NCIS

One of my husband's new favorite shows in NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). We watch the reruns on USA. It's funny, because he doesn't like CSI, Law & Order, or other similar shows. My dad is the same way. I'm not entirely sure what makes NCIS different. Ideas? Maybe it's because it's not as gory, or maybe because the team dynamics, or maybe the focus on solving the case?

Galaxy Quest

While we were at my parents' for Thanksgiving, we watched "Galaxy Quest". My husband had never seen it before, so my parents and I really wanted him to. It's such a funny, good quality movie. It's interesting, because when it fist came out, Advertisers had no idea how to advertise it, so it didn't do very well in the Theaters. But since then, it's done well and many people know and love the movie. This was also the case for "The Princess Bride". I thought it was interesting how much power advertising has over the success of a film in the box office, but that even with all the knowledge and technology available, they still don't always know the best way to advertise something. Just random food for thought.

Say Yes to the Dress

Once again, I'm admitting to one of my guilty pleasures. TLC has a show called "Say Yes to the Dress". It follows different brides as they try on different dresses at Kleinfeld's Boutique in NYC. Sometimes they also show brides coming back for their fittings. You get to see plenty of drama and some hilarious reactions from friends and family members who come to the appointments. You also get to see what's going on behind the scenes with the consultants. Now, I'm married. I've already picked my dress, planned my wedding, and had my big day. Why do I love this show so much? I don't exactly know, but I do know I just love seeing the different designs of the dresses and tiaras and veils. Maybe it goes back to being a people watcher or some weird kind of voyeurism. Who knows?

The Medallion

Last night, my husband and I watched "The Medallion" with Jackie Chan. I enjoyed it. It wasn't overly violent and it had a lot of comic relief. As always, I was impressed with how awesome Jackie Chan is. I can't believe everything he can do, and what amazing shape he must be in. While we were watching it, my husband raised an interesting question, why is it that when there is a good guy and a bad guy, and the good guy good totally kick the bad guy's trash, that if they both get mysterious super powers, all of the sudden the bad guy is equal if not better than the good guy? That's what happened in this movie. We kept saying "They have the same powers! Jackie Chan would totally kick his trash!" My only idea was that there would be no point in bad guys getting super powers if this discrepancy didn't exist.

Football

Ahh the football-ness of Fall. I like football, it's a fun sport to watch. However, I'm only really interested in the game if it's a team I personally care about, like BYU, or if it's the other team my husband cares about, UW. However, this time of year our TV is typically on all day Saturday, and many other nights of the week with games I could care less about. Perhaps I do not fully appreciate football as a sport, or perhaps I am not a real football fan, but I don't really want to watch teams play that I don't have any emotions invested in. Or maybe, it's a matter of gender difference. I don't know. What do you think?

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Last night, my husband and I watched Tomb Raider. It was on our Netflix list, and we didn't move anything ahead of it so it showed up. Neither of us had seen it, and it looked like it could be interesting. We expected to be a bit impractical and over top, it is based on a video game after all. What we did not expect was the brief nudity at the beginning; it's rated PG-13. We're watching the movie, and barely 10 minutes in, we see the side view of Angelina Jolie's breast. What the?! First of all, the was no point in that entire scene, but there was definitely no reason, in PG-13 movie, that will quite likely be seen by children, for nudity. I was very angry because it should not have been in there and it was completely unnecessary. Grr... My husband and I definitely did not need to see that and I'm still frustrated about it.

The Cosby Show

I don't know how many of you have seen the Cosby Show, but I love it. It's all about a normal family going through normal family issues. It's funny and it's clean and uplifting. We have the 1st season on DVD, and periodically watch it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for some wholesome, quality programming, or if you're just looking for a laugh. Why can't they still have shows like that on anymore? It's not like the family has changed THAT much.

Iron Chef America

My husband and I love Food Network. It's such a fun channel to watch and we don't have to worry about racy or violent content. We especially love Iron Chef America & The Next Iron Chef. I think we enjoy seeing not only the creative food & competition, but the parody of sporting events. Iron Chef takes place in Kitchen Stadium, and it has announcers and reporters. It's so fun to watch and listen to, especially the host Alton Brown. We discuss who we would challenge if we were to go on, and judge the food ourselves. Sometimes the judges don't agree with us, but that's their problem. My only recommendation, don't watch it if you're hungry. You might just die.

