Media of the Week - Dora the Explorer - Search for the Infinity Orb

Pin It Every once and a while, a movie comes along that completely blows you away...

...this is that movie.



You probably already guessed that this isn't for a real movie, but wouldn't it be great if it was?

Media of the Week - Call Me, Maybe

Pin It There are songs people introduce us to. We listen to them and think, “Wow, this song is amazing!”

Some time later we hear the original artist, and we realize that the song we’d been listening to was simply a cover. Yet, we still like the cover better than the artist who originally performed it.

Alex Goot and company owned this…sorry Carly.



By the way, I set the timecode to start at the beginning of the song so you're missing out on the first 42 seconds of dialogue.

Media of the Week - Ordinary People

Pin It There are those things in life that inspire you. They push you to want to be greater than who you currently are. They motivate you to do something, to rise above and achieve that which you thought perhaps unattainable before. They cause you to look at your dreams.

We do not do these things for accolades from the crowds, nor for the public hailing of our achievements.

We do this for only one person…ourselves.

Media of the Week - How it Should Have Ended

Pin It I've been watching these great little videos for a few years now - the following are some of my favorites. Also, if you haven't heard of the How it Should Have Ended series, it's about time that you did.

Media of the Week - Somebody to Love

Pin It There are some videos that - quite simply - are awesome.

Now, it doesn't matter whether you are a fan of the Bieb or not; this will never negate the fact that this video is one that makes you lean back and say, "Whoa, now that was cool."



And there is another thing that makes me respect the Bieb...it's the amazing young man that he is.





What if every pop icon and star did the same type of things?

Media of the Week - We're Going to be Friends

Pin It I love Sign Language.

I love the beauty of motion utilized as it carries a message to those who cannot physically hear the words.

Sign Language is visual language.

Because I love it, I teach basic Sign to my class…of course, the amount of ASL I teach seems to decrease as the years go on—being little to no time in the day for those items not covered in the core curriculum.

However, it's a great tool to let a student know - across a crowded gymnasium - that if they don't stop whatever it is they're currently doing, they will have to die...they laugh when I first teach them this, but they know when I say it that Mr. Z means business, and they'd better knock it off.

It's also a wonderful way to tell a student thank you, or express other simple messages to an individual student across a silent room, where only those who happen to look up can 'hear' it.

And of course, this is the way they let me know that they have to use the bathroom during a lesson...

Recently, a parent of one of my students sent me an email with the link to a video she’d found online.

I love it; therefore, I share it with you today.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

BTW, if you want to get just a 'taste' of what deafness is like and trying to understand others, watch the video first with your audio set on mute.



P.S. I'm glad we're friends...

Media of the Week - Eileen's Song

Pin It It was probably fourteen years ago that I first heard this song by Burlap to Cashmere. I will never forget how it resonated within me on that first play, and I found myself trapped within its chords and melodies.



I could write about the memories this song evokes—back in my days as a college student and a PE teacher at a local elementary school, just a few blocks from my apartment—a school long-since torn down to make way in the name of progress and moving forward; I could write about the sidewinding of streets of memory and the days when I was living on little to no income, driving home for the summers on a wing and a prayer in my shoddy little car that was held together by bailing wire and duct tape…my constant worry if it were going to break down somewhere on that arduous twelve hour journey. I could write about how I learned to play this song on the guitar, though I still couldn’t sing it very well without the aid of my brother singing harmony. I could write about the passing of loved ones along the way, and the hole it left in its crippling wake.

I could write about the person I used to be, someone vastly different that who I am right now. I could compose volumes about the changes that have affected me much as that little plot of school ground which experienced a generation of destruction and rebuilding a seemingly lifetime ago.

There is so much that I could write.

And still the song moves me...

Media of the Week - The New Kid

Pin It A few years ago - and a school ago - I worked with students making short films. They were to write, direct, act in, and edit each of the films. This particular little movie was one of my favorites.

And yes, in every movie I was the Teacher, Mr. Jorgensen.

Talk about typecasting...

