URL's (Blog)

http://fedappolon.blogspot.com/2012/04/take-care.html#comment-form

http://kevinbeebie.blogspot.com/2012/02/endless-possibilities-first-blog-post.html#comment-form

http://stanceinthearts.blogspot.com/2012/03/to-party-doesnt-mean-to-drink.html#comment-form

Eval

As the end of my freshman year comes to a close I would say it was a lot harder than I expected. There were many fun times but there were also a lot of hard lessons to be learned. Some of the academic ones of course included not procrastinating as much and to keep a better eye on my studies. I also learned to be careful of the people that you meet and hang out with. Though it's a lesson that every mother has been telling their child since second grade, it's a lesson that had been well forgotten until recently. I can remember entering into college and being afraid and not knowing what to expect. I can say that after this I am not as afraid as I was. I have learned to take some chances and have fun but, I have also learned to be cautious and not be stupid. After this year, I am looking forward to heading into sophmore year with this newly aquired knowledge.

As of my writting evoulution, writting (especially creative writting) has become a lot easier after having this blog. I was never one for creative writting but after this semester I am thinking about taking a creative writting class this summer and keeping a blog of my own. I would like to become more involved in the arts. There were poetry readings and cultural events that I had never even heard of and will probably never hear of again after this class is over but my goal for next year is to go to more readings and events offered by Penn State. I never realized how enjoyable it could be to sit down and listen to someone read to me or hear about someone else's life.

　

I completed the SRTE'S (and I would like to say this is very clever because I probably wouldn't have completed them if you hadn't of made me write this sentence)

Cultural Event 2

      For my second cultural event, I went to the Moving On concert next to Beaver Stadium. I had been looking forward to this concert for awhile and was one of those people who could be seen walking over to beaver stadium around 4 even though Ludacris wasn't set to open until 8.

     At first I was a little skeptical because I wasn't sure why Ludacris, such a big name artist, would be opening for someone else. If he had wanted to come to Penn State, why wouldn't he insist upon being the main act? If the reasoning was to get as many people out there to begin with so they would stay for the rest of the concert, it worked.I told myself that I was going to see Ludacris but ended up staying until late at night and I had a great time listening to artists that I had never heard of. My favorite part of concerts is feeling the energy of everyone out there. As soon as Ludacris stepped onto the stage, the level of excitement could be felt in the air. Though there was so much to begin with, somehow Ludacris was able to maintain this level of excitement throughout his entire act.

    One the craziest parts of the concert was when this artist, Little Fate?, I think he was called stepped onto the stage to perform. The majority of the people had no idea who he was and there were some shouts of "Who are you?" that could be heard across the field only ending after calls back of "Who are you?" and "Shut the ......"

     Apart from all of the carnival types of food that I hadn't had in awhile, I got a new sense of music from this concert. There were people there that I hadn't even heard. These artists were able to create new twists on music that I found interesting and will be sure to explore.

Cultural Event Number One

      The first cultural event that I went to was the 10:00 showing of The Vow at the Penn State HUB. It was one of those romantic movies that all my friends wanted to go to and needless to say NEEDED me to go see as well. Even though I hadn't wanted to, I decided to take this "Study Break" and go see it anyway.

      After showing my ID to the man outside, I entered into the almost full auditorium. Turns out everyone else had the same "study break" idea. I could just say that the movie was a typical romance about how a man tries to win the love of his life back again. However, there is something about this movie that sets it apart from all the others. It could be that Channing Tatum plays his part so earnestly that we can feel the pain he feels as he realizes that his wife no longer loves him.

      The movie starts off with this married couple parked at a stop sign and the wife Paige (Rachel McAdams) takes off her seat belt to give her husband Leo (Tatum) a kiss. One can hear some gasps in the audience as people know what is about to happen but cannot stop it. From behind, comes a huge truck that slams into the back of the parked car and Paige goes flying out of the front of the vehicle. We find out that she has suffered brain hemorrhaging and does not remember ever loving Leo. To make matters worse, the last man she remembers was being in law school and being in love with was her ex-fiance. At first she tries living with Leo but since she is so scared and confused she eventually goes back and lives with her parents. Finally accepting that his wife doesn't remember him, Leo decides to start from the beginning and ask her on dates. The movie progresses like this for awhile but then she finds out that her father cheated on her mother (a fact she had known before but forgot through her brain hemorrhaging) and moves back into the city. The movie twist at the end is that Paige never falls back in love with Leo and they can never be more than friends.

      Though I hate the typical movies where everything goes exactly like the other romance movies, I was a little disappointed that things didn't work out for them in the end. This sad but necessary plot twist is what sets the movie apart from all the rest and along with McAdam's and Tatum's brilliant acting, The Vow is sure to be a movie to please.

Over 100 people crowd into the dark room eagerly waiting for the screen to light up. At 12:35 on the dot a hovercraft fills the screen as it flies across a desolate field in a world we can only be thankful isn't our own. As punishment for a rebellion many years ago, the people are forced to send their children into an arena to fight to the death. If they win they become famous. If they lose they die. Based on a best selling book by Suzanne Collins, the movie The Hunger Games is already a promising watch.

The plot starts to pick up as children file into the town square to see who will be chosen to go into the arena and fight to the death. When her younger sister Prim is chosen as a tribute, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take her place. As an added twist, her fellow tribute from district 12 is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who saved her life years ago by giving her and her family food after their father died. The pair travel to the Capitol wondering how they can kill each other when Peeta saved Katniss’s life and Peeta is in love with Katniss. Then, in a surprising turn of events, the rules are changed and for the first time two tributes are allowed to win if they are from the same district. Lawrence proves exceptional at her role already having two successful movies under her belt (Winter’s Bone  and X-Men: First Class). Josh Hutcherson  also proves his ability to  convince the audience  in  multiple movies such as Bridge to Terabithea and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

However, even the terrific cast was unable to hide some serious flaws in the movie. For those who have read the books, there is no hiding the fact that major details are significantly different from the movie. For one, the cornucopia is not even the right color. How hard is it to make the main source of the tributes weapons and food gold instead of silver? Then, the symbol of freedom and uprising is not given by Madge, Katniss’s friend, but by her younger sister. While this may have been done to cut out the numbers of characters it seems unwise to change such a major detail. There were also multiple details that were left out so that many who had might not have read the books would be left in the dark about some events.

Nonetheless, the movie has many major twists and turns to keep the audience wondering what will happen next.  We are hopeful when Katniss pairs up with Peeta to defeat the other tributes but caught of guard when the Capitol changes the rules again meaning only one tribute can win. With only those two left, how can they face their hometown after killing the other. Better yet, how can they face themselves? One has to watch the movie to find out.