KSL Website

The KSL website is weird. I like to check for things in their classified section periodically, and if you are trying to find the classifieds from the main page it takes awhile. The tab for it is off to the right side, while the bulk of the headlines and main page content is on the left. Why do organizations do that? Clearly, whoever designed their webpage needs some assistance next time.

Books!

I love reading! It makes me so happy. Recently, I checked out a book from the Library, something I have not done consistently since early high school if not middle school. Despite having very little free time (especially in the last week or so), I am reading again for pleasure! Hooray! It's amazing how captivating a book can be and how fast time passes when you read something you enjoy. Best part of all is that I have something else to do besides watch t.v. or surf the web. I just hope I can finish it before it's due.

P.S. I'm reading Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, in case anyone was curious

Ah cell phones...

I think that cell phones are an amazing invention. It is great to be able to get in contact with people miles away, almost anytime of the day, and be able to communicate quickly and feel safer. But sometimes I just feel like cell phones intrude on life. For example, about a year ago, I had a friend get mad at me for not answering my phone whenever they called and for not returning calls right away. I thought to myself, "I don't have to answer my phone all the time. Sometimes I don't want to talk on the phone." Or other times, I will be talking to people in person and their phone will ring or someone will text them, and they stop our conversation to answer. For whatever reason, this wasn't okay with regular phones but is okay now. And then sometimes cell phones are a source of hilariousness. Like today, I actually brought my cell phone to church because my parents were in town and I didn't want them to get lost trying to find our building. At the beginning of the Sacrament I remembered I had it, leaned down, and silenced it, just in case. Not five minutes later, my mom's cell phone rings right in the middle of the Sacrament. To add to this hilarity, it took my parents until this March to get cell phones, and my mom doesn't completely know how to use her's, so she had to give it to my dad to turn off. Ironically enough, it was my sister, who hardly ever goes out her way to call anyone. All in all, it was amusing. It's funny how something unknown just a few years ago, it's such a norm now.

Groove to the music

Sad to say, I don't really listen to music anymore. I'm not sure if it's because I just never think to turn it on, or because I'm so busy with schoolwork (and I can't study with music on) but I just don't. But there is an exception to this. I'm taking a bowling class (I know, awesome), and they play music while we bowl. They play things from my middle school, high school, and college years and it just makes me happy. I find myself dancing with my bowling ball in my lane as I go up to bowl. So people I barely know get to see me shake it. Isn't amazing the kind of power music has?

Australia

Last night, my husband and I watched "Australia". First of all, very long movie. But despite its length, overall, we enjoyed it. It's kinda of weird in the sense that it is like a story being told from the perspective of a child with interesting English. It was fun to see that bad guys get their come upance and the good guys have a happy ending; but sadly, many people died and the two main characters never get married but just live together (which was completely unnecessary). Like I told my husband, I don't know that I would want to own it, but I don't regret watching it.

Media Overload

So my husband and I have come to the conclusion that we spend WAY too much time on various forms of the media. We spend hours a day on the internet, watching tv, and playing video games (he plays, I watch). After class on Thursday, I decided that this is not good. I think what really hit me was talking about how we use media to fill certain needs, and talking about how a lot of us use facebook to stalk people we don't even really know anymore. I definitely do this, and I think it's kinda creepy. So I'm thinking that we need to have a plan of action. I'm thinking that I should only check my facebook once a day, purge all of my "friends" who I don't ever talk to and probably never will, and ration tv and video game exposure. Not drastically, like none at all, but more like having an hour to three a day of total media exposure. Rather than waste hours of time, we could do dishes, laundry, clean the apartment, finally get our wedding pictures developed and displayed, get some exercise, and enjoy some time together. The sad thing is that while I'm typing this, I'm looking at facebook and watching supernanny. :( Baby steps I guess, right?

Shafty Internet

So for the last month or so, the internet in our apartment has been terrible. It cuts in and out, and takes forever to load anything. We are not sure why this is, and we hope it gets fixed soon (it's through our complex so they have to fix it). Meanwhile, I have become increasing aware of just how much time I spend on the internet. I literally spend hours a day surfing the web. While it is true that I use it a lot for schoolwork, errands, and things at work; I also waste hours looking at facebook and searching for random things.

Today I was hanging out with one of my friends and we were talking about media use, and I realized that I really need to watch myself more carefully and to probably cut back on my t.v. and internet time. There are so many other things I could be doing with my time (just think about what people did before t.v. and internet). I'm not saying that I should stop altogether or that the internet is evil, but I just think that moderation in all things is probably the best policy.

