Britain's got talent

I was extremely disappointed after watching Susan Boyle's audition for "Britain's Got Talent". Don't get me wrong. In no way did her performance let me down. But, the audience's reaction, or judgment rather, was extremely disappointing. Before hearing her performance, the camera rolled over the audience as they laughed and rolled their eyes in unison. The entire audience expected the worst from Susan Boyle. It really hurt to watch Susan stand up on stage and I prayed that she didn't acknowledge their rudeness. How horrible are we? She is standing up their trying to achieve a dream, which is close to being lost because of her age, and people look down on her because of the clothes that she is wearing and her bubbly personality. If she has received that kind of criticism every time she auditioned, I am thoroughly surprised she keeps trying, but extremely thankful. She sang beautifully while making the entire audience feel guilty. Boyle sang a song "I Dream a Dream" from "Les Miserables", which was more than just a song, it was the story of her life.

I would have liked to include the audition that was available on YouTube, but the embedding option has been disabled. So here is the link. Take a look, you won't be disappointed.

sweet

Iforgot to mention my sister is back from Iraq. So we are trying to re-adjust her to good old Nebraska life. I'll keep you posted.

Alibi

While celebrating my sister's return home from Iraq at the bar, we glanced up at the 17 televisions on the wall. Over half of the televisions had a male pictured. I asked who the guy was and what the big fuss was about. Well, it is a pretty big fuss. I soon found out that a professional baseball player was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver.

So today I didn't have to search too hard to find out more details on the story. Apparently, the baseball player was the pitcher for the Los Angelos Angels Nick Adenhart. Not only did the drunk driver kill him, but also two others while going 30 miles over the speed limit.

The driver was going 65 in a 35 in a mini van when he ran the red light and hit Adenhart's vehicle. The driver was not only three times over the legal limit but driving on a suspended license from a previous drunk driving charge.

If the driver is convicted on alll three murder charges he is looking at life in prison.

It's pretty crazy what you learn at the bar.

"The Haunting in Connecticut" movie review

What wouldn’t a mother do for her children? Well for starters, dragging your family, including your cancer-ridden teenage son, to your new, highly paranormal home in Southington, Connecticut may seem like a bad choice, however, it was exactly the sudden and predictable choice the audience could expect from mother Sara Campbell after the devastatingly heartbreaking car-ride home after one of Matt Campbell’s treatments. This impulsively rash decision provides the setting for the movie “The Haunting in Connecticut.” The real estate agent claims that the antique-looking house “has some history”, but instead of asking further questions, the distraught mother thinks of only one thing before accepting the incredibly low amount being asked for the home—after stopping every ten minutes for her son to vomit, the only thing on her mind is reducing miles from their home to the treatment center.

Early in the beginning of the film the family realizes that their new home was previously a funeral home. But, because Matt is skating the thin line of life and death, he is the only one who can see the trapped spirits and the past that haunts his new home. Conveniently, his family believes that his strange behavior is the result of hallucinations caused by his new treatment.

Although the movie utilizes some of the fairly common horror conventions to frighten the audience, the most terrifying aspect of the film is its ability to take the audiences’ genuine fears to the extreme, therefore intensifying unknown fear even after leaving the theatre. The movie contains several moments that make the knee-bouncing, fist-clenching movie goer gasp for air and clutch towards the person closest to them. These scares, though sudden, were slight, including Matt’s hand plunging through the pillar on the porch and coming out covered with maggots, Sara mopping the floor with blood, flickering lights and the frequent shadow of a ghost lurking behind. The sound and lighting effects were, to say the least, comparable to other horror movies.

But, the more substantial terrors that won’t be forgotten two minutes after they happen include more depth and special effects that play on typical fears such as darkness, blood and obviously terrifyingly violent ghosts that seem relentless to push this family out of their home any way possible.

Kyle Gallner plays Matt Campbell and provides the audience with an incredibly convincing performance that evokes not only sympathy but also increases the creepiness factor with his erratic and aggressive behavior. His weak, fragile body and pale complexion increase throughout the movie in accordance with the paranormal encounters. Gallner has been in several movies but is most recognized for his role in 25 episodes of “Veronica Mars” as Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas, in which he turns out to be a murderer that takes his own life. Gallner’s work in the “Veronica Mars” episodes led him to the leading role in “The Haunting in Connecticut” in which he cultivates his ability to manipulate the audience’s emotions.

Gallner’s character outshined Madsen who seemed emotionally detached from the audience in her all-too-believable mediocre performance as a worried, tiresome mother that refuses to accept her son is dying and their house is haunted.
Although the acting was persuasive and realistic, the script itself proves to be the main obstacle towards success. Throughout the movie, it seemed as if the actors were deliberately putting themselves in compromising positions when these situations could have easily been prevented. The viewer often finds him or herself asking “Why don’t they just leave?”.

