TOY STORY 3

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see this.

Trivia for Today

Before Jim Henson settled on FRAGGLE ROCK the series was tentatively titled WOOZLE WORLD.

The groove between your nose and your upper lip is called the philtrum.

About the new STAR TREK & alternate timelines

I was excited to see STAR TREK. Even though I am much more of a Star Wars fan, I have become a fan of Star Trek and that franchise has been a part of the pop culture background for much of my life. The new STAR TREK is a great movie. It's got some fairly well developed characters, lots of action, vivid imagery, superb special effects, etc. Movie-goers seem to love it and many have been introduced to the characters of Kirk, Spock, etc for the first time. The studio, Paramount, loves it because the film will now allow them to "re-energize" their tent-pole franchise from the ground-up and they will make huge bank. I'll admit that as a movie, I enjoyed it. Yet, overall, I was severely disappointed because as a piece of storymaking, STAR TREK is a complete cop-out.

If you haven't seen the movie, beware that what might be considered spoilers are coming.

Almost the entire new STAR TREK film is set within an alternative timeline. Writers and actors like alternate timelines because it allows them to do things with characters that they normally couldn't do. In all honesty, alternate timelines are a complete cop-out and hugely dishonest. I can understand why actors enjoy it because if they've been acting in a series for several years a change of pace might allow them to display talent that they couldn't before. However, there's no excuse for writers. Alternate timelines are something that poor writers fall back upon because they're either too lazy or uncreative enough to stay true to a character's personality while keeping it interesting. It shows a complete and utter disregard for characters and the fictional universes they inhabit.

Basically, because of the new STAR TREK movie, nothing (and I mean nothing, no Next Generation, no Deep Space Nine, no Q, no Borg, nothing) exists from before. Five different television shows, ten movies, and a series of pseudo-canon novels have been completely eradicated. I mean, the entire planet Vulcan, which played huge part in the original series and movies has been destroyed. Everything Star Trek related for the next several years, perhaps decades, will be set within the new "alaternative timeline" of the new movie. That's not to say that Paramount won't go back to the original timeline at some point in the future, but the new Star Trek is all the rage and that's what will make them the most amount of money right now in the short term. The future has been postponed for a "new past". And there won't be going back to the original format for a very long time. In my opinion what J.J. Abrams and company have done is the equivalancy of what George Lucas did with Indiana Jones and the entire alien encounter in INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

April 2009: Media Consumed

Books Read
*F-Minus: This Can't Be Legal Tony Carrillo
Liberty and Tyranny Mark Levin
*The Saturday Evening Pearls Stephan Pastis
#Twilight Zone: The After Hours Mark Kneece, et al
Star Trek: Best Destiny Diane Carey
*Suture Self Leo Cullum
The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems Michael Rosen & Stan Fellows
*My Bad: A Zits Treasury Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman

* = denotes a collection of comic strips
# = denotes a graphic novel

Of the books read in April, the only two I can recommend anyone looking at are F-Minus: This Can't Be Legal and The Saturday Evening Pearls. I had never heard of the comic strip "F-Minus" before, but it was hilarious. It's usually a one-panel strip that has the same type of humor that Farside used to have. The Saturday Evening Pearls is the latest collection of "Pearls Before Swine" strips and as everyone knows it's the best comic strip currently in circulation. If you like birds, check out The Cuckoo's Haiku which though is a collection of bird poems has some spectacular illustrations and is really a field guide in disguise. Also, if you're a fan of the original Star Trek series (the original--not the new timeline version), you might enjoy Star Trek: Best Destiny which tells how Jim Kirk became interested in Starfleet and also gives a few details following the events of the movie, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.

Movies Viewed for the First Time
The Death of a President
The Watcher in the Woods
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Beyond Narnia
Once Upon a Mattress
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Observe and Report
Hannah Montana: The Movie
America Zombie
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines
Bolt

Out of the movies I saw for the first time, there's only a few I will comment on. Monsters Vs. Aliens was so much better than what I had expected. It's full of all kinds of surprises for people who grew up reading sci-fi, watching movies, or who have ever listened to Stephen Colbert. Bolt was also another movie I was surprised by, but shouldn't have been because the producer is the guy who basically started Pixar. American Zombie was a hilarious movie, but only if you enjoy zombies and if you have seen enough documentary films to know the cliches of the genre. There's actually some extraordinary acting in this film, but since it was a low budget indie and has a narrow focus, it will take some time before people begin "discovering" it.

The Actor

Last weekend I had my first paying job as an actor. It was $20 for a 10-minute shoot for a corporate training video. I've wanted to be a professional actor since I was about five and even at that young of an age I defined "professional" as getting paid to act. So, I can finally say that I'm a professional actor. It feels good, real good.

