tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59490381457252127222024-03-08T09:58:27.201-08:00sine nomineI talk stuff.nonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-28158234660340122492011-01-30T21:27:00.000-08:002011-01-30T21:32:30.578-08:00The Social Network--a review<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>The Social Network </i>(2010)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Director</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">David Fincher</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Screenwriter</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Aaron Sorkin</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Based on</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Bringing Down the House: The True Story of Six MIT Kids Who Took Vegas for Millions, </i>by Ben Mezrich, and real life events</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Starring</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Genre</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Drama, biography, historical</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Synopsis</b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b></b></span>In 2003, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg was dumped by his girlfriend. Some years later, he was the youngest billionaire in the world, being sued in two separate court cases over the website he invented, facebook. This is what happened in between.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Review</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I was looking forward to this film, not just because of the intriguing concept and story, but also--in fact, mainly--because of the screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, who is a master of his craft. As someone who has watched and can reenact numerous scenes and episodes from the first four seasons of <i>The West Wing, </i>who has <i>The American President</i> as one of his top five favorite movies, and who is one of the few people who remembers <i>Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip</i> and wishes it hadn’t been cancelled, listening to the screenplay this man crafted was an incredibly enjoyable experience for me.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">But let’s back up. Who is Aaron Sorkin, really? What does he do, and how did he exemplify his talent in this movie? Well, anyone who watched even a single episode of <i>The West Wing</i> (from the first four seasons, that is) knows that he is a master of fast-paced and witty dialogue. These characters are fast talkers, so much so that you know that these conversations were probably considerably less intellectually inspiring than Sorkin is making them out to be, and yet you literally do not care as you are watching.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">This is basically a superficial aspect of his writing, however. What’s really happening in those lines of dialogue? When it comes to storytelling, Sorkin excels at two things: first, he enjoys stories that take place behind the scenes. Pretty much everything he’s written has taken place behind the scenes of something, and this is no different. We get a glimpse of the real people, flawed and human that they were, who were responsible for facebook becoming what it is. And second, he presents characters with both positive and negative attributes. Mark Zuckerberg is not an easy person to write a movie about, because he’s seen as a visionary by many, and an asshole by many more. It would be easy enough to lean either one way or the other with this, and this movie keeps it pretty even.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Part of that is due to the actor, of course, Jesse Eisenberg, who plays him as a fairly unlikeable and antisocial, and yet still sympathetic nerd. The point of this character is not that he be a good guy or a bad guy, but just . . . a guy. A smart kid who did some dumb things. The movie is, actually, not unlike other stories about people who were kind of looked down on, but had big ideas, started to make it big, and then sacrificed their principles to see the ideas get bigger.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">But what makes this movie different is the fact this story is based on something that not only actually happened, but happened just a few years ago. Those of us who had facebook in its early years (and yes, I was one of them) remember the evolution of the idea. And this movie really does capture the early years of facebook, when facebook was “cool” and “facebook me” was a common phrase. It drops a lot of little things regarding the development of facebook, like the wall and newsfeed, and it’s fun to watch things develop that we watched happen. It also captures a lot of the college experience, positive and negative. Director David Fincher really does capture what those years were like for a lot of us who lived them, while still taking us on this somewhat heady ride of a kid who had an idea and made it big. For me, the most compelling moment of the film is when Zuckerberg is first sharing the idea with his friend. At other points, his motivation might be cryptic, but here, he is genuinely excited, not just about how huge this could be become, but just by the power of the idea.