Sunday, October 31, 2010

Mysteries at the Museum


Hi folks, long time no blog! Things have been crazy for me this semester but believe me, this one is worth the wait!

Imagine my surprise to open my emails the other day to find a message from someone affiliated with The Travel Channel (one of my favorite networks ever. I'd kill to be Samantha Brown!) Blog family, we have been given a heads-up about a new show premiering this week called "Mysteries at the Museum." Most of the time when you think of the word 'museum' you think 'stuffy' or 'boring.' With "Mysteries at the Museum," the Travel Channel is kicking that idea right to the curb. The first episode, which airs Tuesday November 2 at 9PM EST/ 8PM CST, takes us to Alcatraz- how did a newspaper, rain jackets, a spoon and some human hair help 4 people plan a huge deception?- the National Museum of the US Navy -how did something that looks sort of like a typewriter give the Nazis an advantage in the 1940's- and Walter's Art Museum- isn't the Mona Lisa supposed to be hanging in the Louvre?- and many other interesting places that will answer questions, once and for always ending the idea that museums are boring. If you have sat through one of my blood and guts, who's sleeping with whom, scandals and stories kind of lectures, this is the kind of show for you.

Alright, blog family, The Travel Channel has taken an interest in us, so let's pay them back in kind. "Mysteries at the Museum" Tuesday, Nov 2. Watch it, tape it, set your DVR for it. Tell everybody you know to watch it. Something tells me we are going to learn a lot of really cool stuff.

More to come after I watch Tuesday night's episode but for right now, here's the teaser for the show...

Episode 1 Preview : )

Thursday, October 7, 2010

This Day in History


Today in 1777, the final part of the Battle of Saratoga began. For those of you in yesterday's American History class, a light bulb ought to be going off over your heads (hint, hint, it's important). This battle is the turning point of the American Revolution. With this victory, George Washington ensured that the United Colonies would get help from France to win independence from Great Britain. From this point on, it's not a matter of "if" the Patriots would win, it was a question of "when."

Flash forward a couple of centuries to 1960 and October 7 brings us to the first of the televised debates between presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Going into the debates, Nixon had a slight edge and most pollsters were predicting the former VP to head the nation. However, what nobody realized was that no matter how good a speaker he was, Nixon's 5 o'clock shadow and obvious pain from an injured knee made him look untrustworty next to JFK's perfectly coiffed hottness. Guess who won? (If you have had my Am Hx II class, you better remember the answer!)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Blast from the Past


I freely admit that I am a big kid. At Christmas, I run around the house singing the Toys R Us song. I'm easy to buy presents for, just get me a Barbie doll with a long dress (I collect them, not play with them. That would be creepy!)

So for the last month, I have been waiting with baited breath for today to come. It's Tuesday, the day new movies come out and Tuesday October 5 brings us the release of Beauty and the Beast on DVD. (I know, I know, it was out on DVD before but I missed it then) I was at the Wally World before 8:00 this morning, sweater thrown on over my pj's so I could bring it home. I might have looked rough and been sleep deprived, but I was positively giddy with excitement!

The thing about Beauty and the Beast is that it's not only a great movie for kids of all ages, it's also a great Caitlin memory for me. She was just a wee baby Caitlin when the movie first came out on VHS and when we watched it, she cried, completely brokenhearted because she thought it was over forever. I had to watch it with her 3 times in a row before I could convince her we could watch it whenever we wanted. Now, nearly 20 years later, I'm hoping she doesn't cry like that when we watch it on DVD. I'm not as patient as I was then!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sample Movie Review

I love it when I have industrious folks who don't wait until the last possible second to get their assignments done, especially when said assignment is something that they have never done before. Many of you have already begun working on your movie reviews (*pats on the back for you*) and have questions. To give you a helping hand, I'm posting a sample review below. This one was turned in for my summer American History II class and was definitely an A paper. Read it to get the gist of what you are supposed to do with the movies for this semester. The format is the same even if the movies deal with a different time period in history. Remember to include a works cited page at the end (I'm not posting that part; I figure you can find info on that yourself and I'm not stupid enough to give you all of the info for a movie review for next semester.)

As always, ask or email if you have any questions.



