Thursday, September 22, 2011
Protesting at Military Funerals
This will be a very short post. No wonder Christians are getting bad names when the idiots of the world like those at Westboro Baptist Church protest the funerals of military members. What exactly does this prove? You're protesting at a funeral! Let the family grieve! How would you feel if you were attending a funeral of someone you knew and loved and there were protesters outside of the funeral? Exactly my point. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Every one has the right to be stupid, but you all are abusing the privilege. Don't call yourselves Christians. You are as far away from God as possible.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Freedom of Religion? Yeah, right!
In a country that was founded on the Christian belief, more and more Christians are being discriminated against, mocked, and persecuted for their beliefs in God. How are we as a country supposed to have a claim to freedom of religion if our founding religion is one most people are ashamed of? Sure, you can read the Qur'an, Book of Mormon, and other religious books in school. But if one person picks up a Bible, they are called a "Bible Thumper." This is absolutely ridiculous. Freedom of Religion is a right each and every American citizen has. But because of this wanting to be "politically correct" all the time, we are robbed of that freedom, as well as freedom of speech, freedom of press, and other rights we as Americans recieve. Therefore, I go so far to say that being "politically correct" is not only wrong and just plain stupid, it is unconstitutional. There will never be world peace if we are constantly trying to smother the voices of different religions. There will never be world peace if we do not learn to love and accept one another. Until we learn to respect our fellow man, there will always be war in this world.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Oscar Predictions & Winners
Apologies for not posting my predictions. I thought I had and it turns out I haven't so here are my predictions. My predictions will be bolded and the actual winners will be in red.
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Achievement in Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kid's Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, The Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture (Original Score)
John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech
A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Aaron Sorking, The Social Network
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone
Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh, Another Year
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler, The King's Speech
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Achievement in Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kid's Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, The Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture (Original Score)
John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech
A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Aaron Sorking, The Social Network
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone
Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh, Another Year
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler, The King's Speech
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
It's Oscar Time
Just the nominations for now. I'm going through some personal stuff right now so I'm dealing with it the only way I know how: I'm pretty much dead emotionally. So needless to say I'm not really in the mood to post much more. I also apologize for not posting for the past few days. I was in a wedding over the weekend and that consumed all of my time. So here are the nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards.
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Achievement in Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kid's Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, The Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture (Original Score)
John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech
A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Aaron Sorking, The Social Network
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone
Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh, Another Year
Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington and Paul Tamasy, The Fighter
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler, The King's Speech
Those are the nominations. I'll post my predictions sometime soon. Peace!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Warning: Theatre Content
I just had the complete and utter displeasure to hear a bit of the 25th Anniversary edition of the wonderful and classic musical Les Miserables. To say I am disappointed is a severe understatement. There were several things that just plucked a nerve with me, so I decided to write a blog post about it.
I'm not sure if very many of you are familiar with Les Miserables, but I'll post a link to the description to save me time on typing it all out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Misérables_(musical)
In reality, there were only three actors who should never have been cast in their roles.
To begin with, they had the one and only Nick Jonas playing the role of Marius. And unfortuately, he uses the same voice as he does to sing the pop songs of The Jonas Brothers to sing the powerful songs of One Day More, A Heart Full of Love, A Little Fall of Rain, etc. My meaning behind this is that he sings very nasaled, and not the powerful baritone voice that the character calls for.
The girl that they had playing Eponine is next. It has been pointed out to me by someone (*cough* *cough* Christian Asbill *cough*) that she went to a school that taught the particular vocal styling that she sings in. Be that as it may, Les Miserables was not meant to be sung in a pop voice. It just does not work.
The girl they had playing Cosette also did a bad job. She too was far too nasaled and whiny sounding, and lacking in the fullness and richness that the character of Cosette needs. That was really the only thing that truly bothered me about her voice.
That's all I'm going to say about the subject. In light of it being "Make My Life a Musical Day", let's end this post with some lyrics shall we?
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!
I'm not sure if very many of you are familiar with Les Miserables, but I'll post a link to the description to save me time on typing it all out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Misérables_(musical)
In reality, there were only three actors who should never have been cast in their roles.
To begin with, they had the one and only Nick Jonas playing the role of Marius. And unfortuately, he uses the same voice as he does to sing the pop songs of The Jonas Brothers to sing the powerful songs of One Day More, A Heart Full of Love, A Little Fall of Rain, etc. My meaning behind this is that he sings very nasaled, and not the powerful baritone voice that the character calls for.
The girl that they had playing Eponine is next. It has been pointed out to me by someone (*cough* *cough* Christian Asbill *cough*) that she went to a school that taught the particular vocal styling that she sings in. Be that as it may, Les Miserables was not meant to be sung in a pop voice. It just does not work.
The girl they had playing Cosette also did a bad job. She too was far too nasaled and whiny sounding, and lacking in the fullness and richness that the character of Cosette needs. That was really the only thing that truly bothered me about her voice.
That's all I'm going to say about the subject. In light of it being "Make My Life a Musical Day", let's end this post with some lyrics shall we?
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Abused
There are three different types of abuse.
Physical Abuse: any intentional, unwanted contact with your body by either the abuser or an object within the abuser’s control. Physical abuse does not have to leave a mark or bruise. It doesn’t even need to hurt. It includes: scratching, punching, biting, kicking, throwing something at you, pulling hair, choking, pushing, using a weapon, slapping, holding you down, etc.