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">This is a pretty dialogue-heavy show, of course, but what I noticed is that the dialogue is not where the heart of the story lies. So much of what is truly communicated in this story is not in the words, but in the silences, the glances that are exchanged, and the atmosphere this movie creates, all of which is a testament to brilliant directing and acting. Obviously there’s no suspense or tension in the court cases, but there’s not supposed to be. That’s just the vehicle for the story. I’ll admit I was a little lost in the first few minutes when we made our first jumps in time, but I got it after a while, and the story itself is easy enough to follow that you don’t really need to know exactly what happens when. Also, for all that it’s supposed to be a behind-the-scenes look at what happened, a lot of it is really left ambiguous. How truthful was Zuckerberg or any of the other characters really being? We don’t know. And the flashbacks don’t show us everything. But the point of this movie is not to expose the truth. The point is to show an evolution of an idea, and through that idea, the evolution of a character, and the sacrifices he will make, good and bad, to see that idea realized.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When this movie comes out on DVD, I would recommend you get yourself a copy. It is a must see for anyone who’s ever wanted to see an idea like this realized.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Worth Rating</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Times New Roman"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Worth owning</span></p>nonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-13267171973200174072011-01-03T16:41:00.000-08:002011-01-03T16:51:32.784-08:00The Favorites List (thus far)It was requested of me that I post the full list of books for Favorite Books reviews somewhere, so here it is, as it currently stands:<br /><br />Books I have reviewed:<br /><br />1. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (TOP 5)<br />2. The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />3. A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket<br />4. The A.I. Gang Trilogy, by Bruce Coville<br />5. Looking for Alaska, by John Green (TOP 10)<br />6. Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry<br />7. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (ALL-TIME FAVORITE)<br />8. The Andelite Chronicles, by K.A. Applegate (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />9. Mary Called Magdalene, by Margaret George<br />10. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown<br />11. The Wayside School collection, by Louis Sachar <br />12. The Geodyssey Series, by Piers Anthony (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />13. Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling<br />14. My Life as a Smashed Burrito (with Extra Hot Sauce), by Bill Meyers (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />15. Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary<br />16. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green<br />17. The Twenty-one Balloons, by William Pene du Bois (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />18. There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, by Louis Sachar (TOP 5)<br />19. The Key to the Golden Firebird, by Maureen Johnson<br />20. Myst, the Book of Atrus, by Rand and Robyn Miller<br />21. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown<br />22. Knight Life, by Peter David<br />23. Paper Towns, by John Green (TOP 5)<br />24. If on a winter’s night a traveler, by Italo Calvino<br />25. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (TOP 10)<br />26. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky<br />27. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury<br />28. 1984, by George Orwell (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />29. Feed, by M.T. Anderson<br />30. The Giver, by Lois Lowry<br />31. Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry<br />32. Messenger, by Lois Lowry<br />33. Matilda, by Roald Dahl<br />34. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster<br />35. A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (TOP 10)<br />36. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt<br />37. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle<br />38. Jennifer Murdley’s Toad, by Bruce Coville (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />39. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville (NOT A FAVORITE)<br />40. Holes, by Louis Sachar<br />41. Spirits and Spells, by Bruce Coville<br />42. The Eyes of the Tarot, by Bruce Coville<br />43. I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak (TOP 5)<br />44. The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson (TOP 10)<br />45. The Very Ordered Existence of Marilee Marvelous, by Suzanne Crowley<br />46. 24 Girls in 7 Days, by Alex Bradley<br />47. Zel, by Donna Jo Napoli<br />48. