J.K. Rowling is a master-storyteller, and director David Yates has done the best job to-date bringing one of Rowling’s books to the movie screen in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” My love for the fictional works and worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis is strong. While I still enjoy the greater
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This podcast features a literature circle discussion between Alexander Fryer, Shelly Fryer, and Wesley Fryer about J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings.” Reasons for loving the book and movie series are explored, noteable characteristics and lessons learned from major characters are discussed, and favorite scenes from the movies and the books are
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Podcast157: Lord of the Rings Literature Circle [ 42:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2306)I watched the 2005 documentary “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” last night, and want to share some reflections on the movie from the perspectives of a digital storyteller, concerned citizen/consumer, and educator. The video highlights multiple problems/challenges which are not unique to WalMart but are perhaps amplified because of the corporation’s size and
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Well, I’m sure doing what we did tonight will seem like old hat in 10 years, but it was really amazing at this point: We watched our first Internet-streamed movie from NetFlix! Glen Bull blogged about this a couple of weeks ago, and thanks to him bringing this capability to my attention we enjoyed “the
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A photo challenge from Alexander. Post guesses either here or on the Flickr page of the photo!
WARNING: SOME MILD PLOT SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS POST. Last night I finished reading “Eldest” by Christopher Paolini, the second book in his “Inheritance” trilogy that follows the book “Eragon “ which was released as a major motion picture last month. These are a few reflections on the book and the book series to
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After successfully (and unsuccessfully) converting a few more videos to an iPod-complaint/friendly format that transfer and play without a problem on a video iPod (5G), I’ve learned several new things to add to my initial list from a few days ago. 1. The MPEG-4 codec appears to be more flexible than the H.264 codec when
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SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t read Eragon or seen the movie, beware that in this blog post I’m including details that reveal plot elements of both. It’s almost Christmas, but I’ve already received what may be the most precious gift I’ll receive from any of my family members this year. This morning when I woke
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I saw the new (second) Pirates of the Caribbean movie tonight, and it was a lot of fun. There are more gross scenes in this one– the sort of the “gross” that was in “Return of the Jedi” in Jabba’s palace– not really bad, but not stuff I want my kids to see just yet.
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I saw the movie “Cars” last week and loved it! Pixar has a simple but brilliant strategy when it comes to moviemaking, in my opinion: Tell compelling stories with interesting characters, and lace it with humor that appeals to all ages. Three cheers for rated G movies! Go Pixar! I ran across this website that
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I know, the title of this post may sound like I am prepping you for a challenging game of Scrabble, but bear with me… According to Dictionary.com, “obfuscate” means: To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand: “A great effort was made… to obscure or obfuscate the truth” (Robert
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I have not seen these yet, but now that they are on sale in the iTunes Music store for $1.99 each or $10.99 for the entire first season I may: Star Wars Clone Wars!
The book and movie “The Da Vinci Code” combines fact with fiction in ways that are likely to confuse many, but hopefully will cause some to ask as well as answer worthwhile questions. One question I have is, what does Dan Brown (the author of the book) actually believe about the key assertions of his
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Google is sponsoring a new online game based on the book and movie The Da Vinci Code. Prizes are available, but you have to answer 24 puzzles to win. A Google login (free) is required to participate. After linking to the site you are prompted to login to Google, and then provided with an opportunity
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From the people who have brought us the free web 2.0 sites and services 43 things and 43 places now comes the website All Consuming. Quite fun and cool. According to the website, it is: …a website where you can track and talk about the books, music, movies, food and other items that interest you.
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Just finished watching “The Power of One” for the first time. Wow. An incredible film, but memorable most for the tragic and ongoing story of hatred and racism– and the struggles against those foes– which it portays and reveals. I have read “Covenant” by James Michener as well as “Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan
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We watched a superb documentary film this evening thanks to Netflix called “Inspirations.” Famous dancers, choreographers, sculptors, musicians, painters, glass blowers and architects address in the film where their creativity and passion for their work comes from, how they view the world, and how they live their lives. This is a terrific exploration of the
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