Obama's Proposed Budget "Cuts"

President Obama has promised that his administration would make cuts in spending totaling $100 million. Overlooking the fact that this announcement wasn't made until after the President's administration proposed a budget nearly double of President George W. Bush's budget during his last year in office, what is $100 million from out of a $3.5 trillion budget? As this video illustrates, not much. Not much at all.

Education in the U.S.

In an interview entitled "The Apostle of Reform" in the Apr. 27, 2009 edition of TIME magazine, U.S. Sec. of Education Arne Duncan says in response to the question, 'Should students be going to school longer?' that,

" I think the school day is too short, the school week is too short, and the school year is too short."

I realize that Duncan was the head of the Chicago Public School system, but Sec. Duncan is an idiot. This statement, and others in the interview, illustrate that Duncan really has no understanding about the history of education in the United States (for example, mandatory schooling largely came into effect because of unions who wanted to cut the work force) nor the way that youth, particularly high school students, think and behave.

In all honesty we do a pretty good job of educating the students in our country until about 8th grade. Examine the statistics and you'll find that the majority of our students in the elementary grades do really well on comparative tests with students from other countries. Scores for U.S. middle school-aged students drop some, but are about the same. This is actually quite remarkable considering that the U.S. is still the only country on the planet that strives to provide a basic education to all children. We have one of the top-five populations on the Earth and we try to make sure all of our children get an excellent basic education. Also, unlike other countries which only allow testers to test "select" (aka their best) students, we allow all of our students to be tested. Sure there are problems and issues, but all things considered we are doing a decent job at the elementary to middle-school levels.

It's when students get to high school that things get all fucked up. That's because our society really doesn't want to recognize the fact that most high school students are adults and our high school system is set up to treat those individuals more as children who are prisoners in a system in which they aren't supposed to escape. Most countries in the world will not teach students beyond the 6th-8th grades unless they show aptitude and a desire to continue their education. If they show aptitude and desire for a different education than the traditional course (college prep), such as learning a trade, they are allowed to take that route or drop out of school to do so. I realize that because of those standards many students aren't allowed to have any schooling beyond 6th-8th grade. I still think we should have the opportunity for students to continue their education beyond the 8th grade if they choose. However, I also think we should allow for them to make other choices: becoming an apprentice, learning a trade, or even dropping out of school and joining the workforce if they wish. I realize that my views on this aren't very popular, especially among professional educators. But, when you're an honest person you often find yourself being unpopular.

For example, most of the time high school teachers encourage all of their students to stay in school and go on to college. Well, college isn't for everyone and we do a disservice to our students when we make them feel obligated it is something they have to do. I had a student that ended up dropping out of high school. When he did everyone else at school talked about what a terrible life that student was going to have without his diploma. I never said anything but I felt that even if that student might have it a bit more rough, he was going to be just fine. That student was a better mechanic than he was a college-prep student and he's now rather successful and is making more money than most of the teachers at the school I taught at do. As I look back on it, I think they were resentful of him because he ended up doing the opposite of what most of his teachers and what the system was telling him to and the teachers knew it was actually better for him than what they were offering. I never begrudged that student. I was glad to see him leave, not because he was troublesome, but because I knew he was going to be better off and I've always wanted the best for each of the students I have worked with.

I honestly don't think Sec. of Education Duncan wants what's best for students. Longer school days, weeks, and years aren't going to improve student achievement. In fact, doing so, especially at the secondary (high school) level will end up having the exact opposite effect.

Book Review of THE TWILIGHT ZONE: WALKING DISTANCE

Rod Serling’s THE TWILIGHT ZONE was one of the most ground-breaking programs to air on television. Through its wonderful storytelling, it was able to explore and discuss prominent issues that are just as relevant today as they were in the 1950s and 1960s. Many shows and serieses have been inspired by THE TWILIGHT ZONE with varying degrees of success. The show is just as powerful and thought-provoking as it was when it first aired.

Therefore, I was very excited when I learned about the series of graphic novels from Walker & Company written by Mark Kneece and illustrated by Dove McHargue. Selected episodes from the original tv series that were written by Serling himself have been selected to be adapted into a series of graphic novels.

WALKING DISTANCE is one of the first titles in the series. In this story, Martin Sloan is an executive of an ad agency living life in the fast lane. He’s become highly successful and seems destined for more, but he’s very unhappy. He’s nostalgic for his past and wants to go home again. After blowing up a tire on the highway, Sloan realizes he’s only a short “walking distance” from his hometown. While his car is being worked on, he takes a jaunt into town to clear his head. As he begins his journey he crosses over into the Twilight Zone eventually learning an important lesson from someone in his past.