My "Favorite" Books

Even as a child, I believe it was difficult for me to choose a favorite book. I love books and I love reading, and have for pretty much as long as I can remember. However, for the purposes of this assignment, I will pick one of my favorite books from adolescence, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now perhaps you are thinking that I am like one of the many who follow the Harry Potter fad; but you are wrong. I was introduced to Harry when he and I were the same age, and he was not known to millions. My sixth grade teacher, Ms. Greenstein, read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out loud to my class for reading time. From the very first chapter, I fell in love with the mystery, magic, fun, and humanity of J.K. Rowling's book.

For those who may not have read it, it follows the events of a young boy's life from his parents' untimely death and his adoption by his terrible aunt and uncle, to the discovery that he is a wizard, and through the experiences of his first year at wizardry school; including his introduction to a wonderful game called Quidditch, a three-headed dog named Fluffy, and his two best friends for life, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Oh yes, as soon as my teacher had finished reading it to the class, I asked to borrow it to read it again for myself. Unfortunately, my friend Amanda had beaten me to it, so I had to wait. In the mean time, Ms. Greenstein began to read the unedited edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Thus began my love of the magical world of Harry Potter. Since that time, I have been to the midnight Potter parties for books four, five, and seven (I missed six as I was on trek, a great sacrifice on my part), read and re-read the books more than you can possibly imagine, read the supplementary readings numerous times, and been amazed that my literary love has become a fad. I believe it changed my life in how I occupied my time, what my friends and I discussed, and what I looked forward to every few years. I also felt that Harry and I were friends that had grown up together, and I was sad to see the end of the series.

While nothing to date has quite captured my love and attention the way Harry did, as an “adult” (I still do not feel that I am such a thing), I find that I enjoy Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. While it lacks the fun and wonder of Harry Potter, this book is still magical and fascinating in its own way. It follows the lives of three influential individuals in the fictitious kingdom of Arelon, on the verge of war: Raoden, Sarene, and Hrathen.

Within the city of Elantris, the former capital of Arelon, everything is dead and decaying—even the people. They are not dead in the typical sense, having not experienced death, but neither are they alive. Their hearts cease to beat, they do not bleed, and food cannot satisfy their hunger. But they were not always this way. Ten years earlier, Elantris and its people were bright, shining, and fully of magic and power. Then something happened and everything changed. Raoden, prince of Arelon wakes up one morning to realize that he has become an Elantrian. At about the same time he is being banished into Elantris, his “bride” Sarene arrives in the new capital city of Kae, only to be informed that Raoden has died. As part of her marriage contract, she is considered to be his widow and their marriage, legally binding. Thrown into the mix is Hrathen, a high priest of the Derethi religion of the neighboring country of Fjorden to convert the people of Arelon, before are destroyed by the Fjordell armies. The story follows Raoden trying to live in Elantris and discover why things have changed, Sarene trying to save Arelon from military destruction and to discover what really happened to Raoden, and Hrathen trying to convert an entire country while dealing with his own trial of faith.

I would not say that Elantris changed my life in any significant way; but it did open my eyes to a new type of magic and fantasy. It also allowed me a break from the monotony of school work and television. I believe Elantris was a reminder of my love and passion for reading for pleasure.

LDS General Conference

I love watching conference. Even though it lacks the fast paced music, lights, and special effects, it has the ability to move and touch people in ways that those things can't. It's wonderful to see that media, is not inherently bad; it can be used for great purposes. I think it's wonderful that through all the different forms of media, Conference is able to reach millions around the world, in their own language.

Toddlers & Tiaras

Okay, so I know that when I was a little girl, people approached my parents about putting me in pageants. They said no, and for awhile I was kind upset about this fact. Then I saw TLC's "Toddlers & Tiaras." It's a show about beauty pageants for girls usually about 7 and younger. It's disgusting and creepy.

I'm not saying that anyone who participates in beauty pageants is disgusting or creepy, but the way the parents highlighted on this show push & exploit their children is. These little girls are spray tanned, wear fake eyelashes, prance around in swimsuits, and dance in sexual ways. Their parents spend thousands of dollars on dresses, coaches, and things like fake teeth. Many of these little girls are so spoiled and have terrible attitudes. One mother of twins, showed open favoring of her twin who won more pageants, looked more like her, and who was "prettier." The biggest problem with all this is how some of the parents react to their child losing. Moms will start lecturing and telling their daughters how disappointed they are, and how the daughter should have done better. Dads will rage and storm out of the pageant hall and yell at their wife and children.

