Hey guy! I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been quite busy. I just thought I’d let you all know that tomorrow night I’ll have my “Tennessee Trip” post written. I’m too tired to write about it right this moment, but if you want the short version now I’ll give it to you: it was awesome!
Tag Archives: dylan
My Thoughts On Toy Story 3
12 JulWhen I saw the first trailer for Toy Story 3 I became very nervous that PIXAR was about to make their one flop. Then when I actually saw the movie I was reminded tat PIXAR doesn’t make flops. The third movie in this trilogy (and yes, it is the last one) is probably the best PIXAR movie I’ve seen to date next to Up (and I don’t say that lightly) and is one of the better films of the year. If I was to make a list of the best 100 movies of the past decade, this would have to be on it. I won’t spoil too much, but I will give you enough data to be able to call this a review.
First I just want to make it known that if you’ve seen the first two Toy Story movies, then you will absolutely love the opening scene of Toy Story 3. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but it’s phenomenal what they do with elements from the first film, as well as the second film. It’s very charming to see how much PIXAR cares about their fans who grew up with the series (the first one came out the year I was born).
Next, there’s the plot. I won’t say much, but it’s very surprising and dark for a “kiddie” movie. The cover is that Andy, the owner of the toys from the movies, is now seventeen and is heading off to college. He hasn’t been playing with his old toys for some time, and at first decides to put them all up in his attic and take Woody with him off to college (he’s a special toy). However, after a series of coincidences (that are a bit complex and hard to explain in a review without spoilers), all of the toys end up being donated to a daycare called Sunnyside.
Upon arriving at the daycare the toys at first believe they’ve entered a paradise where they’ll always be played with. Soon enough, however, they discover that the kids who will be playing with them aren’t exactly “mature enough” to use them correctly, and are tortured roughly by the new children. Not only that but the entire daycare is ruled under an iron fist by a toy who shall remain nameless at this time. The basic goal of the toys in this film is to escape from this “prison daycare” and get back to Andy’s house where they belong.
That’s a very brief description of what Toy Story 3 is. I don’t want to say too much, as you may have noticed, for the very reason that the effect you will feel while watching it will be ruined overall if I tell you too much. That’s the truth. I can tell you this much though, I don’t usually get affected very much by movies, especially animated movies. In this one, I friggin’ cried. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I got all watery-eyed at the end. It’s a beautiful movie, honestly. It’s absolutely hilarious and well worth the full price. There’s no cheap gags or anything like you’ll see in most movies made by Dreamworks. It’s a nice ride, and I’ll gladly go on it again, and again, and again, and…
PAINTBALL!!!
21 FebMy little brother recently invited me to watch him play paintball at PSI Xtreme Sports, a paintball/airsoft gaming area. After using the back door of the shop and entering the large setup area, my father and I walked over to the side of the city ball arena (city ball being paintball with wooden barriers). After only one game I was hooked and pulled out my wallet. I bought a jersey, got the extra rental equipment (helmet and pod holder (pod being an ammo pod)), my bro let me use his old gun, and I hopped onto the field.
My father and I formed some great strategies off the field, and then I executed them well. One of our strategies was carried out so well (by me leading half our squad) that we took out nearly everybody on their team, save one guy. Paintball is the single most exhilarating sport I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. The speed, the strategy, and the teamwork all make paintballing more exciting than any other activity. I love it.
Dylan Alexander on Art
17 DecWhat is art? I honestly want you to consider that question right now and define the word “art” to yourself, from your own perspective, from your own viewpoint. What is it? Where does it come from? Why has it stayed with us for so long? Well, I believe the reason it has managed to stay with us all this time is because there is one thing that makes it different from other things in every way. It’s different from doctoring people, teaching people, working with chemicals, discovering new animals, digging up fossils, building roads, washing cars, solving equations, baking cakes, chopping wood, and many other things, because of an attribute it has, a feature it holds all to itself. You see, each of the actions listed above has its limits. Art’s limits: none.
Art can also be many things, the primary being illustrating, painting, writing, film, drama, and music. All of these are passions of mine. All of these are also dropping like flies from public school programs. Mathematics is important. Grammar (or English, if you prefer) is important. Science is important. P.E. is important. Guess what else is important? Art. Most people have said that this is because it is a way for children, teens, and adults alike to express their inner feelings. Although agreeable, if you think about it, it is also a morale device. Here’s a perfect way to prove this to yourself. Grab a piece of paper, right now. Go ahead and get one. Now that you have this paper, I want you to get a pencil or pen. Do that now. Get it. You have one now? Good. Take this pen, and draw a circle on it. Now it is merely a circle, but you see that you have created this circle. Give it dotted eyes. Now give it a smile, and a nose. Don’t worry too much about how detailed it looks, just do all of that. Now draw small hairs on its head. Just little lines that are like hairs. You make them smooth or make them stick up in the air, it’s your creation. It’s yours. You can even make an afro if you want. You done? Good. Now write its name under it, and be creative with this name. Make it a name you’ll never forget, and one that relates to you or who you want to be. You have that down? Good. Now under his name, give him a title (i.e. Lord of the Lollipops). And you can make it serious, silly, whatever you like. Are you finished? Great! Now in any corner of the page write your name and the date under it. Now, tell me how you feel after that?
I know you probably feel quite pleased with that new creation. And you know something, so do kids, teens, and everyone else on this planet. Art is a piece of the soul. It breathes life into people, and brings them joy. No matter how little or small the joy may be, it brings it. If students were already feeling joyous as they entered a classroom to study, how do think they might do? Well, I know how I feel whenever this is the case: I soar through my courses. If the faculty of schools cutting these classes really gave a damn about the products that they would be getting when their students graduated, they’d be using art to fuel their students, not stripping it from them. And I really hate this excuse, “The students are doing enough art on their own time now, so the art class is useless.” Bull. That’s merely a justifier for taking it from the kids. It isn’t fair to make excuses like that.
I understand that there’s a budget to deal with. I also understand that the other classes are important. But outright cutting art down is wrong. I honestly believe this is just some plot to rid the world’s children of creativity. If their budget’s been cut down than maybe (and I said maybe so hear me out) one could have parents pay a small fee for art classes every months or every few months, and the profit would build up from the amount of kids being given back their art classes on these terms. This would be a nice plan and it would be better for everybody.
Art is a subject that isn’t given enough consideration. It needs more. It needs to be viewed with more importance. And if some suppressive person wants to drive it into the ground, then by God, fight back people! Because this isn’t just education we’re talking about anymore. This is the future. Without good, intelligent, creative, inventive kids to take charge when the adults of today kick the bucket, this civilization will be lost. Without culture, it will die. And that is the cold, hard truth.
Sincerely,
Dylan Alexander, Age 14
Artist
Dylan Alexander 