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine<br />49. East, by Edith Pattou (CURRENTLY READING)<br /><br />Next on the list:<br /><br />Fire Rose, by Mercedes Lackey<br />The Book of Mordred, by Vivian Vande Velde<br />The Lost Years of Merlin series, by T.A. Barron<br /><br />Elementary School Favorites<br /><br />How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell<br />Goblins in the Castle, by Bruce Coville<br /><br />Middle School Favorites<br /><br />The Cay, by Theodore Taylor <br />The Xanth series up to Question Quest, by Piers Anthony<br /><br />High School Favorites<br /><br />The Myth series up to Sweet Myth-tery of Life, by Robert Asprin<br />Incarnations of Immortality series, by Piers Anthony<br />All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum<br />The Apprentice Adept trilogy (the first three), by Piers Anthony<br />The Autobiography of King Henry VIII, by Margaret George<br />The Ancient One, by T.A. Barron<br />The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, by Douglas Adams<br /><br />College Favorites<br /><br />The Bastard, by John Jakes<br />When Christ and His Saints Slept, by Sharon Kay Penman<br />Slaughterhouse V, by Kurt Vonnegut<br /><br />2009 Favorites<br /><br />The Smile, by Donna Jo Napoli<br />Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, by Rick Riordan<br />The Inkworld trilogy, by Cornelia Funke<br /><br />2010 Favorites<br /><br />Animal Farm, by George Orwell<br />The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende (TOP 10)<br />Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan<br />V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd<br />Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins<br />The Princess Bride, by William Goldman<br />The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett<br /><br />Potential Favorites (or series I haven't finished yet, but will probably be favorites once I do)<br /><br />The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, by Michael Scott<br />Abarat series, by Clive Barker<br />Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld<br />The Kane Chronicles, by Rick Riordannonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-80650897312878730112010-03-09T11:43:00.000-08:002010-03-09T11:58:14.613-08:00Lent Day 18: NetsThe first charity from this year, you may recall, went towards ending malaria. This charity does the same thing, in a specific way. Malaria, we now know, is spread by mosquitoes. Countries where mosquitoes are prevalent need nets over their beds to keep the little vampire bugs away, so this charity--<a href="http://www.nothingbutnets.net">Nothing but Nets</a>--sends nets to places that need them. A ten dollar donation buys one net, so I gave $25 to Nothing but Nets . . . thereby buying . . . two and a half nets? Yeah, okay.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-60845629709623704382010-03-08T21:18:00.000-08:002010-03-08T21:22:34.849-08:00Lent Day 17: BikesToday I donated $25 to <a href="http://www.p4p.org">Pedals for Progress</a>, an organization that provides bikes to people. For some, bicycles are a primary mode of transportation. It would be impractical--to say nothing of bad for the environment--to provide cars as primary transportation, which is one of the reasons I like this organization. Bikes will get you around well enough without being bad for the environment. So to those areas who depend on fast, clean transportation, this organization provides it.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-67537909466658960362010-03-06T20:45:00.001-08:002010-03-06T20:45:59.503-08:00Lent Day 16: More Books<a href="http://www.firstbook.org">Firstbook.</a><br /><br />Yeah . . . basically, just read my blog from yesterday.<br /><br />See you Monday!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-69379621061255810982010-03-05T19:02:00.000-08:002010-03-05T19:07:56.341-08:00Lent Day 15: BooksOne of my favorite charities is Firstbook. It's one I've talked about a number of times. It gives books to children in need. It provides reading to those who might not have had it available before.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookaid.org">Bookaid</a> does much the same thing. It sends books to Africa for children in need. Every two pounds donated (a little over 3 dollars, US) sends one book . . . which, considering how much we pay for books is a pretty good deal. Books should be accessible. Being literate should not depend on one's economic or ethnic status, and yet sadly, it does. Books go to those who can afford them. Charities like Firstbook and Bookaid bring education, information, and imagination to those who aren't part of that typically well-read minority.<br /><br />If you're anything like me (ie a Nerdfighter) then you believe in the importance of books and reading. This is why charities such as these are important to me. Today, I donated 24 pounds (roughly $32, US) to Bookaid, which is enough to send 12 books out to children who can't afford them.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-3215639104083731662010-03-04T09:48:00.000-08:002010-03-04T10:02:56.261-08:00Lent Day 14: ToysHaving to be in the hospital is no usually no fun for a kid. (Well, I guess it's no fun for an adult either . . . but we're talking about kids here.) Especially when the child is there for an extended stay. Being sick is no fun. Being sick enough to go to the hospital is even less fun. And being sick enough for an extended stay at the hospital is just downright scary.