I think the ideas to have children in pageants to help them earn scholarship money, develop social skills, and make friendships are great. I think the problem comes when parents take things too far and get lost in the glitz and winning.

Madea Goes to Jail

My husband and I are fortunate enough to have Netflix. We only get one movie at a time, but we can receive an unlimited amount per month. We use this to watch movies we didn't want to pay to see in the theaters, movies we're curious about, or movies we haven't seen in awhile but don't necessarily want to buy. This week, our movie was "Madea Goes to Jail." We thought we were getting the major motion picture that came out this year; but instead we got the stage play from 2006. Even though we were disappointed, it was still worth watching.

First of all, for those of you who don't know, Tyler Perry (the director & writer of these shows) plays Madea, an older African American woman who is a little bit crazy and likes her gun. It is HILARIOUS. Seeing a 6 ft. something man dressed up as a buxom, old woman is funny in and of itself, but the dialogue is what makes it.

The other thing I love about the Madea films/plays is that they incorporate Christianity and faith into them. They talk about prayer, faith, going to church, believing in Christ, and having good moral values. It's definitely not what you would expect from the titles (e.g. "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"); but a nice change.

I would encourage anyone who wants a laugh, and doesn't mind minor swearing, to watch any of Tyler Perry's productions.

House Hunters

So I have to admit that the HGTV channel is one of my guilty pleasures. It's all about real estate and home remodels and repairs. One of my absolute favorite shows is called "House Hunters."

The premise of this show is that a home buyer (or two) in different cities around the country are taken by their Realtor to 3 different houses. The audience gets to watch as they tour all three homes. At the end of the show, you find out which one they picked.

For whatever reason, I love this show. I'm not sure if it's because I look forward to being a home owner some day or that I like seeing different home styles and prices or what. But I do know that I like that it's not intense, inappropriate, stupid, difficult to follow, or mentally challenging.

I think the only time I don't like it is when they pick the "wrong" house or when people are being completely unreasonable in their home requirements. For example, there will be a newly-married couple looking for a house with at least 3000 sqft, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, top of the line kitchen, finished basement, etc. A bit ridiculous in my opinion. So perhaps I also like the show because it is a form of people watching...

Gone in 60 Seconds

The first time I saw this movie, was in my 8th grade band class. We were celebrating having finished a concert. I have seen it a few times since then; so when I saw it on TV, I decided to watch it.

While I enjoy the fast paced nature of this action movie, and the moral value of helping out family no matter what, I found myself wanting the characters to steal the cars and to kill the main villian. I don't consider that to be the best message. I do like that they make an effort to emphasize the negative outcomes of living this kind of lifestyle; but it still seems to glorify being a car thief, and possibly even give people ideas on how to steal cars.

Eureka

So one of my favorite television shows is called "Eureka." It's on the SciFi channel. The premise of the show is that, after WWII, Einstein and other geniuses got permission from the government and started their own town where intellectual genius could thrive. In the present day, this town still exists and it has all kinds of funny dilemmas that result from genius inventions and everyday life. The main character of the show is Sheriff Jack Carter. He isn't a genius, but is experienced and has street smarts. As a result, he usually ends up solving the problems that the Intellectuals have created and cannot solve by themselves.

One of the many reasons my husband and I like this show, is because it is clean. There is very little swearing and almost no sexual references or content. However, the episodes for the last two weeks (that we watched on TiVo at my cousin's) were a different story. There were a number of sexual references and some sexual scenes, including one between two teenagers (the actors are actually teenagers as well). I am not sure why this change happened, but my family and I are certainly disappointed.

Taken

Tonight, my husband and I watched the movie "Taken" with Liam Neeson. While watching it, I found myself become more anxious, tense, angry, and aggressive. For those of you who don't know what it's about, Liam Neeson's character is a retired CIA spy-type. His semi-estranged daughter goes to Europe on a trip and gets kidnapped. He is on the phone with her when it happens, and it turns out that she has been taken by people who traffic women. He goes over to Europe to find her by any means possible. It is a very violent, action-packed film. I did not like the level of violence and swearing, but I did like that it raised awareness of the problem of female slavery/prostitution. I was also disturbed by the number of people injured and/or killed in the search for the daughter. I think it was a well made film, but not necessary the best movie to watch in terms of emotional intensity and visual content.