The Blind Side

Over Thanksgiving, we went to see this movie. It was really, really good! I appreciated such a positive, feel-good movie, especially around this time of year. It really makes me feel like reaching out and helping those in need. What makes it even better is that it is a true story! We need more movies like this that portray good themes and celebrate good people. :)

My Son, the Goat

So, I have to confess...I wasn't paying as good of attention as I should have been. But, who would have thought that, in the time that it took me to send a text to my husband, my five month old (with no teeth and sitting on my lap)could manage to gnaw off part of a paper bookmark and swallow it?! It was such a short text and I was only looking away for a few seconds. This just shows me how much of a distraction cell phones can be and how much more diligent I need to be with him. Luckily, he didn't choke and he seems to be fine. I think he's actually quite proud of himself...

Christmas

When I stop to think about it, a lot of what makes the Christmas season seem Christmassy to me is from the media (i.e. Christmas music and movies). Last night, we decided to buy our very first Christmas tree (we usually just go back home for Christmas) and we decorated it as we listened to Christmas music. Tonight, we're getting together with my husband's siblings to watch Christmas movies and kick-off the season. Can you imagine Christmas without Christmas songs on the radio? I am very grateful for these forms of media to help us celebrate such a special time of the year.

Thanksgiving

This past Thanksgiving made me think a lot about family traditions that I had as we grew up. One of them was to gather around the TV and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (the one with all the huge balloons like Snoopy floating down New York streets). In the spirit of continuing some of these traditions, I gathered our little family to watch just a few minutes of the parade to remind me of growing up. Maybe the TV will be worked into some of our new family traditions?

Infant Lab

Last Friday I took Tyler to participate in one of the research projects done in the BYU infant lab by Dr. Porter. They put the brain activity monitoring little hat on his head and he and I got to watch the TV screen as short and long caterpillars were displayed with matching short and long beeps. Then, they mismatched the caterpillars and beeps to see if (at 5 mos), he could detect something as "off." While I'm not sure how helpful he was to the study (he kept trying to grab at the screen or look at me with a quizzical look), I thought it was really cool that TVs and some forms of media can be used to try to understand the world of babies. Plus, he was pretty cute in that little hat! (They even emailed a picture to me to keep!)

Content Analysis Project

As I coded for the research project this past week (a little late, I know), I began to realize how much stuff I miss when I'm not looking for it. I'm much more aware of product placement and advertising in movies, now. For example, Budweiser was the main alcohol in 10 Things I Hate About You. Also, I'm a lot more aware of the indifferent attitude towards alcohol, tobacco, and drug use by teenagers that movies portray. Furthermore, I didn't remember all of those sexual innuendos when I watched it when I was younger. I'm not sure if it's better that I didn't notice, or if it's better to be aware of the content.

Sexual Content

As I did the assignment for class this week, one of the things I noticed was how surprised I was that there wasn't any sexual content in one of the episodes. I think it's a sad comment on me that I kind of expect sex to be in the shows these days, but I still watch it. (Not to give the wrong impression, I don't watch shows with tons of sex, just mostly innuendo.) This assignment really made me think, and I wonder how viewing sexual content in the media really affects me...

Movie Speak

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a conversation of two RMs who decide to speak in the language they learned on their mission...which you don't know? You feel a little confused and awkward, and maybe you wonder how to participate in the conversation or if you should just stand there. This used to happen to me all the time when we spent time with my husband's family, except for they're all speaking in English! I'll call it "movie speak" and it happens when they have a whole conversation based upon lines from various movies. I used to be so confused when all of a sudden their conversation wouldn't make sense according to the context and then they would burst out laughing due to the movie lines. Have you ever been victim to this? For a while I tried to get them to swing the conversation back towards normal speech, but then, when that didn't quite work, I decided "if you can't beat them, join them," and I now pay great attention to each movie I watch--scouring them for potential comebacks. :)

Halloween

In light of our recent discussion of fear and the media, and because Saturday is Halloween, I thought I'd recommend some great movies with a little bit of a spooky feel to them, but definitely not along the lines of It or The Birds. First, of course, is the classic Hocus Pocus--what a great Halloween movie with witches, spells, ghosts, and even a zombie. Next, I love The Addams Family because "they're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky..." A couple recent favorites that aren't really recent are Mike Meyer's So I Married an Axe Murderer and an early Tom Hanks movie--The Burbs. Both of these are funny, quirky, and have a slight spooky feel. Hopefully, these not-so-frightening selections help you narrow down your Halloween night movies--and prevent nightmares!