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org">Child's Play</a> (today's charity) attempts to make that just a little bit easier. Children's hospitals around the US, as well as a few in other parts of the world, have put together wish lists for kids on Amazon . . . toys, games, books, anything to make the child's stay in the hospital a little more bearable. Then people can go to amazon, purchase said items, and have them shipped to the hospital of their choice. It really makes a difference in the lives of kids who feel hopeless and afraid.<br /><br />I bought a set of markers and play-doh, and paid for the fastest shipping to get to Akron Children's Hospital by tomorrow, a total of some $32. Akron Children's Hospital is closest to my area, and it's also the place that looks after Megan, the student with muscular dystrophy that I tutored last year, whenever she gets sick. Hope whoever is there now enjoys the toys.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-29295813538971045762010-03-03T08:28:00.001-08:002010-03-03T08:34:10.368-08:00Lent Day 13: SocksToday's charity is special for a few reasons. First, it essentially began at the Toledo Cherry Street Mission, which is just about a half an hour north of where I live. Second, it's another organization that looks at one of those needs that most of us just kind of take for granted. Third, it was started by a child.<br /><br />Hannah was four, and helping her mother give out food at the Cherry Street Mission in Toledo, when she realized that one of the men waiting wasn't wearing any socks. Despite her mother's assurances, Hannah knew this man needed socks, and offered him hers. The next day, Hannah and her mother purchased 100 pairs of socks and distributed them to homeless shelters in the area. Thus began <a href="http://www.hannahssocks.org">Hannah's Socks</a>. Socks are just one of things that we have, and we don't really think about the fact that some people don't. 4-year-old Hannah did, so I gave her charity $30 today.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-68574897548648294252010-03-02T09:07:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:10:29.401-08:00Lent Day 12: BedsToday's donation went to <a href="http://www.scaw.org">Sleeping Children Around the World</a>. This organization provides beds . . . or more correctly Bedkits . . . to needy children. $35 buys a mattress or mat, pillow, sheet, blanket, and mosquito net (if needed), as well as clothes to sleep in, a towel, and school supplies. 100% of the donation goes to buying the Bedkit. So I bought 1 Bedkit for $35.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-32750033638488220092010-03-02T06:52:00.000-08:002010-03-02T06:56:12.303-08:00Lent Day 11: Late AgainMonday's charity was <a href="http://www.vitaminangels.org">Vitamin Angels</a>. The organization recognizes that part of the malnourishment problem is simply because some people do not have access to vitamins, and so seeks to provide vitamins to those in the world suffering from those deficiencies. It reminds us that while feeding the hungry is important, we also need to make sure that they are healthy. So $20 went to this organization.<br /><br />Stay tuned for today's charity.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-47991749095798680332010-02-27T20:30:00.000-08:002010-02-27T20:36:44.786-08:00Lent Day 9 and 10: Oxfam and HeiferI spent a good chunk of Friday afternoon driving to Cleveland in a snowstorm, and the remainder of the evening trapped in Cleveland because of said snowstorm, so I was stuck without my list of charities. So here are yesterday's and today's charities.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.oxfam.org">Oxfam International</a> is kind of a blanket organization with a number of different projects geared toward solving the world's problems. It's yet another organization looking for innovated solutions, particularly looking at ways to help communities support themselves. I donated $20 to them. Today's organization has become fairly well-known, and is one of my favorites: <a href="http://www.heifer.org">Heifer International</a>. Here, you can buy animals or shares of animals that will be given to needy families. Chickens, pigs, cows, llamas, and many more. I bought a $20 share of a llama.<br /><br />And that brings us to Sunday #2. See you all on Monday!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-43816572640509364012010-02-25T08:23:00.000-08:002010-02-25T08:26:21.708-08:00Lent Day 8: Action Against HungerToday's charity is <a href="http://www.actionagainsthunger.org">Action Against Hunger</a>, which is . . . well, exactly what it sounds like. In yesterday's post, I said that I appreciate organizations that try to solve the problem of world hunger, and Action Against Hunger works to do just that, coming up with new ideas on how to solve the problem, not just cure the symptom. So, I've given $25 to their organization.