Media of the Week - He's My Brutha

Pin It I was thinking of my family yesterday.

I really found myself missing them, too.

It’s funny because I can’t even remember the time that I saw my sister, Miya. All I know is that it was a long time ago.

Time goes steadily onward and days become weeks. Weeks become months. Months—if we’re not careful—can become years.

I called my brother and sister-in-law last night. It was great to hear their voices again. Granted, I just saw them this past Thanksgiving, but it was great to talk to them about what was going on in their lives and the most current events.

As I drove the byways and streets to arrive at my final destination last night—a rendezvous with a few friends—we filled each other in on the various happenings and happenstances of our lives.

Some minutes later when I finally hung up the phone, I can’t tell you how much I wanted to hop a plane and fly to New York.

I love my family so much, and my brother is simply awesome; here is just one of the reasons…



By the way, Yancy is the one singing. I thought I’d mention that just in case you didn’t know.

Media of the Week - If Only I Were a Jedi Ninja

Pin It There are videos which inspire, and there are videos that are cool simply because they are awesome.

This particular video is awesome.

Media of the Week - Walk off the Earth

Pin It

Every now and again you come across a song—or performers—who literally have you stop whatever it is you’re doing, and cause you to pause in your life. They make you smile, or sit in a state of complete awe.

That’s what Walk off the Earth did for me.

I smile and find myself completely blown away every time I watch it.

Media of the Week – The Documentary

Pin It I know that I usually post links to music, humor, or something that brings a tear to your eye and a smile to your heart.

This week I’d like to do something just a little bit different than any of that, because a few years ago I created a documentary.

No, I’m not a filmmaker…that’s one thing for sure; however, I wanted to give a crack at it. At the time we had this amazing after-school coordinator, Melanie Bliss (yes, my longtime friend and once-upon-a-time cowriter at Four Perspectives). You see Melanie had started up a program a few years back called “Stories on Stage.”

In a nutshell, it was dramatics programs like you’ve probably never seen before…loaded with awesome and just a smidge of ‘whoa.’

Yeah, I thought that it was simply amazing.

I could go on and on right now—telling you all about it—but then this sixteenish minute documentary I made would be rather pointless now, wouldn’t it?

Yeah, that’s just what I was thinking.

Merry Christmas - Calvin & Hobbes Style

Pin It First off, Merry Christmas...

Now, if you think you might be offended, don't click the video below.

However, I think it's simply brilliant.



You should be able to find quite a few similarities amongst these:

 

Media of the Week - You Make Loving Fun

Pin It

There is music that affects us. We hear a particular song and it intertwines itself into our lives. It becomes embedded with our experience and becomes an extension of us. We hear it again months—or even years—later and discover that this tune has the power to bring back a slew of memories that had long since become dusty and forgotten.

While I’m not necessarily a huge fan of cover songs, I would have to say that this cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun” by Dustin Christensen is one of those songs that simply defies the odds.

I hope you can make it a part of your memories…and better yet, it’s free...you can even download it directly from the link below.

You Make Loving Fun by DustinChristensen

If you wanted, you could like Dustin here.

Media of the Week - Miracles

Pin It

I’ve spent the past nine months cleaning up my music collection.

I’m still not quite finished.

It’s amazing to me some of the stuff you find nestled away; the hidden gems and great tunes you either forgot you had, or had never knew were there in the first place.

Recently I discovered a band that only had one single.

Happy Endings – Miracle.

Who was this group? I wondered. I checked my collection and found nothing else in my music arsenal. I decided to turn to the World Wide Web for answers.

In the interest of time I won’t take you through the entire process, suffice it to say that it took some digging…quite a bit, actually, to find out who these guys were and what happened to them; however, I wanted to know more. How could a group with such a great song just vanish? Were they simply a one hit wonder? Perhaps something like the Oneders in that Tom Hanks movie from a dozen or so years ago?

Well, there’s no need for you to wonder either…

In a nutshell: Happy Endings was a Springfield-based group that performed for a total of about nine years. They toured, shared bills with such bands like The All-American Rejects and Sum 41, had a bit of a following around 2005-ish, had the workings for a record deal, and then they suddenly vanished.