Super Great Student
Ramona Shelton
American History II
August 2, 2010

The 2001 blockbuster, Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer was based directly on Mark Bowden’s New York Times best seller by the same title. Unlike many of Hollywood’s big budget films, this project was unbelievably historically accurate. The facts, events, and statistics in the movie were very accurate but there were some differences as well.

When mentioning the military units involved in the conflict, the movie failed to mention the involvement of U. S. Navy’s SEALs. “ The Humvees were filled with Rangers, Delta operators, and four members of SEAL Team Six, part of the navy’s special forces branch” (Bowden 5). These soldiers are known to be world class warriors. Their involvement would be influential due to their unparalleled military training. Besides, every other military faction, from Delta special forces, army Taskforce Rangers, and the pilots of SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment), was mentioned in the movie (Bowden 5).

Sometimes the producers may have made changes about the facts of a story in order or add specific details in order to make the story easier to follow. There were more than 140 soldiers involved in these rescue missions. It would have been impossible to be able to keep up with them all. So the producers decided to write the Task Force Ranger’s names on their helmets so that the audience can keep up with some the characters involved in the main story line. Also unlike in the book, not all of the characters are referred to by name. It would be way too overwhelming for the audience to try to keep up with all the names of all of the characters in the story. Bowden gave the names and ranks of the soldiers as they appear in the novel. The characters in the movie tend to blend together in the “fog” of war since they were almost all wearing the same exact dirt-covered uniforms. This allowed you to immerse yourself into the movie without worrying about trying to differentiate between all the soldiers.

In the movie, Sgt Eversman remained in the city over night stranded with his fellow Rangers fighting in the night siege. He actually returned to base later in the day with the Col. Danny McNight’s convoy. “Another minor factual error included the role and position of Sgt. Eversman, the main character of the movie, who in reality returns to base with his convoy during the day with the prisoners” (Walker. Jr). I feel it was easier for the audience to stay involved in this part of the movie because they have come to know and like Josh Hartnet’s character, Sgt. Eversman. If Hartnet’s character had returned to the base as he did in real life, the audience may not have kept the connection with the soldiers remaining in the city overnight.

Ewan McGregor’s character of Specialist John ”Grimsey” Grimes, a U. S. Army Ranger, is based on a soldier named SPC John Stebbins. This character’s name was changed due to the fact that he was found guilty by court marshal of sexually assaulting his daughter in 1999 (US v Stebbins).

In the film, the soldiers were unsuccessful in the attempt to free Chief Warrant Officer Clifton “Elvis Wolcott’s body and his copilot’s body from the cockpit of the downed Super Six-One. With time quickly running out we were led to believe that they may have had take drastic measures in order to free his lifeless body because of their motto, ‘No man left behind.’ “Several Rangers pulled at the crumpled wreckage to free Wolcott and the copilot. To no avail: it would eventually take a humvee with a towrope to pry the bodies free” (Van Voorst).

Despite a few simple inaccuracies in the movie, the movie as a whole was very historically accurate. It was so important for the movie to appear as accurate as possible that forty of the actors received two weeks of Ranger training. Three of those received two additional weeks of specialized commando training in order to portray the Delta Force operators. The actual Ranger company involved in the operation in 1993 not only played the extras in the film, but also performed the fast roping stunts in the movie. Like the actors portraying the Rangers, the actors playing the helicopter pilots received specialized training as well. Other than Wolcott and Durant, some of the pilots from the original 1993 operation played themselves in the movie. In addition, the U. S. Army provided all the helicopters, humvees, and weapons used in the filming of this movie (historychannel.com).

Finally, the lack of ethnic diversity of the casting proved the genuineness to the actual soldiers represented in the original operation. “Only one of the forty American soldiers depicted is black. (Special Forces tend to be much whiter than the rest of the Army)” (Sailer)

Ridley Scott’s attempt to create a movie that accurately depicts the Battle of Mogadishu was a total success. It was not meant to glorify war but simply show what our soldiers experience when confronted with battle. This movie was shot from an American perspective. It may be a little biased but, that is to be expected from a film shot about such a recent event. The movie was released only eight short years after the actual event. Hooah!