I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks

I'm watching Jimmy Kimmel and there's older gentlemen as a guest that is considered a mentalist. I didn't really understand exactly what he was saying, and he claimed it wasn't a magic trick, but basically an hour earlier he had a bunch of audience members put their hands on a table. When they came back in the same positions and did it again, the tables vibrated and moved across the floor. He described as some sort of weird kinetic energy, although I thought it was weird that he could control it that well. He also stated that it wasn't ghosts or anything line that.

I saw this guy on the news once that was supposed to be the world's smartest mentalist something like that, and in short he could basically always tell if people were lying. He explained that he's not a psychic or anything he just has the ability to read what people say through their facial emotions. However, somehow he had a theater full of people write down a number and then had an assistant add them together, and he was able to guess the number of the first try. I know that sounds somewhat fake but it was 60 minutes or something like that.

My girlfriend Mandy likes to watch the show Ghosthunters, whether it's because she likes ghosts or because they guys that are the ghosthunters are from our home town in Rhode Island, so once in a blue moon I'll watch it with her. I must say that I rarely find anything on the show at all convincing, probably because I have no way of knowing if the tools they use actually measure anything at all. However, usually about once a show something will happen weird enough where it can't be blamed on say, wind.

How do you feel about all this crazy paranormal mentalist stuff? Can really The Men That Stare at Goats really do this crazy stuff? Or is it just camera tricks and magician garbage?

First Blood vs. Rambo

Right now the original film First Blood is on AMC. What's interesting is that when people think of the character Rambo, they usually think of how the Rambo character developed starting in First Blood Part 2. First Blood is a film about a character Rambo, who is a Vietnam War Veteran who is struggling to function in everyday society, and also battling mistreatment. The film is based on a film by David Morell. Actor Kirk Douglas dropped out of making the film because it did not follow the book closely.

Nonetheless, in the film, Rambo is a somewhat sympathetic character that is a by-product of a harsh Vietnam War. The film even questions the war's harsh existence. First Blood is the reflection of a confused American still in the cloud of Vietnam. However, in First Blood Part 2, Rambo is a character comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Commando. Think, (he shoots a bow and arrow) "Look! A building just blew up!" Yes, First Blood Part 2 was a part of Reagan Macho America. My question, relates to now:

"Where America was in the original First Blood, is comparable to now. Will the same type of Macho Patriotism reappear?"

The Voice of a Generation

As a young college student, I feel as though my generation doesn't have the same voice that past generations have had. Searching through wikipedia, I read up quite a bit about writers of the beat poets of the 1950s and 1960s such as Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac. Following in both their footsteps, was a journalist never to be forgotten named Hunter S. Thompson. Some writers followed afterward, yet, they had a much smaller impact such as Terry Southern.

In the world of music, the phrase "The Voice of a Generation" often refers to Bob Dylan. Some other musicians around that time in the 1960s and 1970s, such as John Lennon and Johnny Cash, also had considerable success in speaking on behalf of the youth at the time. In the 1980's the Man most known as the generation's voice was Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen brought popular "Van Morrison" style big band rock to folk songwriting. Following him, the biggest name that comes to mind is Kurt Cobain. Although he was outspoken to press, the ambiguity of his lyrics distanced him from social commentary, or even social theory.

There are certainly people today who have provided excellent social commentary for our generation. However, I just can't name a 21st Century Journalist that writes about current culture that stands up to those names. Personally, I think that blogger/filmwriter Brooke "Diablo Cody" Busey is closest to having a grip on the current generation. As far as musicians, I think the Connor "Bright Eyes" Oberst has the most socially aware lyrics. As far everyday life storytelling, I think MCR are good lyricists as well. Still, I don't think any of these names have the ability to reach as large an audience as the earlier people did.

Fiasco Outside of RCC

It might be somewhat hard to blog about this with a bipartisan hat on, but I'll give it my best shot. I did a radio show today and read over air that talk radio and television host Glenn Beck said that President Obama treats Fox News the way that Hitler treated Jews in the Holocaust. What I said on-air was that I felt that this statement was very unfair because Mr. Beck is comparing a non-violent communication issue to a sad point in history when a man and his followers murdered, harassed, tortured, etc. millions of people. Though I didn't say this on-air, I personally found the statement insensitive to victims of the Holocaust and their families.

