accomplish it just yet, but before I die, I want to be able to tell people I am a published author.  I want to be able to make people feel and see things they have never felt or seen before.  Maybe I’ll inspire someone.  That would be one of the best legacies of all: to inspire someone else to pursue their dreams as I pursued mine.

Hooray for Hollywood- Kayla Beebout

            As many of you probably realize, the Lord of the Rings series is definitely my favorite.  There is a film adaptation of this series, as well as of Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, which were both directed by Peter Jackson.  Although the films are similar in several respects, there are also some very important differences, which highlight the different styles of the stories.  One thing I find particularly interesting is that although the story of The Hobbit comes first chronologically, Lord of the Rings was made ten years earlier.  This was because Lord of the Rings was more popular among the audience Jackson was targeting and was easier to adapt into adult movies (The Hobbit was originally a children’s story).  This choice leads to a distinct difference in the technology used in the films.  In Lord of The Rings, Jackson uses more “real” characters, instead of CGI.  At the time, it was easier to put prosthetics on a group of stuntmen to make them look like Orcs than to animate a large group of characters.  However, Jackson admitted that he did not like using real Orcs, as he wanted to make their proportions less like a human’s.  So when making The Hobbit, Jackson took the opportunity to use improved CGI technology and animated many of the villainous characters.  These animations were able to perform actions actors could not and looked more grotesquely proportioned, as Jackson wanted. 

Technology and stylistic choices influenced other differences as well.  In Lord of the Rings, most of the scenes were filmed on location or on studio sets, which lengthened the process of filming, which was dictated by weather.  In The Hobbit, however, more of these scenes were done on green screen sets, which allowed for control over weather, lighting, scenery, and scale of scenes.  The lighting is also rather different, which reflects the tone of the stories. In The Hobbit, the darkness of Sauron has not yet fully returned to the world, so many of the scenes are lit brightly and use vibrant colors.  However, when using some of the same sets in Lord of the Rings, the lights are often dimmer, which was not a technology issue but a stylistic choice.  Jackson wanted to use, overall, darker lights and duller colors to show the evil that was threatening the world. 

Any epic film is bound to have a memorable music score.  Since some locations and characters appear in both, some of the same musical themes are used.  Howard Shore was the composer for both trilogies, and he kept the same types of music and instruments he used in Lord of the Rings and used them in The Hobbit.  Many of the older themes, however, he changed slightly, altering the tone or tempo to create the effect he needed.  This continuity was interesting for viewers who loved Lord of the Rings, but the songs were still original and new.

Peter Jackson’s view of Middle-Earth is easy to see throughout both adaptations, but it is clear that they are not the same films.  Jackson does nothing by mistake, so the differences and similarities were designed to evoke certain responses from people who watch both trilogies.  I believe that Jackson’s trilogy adaptations did an amazing job of bringing Tolkien’s stories to life in a way that highlighted both their continuity and their differences in tones.

Hooray for Hollywood- Mikaela Gatewood

Spike Jonze is one of today's most prominent directors. His most recent film, Her, earned several oscar nominations and world wide praise. His work has a wide range of styles and subjects, creating a diverse portfolio. Two movies that not only show case his talent, but his ability at variation, are his first feature length film, Being John Malkovich, and his film adaptation of the classic children's book, Where The Wild Things Are. Both films have a similar sci-fi story line, Being John Malkovich exploring the story of a lonely man who finds a tunnel that leads into the eyes of actor John Malkovich, as well as Where The Wild Things Are, recounting the tale of a young boy becoming the king of monsters. The two also explore a feeling of isolation within the main characters, both seeking various forms of validation throughout the films. However, despite the similar themes, the two stories have fairly different cinematography qualities. Where The Wild Things Are is distinctively more stylized, focusing more on various tones and color themes, giving a uniform look to the film. The frequent wide, long shots, combined with the stylization give the film a more whimsical feel than Being John Malkovich. All in all, both films are fantastic stories that have provided new and dynamic material within the cinematic world.

Hooray for Hollywood - Ian Harrison

I saw Inherent Vice the other day and it's quite fresh in my memory, so I'll submit a review of that. (Spoilers ahead)
Two people create the major draw for this film: Thomas Pynchon and Paul Thomas Anderson, who are among the greatest writers and directors, respectively, of their time. A collaboration of the two is immediately exciting for any cinematic or literary enthusiast, and Inherent Vice does not disappoint. Hilarious performances all around and fantastic dialogue paint a beautiful portrait of America at the end of the psychedelic sixties. It was the beginning of the modern era, and the film paints this transition from the wild and strange to the straight and narrow in multiple ways. One, in the story of stoner P.I. Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix). Phoenix's face is perhaps the film's funniest element; he demonstrates a knack for the comic as well as the dramatic of his previous work. However, it is obvious that Robert Downey, Jr. was Anderson's first choice; the dialogue feels as though it was written for him and Phoenix's performance comes off as an impression of him, albeit a hilarious and brilliant one. Another fantastic character is of course Josh Brolin's Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen. A detective with a powerful hatred for "hippie scum" like Doc, his powerful yet hysterical anger hides a deeper kinship with the rebels and outcasts of the night that he pretends to so despise. He is a strong example of a suppressed suburbanite desperately wishing for an escape. Finally, I believe the story of Coy (Owen Wilson) and Hope (Jena Malone) Harlingen perfectly embodies the changes a brewing in Pynchon's 1970 Southern California. Both are junkies who, in order to save their newborn child, quit their habit. However, in order to provide for his family, Coy fakes his own death and goes to work undercover for a pro-Vietnam subversive group. Doc is hired by a suspicious Hope to find Coy and bring him home. Coy, realizing he's dove too deep and desperately wanting to see his family again, is rescued by Doc in a rather surprising act of kindness. The family's reunion is perhaps the only uplifting ending for any of the film's characters, as all others begin to be unknowingly and slowly trapped in what is the paranoia-filled and repressed future of America. Though each scene is quite funny, Anderson again demonstrates a great understanding of history and its changing tides. In partnership with cinematographer Robert Elswit, the movie is beautifully entrenched visually in its time period with a nicely ranged color pallet. One of my few complaints is that, for a movie with an intentionally confusing and nearly non-existent plot, there's an awful lot of plot-focused scenes. However, the hilarious performances and beautiful camerawork make these still quite watchable. All in all, it's a great comedy as well is a strong historical piece, and another masterpiece from Anderson.