Odd.

I did a little more digging and discovered that the band had changed their name around 2006 to The Whitest Light after some type of dispute with their record label. At this point they decided to rework the songs on their planned album, Losing Generation, and possibly release an EP of acoustic tracks. The name change was to help them get a fresh start and not have any type of negativity following them.

And so...they changed it.

It was shortly thereafter that they did end up releasing a five song EP, but it seems that they didn’t go much further than that.

The Whitest Noise seems to have died.

I searched a little more and found stagnant MySpace and Facebook pages. And then I found a message from the band, dated back to October 2008:

The 4 of us have decided to put an end to the band you know as happyendings/The Whitest Light—it is bittersweet for all of us- but the time has come-

The music industry has been good to us at times- yet more inherently bad- we have had ups and downs- the ups were sky high and the downs were way down in the pit- we have all grown through these times in our lives, music, and relationships. Us as a band have come to an agreement that there is no light at the end of the tunnel for our band - the music industry is not based on commitment, quality of music, and hard work anymore- and through this we have chosen to stop sacrificing our time and families and relationships to peruse a once awesome endeavor called happyendings.

Wow.

So, just why did I share all of this with you today?

To tell you the truth, I’m not sure.

I guess I wanted you to be aware that behind this song there used to be a band, a band that tried to make it but that was swallowed up after 9 or so years in the industry.

Their song, “Miracle,” however, does live on even now after the group is finished. And this one, my friends is a gem, it’s keeper. This song is amazingly awesome and one I’m glad I found in my cleaning…I guess you could say, the simple fact that I found it was nothing short of a miracle.


*If you’d like to get the original of “Miracle” by Happy Endings, you may do so here. If you’d like to listen to any songs off of their EP as The Whitest Light (including an acoustic version of “Miracle,”) you can find those here and download them as well.

You’re welcome.

Media of the Week - Holocene

Pin It

I watched this for the first time two nights ago, and I was completely blown away with the simplicity and beauty of the editing.

The metaphor was powerful.

The music swept over me like a gentle, swelling wave of autumn wind.

Time and again I’ve tried to pen down the words rippling about me this morning, last night, throughout the day yesterday, but they refuse to be held down and composed together as a string of thought.

The metaphor of my life.

…I knew I was not magnificent.

Media of the Week - Feeling a Moment

Pin It There are times when a song has the ability to intertwine with with fabric of my life.

I drive through the magenta and crimson sandstone canyons - radio blasting - as it weaves its way in and out of my experiences; therefore, becoming an extension of myself. Not only an anthem of memory through time…but a conduit of reality.

Are you just like me, feeling a moment?



And I absolutely love the video...

Media of the Week - Move Along

Pin It There are moments in life when I need a lift.

I feel that I just can’t go forward another step.

To get up in the morning is a struggle.

I lie in bed and wonder what the day has in store for me.

I shudder.

I close my eyes and wonder if I can make it through another day.

I hit the snooze button two or three times and stare at the ceiling, waiting for it to go off the next time, being the final indicator for me to get up.

We all experience days like this from time to time. I figure that none of us has the perfect life where we leap from our beds and embrace each and every day like it were our last and live it to the fullest.

Maybe I’m wrong—perhaps you do. Maybe you are greeted by herds of unicorns dancing on your lawn each and every morning that shoot rainbow wishes from their eyes that you capture in Mason jars and conceal away in the attic for rainy days.

I don’t.

But would I love to have them...

Sometimes I don’t turn on the lights in the bathroom in the mornings. I like to believe that when I climb in the shower that it’s really raining outside, and that I’m really standing in the deluge. I feel a sense of control and power in knowing that I can change the temperature and intensity at will.

I will often fumble for my iPod on these mornings.

I keep a playlist in my arsenal; I call it, “Feel Good Music.”

It’s just that—music that makes me feel good. When the sounds embedded in that playlist tears through the speakers and rip through the fabric of morning air, I feel the world around me change—or maybe it’s simply my perception of it. The world becomes a beautiful place.