The illustrations are well done and the overall structure and tone of the graphic novel stay true to the spirit of the original episode. The text is written in a font a bit larger than most graphic novels and comics. “Walking Distance” wasn’t one of my favorite episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but it is a good story to use as an introduction to the series. The book includes introductory and concluding essays as well as a page that gives many details about the original episode, including cast, crew, and trivia. For instance, I learned that “Walking Distance” is considered to be Serling’s most personal because the memories that Sloan has of Homewood are based upon Serling’s life growing up in Binghamton, NY.

Overall, this is a wonderful graphic novel that I really enjoyed and I look forward to reading more titles in the series. Recommened for fans of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, for people who enjoy graphic novels with good stories. Also recommended as a tool to introduce younger people to this classic television series.

Spartacus

Here's something I learned this past week. Have you ever seen the movie SPARTACUS? At the end when the slaves and gladiators have been defeated by the Romans they come for Spartacus and ask where he is. Each of the men stand up and say "I am Spartacus" so that the Romans won't know who Spartacus is. The movie ends showing the road of crucifixions where the rebels where killed. It is truly that Romans crucified 6,500 of Spartacus' followers along the Appian Way from Brundisium to Rome. What the movie never revealed, though, is that the Romans knew who Spartacus was and that his body was never found. Roman historians Plutarch and Appian claimed that Spartacus was the last man standing of the rebels, but was slain. However, because his body was never found there are many who believe that Plutarch and Appian made that part up to not make the Romans look bad. It was rumored that Spartacus was able to escape (about 10,000 of his followers who weren't fighters probably did escape across the Alps) and traversed the Alps where he eventually went to Gaul.

Amazing. And just think what a great story that would make!

March 2009: Media Consumed

Books Read
The Confession of St. Patrick Translated by John Skinner
*The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hillburn
Watchmen and Philosophy Ed. by Mark D. White
A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
# Twilight Zone: Walking Distance by Mark Kneece & et al.

* = collection of comic strips
# = graphic novel

Out of the books I read in March 2009, none were bad. They were in a variety of genres and I could recommend each of them for different reasons. However, for me the stand outs were A Little Bit Wicked and Slumdog Millionaire. I've recently become a fan of Kristin Chenoweth and when I heard she had a memoir coming out, I knew I would be reading it. It's a great read, even if you're not a fan, told in pretty much the same style that Kristin seems to talk and think. It's quite interesting and those who are interested in theatre, acting, and the entertainment business can probably learn a thing or to from the book. Of course, anyone who is a fan of Chenoweth will definitely want to read the book as well as those who just enjoy reading good memoirs.

Slumdog Millionaire was originally publised as Q & A, but with Danny Boyle's film last fall, the book was republished under the name of the movie. Like many movies, the book is better than the movie. The movie condensed many events, created new characters, and altered key plot points. The book is more complicated and complex. If you enjoyed the movie, you may or may not like the book, but if you didn't like the movie because you thought it was too tidy, you'll probably enjoy Slumdog Millionaire.

Movies Watched For the First Time
The Lather Effect
Watchmen
*Pinocchio
Dad's Day
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
The Alphabet Killer
Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl
Escape to Witch Mountain
Return to Witch Mountain
Race to Witch Mountain
The Black Hole
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982)
Freaks
Trainspotting

*denotes a movie having seen previously more than ten years-ago.

I watched a lot of good movies last month. I really enjoyed Watchmen, though I was disappointed by the finale. Pinocchio is an animated classic that everyone should watch not just once in their life, but several times. Dad's Day was a fun little short movie a friend of the family made a few years ago. The Librarian: Quest for the Spear was actually filmed for TNT, but I enjoyed it. It's worth watching just to see Bob Hope in the first fight sequence of his entire career. I enjoyed Escape to Witch Mountain, found Return to Witch Mountain to be dreadful, and thought that Race to Witch Mountain was decent, but could have been much better (especially if it tied into the older two films more). I'm a big fan of Quasimodo and Hugo's I've seen several version, but this 1982 made-for-tv version is one of the best in terms of the characters and their motivations. It also has Anthony Hopkins how can make watching butter melt seem like poetry. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Freaks is a film on the National Film Registry. A lot of people have told me it's the most frightening movie they have ever seen. I didn't think it was frightening, just quirky, but also a much better film in spite of the unusual cast. It's a movie that all film fans have to see. Trainspotting is also another movie that film fans should watch. I've been meaning to watch it for years, but there wasn't a video store around that carried it. I finally found one. In all honesty, I thought the movie was just okay. However, it terms of filmmaking the movie is incredible. It was the picture that put Danny Boyle on the map as a director and gave Ewan McGregor his big break and made Hollywood take notice. Overall, an excellent month of movie-viewing.