<br /><br />That's about all I have today. How are my seven followers doing? =)<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-73375910258824329062010-02-24T08:28:00.001-08:002010-02-24T08:33:44.947-08:00Lent Day 7: Give a man a seed . . .In general, I tend to be partial to charitable organizations that actively work to solve problems. Take world hunger, for instance. You can either give hungry people food, which will satisfy them for maybe a day, or you can help provide the means for them to feed themselves. So I was excited about today's charity, the <a href="http://www.dinnergarden.org">Dinner Garden</a>. This charity gives free seeds of many varieties, so that people can plant their own gardens and feed themselves. It's an idea that attempts to solve the problem of world hunger, not merely the symptom. While I see nothing wrong with giving food to the hungry, I also recognize that it isn't going to make Hunger (capital "H," notice) go away.<br /><br />So, today I gave $20 to the Dinner Garden, which will go towards getting seeds to hungry people, who can use them to grow their gardens.<br /><br />One week of Lent down . . .<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-72689655115280848602010-02-23T10:44:00.001-08:002010-02-23T10:49:46.284-08:00Lent Day 5 . . . and 6: Go, Feed AmericaI think we see now why I'm so bad at this blogging thing.<br /><br />So, yesterday's charity--which I forgot to give to yesterday, but gave to early this morning--is the <a href="http://www.gocampaign.org">Go Campaign</a>, which, interestingly enough, is powered by youth, committed to helping other youth who are poverty. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is people who think that kids can't accomplish anything, simply because they're kids. Charities like this prove what a load of hogwash that is, and I'm so glad they exist.<br /><br />Today's charity is <a href="http://feedingamerica.org">Feeding America</a>, which is exactly what it sounds like . . . a charity committed to providing food to those in our own country who have difficult putting food on the table. Despite being possibly the richest nation in the world, we have serious poverty problem here in our own backyard, and only when we recognize that it exists can we do something about it.<br /><br />I gave $35 to yesterday's charity, and $25 to today's. Follow the links above to find out more.<br /><br />See you tomorrow (assuming I remember . . .)<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-62827750999290255212010-02-20T19:33:00.000-08:002010-02-20T19:42:12.030-08:00Lent, Day 4: GleaningLearned something new today.<br /><br />There's a charity organization called the Society of St. Andrew's. What they do is they take all the potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, strawberries, and many other grown products, that aren't "pretty" enough for the market, and would therefore get thrown away, and gives it to those who are hungry. This country throws away an alarming amount of food based simply on cosmetics. The food is perfectly good to eat, it just doesn't look good enough for the market.<br /><br />This organization has a number of gleaning projects where they go to the fields and pick this excess food to give to the poor and hungry. More info on this organization can be found <a href="http://www.endhunger.org">here</a>. I'm telling you all this because I decided to donate twenty dollars to this organization, seeing as how I already donated a fair amount to WorldVision.<br /><br />Incidentally, WorldVision sponsors a lot of projects. When you go to their website, it's almost overwhelming looking at all the things that need to be done. But yesterday I decided to donate twenty dollars toward art and music classes--because what kind of a music education major would I be if I didn't--and an additional twenty-five dollars to buy two chickens for a family. Just so you know.<br /><br />That's all for now. See you Monday!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-90511318430807197712010-02-19T08:21:00.000-08:002010-02-19T08:35:34.272-08:00Lent, Day 2 . . . and 3Two days in, and I'm already failing at the blogging portion of this. Oh, well.<br /><br />I did give to a charity yesterday, however. Yesterday's organization was <a href="http://www.charitywater.org">Charity: Water</a>, and organization I first heard about from my friend <a href="http://www.youtube.com/bummercucumber">Nathan</a> (Monday on my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/ShinyHappyVloggyPPL">collab channel</a>) and has been further plugged by my friend <a href="http://www.youtube.com/xperpetualmotion">Karen Kavett</a>. Charity: Water works to get clean drinking water to the alarming number of people in this world who don't have it. Clean water is one of those things that we tend to take for granted, but it's a luxury for a lot of people.<br /><br />I haven't given money to today's charity yet, but I will as soon as I finish typing this blog. Today's charity is <a href="http://www.worldvision.org">WorldVision</a>, an organization focused on helping impoverished people throughout the world. One of their annual projects is called the 30-hour famine, which I am participating in this weekend, and which will be my specific donation for tomorrow. As I type this, I am eating lunch, and that's going to be my last meal until about 6:00 tomorrow evening. Millions of people often go thirty hours, or longer, without food. The 30-hour famine brings people together to raise money and awareness for world hunger. For thirty hours, we don't eat anything or drink anything other than water and the occasional juice. We don't think about just how often we eat during the day, until we're not allowed to.