Depressed Wong kills 13 and himself

Jiverly Wong was 41 years old on the day that he killed 13 people and then took his own life. He is now being described as a "coward" by Police Chief Joseph Zikuski.

People that knew Wong were not surprised by his violent massacre. One woman, who knew Wong said "Zikuski said Wong was depressed about his poor English-speaking skills, which he believed he was being teased about, and his recent unemployment.
People 'degraded and disrespected' the gunman over his inability to speak English well, Zikuski said on NBC's "Today" show."

Wong, who lived with his mother, father, and sister, worked at a place called Shop-Vac and recently lost his job there; he believed the bad luck would never end and was unhappy with the $200 weekly unemployment checks.

The shooting occurred April 3 at the American Civic Association where Wong "opened fire Friday morning on workers and immigrants taking citizenship courses at a community center" and was thoroughly thought-out beforehand. The victims had multiple gun wounds from Wong's two registered hand guns. Wong barricaded the back door of the community center with his car before opening fire on those inside.

Shooting in Pittsburgh

Three officers were killed after responding to a call early this morning. This article does not state the specifics on why the domestic abuse call was phoned in, but the call sent police to the house of Richard Poplawski. Apparently, Officer Paul Sciullo III was the first to arrive on the scene at 7:05 a.m. and upon entering the house he was immediately shot in the head.Officer Sciullo was with the force for 14 years. Shortly after Officer Stephen Mayhle entered the house to help Sciullo and he was also shot in the head. The third officer,Eric Kelly, had just finished his shift, but rushed to the scene to try and help the wounded officers when he was also fatally shot.

A stand-off between Poplawski and the law enforcement soon followed. Poplawski was shooting from a bedroom window. An ARMY SWAT vehicle arrived at 8:30 a.m. and Poplawski opened fire, which prevented them from attending the wounded officers.

Two other officers, Timothy McManaway and Brian Jones, were wounded in this shoot-out before Poplawski surrendered. Police had responded to the Poplawski house two or three times before and neighbors said the family was trouble.

This is the first time since 1995 that Pittsburgh, Penn. has lost an officer in the line of duty.

This article leaves questions, "What was the domestic dispute about" and "Why did Poplawski open fire on the police officers" that will probably never be answered.

Movie Review

As we consume ever more sophisticated forms of animation, it's easy to lose sight of the emotional connections we seek under all the technological fireworks.

When you watch "Coraline," it's easy to admire its imaginative fusion of low tech and high. But with stereoscopic 3-D, high definition and computer-generated effects added to the equation, the movie becomes supercharged with in-your-face palpability. (Find a theater showing the movie in 3-D for the full experience; most theaters will show it in the 2-D format.) We feel as if we could reach out and caress the characters' smoothly rounded faces or tweak the lacquered strands of their shiny hair. The problem is, we just don't want to hug them.

The movie, adapted from Neil Gaiman's enormously successful book of the same name, follows 11-year-old Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning), whose wish to replace the adults in her life leads to a nightmarish experience in a parallel universe. She finds herself in another world where charming replicas of her parents invite her to live with them. There's a major hitch, of course. Coraline's "Other Mother" (Teri Hatcher) makes her a prisoner and demands unyielding devotion.

For all its visual delights, however, "Coraline" remains more an engaging spectacle than a connective drama.

That is chiefly because of the writing. Director-writer Henry Selick doesn't reach for the kind of universality that would enrich the movie.

It's a shame because Fanning's performance is the movie's most emotionally persuasive element. Her assured modulations, from cheeky to sweet, from bored to anguished, should have been part of a bigger, deeper movie. Unfortunately, the screenplay is one humanistic rewrite away from realizing that. Animation's great purpose isn't merely to build superhighways to imagined worlds. It's to show us new footpaths to the human heart.

-- Desson Thomson (Feb. 6, 2009)

OVERVIEW--In this animated adventure from the director of "Nightmare Before Christmas," a small girl discovers a door in her home which leads to a skewed version of her own life.

Starring--Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McShane

I really liked this movie review because it talks about more than the surface of the film. It digs towards the deeper meaning as to why adults enjoy cartoons. The writer is arguing that there is more to a cartoon than the sheer animation process and that a good cartoon should emotionally connect with the viewer. I completely agree. Some of my favorite cartoons have been those that I really connected to such as "Finding Nemo", "Monsters INC." and "Little Mermaid", I suppose the great animation does help with the overall enjoyment, but I believe Thomson is saying there is much more to a cartoon.

I have not seen this movie, but after reading what Thomson has to say, I would like to see this one. Thomson does claim that the director-writer could have pushed himself to make this even better because Dakota Fanning's performance was extremely persuasive and believable.

I also love the two ending lines, they sum up his thoughts on the article and emphasize why this movie was successful.