Roger Ebert’s Relativist Approach, and How it Applies to Everything Else.

Roger Ebert.
Roger Ebert.

I’m pretty bummed over the death of legendary film critic Roger Ebert. Before Rotten Tomatos and IMDB, I remember using his movie guide to figure out what I should (make my parents) rent from the video store. Masterfully written and laced with his signature acerbic wit, Ebert’s reviews were so effective because of the relativist approach he took when evaluating a film’s merit:

When you ask a friend if Hellboy is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to Mystic River, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to The Punisher. And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if Superman is four, then Hellboy is three and The Punisher is two. In the same way, if American Beauty gets four stars, then The United States of Leland clocks in at about two.

– Roger Ebert, in his review of Shaolin Soccer. April 23, 2004.

This applies to just about everything else.

Continue reading “Roger Ebert’s Relativist Approach, and How it Applies to Everything Else.”

Reflecting on Today’s Tragedy

Americans were devastated today by the shooting massacre in [name of suburb/town/city and state]. As we watched the horrific images of survivors running for safety out of the [school/mall/movie theater] while police and paramedics ran in to save others, we could not help but feel tremendous grief and sorrow for the families of the victims. In all, [#] people were killed, including [#] children—some as young as [age], making this the [numerical order] worst shooting in our nation’s history. Today we learned that even in the quaint [suburb/town/city] of [name of suburb/town/city], evil can make itself known.

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Life After WKU

I produced this video for the Dow Jones News Fund multimedia workshop in at Western Kentucky University. My group looked at the issue of student loans at WKU.

Overall, I was pleased with some of this video’s production. Given the time constraints (had to produce it in about 3 days) and the complexity of the subject, it was hard to come away with a final product that that I was entirely satisfied with. But on the plus side, I learned how to use Adobe Premiere. In my opinion, it’s far superior to Final Cut.

If my apartment were on fire, I would run in to save this.

I’ve played guitar for almost 10 years now. In high school, I saved up my money for months to buy this guitar, a 2004 Fender Highway One Stratocaster. Since then, I’ve upgraded the pickups to a sweet-sounding set of Rio Grandes (support Texas businesses, y’all) and had an artistically inclined friend paint the pick guard. The guitar has seen me through times both good and bad, and I count it among one of only a few material possessions of mine that I lovingly consider irreplaceable. Eventually, I’ll get some sound clips up. For now, here are some pictures.