<br /><br />Come to think of it, I just kind of plugged tomorrow's charity too, didn't I? Well, that should make up for missing yesterday.<br /><br />Bye now!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-61807819254783799742010-02-17T20:53:00.000-08:002010-02-17T20:59:43.230-08:00178 days after: Ash Wednesday, and The BeginningHello readers.<br /><br />It's been quite a long time since I've written anything here, but I'm going to be renewing my devotion to this blog for the next six and a half weeks at least.<br /><br />It's Ash Wednesday . . . or at least it will be for the next six minutes . . . the first day of Lent. Last year, I gave a minimum of ten dollars to a different P4A charity each of the forty days of Lent, and made a YouTube video about it. I'm doing the same thing this year, except instead of a YouTube video, I'm writing a blog.<br /><br />So, the first charity on this list is John Green's charity . . . or maybe I should say, Henry Green's charity.<br /><br />See, John's son, Henry, hates malaria. He has since before he was born. Therefore, as a gift to Henry, John set up a place where he could raise money to fight malaria.<br /><br />You can just tell Henry's pleased about it.<br /><br />So earlier today, I gave $20 to <a href="http://firstgiving.com/johnsbabyhatesmalaria">this cause.</a><br /><br />So, what are you doing for Lent?<br /><br />-Matt<br /><br /> (One minute to spare!)nonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-41875260797898929192009-09-06T11:54:00.001-07:002009-09-06T12:16:29.203-07:0013 days after - The Joys of Working in a College Community ChurchSo, I don't know if I mentioned this previously on here, but I'm the bell choir director at the church in Bowling Green that I attended as an undergrad. That's one of the perks of returning to your undergraduate institution for grad school . . . everyone at the church knew me and vouched for me and I was offered the position without having to go through the laborious interview/application process.<br /><br />But anyway, yeah . . . I'm the bell choir director. Now, this is a college community church, so a lot of the people who attend it are either students or, occasionally, professors or staff at the university. Some of those professors are also on staff here at church. For example, the choir director and music coordinator (in effect, my direct supervisor) is one of the choral professors at the nearby University of Toledo. (But we won't hold that against him.) Now the rules between college students and professors are maybe not quite as rigid as the rules between grade school students and teachers. For example, no one in grade school would ever call their teacher by their first name. In college, however, it depends on the professor. Some professors will stay on a first name basis, but others prefer Mr./Mrs./Dr. Whoever. Most of the professors at the College of Musical Arts in BG go by this second rule.<br /><br />So as a college student, I've grown accustomed to referring to most of my professors as Dr. (usually) so-and-so. The choir director at the church is different, because he was never MY professor, so I never had a problem just calling him by his first name. The organist, however, is a professor at BG, one I've had in class, and one I have in class now. He is also now a colleague . . . a fellow staff member, and the rest of the church staff calls him by his first name. But since I'm still his student, I feel compelled to call him Dr. So and So.<br /><br />It's a bit like my high school band director. Last year, during marching band, I worked alongside him, as a colleague, not a student. Yet, I always called Mr. Taylor, like I did in high school, and not by his first name, as the others did. But with new members of the staff who I had never had as teachers (at least one of whom was not that much older than I am) I was on a first name basis.<br /><br />It's weird making that crossover. I spent the last year working at the same school system I attended from eighth grade on, and kept running across teachers I had had, except now I was working alongside them. I stage managed a show for my old high school theatre director. I taught an IEP student with materials I got from my old science teacher. A couple of my bosses were two of my old principals. The nature of my relationship with these old teachers has changed, and yet I can't stop thinking of them in the same way I thought of them then. (Which means I have to be careful when speaking about them casually with students . . . or at least, I had to be careful. I don't work there anymore, so I can say whatever the hell I want now.) But what happens when you cross that line is that you start to see teachers and professors as people, with lives beyond the school where they work, and with virtues and flaws that you never saw in the classroom. And it kind of makes me wonder how it will be when I'm eventually looking at that crossover from the other side, and start to see my old students growing up and getting jobs and, just maybe, working alongside me as a colleague. I wonder how I'll feel then.