ORLANDO, Fla. -- Filmmaker David Nixon made an appearance at Valencia’s West Campus to talk about his up and coming movie “Letters to God.”
“We’re making something different here,” said Nixon. “This movie is going to change people’s hearts.”
The film is about a boy who ailed with cancer who finds strength and hope in writing letters to God, and in doing so changes the lives of those around him.
He said it provides inspiration and hope to those who can relate to this little boy with cancer. “People really want these kinds of movies.”
Nixon is an Orlando based filmmaker who also created “Facing the Giants,” and “Fireproof.”
Production budget for this movie is set at $3 million, and it's marketing campaign is based on a model that Mel Gibson incorporated into marketing his film “The Passion of the Christ.”
“Mel Gibson opened the door for Christian films and faith-based films,” said Nixon.
He also mentioned that faith-based movies budgeting over $10 million tend to be non-profitable because these are movies that does not reach out to a wide audience.
“Fireproof” had a budget of $3 million dollars as well, and generated $33 million in the box office.
“Letters to God” is scheduled to release April 9, 2010, but it will be a limited release until enough money is generated to release it nationwide.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Students gathered for Game Night to share their common interest in video games with each other.
This Student Government Association hosted event promoted the importance of history in general, whether its music, politics, video games, etc.
“It’s all about having fun,” said Robert Stio, SGA President. “We also want to promote history, and we can do that with video games like The Beatles Rock Band to show them the history of where today’s music comes from.
Game Day, held Thursday Oct. 10 in West Campus’ HSB building, pits competitors against each other in various video games, mainly The Beatles Rock Band which they dubbed “Travel
Through History to Rock with The Beatles.”
Other popular games being played included the likes of “Madden ’10” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
This event also created leeway to spread awareness of the issues SGA is currently facing right now, and the impact of these issues on the Valencia students.
Stio mentions that, “There are many matters to discuss right now such as tax breaks for textbooks on school, and Bright Futures. It’s important that students are aware of these issues so they can get involved and join us to solve these issues.”
According to SGA, the gaming competitions help create synergy and teamwork among the student body.
This is noticed especially with The Beatles Rock Band competition in which groups of
students had a battle of the bands to determine the ultimate rockers.
The winner was the group “The Omauve Avengers” consisted by Brittany Van Epps (vocals), Jessica Sunga (guitar) and Max Rejouis (drummer).
“We had lots of fun,” Sunga mentioned. “We didn’t expect to win, but we did.”
Overall, there were many people enjoying themselves playing all generations of video games and even board games like “Hungry, Hungry Hippos,” and “Operation.”
This Student Government Association hosted event promoted the importance of history in general, whether its music, politics, video games, etc.
“It’s all about having fun,” said Robert Stio, SGA President. “We also want to promote history, and we can do that with video games like The Beatles Rock Band to show them the history of where today’s music comes from.
Game Day, held Thursday Oct. 10 in West Campus’ HSB building, pits competitors against each other in various video games, mainly The Beatles Rock Band which they dubbed “Travel
Through History to Rock with The Beatles.”
Other popular games being played included the likes of “Madden ’10” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.”
This event also created leeway to spread awareness of the issues SGA is currently facing right now, and the impact of these issues on the Valencia students.
Stio mentions that, “There are many matters to discuss right now such as tax breaks for textbooks on school, and Bright Futures. It’s important that students are aware of these issues so they can get involved and join us to solve these issues.”
According to SGA, the gaming competitions help create synergy and teamwork among the student body.
This is noticed especially with The Beatles Rock Band competition in which groups of
students had a battle of the bands to determine the ultimate rockers.
The winner was the group “The Omauve Avengers” consisted by Brittany Van Epps (vocals), Jessica Sunga (guitar) and Max Rejouis (drummer).
“We had lots of fun,” Sunga mentioned. “We didn’t expect to win, but we did.”
Overall, there were many people enjoying themselves playing all generations of video games and even board games like “Hungry, Hungry Hippos,” and “Operation.”
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -- “We’re going to make toothpaste for elephants,” said Professor K.A. Boom as he mixed household chemicals like vinegar, soap, and starch in a two-liter soda bottle with his pale, lanky arms.
