The S.C.

I have struggled to find the last book in the "Ender's Game" comic series. It is called "Ender's Game: Command School" and it depicts the final battle with the "buggers". I really wanted to read it before moving on to our reserch phase but I couldn't find it in any book store.

While we were in our class yesterday I decided to look it up in the library. I found it in the special collections section of the library.... wait, what!? A comic in the special collections section? Yeah that was my first thought too.

So I went down to check it out. What I got was one of the strangest experiences. I have never been to special collections and I suggest that you go just to experience it. It was like walking into Fort Knox. I got directed to three different counters till I found the lady I was suppose to talk to. Once they knew what book I wanted I had to fill out a card with all my information. Then I had relinquish my back pack before entering. I also had to fork over my cell phone, which wouldn't have mattered any way becuase the collections section is in the basement of the library so you get no service.

After the lady at the desk opened the locked door I was aloud to enter into the reading room, I could not take the book out of the reading room and I couldn't bring anything into the reading room. They provided paper and pencil and that was all I could use. I went into the room and waited for my comic book. As I waited I observed that everyone around me was looking at ancient documents and that they had to use gloves to handle these documents.

So here I am waiting for my COMIC BOOK. (Don't ask me why a comic book is in special collections. They said the only things down there are either extremley rare or worth a lot. I doubt that "Ender's Game: Command School" is either.) Once my comic book came I got out a peice of paper and pencil to act like I was jotting down important notes. I felt like I should have gotten tweezers to turn the pages or something. I got a lot of puzzled looks when I recieved the comic and poured over it like an idiot.

I am very grateful for the Library for keeping books like that stocked and for helping me find it. We are really lucky to have a library with such a diverse collection of literature. I suggest that you go check out the S.C. and see what you can find down there.

Trailer for the Special Collections

The Royal Wedding Comic

Talk about "Remixing!" Apparently someone wanted to milk the Royal Wedding for all its worth and decided to make a comic book depicting the event. This limited edition sold out the minute it hit the shelves. It is being sold at Barnes & Nobel and Borders. I guess this is a step in the right direction for comics, seeing that it sold out. This is a great way for comics to get exposed to an audience that normally wouldn't want to be involved with comics. 

Orson Scott Card: A Comic Fan!

I am pleasantly surprised to say that Orson Scott Card (author of Ender's Game) is a comic book fan. Before picking "Ender's Game" as my book to read I had no idea that he loved comics. Not only does he love comics but he as worked on three different ones. He wrote, "Ultimate Iron Man," "Wyrms," and "Red Prophet: The Tales of Alvin Maker." He praises comics and collaborates with Marvel often on their works.

Although Orson Scott Card did not work on "Ender's Game: Battle School" (the comic) he has high praise for it. In the videos below (they are short and worthwhile) he talks about how "Battle School" is better than all of his attempted screenplays for the proposed "Ender's Game Movie" (Movie has been on again off again for ten years. Here is a fan made trailer to hold you over till it comes out.) He said that he has made 15 different screenplays for the movie and the comic is the best he has seen and that this is the vision he wants to see on the big screen. He also said that the comic version in many ways may be better than the original novel because,"the visuals are so great and the script so tight." He gladly endorses the comic as a credible piece of literature.

After listening to these interviews it shows me a couple of things. 1) That comics are a great transition between novels and movies. 2) Comics can surpass novels because of the visual work 3) If Orson Scott Card works on comics and endorses comics then comics have to be respected by peers. (Sigh) One day...

Watch the two interviews of Orson Scott Card below
Orson Scott Card Interview #1
Orson Scott Card Interview #2

"Hunger Games" Movie First Look

 Hunger Games is a great book, one of my favorites. It also should be a great crossover to a movie. Here is the FIRST look at the Hunger Games movie. This is Katniss, she is played by Jennifer Lawrence (See "Winter's Bone" & "X-Men First Class"). Comes out summer of 2012, excited. 

