What and Why- Music

Artist: Aaron Shust
Name and Songs: Anything Worth Saying
“Matchless,” “My Savior My God,” “Stillness (Speak to Me,)”
Record Label: Brash Music
Year Released: 2005
Genre: Contemporary Christian

Q & A: It actually took me a little while to find this album. I knew he was a contemporary Christian artist so I checked the Christian bookstores. I tried three separate stores and finally found 1 copy in the third store. Three weeks later he had a whole rack of his CD in the same store. I think one of his songs got in the top 10 Christian artists that week. I learned about this artist on the radio. I liked the way his voices sounded and the chord progressions that flowed through the songs. I would recommend this album because many of Shust’s songs give life and hope. So many artists sing about how their life is bad and they have no way out. Shust’s songs tell of a loving God that forgives and heals. Growing up I have always listened to Contemporary Christian music, but since in college I have tried to broaden my horizons. I like country. Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Kenny Chesney, are pretty good. I also like a lot of soft rock, but I am pretty bad at keeping track of artists and song titles. Most of the time I only listen to music on the radio in my car. I don’t have an i-pod, or MP3 player. I just have no desire to have music with me wherever I go. I do listen to CDs, but most of the time I listen to them three or four times and then they just collect dust. When I do buy a CD, which I haven’t done in about 2 years, I buy them at the Christian bookstore.

What & Why-- Movies

Movie Title: Finding Nemo

Movie Studio: Pixar Animation Studios

Parent Company: Walt Disney Pictures

Other Movies Made by Pixar: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., A Bug's Life, Cars, Ratatouille

Producer: Graham Walters

Director: Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich

Writer: Andrew Stanton

Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, William Dafoe, and Elizabeth Perkins

Q & A: Pixar’s Finding Nemo is a father-son underwater adventure about a fish, named Marlin and his son Nemo, a boy clown fish, who is stolen from his home in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and taken to a fish tank in a dentist's office in Sydney. His timid father and a blue tang fish named Dory with short-term memory loss must follow the East Australian current in order to get to Sydney and take Nemo home. I have actually seen this movie in the theaters, on DVD, and on television. I was actually interested in this movie because I love children’s movies! Seeing a nice clean movie with funny (sometimes corny) humor is refreshing. Finding Nemo also teaches right character traits such as perseverance, patience, and self sacrifice. Many other Hollywood movies are displaying quite the opposite. It may sound funny but the animations and colors that are created are so realistic is almost seems like you are actually there. I love how all of the different human characteristics are given to different sea animals. For example, the sea turtles are Jamaican, the sharks are friendly to fish, Dory has short term memory loss, the angle fish with the scar is reserved, and Marlin and Nemo have to relate to all of them along the way on thier adventure. I would definitely recommend this movie, first off because it is a great piece of artistic film. The story line keeps your attention, and there are always unsuspected events that happen throughout the entire movie.

Trailer:

Controversies Blog

The controversy over the impact of images is one that can have a very wide variety of opinions. The controversy reveals how magazines define people, particularly woman, as having the perfect body. Magazine models are normally 5’11 and weigh 120 lbs. Whereas, the average American woman is 5’4 and weighs 144 lbs. Magazine models also have perfect proportions, and flawless golden tan skin. My stand on this issue is that the models should not look this way. To begin with, the models themselves are probably not getting the nutrition that their body needs because they must have to starve themselves to get that certain appearance. Secondly, American women think that in order to be beautiful, they have to fit into this model’s appearance. Therefore, they have overwhelming guilt thrown on them when they give into the huge donut advertisement leading them to the fresh baked glazed donuts. This is showing that our marketing strategies as a society are contradictory. Companies are telling us to eat more and more food, but expecting us to have smaller and smaller waistlines. It just won’t work! The result is consumers who have poor self- esteem and frustration. Men are not excluded from this model. Men are portrayed as having extremely muscular broad bodies, but are also expected to be able to eat massive “manly” meals, and drink beer like it is water. The two ideas just do not mesh. I am so passionate about this controversy because I am a victim of the impact of images. Even in elementary school I always thought I was overweight, and went through several eating disorders. Still when I see a magazine of a perfect woman on the cover I compare myself, and think “I wish I could look like that.” The truth is that true beauty cannot be seen with human eyes. It is within the character and soul of a person, and that is a truth the media has trouble flashing on a cover of a magazine.

What and Why- Magazines

Magazine: Time

Publisher: Time Warner

Type of Magazine: Consumer (Political)

Subscription: No

Q&A:

I picked up this copy of the magazine at the Lindenwood mailroom. When someone has a subcription to a magazine and does not have a mailbox at Lindenwood, the mailroom workers (that's me) are free to take them. I believe that this magazine is a consumer magazine because it has advertisements in it and comes out several times a month. It has large headings on the front trying to catch the eye of the consumer. I believe that this magazine targets the mature Americas who are seriously concerned about the affairs of America. The advertisements are for T.Rowe Price, and Fidelety targeting the inverstors. Prilosec OTC, and Promise Cardiologist Endorsed butter are targeting the middle aged to older age Americans who are health consious. The articles are also in very small print, only keeping the attention of those who are seriously interested. I am somewhat their target market. The younger generation is the future of America, and the sooner the media can get me to think about the future of America the better. The faces of Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama facing each other are on the cover. This caught my attention because the election is coming up soon, and I need all of the information I can get on the candidates to make the best vote in November. I would recommend this magazine because it made me aware of all the issues that are going on in America. So many people my age are reading celebrity magazines and sports magazines and have no idea what is going on in thier own county. I think Time magazine is a solid magazine to receive information on the state of the country.

Julie Beard Blog

The presentaion by Julie Beard was very enlightening. Trying to decide what story should have the most importance on a newscast, and what story should be left out was a tough decision. Her input helped me see that journalism is so much more than just writing news stories. You have to go out there and ask questions, and find out opinions. You have to make sure that you get a wide variety of opinions. I also thought that the discussion about diveristy in the news media was interesting. I do think that someone reporting on a certian culture who is from that culture would be able to create the best story. However, there is always something in that that makes it look steriotipical. Julie also made me see how technology in journalism is increasing. I had never thought of having tons of job options on online journalism, but I guess that is the new wave of news media.

What & Why -Books

Title: Redeeming Love
Author: Francine Rivers
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Parent Company: Random House
Summary: California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep. Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside. Then she meets Michael Hosea. Michael Hosea obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. But Angel’s heart is frozen, and once it thaws she is left with feelings of worthlessness and fear. So she runs away, and can only find true healing from her creator.
Type of Book: Trade Book
Type of Reader: I am a Casual Reader

Q & A: I found this book in the library, but it was recommended to me by my English teacher in high school. This book really impacted me because it puts a Bible story that is often overlooked into real life adding some fictional content. The story of Hosea and his obedience to God to marry a prostitute shows the underlying message that God takes mankind into his presence even with all of our mistakes and sins. God also comes back to take us in again even when we run away. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it shows the immense struggles of a woman that has been taken advantage of her whole life and can still find unconditional love. So many people struggle with issues in life and think there is no hope. This book helps open their eyes to see the truth. I would also recommend the author, Francine Rivers. The majority of her books are based on little known biblical stories that are brought to life by adding a slight amount of fiction. She really helps readers look into the minds of the story characters to help the readers see through the eyes of the characters.

What & Why - Books