The results: an eruption of foam and the sound of kids gasping in excitement.
Jason Blank, commonly known as Prof. K.A. Boom, performed his monthly educational event “Mad Science Lab” at the Florida Mall Barnes & Noble Oct. 10.
“Science can be fun,” said the Barnes & Noble employee. “For kids to learn, it has to be a mix of demonstrative and hands-on teaching.”
Blank created various experiments like bottle rockets, color explosions, and slime.
“The show’s been a success every time,” Blank said. “I just vary it up with different experiments.”
The audience members were having fun, but one particular member was astounded by it.
“I think it’s very cool,” said 12-year-old Cy Morrell from England. “I learned a lot about chemistry, and the slime was very fun.”
Geraldine de Guzman, one of the children’s parents, also found the show to be a very entertaining, learning experience.
“It’s very informative for the young ones,” she said. “It’s fun for kids and adults alike.”
The results: an eruption of foam and the sound of kids gasping in excitement.
Jason Blank, commonly known as Prof. K.A. Boom, performed his monthly educational event “Mad Science Lab” at the Florida Mall Barnes & Noble Oct. 10.
“Science can be fun,” said the Barnes & Noble employee. “For kids to learn, it has to be a mix of demonstrative and hands-on teaching.”
Blank created various experiments like bottle rockets, color explosions, and slime.
“The show’s been a success every time,” Blank said. “I just vary it up with different experiments.”
The audience members were having fun, but one particular member was astounded by it.
“I think it’s very cool,” said 12-year-old Cy Morrell from England. “I learned a lot about chemistry, and the slime was very fun.”
Geraldine de Guzman, one of the children’s parents, also found the show to be a very entertaining, learning experience.
“It’s very informative for the young ones,” she said. “It’s fun for kids and adults alike.”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Reading the WSJ
I did in fact enjoy reading the Wall Street Journal. It's small, well-organized, and gives most of the news that I'm most likely to read online from the AP. I even canceled out my Orlando Sentinel subscription because the WSJ covered more stories and was less cluttered than the Sentinel. However, the stories that I enjoyed the most were the featured front page stories; I definitely agree that the WSJ should chronicle these in a book, they are just that amusing. Overall, reading this newspaper was a very gratifying experience.
Reading the newspaper has indeed helped me learn about the mass media. Now I know more about Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, and Twitter than probably more than half the school, and that's a lot to say for just six weeks of reading. I've also learned about the applications of advertising and public relations and how they interact with each other to boost the effects of each other. I never realized how huge mass media is, and because of reading the newspaper, I now have a better understanding of how the business works.
Reading the newspaper was hands down a better learning experience for me. A textbook is simply a constant, predictable wall of text that often students get hit by. The newspaper is definitely a difference maker; it's refreshing, current and always different. One minute we could be talking about Kindle, and suddenly we can shift to how Microsoft spent eighty to a hundred million dollars on advertising their new search engine. With this learning experience, it's really hard now to revert back to reading out of a textbook.
I'd say the reading assignment didn't have much of an impact in my habits. As I mentioned earlier, I used to read the Sentinel, so not many things changed.
The weekly quizzes are a good way to test our knowledge of the stories, but it could be a bit tricky if you don't get the paper like you're supposed to. However, I did find out that someone was stealing my paper and I caught the son of the gun red-handed, so I won't be having a problem with the newspaper anymore. I do suggest though, that instead of quizzing all the time, we should have discussions of the stories, and have everyone participate in the discussion. Simply call a name out from the attendance sheet and allow them to speak about the subject matter. If the person doesn't have anything to say about it, then he/she loses points from "discussion time."
I'll definitely renew my subscription, no question about that. I think it's a great paper, and it's really worth the time and investment.
Reading the newspaper has indeed helped me learn about the mass media. Now I know more about Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, and Twitter than probably more than half the school, and that's a lot to say for just six weeks of reading. I've also learned about the applications of advertising and public relations and how they interact with each other to boost the effects of each other. I never realized how huge mass media is, and because of reading the newspaper, I now have a better understanding of how the business works.