Your's Truly in a BYU commercial

I was watching the Bulls Heat game tonight and the new BYU commercial for Basketball showed. Much to my surprise my wife and I are in it. Check it out. We are the idiots at 8 seconds holding up the Jimmer's biggest fans with our heads sticking through.

Im at 8 seconds.
Next season wont be the same without Jimmer, sorry BYU.

Ender's Game... Comic Book???

Awesome painting of Ender and Bean in the "Dragon Army" about to go into the "war room."

"Wow! Matt's doing ANOTHER comic book post?!" Yep! (it's kind of the theme of my blog)

"Ender's Game" is one of my favorite books (look at my April post's on why). So you can imagine my pleasant surprise to find out that in 2008 it was made into a comic book! I love that it was made into a comic book because now I can prove to you guys how awesome the medium of comics are. Everyone knows, or should know, about "Ender's Game." Now you can experience it in a comic form and see the benefit of comics.

The video below shows the PERFECT marriage of literature and comics. It is a fan made video, it is the 1st book the comic series with the audio version of "Ender's Game" in the background. This video shows how the artistic format of comics let's your imagination fill in the gaps that the book has to explain word for word. It also showed me things that I never new or glossed over while reading the book. For instance I never knew that Ender had a microchip thing in the back of his neck until reading the comic.

 

I am thoroughly enjoying the comic book and I am getting a different perspective on one of my favorite books.

Are Comics Literature?

At least I hope it gets comments.

This is something very sensitive to us comic book lovers. I am caught in a odd predicament and I find myself becoming a conundrum, I am a English major who loves comics. Is that possible? Can someone who studies Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Milton be aloud to appreciate Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Will Eisner (If you know any of these three authors congratulations... your a dork)? I would like to believe that I have not wasted my time over the years and that reading comic books are not only considered literature but have benefited my life and society in some way.

The other day my ENGLISH PROFESSOR WHO HAS A DOCTORATE handed me a book that WAS ON HIS SHELF called "Reinventing Comics." This is a book that talks about the rise and fall of comics and how comics can come out of obscurity. This book is a bit dated (1999) so the author hasn't seen the success of the comic book movies. We are not here to discuss the movies though, they are a success and they are helping comics gain popularity, but are they considered legitimate literature? One of the things that "Reinventing Comics" talks about at great lengths is how comics can be considered literature.

Comics started out as either ten cent magazines for kids or "the funnies" in newspapers. It wasn't until Eisner in 1978 wrote the first and coined the phrase "graphic novel." He realized that the comic industry would not be respected until they started making actual bound books. The first "graphic novel" was called "A Contract With God."

Alan Moore wrote "The Watchmen." Some of you have probably seen or heard about the film, forget that. "The Watchmen" is considered by everyone as the best graphic novel. It won a Hugo Award (awarded to the best Science Fiction/Fantasy novel of the year). It also made Times "Top 100 Novels of All Time." "The Watchmen" asks the question, "what if superheroes were real?" It is a dark look at the impact superheroes would have on the world, it is magnificent and one of the best written books I have written, honestly. Side note (The best selling comic book is "The Death of Superman" (1992))

Comics do something that normal literature can't. They meld picture and words in a seamless cohesion. The best part about comics is the space between the pictures. This "empty" space is where the reader has creative freedom. The reader can imagine what is happening between the gaps and fill it in with their own images. It's also been said that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Some of the most powerful images in comics are those without any words. We as a culture are becoming increasingly more visual, comics just seem to be the perfect transition to our more increasingly visual culture.

One of the most famous images in comics. From "The Death of Superman." Don't worry he got better.

lit·er·a·ture/ˈlit(ə)rəCHər/Noun

1. Written works, esp. those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit: "a great work of literature".

According to the above definition Comic books/Graphic Novels are indeed literature. Comic books still have a long way to go to become legitimate in America (In Japan everybody reads comics, even respected businessmen). But I foresee a day when comics will be respected and studied as literature. 

