Alice in Wonderland

Over spring break I went and saw Tim Burton's newest work "Alice in Wonderland". I must say, 3-D has improved dramatically from when I was a kid. I remember watching 3-D movies with those paper glasses with the red and blue lenses, remember? And only some of the things would pop out at you, like a cat's paw, or a dragon's head or something. But now thanks to the wonders of technology it's the whole movie! (As a side note, if you go, make sure to get there early so you're not stuck sitting in the front row like I was.) This new and improved 3-D makes you feel like you're actually in the room with the characters and hence, even more involved with the characters and their struggle.
Being a theater geek I was enamored with the costumes and make-up. I doubt the costumes are 100% accurate of the times; why is Alice's dress so short in comparison to those around her? But the essence comes through. Think of it like steam punk; it's inspired by Victorian clothing, but with a modern twist. There is a mixing of styles and each character is given their own style and their personalities are clearly seen in their mode of dress. The make-up in brief is calling to me to try and replicate it. I especially want to try and replicate the Mad Hatter's make-up. I loved all the colors used especially around the eyes.
Although the movie had Burton's signature dark and shadowy and gothic style, it seemed a little bit less so than normal. (Maybe because Disney had a hand in it?) Personally I liked it that way. I like to be able to get a good look at the costumes and in some of his movies like 'Sweeney Todd' I couldn't really do so because it was so dark and shadowy.
This new Alice lost much of Carroll's puzzles, riddles, and humor. Strangely enough, the animated Alice in Wonderland had some of that. You would think that the teen and young adult oriented movie would include more of that since an older audience member would catch on quicker than a child. But that's how it is. Yes, I do think that younger children (say younger than 6) should be excluded from this movie because it is a little bit scarier than the animated Disney version.
One thing that I did notice (damn you I.B.) was that red vs white rose imagery was lifted straight from English history portrayed with some fudge by Shakespeare in his Henry VI cycle of history plays. I'll spare you having to read them; the red and white roses are the symbols of the House of Lancaster and House of York respectively during the famed War of the Roses from 1455-1485. I feel so smart :).
All in all, an entertaining and visually pleasing movie. You don't have to think too hard about it, and it's definitely going to give you ideas for your next Halloween costume.

Tim Tebow's Future part 2

So I was thinking as I was walking home a few minutes ago about Tim Tebow and the Dolphins and a comment that was left on that article. Tim Tebow probably won't make it as a first string QB as is, but he might make a really great second stringer. Then I thought of how the Dolphins sometimes use a two quarterback system. Chad Henne is the regular quarterback, but every once in a while, Pat White will be put in and he'll run a good 4 yards or so, sometimes he'll throw the ball, and after his 1 or two plays he's taken out and replaced by Chad Henne. Now Pat White is pretty small in this day of huge quarterbacks. But Tim Tebow has that toughness and quickness to be able to execute these plays. These are the kinds of plays Tebow is really good at. If the Dolphins want to continue this semi two quarterback system, or even develop it further, Tim Tebow is probably the best pick out there.
This brings up the question of how the dynamics of the game are going to change. When the Dolphins first came out with the Wildcat, they were unstoppable (Sorry Belichick) and it took a while for teams to adjust. I know the Dolphins did not invent the Wildcat, but before this it was not commonly used in the NFL. Now, because of the Dolphins employing it, teams now have to prepare their defenses for it. By that same token, if the Dolphins start employing a two quarterback system, the defense of any team will have to work twice as hard and prepare for two different styles and two different mentalities and logic. They will have to learn two different individuals and adjust to a wider spectrum of opportunities.
In the meantime, Tebow could be taught and groomed to perhaps one day take on the role of star quarterback while still participating in the game. Now the question of money, will a franchise be willing to invest that much money on someone who might not initially give good returns? We'll see what coaches and GMs think as the draft unfolds. But it's not too much of a color change from orange and blue to orange and teal. :)

