This week's movie is Gladiator (2000) starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Jaclyn has seen this movie, but Alisha has not, so we are going to highlight it as a preview for her. The inspiration for this came from our World Civ class, as we are currently discussion the ancient Roman Empire.wishkah6 (IMDB user) declares, "Very rarely a film meshes together as finely as Gladiator. Its vivid action, superb writing, breathtaking acting, moving cinematography, and flawless score all amalgamate into a zenith of film making."
Mark Halverson, of the Sacramento News & Review, says, "Scott triumphantly transports us back to the Roman Empire circa 180 A.D. with a painter’s eye for detail, a proven talent for manufacturing exotic realities ... and a sweet tooth for utter spectacle."Urban Cinefile Critics announce, "Epic cinema is back."
Jules Brenner, of Cinema Signals, said, "There's careful thought evident in suggesting what can only be conjectured. If you're going to enjoy this entertainment, don't be overly preoccupied with historical accuracy."Christopher Smith, of the Bangor Daily News, says, "Beefcake! Blood! Body slams! Boring! Boring? Well, not quite, but at 150 minutes, Gladiator isn't entirely the thrilling, action-packed Roman epic some fans of the genre were expecting."
Family: Jaclyn's family came to visit today! Great fun :) They came for a few days to see the IWU/Taylor basketball games this weekend. While they were here, they also took Jaclyn to Meijer for some groceries, ate at Baldwin (their favorite college cafeteria), and saw FNL ...
FNL: Friday Night Live is a play off NBC's long running sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Students from IWU write and perform various comedic sketches for a live audience two nights in a row once a semester. This years FNL started with Pirates and our favorite News segment. There were some sketches we couldn't quite understand ... one was a song about Bowman and the other was a sketch about caterpillars from France and Scotland? The best sketch of the night involved our favorite Winnie the Pooh and their real adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods ... emphasizing Pooh's honey addiction!
Friends: Alisha spent part of the evening celebrating her friend Amanda's birthday, before joining the rest of the gang at FNL. Aubrey and Matt joined Jaclyn and her Family, to play games such as Disney Princess UNO and Monopoly Deal.
Uncomfortable: Sitting on the floor for 2 hours before FNL was not a very comforting experience. It paid off in the end though because we got seats near the front!
Unique: Jaclyn did not work on the show Crossroads this week on account of her family being in town. Alisha kept her posted to the goings on at the TV Station while she was missing.
Nick Pitera: Alisha's new YouTube singer obsession! His vocal range is fantastic and he can sing both the alto an soprano parts of a song. You should look him up. Our favorite song is A Whole New World.
Nothing else: Mostly we thought of words the started with F on this Friday in history. But since "F Words" probably was not a good title or theme for our post, the other letters of the word FUN started to be spelled out. However, most of the excited parts of Friday were all the Fantastic things that start with F ... Family, Friends, and FNL!
A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel, and the complications it creates for his marriage.
- audiojoe99 (IMDB user) says, "For everyone who's going in expecting the book, lower your expectations. It isn't the book. What it is, is a condensed version of the main love story from the book, played out perfectly with respect for the text."
Mike McGranaghan from Aisle Seat was not really a fan. He said, "You can constantly feel The Time Traveler's Wife reaching for emotional depth, yet it never gets there."Leigh Paatsch from the Herald Sun (Australia) says, "Bana and McAdams do share a pleasant chemistry, but can never quite trump the dull and earnest nature of the material they are working with here."
Sonny Bunch from the Washington Times declares, "The Time Traveler's Wife is an effective romance film for the ladies with a patina of science fiction to woo their boyfriends into joining."Des Partridge from Courier Mail (Australia) says, "This is undoubtedly Bana's best American performance and you can genuinely believe in Bana and McAdams as lovers who give the story its emotion."
Fabulous:adjective:fabulous wealth, tremendous, stupendous, prodigious, phenomenal, remarkable, exceptional, astounding amazing, fantastic, breathtaking, staggering, unthinkable, unimaginable, incredible, unbelievable, unheard of, untold, undreamed of, beyond one's wildest dreams, mind-boggling, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping...
Main Entry: sar·casmPronunciation: \ˈsär-ˌka-zəm\Function: nounEtymology: French or Late Latin; French sarcasme, from Late Latin sarcasmos, from Greeksarkasmos, from sarkazein to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer, from sark-, sarx flesh; probably akin to Avestan thwarəs- to cutDate: 15501 : a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain 2 a : a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual b : the use or language of sarcasm
The bolded words highlight the problem with sarcasm: it's flesh tearing and painful. It is not as funny as you may think. When used tastefully it can be witty, but like the definition says, mostly it's hurtful and mean to an individual. There is a line and people tend to forget that it's there. People think they're being funny, but if no one laughs ... the comment probably was NOT humorous to everyone else. Especially if someone is having a stressful day ... sarcasm is not the way to communicate that you care. Sarcasm should lead to laughter, not more stress and frustration.
Sarcasm tends to be funnier if it's directed at an idea instead of a specific person.
Example:
Jaclyn: "Alisha, what's the weather like outside? Still snowing?"
Alisha: "Oh no... it's warm of course, remember global warming is happening!"
See how that worked? Alisha made fun of global warming, and didn't make fun of Jaclyn's lack of knowledge regarding the weather! That's funny.
Secondly, gas stations. What purpose do they serve? Easy ... they are a station to put gas in your car. What happens when gas stations don't have gas? They become useless stations.