"Survivor" Changed TV

My dad watches one show and one show only, "Survivor." He has watched ALL 22 seasons over the past ten years. The only time he has ever gotten mad at me was when I forgot to record the season finale of Season 2. If he could he would go on in a heart beat. Their are many hard core "Survivor" fans and although the ratings have dropped "Survivor" is still going strong. "Survivor" will eventually end, but it's impact on our culture will have a lasting effect.

In "Convergence Culture" Jenkins talks about "Survivor's"impact on television. When "Survivor" came to America in 2000 (Europeans had all ready started it two years prior) it sparked a new form of television. "Survivor" was the first of its kind, a show that involves the audience by getting invested with characters who get voted off. This caused such a stir of passionate viewers that a lot of them couldn't wait till the next week to find out who got voted off. They tried to find leaks in the "Survivor" system to see what information they could get (Any person on the Survivor who leaks information could be fined $5 million dollars).

Producers saw the rabidness of these "Survivor" fans and how invested they were in the characters on the show. This lead to "American Idol," a show that welcomes and survives on audience participation. The audience could now vote on who they wanted and in turn they had an invested intrest in that character and would watch the show to see what would happen. Jenkins talks about how "American Idol"(2002) was the first to incorporate technology with a television show. In 2002 "American Idol" was teaching people how to use their cell phones in a different way, to vote.

Now the most popular shows are the interactive shows. "American Idol" is receiving more votes than ever. "The Voice" a new show that is an American Idol copycat is letting you vote AND tweet along side the judges. "One Tree Hill" lets you vote on the outcome of an episode, "Do you want him to kiss Julie or not." "Survivor" is now letting you tweet along side Jeff Probst the host of "Survivor." We have now entered into the age where TV is interactive.

---SPOILER---
Season 22 of "Survivor: Redemption Island" just ended last night. The winner was four time competitor and the most popular "Survivor" Boston Rob! Finally!

Occultism in Comic Books

oc·cult/əˈkəlt/

Adjective: Of, involving, or relating to supernatural, mystical, or magical powers or phenomena.

In class today we talked about "remixing." Dr. Burton showed us how some literature can be turned into videos, cartoons, or different types of media. This is "remixing," we've all seen it. Well it even happens in comics. Sometimes, especially Marvel, bridge the gap of supernatural and real. This is a form of "remixing." Some comics have pushed the boundaries of occultism and created some amazing things. Im going to talk about a few of these occult moments where our world and the world of superheroes come together.

Comic book heroes have problems just like we do. That's why we can relate to them, without these every day problems they would be alien to us. They deal with problems that would be hard to deal with in another media form. Problems like:

Alcoholism

The movies have touched on it a bit but in the comics Ironman or Tony Stark has to deal with this problem every day. He is severely alcoholic and it effects him and everyone around him.

Drugs

Their was a series where the Green Arrow and the Green Lantern teamed up and dealt with dark issues like drugs, domestic violence, and racism. This was monumental especially because this all came out in the 70's. Green Arrow eventually found out that his own sidekick was a junkie.

Domestic Violence

Ant-Man is a vital part of the Avengers. But he has an anger issues and when Ant-Man (Hank Pym) hit his wife, he quickly (and still is) one of the most hated heroes. It is amazing to see that after all his heroic efforts he has never been able to live this one moment down. 

Comics also tackle sensitive issues like war, terrorism, and politics.

WWII

This is how Comics made their mark in the 40's. They were a great source of escapism in a trying time. It also raised awareness for War Bonds & Stamps. Instead of Supeman flying over to Germany and capturing Hitler himself (Wish he would have), he was doing "his part" by  buying war bonds. At least Captain America got to give Adolf a few hits.

