Sunday, December 19, 2010

Sorry!

As you know, I said I would be posting my photography assignments here each week. Well, as my luck would have it, I lost my flash drive and cannot transfer any of my edited pictures from my school computer to my home computer. I apologize for not posting anything this past week as I have been busy finishing school work before Winter Break started and then I lost my flash drive so I couldn't even post pictures. As soon as I find it, I will post my week 2 photography assignment and my portfolio.

College apps are quickly approaching so I may not post again until after Christmas since I will be working hard to get them in on time along with preparing for the holidays. I'll will try to post again before New Year's but if I don't, I hope everyone has a good holiday and I will see you all in 2011!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Photo Assignments-Week 1

In my photography class at school, we have assignments due every Friday. For my class, we can take pictures of whatever we want or we can do some of the projects assigned to the second year students. What I've decided to do is post what I'm turning in each week to the blog! Our first critique of the 9 weeks was this past Friday so I'll only post the picture that my teacher loved. From now on, I'll post all the pictures I turn in. I would love to get some critique on anything I post!


And soon I will be posting my college portfolio so when I do, all the feedback I can get would be amazing! For now, here is week 1!

Remembering

This is just going to be a short post but I wanted to do this in honor of a lost classmate. Last week, a student at my school, Patrick Gorman, died of a heart attack. When he was born, he was not supposed to live. Patrick was deaf and grew up with heart problems. Unfortunately, I did not know him very well but when I talked to some friends of mine who did know him, they had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. He was an extremely talented artist and, according to a mutual friend, he wanted to go to Paris and paint after college. After looking at some of his work, he was definitely capable of accomplishing that dream. I attended a vigil at his house and his entire family was there to greet the crowd. When we got there, his mother started crying even more when she saw how many people had showed up on a freezing cold night to honor her disabled son. It was sad yet wonderful to hear people talk about Patrick because although his life had ended much to short, people's stories proved he had lived a full life in his 17 years.

I want to remember families like Gorman's during the holiday season. Christmas will not be the same for them ever again but it will be especially hard this year. It is so hard to lose a loved one and be grieving during this time of celebration. But we have to believe that God knows what he's doing and he will always do what is best for us. I know Patrick is in a better place right now and although it is sad that he is gone, it's comforting to know he is sitting with the Father.

Pray for the Gorman's and other families who are celebrating the holiday season without loved ones.

Tangled

First- EVERYONE IN THE WORLD SHOULD SEE THE MOVIE TANGLED!

Ok now that I've gotten that out of my system, yes I have seen the movie Tangled (twice, in 3D!) and I must tell you how amazing it is.

The story follows the basic storyline of Rapunzel being in a tower and having really long hair for about 5 seconds. The two main characters are Rapunzel and Flynn Rider voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Flynn is a thief on the run who happens to stumble upon Rapunzel's tower. They meet, go on adventure to find floating lights, and eventually fall in love. Sorry to be so vague but I'm afraid of saying to much and ruining it! I'd rather someone not know much now than know too much when they see the movie.

Although, like most Disney movies, it follows the cliche story line but Tangled does a nice job of not making it feel so cliche. First off, I personally have never heard a very in-depth story about the character Rapunzel anyways so this story brings a whole new perspective and a lot of interesting details to a basic fairytale. Second, the purpose of Flynn and Rapunzel's adventure is different and new. Floating lights haven't exactly appeared in many classic Disney movies. Also, Rapunzel isn't looking for love. She is a very strong and independent woman and definitely shows that in some of the more action-filled scenes.

Now you know that every Disney princess-like character needs an animal friend to be their life guide. Well Rapunzel gets the best animal by far. Her friend is a chameleon named Pascal. I hate reptiles but he is the cutest thing I've ever seen! Granted he is animated and barely has any scales but still, he is pretty amazing. He protects Rapunzel from the evils of the outside world and surprisingly has control over Flynn.  Once you see this movie, you will want a Pascal. If only chameleons were this cute in real life.

Like any other movie, the music is very important. With original songs by Alan Menken (a movie music genius), the music is some of the best I've heard from Disney in a while. Some of my favorite songs are "I See the Light", "When Will My Life Begin?", and "I've Got a Dream". The best thing about having an actress/singer play the main character is that she can sing all the songs herself! Zachary Levi also showed his surprisingly good pipes in the romantic duet "I See the Light".

Overall, the movie was a mixture between Anastasia and Aladdin mostly (once you see it you will understand the Anastasia part). This was an amazing movie and will go down as another Disney classic. And although Rapunzel is not counted as a "Disney Princess", she is starting to turn into my favorite princess Disney has created.

Let me know your thoughts on the movie!