How far we've come...

At our house, we have an extra hard drive set up only for movies next to our flatscreen...kind of sick, I know. It has probably about 250 movies on it that we've bought and downloaded or have through iTunes. Let's just say, between this and Netflix, we have plenty to keep us occupied. And, whenever someone new comes over, my husband always has to pull up Surf's Up to show them the amazing graphics of the waves. He misses surfing tons, but I think I've seen the last scene of the movie about twenty times--who knew penguins were so adept at paddling out and hanging ten? That movie (and other recent cartoons) and the loaded hard drive make me realize how far we've come in technology...let's take a trip back in time: Remember when we had to browse the huge bookshelves of movies and insert the VHS (and it was never even called that because that's all there was) and sometimes hope the machine wouldn't eat it, just to watch poorly defined cartoon figures (has anyone noticed Snow White doesn't really have a nose?) on our monstrous TVs as there was no such thing as a flat-screen? This was all in our lifetimes! But you know what, even with all this, we were happy!

Tyler

So, my husband and I decided to go to the dollar theater instead of do homework on Saturday afternoon to see The Proposal. Since our four month old, Tyler, is still pretty portable and really easy-going, we usually just pack him along with us. He fell asleep for the first half of it and then he decided to watch with us for the last part of it. We usually don't let him watch TV or movies with us, but when you're in the theater, what do you do? Anyways, as he sat watching the huge screen with super wide eyes, it made me realize that I need to be very careful with what I allow him to watch. Also, here's a picture of him in the bath...I just thought it was cute.

Bon Apetit

I have very little spare time, but my favorite hobby is cooking/baking. I love to make tasty things in the kitchen and, luckily--since we have to eat--I get to do this almost everyday. On my last birthday, I received a subscription to Bon Apetit magazine. This was perhaps my favorite gift and it just keeps giving every month. I received the Thanksgiving issue a couple weeks ago and have already scoured it all over for delicious recipes. The brown sugar-pecan cupcakes with caramel pecan frosting were amazing, as was the pear ginger crisp, and I've heard great things about the steak with mixed peppercorns and pomegranate glaze. Homemade chicken pot pie with fresh thyme is for dinner tonight, as it's a little chilly outside. All I have to say (and I think my husband would agree) is thank goodness for magazines like this!

The Devil in the White City

I’m not sure what my very favorite book is currently; however, a book that I read within the last couple years and really enjoyed is called The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen. This book is nonfiction and tells two intertwined stories: one story is the planning and preparation for the 1892 Chicago World Fair and the other is of a serial killer in Chicago at the same time who uses the fair to his advantage to murder his victims.
One of the reasons I really enjoyed this book was the fact that it is nonfiction. I learned so much about the time period in which it took place and I also learned many interesting facts about that time period. For example, the tune to the song “there’s a place in France where the naked ladies dance…” came from the fair needing a catchy tune for one of their exotic villages with snake charmers. Also, the Pledge of Allegiance was created in response to the fair because the nation wanted something that all of the school children could recite at the same time to feel united. In addition to this, the Ferris wheel was invited for the fair to rival the Eiffel Tower (which was built for the Paris World Fair just a short time before). Of course, the story line of a real-life serial killer was hauntingly interesting and I found myself unable to put it down.

Yester-years Favorite Book

When I was younger, one of my favorite books was Anne of Green Gables. I really enjoyed this series because of the imagination that Anne had and the mischief that she got into with her friends. All of the dreams and adventures that they took part in were magical to me and I wanted to be there with them and share in the fun. They became very real characters and friends to me and I enjoyed learning more about them and sharing in their lives with them as they (and I) grew up. Even though the setting of the book was set int he late 1800s/early 1900s, the characteristics and dreams that Anne had were the same as mine. Essentially, I felt that I could relate to her. Also, one of the main themes of all the books was that of friendship and, as a young adolescent girl, having a best friend was of the utmost importance to me.