9/11

When this happened their couldn't have been a more sensitive topic. Most of the superheroes live in New York, (SpiderMan, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and Daredevil). So of course their world was going to be affected. But the thing I love about these comics is that the "superheroes" failed but the real heroes (Firemen, Policemen, and Paramedics) succeeded. They were the true heroes in real life AND in the comic world. It was a great nod to the real men and women who were the true "super"heroes of that day.

Politics

The above comic happened a month ago. Superman is sick of the decision that America is making and doesn't want to be apart of any country any more. So he does the logical thing and renounces his American citizenship...

Ugh...

Dead Superheroes!

So this is a project I have been working on for a couple of days. The hard part about being a comic book fan is that their are SO MANY comics to chose from. And every comic follows a different story arc. For instance the X-Men has several different story arcs in, "Uncanny X-Men," "Ultimate X-Men," "New X-Men," "Exiles," "Runaways," "X-Force," and "Excalibur." This can cause for some confusion in who's alive who's dead and what the heck is going on!?!? But for the most part most of them try and follow the main story but its hard. So I compiled a list of well known superheroes who for the most part are dead in most of the comics. Now don't worry most if not ALL superheroes usually come back... it is a little ridiculous, but hey, death sells. So here is the list:

The Human Torch

How: A group of space Alien Bugs were invading the Earth through a portal that Reed Richard (Mr. Fantastic) accidentally opened. To save the team while they escaped through the portal while Reed Richards was closing it, the Human Torch stayed behind and sacrificed himself (that is the above image).

When: He Died in March of 2011.

What Now: The Fantastic Four are looking for a fourth member now and are probably going to select Spiderman.

Nightcrawler

How: "After a brutal battle with a powered up Rogue, Bastion attempted to kill Hope but Nightcrawler bravely teleported in front of Bastion, with Bastion‘s arm skewering his chest.
Disabling Bastion for a couple of precious seconds, Nightcrawler then makes one last teleport to Utopia where Cyclops and the rest of the mutant army awaits."

When: April 2010

What Now: He is currently still dead in ALL X-Men comics.

Batman (Bruce Wayne)

How: Superman, Batman, and Wonderwoman (considered the "trinity" of superheroes) went up against Darkseid. Darkseid is a God who looks to enslave planets. Darkseid took down Superman and Wonderwoman easily. So what did Bruce Wayne a normal human do after earth's two mightestes heroes fell??? He went toe to toe with Darkseid. Ultimately Darkseid zapped Batman with his laser beam eyes, but it gave the heroes enough time to recover and safe earth against Darkseid.

When: November 2008

What Now: Bruce Wayne is dead but Batman lives on. Currently their is a very interesting Batman comic going on featuring Dick Grayson (The original Robin) as Batman and Damien (Bruce Waynes son with Ras Al Ghul daughter) as Robin. Recently it has been leaked that Batman will come back soon.

Captain America

How: During Marvel's "Civil War" in which the Government wants all Superheroes to register themselves and reveal their identities, Captain America (who is against this registration) and other superheroes is pitted against Ironman (who is for the registration act). Captain America is assassinated by Red Skull and a sniper named Crossbones.

When: 2007

What Now: The original Cap, Steven Rodgers, has been dead for four years now. But Captain America still lives on through his former sidekick Bucky Barnes who has taken up his mantle. Like Batman, the original Captain America is scheduled to make a comeback.

Professor X

How: Really anti-climatic and a lot of people are upset about it. Marvel came out with a comic called "The Ultimatum." The purpose of this comic was to kill off a lot of heroes in the Marvel world quickly. So in a span of four pages three superheroes died. The Blob ATE the Wasp (She's was on the avengers) and then in retaliation Ant-Man ATE The Blob. The following page showed Magneto and Professor X talking, Professor X compared Magneto to Osama Bin Ladin, and then Magneto walked up to him and snapped his neck. Lame!

