|
|
|
Jeffs News
|
|
Hollywood and Heros
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've been pondering since the death of Star Trek's "Scotty", James Doohan. I admire his life and those who have served and been positive role models.
I was given this link comparing the lives some of these great actors with some recent, regrettable incarnations in Hollywood.
http://members.aol.com/viperash50/hollywood/actors.html
|
|
|
Article Posted On: Jul 20 2005 - At: 10:04:04 PM
Read Replies
|
Post a reply
|
|
|
Dan Stocking
|
|
|
Iraqi update
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Things are ok over here in Iraq for the most part. It was a quiet winter as far as insurgent activity in our area. Recently there have been 3 deaths of Marines on our base due to raodside IED'S. We had rolled over these same spots a dozen times before and the bombs did not go off, it makes me wonder why it is or is not a mans time to go. It is tough to lose these guys as they all had kids and family. They have proven themselves to god and all of us that they will protect the idea of freedom/free agency for all of us and thier own famillies as well. Please keep them and there families in your prayers. freedom is spreading like wild fire though, the locals will now help us and point out the locals who are engaged in terrorist activity because they are not afraid that there whole family will be killed by doing do. See the pics I have uploaded of the locals, they are happy With summer coming on there is a lot more activity going on but we will keep going unitl they are defeated.
See the pictures here
|
|
|
Article Posted On: Apr 29 2005 - At: 3:37:17 PM
Read Replies
|
Post a reply
|
|
|
Family History
|
|
|
Holding On
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Holding On
A few days ago I was scrapbooking and as I looked over some photos I felt this wealth of appreciation for my life, my family, my sweet children and my memories. I realized there are three main reasons why I scrapbook...
I love to Remember. I love to Record. And I love to Recognize Blessings. These all happen as I scrapbook.
It is true, that most women scrapbook now a days. I started in high school when there wasn't a single store open or magazine devoted to scrapbooking. Now there are several. Right now, I haven't place in my schedule for researching family history, but I feel that after my children are gone or maybe even before that, I will begin that endeavor. But I know that my scrapbooks are a way of preserving our family history and a way to show my girls how much they are loved. And I feel that one day they will see that I loved every detail of their lives and that it was important to me to record the memories that they won't remember.
And ok, I know it's my way of holding on to my little girls even though they are already growing up too fast. But scrapbooking is a beautiful way to hold on to our memories.
|
|
|
Article Posted On: Apr 26 2005 - At: 10:22:56 PM
Read Replies
|
Post a reply
|
|
|
The Soapbox
|
|
|
Where did the Entertainment Go?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where did the Entertainment Go?
A few personal thoughts on the trends of modern media and entertainment
By Jim Manning
I made a horrible mistake.
In the middle of looking through some karaoke files on my computer, I came across Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and I was curious about the lyrics. Yea, I know, it’s been out a few years now. Like most people (I suspect), I had heard the song many times before, but had never been able to fully comprehend what was being “sung.” So I looked. I read. I even sung along. Then I got sick to my stomach.
Now, you have to understand first of all, I am NO fan of the so-called “Seattle” music movement. It’s just not my bag of marbles. At best, it’s musically weak and sounds hollow. At worst though, it’s pure noise, and has no redeeming qualities (musically, or otherwise). But this time the light in my head came on. It was a real epiphany about popular music and the entertainment industry in general.
I realized for the first time, as I read those lyrics, that there is a GREAT and terrible miscarriage of justice when it comes to modern American entertainment: entertainment no longer has to be good. Apparently it’s PERFECTLY acceptable to have a song that sounds bad, with meaningless lyrics as long as you sing them loudly and unintelligibly. I suppose what really puts me over the edge is the untold fortune made peddling this and other similarly nauseating pandemonium.
Of course, I’m picking on one song here, because it’s the one that set me off, but there is no dearth of bad music out there. Of course, rap has to take some of the “rap” here too. Calling it music is frankly, and simply a gross overstatement. As my brother-in-law, a professional musician and choral instructor often points out, rap is not music; rap implements only one or two elements of music, namely rhythm - and if you’re particularly unlucky, lyrics. And it’s not just those genres. I think every genre of music- in fact, every genre of any entertainment – has its dark sides.
And there are light sides. Just as there are bad songs and bad artists, there are shining points of light as well. While I usually disagree politically with the recording artist Sting, I find his music deep, meaningful and altogether listenable. His music seems to be based on a delightful mix of traditional and modern musical styles - just a hint of jazz. His lyrics are substantial. They make a statement. They tell a story. There are FAR too few artists today who exhibit this kind of depth!
Lest you think we’re picking unjustly on the recording industry as a whole, let’s talk Hollywood for a minute. When was the last time you walked away from a movie having that “Forest-Gump-Schindler’s-List” feeling? When have you recently felt justified paying what you do at the box office for the entertainment you got?
The movie issue is part of an ongoing debate that I have with some of my friends and co-workers. What makes a movie good? What make it bad? I personally think the question has much broader application that just movie-going. I am somewhat of a tolerable but humorous annoyance to my friends when we discuss entertainment. Some have stopped asking how I liked the latest movie. Others seem to ask out of sheer amusement at my opinionated responses, but I feel strongly about my “entertainment principles.”