Tim Tebow's Future

The NFL draft is a little over 1 month away and I can't help but follow what's going on with Tim Tebow. He was a force to be reckoned with in college. He has the arm strength (ignoring technique) to throw long passes, he can run very quickly, and he's tough; he's not afraid to get down and dirty. But he brings something else that I think a mediocre team needs: heart. If you watch him on T.V. you only get a glimpse of his energy and charisma. I've seen him play a number of times at The Swamp. He really puts a lot of effort out there, he infuses everyone around him with energy. It was a thrill and a joy to watch him grow and develop as a person and as a player. When he first started, when he couldn't find someone, he'd run. By the end of his senior year, he was waiting and looking, scanning the field to find his man. Then, at the last minute, if no one was open, he'd run. He's a 'team player' and after spending over 3 years in the spotlight, he still continued to be a team player. I'm not going to pick out T.O. specifically but an over-sized ego gets in the way of what you're doing. It becomes all about "me me me". Tim is a natural leader and he inspires confidence in his team, in himself, and in all he does. What does this quality amount to? For a strong team, not much. Why would you need a leader when you have a great system and great people in that system? A team like the Colts would not need a Tim Tebow. (Not that Peyton Manning is going anywhere) But a team like the Dolphins, or Tampa Bay, or Jacksonville (among others) might benefit from someone like him.
However, the criticisms are valid. He takes way too long to throw the ball and you can't expect not to get intercepted when you are throwing from your waist. Why he throws like that is beyond me. What's even more mind boggling is why the coaches as UF have done nothing to change his throwing style. But I'm beating a dead horse. What truly scares me is one of the things I praised earlier. His toughness and his enjoyment in contact. That may be fine in the college world where football players are generally smaller. But something happens once they go to the NFL, maybe it's the water, but they get huge. Did anyone see the last Dolphins game last season? After Chad Henne went down they put in little Pat White. He ran and collided helmet to helmet with Ike Taylor of the Steelers and subsequently suffered a concussion. Now Tebow is bigger than Pat White so if he did take a hit like that, it might not be as bad, but I think you see what I'm driving at.
I have not watched the other quarterbacks so I'm not going to compare them but I am going to say that my composite quarterback would definitely have the heart of Tim Tebow.
As a proud member of the Gator Nation, I wish him the best!

Isolated in a Crowd

With all the new and improved ways of keeping in touch with people, I find myself isolated in this sea of technology. People come and people go, promising to keep in touch, but never doing so. Oftentimes, there is no explanation, no fight, and no reason whatsoever. Other friends tell you of better ways of keeping in touch with people, but these are merely fads that come and go along with those friends that came with the new ways of communication. I have learned the hard way who my real friends are; look at my call log, I talk to the same 5 people, those are my real friends. Everyone else is merely scenery that comes and goes as I run my course. Try as I might to make that scenery part of my life permanently, I find that many times they slip through.
How is it that the more avenues of communication we have, the less we actually tell people? How many conversations have you had that consisted of "Hey what's up? Not much, just here bored...(insert random stuff here)”. That is hardly a memorable conversation; there is no real exchange of information, no connection. Most conversations lack depth and actual thought process. We don't remember what the person we are talking to has told us because it's all meaningless and we throw it out of our minds. We become more isolated the more we try to connect.
I’m tired of giving people excuses for not really keeping in touch. I’d much rather talk to someone on the phone or face-to-face; it’s easier to pick up meaning with as many context clues as possible. Sarcasm and irony are two of the hardest things to write and pick up in writing. Granted, some people are very good at subtle sarcasm that only other really sarcastic people can pick up on, but for the most part, sarcasm is easier to pick up when there’s a voice involved, not merely the written word.
Are we so afraid that others will not approve of us that we can no longer express exactly what we feel? That we have to hide behind “w/e” or “lol” when we’re not really laughing, just because we don’t have anything else to say? Can we no longer think of intelligent things to say to others that we have to talk about the everyday complaints and grievances? Are we afraid to really talk?
I refuse to give excuses, if you want to talk to me; you know how to get in touch with me, call me, e-mail me or message me on AIM or MSN. I think I have enough online addresses, if they are not good enough for you, fine, then I will know that I’m just another friend on your interminable lists of so-called “friends”; just another face and name but not a real person. I am more than what my online profile says but you would never know because we have lost touch with one another. We have drifted apart in this sea of technology and most of us would never even notice…

An interestingly lighthearted article

Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again....does not tell us at all that Humpty was an egg. However it's etymology has a number of variations, and it was in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book "Through the Looking Glass" (that used this rhyme), where the book's illustrator John Tenniel first drew Humpty as an egg, sitting on a wall.

An 1810 version of the rhyme also does not explicitly state that the subject is an egg because it was originally posed as the riddle as such:

Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.

