Author: Chad
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No Direction Home
Just watched Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary No Direction Home about Bob Dylan and I loved it. A great, detailed history of the moment and the man. I must admit that I have not really gotten into Dylan that much until recently. I have a few of his records on vinyl—Blonde on Blonde is definitely my…
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Quantum of Solace
Not as good as Casino Royale. It was still quite enjoyable, though. I like the director Marc Forster’s style. Previously he directed Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland, and Monster’s Ball. He’s got quite the range. I find that Roger Ebert’s criticism of the film is accurate, though I don’t hate it as much as he…
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1.21 Gigawatts!?
November 12, 1955. Know the date? Hill Valley, California. The Clock Tower. Struck by lightning. At 10:04 p.m. 53 years today. Oh, yeah. In honor of this historic day in the BTTF world, here is an appreciation I wrote for the school paper: If I were asked to name what I think are the greatest…
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My Halloween
My Modern Europe professor offered two points extra credit on the next exam for anyone who wrote a page on their Halloween experience. Well, I needed the extra credit, so here it is. I must confess that, while I enjoy the perennial American holiday as much as the next Joe Six-Pack, I frequently forget to…
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Gosh! Idiot!
June 11, 2009. It is the first day I will be able to watch Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. When that movie first came out in 2004, it was hyped up so much by my peers. Everybody recited the lines for about six months and I got really sick of it, as did everyone…
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Good Listenin’
It’s been a good two days for me musically. First, I got the debut CD from Carla Bruni, the French First Lady, called Quelqu’un M’a Dit from the library. I can’t understand a word of it, but I love the sexy folk style. Now I just have to find her most recent album. But what…
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A Summer Camp Counselor’s Guide To Good Character
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle on October 10, 2008. This summer I worked at a Bible camp for the third straight year. (Don’t worry, we didn’t praise a likeness of George W. Bush like those crazies did in Jesus Camp did.) The theme for the summer was character. We studied the Book of…
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It Sure Is, Max!
Late Night with Conan O’Brien is the only late-night talk show I watch consistently. I watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for the political satire, but I watch Late Night for the utter wackiness. Besides Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, my favorite reoccurring segment is “Small Talk Moment with Max and Conan.” I…
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All Animated Films Are Not Created Equal
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle in October 2008. Are all movies created equal? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) doesn’t think so. With the creation of the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards, animated movies that deserve to be nominated for Best Picture are unfairly pigeon-holed into this…
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You Are My Sunshine…
I just realized that I’ve written a bunch of posts in the last week or so. Oh, well. I guess there’s a lot to discuss. Like this: Copeland will be releasing a new album! On October 14! It’s called You Are My Sunshine. It seems like I’ve been waiting for a long time for their…
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I Never Really Processed 9/11…
It’s good to see The Office back again. Here are my favorite parts of the season 5 premiere (possible spoilers ahead!): –Another classic Psychopath Jan moment: Jan: “Remember last week when that girl went missing? Guess whose candles they used for the vigil.” Kevin: “Yeah, thank God they found her.” Jan: “They found her?” –When…
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A profile of Korn’s Brian Welch
Originally published in the NCC Chronicle on September 26, 2008. Brian “Head” Welch might be the most unlikely person to have become a Christian. He was a drug addict, a member of a popular heavy metal band, and is covered in tattoos. But in 2005, Welch, the former bassist of the heavy rock band Korn,…
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Kristen Wiig = Hilarious
I’m always annoyed when people say Saturday Night Live isn’t as good as it used to be. It’s unfair to judge a group of relatively unknown performers against their much more famous predecessors. Especially when their predecessors and their funniest skits have had time to become more popular and time-tested. That said, these first two episodes…
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Here’s Looking At You…
On WordPress, the moderator has a “dashboard” that keeps track of comments, number of hits on blog posts, etc. It also has a cool feature that shows Internet searches that eventually brought people to my blog. So if I write a post saying, for instance, “The Dark Knight explores complex moral issues by focusing on…
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Everybody Know What Time It Is?
You know what’s a good show? Home Improvement. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have said such a thing. I thought the cheeseball factor rivaled that of Full House. But in the last year or two, I’ve been catching the re-runs on cable randomly during the day, and it has really grown on me. The…