Addiction

I wonder if it's healthy how "attached" I am to some of the shows we watch. For example, we recently became addicted to NCIS this past summer. In fact, we were so addicted that we had to search for old episodes on the internet to get our fix. When Hulu didn't have what we needed, we finally had to turn to less than reputable websites with subtitles in various Asian languanges scrolling across the bottom (a little distracting) or episodes in which the audio and visual were so out of sinc that we could only glance at the screen for brief periods because it was too painful to try to watch for any length of time. But, you do what you have to when you're a junkie, even if it causes a little pain. Luckily for us, the new season started, so we're forced to cut back to just one episode a week...we'll see how this intervention goes. :)

Vegas, baby!

My husband and I met up with his parents in Las Vegas over last weekend. While we were there I noted several things. First, media's ability to bombard and overwhelm--there were so many forms of entertainment and media, all displayed in huge flashing lights. Also, we were able to take part in a form of media I'm not as frequently exposed to--stage performances. We went to the Beatles LOVE performance of Cirque du Solei. I was truly impressed by the talent (and strength) of those performers and the message they portrayed. And it was all live! The other thing that struck me was just the huge impact that one particular band--the Beatles--can have on so many people and across generations. I wonder if anyone will ever top them? They are amazing!

Call to Action

We recently watched Hotel Rwanda again. The line about people watching the news, saying that it's terrible what's happening in Rwanda, and then going back to their dinners really hit me. They say that the media and the TV news brought about much more awareness about the world (i.e. Vietnam and the footage that was shot there), but I wonder if we have too much information bombarding us now that we have become desensitized to all of it. As with Rwanda, we see pictures and live footage of bombings, starvation, natural disasters, and yet most of us (including myself) tend to just go back to eating our dinners. Kind of sad.

Bones

As I sat in the JKB before class on Thursday, I listened to three freshman girls as they gossiped and related the newest drama from Helaman Halls. I felt like I had nothing in common with them and, listening to them banter, I automatically labeled them as "silly freshman girls." It was wrong of me I know, but sometimes those judgements just pop out of nowhere. No later had I done this than I realized they were talking about the Bones season premier which was later Thursday night. I had been waiting all summer long for that show to return! All of a sudden, I felt a kind of kinship with them...we were united through a common interest in some form of media. After I repented for my judging, I reflected on how cool it is that media has the ability to unite people of all kinds. Maybe I'll remember this next time I'm sitting next to a group of freshman girls. P.S. The Bones season premier was amazing!

Cell Phones

My cell phone can call people and send texts. Not very exciting, but it gets the job done. My husband, however, has a really cool iPhone through work, in which the whole universe is open to him. Because of its capabilities, we have music (iPod), email, internet, and even the scriptures at our fingertips (literally). It's amazing to me that so much media can be contained in such a small device and be so portable. We can even use it to get internet to our computer through internet tethering. One of the downsides, however, is that my husband feels compelled to check it constantly to determine if he has new emails for work, or to look things up online. This has made me realize how dependent we are upon always being connected to the rest of the world. While we have the convenience of connection, I think we should also be willing to take a break and enjoy what's going on around us rather than what's going on online.

Netflix

My husband and I recently renewed our subscription to Netflix. The allure of receiving little red and white packages of movies in the mail was just too tempting to let it lapse. We don't even have to make a trip to the movie store (in which case, Hollywood Video is only a block east and Blockbuster is just a few blocks south) to rent a movie and then veg on the couch as we watch. It's amazing how convenient they make it...straight to your mailbox or even right on your computer with the instant viewing capabilities. Twenty steps or less and we can have the movie from the mailbox in the player and we can be on the couch. Not only have I realized that this new phenomenon has made movie watching even more lazy (you don't even have to walk the long distance to your car), but the flat rate for two movies at a time has made us lazier in our movie choices. We'll watch anything these days. And, I'm sorry to say, Twilight was somehow added to our que (neither my husband or I can remember adding such a movie), and it came last Friday. We didn't have the good sense to send it right back in its little red envelope, we had to tear open the packaging and watch it. Not the best movie I've ever seen. Before I dig myself into an even bigger hole with the myriad Stephenie Meyer fans, let me just end with the hope that I become more particular with the limited free time I have...maybe I should go for a walk instead--to the movie store.