Sexual Abuse: any sexual behavior that is unwanted or interferes with your right to say "no" to sexual advances. It includes: rape, unwanted kissing or touching, unwanted rough or violent sexual activity, forcing or pressuring you to go farther than you want.
Verbal/Emotional/Mental Abuse: anything the abuser says or does that causes you to be afraid, lowers your self esteem, or manipulates or controls your feelings or behavior. It includes: name calling & put downs, yelling and screaming, intentionally embarrassing you in front of other people, keeping you from seeing or talking to members of your family or your friends, telling you what to do, making you feel responsible for the abuse, stalking, threatening to commit suicide in order to manipulate you, threats of violence to harm you or people you care about.
I haven't been in many relationships. In fact, in high school, I really never dated, except during a little bit of senior year. But that changed when I went to college.
The summer before my freshman year of college, I met a guy (who will remain nameless for legal purposes). Being young and naive, I honestly thought I had met the one for me. I was wrong.
Looking back, it was a rocky relationship from the get go. When we first got together, he pulled a lot of bullcrap and didn't speak to me again for two weeks. After begging and pleading on my part, we started talking again and got together. We were happy for a while, constantly talking, texting, im-ing, etc. I thought he was the sweetest guy in the world. I could not have been more wrong. I apologize in advance for the language, but there's really no way I can censor the names he's called me.
He called me a bitch, stupid, dumbass, ugly, fat, lazy, retarded, moron, slut, whore, skank, hoe, hoebag, dumb...the list goes on and on. And with time, I found myself believing every single thing he called me.
I'll save the details (because I don't want to post those on the internet), but long story short, I've come to terms and I admit that I was in an emotionally abusive relationship. And what's scared me even more is the fact that had I stayed with him, it would've gotten worse and worse.
Hence, why I'm writing this. It's taken me far to long to say, and I apologize to those whose feelings got hurt by me not telling you, but you need to understand. It's hard for someone to admit things like this to themselves, let alone to other people. And sadly, it's taken me over a year to admit this to myself. Because of that relationship, I lack self esteem, confidence, drive, self worth, self pride, and so many more things. It's amazing what the power of words can do to someone.
Girls and guys, if any of you have struggled or are struggling in an abusive relationship, get out now and find someone to help you and the person you're with. Take it from me, the emotional abuse is only the beginning. It often progresses from physical to much much worse. Just know that you are loved and you are cared for and there will always be someone for you to talk to and help you through it.
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend
Yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
La da da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da da
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Keep holding on
Keep holding on
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Physical Abuse: any intentional, unwanted contact with your body by either the abuser or an object within the abuser’s control. Physical abuse does not have to leave a mark or bruise. It doesn’t even need to hurt. It includes: scratching, punching, biting, kicking, throwing something at you, pulling hair, choking, pushing, using a weapon, slapping, holding you down, etc.
Sexual Abuse: any sexual behavior that is unwanted or interferes with your right to say "no" to sexual advances. It includes: rape, unwanted kissing or touching, unwanted rough or violent sexual activity, forcing or pressuring you to go farther than you want.
Verbal/Emotional/Mental Abuse: anything the abuser says or does that causes you to be afraid, lowers your self esteem, or manipulates or controls your feelings or behavior. It includes: name calling & put downs, yelling and screaming, intentionally embarrassing you in front of other people, keeping you from seeing or talking to members of your family or your friends, telling you what to do, making you feel responsible for the abuse, stalking, threatening to commit suicide in order to manipulate you, threats of violence to harm you or people you care about.
I haven't been in many relationships. In fact, in high school, I really never dated, except during a little bit of senior year. But that changed when I went to college.
The summer before my freshman year of college, I met a guy (who will remain nameless for legal purposes). Being young and naive, I honestly thought I had met the one for me. I was wrong.
Looking back, it was a rocky relationship from the get go. When we first got together, he pulled a lot of bullcrap and didn't speak to me again for two weeks. After begging and pleading on my part, we started talking again and got together. We were happy for a while, constantly talking, texting, im-ing, etc. I thought he was the sweetest guy in the world. I could not have been more wrong. I apologize in advance for the language, but there's really no way I can censor the names he's called me.
He called me a bitch, stupid, dumbass, ugly, fat, lazy, retarded, moron, slut, whore, skank, hoe, hoebag, dumb...the list goes on and on. And with time, I found myself believing every single thing he called me.
I'll save the details (because I don't want to post those on the internet), but long story short, I've come to terms and I admit that I was in an emotionally abusive relationship. And what's scared me even more is the fact that had I stayed with him, it would've gotten worse and worse.
Hence, why I'm writing this. It's taken me far to long to say, and I apologize to those whose feelings got hurt by me not telling you, but you need to understand. It's hard for someone to admit things like this to themselves, let alone to other people. And sadly, it's taken me over a year to admit this to myself. Because of that relationship, I lack self esteem, confidence, drive, self worth, self pride, and so many more things. It's amazing what the power of words can do to someone.
Girls and guys, if any of you have struggled or are struggling in an abusive relationship, get out now and find someone to help you and the person you're with. Take it from me, the emotional abuse is only the beginning. It often progresses from physical to much much worse. Just know that you are loved and you are cared for and there will always be someone for you to talk to and help you through it.
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend
Yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
La da da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da da
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Keep holding on
Keep holding on
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
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