What I did say on air was that I don't think people should compare other people to Hitler as well unless they are actually guilty of a legitimate Holocaust. I specifically named former-President Bush and how I felt he shouldn't be compared to Hitler either. Coincidentally, when the show ended I walked out and saw something interesting out the window. On one side of the building, there was a van with people near it handing out fliers and holding a giant poster of President Obama with a Hitler moustache. At the bottom of the poster read, "I've changed". They may have been BSC students, but I didn't recognize them. On the other side of the building, there were some familiar students with a "Support Obama" poster. The "O" in Obama was drawn a peace symbol.

I could tell there was some screaming going back and forth, but I couldn't hear any of it. A police officer soon came by and said something to both sides. After that, I noticed the "Big Obama Hitler Moustache Poster" was loaded into the van and there was only a "Small Obama Hitler Moustache Poster". There were a few more fliers handed out, a few more people added to the Pro-Obama group, and few more curses I couldn't hear go back and forth. Then the van started getting packed, and there was cheer by the pro-Obama group. The Pro-Obama group stayed a bit longer, yet, they did leave within ten minutes after the "Obama has a Hitler Moustache group" took off.

Are you offended by Hitler Comparisons?

Musical

It's getting that time of year again to get ready for campus movie fest!........well, actually, no it's not. However, after doing two improved slapstick comedies two years in a row, I feel like its time that I do something more scripted and prepared. I actually believe I am going to do a two song musical. I don't want to give my entire plot idea away already, however, I want to try and do something different than what everyone else is doing.

Basically, I watched the Beatles movie Help recently, and I want to make a five minute film that has that same kind of quirkiness. The basic plot I have thought out right now is a guy and a very studious girl go out on a date. The guy runs into another girl that seems to be his ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend slips something into the studious girl's drink. The girl then has this trippy "dream-sequence" type of thing.

During this "dream-sequence", shots alternate between what the girl is seeing and what is really happened. Inside what the girl is seeing, to songs will be sung to her, one by the x girlfriend taunting her, and by the bartender sings a song to her claiming that her date is into her ex-boyfriend. The short ends with a funny clip of how the character reacts after her dream sequence is over.

I've already wrote both the songs and they seem pretty cool. How do you think this will work? Do you think that it might be interesting? Or do you think that it might be too complicated for a five minute plot.

Hollywood and Women

A couple weeks back, I "dboarded" a bit about how I felt some critics misinterpreted the film Jennifer's Body because of some pre-conceived notions Male critics have about Women in film. Today (or tonight), I would like to elaborate on that a little bit. I'll begin with a quick bit about the movie, and then I'll chat about some of the ideals I mentioned before.

Without any spoilers or giving away too many plot points, the movie is this girl Needy, her boyfriend, and her friend Jennifer. Needy, portrayed by Amanda Siegfried from Mama Mia, is the narrator/main character and is somewhat comparable to the main character Diablo Cody's first film, Juno. Like Juno, she has a slightly gawyky boyfriend, and a popular "cheerleader" friend. The difference is that her boyfriend is edgier, she longs to be popular instead of being content with her scene, and her friend Jennifer could eat Olivia Thurby's character (Juno's friend) for lunch. Cut to the chase, Jennifer and Needy go to see an Indie Rock band, and Jennifer comes back some sort of Cannibal/Vampire/Demon. She needs to eat people to get power, so she eats guys at school. As the story progresses, there is also some question of the band's involvement in her condition.

Now, I know that after reading this paragraph, there are people at home that think this sounds like some B-movie horror plot with big budget actors and actresses thrown in. But here's the thing, it's a comedy! And it's not a sloppy "Disaster Movie" kind of cheap slapstick laughs, it has clever and funny dialogue incorporated to a script that has strong characters making difficult decisions. I think just because Megan Fox is in it, everyone just assumes that it has to be bland as Transformers 2. I don't have a problem with the Transformers films, I'm just saying that since they're not plot driven, critics wrongly assume the talent in the film will be unable to act in others films just because they did one CGI series. Personally, I interpret a lot of the Megan Fox comments from critics online as misogyny. She's a woman that speaks her mind to the press and doesn't always say the predictable answers in interviews, why is that a bad thing. Who cares if she is interested in modeling etc., it doesn't mean she can't act. Nobody says that Bruce Willis can't act when he appears on magazines.