When: 2010

What Now: By the time Professor X died he had faded to the background in the Marvel world and was more of a spokesperson for the mutants instead of the leader of the X-Men. Cyclops and Emma Frost are now the leaders of the X-Men

Jean Grey

How: Do you know that Jean Grey has died 14 times!? Click HERE if you want to read them all. Her latest death was probably her lamest. Jean Grey is now "the Phoenix" (The most powerful mutant in the universe) and she decides that the world isn't ready for "the Phoenix" and so she submerges herself in a glacier...

When: 2005

What Now: Their have been a few Jean Grey sightings or influences here and their, but she has not made an official comeback yet. 

Well that's for sure not everyone but these are the big heroes. Some other heroes that are dead include Ant-Man, The Beast (In a few story arcs not all), Colossus (Not in all story arcs), and Banshee. If you would like to see a MASSIVE list click HERE.

"Thor" Movie Review

I saw "Thor" on opening night. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't that excited about the film I was about to watch. Usually I am antsy and extremely focused on what I am about to see if I am excited to see the film. For me "Thor" was going to have to do something amazing to impress me... and it didn't. I have never been a fan of "Thor." I couldn't relate to "the God of Thunder." It was to "fantastical" for me and that is saying a lot.

The main actor, Chris Hemsworth was perfect as Thor. He embodied Thor and he wasn't a bad actor. Some fun facts, his brother was the boy friend of Miley Cyrus in real life and in the movie, "The Last Song." His brother and him were both up for the part of Thor. My favorite scenes in the movie were the ones on Asgard (Thor's Homeworld). Every scene with Loki (Thor's brother) or Odin (Thor's Dad played by Anthony Hopkins). Both Loki and Odin brought a lot of humanism and passion to the film that the earth characters lacked. Natalie Portman, the main love interest, was good but she was my biggest problem with the movie. I couldn't believe the love connection that her character and Thor had. I didn't believe that after a weekend Thor was willing to give up everything for this woman. 

Their was nothing in Thor that I haven't seen before. The graphics were ok, the story was ok, the acting was ok, and extremely cheesy at times. It wasn't bad and it made over 60 millions dollars in it's opening weekend, but I just didn't love it. This movie will not stand out as one of the great super hero movies. 

"Yeah! Im A Dork!" Rating: 6.5 (Out of Ten)

"Rotten Tomatoes"  Rating:  78%

"IMDB.com" Rating:            7.6

Coolest Video! Humans Doing Amazing Things

How To Tick People Off!

Another great stumbleupon.com find. Check it out. Hilarious!

How To Tick People Off

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Thanks to stumbleupon.com I was able to find this poster for the new Batman movie called, "The Dark Knight Rises." This poster is awesome! This is the character "Bane" (some of you might remember him from the awful movie "Batman and Robin" starring the Govenator, he is the guy with all the tubes coming out of his back) but in classic Christopher Nolan (the director of "Inception","Batman Begins", and "The Dark Knight") he has gone the more darker route. I can't tell you how excited I am for this movie. Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman and Tom Hardy (The British guy in inception) will be playing Bane. Bane in the comic books is one of Batman's most formidable foes. He is incredibly strong thanks to a toxin that he injects into himself that beefs him up. He also is one of Batman's smartest villians, not the bumbling idiot portrayed in "Batman and Robin." His most famous moment in the comics is when he broke Batman's back! "The Dark Knight Rises" will be the final installment of the trilogy and comes out in the summer of 2012. Considering that "The Dark Knight"total worldwide grossing was 1.1 Billion and the only other movie that was higher grossing than that was "Avatar" I am guessing this should be a monumental movie.

Stumbleupon.com has been a great experience. It is a great great place to go if you want to find something new. I typed in my intrests and this was the first thing that it showed me. This picture didn't even show up on my usual movie websites. I highly highly recommend using stumbleupon.com.

Andrei Kirilenko Back Tattoo...What was he thinking?