Furthermore, "humpty dumpty" was an eighteenth-century reduplicative (linguistic root) slang for a short and clumsy person.

I got this article from:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091225041850AApxALK

Happy Commercialized Love Day!

I must give credit to my friend Victoria for giving me that phrase. Guys, it's that time of year again! Time to buy overpriced flowers, boxes of chocolates that you know will come back to haunt you in the form of "I'm so fat!", the cheesy balloons, the red and pink stuffed animals that will only be hurled at you if there is a break-up, and the expensive dinner that your wallet will be feeling for the next 2 months. No, I'm not single, I just don't want my guy to feel compelled to buy me flowers just because it's the end of the second week of the second month. The entire symbolism of the holiday has been grossly warped into appearances that can be purchased at street corners, drug stores, and on-line. Does giving candy really show love? No, but we are led to believe that it does by the very mentality that we have been instilled with. We are a consumer-based society. Our economy thrives on people buying stuff, throwing it away, then buying more stuff.
I love stuff too. Don't get me wrong. My mother can tell you I have so much 'junk' that it sickens her. You put me inside a Tiffany & Co store and I'm mesmerized. I love pretty dresses, especially the prom dresses. And I love chocolate and flowers. But if my boyfriend bought me these things because it was a specific day and because he felt compelled to, then it loses the sentimental value. One Christmas he got me a Killer Rabbit plush. It made me laugh and it means a lot to me because he knows me that well. Plus, it gave me something to cuddle while he was in Iraq. Another Christmas he gave me a bead bracelet he made for me. He used my favorite colors and I hardly ever take it off because the sentimental value is exponentially greater than its monetary value. Is it lame? To the outside viewer, absolutely. But I don't care.
You know what I find really sweet? The random phone call just to say he loves me. We've been together for quite a while, so there's no need to impress me anymore, but he still finds ways to make me smile and show that he's thinking of me. In fact, I told him to make it seem as if Valentine's Day doesn't exist. I told him I just want him to call me and tell me that he loves me just like he does everyday.
Valentine's Day shouldn't be about outdoing your girl's friends expectations, or other guys. It's not about the flashiest presentation of your love. It's not about how big, but rather how well you know your girl. Make it mean something. Don't let it be just another box of candy and bunch of flowers. Get creative. Go on a limb. Make it sentimental, not necessarily cheesy. Don't tell her you love her with the puppy that says "I love you". Show her and it's up to you to know her well enough to know how to do that. If she has a story to tell her friends about the item, it means more.
To all the guys out there, good luck this V-day!

Give love to get love?

Is it better to love fully and deeply despite the possibility of getting hurt or is it better to guard feelings jealously and only give love away in small fractions but never give it all? I should clarify and state that when I say 'love' I mean it in the most general sense; love for a friend, a family member, another human being even. I don't mean the weak-kneed, heart pounding, butterfly kind of love, but rather a desire to forge a connection with someone. A few experiences have demonstrated to me that it might be wiser to refrain from opening my heart and giving love to get love in return. True, it is foolish to hope for reciprocated sentiments but should it be actively discouraged? Should we deliberately be more suspicious of people and only be courtious to those around us and offer some of our emotions and love to a very select group of people? This would certainly give more value to love acquired from a person of that philosophy. As the old saying goes 'easy come easy go' therefore by extension, whatever comes with difficulty must be worth more.
Perhaps it is fear that keeps most people from ever being able to open themselves up for the kind of love that is so trusting of the basic good in the vast majority of people. A love of man springs from the belief that most people are basically well-intentioned and not out to harm those around themselves. I know that if I had to go back to those points in my life where it might have been wiser to refrain from being so open and loving I wouldn't change anything. I would still open my heart to people because I always think of the archetypal Wise Man. So full of love and compassion and trust; so child-like and innocent, never being jaded by the bad in the world. I know I won't always get the love and connection that I try to make, but at least I made the effort and maybe, just maybe, that person will remember me for it. I think the Beatles said it best "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". Or think the ending scene in the movie Bugsy Malone; the last chorus was used in a Grand Theft Auto-style Coca-Cola commercial that premeired in the 2007 Super Bowl
"You give a little love
And it all comes back to you
(Da da da ra da da da)
You know you gonna be remembered
For the things you say and do
(Da da da ra da da da)"