Jaymz

Batman Movie Review!!!

So I just got home from seeing the new Batman: The Dark Kight movie. Here's what I thought:

Good movie. Good story. I did NOT leave the theater feeling better than when I came in… It was not "bad" by the world's standards. It wasn't even that intense. All the stories that you hear about how Heath Ledger really made the movie by becoming the character, they're true. The Joker is one of the most well-known villains of all time, a crucial part of the batman storyline. And he was a crucial part of this movie. Depending on the way you look at it, he either made the movie great, or he absolutely ruined it.

The Joker was disturbing in a new sort of way. Not disturbing in that he was sexual, risqué, or dirty, but very disturbing in a dark sort of way. It was a very entertaining movie. Graphics were great, dialogue was good, the story was unpredictable, but something about the Joker just didn't settle well on the inside. You can say it's because of how Heath went insane because he got so consumed by his character, or that it was simply just the acting, but something was very wrong. Critics say that this was Heath's best work ever. They also say it's what killed him in January of 2008…. Well, he did do a GREAT job.

But at what expense?

The movie had a few things going for it, one of my favorites being a scene including the two ferries. I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't seen it, but it kind of depicts the ability of someone who is bad to turn good. This really stands out in a movie that circulates around the message that all that is good can (and will) turn bad… Many twists in the movie also keep it intense and entertaining, and the Batman is as mysterious as ever. Like I said, the movie DOES have a few things going for it...

Maybe it was the knowledge of Heath Ledger's story that drove me to the thinking that it really was a very dark movie. But I can't just dismiss the feeling I had walking out of the theater during the closing credits, and the fact that I didn't have that feeling walking in. It was a very entertaining movie, but given the opportunity, I doubt that I would see it again.

*If you go see The Dark Knight, whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to know what you thought about it. So leave a comment. Thanks!

Crazy Englishers. (this one goes out to my frenchies)

Let's face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. And while no one knows exactly what is in a hotdog, you can be pretty sure it isn't canine.

English muffins were not invented in England neither were French fries invented in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a type of pig. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and sweaters don't sweat?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? Is cheese the plural of choose? One mouse, 2 mice. One spouse, 2 spice. One house, 2 hice?

If a teacher taught, why didn't the preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Why do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Ship by truck or car and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

When a house burns up, it burns down. You fill in a form by filling it out and an alarm clock goes off by going on.

You get in and out of a car, yet you get on and off of a bus.

When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it,
but when I wind up this blog entry, I end it?

English is a silly language ...
I don't know how Dav and Pao are doing it…!

My Big Bro

Oh my gosh……

He's married. My big bro finally got married.

Many of you who know Tink, know that he is absolutely in love with Liz.

And for some strange reason, she is absolutely in love with him. ;)

So the happy couple became officially married on Friday in a beautiful chapel surrounded by the people who love them. It was a gorgeous wedding! Liz was one of the most beautiful brides that I have ever seen. No joke. And Tink looked like a stud even though he wore his white Nike shox! Only Tink……

Well, congratulations Tink and Liz! I love you both and hope you guys are having a great honeymoon!

Parenting 101 (part four)

Guidance

Okay, parents….

Really, you aren't expected to be able to do this alone. So ask for help! Seek God's guidance in everything you do. He is the ultimate parent. He is also willing and able to help you to be the best parents that you can be!!!

We teenagers can be nasty creatures, and given the right provocation, so can parents! My parents are NOT perfect, but they get help from the only parent that is. My parents pray together about the best way to raise Mikey and I, and they also seek godly counsel when they have a question….

This is the smallest part of parenting but possibly the most important… and most difficult! So ask for help. Spend some time praying and finding out just what the Scriptures have to say about parenting!

Parenting 101 (part three)

Trust

In my family, trust is a big deal… in any relationship dealing with people, for that matter, trust is a big deal.

When it comes to involving my parents in my life, there are no secrets; not in the sense that they know all of my business, all of my friends' business, and all of my friends' moms' business, but in the sense that there isn't anything that I am deliberately hiding from them. This concept goes both ways. My parents don't hide anything from me either! No they don't betray anyone's trust, because obviously, there are some things they know about people and things that I don't need to. But when it comes to what goes on in their lives, no skeletons in the closet are waiting to be found. The rule in our house is that at any point that my parents feel the need, they get to go through any of my stuff: passed notes, music, emails, anything! But Mikey and I can do the same thing! (Now, I will tell you that they feel the need to use this rule WAY more than I do… and this rule has gotten me in trouble before… LOL. Give me a break, I'm a work in progress.)

Trust is a very valuable thing. It takes years to earn it and mere seconds to lose it. If you asked me what I hated the most about getting in trouble I wouldn't say the punishment, I would say the loss of trust. Parents, whether or not you realize it, your kids' most valuable possession is what you think of them. No kid wants to disappoint their parents!!! When I blow it big time, I lose my parents' trust, and it is an unbelievable amount of work to get it back. It's kind of like emptying a full bathtub and then filling it back up with a spoon, one day at a time. But it's still possible!!!

Trust is one of the hardest keys to parenting. Because every kid and every parent is different, there is not one way to handle trust that is the best. This is just how my parents and I handle it. So sit down as a family and figure out how big of a deal this whole trust thing is to you. I have my parents trust, and that means the world to me.

Parenting 101 (part two)

Communication:

The first thing that makes my parents so great is the fact that they communicate.

To each other. And to their kids.

Growing up in, at least, a somewhat sheltered home, Mikey and I have been given a ton of rules!!!!

Here's what's twisted, Mikey and I don't care! Not in the sense that we don't care about them and ignore them, but in the sense that we don't mind that they are there….

How the heck does a parent accomplish that? They communicate.

When my parents sit me down to establish a rule or to remind me of a boundary, they not only make the limitations clear, but they explain the reasoning behind them. They communicate why they have this rule, what happens if we break this rule, and usually where in the Bible it is demonstrated. At any point in time, Mikey and I can go to them talk about it. "I don't understand this rule." "Why am I expected to follow a rule that none of my friends have?" And the one that most parents don't allow: "Hey. I don't agree." In which case we sit down and we talk about what it is that we don't understand.

Mikey and I can always go to them and talk to them with life's biggest problems. We know that not only because they've told us we can, but because they've proved it. So (moms and dads)
make time to sit down and just talk to your kids. They might not think it's a cool idea, but despite the "mm-hm" s and "hm-mm"s, we can actually communicate. We have lots to say. And you do to. So if you want to be good talkers when it comes to us, learn to be good listeners too. Communication!

*Fellow teens! We are capable of some real intellect sometimes, and may even have good reasoning behind our complaint… We just go about it all the wrong way! Our parents are not the freedom-eating, I-hate-your-friends, mind-your-manners, thriving-on-your-embarrassment monsters that we often think that they are. If we go to them with respect and not as a whiney punk and we communicate what it is that we are feeling, you'll be surprised to find out that they probably understand…. They were kids too once, even if it was a really long time ago.  I know that things change, and we sometimes feel like they didn't have the same problems because times have changed. Well, times change. People don't. So try and communicate with your parents. You won't always get your way, but who knows? Maybe you'll understand where they are coming from. Parents really aren't that bad. " But they don't understand me at all!" Probably because you don't let them. So talk to 'em. Give 'em a chance. They are just big kids who have, in some cases, grown up a little. They've experienced the same problems you are having, and they survived. They can help you do the same –maybe by telling you what not to do, but try listening to what they have to say. They're smarter than they look in those socks and sandals. :o) *