The picture pretty much speaks for it self... I guess this is the future of the Jazz. (For those of you who don't know Andrei Kirilenko plays for the Utah Jazz)

If you want to read more click HERE

FREE FREE FREE! "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide"

Napster, Youtube, Itunes, Hulu, Limewire, Megavideo... what do all of these have in common, they are free (or were free once upon a time). Henry Jenkins book "Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Converge" is a book I am currently reading about these media outlets. It is a book showing the struggle of the corporate world struggling to keep the rights of what is theirs. It deals with movie leaks coming out before their release date, music getting illegally downloaded, and movies getting streamed straight to your computer and the producers don't make a dime.

I can honestly say that I am one of these culprits. The first thing I got on my first computer in 7th grade was Napster (Oh Napster how I miss you). Since Napster I and many people have never looked back. I can count on one hand how many times since Napster I have gone INTO a CD store and bought a CD. Napster opened up a world of free media and the flood gates are now open.

The cool thing about these media sites is that they will continue to evolve. I had no idea what "Youtube" was when I got home from my mission. The only place I knew to get video's online pre- "Youtube" was a site called ebaumsworld.com. Ebaumsworld.com started putting commercials on their site to generate a profit, so "Youtube" took their idea and made it better, plus no commercials. We continue to see this evolution. "Youtube" now wants to generate a profit so they are putting commercials on their website, so now people are starting to gravitate to "Megavideo." We see this processs in all of these media outlets. "Hulu" is starting to charge and fee so people are now going to alternative sites to watch free shows like "ch131.com."

Metallica, The Beatles, and Aerosmith were three huge bands that were strongly opposed to Napster and other entities like it. But they have since realized that to survive in this world you have to go viral. They have since then gone on Itunes, (Thank goodness).

This process will never end and I hope it doesn't. We continue to go more and more viral. Solid stores are the thing of the past. Take Blockbuster vs. Netflix for example. Blockbuster is Bankrupt and Netflix is the "store" of choice for a new generation. And this all started from a cat wearing headphones, I love it MWHAHAHA!

"StoryCorps": Preserving Our Stories

StoryCorps is an online company that isn't really a company. They are a group of people who's sole purpose is recording and preserving people's stories. Here is their mission statement, "Our mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs withe the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the storeis of our lives." These stories include average everyday tales from every day people.

It is amazing how these seemingly "random,""meaningless" stories of people's lives can have such a profound impact. This is exactly what we have been discussing in our Eng 295 class and have been reading in "Rainbow's End." It is the perfect balance of technology and content. I can't quite put my finger on why these videos are so powerful and that's why this blog is so great, YOU THE READER can help me. So please, please, please leave a comment and let me have your take on why these videos are so powerful. 

Warning: This video will make you cry. Very powerful video, please watch. 

Getting Connected

In one week I feel like my life has been inserted into a computer. I feel like I am in the matrix but instead of taking all the plugs out of me I am getting all the plugs drilled into me. I am currently apart of these social networks: facebook.com, diigo.com, goodreads.com, stumbleupon.com, google reader, and I am a blogger (I have yet to succumb to Twitter for fear that my life may implode with distractions and information). Their are pros and cons about being this "plugged in."

Pros- I can access more precise information and faster than I could before. I can discover new videos, books, and keep in touch with friends easier. I can talk about my ideas and have "a voice." I can let people know what I am doing at all times. I have access to a wealth of knowledge and a place to store that information.

Cons- Now that I am so "plugged in" I feel like everything that I do has ramifications. When I say I want to read a certain book on "goodreads.com" it pops up on my "facebook." So now I have 30 books on my profile and my wall is all jumbled with junk. If I tag anything on diigo.com my entire class can see. Every post on my blog now appears on my "facebook" which is quite intimidating. I feel like I am TOO connected. Every thing I do on the internet I feel is being watched.

This brings up another issue in terms of blogging, does my "voice" really matter? Why do I think I am so special and important to be listened to? Also is this even my real "voice?" Would I talk like this to my friends in person or is this just how I talk on my blog? Do I do things now in real life just for my "facebook" "status updates" or a new blog post?