Star Trekking

There's a new Star Trek movie opening in about three weeks. It's a prequel to the entire franchise beginning before the first starship Enterprise (NCC-1701) was completed.

I was never really much into Star Trek growing up. I caught a few episodes of the original series on Saturday mornings and enjoyed them, but I was definitely more of a Star Wars kid than Star Trek. I watched many episodes of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION when I was in high school and years later became more a fan of the franchise. I'm not a Trekker or Trekkie, but am a casual fan. However, what I didn't realize until just recently was that even though I wasn't a big fan, Star Trek had a huge prescence throughout my life. From 1979-1998 a new Star Trek movie was released every two-three years and, even though I only occassionally watched ST:TNG, from 1987-2005 there was at least one Star Trek show on television. When you're interested in pop culture and there's a franchise that has that large and long of an influence, it's bound to affect you somehow.

Last week I realized that it's been six-and-a-half years since the last Star Trek movie was released and four years since the last Star Trek television show ended its run. That's the longest break since the original series ended and the first Star Trek movie came out. I remember watching the last Star Trek movie, STAR TREK NEMESIS and I remember reading about when STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE ended it's run on tv (at the time the UPN wasn't airing around my area). With Star Trek in the background of my life for so long, I hadn't realized the franchise had been gone for so long. For whatever reason, that realization made me both nostalgic and hopeful.

Diamonds In the Rough and Treasures In Clay Jars

Even though first impressions often seem to be so important, they are often wrong. Appearances are deceiving; it takes time to get to know a person. Unfortunately, our society and culture is obsessed with the "instant": instant communication, fast food, channel surfing, etc. The virtue of patience is neglected and as a result we, as a people and individually, miss out on so much. Take Susan Boyle, a single, middle-aged woman who has taken Great Britain by storm. I watched this video earlier and was blown away. Now, I realize that through editing and careful planning reality tv is pretty much mostly staged. Despite this, you have to admit that Susan Boyle has an amazing voice and her life makes for a great story (and compelling television). There are diamonds all around us, if we would only take the time to see them for what they are. There are all kinds of treasures in plain, clay jars if we would only take the time to search them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

What the Church Really Looks Like

Here's an example of what the Church is really like. Amazing, isn't it.

The Point of the Gospel

What's the point of the Gospel?

President Obama in Germany

DATELINE: Saturday, April 4, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama is in Germany today. It is one of three countries he is expected to visit today. Below is an exclusive photo of the President's visit to the Bavarian Forest Mountain Range.

President Barack Obama in Germany. The Bavarian Mountains are in the background.

FREAKS

I just watched the movie FREAKS. What a great film! I wish I would have seen this movie years ago.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTO---Timothy Geithner & Nancy Pelosi

In an unusual display of solidarity, current U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a joint statement today about the economy and the proposed budget for the upcoming year. I have been able to obtain an exclusive photo of this historic event. I believe this is the first time I've been able to post or write about anything that is exclusive. To protect their privacy, I cannot reveal my sources. The exclusive photo is below.

Sec. of Treasury Tim Geithner & Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi at today's historic press conference. Sunday, March 29, 2009

President Obama, Afghanistan, and My Brother.

Yesterday President Obama announced plans to send another 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in addition to the 17,000 that are already there or are on their way. My brother is one of those 4,000. He's had his bag packed since January 2008; two months after he returned from being in Iraq for over a year. I was concerned when my brother went to Iraq, yet I felt peace about him being there. I don't have that same peace as he leaves for Afghanistan and I'm worried.

Say what you will about the war in Iraq, our troops knew what they were doing there. Yes, most of us were fooled, perhaps even lied to about weapons of mass destruction. Still, there were overlying objectives. Even now, the troops I've talked to and the ones my brother has served with and communicated with said that in Iraq they had a purpose but there really is no objective in Afghanistan. My brother has been in constant communication with fellow soldiers that he served with in Iraq who are already in Afghanistan. They serve willingly, but all have said there seems to be no purpose for them being there and the lack of specificity has increased since President Obama was innaugurated.