<br /><br />Probably old.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-5198687667093183842009-08-27T10:20:00.000-07:002009-08-27T10:38:26.544-07:003 days after - Twenty-twoMy dear friend and fellow ShinyHappyVloggyPerson is turning twenty-two today. I don't know about anyone else, but twenty-two seemed like a bit of a letdown after twenty-one. I mean, think about it: twenty-one's a milestone birthday. You get to buy alcohol now! A scant three years earlier, you were given the power to vote and buy nicotine. The year before that, to see R-rated movies, And the year before that, the power to drive. (Or at least the power to get licensed. At least, that's how it used to be. I don't know how it is now.) So all these milestone ages come BAM! BAM! BAM! and ages like nineteen and twenty are mere stepping stones.<br /><br />But now, twenty-two is . . . what? A stepping stone to being old?<br /><br />So, for Kaitlyn's sake, I'm going to spell out all the advantages to turning twenty-two.<br /><br />-Twenty-two is the first palindromic age since age eleven. (And honestly, who wants to be eleven? Unless it means going back and being accepted to Hogwarts . . .)<br />-Twenty-two is the age of college graduates!<br />-According to some cultures, twenty-two represents perfection or worldliness. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet and twenty-two cards in the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Speaking of . . .<br />-You can assign each year of your life to a Hebrew letter or a card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot. If, you know, you ever wanted to do that . . .<br />-There are also twenty-two paths between the Sephirot of the Jewish Kabbalah. But I don't really know anything about that, so . . .<br />-Um . . . "catch 22" . . . which isn't exactly uplifting, when you think about it . . .<br /><br />Okay, that's all I could think of. Anyway Kaitlyn, regardless of what age you are, it's still your birthday, so enjoy it, and just be sure to think of me when I'm turning twenty-five . . .<br /><br />HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS W/AKAY!!!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-89190535425671545432009-08-26T20:35:00.000-07:002009-08-26T20:50:07.653-07:002 days after - White TrashSo, I lived in Bowling Green for five years, four years on campus and one year in an apartment in town. It's a college town, and I was constantly surrounded by campus life, which (apart from the drunken revelry on Thursday nights) is pretty cultured. But it wasn't until I moved out here to the fringes of town that I truly realized how much white trash lives in Bowling Green.<br /><br />I mean, I knew they were here. I'd seen them on occasion. I even made a wrong turn once and ended up driving through a trailer park. (That was scary.) And I knew that the campus was about the same population as the town, (actually a little bigger, I think) meaning that though it SEEMED cultured and liberal and open-minded and forward-thinking, it wasn't necessarily that way when the college students went home for the summer. But now I'm out here at the edge of town, making regular trips to Wal-mart for supplies . . . and wow. Beer drinking, wife-beater wearing, trashy car driving (not that I have room to talk on that score) hicks.<br /><br />Take one of the maintenance guys for the apartment complex. First of all, in the week and a half since I've moved here, I don't think I've ever seen him wearing a shirt. Plus, he drives this old clunker, bright yellow, huge-ass tires on the back, with a bumper sticker that says, "Burns Gas and Hauls Ass," or words to that effect. I mean, really? It's one thing to drive a gas guzzler, but to advertise it, to take pride in the fact that you're paying twice as much for gas as you could be? Wow.<br /><br />This is not to say that the apartment complex is trashy. It's really quite nice. The only places that look even remotely ghetto are the laundry facilities. But, yeah. Call me judgmental, but I'm hoping I don't need to call on the maintenance guy anytime soon.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-91508421242771675692009-08-24T13:51:00.000-07:002009-08-24T13:54:44.857-07:00The Last DayMy first class of graduate school starts in an hour . . . Directed Research, Jerome Library. So now we'll see what I'll be up against for the next two (or possibly three) years.<br /><br />I'll probably continue blogging once grad school starts, just not every day. So this'll just be a blog every time I feel like writing a blog. Which may be never. Who knows?<br /><br />Thanks to all of you who are still reading this. (Is anyone still reading this?) I have to go eat something before class, so I guess I'll sign off here.<br /><br />Here goes nothing . . .<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-71207319677780391352009-08-23T20:40:00.001-07:002009-08-23T20:47:44.504-07:001 day before - PartiesI almost missed the last day . . . oh noes!<br /><br />Actually, seeing as how my first class doesn't start until 6 in the evening, I'm probably going to do one more of these before I go to said class. So, you're not rid of me yet!