My Big Project

Finally! done my big project, no more pressure. I'm done. Alot of work went into this one, dare I say the most in the whole class? not that it matters, I knew that when I started it would take alot of effort. I had alot of fun doing my project, mainly because it's something that I enjoy doing. I think that this class is a blessing because it allows people to get marks for something they actually like to do, instead of something they 'should' enjoy doing *cough* english *cough*. In all seriousness, if I didn't do this as a school project, it probobly still wouldn't have gotten started, just because my parents are both big procrastenators and it takes a firm kick in butt to get them going. that's what this class was, a firm kick in the butt for my parents. It was also a lot of fun and I'm so glad I took it. So, getting down to business, I think i deserve somewhere in the 90's for a mark, because I did try really hard for a long time, and put 110% of my effort into this project. I think that it helped alot of people to realise that doing a rennovation is actually a big job, especially a bathroom, which incorporates contruction, drywall, painting, plumbing, and electrical. Almost all of the major areas of skilled trades are involved. A bathroom is no small job, and although I had fun I'm glad it's done. Summer here I come.

Angels and Demons...

*sigh* here's a prime example of why I don't like reading books before movies: THEY GET RUINED!! Don't get me wrong, I loved the movie, and I think it's a great movie if you haven't read the book, but if you have, prepare to be disappointed. here's a lil list I threw together of the major problems:

- The Legs!!
- The brand. (crossed keys? common now)
- The fact that the fourth cardinal survived!?!?! that's just too major of a difference to allow for
- Missing legs
- The hassassian guy looked like a guy who spends more time in a library than killing people.
- The hassassian doesn't fight with Langdon. actually, I kinda liked the way they dealt with that, the whole "I didn't fight you because you were unarmed and have stayed out of my way" I like when movies do that.
- Um, no vittoria vetra legs
- The missing camera crew? disappointed.
- the whole, your father was killed, langdon goes to switzerland thingy. (but hey, 100 pages can't be THAT important can they?)
- And finally, Vittoria's legs were nowhere to be seen (or, atleast, they weren't as apparent as they should have been.

Anywho.. I think that Dan Brown over compensated for the criticism he got from Da Vinci Code making it too much like the book, so here's what he did: he took the book, got the generaly plot idea, a couple characters, then ripped the book in half and threw it in the garbage and wrote a whole new story. Good movie overall, but not if you've read the book.

Pope 2.0?

So the pope has finally gone digital. Finally I can see what he's up to whenever I want to enlighten myself. I think that this whole idea is just to try and get young people to follow religion and once again have faith in the catholic churches of today. I applaud his efforts, just like the pastor guy who dressed up like movie characters, I think that this is the first step in a much needed church overhaul. Let's face it: 95% of the people who regularly attend church have grey hair, and once they're gone, they're gone. The churches of today need to drastically change in order to accommodate and attract young people, or they will die out. In these times, not many people want to spend their Sunday morning getting up early and getting dressed really nice to listen to someone talk for a couple hours. that's what school's for. people want to be entertained and have their religion apply to today's standards. The church claims that it can't change to keep up with the times because then that would involve changing their entire mentality of what they believe in. But if they don't start thinking of change now, it may be too late. So good job pope Benedict, it's a step in the right direction.

Da Vinci Code

I think the whole problem with this movie is the fact that it seems to attack the catholic religion. I know that if I was a more devout catholic I would probably be hugely offended by this movie. It shows how the Catholics are willing to hire a hit man, an albino one at that, in order to keep control over the faith. Not only is the movie depicting extreme cases of hardcore belief, whipping yourself anyone, but it also shows how the whole religion is based on what is claimed to be a lie. I think that this movie was made to cause controversy and make people angry, and it did a great job. The movie also follows the book WAY too closely, there's even a few parts that are word for word. This is a problem, but it's also a tricky thing to solve, because way too many movies get criticised for changing from the book too much. Poor Dan Brown, first he makes it too much like the book, and then Angels and Demons is completely different from the book. He just can't seem to get it right.

Movies, Money, and God

Finally! a church pastor who embraces change and doesn't label it as unholy evil. I think that the churches of today NEED to start changing and become more modern. I personally don't go to church very often, even though I am a catholic, because it seems incredibly out of date compared to today's standards. The catholic churches claim that they can't change their ways, but I believe that if they don't they will be almost obsolete within 50 years. almost all of the people who attend church regularly are seniors, and if the churches don't start attracting more people to go, then once they're gone, there will be a major lack of attendants. This pastor has the right idea, if you want to keep things going, you NEED to appeal to younger people, especially teenagers. If this church gets even 10 teenagers to attend regularly because of his efforts, then he should be very proud. It's very difficult to have faith these days, especially with all the terrible things going on in today's world, and having church seem outdated and old doesn't help. I applaud his efforts.

Al Gore

Al Gore... what a character. Don't get me wrong, what he is trying to do is very noble, and I fully back him up with all that he does, but he just strikes me as a really weird guy. I'm not entirely sure why, possible because whenever I see his name I can't help but think of him in Southpark fighting off the man-bear-pig. He is trying to do a huge job and he is just the guy to do it, because he was already widely known before, and this will help him spread his message (Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor is a prime example), but I still think that he is just a doomsday nutjob that is causing mass panic (trying to, anyways) and spreading his message across the globe. Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks that global warming doesn't exist, and that we don't need to change, because I know that we do. If we keep living the same way as we did for years the earth will cease to exist and Al Gore will be right. We can't have that can we?

Angels and Demons and Hollywood

I think that it's very hard to make a movie that contains a lot of religious references and practices without offending somebody in today's politically correct world. Religion has always been a taboo subject when it comes to mass marketed entertainment. That is the one thing that will very rarely be made fun of by a comedian, unless he/she is of that religion and is poking fun at themselves. The same is true with movies, because a movie will generally show how the director feels towards religion, no matter how neutral they try to remain, there will always be a bit of personal opinion evident in their work. I know that after watching Da Vinci Code, I felt that it was very aggressive towards the catholic religion, and although I wasn't personally offended, I could see how someone else could be quite easily. I just think that with any media today it is impossible to please everyone, so filmmakers have to make their movies for the intended audience and shrug off any criticism that comes their way from someone else. However, I know that this would be very difficult to do.