At the end of the day I don't know all the answers. What I do know is that now that I have been exposed to a world of being "plugged in" it has changed my thought process of what I knew was capable. The scary thing is that I still could get more connected. I feel the more "connected" we become the closer we to having no private life and depending on technology solely. We will become more like the world in "Rainbow's End," where everyone is "wearing" computers and life is a computer. In that world if you don't stay current with the latest tech you miss out on a world. Now that I have been exposed to this world their is no turning back for me. 

You can now leave comments!

You can now comment on my blog. Sorry about the mix up. Just click on the "post comment" button and write in the pop up window. If you would like to view the comments just refresh the page and click on the "comment" button to view. Thanks for reading!

Trailer all ENG 295 students should look at!

This is a brand new trailer for a movie called Page One: Inside the New York Times. This movie depicts the exact thing that we have been talking about in class and that is discussed in "Rainbow's End." The New York Times will go out of business unless they adapt to the surge of technology. Do we need newspapers anymore? Do we need media outlets for the news? How do media outlets stay current and compete? All these questions are especially pertinent when thinking about the recent news of Osama Bin Ladin. Most people found out about Osama's death via "Twitter" or "Facebook." Their was a record set of more than 3,400 tweets per second on Twitter! SIDENOTE: Do you know who according to twitter was the first person to tweet about Osama Bin Ladin's death? That's right you guessed it Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson! Our world is dramatically changing. My generation primarily gets news from comedy central shows like "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Repot." Entertainment news like "TMZ","ET", and "Good Morning America" is the way of the future. If these communication mediums don't adapt to a technological world they will become obsolete.

Hilarious Video! Will Ferrell shaves Conan's Beard

This is a hilarious video of Will Ferrell shaving Conan O'briens beard. It just aired last night. The first video is a setup of the beard shave and the second is the beard shave. The second has some sexual talking, so  just be aware of that. Hilarious video, enjoy.

Will Ferrell Beard shave Part 1
Will Ferrell Beard shave Part 2

Top 100 Super Heroes

Ok so this seems a little daunting... but this is IGN.com's list of "Top 100 Heroes." Looks pretty comprehensive and they are only going to to ten a day so its not a water hose of information. Anyways if your bored in class or really want to know that "Batman's" probably going to number one then check it out.

TOP 100 HEROES

BYU Exhibit + Ipad = Awesome?

Tonight my wife and I went to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU. I was expecting some neat art with some insight, but what I got was a whole different experience. When I got to the exhibit I saw, no joke, a pack of eight kids with "Ipad's" and head phones running around. I couldn't believe it! I have never seen so many "Ipad's" at once and they were in the hands of little kids. I had to figure out what was going on and the next thing I know my wife is handing me an "Ipad" that she rented for $3 bucks. I knew that this exhibit was going to be a different experience for me.

The "Ipad's" were our very own personal guide. For every painting we approached we could find the painting on our "Ipad" and click on it. It would then bring up a slew of interactive menus. One menu had biblical references to the painting. Another menu showed the painting in its original church it was in and gave the reader some information about that town. But the coolest menu was a menu where you could click on any number on the painting and either the BYU curator, a church scriptorian, or a Danish expert on Bloch would tell you some insight or information. I had a panel of experts at my fingertips. These experts were so insightful and really brought the art to life. That was the most I had ever learned in a museum/exhibit without a personnel guide. The "Ipad" was the perfect medium to bring something so ancient as 17th century art to life. Here I was looking at a picture of "Christ with a young child" while my "Ipad" was playing "Come thou font," and the experience for me transcended that of an art exhibit. With the help of technology I was able to see and feel exactly how Bloch intended me to feel. It was the perfect balance of technology, aesthetics,  and substance. The mix and blend was masterful, if this is what the future holds then I am all for it.

"Christ with a Young Child"