There are many who will say that the U.S. had no business in Iraq and we should have been focusing on Afghanistan all along. Those who say that might or might not be wrong. The truth is, that though we've been directed to focus on Iraq, we never left Afghanistan. We've had troops there since late fall 2001. Even though the Taliban no longer reigns, the situation is much more dangerous in Afghanistan than it ever was in Iraq. The casualty rate in Afghanistan is almost three times as high as it was in Iraq at the height of the conflict when there was so much "resistance". Most people don't know this because the media has not been reporting about Afghanistan the same way they did about Iraq. Casualties in Iraq were common headlines in newspapers. Yesterday four more soldiers died in Afghanistan and their deaths didn't even warrant any headline in the largest metropolitan paper near me (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

We have done a lot of good in Afghanistan since overthrowing the Taliban. For instance, the unemployment rate was over 60% before the Taliban was overthrown. It's now just below 40%. We've built roads, hospitals, schools, etc. We helped the people of Afghanistan hold their first elections in nearly three decades. These are good things. Yet, Afghanistan is such a backward country, I don't know if it means much.

For instance, in Iraq there was an infrastructure in place before we invaded. We only had to help rebuild it. There is hardly any infrastructure in Afghanistan and the majority of what it does have has either been built by foreign powers occupying the country, drug dealers, or terrorists. Opium production in the country has skyrocketed and neither the citizens or government seem to really care. The illiteracy rate is a staggering 67% and once again there seems to be little concern. Oh, and even though the U.S. has helped cut the unemployment by 20%, the unemployment rate is still around 40% (for comparison the current U.S. unemployment rate is about 8%). Then there's the history of war in the country. Afghanistan has a long history of war and violence and the country has been a quagmire for ever major military power in modern history (British & Russia to name two biggies) that has occupied it (there is a theory that the trouble with Afghanistan is what caused the Soviet Union to finally collapse). And that's what really worries me.

Our President is sending 4,000 more troops to Iraq and my brother is one of them. They will answer the call to duty faithfully and serve willingly, but I don't like it one bit. May God be with each of them and bring them home safely.

The Farrelly Brothers' Three Stooges Movie

This just in, the Farrelly Brothers (Bobby and Peter), who had hits with DUMB AND DUMBER and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY but haven't made a funny movie since have finally begun production on their Three Stooges movie. A positive about the whole thing: Jim Carrey is supposed to play Curly. Now, here are two major negatives. First, it's not going to be a biopic but as a "modern treatment" of the famous funny trio. That doesn't sound good at all. But, wait, here's the real kicker: Sean Penn is going to play Moe! I love The Three Stooges, but the description of the script and the casting of Sean Penn has disaster written all over it.

February 2009: Media Consumed

Books Read
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schiltz
The Saga of Beowulf by R.Scot Johns
*+Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
#+Twelve Angry Men by Sherman L. Sergel
#Twelve Angry Women by Sherman L. Sergel

* denotes graphic novel
+ denotes a book previously read
# denotes a play

February is a short month, thus not as much time to finish reading books. Good Master! Sweet Ladies! is a short, illustrated work of a series of monologues and dialogues spoken by people from all walks of life set in the Middle Ages of England. The book won the 2008 Newberry Medal for children's literature. The Saga of Beowulf is the first complete novelization of the entire Beowulf poem that I am aware of. The book is fresh, exciting, and the best novel I've read in the past couple of years. I highly recommend it. I re-read Watchmen in preparation for the upcoming movie adaptation. I've read Twelve Angry Men several times in the past year and since I'm going to be directing the show this fall, I re-read it again along with it's almost identical counterpart Twelve Angry Women.

Movies Seen For the First Time
Tin Man
Starship Trooper 3: Marauder
Friday the 13th (2009)
W.
The Wrestler
Taken
Milk
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
Inkheart

Tin Man was a miniseries that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel last year. It's re-telling of Frank L. Baum's beloved story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I've been meaning to watching the film for some time and finally got to. I really enjoyed it. I really liked W., too. It's a movie that many people are avoiding--those on the right because they think it's an unfair take on the life of George W. Bush and those on the left think the movie isn't critical of his life enough. The movie is witty and though much of it is imagined fictional accounts told between real-life recreations of actual footage, the movie gives a very honest portrayal of our 43rd President as a real man. The Wrestler was one of my favorite films released in 2008 (though I didn't get to see it until 2009). Mickey Rourke gives an amaking perfermance that should have won him the Oscar. Milk was nomiated for Best Picture, but the movie isn't as good as the majority of reviews would lead one to believe. It's a cliche-ridden biopic that sets no new ground whatsoever. The only reason for it's success is because of the passage of Prop. 8 in California. The Reader was okay, but kind of dry. Taken is an action-packed film based upon an ever-growing problem that faces Americans traveling alone overseas. The last film worth noting is Frozen River a naturalistic drama starring Melissa Leo. Leo's performance deserved the Oscar and really is much better than Kate Winslet in The Reader.