I smile at the day when I walk out of my house and breathe in the fresh morning air. I find myself in awe of the clouds hovering around Timpanogos, capturing the first rays of morning light.

The world is an adventure waiting to be had—a conquest anticipating its time.

To this playlist I add yet another song which helps me to change my attitude. Though a few years old, it is a good one nonetheless. Plus, the video’s editing is nothing short of pure, unadulterated geniusness.



If you’d like to add a song that builds you up and inspires you to the playlist we started together about nine months ago, feel free to let me know and—if it’s available—I’ll add it in.

Because—after all—we each need our own form of unicorn wishes.

Oh, and don't forget that Saturday (tomorrow) is Festivus. Hope to see you there.

Media of the Week - The Deathly Hallows...Literally

Pin It

I will never forget – well over a dozen years ago – when I bought the first Harry Potter book and read it.

At first it felt like a story fit for the name of Roald Dahl…for the first twenty or thirty pages, but then it quickly changed into something else: something I’d never read before.

I. loved. it.

I enjoyed this then little-known story so much that I bought copies for my sister and brother for Christmas that year; you’d never seen such disappointed looks on both their faces – which they both quickly tried to mask behind the obligatory, “Oh, this is great” and “Hey, I can’t wait to read this.”

In reality they both wanted to throw the book in my face and scream something like, “A children’s book? It’s Christmas and you go out and buy me a CHILDREN’S book? What in the heck kind of lame sauce brother are you anyway giving out a stupid gift like this at Christmas?”

Oh, how after reading they soon ate their words.

It ended up being one of the greatest gifts of all time.

Strange little friend, that thing called perspective…

I can remember a year or three later, my brother and I were reading the next few publications of the books during our college years in our apartment, each of us reading a different story and yet having some amazing discussions about the plot lines, characters, and our varied epiphanies about the people in them.

Boy, those were the good old days.

Which now brings me to the end of an era, a period of life where – like the final book of a few years ago – the final movie is now upon us.

The proverbial closing of yet another chapter in my life.

Has Harry Potter affected me?

To be honest, I find it hard to think of a world without Harry, Hermione, and Ron in it. A world without Hogwarts. A world without Dumbledore. A world without even Voldemort existing somewhere inside of it.

Has J.K. Rowling affected my life? Just like a horcrux.


By the way, it appears that Mindy and Justin were the two winners of the contest; now if they'd both send me an email letting me know the print they'd like, that would be great. Thanks everybody else for taking part in the contest.

Since Mindy's chosen post was the closest to the top, she is dubbed the first place winner and will therefore get two prints.

P.S. Tell you what, just because I'm cool like this...the first person's post to show up in the widget before midnight on Friday will be our third place winner (since we still haven't had one). Be sure to make a comment on the 'contest' post and let me know if yours shows up first. If it is when I check, you'll be our third winner.

Yeah, you're welcome...so now you better go and remind your friends to check your favorite post out.

And just because it made me laugh:

Media of the Week - The Beating of My Heart

Pin It There comes a time in each and every one of our lives when we find ourselves eating our words.

For me, that day is today.

I’m sure you remember – a year or two ago – when I talked about chick flicks. Heck, I even went on to write a post about them over at Four Perspectives, talking about…let me see, how did I put it? Well, I think I told some of my friends that I’d rather gargle shards of broken glass - or something along those lines.

Well, today is the day I find myself taking back everything I ever said about chick flicks. You see, today is the day I was at the theatre and saw the trailer for The Beating of My Heart.

I have tried several times to put into words how I felt watching this at the theatre today, but to be honest…words just can’t do it justice. I nearly broke into tears at time code :38 when one of my favorite songs in the world came on, too.

With this I share with you today’s Media of the Week…a bit more serious than some of the past. I hope it touches you as much as it touched me.



Oh, and just so you know...I posted today over at Four Perspectives.

P.S. You probably realize that the poster and movie title both are fakes, btw. But I can't wait to see this movie...