<br /><br />I'm feeling a bit stuffed, because I went to two parties today. The first party was a lunch barbecue at my friend James' house. James is a friend I made as an undergrad five years ago. He's married with two kids, seven and two-and-a-half, both boys, the older of whom I played games of basketball, kickball, and baseball (Wii style) this afternoon. I have a lot of respect for James. He dropped out of college when he was younger, and then decided to start again for the sake of his son. So, he's trying to raise a family and get a Bachelor's degree at the same time, which is no easy task. (I found it hard just maintaining a girlfriend . . . as evidenced by the three I went through as an undergrad.)<br /><br />The second party was a gathering of the music ed grad students so we could meet and get to know each other. I already knew most of them, because I'd met the first years at GradSTEP, and at least one of the second years I knew from undergrad. (He's also a graduate of BG.) We spent most of our time playing Rock Band, which is an amazing game. I found out I'm actually a decent percussionist. (Better than guitar and bass, anyway.)<br /><br />It's kind of nice to be able to socialize IRL with people my own age. Don't get me wrong, I love the online community as well. But there's something to be said for real life.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-9298531319015120722009-08-22T19:17:00.000-07:002009-08-22T19:26:26.143-07:002 days before - Tractor PullFrom outside, I can hear the sounds of the Tractor Pull, even though it's clear across town.<br /><br />For those who aren't aware of what a tractor pull is, I wish I could be so innocent again. But basically, Tractor Pull is what the hicks look forward to all year. The Annual National Tractor Pull is one of the things Bowling Green is know for . . . I'm sorry to say. Basically, you hook your tractor up to a bunch of weights and then push your engine to the limit (and beyond) to try and pull said weights, to see who has the strongest tractor. So the noises I'm hearing are the sounds of those engines revving to the point of exploding. This takes "hick" to a whole new level, this does . . . and this coming from a guy who lived in an area where tractor shows and drive-your-tractor-to-school-day were common occurrences.<br /><br />This also happened to be move-in day for the incoming freshmen . . . which essentially means that campus was a zoo with the traffic from the highways, the cars parked all over, many roads being made one-way and many others being closed altogether . . . it was not a good day to be driving on campus.<br /><br />In addition, these incoming freshmen have been visiting the various grocery stores to get supplies. And guess who else has been getting supplies at the grocery stores . . . the Tractor Pull people! (In their case, we're talking beer.) And I have to wonder about these kids who have never been to Bowling Green, who have never heard of Bowling Green, who know nothing about Bowling Green . . . coming here and seeing all these people in camo hats and talking about their tractors and then hearing the noise across town (which is loud no matter WHERE in BG you are) and thinking to themselves "Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?"<br /><br />Hopefully, they won't leave.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-2785995400673092172009-08-22T06:23:00.000-07:002009-08-22T06:27:47.740-07:00<3 days before - YesterdayMy tenuous internet connection (read: borrowed from friends who live a few apartments over) didn't feel like cooperating and letting me blog last night, and I didn't get to a free wi-fi area, so this is a little late. But I don't honestly have much to report. GradSTEP is done, I'm moved in, and now I'm just kinda waiting around.<br /><br />I did get the stuff I need to direct bells at my church, yesterday . . . mainly information about where everything is, a copy of the music library inventory, a few books of music, that sort of thing. It's going to be an interesting experience directing a bell choir that actually, you know, plays more often than once a year. But I'm looking forward to it.<br /><br />I get better internet today. I'll finally be able to catch up on YouTube videos. So, yay for that.<br /><br />Bye for now!<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949038145725212722.post-12964592442823045402009-08-20T14:49:00.001-07:002009-08-20T14:52:00.113-07:004 days before - GradSTEP: The EndToday was the last day of GradSTEP. It was pretty much what I expected it to be: some of it was helpful, mostly the sessions that I actually chose to go to. But some of it was a colossal waste of time, like the hour long lecture on academic dishonesty. (Because, all of us being grad students and having come as far as we have come in our education, it's so very important to talk to us for an hour on the importance of . . . not cheating.)<br /><br />So now I've got some free time before classes officially start, and then . . . we're off and running.<br /><br />-Mattnonentityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07534221801663694242noreply@blogger.com0