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| So I'll hit you with something pretty large. Today I was informed that I have been accepted to be an Intern for Communicators for Christ. For those of you who don't know, this means I will travel the country for four months (from the end of July till the end of November) in a motor home with 12 other teens and the Moon parents. We'll teach and run speech and debate conferences about every week during that time. Then in January we will put on a Masters conference that will last 2 weeks. The team for 2007-2008 is as follows:
Girls:
Amy Curran (MI)
Karen Kovaka (IN)
Rebecca Lee (AL)
Marcie Little (GA)
Grace Mullaney (FL)
Amy Scofield (FL)
Guys:
Nathan Brown (TN)
Adam Hardy (TX)
Justin Louis (TX)
Devin Moon (TN)
Matt Pitchford (WA)
Zach Robbins (MS)
Marshall Sherman (TX)
We'll do a complete circle around the US going from Orland, FL to Livermore, CA up to Seattle, WA across to Annapolis, MD back down to Naples, FL. All in all it will be a lot of work, traveling, and lack of sleep... but should be well worth it. I'm excited to work with the interns as we all worked together already at Masters and go to know each other pretty well.
The waiting game since January has finally ended.
In other news I just got back from the Huntsville tournament. I did alright. I got 1st Extemp, 1st Dramatic Interp, 3rd Duo, 3rd Imp, 3rd LD Speaks, 6th LD overall, 4th IE Sweepstakes. I have two weeks till the next tournament in Monroe. Nice break seeing that I spent the last 3 weeks with a tournament per week. | | |
| So I'm back from the Ohio National Open. Yah... it was pretty amazing. I did well, learned a lot, and had major fun.
How I did: 1st LD Speaker, 2nd LD debate, 1st IE Sweepstakes, 1st Extemp (qaling to Nats), 1st Duo Interp (qualing to Nats), 2nd Dramatic Interp (qualing to Nats), and 3rd Impromptu.
I was really shocked with LD. I had been worried about doing well because I didn't even break at my last two pre-regional tournaments. But I stepped it up and decided to actually work on it. Thanks to Karen Kovaka, Nathan Brown, Marla Blum, Sussana Griffith, Mrs. Culp, my dad, and my mom for allowing me to bounce ideas off of you as well as putting my cases and arguments through the grinder of your minds. I worked more on LD those three days before the tournament than I have over the past three years. | | |
| I like films. I might like them too much actually...
I've had love for movies and films for a long time. But here recently I've realized how many great films I've been missing. I think a lot of what spurred me into this phase was a student conference I attended at the beginning of last summer called the "Chrisitian Student Worldview Conference." We had a guest speaker come for the last two days, Brian Godawa. He is a Christian Hollywood Screenwriter. In his lectures he taught us how to analyze movies and really get the most out of them.
I realized that before I had just been skimming the surface of every movie. Do you pay attention to how many names are in the credits of any movie? A LOT. That's because a film is a huge undertaking and has so much involved and going on. Films will cover anything from philosophies, to concepts, to character traits, to morals, to ideals, to religion, to beliefs. I think I enjoy films because of these things, not necessarily because of the entertainment value.
However, tonight I realized one of the reasons I like films more than just reading about the ideas or concepts. Of course there's always the entertainment value, but I think it's truly the artistic side of me jumping out. Tonight I attempted to watch "Waking Life" (recommended by a friend). I turned it off about 30 minutes. It was probably more thought-provoking and philisophical than anything I had seen, but it was the way it accomplished this. There was no plot. It was one guy going around talking to a bunch of people and them spouting these philiosophical ideas. Here the ideas jump out and grab you, but they don't hide themselves. I like films that are able to hide their meaning artistically. It takes true talent to be able to do this.
I co-run a graphics designing business (fxdesigning.com). In our line of work, we attempt to capture companies' identities visually. We try and represent ideas and concepts that the company bases themselves in. Instead of just stating "this company is about bla bla bla and bla" we hide that in colors and shapes. The mind always interacts with and understands this better. I'm not sure why, but it does. This paralells my liking of films and why I've been watching so many lately.
If you have any suggestions for movies, let me hear them. I will watch them.
A list I've gone through recently:
10 Things I Hate About You
Almost Famous
American Beauty
American History X
Being John Malkovich
Donnie Brasco
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Garden State
Girl Interrupted
Goodfellas
Happy Endings
Heat
Immortal Beloved
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Kiss Kiss-Bang Bang
Lake House
Little Miss Sunshine
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lost In Translation
Magnolia
Millers Crossing
Mystic River
Pieces of April
Punch Drunk Love
Requiem for a Dream
Romper Stomper
Salvador
Shattered Glass
Sideways
Sin City
Sophie Scholl
Station Agent
Sweet and Lowdown
Team America World Police
Thank You for Smoking
The Good Girl
The Madness of King George
The Mission
The Pianist
The Queen
The Usual Suspects
The Virgin Suicides
The Weather Man
V for Vendetta
Vanilla Sky
Vanity Fair | | |
| The sickness season should die... a slow... painful death.
Get well Hilary, Ruth Ann, and all those out there that are suffering. | | |
| The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
"Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;"
Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whisp'ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
For her th' unfading rose of Eden blooms,
And wings of seraphs shed divine perfumes,
For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring,
For her white virgins hymeneals sing,
To sounds of heav'nly harps she dies away,
And melts in visions of eternal day.
-Alexander Pope
Watch the movie. Okay? Okay, good. | | |
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