Reading the newspaper was hands down a better learning experience for me. A textbook is simply a constant, predictable wall of text that often students get hit by. The newspaper is definitely a difference maker; it's refreshing, current and always different. One minute we could be talking about Kindle, and suddenly we can shift to how Microsoft spent eighty to a hundred million dollars on advertising their new search engine. With this learning experience, it's really hard now to revert back to reading out of a textbook.
I'd say the reading assignment didn't have much of an impact in my habits. As I mentioned earlier, I used to read the Sentinel, so not many things changed.
The weekly quizzes are a good way to test our knowledge of the stories, but it could be a bit tricky if you don't get the paper like you're supposed to. However, I did find out that someone was stealing my paper and I caught the son of the gun red-handed, so I won't be having a problem with the newspaper anymore. I do suggest though, that instead of quizzing all the time, we should have discussions of the stories, and have everyone participate in the discussion. Simply call a name out from the attendance sheet and allow them to speak about the subject matter. If the person doesn't have anything to say about it, then he/she loses points from "discussion time."
I'll definitely renew my subscription, no question about that. I think it's a great paper, and it's really worth the time and investment.
"How do you use the internet (fun/social, school, work)? When, where is it used most often? How can it be better for you? What Should It Do?"
I mostly use the internet for news, watching movies/TV, chatting with friends and gaming. I get the news from BBC News, the AP, and since I get the Wall Street Journal, I get to take a look at the news online as well. Even though I don't watch TV often, I usually go to the internet to watch a Premier soccer match.
However, I use the internet mostly for gaming, especially on my Xbox. I enjoy generally playing online games from my Xbox like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead and Rock Band, but I also play from the computer such as World of Warcraft and The Sims. From my Xbox I can also download movies with Netflix service, which usually has better quality than my computer because mine is from the stone age.
I also use the internet to keep in touch with my friends and family. I mostly use my Facebook to keep in touch indirectly or directly with them. I chat with my friends through I.M. as well by using such services as Windows Live and AOL, allowing me to have direct contact with even more capabilities such as voice and video chat. Then again, I also use my Xbox to chat. Mostly it is voice chat when playing games, or I can do video chat with them if I'm not playing a game. Since Xbox belongs to Microsoft for the most part, I also have access to Windows Live, and since Microsoft is planning to add Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites to the console's software, I'll be less dependent on my computer to keep in touch with my "homies".
On a more humorous note, here's a comical video that relates to an entertainment aspect (one of the largest ones) of the internet: Fun Related Topic Video
However, I use the internet mostly for gaming, especially on my Xbox. I enjoy generally playing online games from my Xbox like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead and Rock Band, but I also play from the computer such as World of Warcraft and The Sims. From my Xbox I can also download movies with Netflix service, which usually has better quality than my computer because mine is from the stone age.
I also use the internet to keep in touch with my friends and family. I mostly use my Facebook to keep in touch indirectly or directly with them. I chat with my friends through I.M. as well by using such services as Windows Live and AOL, allowing me to have direct contact with even more capabilities such as voice and video chat. Then again, I also use my Xbox to chat. Mostly it is voice chat when playing games, or I can do video chat with them if I'm not playing a game. Since Xbox belongs to Microsoft for the most part, I also have access to Windows Live, and since Microsoft is planning to add Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites to the console's software, I'll be less dependent on my computer to keep in touch with my "homies".
On a more humorous note, here's a comical video that relates to an entertainment aspect (one of the largest ones) of the internet: Fun Related Topic Video
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Movie Watching: Theater or Home?
I prefer going to the theater than watching a movie at home because of the social experience. I like going along with big groups of friends and sit down and watch a movie chomping on popcorn and other foods like candy and nachos (ooo nachos!). Although lately I've noticed that Hollywood has been slacking off lately with the films; they are not as good as they used to be. I've even noticed how two different feature movies have the same theme. It's ridiculous!
I don't buy DVDs because I have no use for them. I can rent them from my Xbox or watch them on demand with my digital cable service. From the collection aspect? It's not an issue, I already collect videogames so I have plenty of cases to fill the stock.
I don't buy DVDs because I have no use for them. I can rent them from my Xbox or watch them on demand with my digital cable service. From the collection aspect? It's not an issue, I already collect videogames so I have plenty of cases to fill the stock.
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