But it’s not about the rating. There are moral zealots out there who will disregard a wonderful cinematic experience, simply because of rating or perceived questionable content. Categorical dismissal based on an MPAA rating, or any other nearly arbitrary opinion-based means is as wrong as book burning. For instance, I know people who refused to go see Schindler’s List, because it was rated R. Schindler’s List is a movie that demands to be seen. Yes, it’s gritty. Yes, it’s disturbing. Yes, it’s unpleasant. There’s even some nudity. But it’s history. It’s a window into one of the saddest, most demoralizing events in human history. If we don’t truly understand what happened in Europe during the holocaust years, then we WILL eventually be subject to repeat a similar event at some point in our world history. I know of no better medium to truly understand the personal costs of the Holocaust than to watch Schindler’s List. I have been known to become quite indignant when someone categorically dismisses something that monumental, based on some arbitrary and ignorant belief about it’s content. Entertainment like that can truly teach us something of value, and that’s becoming increasingly rare.
To me, for a movie to be great, it has to say something. It has to speak to me. No, it doesn’t have to be staunchy or dramatically poignant to be good. In fact, one of my all-time favorite movies is “Ferris Beuler’s Day Off.” Now here’s a movie, even if it is a silly, light-hearted comedy, that says something about the human condition (ok, the human condition of a bunch of teenagers, but still … it was pretty good). My entertainment must have substance for it to be good, or even worthy of watching at all. Mindless, empty, offensive or silly entertainment just does not meet muster. I’ve never seen an Adam Sandler movie. I’d bet I never will.
Many years ago, I heard a religious lecturer on the subject of entertainment; he said there are really only four kinds. For better or for worse, entertainment can be compartmentalized into one of four categories. And I find his categories both meaningful and useful in gauging our own consumption of any kind of mass entertainment:
· Good Entertainment from Good People
· Good Entertainment from Bad People
· Bad Entertainment from Good People
· Bad Entertainment from Bad People
I will be the first to admit that these categories initially smack of oversimplification and moral zealousness, but if you take time to truly ponder what they represent, the implications run much deeper. There is no such thing as entertainment without a message. Every movie, every play, every musical, every song, every book, every magazine article, even most computer software has SOMETHING to say – and “that something” is being said by SOMEONE. It’s not unreasonable for enlightened and/or educated people to question the motives of those who broadcast their message, no matter what medium that person is using. Every author, every movie producer, every recording artist has a message.
In simple conversation, we subconsciously discriminate what elements of the conversation to internalize, remember, believe or disregard based on our previous experience with the person speaking, or any of a number of other criteria. Frankly the same discrimination SHOULD be present in what our entertainment choices are. When we apply the four criteria (of good and bad entertainment and people), suddenly the messages become clearer and take on new meaning. We begin to understand the true nature and intentions of those who provide our entertainment.
Frank Lloyd Wright called Television “chewing gum for the eyes.” I think most of us have come to know what to expect form television entertainment over the years. The most recent slump in television decency seems to be so-called “reality” programming. It parades a multitude of “regular people” before us in what I can only assume to be some futile attempt to make us feel justified that we’re somehow “smarter than those idiots on TV.” Psychologically, it’s not much different than rubbernecking at an accident scene; we want to see for ourselves who was “stupid enough to get in an accident.” I cannot begin to imagine what intrinsic social value or lesson there is in broadcasting a contest on television to see who can withstand eating the most insects without vomiting.
In recent years, we’ve seen Hollywood start to “go the way of TV.” Not only are new movies filmed with television aspect ratios in mind (so that they fit on the TV screen better), but also Hollywood has started to use many of the same tired, empty or just plain silly plot elements as TV. In some cases, movies are based on TV shows, and most recently “reality shows.” Just yesterday I saw a preview on TV for an upcoming movie called “The Real Cancun.” As far as I can tell, it’s just another TV reality show, but this time it’s on the BIG screen … oh yea, and it seems to have a lot of nudity. Is THIS what we’ve stooped to in our quest for entertainment? Using my previously stated yardstick for movies (where a movie has to say something about the human condition) this one scares me! What does it say about us when we buy tickets to see such a movie?
And maybe that’s my point. Our entertainment choices boil down to this: they are a mirror of our minds. Our choices in music, movies, books, software and television programming reaffirm to our minds and broadcast to others what kind of people we are - REALLY are. Many social commentators and philosophers have seen the human mind as a potential storage space for ideas, often expressed as a “blank slate” or in more modern terms, “a biological camcorder.” This philosophical model begs the moral question:
What do YOU fill YOUR mind with?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Manning is not a professional entertainment industry commentator, but does have some training and education in music, mass media and broadcast communication. The views expressed in this piece are solely those of Mr. Manning and do not represent the opinions of any organization or group with which he may be affiliated. Questions, comments and rebuttals may be directed to: jim_manning@yahoo.com.
|
|
|
Article Posted On: Apr 24 2003 - At: 3:41:17 PM
Read Replies
|
Post a reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
